The new 7'' on Delights is a vinyl debut for two groove-heavy, retro-futuristic remixes from Markey Funk's vaults: "Magic" by Men of North Country - on the A-side, and "Sparks" by 3421 - on the flip. Both cuts, previously available only on streaming platforms, are a kaleidoscopic homage to the 1960's space age romance, sci-fi psychedelia and cinematic funk.
Limited to 300 copies worldwide.
The specially designed game and accompanying music video pertains to the overall theme of the EP, which shows an absurd society obsessed with social media descending into a dystopian world. It is a paranoid graphic vision, set in Brussels, Strapontin’s hometown, that puts you in control of a role playing game as you march round the city collecting social points with scant regard for others.
Besides being a dancer, performer and on-and-off “Madame pipi”, French-born, Brussels-based Strapontin is also a DJ and producer who mixes up slow and rough techno with thrilling soundtracks and groove driven disco. He has released on Nein and I’m Single amongst others and marks this 10th Hard Fist release in fine style.
Opening up the EP is ‘Nervous Days’, a gallivanting techno-disco groove with rugged loops and jumbled percussion that sounds like a rampage through a cityscape, as per the video. Then comes ‘But The Nice One!’, a stomping and rough and ready ride on lumpy drums and bass that is dark but playful. The quality continues on ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, with some brilliantly heavy and reverberating drums making you jerk your body while sci-fi effects float and drift about up top.
Blindetonation label regular and esteemed modern disco man Thomass Jackson remixes ‘But The Nice One!’ In his capable hands it becomes a melon twisting workout with spangled synth lines, psyched-out synths and percolating drums that are finished with a vulnerable and eerie vocal. Last of all is a Damon Jee remix of ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, His music can be heard on the underground’s most sought-after labels including Roam, Hafendisko, Suara and Sincopat to name just a few. His version is a more direct affair, with searching laser synths and a hypnotic space-techno vibe that carries you off to the stars at increasingly high speeds.
This is a fittingly brilliant EP from the vital Strapontin on ever-excellent Hard Fist.
Hell Yeah call upon their merry crew of grown up groove makers to revisit key tracks from Quiroga's widely acclaimed Passages album, with Whodamanny, Jazz N Palms, A Vision of Panorama and My Friend Dario all stepping up.
The original album was noted as Piccadilly Records' Best Balearic Album of 2019 and a year on is still providing solace for us in these strange times. First to add his own spin to it is Periodica associate Whodamanny from Naples, whose magical take on 'Martinica Feelings' made it onto the excellent recent Buena Onda compilation, which is out now. It is a big hearted vocal reinterpretation filled with stomping kicks and twisted synths that bring the funk next to withering sci-fi effects and happy piano chords.
Then, up steps man of the moment Jazz N Palms, a resident at the cult Ibiza venue Pikes and regular at London's Ronnie Scotts. He has recently started his own self titled label and here offers a mad Latin jazz take on 'Africa Addio' that brims with energy and sunshines. The busy percussion will make you move your ass and the whole thing has a sexy 70s vibe.
Saint Petersbourg's very own balearic legend A Vision of Panorama is hailed as the king of the modern balearic sound thanks to EPs on labels like Omena. He takes care of 'The Zoist' with sentimental melodies and sunset grooves to die for. His arching pads speak to the soul and melt the heart.
Last of all, Hell Yeah's very own discovery My Friend Dario (who soon has an EP coming on NuNorthern Soul, recently remixed Calm and Gallo) tackles 'Chiaia Sunset'. The result is a laidback and cathartic track that slowly unfolds on tumbling drums and wooden hits as synths leave vapour trails high up in the clear blue sky above.
These are four more high class remixes that will keep the summer vibes alive long into Autumn.
Harsh Puri, aka Reformed Society, is not new to the club scene. Since 2015 the London based artist has been releasing numerous records for various labels, including Berlin's vinyl only Superb Recordings and Marco Faraone's Uncage, as well as running his own club night Play at The Waiting Room, and its downtempo version, Downplay at Brilliant Corners. Characterized by raw textures and hypnotic arrangements, Harsh's sound uniquely crosses the boundaries of house and techno, resulting in effective and genre bending compositions. Funnuvojere is pleased to present Cosmic Perspective, which reveals, as the title suggests, Reformed Society's mastery of synthy harmonic layering. Appreciated by the late Andrew Weatherall, to whom Harsh had the pleasure of playing the first arrangements, Cosmic Perspective will never leave the record bag of downtempo aficionados. This record is a collection of emotional grooves made for receptive ears.
In the horror genre, sequels are perfunctory. As the insufferable film bro Randy explains in Scream 2, "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate-more blood, more gore. Carnage candy. And number three: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead." Last Halloween, Los Angeles experimental rap mainstays Clipping ended their three-year silence with the horrorcore-inspired album There Existed an Addiction to Blood. This October, rapper Daveed Diggs, and producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson return with an even higher body count, more elaborate kills, and monsters that just won't stay dead. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is less a sequel than it is the second half of a planned diptych. It turns out, Clipping took to the thematic material of horrorcore like vampires to grave soil. Before the release of There Existed an Addiction to Blood, Clipping and Sub Pop Records divided the material up into two albums, designed to be released only months apart. However, a global pandemic and multiple cancelled tours pushed the release of the project's "part two" until the following Halloween season. Visions of Bodies Being Burned contains sixteen more scary stories disguised as rap songs, incorporating as much influence from Ernest Dickerson, Clive Barker, and Shirley Jackson as it does from Three 6 Mafia, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Brotha Lynch Hung. Clipping's angular, shattered interpretations of existing musical styles are always deferential, driven by fandom for the object of study rather than disdain for it. Clipping reimagine horrorcore-the purposely absurdist hip-hop subgenre that flourished in the 1990s-the way Jordan Peele does horror cinema: by twisting beloved tropes to make explicit their own radical politics of monstrosity, fear, and the uncanny. The album features a host of collaborators: Inglewood's Cam & China, fellow noise-rap pioneers Ho99o9, Tortoise guitar genius Jeff Parker, and experimental LA drummer Ted Byrnes. The final track, "Secret Piece," is a performance of a Yoko Ono text score from 1953 that instructs the players to "Decide on one note that you want to play/Play it with the following accompaniment: the woods from 5am to 8am in summer," and features nearly all of the musicians who appeared on both albums. Since their last album, Daveed Diggs-the group's Tony and Grammy Award-winning rapper-has starred in the TNT science fiction series, Snowpiercer, voiced a character in Pixar's Soul, and portrayed Frederick Douglass in Showtime's The Good Lord Bird. Writer Rivers Solomon's novella based on Clipping's Hugo-nominated song "The Deep" has been nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, and won the Lambda Literary Award for best LGBTQ SF/Fantasy/Horror novel. Clipping's song "Chapter 319"-a tribute to George Floyd (AKA Big Floyd) the former DJ-Screw affiliated rapper who was murdered by police officers in May of 2020-was released on Bandcamp on June 19th and raised over $20,000 for racial justice charities. A clip of the song also became a popular meme on TikTok, generating over 50,000 videos in which teenagers rapped the song's lyrics ("Donald Trump is a white supremacist, full stop_") directly into the frowning faces of their conservative parents. The band also contributed a Skinny Puppy-esque rework of J-Kwon's "Tipsy" to Save Stereogum: An '00s Covers Comp.
Between Christmas 2000 and New Year 2001 producers Ekkehard Ehlers and Stephan Mathieu recorded an album of warm, soft, delicately crackling electronic music in the space of that week. It was christened with the ambivalent title "Heroin" and was released on CD via the label Brombron in 2001 and later in 2003 re-issued on Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork on double-LP with remixes the pair had commissioned as expansions.
17 years later Heroin sees its first vinyl release to include all 13 tracks from the original CD track-list on this LP + 12“ set. The centerpiece "Herz" finally receives its long deserved vinyl treatment (side C, at 45rpm) and on the flip side Thomas Brinkmann contributes a mirror in a magnificent remix of that very piece on side D.
Ehlers and Mathieu were both highly prolific solo artists during the period 2000-2004, and in just two years after the initial release of "Heroin" each had produced over half a dozen new solo recordings: among them the serial masterpiece Ehlers' "Plays" (Cornelius Cardew, Hurbert Fichte, John Cassavetes, Albert Ayler, Robert Johnson) released as 5 stunning LPs in a series on Staubgold, while Mathieu's 'Full Swing Edits' spread over five 10" records plus his album 'FrequencyLib' on Mille Plateaux, 'Die Entdeckung des Wetters' on Lucky Kitchen and ‘The Sad Mac’ on Atsushi Sasaki’s Headz label were greeted to critical acclaim.
Both artists were expanding their conceptual sonic approaches in the glow of developing laptop technologies which would to these times in 2020 seem quite primitive, but these two in that period used the state-of-the-art to aid and abet their conceptual visions, while at times the duo used unorthodox experimentation - yet always had a distinctively melodic and musical form at its heart and soul.
Ehlers can be seen as a conceptualist, as a meta-musician who interrogates the mediums and methods of sound production - reflecting on the conditions and possibilities of improvisation (e.g. "Plays Albert Ayler") and exploits ideas of mutation and distortion of popular aesthetics played out within a ghostly form of divine pop beauty in his project März.
Mathieu, originally a drummer and co-founder of what has come to be known as the Berlin 'Echtzeitmusik' scene. His approach could be similarly described as working a critical analyst and researcher: Subtly and precisely working in the realm of processing as a method of intervening in melodious/harmonic analog sound sources.
Ehlers and Mathieu may not think too much about their singular productions and publications outcomes, but instead concentrate on the process and musical personality that characterizes their gesture- style itself stays in the background - and they usher a music from small minimal sound sources coaching a patient music of slow intervention - much like a refraction of light than a concrete painting or a blurred photograph - beatus accident.
And indeed, "Heroin" is an album that embraces the happy accident being made up of reduced, often very catchy and very direct micro hooks which seem laser-guided into a space accepting obvious melodic beauty in what feels like an observation of musics unfolding and revealing it's DNA, embed with for a kind of yearning for innocence and naiveté - as if Satie were on the jukebox in "The Crying of Lot 49". Not to say the music is "reduced", but rather: 'restricted' and born from acceptance of limitations, and the artists allowing the sounds to just "be.." with some incremental degrees of coercion.
The album not only sounds like that of 2 producers who are both dreamers and scientists, but that Ehlers and Mathieu chose to work with these means in a dialogue together to reduce pop music to its musical/tonal core, it is not Pop music anymore, rather a ghostly pointilistic itteration of song. "Heroin" is located at this transition, around that point at which tracks, that were or could have become pop compositions, irrevocably slip into a static harmonic nirvana. We are invited to follow the arch of Heroin in a slow-motion morphine musical haze.
Heroin sounded timeless when originally released and proof is that it remains so, one wishes that Ehlers and Mathieu would convene again for a week, a month or an entire year to continue this process of slow rumination, picking affectionately over the sounds they both love - and then maybe when everything is condensed, evaporated they would write more songs with those sonic refractive elements that remain.
Following up on their debut LP Kick Drunk Love for Marcel Vogel’s Intimate Friends imprint a few years back, we are proud to present the next installment in the sporadic KAMM legacy: Cookie Policies.
Far more sonically rich and musically adventurous than its predecessor, Cookie Policies sees the band make bold strides into new territories where classically hardwired categories such as jazz, indie rock, and electronica melt into one another with immaculate, timeless ease.
The band members’ positions are more clear cut as well this round, with Marc David Barrite (aka Dave Aju, who also did one of his coveted mix engineering jobs on the LP) on prominent lead vocals in many of the pieces, Alland Byallo on trumpet, Kenneth Scott on synth bass, and Marc Smith adding guitar sections while the others shared the arranging and programming duties. This makes for a deeper continuation of the otherworldly combination of their known individual production styles, as well as a musical whole truly greater than the sum of its parts.
The set starts off with “Bird Call”, whose opening ode to Morricone ok corral-meets-samurai showdown riffs flow into a loose and drifting psychedelic boom bap blip, building until a glorious change-up of key and energy brings the track to its peak and deconstructed back down. “Rachel, the Largest Bullfrog” then takes things in a sweeter, slightly more traditionally-structured direction where dusty indie-folk ballad vibes intersect with an array of twisted cosmic tones, bits of computer keyboard percussion, and deep rolling sub bass. “Buckle Down” then moves things back away from acoustic restraints into a beautiful synth-laden musing on potential regret, with an ultra-potent horn section from Byallo vs a nasty stacked Roland SH-101 finish.
“CCBPGC” cools things off for a few minutes with an ambient field recording slice-and-dice motif, which slowly but surely evolves into a slinking jazz noir groove from another dimension. The more traditional song structures return on the lovely “La Luna”, where Barrite’s pen and soulful voice take to nautical longing themes over apropos waves of sonic textures. The ebb and flow of the verse/chorus sections eventually rise and give way to an absolutely gorgeous denouement. “Shleem” then takes us into pure unadulterated soaring sci-fi soundtrack ambient blast-off bliss, while the epic closing track “The Soft Glow of Electric Sex” gives a hearty nod to early masters of sprawling psychedelic jam sessions, from Pink Floyd and Can to In A Silent Way-era Miles and Liquid Liquid, while bringing it clearly into futurist millennia. The gradual evolution of the piece into its grand finale is the stuff we true music-lovers live and die for. We hope you enjoy the ride as much as we do.
Videosphere, the debut album by Kompakt’s latest signing, the London-based artist Lake Turner (aka Andrew Halford), swoons into focus with “The Sunbird”, a teasing drift of lilting, ambient tones, riding out a submerged piston-pulse rhythm. Across its brief 109 seconds, it manages to traverse evocative terrain – something mythopoetic, something both humble and grandiose, a glimpse of the other behind the sky’s curtain. “I wanted to conjure up something resembling an ancient ceremony or death procession,” Turner nods. “Like a hymn to the surroundings of a faraway hill.” It’s both sky-bound and earthen, a ritual incantation to call in the music of the spheres.
Turner was introduced to the Kompakt family by his sometime collaborator Yannis Philippakis of Foals. He’d previously made music in post-punk and indie groups Great Eskimo Hoax and Trophy Wife, but Videosphere is the first time he’s fully articulated his own vision of electronic music, aside from one limited lathe-cut 12”, 2018’s Prime Mover EP, on Algebra. The lush ambient-disco-techno dreams of Videosphere were constructed and completed in his London studio and at his parents’ arable and sheep farm in Worcestershire, which might help explain the hazy, unhurried pastoralism of the album.
“There was a slight bittersweetness in finishing the record (in Worcestershire) as my parents were in the middle of selling my childhood home,” he sighs, before quipping, “on the plus, I ended up shearing a lot of sheep over the summer.” A student of archaeology and ancient history, Turner is no doubt carefully attuned to the twisting cogs of history and memory, and it’s no surprise that Videosphere has a nostalgic, melancholic cast; much of its beauty rests in the way it tugs, gently, at the heart strings – see the tear-stained cheeks of the lush, dappled “Honeycomb”, or the sweetly sad electro-roundelay of “No Way Back Forever.”
It’s not all drift-dream hypnosis, though – Videosphere is very much grounded in the now. ““No Way Back Forever” is a nod to the linear nature of time,” Turner explains by way of example, “and the tipping point of the world climate crisis that scientists have now declared.” Jayne Powell’s vocals are sent spinning through the song, wound like candyfloss; she takes centre stage on the techno hymnal title track, too. Throughout, there’s a sense of forward movement, despite the life stasis we find ourselves collectively bound by in mid-2020; there’s also a yearning for the communal, for community, that’s captured in the album title, a nod to an object Turner encountered at London’s Geoffrey Museum, “a television set in the shape of a spaceman’s helmet from the 1970s.”
“The vision I loosely had was to make an electronic record that had a communal warmth and almost ceremonial or ritual feel. I wanted to examine the relationship of our archaic minds in the trappings of the modern world,” Turner concludes. “What the Videosphere also symbolizes for me is the oneness of humanity and community, prevailing.”
Eröffnet wird "Videosphere", das Debütalbum von Kompakts jüngstem Signing, dem in London ansässigen Künstler Lake Turner (alias Andrew Halford), mit "The Sunbird" - einem herausfordernden Strom aus Ambient Sounds, die zu schweben scheinen, um sich dann in einen subtilen, maschinellen Rhythmus zu verwandeln. In gerade mal 109 Sekunden gelingt es dem Stück, ein gewaltiges Terrain abzuschreiten - etwas Mythopoetisches, bescheiden und grandios zugleich, gibt uns eine Ahnung davon, was sich hinter dem Himmel verbirgt. "Ich wollte etwas heraufbeschwören, das einer alten Zeremonie oder Totenprozession ähnelt", sagt Turner, "wie eine Hymne an die Umgebung eines weit entfernten Hügels." Himmlisch und irdisch zugleich, eine rituelle Beschwörung von Sphärenmusik.
Der Kompakt Label-Familie wurde Turner von dessen zeitweiligen Mitarbeiter Yannis Philippakis (Foals) vorgestellt. Zuvor hatte er in den Post Punk- und Indie-Bands Great Eskimo Hoax und Trophy Wife gespielt. Bis auf eine limitierte lathe-cut 12", der "Prime Mover EP" auf Algebra von 2018, artikuliert Turner mit "Videosphere" zum ersten Mal seine eigene Vision von elektronischer Musik.
Die üppigen Ambient-Disco-Techno-Träume von "Videosphere" hat Turner in seinem Londoner Studio und auf der Schaffarm seiner Eltern in Worcestershire produziert, was den nebulösen, gemächlichen und beinahe pastoralen Charakter des Albums erklären könnte.
"Es gab einen bittersüßen Moment als ich mit der Platte (in Worcestershire) fertig geworden war, da meine Eltern gerade dabei waren, das Haus meiner Kindheit zu verkaufen", seufzt er, bevor er witzelt, "das Positive war, dass ich im Laufe des Sommers eine Menge Schafe geschoren habe". Als Student der Archäologie und der Geschichte des Altertums ist Turner zweifellos mit den sich unaufhörlich drehenden Rädern der Geschichte und der daran geknüpften Erinnerungen vertraut, und es ist keine Überraschung, dass "Videosphere" einen nostalgischen, melancholischen Einschlag hat; viel von seiner Schönheit liegt in der Art und Weise, wie es einem sanft ans Herz geht - die Tränen benetzten Wangen von "Honeycomb" oder der ambivalente Elektro-Reigen von "No Way Back Forever".
Trotz allem hypnotischen Driften und Träumen - Videosphere ist sehr stark im Jetzt verankert. "`No Way Back Forever`ist eine Anspielung auf die lineare Natur der Zeit", erklärt Turner beispielhaft, "und auf den Wendepunkt der globalen Klimakrise, den Wissenschaftler gerade ausgerufen haben". Jayne Powells Gesang wirbelt dabei wie Zuckerwatte durch den Song und steht auch im Mittelpunkt des technoid hymnischen Titelstücks. Überall ist ein Gefühl der Vorwärtsbewegung zu spüren, trotz der Stagnation, in der wir uns Mitte 2020 kollektiv befinden; trotzdem existiert eine Sehnsucht nach dem Gemeinsamen, nach Gemeinschaft, die im Albumtitel eingefangen ist - eine Referenz an ein Objekt, dem Turner im Londoner Geoffrey-Museum begegnete, "ein Fernsehgerät in Form eines Raumfahrerhelms aus den 1970er Jahren".
„Die lose Vision, die ich hatte, bestand darin, eine elektronische Platte zu machen, die eine soziale Wärme und eine fast zeremonielle oder rituelle Atmosphäre ausstrahlt. Ich wollte die Beziehung unseres archaischen Geistes in den Fallstricken der modernen Welt untersuchen", so Turner abschließend. "Was `Videosphere` für mich auch symbolisiert, ist die Einheit von Menschlichkeit und Gemeinschaft, die am Ende obsiegt".
JON SPENCER, THE BLUES EXPLOSION MAN who put the BELLBOTTOMS on BABY DRIVER! The Top Cat who spread the
Secret Sauce in BOSS HOG! The Rockabilly Right-Hook from Heavyweight Outlaws HEAVY TRASH! The Swank-Fucking Master of PUSSY GALORE!
Jon Spencer is back! Often imitated, never duplicated, the original NYC underground-rock legend returns from the wilderness with twelve red-hot hits, each more powerful than the last!
This is Garage Punk for Now People! A wizard’s brew of rhythm & blues and subversive dance grooves, weaponized with sci-fi skronk and industrial attitude, calibrated for the Revolution, a Molotov cocktail of sound guaranteed to destroy any post-modern hangover!
Pulsing with energy, clanging with excitement, and dripping with radioactive soul and raw emotion, Jon Spencer opens up his heart like never before, exploring man’s modern condition with caustic guitars and outerworld crooning, asking and answering the musical question, “Is it possible to torch the cut-throat world of fake news and pre-fab, plastic-coated teen rebellion with the power of rock’n’roll?”
THE ANSWER IS YES! SPENCER SINGS THE HITS!
This is the truth serum America has been craving, the beginning of a rock’n’roll rebellion that takes no prisoners and puts the squares on ice!
Recorded and mixed with Bill Skibbe at the Key Club in Benton Harbor, MI. Featuring the talents of Sam Coomes (Quasi, Heatmeiser) and M. Sord (M. Sord). On tour in the Europe in Autumn 2018!
In the horror genre, sequels are perfunctory. As the insufferable film bro Randy explains in Scream 2, "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate-more blood, more gore. Carnage candy. And number three: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead." Last Halloween, Los Angeles experimental rap mainstays Clipping ended their three-year silence with the horrorcore-inspired album There Existed an Addiction to Blood. This October, rapper Daveed Diggs, and producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson return with an even higher body count, more elaborate kills, and monsters that just won't stay dead. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is less a sequel than it is the second half of a planned diptych. It turns out, Clipping took to the thematic material of horrorcore like vampires to grave soil. Before the release of There Existed an Addiction to Blood, Clipping and Sub Pop Records divided the material up into two albums, designed to be released only months apart. However, a global pandemic and multiple cancelled tours pushed the release of the project's "part two" until the following Halloween season. Visions of Bodies Being Burned contains sixteen more scary stories disguised as rap songs, incorporating as much influence from Ernest Dickerson, Clive Barker, and Shirley Jackson as it does from Three 6 Mafia, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Brotha Lynch Hung. Clipping's angular, shattered interpretations of existing musical styles are always deferential, driven by fandom for the object of study rather than disdain for it. Clipping reimagine horrorcore-the purposely absurdist hip-hop subgenre that flourished in the 1990s-the way Jordan Peele does horror cinema: by twisting beloved tropes to make explicit their own radical politics of monstrosity, fear, and the uncanny. The album features a host of collaborators: Inglewood's Cam & China, fellow noise-rap pioneers Ho99o9, Tortoise guitar genius Jeff Parker, and experimental LA drummer Ted Byrnes. The final track, "Secret Piece," is a performance of a Yoko Ono text score from 1953 that instructs the players to "Decide on one note that you want to play/Play it with the following accompaniment: the woods from 5am to 8am in summer," and features nearly all of the musicians who appeared on both albums. Since their last album, Daveed Diggs-the group's Tony and Grammy Award-winning rapper-has starred in the TNT science fiction series, Snowpiercer, voiced a character in Pixar's Soul, and portrayed Frederick Douglass in Showtime's The Good Lord Bird. Writer Rivers Solomon's novella based on Clipping's Hugo-nominated song "The Deep" has been nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, and won the Lambda Literary Award for best LGBTQ SF/Fantasy/Horror novel. Clipping's song "Chapter 319"-a tribute to George Floyd (AKA Big Floyd) the former DJ-Screw affiliated rapper who was murdered by police officers in May of 2020-was released on Bandcamp on June 19th and raised over $20,000 for racial justice charities. A clip of the song also became a popular meme on TikTok, generating over 50,000 videos in which teenagers rapped the song's lyrics ("Donald Trump is a white supremacist, full stop_") directly into the frowning faces of their conservative parents. The band also contributed a Skinny Puppy-esque rework of J-Kwon's "Tipsy" to Save Stereogum: An '00s Covers Comp.
Age in Decline marks the 50th release and 5th year in operation from Manchester based label, Natural Sciences: a v/a comp of new tracks from the contemporary underground alongside choice cuts pulled from the labels annual Future Works series available on vinyl for the first time. Get ready for the beat down.
Tape / Cassette
As one half of Phantom Horse, his long-serving electronic duo with Ulf Schütte, Niklas Dommaschk co-produces beautifully muted, Kraut-inspired jams that seem to soundtrack fictitious TV ads for wondrous imaginary household appliances, e.g. a calmly efficient, if slightly unsettling kitchen robot with an integrated lava lamp feature.
In contrast, Shapes cuts tracks down to size – nothing here is longer than five-and-a-half minutes. Also, Dommaschk has turned up the treble, the prominence of the higher frequency spectrum adding bite and menace to these deceptively simple synth polyrhythms.
Whereas opening track “Benzin” (German for “Petrol”) manages to conjure the paradoxical image of something or someone meandering with urgency, “Einzeller” (German for “single-celled organism”) channels a John-Carpenter-style pulse, complete with horror sound effects. “Interference” is a truly effective representation of the term, with piercing, but quiet tinnitus frequencies set above a beat as sparse as it is crunchy. “Two Stones”, by contrast, offers a kind of robotic wistfulness whereas closing piece “Energies of the mind” fizzes out like a jumble of toy keyboards attempting to score a science programme - and failing, but instead revealing some much grander emotional truth.
This is the sound of breaking some kind of inner lockdown, of turning inwards and then projecting parts of murky inner shadows outward, as well-defined and sometimes lurid shapes, individually clear, but still in the process of becoming organized into a complete whole. The unfinished is what excites us the most. May the shapes never find their slot in the jigsaw puzzle.
All songs by Niklas Dommaschk
Recorded between 2017 and 2020 in Berlin and Nijmegen
Mastering by Edgar Medina
Artwork by Daniel Castrejón
After being summoned from Ohio to London by Adrian Sherwood, Nick Riggio and Rebecca Magnetic have brought their Midwest musical experience to the South London electronic music scene with a unique creative vision. Fusing elements of techno, post-punk and psychedelic rock they explore spiritual connections and transcendence while Rebecca Magnetic's introspective vocals set against a tough backdrop of Detroit influenced rhythms and vibrations leave you in awe.
Their superb single 'My Future' is a brilliantly cosmic exploration of spaced out and spacious grooves. Crashing hits bring an edgy mood, while lurching drums drag you forwards.
Molten acid synths and the strained and pained vocals from Rebecca add further layers of intrigue to this most adventurous electronic trip.
First to remix is Oosh! man Dan Wainwright, and his version is laced up with sci-fi chords and echoing vocal sounds. The downtempo drum rotations are superbly heavy and trap you in a trance.
Next up, Retroforward is Al Mackenzie's solo remix/music project named after his successful Birmingham night.
Al is one half of Field Of Dreams. His 'No Future' remix is an airy and atmospheric remix that takes the track to the farthest edges of space on smooth, hypnotic grooves and beautifully astral melodies.
Lastly, Richard Sen has already been getting support for his remix from ALFOS man Sean Johnston, and he goes for a superbly rugged yet slow motion chugger that is dubbed out and expansive thanks to the arching guitar riffs that ring out to the heavens above fat-bottomed drums.
Whether experienced on the dance floor or in metaphysical states, this music is medicine for the mind and body.
The global lockdown has seen a number of new hobbies and skills adopted. Yoga mats now decorate homes. Bread makers jockey for space in kitchens. Soiled paint brushes caked in acrylics lie abandoned. At Frigio Records HQ, confinement might have changed the rhythm but it hasn’t changed the aim; to find new and exciting music for 2020. The result? Frigio Allstars 3.
Daniel Holt returns for this new instalment in the Allstars series. Diving deep into the darkness, Holt resurfaces with the nine minute industrial throb of “Vaccuous Transient.” A stomping beat pierces sci-fi score synthlines in a track brimming with menace. Staying in the US, Grey people debuts on Frigio with the grime smeared jack of “Bruxism.” The flip is all first timers to the Madrid label with Scannoir offering “De Panaesher.” Sitting somewhere between synth lament and uplifting wave, this track is a true modern classic from a member of the GOTT camp. Madrid’s very own Negocius man follows with “101 Wars” a winding worming work of glazed electronics to kill any dance floor and the amazing finale, “The Smile Of The Body” coming care of Bari’s talent based in Berlin under the moniker of Sons Of Traders.
Frigio Allstars 3 comes from the murky underbelly of electronics, where the nights are long and the days are short. Ashen tones pricked with lighter shades, all smeared with attitude in this collection of underground tracks made for the underground.
Long-time friend of the label Parris debuts on Wisdom Teeth with a unique set of steppy house mutations, including a collaboration with AD93 star Minor Science. The record begins in downtempo mode. ‘Soft Rocks With Socks’ rolls out majestically on a slo-mo drum break and a two-tone bass loop, with shimmering pads and bleeping melodies counterbalancing a deceptively punishing low end. ‘Terrapin’ - a link-up with Minor Science - is a pristinely produced 100 bpm stepper, featuring razor sharp drum synths and crystalline MIDI melodies. To close, ‘Sabor a Ceniza’ pushes the tempo up towards peak time. What begins as a broken rhythm settles into a 4x4 groove, finding the exact midpoint between Roska’s UK Funky and Margaret Dygas’s work on Perlon.
Legowelt has been a key figure in the Dutch electronic music scene since the early nineties, steadily releasing timeless music that merges the pioneering sounds of Detroit and Chicago with idiosyncratic sci-fi fascinations. "Unconditional Contours" captures Legowelt's stint at the Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments (SMEM), after he was invited to be the first artist in residence at the institution's "Playroom" project.
Legowelt visited SMEM in Fribourg, Switzerland, in early 2019 to explore the collection and record music. Possessing an extensive collection of synthesizers himself, he used hand-picked synthesizers from the museum's archive: the rare Farfisa Synthorchestra, the EVS-1 Evolution, the "shittiest rompler ever made", amongst many others. The 10-track album "Unconditional Contours" is both a probe into the vast collection of SMEM, and a display of Legowelt's well established compositional qualities. Leaving ample space for new sounds to unfold, Legowelt invokes gentle trips, brooding excursions, bleep heavy soundscapes, and reimagined elements of dance music classicism.
SMEM and -OUS are launching the "smem+ous" series to document the "Playroom" residencies. A limited edition of this album was already sent out to early supporters of the "Playroom". Founded in 2016 and based on a collection of more than 5000 synthesizers, organs, drum machines and effects that had been collected over a 35 year period by Klemens Niklaus Trenkle, SMEM offers residencies, studio sessions, talks and workshops.
Enigmatic producer RNDTXTR debuts on Rekids with a deep techno three tracker entitled‘Random EP’ this September.
“Some tracks just stick with you. They never leave your box, or in this case USB, and I’ve been playing these tracks from RNDTXTR for well over two years. Everywhere from Tokyo to Berlin. These have a universal appeal, being hypnotic and just the right balance between pushy club sounds and spatial melodies” - Radio Slave
Shrouded in murky atmospherics, ‘RND009’ opens the package with rigorous drums, shuffling shakers, sweeping pads and scintillating synths. ‘RND007 (Dub Mix)’ continues with a similar cantering rhythm as various rattling percussive elements work alongside clever automation for a tracky cut designed to lock listeners into a trance. Concluding matters, ‘RND004’ is the wonkiest number on the package with its syncopated groove and otherworldly melody.
Our new slice of wax comes this time from outer space made somewhere between unknown galaxies and black holes. The spaceship’s pilot is 30drop, a mysterious alias that has been running its platform 30D for a long while now and is not often seen outside its realm. So it’s an honor for us to have 30drop onboard.
For this special occasion 30drop provides six cuts of futuristic techno but with a ravey approach in a time backspin that brings us back to the 90’s via Sci-Fi, reminding in some way of the early UR records, when Mad Mike and Jeff Mills worked together on the soundtrack of the future.
This is our first mini LP with 3 cuts per side. The first cut is Brain reset, the short drone intro soon leads to a relentless groove made of repetitive sequences over a fast groove. Intense and obsessive.
Mental Understanding brings more minimalistic ingredients, absence of hi hats, just kick drum and synth lines.
Brain effervescence showcases the infamous 90’s hoover sound bringing the rave element and 303 acid lines all merged in a lawless and dense mixture.
B side opens with Self awareness, starting with ethereal atmospheres, spiced with resonant bleeps and micro drones in a beat-less exercise.
Klapaucjusz brings back the 90’s feeling again with analogue arpeggios and melodies, again over a clean groove in a Detroit oriented number.
Closing the release, Knowledge, a space odyssey of strings, abstract synth lines and flotation.
A work that showcases the skills of this well-seasoned producer that stands apart from any trends, futuristic, atemporal and scientifically crafted.
W&P by 30drop
From their early singles and their 1993 Mercury Music Prize winning debut album to their break up in 2003 , Suede were a fixture in the single and album charts , and in the music press too . They scored twenty hit singles and five hit albums (three of which debuted at # 1), and a double album of B sides even charted at # 9.
The band reformed for a one off charity concert in 2010 and decided to make it permanent they have released three new studio albums since 2013 .
Compiled by the band , this comprehensive six LP set features the huge 90s hits like “Metal Mickey”, “Animal Nitrate”, “Stay Together”, “Trash, “Filmstar”, “Lazy”, “Beautiful Ones”, “Saturday Night”, “Electricity”, “She’s In Fashion”, “Everything Will Flow” and “Can’t Get Enough”Enough”, along with favourite B sides like “To The Birds”, “My Insatiable One” and “Killing Of A Flashboy”Flashboy”. Also featured are classic album tracks like “The Asphalt World” and “He’s Gone”. The collection brings the story up to date with sixteen tracks from the three recent albums , including “Life Is Golden”, “It Starts And Ends With You” and “ Outsiders”.
The six LPs are pressed on 180 gram white vinyl and are housed in inner sleeves featuring all the lyrics as well as photos of dozens and dozens of items of Suede memorabilia and promotional items , all lent by fans.
'Ianua' is the stage name of Filippo Midali, a 360 degrees electronic musician that sweeps primarily from techno, electro, breaks, jungle to Chicago footwork with a stable contamination from HipHop culture and scratch, the art of vinyl manipulation.
The self-titled album, his debut album, fully represents this, moving from track to track between various musical genres. The name 'Ianua', 'door' in Latin, comes from the idea of the multiverse and inter-dimensional doors; this is depicted on the cover, on which the front represents the door distorted by the journey through space and time and the back, together with the titles, the sketches and formulas of the presumed door- building scientist.
“Joe McPhee is a legend of modern music, which from the release of the classic "Nation Time" album almost 50 years ago has had an incredibly diverse career that's spanned a wide range of expressions, from jazz and improvised music to experimental and electronic free music. McPhee's life in music could basically be read as a map of leftfield music of our time, but after all these years he refuses to stand still or lock back with any sense of nostalgia.
After 30 years of making electronic music Lasse Marhaug is now synonymous with Norwegian noise music, with hundreds of releases and countless collaborations and projects to his name, including music for film, theatre and dance. In the last ten years he has also made a name as a producer for other artists, including Jenny Hval and Okkyung Lee.
McPhee and Marhaug has known each other since the early 2000s, but only in 2015 did they find time to record together as a duo. The result is "Harmonia Macrocosmica", an album that the two considers a science fiction inspired work. For McPhee it can be read in the linage of his 70s work with John Snyder, as well as collaborations with Pauline Oliveros and the Nihilist Spams Band. Marhaug of course is well versed in this field, but McPhee's sax and voice puts his electronics in a whole new perspective. The pair also found inspiration in early electronic music and vintage science fiction films, with McPhee describing going to the cinema in the 50s as a kid to see "Forbidden Planet" and being blown away by its electronic score as the start of a lifelong love of cosmic music.”
From Mille Plateaux to Leaf, Staubgold and Raster-Noton, ~scape, or on his own label Ripatti, the Finnish artist Sasu Ripatti aka Vladislav Delay has been exploring various iterations of the dub culture vs. electronica, since 1997. His sonic crafts and unique signature sound has been sought after by an eclectic range of bands and artists, ranging from Massive Attack, Hauschka, Black Dice, Autopoieses, Animal Collective or AGF.
Somewhere between the old-school electronica culture, the soundscaping, the experimental paths of Lee Perry and Adrian Sherwood, ghostly clubbing anthems, minimalism, pop, jazz, without being, influenced, Vladislav Delay is building a drifting and coherent sound enigma.
Vladislav Delay met Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare (the most prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo) thanks to a series of jam sessions. Trumpet player Nils-Petter Molvaer had been asked by the Jamaicans to join them and he invited Delay alongside guitar player Eivind Aarset to tag along, which eventually turned into the Nordub project.
The result of these jam sessions turned into an album, mixed and mostly produced by Vladislav Delay, released on the label Okeh. It was also followed by an extensive series of live dates. This one-shot reunion was the beginning of another story: a trio composed by Delay, Dunbar and Shakespeare.
In January 2019, Vladislav Delay went to Kingston and spent some days at The Anchor studios, to record drums and bass with S&R, some voice takes and a series of atmospheric field recordings. Back to Finland, Delay started to experiment with this precious material, mixing and overdubbing, in the comfort and quiet of his studio, based on the island of Hailuoto, Baltic Sea, Northern Finland, giving another feeling to the Jamaican trip.
This became a tribute to the 'dub spirit', but in a very personal way, far beyond any influence or "the obvious". 500-PUSH-UP is two worlds collapsing, merging, also showing some intriguing approach of the Jamaican groove, used as a filigree, like the echo or the ghost of reggae, converging and conversing with a post-industrial and experimental approach. To file beside experiments - for instance - such as Lee Perry's 'Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires' or the On U-Sound productions.
Following the first episode, Drivecom presents the second part of the Generative Operations series. It continues with the dark,
technical and minimal concept of music mixed toguether with contemporary, cinematic elements and experimental sounds and textures.
The vision and workflow keeps up the same vibe as with the first ep and you will find more synth lines involved into a generative structure from complex and massive modular patches. The sequencing is always different each time every track is being played back giving us a unique listening.
About the sound design all the tracks have a cinematic vibe as in the first 12”. Always looking for a situation where cinema meets electronic music as being planned as a film sound track. Also constructed from the point of view of a minimalistic vision, you’ll find long progressions and small details focused in electro rhythms as a basic and main structure.
In the other hand all the tracks have a common target: a cinematic vibe. As if they were composed thinking about to fit in any sci-fi thriller movie. Again we can hear massive granular sythesis pads, background noises, experimental compression routines that help to fullfill the Generative Operation series.
The limited edition vinyl has been pressed in 180gr. keeping up the analog character sound in this format, meanwhile the digital version will be a clearer and clinical one.
Prolific American artist Jon Hester returns to Rekids for the first instalment of his new album, ‘Converge’, this September.
Jon Hester grew up in the Midwest US, living in Chicago and Minneapolis while taking musical cues from Detroit. Initially he was a dancer, and later transitioned to the decks with a refined understanding of what it takes to move a club. He progressed to hosting his own events, holding residencies, and working at a record shop, and now brings his physical rhythms and adventurous drums to his productions, with output on respected labels such as Transmat, Deeply Rooted, Dystopian, Klockworks, and LET Recordings, not to mention multiple appearances on Rekids.
Continuing to show fine form on his debut album, Hester now serves up eight of his signature house and techno fusions with plenty of his trademark directness across four sides of vinyl. The superb 'Sending Signals' opens the album with scene-setting synth modulations full of sci-fi atmosphere. It's the calm before the storm as 'Metropolitan' then immediately sets off on a cantering groove that is eventually run through with busy, jazzy piano keys that bring the soul.
'Haze' has excellently taught kick drums with hypnotic synth tones adding colour, and features Hester on saxophone. When 'Rain' comes, things grow darker and more menacing, with shakers and urgent stabs keeping you moving at a slick pace.
The second half of this compelling record features the loopy punches and pulses of the super smooth 'Dreamstate', beautifully cosmic and widescreen techno of 'Free' and pensive but urgent deep electro of standout cut 'Flex.' Last of all, 'Equinox' is lit up with distant chords which bring a far-sighted gaze to the rolling, robust kicks.
Rickard Jäverlings music can deservedly be described as playful and searching but for that sake not fumbling or too loose around the edges. On Album 4, the second album release from Jäverling on Höga Nord Rekords, he dwells more in dub than on his prior album release, and Jäverlings skillful songwriting is carried smoothly by the soft and fluffy production: the rhythm section sounds as if resting upon a sun warm bed of moss and elements flows in and out of the production like a freshly rippling stream of water deep in the summer forest. Echoes shoots through the pines, the hills and the valleys and makes the album a premium dub experience which dominates large parts of the album.
Aside the obvious references to nature that comes in mind listening to Jäverlings music, this album is more than a romantic view on the Swedish wilderness. It flirts, like all quality dub from the seventies and eighties with science fiction and space with broad synthesizer sweeps and delay drenched clouds like imploding and exploding stars somewhere in the outskirts of the Milky way, spreading dust over the Swedish forest. On the final three tracks, Ganjaman_72 takes the album out of the galaxy with spaced out-remixes on some of the songs.
With his feet steadily grounded in jamaican music tradition whit a non sentimental and curious view on production, Rickard Jäverling have together with Johan Holmegård (Dungen, Goran Kajfes), Andreas Söderström (ASS, Goran Kajfes) och Ganjaman_72 created the natural follow up to Album 3.
Soft Cell have today revealed more details about the limited-edition 7″ vinyl EP which will accompany their previously announced photo-book ‘To Show You I’ve Been There’ which was published in May.
Entitled ‘Magick Mutants’, the exclusive EP features four previously unreleased tracks: three brand new re-workings of the early Soft Cell classics ‘Bleak Is My Favourite Cliche’, ‘Science Fiction Stories’ and ‘The Girl With The Patent Leather Face’, alongside a cover of the late Fad Gadget’s seminal 1979 single ‘Back To Nature’, and the EP release is also dedicated to Fad Gadget who studied alongside Marc Almond and Dave Ball at Leeds Polytechnic.
Intended as a sequel to 1980’s ‘Mutant Moments’ release, the new EP features artwork by the band’s Dave Ball, also who created the ‘Mutant Moments’ sleeve.
Mysterious and masked techno talent Paul Villard unveils more of his musical weaponry on the Lone Romantic label this August.
Nothing is known about this artist but from the fact that, “strange and unusual superhuman powers and abilities” came to him after a “gamma accident.” He has released on Blind Allies and Applied Research, remixed Carl Finlow and is a producer with a cinematic electro sound.
Futuristic opener 'Side Effects’ is a bumping electro cut with a stuttering drum pattern and squelchy synth funk from another planet. ‘Submarine Limousine’ keeps up the cyborg styles with a crisp electro groove that is run through by sci-fi vocals and effects, while ’Fluid Dynamics’ is all watery synth droplets and fractured vocals panning about the mix. Taught bass stabs keep you on your toes and make for an otherwordly robot disco vibe.
The second half of this well-crafted EP starts with the glowing pads and creepy atmospheres of
‘Bioluminescence’, a classic Drexcyian electro jam that charges hard and deep into the cosmos. ‘Neon Death’ is an explosion of coruscated synth lines and bumping bass, tripped out machine sounds and warped electro-techno before closer ‘C.A.R.R.I.O.N.’ zones you out with intense ambient pads and modulated synths that are restless and paranoid.
With this majestic EP, Paul Villard paints and vivid picture of some distant interplanetary world.
A new project by Chicago-based drummer/producer Makaya McCraven. An addendum to his critically-acclaimed 2018 release Universal Beings, which The New York Times said "affirms the drummer and beatsmith's position as a major figure in creative music," Universal Beings E&F Sides presents fourteen new pieces of organic beat music cut from the original sessions, prepared and produced by Makaya as a soundtrack to the Universal Beings documentary film. Directed by Mark Pallman, the Universal Beings documentary follows Makaya to Los Angeles, Chicago, London and New York City for a behind the scenes look into the making of the artists breakthrough album, taking the viewer through the story of Makaya's life, his process and the community of musicians that helped bring this project to life. The Universal Beings documentary and Universal Beings E&F Sides album will be released on all DSPs this July 31st on International Anthem.
Ltd. Purple Edition
Out 18th September, ‘What It Is’ is the second LP from Brooklyn- based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer Sly5thAve; his first new music since the critically acclaimed project ‘The Invisible Man: An Orchestral Tribute to Dr. Dre’. The recording had been first devised as a benefit concert in LA which was attended by Dr. Dre who took to the stage to express thanks for Sly5thAve’s arrangements. Having spent the past three years performing the project with orchestras around the world, ‘What It Is’ sees Sly5thAve retain the high-quality that fans and critics alike have come to expect from him while stepping out with something considerably different, delving deeper into the worlds of hip hop, jazz and soul. Celebrating not only his own versatile musicianship but that of his collaborators and friends, ‘What It Is’ is a collection of tracks showcasing the best of the multi-faceted musician. A sought-after collaborator himself, Sly5thAve has attained much respect from his work with a host of highly fêted musicians including; Prince (as a member of the New Power Generation Band), Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Taylor Swift, Janelle Monáe, Freddie Gibbs and Quantic.
Auf seinem zweiten Album "Neurofire" treibt L.A. Producer und FadeToMind-Betreiber Kingdom seine Suche nach schnellere, turbulentere und experimentellere Club- und Popmusik voran und fusioniert deepen aund aggressiven Club-Bass mit synkopiertem Scifi-Pop- und -R&B der Marke Timbaland und DanjaHandz, ohne dabei sein Faible für emotionale Synths und Vocals zu vernachlässigen. "Neurofire" bietet darüberhinaus ein Feuerwerk an Features von jungen Talenten wie Ghost, Kayla Blackmon, Tiara Thomas, Pheona, UNIIQU3, Semma, LUVK und Tre Oh Fie.
Vatican Shadow ist das Techno-Projekt des Multimediakünstlers Dominick Fernow. Melodische Loops und martialisch-zerklüftete Rhythmen stehen finsteren und bestechenden Ambiencen gegenüber. Als Vatican Shadow bringt Fernow eine Körperlichkeit und feierliche Energie ein, die im Techno rar ist. Seine hypnotischen Ambientmelodien werden konterkariert von donnernden Drumschlägen – ein Ausdruck der Furcht und Furchtlosigkeit, die seine Musik speisen. Sein neues Album und Debüt bei dem sonst im Metal ansässigen Label 20BuckSpin wird Vatican Shadow endgültig auch den Industrial-Metal Fans näher bringen.
Außderm für Fans von Muslimgauze, Prurient, Badawi, Raison D'Etre, Tangerine Dream, Justin Broadrick, Haxan Cloak u.ä.
Villete aka Amsterdam based producer Anne Korteweg returns to Scissor and Thread with a brilliant new EP. Her debut 12″ ‘Girl Next Door’ was released on Scissor and Thread in the fall of 2016 and sold out quickly. Now here with the new EP Dawn is Mine, we are treated to seven tracks of understated, floating beauty. On her new release she explores the more abstract sides of electronic music. Using a variety of synthesizers, she creates rich and lush sounding structures that continuously bend and flow loosely. She finds inspiration from listening to Pauline Anna Strom, Takashi Kokubo and Actress. Opener Penrose Stairs sets the tone with gentle arpeggiated synths creating a warm, fuzzy atmosphere - a combination further explored in Midnight Arp later into the mini-album. The title track Dawn Is Mine uncovers a low bass throb mixed with dubbed out effects and textures, while Lilac emits an ethereal, woozy atmosphere, with lush pads, choral textures and blissful melodic motifs. Myst also luxuriates in hazy pads before a slo-mo groove emerges to carry the track towards the edge of the dancefloor. If Myst flirts with the idea of dancing, Show Me dives right in - an exquisite slice of deep, outsider house with a psychedelic twist. Winding the release down with Wild Things - a beat-less vignette of synths engaged in an melodic interplay of chimes and tones.
‘Alterity’ is compilation of fifteen warped, experimental and deconstructed club music tracks featuring artists from almost every continent. It pieces together shared sounds that connect disparate scenes across the globe. The music is fuelled by a desire to dissolve borders and transcend perceived norms to promote the existence of alternate viewpoints, lifestyles and identities.
The listener travels to a parallel plane through amorphous techno wormholes, caverns of industrial beat science and colossal panoramas of glistening hyper-stylised trance. Each creation espouses local sounds and adapts global musical styles creating a singular, holistic map of modern dancefloors that champion diversity and inclusivity.
The cover art of a manipulated city shows an ordinary urban landscape remodelled as another world. It hints at an endless, borderless macrocosm concealed within.
The gatefold double LP is pressed on yellow vinyl and comes with a digital download code and printed inner sleeves.
On the Corner goes beyond being a record label. It is a story of innovative artists from hotbeds of ancient-future* music across the globe. This 'Door to the Cosmos' compilation is the 10th full release (and an eclectic array of 20 EPs). OtCs rawkus sonic explorations are brought to the fore via 24 tracks making a heady blend of label mainstays and fresh family recruits. The label is an inimitable mixture of Miles Davis' 'call it what you want' attitude, the afro centric futurism of Sun Ra and the evolving electronic frontier where black music kicks it to the dance floor. 'Door to the Cosmos' expresses On the Corner's adventure; future sounds referencing the source, be it Detroit, UK bass culture, New Orleans or the Niger delta. The title riffs off of the otherworldly, afro futurist jazzer Sun Ra's infamous chant 'dare to knock at the door to the cosmos'. Sun Ra's sound and narrative bending inspires us to kick at the rules and push at the infinite, the ecstatic and the unknown through music by knock, knock, knocking at the door to the cosmos. The compilation is the first outing for a new raft of artists who are celebrated by the label and welcomed to a creative space brimming with the tales of unsung pioneers of the past and champion sonic explorers of the future.
2020 marks the 30th Anniversary of ‘Bossanova’, the third studio album by Pixies.
The band continued to work with Gil Norton after collaborating to such success on their platinumselling second album ‘Doolittle’; this time choosing to record in Los Angeles over their native Boston
(the track ‘Blown Away’, however, was recorded at the Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin during a European tour in 1989).
Their third album in as many years, 1990 was a particularly fertile time for the band with Kim Deal also having success with The Breeders, who released their debut album ‘Pod’ just a few months prior.
Featuring the singles ‘Allison’ (a tribute to jazz and blues pianist Mose Allison), ‘Dig For Fire’ and ‘Velouria’, plus the first cover to feature on one of their albums, ‘Cecilia Ann’ (originally by The Surftones), ‘Bossanova’ showed a less primal side to the band, with surf and space rock rising to the fore. Lyrically, Black Francis is even more cryptic with a recurring sci-fi theme running throughout, which in turn influenced Vaughan Oliver’s classic planet design for the sleeve.
To celebrate ‘Bossanova’ hitting its third decade, 4AD are releasing a special red vinyl edition with the original 16-page booklet being reinserted, having previously only been available with the initial UK LP pressing.
House and techno focussed FINA sister label FINA WHITE comes through with more direct dance floor grooves from Bodyjack, aka Chris Finke. The veteran artist serves up two killer tracks, one dub and four locked grooves that provide serious heat for DJs and dancers.
Before now, former DMC competitor Finke has established himself with his Bodytrax label in association with the Clone.nl crew, standout mixes for Radio 1 etc and EPs on the likes of UTTU, Hypercolour and DEXT, all while being a famous former resident of titanic techno party Atomic Jam and playing the world's finest clubs for years.
Arresting opener 'Measure Twice, Cut Once' is a big, buoyant techno monster with warped acid lines and raves vocal stabs all adding fuel to the fire. The locked grooves serve up scintillating breakbeats that are hugely powerful and ripe for abuse in the club, and then 'Enfant Terrible' is a dark and eerie warehouse monster. The bass is loud, the kicks rock solid and an echoing female vocal lost in the midst of it all draws you in deeper. Closing things out, the dub versions strip things back to gritty chords and heavy, well-swung kicks that make you march.
This is high class, high functioning techno from one of the finest in the game.
First time Repress "Greensleeves Records", 12” Classic from
1981- 2 more Roots anthems back to back!
• Both Sides mixed by Scientist at King Tubby’s in a 12” murder style
• Original Roots Radics drum & bass from reggae’s golden age
• Produced by Linval Thompson!
Outfitted with anthemic romps, tongue-in-cheek pastiches, and percussions that pivot from rolling adventures to rain hitting the windowpane, Intimacy's 'Across the Bridge' marks the artist's fifth release on vinyl and first release on Bouquet.
A grab bag of fun, dancefloor-ready tracks written across 2019, the EP delivers his aesthetic of old computers, sci-fi movies, and science class educational videos configured into deep, spacey line-toting bedroom techno and melancholic house.
The title track features a catchy electroclash-esque (!!!) saw wave bassline, complete with emo Roland D50 strings and bells, all laid over a very beefy electro beat. It crossbreeds a Drexciya strain of low-end thump with a chewy, Eurotrash bassline evoking that time you lost your wallet at Tresor in '98. Strings and bells from the Roland D50 introduce the same euphoric high found in most of the products crawling out of Perdue's lab these days.
'Angelo's House' is a full-forced banger built around a well-traveled sample of Angelo Badalamenti's theme from Twin Peaks, recorded from an Intimacy live set early last year.
The flipside leads with the spiritual acid techno masterpiece 'Datalore 66'. Bubbling basslines hit a boiling point when placed in sequence with flutes showing genetic linkage to the Hartnoll family. Highly reactive material.
'Eternal September' opens a portal to the earliest hours of morning via synthesis of swirling pads and snapping drums. Closing the EP in introspective fashion, the track shows just how much emotional range Intimacy can pull out of decades-old disciplines.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Parks Perdue is a Memphis-born electronic musician. A culmination of internet research and home listening in the club-barren Tennessee city, his style draws from stoned out Dutch West Coast concept albums, video game soundtracks, and old-school midwest house and techno. Perdue made his vinyl debut under the alias Intimacy in 2016 on the short lived UK, DJ Haus-run label Vector Works. Perdue is now based in Los Angeles, California.
Tachyon Audio 005 is another installment of the Mutations Volumes by Tachyon Audio creators
Nick Payne and Paradaux A1
The second track A2 Sputnik presented on vinyl as a locked groove.
B1 and spares no one as Inhabitants dive into a deep dark chasm of acid throttled driving rhythms with subtle yet apparent drums driving the track forward into the sci-tech space realm.
Mutations III closes with Mut19 an emotional pulsing and broken beat track featuring the vocal of U.S. free speech and civil rights activist
Mario Savio from a speec in Berkley CA in 1964.
Here is the highly anticipated sixth volume of the well received electronic compilation series from the relaunched 1980's color tapes label. As with the other volumes you can find great examples of cold wave, minimal wave and synth electronics and pro to EDM made by obscure British bands in the 1980's such as: Berserk In A Hayfield, Lives of Angels, Silicon Valley, Modern Art, Disintegrators, Echophase, The Lord and Mystery Plane
"Up there with V-O-D selections, the Color Tapes series so far has provided invaluable insight to hidden or much lesser-known currents of the ‘80s cassette subculture which gave birth to myriad artists, styles and industry conventions whose influence can still be felt over 30 years later. " - Boomkat
“Electronic work that’s way different from mainstream pop of the period - often forgedout of the same instrumentation as the hits - but in a stripped down way - with lots of dark and moody corners!” Dusty Groove
“Evil Synths and evil beats” - Norman Records
“Gary Ramon’s re-born Color Tapes imprint is every bit as essential as it’s Minimal Wave and electro-focused predecessors” - Juno
Limited edition of 500 copies comes with poster insert
You think you’ve heard anything? Strap yourself in and get comfortable for the journey! Payola’s first release is ‘Ugly Freedom’ (TOKA Remix) a collaboration between two adversaries – VEE VV and TOKA.
Two specialists in their own right, they have produced something special, something spellbinding, something entirely unique and uncompromising.
Still sitting comfortably? You shouldn’t be! An amalgam, a spark, a blistering fusion of purpose conjoined, sending shards of rhythmic shrapnel into the stratosphere. Pounding sub-bass, seamlessly executed edits of live drums, boiler-bass, searing guitar, soaring keys and vocals featuring a scintillating, lyrical dexterity and skilful phraseology delivered with a poignant authenticity. A totally unapologetic perspective on today’s social mores, “Sentiment, humanity, have no right to reside in this Betfred economy!”
Don’t take our word for it!
Principal is the new solo project by producer and musician Rasmus Allin, who’s first album Treacherous Dub will be released on the Copenhagen-based label StereoRoyal in July 2020.
Best described as an homage to old-school Jamaican dub, Principal’s music features live recorded drums and other instruments. Fused with electronic elements, it celebrates the sound of the original dub pioneers.
Born in 1970, Rasmus Allin has been working as a producer, musician, and songwriter since the mid-nineties, primarily within the realm of electronic music. Inspired by the British trip hop and drum ‘n’ bass scene, he soon gravitated towards Jamaican dub, rocksteady, and reggae. "I found my inspiration in the old Jamaican dub masters like Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, and Scientist. I’ve spent endless hours in the studio trying to replicate their sound, using old tape delays, filter boxes, and modulation effects,” he says.
In 2002, Allin formed the band Junkyard Productions, playing major venues and festivals like Elysee Montmartre, Le Triptyque, Télérama Dub Festival, and Roskilde Festival while touring through Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and France. Alongside this, he continued to hone his skills in producing, co-writing, and remixing music, working with top Danish pop and reggae acts the likes of Natasja, Pharfar, Wafande, Shaka Loveless, and the British girl band All Saints.
Treacherous Dub will be released on vinyl and all major streaming platforms, and will be Allin’s first album of pure instrumental dub tracks —an ambition he’s been wanting to fulfil for years. Marking his debut as a solo artist, the album also marks his premiere as a visual artist, with the album cover lithograph made by Allin himself. For Rasmus Allin, the collaboration with StereoRoyal offered “the perfect opportunity to give the tracks the finishing touches.”
StereoRoyal is a Danish library music label founded in 2010 by and specializes in off-kilter music for film and TV. Originally, the label focused on electronic genres, but over the years has grown to include a broader variety of music produced by some of the most talented composers in Scandinavia.
Two leaders from very different musical worlds, the innovative pianist Bruce Brubaker and scientist-now-electronic-artist Max Cooper collaborate to create this latest expression of music by Philip Glass and tell a story of diversity and vulnerability.
Commissioned by and introduced at the Paris Philharmonie in 2019, Glassforms melds the acoustic concert grand piano with synths and cutting-edge electronic production techniques to create a compelling album and a dynamic live experience.
Rather than just reworking or augmenting via traditional means, Max Cooper and Bruce Brubaker fundamentally rewire Glass’ forms in a manner that’s not possible with human composition tools. Max built a new system for musical expression through coding with software developer Alexander Randon, creating a tool for taking live data from the piano and transforming it into new but intimately related forms which drive his synths on stage.
The result is that each of the pieces by Glass becomes its own electronic “instrument,” an instrument Bruce plays in addition to, and simultaneously with the original piece. As Bruce plays the piano and controls synths with his playing, Max modulates and augments, sometimes adding his own melodies to form hybrid variants.
"Beat scientist Soreab signs our second release at the peak of his rhythmic experimentation. Four swirling, hyperactive, sketchy tracks dedicated to overturning the classic hierarchies of beats.
Folding the solidity of grooves and sound palettes coming from dance floor music to the hypnotism of techno scenarios and seasoning everything with an exquisite sense of sound design- capable of opening up into melodies without losing his ruthless intensity."
Belgian techno wizard Cri Du Coeur is back with a new 2-part vinyl release on his label Arkham Audio titled 'Erickson' & 'Erickson on Acid', which features remixes exclusively from French artists. Jerome D., the man behind the Cri Du Coeur alias, is prized in the industry for giving platforms to Belgian and French artists throughout his career, so it comes as no surprise that he is showing his francophile roots by having a solely French lineup for the remixes on this release. Following the recent release of his EPs 'Diaphragm' and 'Warning', and now bringing us the inebriating 'Erickson' & 'Erickson on Acid', Cri Du Coeur has established that his new alias and freshly-founded but tenacious Arkham Audio label are a force to be reckoned with. The entrancing yet adrenalizing sound that he has adopted shows that his approach to industrial electronic music knows no boundaries or compromises.
The first part of this release features the original mix of 'Erickson' by Cri Du Coeur and remixes of the track by Electric Rescue, Wex 10 , and Trunkline. The second part 'Erickson on Acid' puts a squelching acid twist on things and features remixes by Roman Poncet, Umwelt, and Zadig.
The original mix of 'Erickson' leads with a strong beat and a mixture of industrial sounds that makes for a sublime dark dancefloor track. Electric Rescue follows on with a remix that engages the listener with a terrorising yet intoxicating heavy baseline. Next up is Wex 10 who enchants us with a bouncy laserbeam rhythm and muffled looping vocals. Last but not least on the 'Erickson' lineup is Trunkline's remix which delivers an addictive hazy melody and a deep and dirty mechanical synth horn.
Cri Du Coeur plays with tensions in 'Erickson (on Acid)', putting the listener into a state of hypnosis with squelching sounds that give the song a raunchy character. We are implored to dance as Roman Poncet's remix bears layers of lively percussion beats with twangy synth melodies. The mood intensifies once more as Umwelt's remix features a dark and fuzzy baseline that contrasts with a screeching siren sound creating an ultimate thrilling experience for the listener. Zadig closes off this immense concoction of remixes with a relentless distorted base and scintillating machinelike background noises.
Cri Du Coeur has outdone himself by bringing together such a well-suited selection of artists to create a visceral and magnetizing collection of tracks that showcases his competence in making industrial techno.
Belgian techno wizard Cri Du Coeur is back with a new 2-part vinyl release on his label Arkham Audio titled 'Erickson' & 'Erickson on Acid', which features remixes exclusively from French artists. Jerome D., the man behind the Cri Du Coeur alias, is prized in the industry for giving platforms to Belgian and French artists throughout his career, so it comes as no surprise that he is showing his francophile roots by having a solely French lineup for the remixes on this release. Following the recent release of his EPs 'Diaphragm' and 'Warning', and now bringing us the inebriating 'Erickson' & 'Erickson on Acid', Cri Du Coeur has established that his new alias and freshly-founded but tenacious Arkham Audio label are a force to be reckoned with. The entrancing yet adrenalizing sound that he has adopted shows that his approach to industrial electronic music knows no boundaries or compromises.
The first part of this release features the original mix of 'Erickson' by Cri Du Coeur and remixes of the track by Electric Rescue, Wex 10 , and Trunkline. The second part 'Erickson on Acid' puts a squelching acid twist on things and features remixes by Roman Poncet, Umwelt, and Zadig.
The original mix of 'Erickson' leads with a strong beat and a mixture of industrial sounds that makes for a sublime dark dancefloor track. Electric Rescue follows on with a remix that engages the listener with a terrorising yet intoxicating heavy baseline. Next up is Wex 10 who enchants us with a bouncy laserbeam rhythm and muffled looping vocals. Last but not least on the 'Erickson' lineup is Trunkline's remix which delivers an addictive hazy melody and a deep and dirty mechanical synth horn.
Cri Du Coeur plays with tensions in 'Erickson (on Acid)', putting the listener into a state of hypnosis with squelching sounds that give the song a raunchy character. We are implored to dance as Roman Poncet's remix bears layers of lively percussion beats with twangy synth melodies. The mood intensifies once more as Umwelt's remix features a dark and fuzzy baseline that contrasts with a screeching siren sound creating an ultimate thrilling experience for the listener. Zadig closes off this immense concoction of remixes with a relentless distorted base and scintillating machinelike background noises.
Cri Du Coeur has outdone himself by bringing together such a well-suited selection of artists to create a visceral and magnetizing collection of tracks that showcases his competence in making industrial techno
Hey Existeers!
The new Pudel Produkte release has arrived!
This time, it’s more like a record for yellow press readers – due to the high celebrity density on the two tracks! First, there’s Richard Fearless. The guy has been on the “Mission Impossible” soundtrack and he was famous in New York and London as DEATH IN VEGAS. He composed the music on this record and recorded it together with the slackers of Circuit Diagram, which is why the project was aptly named DEATH CIRCUIT. That’s logical, that’s correct, excellent!
One track of theirs is called “Strom Dub”, and the full length of it has been pressed onto the A-Side of the record. It sounds like Synthesizer music usually sounds: Sexy and warm and cold. The tears of technology dripping onto your head for eight and a half minutes while the spirit of the 80s sneaks in through the back door.
Like the B-Side, this track is a grower, a slow creeper you’ll want to hear again and again. Ac-cording to science, this is just what the people need in these days of unhealthy acceleration. And yes, the B-Side: There’s the track “Teeparty am Waldbrand” which translates to “Tea Party at the Forest Fire”, and it features the fat-mouthed DAS BO and RALF KÖSTER. Trust us, it’s just as hard for native speakers to decipher what they’re saying, but we were assured there’s even a “political dimension” to the track, so I guess we’ll have to listen again. Soundwise it’s a beautifully clut-tered mess, a cold wave sprinkled with bizarre brittle that lures you out into nature.
Ah yes, Pudel Produkte – it’s still minority music from the planet of the apes for people that know where to go, and that is elsewhere than the others.
Fusing dexterous hand-percussion, hypnotic guitar riffs & soaring melodies, Waaju rise from London’s rich cultural palette with their latest album ‘Grown’, proving UK Jazz doesn’t have to sound the way we expect it to. Led by drummer and percussionist Ben Brown (Alfa Mist, Dizraeli, Ashley Henry), the band comprises percussionist Ernesto Marichales (Jordan Rakei, Sigala), guitarist Tal Janes (Nubiyan Twist, Bahla), Sam Rapley (Fabled, Maria Chiara Argiro) and Joe Downard (China Moses, Judi Jackson), each with their own strong presence on the UK’s extensive music scene. Waaju’s refined and divergent sound connects the dots between the likes of Ali Farka Touré, Alain Peters, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Oscar D’Leon and Beth Carvalho. Waaju formed as a means of exploring music’s hidden connections, from trance-inducing Moroccan Gnawa to Caribbean carnival music, and embracing them to reflect different shades of London’s own musical culture. It was the band’s love for Mali’s folk music – and Ali Farka Touré’s stylistic prowess in particular – that first set the project in motion. London’s Jazz Cafe invited Waaju to reinterpret classic tracks from Farka Touré’s catalogue to sold-out audiences in 2018 and 2019. According to Brown: “Ali’s one of the best. He has such a unique sound. His playing is so gnarly. His spirit and attitude are things I always think of when making music.” Waaju (meaning ‘to urge, inspire or influence to take action’ in Malian language Bambara) blends pulsing Latin polyrhythms, psychedelic Malian blues licks and cinematic textures. Following the group’s 2018 self-titled debut record, Grown presents a group more unified and distinctive-sounding than ever with six fresh, bold compositions. The record begins with Moleman, a potent reminder of the intricacy and energy Waaju’s become known for. Gritty, clattering metal defines the landscape for sizzling builds, hinting at rave culture styles like Bashment and Jungle. Listening Glasses follows and it’s clear why this is the album’s lead single – its Afrobeat-like energy and joyful interplay between guitar and tenor sax lies somewhere between Tony Allen’s grooves, Chimurenga guitar and Headhunters’ funk. On late night jam Rollando, Joe Downard’s skulking bass frequencies rule and wonkiness reaches new heights as heavy dub grooves almost tear themselves apart. Time’s Got a Hold was co-written by Waaju and Jordan Rakei for a show together in November 2018. Kicking off side B, this version features special guest vocalist Will Heard over bouncing triplets evocative of 1970’s Sega from La Reunion. A kind of looseness found only at night, the quiet drive of Wassoulou is sparse yet purposeful. Pulling back the tempo and dimming the lights, cavernous percussion fills each corner of the room, springing back as spectral reverbs. The title and final track shows the many dynamic sides of the outfit’s far-reaching sound, with its expansive harmonies and explosive psychedelia, spanning Yoruba Andabo to Hendrix, signing off an exciting and energetic second LP from Waaju at their most scintillating.
Attraktors are JFlower: Antronhy: Jhon:
Former members of Six.BySeven: Bivouac: Julian Cope: The Selecter: Nectarine No9
Inspired by Minimalism: Fripp: Eno: Marcel Duchamp: Krautrock: Proto-Punk: Soundscores: Sci-Fi: Computer Science.
AD and Worldline deliver Toy Opulent’s third release - and it’s first vinyl imprint.
Soft Serve Angel projects a clear and present sense of techno drive and a delightful symphony of melodic synths. The beginning is minimal and evolves into a full cacophony of beauty and craftsmanship, layered with the vocals of the mysterious Crisis Luxury. Here, meanderings of childhood tones echo from an East L.A. ice cream truck. From the hailed vehicle emerges the soft serve angel - with a vanilla cake cone prepared, just for you, on a sunny California day. This track is incredibly versatile.
A Soft Serve Angel remix is presented to us by a master of his art, Persuader. He shows us, once again, that minimal drive that we can all count on to provoke thought and movement with modern engineering skills and a familiar old school flair.
Bubble Gum Eyes is minimal perfectly pitched protocol of TR-909 love with a morphing bassline and epic-scale science-synth work. The track addresses both a question and an answer.
Rocket POP! I mean, who don’t love a good rocket pop? This dubby dub dub mix contains fragments of the entire release that sums it up, and finishes it off perfectly - the cherry on top of the soft-serve angel.
All sounds recorded at various locations in Europe, South America and at EMS, Stockholm using the Buchla 200 modular synthesizer.
soar, all sounds recorded with Klara Lewis in Montreal 2018
Mastered by Russell Haswell. January 2020
Cut at Schnittstelle, Berlin by Andreas Kauffelt, January 2020
Image : Mark Hogben
Layout: Nik Void
The last two years have seen me maintaining an association with an unusual bedfellow, death. The loss of Mika Vainio, as well as three members of my own family, has had a profound effect on me and spurred a lengthy reflection on life, death, and everything in between.
Parallelly, while studying the philosophy of science, I came across shadow photons:
"Tangible photons are the ones we can see or detect with instruments whereas shadow photons are intangible (invisible) detectable only indirectly through the interference effects on the tangible photons.
There is no intrinsic difference between tangible and shadow photons: each photon is tangible in one universe and intangible in all the other parallel universes.
They travel at the speed of light, bounce off mirrors, are refracted by lenses, and are stopped by opaque barriers or filters of the wrong colour. Yet, they do not trigger even the most sensitive detectors. The only thing in the universe that a shadow photon can be observed to affect is the tangible photon that it accompanies. This is the phenomenon of interference.
Shadow photons would go entirely unnoticed, were it not for this phenomenon and the strange pattern of shadows by which we observe it.
Thus the existence of a seething, prodigiously complicated hidden world of shadow photons has been inferred."*
I have drawn a parallel between shadow photons and death. The interference phenomena, parallel universes, and how shadow photons affect tangible photons they accompany, offer, in my opinion, similarities, an unknown universe which is death and how we, remaining tangible human beings, are affected. This quest has led me to be more willing to accept chaos in my life and to conclude that Death is perfection, everything else is relative.
The release of Rising Son in 1986 on Greensleeves began a new era for Augustus Pablo edging his Rockers revolution into the digital age. In his own words Rising uon “mix-up the vibes a little more” from steppers like ‘Pipers of Zion’, revival reggae ‘African Frontline’ and the deep and heavy ‘The Day Before The Riot’. Recorded at Channel One, Tuff Gong, Dynamic & HC&F and engineered by Phillip Smart and Scientist.
Circoloco resident Luca Cazal teams up with Italian talent Andrea Fiorito as the pair deliver their ‘What Is Music’ EP on Infuse this June, backed by a remix from Mariano Mateljan.
An Ibiza mainstay, with regular appearances at DC-10 for Paradise and his long-standing global Circoloco residency, See Double boss Luca Cazal has established himself as a quality and consistent force within the minimal house scene and beyond. An avid digger with an innate ability within the studio, Cazal’s career has also welcomed sets at internationally renowned institutions including fabric and Club der Vissionare, with late June now welcoming a debut appearance on Infuse alongside fellow Italian Andrea Fiorito. An artist driven by idealism, with a sound palette that takes in influences and productions from experimental techno through to lighter more delicate and orchestral sonics, Bari-based Fiorito has himself served up material via the likes of Housewax, Broquade, Get Physical and Cynosure to date, and here we see the two talents combine for the very first time to offer up ‘What Is Music’, accompanied by Infuse talent Mariano Mateljan on remix duties.
A-side opener ‘Tornado Girl’ is a groove-fulled rolling production armed with slinking hats, evolving basslines and warping lead synths, whilst on the flip, title cut ‘What Is Music’ delves deeper into darker, more paired back afterhours aesthetics with slinking organic percussion and sci-fi electronics throughout. To close, Croatian favourite Mateljan’s lively interpretation welcomes sharp kicks, distorted vocal hooks and haunting melodies, punctuating the package in impressive fashion.
Melvin Bliss’ iconic ‘Synthetic Substitution’ (1973) has been sampled hundreds of times. Gracing records from Naughty by Nature’s ‘O.P.P’ to Public Enemy’s ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’, it’s one of the foundations of hip-hop. However, there’s a school of thought that says the sample could have been retired forever after Ced Gee used it for ‘Ego Tripping’. It was the first song to use those wonderful Bernard Purdie drums, and arguably the best.
Their first release on Next Plateau Records, this instant 1986 classic slams from the first bar, that hard-as-hell beat underpinned by stabs and the breathy ‘ultra-magnetic-magnetic’ chant beneath. Meanwhile, Ced and future legend Kool Keith go to town with pseudo-science and a thinly veiled diss of Run DMC – ‘Say what, Peter Piper, to hell with childish rhymes’. It’s a song shot through with promise they’d more than fulfil on their debut album, 1988’s landmark ‘Critical Beatdown’.
The flip, ‘Funky Potion’, doesn’t coalesce with quite the same genius but is still more than a curio, with the MC’s doubling down on their futuristic nonsense approach to lyricism. Rufus Thomas’ ‘Do the Funky Penguin’ is the base for yet more stabs, discordant scratches and a kitchen-sink approach that shows just innovative the group were prepared to be.
Never before released before on 7”, this undeniable hip-hop classic comes complete with bespoke hype stickers incorporating one of the great rap logos of all time.
Let’s be honest – the first time many of us heard the otherworldly talents of the Ultramagnetic MC’s was on a compilation. A smattering of singles in 1986 had barely registered beyond a small circle in New York, but the inclusion of the 1987 single ‘Travelling at the Speed of Thought’ on Street Sounds’ ‘Hip Hop Electro 16’ set, sandwiched between classics from MC Shy D and Just-Ice, was a watershed moment.
In a way, it’s their most atypical release. The deceptively simple combination of drums ‘borrowed’ from The Rolling Stones and a scratched hook from The Kingsmen’s definitive version of Richard Berry’s ‘Louie Louie’ is one thing. The simple by their standards vocals, however, render it into a loveable pastiche of rock-rap, a more esoteric equivalent of Run DMC’s ‘Walk This Way’.
The flip is more in keeping with their style both on their earlier ‘Ego Tripping’ single and the soon-to-arrive landmark classic album ‘Critical Beatdown’. Over some heavily chopped drums from erstwhile breakbeat classic ‘Apache’ by the Incredible Bongo Band, Ced Gee and Kool Keith showcase flows that were different from anything out there at the time.
‘M.C.’s Ultra (Part II Edit)’ is part brag-rap, part baffling science lecture. Leaning heavily on the thesaurus, it’s a slang heavy manifesto that elevated the boast rap to the next level. While Kool Keith would go on to be the group’s breakout star, this is a showcase for the whole collective, right down to DJ Moe Love’s slithery scratching sliding from one channel to the next.
Only previously released in the UK as a 7” that’s now very hard to source, this is a chance to re-embrace this breakthrough from a legendary group.
Since making his debut as 96 Back in 2018, Evan Majumdar-Swift has become one of underground electronic music's genuine rising stars. To date, the Sheffield-born producer has released two acclaimed albums for labels such as Hypercolour and CPU as well as a string of singles and collaborations. His EP for Happy Skull showcases his growing versatility as a producer and marks the labels return following a brief hiatus.
"143 Connections", is a rapidly unfurling club cut that sees him pepper a weighty 140 rhythm track with crispy arpeggios and rolling acid motifs . The track increases in intensity as it progresses, with Rob Gordon's immaculate mastering work bringing out the cut's inherent weight, sharpness and subtle Bleep influences.
Elsewhere across the EP, 96 Back takes the opportunity to expand his trademark sound a little further. "Set Science" is a colourful slab of electro machine funk, full of fizzing sci-fi melodies and brain dance era synth work while "In The Trunk, Belting Down The Highway" drops the tempo but turns the intensity up to red with a slow motion chunk of mutant electronica complete with misty eyed breakdown.
You cannot say Nu Groove without saying Burrell. The seminal New York House label that existed from 1988 until 1992 was at the helm of a sound that was as much traditional as it was transitional. Since the closure of the Paradise Garage in 1987 and before the „NYC House sound“ was well-defined and fenced, Nu Groove was a kaleidoscope and an amalgamation of everything that informed it until then: uptempo r&b, reggae, dub, disco, freestyle, techno, jazz, and the sound that was embossed by Larry Heard in Chicago that was so well picked up in the Big Apple, you name it. Ronald and Rheji Burrell provided its basis, first floor and roof. But that story has already been told by our dear friends from Rush Hour, including its most important chapters. But we are going to tell a new one.
Rheji Burrell presents N.Y. House’N Authority & The Utopia Project. Twelve tracks split over two EPs on Running Back. Named „Out of Body Experience“ and „The ’V’EP“, it features all new music that feels like modern garments cut out of a classic cloth. Almost as if the Nu Groove would have never stopped. And that it is - at the risk of self-praise - all that old or new fans and also we could hope for. Two EPs full of deep-that-doesn’t rhyme-with-sleep house music, has simple, yet clever arrangements, features jazzy sounds, but snappy drums, merry melodies and glossy grooves. An overall joy to listen or dance to. The difference in both EPs is for the Burrell-die-hards and Nu-Groove-scientists to decide.
Uniting cosmic tones and lovely notes, unique sound collages and electronic noises, Muzak pour ascenseurs en panne ("Muzak for Broken Lifts"), Brigitte Barbu's first album, explores a dreamy universe, at the crossroads of electronica and the 70s’ post-tune-in/drop-out, echoing shadows of the peculiar doppelgänger; Pépé Bradock. Ça Plane pour Brigitte Barbu…
Resonant guitar notes, odd sounds, electronic hallucinations, and unexpected warm synth layers all gather together in Brigitte Barbu's first enigmatic album. Recorded and mixed during a reclusive one-week residency in a very special studio, under the benevolent cubic radiation of "Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant,” using a computer, synthesizers, and various string instruments, giving birth to this resolutely unique album. The guitars were sharply disciplined, propelling strings into strange and hypnotic limbos, somewhere between a weightless journey through time and a fresh science lab experiment.
A perky cosmic album running away from rules and gravity.
"I wanted to compose an ethereal abstract Hip-Hop LP" says Brigitte, "with guitar as a brainwashed instrument, mirroring machines and computers, even if surely far from being unplugged". So much for that… With a real introspective dimension, the record stands out for its pure whimsical mood. The artist had strict rules for composing: “Each track is based on the association between a title chosen for its consonances, an open tuning, a random tempo and frequencies chosen for their supposed effects, real or imagined, on the mind, body & soul.” For example: Taro Patch -> Whale -> 93,75 BPM or Dobro -> Bear-> 118,125 BPM, Air Resistance -> Open Em -> Panther-> 480 BPM etc.
Brigitte surgically framed an electro-acoustic compendium, finding its atmospheric mothership… Brigitte Barbu, referring to a special interlude from a vintage release "Escalope de Dingue” (Fool’s Cutlet), explains that Muzak pour Ascenseurs en Panne is in fact a custom tribute to family, friends, triggered cosmonauts, René Clément and the card game where the winner is the bearded monarch nonchalantly stabbing himself in the head. It’s a lot!
You cannot say Nu Groove without saying Burrell. The seminal New York House label that existed from 1988 until 1992 was at the helm of a sound that was as much traditional as it was transitional. Since the closure of the Paradise Garage in 1987 and before the „NYC House sound“ was well-defined and fenced, Nu Groove was a kaleidoscope and an amalgamation of everything that informed it until then: uptempo r&b, reggae, dub, disco, freestyle, techno, jazz, and the sound that was embossed by Larry Heard in Chicago that was so well picked up in the Big Apple, you name it. Ronald and Rheji Burrell provided its basis, first floor and roof. But that story has already been told by our dear friends from Rush Hour, including its most important chapters. But we are going to tell a new one.
Rheji Burrell presents N.Y. House’N Authority & The Utopia Project. Twelve tracks split over two EPs on Running Back. Named „Out of Body Experience“ and „The ’V’EP“, it features all new music that feels like modern garments cut out of a classic cloth. Almost as if the Nu Groove would have never stopped. And that it is - at the risk of self-praise - all that old or new fans and also we could hope for. Two EPs full of deep-that-doesn’t rhyme-with-sleep house music, has simple, yet clever arrangements, features jazzy sounds, but snappy drums, merry melodies and glossy grooves. An overall joy to listen or dance to. The difference in both EPs is for the Burrell-die-hards and Nu-Groove-scientists to decide.
Known for his grainy, analogue dance floor hits, Hungarian artist Norwell has returned with a powerful and transcendent 4-track EP, releasing through Fanzine Records. "In Between" EP is a drum-heavy, intricate series of grooves and soundscapes that draw the listener in from the beginning. While remaining faithful to the tendencies of techno, this record brings something of its own to the table in the form of acidic basslines and retro Kosmiche synth parts, resulting in a stunning array of textures.
"Eastern Echoes" is the opening track on this EP, and it deserves that spot. Combining an intense, Aphex-esque drum beat with hazy, dreamlike Middle Eastern inspired vox and pads, this track is a pumped-up monster of an introduction to the EP. This is immediately followed up with "Evaporate Yourself", a dark and brooding beat with a serpentine bassline that creeps its way through the track and combines with the lush, ethereal ebb and flow of the detuned synths and horror-themed vocals. This track is as cosmic as it is industrial, and sits on the fence between the two in a very unique way. "Model 244" on the other hand utilises a much more 70's modular sound reminiscent of early Kraftwerk hits adapted to the modern age. The track builds layers upon layers of left-field percussion that dance around the central arpeggiated bass in a very pleasing way, and Norwell doesn't leave out his signature glitchy, mechanical soundscapes, which give the track its glorious tension and release. The EP is rounded off with "Repetition Void", potentially the most experimental of the four tracks. Flanged hi-hats dance around the listeners ears and hazy analogue keys induce a hypnotic trance, exacerbated by the almost Papal choir vocals that fit seamlessly into the background.
As Norwell's first release through the Fanzine Label, this EP is dark, it is foreboding, and with the unexpected turns the rhythm takes, it doesn't care about your feelings. If you're ready to be punched in the face by this sci-fi horror listening experience, watch for the release of this EP, Fanzine latest addition to their roster of tasty electronic jams.
2x12"
since long, chilean/swiss producer and dj luciano is a prominent figure in the global electron-ic club music circle. already from a young age on he was exposed to music profoundly, as his father worked as a jukebox repairman and possessed a large record collection.
when he was twelve, his mother gifted him a guitar, that turned luciano shortly into a mem-ber of a school punk rock band. soon after, his passion for electronic music rose. infected by detroit techno and engaged by close friends like producer dandy jack, he started to play rec-ords in local santiago de chile dance clubs and became involved in the minimal techno scene around friends like ricardo villalobos.
when luciano moved back from chile to switzerland in 2000, he established a residency at weetamix club in geneva, started releasing his own productions on labels like mental groove and joining the cocoon team in ibiza to play at the famous monday night at club amnesia.
since then he is a regular on the balearic island, holding residencies at clubs like dc10 or, with his “vagabundos” serial, at ushuaïa. besides playing around the globe with the likes of carl craig, richie hawtin or loco dice, he is releasing groundbreaking minimal techno and house on his label cadenza since 2003, featuring music by artists like nsi, ricardo villalobos, pikaya, reboot, maayan nidam and himself.
his very own music, so far issued on three albums and countless eps, was always ambiguous. there is his club leaning creativity that can dance slightly into pop spheres while never for-getting the power of precise sliced rhythms and subtle bass sensations.
and then there is a calmer luciano, that displays his love for “music to listen at home, done for a spiritual travel, an inner universe and a moment paralyzed in ether”, as he describes it.
on his first ever mule musiq album release “luci neu house”, luciano now delivers meditative journey music full of repetitive patterns that slowly playing tricks on the listeners subcon-sciousness. “i love music that has a dimension more than music designed for the radio or tv format. mu-sic, that is designed to bring you a higher level of energy and creativity.
so, there is no pretentious things in it ... more just sounds and dimension that will lead your head into the fall of jupiter” he reveals about the one-hour long composition “luci neu house”, whose esoteric deepness reminds on the intensely meditative class of his older pro-ductions like “behind my soul” from 2010.
an epic tune cut on vinyl into four 15-minute long pieces, who shift slowly, almost unper-ceived, whilst absorbing the mind of close observers into a micro-sliced world of moving gen-tleness.
maelstrom magnetism against the gravity of time, that also can be found on the additional mule musiq 257 12inch, which functions as a soothing footnote to luciano’s album.
the almost 13 minutes long trip “flags of himalaya” opens with restful percussions that unhur-riedly start to dance with soft string, piano and horn melodies. on the opposite, the nine-minute long “the evasion of the spiritual soldier” grooves laidback with jazzy rhythms and italo leaning melodies.
a perfect tune for slow dance sensations and endless sunset seaside drives. at a total length of almost 90 minutes, all new mule musiq music composed by luciano distributes a mesmer-izing healing spirit, that grounds organically, even if it is totally rooted in the digital, soft-ware driven world of composing music. “check your buddha” tunes, that somehow sound novel during each new listening circle.
Embarking on a journey from Italy to Anatolia and from Africa to the Americas, Nelson of the East soars over imagined landscapes in his debut, motion picture- inspired album, Kybele. Plug in your headphones, drown out the world, and set
out on a mystic voyage of Earth through the lens of Kybele, the Anatolian goddess of wild nature.
With the world in flux and isolation taking its toll, musical escapism has become a much needed pastime for today’s armchair adventurers. Treating recorded sound as a vehicle of time travel, Milanese artist Nelson of the East (N.O.T.E) takes listeners on a journey through kaleidoscopic soundscapes with his debut album Kybele released on Tartelet Records.
Skillfully weaving the sounds of East and West, the nine-track LP fuses Turkish and cosmic influences with a strong electronic backbone into an otherworldly soundtrack of our time.
“The feeling that passes through the record isn’t straight. It changes, it turns, it is never predictable. Never being able to predict which landscape you arrive at next or where the music is taking you is key to enjoying the sound journey,” says Nelson. “
Named Kybele after the Anatolian goddess of nature, fertility, mountains, and wild animals, the record is a continuous saga that takes from the Berlin-based artist’s own adventurous spirit. Following his previous EP releases Night Frames and Phase Alternating Lines, Nelson explores new territories on Kybele.
The album opener, “Explorer,” is an exhilarating build up to what could be a 80s sci-fi movie, showcasing Nelson’s knack for cinematic moods. “Draw Me,” speaks to the artist’s intention of making a “snare album,” with an irregular, dominating beat untethering it from time or boundaries. “What I realize while I was writing the rhythm part is that the more you keep a beat simple the more difficult it becomes to make it interesting. So I just put down some rules to follow. For example, using swing as smoothly as possible, or using lot of syncopated sequence over the straight 2-4 groove,” says Nicolas.
Another thing Nelson achieves in this album is ambience, or the “motion picture touch” as he calls it. Tracks like the wild and obscure Culto, with its Anatolian nuances and middle eastern-sounding scales are made by layering synths to achieve an orchestral effect.
Other tracks capture the musician’s penchant for African and Brazilian grooves, like the Saudade mix of Burning Palm. On the B side, the Italo-flavored Phase Lines comes through with shimmering synth and electronic drums complete with hazy vocals delivered by DJ Rayne and Nelson himself. Yahuda dives into dark, melancholic electro with a Detroit feel not far from the sounds of the great Drexciya.
The album closes with ZETA, a track that could easily double as an obscure cinematic composition. The nine-track LP is strictly limited to 300 copies, pressed on 180g vinyl with artwork by The Emperor of Antarctica. No repress.
Ill considered are a group of musicians interacting with each other to create freely improvised music, based loosely around simple pre-written themes or composed on the spot. Deep grooves and plaintive melodies ranging from whispered chants to monstrous climaxes, the group react to the mood of the audience and the sonics of the room to create music that is unique to the moment. ILL CONSIDERED 8 was recorded during the band's European tour in the fall of 2018.
Puzzlebox Records Classic Electro / Techno Label Returns. Label owner Keith Tucker aka K-1 is back with his own Brand of Electro Funk with infectious bass lines and unmistakable vocals from one of the genres hardest working artist and label owners.
Over the years Tucker has done it all from visuals for live shows , label art work, dj’ing all over the world to also touring as a founding member of Aux88.
His new release is “Modular World “side A is an electro banger with Tuckers amazing arpeggiator work reminiscent of his great Optic Nerve techno alias. Modular World has a hypnotizing arp and Funky bassline that hits your soul and quickly programs your mind to
dance mode. The haunting Vocal and electronic vocoder work is unmistakable K-1 at his best. Listen to the way he combines his
voices to form his own distinct sound.
Side B. “Schematix” brings this special two track ep to A thunderous boom with a more retro bass styling that shows his programming skills, K-1 is able to manipulate his mixes to showcase his intelligent techno side with the street funk of Detroit. “Schematix” dark sci-fi drone vocals kick off the k-1 mix to get any crowd to run to the dance floor.
"Halfie" is compiled of eight tracks and a bonus track, which have been written and produced in 2020 by Anushka Chkheidze, 22 years old up and rising Georgian female electronic music producer. Despite her young age , her music is well though and intelligent. Her work includes music for film and theater. Anushka is one of the participants of "Sleepers Poets Scientists". "Halfie" is her debut album where she feels her new, completely different side is born.
The photograph of artwork of the vinyl, is taken by George Zatiashvili, resembles the concept of the music nonetheless.
"BRUK" is a new platform for fresh variations on the soundsystem ethic, in particular where high-end sound design intersects with formidable bassweight. It's an artist-focused endeavour geared towards producers with range, depth and ingenuity in their sound.
The first transmission comes from "FFT", the latest alias from accomplished producer Josh Thompson. Thompson established the Super Hexagon label with long time friends J. Wiltshire and Arthur Scott-Geddes and he's also released on heritage label R&S (as Alma Construct) and the excellent offbeat techno upstarts Power Vacuum, and more recently developed the FFT moniker via essential drops on The Trilogy Tapes as well as Super Hexagon.Thompson helps launch BRUK with a two-pronged attack that shows off the breadth of his artistic scope.
The lead 12" is a dynamic club release that pivots between razor-sharp drum programming, hyphy synth acrobatics, breakbeat science and dub-loaded atmospheres. If there's one constant that runs through all Thompson's work, it's a resounding confidence with melody, and that comes through even in the rowdy chops of "Month" – a track that exudes hope even in its gnarliest bars. From the dreadweight minimalism of "Fask" to the expansive electronica shock out of "Sacrifice (The Truth Mix)", this is a head-twisting release that feeds into the vital new energyreverberating around the 150+ axis.
Accompanying that 12" is a cassette album which provides that polar opposite side to FFT – a collection of compelling beatless ruminations under the banner of Total Self-Fulfilment. Gliding from low frequency industrial textures to expressive synth modulation, this is far from static music, even as it moves without the aid of a traditional rhythm section.
It's a strong first chapter for BRUK, with future releases lined up from artists similarly poking at the fabric of contemporary club music to find their own unique spaces for expression.
Limited edition of 300 copies of Natureboy Flako's all new 4-track EP "Besito".
Dario Rojo Guerra aka Natureboy Flako is set to release a unique musical room shaker. Picking up the energy of productions such as “Kuku” from his debut album, these four new banging tracks invite to dance and have fun while bouncing them out loud. The title track “Besito” is carrying a sincere message of love with an unmistaken production quality, also found on his previous release entitled “Theme For A Dream” which explores the boundaries of music, science and spirituality. His rather unpredictable but inspiring output will be continued with a full length album of library-like songs & soundscapes which is set to be released before summer also. But for now level up the energy and enjoy singing along to “Besito”.
“WOW I’m happy you are still making such incredible heat! I actually lost my fucking mind as well as the rest of the club.” - Gaslamp Killer
Hendrik Weber aka Pantha Du Prince (‘a fantasy character...a poetic transporter for the concept behind the music’) has carved a niche for a style of techno he calls, ‘layered and cinematographic.’ He released the Diamond Daze (2004) and This Bliss (2007) albums on Berlin dance label Dial before signing to Rough Trade and widening his audience with Black Noise (2010) and The Element of Light (2013).
On “Conference of Trees”, Pantha Du Prince explores the communication of trees and creates a sound concept based on it. What we experience here is a break through recording of experimental music, visual poetry, club culture and speculative science.
We are elated to collaborate with cult soul man Dutch Robinson, one of the original lead singers of The Ohio Players, and known for the modern soul anthem ‘Can’t Get Along Without You’.
For this 7” single we present two scintillating songs from 2013:
‘Can’t Say Goodbye’ and ‘Ego’.
Dutch is blessed with an incredible five octave vocal range, and along with his songwriter / producer partner Aaron Hamblin, they create magical music overflowing with thought provoking lyrics and real instruments! Ltd. Edition of 300 Copies.
Available from w/c 17th April.
Soundcloud links if preferred to MP3's.
Inspired by the otherworldly Sounds of Horror Sci-fi Soundtracks, Filippo Diana is able to merge vintage, experimental- and library music into sth. contemporary & soul-shifting.
After his debut Release Nemesi, he's now joins Slow Motion for his first Mini-Album Musica per "Commenti Sonori". Slow, earthly rhythms churn from the inside, expelling a complex, abstract sound that is still very tangible to a dancers ear.
Mars89 titles his first release Natural Sciences after a year already defined by bacterial outbreaks, drone assassinations and the rise of the right. Across four tracks which range from industrial quom to leftfield electronics, Mars89 supplies the goods to live the nightmare.
White label limited to 300 copies worldwide.
transparant blue marbled vinyl
Ekman is no stranger to Shipwrec. With three EPs and an album, the dutchman's brand of fire and brimstone has seared a serious impression on the Nijmegen imprint. The fourth 12" comes with a marked difference. That burning smouldering intensity that has characterised the acid soaked electro and stained techno of past records is present, however it is now sheathed. Beats are still sharp edged, as in "Verdraaide Logica", yet keys have softened and taken on an introspection. "Kronkel" is cast in a similar mould. From a fearsome kick blooms an incredibly layered and thoughtful track where melodies bob and weave while rhythms rail. Even amidst the sinister sidling synthlines of "Anker Punten", with its piercing and punishing percussion, there are understated pads to mellow. The glass and steel of "Vast/Los" ends the EP. Angular lines permeate the piece, reflection and refractions arc and bend in this science fiction finale. Depth mixed devilment from start to finish.
2019 has sparked a new evolution for the transient broken beats of London’s Itinerant Dubs.
The enigmatic imprint has been running in silo since 2013, providing the final strongholds of the underground with innovative bass aesthetics and an intoxicating electro swarm. In fact, “It’s Magic” opens the A-side with a cold, bruising cut of metallic percussion wrapped around lonesome, dystopian bleeps and form-shifting synths. Minimised and stripped-back to its core functions, guided by bold infusions of breaks. “Oh She Dance” is the duo’s most playful construction yet, mashing up a loose jungle flow with more rigid breakbeat science to form a deathly machine-gun of sonics. Bullets keep spraying across “Salsa On Mars” - a raucous, percussion-heavy slice of dubbed-out house - albeit with a moodier, more introspective groove that takes its ammunition from London’s inimitable jazz arsenal.
Planetary Notions boss Joe Rolét debuts on Infuse to open April with his ‘Maximum Width’ EP, backed by a remix from Rich NxT.
A rising name within his home city of London, Joe Rolét is a DJ and producer whose passion for subbed out club music with a cosmic twist has seen him become one of the scenes hotly tipped talents – a sound that’s also reflected in full via his bubbling label, Planetary Notions. Releasing music from artists such as Per Hammar, Lopaski, stevn.aint.leavn and Desert Sound Colony whilst welcoming the likes of Vlad Caia and more to join as guests on the imprint’s Rinse FM show, 2020 now sees Rolét follow up releases via Beeyou, Courtesy Of Balance and his own Planetary Notions imprint as he makes a debut label appearance on Infuse with ‘Maximum Width’ EP this April, accompanied by a remix of the title cut provided from FUSE resident Rich NxT.
Lead cut ‘Maximum Width’ sees Rolét introduce his blend of slinking, reduced grooves atop of bumping low-ends whilst working an infectious vocal throughout, whilst ‘Rounding’ sees warped synths, off-kilter melodies and further tripped out vocal snippets come to the fore. On the flip, FUSE favourite Rich NxT puts his stamp on the title track in impressive fashion as he raises the tempo and introduces sizzling bass stabs and rolling hats, before rounding out proceedings with the hypnotic ‘Amber Road’ – a paired back cut that harnesses soaring sci-fi leads and wriggling percussion arrangements to great effect to shape up an impressive debut offering.
22a main man Tenderlonious returns with a brand new 4 track EP, seamlessly cooking up a blend of hybrid house and broken beat with his unique analogue productions and signature flute instrumentation. The title track 'After The Storm' picks up where 2019 album 'Hard Rain' left off (Bandcamp's electronic albums of 2019) - a stormy, atmospheric 4/4 groove, with flute flurries, build the track to a state of euphoria. The EP continues with 'G Flex', a tune dedicated to Tender's mentor Sterling Styles, aka Equinox (Scientific Wax). Broken drum machine loops are brought to life by classic Tender flute and synth solos. Fans of his 2016 'On Flute' EP will be feeling this one!
Originally released in 1979, Iceland is Richard Pinhas' third solo album and his first following the breakup of Heldon. While moving away from the maximalism of his old band, paring down Heldon's hybrid of otherworldly sci-fi imagery and pummeling psych-prog riffs, the journey through Iceland is decidedly more inward.
Consisting of longer, brooding synth-based pieces as well as short proto-industrial études and interstitial sketches, Iceland features Pinhas' delay-ridden electric guitar, pulsating machine rhythms and analog synthesizer washes - all vivid in texture and timbre, notwithstanding an undeniably chilling ambience.
This first-time vinyl reissue includes "Wintermusic," an immersive 25-minute bonus track recorded in 1983 and appearing here on vinyl for the first time. Pinhas' excursions channel the season's stillness and sublimity, its majesty and its threat. Without a doubt, one his finest moments.
Recommended for fans of Cluster, Mica Levi and Fripp & Eno.
Titonton Duvante's long and more than essential Residual Recordings clocks up a fantastic 25th release in the form of a fifth volume of the famous Refraction series. This one draws on another masterful mix of names including Nachtbraker, Christopher Rau, Titonton himself as well as a rare killer outing from veteran S-Max. Reaching a milestone in style...
Nachtbraker opens the EP with a swirling house cut that is riddled with FM bass, twinkling keys and balmy pads that reach for the heavens. Christopher Rau goes for a more raved up house cut with feel good energy chords but a nice deep bassline and pensive synths on his Give It. Titonton does as he does best - keeps it deep, loopy yet driven, with a slick tech cut that is dubbed out and perfectly atmospheric as well as being hugely infectious. Last of all, S-Max comes correct with the slick boom bap of his stripped back house roller Lil' Lightyear Wants to Ride, with its dreamy pads and sci-fi feels.
Residual is by now, and for many years been a key label for lovers of tasteful house, as this latest collection proves they are showing no signs of slowing down.
After Nu Guinea’s LP, Nuova Napoli, and Napoli Segreta first compilation, NG RECORDS follows up with an exploration into the unknown groovy side of Naples by releasing Napoli Segreta Vol. 2 Famiglia Discocristiana, DNApoli and Nu Guinea team up again selecting more tracks from their archives, for a new compilation containing 9 mysterious Neapolitan tracks, found in the most hidden corners of remote flea markets around the Vesuvius.
But forget classical Neapolitan songs, "'O Sole Mio" or "Luna Rossa"... Forget about what you expect to find once you land in town … Oh and also forget about Google Maps.
Take a dodgy local guide, keep your eyes open, and follow it to enter the secret downtown, the underground, the routes that no satellite can detect, but beware there is no easy way out.
Napoli Segreta Vol. 2 is a musical journey into the sonic landscapes of Naples that you have never heard of before. A variety of genres merging soul, disco, funk, blues, new wave, afro-beat and boogie, including lyrics in Neapolitan urban slang, instrumental tracks with progressive flavour, and also some unexpected covers!
"Who Sent You?" by Irreversible Entanglements is an entire holistic jam of "infinite possibilities coming back around," a sprawling meditation for afro-cosmonauts, a reminder of the forms and traumas of the past, and the shape and vision of Afrotopian sounds to come. Stay on it! This is the future! This is the spectral dreaming, the reshaped soundwaves of post-Katrina, post-Osage Avenue, post-Obamacare that we borrow from to do this work, so stay on it. Who Sent You? they said from their liquid cryo-chamber, from a low-light induction field cobbled together with lithium rods, with melted down Romare Bearden and Howardena Pindell paintings, stitched with chaos fibers and placed in the center of the carrion husk of a burnt out shanty town. They took time to scrape ashen samples of what was, their souls the residue thick and caked on, that still climbs those new high-rise condominiums like moss - the only evidence that they were once there, that they were baked into the fabric of this planet - they were there fixing elevators and tossing wrenches into quantum fields until they were stopped! frisked! and turned into weird, 100-foot martyr murals on the backside, the north side, of supermarket walls-Who Sent You? is how the matrix modulation works. Dig it: Who Sent You? is the punk-rocking of jazz and the mystification of the avant-garde, a sci-fi sound from that out-soul-fire jazz quintet Irreversible Entanglements.
Two years after the drop of his latest solo effort, 'Strangers', Budapest cross-dimensional vibes trader Imre Kiss clocks in on Dalmata Daniel with the eagerly awaited followup to his widescreen, sci-fi ready sonic adventures. Here again, the Hungarian producer - who's made a name for himself through discerning blends of kosmische-infused nostalgia and uplifting emotional apexes, takes us off to a world of sense-awakening wonders and hidden alien treasures, well supported in his quest by Den Haag's legend Intergalactic Gary, up on the flip with a heat-seeking belter of a remix.
Written during a tour across Japan, the title-track 'Oimachi' breaks things in on a punchy yet immersively emotional note, flexing out the blunt Casio arpeggios and muscular bass leads for what results in a soul-whelming, wildly enjoyable trip away from the gridlocked 4/4 paradigm. The further jagged and wonky 'Whipromance' extrudes a weirdo-friendly piece of stretchin' electronics from its squelchy gangue of acid subs and straightforward drumwork, all set against a refreshingly contemplative dawn of pastel-brushed pads and ample beat-free sequences that shall leave weary dancers in a daze.
Flip sides and here comes 'Soft Obsession' - a fine-tuned assembly of organic envelopes, plurally sourced sample library and that idiosyncratic sense of otherworldliness the name of Imre Kiss has become synonymous with. Opening the sunroof onto a luxuriantly arranged and incredibly deep forest of rhythmic folds and textures, this is the very kind of track to send you off to the zone on a one-way trip. Rounding off the journey in true Moebius-esque fashion, Intergalactic Gary lets his unmatched jockey know-how do the talk through a mind-expanding finisher that'll be sure to please both the lovers of stadium-sized epics and all-night-long chock-a-block sweatbox action.
/Baptiste Girou/
Ivano Tetelepta's Siena imprint hits double figures with a stylish fifth installment of its Sampler EP series. The co-founder himself features next to Vivian, Toki Fuko and Tom Liem.
Tetelepta goes first with more of his cavernous and dubbed out grooves. They roll smoothly beneath a jumble of toms and vocal samples and sci-fi soul comes from the warm chords. Vivian then serves up something brilliantly trippy, with brain cleansing synth lines, alien life forms and a kinetic minimal drum line all making for a late night mood. Next is Tom Liem, the ESHU associate who excels here with the superbly spacious Freediver, a dubbed out ambient techno with a persuasive rhythm and exquisite sound design. Toki Fuko closes out with a more driving dub techno cut that has rippling chords and perfectly undulating drums. This is another forward thinking fusion of dub, minimal, ambient and techno.
Fantastische Best-Of-Compilation des venezuelanischen Ambient/Electronic-Musikers Miguel Noya mit remastered Highlights seiner Karriere seit seinem Solodebüt, dem deepen Sci-Fi-Electronic-Werk "Gran Sabana" (1984). Inspiriert von Brian Eno, Jon Hassell und Tangerine Dream vereint Noya Ambient, Space-Electronica, Soundtrack, Psychedelia und organische Geräusche zu einem intensiven Sound, der sich - ähnlich japanischer Ambient-Produzenten - mit einer eigenen Note von den westlichen Pendants abhebt.
The consistently innovative Catch Recordings is back with a new EP from Leipzig based producer U+00C5. As always with this label, the music is right from the cutting electronic edge and finds this stylish producer blur the boundaries between ambient, dub and techno in evocative new ways.
Cult favourite U+00C5 is focussed on new musical forms, on modern sounds and redefining the European techno sound. He consistently pushes forwards and is a master of the interplay between hypnotic repetition and otherworldly abstractionism, all while drawing on dark ambient and drone. Once again here the producer who also works as Åmethyst is in fine form across all five tracks.
Atmospheric opener 'Blutdruck' is a deep techno roller that fizzes with a sense of post-industrial dystopia. The shadowy grooves are eventually backlit by subtle chords that bring real warmth and soul. The excellent 'Empfinden' is more high tempo but just as cavernous and absorbing thanks to the rolling rubber drums, distant synth drones and sci-fi motifs that add the all important details which keep your head as engaged as your heel.
The beautiful 'Taumel' is another slice of hypnotic and tunnelling techno embellished with gorgeous ambiance from the outer edges of our galaxy. 'Nichts Ist Wahr' closes things out with suspensory pads giving you the feeling that you are floating in space before the firmly rooted drums rumble on and take you into the next dimension.
This is another fascinating EP of club ready but seriously heady sounds from Catch Recordings.
4TRK-029 sees label head Dj Hyperactive team up with Jason Patrick for the Inflexion EP. The release kicks off with, “Shadows Of The Underground” a stripped down acid Techno track that builds in a mutating fashion with it’s 808 cymbals, filtering shakers, and pitch bent synth stabs Mississippi Mud Hound gets underway with a growling bassline that morphs throughout alongside additional synth elements and percussion bits. On side b, “Harrier Env” provides a jacking feel that manages to also have stutter step bass groove in conjunction with 909 percussion, a spacey drone, and a mysterious melody. Closing out the release is “Bandaid On A Bullet Wound” an atmospheric stripped down track with powerful bass, sci-fi bleeps, and a lead synth riff that pushes and pulls in intensity throughout the track.
Vinyl Only, Limited to 150 copies
Mysterious Berlin label MASK return in 2020 with a vinyl only release consisting of a pair of raw cuts entitled ‘Marilyn’.
MASK preserve their esoteric philosophy of delivering well-crafted, modulated house and techno cuts produced on hardware equipment and ‘Marilyn’ certainly follows suit. MASK releases are the result of anonymous artists live jamming together in unison with the first five releases picking up support from the
likes of Laurent Garnier, Marcel Dettmann, Elena Colombi, Machine Woman and many more.
The A side is 13-minute voyage featuring fluttering, resonant drums, lo-fi synth stabs and growling oscillations that take the focus in the later stages while on the B side sweeping pads, spacey undertones and squelchy, acid soaked sci-fi elements keep the sonical experience obscure yet fascinating throughout.
"Aporia" is a New Age album from Sufjan Stevens and his step-father and record label co-owner, Lowell Brams. In the spirit of the New Age composers who sanded off the edges of their synths' sawtooth waves, "Aporia" approximates a rich soundtrack from an imagined sci-fi epic brimming with moody, hooky, gauzy synthesizer soundscapes. The album may suggest the progeny of a John Carpenter, Wendy Carlos, and Mike Oldfield marriage, but it stands apart from these touchstones and generates a meditative universe all its own. This is no mere curio in the Sufjan Stevens catalog - but a fully realized collaborative musical piece. Stevens and Brams recorded "Aporia" over the course of the last several years during Brams' visits to Stevens' home in New York with the help of several frequent Asthmatic Kitty collaborators, including Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), D.M. Stith, Nick Berry (Dots Will Echo), John Ringhofer (Half-handed Cloud) drummer and longtime collaborator James McAlister, keyboardist and trombonist Steve Moore (Sunn O)))), guitarist Yuuki Matthews (The Shins) and vocalist Cat Martino.
Known for its 808s, Bass, Alligators, & Cocaine Cowboys, Florida is the home of Vanguard Sound's Chris Mitchell, who follows his contribution to Squirrels On Acid with an EP of four absolute Rippers at the intersection of classic booty bass & new-school goth electro.
“Every Asshole” announces its presence with an up-tempo red-lined booty beat that will shake the walls of the Strip Mall Strip Club in any neighborhood. Funk is the key ingredient, and it is added generously, even when the synthesizer melodies bring in a darker texture. “Grippers” is more sinister, but no less funky. Dirty South Cold Wave at full frequency, propulsive & punk rock, but this is strictly party music at its core. The drum patterns stay in perpetual motion, programed with skill & precision. “Sh4” is another banger. The sound of a malfunctioning Fairlight over intricate drums & angular arpeggios. Mitchell's tracks never sit still, and again here, the drum programming shines. This is someone who has put in their 10, 000 hours on the MPC, and it shows. “Land Of Make Believe” slows things down & turns ups the Goth. Cybertron Sci Fi Soundtrack moods, but rump shaking nonetheless, wordless alien vocal textures & synth strings weave with the drums, which here are slightly more sparse than the previous tracks, but programmed with the same attention to detail.
If you're familiar with Chris Mitchell, this EP will not disappoint, & if this is your introduction to his music, you'll be wanting to hear more. This sixth release from the world of Squirrels is NOT for standing around at the party looking cool. This for shaking the tail, sweating with strangers at legendary all-ages club & birthplace of Miami Bass the Pac Jam in hedonistic abandon.
Spencer Clark is back with a futuristic eco-friendly record. It’s life on earth as you never heard it.
The story goes like this: Spencer wanted to do a soundtrack for the yet to be made “Avatar 2”. And if you know Spencer’s work, you’ll know that he engaged on this mission reading material that influenced the rich and crazy imaginary world of “Avatar”. If you think about it a little bit, something like “Avatar” could have really come out from the mind of Spencer Clark.
But it didn’t. So, he dwelled around the idea of that soundtrack, working on what is now known as “Avatar Blue”. The record we now release is a selection he made from the 2CD released last year on his own Pacific City Sound Visions.*
Like many of Spencer’s other alias or incarnations, Star Searchers introduces the listener to a new world. Besides making sounds/soundtracks for alternative realities he cares about making a world for his music to live in. It’s never superficial or dedicated just to the act of imagination, Spencer creates sounds that sustain the reality he imagined. That’s why they’re so rich and consequential in the realization of music as a medium.
“Avatar Blue” is music but also literature. And cinema. Star Searchers’ sound creates an absorbent sound about what’s happening in aquatic life. It goes beyond the perception of what we’ve seen or what we’ve known, it’s a neo-future aquatic life, with a world building structure and sounds and narratives that go along with it.
All done with a sound-aesthetics that could be described as slowed-down-trance, that fits 1980s synth nostalgia and dreams of sci-fi to come.
*Note: The 2CD version is available as a digital download with a purchase of the album on selected stores.
Inspired by artists such as Steve Moore and Aphex Twin, the producer develops a sound that is both brooding and nostalgic, mixing expertly influences ranging from German techno to vintage horror and sci-fi soundtracks. To celebrate the 5th anniversary of his EP Hotline Miami II, Das Mörtal released a limited-edition vinyl of the EP on Record Store Day (April 13th) 2019 with three previously unreleased songs featured on the album. The object is eagerly awaited by the artist’s fans and its copies will disappear quickly.
Beyond the Mikrosector, passed the Love Quadrant and over the Intersect lies another reality that exists in contrary to our own. This is where we now find Mr. 8040, the Space Dimension Controller, on a planète contraire, a world very much like our own, but one that runs in opposite to the norm. Here he toys with intergalactic Detroit funk and sequenced machines, creating celestial signals of minimalistic, atmospheric boogie. It’s a new course of interconnected, cinematic electro that exists outside of time and yet is apt for moments of timelessness.
Within the world of astrophysics there are select scientists out there that believe space-time gradually loops in on itself. Within this infinite realm of time and space, we can find ourselves once again living our past lives. It’s in this eternal domain that the Space Dimension Controller returns once more, applying his knowledge from the planète contraire to his absorbing palette of C-beams, moon-lit orchestrations, and graviton beats. Matured from his time cavorting through the core of the unknown, the Space Dimension Controller’s sound becomes more focussed, filled with the knowledge of the worlds his visited.
On the A side, Mr. 8040’s strain of progressive and unequivocal deep-space disco lends towards his studio competence, creating lush melodies that will have even the geysers of Enceladus erupting in time along with the symphony of syncopated drum machines. On the flipside, the prodigious Jack Hamill, aka. the Space Dimension Controller, flexes his machine savviness once more creating a timeless electro-funk rhythm for a timeless, time-travelling pioneer.
Ionisation is the first LP by Italian poet Adriano Spatola. Born in Yugoslavia in 1941, by the age of 23 he became a major force in the Italian avant-garde. “Towards Total Poetry,” Spatola’s critical study on the state of modern poetry, spells out his position: “to become a total medium, to escape all limitations to include theater, photography, music, painting, typography, cinematographic techniques, and every other aspect of culture, in a utopian ambition to return to origins.” Graphic poetry (cut-up zeroglyphs), volatile and beautiful prose (particularly his books The Porthole and Majakovskiiiiiiij), and of course sound poetry, represented here for the first time. Spatola was the editor of many underground publications: Baobab (a legendary audio-cassette magazine), Tam Tam, and Edition Geiger. Each of his pursuits spread the margins of the format, all done with a relentless, piercing curatorial eye.
Spatola has dark, drunken wit in spades. In his sound poems, an even more saturated persona is conjured. A desperate humor sneers through this LP, a humor that has surrendered to the severe joke of life long ago - lashing out on syllables and ingrown word games. Particularly, his classic “Aviation/Aviateur” (akin to his “Seduction/Seducteur,” & “Violacion/Violateur” etc.). Read by lesser performers, these pieces would falter and float by in the trough, though Spatola’s bull-like confidence tears through. “Poker Foundation” features the poet hysterically singing “the play of the words” over a classical radio piece, mocking and squawking against the string swells. Steve Lacy plays scissors, knife, and saxophone on “Hommage à Eric Satie,” a piece originally recorded for the luxurious Cramps LP boxset Futura. Collaborators Gian Paolo Roffi and Paul Vangelisti are also featured across the collection.
The LP concludes with the titular work “Ionisation,” recorded just days before his premature death in 1988. Feeling his sinking health, his belly in the quicksand, he prefaces the piece, “a funeral march for my body.” He proceeds to scrape and pound the microphone on his chest, face, and clothing. This thick pumping of Adriano’s torso rapping across the speakers abruptly stops after two minutes. A piercing moment.
I was born the day after Adriano died, which has some poetic meaning to me, naturally. I am indebted to him, his sickly sweet manner. The opportunity to publish these largely unknown sound works is an honor which brings a warmth to my torso. Much appreciation goes to Giovanni Fontana (poet and dear friend of Adriano), who helped produce this edition with me. “Every single word has been a tempest of gestures.“
Sean McCann, January 2020
Deliberately breaking all the rules Mr. Hornby once famously outlined regarding the creation of homemade (tape) compilations, Saroos’ members indeed had the term “mixtape” on their minds while working on their latest full-length – albeit in the hip-hop sense: a sonic snack box, interconnected shots from the hip, something that just came together and immediately felt right.
Whereas hip-hop folks nowadays often use the vacuous term “project” in order to steer clear of the ontological debate caused by the almost synonymous use of album/mixtape, Florian Zimmer, Christoph Brandner, and Max Punktezahl, otherwise busy with The Notwist, Driftmachine & Lali Puna, stick to the classics: their new 16-track project “OLU” (Off Label Use) is, officially, still an album. But it’s wild and vibrant like a mixtape, interwoven like its cover: a seamless burst of ideas, impulsively combined to form a split-screen snapshot of recent moments and momentums.
Re-appropriating the term “Off Label Use” – which actually means: using prescription drugs in ways that aren’t mentioned on the instruction leaflet – in their own “off-label” way, Saroos never sounded more loose-limbed and elastic. Whereas the trio’s earlier releases were rather conceptual and homogenous, “OLU” indeed has a more loose, spur-of-the-moment feel, a spontaneous force at its core. Checking the weighty sci-fi inspirations at the door, they use that Bomb Shelter-type of freedom to reinvent themselves at every turn, chasing sounds that happened to emerge in the group’s triangular energy field.
Kicking it off “with a killer, to grab attention” (Hornby/Cusack, after all), the massive reverb-stumblin’ adjustment between beats and bass of opening track “Quarantaine” cross-fades smoothly into “Humdrum Rolloff,” an early hint at the group’s off-label practices: the underwater creepers floating around here were really voices (mostly). From majestically built oriental sound-pieces (“Looney Suite Serenade”), synth-based “End House Mario” and a triptych of speaker-boxxxing gas lamp experimentations entitled “Cord Burn 1-3,” Saroos have rarely sounded this playful and unrestricted: there’s a new energy at work that welds all the different sonic playing fields together to create one continuous 40 minute mix.
For the B-side descent, “Tatsu Jam,” at less than 4 minutes still the longest cut, billows over the kind of sizzling hi-hats you’d expect to hear on real trap tapes from Hotlanta. A prelude to a bunch of quicker-paced instrumentals (“Scratch Pets”, “24h Love Gumbo”) and ambient sun showers, until the next “Plateau” (Mo’Wax vibes!) brings the beats to the fore once again (“Tomorrow’s Kudos”), and the ultimate “Whirligig” sounds like a mix of Oktoberfest 2020 and Johnston’s “Casper The Friendly Ghost” coming apart at the seams.
Whatever you wanna call it – album, LP, mixtape, project, who cares? –, it’s definitely a double A-side tour-de-force.
Leagues Beneath is the first release immediately following Sleep’s long-prophesied, critically-acclaimed opus The Sciences. Recorded as a part of a series of songs for Adult Swim, this 12” single is a testament to what has made The Sciences such a success: bottomless tone, spacetime-melting riffs and a unparalleled aural experience from start to finish. Leagues Beneath is a full 17 minute plunge, now available to experience on black vinyl.
Following on from Myele Manzanza's acclaimed 2019 jazz album, 'A Love Requited', we have a 2020 addendum to that project; an EP of remixes by a set of diverse musicians from all corners of the globe.
Detroit legend Theo Parrish starts off the proceedings. Theo & Myele have previously worked together on various projects over the years, such as with live outfit, The Unit, whilst Myele's 'Surgery Session' of Theo's track 'Moonlight' was picked up by The Vinyl Factory last Summer as well. On his remix of 'Itaru's Phone Booth', Theo maintains the tempo & structure of the original track, whilst tempering the horns and adding some spaced-out keys & a little low end theory to the equation, making this a flip seasoned with Theo's unique flavour.
Mark de Clive-Lowe follows with the most uptempo track on the EP, a delightful bruk refix of 'Big Deal'. Fellow New Zealander, regular collaborator (notably on Manzanza's sophomore album 'OnePointOne') and hugely respected musician in his own right, MdCL delivers a hefty groove direct for the clubs; heavy drums & sci-fi synths lead the way atop of the original's powerhouse horns, switching up with some MAW-esque 4/4 tribal business to close out.
Cardiff's finest, Earl Jeffers & Don Leisure, aka First Word label-mates Darkhouse Family, kick off the flipside with their take on the appropriately titled 'Family Dynamics'. Fresh from their solo & combined projects (producing for Kamaal Williams, running house label Melange, and creating beat-tapes like Halal Cool J & Shaboo), the duo turn out some punchy boom-bap vibes which pulsate throughout the track, accompanied by some sweet vocal hooks, transposing the original into a plucky heads-down neo-soul tinged stomper.
Borrowed CS is another New Zealand artist that's been bubbling away in the underground NZ electronic scene for several years now, as a DJ and a musician. He ends this selection of remixes, taking the original jazz components of 'Pencarrow' and transforming it into a synth-boogie lead piece of brooding broken beat - a 'Clear Path Depiction' even.
Released on Worldwide Award-winning UK label, First Word Records, the original album was also co-produced by another antipodean label-mate, Ross McHenry, who released a new album recently.
The son of a Congolese master percussionist, Myele Manzanza's roots in jazz and African rhythm are well established. Adding his long-time influences of hip hop and dance music into the mix, this EP exemplifies his approach to fusion, and his persona as an ever-evolving artist, drummer & composer. Since his days as part of Electric Wire Hustle, he had his debut release on BBE, has released three solo albums, and done tours & collabs with folks like Jordan Rakei, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Recloose & Amp Fiddler. Since moving to London from New Zealand late last year, he has already shared stages with Hiatus Kaiyote, The Bad Plus & Alfa Mist, rocked The Jazz Cafe & Ronnie Scott's, and ably demonstrated his DJ side-hustle chops at stations like Soho Radio, Worldwide FM & NTS, as well as behind the decks in a few danceries across the capital, and behind his drum kit daily.
Already hard at work on brand new material, expect to catch Myele Manzanza live at various shows & festivals across the UK & Europe this coming Summer.
'A Love Requited - The Remixes' is available on 12" vinyl & all digital outlets from March 6th 2020.
Limited gold vinyl version + insert. Three years after the release of his magnum opus 'Sciencing', Tim Vanhamel is back with new album 'APPLZ ≠ APPLZ'. Sly & the Family Stone, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Public Enemy, Jimi Hendrix... Consider this a tribute to those kinds of records, with a tongue in cheek nod and celebratory flavour.
Rejoicer is a Tel Aviv-based musician making cosmic jazz-tinged electronica. 'Rejoicer' has collaborated with Mndsgn, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudley Perkins, as well as being a member of the band Buttering Trio and running the Raw Tapes label.
Several tracks on ‘Spiritual Sleaze’ include vocals, with featured guests including iogi, KerenDun, Nitai Hershkovits, Jenny Penkin and Sam Wilkes. Key tracks from the album have had videos made by visual collaborator Jengo, who will also tour with Rejoicer to perform their live A/V show in 2020.
Rejoicer cites Sun Ra, Aphex Twin, Steve Reich, Dabrye, Eric Satie, Wu Tang Clan and Scientist among his musical inspirations. For fans of Kiefer, Mndsgn, Teebs, Flying Lotus, BADBADNOTGOOD, Thundercat, Shigeto.
Press - Reviews & features in 405, RA, Faze, Clash, Mojo, Electronic Sound, Stamp The Wax, Mixmag, Faze, Musikexpress, Jazz News, Tsugi. / Online - 6 Music, Worldwide FM, NTS, Radio Nova, ByteFM, EGO FM, Triple J, Double J.
From the moment of its release, Iñigo Vontier’s El Hijo del Maiz has become one of the most gripping albums of the moment. With South American and Middle Eastern sounds and his conception of music as ritual, the Mexican DJ keeps electronica in check as a valid mix of influences. The EP El Hijo Del Maiz (Remixes) marks the end of an episode which started, in good company, last autumn on the Lumière Noire label. The second track of his album, Bo Ni Ke, is distinguished by its original - almost implausible - universe, with a Japanese-inflected vocal filter and oriental flutes taking the beats into a crazy trance. Leaning on the 4/4 rhythm, Simple Symmetry’s remix of the track is also very playful (Iñigo Vontier recently remixed Nar for Simple Symmetry). The Moscow duo, noted in particular for the brilliant EP Plane Goes East released on Disco Halal (the Moscoman label which makes the link between east and west), pulls the track over to another - less terrestrial more psychedelic - universe, in their well identified ethno-underground style.
The remix of Bo Ni Ke by Nicola Cruz, French-born Ecuadorian producer, enlivens the track by playing on the sounds of voices and South American percussion. Also present in his fascinating album Siku released a year ago on the ZZK Records label, they overlap with the demonological whims of Iñigo Vontier but also those of Nicolas Jaar, who was revealed to him as he was starting out.
The inaugural track of the album Xu Xu (subject of the previous EP, only released as a digital version) has been remixed by Roman Flügel, allowing a vinyl release of this incredible track. You could pick out the science of this headliner in a million. Flügel has been on the electronic scene since the early days, learning the ropes under the aegis of prestigious labels Playhouse, Dial and Klang.
He has recently enhanced some emblematic tracks signed Daniel Avery, Koze, Âme, Radio Slave and C.A.R. and here once again the pioneer of techno is working miracles to create a more cerebral version of this track.
Concluding the EP with Thomass Jackson, his co-founder of the label Calypso Records, who we will soon be able to find on the compilation / family portrait of the label Lumière Noire From Above Vol. 2, Iñigo Vontier offers up a genre-busting version of the title Marijuana, like an ataxic play time, deliberately smoky for an explicitly licentious title.
Sublunar Records, the label run by Sciahri and Dagdrom, start 2020 with the second chapter of the trilogy “Corpora”.
Part II involves Svreca, founder of the legendary label Semantica with ìPaganismî. A precisely contoured aural architecture that leads in a psychedelic feeling where all sense of space and time are lost.
Rhyws, known as one-half of the duo Cassegrain and recently releasing two stunning EPs on Avian under his own name, debuts on Sublunar with ìPasajulî. Sculpting highly textured sounds where percussions have the perfect amount of rough and smooth.
The EP is closed by Pris, an artist who has made a career from this style of techno hypnosis across records that represent the very best of modern deep techno. His track ìRustî is a psychedelic odyssey where a melody works its way into the background, but never quite reaches the surface completely.
First released on digital formats back in 2016, and here now given a richly deserved full vinyl release, 'Holy Science', the debut outing from Amirtha Kidambi and her New York based quartet The Elder Ones, is a work of dazzling singularity. Delicately yet unashamedly divulging its complex network of influences at every turn, 'Holy Science' simultaneously disperses of boundary and limitation, emerging as an album steeped in tradition yet located firmly in the futuristic present.
Amirtha Kidambi, the Elder Ones' leader, composer and vocalist, was a child of South Indian heritage, and she grew up immersed in the tradition of devotional singing, joining in with free-form, improvised Bhajans on regular Sundays. She began simultaneously accompanying her voice with the harmonium from the age of three.
These formative experiences continued to instruct and merge with her ongoing musical explorations as she went on to study Classical music, all the while ingesting the Punk, R&B and Rap that surrounded her. A particularly significant discovery was that of free and avant jazz, and in particular the music of Alice and John Coltrane, in whom Kidambi found clear echoes and parallels with those Bhajans and Ragas of her earliest musical awakenings.
All these influences collide on 'Holy Science', at times as explosive blasts of sky-opening thunder, at others as moments of soothing, meditative bliss. These holy bursts are enacted by Kidambi's assembled musicians and are given permission to explore the science of spiritual alchemy, plundering their individual and collective soul for the sake of musical expression, and all of the unpredictable and profound revelations such an approach might yield.
'Holy Science' is a work underpinned by traditions, be they the Bhajan spirituals, or the Jazz and Classical avant gardes, that are in their own manner, archetypal. But perhaps most importantly, all of these forms contain an inbuilt capacity for discovery and progression.
Amirtha Kidambi's musical pathway has been defined by a studied determination to occupy this specific space, the unbounded realm of improvisation and exploration, summoning the acquired instruments of experience, knowledge, culture and tradition to unlock secrets of the past, present and future. The most cherished music is often remarked upon as having a timeless quality – ancient, modern and futuristic, all at once. And so it is with 'Holy Science'.
Dublin's Minos makes his debut on DBA with a rich spread of rollers covering the techno and electro diaspora backed by a Claude Young remix. His influences are techno, IDM and metal, from Downwards to Jeff Mills and Drexciya via Slayer. Originally from a live music background, he was converted to techno after hearing Mills play at the now sadly defunct Twisted Pepper in Dublin, and 'Sorry I'm Late' EP will leaves little doubt that it's Detroit's own brand of high energy, sci-fi sounding techno that inspires his work.
Minos has steadily been making moves in Dublin's fertile underground scene for the past few years as both a DJ and producer. He first released music as Urizen on BRW Records and is a part of Dublin collective wherethetimegoes with a number of other local artists. Never one for sticking to the same method, his production setup utilises both analogue gear and software to create music that continues to build on techno's history while looking to the future.
Claude Young Jr. is universally acknowledged as one of the most respected producers and DJ's to come from the legendary home of techno, Detroit. His best known studio mixes include ... AX-033
Claude Young 'Thoughts Of Phutura' (only official mix compilation for Jeff Mills' Axis Records) and his legendary Claude Young DJ-Kicks Mix for K7!
Shcuro is the alias of João Ervedosa a DJ, producer and graphic designer based in Lisbon. He also runs the record labels Sombra and Paraíso, makes music as Jose Acid and hosts a show on Rádio Quântica. His first contact with a DJ setup happened at age 15, and that’s when Shcuro decided to buy his own turntables and mixer; and started producing his own beats, too. He’s since released music on Basal, Circus Maximus, Obscuur Techno, Golden Mist Records and his most recent collaboration with Photonz for Future Déjà Vu.
‘Particle of Memory’ is a hypnotic 6-track EP that explores new territories in contemporary dance music. Sonically Shcuro paints his sounds blending moody techno with industrial noises alongside fast, apocalyptic electro and breakbeat. He is influenced by Portuguese rave culture that was born in the mid-90s at Lisbon clubs Alcântara-Mar and Kremlin and the country’s first electronic label Kaos Records. Shcuro continues to expand and morph this rich dance heritage to create something entirely different. The bouncy, lead track “Afterlife” features vocals and lyrics by London's ELLES followed by a Decadent Dub rework. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Housed in a die-cut jacket designed by Eloise Leigh reminiscent of ‘90s escape/sci-fi films with futuristic bright pink pop flourishes
AFU-RA comes back with the project "Urban Chemistry" mixing Hip-Hop, Reggae and Soul, produced by Digital Cut, to be released in February 2020 on X-Ray Production. On this new album, AFU-RA has invited one or more guests on each of the 18 tracks such as Sizzla, Jah Mason, Keny Arkana, Lord Kossity, Big Shug or Mann... Thanks to an exclusive collaboration with the brand Canna, all songs have been filmed in 15 cities in 8 different countries.
Hailing from the New-York underground Hip-Hop scene, AFU-RA has sold more than 700,000 copies of its first 4 albums. Through these projects, he has collaborated with many artists such as Guru and DJ Premier but also Wu-Tang's RZA and GZA, Ky-Mani Marley, Saian Supa Crew ... to name a few. Over the years, the former member of the Gang Starr Foundation has created a style of his own: striking flows on militant and conscious lyrics and a visual universe inspired by martial arts.
Canyons are places of mystery and beauty. The interesting thing is, while they are one of the great wonders in the history of planet earth and attract scientists of all kinds of disciplines, they have also been a popular retreat for artists and musicians. You will have heard of Topanga Canyon, Rickie Lee Jones and Chicago recorded here. Laurel Canyon is even more well known, a mythical place where Crosby, Stills & Nash developed their unique vocal sound while hanging around Mama Cass' place. Or was it in Joni Mitchell's house on Lookout Mountain? Ok, you get the picture. There is something unexplainable, almost magical going on in canyons.
Maybe that's why Andy Platts and Shawn Lee were thinking of "Canyons" when they wrote and recorded their third album as Young Gun Silver Fox. With "West End Coast" and "AM Waves" these two very talented musicians, singers, songwriters, arrangers and producers already explored all things Westcoast, AOR, Softrock and Boogie. But - especially if you are a into the golden age of this sound running from circa 1976 to 1984 - you will be aware that there is no return once you started digging these unconditional musical delights with their timeless compositions, untouchable musicianship and refined arrangements. The great albums from that era appeared when punk broke and the musical establishment was shaken to the ground. Today they sound more up to date than ever. Who would have thought back then?
On "Canyons" Young Gun Silver Fox turned it up to eleven. They are nothing but "Kids" cruising in the fast lane, totally over the top searching for the "Dream Woman", touching down in Tokyo caught in a "Long Distance Love Affair", imagining the theme for a lost 70s TV series starring "Danny Jamaica", being on the winning side in a "Private Paradise", getting deep and soulful in "Things We Left Unsaid" and wondering how to spread "All This Love". Their bass lines, sound layers, brass arrangements and harmony vocals are immaculate. Everything fits perfectly. Just like this. "Who Needs Words" when everything is crystal clear? Exactly!
"Canyons", after all, are magical places of rare beauty. (Mr. Mellow - Porcaroc Club/Mr. Mellow's Sunday Scene/Soho Radio).
17 Steps present ‘New Atlantis’, a 5 track EP from versatile DJ, producer and dance music historian Chrissy.
The EP takes its name from an unexpected source – a 17th century utopian novel of the same name by Sir Francis Bacon, depicting a future society in which science has become the ruling principle. It’s an inspiring idea for Chrissy – an antidote to the assault on truth and intellectualism led by climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, creationists, unfit-for-office demagogues and the slow suffocation of fact-based journalism.
‘New Atlantis’ explores the utopian worldview implicit in early rave music, drawing on classic Chicago house, UK hardcore and Drexciyan electro. The result is a collection of jacking breaks and bass infused dance music washed with a bittersweet euphoria – celebrating and lamenting an era’s forgotten optimism.
Melodies International are glad to step forward with their latest reissue and 19th release, exploring the sounds of London locals Synchrojack: Daylight and 900th Lifetime, two slabs of mid 90s UK house at its best. MEL019 will be available in January in vinyl 12-inch format.
Melodies International is a reissues record label based in London founded by Floating Points in 2015, dedicated to unearthing, restoring, contextualizing and offering new leases of life to the best of scarcer and lesser known soul, disco, jazz, house and beyond.
Originally from Portsmouth in the UK, Synchrojack is a London based production duo formed by Dean Slydell and Greg Wheeler in the mid 90s. Both deeply into records and production gear, they connected through figuring out how to set up a shared studio in Dean's parents' home and starting to produce electronic music in their late teens.
They were completely taken over by the sounds of Detroit and Chicago that were getting imported at the time. Starting out trying to emulate those sounds they loved, tracks by Model 500, Glenn Underground, Lil Louis, Steve Poindexter and Mike Dunn among many others, what came of Dean and Greg's sessions wasn't a carbon copy but their own distinctive sound.
They began releasing on Russ Gabriel's mythical UK label Ferox records in 1995 and would go on to release a string of releases throughout the 90s, using the moniker Downlink as well. MEL019 presents two tracks by Synchrojack, one from each of their two first EPs released on Ferox, both in 1995.
Above anything, what's clear listening to Synchrojack is their deep love, knowledge and appreciation for music and their talent as producers, channeling their many influences into their own sound. Daylight is a bouncy, stripped back drum heavy banger that just steams ahead with percussive synth patterns and a hypnotic deep bassline whilst 900th Lifetime brings a dramatic sci-fi vibe reminisent of some of the best out of Detroit.
Danish electro duo Krypton 81 delivers their debut EP on legendary Finnish X0X Records. AlphaZero EP introduces five tracks + a remix by Morphology. Musically you can describe these tracks as minimalistic, scientific & funky electro with great vocals/vocoders. There is also strong reference points to Dopplereffekt, Drexciya, Arpanet and others like, but still Krypton 81 manages to bring up something fresh instead of boring pastiches. Finnish duo Morphology is on a remix duty with track "A.I. Corporation". Their treatment of the original track turns it into bass heavy electro, or one might even describe it as breakbeat if you like.
Justin Strauss and Max Pask have joined up to form the new project Each Other, who will release their self-titled debut EP ‘Be Nice To Each Other’ on February 7th, 2020 via Soulwax/2manydjs label DEEWEE. While Strauss and Pask have DJ’d together on numerous occasions, this is the first time that they’ve collaborated on a production project.
The EP finds Each Other creating an eclectic range of sounds in the space of just three tracks. The opener ‘Same As It Never Was’ is the most immediate of the set, becoming more hypnotic as the minimalist topline buries itself into your subconscious. The downtempo ‘Burn It Down’ then darkens the mood, feeling closer to a dystopian sci-fi soundtrack than an underground club classic, before the playful and progressive ‘Six Weeks’ up the energy with jittering beats, sparkling synths and a cooly understated vocal.
“What we were trying to do and what we’ve hopefully achieved was to merge our influences with a nod to what many consider to be the ‘golden age’ of New York,” explains Justin Strauss. “You don’t realise that these periods were becoming important markers in history when we were living through them. It only comes later with the added benefit of time. I hope that in years to come, history will find a place for what we’re doing now” - Each Other.
As with all DEEWEE releases, ‘Be Nice To Each Other’ was recorded produced and mixed at DEEWEE.
First released in 1975, Bolan’s Zip Gun was produced by Marc Bolan, without Tony Visconti for the first time. Originally issued as a UK-only release, the album features the hit singles “Light Of Love” and “Zip Gun Boogie”. The tracks have a futuristic tone, reflecting Bolan’s love of science fiction but also incorporate elements of American soul music.
Hello operator, you have a collect call from 1-800 Girl...
Ringing in their fifth releases following appearances on the label from Kasra V, Dream 2 Science, Brian Summers, Mark Seven and more, Feelings Worldwide line up three emotive rave cuts from long time friend 1-800 Girls.
Making serious noise across the digital airwaves and a piece of the furniture on your suggested panel on YouTube, 1-800 Girls delivers his second solo EP via Feelings.
One for the sad crew who like to rave the release features three tracks filled brimming with thick pads and atmosphere for those long dark winter nights in the dance.
'WRWTFWW Records' is insanely excited to announce the first ever vinyl release of Tom Raybould’s award-winning movie soundtrack for excellent AI-themed sci-fi thriller The Machine (2013). The limited edition LP boasts 16 superb tracks and is housed in a special glow in the dark sleeve.
"Tom Raybould’s Music For The Machine Is Amazing" - Bloody Disgusting.
Undoubtedly one of the greatest (and most overlooked) movie scores of the 2010's, The Machine finds its influences in the works of John Carpenter, Vangelis, Brad Fiedel, and Tangerine Dream, but presents its own unique twist, one that cleverly evokes the thin line between man and machine that haunts the whole film.
Cold and tenacious rhythms suggest mechanical killer instincts, brooding synths crystallize the fear of an AI-controlled future, but the warm and gentle sounds of guitar and piano ease the tension and bring hope of humanity. From its menacing introduction to it's tender ending, Tom Raybould’s masterwork ingenuously blends ambient, electronic, neoclassical, and synthwave to recontextualize and upgrade the classic 80's sci-fi movie score template, holding it's own against mammoth soundtracks like Blade Runner or The Terminator. Truly.
Cold with a touch of humanity like the perfect machine, Tom Raybould’s movie score won the BAFTA Cymru award for Best Original Music in 2013.
From the cosmic creative musical mind of Swiss/Catalan studio whizz, Zeleste Nightclub engineer, video nasty film composer, occasional Jaume Sisa (Muìsica Dispersa) collaborator and future electronic music therapy pioneer J. M. Pagaìn comes the synth-ridden, vocoder-loaded 1984 sci-funk soundtrack to Barcelona’s daytime TV response to the universal E.T. phenomena. Get ready to meet your new alieniìgena amic and the unidentified flying object of thousands of Catalonian kids’ affections through the 1980's as Finders Keepers present Pagaìn’s lost lunar modular synth score to ‘Kiu I Els Seus Amics’ (Kiu And Friends aka Kiu Is Your Friend).
From the same intergalactic phenomenon that brought such delights as Turkey’s exploito cash-in ‘Badi’ or South Africa’s lo-rent homage ‘Nukie’ to our unregulated small screens and the same craze which filled international airwaves with the likes of Extra T’S electro smash single ‘E.T. Boogie’ or the million selling Columbian ‘Cumbia De E.T. El Extraterrestre’ smash hit... not to mention a wide range of unofficial theme-tune cover versions from Holland, Austria, France and Germany (lest we forget an inspired late period Lee Scratch Perry Album).
In 1982 the diaspora from Steven Spielberg’s small fictional mid-American neighbourhood that played host to everyone’s favourite torch fingered, three toed, Skittle-scoffing space goblin touched virtually every family home in every major city resulting in one of the biggest cinematic merchandise phenomenas of the 21 st Century, resulting in an unexpected high-demand / short-supply play-off in which bootleggers, copyists and counterfeiters rose to the challenge like never before.
When Spielberg regrettably told interviewers that he had no intention of making a sequel to ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestria’ it instantly became open-season for the imitators... but way before somebody squeezed-out ‘Mac & Me’, ‘ALF’ and ‘The Purple People Eater’, a team of kid’s TV executives in Catalunya were ready to fill the widening gap in the market without haste. Created in 1983 by Luna Films and Televisioì de Catalunya (TV3) and screened exclusively in Catalunya, ‘Kiu I Els Seus Amics’ was one of the first E.T. ‘tributes’ to make it out of the gate and with a crew of five individual directors and writers to ensure that the five episode, one-off series hit the wave of phone-home-fever, Kiu has since remained a short but sweet micro- memory in the hearts of an entire generation of Catalonian cosmonauts.
This special Finders Keepers edition comes complete with all of Pagaìn’s cosmic synthesiser soundscapes fully intact (barring striking comparisons with the likes of Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter, Vangelis and the soundtrack music of Suzanne Ciani), as well as some rare, unreleased, incidental TV edits. The bulk of this LP is made up of tracks taken from the rare full-length album, which was released after the TV programme had already been aired and coincided with sales of jigsaws and rubberised play figures in an attempt to catch-up with the unexpected mega-success of the show, needless to say, with a short promotional window, the LP (and cassette edition) did not benefit a re-press and with most copies sold to children, few vinyl pressings have escaped repeat needle scratches and decorated sleeves.
Italian production duo natural/electronic.system. is back on their homebase Tikita Recordings. With four immersive deep techno cuts they continue the journey they've started when debuting on the label back in 2016. Now they could be seen as one of the key figures on the Moroccan based imprint with 'Mediterranea' being their third full EP on the label.
'Scirocco' starts in a deep mood, on low pace and mesmerizing percussion improvisations. 'Grecale' is the most swinging cut of all four with its tribal drum flow rambling on a playful up-tempo groove. Flipping to the b-side 'Libeccio' comes in at a lower bpm but still an unavoidable catchy and danceable motive where 'Maestrale' ends this playful EP with a lush and dreamy electro jam in deep blue space atmospheres.
Visible Spectrum is the newly launched creative playground of Yuri Boselie, also known as Cinnaman. Since donning the Cinnaman alias nearly two decades ago, he’s become a well known figure of the Amsterdam nightlife scene with long running residencies at the city's most lauded clubbing institutions like Club 11, Trouw and most recently De School. Next to his DJ sets, he's made early moves in label curation with A&R work for Rush Hour and Kindred Spirits offshoot Nod Navigators, and with his own Beat Dimensions compilations in the late 00s. With Visible Spectrum — defined as the electromagnetic frequencies visible by the human eye — a new chapter is born. It is an outlet for electronic music in the widest sense. Each sleeve will have its own unique screen printed artwork by Marilyn Sonneveld.
The first EP comes from Mor Elian, the Berlin based artist and owner of the Fever AM label. Here she offers the loose and hypnotic rhythms of 'Clairvoyant Frog' which is deep and atmospheric, like some sort of primordial techno soup. 'Shoshana's Roses' then picks up the pace with layers of rumbling drums, wooden hits and snaking synths taking you into a steamy, humid jungle before closer 'Planet Kismet' is a much quicker and more urgent bit of enchanting break-beat techno with pummeling minimal drums and warped synths and perc getting you under their sci-fi spell. A fascinating first outing that sets a high standard from the off.
This time last year, The Forgotten Man launched the Noctu Recordings imprint via a superb single-sided salvo. It portrayed a producer in tune not only with dancefloors, but also the fundamentally far-sighted, intergalactic vision of Motor City techno. The good news is that this belated follow-up is arguably even better. Epic A-side "Pulsar" is a superb example of his craft; a deep and melodious voyage through shimmering pads, B12 style sci-fi melodies and crunchy machine beats. His ability to wrest every last ounce of soul from his machines is confirmed by delicious B-sides "Sky Birds of Ki" and "Beyond Sector 9", both of which fix dreamy chords and melodies to punchy electro grooves.
Rockets Audio starts the saga with 4 finest minimal house trackers by Matheiu, Denis Kaznacheev and the master trio Wareika. A rocket (from Italian rocchetto "bobbin" is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine. Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellant carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction and push rockets forward simply by expelling their exhaust in the opposite direction at high speed, and can therefore work in the vacuum of space.
In fact, rockets work more efficiently in space than in an atmosphere. Multistage rockets are capable of attaining escape velocity from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum altitude. Compared with airbreathing engines, rockets are lightweight and powerful and capable of generating large accelerations. To control their flight,
rockets rely on momentum, airfoils, auxiliary reaction engines, gimballed thrust, momentum wheels, deflection of the exhaust stream, propellant flow, spin, and/or gravity.
Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th century China. Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology for the Space Age, including setting foot on the Earth's moon. Rockets are now used for fireworks, weaponry, ejection seats, launch vehicles for artificial satellites, human spaceflight, and space exploration.
SOUND rockets are the most common type of high power rocket, typically creating a high speed pitch by the wave of rythm with an oxilator. The stored delay can be a simple pressurized detune or a single filter delay that disassociates in the presence of a curve (EQ + FILTER ), two hats that spontaneously react on contact (RANDOMIZER), two snares that must be ignited to react, a solid combination of effects with oxidizer (solid GROOVE), or solid fuel with liquid oxidizer (hybrid FILTER BAND DELAY). Chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous. However, careful design, testing, construction and use minimizes risks.
A DECLARATION IS NOT A REENACTMENT. A Pastime For Semi-Gods is an evidence to a new mythology, is the genesis of a collisions. Of waves to a statement on the static, extending in perpetual change. With this album, Ekman is describing the chaos of erotic imagery that is unbroken. On the border of mythology and science fiction.
A Pastime For Semi-Gods is Ekman's fourth release on Bedouin Records and his album debut on the label.
'TNT' has never released a record before (aside from the 12" we did last year), so this is a huge fucking honour to be trusted with this material. TNT Roots has continued a solo career since Earthquake quietly folded in 2002, trading short-run CDr's on Ebay and the Blood & Fire forum. His music still survives on not-for-sale dubplates - pushed exclusively by legendary 90's sounds like Aba Shanti.
The result is the Raw Dub Creator LP - a survey of his 2006 - 2018 CDr selected by Bokeh. Urgent steppas for dark dances, heavier than the grave - next evolution soundsystem muzik. These are driving militant sounds for these times made in seeming isolation in Northampton (TNT never plays live, doesn't want Bandcamp, just wants to sell his CDs quietly over email). TNT Roots' contribution to dub is seismic, almost dinosauric, but through some glitch in universe fabric, 'Mighty In Battle' Bokeh 2018 was his first official vinyl release.
As half of Earthquake - he's responsible for the darkest, forward, most slept-on future of dub to grace us. This unique and heavy vision has reset the whole game with long unavailable LPs like Revelation in Dub and Dub Harder Than Steel make obvious an understated lineage flowing from 90's steppas down to jungle, grime, hardcore, darkcore, doomcore, it's kinda pointless to list them. It's dub. TNT and Earthquake's rightful place alongside those mystic giants, Iration Steppas, is more than assured by those that know.
Jay Clarke's masterful BLACKAXON imprint returns with a shapeshifting EP from Davide Piras.
What began as a sonic sketchbook for Clarke to express his expansive view of electronic music, is evolving. The label is opening up to artists who hold a shared passion for creating dynamic and interesting techno compositions, with a few surprises here and there. Following last October's superb contribution from rising talent Yant, experimental techno artist David Piras drops a quadruplet of cuts to join the BLACKAXON fold.
His BLACKAXON debut, "Beyond Our Reach", is a true all-rounder. It leads with the dusty slow bass monster "Radiation Belt", before the gritty electro noodlings of "Multipolar" enter the fore. The analogue-infused rave cut "System Cartesian" takes the EP into otherworldly realms, before atmosphere-heavy "Pangaea Heritage" closes out the work, evoking a hazy afterhours vibe.
"Davide's productions hold an air of Convextion about them, he's one of my favourite artists. I locked into that right away and knew I wanted to release his music. When I listen to Davide's tracks I feel as though I'm in the middle of a sci-fi movie, they're funky and futuristic tales from the deep. Amazing!" - Jay Clarke
Total Refreshment Centre is proud to present a brand new mini-LP from Neue Grafik Ensemble entitled 'Foulden Road'. French producer, instrumentalist and DJ, Neue Grafik, has been building a strong rep for himself over the past few years, releasing records previously on labels such as Rhythm Section, 22a, CoOp Presents and Wolf Music.
His sound is a hybrid of jazz, house and hip hop, all with his unique geographical flavours of African ethnicity, Parisian roots and a love for London sounds like broken beat & grime thrown into the mix. In his own words "this mini album has been conceived as a journey from Deptford to Dalston, right through Peckham. During a personal period of transition, I put this music forward at a crossroad of all my influences, taking the time to share and experiment with a band more than that, an ensemble. The idea is to incorporate musicians with their own sensibilities, collaborating together as a reflection of our society; unreal & rebellious, but with magic moments, and full of hope.
The best representation of that is Total Refreshment Centre. This building and its community were a perpetual source of inspiration for me over the past two years & gladly allowed the creation of this project". Having been first properly introduced to the community of the TRC during an after-hours jam, it came to TRC founder Lex Blondel's attention that New design had some exquisite compositions of his own. A few weeks later, it was decided that Neue Grafik would form a band and that they would do their first gig at TRC, a week after the first day of rehearsals. No pressure … Lex continued; "we paired him up with Emma-Jean Thackray, to arrange his compositions for a quartet, added Vels Trio's Dougal Taylor on drums, Matt Gedrych from MaddAddam on bass and Jordan Saintard on sax.
Then the band got to work…" Title track 'Foulden Road' commences the session in truly energetic fashion, named after the street in North London where TRC is based, and where these sessions were largely laid down. Keeping with the geographical vibe, next we have 'Dalston Junction', a two-part affair starting on a sci-fi boom-bap tip, before switching to the ethereal flute playing of Brussels musician Esinam, and the first outing on the collection for Brother Portrait.
'Voodoo Rain' is next, a sweet slice of afro-funk, featuring the incredible talents of London's own Nubya Garcia on sax, and the tempo picks up once again for 'Something Is Missing' - this live version comes from the afore-mentioned infamous first gig at TRC.
The goosebump-enducing vocals of Melbourne soulstress, Allysha Joy, set off the second half of the record with the beautiful downtempo track 'Hotel Laplace', recorded at a live session at Giant Steps, before kicking the energy levels back up with 'Hedgehog's Dilemma', once again featuring the vocals of Brother Portrait, as does the closing track, 'Dedicated to Marie Paule', a mid-tempo piece akin to 90's golden era jazz-hop, bringing the set to its conclusion.
This collection of tracks reflect the many moods and various genres indicative of Neue's creative approach illustrated above.
repress
2LP 140G VINYL + 12 PAGE BOOKLET.
"Space Echo - The mystery behind the "Cosmic Sound" of Cabo Verde finally revealed!" is the 20th release by the fabulous Analog Africa Label.
In the spring of 1968 a cargo ship was preparing to leave the port of Baltimore with an important shipment of musical instruments. Its final destination was Rio De Janeiro, where the EMSE Exhibition (Exposição Mundial Do Son Eletrônico) was going to be held.
It was the first expo of its kind to take place in the Southern Hemisphere and many of the leading companies in were all eager to present their newest synthesisers and other gadgets to a growing and promising South American market, spearheaded by Brazil and Colombia.
The ship with the goods set sail on the 20th of March on a calm morning and mysteriously disappeared from the radar on the very same day.
One can only imagine the surprise of the villagers of Cachaço, on the Sao Nicolau island of Cabo Verde, when a few months later they woke up and found a ship stranded in their fields, in the middle of nowhere, 8 km from any coastline.
After consulting with the village elders, the locals had decided to open the containers to see what was inside - however gossip as scintillating as this travels fast and colonial police had already arrived and secured the area.
Portuguese scientists and physicians were ordered to the scene and after weeks of thorough studies and research, it was concluded that the ship had fallen from the sky. One of the less plausible theories was that it might have fallen from a Russian military air carrier. The locals joked that again the government had wasted their tax money on a useless exercise, as a simple look at the crater generated by the impact could explain the phenomena. "No need for Portuguese rocket scientists to explain this!" they laughed.
What the villagers didn't know, was that traces of cosmic particles were discovered on the boat. The bow of the ship showed traces of extreme heat, very similar to traces found on meteors, suggesting that the ship had penetrated the hemisphere at high speed. That theory also didn't make sense as such an impact would have reduced the ship to dust. Mystery permeated the event.
Finally, a team of welders arrived to open the containers and the whole village waited impatiently.
The atmosphere, which had been filled with joy and excitement, quickly gave way to astonishment. Hundreds of boxes conjured, all containing keyboards and other instruments which they had never seen before: and all useless in an area devoid of electricity. Disappointment was palpable. The goods were temporarily stored in the local church and the women of the village had insisted a solution be found before Sunday mass.
It is said that charismatic anti-colonial leader Amílcar Cabral had ordered for the instruments to be distributed equally in places that had access to electricity, which placed them mainly in schools.
This distribution was best thing that could have happened - keyboards found fertile grounds in the hands of curious children, born with an innate sense of rhythm who picked up the ready-to-use instruments. This in turn facilitated the modernisation of local rhythms such as Mornas, Coladeras and the highly danceable music style called Funaná, which had been banned by the Portuguese colonial rulers until 1975 due to its sensuality!
The observation was made that the children who came into contact with the instruments found on the ship inherited prodigious capabilities to understand music and learn instruments. One of them was the musical genius Paulino Vieira, who by the end of the 70s would become the country´s most important music arranger. 8 out of the 15 songs presented in this compilation had been recorded with the backing of the band Voz de Cabo Verde, lead by Paulino Vieira, the mastermind behind the creation and promulgation of what is known today as "The Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde".
The field of electronic music were involved. Rhodes, Moog, Farfisa, Hammond and Korg, just to name a few.
Following on from his beautiful release on Claremont 56 in 2018 - Alterleo aka Denis Leonovich, takes a different approach for this new e.p on the Kinfolk imprint and produces a storming world infused 4-tracker.
'Cabriodelic' is a mid-tempo march that utilises sublime keys, sci-fi ethics and military style drums to incredible effect. 'On The Way' keeps the drums heavy but ventures into a deeper sub tropical technoid-esque landscape.
'Tour De L'Afrique' is exactly that, a jaunty vibe that buzzes and rolls through an unknown afro-centric land.'In Sands' finishes off the package nicely with an acidic heavy Moroccan spiced percussive roller.
Essential music for the truly tropical dance floors of the world.
Amadeo Savio is next up on Vigenere, the label that has thus far presented a whole host of unknown names in the field of minimal techno all bound together by a shared classiness in their production style. Savio's approach is deep and dubby on opening cut "Isolat", one primed for the after hours. "Trance Later" has a slightly more forthright approach, but there's still plenty of mellow delights to be found in the synth department to keep you chilling. "Encor" heads into more typically minimal pastures, while "Kassion" explores broken beat patterns and fragmented samples with scintillating results.
Clear Vinyl.
Raime explore exquisitely honed rhythmic instincts with scintillating results on the 2nd release on their RR label.
Where the London duo’s 2018 EP and RR debut ‘We Can’t Be That Far From The Beginning’ evoked a meditative mood from the info overload of their home city that left acres of space to the
imagination, the ‘Planted’ EP rejoins the dance with four tracks that icily acknowledge strong influence from Latin American and Chicago footwork styles in a classically skooled mutation of hardcore British dance music.
In four fleetingly ambiguous dancefloor workouts they carry on a conceptual theme exploring the digital subconscious with persistently invasive, alien ambient shrapnel - half-heard voices, aleatoric prangs, and tag-covered signposts - woven into and thru their tightly coiled and reflexive drum programming.
UPTOWN, ’Num’ flexes tendons and hips like a Leonce riddim that danced all the way from NOLA and ATL to the wintery dawn of a LDN warehouse, while the lip-biting tension of minimalist 160bpm jungle/ footwork patterns and jibber-jawed vocals in ‘Ripli’ suggests the Alien film’s protagonist lost in a mazy rave space, chased by H.R. Giger-designed face huggers (or gurning energy vampires).
DOWNTOWN, ‘Kella’ then catches them on a grimy dubtech bounce, cocked back and straining at the harness, before ‘Belly’ shuts down the dance with invasive, demonic motifs exploding over dark blue chords and palpitating jungle subs with impeccable darkside style.
J A surfaces on RUBBER with six disorienting wave tracks, reigniting the catalogue after a short hiatus. Crafted by Andrea Noce (Eva Geist, As Longitude) and Jonida Prifti (Acchiappashpirt, Opa Opa), these productions find elegance in their noir aesthetic and sketch-like composition, breathing filmic atmospheres of its creative process and the hedonist self alike. Straying away from the societal drift for efficiency and make belief, this record was produced over a timespan of five years, while shifting between Berlin and Rome. Dancing and loafing, mirrors were splintered and scattered shards reflected a new light. Here, Noce her serpentine sense of melody guides uncharted signatures of reverberating syncopated drums, while soundscapes move in and out as apparitions fogging the mind. The poetic spoken-singing of Prifti subdues the tracks, through a linguistic form where Albanian and Italian intertwine, channeling her scientific field into art. Cleverly processed, the vocals take on many shapes, blurring lines between instrumentation and recognition, creating meaning where language ends.
Rich NxT heads to FUSE to deliver his ‘Suburban Skool’ EP this November, backed by fellow London favourite East End Dubs on remix duties.
An artist that has remained a central part of the London electronic music scene for over a decade, FUSE residentand NxT records boss Rich NxT is an artist that embodies the sound of the city’s evolution throughout the years, taking influences from all pockets of the scene - from drum’n‘bass and jungle through to the minimal and tech house sounds that later took hold of the blossoming after-hours circuit.
Having touched down on the label earlier this year alongside East End Dubs as the pairing released the impressive ‘The Four Slip’ EP, whilst also recently providing two collaborative cuts on label boss Siragusa’s latest ‘A Decade Of Rave’ LP project, November sees Rich return to home turf to deliver his second solo EP on the label of the year, with Eastenderz head East End Dubs also returning to provide an energy-fueled remix on the flip.
Opening proceedings, title track ‘Suburban Skool’ offers up a trademark slice of rolling house music as slick percussion arrangements meet bumping bass stabs and scintillating electronic melodies swirl around old school rave samples, whilst the slinking ‘Rex Press’ keeps the energy high as echoed vocals ebb and flow amongst bright lead lines, crisp drum licks, intriguing breakdowns and builds throughout. Shaping up the package, East End Dubs steps up to offer up a dynamic interpretation of ‘Rex Press’, utilising punchy kicks alongside soaring synth lines and driving snare rolls to impressive effect.
Phillipi is set to release his debut solo EP ‘Amadurecimento’ on November 29th via DEEWEE, the multi-faceted label and creative space operated by brothers David and Stephen Dewaele (2manydjs, Soulwax).
São Paulo duo Phillipi & Rodrigo dropped their beautifully uplifting debut album ‘Paciencia’, which earned the backing of an eclectic array of supporters including 6 Music, Mixmag, DJ Mag, PAPER, Tiga and Joe Goddard + more.
While ‘Paciencia’ pulsated with a euphoric beach party vibe, Phillipi’s solo project explores much darker territory. By uncompromisingly maximising the bass alongside a relentless beat, lead track ‘São Paulo’ is immediately oppressive and ominous. That intensity only amplifies as it’s blown open with tribal percussion, almost whispered vocals and glitchy synth stabs. ‘Vibe De Verao’ then takes a more progressive approach, with minimalist techno constantly evolving in surprising and inventive ways.
The EP’s second half extends Phillipi’s impossible-to-pigeonhole approach. In complete contrast to the preceding tracks, ‘9000’ is cinematic in scope and lighter in tone, feeling like the score to a lost ‘70s sci-fi cult classic that’s been reworked for 2019. And ‘Gelo Seco’ caps an unorthodox sonic adventure by setting a spliced, stuttered vocal simple around a dancefloor-friendly soundscape - making the title, the Portuguese phrase for dry ice, entirely appropriate.
As with all DEEWEE releases, ‘Amadurecimento’ was recorded, produced and mixed at the label’s inspiring headquarters Ghent, Belgium.
Airplay on Tom Ravenscroft (BBC Radio 6 Music), Re:lax w/ Re:ni, Laksa & Biggabush (NTS), Gage (NTS), From The Depths with Drakeford (NTS)
Premieres of Four Feet and Blasphemy on Trax Mag and Ransom Note
Review on 2 Hungry Ghosts
DJ support from Midland, Bruce, Re:ni, Troy Gunner, Maya Jane Coles, Minor Science, Via Maris, Mosca, Blackdown/Martin Clark, Horse Meat Disco, Tony Thorpe, Daire Carolan (All City Records), Deft, Phototherapy, Shadow Child / Polymod, Lukas Wigflex, Soulphiction/ Jackmate
Form is Vision is a collection of music unified by the same vision but not by the same form. It’s the vision making the form, without being influenced by the form itself. Here, visionary electronic artists as Afrikan Sciences and Juju & Jordash meet cross over jazz bands like Hobby Horse and Where is Mr. R?!. The music was compiled by Autre & Two Thou, whose productions here form a bridge across different moods. The result is a synergistic leap away from genre-bound music.
The music of Chel White is celebrated in Automaton, a collection of mostly unreleased recordings from 1985 to 1991, by this innovative animator, film maker and visual artist.
Having studied music theory in grade school, White taught himself drumming and played in a new wave band until, in 1981, together with Dan Gediman, they formed the minimal wave duo Process Blue (Alternative Funk, 1985 / Dark Entries, 2018). Here their experimentation went way beyond playing drums.
His interest in industrial music, fostered in the late '70s and early '80s while working in factories as a way to put himself through college, informed his use of electronic instruments, tape manipulation, noise and unconventional percussion.
By 1985, as a now solo artist buoyed by newly affordable audio sampling technology, White tapped into his earlier teenage fascination with the art and films of both the Surrealist and Dada movements - in particular their disparate and fragmented imagery and sound - as a means to create striking new sonic palettes.
Science & Industry - a track largely influenced by Balinese monkey chanting and the consumer excess of American in the 1980's - is a clear example of "music collage". Photocopy Cha Cha, made for the short animation film Choreography for Copy Machine (Berlin International Film Festival, 1992 / Sundance Film Festival, 2001) moved his music into the realm of early multi-media.
Experimenting further, tracks like Liquid Shadows and Pensive provide minimalist moments, before the drone-like Dream #630 and Forest Song point to a future that included music video works (David Lynch/Thom Yorke).
Franck Collin, a.k.a. Fleck E.S.C, brings some excellent winter-time electro to the London-based label untitled (recs) for their third u(r)blue record. The French-born, Tokyo-based producer has received praise from the likes of Jensen Interceptor, Dave Clarke, Laurent Garnier, and Helena Hauff. This record takes cues from several sci-fi soundtracks, and taps into Fleck's wider thoughts on cinema. After having studied film and worked in movie production for several years, he believes that movies need to be a kind of fairy tale usually a poisonous one. Likewise, u(r)blue003 delivers a capacious blend of texturesiat times delicate and expansive (e.g. 'Shelters', 'Skins & Scales'), at others assertive and grinding (e.g. 'KVFM, 'Roundup'). Together, this strikes a balance between deep club cuts and listening session tracks. Thanks to the mastering of Aphex Twin-collaborator Beau Thomas, these textures really stand out. Listen loud!
Classic UK Dub LP from 1994 gets the reissue treatment from Partial Records. This was the first album from The Bush Chemists spilling out of Conscious Sounds studio, London, at a time when the UK dub scene was just blossoming. 25 years after `Strictly Dubwise’ was released, the LP is long-deleted and the demand for this set is strong.
The Bush Chemists consist of Dougie Wardrop and Chazbo, with this album featuring guest vocals from King General, Culture Freeman and Disco Dread.
‘Portuguese electronic alchemist Bruno Silva aka Ondness aka Serpente lands his first ever vinyl release as Ondness on the ever-evolving SOUK imprint. The last year couldn’t have been better for Bruno Silva. Two major releases under his moniker Serpente, “A Noiva” (Tormenta Eléctrica) and “Parada” (Ecstatic) and a Ondness tape, “Not Really Now Not Any More” (Holuzam). “O Meio Que Sumiu” is the first vinyl release by Ondness, following more than a dozen releases on tape, CDRs and digital. He’s also graduating to vinyl on the Discrepant family, after his 2018 tape “Celas Death Squad” combining Serpente and Ondness works as a split.
“Meio Que Sumiu” can be translated as the “community that disappeared” and it alludes to the disappearance of outdoors communities and how it affects the music we listen (and how we listen to it). Ondness wanted to release an album less about himself and his inspirations and more about his aspirations about how dance music could be in an era of constant interactivity and information.
But also, how it fails to be that aspiration. Once again, like in “Not Really Now Not Any More”, Bruno works in the territory of science fiction. Investigating the present and future with nostalgia about how things could be and could evolve.
It’s music in the realm of non- existing, instead of raving nostalgia about dance music from the 1990s, Bruno explores the idea of possible futures with different approaches to dance/electronic music in each song.
In “Meio Que Sumiu” it’s obvious his music has matured and found its listenes. Bruno is no longer a bedroom musician. (He never was, but he sure worked on that idea. And very well, we might say). The dancefloor is now his, with music that explores the deeper immersion of ourselves. Communities may be changing, but the principles of dance music are always the same. Even with motion sickness for future nostalgia, like the music in “Meio Que Sumiu”.
Hot off the heels of Aluxes, his 2018 Lumière Noire debut EP, young Mexican DJ/producer Iñigo
Vontier is inviting Chloé's label on a trip to the far corners of the body & mind with an album of
demented grooves, psychedelic take-offs and imaginary comic strips of mystical rituals. A
bewitching debut full-length. Mexicans may never possess the sonic science of the Germans,
the hedonistic madness of the English or the gift for synthesis of the French, but, as proven by
Iñigo Vontier's first full-length for Lumière Noire, their universe is much more exciting than
anyone would have ever thought.
The DJ/producer fully asserts his origins by brandishing the album’s title "El Hijo del Maiz" ("the
son of the corn") almost as an emblem: "in Mexico, corn is eaten daily. It has long been defined
as 'the gold of America', and I consider all Mexicans as children of corn". A spiritual and
embodied vision Iñigo's first Lumière Noire release, the four-track Aluxes, set the tone of the
young talent's distinctive interpretation of dark disco, which creeps up on the dancefloor from its
iconoclastic side. The two tracks and two remixes (one by Flügel, the other by Inigo himself)
featured on the 12" for lead single "Xu Xu" (featuring Red Axes-affiliate Xen's irrelevant vocals)
was a full-bodied confirmation that Vontier sees the dancefloor as an arena for the occult –
whether from the peoples of the equatorial jungle, the Middle East or, even from indocile
machines. But, while the spiritual element seems part and parcel of the Jalisco native’s output, it
is in no way the only ingredient of this first long-player: "this album best reflects my own vision
and spirituality, and the way I feel it" he says.
Whether contemplative or frenetic, the collection of tracks that make up “El Hijo Del Maiz” takes
the kitchen sink and throws it out the window: languid rhythms, haunted vocals, and mysterious
percussion fuel a discombobulated house set that scrambles the listener's five senses, leaving
one disoriented and exposed to the vagaries of vertigo. Following the demented, dystopian “Xu
Xu” EP, which explored an imaginary jungle that harbored Mayan and Egyptian pyramids,
Middle Eastern accents are once more present in the off-kilter “Bo Ni Ke” and its Japaneseinfluenced vocal trickery, which Moroccan flutes à la Jajouka transform into a feverish trance.
With the following three tracks, Iñigo Vontier raises himself to the same level of excellence as
the Pachanga duo (of which pride of the Mexican scene Rebolledo, is also known as a prolific
artisan of deconstruction): “Awaken”'s slumbering voice, heard as through the veil of hypnosis,
slowly introduces a techno beat which, as in follow-up “Time”, literally brings the listener to a
levitative state. In a housier vein, yet continuing in the same psychedelic, 90s-infused spirit,
“Don’t Go Back” disrupts the genre’s usual signatures with an out-of-tune keyboard that is
becoming the artist's trademark, destabilizing the listener into a drunken vertigo, with a good
helping of sexiness: "I think the sexy dimension definitely brings a kind of magic to music," says
Vontier. “I'm sure I felt this magic during my DJ sets, and I like to think that sorcerers use this
element in their practices. I might consider myself a bit of a sorcerer when I take over the DJ
booth, by the way." A mood and sound that can once again be found – in a quieter, more
bucolic version – on “Chiquitita” (feat. the flute stylings of pioneer DJ Rocca, now a partner of
cosmic disco legend Daniele Baldelli). The more cinematic, fast-paced and dreamy beat of the
no less captivating “Little Monster” might evoke the mischievous spirit of the Mayas' minor
mythological creatures, while ode to the magical herb Marijuana (feat Thomass Jackson)
proudly tramples into the debate that such a provocative title inevitably provokes: "psychedelic
drugs are powerful tools to reach a higher level of consciousness about what surrounds us, but
we must learn how to complete this psychic journey by ourselves, notably through meditation
and love.
In the end, El Hijo del Maiz is an album-length confirmation of Iñigo Vontier's uniqueness, and
his adherence to Lumière Noire's policy of letting artists fully express their vision – while letting
their passions guide their idiosyncrasies and explorations of innovative electronic signatures
Matthias Vogt is back on Polytone with two strong original tracks, plus legendary producer Carl Finlow is adding his remix magic. The title track "Imaginary Friend" is an ode to Electro, with a hint of Pop and both: taking us back to the sound of the 80s, yet still sounding fresh and crisp. Carl Finlow's transforming Imaginary Friend into a sci-fi-something - it's out of this world. The B-Side is all about "Crevasse", a timeless beauty - we are in love with this Matthias Vogt trademark sound.
‘Still Strange’ reaches back into the prized loft tapes of Jeff Sharp aka Orior following the revelatory discovery of his overlooked early ‘80s gems on 2016’s ‘Strange Dream’ collection, as coaxed out by
DDS dons Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty.
Huddling another sublime, dusty set of analogue tapes freshly baked and remarkably well-restored by Andy Popplewell, ’Still Strange’ contains four gorgeous flashbacks to the era 1979-1983
surrounding and even pre-dating ‘Strange Beauty’, and then shifts focus to recordings that Orior made around the early ‘90s.
As with its predecessor, Orior is not alone on the material in ’Still Strange.’ From those feted early tapes we find Phil Hollis returning to lend jagged guitar on the drum machine sizzle of ‘Feels Like
Summer’, while the mysterious synth player New Cross John makes vital contribution to ‘Invium.’
Along with the aching synth sigh of ‘To Return’, which pre-dated all of these recordings, and the nine minutes of haunting bedsit strums in ‘Larbico Alt Mix’ which came from the first batch, the
early material is all arguably worth the price of admission alone for seekers of lost synth treasures - really this stuff is just so good..
However, the album’s other six tracks expand knowledge of Orior’s work into the ‘90s and also contain some extraordinary material. Salvaged from further loft tapes found in various states of degradation, and subsequently mixed down between London’s Goldsmiths College and Miles Whittaker’s Whalley Range attic (and elsewhere), they are decidedly more blunt and gloaming, especially in the Deathprod-like ‘Under Shadow’ and the near static witching hour ambience of ‘Endless’, while shorter vignettes such as ‘Unknown Future’, ‘Gothic’ and ‘Another’ point to pre-echoes of BoC’s crepuscular scapes and even Bladerunner-esque sci-fi noir soundscapes
order to see someone elses perspective on his latest album "Nonlinear Times", Florian commited two of his favorite Techno producers and gave them total freedom on what they would do with the tracks.
Iconic Industrial Techno producer Black Asteroid, who is one half of the critically acclaimed MOTOR on Chris Liebings CLR Recordings and well known for his releases on Electric Deluxe, delivered a trend setting remix of "I Know The Kick" with Electro influenced industrial beats and electric guitar injections. Bryan Black aka Black Asteroid definitely knows the kick!
Jeroen Search, who recently released an impressive album on Len Faki's FIGURE Label, delivered two remixes for this EP and was able to isolate the essences of the original tracks and weave them into his very own, classic and confident interpretations. "Dimension Slip" got a hypnotic and deep treatment, whereas "Surrealist" was taken far away from its original direction into a jacking club tune - maintaining the scifiish, full of suspense feel.
2x12"
Adam X’s highly respected, deep, science fiction laden, Traversable Wormhole project celebrates its 10-year journey with a first full-length studio album titled Regions Of Time. Lying mostly dormant since 2012, with a cameo appearance on Hospital Record back in 2016 with two tracks, TW is now fully awoken from the long travel through the space-time continuum with eight new songs of thought-provoking, psychedelic, bass-heavy, galaxian techno.Adam X’s back catalog is, of course, vast, spanning over a period three decades under several aliases. The New York native recently released his devious escapade through rumbling EBM and industrial techno in the form of his full-length album Recon Mission, released under his Sonic Groove Imprint. With this project being under the Traversable Wormhole alias, be sure to expect a completely different facet to X’s repertoire of pounding excursions.
Step through the wormhole portal and take a deep cerebral mind trip into “Regions Of Time “
12" + 7"
In 2009 Mocky made a radical decision: after having become one of the cult figures of the leftfield Berlin electronic music scene of the early 2000s, Mocky retired his sampler and travelled to Paris to embark on an all acoustic journey with the producer Renaud Letang in the vintage Studio Ferber, previously inhabited by the likes of Nina Simone and Serge Gainsbourg.
Named after a song he made up when he was 7, using imaginary words, "Saskamodie" was an instant new future/retro classic: a return to pure musical expression by a cutting edge artist who was no longer bound by the electronic music scene. "Saskamodie" was a brave step into unchartered waters, the sound of a musician exploring where his talent can take him with rare confidence and authority. At different points you could hear a vintage soundtrack suite, a debonair jazz record (minus the solos) or a golden era '60s soul ballad recording ... yet, as if all these charming stylistic sorties weren't loveable enough, cut "Saskamodie" through the middle and you'll find that sweet, inescapably infectious melody is the lifeblood trickling through its core.
Mocky is listed as playing drums, bass, rhodes, piano, guitar, percussion, bells, recorder, vocals, whistle, organ and toys as well as writing string arrangements. Taylor Savvy, Gonzales, Jamie Lidell and Feist contribute additional instrumental and backing vocal performances that make this record sound more like a live performance than a studio creation.
"Saskamodie" has definitely stood the test of time and Mocky still successfully follows the path he started with this recording - be it on his series of digital Moxtapes, his album "Key Change", his recent "recorded-in-one-day" jazz album "A Day At United", his score for the japanese Netflix anime "Carole & Tuesday" or his writing and production work for the likes of Feist or Kelela.
Originally only released as CD/Digital Download, this 10 years anniversary limited vinyl edition brings us "Saskamodie" in it's original form, re-mastered for deluxe 180g vinyl and accompanied by an exclusive bonus 7" with a new single edit of the album's hit "Birds Of A Feather", a solo piano version of "Guiding Light" by Chilly Gonzales, the recent coverversion of "Birds Of A Feather" by LA's underground funk sensation Vulfpeck and a remix featuring a collaboration with noone less than the Wu Tang's GZA.
"An exceptionally musical album – there’s no other word for it – that could fail to seduce only the hardest of hearing, or the hardest of hearts" (Pitchfork, 8.0 review)
"An amazing record…a big hit for me" (Gilles Peterson)
"If Saskamodie was a film, it would undoubtedly be The Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry. Please take that as a wholehearted endorsement" (BBC)
East Man returns with a four track EP that explores his own Hi Tek take on Grime, stripping everything down to the raw, bare essentials.
Opening the EP is Fight For A Cause, a rough a fuzzy sub bass driven exercise in beat science that draws as much upon Dancehall as it does Grime. The second track, Selector, is a straight up DJ tool, utilising an alternating 32 bar pattern interspersed with splashes of pirate radio chatter.
The flip side opens with the storming Bandit Country.
The subdued intro lulling you into a false sense of security before the beats and bass are unleashed in full attack mode, the relentless onslaught pausing only briefly midway for you to catch your breath before continuing on it's devastating path.
The closing track, Darkage, is an ominous brooding affair that those of you familiar with East Man's sets will know well.
A real head nodding roller, it's definitely one for the technical DJ's.
Mythology for the posthuman age. From "The New Kind" to "Posthuman Wonderland", Simon Grab's album "Posthuman Species" is a sonic journey through an astonishing land of fragile feedbacks, pulsating drones and opulent outbursts of noise.
Recorded on a no-input-mixing setup consisting of low frequency oscillators, filters, analogue effects and a mixer patched with itself, the album sneaks up on dub and leftfield electronica from the side. Over time, the self-oscillating setup falls in and out of tune with itself, emphasising its transient nature. The album is a work of science fiction, telling the story of a time when "The New Kind" shapes its own wonderland.
Swiss sound artist and musician Simon Grab explores new grounds by negating assumed borders. In his recent work, he focuses on reduction, and the peculiarity of self-referential systems.
The album "Posthuman Species" follows his recent EP "Extinction" on -OUS. His "Diamonds EP" in collaboration with Togolese rapper Yao Bobby and Asian Dub Foundation's Dhangsha releases on Bristol's LavaLava Records in September 2019. Simon Grab's recent works includes "Hirnmusik 1 & 2", in which he dives deep into musical imagery by transferring his sonic ideas directly from his brain to vinyl.
The vinyl LP comes with a printed inner sleeve designed by Hammer and a download card that includes the digital only tracks "Transformation" and "Posthuman Wonderland".
There are certain records you have to earn the right to play. After buying the right kind of warehouse, you have to build the energy in the room for what feels like an eternity until the precise moment the vape circle starts gettin’ out of control and Dionysus the Greek God of Greek Promoters tears through the very fabric of reality and screams “t??a!” right in your goddamned face. All of which brings us to Color Code, the latest EP from new Turbo sensation Dean Grenier.
Every single one of these four tracks is killer, a term industry demands have forced us use lightly in the past, but not this time, mister. This is sexually-viable sci-fi techno that rewrites your genetic code to give future generations a better chance at exhibiting club-friendly phenotypes like dance antlers or even more powerful sweat glands. At the snap of a glowstick, any of these selections will take your next set from “good” to “very good” on a scale of “good” to “shitty” to “very good.” That is our promise to you, no matter who you are or how much we care what you think.
Plants Dub is an art project of the homonym collective based in Lecce - Italy formed by Maria Teresa Santoro, art historian and light designer, Francesco Andriani De Vito aka Dubin dj and producer, and Andrea Presicce aka NoFinger Nails, dub master and producer. They work in Plants Dub project in a mutual exchange of skills so as to be able to research in a way where art and science has no borders. Plants Dub connects electronic music and bio-acoustic researches. Through samplings and synthesizers Plants Dub produces an inter-species communication in order to form a complete human-plant audio exchange. The album was composed using melodies generated by plants thanks to a special sound device that allowed the translation of the plants' electrical impulses into sound. Plant sounds were recorded between March 2018 and July 2019 in Salento. The musical production has followed a double register: in Acanthus Mollis, Morus and in Phoenix Canariensis the vegetable melodies overlap to specially composed dub rhythms, in Laurus Nobilis, Olea Europaea and in Quercus, the tree melodies are translated into ambient sounds.
Fresh from releasing his first artist album for Deep Medi (‘Dark 365’) and overseeing a prolific year in charge of his Navy Cut imprint, J. Sparrow debuts on Coyote Records with two tracks of abstract, excursive pressure. Although long revered as one of dubstep’s core UK innovators, Sparrow has also spent time experimenting with different sounds, palettes and rhythms over the last two years. ‘Single Time’ and ‘VHS’, both written during this period, not only spotlight Sparrow’s willingness to aim for the outer reaches, but also embed themselves neatly within a Coyotediscography defined by the new-gen grime of producers like Last Japan, SilkRoad Assassins and Utah?. Still cut with a rolling dubstep lean, A-side ‘Single Time’ is heavy on the hollowed-out, dubby weight and scything bass jabs, while B-side ‘VHS’ – referred to by Sparrow himself as ‘Egyptian grime in the 1980s’ – is a bleepy, filmic, widescreen stepper that draws from the past as much as it does Sparrow’s take on shiny, sci-fi grime of the future.
Congestion EP is Frak's killer collab with the unconventional Go! Finger music platform. The Swedish trio shows off athletic skills producing fresh modern techno bangers, on the heels of a three decade trajectory, filled with countless highly appreciated releases. Some kind of "glorious habit", captured this time by the catchy Madrid label on vinyl. Bizarre 4/4 analogue-treated techno madness at its best! A brilliant vinyl slice of yesterday and today's nastiest Scandinavian floor-destroyer-dance-punk weirdo science.
The new sub-label from WNCL Recordings features 12 short “tools” per release, for use on discotheque sound systems and home stereos alike. Released on 10” vinyl with digital to follow at a later date.
Denham Audio – the next generation of breakbeat scientists from the land of bleep and clonk – take some time out from their world domination plans to grace the Library Tool Kit series with an essential collection of heavy duty miniatures.
Featuring work by a group of 7 international artists, poets, scientists and designers, this record offers a look at the concept of Transparency from a variety of cultural, creative and scientific perspectives. In conversation with Research of Waves curatorial team, 6 of the contributors synthesised their interpretation of the theme within a 5 minute long audio piece, many of them working within the medium for the first time. The front and back cover of the album are designed by graphic designer and digital artist Galina Kruzhilina, creating a visual response to the 6 sound pieces.
In a world awash with negativity and fear, you are invited to climb aboard the Mocambo mothership where all colours and creeds are celebrated. The Mighty Mocambos have returned - stronger, tighter and hungrier than ever.
Carrying blistering funk lines in their fingers and worldly influences in their hearts, the unique and distinctive Mocambo sound is not one to be confused with retro bands trying to recapture an era. Eschewing traditional recording methods, this DIY crew are
committed to driving forwards, and 2066 sees them at the height of their powers, broadcasting a call for unity.
After reaching new audiences worldwide and earning critical praise for their two long players on Brooklyn's Big Crown Records in their tropical guise as Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the band have reassembled and refocused in their original form, the workhorses behind dozens of 45s on the Mocambo label and beyond. Crossing generations, this album introduces some of the world's youngest funk talent to step up and rub shoulders with soul and rap legends, soul sisters, an elder statesman composer/arranger and a brand new emerging artist out of New York.
___ As with all Mocambo releases, the two sides of the record have been meticulously sequenced by the
band. Side A welcomes us aboard with joyous instrumental stomper Preaching To The Choir, and a call to build bridges from Mocambo chanteuse and percussionist Nichola Richards, duetting with emerging raptalent,NewYorkMCJSwiss.B-girlsandb-boysarecalledtothedancefloorasS uperstradaand Concrete Stardust commence, all buzzing synth lines and relentless drums. New Jersey legend and Big Crown associate Mr Lee Fields is guest of honour for Where Do We Go From Here before a horn workout brings us to a close with Macumba. It's time for a breather.
The B side kicks off with the grand return of the Golden Girl of Funk, Gizelle Smith, a sister who's been busy taking on the world. Composer and presenter Peter Thomas narrates a Return To Space to mark the centenary of the debut of his score to sci-fi show Space Patrol, which first broadcast in 1966. We're back down to Earth and the mean streets for the furious drums and car chase workout of Golden Shadow. Today slows down the pace for a reflective ballad with Nichola front and centre - and here's the next generation: the Mocambo Kidz sing along to their parents' instrumentation for Here We Go, a new kids' block party anthem... with no sleep 'til bedtime. The album closer makes it clear that the Mocambos are nowhere near powering down as Ice T and Charlie F unk bring their A-game for an old school attack which, since you're up bouncing anyway, gives you no excuse not to flip the LP and drop the needle right back on to Side A. Onwards!
___ A summation of their journey so far and a celebration in anticipation of what's to come, the album is set
to take its place in a legacy of open minded, organically recorded music, showering listeners with the crew's maze of tantalising sounds pulled from funk, Afro, hip hop with cinematic composition and storytelling.
Agent J
l 12 Bounce That Ass (RMX) feat. Ice-T & Charlie Funk
This compilation is the result of an international production contest led by Nymphony Records. In this volume feature all the winners of the « House » category. The tracks are very eclectic, the compilation is a journey from downtempo rhythms to breakbeats, including punchy and sunny house beats..
There Existed An Addiction To Blood" ist das insgesamt vierte Album von Clipping und ihr drittes für Sub Pop. Es ist der Nachfolger des von Kritikern und Publikum gleichermaßen gefeiertes Album ,Splendor And Misery" aus dem Jahr 2016. ,There Existed An Addiction To Blood" enthält die Singles ,Nothing Is Safe", ,Blood Of The Fang" und ,La Mala Ordina" (Feat. Benny The Butcher, Elcamino, The Rita), die von Clipping produziert, von Steve Kaplan gemischt und von Dave Cooley bei Elysium Masters in Los Angeles gemastert wurden. Das Album enthält auch Gastbeiträge von Ed Balloon, La Chat, Counterfeit Madison und Pedestrian Deposit. ,There Existed An Addiction To Blood" ist Clippings Interpretation eines neuen Rap-Splitter-Genres unter Zuhilfenahme ihrer einzigartigen Lupe. Clipping wenden sich auf dem neuen Werk intensiv dem Horrorcore zu, eines bewusst absurden und kreativ bedeutsamen Subgenres, das Mitte der 90er Jahre blühte. Einige der bemerkenswertesten Pioniere hießen Brotha Lynch Hung und Gravediggaz, aber es umfasst auch bahnbrechende Werke der Geto Boys, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony und die nahezu vollständigen Veröffentlichungen des klassischen ,Memphis cassette tape rap". Der wahrscheinlich subversivste und experimentellste Rap hat sich oft als ,Alternative" zu konventionellen Sounds präsentiert, aber Clipping verzerren das Ganze respektvoll in neue Konstellationen. ,There Existed An Addiction To Blood" absorbiert die hyper-gewaltigen Horror-Symboliken der Murder Dog-Ära, stellt sie aber in einem neuen Licht dar: immer noch dunkel getönt und düster, aber in einem seltsameren und lebendigeren Farbton. Wenn der traditionelle Horrorcore mit ,Blacula", dem populären Blaxploitationsfilm-Klassiker aus den frühen 70er Jahren, verwandt war, so ist das neue Output von Clipping analog zu ,Ganja & Hess", dem blutrünstigen Kultklassiker von 1973, der als unbesungenes Wahrzeichen des schwarzen Independent-Kinos gilt, dessen Score von Sam Waymon, Clipping als Inspiration zum Titel des Albums diente und auch Samples auf dem Track ,Blood Of The Fang" lieferte.ENG The science-fiction visionary Octavia Butler once declared that "there is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns." The aphorism could apply to any art form where the basic contours are fixed, but the appetite for innovation remains infinite. Enter Clipping, flash fiction genre masters in a hip-hop world firmly rooted in memoir. If first person confessionals historically reign, the mid-city Los Angeles trio of rapper Daveed Diggs and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes have spent the last half-decade terraforming their own patch of soil, replete with conceptual labyrinths and industrial chaos. They have conjured a mutant emanation of the future, built at odd angles atop the hallowed foundation of the past. Their third album for Sub Pop, There Existed an Addiction to Blood, finds them interpreting another rap splinter sect through their singular lens. This is Clipping's transmutation of horrorcore, a purposefully absurdist sub-genre that flourished in the mid-90s. If some of its most notable pioneers included Brotha Lynch Hung and Gravediggaz, it also encompasses seminal works from the Geto Boys, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and the near-entirety of classic Memphis cassette tape rap. The most subversive and experimental rap has often presented itself as an "alternative" to conventional sounds, but Clipping respectfully warp them into new constellations. There Existed an Addiction to Blood absorbs the hyper-violent horror tropes of the Murder Dog era, but re-imagines them in a new light: still darkly-tinted and somber, but in a weirder and more vivid hue. The album contains interludes with hissing recordings of demonic invasions, and guest appearances from Griselda Gang's Benny the Butcher and Hypnotize Minds horror queen La Chat. Other tracks feature contributions from noise music legends The Rita and Pedestrian Deposit. It all ends with "Piano Burning," a performance of a piece written by the avant-garde composer Annea Lockwood. Yes, it is the sound of a piano burning. There Existed an Addiction to Blood fits neatly into the broader scope of the band's career, which has seen them expand from insular experimentalists into globally recognized artists. Since the release of their first album in 2013, Diggs has won a Tony and a Grammy (both for his acting/rapping work as Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette in Hamilton), as well as co-written and starred in 2018's critically hailed Blindspotting, while Snipes and Hutson have scored numerous films and television shows. Clipping's last album, the 2016 afro-futurist dystopian space opus Splendor & Misery was recently named one of Pitchfork's Best Industrial Albums of All-Time. Commissioned for an episode of This American Life, their 2017 single "The Deep" became the inspiration for a novel of the same name, written by Rivers Solomon and published by Saga Press. But their latest masterwork embodies what the band had been building towards - a work that finds them without peer. This is experimental hip-hop built to bang in a post-apocalyptic club bursting with radiation. It's horrorcore that soaks up past blood and replants it into a different organism, undead but dangerously alive. It is a new sun, blindingly bright and built to burn your retinas.
Kompakt welcomes veteran contemporary experimental producer Marcus Schmickler with the release of his spectacular noise/techno fused medallion entitled “Particle/Matter-Wave/Energy”. Marcus Schmickler’s fifty plus release discography is one of the most fascinating in his field. From his studies under Cologne based Stockhausen collaborator Johannes Fritsch to his releases through legendary imprints a-Musik, editionsMego and Mille Plateaux, over the years Schmickler has been behind innumerable collaborations and sonic explorations. Be it through his ground-breaking indie/electronic band Pluramon or through his releases that have included collaborations with musicians such as John Tilbury, Thomas Lehn, Julee Cruise or MIMEO he has even had his works being performed by ensemble recherche, musikFabrik or Paragon Ensemble. Beyond continuing to perform on the world stages, he authors theatre and film and currently teaches at Institut für Musik und Medien in Dusseldorf. This brings us to the release of "Particle/Matter-Wave/Energy" - a 37 minute long piece (split into 2 parts on the LP version) that explores the borders of a scientific universality of sonification towards something that becomes a singular experience – sound. The pieces’ foundational aim was to create an acoustic rendering of what it sounds like when two galaxies collide by gravitational forces. To avoid this one sheet getting lost in theory, the audible result of “Particle/Matter-Wave/Energy” is an incredibly, immersive work that is required listening from start to end. Contemporary experimental music and modern techno collide as waves of synths caress the listener through intense waves of frequency variables. The orchestral enormity of the piece is both discomforting yet embracing as the listener feels engulfed with it’s robotic caress.
PBR Streetgang return to their newly launched KURTZ imprint this October to deliver ‘Acid Tools’, accompanied by Wilde Renate residents Longhair on remix duties.
Founded in Leeds but now found touring the international scene week in, week out, Bonar Bradberry and Tom Thorpe, aka PBR Streetgang, have cemented their position as leading names within the current house and disco landscape via a slew of stand-out releases on imprints such as Skint, Crosstown Rebels and Futureboogie, plus appearances in 2019 alone at Glastonbury, Love International, Printworks and a summer residency at Pikes Ibiza to name just a few. Launched earlier this year, their new KURTZ imprint quickly found favour amongst a who’s who of the industry’s leading names, from Andrew Weatherall to Bicep, Hot Chip to Soul Clap, and here we see the duo step out again on home turf to deliver the second instalment as they reveal their Acid Tools’ EP, featuring three versions of the up-front ‘Ron’ - each of which have been doing damage in their sets across the summer months - backed by a remix from Wilde Renate residents Longhair.
Up first and delivering the ‘Full Fat’, version one sees Bradberry and Thorpe introduce punchy analogue percussion arrangements in tandem with a chunky, menacing acid line at the production’s core, whilst infectious vocal samples and hooks ebb in and out of the mix to guide the production as it chugs along, whilst the ‘Half Fat’ mix strips back the vocals to reveal a driving and warping journey across six-and-a-half minutes. Next up, Berlin duo Longhair’s remix welcomes a low-slung interpretation armed with delayed effects and sci-fi atmospherics to provide a combination of rich depth and space, before rounding out proceedings via the ‘Fully-Skimmed’ mix – a high-energy 909 fueled workout set to feature as a favourite for many across the months ahead.
The always on-point and culturally significant Tuskegee Music is back with more essential music, this time from venerated American producer D’Marc Cantu. Over the course of a distinguished career, Cantu has contributed to everything from jackbeat to acid, house to techno on labels like Creme Organisation and Les Disques De La Mort. Always serving up raw-edged, uncompromising sounds, he does so again here on another standout EP. Opener ‘Beat The Move’ is an urgent, high tech piece of slick and supple acid house with 303 undulations, dark vocal loops and the sort of hammering drums that get the club locked right in.
The sublime ‘In The Forest’ is a tripped out bit of restless electro with skittish hits and rueful pads that gets right to your heart. Last of all is the militant, marching ‘A Narrow Connection’ which closes things out with crisp kicks and scintillating sheet metal drums that straighten your back and get you stomping.
These are utilitarian yet wonderfully unique club tracks from a real master of the form.
The veil falls, as the transmitter that is Clear Memory commences to send for a second time. Light is being shed on the works of Milium, Westlake & Hayter, Robyrt Hecht and Varum. Four tracks of scientifically crafted tunes, full of rugged drums, menacing basslines, mesmerizing keys and voices that narrate both hard to swallow truths and declare their attachment. 140 g of Clear Memory Sound at various speeds and styles.
