Cerca:one on one

There’s something to be said for getting noticed, for standing out from the crowd. West London’s T.Williams is one of those people, having accomplished a full sweep of merited recognition over the years. Emerging onto the house scene in 2010, T.Williams instantly marked himself as a breakthrough artist with a difference; his unique take on house music turning heads.

Far from a newcomer, his path as a musical artist started in the grime scene as Dread.D. Signed at the tender age of 17 with grime anthem Invasion on Jon E Cash’s Black Ops label, Williams went on to have mass success in the grime and bass world selling thousands of singles worldwide. After a five-year reign, Williams found himself veering towards the world of house music. With a new found love for the sound and its sub-genres, T.Williams forged a signature sound influenced by his grime days, jungle, and garage. With a style that undoubtedly impacts, T.Williams’ crossover has been the catalyst for his success. Not only rife with groove and feeling but meticulously produced and engineered with deep rumbling basslines, the unapologetic bounce of grime and smooth vocals that bleed through African infused percussion work.

While in 2010 the industry took note when hit record ‘Heartbeat’ featuring vocalist Terri Walker made an impression, it was throughout 2011 that T.Williams defined himself - releasing solo works on his imprint Local Action and Pattern with remixes for Maya Jane Coles, Ben Westbeech and Skream. Not stopping at pricking the ears of fellow artists and those on the dancefloor, the end of 2011 saw Williams nominated for ‘Best Breakthrough DJ’ by DJ Mag, ‘DJ Stars of 2012’ by Time Out and featured in The Guardian.

Two relationships came to the forefront in 2012 that propelled Williams to greater heights. The first was his weekly show on legendary London station, Rinse FM and the second, Williams’ relationship with label PMR through his remix of Javeon McCarthy’s ‘Lost Time’. The remix was named Record of the Week by BBC Radio 1 and supported by tastemakers Annie Mac and Fearne Cotton. From here T. signed to the label exclusively releasing his debut EP for the label in September 2012, and in the process receiving further support from BBC Radio 1. Further remixes of Mikky Ekko, Wretch 32 and Lianne La Havas followed suit, as well as his biggest to date - Disclosure’s ‘Latch’. Powering dancefloors across the globe, T. went on to play three US tours, numerous festival stages, and deliver a second EP on PMR titled ‘Feelings Within’. The EP once again spanned a number of bases, from club bangers to heartfelt vocal driven tracks alike. Gaining his own monthly residency show with BBC Radio 1, 2013 ended with T. having played over 100 shows across four continents.

2017 marked the launch and release of the first collaborative EP with UK producer Julio Bashmore, via their joint independent Conch Records, a label aiming to push out more underground cross-genre music with heavy rotation from the likes of Moxie and Shy One. With an ever-expanding global tour schedule and further solo releases on the legendary NYC house label Strictly Rhythm turning heads, T.’s upward trajectory has never showed signs of slowing down. Selected to soundtrack the social media campaign for boxer Anthony Joshua in 2019 and now using his technical prowess as a musician to educate the next generation of rising stars at London’s respected Point Blank Music School has cemented his status as one of the UK music scene’s key players.

Stefan Schwander of course is a man of many names and visions (such as Harmonious Thelonious, Repeat Orchestra and A Rocket in Dub) and here's his latest one: While My Sequencer Gently Bleeps comes up with "OK" on new Hamburg-based label Unsure. As While My Sequencer Gently Bleeps Schwander strips down his equipment even further and refines his longstanding idea of creating reduced minimalistic tracks radiating warmth, digging deep and delivering the groove.

The five tracks on "OK" all follow one basic flow: big basslines, elegant chords and transparent arrangements, rhythms as compelling as unobtrusive. Schwanders love for dub shimmers through the tracks, just as his pop-trained flair for seductive harmonies.
Beautiful groovy music from Düsseldorf to the world. On and on and on.

After 10 years of Freakadelle Recordings and an even longer existence of the eponymous association, the time has come for the Salzburg collective to make a change and release its first record under their new imprint vierundvierzig.

It also marks the first solo release by Mad Rider named "fmrann8", which contains 7 tracks that originated during the pandemic and were finalized after the opening of the clubs. These two different states - undecided whether we want to dance or go into hiding – are not only reflected in the music, they are also made visible in the cover design, which can appear colourful and monotonous at the same time.

On the one hand, you can hear the longing for long club nights from a time when going to the club was not possible. On the other hand, the deceleration holds us as if we were sitting on fluffy clouds, not knowing what Mad Rider's modular synthesizer, fed with unconventional drums and field recordings, or the future will bring next.

“Pulses and Resonances” is Rene Lorenzo’s debut album on Subtempo. This album represents a culmination of more than 20 years of electronic music exposure as a DJ and a clear point of view. We can hear influences of broken beat, techno, drum & bass, all through the unique lens that Rene brings to the table, deeply steeped in ambient, deep techno and downtempo. Even though this isn’t a dance record, it’s filled with energy and drive. It is an out-of-the-ordinary album, with intricate shifts and turns with well-crafted kick drums, round bass lines and enveloping subs. A record filled with warm sounds, head-nodding rhythms, and rich textured spaces. It’s all woven into an easy-listening experience, without demanding the listener’s full attention, but creating a landscape that is unique and varied throughout. We can hear references to artists like Boards of Canada, Jan Jenilek, Synkro and the like.

“In this record, every track has a different pulse or rhythm, and I use different resonators in the sound design process to achieve these tones. I started by leaving the space open with the ambient pads and hardly any rhythm, and I’d let myself be carried away by my sense of rhythm slowly building the compositions. I am obsessive with audio processing and I almost never leave a sound in its initial form. I like to add some subtle effect that sounds like something different and give new sounds to the elements I use.”

“Pulses and Resonances” is out via Subtempo on vinyl and digital on February 2nd.

Straight from the stone head, 3hrvl and the spiral sorcerer of ozz speak to you, the chosen ones.

One-off electronic disco project of 1984 for the unmistakable sounds of the Yamaha DX7 - especially the notorious "tubular bells" during the verses - introduced at the end of '83, but which didn't catch on in Italo-Disco until the following year. "Dancing Dode" has the strangest spelling ever. Whoever created this truly amazing super theme barely knew English as the word "dode" does not exist in English. This explains why some Italo-Disco songs have obvious grammatical errors even on the original records. The artist or the authors thought that du:d would be written "dode" in English, but in reality it's "dude"... which means a meticulous and elegant man, potentially homosexual, in short a gay type, "King /Queen" of disco dancing like in that film with J.T.. The role of disco in the 80s was a ground for negotiating rights throughout history, so most people didn't care too much about choosing and hating someone's sexual orientation, but dancing, listening to music and this song with a beautiful melody is perhaps the rarest Italo-Disco song ever made.

Lucas Rodenbush aka E.B.E. is one of the most renowned producers in the electronic scene from the late 90's / early 2000's years.
"Neural Response EP", originally out in 2000, now finally gets its first official repress after 23 years !

Fool’s Paradise is the exciting new label from Toolroom Records’ Mark Knight - that comes straight from the heart, it’s a natural progression from his hugely acclaimed 2021 album release, ‘Untold Business’, which saw Mark go back to his roots, paying homage to the more funky, soulful, and vocal House from the 1990s from where he came.

With a focus on real instrumentation and production, coupled with great song writing, this new Toolroom sub label will be a platform for high quality House music that’s designed to stand the test of time. Launching the new label with a mighty bang and delivering the first in our exciting new vinyl sampler series is head honcho, Mark Knight who joins forces with Australian Toolroom label mate, Sgt Slick and British Soul sensation, Beverley Knight on a dynamite cover of Prince’s 1979 classic, ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’.

Respectfully transporting the song onto today’s dance floors, Mark & Sgt Slick deliver a classy uplifting soulful house production, loaded with funky guitars, warm pads and sublime key performances. Adding the icing on the cake and putting her own stamp on things, Beverley belts out one of her signature spine-tingling vocals, garnished with lush harmonies and BV’s that would indeed make The Purple One proud!

Completing the vinyl package is Dance music stalwart, Opolopo, and British Soul icon, Jaki Graham, who together bring the dance floor heat with their new single, ‘Fire’. Powered by a potent soulful house groove from Opolopo, loaded with warm piano hooks, emotive synth melodies and a sublime popping bass hook, ‘Fire’ see’s Jaki flaunt her electrifying vocal talents with a show-stopping performance on this irresistibly catchy song.

- I Wanna Be Your Lover reached Traxsource #1 where it stayed for 6 weeks consecutively - Radio support on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Cornwall, Hedkandi, Kiss FM, Mi-Soul, Gaydio, Radio 105 / Montecarlo (Italy), Mambo Radio, Rinse fm, Select Radio, Totally Wired Radio, Point Blank, RTE, Power fm (Ireland), Metro FM (SA), Cool Fm, Radio Reverb, Radio FG (France), Release Radio and many more.

DJ support from Husky, Hector Romero, Javi Bora, Grace Bones, Judge Jules, Sebb Junior, Jay Vegas, Odyssey Inc, ATFC, Claptone, Black Legend, Cevin Fisher, Michael Gray, Kisch, Hoxton Whores, Full Intention, Booker T, Jamie Jones, Knights Of The Turntable, Sam Divine, DJ Rae, CASSIMM, Alex Preston

Repress!

Newcomer Jac Solaire lands from outer space with a huge double-A side release, unashamedly leaning full tilt into the golden era of late 90’s French House. “Volaris” leads the way bringing huge energy and uplifting vocals whilst the more laidback “Into The Night” provides us with a beautiful Stardust-esque excursion into pure bliss!

Rising star Alex Virgo joins the party with a heavy remix on “Volaris” which twists and turns with hypnotic loops and grooves.

This ones hot ..Vinyl only until further notice!

There are two versions of the vinyl - classic black and triple-color limited Indie Shop edition.

Both have special insert inside with the bands bio and photos.

Generacja JAZZ is a project showing a fragment of the new wave of Polish jazz, treading its own path, creating, touring and jamming across Europe. Borders don't exist - especially musical - the new generation is engaging with nightclubs, festivals and playlists. The time has now come to show its broader perspective. We created a project which involves a handful of groups that have already racked up debut albums and festival wins, as they set out on their musical odyssey. The groups also have other things in common, like their passion, originality and, for the needs of the project, age - all the artists during the recording of this album were under 30 years old. This is the new generation - the Jazz Generation.

For the Jazz Generation record we invited five bands who had already released debut albums: Immortal Onion, Klawo, Rejoin, Twoosty Mayonez and USO 9001. We also reserved two spots on the compilation for the winners of our open call competition, whereby on the basis of the jury's choice (jury: Monika Borzym, Paulina Przybysz, Envee, Wojtek Mazolewski i Marcin Groh Grośkiewicz) we met the winning bands: Kosmos and quietet.

The sleeve artist is Kornelia Nowak, who won our open call for young designers and graphic artists. Here once again we could rely on the opinion of a prestigious jury comprised of: Beata Śliwińska Barrakuz, Bovska, Maciej Animisiewasz Grochot, Grzegorz Forin Piwnicki i Marcin Groh Grośkiewicz.

Generacja JAZZ LP is also a start of the new imprint - U JAZZ ME, which will be focused on jazz from Poland.

And here are the bands from the album:

1. Immortal Onion - A band from the Tri-City playing a broad spectrum of instrumental music.

Band members: Wojtek Warmijak (percussion), Tomir Śpiołek (piano, synths), Ziemowit Klimek (Upright Bass, synths).

The band Immortal Onion has already established itself as one of the most interesting projects of the new wave of Polish jazz, and is consistently being labelled as such abroad. After two well received albums ("Ocelot of Salvation" (2017) and"XD Experience Design" (2020) U Know Me Records) they released their third album "Screens" in 2022, which was recorded with the well known Tri-City composer and saxophonist - Michał Jan Ciesielski.

The inspiration behind the band's formation were such artists as: Esbjörn Svensson, Hiromi Uehara, Tigran Hamasyan and Tosin Abasi.

The group's guiding principle from the very beginning was the fusion of often disparate musical styles, which bore "post instrumental aggressive gay pop". Despite the stylistic discrepancies, between which they swim, the group has forged its own identifiable language, characterised by complicated rhythmical structures, energetic riffs and trance beats with lyrical melodies.

The trio has performed its original material at many venues and festivals around Europe and Asia.

2. Klawo - seven adventurous adventurers from Gdańsk, who were brought together by their love for music, halvah and throwing Frisbee. Their self-named début album, released in 2022 on the local label Coastline Northern Cuts, is an amalgam of the inspirations of each of the team members and played backwards contains tips on how to reach the Kashubian pyramids. After a win at the international competition Jazz in the Park, held in Cluj-Napoca in Romania, the band began work on their second album. Meanwhile, they were also travelling the length and breadth of Poland on a mission to infect people with the idea of Baltic Funk.

3. Kosmos is a Łódż based jazz quintet. It was formed in 2020 by Pianist Stanisław Szmigero, Saxophonist Iwo Tylman and Trumpeter Jan Ostalski. However, it wasn't until 2022 that Kosmos found its true form when Kamil Gużniczak (Upright bass) and Kacper Kuta (Percussion) joined the line-up.

Their compositions are influenced by Polish yass bands, electronic music and hip-hop. Kosmos music is a mix of lyricism, space, intensity and elements of experiment.

The band members are all eccentric characters possessing different means of musical expression - looking at them, one could even argue they are a group of oddballs. Despite this, for reasons unbeknownst to themselves, the members of Kosmos complement each other on stage and form a unified artistic vision of the world around them.

Kosmos officially released their début single "Ja" in June 2023. They regularly play concerts across Poland and recently were selected as distinguished artists at JAZZiNSPIRACJE (JAZZiNSPIRATION) - a competition held during the 13th Lublin Jazz Festival.

4. Quietet (formed at the beginning of 2023) is the result of meetings between five talented musicians with a deep passion for musical creation. Its sound is a unique blend of Jazz and classical music with a hint of hard rock. The band is inspired by the Scandinavian approach to making music, which brings a characteristic atmosphere and melodies to their work. Their music captivates listeners with its originality, refined improvisations and flawless technique. Both classical and modern musical trends feed their inspiration when creating passionate and emotional compositions.

Their works are full of sound experimentation, which equally surprise and expose new musical horizons. Through their compositions, "Quietet" aims to share their emotions evoked during performances, creating a musical journey that affects and inspires.

5. Connecting jazz with electronic music in fresh interpretations, six young musicians make up the group Rejoin. The group re-formed in 2020 after a four-year break, playing their debut concert at Lotos Jazz Festival Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa. The musicians in Rejoin have performed alongside such artists as: Urszula Dudziak, Krystyna Prońko, Marcin Masecki, Szczyl, Kuba Więcek and Paulina Przybysz.

Most of the members of Rejoin are students from the Katowice Music Academy, where they also develop their own projects. Rejoin was a recipient of the Fabryki Norblin Music Masterclass Foundation scholarship.

6. Twoosty Mayonez is something your grandad would listen to with his younger sister. The non-standard approach to jazz alongside a pursuit of strange sounds, culminated in the conceptual album entitled "Carmin". The material was created by Bartosz Wolerta (percussion) and Dominik Kaniewski (bass guitar/synths). "Triceradiplodocus" tells the story of a mechanical dinosaur that lives on the yet undiscovered planet Carmin.

E-Bony and La Mverte X LONEWOLF number 15.Serving up a sublime heavy club-ready techno and futuristic soundscapes EP!

The late great Canadian pianist Glenn Gould made two significant and highly acclaimed recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations, the first in 1955 when he was just twenty- two, presented here on 180g white vinyl, and the second a quarter of a century later in 1981 when he was nearing the end of his life.

Both recordings stand as benchmarks of the repertoire, offering fascinating insights into the music and Gould's approach to it. These recordings have never been out of print - a mark of their status and the respect they command in the canon of Bach recordings.

Reissue of the 1997 album from Britpop outfit Salad

RIYL Elastica, Echobelly, Sleeper

Critically received as one of their best albums, the album shows a clear development from theirearlier playing days and imbibes a more refined, skilled sound palette

Produced by veteran musician and producer Donald Ross Skinner, guitarist for Edwyn Collins and Julian Cope

Features the tracks ‘Cardboard King’ and ‘Yeah Yeah’

Pressed up on 140g black vinyl

Comes with an exclusive signed print from lead singer Marijna Van Der Vlugt

Recorded by Anthony Linell & Jonas Rönnberg in Muskö, Sweden 2021 Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at EnissLab, Rome
northernelectronics.se

“The collaborative project of Northern Electronics' founders, Anthony Linell and Jonas Rönnberg, has never ceased to confront with their coupling of industrious delirium and pensive austerity. By now we know that only adrenaline can make sense of the toxic ensemble of purposes at the heart of Ulwhednar. Meditating on higher flights of thrill and disorder than their previous record, and with an acknowledgement of their Stockholm roots, 'Area 08' induces fever and anticipation with every gesture.

The opening tracks make a raucous yet resolute introduction to proceedings, eventually issuing one of the album's most exquisite moments of reprieve with 'Akalla/Broken Swords'. However, it is the second half of 'Area 08' that formally admits their latest work has crossed a threshold yet unexplored by the pair. A suite of villainously propulsive tracks spit embers of caustic balms as they careen out of reach with the engorged march of 'Commuter Madness'. Cunning in as many ways as it is earnest and audacious, 'Area 08' is a welcome alarm from the nucleus of the mission.”

One of the leading names in the lo-fi house scene dj poolboi returns to Shall Not Fade with the stunning album 'into blue light'