quête:sister bliss

LA underground hubs DISCOS XXX aka DX3 and Elbow Grease join forces to proudly present Point Winona Sound Library Vol 1 — featuring 20 distinct artists from the inspired local dance music scene, working under one unified studio roof in various collaborative
formation at the mighty Los Feliz hilltop palace Point Winona, overseeing the city they collectively represent. These timeless warehouse-wrecking tracks all stand on their own, but the compilation as a whole offers a solid geographic sonic statement with shared rhythmic DNA and bold rooted-futurist production blueprints, guided by the champion efforts of studio executive producers/curators Tavish DJ and Dave Aju.
The BPS stage-setting opener evokes crispy A.M. hours with lush Detroit-meets-Cali feels on “Within Reason” — then studio dream team 5 ATMs bring the dubwise floor vibes up a notch on “A Dub Called Mondo” and Chitown-to-LA legend Scott K lays down an FM bass-laced acid house heater with “Tighter & Tighter”. Nashville-born producer Gryph funks things up on the live space boogie bump of “Winona at Sunset” while SSRI, comprised of Underground Resistance’s DJ Dex/Nomadico, Aju, and Black Lodge’s fearless leader Kosmik, drop fierce robo-Italo bliss on “Omnicallora”. Things take a further psychedelic twist with the PW edit of Scotty Coats’ sublime midtempo tripper “Be Work Zone Alert”, then Omakase’s own Gold Code alongside longtime rave brother Aju drop the nasty J Saul-salute “Yolo Jungle”, and Warehouse Preservation Society aka Tavish DJ & TK fully detonate floors inna raucous Wicked Crew stylee with “Data Bliss”. Undisputed LA scene queen Stacy Christine arrives with her shining debut “Smart Move”, where she and Aju trade sly vox lines of party advice over a bouncing tech banger for the ages, before the “Obsesion Romantica (Free Winona Dub)” sees Sisters Of Sound aka Maddy Maia and Tottie's, OG track getting stripped back and fired up to acidic peak time form. Then Dave Aju and SF homies Moniker aka EO & Kenneth Scott unleash wild uptempo melodic bruk heaven on “Chuy Luis”, and Vastir sends us home with the stratospheric drum n bass closer "Turnpike"

DJ Support: Black Legend, David Penn, Mark Knight, Ronnie Herel, Dr Packer, RAE, Claptone, Curtis Jay, Oliver Heldens, TCTS, ESSEL, Ladies On Mars, Sam Feldt, DJ Spen, ManyFew, Sister Bliss & more.

Fool’s Paradise’s latest Sampler sees 4 big releases from Mark Knight, Mark Dedross, Sam Karlson, Alex Preston, Mo’Funk, Secret Weapons (AU), Kid Massive and Rubber People.

“Extremely highhgrade psych” (MOJO, 2024) “Immaculate sounding new psychedelia“ (Maggot Brain, 2024) “Alexander succeeds in capturing the post-psych grandeur that he’s aiming for while also creating one of his headiest offerings yet” (Raven Sings The Blues) “Psych lifer in a bloozy Americana mode. The whole thing hangs loose like a frayed rope tied to a river tube… essentially, a choogler’s dream.” (Viking’s Choice / NPR Music) “Plug in and space your face” (Aquarium Drunkard) Originally on Tape via Arrowhawk (please go check more releases on this wonderful label) - Now on Vinyl Presented in a high gloss laminated outer sleeve with artwork by Jake Blanchard - Both sets of art joining together to complete the picture. 36 minutes of sonic bliss for your ears and brain. Side 1 - Dark Star Side 2 - Dark Star (continued) "Jeffrey Alexander is a lifer. He has been flirting around the underground for the past thirty years - starting in Baltimore in the mid-90s and later percolating in Providence, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and, now, Philadelphia. Throughout this span, he has run various record labels, worked in a bunch of record shops, organized music festivals, managed live venues, FM deejayed, jammed econo, booked endless tours and performed in a gaggle of groups from Black Forest / Black Sea to Dire Wolves to Jackie-O Motherfucker to The Iditarod and points in-between. And now we have The Heavy Lidders. Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders takes the freaked improvisation of Alexander’s instrumental band - DWLVS / Dire Wolves Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band - into the world of song. Heady songwriting, ethereal jazz and Trad Gras-y blues stomps all feature. Backed by members of Elkhorn and Kohoutek. This vinyl (in 2 volumes) you hold in your hands is a collection of live Lidders that will surely wax your stem, and how! When Record Crates United invited JA+THL to perform at their inaugural garden party, not only did the Lidders show up with a one-off Live/Dead cover as a surprise gift for Keith and Sarah, but they rolled in with the Jesse Sheppard mobile multi-track truck, as well. Fucking pros, mate. Most of the material here was captured that sunny afternoon in suburban New Jersey - and thank the Godz that we have this plastic burner. I missed the set, but Kenneth Higney was there and gave it two thumbs up! I know them Lidders have a deluxe studio LP lined up for September, but til then, this little box will comfortably help you break on through. But don’t be fooled into thinking this is a mere EP. It’s SEVENTY SIX minutes of pure medicated goo. Now dose your capstan and pinch your roller. Shit is about to get Lidded." - Glen Burnout (on Sun Ra’s arrival day 2023)

Santana Bridges the Divide Between Live and Studio Material on Moonflower: 1977 Double Album Features Extraordinary Performances, Soulful Vibes, and Dynamic Mix of Latin, Rock, Funk, and Blues
Sourced from the Original Master Tapes and Strictly Limited to 3,000 Numbered Copies: Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM 2LP Set Plays with Audiophile-Quality Detail, Balance, and Imaging
1/4” / 15 IPS original analogue non-Dolby master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe



Though it may seem strange now, Moonflower stood for nearly 15 years as Santana’s first and only live record released in the United States. This despite the fact that roughly half of the double album consists of new studio songs, including a zesty cover of the Zombies classic “She’s Not There” that reached the Top 30 of the singles charts.

However unconventional, the “split” strategy went over like gangbusters. Moonflower reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200 and achieved double-platinum status — feats the group would not again replicate for 22 years. These, and the beautiful quality of the program itself, are among the reasons why the 1977 effort remains viewed by critics and fans alike as must-have Santana.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM 2LP set of Moonflower presents the record in audiophile sound for the first time on a domestic reissue. Part of the MoFi’s Santana catalog restoration series, this collectible version features quiet surfaces and black backgrounds that expose the critical details, liquid tones, and dynamic interplay central to Santana’s music.

The enhanced sonics extend not only to Carlos Santana’s six-string wizardry, but to the rhythmic, melodic, and vocal elements that course throughout both the studio and live cuts on Moonflower. The grip and depth of the bass lines; the wash of the organ; the scope and carry of the vocals; the extension and weight of the low-end frequencies; the rich textures of the guitars, percussive devices, and keyboards: all appear amid wide, balanced soundstages and image with right-sized dimensionality.

Significantly rooted in the styles and approaches that inform the group’s first three records, Moonflower captures the final appearances of iconic percussionist Jose “Chepito” Areas and go-to keyboardist Tom Coster on a Santana album. As he did during the preceding five-year stretch, Coster inhabits a large role here, sharing songwriting credits on a majority of the new cuts and helping steer the arrangements toward spiritually minded albeit concise directions that encompass vibrant Latin, rock, and blues themes that began to escape the ensemble shortly after his departure.

Close your eyes and feel the warmth of the sun on the R&B-kissed “I’ll Be Waiting,” anchored by Carlos Santana’s gliding fretwork and Greg Walker’s creamy vocals. Enter the cosmic universe of “Zulu,” on which Coster’s nimble phrasing opens the gate to polyrhythmic beats, knotty grooves, and interlocking funk. Grab the album cover and drift off to paradise amid the equally evocative “Flor d’Luna (Moonflower),” a romantic slow dance that Carlos Santana ensures tiptoes en route to its blissful destination. Channeling a different spirit animal, the guitarist later lets loose on the hard-hitting “El Morocco,” on which he seemingly engages in a shootout with himself and wades into the rippling psychedelia that elevated the band’s early material.

Speaking of the past, Moonflower triumphs on that level as well. In more ways than one, the live selections — and the caliber of the performances — chosen for inclusion represent an abbreviated greatest-hits survey of the band up to that point. And, at the very least, a convincing argument about why Santana had progressed into one of the most formidable bands you could hope to see on a stage in the mid ‘70s.

Simultaneously representative and illustrative of the group’s breadth, tracks stem from the collective’s eponymous debut, Abraxas, and Santana III as well as the then-more recent Amigos and Festival. Whether you fall for the sidewinding spell of a spicy rendition of “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen,” lose your head to the positively epic momentum of “Soul Sacrifice/Head, Hands & Feet,” or keep dropping the needle on the savory grace of the brilliant reading of “Europa (Earth’s Cry Heaven’s Smile),” this pressing of Moonflower puts you — and Santana’s first-chapter legacy — in good hands.

Once regarded as an up-and-comer to watch, it’s fair to say that the past eighteen months have seen Dutch DJ/producer and live artist Locklead establish himself as one of the most in-demand artists emerging onto the global house stage. From his collaborative ‘Across Boundaries’ with close friend Chris Stussy to music via Dungeon Meat, Pilot, and Up The Stuss, the Utrecht-based talent has set his stall and is showing no signs of slowing. Adding to a first outing on sister label LOCUS two years ago, April welcomes a big debut appearance on FUSE as head honcho Enzo Siragusa invites him to the label for the first time to release his latest EP, ‘Kemickal Affairs’.
Opening the record, A1 ‘Zero’s Delight’ is a funk-fulled and spacey ride armed with resonant chords and swirling leads, while ‘State of Peace’ is a blissful ride through rich yet driving house spheres and showcases the second of two heavily requested anthems that have been go-to records for the likes of Stussy and Siragusa over recent months. The flip sees title cut ‘Kemickal Affairs’ open the b-side with authority, as bumping kicks and slinking grooves go to work beneath swirling synth lines and hazy tones, before wrapping things up with more modulated goodness and off-kilter vocal snippets on the chunky and trippy ‘Morning Krew’ - expect this to come out to play in those weird and wonky early-hours afters!

DJ Feedback:

Laurent Garnier - Very cool Ep

Jamie Jones (Hot Creations / Paradise) - Feeling this.

Joseph Capriati (REDIMENSION) - nice, will try soon. thanks !

Seth Troxler (Circoloco / Lost Souls Of Saturn) - lov

Paul Woolford / Special Request - State Of Peace is a killer house record, lovely chords and groove, thanks!!

Stacey Pullen (Blackflag Recordings / Transmat) - COOL THANKS!

Chris Stussy (Up The Stuss) - already on heavy rotation for the last couple of months, absolute heat!!

Rossi. (HOMEGROWN. / NO ART / LOCUS) - Immense music :)

Bluish Green was 15 + years in the making, passively percolating bi-coastly in the background of three family members' lives, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself. That moment came in January 2024 when Ball Sisters & N1_Sound settled into the Spiritual World home base of Studio Z in Toronto, Canada. What started as three casually blissful days, resulted in a debut album, combining a unique blend of dub, neo soul, ambient & downtempo. Bluish Green sits halfway between a low-key dance floor and late night back room.

The album was almost entirely created live in the studio with very little discussion, conversation or conscious direction. There were no goals or future plans, just mutual appreciation for the moment. Repeat takes were few and far between, with the group moving fluidly from one track to the next. This preservation of emotion and human touch is deeply embedded into the music, allowing the listener to share in the raw moments that were experienced while Bluish Green was organically taking shape.

Sonic themes of the natural world run throughout the five song, 30 minute album. “R U 4 Real” welcomes the listener into T3AL’s unique ecosystem with intimate cicade-esque shakers. A reverberous güiro frog (acquired on a family trip one year ago) and synthesized ocean waves create an ambient wetland on the album's 8 minute instrument track “Frog Legacy ''. Bluish Green comes to a shimmering close on “Flip That Switch” with dubbed out crystalline slide-flute melodies resembling ocean birds that fade into an iridescent horizon.

Digital drum patterns skip & stride around contemplative circular lyrical themes on four of the five album tracks, while spatial flute melodies simultaneously spin just under the surface. The bass guitar on Bluish Green is a continuous harmonic support system, repeating on a different tectonic rotation, much slower and deeper, offering familiar footing that stops the listener from drifting out in the rippling undertow of analogue delay feedback.

“R U 4 Real”?... A question that T3AL revisits frequently when thinking of the surreal weekend that resulted in the trio’s debut album, Bluish Green

Omni - the band, not the hotel - are from the former home of the Braves: Atlanta. Playing lo-fi pop that channels the spectre of the late `70s and early `80s, Omni brings you back to an era where any sane person was reeling from the unfulfilled promise of the Space Age and Age of Aquarius bleeding into the looming threat of "Morning in America." Omni distills the buzz and grit that snakes through the best of Television, Devo, and Pylon into surprisingly danceable, hook-laden slabs of raw, angular, sonic bliss. It's still the summer of '78, and pushing the roots of rock & roll to its limits remains in vogue. "Deluxe" serves as a fresh reminder that rock music can work outside of blues rooted, formulaic progressions without playing it safe behind a wall of effects. Arty enough to impress record enthusiasts, yet melodically attractive enough to transcend to those who've never asked: "'Sister Midnight' or `Red Money'?"

The long running vessel for Cameron Stallones' psychedelic excursions, Sun Araw, returns to Discrepant after last year's split with Tarzana via Keroxen sister label (KRXN033).
Without much precedent in his own - already wide-ranging - back-catalog, 'Cetacean  Sensation' discards the dubby vibes, psych-rock sunburnt jams, tropical visions, or stalking sensibilities of such classic efforts as 'On Patrol' or 'Ancient Romans' towards a deeply focused and vivid solitary approach, while still retaining this Sun Araw blissed out escapist feeling.
Composed of hydrophone recordings of whales and dolphins sourced during a summer in Galicia, 'Cetacean Sensation' paints an impressionistic and sensory floating canvas that expertly escapes both academic-like documentarian purposes and any new-age spa vibrations one could associate with such subject matter. Processing those raw recordings into alluring collages that flow gracefully between moments of clear eco-location  and submerged impressions of wildlife social dynamics. By the third track - Dance of the Minke - we're introduced to this ringing MIDI tone that evokes a CD-ROM era of mystic educational programs and click-and-deploy strategies  that still feel very much like an unfulfilled future, conjured again by 'Spider Crab Elegy's sparse keyboard pads and sound effects that give way to this properly elegiac tentative melody. 'The Spider Crab Point' ends the album on a more uneasy vibe, with synth tones pointing towards no particular direction, confounding and strangely inviting at the same time. As sensations often do.
Music written and produced by Cameron Stallones using hydrophones and digital synthesisRecorded in 2019 in Galicia, ES
Mastering by Rashad Becker

By now one of our most cherished and respected portuguese songwriters, Maria Reis has been steadily creating a legacy that will undoubtedly endure in the portuguese songwriting canon for years to come. Co-founder of the Lisbon based Cafetra label- collective, Reis spent her teenage years honing her craft, particularly with her co- leading role on Pega Monstro with her sister Júlia Reis, with albums like 'Alfarroba' and 'Casa de Cima' on Upset !the Rhythm and whose indefinite hiatus since 2018 opened the gateway for a prolific solo venture. After a raw debut EP released in 2017 – Maria -, 2019 saw the release of the celebrated 'Chove na Sala, Água nos Olhos', a definitive statement of Reis' almost casual gift of painting vivid and impressionistic portraits of everyday life, conveying all the anger, resignation and melancholic joy of moving on. Two years later, following a string of widely praised live appearances, Reis records the 'Flor da Urtiga' EP with musical production of Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear, a sweeter affair, crossed by a witty irony that tackles such subjects as family, love and toxic masculinity, through layered acoustic guitars, lightweight percussion and joyful harmonies. 'Benefício da Dúvida' from 2022, strips back most of the production to rely on simple but affirmative arrangements assembled with the help of her sister Júlia and longtime collaborator Leonardo Bindilatti.

And now, almost two years on the clock after 'Benefício da Dúvida', Maria Reis returns with a newfound maturity with 'Suspiro...' - Portuguese for sigh. Created in close collaboration with Tomé Silva - a young and versatile musician and producer who's been recently leaving a mark on the portuguese scene - and recorded in the intimacy of the latter's bedroom, 'Suspiro...' doesn't cut ties with that recent past but reflects the learning process embedded in previous ventures in its lyrics and arrangements, towards song's eternity. A projection of different emotional states and physical spaces throughout these years, 'Suspiro...' carries in the apparent simplicity of its title the plurality of meanings found in such a natural act, from anger to being in love, from resignation to resilience. Life in a sigh? We've been further from that.

An attentive and sensitive observer of both intimate and surrounding spaces, Maria Reis continues to explore wordplay in her very personal manner, a poetic act as brutally honest as filled with imagery allusions, enchanting the mundane with lyricism. Touched by a resigned and dreamy melancholy, 'Suspiro...' settles, for the most part, on electric and acoustic guitar lines, simple but expressive rhythms, floating vocal harmonies and a voice almost tangible in the way it conveys memorable hooks without fear of appearing both fragile and tenacious. 'Amor Serpente's low key tragedy turned mantra for life, the blissed pop of 'Estagnação' or 'T-shirt', 'Holofote's flailing rawness, the mesmerizing sparkle of 'Pico', 'Meta Data's electrified energy or the playful keyboards and sound effects of 'Coisas do Passado' composing a lively portrait of reality and expectations where we can all see ourselves reflected in. For Maria, almost a second nature, that through all her honesty, know how and imagination, reaches a new life with 'Suspiro...'.

2024 RSD Release

The ascending soul sensation Fat Generous embarks on a heavenly collaboration Wai Wan. This record is an invitation to their soulful world of jazz influenced funk and R&B, Fat Generous have been making waves in their hometown playing alongside the likes of Fatboy Slim and Sister Sledge, and their raw onstage energy has gained the stamp of approval from the godfather funk himself, George Clinton. Recorded at the height of a record breaking heatwave, Fat Generous have captured the blissful respite of a 'NightTime Cool Breeze' in a silky laid back groover that formed their debut single back in September. Amassing over 30,000 streams in the first month, alongside radio play and feedback from the likes of Craig Charles & Giles Peterson. Channeling carefree vibes reminiscent of Roy Ayers’ 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine'. On the second side a Record Store Day exclusive track 'Shake Your Body Down' 'Shake Your Body Down' is an unparalleled journey through the funk filled cosmos, a collector's dream that pays homage to the pioneers of funk while paving the way for a new era of groove. This release is the precursor to a bigger release schedule for the band a good vibes only DIY recording project that has been produced by legendary nujazz producer, Wai Wan, whose fingerprints can be found all over releases on Chrysalis Records and Virgin Records. This record is a scene setter that introduces you to the groovy rhythms that Fat Generous deliver in excess at each of their live shows unique performances that lean on the group’s tight knit ability to improvise and reimagine their own music. Limited edition heavyweight 7 inch vinyl in a picture sleeve. Get the debut release and you're ahead of the curve.

High Llamas present Hey Panda - a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only issue forth from their personal quadrant of the galaxy. Hey Panda projects soulfully through an enervating abstract of today"s popular music; the sound of the Llamas" stately melodies and expressive ditties laid open - blissfully shattered - with drums and vocals hitting different, burning sounds and contemporary production twists pulling the ear at every turn. For the past few decades, High Llamas have trafficked in contemporary pop sounds directed toward the avant end of the spectrum as much as not. But here the message was clear. Llamas" composer-in-residence Sean O"Hagan was determined to let go. Hey Panda does just that, with a set of tunes reflecting on multiple levels how definitions change over the course of a lifetime, radiating an optimism derived from the diverse conundrums of today. Eight years since their last release, the pop musical Here Come The Rattling Trees, High Llamas have reinvented themselves again, mixing their peerless harmonic voice with what Sean regards as the "extraordinarily good" production sounds of today on Hey Panda. Choosing not to look backward to former golden ages celebrated in earlier Llamas eras, Sean"s instead found himself opened up by the sounds of music brought into the house by his adult children and the sounds encountered at sessions for which he"s recently written arrangements. In addition to the more traditional contributions he made to The Coral"s Sea of Mirrors album, plus his score for the Safdie brothers" 2022 film production, Funny Pages, Sean"s drawn great inspiration through working with Fryars, Rae Morris, King Krule, Pearl and The Oyster, while also soaking up the work of Tierra Whack and Chicago"s Pivot Gang, and being cheered on from a distance by longtime admirer Tyler The Creator. Thus, Sean"s producer procedural has evolved again, with upgrades first detected in his 2019 solo effort, Radum Calls, Radum Calls. With a cover of Billie Eilish"s "Wish You Were Gay" arranged for Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy"s Blind Date Party, along with his COVID-era solo single, "The Wild Are Welcome", Sean has leveled up again and again, leading to the delirious revelations of Hey Panda. Hey Panda"s wide reach is aided by two co-writes from Bonnie "Prince" Billy, (who bonded with Sean over a shared love of gospel soul during writing sessions), guest vocals from Rae Morris and Sean"s daughter Livvy, production twists from Fryars and the stalwart, flexible presence of High Llamas. For all of its sense of departure, Hey Panda is a movement in the High Llamas oeuvre that"s been a long time in development. Aspects of soul music were addressed at the time of Can Cladders; similarly, aspects of electronic dance music were in the mix in the late 90s, around the time of Cold and Bouncy. But nothing up to now has refocused the music of High Llamas so completely. Sharing the impulse of late-period Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name and Ezra Collective, among many others, Sean O"Hagan and High Llamas are living joyfully in the new and the now, with Hey Panda.

Late Night Tales reissues the classic and hard-to-find
‘Late Night Tales: Jamiroquai’, compiled by none other
than Jay Kay himself. The 10th edition of what is now
a classic series of compilations was originally released
20 years ago, and hasn’t been available on vinyl for
over 15 years. A blissful collection of soul, disco, jazz,
rare groove, and funk, this collection is an electrifying
journey through the aural influences of one of the UK’s
most seminal jazz bands.
Jay Kay showcases a wealth and breadth of inspiration
that wouldn’t be amiss on the late-night dancefloors
of the Loft (or Giant Steps, for that matter). From The
Pointer Sisters’ uplifting and soulful ‘Happiness’ and
jazz funk legend Johnny ‘Smith’ Hammond’s ‘Fantasy’
to the anthemic ‘Stay Free’ by Ashford & Simpson and
mellifluous ‘Music Of The Earth' by Patrice Rushen,
these two discs form a rite of passage into the creative
mind of a true musical legend.

For Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber, the idea of rebirth is a creative driving force – an artistic device which not only informs their work, but anchors it.

As the avant-garde electronic group Tosca, the two artists have lived many musical lives, from their early electronic experiments with tape decks to the blissed-out dub compositions with which they have made their name.

Their most recent album, OSAM, takes this idea of renewal even further. Now they have reworked the source material from their ninth record and selected some of their friends to help make MIRAGE: The OSAM Remixes.

Dynamite Cut’s little sister, SKYLINE recordings, the UK’s home of funky beats has only gone and done it again with the one and only Mike Bandoni.

Most notably known as the main man behind UK Funk heavyweights, Funkshone, this sees Mike Bandoni making a welcome return to his solo work for this new 45 on Skyline Recordings. ‘I Thought Of You’ is a delightful slice of Funky Soul/Jazz that sees Mike playing everything! A superb drum sound with layers of Rhodes, live Bass, Clav, Percussion and Organ, the cut is so soulful it hurts. A prefect balance of rhythm and melody and all that we’ve come to expect of Mr Bandoni. The flip features a sparser but funkier tune ‘Matrices’. Elements reminiscent of Money Mark, the Meters and Bob James combine to form a cracking three and half minutes of bliss. Again, a killer drum sound and instrumentation to match. One thing is clear. The new Mike Bandoni sound is here to stay and we here at Skyline Recordings dig it!

LOCUS launches VA series ‘LOCUS Trax’, with the first volume welcoming Stephan Bazbaz, Julian Anthony, Sucasa and Ben Jones.

Since launching in summer 2020, FUSE’s sister imprint LOCUS has quickly become a go-to outlet for quality house material from emerging and established talent, welcoming releases from Chris Stussy, Sidney Charles, Lauren Lo
Sung, Rossi. and Casey Spillman amongst many. A new addition for 2022, the imprint now unveils its various artist series LOCUS Trax, with Volume 1 welcoming the return of Tel Aviv’s Stephan Bazbaz, alongside label debuts from
bubbling Dutchman Julian Anthony, London-based pairing Sucasa and Liverpool’s Ben Jones.

Stephan Bazbaz’s ‘Dars’ showcases a lively effort as swinging drums work beneath resonant chords and meandering basslines, while Julian Anthony lays the focus on cosmic pads, vibrant organ bass and shuffling percussion across
‘It’s Showtime’. On the flip, Sucasa dive into deeper spheres with the blissful yet impactful sonics of ‘Time Travel’, before handing over to Ben Jones for the peppy sounds and slinking grooves of ‘Get To Know’.

For Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber, the idea of rebirth is a creative driving force – an artistic device which not only informs their work, but anchors it. As the avant-garde electronic group Tosca, the two artists have lived many musical lives, from their early electronic experiments with tape decks to the blissed-out dub compositions with which they have made their name.

For Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber, the idea of rebirth is a creative driving force - an artistic device which not only informs their work, but anchors it. As the avant-garde electronic group Tosca, the two artists have lived many musical lives, from their early electronic experiments with tape decks to the blissed-out dub compositions with which they have made their name. Their latest project, OSAM, takes this idea of renewal even further. A meditative journey through rhythm and texture, the album represents a new chapter for the Austrian duo. It's as much an instrument for change as it is a source of inspiration. 'Osam' is a direct translation of the number eight in Serbian, but it also acts as the mediaeval symbol for a fresh start - a renaissance. This is their ninth studio album but in true Tosca style when they started working on the concept for the record, they thought it was their eighth.

For the label's second release, Amsterdam imprint yeyeh has brought together two musicians from vastly different backgrounds to celebrate the far-sighted musical potential of the Theremin on the 100-year anniversary of the instrument's invention.

'Waves' is the product of two weeks of studio collaborations between award-winning composer and Theremin soloist Carolina Eyck and Eversines, an electronic music producer who has previously released music on yeyeh's sister label ninih. It builds on Eyck's work composing for 'Theremin & Voice', with both artists playing a part in processing, modulating, layering and arranging vocal and Theremin sounds to create six breathtaking electronic compositions.

Varied in tone and execution, the album's six tracks are arguably closer to instrumental pop than academic electronic music. Some tracks bear comparison to the cyclical melodic movements associated with the greats of American minimalism, while others recall the alien, otherworldly futurism of the Radiophonic Workshop, classic ambient music and the sun-bright bliss of early '90s IDM. Yet despite these possible perceived parallels, 'Waves' sits on its own as a stunning work crafted from the simplest of musical elements.