quête:producers

* The Menahan Street Band includes members of The Roots, Budos Band, Lee Fields and The Expressions and The Dap-Kings...an all star Brooklyn line up!

* First album in 9 years.

*LPs are In gatefold sleeve and contain download code.

* MSB tracks have been the foundation for some of modern hip-hop's most successful beats; their music has been sampled by the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, 50 Cent, Curren$y, to name a few.

Menahan Street Band, a veritable supergroup of some of today's most prolific songwriters, arrangers, and producers return with this beat-forward, cinematic masterpiece.

Their unique brand of instrumental soul has not only been the foundation for some of modern hip-hop's most successful beats, it has also become the perennial soundtrack and veritable vibe-generator for countless parties, art shows, and restaurants throughout NYC and abroad.

While this album carries the aesthetic torch that MSB has skillfully woven into the tapestry of their DNA, it also delves deeper into the experimental, exotic sounds that fill many of the coveted Sound Library and Soundtrack LPs of the late sixties and early seventies - an amalgamation of moog synths, electric pianos, drum machines, and a bevy of analog instrumentation, that ebb and flow in lush swells of Morriconian grandeur.

A fixture on Copenhagen's music scene for nearly two decades, Nikolaj Jakobsen, aka Sugar, has to date thrived on concentrating - usually to the point of obsession - on one type of music at a time. Early on, it was punk: from his mid-teens he lived in the legendary squat and artistic community Ungdomshuset, toured worldwide with punk and metal bands, and was completely immersed in and dedicated to the city's DIY punk and metal scene.

Then in 2012 he set foot in a techno club for the first time, and his laser-like focus turned in that direction. Jakobsen began producing fast techno under the Sugar alias, and co-founded Fast Forward Productions, an agency and party that has gathered together the city's previously disparate band of fast techno and trance producers, DJs and collectives. Fast Forward has been instrumental in launching the careers of the likes of Schacke, Repro, Funeral Future and Rune Bagge, as well as Jakobsen himself.

Now Jakobsen is launching a new label that, even down to its name, is an open challenge to himself to focus on multiple musical styles at once. Perfumery, of which the Eyes Cream EP is the inaugural release, will be a home for his productions under the Sugar name and other aliases, as well as collaborative efforts with others. The label's open remit defies definitive categorisation of is to come, but its second release will be an abstract, atmospheric album by the cimbalom and tuba player and composer Anders Bo Eriksen, aka OPICA. On that record's heels will be collaborative projects with D.Dan and HVAD, as well as an experimental-minded debut LP by Jakobsen as Sugar.

Though Perfumery will be a platform for the exploration of new musical territories, Eyes Cream comprises four fast-techno hardware jams in Jakobsen's signature style. As well as showing off his knack for punning in a second language, opener Bright Side Of The Spoon is a classic Copenhagen splicing of darkness and light, with insistent, ominous bass waves leavened by twinkling synth textures. On the surface the middle two tracks, Eyes Cream and Try Me, are harder, flintier, Detroit-referencing tools. Just beneath, however, lurks the texture and warmth that is one of Copenhagen techno's prime calling cards. Perhaps the greatest treat of the EP is saved for last: Once And For No One is a gorgeous, gauzy, end-of-the-night banger that packs a hefty emotional punch.

All proceeds from physical and digital sales of the first EP on Perfumery will go to Sea-Watch.Org, a German NGO dedicated to saving migrants trying to reach Europe on stricken vessels in the Mediterranean.

*Repress*

We've been fans of Samba for a few years now and have been following his progress as he's risen to become one of the most sought after producers in the Dubstep scene today. When Sam sent us this EP, we were instantly blown away by the music.
Title track 'Kings' has become a huge dubplate within the scene with support from dons like Commodo and Mala. To us the quite melodic 808 bassline harks back to early Good Looking records vibes, while the crisp fresh production and drumwork firmly places this release in 2019.

-LTD. 180G RED VINYL-

Jonathan Bree's fourth album `After The Curtains Close' sees the producers trademark orchestral pop take a few unexpected turns both into the experimental and into kitschy territory populated by some of his french heroes of the 1960s. The end result is an album that retains Bree's musical DNA while being fun and varied. What could be described as Bree's `sleazy' album could also be described as Bree's break-up album. Dealing with the break-down of a major relationship Bree opens up to reveal a year of loneliness and mental trauma while also channelling positive feelings by embracing sex and sleaze in his music, subject material more traditionally reserved for the single man. Bree strikes a great balance here between darkness and silliness and he does this without appearing snide, which is a line some artists can seem all too happy to cross. Bree's vocals are on display in a full range of styles, his baritone croon jumps octaves and everywhere in between across the 12 tracks and he is even present singing his own back-up vocals in child like falsetto. Opening track `Happy Daze' is a ray of heady sunshine and wall of strings celebrating worrying about nothing else while in a lovers arms. First single `Waiting on The Moment' has been accurately described as a celebratory break-up song, with cynical and slightly mean lyrics set to a grand and danceable 80s pop arrangement. Bree celebrates new romantic encounters with fun orchestral pop songs full of double entendres ('Heavenly Visions', 'Kiss My Lips' feat Princess Chelsea, '69' feat Crystal Choi) and his talent for writing for the female lead vocal has not been so obviously on display since his work with The Brunettes, also evident on 'Meadows in Bloom', a tragic Shangri-La's inspired narrative about the pitfalls of sleeping with the drummer, in which Britta Phillips (Luna) takes lead vocal duties.

Delicate Sound Of Thunder encapsulates a band at their best. Alongside the classic live album and full concert film (restored and re-edited from the original 35mm film and enhanced with 5.1 surround sound), included in The Later Years box set, all stand-alone editions feature 24-page photo booklets, with the 4-disc box edition including a 40-page photo booklet, tour poster and postcards. The 3-LP 180-gram vinyl set includes 9 songs not included on the 1988 release of the album, while the 2-CD includes 8 tracks more than its original release.

In 1987, Pink Floyd made a triumphant resurgence. The legendary British band, formed in 1967, had suffered the loss of two co-founders: keyboardist / vocalist Richard Wright, who left after sessions for The Wall in 1979, and bass player and lyricist Roger Waters, who had left to go solo in 1985, soon after the 1983 album The Final Cut. The gauntlet was thus laid down for guitarist/singer David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, who proceeded to create the multi-platinum A Momentary Lapse Of Reason album, a global chart smash, which also saw the return of Richard Wright to the fold.

Originally released in September 1987, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was quickly embraced by fans worldwide, who flocked to attend the live tour dates, which started within days of the album’s release. The tour played to more than 4.25 million fans over more than two years, and, as a celebration of the enduring talent and global appeal of David, Nick and Richard was unsurpassed at the time.

Filmed at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum in August 1988 and directed by Wayne Isham, the 2020 release of the Grammy Award nominated Delicate Sound Of Thunder is sourced directly from over 100 cans of original 35mm negatives, painstakingly restored and transferred to 4K, and completely re-edited by Benny Trickett from the restored and upgraded footage, under the creative direction of Aubrey Powell/Hipgnosis. Similarly, the sound was completely remixed from the original multitrack tapes by longtime Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson with David Gilmour, assisted by Damon Iddins.

Pink Floyd’s stellar supporting cast for the live dates included: Jon Carin (Keyboards, Vocals), Tim Renwick (Guitars, Vocals), Guy Pratt (Bass, Vocals), Gary Wallis (Percussion), Scott Page (Saxophones, Guitar), Margret Taylor (Backing Vocals), Rachel Fury (Backing Vocals) and Durga McBroom (Backing Vocals).

Technical credits include: Film Producers: Curt Marvis and Carl Wyant; Director of Photography: Marc Reshovsky; Lighting Designer: Marc Brickman, with conceptual footage directed by Storm Thorgerson, except ‘Money’ directed by Storm Thorgerson, Barry Chattington and Peter Medak. Animation on 'Time' was by Ian Emes.

Kompakt welcomes 2021 with a new member that many of you will recognise. For over 3 decades, Orlando Voorn has been a force in dance music like few others. One of the first Dutch producers to establish a connection between Detroit and Amsterdam (check “Game One” his collaboration with Juan Atkins for Metroplex). He has recorded under a trove of alias that include Fix, Frequency, Format to name a few.

Orlando Voorn brings his extensive knowledge of Techno and House to the forefront for his Kompakt debut “Internal Destination”. We offer up the title track ahead of the 3 track EP’s February 19 release date. Spacial sounds connect perfectly together – the playfulness of the track feels like each moment is caught in mid-air but the beat keeps it all moving forward without hesitation. “Ride The Wave” rounds out this EP – an electro loop is serenaded by a funked up synth melody that jams to the drum in the most soulful of ways.

Kompakt begrüßt das neue Jahr mit einem neuen Familienmitglied, das dem ein oder anderen geläufig sein dürfte. Schon seit über 3 Jahrzehnten prägt Orlando Voorn die elektronische Tanzmusik wie wenige andere. Als erster holländischer Produzent werkelte er schon sehr früh an der Detroit - Amsterdam Achse (siehe "Game One" mit Juan Atkins oder die legendären Ghetto Brothers Releases mit Blake Baxter). Er hat unter unzähligen Pseudonymen wie Fix, Format oder Frequency Platten veröffentlicht, die heute Kultstatus haben.

Mit seinem Kompakt Debut "Internal Destination" zeigt er, dass seine Musik auch im Jahre 2021 tiefes Wissen verströmt und nichts an Relevanz eingebüßt hat. Der Titeltrack "Internal Destination" ist Groove pur. Räumliche Klänge verbinden sich perfekt miteinander - die Verspieltheit des Tracks fühlt sich an, als wäre jeder Moment in der Luft gefangen, aber der Beat hält alles ohne Zögern in Bewegung."Ride The Wave" rundet diese EP ab - ein Elektro-Loop wird von einer funkigen Synthie-Melodie begleitet, die auf gefühlvolle Art und Weise mit den Drums jammt.

Emmylou Harris made her Nonesuch Records debut with the release of her album Red Dirt Girl 20 years ago, in September 2000. To mark its twentieth anniversary, Nonesuch releases the album – which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album – on limited-edition, translucent red vinyl.

Harris – whom the Los Angeles Times dubbed ‘the most captivating female artist ever in country music’ – wrote all but one of the twelve tracks on Red Dirt Girl, marking only the second time in her career that she had been so involved in the composition of an album. ‘In songs about lonely journeys and lost companions,’ said the New York Times, ‘Ms. Harris has found herself.’

Red Dirt Girl was produced by Malcolm Burn, who had worked with Harris engineering and mixing her previous solo studio recording, 1995's Wrecking Ball, and features Burn on piano, guitar, and bass; Buddy Miller on lead guitar; Daryl Johnson on bass and drums; and Ethan Johns on drums, guitar, and other miscellaneous instruments. Dave Matthews sings a duet with Harris on the album, and Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, and Patty Griffin also contribute vocals.

Commenting on her new label and record back in 2000, Harris said: "I take pride in my new association with Nonesuch, a label for whom I have great admiration. Red Dirt Girl is a very meaningful record for me. I’ve only written this much for an album once before – The Ballad of Sally Rose – and I’m very pleased as well with what we have accomplished in the studio."

Nonesuch Records President David Bither said at the time: "We have had the privilege over many years to work with some of the most creative and influential artists and producers in music. This launches a new area of musical exploration for Nonesuch, and we are thrilled that Emmylou is the artist to open this door for us. It is an honor to work with an artist who has such a formidable body of work behind her, but who is now creating possibly the best music of her career."

Harris has since released three additional solo studio albums on Nonesuch, Stumble into Grace (2003), All I Intended to Be (2008), Hard Bargain (2011); reissues of Wrecking Ball (2014) and her 1992 album with the Nash Ramblers, At the Ryman (2017); two duo albums with Rodney Crowell, the Grammy-winning Old Yellow Moon (2013) and The Traveling Kind (2015); two releases in 2006 with Marc Knopfler, All the Roadrunning and Real Live Roadrunning; and vinyl box sets of her early albums, in 2017 and 2019.

We are very proud to present a special 8 track electro project on Tronic. We have always been very passionate about this genre and wanted to bring together some legendary techno producers with a deep appreciation for electro together with some established and new school leaders.

Split over 2 EPs Part 1 features heavyweights inc Sterac Electronics / The Advent & Zein Ferreira / label boss Christian Smith along side the the anonymous Client_03.

After two tracks were successfully taken for a limited Maxi single, the whole album is now available on Double LP - Nicely remastered.

Patience, Violet ,and Pinky recorded their first Album in 1992. Knowing each other from the music scene, the back up singers turned friends teamed up with Emmanuel Diale and signed with Mob Music to embark on their music career as their own act. The first two albums were straight African Disco, A leftover sound of the 80's that some had still hoped to capitalize on. By the time they released their third album Why O Nketsa so Baby, loosely translated to "Why are you doing this to me Baby", Kwaito was still called either Disco or International House, and it was new sound that was taking over. The third album was influenced by the Shangaan sound made largely popular by artists like Penny Penny and Peta Teanet. Looking back now, at the time Mob Music was really leading the pack with this new sound. Being one of the last labels to have official releases with artwork and a group of young talented producers given full creative freedom they pushed the sound in a way only few other labels of that time can be given the same credit.

For their fourth and final album on Mob Music they worked with legendary producer/songwriter Malcom "X" Makume. With three years of songwriting experience and stellar talent behind the desk the result was the LP Malende. Eight tracks that would combine the early kwaito sound with the more uptempo International House topped off with productions heavily inspired by what had been slowly making its way from Chicago over the last 10 years. At the time they had some success and to this day are well known amongst the real heads.

The girls would go on to record one final album once their contract with Mob was up and then after a 5 album catalog would hang up their matching outfits for work a in a newly free South Africa. They remain friends to this day.

Nonesuch releases a remastered, special edition of the 2005 record Our New Orleans for the first time on vinyl. The two-LP set, also available digitally, includes five previously unreleased tracks: ‘Do You Know What It Means’, by Davell Crawford; ‘Let's Work Together’, by Buckwheat Zydeco and Ry Cooder; ‘Crescent City Serenade’, by Dr. Michael White; ‘Walking By the River’, by Dr. John; and ‘Do You Know What It Means’, by The Wardell Quezergue Orchestra featuring Donald Harrison.

The $1.5 million raised from the 2005 release went toward providing housing in partnership with low-income musicians and others through the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village, a concept that was developed by New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, working with Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. Habitat–built homes in the village now provide musicians and others of modest means the opportunity to buy decent, affordable housing. The centerpiece of the village is the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, dedicated to celebrating the music and musicians of New Orleans and to the education and development of homeowners and others who live nearby.

For Our New Orleans, many of the Crescent City’s best-known musicians recorded songs that are integral to their lives and that express their feelings about the city and the trauma of Katrina. The album was made swiftly and simply, over the course of a month, in one-day sessions across the country. Nick Spitzer, host of public radio’s New Orleans–based American Routes, contributed liner notes to the record, as did Pulitzer Prize–winning author Richard Ford, also a Crescent City resident. Other producers who made enormous contributions include Mark Bingham, Ry Cooder, Joel and Adam Dorn, Steve Epstein, Joe Henry, Doug Petty, Matt Sakakeeny, and Hal Willner.

Nonesuch’s parent company – Warner Records, part of the Warner Music Group – donated all production costs for Our New Orleans as part of the Group’s larger efforts on behalf of hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast. Many others involved in creating the album also generously donated their time and services.

Nonesuch President David Bither recalls, “What was most remarkable to me was the immediate response of the musicians. Many were in New Orleans when Katrina struck. Many lost everything they owned including even the musical instruments that are their livelihood. Yet they responded within days to the question of whether they might participate in this project. The emotion and the power of Our New Orleans come both from their anguish and from their incredible generosity.”

And the label’s Chairman Emeritus Bob Hurwitz said, “When we pick up a CD booklet, we usually skip over the page that says, ‘Special thanks to…’, but in the case of Our New Orleans, it is, after the listing of the musician’s names, the most important part of this package. Everyone wanted to help – studios that insisted on contributing free time, caterers, photographers and videographers, instrument rentals, producers, engineers – every step down the line, people gave, not only their profits, but absorbed all of their costs. It was an incredible outpouring of generosity.”

“Our New Orleans is a testament to the power of music to heal and provide a sense of community,” said Marguerite Oestreicher, Executive Director of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. “Musicians helped the city heal after Hurricane Katrina, and Musicians’ Village helped them come home. We’re grateful to Nonesuch and everyone who worked on this album. This year has brought new challenges to everyone, but especially to our culture-bearers. This re-release could not be more timely.”

Trans World Railways creates a new line between Casablanca and Tbilisi by welcoming Cobert - one of Georgia finest producers - for a special limited 7inch edition. The two tracks are eagerly awaited since they've been featured on Casa Voyager label of the month mix on Resident Advisor. Kiev Stollen Story is an energetic peak time track while Office Junk is a more playful electro party starting track. Tested and approved. Vinyl Only.

Parisian label Chuwanaga proudly presents the first opus of its new 12inch series, starting with the brand new EP of Koji Ono: Ricochet / Maloja Pass. Recorded during a short week-end in Paris, it is the result of a true collaboration by a team of musicians who wanted to bring a modern twist to a classic and timeless sound, staying true to the original late seventies/early eigthies dance music spirit and the passion of Chuwanaga for the original Britfunk.
On bass, you’ll hear Lester Batchelor aka LB from Atmosfear, the legendary British JazzFunk band best known for their En Transe LP and the classic track « Dancing In Outerspace». Killing it on the drums, Roy Mistry is their 2020 official drummer. Recording together in Studio Delta, with Koji playing almost all the other instruments, from keys to guitars to percussions, they all had a blast collaborating on these two new tracks. Add a blazing Rhodes solo by Jean-Michel Bernard on « Maloja Pass », some precious magic from producers Seiji Ono & Saint-James, a great dose of savoir-faire by sound engineer David Cukier aka Greita (Disques Flegon)… And you end up with two killer tunes ready to blast their way through your speakers.
On both tracks, you’ll immediately recognize Koji Ono’s touch – as found on his previous Incognito EP : simple but uplifting melodies on synthetizers, sparkling guitars and a certain playfulness in the arrangements. On side A, « Ricochet » sounds like an irresistible mid-tempo boogie banger. On B side, the uptempo « Maloja Pass » is faster paced and bursts with energy, giving the listener an irresistible urge to travel endlessly through the night.

The recording debut of Elia y Elizabeth (or Elisabeth, as it appears originally credited in the first edition of this single) took place in Spain in 1971 with Juan Carlos Calderón, one of the most prestigious producers and arrangers in the country.

These first versions of "Fue Una Lágrima" and "Cae la Lluvia" appear full of rich and intrincated orchestral arrangements, a very different approach to both songs from the tropical feel that producer Jimmy Salcedo added when they were later re-recorded for Codiscos in his native Colombia. The duo would record there a handful of songs between 1972 and 1973 (compiled in our past release "La Onda de Elia y Elizabeth" VAMPI 160), mixing soft-pop with a touch of tropical-pastoral funk, singer-songwriter sweetened by the subtle perfume of Caribbean music and psychedelia, which remain among us as part of the most wonderful pop legacy of all time.

These early versions of two of the most celebrated songs by Elia y Elizabeth are reissued here for the first time, with remastered sound and housed in a picture sleeve with the original artwork.

Grey Vinyl

Serum is a series where we invite talented electronic music producers for a temporary creative collaboration. For the fourth edition we are glad to share three timeless pieces of deep dubbed out techno by Mohlao (aka Multicast Dynamics, VC-118A). The record is then completed by an atmospheric tribal interpretation by Dorisburg.

By uniting these newfound friends of ours, we welcome the new solar cycle and wish everyone a healthy and prosperous venture toward summer.

NEP was a loose multimedia collective formed in 1982 Zagreb, ex-Yugoslavia. The founder Dejan Krsic collaborated with various artists in a quest of re-thinking the stale concepts of art history, position of the author and the barriers between pop and elitist high culture. Heavily influenced by Walter Benjamin and Andy Warhol in theory and Brian Eno and Kraftwerk in music, Krsic created NEP as an umbrella term (meaning Nova Evropa or New Europe) of diverse rule-breaking activities, covering graphic design, music, photography, video, news-media and theoretical work. Musically NEP focused on experiments in ambient and tape-music, self-released and hard to find compilation tapes like "The Cassette Played Poptones" (1988). Deeply immersed in pop-culture, politics and art theory Krsic's search for perfect pop music with cutting critical edge peaked in 1989, the year 'Decadance' track was conceived in studio. Fox & His Friends published the single in 2017 with Snuffo Remix on B-side. It received rave reviews in music press like MixMag and DJ Mag and it is still played on dance-floors around the world. But the story around the NEP is musically (as well as artistically) much wider: for the first time Fox & His Friends team compiles best cuts from unreleased and rare NEP tapes, covering the period from 1985 to 1989 on POP NOT POP abum. Dejan Krsic is now famous graphic designer and art historian in Croatia. Other collaborators include Laibach and Borghesia photographer Jane Stravs, artist and TV director Gordana Brzovic, Jovan Culibrk, now Bishop at The Serbian Orthodox Church and Anja Rupel, singer of cult Yugoslavian synth-pop group Videosex as well as the other members of Videosex, Iztok Turk and Janez Krizaj who produced some of the tracks. Other collaborators were talented producers Robert Logozar and Davor Daga Devcic, singers Linda Cooper, Natalija, Alexx Kovacs... The list of collaborations is long. Some of the memorable moments on POP NOT POP album are early demo version of Decadance 'How Do I Dance To This Music?' with blue movies samples and drum machine experiments like early Cabaret Voltaire, then Krsic's reinterpretation of legendary Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express anthem as 'Transcendance', or 'Radical Chic', where Dejan himself and Anja Rupel from Videosex make lovely couple of dandy-esque fashionistas, singing chart-friendly radio synthpop tune that contrasts the A-side (The 'NOT POP' side) - full of experiments, dark wave and industrial nods to Test Department and Cabs. B-side is 'THE POP' side that will surprise most of the NEP followers from their early experimental cassette days. Sunny, danceable, joyfull pop that reveals the many faces of NEP. As Kraftwerk today is more of a concept than a band, NEP does the same by re-writing its products (musical, graphical, theoretical, activist) and constantly puts them in permanent state of change or re-mix. In the future, only NEP logo will be enough to consider something an art piece, and NEP will be everybody who wants to, as their Art Manifest claims. Until that day comes, 'POP NOT POP' is a document of how the vivid and creative were art-scenes in socialist Yugoslavia. Some of the graphic work, cut-ups from theory and Manifesto are also included on this LP, designed by Dejan Krsic aka NEP himself. This release is made from the original master tapes and published for the first time on vinyl.

The music of CARM features horns in roles typically reserved for drums, guitars, and voices, while also escaping the genre categorizations reserved for music featuring an instrumentalist as bandleader. It is not jazz or classical music, nor is it a soundtrack. This is contemporary popular music that features a sound normally used as a background color and texture as the unabashed lead voice. According to CARM, aka CJ Camerieri, "It started with the question: `What kind of record would my trumpet-playing heroes from the past make today?' I believe they would want to work with the best producers, beat makers, song-writers, and singers to create new, truly culturally relevant music, and that's what I sought to do with this project." Produced in Minneapolis by Ryan Olson ( Polica , Lizzo ) and featuring collaborations with Sufjan Stevens , Justin Vernon ( Bon Iver ), Yo La Tengo , Shara Nova , Mouse on Mars , Francis and the Lights and many others. It is a completely unique sound that additionally serves as a survey of the collaborations that have come to define the artist's career thus far. Says Vernon, "I truly believe there isn't a more accomplished brass player in the entire world of music. And this is way more than a 'horn' record. It's a discovery of new heights with what is possible in creating music." The album begins with an orchestral brass choir of french horns, which quickly gives way to a piano sample from Francis, as Stevens and Lupin combine voices over a lush bed of horns to sing "Song of Trouble." The album bookends with the same piano sample used as a springboard to an iconic lyric by Vernon in the album closer "Land." Between these two generation-defining artists we have upward sweeping melodies and fanfares reminiscent of Ennio Morricone . The acutely original sound of Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo in "Already Gone" give way to the virtuoso sound of Nova's voice. A more experimental path emerges before the strings from yMusic bring us back to the piano sample that started the record. Instead of recycling well-trodden sounds, CARM offers a respite for those seeking an original voice.

Side A is a groovy mid-tempo funk track, with a nice drum break, it throws back to the classic 70s soul & funk 45s collected by hip-hop/funk DJs and producers. Side B is a fast-paced B-Boy sure shot, with hard hitting drums, rolling bass, percussion and live instruments - perfect to rock a hype b-boy battle. The songs are all recorded by live musicians and arranged by Boogs and Shelley Mack. Grab doubles to rock your cyphers, parties and jams. Released on a limited edition 45 vinyl by DNA records, don’t sleep!

The genre, electro (or electro-funk), is sometimes perceived to have a separate identity to hip-hop; however, this electronic cousin was integral to the early development of the hip-hop sound. Drawing on drum machines, such as the Roland TR-808, and influenced by funk, these two genres were intertwined and rode a parallel axis for a while, with rap, breakdance, and graffiti as pillars of the culture and community. The mechanical sound of electro would later go on to inspire a different set of producers and played its part in influencing contemporary electronic dance music. For this 7" release we are taking things back to 1984 and 1985 with a split single from The Egyptian Lover and Jamie Jupitor.

First up is a track from The Egyptian Lover, AKA Greg J. Broussard, the cult Los Angeles-based producer, vocalist and DJ, who is a true hip-hop / electro-fusion pioneer. 'Computer Love (Sweet Dreams)' is a seminal electro-fusion / machine-funk classic that saw a release on the iconic label Freak Beat Records (owned by Greg himself). The original 7" release is now very sought-after by collectors.

On the flip we have another electro jam from The Egyptian Lover disciple, Jamie Jupitor. 'Computer Power’ was additionally produced and arranged by The Egyptian Lover, and was released on Egyptian Empire Records (the label that evolved from Freak Beat Records). For this release we have opted for a special 7" unreleased radio edit, that has Greg kindly provided us with, which differs slightly in composition from the previously released versions. One for fans of Dãm Funk, electro and 80s funk.

Smoove & Turrell have never been scared of a gamble or two and over the course of their career, and their latest album - 'Stratos Bleu' marked some of the biggest stylistic changes to date. Though long lauded as one of the UK's top bands in funk and soul circles, their album was a decidedly rawer analogue affair drawing on influences as diverse as Detroit techno, Bristol bass as well as the party starting breakbeat funk they are so well known for.
Hitting #1 position in the Official UK Dance Charts on release week and grabbing the Album of the Day accolade from BBC 6 Music proved the band were entirely right. Given the strength of the source material it was only right to issue a remixes album on the project and there was no shortage of producers lining up to get involved.

Dance luminaries including Ray Mang, Ashley Beedle, Steve Cobby and Fouk all signed on immediately. So it, made sense to put together their fine interpretations on a disco house focused vinyl. This 4-track ep also includes the outstanding acid house rework of the band's album favorite 'E.P.' by newcomers Rayka.

One of the two great chapters in reggaes history was the DJ phenomenon that conquered the Sound Systems in and around Kingston town in those heady 1970's, the other was the dub plates specials that allowed the DJ's to explore a tune in the first place. Giving some fine question and answers to its original vocal, emphasising its meaning or taking it into another subject matter altogether. When you have these two styles and add to it that original vocal, dubbed in at various points you get a fantastic melting pot that lifts a tune and can take it almost anywhere it likes.

Although DJ's were operating in Jamaica in the 1950's and 1960's with the likes of Count Matchuki and Sir Lord Comic, their role was that of mainly selector with a few vocal embellishments to instrumental tracks to gee up the crowd. 1969 saw the art form broaden with the likes of DJ King Stitt (Winston Spark) who scored a couple of hits for producer Clancy Eccles with 'Fire Corner' and 'Herbsman Shuffle'. But it was Clancy Eccles next releases with a certain U Roy (Ewart Beckfort) in the same year that saw the style explode. When hearing the DJ holding the crowd’s attention on King Tubby's Home Town Hi - Fi Sound System, the producer rushed the DJ into the studio and cut 'Wake the Town' and 'Rule The Nation'. Which would top the Jamaican charts in the soon to follow 1970.

In true Jamaican musical style when a new sound hits on the radio waves, many would soon follow. With an abundance of already tried and tested hits, producers would get the new
toasters of which there were many and revamp and breathe new life into their back catalogues.

But what makes this set of cuts, chosen for this release that little bit more interesting, are the working of the dub plates and effects alongside these vocal talents. Adding another layer to this musical cake.

A fine selection of tunes worked over by the cream of the 1970's DJ circuit.U Roy, I Roy. Jah Stitch, U Brown, Dillinger, Prince Jazzbo, Dennis Alcapone and the vastly underrated Shorty the President alongside some classic King Tubby dubs surely a match made in heaven...

Hope you enjoy ride…….

“We have always been very fortunate to meet and know many talented producers. In recent years, we have been exploring those relationships with different remixes and collaborations, and every time something exciting came out. That’s why we started our Synchronicity project. To challenge ourselves making inspiring, fun and beautiful music.‘Synchronicity’ means "the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection. This very well describes how our path led to the place we are now – somewhere between the club and indie scenes.” – WhoMadeWho

KOMPAKT welcomes back Copenhagen’s WhoMadeWho. Tomas Barfod’s penchant for electronic music poetically juxtaposed with Tomas Høffding and Jeppe Kjellberg’s respective backgrounds in rock and jazz, gives their music an electrifying combination of sounds, merging a variety of influences to produce a unique sonic fingerprint that is emotive, irresistible and immensely satisfying.

Though we both have yet to strike a note together since the release of their 2012 full length “Brighter” (KOM 254), WhoMadeWho have been remarkably productive. With two full lengths, a DJ mix for Watergate’s series and releasing two of 2019’s most played out club tracks together with Rampa (Innervisions) and Artbat (Watergate Records), the trio have found themselves diving more and more into the world of electronic music, tapping into their goldmine of connections within the scene to spearhead an array of collaborations.

Synchronicity is all about ‘meaningful coincidences’ – bringing interpretation to bear on connections that have no actual causal relationship. It’s a canny concept to pin onto Copenhagen trio WhoMadeWho’s latest album, which sees them return to Kompakt for the first time since 2012’s Brighter.

This re-established connection helps us to understand the synchronicity at play, the way that the WhoMadeWho core ave built an album around collaboration with friends and peers, much as Kompakt is all about cross-connections and family. On Synchronicity, WhoMadeWho call on friends old and new – Michael Mayer, Echonomist, Adana Twins, Alex Boman, Robag Wruhme, Frank Wiedemann, Sainte Vie, Mano Le Tough, Marc Piñol, Rebolledo, and Perel is the cast list; WhoMadeWho direct the material, shaping it into one lovingly flowing gem of dance-pop glory.

There’s something particularly generous about hearing an album as all-inclusive and open-hearted as Synchronicity in the midst of the profound social and cultural shifts we’re currently experiencing. While some songs on Synchronicity were recorded together, in real time, such as the collaborations with Adana Twins and Rebolledo, most of them have taken place via long distance, thanks to the pandemic lockdown. But you don’t need to know who was where to understand either the magnesium-flare melancholy of “Sooner”, recorded with Piñol, which has you holding your breath with the gentle thrill of the song’s lush melody, or the stomping strut of the following Adana Twins collaboration, “Shadow Of Doubt”.

Elsewhere, there’s the stentorian robot voice at the heart of “Hamstring”, where they’re joined by Michael Mayer; the lustrous headsoak of “Twenty Tears”, a tender intervention by Rebolledo; the strip-light, slow-motion disco strut of “Cecil”, produced alongside Echonomist; or the glittering, arpeggio dreamwork that Perel helps sculpt into shape on “Der Abend birgt keine Ruh.”… Really, there’s so much to celebrate here, a panoply of pleasures. From pop revelations to dancefloor delirium to slow-burning brooders, Synchronicity is just that; a space for the joys of the unexpected to collide, and to be given meaning by their coincidental co-existence in WhoMadeWho’s beautiful world.

"Wir hatten immer schon das Glück, viele talentierte Produzenten kennenzulernen. In den letzten Jahren haben wir diese Beziehungen durch verschiedene Remixe und Kollaborationen vertieft und jedes Mal kam etwas Aufregendes dabei heraus. Aus diesem Grund haben wir unser Synchronicity-Projekt gestartet: um uns selbst herauszufordern inspirierte, lustige und schöne Musik zu machen. “Synchronizität” bedeutet das gleichzeitige Auftreten von Ereignissen, die scheinbar in einem signifikanten Zusammenhang stehen, aber keinen erkennbaren kausalen Zusammenhang haben. Das beschreibt sehr gut, wie unser Weg zu dem Ort geführt hat, an dem wir jetzt sind - irgendwo zwischen der Club- und der Indie-Szene". – WhoMadeWho

KOMPAKT freut sich über Rückkehr der Kopenhagener Band WhoMadeWho. Tomas Barfods Vorliebe für elektronische Musik im poetischen Kontrast zu Tomas Høffding und Jeppe Kjellbergs jeweiligem Hintergrund im Rock und Jazz macht ihre Musik zu einem elektrisierenden Konglomerat, in das verschiedene Einflüsse zu einem einzigartigen klanglichen Fingerabdruck verschmelzen: gefühlvoll, unwiderstehlich und immens befriedigend.

Obwohl wir seit der Veröffentlichung von "Brighter" (KOM 254) in 2012 keine gemeinsamen Dinger gedreht haben, waren WhoMadeWho in der Zwischenzeit bemerkenswert produktiv. Mit zwei Full-Length-Alben, einem DJ-Mix für die Watergate-Reihe und der Veröffentlichung von zwei der meistgespielten Clubtracks aus dem Jahr 2019 zusammen mit Rampa (Innervisions) und Artbat (Watergate Records), taucht das Trio mehr und mehr in die Welt der elektronischen Musik ein. Für ihre Kollaborationen greifen WhoMadeWho immer wieder auf ihre Goldgrube an Bekanntschaften innerhalb der Szene zurück.

Bei “Synchronicity” geht es um "sinnvolle Zufälle" - also um die Interpretation von Verbindungen, die keinen tatsächlichen Kausalzusammenhang haben. Es ist ein ausgeklügeltes Konzept, das dem neuesten Album des Kopenhagener Trios WhoMadeWho anheftet: Diese wieder hergestellte Verbindung hilft uns, die Synchronizität im Spiel zu verstehen; die Art und Weise, wie WhoMadeWho ein Album um die Zusammenarbeit mit Freunden und Gleichgesinnten herum aufgebaut hat: schließlich geht es auch bei Kompakt um Querverbindungen und Familie. Auf Synchronicity richten sich WhoMadeWho an alte und neue Freunde: Michael Mayer, Echonomist, Adana Twins, Axel Boman, Robag Wruhme, Frank Wiedemann, Terr, Sainte Vie, Mano Le Tough, Marc Piñol, Rebolledo und Perel stehen auf der Liste. Das Trio führt Regie und sorgt für den Feinschliff. Das Ergebnis: ein echtes Juwel aus Dance, Pop und Glorie.

Inmitten der tiefgreifenden sozialen und kulturellen Veränderungen, die wir derzeit erleben, ist es etwas Besonderes, ein Album zu hören, das so offenherzig ist wie “Synchronicity”. Zwar wurden einige Songs gemeinsam und in Echtzeit aufgenommen – etwa die Kollaboration mit den Adana Twins und Rebolledo – die meisten Sessions fanden aufgrund der Pandemie jedoch über größere Entfernungen statt. Letztlich muss man aber gar nicht wissen wer wo war, um die Melancholie von "Sooner" mit Marc Piñol zu verstehen und im sanften melodischen Rausch des Liedes den Atem anzuhalten. Auch die eher brachiale Energie der darauf folgenden Adana-Twins-Kollaboration , "Shadow Of Doubt" vermittelt sich eingehend über die soziale Distanz hinweg.

An anderer Stelle ertönt die schallende Roboterstimme im Herzen von "Hamstring", wo sich Michael Mayer zu ihnen gesellt; die schimmernden "Twenty Tears", einer zärtlichen Intervention von Rebolledo; der Zeitlupen- Disco-Nummer "Cecil", die zusammen mit Echonomist produziert wurde; oder der glitzernde Arpeggio-Traum, den Perel in "Der Abend birgt keine Ruh" in Form bringt.. Ja, es gibt tatsächlich einiges zu feiern: Von Pop-Enthüllungen über Dancefloor-Delirium bis hin zu Stücken, die sich ihre Zeit nehmen - Synchronicity bietet Platz für all das; das Album spendet Raum, in dem die Freuden des Unerwarteten aufeinanderprallen und durch ihr zufälliges Nebeneinander in der Welt von WhoMadeWho Sinn ergeben.

The 4th in the Transhumanism series is here. These four now well established Dutch producers approach Electro from their own angles, resulting in four energetic cuts ranging from the haunting vocal laced work of TFHats to the swirling darkness of RXmode.

The successful Transhumanism series has been supported by the likes of Dave Clarke, Juan Atkins, Helena Hauff, UMEK, Alienata and many others.

2023 Restock

Within the elusive confines of this film awaits an unreleased album that defies categorisation by a musician who in a different time and space would be revered amongst some of the most important exponents of progressive rock, dark ambient, Krautrock and pioneering synthesiser composition - not to mention sound design and art-house film scores. As a protégé of François Bayle and Luc Ferrari who had studied classical music before immersing himself in found-sound manipulation and oscillators, Alain Pierre quickly became an enthusiastic go-to man for sound sculpture and technical studio proficiency in Belgium’s small film industry.

To the many generations of dedicated fans of the visual work of Philippe Druillet it might seem virtually impossible to adequately “score” the alien, futurist landscapes of the man who many called the “space architect” (on account of his space age reductions of Gothic cathedrals, Art Nouveau, and Indian temples), but once you have heard the sonic reactions of Alain Pierre on this the first-ever dedicated Druillet documentary, Ô Sidarta, complete with his own equivalent sound palette, it will be difficult to “hear” Druillet’s world via any other composer. Despite Druillet’s truly incredible record sleeve designs for projects like cosmic disco ensemble Black Sun, concept albums such as Attention by Jean-Pierre Mirouze (composer of Le Mariage Collectif), Parisian metal bands like Sortilège, gatefold portraits of Jimi Hendrix, later period albums by William Sheller and most relevantly on albums by Igor Wakhévitch (Docteur Faust, 1971) as well as separate releases by both Richard Pinhas and Georges Grünblatt (both from the cosmic prog outfit Heldon), it is fair to say that this criminally unreleased album by Alain Pierre would conjure up the closest synergy between sound and vision that either artist would come close to.

The almost twelve of continuous music that Alain Pierre supplied for Ô Sidarta in 1974 fortunately appears in its entirety, unedited, as it does here for the first time ever away from its original broadcasts. Broadcast on Belgian and French TV that autumn, the film received a warm reception from Druillet fans, prospective film producers and space rock fans lucky enough to catch the short feature.

Throughout his career Alain’s commitment to conceptual music excelled within both cinematic realms as well as with the live arena. Never shying away from the constraints of transporting heavy synthesiser technolog and unpredictable analogue equipment to public spaces, Alain took his self-initiated “live” work very seriously. It was within his lesser-documented performances that you would find the closest sound to the music on Ô Sidarta, proving that the Druillet collaboration was naturalistic and conceptually close to Alain’s personal stylistic agenda. A rare recording of a one-off concert at the Université libre de Bruxelles in October 1976 reveals a very similar set of movements and soundscapes found on Ô Sidarta. This rare artefact has been included on the second side of this record under its original title Notions de physique intérieure (Notions Of Interior Physics) and stands as a perfect companion piece to Ô Sidarta - complete with a very similar “kit list” including the welcome addition of an Arp Sequencer, a Korg Vocoder and a Theremin (a back line whose total would far surpass any stationary studio of the era never mind a live show!).

By looking back at his original composition for one of his very first solo soundtrack commissions, Ô Sidarta, you can hear that back in 1974 Alain had already successfully managed to combine more unlikely musical influences, experimental techniques, and previously unheard soundscapes and studio tricks in to one twelve-minute score than most musicians fail to cram in to a whole discography. But still there is so much music yet to be discovered and Ô Sidarta is just the tip of the iceberg in the middle of a cosmic sea. Much like a character from one of Philippe Druillet’s books, Alain Pierre is a rogue pilot, steering his own ship in to the unknown, uncharted, unnoticed and quite unbelievable.

The genre, electro (or electro-funk), is sometimes perceived to have a separate identity to hip-hop; however, this electronic cousin was integral to the early development of the hip-hop sound. Drawing on drum machines, such as the Roland TR-808, and influenced by funk, these two genres were intertwined and rode a parallel axis for a while, with rap, breakdance, and graffiti as pillars of the culture and community. The mechanical sound of electro would later go on to inspire a different set of producers and played its part in influencing contemporary electronic dance music. For this 7" release we are taking things back to 1984 and 1985 with a split single from The Egyptian Lover and Jamie Jupitor.

First up is a track from The Egyptian Lover, AKA Greg J. Broussard, the cult Los Angeles-based producer, vocalist and DJ, who is a true hip-hop / electro-fusion pioneer. 'Computer Love (Sweet Dreams)' is a seminal electro-fusion / machine-funk classic that saw a release on the iconic label Freak Beat Records (owned by Greg himself). The original 7" release is now very sought-after by collectors.

On the flip we have another electro jam from The Egyptian Lover disciple, Jamie Jupitor. 'Computer Power’ was additionally produced and arranged by The Egyptian Lover, and was released on Egyptian Empire Records (the label that evolved from Freak Beat Records). For this release we have opted for a special 7" unreleased radio edit, that has Greg kindly provided us with, which differs slightly in composition from the previously released versions. One for fans of Dãm Funk, electro and 80s funk.

Favorite Recordings presents an exclusive reissue of the first private press eponymous LP by Sacbé, a Mexican Jazz Fusion masterpiece from 1977. Unique and beautifully recorded, with a breezy feel brought by the synthesizers, Sacbé could be likened to what Azymuth was doing at the same time in Brazil. Available as a vinyl-only limited pressing Deluxe Tip-On LP, coming with its original printed innersleeve, remastered by The Carvery.

Sacbé was composed of Eugenio (keyboards), Enrique (electric bass) & Fernando Toussaint (drums), three brothers hailing from the huge Mexico city, and their friend and sax player Alejandro Campos. Growing up in a family of musicians, they quickly became familiar with jazz music. However they were mostly self-taught, most of them choosing at first to work and study outside the music industry, but somehow, Eugenio had the opportunity to start studies at the Berklee Music University. Before leaving, he deeply wanted to play jazz with his brothers. That’s how Sacbé was created on a hot day of October 1976.

The band then built step by step a challenging repertoire including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Milton Nascimento, Focus, Passport, and many more… Gradually, Eugenio started to compose more tracks, and through a cooperative work of arrangement, Sacbé ended up playing only their own compositions. That was not an easy choice for the band, resulting in a lot fewer opportunities to play in bars and clubs at night, while they were cumulating small jobs during the daytime. But their dedication, tightness, and integrity started to attract a wider audience thanks to their sessions at the Musicafé and helped Sacbé to assert its imprint within Mexico’s creative artistic circles. A group of artists with similar attitudes was created and they began working almost as a team, holding live shows, exhibitions, and dance performances, all with a very unique and creative proposal. It’s at this period that the band met Luis Gil, a young designer and recording engineer, who had access to one of the best studios of the city called LAGAB. Recording at nights and weekends for free, the Toussaint brothers had, therefore, the chance to really put their band quite literally under the microscope.

With tenacity, they explored all the possibilities of interpretations, structures and improvisations, collaborating with great musicians and finding themselves in the position of being their own producers, despite being only around 20 years old! This album is the result of this perfectionism ethics, shared by everyone involved. “Sacbé” means white road in the Mayan culture, it was the name for the roads connecting the main ceremonial centres with the jungle, made of roughly three feet of coral limestone. They were sacred roads used by high priests and warriors, which echoed the musical path of the three brothers. Putting the pieces together, they managed to create their own label and pressed 1000 copies of their reunited recordings in 1977. The artwork was painted by Enrique, inspired by the work of Le Douanier Rousseau and the Mayan jungle. Hopefully, the LP met some success in Mexico and California, opening many radio and TV doors for them. It was the starting point for a whole career of recordings, with a total of seven albums including various guests.

With music from a mix of talented producers, ISSUES is about to release their first ever VA vinyl only limited edition compilation. Each quarter there will be a VA which will contain the best selling tracks of each release and it will also be a way to showcase the sound of the label and promote the artists.

On the A side artists there is Joseph Edmund “It’s ON” track which has Josephs trademark sound with trippy breakdowns, strong buildups and heavy basslines and also Spanish producer Alvaro Am “Activate” reflecting his new renovate sound, offering an infectious vocal hook and a heavy bassline.

Side B includes Kabbina’s “Amnesia” which effectively reflects the trio’s unique style. Using an unmistakable synth shot, prolific vocal and a wobbly bass line that complete the dynamic track and Campbell Fryer’s “Moody” which is a unique groovy tech house track that has appeared in many sets including Michael Bibi, Detlef, Steve Lawler to name a few.

The Vision returns with the third single from their eponymous debut album, along with remixes from two of the scene’s most revered producers. ‘Missing’ treads the familiar tale of love lost with a stark openness, a funk-filled track underpinned by a catchy vocal hook sure to resonate with its listeners. As one half of The Vision, this release is the first where Ben Westbeech provides vocals as well as producing behind the scenes alongside Kon, perfectly matched with regular collaborator Andreya Triana to bring the heartfelt lyrics to life. On this special 12” package, underground hero Maurice Fulton’s remix opens the A-Side, an artist described by Resident Advisor as “making some of the most unhinged house out there”, his mix may strike listeners as surprising with its stripped-back feel. With extended instrumental breaks perfect for club play, the reflective feel of Maurice’s mix aptly suits the message of the record, as elegant guitar riffs and warm synths make his remix an irresistible version. The Accapella closes out the A-Side, an essential DJ tool that allows Andreya and Ben’s flawless vocals to really shine. On the flip, the original version of ‘Missing’ opens, before Swiss DJ Deetron provides his remix, impeccably executed with bubbling synths and snapping percussion, as the Character Records boss explores the emotional potential of dancefloor-destined house to compelling effect. ‘Missing’ is no exception to The Vison’s existing discography, as meaningful messaging is paired with flawless execution to produce a record with all the makings of a future classic.

As we continue our ever long winded hiatus from the dancefloor, we are happy to welcome a new group of producers to the label in the form of 00:AM’s fourth various artists compilation. Certainly not the only way we expected to come together this year, but we’re grateful to be able to cultivate another 12” to share with the world.

Across the A Side, we are joined by three artists who we’ve had the pleasure of hosting and playing with in Montreal over the past couple years. Alfredo92 of the Axces crew in Copenhagen presents ‘Tente Hjul’ which gets the remix treatment from Mr. ACTION SHADOW himself, Fett Burger. The result in something distinctly mechanical but not without a human pulse and a tear jerking conclusion. Fantastic Man then puts his own psychedelic twist on the hardcore continuum, taking the beautiful palette of his recent LP on Mule Musiq to the brink of insanity with ‘On Tha Run’.

On the B side we find two new friends to 00:AM. We have a mandatory “minimum of 1 ESB tune gets played a night” policy round these parts, and so its truly a pleasure to release his ‘Sequential Dub’. Nothing less than a future classic, it’s dubby and understated, but a little quicker than you think. And finally, its a pleasure to introduce 2wo2imes, who delivers ‘Immune’ a deep and driving excursion into the wormhole.

It’s a weird world, we miss you all, but we’ll keep doing what we know best, releasing and enjoying the music that moves us - no matter the time or place.

Icelandic composer ?lafur Arnalds set to release his first Hollywood film score. ?lafur Arnalds' original motion picture soundtrack for Sam Levinson's feature film debut 'Another Happy Day', starring Ellen Barkin and Demi Moore, will see a worldwide release via UK modern classical label Erased Tapes Records on February 27, 2012. In his own words: 'In mid-December 2010 I was on a holiday in China when I received an email from Sam Levinson about the film. We got on the phone at like 4 in the morning Beijing time and ended up talking all through the night, instantly connecting. He told me that they had been listening to my music while making the film, so the film was already very influenced by my music. However, it was not until Ellen Barkin ? the beautiful force that she is ? had pestered the producers for a week, calling them every day about how I am the right one for this film, that they finally gave in. The only catch was that it had to be done two weeks later, in the first week of January. So I ended up scoring nonstop all throughout Christmas, making my mother mad in the process.' ? ?lafur Arnalds Born in the suburban Icelandic town of Mosfellsb?r, a few kilometers outside of Reykjav?k, the 24-year old composer has always enjoyed pushing boundaries with both his studio work and his live-shows. Through relentless touring and determination this young artist has steadily gained recognition worldwide since his 2007 debut Eulogy for Evolution. ?lafur Arnalds' second full-length album ...and they have escaped the weight of darkness, continues his mission to lure an indie-generation of pop and rock fans into an emotive world of beguiling electronic chamber music and delicate classical arrangements. After recently having supported Ryuichi Sakamoto throughout Germany, ?lafur will return with a European 'Trio Tour' in spring 2012.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.

Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.

But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."

While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.

Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.

Leroy Smart the self-proclaimed ‘Don’, carries much respect in the Jamaican musical community. His attacking vocal style gives his lyrics and tunes that extra meaningfulness.

Born in Jamaica and orphaned as a young child, Leroy was sent to Maxfield Park children's home and educated at the famed Alpha Boys School. The school was run by nuns who encouraged musical talent and would provide the world with the cream of Jamaica’s artistic talent. Such legends as Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Johnny’ Dizzy’ Moore, to name but a few, all learnt their musical trade in this strict environment.

Leroy worked with many Jamaican producers, but seemed to find his feet working with Bunny ’Striker’ Lee. With whom he cut many of his greatest tunes. It is from this period that we have compiled this album. Featuring lost to now dubs to many of his classic tunes, like ' Wreck up my Life’, featured here as ’Dub Wrecker’. ’God Helps the Man’ Help yourself to Dub, Pride and Ambition If I should Dub. Fittest of the Fittest Dub for the Fittest and the title track of this selection his self-affirming Mr Smart Mr Smart in Dub.

These work alongside less known cuts that he also puts his musical stamp on .’No Love’ No Love In Dub. which sees him working over the ‘Zion Gate’ rhythm, made famous by Mr Horace Andy. The ‘My Conversation’ rhythm originally cut by Slim Smith but made into Leroy’s own ‘Jah Jah Forgive them’ For They Know What They Dub. All portrayed in his enviable style.

Such was Mr Leroy Smart’s stature in his homeland Jamaica, that when the ‘One Love’ peace concert line-up was put together for the 22nd of April 1978. The best of Jamaica’s Reggae stars was picked to play alongside Bob Marley & the Wailers. Such greats as Dennis Brown, The Mighty Diamonds, Peter Tosh and Inner Circle were chosen alongside the Don himself, Mr Smart. Whose stage shows were always colourful and to say the least eventful..

Mr Smart has continued to release music during the 80’s & 90’s, most notably with ‘She Just a Draw Card’ & ‘I’m the Don’. But as a set we feel this stands up with the best of them. Hope you enjoy the ride...

Respect Jah Floyd.

Cormac is pleased to announce the second release on his new record label Polari, the label he curates and through which he shares music from artists that he champions in his muchrevered DJ sets.
The name “Polari” references the slang used by the gay subculture in the 19th century.
The sophomore release is from Philadelphia based duo Zillas on Acid.
2019 was the year Zillas made the transition from DJs to break-out producers. Having honed their DJ skills at Philadelphia’s revered MAKING TIME clubbing institution, Thomas Roland and James Weissinger have released two EPs on Optimo Music and also on Ivan Smagghe’s Les Disques de la Mort in the past 12 months.
Cormac has also opted to showcase different LGBTQI+ visual artists' work for the sleeve art.
Artwork on this release is from SHREK 666; an Artist, Performer, Maker & DJ also known as Sorcha Clelland. Creator of Ministry of Pound, a Glasgow based Fetish Party & Mag and resident performer at Scotland’s most loved Queer party Shoot Your Shot. Combining
monstrosity, trans*ness & hypersexuality through the embodiment of an ogre creating new queer worlds.

After the very successful EP releases of quickly, quickly’s “Over Skies” in mid 2018 (27m spotify-streams) and Please Wait’s “Black & White” in late 2019 (6,4m spotify-streams to this day) Jakarta Records and Ta-ku take their joint label to the next level presenting 823’s very 1st longplayer - a compilation feat. an international line-up of already established as well as up & coming Lo-Fi producers, handpicked and curated by none other than 823 label-head Ta-ku himself.
1st single to be released on 21st of August is „Serenity“ by prolific 27 year old producer eevee (1,5m monthly listeners) from the Netherlands aka „the queen of Lo-Fi“ delivering a loopy and very hypnotic tune w/ quite jazzy horns feeling like watching the sunset on a desert planet like Dune - from outer space.
2nd single will be a double-single, coming on September 11th w/ finnish indie-producer Idealism (2,5m monthly listeners) and his tune “Somehow” – a steady and softened beat w/ colorfull and chilled piano chords – on the one side and Ta-ku’s “Remember Me” - another powerful Lo-Fi anthem by the Australian allrounder and 823 patron - on the flipside.
The compilation’s 3rd drop will be a double-single as well featuring 19 year old, US-based self made producer Peachy! (2,6m monthly listeners), delivering his Shanghai inspired, very spheric walk-by tune “Stroll” on one side while Laguna contributes his slowly uplifting but very keen “Lone Rider” on the flipside, catching that specific moment when switching from boredom to euphoria right away.
All singles off the compilation will be accompanied by customized visuals from different filmmakers catching the songs’ very own vibes. The compilation’s artwork comes along in its very own and unique 823-style.
Worldwide web promotion for this release will be handled and taken care of by Jonathan Kim.
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Ta-ku’s 823 label represents the appreciation for the people, ideas and places that inspire and push their protagonists forward. The artwork is shot by the artists themselves and each release has an accompanying photo zine that acts as a visual story to compliment the music being showcased. 823 is also the numerical representation of the phrase 'Thinking Of You'.

“823 celebrates the simple beauty of everyday life and the people in it that inspire us. In that spirit we are proud to present our very first compilation featuring artists we love. All Things Considered Vol.1” (Regan Matthews aka Ta-ku)

solid pink vinyl edition

De:tuned lines up the seventh release in their ten-part anniversary series. A blend of old and new material, deep grooves and inventive textures brought together by venerated producers Spacetime Continuum, Scanner, Ross 154 and Leo Anibaldi. A heartwarming ambient techno trip from start to finish makes for an immersive listening experience. Do yourself a favor, we love it!

Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. This 12" is pressed on 180 gr vinyl and a separate digital version will be available from the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!

The album 'Balance' by Frank Bretschneider & Taylor Deupree was originally released in 2002 by Mille Plateaux on CD only. The 9 tracks on 'Balance' are a perfect example for the aesthetics to arise within the Click & Cuts scene and (ambient-)glitch music movement of the late 90s and early 2000s.

The two masters of microscopic sounds and sine wave/white noise-based music constructed these seamlessly mixed pieces around rhythms and melodies, which grants the album plenty of dynamics. The wide variety of carefully chosen ambient sounds throughout the whole work endows 'Balance' warmth and intimacy.

The recordings are now available for the first time on vinyl within the KeplarRev series, presented in a new updated artwork based on the original layout with photographs by Taylor Deupree.

From the original press release in 2002:

"Balance is the first and so far only collaborative release from Frank Bretschneider (Berlin) and Taylor Deupree (Brooklyn). Both of these artists are no strangers to the ears of many; Taylor Deupree is one of New York's most vibrant electronic producers. From his early techno days as a member of Prototype 909 to his current status as one of N. America's key "microscopic" electronic composers and to add runs the prestigious 12K and LINE labels. Frank Bretschneider is a key member and founder of the prestigious Raster Music label, he has critically acclaimed releases under the names Komet and Produkt. It's easy to say that Frank Bretschneider has created some of the most influential spatial electronics of the late 90's.

Utilizing both artists keen ears for carefully crafted sounds, Balance blends the clean sine wave / white noise of Bretschneider with the defined grit of Deupree's granular synthesis. Realized entirely on Nord Modular synthesizers, Bretschneider and Deupree exchanged patch files through email and began constructing foundation loops. Bretschneider then created initial mixes of 9 songs and then sent them to Deupree who remixed and re-processed them. This digital exchange allowed for them to work using their own methods and aesthetic while combining the similarities of each others interests. The result is a looping and churning rhythmic work that is both synthetic, warm, dubby and tonally challenging. Thus Balance creates an engaging balance between the 2 artists aesthetics."

It's the idea of capturing a moment on vinyl that created the first release of "henk". After countless hours of twitching the knobs on their machines the DJ's and producers Stikdorn and MK Braun created a string of tracks that will now see the light of day on their collaborative label.

Cologne based producers and DJ's Stikdorn and MK Braun team up for the second installment of their Henk label. They created 4 Tracks full of analogue hardware vibes ready for the dancefloor.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.

Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.

But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."

While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.

Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.

Rising London-based talent Casey Spillman debuts on LOCUS with his latest four-track EP, ‘Bit More Raggo’.

A hotly-tipped name within the UK house and minimal scene, London’s Casey Spillman continues to impress as one of the city’s key emerging DJs, producers and label owners. Founder of his own blossoming imprint Temperature, his releases and remixes via the likes of e1ven records, Sukhumvit and Infuse have gained support from a long list of the scene’s key players - solidifying his growing profile as one of FUSE’s key up-and-coming talents, whilst featuring across a string of their infamous events within the UK capital. Next up, Spillman’s latest outing welcomes a debut on recently launched FUSE imprint LOCUS, delivering four typically impressive cuts in the form of his ‘Bit More Raggo’ EP.

Opening cut ‘What I Say’ delivers a moody, up-front production armed with metallic percussion licks, resonant chords and driving low-ends, whilst the skipping hats and sweeping key leads of the slick ‘Gambling Man’ reveal a classy yet warping journey to close out the A-side. On the flip, ‘Humidity Meter’ introduces a hypnotic combination of shuffling percussion atop of escalating electronics and squelching bass patterns, before closing proceedings via the tripped-out vocals, crisp, raw drum shots and menacing bassline of final track, ‘Commands’.

Soul Mass Transit System returns to Time Is Now with the weighty ‘Blocked’ EP featuring a collaboration with legendary vocalist Killa P.

Mysterious producer Soul Mass Transit System has been pumping out some serious twelves this year, with killer cuts on labels such as Warehouse Rave, Time Is Now & Rhythm & Vibe. His latest outing ‘Blocked’ EP is the rising producers weightiest work to date, lead track ‘Blocked’ featuring legendary ex Roll Deep member Killa P does some serious damage, backed with three rolling UKG cuts of groovers and movers, best played loud.

I can't actually remember why we decided to do this project other than ask ourself, why had it not been done years ago? let's do it! Linkwood and Other Lands are well known from their various outings on Firecracker, Night Theatre, The Nuclear Family, Rush Hour, Dekmantel, AOTN and many other labels, both talented musicians and fierce producers. The plan was simple, drop them into the mostly finished Athens of the North studio and cross the streams….

The results are nothing short of spectacular but putting them into words or genres on paper is somewhat of a challenge. Folding modular textures, post-punk, Electro, House and Techno even ending in some lush Balearic business, they have moulded their years of experience and translated it into something new.

What strikes me when listening to the LP is both their voices have come through in this production. Other Lands guitar work and Vocal and Linkwood deep sense of Rhythm and structure. The recording of this LP was just pre-covid which seems strange as it fits now so well. Like a dream of what it would be like to be out In the city night in all its different factions.

In a world full of mash ups and cover versions and "first time on a 45" releases, Premier League Pressings is here to sort the wheat from the chaff and take you into the top tier of cheeky releases.

SIDE A - THE BELMONT SHADOWS - KISS HIM GOODBYE
The first Premier League Pressing features one of the best known tracks in popular culture. The Belmont Shadows beef up an acapella version with cuts and beats from one of the top DJ's and Producers on the West Coast. Back of the net!

SIDE B - WILSON DN - KISS HIM GOODBYE
On the flip PLP score again with a tough breakbeat-heavy Latin version that has never been on a 45. One of those creative playmaker types from Brazil!

Curling around the wall into the top corner of the net, Premier League Pressings have delivered their first victory. Look forward to more dominant performances!

We are happy to announce the first in anew series of 12" releases under DJ'S CHOICE, Four Flies Records' division devoted to fresh and cool new music in genres ranging from tropical funk and nu-soul to hip hop.

Created during the global lockdown, this new release is a joyful invitation to move our bodies and dance – something that, alas, has become almost impossible in this pandemic-ridden year.
Quero Ver Você Dançar is a collaboration between Rome-based DJ/producer The Rebel, Portuguese DJ/producer Dedy Dread, and Brazilian jazz singer Keila Abeid. Other musicians playing on the track – including Neney Santos (percussions), Marco Ravallese (keys), and Fab Samperi (flute) – masterly contribute to its soulful favela vibes.

Housed in a single jacket with beautiful artwork by Roman illustrator Federica Fruhwirth, the 12-inch single also features a super groovy remix by Mo'Horizons which, with its powerful combination of bossa and drum'n'bass rhythms, makes this release a must for tropical-music aficionados.

Also available on all major digital outlets, with two additional remixes by young Brazilian producers Afterclapp and Brasila Strut.

Off The Meds is a Swedish-South African crew based in Stockholm, consisting of producers Adrian Lux, Carli Lo¨f and Ma°ns Glaeser with vocalist Kamohelo Khoaripe.
The band first appeared on Studio Barnhus with the Ethio-jazz sampling hip-house gem Currency Low, one of the standouts on the Stockholm label's 2018 compilation Studio Barnhus Volym 1. This was followed by 2019's ravey smash single Belter, which came paired with a much-lauded remix by London top selector Joy Orbison.
Their self-titled debut album arrives on Studio Barnhus in late 2020. First album single Karlaplan was recently played by Four Tet on Benji B's show on BBC Radio 1, while second single Wena got included in hotly tipped UK garage reformist Conducta's recent Resident Advisor podcast.

Beats on Boat vol. 1 is a double LP with 6 nationalities, 8 artists & 16 Tracks pressed on 180g vinyl and limited to 400 copies w/ FloFilz, Made in M, Melodiesinfonie, Juan RIOS, Hazy Year, Lunchbag (aka Theo Spazzatura), illiterate (aka Les Geddit) & iamalex.

The compilation accompanies the YouTube series which can be watched on our website: ear-sight com

All the artists involved have one track on each vinyl, celebrating their musical diversity. The first vinyl will be the sound you know and love of theirs. The second- will be the world premiere for the majority of the Musicians featured- taking a step out of their comfort zone into house, disco or their individual interpretations of those genres.

We set sail last summer to unite some of the best producers we know and came back with hours of dope sets and a 16 track double vinyl containing a lot of firsts - not only for us but also for most artists aboard- the C & D side are full of world premieres!

This vinyl is the blueprint of what’s to come here at ear-sight in the next couple of years, staying true to our lo-fi roots but also reaching out to new horizons and we feel so blessed to have taken this first step with these talented cats.

In a year of global shift and continuous changes, Figure takes a leap of faith and extends its catalog by introducing a completely new compilation series to the label. The Open Space series will feature forward-thinking Electronica and Ambient from a well-curated list of seasoned producers. Compositions that invite to let the mind wander, weaving stories, and conjuring up emotions.
While these softer genres have already played a respected role in former Figure releases, for the first time in the label’s history they are now being given the center stage. Volume 1 sets the mark by providing producers whom we’ve come to love for their dancefloor-centric output with an open space to showcase another side of their skillset. Open Space remains open to various strains of Electronica and Ambient, ranging from the introspective synth-monologues (Sebastian Muellaert / Kirilik), drony dub-experimentalism (Moritz Von Oswald), alive and breathing takes on the genre (JakoJako), to singular compositions which slowly build their own lasting narrative and thus develop a genuine, emotive quality (John Beltran / Tin Man ). Len Faki himself proves the artistic breadth of Open Space, sharing a powerful and conscious message through a rare and delicate moment of him exploring the form of spoken words. Other contributions include Jesper Dahlbäck as The Persuader, Luke Slater as 7th Plain, or Ralf Hildenbeutel - a former production partner of Sven Väth and now a successful composer of film soundtracks. Unfairly reduced to background music, it is not the kind of Ambient featured on the Open Space series. It is an engaging body of music, bonded by its contemplative, enveloping nature. Open Space bands together an array of fascinatingly skilled producers, finally given the opportunity to present some of their most creative and emotional material yet to date.

Vinyl Only

They say journey can take you to so many roads full of experience and lessons, to learn ideas to achieve, and that’s when you translate that into musical notes and rhythms.

ÓbaidlÍ records come along the way from the heart of the desert to set the right tone with a particular style. The idea behind the label is to experiment with a wide range of sounds and textures to give it a feel of the organic sounds.

ÓbaidlÍ records are glad to present their first vinyl release ’Down the road’, a selective, four-track EP. This EP is a collaboration between two talented producers, the founder of "ÓbaidlÍ records" Bídlee and the head of "Deep in you Music” Zohki. Each track brings its unique touch and deep perception.

Leading off on Side A are tracks by Zohki, that will set you up into a deep rhythm and harmony.

Side B tracks by Bídlee will take you to a long journey of nostalgic tone with symphonic soul, and minimal serve with proper texture.

For over two decades, Glasgow’s Mungo’s Hi Fi and their label Scotch Bonnet have spread their fun, forward-thinking reggae music around the world. And this ethos is triple-distilled into their now eagerly- awaited Puffer’s Choice compilations.

The latest, third edition in the series collects some the last few years' top collaborative highlights onto one LP. With its cover bearing the MacLeod of Lewis tartan, Puffer’s Choice 3 is a celebration of both the label’s Scottish heritage and their global family tree of links with sound systems, artists and producers who share the same spirit.

CoOp Presents an all-new double-album compilation entitled 'Plug One'. It features a plethora of global talent from in & around the world of bruk and beyond - some already well-established in the field, some very much on the come-up and some brand new artists - this compilation is an acknowledgment of a continually evolving sound from the label formed by IG Culture & Alex Phountzi a few years ago. 'Plug One' affirms this electric movement, with a deeply fluid current running throughout, with tracks ranging from the cosmic psych jazz of LCSM, to the classic UKG tweaks of Groove Chronicles, to the thought-provoking vibes of Reginald Omas Mamaode IV, to a veritable who's who of 2020 bruk talent including Xtra Brux, Sivey, EVM128, Cengiz, Wonky Logic & many more.

From its beginnings as a classic club night and label in the early 2000's, CoOp always carried an undefinable and potent creative energy. A sense of freedom and uninhibited exploration was positioned at the core of CoOp's sprawling community and consciousness, communicated via movement and sound. From this seed and throughout the years that followed, this same energy permeated the worldwide underground music ecosystem. As CoOp's legacy continued to influence new generations of music makers far and wide. The syncopated rhythms, soulful keys and infectious grooves synonymous with the broken beat sound, now known simply as Bruk, became entwined with new concepts and progressions, leading to new movements carrying on the essence of the bruk energy.

IG Culture and Alex Phountzi took the helm of their CoOp Presents label in 2018, with the vision of championing these new waves of emerging artists, continuing the all-important exchange of energy at the heart of the original CoOp movement, but also giving room for the music to be pushed into new and uncharted territories. With burgeoning producers from around the globe being drawn to the explorative and expressive nature of the project, an incubator was created, providing a space and platform for these ideals to take on new shapes and sounds. Just as every generation must rewrite its own history books, CoOp Presents was born from a combination of influences, ideas and personalities, and in turn is now encouraging the next generation to do some re-writing of its own.

'Plug One' will be released on vinyl & digital on CoOp Presents in November 2020.

After our last release with Dub Keyboarder Ao Inoue from Dry&Heavy Tokio/Japan we now are super proud to announce;
Our next Ep coming up in November is done by TURMSPRINGER + 2 heavy weights Producers. QUENUM labelhead of Cadenza delivered an superb minimal 80´s sounding remix and we could convince no further then Neil Fraser aka MAD PROFESSOR to join the Mole Audio Project He´s done a few “versions” on his old smokey dusty console which will come out within the next few month , Keep your ears open for this !

Buenos Aires’ Santiago Garcia joins Upercent in his native Valencia, candidly integrating their own unique approaches to music and harmonizing artistries to render an unpretentious glimpse into the process of building a home, both literally and figuratively. Unveiling the birth of their new label, Interpret, the talented DJ/Producers draw on their personal and artistic connection, versatility on and off decks and penchant for metaphors to foster a safe space for interpretation and canvas for symphonic expression. INT01 is storytelling in its fine, sincere and genuine form, segmented into four distinctive and equally compelling tracks that naturally occurred upon graciously pushing sounds and nurturing instincts.

Carrer Bonaire EP is a mosaic of sounds traversing an infinite spectrum of emotions, handwoven by Interpret masterminds, Upercent and Santiago Garcia, with meticulous detail and quintessence through to the EP’s finish. But not to fret, Interpret is not only off to a good start, the label is here to stay, til imaginations run dry.

Complete with more gorgeous artwork from our favourite graphic designer, Animisiewasz, DP number 28 pops up offering four dance floor ready edits from one of our favourite young producers.

London based producer, multi-instrumentalist and artist Hoffy brings us five explosive disco/house monsters tailor made for when the clubs re-open and everyone goes ever so slightly nuts. With a couple of ridiculously uplifting releases on Forgot Records and a remix or two for Wah Wah 45s, of course, he knows how to move a crowd. His productions illustrate his deep love of classic (but never cheesy) disco, and an ability to create surges of energy even on the most docile of dance floors.

We hope you enjoy this craftily concocted quintet of soulful stunners that could easily sit alongside O'Flynn, early Romare and Dave Lee on your shelves. Another essential slab of foot friendly heat courtesy of your favourite Dubplate provider!

So here we are with another first – the next vinyl debut on Cheezy Crust Records as well as thefirst ever release for the two-piece project that is CVSO which is their „Basic Cuts EP“.
Comprised of Mainz / Germany-based producers Mint Huus who made his solo debut on Cheezy Crust in 2019 and Get In Touch head honcho Willberg their joint venture project CVSO caters a total of four tracks on limited to 200 copies 12“ vinyl, all aptly named after their individual
placement and position on the actual record itself.
Mastered by electronic music legend and pioneer Thomas P. Heckmann the trademark sound of CVSO presented on this EP is informed by classic early to mid-90s Techno and Intelligent Techno vibes with its ever evolving flow and stripped down aesthetic which fuses subtle harmonic changes, spatial meanderings within the stereo field as well as a hypnotic, time-dissolving attitude for heavy dancefloor abuse.
This said, CVSO are aiming for nothing less than their introduction to the ivy league of Techno with these „Basic Cuts“, providing classy, absolutely timeless and expertly assembled DJ tools which are aiming to perfectly blend in with and match the vibe of all those now classic tunes that have never left a DJs bag for a quarter of a century or more, even though CVSO are tackling their sound design and production approach with a modern contemporary twist.

The 20th anniversary year of Dial Records couldn’t have been more exciting for us so far! After the extraordinary well-received release of Soela’s debut-album Genuine Silk and steady excitement around our ongoing series of digital anniversary compilations, we are more than thrilled to announce the second album release of this our very special year: XDB - Inspiron. As a longtime companion and true inspiration throughout the label’s twenty-year history, Kosta Athanassiadis aka XDB enriched our lives with his brilliant productions in the form of countless 12”s and legendary remixes. His long-overdue full-length debut album Inspiron in hand, we find ourselves unpacking the most beautiful jubilee present we could have ever imagined. For almost three decades now Kosta Athanassiadis aka XDB has been involved in the constantly changing world of dance music. His curiosity and dedication to electronic music spiral deep into the depth of House Music and Techno and where ever he appears he generously shares his unique knowledge in this field with equally dedicated crowds. Whether you follow his bloggish “Tracks I do really LOVE”, a collection of club essentials and a library of taste, or you witness one of his remarkable DJ sets from Panorama Bar to Freerotation Festival - XDB will elevate you to one of those unforgettably magical music moments. In 1993 Kosta Athanassiadis started his DJ career in the medieval hometown of Goettingen. To find what he was really looking for, namely, the newest and most exciting new records he frequently had to leave this picturesque city, that is most popular for inventing the traditional Baumkuchen pastry, but has not been on the maps of music connoisseurs necessarily. Frequent trips to visit records stores and clubs around Germany built a network of likely minded people. Some of his favorite and most thought after record labels of the time like the Chicago imprint Relief, or UK's Mosaic, are still fundamental to his very specific musical taste. By the turn of the century, XDB hosted a series of nights at Goettingen's Eletroosho, where he invited Dial’s own Lawrence and Carsten Jost in 2002- the beginning of a still ongoing friendship. He had established himself as a sought after and internationally active DJ and started his fist endeavors into music production as well. Later on XDB founded his own Label Metrolux and released on iconic labels like Sistrum and Wave to be followed by countless remixes for legends like Aaron Carl, Norm Talley and Patrice Scott. An extraordinary stream of gravity connects both, his productions and DJ sets. Once breaking through a seemingly transparent surface, one get’s lost in the beauty and depth of forms and figures. There’s barely DJs and producers who keep searching for this hidden formula in such a microscopically detailed way to pass a lifetime in House Music and Techno on to the world. XDB's Inspiron embraces this unique approach, filters and develops inspirations in an entirely delicate way, and magically emphasizes the desires of the most dedicated listeners and dancers.

In the horror genre, sequels are perfunctory. As the insufferable film bro Randy explains in Scream 2, "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate-more blood, more gore. Carnage candy. And number three: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead." Last Halloween, Los Angeles experimental rap mainstays Clipping ended their three-year silence with the horrorcore-inspired album There Existed an Addiction to Blood. This October, rapper Daveed Diggs, and producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson return with an even higher body count, more elaborate kills, and monsters that just won't stay dead. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is less a sequel than it is the second half of a planned diptych. It turns out, Clipping took to the thematic material of horrorcore like vampires to grave soil. Before the release of There Existed an Addiction to Blood, Clipping and Sub Pop Records divided the material up into two albums, designed to be released only months apart. However, a global pandemic and multiple cancelled tours pushed the release of the project's "part two" until the following Halloween season. Visions of Bodies Being Burned contains sixteen more scary stories disguised as rap songs, incorporating as much influence from Ernest Dickerson, Clive Barker, and Shirley Jackson as it does from Three 6 Mafia, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Brotha Lynch Hung. Clipping's angular, shattered interpretations of existing musical styles are always deferential, driven by fandom for the object of study rather than disdain for it. Clipping reimagine horrorcore-the purposely absurdist hip-hop subgenre that flourished in the 1990s-the way Jordan Peele does horror cinema: by twisting beloved tropes to make explicit their own radical politics of monstrosity, fear, and the uncanny. The album features a host of collaborators: Inglewood's Cam & China, fellow noise-rap pioneers Ho99o9, Tortoise guitar genius Jeff Parker, and experimental LA drummer Ted Byrnes. The final track, "Secret Piece," is a performance of a Yoko Ono text score from 1953 that instructs the players to "Decide on one note that you want to play/Play it with the following accompaniment: the woods from 5am to 8am in summer," and features nearly all of the musicians who appeared on both albums. Since their last album, Daveed Diggs-the group's Tony and Grammy Award-winning rapper-has starred in the TNT science fiction series, Snowpiercer, voiced a character in Pixar's Soul, and portrayed Frederick Douglass in Showtime's The Good Lord Bird. Writer Rivers Solomon's novella based on Clipping's Hugo-nominated song "The Deep" has been nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, and won the Lambda Literary Award for best LGBTQ SF/Fantasy/Horror novel. Clipping's song "Chapter 319"-a tribute to George Floyd (AKA Big Floyd) the former DJ-Screw affiliated rapper who was murdered by police officers in May of 2020-was released on Bandcamp on June 19th and raised over $20,000 for racial justice charities. A clip of the song also became a popular meme on TikTok, generating over 50,000 videos in which teenagers rapped the song's lyrics ("Donald Trump is a white supremacist, full stop_") directly into the frowning faces of their conservative parents. The band also contributed a Skinny Puppy-esque rework of J-Kwon's "Tipsy" to Save Stereogum: An '00s Covers Comp.

MEET THE CHOIR THAT HOUSE BUILT

The late great Frankie Knuckles once called house music: “church for people that have fallen from grace.” Anyone who has been caught up in the rapture of a true house classic can testify to its power to unify and uplift.

HGC is an electrifying House meets Gospel experience that never fails to get audiences clapping, dancing and singing along. HGC shows bring together a group of outstanding singers, a full house band and DJ, creating an effortless live fusion of the biggest house and gospel tunes that never fail to raise the roof!

House Gospel Choir’s magic is their ear for production, thanks to the songwriters, producers, vocal arrangers and selectors who make up the collective. The choir have been bubbling away in studios across London, working with a roll call of iconic dance music producers, from global house icons Todd Terry, DJ Spen, Grammy Award winner Alex Metric, to Toddla T and UK gospel icon Nicky Brown. Their monthly public Mass Choir open rehearsal, at Rich Mix in East London, has featured guest appearances from house and techno icon The Black Madonna, and electro pop singer Georgia.

The current House Gospel Choir has grown to over 150 members of all religions and backgrounds. They take us to church, literally and metaphorically and remind us, whatever spiritual inclination we may have, of the sonic swells in our ribcage that truly great harmonies can inspire.

We Are One has become the choirs mantra, Founder & Creative Director Natalie Maddix explains “We can’t all speak at the same time and have our voices heard, but we can sing together as one voice and be understood”.

“The choir have a really unique energy. Beyond the uplifting vibes of Gospel Music…they’re like family” Annie Mac

“I’m so crazy about them” – THE BLACK MADONNA

Between Christmas 2000 and New Year 2001 producers Ekkehard Ehlers and Stephan Mathieu recorded an album of warm, soft, delicately crackling electronic music in the space of that week. It was christened with the ambivalent title "Heroin" and was released on CD via the label Brombron in 2001 and later in 2003 re-issued on Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork on double-LP with remixes the pair had commissioned as expansions.

17 years later Heroin sees its first vinyl release to include all 13 tracks from the original CD track-list on this LP + 12“ set. The centerpiece "Herz" finally receives its long deserved vinyl treatment (side C, at 45rpm) and on the flip side Thomas Brinkmann contributes a mirror in a magnificent remix of that very piece on side D.

Ehlers and Mathieu were both highly prolific solo artists during the period 2000-2004, and in just two years after the initial release of "Heroin" each had produced over half a dozen new solo recordings: among them the serial masterpiece Ehlers' "Plays" (Cornelius Cardew, Hurbert Fichte, John Cassavetes, Albert Ayler, Robert Johnson) released as 5 stunning LPs in a series on Staubgold, while Mathieu's 'Full Swing Edits' spread over five 10" records plus his album 'FrequencyLib' on Mille Plateaux, 'Die Entdeckung des Wetters' on Lucky Kitchen and ‘The Sad Mac’ on Atsushi Sasaki’s Headz label were greeted to critical acclaim.

Both artists were expanding their conceptual sonic approaches in the glow of developing laptop technologies which would to these times in 2020 seem quite primitive, but these two in that period used the state-of-the-art to aid and abet their conceptual visions, while at times the duo used unorthodox experimentation - yet always had a distinctively melodic and musical form at its heart and soul.

Ehlers can be seen as a conceptualist, as a meta-musician who interrogates the mediums and methods of sound production - reflecting on the conditions and possibilities of improvisation (e.g. "Plays Albert Ayler") and exploits ideas of mutation and distortion of popular aesthetics played out within a ghostly form of divine pop beauty in his project März.

Mathieu, originally a drummer and co-founder of what has come to be known as the Berlin 'Echtzeitmusik' scene. His approach could be similarly described as working a critical analyst and researcher: Subtly and precisely working in the realm of processing as a method of intervening in melodious/harmonic analog sound sources.

Ehlers and Mathieu may not think too much about their singular productions and publications outcomes, but instead concentrate on the process and musical personality that characterizes their gesture- style itself stays in the background - and they usher a music from small minimal sound sources coaching a patient music of slow intervention - much like a refraction of light than a concrete painting or a blurred photograph - beatus accident.

And indeed, "Heroin" is an album that embraces the happy accident being made up of reduced, often very catchy and very direct micro hooks which seem laser-guided into a space accepting obvious melodic beauty in what feels like an observation of musics unfolding and revealing it's DNA, embed with for a kind of yearning for innocence and naiveté - as if Satie were on the jukebox in "The Crying of Lot 49". Not to say the music is "reduced", but rather: 'restricted' and born from acceptance of limitations, and the artists allowing the sounds to just "be.." with some incremental degrees of coercion.

The album not only sounds like that of 2 producers who are both dreamers and scientists, but that Ehlers and Mathieu chose to work with these means in a dialogue together to reduce pop music to its musical/tonal core, it is not Pop music anymore, rather a ghostly pointilistic itteration of song. "Heroin" is located at this transition, around that point at which tracks, that were or could have become pop compositions, irrevocably slip into a static harmonic nirvana. We are invited to follow the arch of Heroin in a slow-motion morphine musical haze.

Heroin sounded timeless when originally released and proof is that it remains so, one wishes that Ehlers and Mathieu would convene again for a week, a month or an entire year to continue this process of slow rumination, picking affectionately over the sounds they both love - and then maybe when everything is condensed, evaporated they would write more songs with those sonic refractive elements that remain.

Award-winning International DJ and Producers The Prototypes release their third album ‘Ten Thousand Feet & Rising’. The Brighton based Drum & Bass duo were previously signed to tastemaker label ‘Viper Recordings,’ home to Matrix and Futurebound.

The Prototypes’ potent, hard-hitting production and broadsword body of work on seminal labels such as UKF, Viper Recordings, Shogun Audio, Ram Records, Technique Recordings and Formation. Anthems that have been supported across the entire D’N’B scene such as ‘Pale Blue Dot’, ‘Pop It Off’ and ‘Kill The Silence’.

Their expansive and versatile remixes of acts ranging from Ed Sheeran to Avicii to Friction by way of their sought-after bootlegs of Fisher and Knife Party and unreleased dubplate remixes of Bad Company and Pendulum. Not to mention their extraordinary debut album ‘City Of Gold’ that exploded in 2015, took them around the world several times over and elevated them to headline status.

‘Shadows’ is the first single from the new album, which they explain as ”a throwback to the Hardcore scene from the late 90s, with a piano line influenced by pivotal names through the history of the UK’s rave scene such as Vibes & Wishdokta, DJ Dougal, Slipmatt, and Nookie, to which we added a straight up banger of a bassline”.

Featuring Ulta Music’s singer Lily McKenzie, known for her collaborations with industry heavyweights including Giggs, Conducta and Wiley, as well as featuring on Crazy Cousinz’s 2017 smash hit, ‘No Way’, alongside Yxng Bane and Mr Eazi signed to Ultra Music.

Previously supported by the likes of Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Andy C, Roni Size, Friction, J Majik & Wickaman, Pendulum, DJ Fresh plus many more.

From the fertile electronic, post-folk depths of Colombian music, the tasty "Colombian Singles series" has emerged to cast light on a blooming, rapidly expanding scene. The series is envisioned as a showcase for the country’s growing number of producers who, drawing upon their Indigenous, African and European roots and cultures, are creating new approaches to electronic dance music. Hailing from the countryside near Bogotá, where the huge city reaches down into its more tropical surroundings, Los Bulldozer is the perfect combo to inaugurate this new musical adventure. Led by the unearthly guitarist Fabian Morales and his mind-bending experiments, Los Bulldozer have their own particular way of bringing international influences like Soukous, West-African blues and post-punk to the already exquisite musical diversity of key Colombian styles such as Currulao, Champeta, and Reggaeton. Partly produced by the German godfather of global beats Daniel Haaksman, highlights on this first volume include the heavy indie dance cut ‘Pepa’, emotive Pacific blues guitars and eerie haze of ‘Currulaomali’, and the industrial reggaeton ‘Commin Down’. And there’s (a lot) more... Not your usual sun-kissed summer vibe, but a deeper, moody interpretation of the dualities felt under equatorial latitudes.

Birthed from a radio show and event series with iconic Los Angeles radio station DUBLAB, SOS MUSIC’s goal is to provide a platform for diverse and forward-thinking electronic music, with a keen emphasis on womxn talent from around the world. In conjunction with Berlin-based !K7, the label’s debut release, SOS MUSIC Vol. 1 is a 14-track eclectic compilation showcasing dance music from some of the best producers working at the moment including rRoxymore, Violet, Nightwave, Umfang, LCY & Minimal Violence - lovingly curated to uplift and celebrate the global electronic community in a time of deep uncertainty in the music industry. SOS MUSIC Vol. 1 is international to its core, drawing on in?uences from the artists’ respective backgrounds including the UK, US, Serbia, Spain, Japan, Slovenia, Portugal, Germany & Canada.

SOS MUSIC was founded in Los Angeles by Maddy Maia (UK) and Tottie (Spain via the UK). Maddy has a long history in independent music, and is currently VP A&R in the US for famed British indie label Ninja Tune. Tottie is director of events and special projects at DUBLAB, and curates music, art and cultural programming that re?ects the diverse landscape of the city and beyond.

A shared love of underground music and culture, Maia and Tottie’s bond started strong via throwing events and later with hosting a monthly radio show; The SOS Music imprint is a natural next step in the pair’s progression as curators and its goal will continue early principles the duo stuck to- to seek out diverse underground talent and amplify their voice or community, whilst championing diversity on all sides of the industry. Maddy and Tottie’s music in?uences and styles span wide across the spectrum of experimental dance music, ranging from left?eld house, orchestral ambient sounds, not forgetting a nod to their youth growing up in the UK rave scene.

Limited edition, stocks might have to be allocated! Baker's Dozen is a vinyl series that shines a spotlight on instrumental music and the personalities behind the craft. To commemorate the 13th release in series history, Fat Beats Records aims to focus on thirteen of its most respected producers with the aptly titled compilation "Baker's Dozen: XIII".

After their Grime / Dubstep leaning debut single in late 2018 Intrauterin Recordings mastermind baze.djunkiii and production partner Sascha Müller return with a new outing of their conjunctional COMBAT DUBS project. With „Crystals“ they're coming at us with a special twist, presenting a fascinating crossover of UK Garage and Breakbeat sporting overwhelming basslines and a crystalline, most beautiful and ever cascading synth motif whilst the flipside sees the pair of producers diving deep into raw SpeedGarage / BasslineHouse territories for maximum dancefloor pressure with the aptly titled „Crystals *Speed Mix“.

Initial pressing will be limited to 200 copies on white vinyl.

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the Metamorphic roster and it is none other than Italian producer Nicolo Loporchio recording under his Nico Lahs moniker! The prolific Loporchio, hailing from Bari, is one of the most accomplished Italian producers out there with previous releases on Ovum, Poker Flat and Rawax to name a few. Following a five year hiatus during which he focused on his Cosmic Garden alias and started his own vinyl only label Cosmic Rhythm, he drops the Blow Your Mind EP on Metamorphic, 4 spaced out and atmospheric techno tracks that showcase his skills in the studio and match perfectly with the ethos of the label.

In the horror genre, sequels are perfunctory. As the insufferable film bro Randy explains in Scream 2, "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate-more blood, more gore. Carnage candy. And number three: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead." Last Halloween, Los Angeles experimental rap mainstays Clipping ended their three-year silence with the horrorcore-inspired album There Existed an Addiction to Blood. This October, rapper Daveed Diggs, and producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson return with an even higher body count, more elaborate kills, and monsters that just won't stay dead. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is less a sequel than it is the second half of a planned diptych. It turns out, Clipping took to the thematic material of horrorcore like vampires to grave soil. Before the release of There Existed an Addiction to Blood, Clipping and Sub Pop Records divided the material up into two albums, designed to be released only months apart. However, a global pandemic and multiple cancelled tours pushed the release of the project's "part two" until the following Halloween season. Visions of Bodies Being Burned contains sixteen more scary stories disguised as rap songs, incorporating as much influence from Ernest Dickerson, Clive Barker, and Shirley Jackson as it does from Three 6 Mafia, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Brotha Lynch Hung. Clipping's angular, shattered interpretations of existing musical styles are always deferential, driven by fandom for the object of study rather than disdain for it. Clipping reimagine horrorcore-the purposely absurdist hip-hop subgenre that flourished in the 1990s-the way Jordan Peele does horror cinema: by twisting beloved tropes to make explicit their own radical politics of monstrosity, fear, and the uncanny. The album features a host of collaborators: Inglewood's Cam & China, fellow noise-rap pioneers Ho99o9, Tortoise guitar genius Jeff Parker, and experimental LA drummer Ted Byrnes. The final track, "Secret Piece," is a performance of a Yoko Ono text score from 1953 that instructs the players to "Decide on one note that you want to play/Play it with the following accompaniment: the woods from 5am to 8am in summer," and features nearly all of the musicians who appeared on both albums. Since their last album, Daveed Diggs-the group's Tony and Grammy Award-winning rapper-has starred in the TNT science fiction series, Snowpiercer, voiced a character in Pixar's Soul, and portrayed Frederick Douglass in Showtime's The Good Lord Bird. Writer Rivers Solomon's novella based on Clipping's Hugo-nominated song "The Deep" has been nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, and won the Lambda Literary Award for best LGBTQ SF/Fantasy/Horror novel. Clipping's song "Chapter 319"-a tribute to George Floyd (AKA Big Floyd) the former DJ-Screw affiliated rapper who was murdered by police officers in May of 2020-was released on Bandcamp on June 19th and raised over $20,000 for racial justice charities. A clip of the song also became a popular meme on TikTok, generating over 50,000 videos in which teenagers rapped the song's lyrics ("Donald Trump is a white supremacist, full stop_") directly into the frowning faces of their conservative parents. The band also contributed a Skinny Puppy-esque rework of J-Kwon's "Tipsy" to Save Stereogum: An '00s Covers Comp.

Daniel Bortz, a staple among electronic music producers, returns with his new album "Stay". After "Patchwork Memories" on Suol from 2013, it's the second album for Berlin-born and Augsburg-rooted Daniel. From his early days of James Blake editing and riding the slow house wave, Daniel has perfected and diversived his production skills over the seven year course between the albums. His range spans euphoric techno, cinematic breakbeats, heart warming electronica and classic deep house, you can witness on his eps for Innervisions, Pastamusik (the infamous Bella Avgvsta trilogy) or even on the legendary DJ Kicks mix series from grandmaster Moodymann, who selected one of Bortz's tracks on his volume. After his three eps (one with his friend and long time collaborator Sascha Sibler and one under his DJ Hotel alias) on Permanent Vacation, Daniel takes the consequential step and releases his second full-length album with the Munich based label. With the 11 tracks on "Stay", Daniel Bortz evokes his teenage years and dreamwalks through his upbringing during the 90's. Musically he brings together what never should have been separated: House, Acid, Downbeat and Breakbeat all rooted in the sample aesthetic of Hip Hop, thereby capturing the full emotional spectrum of life and love. Music that came to stay.

The latest record from Delinquent Delivery sees label-head Stephen Mahoney round up five of Dublin’s most prolific producers. Stuey Lyons, Jon Hussey, Jack Jennings, Stephen Mahoney & Rustal have contributed to Stretching Ohms, the fifth release on Delinquent Delivery. Dancefloor directed techno at its finest.

Stuey Lyøns & Jon Hussey have teamed up for A1, a straight-shooting dancefloor oriented techno work. With over forty years of experience between them,Lyøns & Hussey’s expertise is put to work on A1. Dark, pensive and groove-oriented, A1 never deviates too far from its source, making it a useful techno tool for any DJ’s arsenal.

Jack Jennings contribution on A2 is another dancefloor directed number, featuring a dissonant lead married with a swinging percussive section which creates an infectious groove. Jennings’ production style would be synonymous with dark, late night sets, such as those by Marcel Dettmann or Chris Liebling.

Mahoney’s input to Stretching Ohms is B1, a commanding techno banger. Mahoney’s production style is similar to his DJ sets, delicately blending subtle elements throughout B1 while never losing focus of the main driving components. B1’s direct approach makes it perfect for late night sets.

Rustal rounds the record off with B2, a groovy roller which echoes Detroit through and through. Chiming in as the fastest track on the record, Rustal effortlessly balances a funky bassline with a compelling lead, reminiscent of the Belleville Three’s earlier work. B2 marks the end of Stretching Ohms, continuing on the energetic path set out before.

Stretching Ohms delivers high-octane dancefloor driven bangers of the highest quality. Each track differs in style, but combined they all have similar DNA – they’re all made in Dublin. This release highlights the talent that Ireland has to offer to techno globally.

Libreville Records is proud to present a focus on legendary electronic swiss project Mega Wave Orchestra in the form of a compilation LP including unreleased material.Originally released privately in Geneva in 1988 as a box set containing five LPs by The Mega Wave Orchestra and five prints by the artist H. Richard Reimann. The Mega Wave Orchestra, the brain-child of musician, mathematician and composer Christian Oestreicher, was conceived as an multi-media electronic music big-band. It was comprised of seven multi-instrumentalists Christine Schaller, Vincent Barras, Jacques Demierre, Olivier Rogg, Rainer Boesch, Roger Baudet, and Benoit Corboz, with Oestreicher as arranger and producer.The Mega Wave Orchestra created a new hybrid music. It was a music with roots in the jazz and classical traditions, but one which also drew on the sonic freedom of musique concrete and the kind of total experience offered by psychedelia. The diverse backgrounds and specialisms of each of the band leaders/writers resulted in a wide variety of music across the five discs: from austere drones and granular aural detail to warm oddball fusion and gorgeous but cracked vocal jazz. There are useful contemporary comparisons to be made: zoned synth jazz like the Azimuth LP on ECM or Karin Krog’s Freestyle; Larry Heard’s sequencer dreamtime; the Valium minimalism of Pep Llopis or Jun Fukamaki; Dexter Wansel’s shimmering arrangements for Loose Ends, or even the FM sheen meets cold war threat of Donald Fagen’s Night Fly. Here, too, is the sound of music technology about to snowball and define its own aesthetic, unknowingly prefiguring auteurish bedroom producers like Black Dog or The Detroit Escalator Company.Lovely crafted tip-on sleeve. Remastered from Master tapes. 600 copies.

Ai Aso’s immaculately crafted form of minimalist pop music skirts the edges of tensity with the manner and with the skill of a tight rope walker, calmly balancing repeatedly at every step, with a combination of surety and the risk of a slip, a fall, and an unknown uncoiling of events. Aso's capacity to capture, or inspire, the tension and attention from within the listener and observer are quite pronounced. At Aso's concert the performance constantly teeters near the brink, a sharpened awareness in the hall emerges from all observing, with the will of that most delicate balance. On “The Faintest Hint” she brings a meta level to the proceedings, the dream of a singer in a bright sunlit room in the centre of the density of the society, simply and precisely searching for single ideas, single tones, a sense of sensuality and even a dream of a grandeur (rock dream) emerge. A stillness prevails, even a sharp set of instances of dreaming, melancholia, nostalgia… or even saudade. The album was recorded, mixed & mastered by Soichiro Nakamura at Peace Music between 2018-2020. Atsuo and I joined these sessions as producers, and moreso as catalysts, yet also became the skeleton of a band on the album (with the tender touch). The legendary Japanese rock band Boris accompany Aso on two pieces. A faintest hint of sharpness and la tendresse féroce quickly erodes into a fine brief cloud of the purest crystalline dust.

–Stephen O'Malley, Stockholm June 2020

Madcap returns to Soul Deep with his much anticipated, Hide EP. Madcap has established himself as one of the top producers in the scene, with his signature sound that often pays homage to his roots in early Jungle in Hardcore Breaks. With releases on Soul Deep, Smooth N Groove, CIA, Mac II, Myriad, Symmetry, and AKO Beatz, Madcap continues to push his sound to new heights. The Hide EP takes us back to mid 90's, with it's tough Amen breaks, BIG 808 baselines, smooth atmospherics, and classic vocal embellishments. The vinyl release is limited, so make sure to grab this instant classic release before it's too late!

Moods & Grooves proudly introduces another new face, this time from the Detroit scene. DJ Eternal Student (aka Marvin Prather) steps up to the plate with his melodic track Hear Me Though and a deep groove entitled Transpose Deep.

Hear Me Though combines a funktastic bass line with some heavy breathing drums, strumming synths, xylophone like keys, and a sexy vox to create a wonderful head bobbing groove all on its own. Hot remixes of Here Me Though come courtesy of Domenique Xander (Berlin) and Deepset. Domenique puts a nice wash over it with panned and echo'd claps, drums, and very dreamy pads to create a stellar remix. Deepset ( a partnership between Brian Neal and Avalon Kalin) provide an up-tempo deep groove with a banging kick and swinging vocal chops to accompany the original vox of the track. A new bass line and funky congas produce a warm and lush version of the original. The synergy these producers had is incredible, all vibing from Marvin’s original version.

Transpose Deep is a climber. It starts off very unassuming with a solid 4 on the floor kick that morphs into solid synthy pads, and a funky bass line before it breaks into a full sprint of these elements, a bass that growls at you, and hats that swing hard.

Even if you don't know her name - you will know her voice. It's 'Melbourne's High Priestess Of Soul' Kylie Auldist's unmistakable vocals on the 2016 global dance hit 'This Girl' by Kungs vs Cookin' on 3 Burners - the track that not only topped almost every pop chart across the planet, featured in many TV shows, adverts and films and social media memes, and has achieved over 1 billion streams & climbing. But of course, that's far from the whole story. Kylie established her enviable reputation as the featured vocalist in the awesome Australian outfits The Bamboos, and Cookin' On 3 Burners, and her fantastically well received solo albums for Tru Thoughts; 'Just Say' (2008), 'Made of Stone' (2009) and 'Still Life' (2012) and 'Family Tree' Freestyle Records (2016). Kylie's brand new album - 'This Is What Happiness Looks Like', her first for Greg Boraman's brand new label Soul Bank Music, further develops the musical approach she began on it's predecessor 'Family Tree' - and is very firmly entrenched on an electro boogie tip, rooted deep in the New York club scene of the early 80's. The opening track 'Everythink' sets out that 1980's electro-boogie sound and then fuses it with the song writing of a classic Wham or Hall & Oates tune - it has an infectious, slinky Moog synth bass line that will lodge itself in people's minds. Kylie's simply stunning vocal performance on this breezy and summery tune will surely make it a future classic. Producers Warren Hunter and Lewis Moody skills in the studio have brought forth many musical highlights on this album, but special mention has to be made for Is It Fun? This is where a brilliant and incredibly infectious composition is further enhanced by some top notch instrumentalists, perfectly executed production, a simply beautiful vocal performance, and results in what should surely end up being an anthemic, brand new 'soul weekender' style classic. Soul boys & girls, funkateers and disco fans won't be able to stop themselves falling deeply for this new collection of tunes, because it's not only a highly original take on a classic sound, but it was conceived, performed and recorded with a genuine passion and love, as Kylie says "Some albums are written fast, some take a long time, some albums experience setbacks, become beset by creative blocks and personal issues, and can generally be a whole lot of hard work which makes you question why you even bothered to start it in the first place - this was not one of those albums - hence the title 'This Is What Happiness Looks Like'!

Another all-time classic from the extensive back catalog of the legendary Miami songstress Gwen McCrae.

"90% Of Me Is You" is instantly recognizable, it's been sampled countless of times by some of the most seminal Hip Hop artists ever (Large Professor, Jaylib, Mobb Deep & more) & is a bonafide "Rare Groove" sure-shot that never loses it's appeal & is always in demand with DJ's & producers. Perhaps it's the pairing of the languid guitar & strings, or Gwen's sultry vocals & that steady breakbeat that keeps people hooked some 40 years after it's original release Whatever it is, it's classic material from start to finish!

Backed here with it's original b-side slow jam "It's Worth The Hurt" this super-rare 45 has been re-mastered, re-pressed & brought back for 2015's dance-floors in conjunction & with the permission of T.K. Disco / Henry Stone Music, Miami USA.

The Remixes is a compilation album by The Stone Roses, which features remixes by various producers including Utah Saints and Paul Oakenfold. Various techno luminaries ply their skills reworking some of those early classic songs, and it is immediately clear that the Roses, even beyond the genius of their songs, were a preeminent dance band.

The Remixes is available as a limited edition of 3000 individually numbered copies on transparent & red swirled vinyl. The package includes an insert.

The King & City label is the subject of three 12" reissues, starting with One Blood's classic Lovers Rock take of William DeVaughn's soul anthem, Be Thankful.

Taking the influence of reggae from the Caribbean diaspora within the cultural melting pot of 70s London, the birth of Lovers Rock, often-dubbed 'romantic reggae', is a uniquely black British sound, developed against a backdrop of riots, racial tension and sound systems.

A style suited to the London scene, it represents an apolitical counterpoint to the then dominant conscious Rastafarian sound and continued the soulful and commonly love-themed rocksteady style.

Active during the scene's peak, King & City was launched by Neville King and Lee Laing to champion the sound and alongside other producers like Dennis Bovell, created genre-defining hits.

Formed in 1979 One Blood was made up of the 5 Robinson brothers - Errol, Jerry, Lloyd, Trevor and Paul - and recording at the legendary TMC studios, went on to release two albums and countless singles.

Be Thankful pays homage to DeVaughn's original, with smooth vocals gliding atop tight drum and bass, vocal jumping up dub pom acapella to summer perfection. The tapes here passed to cohort Lexx, crafting a wonderful discodub that is all groove, expertly cutting back and forth...diamonds in the back, sunroof top.

Neotnas feat. Philosopher is a new collab of electronic music producers from Russia (Chelyabinsk and Moscow accordingly). As the environment of the cities mentioned as well as social milieu vary significantly a profound personal reflection of the artists results in a very specific outlook sculpted by both history and presence of Russia – a surprisingly nice stuff inspired mainly by jazz, ambient and trip-hop. Four new tracks give a deep insight into the way the artists feel the groove and associate it within a dancefloor culture regarding its roots and worldwide influence. Two of them (Jazz Engine and You're Mine) – are 124 BPM house party cuts place all the emphasis on intensively syncopated TR-808 hi-hats layered with properly selected percussive jazz elements and flavored with brass licks and reverbed chords, catchy vox and driving by a grit kick and pumping low bass patterns. Another one (Spirits Of A Dawn) cautiously takes a listener to a personal journey to the edge of an imaginary big city, leaving its downtown, and moving out of the night shade slowly, coming near a sleepy morning glimmering focusing on a light sparks of a new day. The last but not the least track (Traffic Love) is a dense powerful banger galvanizes trip-hop beats and house chords with a lush and mystic 90`s female vocal all together aimed to stir up a crowd on a dancefloor and make them wet and happy. This release – fresh and diverse – will definitely hits it off with a large audience and joins a marketplace properly.

Erik Sumo is one of the most established Hungarian music producers of the last 20 years.
His various acts gained national and international, underground and mainstream success, he scored movies - think of the now cult 'Liza, The Fox Fairy' soundtrack on one of our early 7"s.
His latest album 'Mount Fuji' came out in November 2019, it contains 'Run Into The Wild', an odd yet catchy leftfield floor-filler with an unmistakable mood built of glamorous disco vibes and sinister imaginings from the woods around Fujisan.

On this EP you can hear the previously unreleased disco dub version of the song and 3 remixes taking the original into completely different directions.
Mytron & Ofofo of Multiculti fame chose to go the tribal way by adding some extra percussion and reconstructing the chorus making the track even more dance floor friendly than it was originally.
Oakland based producer E. Live turned the tune into a contemporary boogie burner, while Budabeats staple M.W.D.'s version has an atmosphere that is impossible to describe.

Limited to 400 copies worldwide.

Infernal Sounds welcome back the heavyweight Von D, as he delivers the gargantuan three-track Hunedoara EP, fresh off the back of his debut release on Deep Medi. Spanning way back to 004 on the label in which he made his debut on Infernal Sounds with two tracks 'Cross Of Hendaye' & 'Finis Gloriae Mundi', he drives a different style and reflection on this endeavour. The title-track 'Hunedoara' is the crowd pleaser - hitting you with the heavyweight stomping war chant, whereas both 'Akasha' and the textural 'Layers' on the B-side are melody centered and display the more playful side to the French producers repertoire. Having already received the backing from the likes of Truth, DJ Squarewave, and many other reputable artists in the scene, this is a plate that's armed for the dance or for playing at home.

Berlin techno luminary Jamaica Suk announces her most ambitious project yet: Uncertain Landscape.

This 17-track, 4x 12” vinyl release on her acclaimed Gradient label will be released in four installments from Autumn to Winter 2020 and brings together a host of diverse techno talent. She will release a DJ mix featuring all 17 tracks to complete the series accompanied by a film from Anthony Vouardoux. The project is made up of a wishlist of names whose music she has been heavily supporting in her sets over the last few years. “I wrote specific producers inquiring for tracks that would be fitting to the label and also fit the DJ mix that I’m recording from these tunes. I’m looking to promote music that shares the same vision as I do.”

It marks the first original releases on Gradient from producers other than herself, which is a change of tact from her original plan for her imprint. “Initially I wanted to only release my music on Gradient including remixes - but it doesn’t make sense as there’s so much inspiration out there. By expanding the label’s network we create our own tribe.”

Jittery rhythms with a touch of ‘Spastik’ about them propel BNJMN’s ‘Abyssal Surge’ into life, with a big riverbed sound abounding as the track builds through haunting sustained tones and glitching mechanics.

Arthur Kimskii thundering ‘Natasha’ pummels from the first moment, with shuddering sub bass carving its way through the sound field as hypnotic bleeps pulse in the distance. Rapid-fire. Filtering percussive waves accentuate the bassline’s incessant 16ths rhythms, all the while the resonant kicks hammering away beneath.

Wrong Assessment’s ‘The Eight’ is a dissonant avalanche of warped textures, where grunting synth thrusts rub up against industrious pulses and chattering hi-hat patterns weave in and out of the mix. Stuttering bass and cymbal rides complete the urgent feel.

Introspective respite comes from Electro Indigo’s ‘Volcanite’, a stirring piece of broken beat experimentation where graceful pads slide hauntingly over taut kick and bass patterns and beautiful ghostly analog synth notes.

Look out for parts 2-4 coming soon and special audio + visual showcases.