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This EP could arguably be the peak expression of Filippini's, (aka Enrico “Big City” Filippini) career in Italo-Disco. Without doubt a more polished pinnacle within the genre, elegantly and efficiently conceived, with less grammar mistakes than many of its contemporaries. Downtempo paced in the low 100's, Enrico takes his time with the nostalgic lyrics in confident efforts of mending some questionable past romantic affairs. A production with melancholic nuances that would very deservingly find its place in a mix by the late visionary DJ Zecky for example. The kind of track that could be played 3 times in a row before offending anyone, very digestible to the ear, a delightful pleasure for the less sober soul, to be served with cocktails and high SPF sunscreen, just cruising along.

With a mysteriously unknown release date, “Photochrome” could have been originally put out somewhere between the late 70's to early 80's on the Italian Idea label, which although only boasting a minuscule catalogue of mainly 7”s has gotten the attention of many collectors of European disco obscurities for releases such as “Flavio – Drum Explosion” and “Aleo's Band - EOE”. “Photochrome” features a very organic sound with hints of early electronics that might have been making their way into studios at the time. A fast passed driving bass line layered with what almost sounds like an early 303 bass line and spacey/cosmic vocals. Dry drum recordings give it a naive DIY feel which coupled with the experimental tricks on the vocals results in a very unique sound that has put this release on the radars of diggers world-wide. Now available once again at an affordable price with a new two part bonus beats remix that starts off as a more DJ friendly tool but soon embarks into a questionable full-fledged acid house excursion. Originally only released in 7" format but now re-issued in remastered 12" format.

Two powerfully effective club tracks by one of Berlin's most talented Juan Ramos. A clear cut exposé of his vastly amassed knowledge in dancefloor experience throughout over a decade of dedication to the craft of steering some of the most significant contemporary underground dancefloors. Can't really go wrong here, mandatory for any club focused record bag, with an entourage of 125 BPM percussion sample based mayhem on the A side and a slower industrial 115BPM chugger that grows into a tripped out narrative of playfully galloping transient elements.

The story of Ultrasonic Grand Prix is one of two vintage 60s guitars and their owners. I love my 1967 Vox Grand Prix guitar,” declares multi-instrumentalist/producer Shawn Lee - creator, among other feats, of the soundtrack for Rockstar video game classic Bully, and one half of Ultrasonic Grand Prix. “It is a serious beast and an important part of my arsenal. Every tone you need…’For guitar maestro Barrie Cadogan - of Nottingham Freakbeaters Little Barrie, best known for the main title theme of ‘Better Call Saul’, The The, Liam Gallagher and playing on the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ - it was the Vox Ultrasonic, also from the same period, that caught his eye. “I first became interested in Vox guitars because of people who used them like Spacemen 3 and the James Brown band of the late 60’s”, he explains, “but it was when I was part of a recording session at Anton Newcombe’s studio in Berlin that I had chance to get to know the Vox gear better. I was borrowing an Ultrasonic from a friend for a while and Shawn already had his Grand Prix. I thought it would be a good name for our project whenever we got it going.’ It was with this shared passion for these weapons of vintage, psychedelic gold that the suave, velvety, and off-kilter cool of INSTAFUZZ was born. While a project born of recent times, the flames of INSTAFUZZ were first ignited all the way back in 2010, where the two met during mixing sessions for Little Barrie’s 2011 LP King of the Waves. Snap forward a decade and we find Cadogan ripping guitar licks on Instagram, the workaholic Lee using these as inspiration to lay down rhythm tracks on analogue drum machines. And not long after that, cut to the two trading files back and forth furiously online, birthing music together in ever more completed forms. And the music that did emerge was weird, startling, and insatiably groovy. With one foot dipped in the organ-warbling garage of 60s psych, and the other vibrating in the mind-expanding fractals of the British Acid House boom, INSTAFUZZ plies the earthly quintessence’s of blues, rock, soul and jazz, against the preternatural discomforts of programmed drums and unhinged synthesisers to produce something distinctly and nostalgically futuristic

Dave Lee has tackled the legendary Brazilian disco cut 'Que Tal America' by Two Man Sound, originally released back '78.. Dave subtly adds new breakdowns, live percussion and even some additional vocals to give his version extra pizzazz, whilst making the most of the insistent flowing groove that made this a sure fire floor filler. On the flip things get more more echo heavy, whilst the sharp jazzy musicianship shines through.

There was never an instrumental version on the original 12". Add an acapella and bonus beats then you have an essential disco package for every Disco DJ's record box.

Warehouse Find!

The Black 80s make a long overdue return to Freerange following their 2014 release Move On (from which the Kollektiv Turmstrasse remix become something of an underground anthem). The duo hailing from Montreal and consisting of Hollis P Monroe and Overnite have been responsible for some seriously influential tracks over the years, not least Hollis' bonafide classic from 1997 - I'm Lonely. For The Rest is a slice of sultry, stripped back house heaven which drips with soul and will melt the hearts of all who hear it. The key to the tracks beauty is in the minimalism of the production keeping everything paired back to the bare bones and placing all the focus on Overnite's vocal which twists and mutates thanks to some clever use of FX. Who better to work their magic on the remix than German producer Show-B
who comes fresh off his incredible Jaap Ligthart Remix and Washint EP on his own Lossless label . Here he pushes the original through his sonic mangle, injecting steely atmospherics and layers of synths to forge a driving, muscular version which will sit perfectly amongst the sounds of Dixon, Mano et al and has already been getting early spins from Ame´. A second remix from Carlos Sanchez completes the package (on the digital
version) staying truer to the original vibe but adding delicate pads and whispering strings for some late night bliss.

In spring,
Again.
But it's true this time.

In Spring is the second record by Tara Clerkin Trio, a Bristol-based group who appeared to emerge from below the radar of near-all in early 2020 and in the presence of one of the most captivating records of that year. This latest 23 minute, four song collection, recorded in various stages and locations over the last twelve months, does nothing to detract from those first impressions, refining the woozy and shimmering oddness of their debut into an avant-pop sensibility that is increasingly their own.

If the group did arrive fully formed, what that form was did feel supple and hard to grasp. They were, in a sense, essentially new sounding, or at least ghosts between the established lines, and with this new record have doubled-down on their inherently Delphian instinct. At its heart, In Spring is a record of subtle contrasts, experimental yet familiar in its intimacy, obviously modern though tied to certain lineages, and driven by a pop logic which is also free-form and seemingly improvised. Their approach to sound is perhaps the guiding principle here, less concerned with genre as it is texture and feeling, drawing from jazz, folk, modern composition, trip hop and downtempo electronica, yet evading all of those categorisations. Tara Clerkin Trio are too generous of heart to be ripping up any rulebook, they simply seem oblivious to its need.

Their geography does provide some context. Bristol's progressive sonic heritage inescapably bleeds into these four tracks, the enclave of open-minded artists around Planet Records in the mid 90s perhaps the closest point of comparison. There's that same magpie spirit which is both futuregazing and aware of its past, though is mostly set on finding its own path. This is in essence what defines Tara Clerkin Trio, feeling their way through freedom of instinct and curiosity, forging their own desire lines. Not so much taking the road less trodden, just walked at their own winding pace.

"Done before,
And I'll do it again"
Ringing in my head
While I try
To feel

In the annals of German techno history of the early 90s, Mannheim's Milk Club was always something like the dirty little brother between Berlin's Tresor and Frankfurt's Omen - not as cocky as the two big siblings, but secretly all the more clever. Less pretentious than the Äppelwoi metropolis, less dirty than the capital and, despite squaring the circle, less straightforward than both together. Instead, they delight with breakdancers of almost Wigan Casino-like elegance. Very British, even in the musical mix of house, techno and breakbeats, breakbeats, breakbeats. A club like a kind of mother raising the nightclubbers with her milk.

Devi g. pay tribute to this club with their MILK EP. on Pudel Produkte.
Devi g. are Dirk Mantei aka Dman (DJ and former manager of the Milk Club) and Oliver Bradford (one half of Thee Church Ov Acid House and resident DJ at the equally legendary Brückenkopf parties in Mainz). Pudel Produkte because, well, Golden Pudel Club - Legend binding.

A four-part promenade mix is on offer that has it all. It contains house, techno and, yes, breakbeats, breakbeats, breakbeats.

Minds At Large comprise of Zak and Hoj from Watford, North London who were active between 1992 – 1997, releasing on their label Choicest Music. Most of their releases were white label only releases, some handwritten, others stickered. Each release was a limited pressing and since they debuted over 30 years ago, they have become hugely popular and collectable.

Here is out first release with the group – 4 tracks of hardcore/early jungle.

Only 350 pressed on an incredible marbled vinyl.

2026 Repress

The incomparable Deepchord is back on Soma and drops the first single from forthcoming album, Auratones due in October. As is expected from the Detroit based sound designer, the Campfire EP is everything we have come to know and admire about his productions, from the spaced out, ambient sound fields to classic Dub Techno.

Perfumes Of A Spring Mist delicately opens this latest EP with entrancing, processed soundscapes, beautifully haunting melody and simple rhythmic elements than seem to evolve naturally allowing you to get lost in the sea of vibrations. Xpan leans on the more classic Dub Techno sound from Deepchord of years passed. Sub heavy beats and jagged yet tranquil synths sweep across the palette as Deepchord plays with constantly fluctuating chords, bringing the quintessential 90s Deep Techno into his more modern, processed sound. Title track Campfire brings ambience to the forefront to close out the EP. Melancholic synth elements drift across an expanse of refined and uniquely crafted field recordings, offering an insight into the areas from which Deepchord draws his inspiration.

Once again Deepchord proves to be one of the most visionary artists the electronic world has seen.

Sleep Now Forever is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted by singer Rose McDowall. Originally released in 1999 and long since deleted it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, Sleep Now Forever is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall’s most complete long-form work to date.
Released through the group’s own Piski Disk Records, Sleep Now Forever was distributed by World Serpent which struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company’s troubles, Sleep Now Forever was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company’s failure. Released on CD only, original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels. Remastered by Mikey Young for a limited vinyl release, Sleep Now Forever will be released on April 20th on double vinyl format, with one side an exclusive etching by Glasgow artist Holly Allan.
Despite its rarity, Sleep Now Forever enjoys a firm cult following. The album’s textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an array of players from the underground Neo-folk / industrial scene: Nigel McKernaghan (Uilleann pipes, Whistles), Susan Franknel (Bassoon), John Contreras (Cello) and Lawrence Frankel (Oboe, Cor Anglais). The eleven songs here revolve around McDowall’s instantly recognisable voice. Brought up singing in the Catholic Church, McDowall’s vocals are impeccable and angelic, particularly on tracks like Turn Off The Light where her experiences with religion are canted over soaring oboe and guitar backing. By far the most evolved and realised version of Sorrow’s vision, it feels somewhat criminal that music this beautiful could be lost to time until now.
McDowall’s lyrics throughout Sleep Now Forever deal frankly with mental health, depression, altered states, death and redemption. Wave upon wave of harmony drench each song, McDowal’s vocal multi-tracked and imperious. Opener Soldier benefits from Robert Lee’s use of the studio as instrument, summoning forth a lilting group performance of sparkling guitar and percussion that recalls the Velvet Underground. Mikey Love’s master treats the compositions to brand new frequency dynamics and space. Harmonium and string drones form the counter to McDowall’s vocal on Love Dies, a slow, lurching lament that feels transcendent. On Haunting, the arrangement is orchestral and aching, bleeding into Fear Becomes You, with chord and harmony structure that recalls the baroque sixties pop of West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band or the 60s psychedelic folk movement. A towering, beautiful statement, this elegy for times lost and moonlit-illumination is finally resurfacing from the darkness.

G Version III from Kyoto Japan arrives on Digital Sting via a correspondence going back a few years that grew out of mutual musical connections and a deep appreciation for the Jamaican soundsystem diaspora. G Version grew up with a love of Hip Hop, R&B, and Reggae and had a musical revelation at a Lake Biwako sound clash event as a teenager that was formative in spurring a deeper dive into Dancehall and soundsystem culture.

After some time spent studying in the UK and returning to Japan, working at Jet Set records along with meeting heavy weight producer Element the beginnings of her future musical output began to take shape. Downtime during the pandemic provided the time to concentrate on production. G Version's sound has a retro futuristic feel, equal parts Dancehall history and esoteric dub leanings, particularly in tune with the more experimental branches of 80's-90's UK Dub and Steppers. Influences being stated G Versions sound is thoroughly distinct and imaginative, not content to conform to any obvious genre tropes. Also included in this release are two dubs of G Version tracks by Digital Sting mainstays Feel Free Hi Fi.

G Version III- Scenery From Double Glazing DS008 Digital Sting Records

NYC dance music legend Joey Longo has been a part of the dance music soundscape for those in the know from way back when, his first records surfacing in 1989 under a variety of monikers and on a slew of labels out of NYC. Some (Cabaret, Loop d'Loop, Foot Stompin') were his own, others (Underworld, Maxi, Minimal) not, but the they always came bearing the credit 'produced by Pal Joey'. Joey hit the heights early on, as one of his earliest records, Dance (as Earth People), went big in dance music terms. If you were raving in the early '90s chances are you will be getting flashbacks from 'Dance', as it was played across a number of scenes. A deeper 'beats' mix features on this gem of an album, his first in over 10 years, along with a perfectly selected blend of classic cuts, new versions and remixes and unreleased wonders. Mastered to perfection, but keeping his raw New York style.

Mexican sensation Pahua comes to Razor-N-Tape via a huge remix project featuring some of the hottest producer names in current outer-national dance music.

Remixers on this 12” includes both staples and newcomers to the RNT production stable. Label co-head JKriv turns in a late-nite bass mix of the exceedingly popular ‘Porque Yo,’ Captain Planet delivers a percussive & thumping afro-house flip to “‘Espantapajaros’, Tigerbalm brings her chugging international disco flair to ‘Pa’lante,’ Prince of Queens digs deep with a housey dub of ‘Calla,’ and Londoner Clive From Accounts takes ‘Cana Brava’ into moody nu-disco meets amapiano territory.

With a collection of remixes as prolific and solid as these, RNT opted for an expansive 12” and 7” package which features seven of the remixes across two slabs of vinyl, with gorgeous artwork that flips the moonrise eclipse motif of the original Habita album cover perfectly in a slick device that reveals a crescent moon as the record is removed from the jacket.

This package honors the essence of the original music, while flipping it in quintessential RNT club-ready fashion.

One day early in the global lockdown, Frédéric Blais scribbled four words on a Post-It note and pinned it up in his studio. When he headed to a studio in the mountains north of Montreal to start work on his fifth album as Fred Everything, those words went with him. They would not only provide inspiration during two weeks of isolated music-making, but ultimately provide the subsequent album with its title: Love, Care, Kindness and Hope.

Those sentiments – a positive mantra during a period of personal and collective vulnerability and isolation – resonate throughout the album, a gorgeously warm and beautiful affair that counts as Blais’s most personal, musically expansive, mature and sonically detailed set to date.

While each of the tracks began as a rough sketch laid down during Blais’ retreat, they evolved considerably over the months that followed. Blais reached out to a handful of carefully selected guest vocalists and collaborators, including Stereo MC’s, Robert Owens, Sapele, James Alexander Bright, Wayne Tennant, string arranger Pete Whitfield and multi-instrumentalist Finn Peters. He also lent his voice to several tracks, a first in a career that stretches back to the 1990s.

The results are magical, with Blais not only offering subtle variations on his own trademark deep house sound, but also nods to complimentary music styles and classic electronic albums from the late ‘90s and early 2000s.

Naturally, much focus will fall on the album’s high-profile guests, whose contributions work perfectly with Blais’ cultured dancefloor electronica and soul-soaked broken house grooves. Robert Owens – “the voice of house” himself – expertly delivers lyrics full of compassion and reassurance on recent single ‘Never’, Sapele infuses ‘A Long Time Coming’ with lashings of soulful spirituality, and UK hip-hop/soul legends Stereo MC’s make their presence felt on the subtly Latin-infused dub house excellence of ‘Soul Love’.

Then there’s ‘Breathe’, where UK singer-songwriter James Alexander Bright and backing vocalist Wayne Tennant rise above punchy broken house beats, Blais’ trademark square-wave bass and Pete Whitfield’s swelling strings on ‘Breathe’. By the time kaleidoscopic, sun-down breakbeat brilliance of ‘A Good Day’ arrives to draw proceedings to a close, you’ll be overflowing with Blais’ “love, care, kindness and hope” – just as he intended.

The oldest Finnish electronic music organization (est. 1993) is back with another killer vinyl release. Once again they have put out a compilation of 12″ featuring fresh tracks from fresh Finnish talents Funktor, Arre, Doswon and Vapor. Music varies from tight electro tracks to acid house, certain to make every floor burn. Limited and numbered edition of 200pcs on vinyl!

2023 sees the return of multi-talented Norwegian producer Espen Horne to Wah Wah 45s, after a 24 year hiatus. The man behind the label's very first release, the now seminal Magnetica, never lost his connection with the imprint and has remained very much part of the Wah Wah family, making a comeback this year with his first solo material under his own name since that club classic from 1999.

Back in the spring, the first single from the project, the gorgeous soul-jazz beauty Bakeren, featuring the stunning vocals of Resonators' Faye Houston, quickly found a home on Gilles Peterson's internationally renowned BBC Radio 6 show as well as that of Jazz FM legend Robbie Vincent, Bandcamp Weekly and the Fresh Finds Jazz Spotify playlist.

Following that, Bergen Sunrays, became a weekly fixture on the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music, with the limited 7-inch of both singles selling out within hours of release.

Next up was the wistful Den Franske Gitaren, a lugubrious soul-jazz piece with drum & bass leanings featuring Bergen based MC and vocalist Aich, which found favour with legends Laurent Garnier and Jazzanova as well as hot Japanese production outfit Dazzle Drums.

This was closely followed by the final single to be taken from the album, the stunning and outspoken vocal jazz waltzer Nada Pode Me Calar (which roughly translates to Nothing Can Shut Me Up!) featuring the sublime talent of Olav Wöllo on vocals and Juno - anotherr big one with Gilles Peterson on Worldwide FM and Deb Grant on BBC 6 Music.

And now the full album, entitled The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence is available for your aural delectation. Recorded largely during lockdown, the LP is a sophisticated and composed piece of work that sees the Norwegian producer make connections with musicians from across Europe, and some closer to home, to collaborate on this sedate and peaceful collection of songs.

The aforementioned Faye Houston also appears on the soulful, dub flavoured Don't Fall Asleep, a piece of music that explores the feeling of being isolated whilst sharing a mutual love and drive to explore new sonic possibilities.

Elsewhere, Olav Wöllo pops up again too, this time on O Mar E A Lua and once again singing in Portuguese to give this track a certain Tropicalia feel, as Espen explains:

"Olav Wöllo is a close friend, an excellent musician and vocalist, and a capoeira professor here in Bergen. He has spent much of his life living in Brazil and speaks Portuguese fluently. He wrote the lyrics for this tune years ago and had just been waiting for the right collaboration to come along.

We went to his lovely studio out on this remote island, made a massive gyoza meal, had some serious good wine and stayed the whole night to record his vocal harmonies and outspoken lyrics."

The single Bergen Sunrays also appears on the album in instrumental form with featured keys courtesy of London based player Rory More - here entitled Rory's Sunrays. His Lowrey organ adds a more melancholic feel to the track, as it does on the stunning Belle Époque, alongside the ivory work of Eirik Blåsternes - an emotional, contemplative and atmospheric track that was tested and shaped in the eclipse of Covid.

As with Belle Époque, La Psychosomnie is a playful yet explorative cut that examines insomnia, paralysis and hypnosis courtesy of some enigmatic French spoken word spinning around a framework of drums, bass and swirling keys.

And finally, the album offers up an alternative version of the single Den Franske Gitaren, this time featuring Martin Halla, a vocalist out of the Bergen Grieg Jazz Academy and winner of the Norwegian version of The Voice back in 2012! The perfect flip to Aich's more mournful interpretation of this bass and drum future classic.

Northern California psychedelic sorcerers Carlton Melton are brain surfers, mind trippers, … “psychlists,” if you prefer. The band will take your head for a ride, occasionally rushing at superluminal speeds through a wormhole or gliding softly on a gentle breeze in a leafy glade. Sometimes your brain needs to rage, and sometimes it needs to repose. For a decade and a half, the band has yo-yo’ed, almost schizophrenically, between these two modes: walloping space jams with furious guitar solos in one hemisphere of the brain and ethereal, feather-light splashdowns in the other. Not to mention a track here and there that builds from the latter into the former. But with two new releases in 2023, the band has evolved. Whether psych rock or ambient trance, their sound remains driving, organic, and flowing. With the addition of Anthony Taibi (White Manna, DDT), however, the group’s metal freak-outs are Hawkwindier and their droning kraut trances are Spacemen 3-er. In January, the quartet released the playfully spacey Resemble Ensemble, recorded in Taibi’s home studio 3D Light. October now sees the band Turn To Earth, a work with scents of Autumn, a season of death and transition. The cover art evokes a vine-covered, electric crucifix. The sound is, well, earthy but also gritty and striving towards change. The album was recorded in Fall 2022 and now harvested in Fall 2023. Phil Becker (Terry Gross, Pins Of Light) contributed drums and percussion to a few tracks on Turn To Earth, recording the album at El Studio in San Francisco.

With Becker at the helm, the synths have become more prominent (“Cosmicity,” “Roboflow,” “Migration”) and the tone heavier on the doom (“Cloudstorming,” “Unlock The Land,” title track): several moments could even serve as background music for epic dark fantasy films like Conan the Barbarian, Fire and Ice, or Heavy Metal. As exquisite as Turn To Earth is, Melton are best appreciated as a live act: their recordings as well as their gigs are largely improvised – not so much composed as birthed. And yet their most recent tour ended abruptly and perilously. The group had to cancel its final three shows once members were admitted to Arnhem hospital in the Netherlands. Five years later, reinforcements have strengthened the band and restocked its arsenal of great tracks. After the rockus interruptus of that 2018 tour and the tantric tease of the intervening Covid lockdown, Melton have some unfinished business. An October 2023 tour is poised to set the freshly minted quartet back onto the stages of Europe and within the cerebral folds of its fans. Turn To Earth, sure … but keep your head in outer space. Carlton Melton is: andy duvall – drums/gtr; clint golden – bass; rich millman – gtr/synth; and anthony taibi – synth/gtr.