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On July 26th the top-ranking leftfield star Clark will release ‘Kiri Variations’, via his own label Throttle Records – and as always, he has musically metamorphosized into something fresh and new.

This album of plaintive beauty, eerie wyrd arcadian horror and childlike outsider music epitomises his constant ability to flip-the-script and coherently organise an abundance of new ideas.

Mysterious and morbidly beautiful pieces driven by piano, harpsichord, clarinet, strings, electronics and voice are interspersed with fabulously unusual and highly original curveballs:

Odd-in-a-brilliant-way, the faux naïve ‘Kiri’s Glee’, evokes traveling minstrels of yore accidentally eating the wrong ‘shrooms, and ‘Coffin Knocker’ has diffracted psych feel, like David Axelrod’s work with the Electric Prunes, but chopped, screwed and scorched.

‘Forebode Knocker’ is darkly funky, like the kind of lost diggers’ nugget unearthed and sampled by RZA, whilst the sonically-perfect ‘Primary Pluck’ unfurls exquisitely, swaying slowly ever forward like a funeral march.

‘Cannibal Homecoming’ is nothing short of Clark’s most song-based composition ever, featuring augmented human voice as evident elsewhere and also a fully-fledged vocal sung by him.

‘Kiri Variations’ started life as the score to the BAFTA-nominated TV program ‘Kiri’, but only a small (and highly effective) portion of the music recorded was used – intentionally sparingly – by director Euros Lyn. That first incarnation has since grown and morphed intosomething entirely of its own being; a proper artist album.

“In addition to my usual methods of controlled randomness and tangential ideas, the TV commission was a prominent spark for new approaches. It’s a great balancing contrast with the solipsistic studio album”, Clark explains.

The record allows simplicity and playfulness to shine through: “It’s a skeleton of an album, reduced to bare essentials, although it started out rather dense - the thing that takes time is making it succinct."explains Clark. “Certain parts are also what you could call anti muso – for example the recorder on ‘Kiri’s Glee’ is totally out of tune – but it sounds so colourful. I can’t resist the primary paint of acoustic instruments; it’s an antidote to frictionless digital music.

Kognitiv Records is about music that connects with the listener on a deeper level, evoking emotion. Music plays a large part in so many lives and guides us through all emotional states as a form of therapy. So join us for your own Kognitiv Therapy.

Label boss DeVante delivers the third release for Kognitiv Records titled “Experimental”. He has invited Italian powerhouse duo Marvin & Guy to remix.

“Experimental” is a track that follows the storyline of an experiment. Whether it be a social experiment or science experiment, the emotional journey can be very similar. Feelings of uncertainty, tension, suspense, contentment and/or grandeur feature throughout this track. DeVante allows listeners to take their own journeys through all his tracks, so have a listen and find out where “Experimental” takes you!!


Marvin & Guy are making waves worldwide for their signature sound and it is an absolute pleasure to welcome them to Kognitiv Records. The boys have delivered a gem of a remix suitable for all occasions. Not only is it a great track to listen to in your day to day life, their remix tears the roof off a dance floor. Marvin & Guy have a strong ability of fusing current musical trends with nostalgic 80’s sounds and we love everything they do. We are sure you will too!

“Experimental” is Kognitiv Records first venture into the world of vinyl. There are very limited copies being pressed, so be sure to grab yourself a piece of Kognitiv Records history.

Kognitiv Records will donate a percentage of profits from every release to a different mental health charity in an effort to create further awareness and provide support to people suffering from mental illness.

Where Future Unfolds is a new work spirited by Chicago-based sound & visual artist Damon Locks. Starting as a solo sound collage piece (where Locks pulled samples from Civil Rights era speeches and recordings to create an improvisational pallet for performance on his drum machine), over 4 years the project has blossomed into his 15-piece Black Monument Ensemble - featuring musicians (including Angel Bat Dawid on clarinets and Dana Hall on drums), singers (alumni of the Chicago Children"s Choir), and dancers (members of Chicago youth dance company Move Me Soul). Where Future Unfolds is a live capture of the ensemble"s epic debut at the Garfield Park Botanical Conservatory on the West Side of Chicago. Recalling the spirits of Phil Cohran"s Artistic Heritage Ensemble, Eddie Gale"s Black Rhythm Happening, Archie Shepp"s Attica Blues, and Public Enemy"s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the album presents an inspired, innovative & immediate intersection of gospel, jazz, activism & 808 breaks.

“In October 2018 we took several recordings in and around Eddie Prévost’s home village of Matching Tye in Essex, where he has been living for the past fifty years. The majority of the pieces that made it to this LP took place in All Saints Church, High Laver, the burial site of John Locke. This fact was notable in the choice of title for this set of recordings, and it seemed necessary to put forward Eddie’s own take on Locke that he offered in our correspondences:

“Scholars of Locke’s philosophy will be familiar with the idea of mixing labour with materials as a fore-running notion of possessive individualism and basis for private property. Such ‘mixing’ is a persuasive description of a creative act. But the theory is more worthy of a social dimension.” As for the individual titles for each of the studies on the LP, each takes ideas and elements from music past. For example, MaxPlus makes a nod towards bebop pioneering drummer Max Roach who offered an earlier hit-hat study. Eddie utilises such examples, offering further creative insights which can then be woven back into the common wealth of sound. The final track, returning to the bowed cymbal method of the first, was recorded outdoors on a breezy green, and is pictured on the back cover of the sleeve. It was an attempt to capture the playing in its ‘metamusical’ relationship with the untempered sounds of the external environment.

Eddie has written about Metamusic in his book The First Concert (Copula, 2011): invoking childlike ‘protomusical’ behaviour, or the sense of music that a person might possess before the inevitable influences come to play any role in their productive, and appreciative, musical development.

Ross Lambert provided a few words along side his cover drawing entitled ‘The Metamusician’: “The eyes would symbolise for me things like searching, examining, closeness or friendship I think; engagement with the world. Decisions in making the image were completely intuitive, this is just me looking for the meaning, post-analysing, post rationalising.””

- Daniel Kordik & Edward Lucas, March 2019

Yeketelale is the third album from Franco-Ethiopian group uKanDanz, combining a heady brew of rock energy, saxophone zigzags and Ethiopian melodies, all fronted by veteran singer Asnake Gebreyes grooving harder than ever.

In Ethiopia, sons follow fathers and, together, their names tell a story. Some discographies are the same way. After Yechelal (''It's Possible''), Awo (''Yes!''),here's Yeketelale (''It Continues''), the third album from Ukandanz.
The adventure that links Damien Cluzel (guitars) and Lionel Martin (tenor sax), the two founders of the group, with the Ethiopian singer Asnake Guebreyes continues and, with this album, takes on new colors and a new dimension. It is a polished synthesis that keeps the rock energy of their first recordings and gives even more space to the subtle vocal ornamentations that mark great Ethiopian singers. Add to that a groove that is more danceable than ever, carried by Adrien Spirti's synth bass and Yann Lemeunier's drums, and you have the magic formula of Yeketelale.

This came about slowly over the course of a dialogue that began in the early 2000s when Damien Cluzel, arriving with a circus in Ethiopia, met up with the occupant of the next room in their hotel. A stroke of luck: this was Francis Falceto, high priest of the Ethiopiques collection (Buda, 30 volumes to date) which had introduced to the West the treasures of swinging Addis, the capital that vibrates to the sound of big brass orchestras. With him, he dives into the capital's nightlife and meets a galaxy of musicians. The singer Asnake Guebreyes is among them.

Recruited by the famous Police Orchestra at the tender age of 16, he already had all the power, energy and class of his role model, Tlahoun Guessessé ''the Ethiopian James Brown''. He began his solo career at the beginning of the 1990s with several major successes, most famously an explosive duo with the singer Fekker Addis.

This experience made a big impact on the French guitarist. Having learned how to blend in with a uniquely Ethiopian groove, he was now ready to take it to other places and in other directions. In his old friend Lionel Martin, he found an ideal partner to engage in such experiences. But they needed a singer. The idea of Asnake Guebreyes was mentioned. Then Francis Falceto called and suggested going to see him at the Addis Music Festival. Ukandanz, a rock version of Ethiopian groove, was born.

Some pieces, like the disturbing Yene Hassab, call to mind Herbie Hancock's experiments in the seventies, as well as the Juju guitars of the Gulf of Guinea. Others, like the dark Fetsum Deng Ledj Nesh, allow Asnake's voice to soar above the synthetic waves, like a siren song for a freighter in distress. Dance and trance are not left out, with inspiration from the inexhaustible Ethiopian traditional repertoire. In a nod towards Asnaké's first album (Ahadu, also reissued by Buda) Ukandanz returns to its track Ajiré, transfigured by the guitar, claps and synthetic bass and takes us back to the glory days of breakdancing. Listening to the two versions gives the key to understanding the unique touch of Ukandanz and of the rich musical colours of Yeketelale (''It Goes On''), a fusion musical journey that brings the electric spark of the Frendj (Westerners) to Ethiopian lyricism.

A year on from the highly-acclaimed album 'It's A World Before You', Kaidi Tatham brings more new music to First Word Records - a continuation of his previous EP's for the label (2017's 'Changing Times' & 'Hard Times'), here we enter 'Serious Times'.

Kaidi Tatham is one of the most revered multi-instrumentalists in the game. Dubbed by Radio 1's Benji B last year as "the UK's Herbie Hancock", his versatility as a musician is actually more akin to Prince in the sense that he can play most instruments, and play them well. His contributions as a musician, composer & producer have included work with Bugz In The Attic, Amy Winehouse, Slum Village, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Moonchild, Leroy Burgess, Amp Fiddler and loads more over the years, additionally to being a key player on Jazzy Jeff's PLAYlist album 'Chasing Goosebumps' along with Masego, Stro Elliot, 14KT, Tall Black Guy, Rich Medina and the like, and various projects alongside Dego (2000 Black) and First Word label-mates Eric Lau, Darkhouse Family & Children of Zeus.

'Serious Times' is another 4-track set comprised of Kaidi's unmistakable style, encompassing broken beat, jazz, boogie and hip hop. The EP starts off with the hype jazz-funk bruk of 'Cost of Living', maintaining the tempo into 'Don't Cry Now' which leads with a sweet latin-tinged piano riff. Onto the flipside, and we're treated to the slinky synth-boogie of 'Sugar' before dropping the tempo down & closing the selection with a warped but jazzy instrumental boom bap piece entitled 'Zallom'.

Kaidi is a national treasure quite frankly, and this EP is another mere taster of this man's endless talents and unique vibes. Some grown folk music, perfect for these 'Serious Times'…

Vinyl & digital released on Friday 19th July 2019 on First Word Records (Worldwide Awards 'Label of the Year 2019').

Gafacci is well known for notable artist collaborations, eclectic edits and his Asokpor productions. On this new four track EP, he steps out of familiar soundscapes, driven by his steady desire to ex-plore a more melodic side of his own production style. This led him to experimenting with the ,Lo-Fi' and infuse it with afrobeats as well as diverse tropical sounds.
Over the past three years, the Accra based producer, DJ and songwriter Gafacci had been circulating around the term ,Low Fidelity' and he dedicates this album to all those across the globe who can relate and support the music.
The Title ,TASH BNM', meaning ,Tash bought new music' is inspired by the notifications of a music connoisseur's weekly purchases on bandcamp.

Noteworthy are also the featured artists, from multi instrumentalist Nii Quaye to Chefbanku, singer Amaarae, Ghana Music's OG Kyekyeku and rappers Tinuke & Lazee, each guest complements to this timeless piece of music in their own unique way.

The tail end of 2018 saw the release of Oberman Knocks’ third album on aperture records, Trilate Shift, which was included in The Moderns Vol.2  written by Kevin Press (a book dedicated to the world’s great, currently active, avant-garde artists).

2019 sees the release of Remhex Coyles EP – neither companion piece, nor follow-up to Trilate Shift, but a standalone set of tracks with a different collective energy to them. Knocks steps out from the experimental room and heads towards a different kind of space, one that's less claustrophobic and subterranean – a place that’s more structured and in places more melodic than his usual output, but one where he still brings his own distinctive sound.

Before heading into the sound production for a new film, his first theatre piece and next album, this five track EP shows an electronic musician in total control of every last detail. The surprising shift of focus in these tracks displays an alternative approach to his output whilst retaining the usual attention to sampling and manipulating sounds, combining them with a more regimented logic and groove than is usually apparent.
These undeniably enjoyable tracks show a desire to have a more playful immediacy, with a different sound palette and a drive to forge Oberman Knocks’ sounds into something that would be as likely to be played out as listened to at home.

Straight out of one of the UK’s most innovative bass music hotspots, Bristol, two of the scenes fastest rising stars Glume and Phossa join the Subaltern roster with their massive debut split EP.
A - Glume & Phossa - IMHK A collaborative effort from the two talented producers, the EP opener IMHK packs double the punch as well as showing a lot of love for the details. Setting the eerie vibe of the release straight off the bat, IMHK is a surprisingly refreshing track that will light up any dance. Waterfalls of melodies meet hard bass hits, all surrounded by a masterfully-composed, rich-in-details and continuously-evolving drum beat. Get ready to walk into a medieval world of wizards, spells, castles and dragons - Glume and Phossa will be your guides.
B1 - Glume - Shriek Time to enter the dungeon and follow our loyal conductors deep underground. Relentless is the term that comes to mind when indulging in this stone cold, yet somewhat uplifting banger. Glume’s solo piece on the EP delivers pulsating bass waves accentuated by tonal percussion lines, embedded into a horror-movie-like atmosphere.
B2 - Phossa - Deathly Stare It’s Phossa’s time to tell the tale on the third track of the vinyl, showcasing some of his signature style synth lines embedded in an ever-creeping atmosphere. Heavy standing bass walls accompany the trippy cascade of sound, ever enchanting and luring the listener deeper into the maze. Will we find our way out?

Godtet is the brainchild of Australian Instrumentalist and producer Godriguez. Praised for his production on 'The Great Mixtape' for Sampa the Great. Godtet see's Godriguez stepping back into the live format of production with his band plus Simon Mavin (Hiatus Kaiyote) & Zeke Ruckman (30/70).

After releasing the self-titled debut in late 2017 Godtet have quickly become a staple within the emerging Australian Jazz & Instrumental scene with adulation streaming in from all parts of the globe. House Shoes called it his" album of the year" whilst Gilles Peterson made an exception in his Melbourne focused WorldWide FM show playing the Sydney outfits music. Whilst in Melbourne playing shows launching the first album, Godtet decided to record the next album "II", the bulk of which was laid down over one day and was rooted deeply in improvisation, just like the first record.

"It's a masterful piece of production" - Supreme Standards

"They are crazy, insane musicianship" - Jordan Rakei

Airplay on BBC6 and World Wide FM.

Karen Gwyer returns to Don't Be Afraid with her first new work since 2017's Rembo LP, which gained critical acclaim for its powerful body music and melancholic melody led pieces. Man On Mountain EP is a further evolvement of the duality and nuances in moods and emotions that make Gwyer's music so impactful. Resetting, rebuilding and subverting atmospheres and rhythms is a constant in her music and Gwyer builds on that more in this latest instalment.

The low swung weight of opener Faces On Ankles' bassline is full of suspense, alternating between rolling fluidity and unpredictable kick patterns, while a dubby melody dances alongside glossy, introspective arpeggios. The EP then weaves suddenly into cosmic drone that snarls with tension and desolation on Ian On Fire. You can sense contrasts between these two musical spaces – luscious, bouncing techno that nods directly to Gwyer's Midwest upbringing (Faces on Ankles, Cherries On Shoulders) and darker drone experiments where light peeks through the composition that adds balance to the mood, (Ian On Fire, Ribbon on Neck). Gwyer's music takes a different path with each record while holding onto elements of previous incarnations of her sound and Man On Mountain adds new dimensions to the bold and open minded spirit she embodies.

History of Heat is an eroto-intellectual retelling of a love story. It is the scholarship of heat, and the sources of its production in the body: desire, exaltation, anticipation, fear, rage and mourning . It is a fable circulating through the nerves, pumped and distributed by its own mythologies. Through different chapters, we follow the heroine of our story from the initial desire to love, the sensual pull which oscillates between the grotesque and sacred longing of the flesh (‘L’Enfer en pleine lumière’ translates to ‘Hell in plain sight’)...to the sudden ghostlike appearance of the Other (Apparition) as a projection of the dream. We enter into the spiritual, the seeing visions and the blindness of love. ‘Animal’ speaks of instinct, the smell of the beloved, already the deconstruction of the divine back into the realm of the physical. The title track ‘History of heat’ sings the hesitation of love, the precipice of openness and the invitation of the contract: Dance with me... (This is where the metaphoric marriage is forged). In ‘Perfection’, the pressure which keeps the relationship on the pedestal of the absolute stunts and paralyses love. Unrealistic expectations of the self and the other person creates the push and pull of the not wanting what one wants and the fear to get what one has been asking for. ‘Tiny engine’ speaks of mechanical attachment, attachment to the lover as habit, as a second nature, and the call to the other person as a magnet. In ‘Ditectrice’, the madness and the folly of separation spawns war and confusion. It is the violent refusal to live without the other... the pleading with god. ‘Feed him’ follows with resignation and exhaustion. Love has become the beast of burden who eats away at itself insatiably. ‘War text’ brings forth the devastation, the peace treaty and finally the metaphysical Divorce. In ‘Guttermoon’, the vita contemplativa begins, the blood starts to cool, the scene is a ghost town. ‘Wrong god’ similarly winds down as an ode to remorse and mourning. Finally, ‘Cinema Verité’ closes out the album with a mistrust of ‘reality’: the heroine becomes a philosopher, she becomes an artist... did the relationship ever exist or was it a projection “In front of a movie screen” ?

History of Heat is an experimental narrative and cinematic pastiche of all original and self recorded material. A chaotic mix of sounds both analog and digitally produced recalls a warlike interpersonal breakdown. The mood established by the lyrical content of the piece is meant to be demanding, enclosing the listener within a unique and compelling cocoon of otherworldly sound. the Album is framed within a discursive love story which reflects larger relational problematics and interpersonal traumas. looped vocals act as incantations woven in and out of lyrical singing and spoken word. The instrumentals embrace chaos and intensity. Improvised violin and broken down beats compliment and balance the melancholic overtones which flutter above off the grid rhythms in this charged ficto-personal account.

Roman Poncet's 2018 debut LP stands an impressive work in its own right. Now Figure has invited a group of artists to contribute new takes on standout album cuts. Some clearly for the floor, some nestling on its verges. But all adding to the unique Gypsophila-vibe.
Antigone turns in dust shaking flurry of tribal drumming, ceaselessly pounding and rattling away for an exhilarating and at the same time grounding rhythmic experience.
Wiggling and squelching, Efdemin blends a bunch of lively elements into one wildly roaming remix, which despite all its inner momentum retains an orderly structure, testament to the artist's extraordinary production skills.
On the flipside, Margaret Dygas adventurously goes on a trip of finely tuned acoustics, patiently letting each sound grow into what becomes an enthralling piece of enchanted electronica. Evocative, emotional and of serene beauty, Echoplex closes the collection with an epic track, led by grand strings and flute-like synths, begging to be dropped at the break of dawn.

Check! Brand new EP by The Abstract Eye, the L.A.-based producer also known as GB (Gifted & Blessed), Frankie Reyes and a few other monikers, **Very LTD release !**

Although he is known to have an incredibly wide range of stylistic approaches, he is probably best known for the music he makes for the dance floor. His classic releases Cool Warm Divine (Valentine Connexion) and GB Presents: The Abstract Eye (Eglo) have solidified a unique analog electronic sound of his own as The Abstract Eye that he further explores and expands on in these six pieces. This record displays a diverse range of emotions, textures, rhythms and colors, sounding like it could have been made any time, past, present or future. While simultaneously staying open to the ever-changing world of music and also observing the current record industry in which many factors besides the quality of the music itself seem to take precedence, The Abstract Eye asks the question, what's real anymore? For him, it comes down to the feelings this music evokes. That is as real as it gets.

Soundway Records presents the eponymous debut LP from in-demand Amsterdam five piece The Mauskovic Dance Band – fusing no-wave dance punk, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and space disco in a “controlled explosion” (The Quietus).

Entirely self-produced, the band has reiterated their favourite elements of the 70s and 80s legacy of the Afro-Latin psychedelic music of Colombia and Peru, interpreting it through the context of modern day Amsterdam. The output is a lo-fi No Wave groove all its own - rooted in a deep love of champeta, Palenque, psychedelic cumbia, chichi, classic afrobeat and picó soundsystem culture.

Since the release of their “Down In The Basement” EP on Soundway Records in early 2018, the band have found themselves on a hectic European touring schedule – not to mention being involved in other side projects. Following stints with Turkish psychedelic folk rock group Altin Gün, and touring with the re-formed 70s Zamrock outfit W.I.T.C.H., Nic Mauskovic also teamed up with Dutch neo-psychedelic artist Jacco Gardner to form the “cinematic Balearic disco” duo of Bruxas (released by Dutch institution Dekmantel) – and together, they mixed The Mauskovic Dance Band debut album in Lisbon.

Lead single Space Drum Machine encapsulates the band’s prototypical brand of busy rhythmic patterns interwoven with insistent synth stabs and vibrant disco toms, layered with an elastic guitar riff drawing inspiration from Kenyan kikuyu and benga styles. High-pitched vocals describe being on a flight together and inciting each other to press a button of unknown consequence with “push it, push it” - and push it they do, at breakneck pace. And of course, the undeniable influence of Amsterdam’s hotbed of underground dance producers shines through as it does on all tracks - with the vintage psychedelic swirl of synthesiser, lo-fi drum machines and tape recording.

Patience began as bedroom synth project for songwriter Roxanne Clifford after the break up of her acclaimed indie pop band Veronica Falls. Born out of a desire to experiment with a new sound and analogue synthesizers, the project has since grown to become an all-encompassing persona and serves as the main vehicle for the full emotional spectrum always latent in Clifford’s songwriting. From her first long-sold-out 7” singles on Night School, her knack for melodic hooks and oblique emotional stances already contained a glistening sheen of promise. ‘Dizzy Spells’ serves as an intimate portrait of Clifford’s creative adventure, almost diaristic, conceived and recorded in her home studio, as well as with collaborators Todd Edwards (Daft Punk/Uk Garage fame), Lewis Cook (Free Love/Happy Meals) and engineer Misha Hering (Virginia Wing). Dizzy Spells delivers a debut album that twists Clifford’s songwriting into new shapes and ecstasies. The album dances around melancholy, thrown to the floor like a bad dream to be circled, emerging bright-eyed into the early morning full of hope. The Girls Are Chewing Gum (produced by Todd Edwards) bursts open Dizzy Spells like fresh fruit: sweet and rich with a synth-bass line beamed down from Chicago House heaven. Exquisitely sung by Clifford, it’s a wonderful, funky, instant-classic hinting at sexuality and memories dredged from our bodies’ secrets. The bouncy production expertly renders the addictive power of our ephemeral pleasures. Living Things Don’t Last chases themes of longing and loss, opening up into a life affirming chorus that sings of transience, the passing of time and railing against inertia. It’s the perfect example of a song formula that Roxanne Clifford has almost patented: simple and cutting straight to the point. There are shades of Strawberry Switchblade or French synth pop pioneer Jacno in the happy/sad dichotomy and it is all the better for it. Dizzy Spells features all three long-sold out singles, embedded in the full depth of Patience’s soundworld they fit like pieces of a puzzle. White Of An Eye, The Church and The Pressure—all recorded in Clifford’s former home of Glasgow—crackle with razor sharp melodies and dancefloor-ready dynamics. There are exciting additions to Patience’s sonic palette, brought into sharp relief on Voices In The Sand. In this song, a plaintive Clifford enunciates a heart-torn plea to the antagonist, a mournful cascade of synths and haunting vocals evocative of AC Marias, a sepia-toned ode to anxiety, “a storm is on the way”. On No Roses, a Vince Clarkesque production belies a sunburnt sadness. Clifford defiantly sings “you would go out tonight, but there’s nowhere you like,” describing a disenchantment with her adopted city of Los Angeles, she longs for home in a singular refrain “No roses… no roses for us.” An ode to English folk singer Shirley Collins, a surprising yet innate influence throughout Clifford’s work. On Moral Damage, former Veronica Falls bandmate Marion Herbain joins Clifford on an anglo-french duet that feels instant and spontaneous, a cutting comment on emotional accountability. More than a vehicle for Roxanne Clifford’s songwriting prowess, Patience is holding our hand through the night, dancing with tears in our eyes, dizzy and spellbound.

Mika Vainio left behind a lots of unfinished projects and unreleased music.

This archive series is presenting some pieces which can be considered as completed works.

The first volume comprise of two selections from the 48:22 long untitled recording Mika Vainio did as Ø for the radio project Ambient City at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki 1994.

Third studio album from French kraut / experimental / psychedelic act Le Réveil des Tropiques after two opus on Music Fear Satan. LP with obi-strip.

After almost 10 years of existence, two studio albums and a series of live recordings, the exploration by Le Réveil Des Tropiques of the psychedelic worlds takes this time the form of a hybrid record mixing recordings from different eras and contexts: scenes, studios, abandoned factory or even in the middle of nature.

Conceived as an experience of multiple lives, the arrangement of these elements by superimpositions or contrasts echoes the different experiences of the soul as well as the encounters that each makes (or re-made) during his passage on Earth and that does not not only due to chance ...

Named in reference to this mechanical device to synchronize several displacements, and illustrated by Valentin Pinel through the reinterpretation of an engraving of alchemists of the seventeenth century, "L'Arbre à Cames" will lead the listener between several grids of readings that he will be free to interpret and apprehend both as a heterogeneous entity and as a single piece.

Where To Now? Records present the debut release from Akiko Haruna. Akiko’s world is one where cacophonic distress lingers, shuffling itself over scapes of percussive damage and driven groove. Akiko presents a fresh take on the current Technoid function through her use of emotive and intentionally disruptive vocal chops and a dizzying ‘wall of sound’ approach to the dancefloor, consuming all yet somehow keeping vibes alive.

Akiko’s artistic background is primarily in Dance, and undoubtedly this performance led background has had an acute impact on her approach to melodic detail & storytelling. Akiko’s tracks rapidly shift & morph states, always restless and searching with fluidity and intent. From the ever present Micro Electronic details to sweeping swathes of Bass flutter the notion of progressive movement remains at the forefront of her sound, minute elements of detail become briefly isolated, intentionally directing the listener to their subtle presence.

‘Delusions’ Leads with ‘A Mother’s Love’ and begins a theme of resentment and dissonance. The Japanase vocal cuts throughout the track roughly translate to “you should die”, here obviously flipping assumed and supposed relationship rules and roles and exposing an inner turmoil, reflected through a continuous anxiety ridden, almost panicked siren detail which pulses over Akiko’s heads down, deep and uniform forward march.

‘Husband Established’ and the opens with the emotive vocal line “I just hate your Voice”. This is the sound of a poisonous & damaging relationship hurtling towards combustion, where Akiko’s elements gather momentum and impact as layer upon layer of detail pummel and puncture this heightened state, pausing and spiralling to evoke a standoff of aggression and imminent outburst. ‘Husband Established’ stands as a frankly stunning piece of sound design, which manages to capture a raw human emotion, and provide release for the associated junk, stress, and occasional banality of Relationship angst.

‘Hetero’ picks up where ‘Husband Established’ finished, further exploring societal character types and submissive gender tropes that are thrust into our sub consciousness from day to day. The concept of Hyperreality and its themes are continuously explored within Akiko’s practice and It would perhaps be fair to say that these themic explorations within her Music are Akiko’s own outlet for traversing human relationships within a complex, heightened, & layered reality, and it is certainly Akiko’s intention for her audience to feel some kind of relief and release within her sound world. Sonically ‘Hetero’ is a much sparser, subtler affair, where swathes of sampled voice & machine swing in and out of focus, against a weightless backdrop of affecting isolated electronics.

The EP closes with ‘Ripehus Alley’, seemingly void of any deeper meaning or message this serves more as a dreamlike parting song to what is otherwise a highly charged collection. Floating itself away from a frantic & incomprehensible world into a calmer space for final thought and reflection. ‘Delusions’ is a complex, exploratory trip, one which fans of Logos, Fis, Alva Noto, Jlin, Jesse Osborne-Lanthier etc will relish exploring.

West Coast mainstay Dave Aju continues with his own varied style and pace, coming correct once again on Circus Company
with a truly special three-tracker of straight up dance floor bombs. This San Francisco DJ/producer is a master sampler, groove
innovator and jazz influenced artist who has been with this label for ten years. In that time, he has turned out plenty of timeless
LPs and EPs that have earned him a deserving reputation as a truly cultured craftsman.
Just in time for the warm summer months ahead, these pieces are fit for maximum daytime, nighttime, and after-hours pleasure
respectively. The releas kicks off with title track ‘Love In Zero Gravity’, one of those raw undefinable Dave Aju grooves, loaded
with soul and unique musicality. It builds in bass-heavy intensity, bright epic bursts and ecstatic waves like we've never heard
from him before. Next up the voodoo stylings continue on ‘Aubergine Dream’ but in a much deeper mode, where ultra-sweaty
basement funk collides with the darkest shades of purple imaginable, all laced-up with otherworldly lysergic lines. Finally,
‘Gatadu’ rounds things out with pure class, a bouncing robust house cut done-up with generous helpings of live percussion, rich
textures, and Aju's velvety vox - the perfect recipe to keep dancing long into Sunday's sun rays, all smiles and sing-a-long vibes
for the real heads and lovers. This is another superb offering from one of dance music’s most fascinating artists.

Detailed, smart, commanding, groovy. These are just a few words to describe the Assorted Pieces 2 compilation. This strictly in-house production by Friendship & Decadence contains tracks from such producers as Kade, Mirage Man, Poly Sone and Waltteri. Which is a intriguing mixture indeed.

Poly Sone’s “Home killing is taping music” is a rugged and fast paced take on nordic techno. As the track was recorded on a four track cassette recorder the saturation on this cut is immense, yet pleasant. Definitely not your everyday cheapo lo-fi tune.

Deep, quirky and playful bottom heavy roller, “Calm” by Waltteri has a hint of spanish roast in its blend. Waltteri’s debut on the imprint can be perfectly paired with a fun loving crowd during midnight or even around early mornings. Psychedelic multipurpose tool.

Kade’s raw and unconventional track “Sanko” is a treat for the adventurous mind. Haunting arpeggios and vocal chops will give you the creeps, while the unrefined saturated rhythms will sooth you into a trance. Eccentric and hypnotic dance music.

“This track never starts” by Mirage Man lives by its name as it is a slowly unraveling and cinematic number. Regardless of its thick lower end, in the club environment this track might send the restless to acquire a beverage from the bar, but for the grounded minds who enjoy ambient this just might be the ticket. Play it yourself and see what happens.

Limited press of 150 pcs. 12” record includes a download code.

As with the first SchleiBen series, Emotional Response follows the success of the second set of split releases with a stand-alone album by one of the highlights, in Neil Tolliday.

Recorded over a 17-year period, the ambient, drone and noise pieces collected here offer a glimpse in to the depth of a supremely talented, thoughtful and at times, troubled musical mind.

As his love for house music and the success of his Nail moniker grew and waned during the ascent 90s boom, there followed his somewhat surprising success as one half of Balearic-pop combo Bent, propelling Tolliday in to a world of indie-charts and endless touring. The eventual unhappiness of this 'music career' and increasing need for personal escapism led him start experiment new musical forms of expression.

A thinker and oft-over drinker, success was viewed with a deep suspicion and introspection, drug use and later, depression. As his other music projects slowly imploded, this new, personal music was for many years, made purely for Tolliday's own absorption and comedowns.

Taken from an initial 4 track recording in Nottingham in 2000, more pieces were subsequently recorded around the globe on numerous devices - old portable cassette recorders, hand held digital stereos and even mobile phones. These heavily manipulated samples were slowed down, reversed, smudged and stretched before analog and modular patching, Mellotron, editing, programming and post production were added to the melting pot.

With hundreds of tracks collated, in the last few years Tolliday began putting them out via Bandcamp using different aliases, on made up record labels, with no press or mention to anyone. This would happen every 6-9 months - a new label was created with logo, band/artist names and a few albums worth of music, leaving it there for a few weeks before then deleting the lot.

Here then is a snapshot of those recordings, chosen to represent the depth of music, while trying not to think too much about in to the emotions that were used in making them. With special hand painted artwork by Sam Purcell, commissioned from the artist's own photographs taken from a adjournment at Homerton hospital, the hope is to do justice to such wonderful music and present Neil Tolliday, finally an artist, shorn of pseudonyms, in a broader light.

FSL008 “Excerpts From Layers Of Identity” brings you a piece of the pie that shows you the deeper and eclectic look into the producer and dj Lee Kelly’s musical styling Chosen from Kelly’s album last year of the same name on the excellent Where The Time Goes, we have picked some more eclectic rhythms and ambient numbers that is a slight change from his well received 12″ on Chicago’s Tasteful Nudes in 2017 but fits right at home with us as it will you. Also includes a beautiful DJ OK remix all the way from Berlin to your ears aswell as bonus beats.

Recorded on 27th May 1965 at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Recorded right in the middle of Dexter’s golden Blue Note period. Featuring an all-star band of Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Barry Harris (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums). Dexter’s take on the famous ballad ‘I’m A Fool To Want You’ has become one of his trademark pieces. Elsewhere, the album features three fine Dexter originals (‘Hanky Panky’, ‘Jodi’ and the title track) plus ‘Devilette’ and ‘Lady Iris B’.

WRWTFWW Records is blissful to announce the expanded reissue of one of the most fascinating Japanese ambient/environmental albums ever made, NOVA + 4 by Yutaka Hirose. The double LP includes the album known as Soundscape 2: Nova, sourced from its original masters, as well as 50 minutes of never-released-before recordings. It comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, packed with liner notes from the artist in English and Japanese. NOVA + 4 is also available on double digipack CD.

Initially released in 1986 as part of the Soundscape series* commissioned by Misawa Home Corporation for use in their prefabricated houses, Yutaka Hirose's NOVA has grown to become a mythical piece of the Japanese minimalist/ambient/environmental scene of the eighties. Initiated around the enchanting landscapes of the two first tracks recorded for the project, "Nova" and "Epilogue", Yutaka Hirose's magnum opus serenely blends vintage synth with nature sounds, exploring soothing palettes and organic backdrops. For "Slow Sky", Hirose explains he "went for a pointillism-like sound, and tried to express a scenery of awakening, where the portal of a heart is opening up", while on "Humming The Sea", he "tried to compose a kind of music that expresses the daily, lazy life of child-like innocence in a summer vacation in some small town."

The bonus LP gathers four long unreleased pieces created around the same period of time for installations, described by Yutaka Hirose as "not music per se but rather sound sculptures", and including the haunting "Shadow Of A Water Droplet" which was recorded for an Ikebana exhibition.

All in all, NOVA + 4 is a transcendent experience of nature in the urban context, an oeuvre which, much like Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass or Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way, holds the power to appease the soul in turbulent times. As one inspired YouTube commenter once said when describing Yutaka Hirose's masterstroke: "I can't tell if the birds are singing inside or outside! Thank you!"

*The Soundscape series also includes Hiroshi Yoshimura's Surround album.

A very warm welcome aboard to the splendid AMERICAN STANDARD label !!

Critical & hedonistic acclaim have already been lavished on this Charleston based sonic excavator of considerable note, so we won't bore you with an exhaustive biog, mainly because there isn't one.
The music is most definitely left to do the talking as this one man 'Folly Beach Psychemagik' fills the record boxes of the world's most discerning diggers with treasure beyond measure.

So, for this latest 3 piece for American Standard we're firmly in the FM synthesis musical district of early 80's planet earth.
70's session players still strung out from the previous decades' debauchery tried their hand at piloting these electricity powered units to wildly varying degrees of success.
Luckily for you, Jaz has been kind enough to find and reload three of the finest, more esoteric, obscure but eminently playable moments from this fertile era for some primo 'back to the future' frugging...

Rotciv is the Brasilian born, Berlin based man behind Mister Mistery records. This prolific producer has been out there for quite a long time and you might remember "The Rimshooters", the long lasting collaboration with Massimiliano Pagliara himself. Now it is time for Rotciv to offer a piece of his synthesisers' craftsmanship to Funnuvojoere Records. This five tracker EP expresses Rotciv's skills with harmony and music progression. A1 AWAKENING starts off with a piano house arpeggio and slowly evolves into a trance acid-tinged explosive motive. Organic feeling drums develop giving it a disco touch that will put a smile on the crowded dance floor. A2 GOOD SPELL combines a pure cosmic style with a New Beat-like dissonance and uplifting vocals. B1 KNOW THE UNKNOWN keeps the experimentation levels high with distortions and an 8bit dialogue that drifts into a progressive-kind of sound. Deeper than the rest B2 puts on stage a dark landscape that reminds of a black and white vampire movie. B3 INTERMISSION follows up and gives the final ambient touch to this delightful EP.

The trumpet/flugelhorn legend’s 1960 album. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on 19th June 1960. Featuring Tina Brooks (tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Clifford Jarvis (drums). Features classic self-penned pieces such as the title track and ‘Hub’s Nub’, plus unique takes on the standards ‘But Beautiful’, ‘All Or Nothing At All’ and ‘One Mint Julep’. Produced by Blue Note co-founder Alfred Lion.
The famous album cover designed and photographed by other co-founder Francis Wolff.
Liner notes by the much-respected, recently-deceased jazz writer Ira Gitler.

Running and pushing the boundaries with his versatile musical skills, Giovanni Damico aka Ron Juan tends to be a hard worker. The fact that his musical journey started well about 15 years ago, Giovanni has released top notch records on labels that bring resonance in today's industry such as Star Creature, Lumberjacks in Hell, Bordello A Parigi and swiss boutique label deepArtSounds. His latest piece of work is a five track,afro funk influenced mini Album entitled "Express Yourself". It's an eclectic journey thru Giovanni's deep mind and thru his huge collection of synths and instruments.

Walls, Corridors, Baffles is the debut album of Swiss musician and producer Samuel Savenberg aka S S S S. Following various releases on Haunter Records, aufnahme+wiedergabe, and Hallow Ground, his LP on Präsens Editionen tries to find an approach to an artistic expression beyond tropes of darkness, harshness and excess. Thus, the aesthetic of Walls, Corridors, Baffles is radically and uncompromisingly sober. Instead of focusing on a conceptual or symbolic treatment of sound as an abstraction, Savenberg emphasizes its materiality. The album consists of eight pieces strung together into a manifesto which calls for a febrile embrace of an unheard-of, intense sobriety.
In Walls, Corridors, Baffles, unadulterated percussive force meets an astoundingly precise and frugal vocabulary of electroacoustic sounds, as for example on the opener “Deserter”. Passages extended over long melodies invite the listener to lose oneself in the contrastive emptiness. Central to the work are the affective qualities of the music which lapses only at moments into a more defined emotional quality – as on the final track “Nothing But the Circulation of Air”.
*Edition of 300 copies

Low Distance is Deaf Center´s third full-length studio album and perhaps the most focused effort by the Norwegian duo to date. After their last record Owl Splinters (2011) was quite an eclectic endeavor, Erik K Skodvin & Otto A Totland draw their sound back into something more quiet and minimal.

The record starts with a piece of sweeping analougue electronics. It´s a spacious, yet dynamic opener that leads directly into the static tones and piano motivs of Entity Voice, which balances a new sense of abstractation with the classic Deaf Center sound. It´s warm and close while sounding like it´s set in the outer horizon. Overall Low Distance feels both alien and familiar with its atonal synths, close pianos and drowned out noises.

After meeting in studio for the first time since 2011, the recordings came out of a 3 day session in 2017. It was then mixed at both EMS Stockholm and at Erik´s home studio over a longer period to create a blend of deeply layered as well as stripped down pieces. Both Erik & Otto have been active individually since their last meeting as Deaf Center: Otto released 2 solo piano albums, while Erik has furthered his descent into musical abstractation both under his own name and as Svarte Greiner. It´s long overdue to hear them connect their personalities into something new. Low Distance is a welcome return replete with beauty, mystery and uncertainty.

Over the last decade, we’ve come accustomed to Jason Letkiewicz releasing material under a dizzying array of aliases, each utilized to explore a different side of his multi-faceted musical persona. Now, some 14 years after he made his recording debut alongside Ari Goldman as Manhunter, Letkiewicz has joined forces with Into The Light Records to release his first album under his real name.

The Reflecting Pool sees Letkiewicz exploring the uncomplicated and uncluttered in the pursuit of pure aural beauty. While his recent album as Opposing Currents was dense, dark, urban and industrial, The Reflecting Pool is stripped back, quiet and melodious. The contrast between the two projects is marked, with The Reflecting Pool drawing more on Letkiewicz’s love of crystalline ambient, slow burn synthesizer soundscapes, early ’80s library music and the kind of obscure electronic new age music that has been a hallmark of Into The Light’s releases to date.

The set’s 12 tracks gently ebb and flow, with Letkiewicz making great use of dusty old drum machines, effects units and a range of vintage analogue and digital synthesizers. It’s a set-up that results in a range of complimentary mood pieces and interludes, from the delay-laden military drums and lilting lead lines of “Out of Body Experiences”, to the drowsy, sunrise bliss of “Sunspot”, the bubbling Tangerine Dream style shuffle of “Mind Awake Body Asleep” and the outer-space atmosphere of “The Kill Fee”.

Throughout, Letkiewicz showcases his seemingly intrinsic grasp of mood, atmosphere and melody. It can be heard within the glacial guitar motifs, occasional beats and elongated chords of “The Reflecting Pool”, the rhythmic bustle of “Numb Drums”, the glassy-eyed melancholia of “Arhythmia” and the cinematic paranoia of “Burning Off The Morning Fog”. It’s also evident amongst the classically beat-less ambient of closing cut “Weightless”, whose alien electronics, effects-laden pulses and opaque chords recall established masters of the genre.

With The Reflecting Pool, Letkiewicz has provided us with a much-needed dose of stress-free musical escapism, at the same time offering hope that in these troubling times, love may still save the day.

Pre-Order. Releases June 21.

Unsurprisingly for a creator as prolific as Muslimgauze’s Bryn Jones was, when he was asked for a contribution for any sort of group project, he would tend to provide more options than necessary. In the case of longtime label Staalplaat’s 1996 compilation Sonderangebot, where Jones would find himself in the company of everyone from Charlemagne Palestine to Reptilicus, the selected track was the characteristically headspinning “Kaliskinazure”, nine minutes of insistent digital percussion bouncing the listener back and forth between samples of wailing women’s voices and a trebly, blurry little whirr that traces the percussion. It’s distinctive enough even among the vast Muslimgauze corpus, but as the continued excavation of DATs Jones submitted to his labels continues, sure enough there’s more to that track’s story, too.

An extended “Kaliskinazure” makes up the second of four tracks on Babylon Is Iraq, although it’s been lost to the mists of time whether an outside editor excised the more drifting, less needling coda that makes up the extra six minutes found here, or whether Jones simply submitted both versions of the track at different times. This more complete version of “Kaliskinazure” is surrounded by shorter tracks, with the opening “Kaliskinazure — Momada” sounding not very much like either track it references (instead being a barely-there wisp of far-away sampled wind instruments and what sounds like treated cymbal sounds) and the title track constantly coming to a full, roiling digital boil. The lengthy “Momada” closes out the album with a different, more tersely internal arrangement surrounding the same percussion pattern that will be familiar to any Sonderangebot fans, although the way the quieter atmosphere transforms the feeling of that rhythm indicates once more than Jones’ way of reconfiguring his pieces over and over was perhaps more purposive and even more effective than he’s sometimes given credit for. The result is a fascinating expansion on one of Muslimgauze’s strongest stand-alone moments.

Dutch producers Mindmapper & Fre4knc team up to deliver the 'Martial Manners' EP in celebration of Translation Recordings' tenth vinyl release, which comes on a visually stunning piece of crystal & transparent white vinyl! Up first is 'Collessius,' whose heavy-rolling bassline rushes in with the
force of a tsunami, leaving a wake of dancefloor destruction in its path. 'Shutter Angel' is a futuristic track where tight, snappy breakbeats slingshot back and forth between an electrifying bassline that surges across the airwaves like a beam of focused energy. Mindmapper & Fre4knc
delve into darker territories on 'Fenryr,' whose gritty atmospherics and subterranean low
frequencies deliver a unique and immersive listening experience. They close the EP on a deep, meditative note with 'Mind of Steel' (digital only) where drum edits slice through growling bass riffs with blade-like precision. The 'Martial Manners' EP strikes the perfect balance between dancefloor and experimental to carry on Translation Recordings' ongoing mission to bridge audiences with quality music that can be enjoyed in all listening environments.
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Translation Recordings is proud to unveil its summer 2012 project capturing all moods sublime with the 'Universal Grooves LP'. A limited press on transparent blue vinyl, this special edition 12inch showcases a diverse sampling of Translation's full album that will not disappoint. The A-side brings the thunder showcasing the heavy hitting, rolling and dubby sounds of Loxy and Resound's 'Civil War' and Theory's calculated genius behind the ragga and amen tear-out, 'Final Confrontation.' Flip to a switch in vibe as DBR

Hailing from the heartland of British techno, Sheffield’s John Shima is one of the leading lights of UK electronics. His beautifully crafted sounds have graced a host of imprints including Distant Worlds, Exalt Records and, of course, FireScope. It is to the latter that Shima returns with his long awaiting debut album, The Lonely Machine.

John Shima is a master melody weaver, with this first LP attesting to his deftness of touch. Celestial chords and star gazing synthwork permeate this ten track odyssey. The musical heritage of Shima’s hometown, the elegance, majesty and subtlety of British electronics, is invoked from the needle drop. A range of influences come to the fore in this 2LP. Skirting around the edges of astral ambience and tonal texture are nods to industrial history, the rasp and resonance of rhythms in “Empires”, with the inspiration of Detroit surfacing in the future funk of “Phase Distortion” and “Linear.” Dreamscapes are painted in delicate hues, the fragile movements of “Accepting”, with brooding works adopting thicker basslines and ruffled notes as with “Distrust.” Nevertheless, it is the incandescent brightness of Lonely Machine that truly shines. Radiant pieces of elating electronics, complex and joyful compositions that chime with unbridled hope and open-hearted optimism.