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A chance meeting in a New York club led to the conception of Mowgan’s debut album, in collaboration with renowned African Benin-born Nigeria raised singer and multi-instrumentalist, Kaleta (Leon Ligan-Majek) an ex Fela Kuti, Sunny Ade, Lauryn Hill cohort who also fronted Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble and presently heads up a 70s style afro funk band called Super Yamba based in NYC.

The Frenchman was working at Lina Frey when he overheard a Beninese salsa singer called Laurent Hounsavi channeling Afro-centric vibes through his performance. He approached the singer and was put in touch with Kaleta, who lives in the Big Apple, too. What happened next was pure magic, as the two men got to work in the studio to bring their two worlds together.

It’s the kind of mystical alchemy that only happens once in a blue moon; Kaleta was given carte blanche over Mowgan’s extensive collection of Africa-inspired electronic instrumentals.

He selected his favourites and performed on each one, delivering an original vocal, and his own guitar licks, over the top. To stir up even more electrifying vibes, Kaleta also invited several of his talented friends to join the recordings sessions - they included vocalists Shade Myers Emmanuel, Justin Masters and Gbenga Wise, Freddie Deboe on sax, Mic Dada assisting Mowgan on synth pads and Takuya Kuroda, the infamous Japanese trumpet player from Kobe who specialises in neo-soul, hip hop and electronica.

The result is ‘Karoussel’, a vibrant, dynamic, soul-enriching hybrid between electronica and deep African musicality that sets the standard for contemporary collaborations between western and African artists, and the first in a series of album projects from Mowgan on his fledgling label Mow Records...

They Say: “Composite themes and incidental cues for dramatic application”.

We say: Well, it’s definitely dramatic. No wonder this LP was mined by a multitude of 70s and 80s crime shows. Much like Beat Incidental, this true gem includes a raft of enjoyable sub-ten second incidental cues alongside satisfyingly stretched out, hard-knocking sleuth-funk.

The Hunter (Drama Suite) / Adventure Story is a real library-head’s library album. We’re treated to some of the best works of no less than five different heavyweights of the genre: drummer Brian Bennett, guitarist Clive Hicks (of The Gentle Rain), saxophonist Duncan Lamont, rock bassist Dave Richmond and keyboard session giant Steve Gary! Something of a dream line-up, they each contributed stellar efforts to create one of the most sought-after of the legendary KPM albums.

Both sides of this LP are dripping with insidious grooves and dramatic spy-score themes, bursting with heavy guitars, swirling flutes, creeping piano-funk and drum breaks galore. Originally released in 1975, it’s clear that these library heroes were heavily influenced by the tough funk and street soul sonics emerging from the cutting edge Blaxploitation soundtracks.

Dave Richmond’s taut swagger and wah-wah guitar licks of “Nightwatch”, Steve Gray’s sleazy horn and clav-funk on the A-side opener “Theme For A Hunter” and Brian Bennett’s rolling strut of “The Investigator” are just three of the highlights here. That last one being sampled by Jeff Jank under his Captain Funkaho guise on “My 2600” for Stones Throw back in 1999.

As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for The Hunter (Drama Suite) / Adventure Story comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We’ve taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity.

And don’t worry! Those KPM stickers aren’t stuck directly on the sleeves!

They Say: “A selection of suspense underscores and drama blackcloths which vary in intensity and cover a wide range of suspense and drama situations”.

We say: A breaky, funky library great masquerading as a horror score. Oh, and the cover art is amazing.

Breath Of Danger was originally released in 1974, and rounded up a killer ensemble cast of library legends including Alan Hawkshaw, Brian Bennett, Alan Parker, David Lindup, Kenny Salmon, Barry Morgan and Ray Cooper.

Lindup’s opener “Cold Sweat” sounds like hip-hop-friendly mode Axelrod and, indeed, was brilliantly sampled by Kool Keith for his Dr. Dooom project. Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett’s “The Manipulator” sounds like it arrived straight out of the same sessions as their legendary Synthesizer & Percussion LP from the same year.

Over on the B-side Alan Parker’s “Psychosis” is a moving and beautifully restrained funk-guitar/cello/harp workout. Stunning. Kenny Salmon’s “Flying Squad” is a sleazy, flute-enhanced gem and the album closes with “Voodoo”, a seventy second riot of sound and colour from the dynamic drumming-percussion duo of Barry Morgan and Ray Cooper.

Sonically, there’s a widescreen vitality in all these tracks thanks to the driving rhythms, vibrant horn sections and blazing guitar work. It renders Breath Of Danger - 45 years old - truly ageless. The Themes series is known for having particularly striking sleeves, which was unusual for library records at the time, and Breath Of Danger’s scraps of comic-book crazy make for one of the most eye-catching.

As with all of our other Themes re-issues, the audio for Breath Of Danger comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We’ve taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity.

The cat is back! 4 breaky jungle cuts to walk your cat to.

ALTA’s debut release, 'Reasons' is the product of many long nights making music together in a back room at Hannah and Julius’ Brunswick home. It was self-recorded over 10 months, from January 2018 to November 2018, using midnight sessions, tape delay effects and a literal room full of wall to wall synths to carve out a world all their very own. "It's a collection of songs written together in our home studio - No cowriters or anything, just us two experimenting making the music,” says the band.

The album was later mixed by Seekae’s George Nicholas in Sydney and mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound (Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Chvrches).

Thematically, the album’s title alludes to the sense of complacency that often sets in when people start making excuses for themselves.
“It’s this internal thing,” Julius explains, ‘always coming up with reasons why things did or didn’t happen, or reasons why someone else did something. Often it’s self-preservation but it’s also bullshit.”

‘Push’ follows on from previous singles ‘Figured Out’, ‘Back On It’ and ‘Twisted’, which have just under 2 million streams on Spotify since their release and are receiving global attention, with spins on BBC Radio 1 and praise from the likes of The Line of Best Fit and CLASH.

At streaming, ALTA have seen huge support locally and internationally, with their 2019 releases featuring in Spotify’s New Music Fridays, Indie Arrivals, The Local List, Just Chill, Front Left, New Dance Beats and The Office Stereo, plus Best Of The Week on Apple Music.

Melbourne fans will witness ALTA performing tracks from Reasons for the first time ever at Northcote Social Club on Saturday 5 October. Tickets are on sale now via Northcote Social Club’s website.

Reasons is an intricate and emotional body of work that will see ALTA step out from Melbourne’s underground scene, and into the international limelight. Pre-order your copy today.

Through the combined brilliant minds of Fabrice Lig, Kiko Navarro, Karim Sahraoui and Jean Vanesse, the new musical force known as Quadra 163 has arrived. Working together in Jean Vanesse's Belgium studio, their debut EP, "Spin Coaster EP" was born.

Through intense live collaboration over 3 full days, the results are these incredible original tracks and a remix from the American house legend, Osunlade (Yoruba Records). Belgium's Elypsia Records have an absolutely essential release here for those looking for proper club weapons - each track dreamt up by a crew of producers with decades of critical acclaim and club credibility.

Osunlade kicks off the release on A1 with his rework of 'Spin Coaster.' The remix is a late night machine jam saturated with sharp synth textures and a shuffling rhythm which will lock the dancefloor tightly in place. A perfect blend between House and Techno, it's a shining example of Osunlade's keen ability to capture imagination with function, tension with release.

'Ghetto Beat' steps up as the A2, with a drum heavy cut full of off-kilter hits and tones which twist and turn in frequency and timbre. It's the type of track that will get the crowds cheering and jackin' and dancing without a break. A proper tool to slam into the set whenever energy levels need to lift higher and things need to get slightly twisted.

Title track 'Spin Coaster' sets up the B-side with a master session of prime time techno making magic. A playfully thick bassline resonates in and out of the analog rhythms while a synth tone builds tension over the track's entire duration. A few breaks for the clubbers to catch their breath are placed in the perfect spots - but only for a brief moment before things kick back in.

Rounding out the release is 'Ghetto Train,' an absolutely mental banger designed to melt the minds of those fortunate enough to be on the dancefloor when it's dropped. Relentless rhythms, huge hand claps and a sharp staccato shuffle drive the tune whilst synth stabs grow filthier with each passing phrase. Clearly the results of an insane studio session from the crew.

Hamburg based Label Mantra Mantra drops its first EP by 11Schnull.
"IMPERIA" is not only the first release by 11Schnull, Hamburg-based Dj and producer, but also marks the birth of a new record and design label named MANTRA MANTRA. It will release electronic music from up-and-coming artists as well as handcrafted merchandising items, created specifically for each new output.

On this first EP the title track spans over an epic length of 10 minutes and combines an ecclesiastical sample field-recorded in the basilica of Imperia, Italy, with trippy choral soundscapes and hard crashing drums. The B side contains "Jam des Terrorglobus", a rough uncut session he held with his friend Baxmann, and a dark and quaky electro piece called "Roofies on fire", a harsh club banger that could potentially be the last track played at an illegal rave before the "Polizei" shows up. But this part of the story will be told on vinyl only.

Ism opens audaciously with the spiritual mic-check “You Are Free To Choose,” a track that features bassist Junius Paul alongside Vincent Davis (drums), Justin Dillard (piano), and Corey Wilkes (horns). This is by no accident. In many ways, “You Are Free To Choose” captures the spirit of Junius Paul’s artistic roots. Corey, Justin, and Vincent were among the multigenerational cadre of Chicago musicians present when Junius chose to follow his own path of creative discovery at the storied Velvet Lounge on the South Side of the city in 2002.

Though he began learning his craft playing in church, Junius’s creative voice really developed during jam sessions at clubs like The Velvet alongside members of the AACM. It was iron sharpening iron, the most natural form of knowledge transfer. He explained The Velvet’s vibe in 2018: “It’s like in Africa.... If you had this society of diviners or medicine people, or you know, sages… The Velvet stuff is not secret; but there are certain aspects of it… if you weren’t there, you weren’t there.” The Velvet Lounge closed in 2010. But, of course, the spirit of the Velvet Lounge is not dead. “Tune No. 6,” recorded live at the Co-Prosperity Sphere in Chicago, is a sweet interlude here to remind us that jazz is alive, bristling with what’s yet to come.

As Junius pushes forward as a creative musician, he is careful to carry with him the spirit and the knowledge he’s gathered from those who have come before him. He is very literally a bridge between generations of the Chicago vanguard, currently playing in a handful of combos with Makaya McCraven (who produced several of the tracks on Ism) as well as a few of Roscoe Mitchell’s working groups – most notably the Art Ensemble of Chicago – in addition to fronting his own band.

German-Syrian band Shkoon will release their long-awaited debut album “Rima”, sending out a message of cultural diversity to the world. Shkoon’s concerts have attracted a diverse audience for many years, bringing together people of all religions, colors and backgrounds. For their album-tour through Germany and Switzerland, stops in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Zurich are planned.

Musically, the album is situated between influences of electronic downbeat, deep house, dub and hip-hop. The band members come from a variety of different musical backgrounds and have created their very own sound with a mix of influences between the Arabic and Western world. Piano, violin, synthesizers, percussion and vocals merge oriental melodies with western electronic beats, taking the listener on a journey that blurs the boundaries of cultures.

Shkoon is more than a German-Syrian live act with Arabic lyrics. In addition to their own lyrics, the band uses traditional musical folklore elements of the Arab community, which today appear more relevant than ever. The title song of the debut album is inspired by a story from Arabic folklore, in which a mother tells peaceful tales to her child as the world sinks into chaos. This song is accompanied by the singer and rapper Tareq Abu Kwaik, also known as "El Far3i", by the band
47Soul.

After the war in their home country drove the two Syrians to relocate to Germany, Ameen, Thorben and Maher met in the hanseatic city of Hamburg in 2015. During a spontaneous jam session, an unexpected energy and thus the project Shkoon emerged, which was soon followed by the release of the band’s very first EP a few months later.

During the first performances of Shkoon, a spark quickly jumped over to the audience, which soon allowed the group to play major festival stages all over Europe. Even as Shkoon’s musical expression knows no boundaries, it is not easy for the band to travel other countries, as Ameen (the vocalist) and Maher (the violinist) consistently face difficulties of getting visa documents due to their refugee status.

This is particularly lamented in Arab countries, where the band has long been celebrated as stars, for example when they played a sold-out show in Beirut for an audience of more than 3,000 people. But also in Europe, especially in Germany, there is immense enthusiasm in their fans-base is huge.

We always try to bring something special when it comes to release a single on vinyl. This time, we are pleased to announce the return of one of the most obscure and talented vocal group from the early 80's: Time Unlimited. It's been more than twenty years that Donovan Joseph, Hugo Blackwood and Orville Smith, have been off the musical scene as Time Unlimited. During the recording sessions of the Roots Architects project in 2017, we had the chance to meet Donovan Joseph passing by the studio. Straightaway, we were telling ourselves that we had to see his legendary group name written on black wax again. Here it is, with a deep rub a dub cut backed by the High Times Players remembering the golden years of the group!

When acclaimed South African musician Guy Buttery first sought out Dr. Kanada Narahari in late 2016, it was as his patient.

“It was a dark time.” Buttery recalls, “I had been bedridden for months and had been suffering from debilitating bouts of fatigue which no diagnosis or medication could help me get to the bottom of. When I first met Kanada, I was at the stage where even picking up my guitar to make music had become a joyless and taxing exercise.”

As Buttery’s searched for a cure, a family member recommended he see Kanada an Ayurvedic doctor who had relocated to South Africa from India and set up a practice in Durban. It was during this consultation, that the musician first experienced how Narahari infused the healing properties of Indian Classical music into his practice. Rather than treating him with a smorgasbord of pharmaceuticals, Narahari played his sitar and set Buttery on a strict daily diet of Raga’s to fast track his recovery.

Buttery was not only struck by his doctor’s musical talents but by the powerful healing properties inherent in his sitar compositions. When he left Narahari’s doctors room that afternoon, he asserts he was feeling decidedly clearer, lighter and stronger.

“Diving into Kanada’s music was definitely one of the reasons I'm still here today.” he admits. “The consistent tonal centre at the heart of Indian Classical Music, literally became my support pillar over this period. A central core of sorts in which to fall back on, strengthen and discover.”

Narahari as it turned out, was not only a prominent music therapist (and one of the only Ayurvedic doctors practicing in South Africa) but like Buttery, a highly accomplished musician with a devoted following back in his homeland.

Born in a small village along the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India, Narahari, at the age of nine, had enrolled to study Carnatic classical vocal and developed an interest in Hindustani Classical music with a particular passion for the sitar. While Buttery had secured his reputation as one of South Africa’s musical treasures, a multi-instrumentalist who commands sold-out performances both locally and internationally and more recently had been awarded the prestigious 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music.
From this consultation, a friendship developed between the two musicians with Buttery soon inviting Narahari to join him in his studio. But it wasn’t all plain sailing in the beginning. While Buttery and Narahari’s sensibilities were very much aligned, there were a range of cultural and musical influences, nuances and inflections that first needed to be navigated and understood.
“I suppose we had to find a common ground.” Buttery says, before adding, “Which in the end turned out to be pretty "uncommon ground" for the both of us.”
It was after a few intensive sessions together that something exhilarating began to emerge. What began as a few idle improvisations soon evolved into feverish and lengthier jams. Whenever time permitted, the musicians would meet, descending deeper into the emerging sounds, while reimagining the realms that existed between their African and Indian heritages.
Over the next few months, the duo would rack up over fifteen hours of recordings in studio, and it was up to Buttery to shape the material into an album which they collectively titled Nāḍī, which Narahari translates from the Sanskrit as "The Channel" or "An Internal River".

During this period, Narahari bestowed upon Buttery, the moniker Guruji while Guy would refer to him, in affectionate return, as Panditji. Each time the musicians would meet, the studio space would be cleared by an impromptu ritual, with Guruji burning African Imphepho while Panditji would chant a Sanskrit mantra dusting Indian Agarbatti clouds over their instruments.

Once the room had been made hazy with this aromatic alchemy (with the ancestors welcomed in) the musicians would pick up their instruments and plunge into shimmering tides of sound. Reflecting on these sessions, Narahari recalls the immense creative freedom he felt throughout: “Guy and I tried to wander as much as possible, without any speculative, preoccupied ideologies or limitations. Love remained at the forefront of our journey together.”

“Those evenings we spent together in the studio” adds Buttery, “felt incredibly rich with purpose and a profound sense of freedom. While improvising, anything could happen and mostly did.”

On a first listen, the tracks on Nāḍī emerge as salty, humid invocations to the inscrutable depths and misty myths of the Indian ocean-- that vast body of water that stretches between, and laps the shorelines, of the artists’ respective homelands.

When asked to describe the sound him and Narahari refined, Buttery prefers to relay a series of evocative images.

“For me” he explains, “Nāḍī is a lighthouse, a beacon that resides at the bottom of the ocean.” As Buttery envisions it, “what once offered light to guide ships to safety, has been submerged and re-purposed by marine life as a coral-reef temple. Similarly, this sunken lighthouse exists as a concealed cenotaph, memorializing the ancient sea-routes and passages that once connected the two distant lands.”

On paper this may sound obscure but listening to the songs, it serves as an apt metaphor.

Across each meditative movement, listeners are able to relive the journey, immersing themselves in a series of incantations, replete with high dynamics, delicate African-Indian inflections and virtuoso string playing of an entirely new order. Further complimenting the fusion of musical dialects are a range of guest artists including Shane Cooper on bass, Thandi Ntuli on vocals, Chris Letcher on organ, Ronan Skillen on tabla and percussion and Julian Redpath on guitar, synth and backing vocals.

Now like the submerged lighthouse, the recordings stand as a monument, a marker and snapshot of this fortuitous meeting, a tribute to the healing gifts of Guruji and Panditji in performance. It’s a process that already, both musicians look back on with reverence and nostalgia.

Buttery ruminates in closing, that when he first met Kanada his illness correlated with the biggest drought South Africa had experienced in many years “…for whatever reason, whenever we would connect and make music together, the sky would tend to open. Even if it was just a few drops. This went on for months, until finally the drought dissipated and my health had been restored.”

By the time the heavens did open across the East Coast, a deep friendship had been forged and with it abundant musical offerings poured down. A treasured sample of which we able to share in every time we press play and immerse ourselves in the sacrosanct musical universe that is Nāḍī.

When it comes to underground New York Disco, Donna McGhee's highly sought-after 1978 LP, "Make It Last Forever," ranks among the best in the genre, thanks to Donna’s singing and the production skills of legendary producers Greg Carmichael and Patrick Adams.

Featuring five songs penned by the producing pair, it's got their quintessential Disco sound of the late 70s topped by Donna McGhee's superb vocals. These have also blessed recordings by The Fatback Band, Phreek, Bumblebee Unlimited and The Universal Robot Band around the same time.

The album has been an elusive affair since it first came out in 1978 and this is one the first times in decades it is widely available in its original form with newly remastered audio. Donna McGhee has been one of the key female singers of the New York disco scene, gracing several cult albums with her superb singing. The Brooklyn native began her career singing Gospel in her grandmother's choir from an early age, honing her skills and making a name for herself locally as a talented singer.
Her first break in the industry came when she was spotted by bass player Johnny Flippin, who invited her to join his band.
The group was none other than The Fatback Band led by drummer Bill Curtis. This was 1975 and the album was "Raising Hell."

McGhee's vocals can be heard throughout the album including the dancefloor classic "(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop" and after this initial collaboration, she stayed with the group for a another few years recording “Night Fever” in 1976 and touring with them all around the country. Following an encounter with producer Greg Carmichael, Donna McGhee jumped ship and started working with the prolific producer and his partner Patrick Adams.
A string of collaborations followed with singles and albums that have become the stuff of legend over the years: Donna can indeed be heard singing with Bumblebee Unlimited, Universal robot Band and on Phreek's classic self-titled album from 1978, singing on the track "May My Love Be With You."
In 1978, After Greg Carmichael set up his own label, Red Greg Records, he and Adams decided to get McGhee in the recording studio and produce her first solo album. With the pair playing most of the instruments, they got five tracks out of the session. The result, "Make It Last Forever" is an all-time Adams/Carmichael classic: funky disco arrangements with a touch of synths over a pulsating groove magnified by McGhee's superb sexy singing.

All five tracks have become classics in their own right.

Following September 2017's release of "Imperfect Charm" a 5-track EP of post-club, haunted techno and heady sound designed industrial.
Evitceles has developed his sound far further, with releases on Seagrave, Yerevan and his own Amek imprint. "The Substance Of My Fantasies" is his first album and boils down the previous work into a narrative and truly dramatic session over its 9 tracks.

Opening gambit "Take Me to Common Ground" unlocks the gates with bruising rave stabs left to exist in a vacuum of sub-bass boom and augmented voice. "Nightcrawler / Third Night" is a diffuse future-garage roller, priming razor-edged basslines against a hollow melancholia, a theme present throughout this album. "Spit Hearts" cranks the busted drum patters out through a super hi-fi field of gothic synthesiser.

Closing piece "Behaviour Exercise" places off-thumbed emo-guitar lines and barely uttered exclamations into a gorgeous outro recalling sad boy rap styles from the darkest corners.

Since debuting on the label in May 2017, East London duo Earthboogie has been part of the extended Leng family. In rhat time, Izak Gray and Nicola Robinson have delivered a swathe of superb singles and a fine debut album, 2018’s critically acclaimed Human Call. Here they present their sole single of 2019, a two-track fusion of intergalactic, terrestrial and tribal elements reflective of their by-now trademark style. Fittingly, lead cut “Creepy Steve” – a previously unheard workout recorded during the sessions for Human Call – contains many of the musical ingredients that made Earthboogie such an enticing proposition. It boasts a raw, fuzzy and driving analogue bassline, densely layered tribal percussion, dub disco-influenced guitars, woozy electronics and sporadic blasts of African style chanting. As if that wasn’t enough to get the blood pumping, Gray and Robinson have also thrown in some extended, rock style guitar solos and more cowbells, bongos and timbales than you can shake a stick at



It comes accompanied by a previously unheard remix of “Human Call”, the title track from their superb debut album, by friend and fellow musical fusionist Joel Harrison. His version is warm, woozy, driving and percussive, brilliantly re-imagining Earthboogie’s original version as a supersonic slab of peak-time ready deep house. The band’s original chanted vocals, guitars and melodies slowly rise above bustling, all-action drums, weighty bass, alien-sounding electronic flourishes, poignant trumpet parts and seriously dreamy sustained chords.

The time of superficiality is over, we need another perspec- tive. The Tableau Vivant, that reenactment of painting by people, offers a new way of looking at things. A look into the depths, into the innermost of the artwork, a liveliness that jumps right out of the picture. Tableau, the project of the Kame House founder Infuso Giallo and Berlin musician Joshua Gottmanns, dedicates its debut »Double Dream Hands« to a new liveliness. While Infuso Giallo delivered a new interpretation of Moog-Exotica with his first release »Ode to Sansevieria«, Joshua Gottmanns is an »old hand« in the business and has proven his songwriting qualities in different projects for more than ten years, most recent- ly in his project Neuzeitliche Bodenbeläge together with Niklas Wandt. But it’s not about the merits of past records, but the here and now, about the moment. This may have passed in the next second and at the same time lasting an eternity. In four live sessions (the term »Jams« may also be applicable), quite independent entities have emerged that embrace life and come into contact with themselves: Within You, Without You. The congenial pairing of these two new masters of (almost) instrumental songwriting features excursions into New Beat and Percussive Exotica as well as Austro-Wave and Electronica and is promising a playful mix of travels at the edge of stasis with a peculiar musical drawl and abrupt, danceable explosions of ecstasy.

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!

• 1972 Debut solo album from the frontman of Chairmen of the Board
• Featuring ‘All We Need Is Understanding’ and Every Couple’s Not A Pair’
• Fans of Chairmen of the Board will quickly find the sound recognisable, with 4 songs overlapping with ‘In
Session’ and ‘Bittersweet’. The album was produced by Johnson, Mayner, Perry and Weatherspoon
• Detroit soul classic reissued on 180g heavyweight classic black vinyl with printed inner sleeve and original
artwork

Skyf Connection (pronounced skAyf) was a short lived project by long time friends Anthony Mthembu and Enoch Nondala. At the time they were working for Annic Music, an independent label run by married couple Anne and Nic Blignaut. Although the label was known mostly for Zulu, Sotho, Tsonga and other traditional styles, they had a few Disco releases on the label including groups like Keith Hutchinson’s Focus and Enoch’s discovery Lena, who went on to have huge success under the name Ebony a few years later.

In 1984, when an artist didn’t show up for a booked session they decided to make use of the studio time and began working on a demo. At the time Anthony and Enoch had been playing for a year at a new club called Gamsho, located on a farm on the outskirts of Kliptown Soweto. Along with Blackie Sibisi, Sepate Mokoena and Elijah “chippa” Khumalo they made up the resident house band. Due to cultural boycotts and American artists refusing to perform in the country, locals took it upon themselves to fill the market with the American sound the crowds demanded. The demo they recorded at Blue Tree Studios was going to be their product they could use to promote their brand of the American sound. They then took the demo to Universal Studios where their friend and trusted engineer Jan “fast fingers” Smit was working. It would be here that they would polish their demo into something they could take to their bosses and have pressed. Equipped with a DX 7, Linn Drum and some Juno synthesizers they were on their way. Jan lived up to his name and programmed the drums, it is rumoured he could program in almost real time, a skill that translated to the local arcade where he held high scores on many machines. Enoch would be singing and playing guitar while Anthony would do all the Bass and Keyboards. The result was 4 funky party anthems with synth work like no other recording at the time. Their take on what they believed the crowd would want to hear at the beloved club they called home.

From start to finish the 4 tracks portray what would have been a standard night at the Gamshu. Although the club would open earlier and the standard hours of most clubs was 6 to 6 , the band would start playing at 10pm. With their standard set time and Anthony and Enoch unique view on what a Disco should be, they chose the motto Ten to Ten as the album title because those were the hours when they were the stars and Disco ruled the dance floor. To get to the club was a bit difficult, you needed to drive along an empty road where thieves waited for any patrons trying their luck walking after dark. Since there was no transport during the night, the safest way to get home was to wait till the next morning to walk home. Even though in the summer months of Johannesburg light begins to peek in just after 4am, crowds refused to leave and stayed enjoying good music and company until 10am. The lead off track “Let’s Freak Together” has powerful lyrics encouraging people to let go of their worries, put aside any differences and let the music bring everyone to freak and dance together. The whole album is about the joy we can all feel when we share the same moments and how music can bring people together in a unique way, a philosophy shared with the original nightclubs of 70s New York. This approach to music is where the name Skyf Connection comes from, translating from slang to mean the connection we create through sharing, in this case Music and good times.

Skyf Connection would go on to play at Gamsho till the club’s closure in 1986. In those years their popularity lead to being booked for private events like weddings and birthday parties, as well as gigs in some other venues like Mofolo Hall. They would share the stage with many artists through the years learning artist’s songs and providing support as a backing band. After the club closed Anthony would go on to join the house band at The Pelican, another famous club located in Orlando East, as well as dabbling with songwriting for artists like Phumi Maduna and helping Enoch on many projects through the years. Enoch would ditch live music altogether and immerse himself in studio work, starting full time as a house producer and A&R for the recently formed Ream Music. He would go on to produce hit albums for pop artists like Percy Kay and Makwerhu but made his mark discovering countless artists that would become stars in the traditional market. They would remain friends until Anthony’s passing in 2016 and although Anthony is no longer with us his spirit lives in the grooves he left on this one of a kind record. His wife Vinolia will be accepting his portion of the profits on his behalf.

Guadeloupean pianist Jonathon Jurion explores the legacy of American saxophonist Marion Brown, a cult figure whose time in Paris left an indelible mark on the French Jazz scene. The session blends traditional Ka drums from Guadeloupe and the exceptional double bass of Michel Alibo with Jonathan’s piano to bring a percussive Caribbean reading of Brown’s diverse repertoire.

Serious grooves from Muscle Shoals. Gritty Southern-fried Funk and sweet Modern Soul on a limited edition run of 300 copies. Hand-Stamped 7" at 45rpm cut directly from the original 1/4" Master Tapes. The origin of Three Dimension is clouded in mystery. The only remaining artifact: magnetic tape containing previously unreleased material from a 1983 session. The only thing identifying the songs are track sheets housed in a box from the legendary Muscle Shoals' Fame studios in Alabama.

Another exceptional talent has been brewing in the Idle Hands homestead of Bristol for some time now. Daisy Moon has forged strong ties within the creatively bustling city, from her current DJ spots at the ever popular Housework nights, alongside Shanti Celeste, Gramrcy and Golesworthy, her continued work with Bristol's Women In Music group via DJ workshops and industry advice sessions and her former residency alongside Idle Hands founder, Chris Farrell, and Danielle, at the much loved BRSTL nights.

In a sideways step away from the dancefloor, Daisy has prepped a diverse and absorbing EP for the label. Celestial tones and shimmering vocals form the building blocks of 'Geometry Of Curves' whilst 'Halycon' moves at a seductively smooth pace as it combines time stretched vox, sparse yet crunchy beats and plummeting soundscapes to great effect. Deft melodies and woody percussion signature the almost kitsch pop sounds of 'Anemone', whilst EP finale, 'Chambers', locks down ethereal sensations floating on a hefty rhythm, signing off a wonderfully impressive debut release from Daisy for Idle Hands.

LIMITED TO 300 COPIES - HAND PAINTED BORDER

The sounds Jan Harder and Steve Hartmann discover in their studio sessions unravel their power between the notes. What they capture is for us to marvel at. The eeriness, the beauty. Like observing a ghost in the headlights.

Thousand Knives Of Ryuichi Sakamoto's Landmark First Solo Album From 1978 Issued On The Better Days Label And Featuring The Synth Classics "plastic Bamboo," "end Of Asia" & "thousand Knives" Is Reissued Outside Of Japan For The First Time In Decades.

Wewantsounds is proud to announce the release of Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album originally released in 1978 on the soughtafter Better Days label. Sakamoto was a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra at the time but the group hadn't released their first album yet. Featuring Sakamoto on a wide range of synthesizers and keyboards programmed by Hideki Matsutake, and accompanied by a few musicians including Haruomi Hosono and Pecker, "Thousand Knives" was a blueprint for the YMO sound and includes cult classics that were to become live favourites. Save for a small-scale release in 1982, this is the first time the album is being released on vinyl outside of Japan. Remastered from the original tapes by renowned producer and engineer Seigen Ono, the LP edition comes with original artwork including OBI and 4p insert with new introduction by Paul Bowler. 1978 was a key year for Japanese music. Haruomi Hosono, one of the country's most innovative musicians had just formed Yellow Magic Orchestra pursuing the sonic experimentation he had started with his solo album "Paraiso." The album, credited to "Harry Hosono and The Yellow Magic Band," had been recorded between December 77 and January 78 and featured both Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Hosono quickly invited both musicians to form YMO but before the group could release their first album, Sakamoto entered the Nippon Columbia studios in April 1978 with a plan. Sakamoto had become an in-demand session musician after studying composition at the Tokyo University of Art and had played in many key albums of the time: Taeko Ohnuki's "Sunshower" and Tatsuro Yamashita "Spacy" to name just two famous albums. This led to an invitation by Hosono to feature on "Paraiso". A penchant for avant-garde and improvisation had gotten Sakamoto interested in Electronic Music early on and with “Thousand Knives”, he decided to get Hideki Matsutake on board as he had mastered the art of synth programming following a stint with Electronic Music pioneer Isao Tomita. “Thousand Knives” took several months to record as Sakamoto would be busy during the day with his session work and would only record at night. Named after Belgian-born poet Henri Michaux’s description of a mescaline experience, the album is a reflection on how synthesizer technology might come to change the face of music. The first side conceived as a long suite opens with the title track and a recitation of the Mao Zedong poem "Jinggang Mountain" filtered through a vocoder, before morphing into a mid-tempo synthpop instrumental. It is followed by "Island Of Woods", a ten minute track buzzing with insect-like synth sounds reminiscent of the tropical exotica of "Femme Fatale" on “Paraiso” (also featuring Sakamoto). Side one ends with "Grasshoppers," a beautiful acoustic piano melody underlined by a subtle synthesizer soundscape. Side two opens with "Das Neue Japanische Elektronische Volkslied," acknowledging the influence of the German sound spearheaded by Kraftwerk. The track features a mid-tempo metronomic beat skilfully intertwined with a Japanese folk sounding melody. The album ends with two catchy uptempo synthpop tunes in the form of "Plastic Bamboo" and "The End Of Asia," which both became staples of YMO’s and Sakamoto's live shows. Although "Thousand Knives" sold modestly upon release, it was hugely influential in setting the agenda for what was to follow. YMO's sound included various influences from its three members but there is no denying “Thousand Knives” paved the way for the group's Computer Music sound. Thousand Knives remains a fascinating insight into the making of a music revolution.

Celebrating a Decade of Dark Entries with a compilation titled ‘Tens Across The Board’. We revisit our roster and chose 10 songs from 10 bands from 10 different countries spanning the years 1981-1993. The songs flow in chronological order and have never appeared on vinyl, with 7 of the songs previously unreleased.

The compilation begins in 1981 with Parade Ground from Belgium, the duo of brothers Pierre and Jean-Marc Pauly with help from Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc of Front 242. “The Light’s Gone” was one of their earliest experiments and employs a stark minimalism with modular synthesizers, guitar reverb and tape delay. Next we venture to Granada, Spain in 1982 to meet the trio of Diseño Corbusier. Influenced by Cabaret Voltaire and Dadaism, “La Esperanza está en Antenas” was the band’s take on melancholic pop fueled by a robotic DR-55 bass-line. Sailing the Mediterranean Sea to Athens to meet Greek electronic goddess Lena Platonos who shares a demo from 1983. “Μια Γάτα Σασ Περιμένει Στη Γωνία” translates to “A Cat Is Waiting On The Corner” and is possibly the witchiest sounds we’ve shared yet, ending with a blood curdling scream. Frozen in 1983 we cross Ionian Sea to Messina, Italy and visit Victrola, the duo of Antonino “Eze” Cuscinà and Carlo Smeriglio. They’ve unearthed a melodic instrumental version of “Luca” fueled by a Korg Polysix and TB-303. Traveling across the Adriatic to Slovenia circa 1984, where Borghesia are working on their album ‘Ljubav Je Hladnija Od Smrti’. “Magla” translates to “Fog” fitting for the thick, somber electronics of Aldo Ivancic providing a dense atmosphere for the baritone vocals of Dario Seraval.

On Side B we go down under to Sydney and excavate a hidden Tom Ellard song recorded in 1984 under the alias Lord Metal, an anagram of his name for copyright reasons. “Ga Duum Blitzfonika” is a slow-motion, unadulterated dance groove originally released on the cassette compilation "Independent World”. Skipping ahead to 1986 in Tours, France we salute X-Ray Pop the minimum new wave duo of Didier "Doc" Pilot and Zouka Dzaza. They contribute the hypnotically fragile “Corto Maltese” that originally appeared on the cassette compilation ‘Plop’. Crossing the German boarder we arrive in Dortmund at the apartment of Andreas Sippel of Second Decay who recorded the instrumental demo “Lübeckerstrasse” in 1988 with partner Christian Purwien. Utilizing an TR-808, SH-101 and Arp Odyssey this cold slice of futurism was named after the street Andreas lived on. Traveling westward to England, specifically Basildon, Essex to the teenage bedroom of From Nursery To Misery, the trio of identical twin sister vocalists Gina and Tina Fear and keyboard player Lee Stevens. “Contentment” is an introspective, ethereal pop song with child-like vocals that originally appeared on the Belgian tape compilation ‘Heartbeat Vol.4’ in 1989. Finally, we return home to San Francisco and close out the compilation with Cyrnai the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Fok. “Digital Grit Box (Demo)” was an outtake from the ‘Transfiguration’ album sessions recorded in 1993, utilizing dark dance drum beats made with MIDI sequencer programs Studio Vision and Sample Cell.

All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The vinyl is housed in a custom designed jacket by Eloise Leigh featuring our label’s colors black-white-red with connect-the-dots pattern linking the 10 songs via maps/timeline/location, all relating to the reissue process, plus source images from San Francisco, our hometown. For this landmark release we've also printed a 2-sided fold-out wall poster that includes every artist we've released in our first 10 years 2009-2019 in black, red and silver metallic ink, plus an 8x11 insert with lyrics, notes and photos.

One of the greatest enigmas of the music scene in mid to late 1970s Harare was The New Tutenkhamen, a band which played an eclectic brand of Zimbabwean township music combining
traditional rhythms and western influences. The band included some luminaries of Zimbabwean township music. Elisha Josamu was an alumnus of the fabulously-named Hallelujah Chicken Run Band (alongside Thomas Mapfumo), and Green Jangano’s long-running Harare Mambos, and would later form Two Plus Two with bassist Christopher “Chex” Tavengwa. Jethro Shasha played the drums, and would arguably become the New Tutenkhamen’s most famous export, making continental waves working with likes of Salif Keita. Paul Sekerani played the rhythm guitar, with Amos Chatyoka on the organ, while the enigmatic Maggie Mbuli provided vocals and F. Manda played the sax. The New Tutenkhamen recorded I Wish You Were Mine at Teal Records, produced by Crispen Matema, a talented jazz drummer in his own right who had played drums on the all-time classic Skokiaan, and had backed Louis Armstrong on his 1960 Rhodesia visit. Combining the
heavyweight producing talents of Matema and the writing chops of Josamu, The New Tutenkhamen band created an album howcasing various musical styles popular at the time. From the afro-jazz jam session aesthetics of “Tutenkhamen Theme”, “Big Brother alcom” and “Forever Together”, to the almost Van Morrison-sounding “Sunday Morning”; from the upbeat rock ballad “True Love”, to the funk-infused dance song “Togetherness”; from the bouncy jazz
exhortations to work hard in “Ane Nungo”, to the brassy, raunchy foot-stomper “Me & Dolly”. The title track “I Wish You Were Mine” is a ska-infused ballad that wouldn’t be out of place in post-war
Birmingham, while the star of the show is “Joburg Bound”, itself a fast-paced rock piece with Motown undertones and funky guitar lines. As a collective effort, I Wish You Were Mine provides a fascinating insight into a fraught time in Zimbabwe’s history, and the bands plying their trade through the turmoil, making music for young people, by young people.

The third Sunday Breakfast Records release sees a debut from a SB resident. Barcelona based and Bern native James Mc Hale, arrives with two original tracks for his "Insomnia EP", which is accompanied by a stellar remix from scene regular Ion Ludwig.

"Aspect" is the first song from James, a light flowing minimal groover, held together by a subtle melody that teeters on the edge playfully, the second song titled "Somnia" keeps the easy, subtle vibes coming although it adds a moodier theme with an occasional punch tech lead that cuts through it for those after hour sessions.

On the flip side we then have the Ion Ludwig remix of "Aspect", the energy is amped up on this version, going for more intensity yet still keeping the subtle details to the original. This is the business side, direct and straight for those peak set moments.

I felt totally unrestrained making this album” says Lindstrøm about his 6th solo album On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever (a title inspired by the 1970’s musical On A Clear Day You Can See Forever starring Barbra Streisand). “I’ve listened to Robert Wyatt’s solo albums and his Matching Mole’s debutalbum a lot lately. It so effortless, fearless and free. And not insisting. I was very inspired by this” In the autumn of 2018, Lindstrøm composed a commissioned piece for Norway’s premiere art centre Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. Sketches from the three sold-out performances became the foundation for the new tracks. “I decided to keep some of the initial ideas and develop them further. All the songs are based on long one-take recordings”, says Lindstrøm “Also I’ve been very conscious about the music on the album not exceeding the length of the physical limitations of the vinyl-format, finding that 2 long tracks on each side were the perfect balance for this album” This is also the first time ever Lindstrøm has made an album entirely with hardware instead of computer-plugins. He utilised thirty plus synthesizers and drum-machines during his performance at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. The experience inspired him to embrace a similar set-up when making the album. “The joy of making music on actual physical objects and devices makes a lot of sense to me now. After working on a computer for over 15 years, I don’t think I’ll ever look back” he says with an almost childlike excitement. It was the accessibility to his enviable collection of music gear – largely consisting of sought after synthesizers – that allowed Lindstrøm to experiment so freely with ideas and soundscapes. “The title track is a 10-minutes improvisation on the Moog Memorymoog. I liked the loose feel so I decided to keep everything unedited. The other tracks were written and arranged prior to the recordings. I then set up the instruments needed for my sessions, then recorded more or less everything in a single take. I’m really happy with the way this album came together.” Lindstrøm has cited classical music as an inspiration the last couple of years “I used to study classical music at school. Back then I was listening to a lot of Opera, orchestral music and solo music on the piano. Listening to classical music again has been a revisit to my childhood days, just like I did when I embraced the 80s in the early 2000s”
Once embracing the freedom and the joy of making music without inhibitions, immersing himself in to the physical realm of making music with hardware, Lindstrøm learned something new not only about music – but about himself.
“I guess I've been trying to re-educate myself”

“This album will be part of the everlasting impact the Tribe collective had on our culture, on our hope and possibilities.” - Herb Boyd

Strut and Art Yard present the first compilation bringing together the modern era recordings of Tribe, Detroit’s acclaimed independent jazz collective.

Tribe began as a musical ensemble in 1971 co-founded by Saxophonist Wendell Harrison and trombonist Phil Ranelin that soon expanded into a broad amalgam including a live collective and independent record label. Ignored by the mainstream, many African American jazz artists in Detroit and across the US began creating their own small imprints and Tribe emerged alongside other cultural entities to express selfdetermination goals in the city: saxophonist Ernie Rodgers with his sessions at Rapa House; John and Leni Sinclair’s Artist Workshop; Bruce Millan’s Repertory Theater; the Hastings Jazz Experience and the Strata Corporation led by Kenny Cox. Harrison’s ideas of independence, self-determination and education were central to the Tribe ethos: “I might be possessed with a drive to get the knowledge out,” explained Harrison, “because I see this as sustaining the future of the jazz diaspora, the jazz tradition.” Tribe album releases like Harrison’s ‘An Evening With The Devil’ (1972) and Harrison and Ranelin’s ‘A Message From The Tribe’ (1973) became early ‘70s milestones in Detroit jazz.

In 1977, Harrison teamed up with pianist/composer Harold McKinney to form Rebirth Inc., aided by Detroit cultural warrior John Sinclair, a continuation of the Tribe community ethos. Musically, it formed a link with radio station WDET and began an outreach program to teach children and to publish Harrison’s jazz instruction books. Harrison continue to record extensively as a leader with his own labels, WenHa and Tribe, documenting the collective through sessions led by Phil Ranelin, Harold McKinney, Pamela Wise and more.

The ‘Hometown’ compilation places the spotlight on this later era of Tribe and Rebirth Inc., with rare and previously unreleased recordings from Harrison’s WenHa / Rebirth Studios and the SereNgeti Gallery And Cultural Center. Among many highlights, Harold McKinney and his “McKinfolk” family of musicians contribute the pulsing ‘Wide And Blue’ and dance celebration ‘Juba’; Phil Ranelin re-works his classic ‘He The One We All Knew’; Poet Mbiyu Chui (Williams Moore), pianist Pamela Wise and percussionist Djallo Djakate spark on the uncompromising ‘Ode To Black Mothers’ and the rallying cry of ‘Marcus Garvey’: “If we ever get together we will astound the world.” Harrison himself evokes the power and majesty of juju on ‘Conjure Man’.

‘Hometown’ comes as a 2LP gatefold and 1CD digipak fully remastered by Technology Works from the original session recordings. Both formats include exclusive sleeve notes by journalist Herb Boyd with rare photos from Wendell Harrison’s personal archive.

15 years ago in a basement in the Bronx, I attended a bunch of sessions with my long time collaborator and friend, Ray West. Ray is a lifelong DJ and home producer, and only in 2012 did he begin to release music via his well-respected underground label, Red Apples 45. He had a main studio but also this much smaller room in the back which I dubbed “Studio B” in the tradition of any multi-room recording facility who would have a second “B” or third “C” room, and the name stuck. Despite the much lower-level quality equipment in that room, like a Yamaha MiniDisc board burning mixes realtime to CD-R, there was a certain vibe to it that inspired creativity, and a simplicity that encouraged faster working methods. One of the groups that worked there was called Results. Their philosophy was whatever happened in the moment was meant to be on tape and they didn’t spend hours perfecting it. This is rather opposite to how I work in the studio and especially on my own material, of which I can be thorough to the point of finishing less than I’d like. Through working there I realized the potential of having a smaller, simpler second setup, one that was not related to my work as an engineer, or my artist career as a performing electronic musician and techno producer.


Fast forward to 2016 and I would have both a professional studio outside of the home and enough spare gear to make a smaller studio based around a 4-track cassette recorder in my living room. This was a place where I could make whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without the disturbances of clients, the chaos of 30th St., or any genre restrictions that I might place on myself in the big studio. I spent some time tracking down a functioning Akai MG614, the holy grail of 4-track recorders. It’s a large machine, making even the MPC3000 look small on the table next to it. With no computer, things were focused. I went through a couple of variations of the setup in my living room beginning with an MPC1000, DSI Evolver, Sonic Potions LXR, Bastl Microgranny, and a variety of classic effects that I didn’t keep in the rack at Butcha Sound like the Yamaha SPX90 and Ensoniq DP-4, plus a bunch of pedals and eventually a Korg Karma keyboard. Then I had the good sense to bring home the Emu SP1200 I was borrowing from The Martinez Brothers. Eventually I brought home the MPC3000 as well. Another thing I kept connected was a Zoom field recorder that captured sirens, street noises, and me playing the upright piano in my apartment live to tape. Results. These recordings were made in Hell’s Kitchen from July 2016 - May 2017 with the window open and the sounds of my Manhattan block inspiring the takes. — Phil Moffa 2019

Yoshi Wada's Lament For The Rise And Fall Of The Elephantine Crocodile, originally released in 1982 on India Navigation, remains one of the most remarkable flowers to grow in the rarefied air of American minimalism – akin to Terry Riley's Reed Streams and Pauline Oliveros' Accordion & Voice, yet with a wild, liberated energy all of its own.

After graduating from Kyoto University of Fine Arts with a degree in sculpture, Wada moved to New York City in 1967 and quickly fell in with the community of artists known as Fluxus. In the early '70s, he began building his own instruments and writing musical compositions, studying with La Monte Young and Hindustani singer Pandit Pran Nath.

Recorded during an epic three-day session in an empty swimming pool in upstate New York, Wada's first album brings together two of the oldest drone instruments – the human voice and bagpipes – to simple and glorious effect. A visit to the Scottish Highlands spurred Wada's interest in bagpipes, which the composer integrated into these sparse, otherworldly sounds heard on Lament.

"That swimming pool was quite hallucinatory," recalls Wada. “It was another world. I felt it in terms of resonance. I slept in the pool, and whenever I moved, I woke up because of the reverberations.... The piece itself is an experiment with reeds and improvisational singing within the modal structure."

This first-time vinyl reissue is limited to 750 numbered copies. Comes with poster.

DEAIK is SJ Tequilla’s third record on his own imprint Shot Of T.
A solo affair, where the Berlin based Japanese artist keeps on exploring a variation of different sounds on his new 12″. Thumping Acid, moody ambient, Acid house for a club night, and some more familiar mellow drum machine and melodic pieces.
SJ Tequilla’s most varied record to date. Also with an interesting approach to tempo, where each side shifts between 33-45 by preference of the listener. Essential Shot Of T!

The sought after LP from Zann ‘Strange Ways / Inside Jungle’ originally released as a private press in 1990 finally receives a full reissue.

Zann started life as a 7-member live band in 1982. Founder member Udo Winkler had been a part of New Wave & Post Punk band Konec touring extensively and releasing one LP on Polydor titled ‘Schrille Blitze’. Zann was an outlet for more experimental works heavily influenced by Brian Eno's collaborations with David Byrne and Jon Hassell, German bands like Embryo and Dissidenten, David Sylvian and middle & far eastern music.

In 1988 Udo and Hjalmer Karthaus built a small basement studio with a 4 track tape machine and musical experiments began in earnest. After the limitations of playing live it was an acoustic wonderland and they gave themselves no musical boundaries. The unlimited studio time meant they could pick up ideas and develop pieces gradually, friends would come to the studio to play and songs evolved from extensive jamming sessions. The resulting LP has Middle Eastern instrumentation at its core, particularly wind & string instruments such as the Tabla and Gong, and is a melting pot of influences incorporating elements of Ambient, Jazz and Folk with strong synth programming on a number of tracks. The band pressed up a handful of copies and sold them exclusively at record fairs in Germany and in the intervening years the LP has become highly sought after with copies changing hands for 150 Euros.

The LP has been fully remastered from the original DAT tapes with new full sleeve artwork from Bradley Pinkerton and is pressed on 180 Gram Vinyl.

"Coconut Grove started as a secret. I wrote & recorded it in deliberate solitude over the course of a year, in long sessions when I was alone at home or after everyone else had gone to sleep. I had the uncanny sense of discovering something quite old rather than of making something new.

Every album I've made revealed itself over time - Coconut Grove snaked its way through my psyche, going back to my beginnings. While working on it, I found some notes I had jotted down back in 2006, when I was 22 & first inching away from punk towards electronic music. I wrote that I had been dreaming of something humid and menacing, melting but also alluring. I heard some of that in the haunting, dubby minimal techno of the time, and imagined it crossed with the slashing urgency of my favorite no wave & post punk bands. I imagined the catharsis I experienced as a performer rerouted through techno's mercurial endlessness. Those visions never left me, and I've been dreaming of them in one way or another ever since. Coconut Grove folded that time back onto the present, letting me start again from the beginning.

A lot can happen in a year, and, at the risk of sounding coy, a lot happened to me in 2018. Coconut Grove was an exorcism, or maybe a rebirth, but whatever it was it moved with a little extra fluidity. You can hear it for yourself, but I will say the album's softer touch is no accident. Living in that secret space, it felt good to let some air in."

-Daniel Martin-McCormick aka Relaxer

2024 Repress
ODD OKODDO is a Kenyan/German duo consisting of Olith Ratego and Sven Kacirek.

The two artists met in Kenya, about a decade ago, when Sven Kacirek was recording his "Kenya Sessions", an album that put Kacirek on the map of outernational producers. It was reviewed as a "World Music 2.0" (de:bug magazine), whose "fascination endures" (The Wire). Olith Ratego also made an appearance on the "Kenya Sessions”, on the track "Too Good To Be True".

The duo formed the project ODD OKODDO in 2018, with the two musicians joining their various talents which dovetail in perfection. Ratego writes the lyrics and vocal melodies while Kacirek composes, records and produces the arrangements of all nine songs on AUMA. They create a colourful, dynamic sound which is defined by both Ratego’s enormous vocal compass and range of timbres as well as Kacirek’s outstanding skills as a sensitive percussionist.

Olith Ratego sings in a musical style called "dodo", which originates from the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, high in pitch and soulfully expressive. He refers to his music as "dodo blues". His lyrics touch upon the topics of politics, family and of course: love. As a skilled luthier, Ratego builds his instruments himself, like the five-stringed Okodo which lends its name to the project.

Sven Kacirek is a multi-instrumentalist who has been commuting between Germany and Kenya for many years now. In the past he has closely collaborated with various international musicians, among them Nils Frahm and Shabaka Hutchings. Kacirek’s sound builds upon a powerful bass marimba which is present throughout the album. It sometimes invokes the sound of a tuned 808 kick-drum. He works with Kenyan an arsenal of percussion instruments as well as household objects and found materials. Kacirek has now settled into a signature sound which has been described as "thrilling and dizzyingly inventive" by the Australian Cyclic Defrost magazine.

The LP comes with a printed inner sleeve with liner notes by Tabu Osusa from the Nairobi based label Ketebul as well as explanations about the song lyrics.

Attraverso is the debut album of new ambient trio PCM. The band consists of Francesco Perra (P) who also records solo as Perry Frank, Pop producer and sym- phonic ambient composer Matteo Cantaluppi (C), and sound designer/engineer and PCM creative director Matteo Milea (M). The album was conceived after a brief studio session exposed that each member brought something unique to their collaborative take on ambi- ent's many sub-genres. Attraverso, in concept, is meant to mimic four long-form journeys through human inner consciousness utilizing an amalgam of drone, modern composition, guitar ambient, and Koyaanisqat- si-eque arpeggiated kosmische musik. Each track title is the word "Attraverso" with three of the four being represented in different languages.
Attraverso is out October 18th on limited edition 180-gram ultra clear vinyl and gatefold compactdisc.

2x12" Repress


January 1981 found Gudrun Gut and Bettina Koster in Christopher Franke’s Berlin-Spandau Studio recording their first Malaria! EP (Zensor Records). Christine Hahn of The Static with Glenn Branca and Barbara Ess, joined in from New York, and Manon P. Duursma fresh from Nina Hagen’s O.U.T. project and Susanne Kuhnke completed the Line-Up.

Malaria! started touring intensively soon after the release of their 12”, commencing with a concert with New Order at Brussel’s Ancienne Belgique, and going on from there to concerts with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Birthday Party, The Slits, The AuPairs, Raincoats, Nina Hagen, John Cale, Einstuerzende Neubauten. They played venues as diverse as the Mudd Club, Peppermint Lounge and Studio 54 in New York, the Documenta in Kassel, the Bat Cave in London, Les Bains Douche in Paris, Milky Way and Paradiso in Amsterdam, ICA in London, the Piazza Santa Maria Novella in Florence and Markthalle in Hamburg and naturally, again and again, at the SO36 in Berlin.

While touring, Malaria! used their time off to record in Studios in New York, London, Brussels, New Orleans, and in Berlin (How Do You Like My New Dog? 7”, Weisses Wasser 12”, New York Passage 12”, Revisited MC, Emotion Album). At the BBC studios in London Maida Vale Malaria recorded an Kit Jensen and a John Peel Session.

Malaria! took a break in 1984 - Bettina and Christine re-located to New York, and Gudrun and Manon stayed in Berlin to form, with Beate Bartel, Matador, but not before they recorded their Mini-Album, Beat the Distance. 1992 Gudrun, Bettina, Christine, and Manon met up in New Orleans with Jim Thirlwell (Foetus) to record Elation 12”. Elation was followed by Cheerio, Album, which again was recorded in Berlin.

Chicks on Speed did their own version of Malaria’s song, Kaltes Klares Wasser in 2001, and the Remix went into the German Top 10.

Malaria has been an instrumental part of Berlin Music History, as recently presented at the „Zurück zum Beton“ at Düsseldorf’s Kunstakademie, Kunsthalle Wien „Punk!“, „Geniale Dilletanten“ Goethe Institut, and in B-Movie.

BIBA KOPF 2019
The theme song for that great German road movie yet to be made, Malaria!’s 1981 single “How Do You Like My New Dog?” etched the E into the motion music of their soon-come debut album Emotion with its trail-out line “Immer vorwärts, nie zurück...”. Always forward, never back: from West Berlin to London, Paris, New York and Tokyo... from here, there and everywhere to eternity, the Autobahn goes on forever, with Malaria! at the wheel, spinning new moves from timelines crossed in records and songs right on the money evoking Zarah Leander, fighting the power, staring down Death, and a whole lot more. In all, one merry hell of a ride, and on the evidence of Compiled 2.0, it’s not over yet.

MARK REEDER 2019
"Even today, their originality in everything from sound to style, has proven just how relevant Malaria! are. In my opinion, their music has stood the test of time. To me, Emotion sounds as good today as it did when it was first released and it was a pleasure to revisit it. They might not have had any zillion selling albums, and their image might have been copied, while their sound could never be. They remain exclusively unique and their influence and legacy will reach far into the future. This band is both an inspiration and a statement and they prove what five very creative girls can achieve, if given the right support to allow them to evolve, and it is exactly that, which has made Malaria! Germany’s most successful and renowned, all-girl band...“

DIEDRICH DIEDERICHSEN 1991
"...Malaria! put across so many clear, manifest, attractive, certain, muscular, and harsh symbols, just as they refused - defying the customs intrinsic to these symbols and the worlds in which they circulate - to weave all these things into a readable, reproducible and manageable, generic text..."

Spread out over two 12"vinyls - this is the result from a two day recording session in Brussels by the duo of Beau Wanzer & Maoupa Mazzocchetti. 25 minutes of dance floor perversions that tackle an array of rhythmic forms. Sludgy synths, serrated percussion and viscous distortion goops over leviathan rhythms

Beau says, “We hooked everything up and just pushed play. We didn’t really discuss much about the process….it was very ‘spur of the moment’.” The equipment set up included a Roland TR-808, TR-606, SH-101, CR-78, CR-8000, two Syncussions and effects. Each EP contains 25 minutes of dance floor perversions that tackle an array of rhythmic forms. Sludgy synths, serrated percussion and viscous distortion goops over leviathan rhythms

Secretsundaze return with a second volume of their new mixtape series. After the success of the Joe Claussell tape they turn to Carista for another introspective mix aimed at a relaxed home-listening session.

In May 2018, Carista performed one of her first international gigs at Secretsundaze in London and went on to play 2 other shows for them that year. A year later, she has become a mainstay on the European club & festival circuit, playing to an ever growing, passionate and loyal fanbase week in week out, already playing shows that most DJs would only dream of, including closing a stage at Lowlands festival to an audience of 10000. No wonder a recent Mixmag article crowned her as "A DJ star in the making".

Her residencies on NTS and Red Light Radio showcase her love of house, boogie, broken beat, disco, funk and beyond. Her DJ gigs can also see her explore further into house and techno but this mixtape showcases a different, softer side of Carista blending ambient soundscapes, jazz, dub and soul as well as some poignant words from Nina Simone.

Leifur James released his debut album A Louder Silence in October 2018 on Late Night Tales original artist label Night Time Stories; home to Texan trio Khruangbin and the iconic Late Night Tales series. The record attracted immediate support from Pitchfork, KEXP, XLR8R, Mixmag 8/10, Future Music UK 9/10, Electronic Sound 9/10. In April 2019 ‘Wurlitzer’ was the first piece of music he revealed from a new creative period after those sessions. The video was created by animator/director Balázs Simon, premiering on Boiler Room and was nominated for the BMVA Berlin Music Video Awards in the experimental music category, airing at the British Film Insitute BFI Southbank London.

Now in September 2019 he has prepared a remix EP 12" of the debut album A Louder Silence, featuring a slew of the finest musicians in electronic music today. Blueberry Records founder FaltyDL aka Drew Lustman comes first with a deep, skipping 2-stepping reversion of Mumma Don’t Tell. Bruce coming off the back of his hugely well received debut album for Hessle Audio has a “resymph” of Osho in typical mind-bending austere electronic style. Whities producer and Tirzah/Mica Levi collaborator Coby Sey reconstructs Suns of Gold with his sampler, and also accompanying it, is Leifur’s own remix of suns of Gold.