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Detroit duo Ataxia offer up their 'Kodak Moment' EP via Visionquest this March, accompanied by an edit from label co-founders Shaun Reeves and Ryan Crosson.

Eric Ricker and Ted Krisko aka Ataxia have been at the forefront of the contemporary house and techno scene for some time, racking up releases on some of the leading labels across the globe such as Leftroom, Nervous, Culprit and Play It Say It, making the duo one of Detroit's finest exports in recent years. Here we see them making their debut on Visionquest, the label of fellow Detroit natives Ryan Crosson, Shaun Reeves and Lee Curtiss.

'VHS' leads the package with murky synth swells, resonant synth sweeps and fluttering square wave bass tones at it's core as shuffled drums carry the ever-evolving hypnotic groove along. The original mix of 'Kodak Moment' follows, shifting the focus over to snaking bass lines, mind-bending, modulating synth whirrs and dynamic, choppy percussion throughout.

Reeves & Crosson's 'Edit' of 'Kodak Moment' then rounds out the release, stripping things back to ethereal atmospherics and shuffled drums whilst subtly stirring in the original's hooky bass groove as the interpretation unfolds.

"Kinfolk returns after a long hiatus with an outstanding release from the mighty Mind Fair donning their newly invented 'Sundown Drive' hats. 'Sunset over Santorini' is a sonic brew of percussion, guitars, jazz-funk keys and heavenly vox that's all kept together with a driving shuffle that brings to mind the more experimental Leftfield disco sounds of 70's NYC and beyond. On The flip Dan 'Nad' Tyler delivers a wacked-out remix monster that takes it deep into a Norwegian via Homerton disco-dub-not disco-dub vortex of truly epic proportions that will twist your body, mind & soul as it ventures in and out of the groove laden original. "

2x12"

Helsinki based HPTY Recordings run by TREVOR DEEP JR. celebrates and honors Finnish dance music and some of its champions operating close to the main source by releasing an anniversary double vinyl package of underground rhythms cross the genres!

Das dritte Album der in Berlin ansässigen Postrock-Band Cavern Of Anti-Matter der beiden Stereolab-Mitglieder Tim Gane (Frontmann) und Joe Dilworth (Drums) und des Synth-Spezialisten Holger Zapf erscheint ebenfalls auf dem eigenen Duophonic-Label. Auf "Hormone Lemonade" erzeugt das Trio aus modularen Synthesizern und selbstgebauten Drum-Machines hypnotische Soundstrukturen, die, angereichert mit minimalen Gitarrenmelodien und Live-Schlagzeug, ein reichhaltiges Gesamtwerk aus Experiment, Improvisation und Raffinesse ergeben.

Pressestimmen zum Vorgänger:
"A delightful head-trip." - Mixmag
"Their official debut is a whimsical, expansive set of cosmic post-krautrock groove." - Pitchfork
"An uber-compelling meld of Kraftwerk/Neu!/Harmonia and early techno." - Shindig!

Leonid Nevermind is back with a new sophisticated detroit house EP. 4 groovy soulful tracks with storytelling titles, hazy vocal elements, slapping funky basslines and bluesy piano patterns enswathing with mysterious chords and thrilling lucid melodies.

Feedback:
Anton Zap: Independent sound, another great record by Leo!
Move D: Very nice! Really cool!
DJ QU: Super nice EP. Feeling it!
Delta Funktionen: High-quality fresh stuff! Very happy to hear it!
Laurent Garnier: Many thanks for the great release. I love the mood of
the 4 tracks very much.
Duplex: This EP is a gem!
Brendon Moeller:´Inner Hub´ and ´Poetry of the Heart´ for me! Dope.
Marco Shuttle: Nice sound, ´Inner Hub´ is the one I like best :)
John Heckle: This is great, liking all 4 of these, thanks.
Or:la: Sounding nice
Dubbyman: It sounds powerful and nothing conventional!
Nocow: Good sound, go on!
Dasha Redkina: Good music
Jelly Roll Soul: "Poetry Of The Heart" is great!
André Kronert: it's a very nice record. Love it

The new Saint Petersburg based label is focused on underground sounding of house and minimal. This is the first release of the label and the debut of a new artist Matpri from Saint Petersburg. Four original house tracks with a shuffling drum beats and solid basslines will add a dose of positive energy to your mix.

Seeking the overwhelming vibration of the genuine sound wave and its profound echo on the soul, Kenneth James Gibson has spent his career experimenting under a variety of aliases like as many brushstrokes to an ever polymorphic palette - successively releasing as (a)pendics.shuffle, Bell Gardens, Reverse Commuter, dubLoner, Kenneth James G., KJ Gibbs, Bal Cath, Eight Frozen Modules, and Premature Wig... the list is long. Near to two years after his first incursion on Kompakt with his third studio LP 'The Evening Falls', Gibson returns with 'In The Fields Of Nothing', his second full-length delivery for the Cologne-based imprint.

A piece of intricate scales and moods, by turn streaming with the quiet flow of a small meandering rill, then suddenly veering off into an oceanic kind of tumult, 'In The Fields Of Nothing' was conceived as a proper film soundtrack with its rhythmic ebb-and-flow and deep sense of immersion, pulling the strings to an imaginary scenario where the uncanny rubs shoulders with a minute care for the immersion and deep emotional involvement of its whole.

Like entangling multiple levels of consciousness through a millefeuille of textures, piano and strings as well as a flurry of subtly FX-soaked instrumentals, Gibson reflects on his new album - created and recorded right after 'The Evening Falls' came out - as hugely inspired by the lushly forested mountain landscapes of his home region, the bewitching Idyllwild, California. With each track being an essential petal in the narrative corolla figured by Gibson, it's a breathing forest of sounds that deploys, bearing the memories of Kenneth's early morning and late night wanderings in the wild, alone and not, with the ancient trees' vital force for main companion. 
An attempt at capturing a slice of these ephemeral sensations felt when striding along across the steep ridges and stony paths of the San Jacinto mountains, staring at the star-studded dome or gazing into the quiet horizon at dawn, 'In The Fields Of Nothing' eludes the single genre encapsulation, opting for the all-embracing openness of scope as it hops from droney melodic interplays ("Her Flood") and roomy string-laden folk drifts ("Further From Home") through Ligetian webs of sound ("Thirsty Lullaby", "Fields Of Everything") and poignant threnodies ("Unblinded"), onto sorrowful pop ballads ("Far From Home") and lulling ambient scapes ("To Love A Rotting Piano", "Plastic Consequence")

Long-term Soma collaborator Tony Scott drops his debut album with the label under his Edit Select alias, the perfectly crafted experience, 'Cyclical Undulations'. Having released with Soma under his Percy X moniker for years and having countless hits under his belt, Scott reinvented himself as Edit Select. Known for his dark, expressive and expansive music, Edit Select has become once of the most well respected and renowned artists in the genre. With this latest full length, he continues to explore the furthest reaches of the Deep Techno spectrum.

The Cyclical Undulations journey begins with Insta Grain, a mesmeric odyssey of ebbing pads and sparse percussive elements that seem to drift of into the expanse. A perfect opener before the first foray into more 4x4 territory begins with Above Ground a pulsating affair before Two Step Phase, a more stripped back affair, reminiscent of earlier Percy X works in it's 90s heyday. Undulation, more propulsive in it's approach, melds warping synth hooks alongside spectral tones. Horizon#1 follows in a similar vein yet drift into slightly more hypnotic territory as recurrent tones lead the track. Scott flourishes with yet more machine-throb crafting Close Up & In The Beginning She Was, both stacked with subtle nuances of his stylised percussion lost across dream like states. The later half of the album has a distinct minimalistic approach yet seem to provide maximal output with every beat. Horizon#2 is dark and ominous yet still characterised by a tough percussive element. Contact, produced in collaboration with Claudio PRC, delves into more submerged sounds with heavy sub bass and echoed drums, finishing of with Towards The E; a shuffling broken beat affair with after hours vibes and an endearing ethereal quality.

Cyclical Undulations demonstrates a mature sense of production from Edit Select. An assured collection of material, each track providing a striking insight into a true artistic mind.

"Laid back, Jazz-funk infused, UK boogie house from Sugarhouse Records bossman Roy Rozell. Synth melodies and shuffling grooves. This is the shit! Relax and unwind. Top Pick!"

Three more diggers delights from Jake Holloway and the Moton.
DJ Support
DJ Spinna
Osunlade
Mark Grusane / Sounds Familiar
Alex Attias / Visions Recordings
Dom Servini / Wah Wah 45s
Volcov / Neroli / Sounds Familiar
Kiko Navarro
Marcel Vogel / Lumberjacks In Hell
John Gómez

Fina Records strides into 2018 with another fresh new house EP, this time from PASO aka Pascal Pamme. Over the last few years this French artist has released on the likes of D.KO Records, Increase, and The Groove, and always showcases his knack for loose limbed, organic house grooves laden with jazzy keys and soul-infused synths. The four cuts he offers up here once again prove he is a producer with a truly authentic and musical style.

The warm and golden 'Idocracy' kicks things off with gently shuffling kicks, noodling chords and twinkling keys that together make for a perfectly cozy and intimate house track. 'Fuzy' is another perfectly louche and disheveled number with woody kicks stuttering beneath effusive Rhodes keys. Vinyl crackle and tinkling percussive sounds add to the immediately aged and lived in style of the track and mean it is one that will get smaller rooms well and truly involved.

On the flip, 'Limited Perception' ups the ante, with quicker drums decorated with more languid chords, plenty of smartly sampled sounds and a breezy sense of groove that is heartfelt and effortlessly feel good. Last of all, 'No Matter Where You're From' has great female vocals stitched into long-tailed pads as lazy, swaggering drums lay down a perfectly imperfect groove. It rounds out an EP of masterfully atmospheric house for those who like their beats with real feeling.

Well before Shuggie Otis (Born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr.) cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life. The son of rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie learned to play guitar as early as the age of two, and performed professionally with his father's band at eleven. Throughout his long and illustrious career he'd performed on records for the

likes of Frank Zappa, Al Kooper, Etta James, and George Duke, to name a few. In spite of all this, widespread mainstream success eluded Shuggie for much of his career. His most famous release to date is his 1974 album Inspiration/Information, which would experience new resurgent life in 2001. Those willing to dig a little deeper however, would discover hidden gold in his earlier releases, especially in the album directly before Inspiration/Information, his sophomore 1971 release Freedom Flight. As with his debut, Freedom Flight was produced by Shuggie's father Johnny Otis, and built upon the distinct sounds of his debut album: lush, baroque, string section arrangements, paired with hard funk rhythms, and funky blues melodies, with the majority of the instruments once again performed by Shuggie himself. The album also featured backing from premium session greats like George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar, and the track "Strawberry Letter 23". which became a Billboard hit for The Brothers Johnson 3 years later. An unearthed treasure of deft, technical skill, and virtuosic composition.

Syncrophone is pleased to welcome Shuffles to the family!
Shuffless is a technohouse-duo hailing from the forests of middle-Finland. Their musical inspiration comes from the sounds of legendary techno and house cities, but in production they mix it with a Finnish twist. They make their music with a selection of hardware gear, and record the tracks live in the night to get the feeling right.Here is one of the two EP scheduled for the early 2018.

The debut Vinyl release on Re-Fix Recordings is an E.P from Waxwing who utilizes many years of studio experience and previous releases under different aliases to deliver 4 funky chunky house cuts. Unleashing vintage tones,the US garage influenced house beats shuffle and swing their way throughout,whilst warm,weighty organ stabs provide the backbone for the dubby grooves A

A quartet of heavy reworks. Reginald Omas Mamode IV truly does what he does best, bringing a percussive, low-slung funk to one of the most ethereal and beautiful pieces of soul on the album, Sunshine. Glenn Astro, elevates Bossa B to a jostling, bouncing shuffler that eventually turns around and heads skyward with uplifting chords and irresistible bass.
Deoke heads into the darker regions of the original for his huge remix of Bossa B. Finally the ever exceptional Mr Beatnick simply took the stereo track for Kalimba 2 and edited it into a mind-opening dub. Handling bass and harmonics as only he can, a true highlight of this high quality remix package.

The Make Mistakes ethos is one of diversity and evolution, and that is showcased in full on our newest vinyl release Need Your Luvin'. House, Acid, Techno, Roy England, Jarvi, Fredy Grogan. One track, three styles, all dance floor bounders.
Roy England's original mix is a jackin' house jam with a timeless vibe. A classic house sound propelled forward by the titular vocal sample, England manages to deliver a track that would work equally in the lounge, as well as late night in the big room.
On the B side Jarvi's Acid Workout strips the original down even further, and fills it back up, with a wandering, hypnotic acid line to stitch it all together. An old school party sound, both familiar and fresh. Fredy Grogan deconstructs the original into its component parts, building it back up into his dark, and driving dub techno remix. Drawing it out over nearly 8 minutes, this'll have the heads bouncing off the walls.

House, Acid, Techno, pillars of dance music, mixed together, given the ol' razzle dazzle, and served up hot and ready for mind, body, and soul. Grab Need Your Luvin', stick it in the crate, and never worry, because you'll always have the Luvin' you need.

'Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you.'

---Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian

We're super excited to present the latest artist to join the Dirt Crew stable, French producer Sekou Babe. He ticked all the right boxes for us with this beautiful debut EP 'Foresight Prevents Blindness' which explores his fresh and vibey outlook on house with sideways glances to smokey jazz, breaks and garage. The a-side lines up three varied tunes. 'Perspectives of the Youth' and 'Soukoun' step in quickly with lively breakbeat rhythms. The first boasting warm soul vocals and steady bass groove, the second a melancholic yet uplifting back and forth between vintage piano and warbling rhodes. 'Treize Zero Zero Trois' is a deep and dreamy house jam. Cinematic elements infused with punchy percussion and 80s sonic touches add up to good times all round. On the B, our good friend Nachtbraker does what he does best, flipping 'Treize Zero Zero Trois' bringing the deep, dubby Amsterdam vibrations. His version is lush, textural and slightly fruity, with surging synths, tropical percussion and a stomping kick. Sekou Babe rounds things off with the extravagant 'Crown Collection", showing us yet another colour in his musical spectrum. It's trip hop meets Detroit where warped strings introduce shuffling drums before the track begins to build layering subtle arpeggios, smooth pads, crash hits and a buoyant melody. Sekou Babe would like to add that all tracks were written and produced by b.b. at 7e Republique Studio and says thanks to Peter, Ghizlène, Mohammed and Florian, you beautiful souls.

music is the silence between the notes.' the french composer claude debussy once said.
the german trio wareika, consisting of florian schirmacher, henrik raabe and jakob seidensticker, love the silence between their notes, even if their music is often fully loaded with many detailed sounds, rhythms, melodies and intercultural sound links.
since 2007 they spread their passion for repetitive club grooves in the minimal house spheres that love to swing in the epic way. with four albums on labels like perlon or visionquest as well as eps for labels like eskimo, tartelet, circus company or bar 25 under their wings, the trio proofed their craftsmanship for multi-layered dance music already arrestingly deep on numerous releases and during tours around the globe that brought them also to japan.
now they deliver a new one hour long sonic journey on the tokyo based mule musiq, the label on which wareika member florian schirmacher already released as part of the glowing glisses project in 2008. also wareika itself are not new to the japanese imprint, as they previously dropped a remix for mule for the mysterious project jemmy in late 2015.
and now water, sky, sun, wood' - an ambitious one-track (on vinyl separated into four parts) love letter that kicks you deep into meditation - assumed you surrender yourself to their complex sounding and grooving story-arc. it all started with an unplanned four-hour jam session between henrik and flo-rian, gaming and messing around on the piano, guitar and drum computer.
later florian edited the happening into a one-hour sensation, henrik added some congas and synthlines and jakob mixed it down. the result is a meticulously edited, deeply absorbing dance between the pi-ano, guitar, conga, mfb tanzbär, mfb dominion 1, ob-6, jupiter 6 and manikin mellotron synthsizer. you can use it to get lost. lost from the daily grind. lost from precast perception.
lost in music. you can use it for your imagination to move to a place beyond words that guarantees some genuine experience. or you just can shut yourself down to it, dive deep into your unforeseeable dream world and dance your sub-consciousness around and around.
whatever each listener chooses to do, wareika's latest adventurous blend of jazz, techno, house and world music will move each soul individual. primarily because water, sky, sun, wood' is a reverbera-tion of the inner notes that are floating and dancing in florian, henrik and jakob. and as the greatest music in the world is nothing but an echo of the inner music, wareika managed to reach a new fresh peak of their multidimensional artistic body of work, that grows and grows to stand out in terms of deepness, permanency, eternalness and silence between all sounding sensations.

Dr. Dundiff releases Muneybeats' as part of the Beats from Jakarta' series & continues what Ta-ku and Shuko started years ago.

Dr. Dundiff (done different) is a Hip-Hop/Neo-Soul producer based out of Louisville, KY. Dundiff has gotten into producing around 2010 and has been a busy bee ever since with a huge number of projects under his belt, from producing as well as him rapping.
Those who follow Jakarta Records might know the name from his ongoing collaboration with Otis Junior. They released their debut EP 1moment2another' on Jakarta Records receiving wide daytime airplay and recognition from French tastemaker Radio NOVA, as well as 1.500.000 Mio. Streams for their debut EP 1Moment to Antother' through Spotify & a placement on Radio Nova's le grand Mix 2016' compilation.

Muneybeats is Dr. Dundiff revisiting his roots in an all instrumental experience. Put the most attractive beats on top. The ones that make you pull the car over and go, 'Wow, I need this be a right now.' Those are the Muneybeats. Compact little tasty treats spanning a wide range of sounds while always sounding like Dundiff made them. He is currently also working on a new project with Otis Junior which will drop sometime in 2018 as well as their first Europe tour in summer 2018.

- Beats from Jakarta is a series Jakarta Records kicked off some years ago with contributions from Shuko and Ta-ku, heavyweights in their own right, and we felt it would be nice to bring that series back when Dundiff sent us his new album. So here we go. - Beats from Jakarta part 3....

**INITIAL 400 LPs CONTAIN A BONUS 7" BY MEL-O-MADNEZZ**

IT'S TIME TO PAAAARTY! Why The Universe knows that Tramp is celebrating their 40th trip around the sun in 2018. And what about planet Earth Well... it is as blind as it is in so many other situations. Therefore, it is time to shine the light on Tramp for all of its unremitting efforts. As musical diversity is vanishing, especially in the field of African American music from the 1960s/70s, it is our duty to stop the extinction of threatened species of music in the same way an animal welfare activist would do anything to save a gorilla's life. Tramp Records keeps this beautiful heritage alive, every single day, again and again and again. So we are here wondering why Earth people and especially to those from our beloved home country, why why are you just sitting there, going about your life unaware of this historic event What a pity!

The announcement is especially striking when it comes to the prestigious "Movements" series. Like all its predecessors, this ninth volume contains Rare Groove nuggets recorded between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The fact that only one of the songs appear anywhere else is a jaw-dropping phenomenon! The chronological track listing starts with two amazing cover versions: "Fever" by Gee Gee Shinn & the Boogie Kings and "I'm A Woman" by Connie Kaye Trio. Bus Brown, Earl Demus and Chuck Finney remain in the same direction although their contributions are slightly jazzier. Chick Willis' gut-wrenching "Sometime Soon" easily rivals James Brown's "It's A Man's World" and the recordings by Australia, J.R. and Joe Akens are beautiful examples of privately produced soul from the 1970s. The latin-soul of "Cho Cho San" by Hummingbird 4 heads the sound in another direction for the next three tunes, highlighted by one more stunning cover version, Oscar Brown Jr.'s "Brother, Where Are You". The album closes with some pre-disco tracks from the mid-to-late 1970s. Funk 7" collectors will freak out to finally get a chance to listen to Mel-O-Madnezz' superheavy "What You Getting High On" but will certainly also enjoy The Counts, Reunion and Hot Cakes' dance floor bomb cover of "Harlem Shuffle".

Over a hundred great unknown songs have been re-released on the first eight volumes in the "Movements" series, the majority of which can not be found elsewhere, and Vol. 9 is no exception. The work of Germany's tiniest but grooviest record label is still incomprehensibly underestimated. We know you diggers, collectors, mavens, aficionados, fanatics, completists, enthusiasts, and just plain record geeks know what's up and we heartily salute you! Without your support there would be no Tramp Records. But now it's time for a broader cultural shift for good music and a sweeping move to uphold the legacy of the unsung heroes of funk and soul. Therefore, we humbly petition you: in 2018, Don't keep all this glory to yourself! Turn your friends and neighbors on! Thank you!

- initial 400 LPs contain a bonus 7" by Mel-O-Madnezz ("What You Getting High On")

- the double vinyl LP comes with a full album download code

- deluxe double-gatefold LP with detailed liner notes, label scans & unseen photographs

- all but one song appear on vinyl-LP for the very first-time

Fernando Pulichino is no stranger to Leng Records. The bass guitar-wielding Argentine made his first appearance on the label five years ago via the cosmic disco/psychedelic rock fusion of Blue Impala, returning two years later with the similarly inclined brilliance of Giant Desert. Pulichino then resurfaced on Leng late last year with a superb, digital-only three-tracker called Natural 77.

Now he's back on wax, buoyed by the success of the acclaimed Shining EP on Is It Balearic
Recordings. This time round he's in Search of Indigo, shaping hazy, sun-baked soundscapes around his distinctive basslines, echo-laden synthesizers, meandering Fender Rhodes solos,
gentle dub vibrations and glistening, early morning jazz guitars. This is music for the heads, hips and feet, soaked in Fernet and left in the afternoon sun to slowly ripen.

Arguably the most arresting of the four cuts is the title track, a head-in-the-clouds vocal number rich in bubbly electronic riffs, laidback electro beats, ricocheting percussion hits, swirling wind
effects and rubbery funk-rock bass.

Pulichino's penchant for intergalactic disco shufflers once again comes to the fore on killer Sundown Visions', a saucer-eyed chugger that simultaneously throbs, pulses and sparkles
thanks to sparring synthesizer motifs and eyes-closed space rock guitars. We suspect Daniele Baldelli and Andrew Weatherall would approve.

Elsewhere, Pulichino indulges his passion for sofa-surfing jazz-funk on solo-laden EP closer Frontera', a relaxed and undulating jam rich in cascading electric guitars, fluid electric piano, delay-laden flourishes and deep space synthesizers. You won't know whether to lie down, dance enthusiastically or wearily shuffle, either way, play at sunrise or sundown for maximum
enjoyment.

The EP also boasts a first vinyl outing for the title track of last year's digital-only EP, Natural '77'. Seemingly partly inspired by legendary West Coast funkateers Steely Dan, it's a lazy, low-
slung affair full of languid guitar solos, freestyle vocal improvisations, bongo-laden drums and one of his most inspired and elastic basslines to date.

Masterworks Music returns with their illustrious 10" vinyl-only brand, The Masters Series. Stepping up to handle duties on this fourth instalment is none other than Tel Aviv's own Obas Nenor.
Having made waves with his previous outings for Defected, Heist Recordings and his own label, Nenorian, not to mention EPs for the likes of Strictly Rhythm, Mahogany Music and a slew of 12's for Whiskey Disco as half of Rabo & Snob...let's just say the man gets around! Now unleashing his 'Weirdo disco' style on Masterworks Music Here, he packs his studio creations win a tidy, 10" format with a double-header with "Candies" on the a-side and "Stay" holding down the b-side. 'Candies' offers the perfect counterpart with a shuffling, low-key vibe. Every much as danceable as the flip, "Candies" pairs jangling guitar riffs with vocoded rhymes and more undulating vocal snips. Clavinets dripping in wah-wah wackiness keep the mood light and funky and recall the glory days of acts like Faze Action and Crazy P.
Flipping over to the B side 'Stay' wastes no time getting down to business with wonky, percussive intro that launches head-first into a stomping Moog-bass groove. Layers of vocal samples undulated and punctuate the rock-steady disco beat while chords and claps get the hips shaking.
Cracking' tackle for any modern disco head, these are sure to blaze up the night!

OMEN Recordings is off running to the industrial techno races againand this third release has already been gaining traction around the globe with high anticipation and support from many respected producers and DJs alike. The Puppetskin EP written and produced by German and French artists RENDERED with remixes by American producers BLACK ASTEROID and AXKAN is off to a great start. RENDERED starts off strong with the title track Puppetskin" (A1), with strong breakbeat kicks, thrashing snares and rich synth lines that are melodic and spacey. The dancefloor will surely love the Charles Manson samples. Nightmoves' (A2) also heads the pack with shuffling kicks while rich, minor-tuned pads take you on a persistent journey. About half way through, you will be moved by a 4/4 pattern that sneaks in and will be a favorite for the dancers. BLACK ASTEROID's remix of Puppetskin' (B2) does not disappoint as signature Black Asteroid textures and rhythms come alive in this rendition. Although it has rounded, full soundscapes that sound perfect for a large venue, its pumping, hypnotizing bass lines and screeching sirens keep you pulled into the darkness. AXKAN stays in the pack with his earthshattering remix of Puppetskin' (B1) by starting slow with a profound intro to then push the audio boundaries with his powerful kick and bassline, to gain more and more strength with vocal samples, distorted drums and FX. AXKAN uses every stem of the original in such a creative way to help win the race. This EP, soon to be available on vinyl and digital formats, exceeds the expectations of sound design and techno together. No matter what time of night it is, these tracks can be played in a versatile way. While still employing darker textures, a breath of light creeps its way in. Listening to this EP start to finish is definitely worthwhile.

Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin.

Hana's first and self-titled LP was recorded in Autumn 2010 at Facta non Verba and consists out of 5 tracks which are techno oriented with disposal of experimental and abstract elements.

Reviews

OMG Vinyl
Hana s S/T LP is easily the best promo records we ve gotten in months. This Greek duo has somehow, almost entirely below the radar, released one of the most exciting electronic records of 2011. Their wobbly brand of techno sometimes chugs ahead at full-speed, other times easing back into a wider waver, almost resembling some weird, warped IDM. I will be shocked if this record doesn t get wider appreciation very soon. Whether that happens or not, we fully recommend it, track one down.

Cyclic Defrost by Oliver Laing
Granny Records duo Hana come correct with their first album, offering a refreshing take on techno and IDM variants in the vein of Jan Jelinek, Raime, Actress and hints of the mighty Chain Reaction label. Mastered at Berlin s Dubplates and Mastering by none other than Rashad Becker, a name that often appears in the run-out groove of artists who inhabit a curiously funky techno-not-techno netherworld Hana s debut self-titled release grows in stature and listening enjoyment with every spin. With a sense of fun and adventure inhabiting the grooves, Hana (who are also part of label-mates, Good Luck Mr Gorsky), explore experimental timbres and ghostly vocalisations with a lightness of touch that belies their recording credentials.

Starting off with an abstract, Clicks and Cuts style intro, Liv slowly finds the sweet spot between mutant Detroit electro funk, a hint of the indie/dance territory of Matthew Dear and the abstract, yet rhythmic 12 releases on the Beatservice label, by Norwegian duo Information from the mid 90s. Obermaier implies the groove to begin with, until a wrong-footed man-with-two-left-feet rhythm leads into minimal acidic flourishes. Album opener SM heads in a Ricardo Villalobos vs. Nonplace Urban Field direction, as the lopsided rhythm and sepulchral vocals add a haunted edge to proceedings. CR80 uses beautifully syncopated live drums and urgent female vocals, and adds a driving, belligerent synth riff falling somewhere in between DMZ and Gary Numan. Echoic, boingy sounds threaten to derail the beat, but somehow it manages to maintain, reminding me of Shed and A Made Up Sound; more in overall feel than in the specific sounds. For those that enjoy abstract electronics that work just as well on headphones as on the dance floor, Greece s Hana are a duo to watch.

Textura
Hana's self-titled debut album arrives saddled with a (literally) cheeky front cover one would more associate with a 70s band like Wild Cherry than a Greece-based techno outfit formed in Thessaloniki last summer. Recorded in fall 2010 at Facta non Verba, the five-cut release finds Good Luck Mr Gorsky members Thanasis Papadopoulos and Thanos Bantis hunkered down in their chemical lab concocting formulae to go along with their material's stripped-down techno beats. Using analogue synths, samplers, and sequencers, the duo brings a decidely experimental edge to their productions, sprinkling as they do liberal doses of burble and flutter over bass-heavy techno rhythms.
The opening track, Sm, sets the scene with a heavy low-end pulse thudding alongside a steady kick drum and joined by acidy synths and percussive effects that suggest a lighter being repeatedly flicked open. On a slightly more aggressive tip, the B-side's Cr80 adds truncated vocal yelps to its bleepy, elephantine throb. A dubby dimension emerges in the track, too, when echoing waves drift repeatedly across the huge bass that slithers across the track's underbelly. The album's most elaborate track comes last. Liv opens beatlessly with flickering shudders and what could pass for the amplified workings of an ant community but then progressively fills in the dots with an insistent beat pattern, voice fragments, and even the demented meander of accordion playing. Though Hana hardly rewrites the techno guidebook on the release, it's nevertheless a pleasurable listen, in part due to the multi-dimensional experience provided by the vinyl format and the always superb mastering work done by Rashad Becker at Berlin's Dubplates & Mastering.

Yuji Ohno is a Japanese jazz musician born in 1941. He's principally known for his musical scoring of Japanese anime-television series, of which Lupin III and the feature film The Castle of Cagliostro are his most well known works. Ohno is also well-known as a member of a jazz trio with bassist Miroslav Vitous and drummer Lenny White. The tracks collected here for Lupin The Third: TV Special are oozing with seventies cool, exemplified by opener 'Theme From Lupin III': the snares shuffle, the pianos tease and the upright bass walks with all the swagger of a French master thief. Great funky tunes from the Japanese jazz master!

In early 2017, Public Release dropped a four-tracker by Brooklyn's Earth Boys, a duo comprisedof Julian Duron and Michael Sherburn, and now it's being followed by a collection of remixes by some formidable names from around the world.
Where the EP of originals fell squarely in the category of vibey, shuffling, laid-back house
grooves, Trail Remix is decidedly made for the after-midnight parts of club sets. The 12-inch begins with a T&P - that's Beats in Space's Tim Sweeney and Phillip Lauer's version of 'Trail Mix'. Acid-flecked and hard-edged, and tongue-in-cheek at heart yet seriously functional, it's the original red-lined and shot down the highway at ninety miles an hour. (Worth noting that this is
the transatlantic unit's first remix to be released.) After that is Earth Boys' own redo of 'Highway
1' a juiced-up re-imagining of the first version, filled out with chunkier kicks and fatter synth washes that completely envelope any sense of direction. The flip leans towards the ethereal, stretchy, abstract, though it, too, is tracky and driven. The B1 slot goes to Canadian wunderkind Khotin, of 1080p and Normals Welcome, who blows some stardust into the tune, enveloping it in a blanket of sharp drums and icy pads. NYC mainstay Mike Simonetti, formerly of Trouble Man and Italians Do It Better, currently of 2MR, caps the record with his beefy overhaul of 'Trail Mix' a compression of industrial percussion, tribal rhythms and sub-bass undulations.

Solar Phenomena welcomes singular rhythm master STL for a new EP that offers four fantastic tracks of dubby house. It is the label's fourth release and finds the Something label boss in a typically inventive mood.

First track 'Spy vs Spy' opens things with shuffling drum loops and eerie synth details that hypnotises over seven minutes. 'Atomsmasha' has wooden hits and rough shakers peppering a soft, imperfect groove as awkward chords bring an unhinged edge to the mix. On the flip, 'Summer Breeze & Brotherhood' has loose keys doing an off kilter dance over STL's trademark low-key drums where 'Freebird' zones you out with long held chords and detuned keys as cloudy, dusty kicks bring a barely-there groove deep down low. You know what to get from STL by now, but at the same time you can never get enough.

Henrique Oliveira aka HNQO, is the man responsible for this exciting full album release on DOC Records.

HNQO

is one of the fastest rising young stars in the techno, house and indie dance scene in Brazil.
Causing much attention and hype with his recent EP release on DOC Records (Balinese Death - also featured in MAGNUM VOL 1) and having reach the

#1 spot at Hot Creations Top selling single, it is time to introduce his first album "The Old Door", (influenced by Marlin Stimming and Anders Trentemøller, two of his heroes).
A weird string sound marks the opening of "The OId Door".

By mixing old sounds with new ideas, while recording different instruments, the track shows HNQO's life and it features Urzula Amen in the vocals.

"The Death of the Elephant' is a soundtrack to remind us how destructive human kind has been to the nature. Using sounds of Pizzicato Violin, "40s Cartoon' continues to take us to a journey through the artist's imagination.


The album is filled with the Henrique life moments during the year it took to produce the album.

For an example in "Egyptian Lover" HNQO describes how nice it would have been to have a lover flying overnight.

On this track Russian singer Cotry interprets the lyrics.

"Fallen Angel" is a dramatic piece telling a story still about flying.

"If" is another collaboration with the amazing Urzula Amen.


As we get closer to the end, when its finally time, 'Light a Cigarette' reaches a melancholic state where all melodies were recorded with eyes shut and in complete darkness.

A spiritual moment that became Henrique's favourite track of this project.

The scratch of a match, the flame and then a foggy synth that releases all the feelings in sound waves.
The album cover was inspired on a door.

A door that HNQO was able to enter by playing certain keys on his synths, percussions and strings that allowed him to reach a organic level while making it all a bit more human in terms of groove construction.
A poem from Rai Knight was perfect fit to give the density for the digital bonus track.
To get a better feel of what this album has to say, HNQO invites you to open 'The Old Door"

The UK's best kept secret Chocky returns to Dessous Recordings after the success of his first outing, the well received Self Knowledge EP. Here we see the talented DJ / producer drop four tracks via the Playtime EP - yet more sublime house music for Steve Bug's imprint. 'Double Dip' is a chunky, stripped down vibe, reduced the vitals that will slay dancefloors - firing percussion over a shuffling groove and a cut-up vocal reminiscent of Pepe Bradock. 'Organism' is a deep affair - spacy pads provide the counterbalance to the tough drum track, softening the edges but keeping the vibe high. 'Soul Alive' taps into Chocky's clear appreciation for the 90s, with a strong vocal, atmospheric strings and a loose yet crispy beat. 'Playtime (Dub)' brings the whole EP home with yet another stormer - beginning as a driving basement jam but then introducing an unexpected piano riff that flips the script and takes things in a welcome jazzy direction.

Milan based collective Just This return with two VA releases to continue their 'Broken Promises' series. With the aim of documenting the progression of cultural movements, the label have pursued underground material since 2010. Broken Promises Part 3 and Part 4 are due for release on 1st December and 8th December respectively, and each feature four new tracks channelling refined techno with minimalist, ambient sentiments.
Hunter/Game open Part 3 with 'Distance', a meditative journey through ambient textures using expansive synths and vast acoustics. Next, Architectural brandishes 808 drums for a tense workout on 'Electric Soul'. On the B-side, label co-owner Pisetzky explores the darker side of minimal on 'Anterial', whilst Altman plays with moody bass and ricocheting percussion on 'Shapes'.
Part 4 opens with a shuffling rhythmic framework on Inland's 'Aechmea', followed by 'Zona', a pointillist groove by Ben Gibson, aka one half of the collaborative project Dyad. On My Flower's 'Kundal', a cyclical melody wanders through eerie acoustics whilst Hiver navigates a broken beat framework with glitchy distortions and dub echoes on 'Stellar Parallax Landing'. 

Idle Hands continues its quest to support new talent coming out of Bristol with a fresh 12" from local beatsmith Crump. Up to this point, he's been quietly slipping out razor sharp reduced house cuts on various artist releases for Extended Play and Banoffee Pies, but it's high time he had a 12" of his to truly showcase his sound.

The two tracks on this single tap into a consistent thread on Idle, fusing the minimal sensibilities of contemporary European house music with a swung, dub-weighted presence fit for soundsystem consumption in the fair city we call home. Much like previous releases from Leif, Christian Jay and Matt Karmil, this is a demonstration of stripped down music loaded with swagger.

"Ice & Spheres" pivots around an ear-snagging 2-step shuffle that cuts through any mix, but there's scores of subtlety woven in between the drums to reward the attentive listener. Snatches of vocal, distant field recordings, low-blowing synth licks and other unidentifiable sonic matter lurk quietly in the mix to cast a spell on the sleep-deprived twitcher and warm-up head-nodder alike.

Sporting a brighter disposition thanks to the sheen of its chords, "Mechanisms" provides a different vibe on the flip. The beat throws down with a rugged nod to West London broken styles while still tapping into that aforementioned continental 4/4 sensibility, injecting a refreshing variation into the densely populated minimal house landscape while maintaining the meditative qualities that keep the genre close to our hearts.

* Walton drops his third instalment on Tectonic in fine style, calling upon Japanese influences to create a truly unique sonic across both tracks in the release. Asian instrumentation meets directly head to head with the cutting edge sounds of a UK grime-techno axis to great effect.

* 'Praying Mantis' captures all the charm of a fine Japanese watercolour painting by means of some spectacular midi-harp programming. Hi-hats and detailed percussion set a shuffling pace, building the mood up before a beautiful harp section unfolds and takes over, expertly programmed by Walton to sound as if a master harpist had stepped into the room! As drums and bass join the party we have all the makings of a low-slung grimey masterpiece, both soothing and energising in a perfect zen balance.

* Flip then for 'Koto Riddim' which again brings Japanese influences to the forefront of the track. Walton programs classic sounding Japanese percussion sounds along with grunting vocal cuts and a charming flute-based melody. As the track drops, it switches into a more familiar, grime-based palette of sounds, deftly arranged for most dangerous impact.

Dungeon Acid, bred in Gothenburg's (Sweden) obscure music scene during the eighties and nineties, releases his second 7inch on Hoga Nord Rekords. Dog Acid and Sex Beat focuses on those remote corners where Jean-Louis Huhta have rooted his musicality. With legendary bands like Cortex, Anti Cimex and The Skull Defekts on his resume, Huhta is most definitely one of the most interesting artists in Sweden!
The music on this 7inch breathes sex, concrete and dark seas. The tracks differ in instrumentation but they expresses the same feeling: uncomplicated and straightforward components, perfectly balanced In relation to each other, shutting down unnecessary body function, aiming for your lower back. Spastic curling synthesisers rests upon soundwaves heavier than the swell against the Norwegian North Atlantic coast.
Dungeon Acid is the miner of your record crate - hard at work finding the nuggets in punk, rock and electro to develop the strict techno.

After more than a year of silence, the French duo VTCN RADIO releases its debut album "'Mydriase"

Mysterious and audacious odyssey, 'Mydriase' presents itself as a sensory and confidential journey. Fruit of a nocturnal composition guided by a need of musical introspection and a decisive encounter with an owl, the writing of this album will cut off its creators in an alternative reality for three years. Behind VTCN RADIO are the French producers Nathan Bokobza - a pianist fascinated by the romantic repertoire and the harmonic research of the impressionists - and Louis Martinez, a guitarist passionate about digital technologies and their uses in the process of sound creation. The group revealed its existence at the end of 2015 with the esoteric Riddle Song and continues to surprise the spirits with the release of the compositions Late Night Shuttle and Venus Flytrap in 2016, before creating in 2017 their own label "Five to Six Records". VTCN RADIO presents with Mydriase an experience based mainly on the dialogue between two entities - a dark, deep and a purer and luminescent - to constitute an elegant music, and ambivalent by its capacity to propose different interpretations. This self-produced album marks the first release of their label Five to Six Records, and presents us for the first time in a broader way the hallucinatory and singular universe of VTCN RADIO.

We welcome back long-time First Word family, Souleance, with 'Bamboule', fresh from their respective cut-ups for our sister label, Excursions, and their recent 'Raw Funk' set, we have a 5-track EP containing something for all the family, crafted with love once again by France's Fulgeance & DJ Soulist. A truly eclectic collection, comprised of afro grooves, tropical vibes, b-boy rhymes, head-nodding shakers and intensely hype floor-fillers. A seriously fun selection.

It kicks off with 'Partay', a mid-tempo slice of bouncy tropical boogie that does exactly what it says on the tin. An effervescent synth-bassline rides on top of a delectable disco shuffle, complete with classic reggae chants.

Title track 'Bamboule' is a seriously energetic afro-funk beast. A truly infectious percussive rhythm track, laced with an immense bassline, vocal chops and synth rides, this one is 100% guaranteed to entice any dancefloor into a trance-like state of bugged-out body moves.

'That Guy' is some uptempo piano-rolling hip hop business, enlisting the help of Brooklyn MC, Von Pea, from the crew Tanya Morgan, who've been making noise on the independent hip hop scene for over a decade, as well as recently collaborating with GUTS.

We dip down to around the 85BPM mark for 'J'aime Marcher', a lounging boom bap bumper with sloppy drums, jazzy rhodes and vivacious horns.

Closing the EP is 'Brown Bags', an almost Dilla-esque cut-up, complete with rolling neck-breaking drums, sweet soul samples and stabs of prog rock. An abundance of variety, we think you'll agree.

For those that don't know, the Parisian duo hooked up just over a decade ago, and haven't stopped to rock & shock parties, clubs and festivals globally since, building a fan-base of solid party people and revered selectors along the way. As always, the wonderful Alice Dufay provides the artwork, making this an essential package for you and yours.

Following on from the impressive opening statement from Modern Manners, the second installment from the hitherto unknown outfit sees the sonic remit reaching out to other influences while retaining that poised lounge attitude that made the first record so instantly endearing. "Research" is a dub track in essence, sporting ample space in the mix, the odd conga roll and sparse chords calling out into a field of reverb and delay. "Can Maneras" is a more shuffling kind of smooth jazz that aligns with the classy licks of St Germain and the like. "Serate Cosmiche" finishes the EP off on a melancholic tip that puts the synths at the front of the mix for the first time.

Bewitching Avant-Pop album from impromptu supergroup built around acclaimed Japanese duo, Tenniscoats. Featuring members of Notwist, Jam Money and Joasihno.

In these dark and uncertain times, there's an ever-growing collective of peaceful, loving types, bound together by an understanding of one peculiar word: Tenniscoats. Aside from being the name of an influential Tokyo-based duo, it represents fun, artistic freedom, experimentation and - perhaps most important of all - inclusivity.

A Tenniscoats gig is rarely the audience watching the performers. Instead, Saya and Takashi regularly shun the stage in favour of any particular spot that takes their fancy, whether it's an empty seat in the auditorium or the roof of a neighbouring cafe. In the world of Tenniscoats, music can happen anywhere, and everyone is invited to join in.

During the winter of 2016, the music happened in Munich. As a long-time fan, Markus Acher (Notwist) jumped at the chance not only to put Tenniscoats on the bill at the Alien Disko festival he was organising, but also to invite Saya & Takashi to a small apartment studio, together with Mat Fowler (Jam Money) and Cico Beck (Aloa Input, Notwist). This is where Spirit Fest was recorded over the following 14 days.

Tenniscoats are known for their collaborations - some of their finest work was done in conjunction with Tape, The Pastels, Jad Fair and many others - so making good use of the time and friends available was natural to them. For me, timing is important,' Saya said. We met in season, and the song flowers are now blooming!' Mat Fowler recalls the Spirit Fest sessions taking place in an idyllic, festive atmosphere. Every morning we'd all share breakfast, chat and learn about German Christmas customs. We'd catch the bus in the morning and walk home in the evening. The journey ran parallel to the beautiful flowing Isar River that bubbles, ebbs and flows right through the middle of Munich.'

While Tenniscoats sit at the heart of proceedings, it isn't their album alone. Markus, Mat and Cico also brought songs, providing a solid base on top of which the artistry could evolve. Mat explains that, a melody would begin, and slowly, each of us - in our own time - would find our way into the music.

Producer Tadklimp would sensitively set-up around us in this narrow window of time, so as to document that first and intuitive moment of collective discovery.' Nearly everything was recorded live,' agrees Markus, playing and singing together in one room with piano, guitars, percussion and some keyboards.' The collaborators came from Germany, Japan, the UK, Greece and beyond. That sense of inclusivity is palpable.

From the tender beauty of Markus's River River' and Saya's Mikan' to the electro-Merseybeat of Tenniscoat's Nambei' and the half-crazed pianica-reggae of Shuti Man', the resulting album is a testament to the manner of which these musicians are able to channel their songwriting through their spontaneity. It's also a snapshot of a gentle and intuitive moment in time - a beautiful meetup that expands this community, happily, even further.

Jon Willks (Grizzly Folk)

Next up on the main label there is a shureshot by Sebastian Habben himself. With Pasadena he delivers a blinding baseline-journey that evolves into a deep techno track including some heavy dub chords. Not as heavy but therefore even more groovy Montebello present a slightly house influenced dub track that is matched with classic sounding chords and a cool vocal sample. On the remix duty we are more than happy to see our Italian buddy Federico Alfieri join us with a superb dub techno version of Pasadena. Give it a spin!

Expansion's most successful and longest running compilation series returns with a 2017 edition. The concept remains the same, fifteen must-have modern soul room gems taken from the year's biggest dance floor spins on the soul scene. While tracks here have topped UK soul charts, many have not been available in all formats. Once again, attention is paid to the 'flow' of the 15 gems chosen here from shuffling beats to boogie to more soulful house as played at modern soul events. Participants this year include Omar with Los Charly's Orchestra, Tawatha Agree (voice of Mtume's Juicy Fruit') with Aeroplane, Kenny Thomas with Thames River Soul produced by and featuring Incognito, and both Wez and The Groove Association formerly members of Brit Funk group Second Image. Leela James is here after her stint in a US realty TV show R&B Divas: Los Angeles', other guests including Amp Fiddler, Faith Evans, Trina Broussard and Lifford.