Buscar:rob focus

Slush Records are back for their second outing, remastering and rereleasing Sedona’s highly sought-after 1995 track, ‘Pulsation’. A portal to the underground of the ‘90s, Sedona’s original mixes and the remix from Robert Vaughan, fuse progressive house, trance and breakbeat, each oscillating to their own unique frequency. Not stopping there, Slush Records enlist the expertise of Seoul-born, Amsterdam-based Naone for a mesmerising new remix that harnesses all of that early ‘90s energy, with a fresh dynamism.

The story of Sedona begins with Dale Charles and Benny Blanco. As a touring DJ and buyer at Boston Beat Records in the mid ‘90s, Dale Charles was in diggers paradise. Freestyle was big business at the time and as a progressive house and breaks DJ, Dale couldn’t help but notice how good the drum programming was on some of the tracks. He spent endless hours trawling through the shops near 10,000 freestyle records, hoping to find that elusive secret weapon.

One day Dale found the break he was searching for and took it to Benny’s studio. Benny was an aspiring DJ and, more crucially, a producer with a conveniently concreted basement apartment he was slowly filling with synths, samplers and drum machines. Sampling and chopping up this gem of a break, utilising two TB-303’s that Benny recorded live for the acid lines and creating that signature throbbing arp on a Roland JD-800, the basis of ‘Pulsation’ was born.

The duo created a series of different mixes to tweak the feeling of the track. The ‘Ascending Mix’ and ‘Sinister Mix’ bookend this reissue. The former, a club-focussed cut with subtle to squelching 303 lines, rumbling sub bass frequencies and pulsating arps that anchor the track, as the sacred drum break fires your brain into trance-infused euphoria. The latter, an ominous slice of teleportational ambient electronica, sucking you into a wormhole of galactic synthesis and dream-state harps.

The first of the remixes sees Slush draft in the progressive wizardry of Naone to provide a fresh new take on the track. Leaning into the otherworldly ‘90s atmosphere of the original, Naone radiates the pulsating theme through swelling synth stabs and a driving acid bassline. Switching up the feel with an electro-tinged drum beat, she distorts the acid dials till the track explodes into a dystopian realm of twisted techno.

The second is Robert Vaughan’s ‘Test Tube’ mix from the original 12 Inch. A no-nonsense prog headspinner, that garnered plays from the likes of Sasha and Digweed. An acclaimed DJ and producer across the ‘90s, with releases on the likes of Space Records and Metropolis, Vaughan injected the track with added breakbeat energy and swirling, tripped-out breakdowns to masterful effect.

A timeless dancefloor classic, expertly remastered and reissued with a remix that both honours and updates the original.

Søren Skov Orbit's debut album, "Adrift," is at once subtle and profound. The saxophonist and his collaborators have created something quite special and consistently deep. This record may not easily be classifiable, but the most interesting music creeps between the lines

Danish tenor and soprano saxophonist Søren Skov (Debre Damo Dining Orchestra) and keyboardist Peder Vind co-founded the trippy quintet Søren Skov Orbit in 2016 to explore “more jazzy ideas,” as the saxophonist puts it. Joined by a rhythm section steeped in contemporary improvisation and psychedelia, bassist Casper Nyvang Rask, drummer Rune Lohse and percussionist Ayi Solomon of the legendary 80's Ghanaian roots/highlife band Classique Vibes, the Orbit belts out a richly focused helping of broadly African-inspired modern jazz with a hazy sheen.

On the opening “Notifications of Nothingness,” Skov digs in his heels, a steely but languid unspooling of burnished tenor lines atop condensed, quavering piano and the thick footfalls of bass and percussion. As a tenor player, Skov has done his homework and has a kinship with Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, J.R. Monterose, and the Dutchman Hans Dulfer, but he clearly has got his own robust phraseology and expressiveness. He also cites multi-reedists John Gilmore, Yusef Lateef, and Bilal Abdurahman as, “some of the players I’ve been listening to the most for the last 10-15 years.”

A healthy dose of reverb is present throughout the album, echoing Alton Abraham’s studio wizardry with the Sun Ra Arkestra or the trance-inducing and compressed fidelity of certain Ethio-jazz and Mystic Revelations of Rastafari sessions. Skov notes that, “everything is recorded live at the same time in the same room. I wanted to do it that way in order to catch the dynamics and authenticity of the music.” There is, in fact, a complex teeter- totter between crisp and hazy execution, achieved by a delicately balanced mix that keeps the group’s sound simultaneously advancing and receding. Vind’s phrasing is terse and introspective, a vibrating echo that nudges and reflects on Skov’s brusque tenor in a dance of sonic displacement.

“Orbiting” pits a chunky backbeat and the teetering, taut hand-rhythms of Solomon against an infectious, almost microtonal piano riff, while Skov’s arpeggios are clean and florid as he patiently rises up from under a carpet of funky loops. Following the freer “Reflections of Rif,” “Naration” lilts with a wink at “Footprints” and tugs between up-tempo polyrhythmic drive, clanging keyboard accents, and the innately steadfast keenness of the bandleader. The coupling of Solomon and Lohse is a big part of the group’s detailed energy; as the leader puts it, “Ayi knows everything about regional differences in drum patterns. He is always listening and super responsive, and his and Rune’s dynamics are amazing.” The music both presents a “vibe” and keeps the door open for engaging well under the surface as repeated listens will be extremely rewarding.

Amsterdam's Toman is set to release his first EP since 18 months ‚Dolce Far Niente‘ on Cécille Records!

Dutch producer and DJ Toman, based in the country's capital, Amsterdam, has been steadily rising up the ranks of underground house music in recent years. He has released tracks on labels such as Meta, Eastenderz, Cuttin' Headz, and NO ART. As a rising star in the Netherlands, Toman tours the globe, bringing his raw, stripped-back style to many of the hottest locations, including reputed clubs and festivals across multiple continents.

'Courtyard' opens and sees Toman fuse together crunchy drums with an amalgamation of plucked bass tones and pulsating subs alongside filter house synth licks and vocal hooks, with the vocal on the track provided by Toman himself, all dynamically evolving throughout its eight-minute duration. 'De Bongo Man', as the name would suggest, shifts focus towards a more tribal feel, merging organic percussion atop subtly unfurling synth tones, dubbed-out stabs, resonant
flutters, a weighty low-end drive, and a sturdy rhythm section.

Title-cut 'Dolce Far Niente' follows next on the flip-side, a high-octane house cut fueled by a robust drum groove, twitchy synth lines, breathy vocal chants, and multilayered, gritty stab lines. 'Good Old Sunny Day' then rounds out the release on a more stripped-back tip via bumpy reduced drums, choppy vocals, and airy, fluttering chord sequences.

Ten bad boy digi riddims from the myspace era by Copenhagen’s Maffi crew, dubbed out into 3D space by disrupt in 2024. Raw, minimalist CyberDancehall at its best, nostalgic and oddly futuristic at the same time, this album is quickly becoming RoboCop’s favorite playlist when going to work.
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Maffi Promotions a.k.a. Maffi Boys come straight outta 1773 Kbh V, Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally founded in 1990 by the two homeboys, lazy body Moog and Junior the Rat, Maffi Promotions have been a steady producer of simple digital riddims for years. Hanging out in the streets of Hummel City Junior & Moog used to entertain their friends with the primitve riddims of the Maffi sound. Not knowing that they would do the exact same thing fifteen years later, they continued to believe that one day they would move up the ladder, break out of the underground and reach for the stars.

Now, after finally adopting a little sense of realism, the two homeboys have realised that stardom is nothing compared to spamming people on myspace. So the two stoners decided to get a couple of friends together and turn up the bass online. Together with their sound crew FIREHOUSE, Maffi deal nuff weed and gyals!

Maffi Boys are very dedicated to the art of playing Sensible World of Soccer, rolling weed joints with Manitou tobacco and keeping it real in a Vesterbro-style. So watch out! And don’t test! We’ll be putting up new riddims on a weekly basis. We have nuff things brewing – including a delicious chicken!
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Growing up in the streets of Hummel City, Vesterbro, MOOG learned the pleasures of sleeping late, playing Sensible World Of Soccer and picking up hot gyals at an early age. He has spent most of his life trying to master these crucial skills. Taking a break from the dog race, Moog is currently focused on reaching a higher understanding of reggae-science and weedology.

JUNIOR experienced the necessity of rolling well-made spliffs at an early age. Incorporating the aestethic heritage of Scandinavian design, he has spent most of his life perfectionizing this old and traditional art form. Junior is currently taking his ph.d. in digital reggae by buying crates of 80’s 7″ and selecting for his sound system Firehouse.

repressed!

Kerri Chandler delivers ‘Lost & Found Vol.1’ this March, a four-track collection of revisited, unreleased archive cuts, including Kerri’s own Grampa, Calvin Reed Sr. as a featuring artist on the opening track.

New Jersey’s Kerri Chandler has been at the forefront of house music since the beginning of his career in the early 90’s. Over the past three decades he’s released an extensive back catalogue of material including several albums on his own Madhouse and Kaoz Theory imprints as well as the likes of DJ Deep’s Deeply Rooted, Apollonia, Jerome Sydenham’s Ibadan and Watergate Records.

Here we see Kerri dig up some never before heard archived material from the 90’s and early 2000’s for this four-track EP. Up first is ‘What Will We Do ft Grampa’, featuring spoken word and vocal lines from Kerri’s Grandfather Calvin Reed St. atop gritty swinging drums, organ lines and rounded subs. ‘Tonight’ follows and tips focus over to airy chord sequences, choppy bass notes, dreamy arpeggio lines and dynamic drums.

‘Into The Night’ opens the b-side next, bringing a raw bass hook, tension building strings and vocal chants of the track’s title into the forefront while bumpy stripped-back drums keep things driving. ‘This and That’ then rounds out the release, bringing twitchy resonant synths and phaser sweeps into the mix alongside stuttering drum programming for a funk-infused, loop driven eight minute workout.

DJ Feedback:

Honey Dijon - Classic
Kerri still has his A Game intact! Great Ep!

Laurent Garnier - Kompakt, MCDE, F Communications
PURE LOOOOOOOOOVE

Jimpster - Freerange, Delusions Of Grandeur
Kerri!!!! Classic tracks with that inimitable groove and production which makes him such an icon. Big ups!!

Terry Farley - Junior Boys Own
BACK 2 DA RAW

Fouk - Heist, House of Disco, Razor N Tape
Super hard to pick a fav as each track has its own vibe! LOVE THIS <3

Enzo Siragusa - Fuse London, InFuse
Quality as always from Kerri!

Harvey Sutherland - MCDE, PPU, This Thing
always.

Roy Davis Jnr
Full support.

Jason Kendig Honey Sound System
Always fire tracks from kerri!

DJ Bone - Subject, Metroplex
Love the entire release!

Politics of Dancing (Guillaume & David)
one love for Kerry as always :)

Joyce Muniz - Exploited Ghetto, 20:20 Vision
Nice Ep!

Massimiliano Pagliara - Panorama Bar, Ostgut Ton
groovy!

Shadow Child
king.

Tobi Neumann - What Came First
Brutally good House Music. This one I wanna have on vinyl. Thanks master Chandler for the music!

Chrissy - Chiwax, The Nite Owl Diner
Very excited for this one

Halo Varga - All Inn Music, Surface, Inmotion Music
Kerri is GOD

Mutiny - Azuli, Skint
Kerri on that deep classic vibe..Love

Alinka - Permanent Vacation, Twirl!
Brilliant as always

Diz - Robsoul
90's freshness!!!

Fish Go Deep - Innervisions, Defected
The long-awaited follow up to She's Crazy! Beautifully done. The other tracks also slamming, packed with dancefloor drive and emotion. Can't wait to play loud.

Art Of Tones, Llorca
Superb EP !

Lupe
The Grampa one, instant cult hit, very endearing! Great stuff

BD1982 - Diskotopia, Tokyo
Classic material from an absolute legend

Johannes Albert - Need Want, Mirau, Berlin Bass
vibes for days!

Joseph G. Bendavid
kerri can't fail, always bomb tracks

Terry Grant
Stone. Cold. Legend.

Harri - Sub Club
Lovely

Severino - Horse Meat Disco
oh yes quality

When Jazz Meets Italo-Disco. Two Italian legends meet and deliver a unique contemporary jazz-house fusion! ''Stefano Cantini is a well-known saxophonist in the Italian and international jazz scene. In recent years he has focused on a project called Living Coltrane with Ares Tavolazzi, Francesco Maccianti and Piero Borri. Stefano and Maurizio Dami (Alexander Robotnick) had worked together for a while in the mid '80s and Stefano also played on GMM's album (''Love Supreme'' is the best known track). Since then, Stefano has focused totally on Jazz whilst Maurizio Dami produced World Music in the '90s and later on, under the artist name Alexander Robotnick, retrieved in 2000, turned to electronic music again, so the two musicians lost track of each other for 40 years. Robotnick says, ''In March 2023 I received a call from a club in Pisa, Cantiere San Bernardo. They asked me whether I could play live with Stefano ''Cocco'' Cantini on the occasion of a special event dedicated to Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici. I called him and he answered enthusiastically. Shortly before the concert we rehearsed at the Follonica Music School which he directs. He improvised with me on the bases of my live. We liked our rehearsal and a few days later, on June 2nd 2023, we played in Pisa with much success. So came the idea of doing something together. We decided to produce an EP featuring 3 tracks. On some of my bases Stefano created a harmonic texture to improvise on. I mainly took care of the arrangement and the production. But what we play is the result of improvisation, with hardly any editing. It's amazing how we managed to work together so smoothly after so many years, as if we had never stopped. We called this project 'Robocok'''. They are modal tracks with a techno approach and harmonically open. Almost a provocation to the staticity of contemporary dance. On ''Francocco'' and ''Frigiococco'' Stefano plays soprano sax whilst on ''Afrococco'' he plays alto. Guglielmo Bottin took the task of making a remix. He picked ''Francocco'' and skilfully turned it into a pure drums and piano groove. Perfect for the dancefloor.''

Die Band gehört seit 1969 zu den Vorreitern der progressiven
Musikbewegung. Ihr Song "Hocus Pocus" ist zu einer beliebten, weltweiten Prog-Hymne geworden, wurde von Rap-Musikern gesampelt, in der Berichterstattung über die Olympischen
Winterspiele verwendet, vertonte Werbespots und tauchte in
Hollywood-Filmen wie Baby Driver und Robocop auf. Ihr
zwölftes Studioalbum enthält 10 neue Tracks, darunter ein
komplett improvisiertes Stück, das bei seiner spontanen
Entstehung aufgenommen wurde.

From the deep confines of the universe, we receive emissions of HC Records’ 21st release - Those Dark Whims by UHF, the production duo and Gladio Operations label heads José Castillo and David Aragón. An exciting digital LP from which a selection of tracks have been extracted for vinyl along with remixes by two label regulars, Estrato Aurora and The Lost Boys.

Skynet Was Shy opens both the LP and the vinyl, a hypnotic starting point in which the most vibrant and crystalline electro fuses with acid sequences to generate a state of pure trance, complimented and driven by spiralling sequences and mantra-like vocals. The second track on the LP and A2 on the vinyl is The Lost Boys' remix of Skynet Was Shy. A rough and sharp reinterpretation where the use of 303 sequences continues but focuses on more of a physical than a mental dance.

Hanging Baskets reactivates the state of infinite mental suspension that underlies this powerful and bold composition with deft and minimalistic use of elements: sharp broken rhythms, a dense melodic environment but with occasional moments of pure light and a new vocal message that ignites in our minds.

The B-side kicks off with Estrato Aurora's remix of Day Dream, which as usual in the work of the acclaimed Valencian producer, extends the original version to 8 minutes, giving it an unusual emotionality created by an amalgam of sound textures that interweave multiple pads, mutant melodies and pulsating percussion. Closing the vinyl, UHF's machines join forces with the lyrics of another electro heavyweight in Protestas En Las Redes Feat. Dark Vektor, a combative discourse in which the powerful and robotic vocal message of the Terrassan producer ascend alongside the futuristic melodies, extra-dimensional violins, spatial arpeggios, and metallic rhythms of the Madrid duo.

Continually in a state of evolution with a future-focused vision, yet ensuring the signature sound that has defined the label and event series for over a decade remains at its core, Enzo Siragusa’s FUSE imprint is once again keeping things moving with new ventures, projects and concepts.

Having previously introduced the label’s collaborative X Series in addition to the launch of sister imprint LOCUS, summer brings a new project for 2024 as the label now presents its new vinyl-focused VA, welcoming four label debuts for the first instalment of the project. First up is Amstedam-based Nachtbraker, whose classy house sound has welcomed releases via Aus Music and Peach Discs, amongst many. His contribution, ‘Banda’, is deep and trippy, balancing light and dark moments via a warping bassline, sweeping pads and slinking drums.

Next, Phone Traxxx member and live wizard Rob Amboule makes his debut on the label following his appearance for the collective’s 15th birthday at fabric. Playful and vibrant, with wicked acid-dipped and funk-fuelled bass licks, ‘Capnhat’ perfectly showcases his sound as he delivers another gem.

On the flip, Melbourne-born, Berlin-based Reflex Blue lands fresh from his second EP on Gene On Earth’s The Sound Of Limousine imprint with the glitchy yet smooth ‘Life’s A Bleep’ - combining spacey tones, skippy drums and sporadic bleeps and lasers. To close, Un_Mute resident Mario Liberti harnesses influences from a classic to deliver a heady dancefloor anthem, fusing hooky vocal samples, murky low-ends and those iconic synth stabs.

Above & Beyond release yoga and mindfulness-inspired ambient LP: “Flow State” Above & Beyond today announced ‘Flow State’, a49-minute panoramic journey of ambient compositions and warm, neo-classicalsoundscapes that offer moments of meditative calm in these busy and often overwhelming times. A break from the anthemic dance sound that swept Above &Beyond’s ‘Common Ground’ LP to #3 in the Billboard Album Charts in 2018, ‘Flow State’ is the culmination of a journey which began at Burning Man in 2014. A chance encounter on the Playa led to a spontaneous sunset yoga set on the infamous Robot Heart stage, guided by renowned yogi Elena Brower. A magical and spiritual experience for those present, it inspired Above & Beyond to begin opening their biggest global gigs with yoga sets, creating transformative experiences for 25,000 strong crowds at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington and Huntington Beach, California. The original Burning Man yoga set has subsequently gone on to amass over 2 million streams on Soundcloud. As the band began writing more original music for these yoga sessions, the seed for “Flow State” was sown. “Our music has always been about getting in touch with, and understanding and accepting our emotions. After those amazing yoga sets, we realised thatthere is a bigger place for this more reflective music within our little universe,” explains Above &Beyond’sPaavoSiljamaki. “With the Flow State project, we want to help bring people's attention and focus towards helping themselves find better mental fitness and overall happiness in life,” adds Siljamaki. “Through raised awareness, being more present, one can reach a state of flow: a creative and free state of mind where time, fear and stress dissipate.” To long-time fans of Above & Beyond, this new album will come as no surprise; quieter moments have always been essential components of their chart-topping electronic albums.

San Francisco psych-pop legend announces new album, “La Fleur” out June 7th, 2024. Between outside musical projects, pushing past 50 years old and becoming a father for the first time, San Francisco psych-pop legend Kelley Stoltz has spent the past two years steadily writing and recording his 18th album, “La Fleur”. The dazzling 12 song collection will be released in June by Agitated in Europe/UK and Dandy Boy Records in the USA. “La Fleur'' finds Stoltz once again playing nearly all of the instruments on the album- though a new friendship with pop guru Jason Falkner has led to Falkner appearing on two songs, “Hide In A Song” and “Make Believer” respectively. There’s the requisite 60’s meets 80’s pop rock confections that Stoltz favors with a new focus on out front vocals and perhaps a bit shinier production. Pandemic era blues, politics and fatherhood are lyrical touchstones throughout. The album’s first single “Reni’s Car” is the jangle rock lead single based on an actual event of Kelley riding around Manchester in the Stone Roses drummer's car. The accompanying music video was shot (partially) on location. “About Time” marries Twin Peaks synths to Fleetwood Mac and Avalon era Roxy Music in a cautionary tale to Stoltz's young daughter. “Human Events” puts revolutionary prose to a Moody Blues strum that floats off into Osees territory …and do I hear a nod to Gershwin in there? During the 2010’s Kelley played live as a sideman with Rodriguez and Echo & the Bunnymen, as the 2020’s dawned he was invited to support Pavement on their big reunion tour. He’s also been heard playing drums live with Robyn Hitchcock as well as adding sitar to Hitchcock's last two albums. In 2022, Stoltz was championed with a live appearance on Marc Riley’s BBC6 show. As producer, he has recorded the new album by Brigid Dawson formerly of the Ohsees. In my ears, Stoltz rarely does any wrong, and these comparisons are only just that little fruit to get you curious- he is still one of a kind. An under the radar hero to a few, and still after all these great songs, deserving of more. Climb on the bandwagon - as ever it’s quite pleasing here. - GEORGE CLOUD San Francisco, CA 2024

San Francisco psych-pop legend announces new album, “La Fleur” out June 7th, 2024. Between outside musical projects, pushing past 50 years old and becoming a father for the first time, San Francisco psych-pop legend Kelley Stoltz has spent the past two years steadily writing and recording his 18th album, “La Fleur”. The dazzling 12 song collection will be released in June by Agitated in Europe/UK and Dandy Boy Records in the USA. “La Fleur'' finds Stoltz once again playing nearly all of the instruments on the album- though a new friendship with pop guru Jason Falkner has led to Falkner appearing on two songs, “Hide In A Song” and “Make Believer” respectively. There’s the requisite 60’s meets 80’s pop rock confections that Stoltz favors with a new focus on out front vocals and perhaps a bit shinier production. Pandemic era blues, politics and fatherhood are lyrical touchstones throughout. The album’s first single “Reni’s Car” is the jangle rock lead single based on an actual event of Kelley riding around Manchester in the Stone Roses drummer's car. The accompanying music video was shot (partially) on location. “About Time” marries Twin Peaks synths to Fleetwood Mac and Avalon era Roxy Music in a cautionary tale to Stoltz's young daughter. “Human Events” puts revolutionary prose to a Moody Blues strum that floats off into Osees territory …and do I hear a nod to Gershwin in there? During the 2010’s Kelley played live as a sideman with Rodriguez and Echo & the Bunnymen, as the 2020’s dawned he was invited to support Pavement on their big reunion tour. He’s also been heard playing drums live with Robyn Hitchcock as well as adding sitar to Hitchcock's last two albums. In 2022, Stoltz was championed with a live appearance on Marc Riley’s BBC6 show. As producer, he has recorded the new album by Brigid Dawson formerly of the Ohsees. In my ears, Stoltz rarely does any wrong, and these comparisons are only just that little fruit to get you curious- he is still one of a kind. An under the radar hero to a few, and still after all these great songs, deserving of more. Climb on the bandwagon - as ever it’s quite pleasing here. - GEORGE CLOUD San Francisco, CA 2024

Turman first came onto the industrial scene in the late 70’s as the ominous ‘other half’ of legendary noise outfit NON. Shortly after recording the classic 1977 single Mode of Infection, Turman went on to pursue his own unique vision as a solo artist. Fusing every possible influence at his disposal while laying his ideas down on self-released cassettes like Flux (1981), Spirals of Everlasting Change (1987), Way Down (1987) and the massive Chapter Eleven cassette box set (1988). After a hiatus Turman resurfaced in 2005 to team up with seminal noise musician Aaron Dilloway. Since then, he has been gradually adding new titled to his already impressive discography.

For this archival release Turman selected 7 tracks that were recorded between 1980 and 1984. A welcome supplement to his library of avantgarde music that was released in the 80s. This album fits in nicely between the early industrial noise, the long-form minimalism of Flux and the rhythmic industrial of Way Down. Focusing on slowly shifting hypnotic loop-based layers of sound, it covers a specific side of Turman. It feels like there’s a direct link to his earliest works but it’s also a precursor to some pieces that were recorded much later. A missing link that finally gives us the opportunity of a complete overview of his early audio work.

All 7 tracks on this album have a connection to the written word in the form of a poem. Scans of the original typewriter poems are included together with collages and drawings from this specific time frame to create an essential and singular piece of art.

very dope.

With this EP an attempt is made at documenting the vibrant action happening during the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Pioneer Valley area of Western Massachusetts, US. The story is richer than the snapshot we present here, and a more detailed account is to be found in the accompanying book that can be purchased separately.

The Five Colleges in Hampshire County congregated a vast student population that inevitably interacted with the towns in the area. Bars, music and record stores, live music and a lot of experimentation and free thinking. Hampshire College, especially, promoted new approaches to teaching, subjects that might be considered radical by some even today, although a more favourable context would now surely exist for openly debating such topics as American Indians, Kayak Design, Black Oral Tradition, Food Management, etc. And the music? The immediate "punk effect" motivated the creation of numerous bands, many short lived, others evolving into New Wave / Power Pop territory, eventually crossing into Post-Punk experimentation. What is captured in "Noho EP" is a more electronic disposition, favoured by the existence of EMS gear and other equipment at Hampshire College and University of Massachusetts. We chose to focus on a group of musicians who, for a time, played together in different combinations under the loose umbrella of the Tekno Tunes label and the structure around it.

These musicians come from very different backgrounds and the nucleus portrayed here consisted of Christopher Vine, Elliott Sharp, James Whittemore and Nicholas Brown.

Of the several line-up changes The Scientific Americans went through, it was actually only the duo of Chris Vine and Jim Whittemore who recorded "Among Bodge Watt". Never before released, it is a companion piece to their track "El Salvador" available on the 1981 ROIR tape-album "Load & Go!". The Sci Ams were founders of the Tekno Tunes label and also created the Tekno Tours "concert promotion agency", under which name they exposed local audiences to bands such as The Stranglers, The Slits, Pylon, Pere Ubu, The Psychedelic Furs, The Bush Tetras, Steel Pulse, etc. Their own sound kept progressing but at its best there's a solid dub undercurrent, pretty obvious in "Among Bodge Watt".

Human Error was born out of a collective jam by Chris Vine, Elliott Sharp, Jim Whittemore and Nick Brown. Elliott Sharp had moved to Northampton in August of 1978 and naturally became involved in the local music scene, hooking up first with Whittemore at a hi-fi audio store where he worked at the time. Basement jams followed stimulating conversations, and other musicians joined the sessions. "Clandestinator" sounds gorgeously loose, an effortless groove coming from a quasi-dub set-up. Nothing here seems calculated, the music just flows, contagious and irregular as the handclaps in the mix.

The Higher Primates later evolved into a "proper" band but started as Nick Brown's solo project. The Primates only ever released a (now sought-after) 7" single in 1980 (on the Tekno Tunes label, precisely). Both tracks on "Noho EP" were recorded the following year and never released until now. "Auto Music in the Disco Dub Style" is self-explanatory, with a steady, mid-tempo TR808 beat running through, supporting synth squelches, echoes and reverbs, a fat bassline, dissonant melodic lines and odd vocal snippets. Kind of a DJ tool when the concept was barely in place. The more uptempo "Teresa Variations" adds a Fender Jazz bass and Selmer sax to the electronics. It actually sounds more "Disco", even with the robotic, unintelligible vocals. On top of this, the vibe is sealed by the overall Radiophonic Workshop analogue strangeness applied to a dance beat.

Since 2011, the Berlin born and raised producer and DJ Mørbeck has been delivering numerous acclaimed Techno releases via Vault Series and his own Code Is Law imprint as well as making his mark on the global club scene as a DJ. Fast forward to 2023 and we see Mørbeck inaugurate his house guise, Midnight In A Toyshop, aimed to showcase his passion for House productions in a lighter shade, whilst still retaining his signature rawness.

Setting the tone to open the EP is ‘100’s & 1000’s’, laying down warbling pad sequences and crunchy saturated drums in combination with a bouncy bass line and hypnotic vocal hooks throughout. The aptly titled ‘90’s Memento’ follows, encapsulating a classic House sound with bright, mesmeric chords, rumbling subs, processed vocal lines and a bumpy drum machine workout.

On the flip-side title-track ‘Dreams For Sale’ shifts focus to Trance tinged staccato melodies, cinematic atmospherics, acid licks and a heavily swung rhythm before ‘Every Night’ rounds out the EP on a classic Deep House tip via ethereal pads, robust percussion, circling synth lines and a vacillating low-end drive.

Alex Andrikopolous AKA Lex (Athens) released his brilliant debut album Waving in 2022 on Leng and he now returns with an EP combining fine remixes of tracks from Waving alongside two new previously unheard cuts.

The remixes are undeniably special. Fittingly, the EP begins with the first of these, a sensationally sun-soaked revision of one of Andrikopolous’s most Balearic moments – previous single ‘Punta Allen’ – by former Nuphonic fusionists and FAR label founders Faze Action. The Lee brothers’ take is one of those sunset-friendly workouts that wraps glistening guitar licks, steel pan style motifs, Lex’s gorgeous lead lines, hazy electric piano solos and life-affirming keyboard riffs around rolling nu-disco beats and a new rubbery bassline courtesy of Robin Lee himself. It has the feel of a pool-side anthem in the making.

Just as potent is the typically quirky and hard-to-pigeonhole revision of ‘Prezend’ by Manchester maverick Ruf Dug. Here he offers up a genuinely revolutionary rework, re-imaging the track as a sparse-but-colourful fusion of vintage acid house bass, saucer-eyed piano riffs, dubbed-out synth sounds, jacking lo-fi drum machine beats and squelchy TB-303 tweaks. While fresh and undeniably contemporary, the remix has an alluringly nostalgic, retro-futurist vibe.

Clustered around these two top-notch revisions is a pair of previously unreleased Lex originals. He joins forces with regular collaborator Locke once more on ‘Libre De Amor’, an infectious chunk of, low-slung dub disco marked out by weighty bass, jammed-out electric piano motifs, spacey pads, intergalactic effects and mazy synth solos. Dotted with additional percussion hits and echoing female vocal snippets, it’s one of the pair’s most potent dancefloor workouts of recent times.

To round off a rock-solid EP, the Athens-based veteran blurs the boundaries between stripped-back, late-80s house nostalgia and nu-disco. ‘Super Awake’ boasts cowbell-sporting Chicago house beats and acid house inspired bass, on to which he’s layered all manner of colourful synth sounds, jangly piano stabs and spacey electronics. Throw in some typically immersive chords and progressively more psychedelic TB-303 motifs, and you have a genuinely triumphant conclusion to a formidably floor-focused EP.

When great music minds get together, good things happen and this latest Freerange outing is testament to that. Bridging the gap between Toronto and Detroit, the Detoronto EP is the result of Mark Kufner aka Toronto Hustle’s vision of deep, underground house music and Sean Roman’s production prowess. With decades of experience promoting nights, DJing and running his own brilliant vinyl-only label Selections, Mark teamed up with production partner and fellow Toronto DJ, Sean Roman. Sean has worked with a diverse selection of imprints such as Nervous Records, Local Talk, Strictly Rhythm, as well as his own imprint Lately Bass.

On the vocals, Detroit’s ubiquitous Javonntte rounds out the artists for this heavyweight EP. Classic deep, raw, late night house sounds are the order of the day here. Deep In This is just the kind of fat, swinging groove to warm up the dance floor with. Simple yet robust, the square wave bassline brings the right amount of attitude whilst Javonntte’s vocal’s draw you into his world.

Next up, the duo give us their own Light Night Dub of Deep In This which strips out the harmonic elements, putting all the focus on the drums, bass and vocals. This makes for the perfect club tool, sounding massive on a nice system and guaranteed to get the floor locked into its unrelenting groove.

Flip over for a brilliant remix of Fall In Love by another legend of the Toronto house scene - Demuir. This guy is a production powerhouse whose soulful, funky, jacking house sound has seen him releasing on such diverse labels as Yoruba, Classic, Heist, Hot Creations, Robsoul and Desolat. Here he brings his trademark, loose and jazzy drums and funky AF Moog bassline which is accompanied by a beautiful, filtering piano loop.

Closing out this brilliant EP we have Fall In Love, another late night basement jam featuring the vocals of Javonntte. Classic rhodes stabs add a rolling energy to the chunky drum groove making this one of those classic B2 tracks destined to become a secret weapon in your sets.

You get older, you have a family, and you start to slow down-that's how things are supposed to go, right? Not for Montreal band Corridor, who have returned on their fourth album, Mimi, with a sound and style that's more widescreen and expansive than anything that's preceded it. The follow-up to 2019's Junior is a huge step forward for the band, as the members themselves have undergone the type of personal changes that accompany the passage of time; even as these eight songs reflect a newfound and contemplative maturity, however, Corridor are branching out more than ever with richly detailed music, resulting in a record that feels like a fresh break for a band that's already established themselves as forward-thinkers. Mimi immediately recalls the best of the best when it comes to indie rock-Deerhunter's silvery atmospherics immediately come to mind, as well as the spiky effervescence of classic post-punk-but despite these easy comparisons, Corridor remain impossible to pin down from song to song, which makes Mimi all the more thrilling as a listen. "The goal was to work differently, which is the goal we have every time we work on a new album-to build something in a new way," Robert explains. "This time, we took our time." And so in the summer of 2020, Corridor's members-Robert, vocalist/bassist Dominic Berthiaume, drummer Julien Bakvis, and multi-instrumentalist Samuel Gougoux-holed away in a cottage to engage in the sort of creative experimentation that would lead to Mimi's ultimate creation. Corridor tinkered with the songs' raw parts digitally and remotely over the next few years, with co-producer Joojoo Ashworth (Dummy, Automatic) lending their own specific talents in the theoretical booth. The process was a byproduct of not having access to their rehearsal space due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a result of the four-piece leaning harder into incorporating electronic textures than on previous records. "For a long time, we identified as a guitar-oriented band, and the goal of making this whole record was trying to get away from that," Berthiaume states. Berthiaume also describes Mimi as a record about "getting older" and "figuring out new parts of life"-but despite any claims of transitional growing pains from the band, Mimi is a record bursting with new energy and life, a vibrance that's owed in no small part to Gougoux joining the band full-time after pitching in on live performances in the past. "I come more from a background of electronic music, so it was nice to involve that with the band more," he explains, and Mimi contains a distinct rhythmic pulse reminiscent of classic era-post-punk's own melding of dance and rock textures. Over bright, chiming guitars and ascending synths, Robert addresses his looming mortality on "Mourir Demain": "I wrote it when my girlfriend and I were shopping for life insurance," he laughs. With our little daughter growing up, we also considered making our will. I said to myself, 'Oh shit, from now on I'm slowly starting to plan my death." Don't mistake this as music about dead ends, though, as Mimi embraces and champions unfettered creativity while paving a way for Corridor's own bright future. "We just focused on making a record that sounded the way we wanted," Gougoux exclaims while discussing the band's aims. "There were no limitations when it came to what was possible."

"Berlin is the Spanish TV series created by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato for Netflix. It serves as a prequel to Money Heist/La Casa de Papel, focusing on Andrés de Fonollosa, aka “Berlin”. The story goes back his golden age before the events of Money Heist, where Berlin and a masterful gang gather in Paris to plan one of his most ambitious robberies ever. The series features an original soundtrack by Lucas Peire and Frank Montasell. The album also contains the main theme “Bullets and Flowers” performed by Francis White and Nikki, and tracks by Samantha Siqueiros, Pipo Romero, Pedro Alonso, Tristan Ulloa, GOA, and POL 3.14. The 2LP Berlin is available as a limited edition of 500 copies on turquoise coloured vinyl and includes an insert. "

Berlin by Lucas Peire & Frank Montasell, released 26 April 2024, includes the following tracks: "Dernière Chance", "Racing Point", "No Me Mires (by POL 3.14)", "La Banda" and more.

This version of Berlin comes as a 2xLP. This release comes with (a) Insert(s).

The vinyl is pressed as a turquoise disc. Another vinyl is pressed as a turquoise disc.

Did you know that for decades, record collectors across the Dutch-speaking region have overlooked a significant portion of their own musical heritage while avidly searching for rare grooves and breaks in bins filled with more exotic music? It's a fact! And that's where Harde Smart comes in. After delving deep into dusty crates of Belgian and Dutch music, Harde Smart's inaugural compilation in 2019, dedicated to music from the 1970s, brought to light a selection of smooth, jazzy, funky, and soulful gems from Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) and Holland. In addition to exquisite grooves and hard-pounding drums, these songs shared Dutch lyrics, offering a unique compilation of lyric-driven Flemish and Dutch music from back in the days.

Yet, nothing is as certain as the unexpected. This compilation marked the first time a Dutch album uncovered the authentic Afro-American funk and soul vibe, which, albeit sporadically, influenced the work of both popular and lesser-known singers and musicians in this corner of the world during the 1970s. Undoubtedly, influences also stemmed from French chanson and rock music of the era. This 21-trackalbum shattered all musical predictability, taking listeners on a strange and nostalgic journey, offering a revised collection of "essential homegrown classics" for local listeners while also captivating non-Dutch-speaking audiences.

With the second compilation, Harde Smart shifts its focus from the 1970s sound to explore the next decade, the 1980s. Vinyl aficionados No Sleep Richy and Micha Marva joined forces with Sjefke De Kok, one of Holland's premier crate diggers, to continue their musical odyssey. Digging even deeper into dusty bins filled with Dutch and Flemish records once again unearthed an exquisite selection of tracks-too weird to play, too rare to ignore. From butt-shaking boogie to weird disco adventures on wax, this album encapsulates all the good stuff of the 1980s: smooth and seductive alongside dark and wavy. Get ready for an atypical introduction into the Dutch lyric-driven music from the 1980's.