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After shooting out his introspective album NACHT, AFN-Head Johannes Klingebiel goes for something completely different with his first full solo EP for his label. The title track "It's such a beautiful day" and "Dream" follow roughly the patches of that genre labeled "Lo-Fi-House" without simply imitating them. On the flipside you'll get Johannes' trademark melodic melancholic house vibes with slow-burner "Here + There" and cosmic beast "Under The Hood". Four tracks ready for a festival summer that wasn't meant to be. But maybe we can still enjoy this very beautiful day...

If you’ve visited Ibiza in the last few years, there’s a fair chance you’ll have encountered DJ Pippi and Willie Graff. The experienced duo has been DJing together on the White Isle for years, finding time between sundown sets to make music together in Italian veteran Pippi’s home studio. The pair’s first collaborative EP dropped on Drumpoet Community way back in 2007, with the belated follow-up appearing a decade later on Compost Disco. Here they make their bow on Leng with the “Lunares EP”, a typically warm and woozy collection of cuts named after the Spanish word for “polka dots” (a fashionable item in Spain and the Balearic islands throughout the 1980s).

They begin with the slow-burn sunrise bliss of “Lunares”, a shuffling and glassy-eyed affair in which evocative, emotion-rich strings, heady vocal samples, echoing sitars and lilting guitars slowly rise above a thickset backing track rich in dubby bass, swelling pads, starry electronics and snappy drums. Capable of tugging at the heartstrings, it’s a sublime slab of mood-enhancing bliss perfect for both weary dancing and sofa-bound relaxation. “Saxolicious” lives up to the premise of the title, with Pippi and Willie wrapping snaking, effects-laden saxophone solos around a languid, slow motion groove bristling with hazy intent. Expect chiming electric piano chords, dreamy pads, rolling grooves and another fine bassline that will worm its way into your subconscious, spark up a spliff and stay there for days.

The EP’s final musical moment is, if anything, even more spaced-out and intoxicating. Employing extra-slow beats and a prominent jazzy bass guitar part, the pair invites us to get locked in to a chuggy rhythm. Throw in druggy synth lines, tactile electric piano stabs and some suitably cosmic effects and you have a hallucinatory treat that would no doubt have gained the approval of the late, great Andrew Weatherall.

First collaboration ever between Japanese noise legend Merzbow and visionary/provocateur Kaoru Sato of R.N.A. Organism (Vanity Records) and EP-4 (WRWTFWW).

Side A: live recording of Merzbow and Kaoru Sato's first live collaboration ever. Recorded October 21st 2018 at Metro Club in Kyoto for a three-label showcase with avant-garde imprints Slowdown, Phonon and Kyoh Records.

Side B: Solo sessions by each artist that took place after the joint performance on the same night. Edited and mixed in their respective studios.

In the deepest hour of nightfall, an explosion occurs on the horizon. An explosion so bright that daylight shows, just for a moment.

For the brief second, the landscape is exposed, vulnerable, like the alb of a high priest. 4 figures stand on a stand of gold leaf, staring out into a slow sea of crude oil. Invoke a violence from the sea, they say. The light goes out, and stays out. She Luv It carries in them an energy similar to a ritual of violence that can be heard in the music of Northern Europe as well.

The recording quality is bright with vocals that chug through an almost cassette-like sound. Bent notes harken back to Northern European scenery of "woods" and "darkness", but where they waded into shit politics rather than better music, She Luv It begins on a sturdy foundation of technical skill and intentional sound. Invoke the violence in yourself, stare into the black sea, and scream until your throat bleeds. This is 'She Luv It'.

After a short hiatus Maps Of Hyperspace returns with his sophomore followup to "Superspace". "Against All Ends" folds elements of drone, dubtechno, and spatial ambience, into a snug ohm meditative blanket and slow burns like an incense stick.

Tobias., Neel and Sebastian Muellaert as Wa Wu We collaborate with the Konstrukt label for their 12th release. Each producer with a unique and refreshing approach towards electronic music.

Tobias. is up first with a beautiful track that balances on the border of rationality and emotion. His abstract sonic narrative discloses through tightly organized rhythms and noisy percussion. Neel follows up with a cinematic composition that submerges us into otherworldly oddities that guides us slowly through his composition. WaWuWe's formally known as Sebastian Mullaert relieves the tension. The Swedish composer made a 13-minute long stirring and relaxing B-side track, blessing us with soothing energy for the mind, body and soul.

Das wohl wichtigste britische Duo dieser Zeit kehrt in den zwischenzeitlich verlassenen Heimathafen Rough Trade Records zurück und bittet nach dem Appetithäppchen English Tapas ohne Umschweife ans Buffet! Denn mit dem am 15. Mai erscheinenden All That Glue tischen Jason Williamson und Andrew Robert Lindsay Fearn ein wütendes Potpourri an Songs aus den letzten 7 Jahren ihres Schaffens auf - und halten damit wieder mal der gehobenen britischen Gesellschaft sowohl den Spiegel als auch den Mittelfinger entgegen. We call it: 22 Banger für ein Halleluja! Genauer: Langjährige Favoriten, B-Seiten, unveröffentlichte Tracks und Raritäten - alles natürlich handverlesen von der Band! Willkommen zurück Jungs und wohl bekomm's! Das Album erscheint als CD und LP. Außerdem gibt es eine limitierte deluxe Vinylausgabe in weiß mit extra ausführlichem Booklet.

Second full-length by Bay Area musician Gabriel Ramos; Inventive darkwave with a melancholic touch.

Five years after their self-titled debut Ssleeping Desiress returns with an outstanding second album Exile House. Tapping into melancholic darkwave via 1980s British post-punk guitar worship, delicious analogue synths and pulsating drums, the album unfolds like a soundtrack of city life with isolation, identity, and reconciling with one's past as central themes.

Over the course of eight tracks Sleeping Desiress showcase their ability to craft "dark pop songs” that sometimes twist and turn but ultimately weave their way into your head, determined to stay there. Ramos’s singular voice makes these songs shine even more, switching easily between slow introspective daydreams and upbeat anthems. Think: Glorious Din, Le Travo and... The Cure.

The Current Inside”, Marja Ahti's sophomore album for Hallow Ground, plays with the theme of currents - connecting and animating movements in the form of air, water and electricity. It approaches sound as a poetic medium, focusing both on the experience of sound as form and energy and on a loosely narrative arc, suggesting a riddle on the relations between the sounds. It implements alternative as well as intuitive tunings, analog and digital synthesis, recordings of sonorous spaces and vessels, electromagnetic fields transduced into audio, acoustic close-ups of elements in motion and other field recordings. Fluently connecting quite diverse sound sources, Ahti's music lingers in a zone between abstract sonorities and vaguely familiar acoustic environments.

The first half of the album consists of ”The Altitudes”, a piece commissioned by Ina GRM for Présences Électronique and Sonic Acts. It was inspired by descriptions of the layers of Earth's atmosphere. Imagining a movement through layers of air, the piece unfolds with a slow intensity, interweaving concrete sounds and closely tuned electronic sonorities. Traversing the altitudes, a landscape of entangled elements, masses and currents emerges. The air around us has weight and it presses against everything it touches. As gravity pulls it to Earth, it is sensed as pressure. The rotation of the planet, the angle of the sun at any new moment sets the elements in motion in a chain reaction.

The other side consists of four shorter pieces. ”The Currents” opens with a dance of trembling charged movements. ”Lost Lake” extracts resonant tones from a trail of close-up recordings of winter environments, while ”Fluctuating Streams” channels streaming air in different forms. The closing track, ”Sundial”, could be construed as the steady turning of the planetary angle towards the sun, unfolding through fragments of everyday activity against the backdrop of piercing, slowly twisting, suspended tone.

Marja Ahti (b. 1981) is a musician and composer based in Turku, Finland. Originally from Sweden, Ahti has been a part of the Finnish experimental music scene for more than ten years in different constellations. She is currently active in the duo Ahti & Ahti with her partner and as a member of the Himera artist/organizer collective. Her critically acclaimed 2019 solo debut, Vegetal Negatives, explored a new formal language and sonic palette inspired by a short text by René Daumal.

In 1981, Nick Robson wrote Stars. The song can pretty much be described as a slow, cosmic disco song. It has an unusual feel, and it comes as Oslo-based Neppås third release. This 12" holds the 12" mix, the 7" mix, and the original B-side Eye To Eye. The original 12" is as rare as they come, and here you get the original material, fully licenced, and remastered. The process of recording the material back in 1981 was not an easy one, as Nick Robson recalls:

"Fame by David Bowie is one of my favourite songs, period. I was 18 when i wrote Stars and i wanted to write something that was my version of Fame and quite honestly, as a tribute to the song. If you listen to the bass lines, there is a hint of similarity in the two. Even the lyric of Stars has a passing reference to Fame.
Stars was one of four songs recorded at Gary's Rock City studio to supply the first two singles and form the basis of the first album. The other three tracks were Eye To Eye, Boys and She'a Like Ice. Although all four tracks were finished, for one reason or another, Boys never made it to pressing and i walked away from the business to pursue a career in film.
Stars itself, was the most ardous and problematic track that i've ever recorded. It took around 14 days to finally get an agreed mix when the budget probably only ran to three days. Part of the reason for this is the enormous quantity of music tracks recorded in the song. In those days, we only had 24 recordable tracks available on the Otari, so once you had recorded 23 or less actually, you had to bounce down sub-mixes to a single track to free up another batch of tracks. I think that there are around 46 tracks of instruments alone on Stars so although that kind of track usage is not uncommon now, back then it was rare. It remains the single most expensive song i ever recorded. The B-side Eye To Eye, on the other hand, was written, recorded and mixed in one day."

Repress

+ DJ Sotofett Ultra Vires Dub

SAFT is proud to present the official re-issue of the 1986 Joan Bibiloni Band classic 'The Boogie'. The vocals by Deborah Carter still sound as relevant and uplifting as ever. The sought after guitar licks of Bibiloni have appealed to a lot of generations ever since he started making name for himself in the early eighties. While in recent times some of the more experimental work has been re-issued and compiled through some respected labels, the dancefloor classic 'The Boogie' still remains the pinnacle of the guitarist more dancefloor oriented work.

In this re-release package you can find an original version (A1), that is exactly the same as on the 7" that first appeared through Bibiloni's own Blau imprint in 86'. Also on the A side, an extended DJ-friendly version that spans just over five minutes is present.

For the flipside, Norwegian dancefloor expert DJ Sotofett has crafted a surreal dub tainted experience from the original which spans over 13 minutes and touches a lot of ground. Whilst starting with a percussive intro, Sotofett uses a lot of FX and dub style delays to work slowely towards an intense dancefloor experience. Around eight minutes some grandiose synth work is being introduced while the dub elements keep on singing. DJ Sotofett's version is called Ultra Vires Dub for a reason.

Slow, excruciating, hard techno cuts by a mysterious group of 3, called GLMG.

Studio Mule drops “Anthologia”, the final chapter of a close look on the work of the Tokyo born DJ and producer Takayuki Shiraishi, a jack of all trades, that sways through Tokyo’s vast music scene since the late 70’s, a time when post punk grooves called the tune. As part of the band BGM he released in 1980 the album “Back Ground Music” on the legendary Osaka based underground label Vanity. Last October Studio Mule reissued BGM’s no wave, free funk mini-mal treasure. A few Month earlier Studio Mule already published “Missing Link”, a thrilling retrospect on Takayuki Shiraishi's unreleased material from the late 1980s, a creative period of which only a little ever saw the light of the day.

And now “Anthologia”, a record that is dedicated to his work during the years 1990 to 1996, a time span, in which Shiraishi moved on to produce house, downbeat and playful electronica. In 1995 he released the ambient/techno 12inch “Spectral Colours” on the R&S sublabel Apollo under the alias Planetoid. Two years later he manifested his techno leaning creativity under his given name on the album “Photon”, a record that helped launching Japan’s techno scene. It was followed by two more long players, that display his wide musical taste with ambient, house, breakbeat and other genre blending styles. Besides producing, Shiraishi was also a prominent figure of Tokyo’s club nightlife, DJing alongside Jeff Mills as well as Krautrock icons like Holger Czukay.

“Anthologia” features three unreleased tunes of this lapse of time, as well as highlights some work Shiraishi produced together with his friend Jun Sonohara as Musica Nova and a hidden gem he tuned in for the “Isolated Audio Players 1” compilation, published by the Tokyo based Pickin' Mushroom Recordings label in 2000.

The three unreleased tracks display his love for diversification. “Distant Thunder” is a drone driven ambient voyage, that slowly melds into a gentle rhythmic sensation driven by loose hi-hat patterns and a soft chord crescendo. On the opposite, “Lapis Lazuli” comes around as a mellow melodic downbeat trip enlarged with twisted rhythms and cosmic infiniteness. “A Voy-age” shows his love for house music with a grooving arrangement that comes close to the kinky house gems of contemporary producers like Lowtec. Also, the already known “Isolated Audio Players 1” compilation tune “Flicker” is located in the house spheres, delivering nervous jacking minimal vibes emerging from a precise produced dance of melodies, grooves and sound effects.

In comparison, the four Musica Nova tracks show again another side of Takayuki Shiraishi’s many musical talents. “Birds in Paradise” is an elegant triphop tranquilizer, while tunes like “Nocturnal Tribes” and “Green on Green” express his passion for electronic arrangements that think out of the box with airy melodies, slow-motion big beat rhythms, jazz particles and an overall cosmic sound complexion. The tune “Shifting Sand” goes the same direction, while adding esoteric reverberations and a touch of Drum and bass.

Together the eight tracks turn “Anthologia” into something more than just an anthology of Takayuki Shiraishi’s work. In association, all compositions work like an album that overwhelms with a reasoned story-arc, who slowly rises to a hypnotizing peak, from where all downswings to a calm finish, that makes you want to start all over again.

Golden Days is the late completion of Ethimm’s EP trilogy on Light of Other Days and it continues exactly where the group left off 4 years ago. What started as the groups signature „tension music“, oscillating between dark repetition and moody improvisations is slowly morphing into a production style that features a heavy pop sensibility infused with conciliatory optimism.

The opener and title track of the EP recounts the meeting of a new lover in an autumn sunset. Starting with dreamy piano chords, a rhythmic bass and handclaps, it provides a beautiful musical backdrop for Tizi’s longing voice. During the course of the track, modulating synths and plucked guitars join her vocals as she sings about the „Golden Days“ spent with her lover.

Over & Out starts off in typical Ethimm fashion. Dubbed guitars, minimal beats and a sparse piano melody sets the tone for Elisabeth Thimm’s fragile vocal. In Over & Out Elisabeth negotiates her wish for freedom and how she breaks with her daily constraints. Albeit initially being drained in melancholy, the track ends on a musically hopeful note when a beautiful chord progression suddenly appears, colliding with an extended synth solo from outer space.
On Echoes in the Distance, glorious arpeggios accompany a sophisticated 303-style bass line and haunting vocals. The track follows one of Elisabeth’s dreams into a frantic, nondescript, deserted backdrop and slowly morphes into the most ecstatic piece of the EP. The multi-layered arrangement combined with Ethimm’s yearning voice on top, sound like about 3 tracks seamlessly sticked together. The track ends in pure ecstasy and the listener is left with the exciting feeling of wanting more.

The EPs finale is made up of the hopeful and minimalistic Day by Day, a track reminiscent of the balearic pop from the 1980ies. Gracefully and drained in beachside sunshine, Ethimm reminds us not to waste our days with unnecessary actions and focus on the beautiful small things in life.

Gigantic producer/DJ from Scotland, Creep Woland, lands back on the Astral Black heli-pad with his 'Chamberlain' EP. Four blistering breaks-led, club ready, jungle tracks intended as an ode to the rolling bass and rainy days that raised him. Picking up near enough where his Close Reading debut left off, Chamberlain sees a more refined and honed execution of the hard hitting electronica Woland has become known for.

Informed by the experience of playing to dance-floors, as well as educational journeys down to London for radio sets, these new tracks are fine tuned and bass heavy - perfect for existential club experiences or the driving of sports vehicles. The subdued intrigue of EP opener 'Imposter Syndrome' sets the mystical and reflective tone of the record, while down the line junglist anthems 'Medieval Draw' and '0800-Falkirk Triangle' call for slow motion gun finger. Written at a time of personal hardship and mastery of oneself, the hopeful promise of closer 'Lord Chamberlain' acts as a sonic representation of the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel of this particular time in Woland's life.

Recently, Chamberlain EP's 'Imposter Syndrome' has been receiving early radio support from Rinse FM's Jossy Mitsu & Impey on NTS, whilst his debut release Close Reading received radio support from the likes of Josey Rebelle (in her award-winning Essential Mix), Om-Unit and JD. Reid as well as critical acclaim from FACT, CLASH & Hyponik. In addition to its various accolades, Close Reading also lead to Woland being handpicked by Lanark Artefax as the opening act for his 'Enter The Gateway' performance, and has since performed alongside the likes of Om-Unit, Proc Fiskal, DJ Storm and more.

Official Mr Bongo 7” Hip Hop Reissue.

Craft a record iconic enough and, no matter what you’ve sampled to make it, you’re destined to be sampled more yourself. It helps if you’ve got Rakim’s voice, of course. When he and Eric B went into Power Play Studios in New York in 1987 to record ‘I Ain’t No Joke’, their next move was highly anticipated due to the critical success of the duo’s first record, ‘Eric B. Is President’. Rakim was already seen as a masterful MC with a distinctive slow, baritone flow and seamless access to a rich vein of words not often heard in hip-hop.

People’s first exposure to this track was on the landmark ‘Paid in Full’ album, and it was clear this had the potential to jump off as a single. The repetitive, simply scratched sample of ‘Pass the Peas’ by the JB’s was an infectious ear worm that needed a truly strong MC to stand up to it. He did more than that – here Rakim spun timeless lyrics and lines that would go on to be sampled and referred to dozens of times down through hip-hop history. He took one of rap’s great instrumentals and wrestled it to the floor.

Of course, you can’t have Eric B & Rakim without Eric B. The DJ gets his time to shine on the flip, and while he isn’t a man renowned for his dexterity and turntablist skills, the track still knocks. Maybe it’s because Eric B has already realised what many would come to work out later: If you haven’t got Rakim on your record, at least scratch his vocals. This re-release comes with a brand new cover utilising some of Dan Lish’s trademark artwork.

Curtis Electronix delivers his second release. 4 originals from one of the most remarkable and reliable artists in the game, Rotterdam dungeon master DJ Overdose. The A side drops two club ready electro tracks molded with his unique cyberfunk style, punchy analog drums, heavy dystopian basslines and gently spaced out melodies. On the flip side things turn into a murky slow tempo affair. Industrial solid drums and distorted sonic grounds will turn your captivating journey into a dark machine odyssey.

Industries Of The Blend is the latest project from Dj Luna-C, and it a step back into the original sounds of 1990 and 1991 old skool. Slower bpm and all hardware lead to an entirely authentic sound for this EP, and that authenticity continues with the style of sleeve (Spined like an old Euro EP) and in the overall concept. Proper underground, original, rave music. For those who know.

Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

In 2016 Patrick Doyle relocated from London to LA, midway through writing his new album – the follow up to his recent acclaimed release as Boys Forever. The self-titled Boys Forever album was Patrick’s debut as a solo artist after years of playing in well-loved indie bands including Veronica Falls, The Royal We and Sexy Kids.

On moving to LA he continued working on the songs for his next record – emailing them to Helen Skinner (who toured as a member of the Boys Forever three-piece live band, and now plays in Barry) who added a bass line to the songs and sent them back to Patrick. They continued to finish writing the record via email and in February 2017 Helen joined Patrick in LA to record Keeping Up Appearances. They recorded the album over four days in February 2017 at LA’s Golden Beat Studios – with Patrick once again teaming up with Andrew Schubert who produced Boys Forever.

Unglued’s reputation for producing serious bassweight across the D+B spectrum continues in 2020 with his ‘Zen’ EP. He spans through silky smooth sounds on ‘Zen’ ft. Cimone, bouncy funk on ‘Mic Strangler’ with the legendary MC GQ, sharp-edged grizzle on GLXY collaboration ‘Algorithm’, and tearout heat on the soundsystem slayer ‘Datafile’. Setting things in motion is the lyrical weapon ‘Mic Strangler’, with OG host and MC extraordinaire GQ, who’s spent three decades leading the game. Unglued deals out damage on the beat with MC GQ’s playful twists, wrapped up in a big bruiser of a bassline.

Title track ‘Zen’ is a mesmeric stream of atmospherics, rolled out in perfect tandem with the angelic vocals of rising singer/songwriter, Cimone. GLXY joins the fold for ‘Algorithm’ - a techy rattler that’s stripped back in design but packs a punch. Rounding off the EP is the darkest addition, ‘Datafile’, Unglued takes no prisoners as he unleashes this lethal stepper. Unglued has had a steep and steady rise in drum & bass after signing to Hospital Records and releasing his sought after solo material, as well as his iconic remix of High Contrast’s anthem ‘If We Ever’.

This infamous rewiring caught the attention of major players, from Andy C to Annie Mac - who also selected his track ‘Born In ‘94’ as her Hottest Record in 2019 on BBC Radio 1. Unglued’s jungle knowledge has him in regular international demand, in 2019 alone he tore up sets at Glastonbury, Rampage, Boomtown, Let It Roll, ADE and on Med School’s final tour across Australia and New Zealand. He’s showing no signs of slowing down in 2020 with back-to-back bookings, including support at Wilkinson’s London headline show, Kings Of The Rollers’ Printworks Royal Rumble showdown and Hospitality On The Beach 2020.