Search:ol

Melting the swing to the raving old school sound, this Bingo dig in the right direction !

Old School Repress From U238 01 And Graveyard 02 (the Hardcore Label From Hokus Pokus).

2x12"

Hello, I am Qnete and these are my Play-Doh Stories. Some of them are already three years old and it feels like I've become somewhat of a different person since then. Still, I like to listen to them from time to time, thinking of how I was back then, reminding me of what helped shape me, what helped me become who I am now. Sometimes, I also get the feeling that it is not me who wrote the stories. They seem to seem unknown to me, just like they seem to you, because you are not me. Then I listen, and I know again.

· Bart Davenport's 7th album since his 2002 solo debut
· West Coast yacht rock meets '80s English pop
· Produced by L.A. Takedown's Aaron M. Olson
· Confirmed live dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Vida Festival (Spain)

Recorded in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, Blue Motel is the new album by Bart & The Bedazzled, a brand new musical enterprise by Bart Davenport and his seventh album proper since his solo breakout in 2002. Alluding to Los Angeles with the lights down, it's an amalgam sound of '80s English pop and West Coast yacht rock jams, sprinkled with cinematic flourishes clearly influenced by the understated production of L.A. Takedown's Aaron M. Olson. The jangly pop aesthetic, resplendent with choppy chorus tinted guitar, snappy snares, sax and bass is underlined with life trodden stories about day jobs, dating, financial insecurities, lost innocence and most prominently, time travel.

The album lives somewhere in an imagined past (or future) that is curiously both the 1960s and 1980s conveying the groups's nostalgia for a fantasy world with a cheeky cynicism, despite a perception of a world that is, for Bart, on the downfall. To that end, Davenport's songs are, as always, delivered with a happy and sad sensibility reminiscent of the great Burt Bacharach. From the surreal yet humorous 'The House That Built Itself' to the sad surf music of 'Halloween By The Sea' or the romantic L.A. noir of the title track, Blue Motel arrives with a spoonful of tears, a nod and a wink.

The Bedazzled band lineup, united by their love of the 'Elegant '80s', includes the guitar of Wayne Faler (Dream Boys), drums, percussion and beats by Andres Renteria (Jose Gonzales) and post-punk bass lines from Jessica Espeleta (L.A. Takedown). The four friends from Los Angeles, united in their affection for the more sophisticated sounds of English '80s groups like Prefab Sprout and Style Council give the setlist a more distinctively pop flavour compared to Bart's soulful last outing on his album Physical World, also released on Lovemonk. Blue Motel features regular appearances from female vocalist Nedelle Torrisi (Domino, Asthmatic Kitty) who notably adds the lush layers of harmony on 'The Amateurs'. Saxophonist Billy McShane is also featured on three songs with improvisations that evoke the scene of whales in outer space.

Producer Olson often incorporates soundtrack and avant-garde elements in his own work. His gift for song arrangement, understanding of the synth and penchant for subtlety all shine brightly on Blue Motel.

Forriner are Lee Forster (Last Waltz) and Oli Warriner (Traela) Having both previously released material under their respective projects on labels such as... ESP Institute, Mule Musiq, Hhatri and World Unknown to name a few. The duo released their first offering on Futureboogie Recordings to great success, picking up airplay on BBC Radio 1. With material on Man Powers - MeMeMe and a forthcoming release on Father & Son Records and Tapes, Poland. This is the first release on their brand new imprint, "Forriner Music" The release features two Forriner originals whilst collecting remixes from underground heavyweights, Persus Traxx and Frank Butters.

The optimum effect of Music of the Five Elements will be achieved if each side of this recording is played through, from beginning to end without interruption. Music of the Five Elements, when used as a meditational or body work tool, rather than entertainment, will increase in effect over time. Overplaying or improper use, however, may eventually diminish its designed effect'
.
Music is the healing force of the universe. It's an ancient idea bandied about by Pythagoras and Plato. In the last century, music as medication has been explored by musicians as diverse as Albert Ayler, Spacemen 3 and Pauline Oliveros. Nowhere did this concept gain more traction than in the so-called realm of New Age Music, an entire movement of synth droners and echoey flautists recording home-baked healing mantras on 4-track. In recent years, thanks to cassette collecting devotees and open-minded music journalists, New Age has shed its flowing robes and is being mined for the truly incredible music that swells under its pastel surface. Musician/acupressurist Sam McClellan's 1982 Music of the Five Elements is one of those revelatory discoveries, an unrivalled work of intense research and focus, simultaneously a near perfect work of art and a scientifically sound elixir for body and mind.

After studying electronic composition at Hampshire College with Randall McClellan (no relation), Sam McClellan became intrigued with the possibilities of healing through music. He explored this idea by applying the ancient Chinese philosophy of medicine to the principles of musical composition. Using the pentatonic scale (the traditional scale of Chinese music), McClellan related each of the notes to one of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal Water), and created five variations for each. He experimented with tempo, beat, pitch, duration, and sound quality, studying the effect on people's energy levels. Using the results of his tests he developed a comprehensive theory of sonic healing and spent the next year composing an album designed to help people achieve inner balance, reducing anxiety and energy depletion.

Music of the Five Elements is not only the acoustic massage' that McClellan set out to make, but is a fully realized and peerless piece of music. Taking cues from Minimalism, American Primitive guitar (Fahey & Basho) and even psychedelia, the album is a continuous sound voyage for voice, synthesizer, guitar, bowed bass, piano, effects and ciao (Chinese flute) all played by McClellan himself. Although divided into sections, the journey is best undertaken as a whole, without distraction.

Our boss Claude VonStroke is the busiest guy we know. When he's not traveling the world or curating an event, he's in the studio every day putting in hours upon hours, relentless in perfecting his craft. He's had a slew of hits the past couple years in the form of remixes and collaborations, and now with the 'Walay (My Bae)' EP, Claude gets back to some inventive and somewhat 'out of the box' solo works.

The title song leads with a melodic riff and an funky vocal that sounds like a defective cyborg is proclaiming love for his partner, 'Walay.' This quasi-human uses the slang 'My Bae' to try and pass for human and we almost believe in his passion. The sound harkens back to old classic rave tracks but also pushes very modern production techniques.

On the flip, 'Raw Nerve' is an emotional exploration in both sounds and lyrics. A melancholy VonStroke dives deep into his insecurities and fears with sonically mutated lyrics like 'I'm feeling so sad, I'm feeling real bad today. When I see you on the street I dont want to compete.' You can feel the social instability oozing out of the vocal only to come back at the close with a violently hard bassline embodying the personal angst and frustration that goes along with not 'fitting in.'

* Dj Ham returns to Kniteforce with a superb 10' vinyl. Now largely known for his releases as Hamilton on D'n'B titan RAM records, Dj Ham has always been one of the most talented producers in either scene, and is respected as a pioneer and producer of some seriously classic tunes. His new Kniteforce 10' showcases his skill while keeping firmly within the old school soundscapes. Most Impressive is both dark and technoish, with twisted mentasms and a dark lords samples, while the inexplicably named Chicken Tune is a breezy, uplifting summer vibe anthem.

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

Fresh on Francis Harris' Kingdoms imprint comes Adamo Golán's seven track LP, 'Exile And The New'. Golán is the alter ego of British-German artist Laurens A. Schmidt, who has been pursuing a more club-focused techno project, while developing an ever deeper fascination with experimental music, ambient and film scores. Drawing influence from his adopted homes Berlin and currently London, the 26-year-old has been uncompromisingly trying to develop his own musical voice.

'Exile And The New' expresses this ongoing pursuit and, being the first full-length and first ever release by Adamo Golán, marks the start of his most personal project to-date. Stretching over seven tracks, it touches upon a diverse set of sceneries, moods, and emotions whilst a distinctive sound design gives the work a subtle framework and guiding thread.

'Fis' starts the proceedings, introducing drones and field recordings and enveloping the listener in Golán's distinct sound world. 'Just Friends' merges distant snapshots of disembodied vocals with granular sound design and a sense of both space and creeping claustrophobia simultaneously. It's an approach the young producer has mastered - 'Replica' maintains an ambience of the deeply personal and a wider, hazy focus, realised via exquisite melodic fragments against a backdrop of pads and chiming electronics. Title track 'Exile And The New' unfolds around another cinematic world scored via a single stringed instrument, static interference and oceans of space. 'Lie to Me' brings a piano refrain to the fore, wrapped in luscious ambience and more fragments of a conversation heard through the rain. 'Then Rely On Me' slowly develops out of a haunting atmosphere and finds an uneasy but strangely beautiful flow, before 'The Hungry Years' closes out the album as it started - floating in space.

The 26-year-old artist sees the album as a journey that should captivate but never impose itself on the listener. It´s a gracious and neighborly invitation to dive in, get lost and explore its facets and peculiarities

Das HER DAMIT Tonarchiv zeichnet den Sound des Festivals auf und startet die Archivierung mit einer vierteiligen Serie. Auf der Logoseite vertont Bleak den nächtlichen Bunkerfloor mit - Poly Invaders und - Lovecraf Function , zwei effektiven Techno-Workouts aus nachdrücklichen Percussions gepaart mit atmosphärischem Tiefgang. Oliver Deutschmann zeigt mit seinem Ambient-Track - The Source den Bunkerfloor im Morgennebel, während sich die freundlich treibende Techno- Exkursion - Space Unfolding über dem aufheizten Betonfloor aufblättert. Ein Moment, bei dem sich Ausgeschlafene wie Durchgefeierte einig sind.

#HER DAMIT Tonarchiv aims to document the sound of the HER DAMIT festival and kicks things off with a four-part vinyl series. Located on the logo side is Bleak who scores the nightly bunker floor with Poly Invaders' and Lovecraf Function - two highly effective techno workouts made of punchy percussions tied up with atmospheric depth.
On the info side of the record Oliver Deutschmann's The Source' portraits the bunker floor filled with morning fog, while his friendly techno driver Space Unfolding' evolves upon the heated concrete dancefloor.
A moment where the breakfast and all-nighter crew sing from the same hymn sheet.

This August sees Stone Foundation release their fourth studio album 'A Life Unlimited' featuring ten new original recordings.

Last year's album 'To Find The Spirit' was easily their most successful seeing the band reach No. 33 in the Independent Charts, receive regular Radio 2 play, achieve glowing reviews in The Mirror, Scootering, R2, Jocks & Nerds magazine and saw the band tour Japan twice where the huge attendances helped secure them a recording contract with the prestigious P-Vine label and an appearance at Fuji Rocks festival.

'A Life Unlimited' features contributions from Graham Parker (The Night Teller), US soul stalwart Nolan Porter (Beverley), vocal harmony group The Four Perfections (Pushing Your Love) and Blow Monkeys frontman Doctor Robert
Howard (A Love Uprising). 'A Life Unlimited' sees Stone Foundation develop their unique style of soul, funk & jazz to a much broader scale. Horn driven arrangements add colour to an inspired display of songs that are unquestionably the group's strongest to date. Thought provoking lyrics and strong melodies sit upon a stylish musical bed.

The first single from the album 'Beverley' was the title music in the award winning (best film at the Portobello film awards & East End film festival ) Cass Pennant & Alexandra Thomas film of the same name starring Vicky McClure (this is England) and Laya Lewis (Skins)

"This release is a 12"" and it's individually 500 hand-numbered limited edition. The first 100 copies are pressed on CLEAR TRANSPARENT vinyls (AR013).
It contains 2 previously unreleased tracks from TONY ESPOSITO's Viaggio Tribale CD (2004): Dove c'e luce and Veronica song + A SPECIAL BALEARIC REMIX of Dove c'e luce from LucaEffeSunset + 3 previously unreleased tracks from the Lucan (Basilicata) musician Antonio Nicola Bruno CD (2004): Storia della terra mia and Danza e ridanza. In addition to the usual Archeo insert of credits and photos of the original album, it features also of a second insert concerning a beautiful photographic journey of 2004 by Manu-Archeo, related to this Music. Archeo Recordings is a reissue record label that regenerates old, lost, obscure (and forgotten) rare gems of Italian music of the 70s and 80s, and not only.
All outputs are licensed by the artists and the vintage labels, audio tracks are remastered in their original form, the sleeves and center labels are graphically recreated for today but all based on the original images.
Archeo would like to make the music available to a wider audience of collectors, DJs, music lovers of a forgotten time.
All releases are hand-numbered limited edition vinyl. The first copies of each release are pressed in coloured vinyls."

As the buzz surrounding her latest single 'You Gotta Be' continues to spread, UK soul artist, Soulful Emma Louise - S.E.L - celebrates with a vinyl release of this flanked by her new single 'The Sweetest Pain' on the much celebrated Record Store Day on Saturday April 21st 2018.

Having recently featured on TalkRadio's, BadAss Women's Hour with a wonderful accapella and interview, Soulful Emma Louise's cover of Des'ree's wonderfully uplifting song 'You Gotta Be' resonates with authentic old skool hip hop and 90's soul characteristics and is a must for vinyl lovers everywhere.

Making the vinyl release even more special is the flipside's beautiful new recreated version of Dexter Wansel's classic 'The Sweetest Pain', S.E.L's forthcoming new single, which updates the expansive soulful musical message for today's dance floors. Produced by Quantize Record's own Gary Hudgins, this S.E.L double header marks another milestone in S.E.L's on going journey with her first vinyl release.

'Record Store Day' is something really special and I'm so excited to be part of it with the new release. It;s always an amazing day as you connect with fellow music lovers and friends as well as getting the chance to pick up some of the most collectable and distinguished vinyl releases' S.E.L

Double Vinyl edition of 300 copies w/ download code and etched d-side.

Breaching is the debut album from Leeds-based, 6-piece, post-metallers Hundred Year Old Man. Hot on the heels of recent EP Rei, Breaching emitsthe same heaving intensity and unforgiving, wall of sound approach. Dense and billowing riffs are intertwined with field recordings and spoken word passages to form an unyielding, sprawling piece of work that delivers the bands artistic vision perfectly. The more ambient, drone sections of the record compliment and allow the real songs to take flight. Debut single Black Fire is reworked to give the track a new lease of life, whilst the other heavy hitters here; The Forest, Long Wall, Disconnect and Ascension are a continuation of the excellent work found on the Rei EP. Breaching contains masses of atmosphere and is a ferocious and immersive listening experience. An epic, monolithic voyage full of texture, depth, aggression and emotion. This is an album that should be approached as a whole, with patience and attention. The rewards will deliver a unique, crushing and quite simply superb record.

Includes Air's hand picked favourite Late Night musical gems including The Cure, Black Sabath, Scott Walker, Sebastien Tellier, Robert Wyatt and many more...

Forest Bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is a term that means taking in the
forest atmosphere.' It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine.
Taking in the forest atmosphere' became the inspiration for A
Hawk and A Hacksaw's newest album. Their forest bath of choice is the Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. This new album features ten original compositions by Heather Trost and Jeremy Barnes. The opening track Alexandria' features Barnes on the Persian Santur, an ancient hammer struck dulcimer, and Trost's string and woodwind melodies. The composition evokes the long trader's route between what is now Bulgaria and the wealthy cities of Istanbul and Alexandria.
The band has always had a bird's eye view of this part the world—
looking for the connections between places and even eras: a belief in the power of music to reach across borders and unite.
The band is based on the idea of collecting music and inspiration
through travel. They are not of a place, but their music evokes places along a route. This is not urban music. It's rural: songs of the woods and roads where there are no sidewalks or street lamps to light your way.
While the bulk of the music heard on this record is played by Barnes and Trost, they do have some incredible guest performances, namely the clarinet virtouso Cüneyt Sepetçi, from Istanbul, Hungarian cimbalom master Unger Balász, and closer to home, Chicago trumpeter Sam Johnson, Deerhoof's John Dieterich and Noah Martinez, of the band Lone Piñon.

Do you like Love songs After spending a lifetime spent avoiding this subject in song, Joel Sarakula finally admits that he does. On his new album "Love Club" Sarakula relives the golden age of Soulful and Romantic Pop music and connects it with a modern aesthetic. While a deeper message of love and peace flows through the record, Joel Sarakula is no old fashioned hippie: ",Love Club' is about connecting to reality and re-framing the idea of romantic love and loss in the present, loveless age ". Featuring eleven songs touching all genres from disco to blues, from soul to soft-rock, Joel Sarakula's "Love Club" is a profound pop statement.

Joel Sarakula has travelled the world in search of his muse, experiencing everything from being a victim of Caribbean carjackings to performing in the remote fishing villages of Norway, via the dive bars of Europe and the US. It was the hodge-podge musical tapestry of England's capital that finally drew him to a settling point, in the wake of seemingly never ending run of shows. With personal tastes that span from the more avant-garde to soul and pop greats like Sly Stone, Todd Rundgren and Hall & Oates, there are clear nods to contemporaries like Unkown Mortal Orchestra, Erlend Oye and Toro Y Moi in terms of ambition and style.

With his last two albums "The Golden Age" and "The Imposter" collecting strong radio plays at BBC Radio 2, BBC 6, BBC London, XFM Joel Sarakula has been play-listed nationally in Europe including Flux FM, WDR 5, Radioeins, Bayern 2, Deutschlandfunk and Deutschland Kultur Radio in Germany as well as in Benelux and Italy and Spain. He is a regular fixture on the live festival and club circuit in the UK, Europe and internationally including appearances at SXSW, Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, Scala London, Tallinn Music Week, V-ROX (Vladivostok) and Reeperbahnfestival Hamburg.

"Love Club" is Sarakula's bold and unashamedly emotional next step. In essence the album is a homage to the soulful singer & songwriter artistry of the Seventies filtered through a darker contemporary lens - fitting for these uncertain times. "I always shied away from generic love songs," the Sydney, Australia born songwriter admits, "but on this record I embraced the subject wholeheartedly... and intellectually, looking at themes of love, lust, loneliness and everything in-between." Take the first single "In Trouble", co-written with Michele Stodart of The Magic Numbers, as the best example for Joel Sarakula's unique, and honest approach to making music. "We Used To Connect" questions the changing nature of relationships in our social-media addicted world: 'We used to connect in the real world too, now the touch of your hand is a digital cue'.

"Coldharbour Man", on the other hand, examines the identity of the song's narrator and the artist vs. fan dynamic all wrapped up in a disco love song: "There's a lot going on in this particular track. I feel my writing has grown emotionally...", explains Joel Sarakula. "Just best to listen yourself and make up your own interpretation!: 'We met in a song come to life like some fantasy cliché, though I'm known for my moves in the dark you flooded sunshine on my day'. Then there's "Baltic Jam", capturing romantic love and loss in authentic 70s confessional singer & songwriter style and of course "Dead Heat", a song about how there is struggle in the most perfect relationship pairings as the match is so even: "I recall an ex-girlfriend of mine... when we first met, we thought we hated each other but we eventually flipped that emotion and realised we had a deep passion and love for each other, there just was a lot of underlying sexual tension!" : 'It's a battle we could only win, if we lose. We'd be stronger if these lonely ones became two'.

More than a year in the making, Joel Sarakula recorded "Love Club" in various studios around London and Berlin capturing soulful performances from his many musical comrades on vintage analogue equipment. "This record has truly been a labour of love. Recording and privately sharing these performances amongst my collaborators started to feel like a bit like a club - I guess that lead to the album title! I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed the 'love-making process' and I look so much forward to playing these new songs on stage with my band." We can't wait, Joel Sarakula.

The Palm Tree needs no introduction to anyone who has visited this part of town. Diamond boozer and Blitz survivor, it stands solitary on the Regent's Canal between Mile End and the Roman Road, quietly resisting the urge to move with the times. On weekend evenings you can enjoy the jazz standards of the Great American Songbook played by the musicians who feature on the album, no ticket required.

Tom Oldham (@tommyophoto) is a London-based portrait photographer, shooting portraits of musicians, sports stars and talented folk all round the world. His work has been widely recognised by the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, the Open Series in the AoP Awards and most recently the Sony World Photography Awards 2018.

Andy Gangadeen is a drummer of international renown, playing with bands as prominent and diverse as Duran Duran, Massive Attack, Spice Girls and Chase & Status. He a true pioneer of live dance music drumming and has been known to pick up the sticks at The Palm Tree from time to time.

Soul Jazz Records/Universal Sound are reissuing jazz composer Oliver Lake's 'NTU: The Point From Which Creation Begins', his stunning rhythmical Afro-centric deep spiritual jazz debut album originally recorded in 1971. This classic spiritual deep jazz album has been digitally remastered and is available in bespoke original exact reproduction artwork on hardboard Japanese-style boxcase CD, very limited (1000 worldwide) heavyweight 180gm audiophile vinyl, and digital download. This album features in Gilles Peterson/Soul Jazz Records' own 'Freedom, Rhythm And Sound' large-format book of revolutionary jazz.

Here Appear is an invocation, a salutation, and a celebration — of past and perfect lives, forgotten and remembered, exchanged and borrowed. Eve Essex's solo debut is a multi-instrumental fea(s)t combining synthesizer, drum machine, alto saxophone, piccolo, electric organ/harpsichord, harmonica, slide whistle, bells, guitar pedals, and voice— composed, arranged, and performed by Essex herself. What began as an improv set at Berlin's Harlekin bar, developed over the past two years into a complete body of work evoking multiple time periods, genres, characters, and sonic landscapes. The seven tracks that make up Here Appear harness elements of classical, drone, avant-jazz, and distorted pop, coupled with an ambitious vocal delivery that draws on the phrasing and articulations of Essex's own woodwind playing, to create a quasi-narrative me´lange retaining the vulnerability of live performance. On the opening track Grind Away,' otherworldly harmonica strains set the stage for lyrics citing Chinese sci-fi novel The Third Body Problem as source material. Saxophone and piccolo interludes Immediate Communicator' and Colorless Stone' move between medieval-tinged melodic inventions and textural noise, recalling a Pharoah Sanders-influenced fever dream, while the linguistic abstractions of Russian conceptual poet Lev Rubinstein guide the looped, layered, and textured vocals of title track Here Appear.' The album closes with a languid take on Jacqueline Humbert & David Rosenboom's 1978 composition Clear Light' from My New Music, recently reissued by Unseen Worlds. Here Appear owes its minimal production to the conditions of its genesis, evidencing the restrained process of the solo artist, instrumentation is confined to what can be played simultaneously. True to the album's avant-garde roots, each song involves an element of improvisation, often taking the form of prompts or variations on a melody rather than explicit compositions. Even its most structured pieces make use of live-sampled loops, which inject a spirited unpredictability into the songwriting process and subsequent performance. Classically trained in bassoon at New England Conservatory before receiving a BFA in sculpture from RISD, Eve Essex has performed as a solo artist at Artists Space, Commend, Safe Gallery, Signal, Trans Pecos, and U.S. Blues, in New York, Harlekin/Mathew Gallery and StudioAcht in Berlin, and the PUFFERSS Festival in Providence, RI. In addition to her solo practice, Essex regularly performs as one half of Das Audit (with Craig Kalpakjian), as well as in trios Hesper (with James K and Via App) and HEVM (with MV Carbon and Hunter Hunt-Hendrix), and has collaborated extensively with Juan Antonio Olivares as installation/performance-art duo Essex Olivares. Prior to the LP release on Sky Walking (April, 20), Here Appear arrives via New York City-based label Soap Library on March 9, 2018 in both cassette and digital format, mastered by Helmut Erler at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin and recorded by Al Carlson at Gary's Electric, Brooklyn.

* TNO project is only 18 years old, and hails from Germany. Yet his music sounds like he lived through the old skool years, rather than being born after they had passed. His sound is deep, thoughtful. It maintains the happy vibe, but there is always a thread of darkness running through. Having done various remix work for Kniteforce, this, his debut EP, really showcases his ability to combine dark and light element to great effect. Heavy basslines and menacing samples with unusual arrangements and subtle tricks within the mix give a truly different take without straying too far from the traditional rave sound of the mid 90's

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

Musique Pour La Danse takes a short break from reissuing rare and essential music to bring you a selection of four new and exclusive tracks from the French underground entitled Equipe de Danse. Curated by label co-manager Ed Isar, a DJ and promoter active in the Paris underground since more than a decade, this EP brings together different producers and styles, highlighting the diversity and the creativity currently flowing through the French scene and providing DJs and ravers with quality tunes to work with and dance to.

Automat - Disco Trax
Everyone has a story about how one electronic music experience changed their lives forever, for Ed it was seeing Automat live in Paris in 2006 when he was 18. Automat's Electrospectif LP is still one of the best and most underrated French electro albums of the 21st century. Hearing Disco Trax many years later and realizing this fast-paced banger never got pressed on vinyl was the spark that encouraged Ed to work on this EP. This is irresistible jakbeat with electro and italo influences, timeless and compelling.

Cuften - bgt55ujp0
Cuften is a unique artist from Normandy who prefers being called a musician rather than a producer: he creates and records all his music live on a 100% hardware setup with absolutely no computers involved. With IDM and acid influences as well as a passion for hardcore, his music bridges the gaps between Aphex Twin, Marc Acardipane and Legowelt. This track is a perfect introduction to his world where hard hitting kicks get bodies moving while acid madness gets minds melting and it's actually his first tune ever released on vinyl. Keep an eye out for Purusu, Cuften's own record label which he runs with the help of Ed, a strictly underground affair that is already gathering support from established DJs around the world.

Sina - Faith
This is the very first track by Sina pressed on vinyl and what a belter it is! He is part of the new wave of electronic music activists in Paris with his Subtyl parties that were among the first to encourage today's ravers to side-step the clubs and go party in warehouses half a decade ago. We immediately signed Faith upon hearing it for the first time, spellbound by pounding and dreamy atmosphere, full of dramatic and ecstatic moments. This track exists in a techno universe of its own, as gritty as it is melodic. It never fails to get a reaction from the crowds and has been a staple of Ed's peak time sets lately.

Raymond D Barre - I Don't Know Dave
He's an up and coming producer and live performer from Paris who released a great EP on Nocta Numerica in 2016 and has several projects in the works. Clocking at 108 BPM, this tune is the downtempo cut on the EP. Driven by an 808, structured by FM bass and embellished with some lovely acid touches, this track could be described as 21st century orientalist New Beat or perhaps Egyptian Lover on codeine. Either way, this nod to Belgian vibes and BPM did not go unnoticed by both label managers and this fun and quirky track is often the highlight of downtempo sets.

Points of interest
- Four essential and totally exclusive tracks outside the beaten path and the usual formulas, a great snapshot of the French underground in 2018
- Various Artists, different vibes, something for everyone
- A Musique Pour La Danse release (Frankie Bones, Orlando Voorn, Cron aka Todd Sines, Break The Limits aka Bay B Kane, ..), a label founded and curated by Olivier Ducret of Mental Groove (Miss Kittin, Orbe, Donato Dozzy, Brodinksi...) and Ed Isar (33RPM +8% and Radio Belleville in Paris), releasing forgotten and unforgettable dance music of yesterday and tomorrow.

Both D-Malice and Kid Fonque are well-established players in their native cities, both boasting long-term involvement and impressive credentials. After meeting in 2013 and nurturing a very natural and obvious predilection for golden era hip-hop, 90s R'n B, soul and trip hop they decided to pool their creative resources and rope in a wealth of talent from their combined networks under a new moniker. Enter rkls.

On this debut offering the pair have worked with LA's broken beat visionary Marc De Clive-Lowe, legendary emcees John Robinson and Kev Brown, dazzling new vocal and production talent from South Africa - Sio, Melo B Jones, Daev Martian and White Nite to name but a few.

This diverse list of guests flex their dexterity allowing the album to shift easily between ballads and more up-tempo beats effortlessly. Punctuated with spacey interludes, the resulting twelve tracks glisten with sumptuous textures, swelling harmonies and organic instrumentation. Familiar but fresh, rkls feels like you're meeting an old friend with enthralling new stories to tell.

Mannequin Records presents a trilogy of reissues from the avantgarde Italian-born producer Doris Norton, "Nortoncomputerforpeace" (1983), "Personal Computer" (1984, originally released by Durium Records), "Artificial Intellingence" (1985).Apple's first music "endorsement" and Roland affiliate, Doris Norton is one of the most important women pioneer in the use of synths and in the early electro / computer music. Norton is the wife of Antonio Bartoccetti, progressive rock guitarist, and mother of the musician and techno producer Rexanthony. As a teenager, she was drawn to medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, not to mention quantum physics, differential equations, organic chemistry, the experimentalism of John Cage and animated movie soundtracks. Her love for modules and circuits found expression through the waves of an old harmonium, the frequencies of a Minimoog, a Roland System 100M, a Roland System 700 and the ARP 2500/2600.

In 1980, Norton began her solo career by recording at Fontana Studio 7, the Milan studio of the composer and musician Tito Fontana, resulting in the electronic opera "Under Ground". Norton became more prolific, continuing her adventures in experimental electronics and computer music with Parapsycho (1981), Raptus (1981), Nortoncomputerforpeace (1983), PC (1984) - whose album cover prominently features Apple's colored logo - and Artificial Intelligence (1985).

While the beat-oriented style of Norton's music aligns her with such global fellow-travelers as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk, her championing of the personal computer as a tool for self-sufficient musical creativity also connects her to more artsy musicians such as Pietro Grossi, Laurie Spiegel, and the League of Automatic Music Composers. Norton's predilection for the bright, glossy timbres of early digital instruments also recalls Hubert Bognermayr and Harald Zuschrader's bizarre 1982 one-off Erdenklang.

Later, her talent and expertise attracted the attention of IBM, who in 1986 named her as an official consultant. Already the reigning queen of the Italian electronic scene, she recorded two CDs for IBM: Automatic Feeling and The Double Side Of The Science. Influenced by her son, the musician and producer Rexanthony, Norton brought her fascination with the early days of techno into the 1990s, when she released three volumes of Techno Shock on Italian trance/hardcore label Sound Of The Bomb.

While her music remains largely out of print and inaccessible, Norton's early records have recently begun to receive the inevitable rediscovery treatment.

"In the late sixties I had already conceived computers as personal.' I have always trusted in the benefits of solitude, (being) alone means freedom... What's better than a personal' computer for materializing ideas, by oneself" (Doris Norton)

* Luna-C says this was one of the most challenging EPs he has ever made, because he made a record almost exactly as he would have if it was 1992 again, only with considerably more knowledge. This EP was made almost entirely with hardware, using a real mix desk and all the original synths and modules that the Kniteforce studio used back in the day, along with some new bits picked up over the years. This EP was a deliberate attempt to go back to the roots of the sound, to start again musically.
All four tracks are proper underground in style, deliberately avoiding the common break beats and standard sounds of current 'new' old skool music, to achieve something more authentic. It features all new samples, and no reliance on old tricks or techniques. This one is for the real underground, the real old skool, and the sound of it demonstrates that!

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

Tartouffe for its eight release presents the second part of Olympus series by Valeriaan.

* Idealz has been involved with Kniteforce since the early Influential days, all the way through KFA and into this new relaunch of Kniteforce Records. This EP is a long time coming - Idealz should always have had a Kniteforce release under his belt, as he has always been, and remains, a distinct sound within the label. This EP brings his unique sound to its perfect place - proper Jungle / D'n'B, but in the old style, and on vinyl where it deserves to be. Run The Tune is one of the best examples of this style released this year, and would fit in perfectly in any 1994-96 jungle set. It is a classic slice of precision jungle, one that moves the dance floor and the mind equally.
On the flip side, Ice Breaker and War On Jungle take the same themes but twist those vibes into other directions. This release, and Mannik's (KF73) really put the flag in the sand for Kniteforce. We do old skool the way it should be done, and embrace all the styles. This is a proper EP for the real underground!

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

Mannik has already blown peoples minds with his debut track on Death To Digital (KF70). And his first full EP delivers on that promise. Pure, original hardcore, as it was meant to be. Unusual in concept, sonically devastating, and showing a rare confidence and power for a relatively new artist. This EP sounds like it is 1992 again. It fits somewhere between Sublove, Automation, Hyper On Experience and all NRG without sounding like any of them. Along side Idealz's 'Run The Tune' EP (KF72) they are showing how this renaissance of old skool hardcore can grow and develop without being a simple copy of what came before. This is forward thinking yet rooted in the ethics of the past. This is what Kniteforce is about.

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

* This EP contains four stunning tracks, covering various styles of hardcore, and its the absolute bomb. For a start, Sanxion brings the piano flavor with a track that lives and breathes the traditional Kniteforce sound, bought to a fine shine the way a truly skilled artist can. Meanwhile, Nicky Allen destroys the dance floor with his hyper hardcore track, one that I have been playing at everyone in the vicinity for the last few months or so. Flip the vinyl over and we move into darker territory. TNO is a more recent signing to the Kniteforce label and his first offering is all dark and atmosphetic, but with a relentless pace and undeniable energy. And to round the EP off, Mannik mentasms the hell out, and gives you a small taste of what his forthcoming EP will be like - crazy, dark, authentic old skool that breaks all the rules and shows true skill and panache.

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

* The Timespan was a regular artist on the famous Kniteforce subsidiary label, Remix Records. One of Luna-C's many aliases, The Timespan has always been on a mission to make simple, effective hardcore. This EP takes that formula and applies the years of knowledge gained since 1994 to make something that sounds...almost the same as it would in 1994. Only better. Full on pianos, running break beats, happy vocals, hip hop snippets and hectic stab patterns, this EP was made almost entirely on hardware rather than software. The result is that it contains not only the ideas of the old skool, but the warm analogue soundscapes from that era. It also features a 'revisit' by label mate Cru-l-t of the Timespan's classic track 'Music' - an updated and rebuilt from the ground up version of that tune.

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker and many others

Having recently relocated to the remote redwood forests of Northern California in order to set up a satellite mixing studio for his old stomping ground, Glasgow's Green Door Studio, Sordid Sound System returns to Invisible Inc with 4 cuts of Psychedelic Dungeon Disco.

The EP opens with his most blissed out track to date 'Die Ewige Nacht', an eight and a half minute inverted sun ritual based around shimmering cascades of dubbed up electronic percussion and an overdriven tintinnabulated FM arp.

Hi-NRG meets 80s B-Boy electro on 'Crescent City' with a careering off-road excursion into tripped out mutant carnival cavalcade territory.

Dia De Muertos's offbeat eerie percussion and driving low frequencies are met with spectral buzzing melodic refrains from the furthermost reaches of a decaying Oaxacan cemetery.

The acid drenched ambient lullaby 'You & Me' brings proceedings to a fittingly fucked up close.

Sordid Sound System's last release on Invisible Inc, 2017's 'Fear Eats The Soul', received plays and praise from the likes of Manfredas, Trevor Jackson, Sascha Funke, Optimo's JD Twitch and Thomas Von Party.

Logistics, one of Hospital Records' most prolific artists, is back with his seventh studio album 'Hologram'. Inspired by his travels to Hong-Kong and New Zealand, this universally admired drum & bass figure presents a vibrant 16-track collection soaked in his signature groove, soul and liquid-funk stylings.

Opening track 'Lotus Flower' sets a warm springtime tone with fluttering harp-like arpeggios and atmospheric pads. 'Broken Light' follows on from the success that singer/songwriter Thomas Oliver brought on Logistics' collaborative LP with brother Nu:Tone. A sombre tone matched with melancholic lyrics bring a blissful beat to the album.

Keeping true to the craft, 'Chant' flips to Logistics' jungle style with molten-hot flair. A powerful punch of expertly sliced breaks and vocal stabs are the ingredients for this dancefloor weapon.

It's safe to say that this has been worth the wait. Although titled from the ever-growing illusion of the digital-age, 'Hologram' is an example of Logistics' very real talent and is a welcomed addition to his impressive repertoire of drum & bass classics. Quantity, quality and a fierce musical character is everything we have come to expect from this Hospital staple.

Limited Edition Clear Vinyl

Includes 12' Vinyl and Deluxe CD album, 30 page hard back book

Now that I've been to Nashville,' Kylie Minogue says with audible affection, I understand. It's like some sort of musical ley-line...'

Golden, Kylie's fourteenth studio album, is the result of an intensive working trip to the home of Country music, a city whose influence lingered on long after the pop legend and her team returned to London to finish the record: We definitely brought a bit of Nashville back with us,' she states. The album is a vibrant hybrid, blending Kylie's familiar pop-dance sound with an unmistakeable Tennessee twang. It was Jamie Nelson, Kylie's long-serving A&R man, who first came up with the concept of incorporating a Country element' into Kylie's tried-and-trusted style. That idea sat there for a little while, with Minogue and her team initially unsure about how to bring it to life. Then, when Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Wadge's publisher suggested Kylie should come over to collaborate in Nashville, a city Kylie had previously never visited, something clicked. You know when you're so excited about something,' she recalls, that you repeat it an octave higher and double the decibels I was like that. 'Nashville! Yes! Of course I would!'. I hoped it would help the album to reveal itself. I thought 'If I don't get it in Nashville, I'm not going to get it anywhere.''

Kylie's Nashville trip involved working alongside two key writers, both with homes in the city. One was British-born songwriter Steve McEwan (whose credits include huge Country hits for Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood), and the other was the aforementioned Amy Wadge, another Brit (best known for her mega-selling work with Ed Sheeran). It was then a truly international project: Golden was mainly created with African-German producer Sky Adams and a list of contributors including Jesse Frasure, Eg White, Jon Green, Biff Stannard, Samuel Dixon, Danny Shah and Lindsay Rimes, and there's a duet with English singer Jack Savoretti.

However, the album's agenda-setting lead single Dancing was, significantly, first demoed with Nathan Chapman, the man who guided Taylor Swift's transition from Country starlet to Pop megastar. If anyone knows how to mix those two genres, Chapman does. Nathan was the only actual Nashvillean I worked with. He's got a huge studio in his house, which is probably due to his success with Taylor... there's plenty of platinum discs of her, and others on his walls.' There's something of the spirit of Peggy Lee's Is That All There Is, of Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, even of Liza Minnelli's Cabaret about Dancing, a song which not only opens the album but sets out its stall, providing a microcosm of what is to come. You've got the lyrical edge, that Country feel, mixed with some sampling of the voice and electronic elements, so it does what it says on the label. And I love that it's called 'Dancing', it's immediately accessible and seemingly so obvious, but there's depth within the song.'

The experience of simply being in Nashville was an overwhelming one, before Kylie had even arrived. Once I knew I was going to Nashville, people talked about the place with such enthusiasm. They said without doubt I would love it and, I would come back with songs. They were sending lists of restaurants, coffee shops and bars. It really was a beautiful and genuine response and it felt like I was about to have a life changing experience and in a way, I did.' The reality came as something of a surprise, when she found a far more modern metropolis than the vintage one she'd envisaged. I thought it would be like New Orleans: little houses and bars, with music spilling out onto the street. It reminded me more of Melbourne: apartment blocks going up everywhere! The main strip, Broadway, where the honky tonk bars are, that's where the street was filled with music and it was just amazing.' Mainly, Minogue remembers the heat and humidity. It was 100 degrees. It was like it was raining with no rain.' She also relished the chance to wander around unrecognised, visit a few venerable music bars and soak in the atmosphere. I didn't get to the Grand Ole Opry or the music museums but I managed to go to a couple of the institutions there like The Bluebird Cafe and The Listening Room, and just by being there, through some kind of osmosis, you get this rejuvenated respect for The Song, and the writing of The Song. There's no hoo-hah around it. There's a singer-songwriter there, talking about the song and singing the song, to an audience who are there to listen. Although, I have to confess I was guilty of starting to clap too soon during a long pause at the end of one of the songs. The guy made a bit of a joke out of it and got a laugh from it, but I thought 'Of all people in the audience, no...''

It's probably no coincidence, therefore, that every track on Golden is a Kylie co-write, making it arguably her most personal album to date. The end of 2016 was not a good time for me,' she says, referring to well-documented personal upheavals, so when I started working on the album in 2017, it was, in many ways, a great escape. Making this album was a kind of saviour. I'd been through some turmoil and was quite fragile when I started work on it, but being able to express myself in the studio made quick work of regaining my sense of self. Writing about various aspects of my life, the highs and lows, with a real sense of knowing and of truth. And irony. And joy!'

The songwriting process allowed Kylie to get a few things out of her system. Initially, she admits, it was cathartic, but it also wasn't very good. I think I was writing too literally. But I reached a point where I was writing about the bigger-picture, and that was a breakthrough. It made way for songs like Stop Me From Falling and One Last Kiss. It also meant I had enough distance to write an autobiographical song, like A Lifetime To Repair, with a certain amount of humour. The countdown in that song: 'Six-five-four-three, too many times...'. I don't know if that will be a single, but I can just imagine a girl with framed pictures of past boyfriends, and kind of going 'Oh god, when am I going to get this right'' When she listens back to Golden, Kylie can vividly hear the Nashville in it. It is, she'll agree, probably the first time that a Kylie album has sounded like the place it was made. You wouldn't normally relate my songs to the cities. Can't Get You Out Of My Head sounds more like Outer Space than London. But Shelby '68, for example, was written in London but it was done with Nashville in mind. It's about my Dad's car, and my brother recorded Dad driving it! I don't think I'd have written a number of the songs, including Shelby '68 and Radio On without having had that Nashville experience.'

The latter, she says, is about music being the one to save you.' Throwing herself into the making of the record, she says, crystallised that idea. If there's one love that will always be there for you, it's music. Well, it is for me, anyway.' That song, in particular, carries nostalgic echoes of the golden age of Country, as heard through Medium Wave transistors and tinny home stereos in the distant past. Like any child of the Seventies, Kylie had a basic grounding in Country music, mainly absorbed from older family members. My Step-Grandfather was born in Kentucky and though he lived most of his adult life in Australia, he never stopped listening to his beloved Country artists.' If there's any classic Country singer whose imprint can be heard on Golden, it's Dolly Parton.

Kylie saw Dolly live for the first time at the end of 2016, at the Hollywood Bowl. It was like seeing the light,' she beams. It was incredible. Everyone, whether they know it or not, is a Dolly Parton fan. When I was in Nashville, I did pick up a T-shirt that said 'What Would Dolly Do' Maybe that should be my mantra.' And, whether consciously or otherwise, there's a timbre and trill to Kylie's vocals on Radio On that is distinctly Parton-esque. My delivery is quite different on this album,' she says. A lot of things are 'sung' less. The first time I did that was with Where The Wild Roses Grow. On the day I met Nick Cave, when I recorded my vocals, he said 'Just sing it less. Talk it through, tell the story.' This album wasn't quite to that extreme, but a lot of the songs were done in fewer takes, to just capture the moment and keep imperfections that add to the song. I remember on my last album, a lot of producers were trying to take out literally every vibrato they heard. And that's not natural to my voice. I mean, I can make myself sound like a robot, but it's nice to sound like a human!' Working within the Country genre also gave Kylie permission to write in the Nashville vernacular. Because we were going there, I wasn't afraid to have lines like 'When he's fallen off the wagon we'd still dance to our favourite slow song', 'Ten sheets to the wind, I was all confused', 'I'll take the ride if it's your rodeo'. The challenge of bringing a Country element to the album made the process feel very fresh to me, kind of like starting over. I started to look at writing a different way, singing a different way.'

If ever Kylie lost confidence in the Country-Pop concept, and found herself pondering This is great, but back in the real world - my real world - how will this work', Jamie Nelson was there to badger her into sticking to the path. We found a way to make it a hybrid with what we'll call my 'usual' sound. It had to stay 'pop' enough to stay authentic to me, but country enough to be a new sound for this album. The closer we zoomed in, and the more we honed it, I knew Jamie was right. We sacrificed good songs that weren't right for this album, because we wanted it to be as cohesive as possible. The songs that were hitting the mark were these ones, so we decided to be strong, and that's how we wrapped up the album. What he said, that stuck with me, was that 'I'd hate to get to the end of this and really wish we'd gone for it.'' Having worked with Kylie for so long, Nelson was able to put this latest shift of direction into perspective. He said 'You've traditionally done it throughout your career. You had your PWL time, then you did a complete turn when you went to deConstruction, then another complete turn with Spinning Around, and R&B dance-pop, and then another turn with Can't Get You Out Of My Head, icy synth-pop, and this is another one.' He was right. It felt like the right time to have a change sonically. New label, new stories to tell, and a new decade almost upon me.'

Kylie Minogue will, it's scarcely believable, turn 50 this year. This looming milestone is partly behind the album's title, and title track. I had this line that I wanted to use: 'We're not young, we're not old, we're golden' because I'm asked so often about being my age in this industry. This year, I'll be 50. And I get it, I get the interest, but I don't know how to answer it. And that line, for my personal satisfaction, says it as succinctly as possible. We can't be anyone else, we can't be younger or older than we are, we can only be ourselves. We're golden. And the album title, Golden, reflects all of this. I liked the idea of everyone being golden, shining in their own way. The sun shines in daylight, the moon shines in darkness. Wherever we are in life, we are still golden.' One of the album's shiniest moments is Raining Glitter, an exuberant banger which ventures closest to Kylie's traditional dance-pop comfort zone. Eg White, who is one of the producers and writers and a great character, was talking about disco one day. I said 'I love disco, but you know the brief.' We needed to be going down the Country lane, so to speak. But we managed to bring them both together. When I wrote it, I was thinking about the Jacksons video for Can You Feel It where they're sprinkling glitter over everyone. And I think there's a Donna Summer record that's got that feel to it. I think that's my job: I basically leave a trail of glitter after every show I do anyway.'

Kylie is looking forward to the challenge of incorporating the Golden material into her live shows. Mixing these songs in with my existing catalogue is going to be fun. And it could be fun to do some of those songs with just a guitar. It'll make my acoustic set interesting...'Her incredibly loyal fans - to whom one Golden song, Sincerely Yours, is intended as a love letter' - will, she believes, have no problem with her latest stylistic shift. My audience have been with me on the journey, so I shouldn't be afraid that they won't come with me on this part. I've had fun with it, and I'm sure they will too.'

The time spent making Golden has, Kylie says, been a time of creative and personal renewal. I've met some amazing people, truly inspiring writers and musicians. My passion for music has never gone away, but it's got bigger and stronger.' And if there's an overriding theme to the record, it is one of acceptance. We're all human and it's OK to make mistakes, get it wrong, to want to run, to want to belong, to love, to dream. To be ourselves.'

I was able to both lose and find myself whilst making this album.'

First new LP in over 15 years. Builds on 3 successful ATFA reissues of Mergia's music. Legendary artist still active after decades of historic work. Modern Ethiopian jazz built on ancient scales and standards. Capping several successful years traveling the world performing to audiences big and small, Hailu Mergia's Lala Belu has been a long time coming. It builds on Mergia's remarkable career resurgence over the past few years. Beginning in 2013 with the reissue of his dreamy Hailu Mergia and His Classical Instrument followed by the enormous success of his seminal Ethio-jazz masterpiece Tche Belew and continuing with last year's widely acclaimed Wede Harer Guzo, Mergia has received considerable accolades from listeners and press globally, including The New York Times, Pitchfork and The Wire. His old recordings are cherished revelations for Ethiopian music fans; however, Mergia's return to the stage has been just as inspiring and electrifying. Mergia's vintage recordings are known for an inherently mysterious and worn-in quality, while his new recordings echo his band's 21st century live show with modern instrumental interpretations of crucial Ethiopian standards and Mergia's own original compositions. Tony Buck (drums) and Mike Majkowski (bass), who have backed Mergia on tour throughout Europe and Australia, form the bass-drums trio on the recording. Having played venues from Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center to jazz festivals, rock clubs and DIY spaces all over North America, Europe and Australia, Mergia and Awesome Tapes From Africa want to document this moment in his landmark career with a snapshot of Mergia's current sound. Since he emigrated from Ethiopia and built a life in Washington, D.C. around 1981—where he remains working as an airport taxi driver when he is not on tour—Mergia's career has followed a humble trajectory. He made a few recordings in America but they didn't easily reach fans back home. He kept making music on his own and with friends but after the early 80's his gigs in the U.S. mostly dried up. It wasn't until he began working with Awesome Tapes From Africa and putting together bands with the help of booking agents and musicians in Europe and the U.S., that he was able to chart a new path. With a broad audience of young listeners in diverse venues and distant locales, at age 71, Mergia is enjoying his comeback and is not slowing down.

The Pendletons return with their latest EP, Funk Forever, a Jazz flavored boogie affair with soul inspired song-writing that evokes old school vibes while still staying fresh and current. Horn lines, Yamaha dx7 keys and snapping hip hop inspired drum programming topped by sweet singing with heartfelt themes, the group carves out a bold new sound on these 5 solid tracks. Featuring Elive, Potatohead People and Ishtar.

The Pendletons are a long-standing boogie-funk and modern soul project of E da Boss (of Myron and E on Stone's Throw) and Trailer Limon. The group emerged with their very first release in 2010, a 7" inch of "Coming Down/Waiting On You" on the Slept On record label, which set the tone for the group to emerge... it instantly became a cult classic receiving constant play at nights like Sweater Funk and Funkmosphere, and fetching for serious sums among collectors. Most recently, in 2016, they released the EP "Gotta Get Out". The title track caught the ear of renowned DJ Gilles Peterson, who liked it enough to release it on his Brownswood Bubbler compilation.

In 2018 the group is hitting the ground running with a brand new EP out this spring, and a full-length album to follow later later in the year on the renowned Bastard Jazz label. Now armed with a horn section, a vast array of accomplished jazz and funk contributors, and a knack for quality song-writing, the Pendleton's sound has shaped into something fresh and unique, setting it apart from the legions of imitators.

Originally from the United Kingdom, funky soul-jazz veterans The New Mastersounds have been touring USA, Europe and Japan for over a decade and return here with their twelfth studio album, recorded in New Orleans and Denver and featuring a slew of musical guests.

"Renewable Energy" expands on the NMS template while still providing plenty of the band's trademark sounds. Guitarist Eddie Roberts, drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand and keyboardist Joe Tatton are joined on this 11-track effort by a number of guests: Sam Bell, one of the founding members of NMS precursor The Mastersounds who also guested on two previous NMS albums, plays percussion on most of the tracks. Mike Olmos and Joe Cohen of the West Coast Horns once again provide added horn action as they did on "Made For Pleasure" from 2015, while Adryon de León from LA band Orgone contributes vocals on "Gonna Be Just Me". Uptempo numbers "Tantalus" and "Yokacoka" see the band flexing their playing chops over a tightly-wound rhythm, while "Green Was Beautiful" and "Groovin On The Groomers" are toe-tapping slabs of soul jazz. The band's cover of James Gang's "Funk 49" takes the album in a fuzzed-out psych-rock direction with Eddie singing the lead, while the moody Hancock-esque inflections of "Stash" and the sweet mellow vibes of "Swimming With My Fishies" add the final brushstrokes of colour to the canvas.

Gabber Eleganza was born as a curated blog archive in 2011, an open research about rave subcultures mainly focused on the gabber and post-rave aestethic. The central ambition of the web archive was to become a source of research material on different topics: contemporary folklore, suburban euphoria and post-rave phenomena, revaluing a denigrated subculture through a new cultural lens.Over the years, the magnitude of the project has reached individuals far beyond the hardcore scene. Alberto Guerrini, the Italy and Berlin based founder, has since taken his project offline by producing zines, radio podcasts and garments. He currently tours as a DJ act or with a live performance dubbed The Hakke Show - an old-skool rave/hardcore DJ set with gabber dancers performing onstage: fast, air cutting moves, powerful thanks to their primitive intensity.In the past year Guerrini has brought the Hakke show to festivals: Club to Club (Turin), Resonate (Belgrade), performed as a DJ alongside Lorenzo Senni (Warp Records) and toured cities including Oval Space in London, Niebo in Warsaw, Janus/Berghain in Berlin, Ex Dogana in Rome, Empty Gallery in Hong Kong, etc. Guerrini has hosted radio shows on three London stations: RinseFM, NTS and Radar Radio.

Three clean-cut anthems for the studio debut of Gabber Eleganza, the anticipated new form for the archival and performative project created by Alberto Guerrini in 2011. Now updating the contemporary folklore with his analog grit. Try not to get your attention diverted once again. And keep calm under pressure.First volume of the Never Sleep series. Limited edition vinyl. Includes DL card.

2019 Re-Issue

2017's Once & Future Band' landed upon our brains like the birth of a starchild - fully formed, otherworldly, yet comfortingly familiar in its contours...Floyd, ELO, Queen, Steely Dan, and Beach Boys rearranged into an unapologetically poignant pop moment, underpinned by 4 guys that could play their way out of a Faustian bargain. While we await whatever warlock's potion they are brewing up next, they've pulled a maxi-EP Brain from the vaults for a moment in the sun. All of the mastery you've come to expect is at play here, enough chops to make a vegetarian's mouth sweat, songs that tug at the heart while they play tricks on your mind, and with the steady hand of a of studio wizard sprinkling stardust around the edges just so. It's out on Castle Face Records March 9th.

Inspired by Belgiums retro house music, Ilario Liburni delivers two original dancefloor weapons.

Olsen's first release on vinyl, surely not his last. Melodic, dreamy and understated.

Ghanaian music legend Ebo Taylor returns with perhaps his finest album to date.
But don't take our word for it. That's coming straight from the man himself.
And he should know after more than 60 years in the business.
The 81-year-old composer, arranger, guitarist and vocalist has been a key figure in the evolving afro-funk sound since the Seventies, working with the likes of Apagya Show Band, CK Mann and Pat Thomas.
Famously, he rubbed shoulders with Fela Kuti while studying in London in the Sixties, before going on to lead the Ghana Black Star Band (featuring Osei and Sol Amarfio from Osibisa) and later the Uhuru Dance Band back in Ghana. Like Fela, he is always pushing forward, constantly reconceptualising his sound and
attuning it for a new generation. Part teacher, part messenger.
Listen to Yen Ara and you will not only hear the high-energy afrobeat, sweet highlife, jazz and konkoma influences that he's famous for. There is also a disco pulse and hard-hitting percussive edge to the tracks, which were produced by Justin Adams (Tinariwen, Rachid Taha, Robert Plant) and recorded in the live room at Electric Monkey Studio in Amsterdam. An Ebo Taylor for these times, you might say.
His group, the Saltpond City Band, are all handpicked local musicians featuring two of his sons. An appropriate line-up on an album whose titles means we'.
And they are on fine form, ripping through tracks such as 'Krumandey' (a surefire party starter) and 'Mind Your Own Business' (a simple message delivered over a frenetic drum rhythm).
Elsewhere, 'Aboa Kyirbin' will please fans of tough afrobeat grooves, while Taylor could well be inciting a riot at his next gig with 'Mumudey Mumudey', We hear him calling for 'preshaaah' and leading us into a call and response as the trumpet takes us higher. And the lift of those horns on 'Ankoma'm' evokes some
of his finest work such as 'Love & Death' and 'Come Along', the latter recorded with the Pelikans and featured on a recent Mr Bongo reissue.

Serious Hard Techno kicker. Dark and dangerous beats finishing ona very cool hardcore 200 Bpm old school industrial tune. Massive EP ending on a Scratsch Tool skipproof.

Hardcore oldschool from Armaguet Nad, with some quiet mid-tempo surprises for a change

Ever since the early 90s, The Mover has set the standard for apocalyptic melodramatic techno and has been praised as one of the leading artists of Planet Core Productions. His distinct tone and memorable production expertise, causes one to leave the world behind. In 2018 he returns with - Undetected Act From The Gloom Chamber', an album which implies all the goodness and fears he is renowned for. Eight masterpieces carrying the authentic excitement that you would expect from the Mover in a timeless fashion. Shifting between electro beats and classic old school techno patterns, the album sets a moody tone. The release is filled with magnificent bass lines and dark-dreamy pads that leave the mind in a trance. Muscular drums and authentic synth-lines paired with the unmistakable Mover signature, makes this assembly of gems an outstanding masterpiece.

"Real name Takeshi Fukushima, Takecha has been a key figure within Japan's electronic music scene for decades and belongs to the same pioneering crew as Soichi Terada and Shinichiro Yokota. Now in his mid- fifties, 'Deep Soundscapes' is an album encompassing Fukushima's sound with every track written by the producer between 1990 and 2013. Intricate percussion and crystalline chords set the tone in 'Deep Drive' before a funky bassline joins serene synths in 'Midnight Things'. Appearing in Soichi Terada's mix for Resident Advisor (under its promo title 'Deep Loop C'), 'Gradual Atmosphere' is comprised of a galloping beat and saccharine chimes, 'Factory 141' sees Takecha demonstrate a murkier aesthetic, whilst 'Rhodes Detox' is a definitive example of Takecha's flair for expertly balancing elements within his productions. An homage to Shufflepuck Cafe´, an old Mac Plus video game Takecha would play on a black and white 9- inch monitor back in the day, 'Shufflepuck' blends ghostly melodies with clicks, whirrs and pops. 'Calm Imagination' is a poignant affair from start to finish with its hypnotising atmosphere, contrasting to the more up-tempo 'Warm Rondo' with its soulful keys and purring low-end. Tying it all together, 'Genuine Innocence' is a cut that Takecha made two versions of; one with a solo from a pianist and another with more emphasis on the beat, the latter of which appears on this album."

*2017 repress, New Artwork*

One of the most mysterious and outsider 'Soca' 45s out there by H.M. 'These Eyes' Timothy.
The A-side 'Let Me Love' sounds like doo wop recorded with Oluko Imo's gear. And the B-side 'Soca Hustle' sounds like the Residents jamming a Marvin Whoremonger song with Augustus Pablo. The original 45 is so obscure that even his siblings didn't know that he made music. And rumour has it that, frustrated by its lack of success, Michael threw most of the copies of the 45 in the valley beside his family's house in the hills just outside Port Of Spain. One-time pressing of 500 copies.

'Rockin live ruff and tuff', this is the untrammelled counterpart to Dadawah, six years later in 1980, fresh from the Black Ark: free, rawly spiritual trance-music, a full-force nyabinghi freak-out.
The drummers are headlong and rollicking, thunderous and explosive. Even more so than Dadawah, the mix is ecstatically echoey, giddily dubwise without let-up. Ras Michael himself sings from the mountain-top, like he just don't care — at the top of his lungs, in voices, screeching like a bird — with the delirious abandonment otherwise owned in reggae by Lee Perry.
Amongst the uncredited performances swirled into proceedings, there are squiggles of flute straight from the Upsetters song-book, the minor-key organ stabs and abstraction of electric space-jazz, and sax-playing more attuned to the Headhunters than the Blazing Horns. (I Ya I in particular is a stunning fifteen minutes.)
This is the real thing, music without affectation. Pure reggae. Sun Ra fans should love it, anyone with ears to hear.
Prepared and manufactured at Abbey Road, D&M and Pallas, beautifully presented in rigid, old-school, tip-on sleeves, with matt-coated fronts and untreated-paper backs, 180g vinyl.
'These sounds are sounds of inspiration and love and culture to the universal benefit of mankind... So therefore meditate and stop hate.'
Very hotly recommended.

The Empire strikes back! Phi has dug deep into the Slovenian electronica heritage only to return with the 4th chapter containing three mid 90's unreleased tracks by the cult duo Random Logic. Once the pioneers of adventurous acid and techno sounds having released on labels such as Thee Blak Label and having played in legendary places like the old Ostgut Ton, Random Logic are no strangers in playlists by the braver big shots such as Nina Kraviz. Their signature acid melancholy and drive hasn't aged and syncs perfectly with Phi's growing sci-fi catalogue.

Exclusive edition imprint, very different from the general style of the TochnoTechno label but still in a techno acid way and includes 4 names of the biggest producers coming from Eastern Europe. We are calling it "Acid Era" in present days so why don't we put out something provocative. We are excited about Tripmastaz' debut on the label who has absolute support by Josh Wink, Dj Sneak, Ricardo Villalobos and many more... Oleg Mass real techno star of Fachwerk Berlin and Koett, rhythm composer and genius from South of Russia who makes the most underground and cool party XoXo. Yulia Niko is dropping last track of her album she has done in 2016 at Brooklyn before moving to Berlin.

We're very glad to welcome Argentinian born Manu Belgrano aka Manuk for the 3rd release on our imprint.He has been preparing four stunning original cuts that will keep you up dancing n tripping all night long. Under the pseudonym Bicicleta 99 he presents his latest work and it's fire!Inspired by edgy UK oldschool electro sounds, he definitely nailed down his modern version of the past. Unique soundscapes and very refined work on the drums make In Therapy 03 a must for your record collection.

Mr Bongo brings another Brazilian rarity to the masses with this sublime reissue of Tim Maia's Disco Club. Recorded in 1978, it's a latter-period gem from the larger than life legend, combining the glitz and glamour of disco's heyday with Maia's raw funk and soul roots.
When Maia first heard Little Richard as a teenager, he knew what kind of singer and artist he wanted to be. Five formative years spent in the US, where he ran wild in NYC and joined a
doo-wop group called the Ideals, did little to dampen his enthusiasm for black music.
Stirred by the civil rights movement in the US and driven by a punk spirit, Maia went on to blaze his own trail through the early 70s over the course of four successful albums for Polydor. Moving away from the straight MPB, Tropicalia and international rock dominating the airwaves, his sound represented a new black Brazilian consciousness. When he sang, he could be raspy and defiant one moment ... and then romantic and reflective the next. But always on a groove and with a hook. It was an irresistible combination.
Yet by 1977 he was bankrupt and in limbo having first joined a religious cult called Superior National and then alienated listeners with his first album sung entirely in English. To complicate matters further, Brazil was feeling the Saturday Night Fever. Gloria Gaynor, Chic and Kool & the Gang were dominating the charts and filling hotspots such as New York City Discotheque in Ipanema and Frenetic Dancing Days in the Gávea Mall.
Maia left his usual band and went into the legendary Estudios Level with a mighty ensemble of Rio's finest including Paulinha Braga on drums, Jamil Joanes on bass, Robson Jorge on clarinet, Hyldon De Souza on guitar, Sidinho on percussion, trombonists Edmundo Maciel and Darcy Seixas, and Juarez Assis on tenor sax.
Arranger and keyboardist Lincoln Olivetti was a crucial presence during these sessions. He added that all-important string flourish and brassy joy to the uptempo tracks while giving the
star enough room to express himself. The album kicks off with a trio of floor fillers: the exuberant party starter 'A Fim De Voltar', a sing-a-long anthem in 'Acenda O Farol' and the undeniably funky hit 'Sossego' (file that one next to Fatback).
But then Maia drops it down and gets existential on 'All I Want', questioning the meaning of happiness. He also shows his tender side on slow burners such as 'Murmúrio' (written by the great Cassiano) and 'Pais E Filhos', the latter featuring a supersoft bed of harmonies you can't help but lay down on. But the party ain't over and mid-tempo groover 'Juras' gets the feet moving again before 'Jhony' sends us swaying off into the night.
Maia's appetite for excess would eventually get the better of him. But Disco Club is the sound of an unpredictable genius on top form. Get ready for the time of your life.

Alien Ensemble's trombone man Mathias Goetz caused quite a splash when he released his eponymous debut LP under his Le Millipede moniker back in 2015: The multi-instrumentalist's initial offering was clearly something else, impossible to grasp, a musical vessel beyond genre, beyond style or era, seemingly beyond space and time even, a vessel that carried an almost cosmic kind of song-craft - music with no fixed stamp of origin, though it did somehow feel like an Alien Transistor release. Followed by remix album Mirror Mirror, which comprised reworks by 1115, Protein, LeRoy, Olaf Opal, and Saroos, to name a few, it's now time for album #2: The Sun Has No Money.Let's face it: There's nothing as majestic as the sun. At least not in our world. If it runs out of juice one day, it's game over: The End. Light's out. For everyone. At that point, it wouldn't even matter if you're rich or poor. We're all equal under the sun. Same level. And yeah, this might not be major news, but then again... we're talking about the sun. The sun! Guess it's about time to acknowledge its power and superiority, right In fact, you can feel it on your bicycle: pedaling at night, when it's on duty in other hemispheres, and you're working hard at the dynamo, sweating, you can actually feel how powerful it is. In the end you get off the bike all recharged, a tune on your lips - and somehow feeling like a miniature version of the sun yourself. And whenever you feel like that, that's exactly the right moment to grab a melodica and get to work.Following an initial warm-up round sans electricity, this new album soon begins to glow: Mathias Goetz aka Le Millipede doesn't need pedals, he boosts circulation by single-handedly* playing tons and tons of different instruments - it actually feels like thousands, easily. And thus begins a show that has countless levels to it: There are various sonic illusions... and yet Le Millipede doesn't hide anything: He's also willing to show the inner workings, the actual recording process and everything else. In short: he goes meta. Makes songs about making songs. That's right: why not use all these beautiful means to address the issue of money It's not the sun that casts shadows, all it does is recharge, fuel: growth & thriving, that's the sun's area of responsibility. And yet there came a man whose plan was simple: steal the fruit from your garden, only to sell it right back to you, for money. We can hear the sea gulls crying in the distance, as somebody is throwing breadcrumbs up into the wind that carries their voices...It's not the sun that casts shadows - all it does is radiate light. And yet there came a time when someone blocked those rays of light. Now if you're some kind of Diogenes, you'll simply say, Move at least a little out of the sun.' But if you're a teacher, you'll maybe light up your pipe and use that to lighten up. What matters is that the percussion parts, in this case, resemble some serious musique concréte. The sun doesn't know shadows - all it knows, is itself. And yet somebody entered the picture and built an entire city. A city full of streets, so that houses can cast shadows into these avenues. Plus, there's music in the streets, music originally written inside the walls of said houses.One of those streets is known as the Tin Pan Alley: a place that got its name from a music writer who compared the sound of so many pianos to the banging of tin pans. That sound: that's one side of the road that is this album. Some of these melodies appear to be shadows of earlier tunes, dating back to, say, 1898 or even before that, melodies that were first registered in the Tin Pan Alley publishers' offices back in 1912 or 1917. We actually get to see this Alley at that point in time. We see the ropes, the workings. How things come together, the actual act of creation. Suddenly, we can hear the shadows!
Okay, so one side of this street is America. The US of A. The opposite side: Russia. And smack dab in the middle: Europe. A pothole in the center. All the back-and-forth that occurs between these two poles ultimately depends on the movement of the sun. Night and day, taking turns, commuting in and out of sight. We get to meet Prokofiew's and Scriabin's ghost, among other spirits, reframed and published by Le Millipede's own imaginary label imprint on the historic Tin Pan Alley. Indeed there are moments on this album when Le Millipede seems to be playing Scriabin's clavier a` lumie`res (tastiera per luce), when his performance seems to be based on synesthesia, a wild cross-pollination of colors and sounds. In case you didn't know this: In the States, Prokofiew goes by the name Brian Wilson, and Scriabin's also known as Sun Ra - yet another guy who's usually broke, but gets to spend a lot of time out in the sun. Together, these assorted protagonists ask the people of the Antilles for Mutabor dance-tokens and send postcards to Moondog in Germany, right back into the darkness. On the postcards you can see people dancing the Biguine...Firing foreign fossil fuels from all pipes (Brennelementsteuer!), Le Millipede controls the very center of this hustle and bustle: going as far as to employ some southern Chopped & Screwed styles, he's 100% current and zeitgeisty! Houston, we've got a problem: there's some kind of myriapod, centi- or millipede on the loose! Well, give me another sip of lean, sizzurp, dirty Sprite, and on goes the journey in the Pullman coach. Let's follow the sun! Keep on moving, keep things motorik! Here comes the Trans-Eureka-Express. Cherish the backpacking days! A piercing rhapsody of sound (bohrende Rhapsodie), we'll remember them fondly! And thus things move on, the sun, the days, the earth: rise, set, action, round and round... onwards eternally. The sun: the biggest loop known to mankind. As if it was some kind of sonic Rube Goldberg contraption, time seems to be stretching out while listening to that hmmm. After all: time is a lot (a lot!) more than just money. And yeah, the sun is the real big shot on (or rather: above) Planet Earth. Le Millipede's live line-up also includes Markus & Micha Acher (The Notwist etc.), Nico Sierig (Joasihno), and Manuela Rzytki (G. Rag & die Landlergschwister, Kamerakino etc.).
*sole exception: Evi Keglmaier (Zwirbeldirn, Hochzeitskapelle) plays the viola. Words/sun worship: Pico Be

more talking all that jazz, more high aiming music by fumio itabashi: mule musiq is ready to release another record by the legendary japanese jazz pianist, born in ashikaga, tochigi in the year 1949.
this time his first solo record ever: the heavy jazzing 'nature', which has never been reissued on vinyl since its birth in 1979. it has been recorded at nippon columbia 1st studio, tokyo from march 13 to 15 in the year of its release.
it features itabashi making feverish love with the piano and sharing the studio with the great bass players hideaki mochizuki and koichi yamazaki, drummers kenichi kameyama and ryojiro furusawa, soprano saxophonist yoshio otomo and vibraphone wizard hiroshi hatsuyama.
they all joined him to perform his very own songs, composed by itabashi himself and produced by ryonosuke honmura, who also produced japanese jazz heroes like saxophonist keizo inoue during his career.
but enough background information. what counts is sound. it is fresh, propulsive, twitchy and melodi-ous from the first to the last tone. sometimes the instrumentalists play a classic solo in an overall deep modal jazz atmosphere that seems to be made for cats that love the good old stars and inventors - from john coltrane to mile davis, from thelonious monk to art blakey.
'nature' also shows how deep itabashi studied the history of the genre, while keeping his very own vision of jazz alive. the man that made his professional debut as a member of the sadao watanabe quintet in 1971 and that also was a member of the elvin jones jazz machine world tour from 1985 to 1987, plays the piano in all tempos: nervous high-flying quick, deeply blue blues style slow.
besides the traditional jazz flavours, you get a feeling of mind-expanding spiritual jazz, that grand mas-ters like pharaoh sanders or gary bartz turned into a sacred music genre. a master-class record in ravishing big city jazz music, adventurous, sometimes meditative, sometimes faster than the speed of light, always grooving with a bright, pure-toned sensibility and deeply soulful melodic imaginations.
it extends the jazz history with a fine balance between tradition and innovation. and it stays infectious all the time while sounding surprisingly fresh due to a lot of thrilling musical spontaneity that touches profoundly even though all notes have been written down by fumio itabashi before he and his combat-ants entered the studio.
and maybe that's the mystery of these timeless five at times epic recordings: all notes been written on paper but each musician had the freedom to dance with them in his very own unique way. so, turn the volume loud and get ready to be steamrolled by fumio itabashi's 'nature', an inebriant album that is talking all that jazz deeply!

Pillow Person is the new solo adventure from Sarah Jones who has previously made her name in showbiz from playing traps with the likes of Hot Chip et al. For her debut solo slab on Acid Waxa however, Pillow Person's catchy-as-owt digi-singles are given the remix treatment by 4 giants of modern darnce! Those being: Bogdan Raczynski (10 releases on Rephlex, 7 bad jokes, 4 mixes, 2 game soundtracks, 1 production with Bjork & 0 bad haircuts) Lechuga Zafiro (Co founder of Uruguyan, Afro-Latin label Salviatek) IYDES (aka London based badman Joe Brooks) and cellist/composer/producer Oliver Coates, who has collaborated with everyone from Leo Abrahams to Radiohead. 2 be filed (if you must) under: haus, Latin, klasical, phuture grime, jungle, electronic pop musique and so on!

Yellow Sunshine' by the band of the same name is an essential proto-Disco jam from back in 1973. A big one with the underground Disco heads and B-boy DJ's in the Bronx alike this record is a sure-shot! Often early Hip-hop DJ's would buy 2 copies of this 45 or the LP and cut it up long enough for the crowd to get loose and into the groove. A party-rocker of the highest order. Produced in Philadelphia, originally released on Kenny Gamble's 'Gamble' label and featuring some heavyweight players including Dexter Wansel, Roland chambers and more, 'Yellow Sunshine is the perfect blend of funk, Rock & Disco - old school style. Backed with 'Don't Tell Me later Girl' a la the original '73 Gamble Records promo this one's an essential for anyone who digs that Funk! There's always been poor imitations, but this 2017 repress is from the MASTER TAPES (Yes, we can prove it) and is fully, 100% LEGIT in every way. 'Yellow Sunshine' - now available again, released in conjunction with Gamble / PIR. Back on the streets. Same as it ever was! Buy on sight!

Since the very first release of Tommy's Turbojazz project, we wanted to have him with us on the boast. This excellent Ep proves his great musical skills and we are thrilled to release this wide range music. Bangers with solos, Acoutstic deep house, hiphop interludes, regular hiphop house sampled song or even a smashing 'emotional disco' track done in collab with S3A complete this EP. We would highly suggest you to dig (literally) this release for home listening or dancefloor play.

We got to know Dan Only, an exciting emerging artist from the Toronto underground, when he collaborated with Jesse Futerman on our recent 'Deep Love 2017 compilation. His debut record, released on Adam Marshall's 'New Kanada' imprint, introduced his deep instinct for electronic music and unique, boundless approach to deep house. An avid collector of old school gear you can hear the analogue warmth throughout this intricately detailed yet heavy hitting four-tracker. 'It's Clear' opens. A solid House jam, its thumping drums and resonating melodies follow a steady bass groove ready to heat up the dance floor. 'Be Major...Believe' leads in more gently before warbling key lines and synth details layer over gritty percussion pushing the mood closer and closer to bursting. This one conjures images of summer nights and distant coast lines. On the B, simmering vocals and tropical rhythms dance amongst straight forward house energies on 'Don't You Understand". Rich with subtleties, it's somehow smooth while seriously impactful. Finally we have 'Truffles". A very modern twist on Disco vs House it's an original Italo infused gem with an edit feel, that maintains the vibe of an 80s era hedonistic night throughout. Perfect as a peak time mood elevator or blissful, hands-in-the-air closing record. We're convinced Dan Only's future is bright and are overwhelmed by the quality and musicality of this, his first solo EP on Dirt Crew Recordings.

Repress

Swedish Electro profile visit Borft for a "end of the year" release. Deep old school Tech & Electro. Limited to 300 copies. Handstamped labels and sticker....

Vidab X returns with a new artist, Faltin, who chooses to remain anonymous, plus a stepping rework by Gowentgone aka label owners Oliver Deutschmann and Stephan Hill.
Faltin's 'Phobos' is a stripped down analogue masterclass. Rolling and snaking, its arpeggiated lead growls with a hot headed tension, climbing while never losing balance and poise.
The 'Gowentgone Stepper' translates the original into a heavyweight, early-morning trip - a certain hybrid of broken beats and techno attitude that melts between genres. Waves of euphoria are carried by rumbling drums in this essential version.

Wicked 4 tracker of
.
Old Shady Grady & The Neighbourhood Character (OSGATNC for short) is the result of a chance meeting in Berlin the fall of 2013 between Eric Douglas Porter a.k.a. Afrikan Sciences, one of the most expansive and intensive musical torch bearers of modern experimental electronics and jazz, and Ari Robey-Lawrence, producer, vocalist, and DJ a.k.a. The Neighborhood Character, who began as a jazz guitarist and drummer. They quickly found a mutual bond and a musical partnership emerged soon thereafter, and debuted on Uzuri's The Wilderness Sessions with their EP, Tales from Caturday'.

Via their collaboration, Porter and Robey-Lawrence explore the intersections of diverse musical and emotional territories through improvisational, long format jam sessions-- experimenting both with a wide range of sampled sounds and expressive original vocals, sustained by pronounced, yet fluid rhythmic backbones.

Jordan GCZ says: I walked into their sound check at freerotation festival last year and was blown away. I feel privileged to be a part of putting this music out there'

Lullabies For Insomniacs presents 'For Leena', a collection of unreleased pieces composed between 1991 & 1998 by Dino J.A. Deane for the choreography of Colleen Mulvihill. Gatefold Sleeve
.
Dino J. A. Deane began his professional career, at the age of nineteen, as a musical arranger and multi-instrumentalist (trombone, flutes, keyboards, percussion). He worked in funk bands around Los Angeles before moving to San Francisco in the mid 1970's, where as an improvising artist he became involved in the diverse communities of dramatic theatre, modern dance, free jazz and punk rock.

In the early 1980's Mr. Deane pioneered the use of live-electronics, live-looping and live-sampling in three distinct genres that heavily informed his later compositions: As a member of art-punk band 'Indoor Life', touring and recording with fourth world pioneer Jon Hassell and as an electro-acoustic percussionist in the Conduction orchestras of Butch Morris.

During this period Mr. Deane also worked as a sound designer for the theatre, with directors Sam Shepard, Julie Hebert and Christoph Marthaler. He also maintained a presence in the world ofmodern dance, creating and performing compositions for former Olympic gymnast Colleen Mulvihill.

The couple met in San Francisco in 1979 through his good friend Bruce Ackley, whom was commissioned to compose a score for one of her solo pieces. Colleen, was than a member of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and was planning to move to New York City to set out on her own as a dancer and choreographer. Their paths crossed again in 1980 when Dino moved to NYC with Indoor Life, during this time they began a long term relationship both on and off the stage, which continues to this day.

It's the big 5! Berlin - Frankfurt based label House Is OK is celebrating its five-year long presence and has decided to mark that period with something special Label's story started with a sticker Homeboy printed in his former hometown, Zagreb, saying House Is OK'. Catchy, right It became an underground slogan of the local scene. It didn't take long for people to embrace the idea stating that it's OK to be into melodic, fresh, groovy yet, at times, a bit awkward dance music.
Just around the same time Homeboy's Frankfurt based bro's Oliver Achatz and Janis played with the idea of starting a record label. Guess what the logical choice for the name was
Ten records, dozens of original songs and remixes later House is OK continues to grow.
Literally. What was once a platform for the original three founders is now an international family affair supporting the talented artists from Frankfurt, Stockholm, Alexandria and Orlando. Nurturing the friendly approach this musical family continues to grow.
Looking back at the first five years, not only at the music that connected them all but at the bonds that deepened through the production process, House is OK crew wanted to take
create a proper reminder and thank the ones supporting them throughout the years. A double 12' pack titled Gemišt' seemed like a proper way to do that.
- Gemišt will be released as two separate EPs featuring the original music from Kornél Kovacs, Roman Flügel, Gavri & McQueen, TCB, House Of Life and the label makers themselves. Oliver and Janis deliver tracks under their known names, while Homeboy
introduces his new project with fellow Wilde Renate resident The Swift, called Longhair.
Croatian artist Ugruv Smek marks his yearlong collaboration with the label delivering yet another smashing artwork.
Mark the upcoming February when Gemišt part I' is to be released and while you're at it, move on to March just so you don't miss the Gemišt part II' release. And yeah, in case you're wondering - of course it's both 12' EP release and in digital format. House is OK's got you covered.

Gitanes is Olde Gods' new EP and longest output to date. Following a series of singles on the Minor Planets label, the Barcelona duo are up to a 12 four-tracker on Amsterdams' Atomnation. Gitanes brings echoes from Spains' not-long gone golden club era. Its cover depicts an abandoned club from the 90's in a coastal town in the Mediterranean, could be anywhere from Valencia to Barcelona. All four tracks are trippy yet solid-grounded, spacey voices and strings leads all flying up and magically suspended over gross rhythmical foundations. Dear CZ, a fetiche track, built around a moody Casio CZ synth stab topped up with acid videogame-like crazyness. Gitanes brings entrancing vocals intertwined with more CZ pad action. All Around is a foggy and paranoid late-night drive, and None of these Bitches, a homesick folks' walk around Tokyo's Daikanyama area. Olde Gods are JMII and Guillamino.

TenGrams are brothers Alessandro and Davide, who collectively have a deep and long understanding of dance music. Davide is a co-founder of N.O.I.A, one of Italy's first electronic live acts to perform and record with drum machines and synthesizers as early as 1978. He was also behind seminal Italo outfit Klein + M.B.O and proto house hit 'Dirty Talk.' Since then they have released under an array of aliases, have clocked up numerous club hits and this new project brings them back to their electronic roots, with influences like sci-fi movies and old school electro and italo looming large.Devious' is a very breezy and energetic track with a rolling arpeggio and rich keyboards section over a simply but groovy Tr-808 pattern. Classical Italo Space Disco sound updated to nowadays. 'Translucent' sounds like a dreamy electro-ballad heavily influenced by Kraftwerk. 'Pop Song' keeps the same 80's electro vibes with simple, wistful melodies and a great funk bass line. 'Disco Dub' is a pretty damn cool early eighties electronica, with a great pumping 'robo-funk' Linndrum!

Bleu Nuit (BN) is glad to introduce to you to its second release Red Light City (BN02) by Nice-based French duo Gabardines.
Rising French DJs from the South of France, Gabardines is composed by Olivier aka Ghini-B and Régis aka Redj.
If Ghini-B and Redj already have a couple of vinyl-only releases to their respective solo alias, Gabardines is about to release his first EP under this name. Indeed, in 2017, Gabardines brought out Sweat Things EP on Simple Things Records via bandcamp as well as a remix of Lady B's Liaisons on their own imprint Swipe White Limited a couple of years before.
Red Light City EP follows the lead or rather, the musical line, introduced by both the label and Gabardines' predecessor Flavio Folco (BN01). As can be listened from all three tracks, Gabardines are sticking to these break and gangster beats, offering a balanced release with some warmup (A1), peak-time (A2) and closing/after spirit (B1).

A melt of acid tribe and industrial techno with a bit of old school acid techno... This Ep out from the Dune Records sery offers a Collab spirit for a mode open minded scene.

Banging solid kickerz on the A side, 150 to 165 BPM... B side goes more mental, from 170 to 175... Last tune in a very old school DSP style, is totaly perfect:)

Pumpin and hardtek... 4 tunes to offer a cool old school groove, full of a natural dancefloor feeling...

Cut by CGB at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, June 2017

Digital Transfer: Jonathan Fitoussi

Translations: Valérie Vivancos
Layout: Stephen O'Malley

Coordination GRM: Daniel Teruggi & François Bonnet
Executive Production: Peter Rehberg

Tremblement de terre très doux (1978), 28'14

climate 1 / transit 1 / landscape 1 / climat 2 / landscape 2 / transit 2 / landscape 3 (walking - jumping - sliding - flying) / climate 3 / landscape 4 / climate 4 - transit 3 / landscape 4, end.

The familiar generates the strange.

These rolls, these hums, these sudden rushes, this song, these peaceful circlings, these sudden outbursts, these returns to quiescence - what do they remind us of

This piece's trajectory could also be a representation of the dramatic unfolding of a day - of a life - from sunrise (climate 1) to night-time (landscape 4) via restless encounters, transitions (1 to 3) that announce the drama climaxing in landscape 3, before reaching its denouement in climate 4... A whole concrete 'story'.

The subterranean properties inherent to listening gently shift our ideas...

François Bayle

First performance: 19 March 1979 - Grand Auditorium of Radio-France,

Ina-GRM's Cycle Acousmatique. .

Toupie dans le ciel (1979), 21'

A wave is swaying on two minors thirds. This constantly uniform yet constantly varied swaying revolves in a swarm of sharp designs that blink on and off in a layer of growing density and mobility.

Distance, speed, pressure, density, temperature, colour, intensity, are the "themes" of the 27 short interconnected cells flowing together though this seemingly unified movement.

Occasionally, a breach in the texture reveals skyes dotted with little comets. In the centre, a slow gliding picks up the distant harmonics of a basic chord. Toward the end, this gliding returns with a fiery burst.

Fine lines and whirs are generated from the song of a spinning antique top.

To end on a lighter note the title Toupie dans le ciel - Spinning Top in the Sky reminds us of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles as well as Lucy, the oldest Australopithecine (3 million years), our African grandmother in the Erosphere...

The overall title Erosphere alludes to the desire inherent to the listening experience, and to the very primitive cues that sustain the auditory attention and are the basis of all musical pleasure.

François Bayle

First performance: 21 January 1980 - Grand Auditorium of Radio-France,

Ina-GRM's Cycle Acousmatique.

With their new Horizon EP, Lucien & The Kimono Orchestra open a music box which transports you in a blue and dawnish atmosphere, a morning spent on walking in an old cinematic Paris.

First step in the eighties, Connection starts as a film opening. Then arrives the single, Fresh Start, full of indelible voices and gimmicks. Horizon, sung in French, is a delicate reference to the French songwriting tradition inherited from Michel Berger, Alain Chamfort or Alain Souchon. To get some breath back between two songs, Georges, offers a strong instrumental interlude. Almost at the end, the English-spoken Shell extends the panel of influences with it's downtempo emotion. With its spontaneous declamations and slick guitar riff, Asile closes the journey, as the splendid climax of the foursome's second EP.

This initial release on the new Futurepast label marks Davy's first output as a producer, crystallizing his endeavours in the studio and bearing witness to his long-standing experiments in electronic music.Built between London and Berlin over the last four years, The Long Now lays down the blueprints for following ventures on the label: using old and new gear to create unique, obscure soundscapes both outside of memory and away from nostalgic projections of lost futures. In a timeless and precise collaboration, Davy has brought together two historical figures for this release: 1990s R&S Records associate David Morley mixed the tracks,
while Simon Davey of The Exchange lent his renownedmastering skills to the project.Temporality, time travel and perception are key concepts for Davy, and not only in the EP's title.The four stripped-down tracks move forwards, sidewards and backwards in a bid to get us lost - not in space but in what time might sound like should we be swimming through it.Mysterious and ageless synths mesh with the beats of an unnamed drum machine under Davy's control.We move through a non-linear story told by three distinct forward-thinking techno titles:No Memories Planned, Circular Weeks and Causal Loop.Finally, the titular ambient track pans out cinematically over the images left in our heads:an invitation to begin it all again in The Long Now...

After a more than well-received first release, Black Carpet returns with 4 fresh industrial tinged techno behemoths.

The Amsterdam centred producer Shrouds has been given the honours to do so, with Zhark veteran HUREN on remix duty.

A1: Starts of firing on all cylinders and does not stop doing so. Stomping four-to- the-floor on some serious up-tempo business. Ghostly sounds dominate the breaks, only for a short-lived period, continuing relentlessly with stomping kicks to warrant you a safe but not so sound journey home.

A2: An off-beat Industrial monster, for the dankest of warehouses. Eerie voices and squelching synths at a bonafide break-neck tempo.

B1: Heavily robotized techno with an Industrial swank for those sweaty 5-AM sessions, dancefloor destruction clearly is at mind here. After the second break, vocals intensify and so does all the other mayhem. An absolute monster on the loose.

B2: HUREN showing the more "subtle" aquatic one of the pack. A slow heavy burner, with the dreadest of bass. Something like an old-skool half-step lurcher meeting with a German industrialist over some coffee.

Few authentic Electro producers from the UK can wear the badge 'legend' with the same level of justification as Phil Klein aka Bass Junkie. Active since the late 80s, Phil has been peddling his own take on Electro almost constantly, either as a solo artist or as part of numerous collabs with the likes of Dynamix II, Keith Tenniswood (Radioactiveman) and Si Brown (Dexorcist). DJ, remixer, live act, and the man behind the killer Battle Trax label, there is nothing this Junkie hasn't done.

With essential releases on labels such DMX Krew's Breakin Records, Andrea Parker's Touchin' Bass, and Billy Nasty's Elektrix; the Bass Junkie sound spans the old school beats and vibes of the Electro genre's origins, to the borderline industrial. From funky to ferocious, Bass Junkie's discography is a must have for anyone claiming passion for the genre - influential, individual, and infectious with every beat.

His 'Low Frequency Fugitive' EP is a welcome return for his Bass Junkie project, after several years working primarily on collabs. The EP brings four new tracks that maintain the Bass Junkie sound that brought him such success and notoriety in the first place, with a healthy dose of evolution too.

This is one Fugitive everyone should try and track down...

Stealth Mission returns with another four track of weighty, warehouse grooves from Naked Eye People, K'Alexi Shelby (with a Ben Sims Edit), Scott Franka and the mysterious Barrow Boy.

Repress

So, in the spring of 2017, Fritz dusted off his old drum machines and his Jupiter 8 and immersed himself in the sounds, that first brought him to electronic music twenty years ago and which were to form the basis for his present album 'Drown'. At the beginning of his career it was about establishing himself through a new approach for Fritz. Now it is about celebrating those sounds and their liberating effect on our consciousness. The focus is electronic music as Fritz Kalkbrenner first got to know it in the German capital's now legendary Techno and House clubs as an impressionable young man. The cut, that leaving out the now so familiar baritone voice represents, opens the door to a whole world of electronic music, which is suitable for home listening as well as for the club.

There are no confining conventions on these 12 tracks and at times one could also say: no restraint. Fritz Kalkbrenner indulges in his fascination for Dub Techno, in clear and dominant House arrangements and also in the anthemic melodies that shine through the tracks several times on the new album.
Fritz underlines this new beginning, which is at the same time a reflection on his own beginnings and his own origins, by choosing not to appear on the album's artwork himself this time. Instead of a picture of him, there is a great, atmospheric landscape painting. The brush strokes form the bank of a river or a lake. They are abstract, which makes them all the more expressive. It is the work of Fritz' grandfather, the famous East German painter Fritz Eisel and its title is 'Winterabend (winter evening) in M.'. It was created in 1990, when Fritz was nine years old.

1x Red Vinyl / 1 Black Vinyl

A collection of mental tribe tunes in the oldschool spiraly state of mind. Kicking progressive music. From 170 to 190 BPM.

Mopo, a trio of sax, bass and drums from Finland, has been on the radar of international tastemakers already for a while thanks to their unique blend of jazz, punk, and inpisration from the Finnish nature. Now the trio of saxophonist Linda Fredriksson, bassist Eero Tikkanen and drummer Eeti Nieminen is set to release their fourth album on Helsinki's We Jazz Records.

"Mopocalypse", a highly flammable mix of rough-around-the-edges jazz and melodic songwriting, is the remarkable next step for one of Finland's most potent exports. Mopo swing, grind, drive hard, and slow down with an impeccable sense of dynamics. Their music is raw and beautiful.

The vinyl version of the album is housed in an "old-style" high gloss tip-on sleeve. The album comes with the first issue of "Mopo Zine" (12 pages), edited by Mopo, plus digital download with 2 bonus tracks.

A solid two sider for your soul box from the Old Town vaults, 'Say It With Feeling' is a great mid tempo soul track which i have used as a warm up track for many years and had remained popular on the soul circuit as well. For me the real magic happens on the flip. 'Conscience' is a haunting mid tempo off-kilter number, memorable in the extreme, challenging to work it into a set, a charming, fascinating record, no wonder it was a huge popcorn spin in belgium.

Connewitz Plagwitz, Reudnitz alles Klar. Hin her,hinher hin!
10/40 - Distillery - Westwerk - IFZ - Conne Island - Kronik

Mirror Trax proudly presents it's first release: the Esox Lucius EP by Esox Lucius! Born in the late 90's, Esox Lucius seems to have soaked up his environment quickly. Old school flavour transmitted to the depths where Esox Lucius roams seems to be the recipe for elementary and spaced-out techno. Nimbus on the A side is a classic techno track reminiscent of the X-Mix days! It's soothing melody and driving bass will propel you towards the clouds, cruise-missile style. On the B side, the first track Indica is a high-speed techno train. Driven by it's resonant lead and shifting snares, B1 will definitely leave you as high and disoriented as the name implies. Common thread on the B side seems to be a Hague-ish influence, as the closing track is a heavy grinding techno track with a hint of electro. B2 will definitely sink your ship so make sure The Hoff is around!

300 copies available.

After two impressive remix EPs taken from ELLEN ALLIEN's seventh studio album, 'Nost', BPitch Control unveil round three with another heavyweight lineup of contributors stepping up to the plate to deliver their own interpretations of the queen bee's original works.

This time around we're honoured to have ALAN OLDHAM, EOMAC, AMOTIK and XDB volunteering their services to bring a whole new dimension to the music from 'Nost'. Each of the four artists has earned a sterling reputation, with a style all of their own.

Experimental Spanish composer and multi-instrumentalist Pepo Gala´n makes his vinyl debut with an exquisite record of carefully orchestrated ambient pieces.
Conceived as a fierce response to the gradual decay of our society, "Human Values Disappear" takes us on a trip to the darkest corners of a dysfunctional world, painting a broken landscape with deeply arresting and meditative drones.
Composed initially on a vintage Casiotone, the album was further enriched with lush and spacious arrangements, giving the songs a newfound intensity. In this effort, Pepo Gala´n surrounded himself with talented artists Lee Yi and David Cordero, each of whom bring their unique approach to composition into play. The result is an eclectic, yet deeply cohesive palette of sounds that flow seamlessly into each other, creating a moody ambiance that permeates everything.
Despite the bleak tones and subject matter, Pepo Gala´n is able to strike a balance between darkness and hope, allowing glimpses of light ("Half Moon", "Old Testament") to filter through the sheer sonic intensity of the fiercest tracks ("We Are All Welcome Here", "Almost Alone in this Life"). This transition is better exemplified on the album's centerpiece "Sacred Autumn", a collaboration with David Cordero that starts off with an elegant string section, gradually building into a guitar feedback climax that slowly fades off, paving the way for an epic closing number.
By the time we hear the last sounds of "Few Dollar More", the emotional impact of the record is undeniable. "Human Values Disappear" is indeed one of the most sincere, enigmatic and life- affirming records that Pepo Gala´n has ever produced.

Two wicked, old school rollers from the ever excellent Ishio Dai, who works the frequencies in both of these woofer-wrecking bass cuts. Killer!

Sparrow's visit of Jamaica, The Isle Of Springs', during the month of June 1963, has left him with very pleasant and joyful reminiscences of the love, warmth and hospitality of its people. From the moment his plane tipped down at the Palisadoes Airport', at a lounge in the ultra-modern terminal building he was entertained with a Rum Punch', Significant of Jamaican's ability to produce rums that absolutely no connoisseur can despise. Well! And it's from there it all started, for like Oliver Twist, Sparrow continued, where ever he went to ask for more, and, obviously when the drinks are in, the wits are out. You are therefore left to deduce whatever you may during his presentation of this contribution.

I'll Be Around (Bossa-Nova)" is a warning to one of his lovers of her promiscuous traits towards him and the retribution she would eventually suffer for so doing.

Theses two calypso songs were recorded with the famous Bert Inniss National Recording Orchestra. This single 7' is absolutely impossible to find and will warm any dances in the world.

Tardis Records are delighted to welcome UK tech-house hero Flow to the Tardis Records stable for their eighth release. The three tracks making up the Trine EP were recorded together with Simon Moorecroft (a.k.a. Simon Vinyl Junkie) around the time of his first vinyl releases back in 1996-1997. All three tracks sound completely contemporary whilst having more than enough old school flavour to give flashbacks to any 90's ravers. Lead track 'Boy Girl Action' has skipping, garage-influenced beats with rolling bass and swirling atmospherics, whilst a breakbeat, vocals and a stabby intro give 'Trine' on the flip a more ravey feel. Closing out the EP, 'I See You' is the dubbiest cut here, with another heavy bassline, cut-up vocals,and subtly swung percussion. Eli and Oscar have loved testing these tracks out on the road and can vouch for their impact on a peak-time dancefloor!

Written and produced by David Burraston. Recorded at Noyzelab, 2014-2017. Random artwork, generated using seed number 0xAF30F0843192FC4, by Matthew Petty.

After a happy chance meeting at an event in the National Portrait Gallery in London, NYZ was invited to make a tape for The Tapeworm. On returning to Australia he went into the studio, digging up some recent-ish pieces from the last few years, and also making a handful of new ones. The music on this tape is a mix of Cellular Automata sequencing hooked up to various synthesis/FX methodologies including: Frequency Modulation, Phase Modulation, Sampling, old school hardware DSP and ROMplers. Musically this tape covers a range of different tunings and intervals, designed to take you on journey through the obscurities of NYZ's approach to experimental sound and music making.