Buscar:piper

London based Jonny L's seminal D&B album 'Sawtooth' was his debut long player.
Originally released on XL in 1997 as a 5 x 10' vinyl box set, the reissue is pressed on vinyl with original artwork.
'Sawtooth' saw the evolution of drum 'n' bass from its original and wildly bombastic sound in to a 'neurofunk' era of D&B, defined by its eerily cold and obsessively tidy production. It's so mausoleum-cold in here, you can almost see your breath,' wrote Simon Reynolds about Jonny L's 'Piper' in The Wire, 1997.

After 90 releases on Future Retro London, I feel like I need to take a bit of a break from the constant workload that's come from running the label on my own. I feel like 50 (the cat number for the main label releases) is a good number to pause on for now.

I've been doing some remixes of the back catalogue & thought that putting them all together on one release at some point would be an interesting concept, so here we are.

Thanks so much to all the supporters, artists, designers & everyone else that's been involved in keeping Future Retro London going for so long, couldn't have done this without each & every one of you.

Fresh on the Discos Panorama series, we head back to Colombia with the undisputed king Fruko y Sus Tesos, pairing him with another all-time classic on the flip from The Latin Brothers. Two heavyweight dancefloor cuts, one essential 7inch.

On the A-side, Fruko does what he does best — driving, percussive salsa built for movement, locked-in rhythm section, sharp horns, and that unmistakable swing that’s kept his records in DJ bags for decades. On the flip, “Buscándote” from The Latin Brothers brings a slower, more melodic touch without losing any punch — real music.

Both sides feature the presence of the legendary Piper Pimienta Díaz on vocals. His voice is raw, expressive, and instantly recognisable. A true legend of the game.

Part of PANORAMA’s Discos Panorama series, this release continues the label’s focus on Colombian salsa at its most vital and dancefloor-ready. Carefully selected, respectfully remastered, and pressed for DJs and collectors alike — music that’s been doing the work for years, now brought back where it belongs.

Continuing the percussive-driven and emotive themes from his previous EPs, CAIN reaches beyond the boundaries of experimental electronic and Celtic music from the Scottish Highlands. "Lineage" is the result of a life-long goal to combine his passion and experience in these respective worlds. The album includes Brighde Chaimbeul on Scottish small pipes, James Mackenzie on flute and vocals by Katie Mackenzie.

The common thread that connects his discography is the intense rhythmic and melodic elements that convey his love of ‘infectious rhythm, ethereal beauty, or an otherworldly strangeness’. His productions have garnered support from DJs like Ben UFO, Gilles Peterson, Peggy Gou, Hunee, Haai, Erol Alkan, Ame, Oneman, and Midland, amongst others. Balancing rhythmic precision with profound harmonic depth, CAIN weaves evocative builders that ignite dancefloors at peak time and reveal intricate sonic tapestries in the intimate confines of headphones.

CAIN's musical background is rooted in traditional Scottish bagpipe music, which evolved through his competitive performances on an international level. His experience and knowledge enhanced CAIN’s understanding of how regional folk music reflects specific environments and cultures. Through the competition circuit he met Brìghde Chaimbeul, out on the scenic games fields of Uist, Glenfinnan and many others. He also competed against James Mackenzie, an amazing piper and flautist. James is a former member of the band Breabach. His wife, Katie Mackenzie is a superb Gaelic singer.

The recordings with James and Katie were done on the island of Bernera, off the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and recordings with Brìghde were made in Edinburgh.

Mastered by Sam at Precise, Design by Alexander Horne, Pressed and printed at Record Industry

"Summer Jam" is back! A long-awaited repress of this powerful and joyful tune described as "acid pied piper", with new artwork and new flip-side. EM Records is very happy to again bring you our favorite tune from the artist known as Tapes, here in a 10-inch vinyl/download format that, with its good vibes, positivity and major-key delightfulness, will rescue you from any doldrums you are experiencing, whether personal, societal or cosmic. "Summer Jam" is a solo recording from 2019, but it soars over the worries of the year, any year, with an up- lifting rhythmic lilt, a positive tonality, non-annoyingly catchy melodies and some lovely sonic textures. There's something here for fans of bass music, mid-80s-and- beyond electronic music, and pure toe-tapping good times. There's a sweet chord progression and background drift in the title track that are particularly pleasing, and the flip-side is a very satisfying "acid" live version with his ally, 7FO, that will lovingly catapult you to another major-chord heaven. The sun can shine anywhere, anywhen, so enjoy!

When a new RAXON release drops it’s always strongly recommended to firmly hold your socks and pants as they might get blown off. And oh dear… We caught him in an extraordinarily randy mood for his 4th outing on our prestigious Speicher series. “Acid Call” is a positively rude high energy funk beast, ready to take dancehalls of any size or color to pieces. With “Don’t Cry Pluto” Raxon turns into a punk version of the legendary Pied Piper, graciously luring us away from this boring village into a world of fun-fueled madness. What a guy, this Raxon!

Fünf Monate arbeitete David Gilmour in Brighton und London an »Luck And Strange«, dem ersten neuen Longplayer, den er seit neun Jahren veröffentlicht. Die LP wurde von David und Charlie Andrew produziert, den man für seine Zusammenarbeit mit ALT-J und Marika Hackman kennt. Der Großteil der Lyrics stammt von Gilmours Co-Autorin Polly Samson, mit der er schon seit 30 Jahren zusammenarbeitet. Auf dem Album sind acht neue Tracks zu hören, dazu kommt eine Coverversion von Between Two Points (Originalinterpreten: The Montgolfier Brothers), auf der Romany Gilmour Harfe spielt und singt. Auf anderen Songs der LP war Gilmours Tochter für die Backing-Vocals zuständig. Zu den Musikern, die an der Entstehung von »Luck And Strange« beteiligt waren, gehören: Guy Pratt & Tom Herbert am Bass, Adam Betts, Steve Gadd und Steve DiStanislao am Schlagzeug sowie Rob Gentry & Roger Eno an den Keyboards. Für die Streicher- und Chor-Arrangements war Will Gardner verantwortlich. Auf dem Titeltrack, der 2007 während eines Jams in David Gilmours Scheune entstand, ist der verstorbene Pink Floyd Keyboarder Richard Wright zu hören. Das Cover-Foto von Anton Corbijn wurde durch den Text von »Scattered«, dem letzten Song des Albums, inspiriert.

Following much love for his EPs, remixes and club sets, the virtuosic DJ/producer Simo Cell’s debut album 'Cuspide des Sirènes' doesn’t disappoint. In fact, it takes things to a whole new level.

With a fantastical menagerie of anthropomorphism, sounds create characters and tools; the mermaid-like Sirens, the mind controlling Octopus and the Magic Conch Shell:

“Have you heard of the legend of 'Cuspide des Sirènes'? This is not a simple tale, but an incredible tapestry woven over many years and through countless wondrous adventures. I will recount the legend as it was recorded in the ancient scrolls.

The album’s story explores the themes of magic, enchantment, charm, and allure, but also personal fears. The protagonist (me) embarks on a quest to find the hidden lake and confront his own demons, in order to understand and master his own power.

The protagonist is armed with a powerful conch shell. As he embarks on his journey, he will encounter Sirens who will teach him various chants. These melodies hold unique powers and grant the main character the strength to confront and overcome any danger that may arise.” Simo Cell

Musically, the LP is a continuation of Simo’s journey that began with the ‘YES.DJ’ EP, with a synthesized/modernized take on noughties hip hop, bass music, trap, ghetto house and ghetto tech – but here he broadens the scope, massively.

Exploring new pathways through magical landscapes, via infused melodies, emo and pop, the sensations are bright and addictive, like a sugar and endorphin cocktail. There’s a screen sheen and video game quality too, sounding like the high-octane score to an action flick from the year 3000, with unimaginably wild SFX.

'Cuspide des Sirènes' is the kind of record to stop someone in their tracks, to ask “what IS this?”, provoking bass face, perplexion, fascination and manic glee, all at once. Not so much organised chaos as intricately-crafted-borderline-unhingement, the album is slightly bonkers, in a very good way. There’s a boundless sense of childlike, unencumbered imagination at play, and an abundance of fun, but there are moments of serious-deep-beat-science for the heads, and introspective passages too.

There’s a lot going on, with detail, layers, flourishes, arrangement, melodies and myriad fresh sounds – but it’s never too much; just a really engrossing listen – the kind that that ruins ones appetite for prosaic, vanilla dance music, rendering such 2D pursuits boring and obsolete.

Ideally, the album is meant to be experienced as a seamless narrative from start to finish, so leave any inhibitions or preconceptions at the door, and let the pied piper of electronic futurism lead you way down the rabbit hole.

The 1973 album “El Violento” was the fifth full-length salsa LP led by Julio Ernesto Estrada Rincón, aka Fruko, and the second credited to Fruko Y Sus Tesos. Though it did not contain hits like ‘A la memoria del muerto’ or ‘El Preso’, it’s a collector’s item today in places like the US, Europe and Japan, perhaps precisely because it is obscure yet full to the brim with unrelentingly hard and heavy salsa bangers that never let up from start to finish (hence the title, which translates as “The Violent One”). A mix of originals and interesting covers, the LP is “all killer and no filler”, purposely designed to set the dance floor ablaze. It features Fruko’s two main vocalists that took over from the first pair of Humberto “Huango” Muriel and “Píper Pimienta” Díaz, namely the beloved duo of Álvaro “Joe” Arroyo and Wilson “Saoko” Manyoma. Los Tesos were a talented “wild bunch” who listened to their fearless leader, with Fruko holding down the bottom end on electric bass, Hernán Gutiérrez in the piano chair, the Villegas brothers on hand percussion (Jesús tickling the bongos and Fernando slapping the congas), augmented by Rafael Benítez on timbales and an ace horn section of Freddy Ferrer and Gonzálo Gómez (trombones) and Jorge Gaviria and Salvador Pasos (trumpets). The super aggressive sound comes directly from the South Bronx playbook of Willie Colón. The snarling trombones and soaring trumpet are somewhat sweetened by a nice little Puerto Rican cuatro guitar solo. Sonically lightening the mood somewhat, ‘Nadando’ (‘Swimming’) is a bouncy tune in the ‘Mercy’ genre (basically a hybrid of pop, funky soul, cumbia and salsa, in the style of Nelson y Sus Estrellas), gleefully sung by Joe Arroyo. The beats are complex and ever changing, with a little bit of mozambique, conga, bomba, jala jala and of course salsa thrown in for good measure. The side closes out with a brilliant, uptempo salsa reworking of the venerable ranchera chestnut, ‘Tú, sólo tú’. Side two explodes with the frenetic descarga jam session ‘Salsa na’ ma’—which is exactly that: nothing more than the hottest “sauce” to make the dancers go crazy. Fruko’s tune is dedicated to the Latin community in New York that listens to salsa from everywhere and dances to it so fervently on the weekend. The relentless percussion propels the listener along at breakneck speed as if hurtling down the Bronx Expressway, demonstrating that Fruko y Sus Tesos have mastered the ‘violent’ form of urban salsa that was having its transnational moment in the early 1970s. While “El Violento” may not be as well known as some Fruko records, it certainly deserves a new look and should be assessed on its own merits as a very powerful, confident entry in the historical evolution of Colombian salsa dura.Sleeve

Samosa Records reaches its 30th release in style, and who better to mark the occasion than label boss De Gama with the superb ‘Tropical Gangster’ - a three tracker slice of vinyl heaven that’ll blow you face first into your summer paddling pool.

Opening this super-tropical affair on the A-side is afro beat stomper ‘Karibu Funk’ - and it wastes no time at all in introducing us to its tribal rhythmic awesomeness. The beats, the vocals, the outrageously funky bass and horns are a musical representation of an African sunset. A serious groove.

A2. brings us ‘Lucky Fellow’; a twisting, turning bouncy bass-bomb of a tune with a flute riff that would charm the clothes off you. De Gama is very much in Pied Piper mode here - you’re powerless to resist the sexy overtures of the drums, the haunting synth lead and solid bass line. Sizzling hot.

On the B-side De Gama offers a cool ‘Piña Colada’ after all the heat of the A-side. This Piña Colada, however, offers an oasis of many delights and flavours. What starts as a furious latino drum call breaks to a tropical bassline and hypnotic keys. The vocals are the cherry on the cake of an amazing arrangement of layered sound. Goosebumps.

The Tropical Gangster is an exceptionally special Samosa release befitting the occasion of reaching the 30 milestone, and another example of the consistently brilliant output from Samosa Records. Expect this one to sell out fast.

Analog Tara’s Life of the Mother is a sonic meditation on the depth, expansiveness, complexity, and power that this phrase holds. This album is made from layers of generative processes and interactions with them. Analog Tara uses a Zillion sequencer and Xone mixer as system guides, and sounds of the ARP 2500, Jealous Heart, Access Virus, Oberheim OB-6, Jomox XBase, Moog DFAM, and more to create a compelling electronic narrative.

Composed, recorded + mixed by Tara Rodgers. Mastered by Piper Payne, assisted by Colby Gustafson, at Neato Mastering in Nashville, TN. Art by Jackie Milad, She Goes Ancient, mixed media, 2019.

2ND LP PRESSING

Cosmic Ear is a new group bringing together Christer Bothén, Mats Gustafsson, Goran Kajfeš, Kansan Zetterberg and Juan Romero. Their debut album TRACES is released by We Jazz Records on 23rd of May, 2025. Including 6 deep cuts, TRACES is an album that sees Cosmic Ear tracking down the "traces" of the legendary Don Cherry's legacy while paving their own way in contemporary creative music expression.

Christer Bothén, a collaborator with Don Cherry during his Swedish period in the 1970s, brings depth to the history of the band, while his bandmates each belong at the top of the game in Scandinavian jazz. Their music is meditative and deep, much recommended for fans of the likes of Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, and Pharoah. That being said, listeners should approach Cosmic Ear only with openness and curiosity, without set stylistic boundaries, as it's the group's natural flow and togetherness that brings their music into a fresh territory of their own.

As John Corbett writes in his liner notes:

"The Cosmic Ear. Five souls, sometimes six, on the same road. The pied piper path of Mr. Cherry. Christer Bothén, one of Cherry's main collaborators in his Swedish period and one of the most beautiful bass clarinetists on planet earth, together with next-gen saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, who has carried so many torches in Cherry's procession, and younger Swedish stars trumpeter Goran Kajfes, bassist Kansan Zetterberg, and percussionist Juan Romero. Together a tempo is set, a path is charted. There are global grooves. A berimbau, a karignan (metal scraper from Guinea), donso n'goni. There are ET grooves. Synth, live-electronics, slide flute. The globe is a glove, a hand warmer that radiates with extraterrestrial power, returning the fingers to their place at the center of the galaxy; the Cherry path is a balm that restores essential moisture to the lips that blow life back into the megacosm. Let us all praise warm fingers and moist mouths."

"Purveyor of finest low notes”, Robin Mullarkey is a UK bassist and producer, renowned for his edgy bass playing with the likes of Jordan Rakei, Jose James, Zero 7 and Jacob Collier. His first solo release takes new twists away from the intricately weaved arrangements of his Brotherly project and into new realms of pure improvisation with a selection of the greatest musicians in the country. With Richard Spaven (Loyle Carner, Platinum Pied Pipers) - drums, Dave Okumu (Rosie Lowe, Jamie Woon, Tony Allen) - guitars and ESKA (Grace Jones, Zero 7) on vocals you can begin to imagine the scope of this wild selection of head-nodders and chin-strokers.
4/5* - Jazzwise Magazine

When Saracen released their debut album ‘Heroes, Saints & Fools’ back in 1981, the UK Rock scene certainly took notice. Their combination of Magnum-like melodies and Uriah Heep intensity and vocal stylings immediately endeared them to fans of the NWOBHM scene, and fans of classic British Rock in general.
All songs and lyrics were written by lead guitarist Rob Bendelow, who left prior to the release of their second album, ‘Change Of Heart’, in 1984. While this sophomore effort still contained a few Bendelow songs, the band had changed direction, moving away from the almost Pomp and NWOBHM of the debut for a more polished and Melodic Rock direction.
Unfortunately, this new direction didn’t resonate with the fans, and the band broke up not long after.
However, Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records had always been a massive Magnum and Saracen fan. Having already convinced Bob Catley to start a solo career in the late 90s, he also had very productive talks with Rob Bendelow. This great friendship resulted in the band reforming and the release of ‘Red Sky’ in 2003. Rob Bendelow and Saracen were back.
Later signing to Escape and releasing several more great albums, Rob Finally retired from the music scene a few years ago, but the band gamely soldiered on, keeping his songs and legacy alive for their many adoring fans.

In an instance of total cosmic kismet, that same Bruce Mee was also co-organiser of the inaugural ‘Tower of Fire’ UK festival, and in 2024 invited Saracen to play the event along with other well recognised names of the scene such as Nitrate, Remedy, Atack, White Skies and Gabrielle de Val. The event was multi-track recorded, and the results of the Saracen set were so good that it was decided to release a very first live album.

The title of the live album is taken from the name of their crushing opening song: ‘Crusader’. And in a further act of unbelievable karma, the magnificent album artwork and design are created by Sebastian Kozak, the very same creative artist responsible for the brilliant artwork on the band’s come-back album ‘Red Sky’ back in 2003.
All but one of the songs that day were from that incredible debut and those 5 songs, along with 3 others previously recorded live by the band, make up this totally amazing live album. For fans of Saracen and NWOBHM, this is a moment we never thought we’d ever see: a brilliant live Saracen album with vocalist Steve Bettney sounding as incredible as he did over 40 years ago.

2LP-Erstauflage auf farbigem Loser-Vinyl: "BIO PETROL" Disk 1 und "MAGENTA" Disk 2. "¡Simpatico! (Remastered and Expanded)" bringt das lange vergriffene zweite Album von Velocity Girl aus dem Jahr 1994, "¡Simpatico!", mit einem superfrischen Mastering und einer Menge Bonus-Tracks aus der "¡Simpatico!"-Zeit endlich wieder raus. Das Originalalbum klingt besser als je zuvor und wird durch ein komplettes Album mit B-Seiten und Raritäten ergänzt. Velocity Girl wurde um 1989 an der University of Maryland außerhalb von Washington DC gegründet, mit dem Gitarristen Archie Moore (Black Tambourine), dem Gitarristen Brian Nelson (Black Tambourine), dem Schlagzeuger Jim Spellman (Starry Eyes, Foxhall Stacks, High Back Chairs, Julie Ocean, Piper Club), dem Bassisten Kelly Riles (Starry Eyes) und der Sängerin Sarah Shannon (Starry Eyes, The Not Its). Die Band kombinierte englisch inspirierten, lauten Shoegaze-Fuzz mit rauem US-Indie-Rock und klassischem Pop-Songwriting im Stil der 60er Jahre. Eine Killer-Single auf Slumberland und ununterbrochene Tourneen erregten die Aufmerksamkeit der Indie-Rock-Kenner, und bald darauf unterschrieb Velocity Girl einen Vertrag mit Sub Pop auf einer Motorhaube in Hoboken, New Jersey. Nach der Tournee zur Unterstützung ihres Debüts ,Copacetic" verbrachte die Band den größten Teil des Jahres damit, eine Reihe von Songs für ein zweites Album zu schreiben. So hatten sie noch nie gearbeitet - es war eine neue Erfahrung, Zeit und Budget (vom Label!) darauf zu verwenden, ein Album zu produzieren, das kein selbst produziertes Punkrock-Studioalbum war. Nachdem sie ihr neues Material monatelang im lauten Stil von ,Copacetic" gespielt hatten, waren die Bandmitglieder von den Songs begeistert, wollten sich aber von der rauen, amateurhaften Atmosphäre ihrer früheren Alben lösen. Und ihre Einflüsse waren diesmal etwas anders: weniger My Bloody Valentine und Wedding Present, mehr New Order. Jemand bei Sub Pop brachte die Band mit John Porter zusammen, dem ehemaligen Mitglied von Roxy Music, der The Smiths, Billy Bragg, The Alarm und eine Reihe anderer Acts der 80er Jahre produziert hatte. Sie trafen sich während einer Tournee in Los Angeles. Er erklärte sich bereit, das Album in einer dreiwöchigen Session in den Cue Studios in Falls Church, Virginia, zu produzieren. Er war genau das, was die Band brauchte: ein Redakteur, Arrangeur und Zuchtmeister. Als er gnadenlos jeden unnötig wiederholten Takt herausschnitt, merkte die Band, dass sie sich zu einem klareren Sound hingezogen fühlte und fast komplett auf die laute Gitarre verzichtete, zweifellos beeinflusst durch Porters Präsenz. Velocity Girl waren super zufrieden mit dem Ergebnis, und ,¡Simpatico!" kam im Juni 1994 raus. Diese erweiterte Neuauflage enthält eine Reihe von Songs, die einige Monate nach den Albumaufnahmen in den Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, aufgenommen wurden. Die Sessions lieferten spielerisch-experimentelle B-Seiten für die Singles des Albums, zwei Cover-Songs (das New-Order-Cover ,Your Silent Face" und ein Beach-Boys-Cover) für eine Single auf Merge Records und einen Compilation-Track.

Die dritte LP der australischen Surf-Pop-Band The Terrys ist selbstbetitelt, selbstbewusst und ihr bisher bestes Album. Der Nachfolger der Erfolgsalben "Skate Pop" (2024) und "True Colour" (2022) wird mit der Single "Catalonia Dream" vorgestellt. Produziert und gemischt von ihren langjährigen Kooppartnern Tasker (3%, Chillint, Tia Gostelow), Paddy Cornwall und Taras Hrubyj-Piper, erweitert die Band ihren Horizont und erzeugt mit integrierten, ätherischen Synthesizern einen schwebenden und eindringlichen Soundtrip. Dieser versprüht selbstverständlich den typischen Terrys-Charme und ihr Lebensmotto: Positiv bleiben, einen Tag nach dem anderen nehmen und mit einem Lächeln und idealerweise einem Bier in der Hand zum Horizont blicken.