quête:sam k

Compiled by Philip King
“And then came the rise of synth pop : blokes with dodgy haircuts hunched over keyboard-operated
machines stuffed with wires and do-it-yourself tone oscillators making sounds like a brood of geese
passing gas in a wind tunnel. Whoopee! This is the way the ‘70s ended : not with a blood-curdling bang
bang but with a cheap, synthesized, emasculating whimper.”
NICK KENT, NME.

All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985 is a new compilation that charts the
underbelly of the epoch-defining sound of the synthesiser in 80s popular music. Compiled by Philip
King (previously seen compiling All The Young Droogs, Glitterbest and Boobs - The Junkshop
Glam Discotheque), the music here connects the dots between DIY synth enthusiasts grappling with
new, cheap synthesisers at the tail-end of punk and wannabe, jobbing songwriters enthral to the new
music pioneered by Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller’s Mute Records. Featuring rare
tracks of auto-didactic progressive pop music, proto-techno punk, shoot-for-the-stars-land-in-the-gutter
chart flops and heralded, underground synth classics, School Daze paints a picture of beautiful failure.
Complete with extensive sleeve notes written by King and never before seen imagery, all 24 tracks
were remastered by RPM in-house engineer Simon Murphy, many from vinyl copies due to lost master
tapes. The story told on All The Young Droids is one of the dawning opportunity presented by both the
emergence to the market of cheaper analog synthesisers and the distribution networks plus indie labels
that exploded with the advent of punk music in 1976. While the music that sprouted out all over the
globe in the wake of these factors was decried as fake, plastic, a refutation of punk’s guitar-led
revolution, it’s telling that much of the music on All The Young Droids.. was created in bedrooms,
ramshackle studios and home-made set ups with often borrowed equipment. In the era of record labels
jumping to capitalise on the success of The Sex Pistols, The Clash (both on major labels, of course)
these artists struggled to stand out from a new gold-rush with next to no budget or PR team. With radio
and labels desperate for the new Yazoo, what resulted was a testament to necessity being the mother
of invention.

At the time, the synthesiser was the music of the future, a shiny new machine that could paint like an
orchestra with a single finger and a 4-track. In the hands of Manchester avant-pranksters Gerry & The
Holograms it’s a pulsing, sardonic weapon.. the only instrument on the Messthetics classic lampooning
of New Wave fashion. In Hamburg, a 16 year old Andreas Dorau used it to write and record (with his
female classmates on vocals) a global smash in Fred Vom Jupiter (later licensed to Mute Records).
The hard-to-find English version (Fred From Jupiter, natch) is included here. Many artists with alreadystoried careers caught the bug and recorded synthesiser-fuelled peons to space, computers, the future
and, of course, love-interests. Harry Kakoulli, late of Squeeze, recorded a solo album in 1979 that
included the incredible power-synth-pop smash-that-never-smashed I’m On A Rocket. Similarly, Ian
North of Neo and American Power Pop stalwarts Milk ’n’ Cookies bought a Korg MS20 and used a
tape machine to record We’re Not Lonely, an absolute lost-classic of minimal synth pop. We’re Not
Lonely also features on the Junkshop Synth Pop sampler 7” twinned with John Howard unreleased
track You Will See, released April 12th 2025.

There are plenty of compilation debuts in evidence. Sole Sister were a mysterious trio who were
featured on the Scaling Triangles compilation of female-fronted, queer-adjacent post-punk /
underground music that also featured The Petticoats. Selwin Image were from San Francisco and
featured members of the recently defunct power pop/punk group The Pushups. Their stupidly catchy
The Unknown fizzes with New Wave energy - think XTC to Sparks but remains unreleased until now.
Dream Unit’s A Drop In The Ocean is an early synth wave cut, positively teaming with Joy Division
instrumentation, previously only released on a long-forgotten and super rare, self-released EP.
Incandescent Luminaire’s Famous Names belies an archetypal struggle of a small-town trying to
make it in a cruel industry but is a thrilling New Romantic-Synth Wave cross over with a OMD
gloominess that’s a joy to hear. Feminist Minimal Wave track I Am A Time Bomb by performance artist
Peta Lilly and Michael Chance is a revelation destined for new found cult status. It was released on 7”
and lost until now.

The flipside to the subterranean, never-made-it synth pop mentioned above are the ambitious, even
fruity attempts at success that have a perennial elegance to their confidence. New Jersey-ite Billy
London (real name Ed Barth) tried to cash in on the synth boom with Woman, released by a major
label, a lurching new wave track built on the Louie Louie rhythm and a wonderfully camp Lou Reedstyle sleazy vocal before exploding in the synthesised chorus. The song bombed but with a chorus like
this, you have to wonder why? Ex-Glitter Band member John Springate’s My Life is truly epic, with
doomed chord progressions and massive sounding drums turning into at least 3 different songs in the
course of the track. Before you wonder what’s going on the song resolves with a glorious return to the
main refrain.

The dry-ice-dressed dance floor is well catered for too. Design’s Premonition and Vision’s Lucifer’s
Friend are stone-cold minimal synth bangers, well loved but given a new lease of life here. The
Warlord’s The Ultimate Warlord was released in 1978, a homespun proto Hi NRG banger that was
later re-recorded by The Immortals in Canada who had a club hit with it. One-man- band Disco
Volante’s No Motion was re-issued by Synth wave label Medical in 2012 but makes its first vinyl
compilation appearance here. Close your eyes and you can imagine what Lawrence of Felt would have
sounded like with some cheap Korgs a little earlier in his career. Gibraltar-based trio The Microbes
imagined a computer programming people to dance - how prescient - and ended up with a propulsive,
robo-funk track with splendid rubbery bass playing over a tectonic drum machine. Previously picked up
by Belgian label Stroom TV, Dee Jay Bert & Eagle’s heavily Euro-accented I Am Your Master
demands the listener to “come to paradise!” In a frankly terrifying manner.
All The Young Droids is the first compilation to peel away from the narrative that dour, Minimal Synth
and Cold Wave were the only musical children of the first rush of synth pop. Philip King and School
Daze Records describe a much more complicated world: along with the austere, Brutalist children of
Daniel Miller (who produced Alan Burnham’s Bowie-Low-influenced Science Fiction here) was a
plethora of desperate cash-ins, accidental mainstream hits, ambitious pop dramas and major label
punts that went nowhere. Crucially, the compilation blurs the line between junk and treasure. What if the
two things are interchangeable. What if it’s all science fiction?

High-value dance record business once again from Studio Barnhus, as Austin, TX-based label debutant Fennec jams onto one slab of vinyl four cuts of the sort of dancefloor-driving yet warmly welcoming house music the Stockholm label is not NOT known for.
Amassing a cult following from his bedroom studio over the past decade, Fennec channels the sampler titans of yore to craft club bangers for tomorrow, from the instantly captivating dancefloor call-to-arms "Jaunt" to the
frisky yet contemplative "Grilled Romaine."

From a 4x5m room stacked with vinyl, ashtrays, magazine drafts, and semifunctional synths, Stompin n Risin rises again—reincarnated but not revised.
Originally a spontaneous ritual from the days of blunted dreaming and one-eyeopen ambition, this track first snuck into the world under a different name (Jacobite Fool, courtesy of those tasteful Belgians at International Feel) and went on to become a cult curio. Now, it’s back—rebuilt with the very same machines that once hummed beside the mattress, but still left to run wild like they used to.
The rest of the EP stays close to that spirit: music as lived experience, jammed with friends, lovers, and ex-boyfriends (literally). Lucy’s Electricity is a shimmering daydream, born from a jam with Daniele Labbate, recharged by a whirlwind wedding, and soundtracked by a bittersweet guitar line courtesy of the groom’s bride’s ex. A track for walking into churches—or out of time entirely. A personal favorite of the artist, and maybe the only funeral anthem with this much static joy.
One takes things inward—made with the Moog One for open-air yoga sessions during the era of no-dancing-but-still-dreaming. It’s a sun-dappled, slow-motion dancefloor where breath and bass align. Love 2 Love closes the circle: an unearthed jam with long-time collaborator and platonic supermodel Hanne Uekermann, revived from hard drive purgatory and infused with new life. A love song to the music, the moments, and the friendship behind it.
This record isn’t just a collection of tracks. It’s a lived-in photo album, a soft pulse through oceanic memory, a reminder that all sound comes from life, and maybe all life comes from sound.

4 tried and tested big radio tracks in the "Rave House" genre - Hardcore, Rave & House collide with well known samples , big pianos and heavy basslines and sensible Bpms

4 tried and tested big radio tracks in the "Rave House" genre - Hardcore, Rave & House collide with well known samples , big pianos and heavy basslines and sensible Bpms

Drum Major
this conceptual production from new klan member Nico Babylon creates a hypnotic electronic blueprint focused on vintage synths and syncopated movement of rhythmic dimensions and craftsmanship.
plainly said..this is the next level of jakbeat moving forward!

This Nasty Possession
The Jak collaborates with Nico on this uber old school formula from the days of chicago underground in the mid 80s along the timeline of gherkin/gene hunt era. everything u hear on this tune was created by hand…
No samples were taken!

With Schokolino Choco Loco, Icelandic duo Stilluppsteypa brings a warped dispatch from the outside fringes of experimental sound--part valium-drenched dreamscape, part dadaistic radio hallucination. Like a nocturnal transmission from a parallel universe, the record drifts and mutates through layers of joyous abstraction, laced with a deadpan sense of humour, while at the same time it is strangely sensitive. This LP is less a collection of tracks than a slow-motion joyride through Stilluppsteypa's singular sonic universe--so hypnotic and absurd, it ends up warming your heart.

David Versace is an Australian multi-genre keyboardist, composer and producer based in Meanjin, Queensland. Growing up in a very musical household it was always important to express and embrace all types of music and sonics. His sound ranges from Jazz and Samba to ambient works and the odd dance-floor heater. David also plays in Meanjin nu-jazz dance outfit First Beige.

The new Ripen series was inspired by the live, percussive & soulful dance releases from Salsoul records and a curiosity of what Roy Ayers would sound like with a 303 in the band.
All the sounds including string quartet, horns, choir, percussion, flute spoken word, drums and synths were recorded in Sampology’s studio on the south side of Brisbane, Australia.

The 12” EP includes four songs + extra DJ tool creating a lush and live environment, bringing his previous nature themes further onto the dancefloor.

‘Spirits Ripened’ featuring NMMWL is a spoken word and string arrangement, a pause between kick drums and congas on the remainder of the release.

The second 12” volume of Ripen series set to release in the second half of 2025.

Small Great Things boss Luca Olivotto is back on his own imprint with the four track ‘It’s Too Dark’ EP.

In recent years, Italy via Berlin artist Luca Olivotto has been etching his mark on the underground House scene through his labels Small Great Things, Endless Music and recently minted At A Glance, as well as his Small Great House events series. Here the story continues with a fresh collection of works from the prominent House producer and DJ.

Opening is title-track ‘It’s Too Dark’, a six minute excursion through bright piano keys, swinging drums, soulful vocal stylings and a bumpy bass hook. ‘It’s Over’ follows and dives into deeper House territory with warm strings, organ stabs, and choppy subs intertwined with crisp drums, soft Rhodes and cut up vocals.

Opening the flip-side is ‘I Found You’, upping the energy levels again with a high energy melodic drive, hypnotic vocal lines and heavily shuffled drums. ‘See Thru’ then concludes the release and leans into a more Disco-tinged House realm with intertwined funk samples, sweeping filter work and intricately processed vocal chants running atop a sturdy rhythmic foundation.

Kick N' Dance is dedicated to the House music from Chicago & New York.For the second release, we have honored to have Berlin- based Nat Wendell onboard. Since 1998, his mission has been the same : to captivate the audienceswith his unmistakable sense of swing. A move to Berlin in 2010s saw releases onessentials labels. For this KND002, we have two sides of Nat : « Raw Love » with aWarm Tech House style, completely dedicated to the dancefloor . We dive deeperwith the track « What I Need » where a sensual voice meets subtle keyboardnotes. Nat brings his New York influence.

Following a string of huge sold out shows together, Sonny Fodera and Dom Dolla now team up for new single ‘Moving Blind’ via Sweat It Out / Solotoko.

Moving Blind weaves husky vocal hooks with elastic synth leads and bumping basslines, making for a hypnotic house groover destined to be heard in its natural club setting and intimate home dancefloors alike.

DJ Support :

Pete Tong, Mistajam, John Summit, Just Kiddin, Riva Starr, Sam Divine, Claptone, Biscits, Ferreck Dawn, Dombresky, Simon Dunmore, TCTS, Robosonic, Marco Carola, Andi Durrant, Joachim Garraud, Slipmatt, Paco Osuna, Fatboy Slim, MK, Riva Starr, Rudimental, and Richie Hawtin

Getting You Back to the Game of Life Records’ opening release, ‘Comme des mots’ LP is a journey through diverse sonic textures and energies from label-founder Lil Ronin.

Getting you back to the game of life is the headline of a physical and mental health therapy center. Casually popped in your conscience from an advertising board and let you in a strange place. But what is the game of life?
This label could be that space to get you back, to forget and perhaps find a form of youthful innocence again.

As a first solo project Lil Ronin freely experimented between different influences and genres that present his intimate universes, juggling with abstract, ballad and more dancefloor music, mostly recorded in Parisian suburb Alfortville between 2022 and 2024.

‘Comme des mots’ means ‘like words’ and evokes the ambiguous presence of his voice in the album, hidden in different characters, sometimes raving other times being conscious. Finally becoming a schizophrenic presence guiding you for the trip.

The cover follows the same ambivalence showing a typography with a distinct message that loses its readability in abstraction. The record also includes an insert with a childhood photo of Lil Ronin.

The LP was mastered in Paris by artist and engineer Krikor KOUCHIAN,
(past works for Simo Cell, Maoupa Mazzocchetti, Tolouse Low Trax…);
The design was created by sculptor artist and designer Marie-Mam-Sai BELLIER,
(past works for Erwan Sene’s JUnQ LP - PAN record, Zulu’s Hear The Sound Of My Feet - Association fatale etc.); The handmade drawings are by Vincent BENTOLILA (associated with the ‘Isengard’ label and parties in Brussels) ; The cover was handmade through silk-screen printing by the Lyon-based printer Olivier BRAL (whose past projects include Brigade Cynophile, Ateliers Dénudés, and Megabasse).

REVOLT hits double digits with a special release from Athenian underground veteran Other Reality—aka Alex Psaltakis—a figure deeply rooted in the rave culture of the ’90s. His journey began in the late ’80s via the Amiga demoscene, inspired by the raw energy of acid house and hardcore breakbeat. By the mid-’90s, he was DJing at raves, clubs, and open-air festivals, fueled by a passion for psychedelic trance, ambient, Goa, and experimental acid rock. His dedication to the underground has remained unwavering ever since—fed by records, synthesizers, and a deep love for sound exploration.

Still Thrill EP is a 4-track release shaped by a wide musical range, bringing together elements of Detroit techno, trance, house, Goa, ambient, and progressive. More than just a debut on the REVOLT label, this is Other Reality’s first-ever release on vinyl—a deeply personal milestone shaped by years of dedication to his craft and the support of close friends and peers.

Crafted with a mix of hardware and software, the EP draws from years of studio sketches and archived musical ideas. A hidden detail runs through it: a fragmented sample from a rock track that deeply marked Alex in the past—a line that never fully completes in the track.

Each piece carries emotional weight and narrative depth, blending analog warmth with timeless dancefloor energy. The EP moves effortlessly through moods—nostalgic yet forward-looking, playful yet deeply personal.

Ohm ’95—with a name that subtly hints at the Goa trance soul—delivers acid basslines, trance elements, and dreamy pads. A transcendental, unifying experience. Kinda Free pulses gently like a groovy caress at dawn, with dreamy layers, steady rhythm, and acid touches that feel both tender and elevating. More Than Advice embraces movement, disorder, and acceptance, rolling through intricate percussions, hypnotic loops, and a cosmic atmosphere. Emotional and raw. Still Thrill closes the EP with slow-motion energy, submerged in flowing textures and a fluid, nostalgic groove.

Vinyl only. Limited edition.

For the fourth release of Marseille-based label Planète 51, co-founder Apoteoz steps forward with his first full vinyl EP — a deeply personal and evocative collection produced throughout 2024.

Crafted with a strong sense of family and emotional resonance, Switch My Face EP blends hypnotic grooves with intimate storytelling. The title track “Switch My Face” features the voice of Apoteoz’s father, while “Et Toi” includes a touching vocal sample from his mother

The B-side presents a more recent side of his production, including “Echoes in Blue”, one of his latest inspiration — a deeper, more introspective journey that expands the emotional palette of the record.

Bosconi Records is proud to present Tangled Waves, a dynamic split EP that brings together the sonic identities of two emerging Italian talents—Roberto Manolio and Giuseppe Angeloro—each making their debut on the label.

Like currents colliding below the surface, Tangled Waves reveals a natural convergence—where distinct styles drift together in subtle harmony.

The A-side features Roberto Manolio, known for releases on Cosmological, Nugs on Board, and Musek Records. He kicks off with Deeply Red, a UK tech house-influenced stomper driven by a fat, aggressive bassline and dreamy delayed chords. A haunting Russian voice sample adds a cinematic, retro-futurist edge—like a lost transmission from a 60s space mission. Next up is Machine City Road, a raw, gritty weapon where grinding synths and sharp textures drive the track forward with the force of a distorted electric guitar. It’s dark, edgy, and full of tension. On the B-side, Giuseppe Angeloro—previously featured on Cimedirapax, Havalon, and Polarity Records—brings a touch of italo-flavored euphoria with A Night Among the Trees. Lush arpeggios and nostalgic synth lines conjure up a dreamy atmosphere, building into an epic, cinematic anthem. Closing the EP is Mind Trip, a gentle, psychedelic excursion built on floating melodies, delayed vocals, and hazy atmospheres. It’s a reflective, emotionally rich track—perfect for the final moments on the dancefloor. Tangled Waves offers a meeting point of two unique sonic voices, flowing along parallel—but deeply connected—paths, resulting in four essential weapons built to last.

Nothing said new or modern or futuristic quite like a synthesiser in the 70s and 80s. If you were shooting an advert and you wanted your product or your company to appear forward-thinking and ahead of the game, then you would want something electronic, something out of the ordinary. When TV producers and advertising directors started searching for music that sounded like “Tubular Bells” – and then Tomita, and later Jean Michel Jarre – music libraries such De Wolfe, Bruton, Parry and Chappell had to have the tracks readily available.

Compiled by Bob Stanley, “Tomorrow’s Fashions” varies from advertising jingles and TV themes to space exploration and gorgeous, beatless ambience. Though it’s 40-to-50 years old there’s a real freshness to this music. Older jazz players Brian Bennett, John Cameron, Alan Hawkshaw and others seized the chance to operate a synth; younger pups including John Saunders and Monica Beale were simply intrigued by the new technology being wheeled into the studios. There’s a tangible sense of adventure.

“Tomorrow’s Fashions’” brand of electronica anticipated new age and ambient music. It also had both a direct and indirect influence on pop – the early Human League and the future sounds of Warp Records are all over this collection. Electronic library tracks have been sampled by everyone from MF Doom to Kendrick Lamar.

One person’s primitive and experimental is another person’s space-age lullaby. This was music made in the shadows – in Soho’s secretive music library studios – that has now become desirable and influential. The chances are chunks of it will be sampled and used on hit records that have yet to be written. If the musicians’ aim was to soundtrack tomorrow’s fashions, they couldn’t have got it more right.

New music from Mousse T. All I Want Is The Bass is a ruthless club track with a dutty bassline and probably the most beautiful drop that we have heard in a long time.

Some proper energy right there and a dope vocal sample courtesy of Raze (Bass Power) originally written and produced by the don Vaughan Mason!

Pep Jam back with a Bang!

US artist M Squared brings his inimitable style to the latest Purveyor Underground label. As soon as you drop the needle on 'Vibrations' you're in a fresh world of jazzy samples, swinging drums and smeared melodies with spoken words adding extra layers to what is a full flavour jam. 'Self Taught' is another filter-style jam that harks back to the 90s French touch scene and 'Love Technics' brings jacked-up drum funk and insistent loops that never let up. There is more room to breadth with the deeper, smoky sounds of 'In The Shadows' while Demuir's Playboi edit jacks it up for more funky bass.

"Bordeaux-based emerging talent Salomee deals in menacing and moody atmospheres, drawing on a range of techno, electro, house, and the ill-lit corners in between. Hypnotizing and neon-tinged melodies drive her tracks: these are bare bones, high on repetition, and very compelling. They come backed by elaborate and agile drum rhythms, composed with a rawness that references the most seasoned inspirations. The Before Time Began EP sees the artist further develop her sangfroid aesthetics with four tracks that assuredly reach beyond bunkers and basements. On Sacred Gatherings, several entrancing, alternating arpeggios work up a spark against a backdrop of tightly choreographed kicks and SH101 patterns. When the cut rises to a peak, a salvo of vocal chops drops - a rare event in Salomee's discography, even though the samples are rearranged beyond recognition. Before Time Began utilizes a similar palette, but this time, an undercurrent of melancholy seems to propel the track. A leisurely modulated, dubby sub segment amplifies the theme. By The Sea combines dark bass sequences and strings as gloomy as a fog horn with vivid 909 drums. The highs of the lavishly programmed hats and claps and the intense lead provide a slug of energy. It is a rendition of trance, manipulating both the genre's and the artist's signifiers. On Love Prevails, a slowly filtered, heavily delayed lead is spread atop a Bristol techno style beat. An array of cinematographic chords and subtly mixed gasps inject this closing track with a precarious balance, one that explores the tension between yearning and relief."