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Marco Bailey's 5th full-length album, one that he personally claims to be the best overall representation of his sound. With seventeen tracks comprising almost an hour and a half of music, he has ample room to stretch out and to give listeners an excellent portable version of his potent live show.

By maintaining a consistently high-quality output that does not merely ride the wave of current trends, multi-faceted producer Marco Bailey has managed to survive through decades of mercilessly shifting adjustments to popular taste in dance music. From his beginnings in the late '80s spinning eclectic sets comprised of everything from punk to old school hip-hop, to his present interest in pure unadulterated techno, the Belgium-based DJ and producer has won over audiences with his keen knowledge of how to squeeze the greatest physical and emotional impact out of a few well-placed elements, along with his instinct for seeking out the most innovative and resilient kindred spirits (his impressive number of professional friendships includes artists as diverse as Markus Suckut, Jonas Kopp, Alex Bau, Edit Select, Speedy J, Steve Rachmad and many more). These combined talents have led to his formation of several different labels: MB Electronics in 2001, the 'limited edition' label MBR in 2013, and lastly the new Materia Music label begun last year. His similiarly named event series, Materia, has also been a truly worldwide 'state of the art' summit for advanced techno artists.



The full-length personal releases by Marco Bailey, which stretch back to his mid-'90s period as a trance producer, have been gracefully arcing and anthemic affairs composed of individual tracks that follow that same blueprint. He is now about to drop his 5th full-length album overall, one that he personally claims to be the best overall representation of his sound. With seventeen tracks comprising almost an hour and a half of music, he has ample room to stretch out and to give listeners an excellent portable version of his potent live show. Of course, an epic running time alone is not the marker of a great audio experience, but an epic running time in which one loses track of time completely is - Bailey accomplishes this feat by never rushing the payoff; by organically building up each track until listeners are fully immersed in his alternate universe.



This skill can be heard on banging, sweat-saturated tracks like 'Ash', 'Genetix' and 'Hasai,' but also on comparitively gentle pieces like 'Klauth' (which straddles the line between disciplined electro and something more dreamlike and weightless), or the blissed out 'Suoh,' which feels like a fresh snowfall in audio form. Low-key cuts like 'Rex,' driven by echo FX and other windswept sounds, form natural counterparts to busier tracks like 'Ruth,' with its spring-loaded sequencer attacks, or 'Reboot That Device,' which is ingeniously driven by a psychedelic organ whose sound evolves with various filter settings. Minimalist vocals are occasionally injected into the mix - i.e. on the 'The Darkness' - to impart a subtle message of constant, ongoing expansion into unexplored galaxies without and within. It's as good a definition of the artist's musical mission as any.

Some songs comes along that you seem to know the moment you hear it, even though it's for the first time. In the case of Spark The Universe it had exactly that impact. A mixture of late-60s psychedelic homage, early 80s new wave, white boy soul, plus a good dose of dub, all wrapped around a killer hook and super tight production and a hit was surely made.
The fact there are many deserving records that don't become a hit doesn't mean some are better than others and in fact, the joy in collecting and reissuing is finding amazing songs and bringing them back.
Increasingly heard in the sets of the more discerning DJs, Spark The Universe has become a cult play and with second hand prices now in three figures, a reissue is timely. As the label oft says, no one owns this music other than the writers, musicians and producers and their craft deserves to be appreciated.
Before going on to carve a successful career in 'electronica' project, Euphoria, Toronto's Ken Ramm had shown his considerable writing and playing ability with the 1981 debut LP Dragon and this 1983 follow up, known simply as Ramm.

Coming together through a meeting with a then relatively unknown producer, Daniel Lanois, via a mutual interest in tape loops and dubbing, it was the suggestion to bring in local vocalist Lorraine Segato that Ramm formed.
Recording at Lanois' Grant Avenue Studios, his interest in mixing past and present technology, with multiple digital delay units, harmonizers and other effect processors allowed Ramm and Lanois to explore using the studio as an instrument alongside real musicianship.

Backwards guitars, tremolo bar dives and guitar harmonics are incorporated with the vocals and percussion to perfection. With a 'Dance' and alternative 'Dub', the song's hypnotic and dreamy feel superimposed over beats pin-pointed to the later Euphoria project and with the addition of a latter day 'Discomix', from the labels' own Chuggy, Spark The Universe deserves it's place on contemporary dancefloors.

With The Object Isn't There UK guitar player and producer Jack Allett has made a deeply personal masterpiece based around cyclical guitar parts and electronic percussion. Playing like a half remembered fever dream with an aesthetic that is ragged, hypnotic and spacey, its two side-long pieces touch on minimalism, kraut-infused dub and euphoric dance floor optimism. As comfortable being played after Manuel Göttschings E2-E4 as right before a Terekke lo-fi house anthem, it is laced with the melancholy of an early morning post-rave comedown. Yet for all the references and name-checking, it's a record that is hard to compare to anything else, past or present.



BIOGRAPHY



Jack Allett works as a producer in London and has been active for many years as an experimental guitar player, releasing a solo record on Blackest Rainbow and collaborating with UK avant-guitar player Cam Deas. The Object Isn't There was written, recorded, and mixed in Camberwell and Camden, London, UK. 2012-2016.



INFO



This record is about - insofar as instrumental music need be about anything - hallucinations. The title The Object Isn't There serves as a concise definition, derived from the quote 'An hallucination is a strictly sensational form of consciousness, as good and true a sensation as if there were a real object there. The object happens to be not there, that is all.' (William James, The Principles Of Psychology, 1890)



Having experienced constant tinnitus - a form of auditory hallucination - for the last 13 years, Jack has long questioned the distinction of something experienced as being either there or not-there. Even if, strictly speaking, an hallucination is something that's not there, if the reality of how it affects day-to-day existence is undeniable then to any extent that matters, it is there. But The Object Isn't There is no tale of woe, nor simply a response to this one condition, and tinnitus need not be considered only as distressing or distracting. Allett sees it merely as one example of many things in life that cross this uncertain terrain:



There are obvious parallels here with the notion of active listening. There is room for emotion too, particularly the kind of overwhelming, -all-consuming emotion that, once it fades, is hard to believe was actually how you felt. Essentially the music here is concerned with being overwhelmed by a sensation, never really being sure to what extent you are conjuring it up yourself, to what extent it exists independently of you, but ultimately deciding that it doesn't much matter; the sensation itself was undeniable.

— Jack Allett

A swirling haze with a plenitude of sounds bobbing to it's surface it's a heartfelt

This single is from the forthcoming album Third World Pyramid' which will be released in October 2016 . The B side Playtime' is exclusive to this release ,recorded in March 2016 in Anton's studio in Berlin . The band start their 2nd part of their European Tour starting in August (dates are below) .This single brings the traditional Brian Jonestown Massacre sound mixed with eastern influences & bringing it up to date with the benefit of all the additional weirdness that's been discovered in the past 40 years.Two dozen band members later and numerous ups and downs' (some have been famously sensationalized in the media ), the one thing that has always remained consistent for this psychedelic collective, is front man Mr. Anton Alfred Newcombe

No-one else makes music like this: devilishly complex but warm and intuitive, stirring together a dizzying assembly of outernational and outerspace influences, whilst retaining the subby funk-and-hot-breath pressure of Shackleton's soundboy, club roots.The result is an evolutionary, truly alchemical music — great shifting tides of dub, minimalist composition and choral song (Five Demiurgic Options), ritual spells to ward off the darkness (Before The Dam Broke, The Prophet Sequence), radiophonia and zoned-out guitar improv (Seven Virgins), even the febrile, freeform psychedelia of eighties noise rock (Sferic Ghost Transmits / Fear The Crown). Over the five years since Music For The Quiet Hour, Vengeance's vocal and lyrical range has rolled out across this new terrain. Throughout these six transmissions he's hoarse preacher, sage scholar and ravaged bluesman, blind man marching off to war, and exhausted time-traveller warning of impending socio-ecological catastrophe. Six dialogic accounts of our conflicted times, then, expanding beyond the treacly unease of the duo's early collaborative work into something subtler and more emotionally shattering — its shades of brightness more dazzling, and its darkness even murkier. "We almost didn't hear it when the foundations went."

Das siebte Album der belgischen Fusion-Band BRZZVLL (Brazzaville) ist ein psychedelisches Jazz-Funk-Werk zwischen Jazz-Fusion, Afro-Funk und Rare Groove, auf dem sie nach Kollaborationen mit Poeten wie Anthony Joseph und Amir Sulaiman wieder die instrumentale Karte spielen.

Selwa Abd (originally from Morocco, currently residing in Brooklyn) uses the fictional character Bergsonist, from Brooklyn, Slovakia, as her musical guise. Derived from Deleuze's Bergsonism, Bergsonist uses intuition as a method to deliver her/his instinctive psychoanalytic theories.

A blend of different audio sources and samples are used as a way to capture the essence of the 'present' moment, manipulating found sounds along with self-concocted digital fragments to combine in in the span of a set, given time. Bergsonist allows inspiration to come from anywhere, yet she/he limits themselves by the gear/tools that are used. The approach consists of inhaling all the energy of the city - influenced by trips to museums, galleries, shows, talking to people. and sensing nature - and exhaling it sonically. Bergsonist reacts to this energy and inspiration without any specific rules, styles, or genres - extending the array of possibilities by always pushing preconceived uses of the tools.

Following a slew of cassette-only releases from labels across the global map and a split 12" with Isabella on Borft Records last year, Selwa shares her most twisted and considered compositions to date with Mutation. Four fire-stoking tracks of electro convulsions sparked from indecipherable depths inflame new terrains for an artist whose output is inextinguishable - prolific barely covers the rapidity with which Bergsonist shares new jams to a lucky few - proffering Mutation as an indelible moment in Selwa's blossoming career. Mutation features a ripped / thrashed remix from in-the-cut edit wizard, Murray CY. Mutation will be available in a limited vinyl edition of 200 with artwork designed and conceived by Selwa and Benoit Canaud Studio.

This is NovaMute's first release since MOTOR (Bryan Black and Oly Grasset) over ten years ago. The Release will be 3 weeks available as VINYL ONLY.

Nova Mute, a subsidiary of Mute (Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, New Order, Liars, Erasure, Moby), began in 1992 as a response to the growing demand for techno releases in the UK. Originally presenting white labels and imports, NovaMute went on to release records by Plastikman, Speedy J, Juan Atkins, Luke Slater and Joey Beltram to name a few, this is Nova Mute's first release since over ten years ago

Nicolas Bougaïeff presents his new EP on seminal British imprint NovaMute. As a producer he harbours a diverse musical background, having studied in a conservatoire setting whilst foraying into anti-authoritarian rave culture. He is also a respected lecturer, regularly teaching masterclasses in composition and speaking at global events such as Mutek and Ableton Loop - the results of which come to life in the inquisitive spirit of his productions. Cognitive Resonance explores elements of psytrance, gabber and techno through a compositional lens, drawing on the artist's love for avant-garde forms and long-standing relationship with the electronic music community. The title track lays out long, expansive phrases and warped crescendos to create a disorienting structure, whilst distant harmonies, distorted kick drums and shattering effects merge into a hypnotic form on 'Truthful Hyperbole'. Lastly, 'Fake News' mangles our sense of rhythmic familiarity, disrupting the 4/4 beat with a complex metre and sinister melody. This is NovaMute's first release since MOTOR (Bryan Black and Oly Grasset) over ten years ago. T as well as forging invaluable links with labels such as Tresor and Probe, which allowed them to license rare tracks for a wider audience. Forthcoming releases on NovaMute will include EP's from Terence Fixmer and Charlotte de Witte.

'Afro Rock Vol. 1' is one of the most important compilations of heavy original '70s Afro funk and soul to be released in recent years. Originally surfacing on Duncan Brooker's indie Kona label in early 2001, the album single-handedly kick-started the thirst among jazz, funk and soul fans and 'diggers' to rediscover lost music from Africa made during the '60s and '70s from a time when many countries were gaining independence and celebrating a Pan-African identity within their music. The album was one of the frst to reach a far different audience to the traditional 'world music' market and spawned many further projects and labels in its wake. A year later, the 'Nigeria 70' compilation surfaced on Strut and labels like Soundway and Analog Africa would continue to unearth amazing lost gems from the Motherland. The album is testament to the determined work of Brooker following several research trips, especially to East Africa - Kenya and Zaire. It brought to light East Africa's fnest funk band, Air Fiesta Matata, led by the recently deceased Steele Beautttah, 'The Nigerian James Brown' Geraldo Pino from Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and the storming Afro jam 'Yuda' by Dackin Dackino, a previously unreleased gem from Zaire discovered on a discarded reel. The album has remained infuential since its release with tracks appearing on other Afro compilations and on TV and the big screen - Jingo's 'Fever' featured in Kevin McDonald's 2006 hit flm, 'Last King Of Scotland'.Out of print since 2015, the album is being reissued on Strut in its original form with the extra dynamite unreleased psychedelic cut by Kenya's Ishmael Jingo, 'Keep On Holding On' taken from the original master tape. The package features the original sleeve notes by Duncan Brooker along with new additional notes providing further background to the album and tracks.

Excise Records' 2nd vinyl release is a celebration of both Northern and Southern Californian techno. Oakland's Milkplant has been making heady dancefloor bombs for 2 decades, and Los Angeles icon Developer jumps in with a beautiful retro-hypnotic remix of Far Star. Milkplant's Dust Cloud is a 10 minute epic build with dreamy synth work shattered complex metallic percussion and anchored by a shockingly weighty bassline. The original Far Star is a wild romp with psyched out synth arps and relentless spit-fire hi hats.

Artist biography:

US based artist, Milkplant (real name Justin William Pennell) is originally from Milwaukee,Wisconsin; but has resided in Oakland, California since 2010. He relocated to the West Coast in 2004, lived in Seattle for six years, and started the internationally recognized Techno label and artist collective, From 0-1; with fellow artist, Sone. Schooled in the Midwest and developed on the West Coast, his work encompasses over 30 years of combined DJ/production experience, and 9 years of record label operations.

In autumn 2014 he released 'Time Dilation', a four track 12" EP on From 0-1. Charted by Gary Beck, Paul Mac, and Ben Sims at #2, #1, and #26 in their November 2014 Juno charts, this was a turning point for him. Since then he has released on Planet Rhythm, Wall Music, Dark Net, Etichetta Nera, From 0-1, and Excise. His productions have drawn critical acclaim from many notable artists; showing up in mixes and charts by Ben Sims, Jerome Sydenham, Bryan Zentz, Joachim Spieth, Tommy Four Seven, Submerge, Tadeo, Mattias Fridell, Mr. Jones, Electric Indigo, David Meiser, Samuli Kemppi, Arnaud Le Texier, Abstract Division, DJ T-1000, and many others.

As a DJ he can be found playing a combination of vinyl and CDJs. He has played in various cities across the US, most notably in Detroit at the Blank Code - Droid Interface/Scene party for Movement 2016. His mixes have been featured on Droid's D-Node podcast, the Warsaw Torture Boyz podcast, Blank Code podcast, Drone podcast, and Error Sessions. Regarding upcoming releases: 'The Distance' vinyl EP arrives autumn 2017 on San Francisco based label, Excise; his remix of Sone's 'Australis' arrives on vinyl late 2017 via From 0-1.

Eight releases in, Leonidas & Hobbes have honed a mutual love of soundtracks, disco, jazz, house, techno, acid, psychedelic, African and dub sounds.
Web Of Intrigue is one part tribute to lost 70s soundtracks, when music was created on the finest analogue hardware, featuring full bands, session players and lush orchestrations, one part tribute to 70s disco gods Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (Chic) and one part mid-tempo but nonetheless cosmic house. The three parts fuse to form an instrumental track sounding as fresh as a whole meadow of daisies in 2017 and one that's been going down extremely well with international DJs who have road-tested the material.
Heavy Weather flips the script for a deeper workout in a 3/4 time signature - more of a cosmic waltz. Taking its main cue from 70s jazz fusion heroes Weather Report and The Doors' Ray Manzarek, it incorporates rich African percussion, spaced-out flourishes exhibiting the duo's love for the dubs of Lee Perry, King Tubby et al, and a good old fashioned arpeggio of an acid line - definitely a more esoteric number, all told.
The 'Dawn' and 'Acid Rain' mixes push different buttons for the heads, as suits the mood. It all adds up to a very Balearic confection, fitting snugly in with the burgeoning revival for this somewhat ineffable sound - a trend that seems to be getting stronger/bigger every year, popping up every time the sun gets his hat on and we all remember how to party like the lucky residents of that infamous White Isle....
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London/Edinburgh analogue electronic duo Leonidas & Hobbes released debut EP "Machines, Tapes & Electronic Setups" via the Hobbes Music label back in May 2013, picking up plaudits and support from the likes of Resident Advisor, Mixmag, Erol Alkan, Ashley Beedle, Alan Braxe, Shadow Child, Jimpster, Nick Warren, M.A.N.D.Y., Leftside Wobble, Mr G, Auntie Flo, Sasha, John Digweed and many more... The duo were consequently commissioned to remix the Pet Shop Boys.
Second EP "Mo' Machines" came out on the label in April 2014 and received equally high praise, with i-D Magazine inviting the duo to record a DJ mix which has to date chalked up a whole lot of love on Soundcloud.
Leonidas has released two other collaborative EPs with London-based Japanese DJ/producer Kay Suzuki via his Round In Motion imprint, equally winning fans worldwide, with a track now forthcoming on new label YAM Records' You And Music Volume 1 EP plus much more in the pipeline for 2017. Leonidas also has his own lovetoparty label, releasing edits of much-loved disco tunes on limited edition 12" vinyl format and free download. Previously, Leonidas made a name for throwing word-of-mouth parties around east London on his audiophile 'lovetoparty' sound system (providing some of the inspiration for much-admired late-night watering hole Brilliant Corners).
Equally, Hobbes ran the widely acclaimed Trouble nights for ten years in Edinburgh/Scotland, working with the great and the good from across the soul/jazz/dance spectrum since '02, and championed up-and-coming live talent via his Limbo 'gig-in-a-club' nights at The Voodoo Rooms for nine years since '07. Hobbes has toured his DJing style to the various corners of the dancing planet, including gigs in the Far East, much of Europe and across the UK. The Hobbes Music label has otherwise featured artists as diverse as Auntie Flo, JD Twitch (Optimo), Neil Landstrumm, Craig Smith (6th Borough Project), Ali Renault, iO Sounds, Joe Howe, Debukas, Fudge Fingas, Marco Bernardi, Dimitri Veimar, Mick Wills and Nightwave, with further support from Ben UFO, Justin Robertson, Motor City Drum Ensemble, KiNK, The Revenge, T.E.E.D, Kiki, Groove Armada, Maceo Plex, OOFT!, Domenic Capello (Sub Club), XDB, Ben Mono, Masa Sutela, Bawrut/Scuola Furano, Numbers, John Heckle and many more...

lvin Toffler was overwhelmed. When in the morning of October 4th, 1988-it was his 60th birthday-he was starring with a still somewhat absent look into a bowl of cornflakes, he thought that in the surface structure of the yellowish shimmering milk which was making an emulsion with the maple syrup and slowly but irreversibly corroding the crunchy crystals on the flakes, he could see through a window into a timeless dimension. Toffler, who at that time had reached the peak of his fames as a future scientist, was sustainably disturbed from his peek into this extra temporary peephole. In none of his books-'Future Shock' had just been released with yet another edition featuring a proud printed note on the book cover stating 'more than 5 million copies in print'-did he ever mention this occurrence. Even after his death in June 2016, no note on this incident could ever be found in his estate. The 'flake dimension' as Toffler called it in notes which were later shredded remains a secret of opaque, hard-to-grasp radiant power.

Maybe it's too simple to describe 'Pneumatics' as a creation coming from this cornflake world Without doubt. Are there any more precise terms or instruments to determine the multifacetedness and beyond-timeliness of the 'Pneumatics' soundscape There are still unknown. 'Pneumatics' is, after releases at Innervisions, Die Orakel und his own label Sound Mirror, the debut album of Orson Wells (as long as you don't count in 'Jupiter' - Wells's first LP which was released in 2014 with 48 copies on cassette-have fun digging for rarities and bargains!).
Perhaps Wells, known in Frankfurt under his real name Lennard Poschmann and as an employee at the record store Tactile, is only a messenger. Or a psychic. The sound manifesto that he apparently transmits from Toffler's secret dimension tells of a city of upside down pyramids ('Tianon'), of passes into the land of the five elements ('Multipass') and dead straight four-to-the-floor lines which appear bended within the spherical dimension (''Geodesic'). These beats are right on the heels of the ones of Intersteller Fugitives; the strings sound like that at any moment a vocal sample edited by Moodyman could warp over through the Cornflake wormhole. Pneumatics is the science of all technological applications powered by condensed and often by quite heated air. It is a matter of mechanics, compression, jackhammer, ramblings, high pressure levels, valves for blowing of steam. On 'Pneumatics' it's all about this. And more. Orson Wells's album gets to the point of the post-retro futuristic state of the dancefloors of the house and techno clubs of this planet. It is like a peek into another dimension, right on the golden cut of spacetime geometry.

Quartet Series is back with the Bodybuilder Series after Scott Franka's popped the new offshoot's cherry in the spring. For this sophomore release, Nachtbraker sourced some serious production talent from Eindhoven, The Netherlands. While it's the Portamento Boys' first ever release, they have the chutzpah to go full-frontal Italo and pull it off with great panache with a moody and energetic EP. The record is characterized by catchy melodies, quirky vibes and warm analog grooves. Connoisseurs will instantly recognize the TR-606 and 707, SH-101, Ensoniq Esq1 and a Casio CZ-3000. The Italo express jets off and takes no prisoners with 'Been There Come Back", a banging workout paying homage to the glorious 80's. Shoulder-pad boogie anyone 'Portamento 101 feels like you're playing the 1986 version of Outrun on your Sega. On the flip 'Final Dinner' serves up some fine Asian-Italian fusion Cuisine, and finally the P Boys drop 'Eighty Ain't", acknowledging that even though the tracks are clearly inspired by the 80s, they didn't just emulate, but innovate instead. Now let's introduce the Portamento Boys. Some say it al began when the first episode of 'Jacques, zo is het wel weer genoeg geweest' was aired on the Dutch box back in the second half of 1988. Others say it was the respect he got for robbing the local Albert Heijn with the famous saying, 'Hallo, Jumbo' that made him end up in solitary confinement. His colleagues say he never let go of Piet, his last undercover assignment. But the only one to help him in these times of mental distress, identity crises and general psychosomatic turmoil was Koos. After all these years there is a mantra to find in Piet's life that keeps him going.

Nisantashi Primary School are Vlad, Lucy and Mykhaylo from Kiev. This electronic-pop trio embraces weird sounds and holds omnivorous but clearly discerning appetites for mixing disco, funk and dub grooves. Their debut EP is a mix of snappy and moody synth sounds, vintage-tinged bass lines and gritty rhythms.

The selection of tracks is a showcase of moods and influences: from the feverish and psychedelic "Mr. Fingers" with Fumaça Preta's Alex Figueira on drums, to the nocturnal dancefloor gem Hills'. Hints of dance records from 80's NYC, synth-based disco and krautrock come through, but an eastern european immediacy and faux-débutant approach brings its own flavor to the table.

While dance music from Kiev might seem surprising, what do we really know about this city's energy From the place where so many things are happening these days, maybe it's time to see something else unfold.

A new piece by Australian artist Tarquin Manek, devised in collaboration with poet Martina Quake of Canvey Island, UK and recorded at M.E.S.S. (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio), utilising EMS VCS3, Oberheim OB-Xa and ARP 2600 in combination with cheap, contemporary consumer electronics. It is, to all intents and purposes, a short, cautionary story about love. It is also a folk-tale, a science fiction, a suicide note. Unusually for a long-form spoken word piece, it is immediate in its impact, and lasting in its effect. Our narrator is damaged and unreliable: Quake's voice, digitally processed into a flat, AI affectlessness, conveys this all too well. Is this the vernacular poetry of the Uncanny Valley, or is it just that loss makes robots - numb and listless not-quite-humans - of us all Locks revels in the space between the spontaneous and the programmed (what is a poem if not a programme). It's part Tales Of The Unexpected, part Susan Howe, part Ruth Rendell, part HAL (or Holly). Manek's music is widescreen but understated...a becalmed landscape populated by distant drones, just-out-of-focus field recordings, and phased, minimalistic, Rhodes-style keys. A sort of sombre, lunar jazz. Space-age bachelor pad music, maybe, for a bachelor at the edge of space and the end of his tether. Just as Quake's words are cumulative in their tragedy, so the music grows more agitated and turbulent, at certain points harking back to the smoked-out psycho-acoustics of Manek's 2015 Blackest Ever Black LP, Tarquin Magnet, and his work in F ingers with Samuel Karmel and Carla dal Forno.

Freshly dressed after a double helping of made to measure goodness, Aficionado size up another summer time smash for the sandal-wearing masses.
Keen to capture the coastal cool of the Wirral peninsula, the label crack out the crystals and summon strange-wave sorceress Brenda Ray for another hit of her interplanetary excellence.
Wandering from new age haze to celestial rays on this tripped out trio, our genre blending genius takes the fourth world into the fifth dimension of psychedelic sound.

Our spiritual journey begins with the chakra cleansing 'Solartude', an out-of-body beauty which bathes us in swirling flute, dreamy chimes and shimmering tape delay before sending us off towards the Orient.
Eastern tones and hushed vocals ride a glistening sequence as this flawless fusion of exotica and dub suggests a medicated Martin Denny stumbling out of Chinatown and into a humid mangrove.

Next stop on the voyage of self discovery is 'Space Dustin', a lunar lullaby for lucid dreamers which sees Brenda spin Fairlight mallets, celestial keys and whispered vocals into an immersive ode to the outer rim. Floating free of space and time, perhaps you too can glimpse the excellent birds.

Over on the flipside and the temperature begins to rise. 'Skip, Hop To Bop' sees Brenda dabbling with dub Techno, setting Basic Channel synths and stirring strings to a skittering rhythm. Dislocated and disoriented we descend into a strange subterranean world of Rothschild parties, Lynchian noir and muffled Techno.
Surrounded by swirling voices, shuffling percussion grabs hold of you and all that remains is to sway.

Officially Aficionado.

Sunlightsquare keeps on exploring multiple style of House music this summer. The previous single from the last month "Oyelo" was a winning combination of authentic Latin Cuban music and classic 909 House beats. It was championed by Ron Trent, Osunlade, Hunee, Bradley Zero, Nick The Record and Atjazz to name a few. This time, the main man and keyboard wizard Claudio Passavanti deployed two remixers for deeper and more spiritual endeavour to showcase his magical composition.

Hailing from the birth place of South African House music Pretoria, the talented young producer Blaqtone laid out beautiful sunset pad, earthy African percussions and solid rolling beats, all work like magic with Claudio's original spiritual keyboard works.

On the flip side, Kay Suzuki pulled off another dubbed out psychedelic mix with "Astro Dub", just like the previous release, and the more dance-floor oriented classic deep House style of "Moon Mix" influenced by the likes of Larry Heard. The track features sequenced Mini-Moog bass line and call & response drum programming before blissful harmonies and melodies kick in.

Short Bio:
Critically acclaimed Jazz pianist, multi-instrumentalist & bandleader Claudio Passavanti aka. Sunlightsquare has been associated with Latin & Cuban music since his top selling vinyl releases such as "I Believe In Miracles"(2010), "Pastime Paradise"(2010) and "Heart's Desire"(2012) as well as producing the main title of the soundtrack on the feature film "Cuban Fury" (Studio-Canal/Film4) starring Nick Frost (2014). Claudio's talent also extends to house music production with the 2016 Osunlade's Yoruba Soul Records release "Celebration Of Oggun", as well as his remix work for Gilles Peterson's Brownwood Recordings.

Tadd Mullinix's Charles Manier project returns with a third double-LP, Luxus Steroid Abamita, an edict of nine new amorphous transmissions and clustered, clangorous, hemi-synthetic funk. This is experimental machine music: it's inspired by the fringes of dance, but skirts petrified arpeggios and other stock Wave and Technopop emblems. Its spirit elicits Sheffield Post-Punk and Düsseldorfer NDW desiderata, but exploits are crisp, psychedelic, and expansive. Lyrics come as laconic Dada, sociopolitical impressions—in counterpoint to concrète tape smears, echoing guitar deluges, and entrenched in ever-shifting grime. A wide spectrum of density is proffered. Atmospheric zones are submerged, modulating knells. When tempos increase, sample & hold mutations make synthesizers sputter and writhe. The title track and opus, Yopo (Calcium Tree)' carry this with heavy pulses—storming like locomotives.

Rich La Bonte is a musician, writer and editor from upstate New York born in 1946. At age 11 he figured out how to record a piano backwards with his first tape deck and discovered Monk, Mingus and Art Blakey. In 1965 Rich moved to Ithaca, bought an electric guitar and started singing in garage rock band the huns. After the band dissolved, he moved to NYC and played bass and sang in the original cast production of the musical Godspell. In the late 70s La Bonte moved to Hollywood with Shari Famous, released a a few 7' singles as Dada2, and started fLAtDiSk Records, a vinyl subsidiary of Dave Gibson's Moxie Record Company.

Rich released his debut solo album 'Mayan Canals' in 1981. The seven songs were recorded between 1973 and 1980 while living in New York, Pennsylvania and Hollywood. Influenced by everything from Apple Records to Zappa, the album veers from oozy psychedelia to synthesized breezy folk. Vocally Rich sounds like a cross between Tom Verlaine and Lou Reed. Some tracks feature an EMS Synthi A synthesizer, known to generate the sci-fi sounds from Dr. Who. Other songs utilize feedback from a Maestro Fuzztone box into a TEAC 4-track SimulSync tape recorder. Lyrically La Bonte tackles themes of dying celestial bodies, the birth of his daughter, and a critique of Bowie's character in The Man Who Fell To Earth. Included on this reissue are two bonus tracks originally released on the double A side 7' single Chance Circumstance/Drums Along The Maple Wood, a tribute to Irwin Chusid, the eminent WFMU DJ, with vocals by Shari Famous.

All songs have been remastered from original tapes by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket features a replica of the original jacket with a Mayan figure screen printed using the original rubber stamps from Rich's archives. Each copy includes a 6-page xeroxed booklet with lyrics, never before seen photos, and liner notes by Rich La Bonte.

Newcastle-born, Mexico-based Man Power debuts on Optimo Trax with two psychasonic missives cut extra loud for optimum sound system performance.
We asked Man Power for some words about this release and he told us -
"Both tracks sound different, but they're both from the same place in as much as they represent a conscious effort by me to strip back some of unnecessary niceties in my music and really sharpen my focus on what makes people dance without crossing the fine line of what makes me sound like me."

Inner8 is Daniele Antezza, a multi-faceted thinker and electronic music producer, member of Dadub duo, co-founder of Artefacts Mastering Studio, Dadub Studio owner and Holotone label manager, whose regular invocation of the term praxis begins to hint at his creative aims: a primary synthesis of contemplation and action that, in turn, encourages a secondary and entirely unpredictable set of syntheses dependent upon the listener's unique interpretation. Though the Inner8 moniker has been in existence for several years as a private nickname for, as Antezza puts it, his 'experimental anarchist sounds,' his recent releases are just now surfacing which will reveal just how much this project has to communicate.

Like many transplants to Berlin's pulsating sonic underground (Antezza moved there from Italy in 2009), his past work seems to communicate traces of the ecstatic with the argot of technical precision and / or scientific rigour. However, Antezza is not what one would call a 'Berlin artist' despite sharing these traits in common with the city's most visionary producers: his work gives off an impression of restless nomadism that has little to do with representing a localized scene. Rather than carrying on the territorial / parochial projects of reinforcing an arts scene's geographic boundaries (or even redefining the boundaries of a musical genre), Inner8 is more concerned with a holistic 'deconstructive approach' through which 'it's possible to reveal the paradoxes of the dominant thought, the paradoxes behind the status quo.' His fascination with concepts as diverse as asymptotes and particle physics, though often trendy among those looking for a seat at the table of the avant-garde, is a heartfelt fascination - moreover, these interests merge perfectly with his relentless theoretical questing.

Antezza's relationship with that city's Stroboscopic Artefacts techno label has been a particularly fruitful one, to the point where his sound work prior to Inner8 is almost synonymous with SA's own development. As one half of the psychonaut duo Dadub along with Marco Donnarumma, Antezza has sculpted deep and immense tracks that mesmerize with their harmonious interplay of force and ambiguity. After having co-founded and managed for years Artefacts Mastering Studio, he recently launched his brand new audio postproduction Studio (Dadub Studio), where Antezza lends his sonic signature to an eclectic variety of electronic recordings. That signature can be identified by its hyperreal sense of presence and immediacy, qualities that have become crucial to the presentation of a music that generally relies on only a few sonic elements per track to communicate its message.

Antezza also takes pride in the ritualistic quality of Inner8's live sets; a mobile laboratory of dynamic tension in which his theories manifest as massive physical vibrations (here we can also see / hear / feel just how well Daniele has absorbed the lessons of the dub 'sound system' aesthetic).

Searing platter of krautrock with scorching doses of The Stooges & Judas Priest. Another ripper from this legendary Finnish horde!

Circle are the very definition of genre-defying, a rare feat for any band, but effortlessly achieved by this prolific Finnish collective. Circle's latest album Terminal is pure hedonistic pleasure. Never content on staying the same, they have created an idiosyncratic cocktail of sonic fusions, conjuring an impulsive, dizzying energy that stirs a spirit of curiosity within the listener, and has the ability to possess all who encounter them.
Whilst many would run out of creative steam (certainly after 30+ albums), Circle continue to boldly explore sonic soundscapes, venturing curiously into terrains of Stooges-esque swagger, trance-inducing kraut rock mantras, beautiful electronic ambience, psychedelic rock noodling, arena storming AOR weirdness, 70s prog rock extravagance, glam pop pomp, and of course their core sound, heavy metal, not to mention other peculiar and daring sounds that simply cannot be pigeon-holed. Terminal is gloriously fruitful in tones, shapes, colours and sounds. Eccentric, accessible, delightful and thrilling.

Something special: Frenchman Sebastien Bouchet is launching his brand-new Sebastopol project. New name, same deliciously deviant electronica: his debut is compiled with serious detail and a cool coherency of humanised textures, trippiness and barbed, shadowy soul.

'Assassin' shoots to kill with its pranged-out toplines, gloriously wonked-out bass hooked and slurred vocal elements while
'Manethon' trips out on a broken note and melts into one of Sebastien's most magically far-out breakdowns to date.

The remixers echo his unique creativity with two suberb versions: Alessandro Adriani whips up dense layers of psychedelic tech on 'Assassin', while Privacy adds a gritty physical crunch to 'Manethon'. Bringing the whole package together with a range that will resonate with all corners, this signs the start of a whole new chapter for Sebastopol. We can't wait to hear what he brings next.

Following a killer debut on Optimo Trax Michele Mininni debuts on R&S with the heavy hitting psych detonation of 'Rave Oscillations'
Hailing from Southern Italy, Mininni's influences run to kraut, post rock, new wave and electronic amongst others, a long time DJ he manages to condense his influences into beguiling productions that come as a welcome breath of originality.
Taking a heavy dose of inspiration from seminal kraut groovers Silver Apples, 'Rave Oscillations' builds from the hypnotic motorik groove and off kilter bass into a pulsing peak time anthem.
On the flip, 'Vortex Stasi' takes things into a more psychedelic direction - dubbed out piano, jittery rhythms and spiralling swathes of guitar blossom into a truly tripped out, squalling, breakneck concoction.
Mininni's kaleidoscopic musical vision is a truly unique proposition, a myriad of different styles and genres deformed under his oblique lens to create sun-drenched space music.

Some try it with mouth-to-mouth insufflation and cardiac massage. Others with
psychopharmaceuticals or group therapy. Still others with divorce. By going cold turkey. With a new profile pic and a matching hairstyle. Seen it all at Robert Johnson, already endorsed everything - at least as long as it helps: as a lifesaving measure.
But since the year dot, the Offenbach-based club with its affiliated label recommends to all which are undecided or have doubts particularly one thing: Music. And dance.
Every two years, when life newly blossoms during spring, Live At Robert Johnson opens its windows widely, lets new music out and fresh air into the house. The beguiling scent of nature and aviation fuel blends with the scent of sweat and dry ice fog - and causes sundry healing confusion. As soon as the first tone of the Lifesaver Compilation 3 is heard, the swelling grunt of Vincent Feit's 'X04', the scenery of the dancefloor right at the Main river appears before one's eyes.
On Saint Monday Iconoclasts rebel against the age of self-optimization. A crack goes through the parquet of the dance floor (or the dancing party itself). The post-unambiguities era is beginning. The images become blurred. Bass case. Alternative facts. Resonance hole. No reception. And then it's only the queue answering the club emergency hotline. Finally there is a buzz on the line. 'Just drop the images!', it says.

'It's all not that tragic.' This helps.
The Lifesaver 3 Compilation, the yet most comprehensive package of the lifesaver history, sounds like electro, sharp-edged like the vault in a Hague bunker (Lauer), provides data pop with piano crescendo (Fort Romeau), brings the style characteristics of German Schlager music to the breakdance mat (Rolande Garros), lets the bulky lily-of-the-valley bells clang and sends the reverb tails away with the wind (Benedikt Frey). There are several new names to discover: Felix Strahd, Benjamin Milz, Vincent Feit; and of course there a many old acquaintances: Massimiliano Pagliara, Orson Wells, TCB, Chinaski. Roman Flügel brings us 'Good News', however: 'From Another Planet.' And Fort Romeau feels 'Lost, Again', but in such somnambulistically beautiful manner that you want to get lost with him instantly and jointly find the great joy.
Again and again there are mysterious chants. It's not required to decipher the specific words in order to get the message: Salvation is near. Salvation is here:









[)] e1 | Roman Fügel - Chang

Re-issue of the seminal 'Dust On Common' LP, from Led Er Est (Sam De La osa, Shawn O'Sullivan and Owen Hutchinson) was originally released in 2009 by the seminal Brooklyn based record label Wierd Records.
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The band's first full-length release showed the three piece clearly breaking out of the minimal synth underground they have been a vitally integral part of since its inception in Brooklyn to create an undeniably contemporary set of highly crafted and restrained, icily psychedelic pop songs.

Synthesizing countless disparate musical influences from first wave British industrial music to house, disco, and the largely unknown cold wave (aka 'La Vague Froide') tradition in Northern Europe, the trax on Dust fly by, straight out of the frozen hot, lonely cold plains of vocalist Samuel Kklovenhoof's native central Texas. After digesting a few songs of this rich dust, the listener can do no other than lie down in the wild weird Laredo bunker to revel in the refreshingly brisk blast of hedonistic analogue pleasure dancing through the airwaves in the sky above...

Originally from Detroit, born and raised, this Atlanta transplant, has been a DJ since his youth. From backyard and basement parites as a youth, to the small club scene of metro Detroit, Reggie Dokes eventually became a sought after DJ in the city. Fast forwarding to 2001, is when he created his label Psychostasia Recordings. His sound is eclectic and soulful, and over the years as a producer of deep house, techno, tech house and downtempo, he has managed to release singles and EPs with various underground labels from the U.S. to Europe and Asia. Stay tuned for inspired and positivie vibrations from the DJ, producer and label head, Reggie Dokes.

Al Massrieen: Disco, Funk and modernized Arabic Pop from Egypt

In the beginning of Habibi Funk, our search was focussed on vinyl records. Around a year ago though, we got to the point where we realized that it became substantially harder to discover music, that we enjoyed and hadn't heard before. It became apparent that it was time to start looking for other formats. Cassette tapes were the obvious alternative. These were introduced in the arabic world around the late 1970s. In some countries they took over a bit earlier, in others a bit later, but eventually they pushed the vinyl format out of the market in the 1980s. In Egypt this trend already even started in the late 1970s.

Al Massrieen was one of the first bands I learned about once I discovered the tape format for myself. They were really popular in Egypt in the 1970s and the more of their music I found on either tapes or Arabic pirate mp3 sites, the more I was becoming a fan. Only very few bands from the region can match the band's versatility as well as their strive for innovation. Hany Shenoda is the man behind the Al Massrieen band. He is a reknown figure of the Egyptian music scene and has worked with everyone from Abdel Halim Hafez to Mohamed Mounir. Al Massrieen was his attempt to introduce his ideas of modernizing Egyptian music, heavily encouraged by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt's only winner of the Nobel Price for literature) after discussing his ideas with him.
Al Massrieen's sound goes from lush disco like 'Sah' to psych rock like 'Horreya' or incredible jazz fused pop on songs such as 'Edba Mn Gded'. I was shocked to realize the band seemed to be hardly known outside Egypt, even though I feel they're at least on the same level as Ahmed Fakroun. An relative obscurity which I largely attribute to the fact that their releases never have been pressed on vinyl (apart from a Greece best of LP which wasn't a strong compilation of the group's songs). One way or another it felt like this band and especially their composer, band leader and overall brain Hany Shenoda was in need to get some recognition outside of Egypt. The release is fully licensed from the band and comes with an extensive booklet with liner notes, interviews and unseen photos.

Joining the Unknown Precept forces are C.G.I. Records' label head Matthew Wei- ner teaming up with Christopher Daresta as Pyramid Club. Being known for their T.W.I.N.S. and Anticipation solo activities, Cyclic Obsession comes as the debut re- lease of the four-handed formation taking its name from the eponymous venue which helped define the counterculture and queer sound of lower Manhattan in the late 70's. Recorded in their stronghold of Atlanta following a handful of tracks released via the jointly-operated D.K.A. Records, it shows the duo taking over primitive body music in its most physical and psychedelic dimension. Thick as a brick bass lines for the basement turmoil — reflecting the hazy vortex smoldering out of an ill-lighted nightclub. Think of spasmodic synth-driven tunes interspersed by convulsive vocals and throbbing snares, in which one could see the whites of the dancers' eyes right before the lights turn back on.

we are very much excited to support this re-issue, credited by jacob f. desvarieux, a composer and also well known as the guitarist of kassav - the only-one band which continually embodies the word 'zouk" for last few decades.
a1 is the tune showing us psychedelic guitar phrases fused together with wobbling heavy synthesizer. you'd better hurry to get the copy for this song, since this is just simply a killer. besides it, a2 is also a tropical danceable tune with moving bass and impressive vocoder chorus, makes everyone literally "emotional" on the floor.
kuniyuki joins with more deep spacey re-edit on the b side, probably we need few words to describe this man in our bio because of his right craftsmanship.
following re-issue could be expected from us in near future. grab one and find yourself in caribbean exotica!

Following the recent reissues of Pop Impressions, Super America,
Soul Impressions, and Chorus, Underdog Records label follows
up to the series with another brilliant album by French underrated
composer and producer, JANKO NILOVIC.
JANKO NILOVIC certainly was one of the greatest studio talents of Europe in the 70s!
He is a musician who devotes himself to music, which resulted in a great number of published works, but most of them made for library music labels and also not available for sale. His oeuvre stretches from classical, jazz and funk to pop, psyche
and easy listening. And has been sampled many times by hip-hop
artists such as JAY-Z, DRE, DAFUNIKS or GUTS...

Sheffield's thatmanmonkz is quite the sonic force to be reckoned with. With an impressive discography across the board, dropping his most recent album "Columbusing" on Delusions of Grandeur in 2016 and running his own successful imprint "Shadeleaf", we're very happy to welcome him to Dirt Crew and present his latest EP "Shade Throw". Kicking things off rough and ready in true Detroit "Hight Tech Jazz" style, "Manna for Poppa" is a Saxed up dance floor bomb ready for the taking. "Intrinsic Divine", a sonically soaring breakbeat outing lightens the mood a little, think classic trip hop meets modern deep house. The cinematic string arrangement is accompanied by freestyle piano and licks of ad-libbed sax over a steady kit. "Space Jam 2017" sees thatmanmonkz team up with New York City's Clyde Phalanx to create a pure psyched up space house outing. We can picture this one over a sun-drenched Balearic scenery or deep in a dark and smokey basement somewhere. Jazzy freestyle drums underpin a live guitar improvisation that gets truly nasty on this interplanetary journey. Slow and sexy is the tempo for the closing track. "Evolver" is a soulful disco burner reminiscent of Idjut Boys, grooving along with smooth RnB vocals and salacious keys while intoxicating strings lift the energy to pure cosmic goodness.

2 black LPs in gatefold sleeve with CD included T
A relentless vinyl collector and a fervent connoisseur of Anglo-American culture, the founding painter of the Figuration Libre movement (with Di Rosa, Blanchart and Boisrond) in the early 80's, Robert Combas has always connected his art with rock music. The two are always intertwined and fuel his inspiration. During his exhibition Sans Filet, Robert Combas made an essential encounter: the artist and video maker Lucas Mancione, also from the town of Sete, and decided to make the leap. Together, at the start of the decade, they created the band Les Sans Pattes. Notre Renaissance is a dazzling discharge, a geyser of cold and searing emotions, a conscious search for a unique and extreme experience. The tension in each track is palpable, as constant as it is pregnant. This band is full of character. Sometimes electronic, often a bit punk, always particularly rock'n'roll. Raw and physical tracks, compact and heady. Les Sans Pattes always lean towards psychedelics and repetition.

COMPILED BY PETE PASQUAL, ERICA OLSON & DJ KINETIC

Following on from acclaimed compilations like 'Down Under Nuggets' and 'Heavy Soul' (and two other new titles 'Running The Voodoo Down' and 'Dodgy Bossa (& Silly Sambas)' - details below), Festival Records presents another deep dig into the archives, this time shining a light on rare Australian soul-jazz, jazz-funk, and freaked-out groove rock from the late '60s and '70s.

BACK ON THE STREET AGAIN - AUSTRALIAN FUNK, SOUL & PSYCH (MOSTLY) FROM THE FESTIVAL VAULTS is a stunning 20 track CD and 2LP release that highlights a point when the previously disparate styles of rock, jazz and soul all started influencing each other, and exciting new genres were created. To quote the liner notes (by DJ Kinetic):

Australia produced some amazing music during the 60s and 70s that sat outside of the normal rock mould. Avant guard artists like John Sangster pushed boundaries and experimented with the fusion of local and overseas influences, artists like Dalvanius recorded soaring disco music that was lost amongst the popular music of the time, only to be rediscovered by DJs overseas who were searching for unknown sounds, composers like Brute Force and His Drum took risks and recorded left-field funky sounds hidden within their more mainstream compositions, and popular artists like Billy Thorpe occasionally strayed from their A&R directions and took leaves from the books of American artists who were largely unknown in Australia at the time. Beneath the veneer of bland rock and roll lay an unknown multitude of funky sounds hidden from mainstream view.

In addition to the artists that Kinetic mentions (and the compilation features two John Sangster tracks - stunning versions of 'Hair' and the Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'), the collection includes iconic names of the era like the Daly-Wilson Big Band (featuring Kerrie Biddell), Renee Geyer and the Johnny Rocco Band. '60s sides from Ross D Wyllie and The ID (featuring Jeff St John) reveal the various styles' roots in American rhythm & blues, and the unexpected inclusion of some legendary Australian rock outfits like Tamam Shud and Blackfeather reveals the psychedelic and progressive rock influences at play. The full range of the music is highlighted by the inclusion of both cabaret/daytime TV performer Al Styne and outrageous Kings Cross club act Count Copernicus & The Cosmic Fire as well as the in-house studio 'pops' orchestra, Festival Studio 24 Orchestra.

Co-compilers Pete Pasqual, Erica Olson and DJ Kentic to undertake interviews with specialist media around release. Facebook ad's around release.

Stirred up from deep within, from an abstract spiral of sound and movement, from a sensation of time and space absolving and converging at once, the Black Flower musicians have molded a tangible matter: the album Artifacts. Their second full album sounds international and ageless. Eastern influences, Ethiodub and jazz effortlessly merge. Fantasy and reality seem to fuse. In a word: nourishment for body and soul.

"Psyche-delicious and accessible 20th century Ethiodubjazz. As if John Zorn put on Fela Kuti's shoes and imbibed Mulatu Astatke's whirls."

Piloted by saxophonist /flutist /composer Nathan Daems (Ragini Trio, Dijf Sanders, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra), this instrumental band aims for originality. Fellow musicians and 'brothers down the road' are Jon Birdsong (dEUS, Beck, Calexico) on cornet, Simon Segers (Absynthe Minded, De Beren Gieren, Stadt) at the drums, Filip Vandebril (Lady Linn, The Valerie Solanas, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra) at the bass and Wouter Haest (Los Callejeros, Voodoo Boogie) playing keys.

For many of us, the Ethiopian aspect once made known to the world by Mulatu Astatke will stand out. Still, Black Flower further adds oriental scales, Afrobeat à la Fela Kuti, jazz in a John Zorn way and varied western music traditions such as rock and dub. The resulting melting pot is undoubtedly inspired by Nathan's distant travels and the multifariously colorful city of Brussels.

...Pretty legit if you ask me - LeFto, Studio Brussel

After their well-received debut album Abyssinia Afterlife (2014, W.E.R.F. / Zephyrus Records) that created an atmosphere of mythical figures and psychedelia, Black Flower now reflects on ancient and modern cultures. The album title Artifacts refers to centuries-old fragile objects or tools that empowered the development of human culture. The world today would look entirely different without those artifacts. The seemingly brittle suddenly becomes a powerful welding cornerstone. Add the musicians' personal musical backgrounds and the result is an album with an ageless mystique. Artifacts is the synthesis of different cultures, of the past and present, and personal and collective memories. It is the soundtrack to modern reality, based on the elements that connect us.

Brilliant - Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 6

One of Belgium's Best Bands of these past years (...) Black Flower does not simply play a tune, they always groove! - Kurt Overbergh, Ancienne Belgique

Uncomplicated originality, plenty of space for fantasy and an organic tone: those are the ingredients for Black Flower to lay claim to an age-old human ritual: dancing! Still, Black Flower also stands out in various other settings. Their audience at a jazz club will have felt exalted, their audience at a late-night show will not have resisted dancing. The band wields influence over their surroundings in a way only heart-and-soul musicians can. This mastery has repeatedly taken them to United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Germany.

Ekambi Brillant was born in the village of Dibombari in Cameroon in 1948. In 1962 he attended school in Yaounde and learned his musical craft. In 1971 he heads off to the big city lights of Douala. Here he finds himself in a French TV, music competition hosted at "Le Domino" nightclub. It is here where he brushes shoulders with other Cameroonian music legends such Manu Dibango and Francis Bebey.

The music contest win gives him the break he needs and in 1972 and with the support of fellow troubadour JK Mandengue he finds himself with a record deal with Phonogram and his first hits in France.

Its in 1975 where we pick up this merry tale. Because it is in 1975 when things start to get a bit funky. Which is just how we like it here at Africa Seven. In partnership with French producer, guitarist and all around hero, Slim Pezin he creates the "Africa Oumba" album. He goes on in the two subsequent years to record the Soul Castle and Djambo's Djambo's albums also with Slim.

Our compilation focuses on the funkier end of Ekambi's music drawn mainly from the 1975 to 1978 period. Things open up with our theme tune "Africa Africa" (of course). It's tribal twisted psych funk is the perfect start to any album. We then move to "Aboki" possibly Ekambi's finest dance floor filler. Next it's the choppy disco strings and slap bass of "Nyambe" and the swirling African swing of "N'Kondo" and the pulsing chop-funk "Ekila".

The flip side starts off with "Soul Castle" an ordinary day tale for our hero. "Massoma" and its funk boogie get things bopping next up before "Machine Ma Bwindea" gives us some punchy brass and low slung funk grooves. "Mother Africa" shows us the songwriting power of Ekambi while also managing to have one of the funkiest flange basslines we have heard in a good while. Things close off with swing-time of "Lambo Lena".

Ekambi Brillant would go on to become one of the big name legends of Cameroonian music with nearly 20 albums to his name. He has contributed to the emergence of several Cameroonian artists such as Marthe Zambo, Valery Lobe, Aladji Toure and Africans. He now spends his time in Cameroon and Washington DC. Ekambi, we salute you sir.

Hot on the heels of the co-release between Especial and Cocktails d'Amore Music of the Sfire Remixes EP (EES023/CDA013) comes an accompanying release with a pair of deeper, stripped back remixes from the inimitable Timothy J Fairplay and Willie Burns. Well known as producers, DJs and label managers with their Crimes Of The Future and WT Records respectively, as well as appearing on a who's who of electronic labels including Pinkman, Unknown To The Unknown and L.I.E.S, they have appeared in various guises on both Emotional Response and Especial. Here then are 4 remixes - 2 each per side - that take the unique original to new dance floor extremes. Timothy steps up first with his take on Sfire 2 via differing vocal and instrumental versions. His trademark, echo laden rolling percussion and "Carpenter" key lines take the original Synth-pop homage to the dark room. Adding Arps, a lifting, hedonistic breakdown and the scatter-stepper drums and claps found on the Instrumental version and this is pure COTF territory and the better for it. Willie meanwhile has long followed his own path for his take on Sfire 3, offering one of his deepest remixes to date. Thudding kick, brooding pads and dark strings force the vocals to go down, way down for examination. The distorted vocals of Remix 1 are countered by Remix 2 letting the track shine via a seemingly endless 4/4 beat. Psychedelic, trance inducing, pulsating, this is an ever growing mind expanse.Presented in sparse Hand Stamped sleeves, this one off Limited Edition pressing is a unique EP, taking Sfire to a different sphere that warrants investigation. It was only

Blood Debts' is the compulsive debut album from Years Of Denial, the alter-face of London-based French musician/producer and DJ, Jerome Tcherneyan.

Though his formulative Marseille youth was spent exploring the darkest corners of post-punk, New Wave, not to mention Public Enemy and the inspirational Mille Plateaux and Basic Channel labels, Tcherneyan, already an extremely capable drummer, quickly extended his sonic palate toward and beyond the bass-heavy electronic isolationism, insistent beats and drone experimentation that's still very much prevalent in his work today.
One should not either pass over his integral contribution to the much-lauded, though stolidly underground "ghost-rock" unit, Piano Magic, which engineered sublime collaborations with Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance), Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil) and Alan Sparhawk (Low). Tcherneyan, always prolific, can also lay claim to impressive collusions with Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (African Head Charge), Damo Suzuki (Can), 70's psych folk legend, Mark Fry to name but a few.
In 2005, Jerome founded and promoted the infamous 'Flesh' parties; guests including Andy Stott /Claro Intelecto/Edit-Select/James Ruskin/Kirk Degiorgio/Mark Broom/Oliver Ho/Sigha/Steve Bicknell and many more. These nights served as an invaluable education in Techno and Dubmixology; marathon sets played deep into the sunrise.
Skip forward a decade and the DJ bug is even deeper embedded, with Tcherneyan sharing the booth with, amongst many others, Orphx/Phase Fatale/Joefarr and London Modular Alliance.

Tcherneyan's muse and foil on 'Blood Debts,' his first for Oliver Ho's splendid and already essential new Death & Leisure imprint, is Maya Petrovna, an entrancing London-based vocalist, film composer and performance/physical theatre artist, whose voice perfectly evokes Billie Holliday, Diamanda Galas and all stations between.
There's a black neon heart at the centre of 'Blood Debts,' a fetishtic ritual of contorted flesh and altered states; a feverish, infectious paradox of primitivism and modernity. Years of Denial is the ghost in the machine.

* 'Limerence' is not only Misantrop's debut outing, it is also the inaugurating release of his own label Foul-Up.

* The sound pops out of an industrial mindset, but the title piece reverses out of garage/classic house that nods to 90s r'n'b. On 'Nocturnal Emission' friend Jon Marius Brogaard Aeppli's guitar solo is vogueing out on the floor, psychedelic rock meets psychotic blues by way of sheer UK sound.

* Featuring a wobbling bass on the techno-leaning 'No. 3' - adorned with a reference to classical composition in the cluster strings. 'They Don't Know' puts on a bit of electro, noise and some giallo synth arpeggiation. There's shine, atmosphere and a rather fascinating depth of field.

* 'Limerence' draws its inspiration from all over contemporary music and noise grounds - not wearing its 'influences' in the most opulent manner but well declaring its material with confidence. If the finished product doesn't have the uniformity of a proper industrial product, so much the better...

* Misantrop is out to change the way you listen to music, no matter how chaotic the journey is, showing off a vision that's both deeply human and richly transcendent.

For fans of: Kyle Hall, Actress, Shed, Drexciya, Levon Vincent, Helm, Anthony Shakir, Drexciya, Actress, Mica Levi, John Carpenter, Burial, Aphex Twin