Part 4 of tech house pioneer Terry Francis’ All & All compilation of seminal UK Acid tracks is here. This part showcasing his early productions from mid 90’s to early 00’s!
Of the highest quality, these tracks are now officially remastered and reissued for this exclusive release, so no more eye watering Discogs prices.
A very rare chance to get Terry’s most sought after tracks that won’t be reissued again anytime soon.
Ron Henderson released only one album with his Choice of Colour band, and that was Soul Junction in 1976. The North Carolina-based singer-songwriter has become an object of cult admiration over the years which is what might explain how an original of that album can often go for upwards of $800 at auctions. The 2020 P-Vine reissue soon sold out and included an extra single from 1983, 'Gemini Lady.' It is that which now gets pressed up to its own 7". It comes with the same label design as the original with a special jacket to make it even more of a collector's item.
Debut album of heavy Colombian salsa by the obscure and short-lived El Clan Antillano. Founded in 1975 by singer Jacky Carazo and radio personality / composer Mike Char and backed by a studio orchestra comprised mostly of Fruko Y Sus Tesos band members. The record has been remastered from the original tapes, with an additional three bonus cuts taken from two rare 45 singles, including the sought after track ‘Alma’. First time reissue. 180g Vinyl.
El Clan Antillano was an obscure, short-lived salsa group started in 1975 by singer Jacky “El Caballo” Carazo, originally from Cartagena, and radio host / song composer Mike Char, from Barranquilla. The band was active only until 1977, with a mere two albums to its name. Carazo and Char, “los amigos costeños” (friends from the Caribbean coastal area) created El Clan Antillano as a fresh start after the previous group Carazo had been the lead singer for, El
Afrocombo, had become inactive.
Char primary passion was music, especially songwriting. One of his skills in this area was adapting foreign songs, often in a different language, rhythm, arrangement or genre, and refashioning the tune in an uptempo Caribbean dance mode as a salsa or cumbia. This formula, as well as his own original compositions, soon brought him success not only with costeño friends like Carazo and Vicentini, but also with Medellín’s Fruko, allowing him to make a name for himself with record labels in that city. It was at this juncture, in 1975, that El Clan Antillano was born. This is their first album and was recorded with local studio musicians. It’s been said that most on the first album were from Fruko Y Sus Tesos (the voice of Joe Arroyo can be heard on coro) as well as others involved with various groups like La Protesta (de Colombia) and Juan Piña’s La Revelación.
The album kicks off with ‘Donde ‘sta? Donde ‘sta?’, a medley of costeño lyrical phrases quoting various popular porros. Gradually changing the vibe, this is followed by Enrique Aguilar’s ‘El baile del
ratón’, a humorous cumbia that changes into a salsa halfway through. As if El Clan Antillano were not entirely confident about featuring purely salsa from the start, the same cumbia/salsa hybrid formula is used in the third piece, a faithfully rendered version of Eddie Palmieri’s ‘Mi cumbia’.
‘Estás equivocada’ rocks hard like the best Venezuelan salsa of the time. ‘Esta mañana’ is a cover version of an obscure bolero from Curaçao’s Erwin Castaneer with Super Combo Castaneer. ‘En la oscuridad’ is an interesting mashup of Puerto Rican bomba and New York style pachanga. ‘El despertar’ is a sunny sounding pop song reinvented as a Nelson y sus Estrellas style salsa/cumbia hybrid with a fantastic ‘montuno’ section.
Up next is a hard salsa jam in the ‘pregón’ (street vendor’s cry) genre, written by Fruko Y Sus Tesos percussionist Álvaro Velásquez (composer of ‘El preso’). The original album track list closes out with a fantastic rendition of Puerto Rican singer/composer Bobby Capó’s classic ‘El negro bembón’ that the world first leaned to love through Cortijo y Su Combo. Three bonus tracks have been added to the album as it was originally very short. Interestingly, there were four songs from two 45 singles cut by the band that were never included on either long play. While the ephemeral El Clan Antillano may not be as well known as the groups it’s related to, namely El Afrocombo and Fruko Y Sus Tesos, it certainly deserves credit as a worthy participant in the historical evolution of salsa colombiana.
On March 26, 2015, a surprising announcement sent shockwaves through the Belgian music scene. Noe?mie Wolfs declared her departure from Hooverphonic, the band she had fronted as the lead singer for over five years. She described it as the end of an incredible chapter in her life and expressed her desire to forge her own musical path, which she did by releasing her critically acclaimed debut album "Hunt You" a year later.
In February 2020, the long-anticipated second solo album by Noe?mie arrived, titled "Lonely Boy's Paradise," brimming with melancholic hues. Taking her time to craft and record this album, Noe?mie delivered a collection of songs that resonated even more deeply with her. At the production helm was Yello Staelens (also known as Yong Yello). With "Lonely Boy's Paradise," her confidence grew, allowing her to embrace risk and unconventional ideas. However, the international lockdown soon threw a spanner in the works, as the society shut down a day after her celebrated sold-out release show at the Ancienne Belgique. Rather than sit by, she therefore retreated to her home studio to work on new music.
Making music from the heart has always been in the DNA of Belgian singer Noémie Wolfs and yet this time it is a tad different as she's gearing up to release her third album, "Wild At Heart," in November. This time around, she joined forces again with her partner in crime, Simon Casier (of Balthazar and Zimmerman), to write and produce the album in their home studio. Despite being in the business for years, the upcoming project also immediately presented a challenge for her because this time she was involved both as a writer, but more importantly as a producer, giving the album an even more personal touch. Everything was done from an emotion or a vision, you notice and hear the love for enchanting arrangements immediately.
The ten tracks on "Wild At Heart" promise a distinct sound, enriched with meticulous attention to detail. The melodies are interwoven with dreamy, melancholic strings and an array of synths, revealing a new facet of Noémie's musical evolution. The new sound of Noémie evolved from a hip-hop-oriented use of samples on her second album "Lonely Boys Paradise" to a more electronic approach, where danceable beats with analog synths join forces with big orchestrated strings to capture the different facets of a love story.
"Strings are actually very hopeful or often form a warm blanket for many people, but can also be very frightening, oppressive, dark, and sad. It might even be my favourite instrument, which is why I definitely wanted to use them on this album. Sometimes you can even hear 42 violins at the same time, with which we wanted to capture the grandeur of Hollywood," she says about including strings.
The upcoming album is not a sonic continuation of her previous albums, but a deliberate exploration of what has always inspired her. "Wild At Heart" tells the story of two lovers who cannot live with each other, but also cannot live without each other. The dramaturgy of the album also reflects itself musically, which is immediately evident with the first single "Lonely Heart". In almost eight minutes, you feel the matchless passion in her music and her voice remains the narrative thread that makes you forget time and space around you for a moment. Noémie Wolfs' new music is therefore the perfect way to take a break from the daily grind and digs deep into all forms of romance.
"Wild At Heart" is Noémie Wolfs' reintroduction and her most personal project so far. For dreamers, lovers, and travelers.
Visions Recordings is delighted to have Detroit's Julion D'Angelo and Chicago's SPECTER on the same record after years of trying to work together. These two Detroit masters of the deepness have released records on some of the best labels around, including Sound Signature, Tone Log, Freedom School , Tetrode , Sistrum and more.
These two tracks are original deep zmusic to dance to, but also to dive into and listen to all the details, the complex programming, and the search for unique sounds. It's special and that's why we love it and want to keep promoting it. Real music!
We fell in love with these tracks as soon as we heard them, and we hope you will too. Visions aims to maintain a high and varied standard, and once again we try to present you with quality and profoundness. enjoy the ride.
Part 3 of tech house pioneer Terry Francis’ All & All compilation of seminal UK Acid tracks is here.
Of the highest quality, these tracks are now officially remastered and reissued for this exclusive release, so no more eye watering Discogs prices.
A very rare chance to get Terry’s most sought after tracks that won’t be reissued again anytime soon.
Drumcode favourite Victor Ruiz joins forces with rising Irish artist Modeā for an inspiring meeting of styles. Modeā’s ‘Shine’ may have brought many a dancefloor to its knees last summer, but it wasn’t just ravers who were weeping glorious techno tears.
“Shine is one of the best electronic music records ever made,” Victor Ruiz states in emphatic fashion. The Brazilian producer, who has been industrious in recent months with the successful launch of his own label Volta, soon tapped the Donegal artist for a collaboration and the seeds for ‘Bloom’ had been sewn.
‘Contrast’ saw an inversion of their workflow. The final result sees the duo craft two shots of emotional techno with enough bottom-end might to power a range of peak-time dancefloor moments.
This is the second time out for the Wormholes on AllChival following on from their You Never See the Stars When it Rains anthology release. This one is a previously unreleased album recorded in a concise burst of seven nights in Dublin’s Sun Studios in the spring of 1996. It was originally envisaged as being The Wormholes’ second album, the follow up to their 1994 debut Chicks Dig Scars. Unfortunately the end result of the sessions - Parijuana - would not only be ignored by their label of the time (Roadrunner Records) - but would also just as quickly be dismissed by the band themselves.
Eamonn Crudden, the manager of the band, had manged to extract some money from Roadrunner to record demos of new tracks as soon as the release cycle for their debut was over. The budget was so tight that it covered studio time but was not even enough to buy the master tapes. With things going south with the label – a classic 90’s tale of the A&R man who championed their cause heading off elsewhere the minute they signed - the intention was to go in and aim to record an album rather than demos - with the intention of releasing it on another independent label to keep the momentum around the band going.
However by this stage the Wormholes were totally wrapped up in listening to Can, Faust and generally exploring music based on casual recording, improvisations and extemporization. For them the album was too ‘rock’ and – having been dropped by Roadrunner - they no longer felt under any obligation to release it. To them it was time for a fresh start. Their next recordings would not be ‘for’ anyone but themselves. Today bassist Anto Carroll admits that “at times we were our own worst enemies” and with the benefit of hindsight both he and guitarist Graham Blackmore wish they had gone ahead and released this album at the time. However, back then, they thought they could do better and they did go on to make inventive and unique sounding versions of some of these songs with Stan Erraught producing just a short time later. These recordings were eventually released by Dead Elvis in 1999 - along with a couple of ‘adjusted’ tracks from the Sun Studios sessions - on Parijuana: 4 Years in Captivity.
It’s highly unlikely that listeners today will share the band’s view that the abum was too ‘clean’. This version of Parijuana is dirty, raw, messy with plenty of experimentation and extemporisation. The songwriting is as strong as that on their Chicks Dig Scars debut. The music is played with a new confidence and swagger, very much the sound of a band rooted in a wave of US ‘lo-fi’ finding their own sound. It’s the missing link between their conventional Pavement/Sebadoh influenced debut to the more drawn out, free roaming and extemporised second album proper Scorpio The Album.
Serge Devant returns to Crosstown Rebels with his mesmerising new single ‘A Little Bit Of Love’, complete with a remix from Art Department & MDL Child. Thanks to his fresh house sound, New York resident Serge Devant has turned the heads of tastemakers like Jamie Jones and Damian Lazarus for several years. A regular on Crosstown Rebels dating back to his label debut in 2015, dropping a string of EPs on the label since, he arrives in fine form once again as he unveils his latest single.
His brilliant ‘A Little Bit Of Love’ is an inventive rhythm that soon sweeps you up with its wavy beats and slick hits. Gorgeous chords are draped over it next to steamy vocals to ensure a truly emotive dance floor trip, while the dub version strips out the lead vocal to lay the focus on the remaining musical elements. The remix comes from Jonny White, aka pioneering underground artist and No. 19 Music boss Art Department, and fellow Canadian talent MDL Child. They flip the production into seven minutes of emotionally intense house music with muted acid lines undulating throughout the mix, while immense percussive energy and lush cosmic keys make for a fulsome dancefloor rush.
The third installment of our four-part 12" series features our favorite artists from around the world.
Melbourne's Pugilist opens the gates with 'Flip Trix.' It's a dub-drenched, broken techno hybrid with earth-shattering low-end throughout. This lengthy 130bpm track, with foggy breaks and frosty pads, smartly concludes on a 4x4 beat to ensure a smooth exit. 'Flip Trix' is certainly a future percy for all.
Next, we have Bristol-based Henry Greenleaf, a music producer who provides jaw-dropping moments throughout his work. 'Stopper Knot' starts off with a murky low growl and soon evolves into a fully-fledged UK techno beast with ups, downs, twists, and turns. It's like the soundtrack to all of existence captured in 4 minutes and 37 seconds. An absolute tune.
Closing out the release, we have a very special track from Ebb, a resident of New Zealand's South Island. This tune comes with a Product Safety Warning. *We strongly advise never listening to this tune in small groups or while sitting down. 'GTAM' is a weaponized, peak-time, world-ending, acidic bass mutant designed for use only between 2 am and 4 am*. In true Ebb style, heavy and precise production.
Enjoy responsibly.
The wax is hot. The tunes are massive. Oath’s sub-label, Last Year at Marienbad, dispenses a foursome of punchy house tracks for its fifth release, lovingly crafted by some of the genre’s finest producers.
‘The Way We Flow’ by Sam Paradise pairs detuned, lo-fi samples with thumping kicks, and muffled drums. Just when those innocent lo-fi elements simmer, the drums slam back into your periphery harder than ever, making for an absolute dancefloor smasher.
‘De Nuit (3 A.M)’ by Nu-Cleo descends deeper. Swinging drums and chocolatey, indulgent keys lay the basis for a hypnotic acid bassline. Real tension builder.
Flipping over to the B-Side – careful, it’s hot – is ‘She Wrote’ by Gloved Hands. Seemingly just a ride through a well-made bouncing synth and house groove combo at first, this track soon shows off Gloved Hands’ knack for leftfield flavours. There’s an unexpected trap-esque vocal that gets re-contextualised for the club alongside piercing synths and a bulging broken beat.
‘Hard Deep’ by Rick Wade is an obvious one. The stalwart of the house scene serves up another of his zesty, masterful grooves. Shimmering, effortless keys steer a tight drum groove while a subtle bassline nestles between the kick’s low end.
Four cuts from four house experts. Is there much more a dancefloor could ask for?
Jordon Alexander (pen name Mall Grab) brilliantly carved out his very own niche in dance music. Influenced by hardcore punk skateboarding and high fashion (Linea Rossa!) in equal parts the young Australian delivers precise studies in house and techno. As entertaining as they are excitatory there hasn’t been a bump on his road so far. Alexander’s debut for Running Back proves this point. How The Dogs Chill Vol.2 delivers four high octane tracks whose DNA contains traces of deep house and a penchant for atmospheric and dulcet melodies. But they are also muscle-bound soaring and cater to the aptitude of shaking legs. Written in 2022 while he was around the flora and fauna of Australia these tracks are also supposed to sound somewhat botanical – or at least evoke the sensory experience of a visit to a greenhouse. Carefully sequenced and crafted one is left with an appetite as soon as the playtime is over. Proper nutriment for party people and serious music pendants alike.
Elic, aka Giorgio Di Natale, is a DJ and producer from Bari, Puglia (Italy). He was initiated into electronic music at a young age, when he began attending clubs in the area and working as a PR. Soon after, he discovered, while frequenting the most transgressive Florentine clubs and the Adriatic Riviera, a passion for house music and everything that runs around the world of clubbing.The uncontrollable desire and instinct to listen and buy records to share with friends and people, led him to take up DJing in 1999. With the huge background behind him and the various styles that contaminated him, he decided to let this flow into productions as well, and it was not until 2021 that he entered the world of music production.Thus was born Elic and his label HELICAL. "Retourism" is the label's first EP and collects three tracks ranging from electronic to techno and minimal.
A journey through hypnotic atmospheres, but with an eye always on the dancefloor.
The bright new duo, Marcel Vogel & LYMA, triumphantly returns to Boogie Angst with their sizzling new EP offering, No Time.
Following the recent release of their lead single, Free Time, we're proud to introduce four new, unique tracks to their burgeoning collection of juicy tunes.
Funkiness and abstraction take center stage on this EP. Opening up with the previously released Free Time, featuring filtered vocals and an unconventional structure that blends rich synths with dusty analog stabs and 1990s rave plucks.
The tempo slows down on Easy, a gorgeous song that sounds like a lost Sade demo, featuring subtle beatbox textures, tiny synth plucks, all ending up in a delightful culmination of delayed textures.
Broken Wings begins with a captivating vocal performance, leading to a sturdy Roland bass drum, sustained chords, and resonant arp sequences, with hints of Freestyle.
Flame On creates an almost tropical atmosphere with looping, scattered vocals and an abundance of cowbells. All before the EP closer, You're A Star, rounds things off with clunky basslines, a steady groove and hypnotic pitched vocals.
No Time follows the duo's debut Boogie Angst EP, Games Change, and is a powerful step forward in their young, yet promising catalogue.
A special vinyl edition of No Time will also grace our stores soon.
Effortlessly dismantling the barriers between R&B, soul, funk, disco and jazz sounds, MF Robots present long player ‘Break The Wall’, on BBE Music. Astonishing musicianship, pristine production and top-tier songwriting, ‘Break The Wall’ immediately calls to mind those iconic American rhythm sections of the 70s and 80s. The music is energising, uplifting and the potent result of a highly accomplished musical partnership maturing, growing and hitting their stride together in lock-step. Jan Kincaid and Dawn Joseph met as members of one of the UK’s most successful Acid Jazz bands, which influenced Mark Ronson, D’Angelo, Jamiroquai, Erykah Badu and The Roots to name a few. Founding the Brand New Heavies was an important chapter for Jan, but once he and vocalist and songwriting partner Dawn began working together, the chemistry was instant and irresistible. It was time to turn the page, and soon MF Robots was born. “When we made our first album, we didn’t have a band as such. We basically made a lot of the record at home and called on other musicians as and when we needed them. Our sound was developing organically, and when we finally released the record to great critical acclaim, it was time to get out on the road,” says Jan. “We put together a band of like-minded young musicians, playing intimate gigs and big festivals all over Europe and beyond, growing tight as a unit, so that when it came time to think about making this, our second album, we knew we had an extra level of musicianship full of personality that could realise our vision.” Inviting band members Alex Montaque (keys), Naz Adamson (bass), Mark Beaney (guitar), Jack Birchwood (trumpet), Ben Treacher (sax) to improvise and contribute their own ideas over song-sketches laid out by Jan and Dawn gives ‘Break The Wall’ a special sense of off-the-cuff brilliance. Even on the polished final product you can detect a collaborative, fluid and unhurried approach to production that’s all-too rare these days. There’s guest performances from bassist Gail Ann Dorsey (‘The Love It Takes’, ‘Make Me Happy’) and guitarist Cory Wong ('Shine', 'Make Me Happy'), the former a top-flight session player who’s collaborated with Lenny Kravitz and David Bowie among others, the latter a member of the incredible Vulfpeck collective and an accomplished solo artist in his own right.
Blending ambient, drone, krautrock, psychedelic, house music elements into a unique sonic universe... that's what Cloudland Canyon is known for! This American experimental music project led by Kip Uhlhorn comes with the release of their new self-titled LP on the always trustworthy Medical Records! The band continues to explore the boundaries of sound and space, taking the listener on a journey through lush soundscapes and immersive textures. Formed in 2002, Cloudland Canyon has released several critically acclaimed albums, including "Fin Eaves," "Lie In Light," and "An Arabesque."
Their recent releases have been produced by Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3/Spectrum. With each release, Uhlhorn has pushed the envelope of experimental pop music, collaborating with various musicians and producers to create intricate and otherworldly compositions. This time around Uhlhorn collaborated primarily with AI to generate and create a compositions that sound like they are meant for an alternate realm where both beauty and suffering are both present, but not at odds with one another. AI has helped Uhlhorn take one step further into the transfigurative looking glass.
The new LP, marks a new chapter in Cloudland Canyon's journey, expanding their sonic palette to include elements of techno and electronic music while still retaining their signature dreamy atmospheres. The album is a journey through a sonic landscape that is at once futuristic and nostalgic, evoking the feeling of driving down an endless highway into the sunset. Past musical collaborators have included some of the most exciting musicians working today, including Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3, Wayne Coyne & Kliph Scurlock of Flaming Lips, David Scott Stone of the Melvins, Unwound,& LCD Soundsystem, Dean & Britta from Galaxie 500 & Luna, and Jody Stephens from Big Star to name a few. "S/T" is a testament to Cloudland Canyon's ability to collaborate and create music that is both innovative and accessible. Whether you are a longtime fan or a newcomer to Cloudland Canyon's music, "S/T" is a must-listen for anyone interested in the possibilities of experimental music in the 21st century. With its combination of analog and digital textures, hypnotic rhythms, and expansive soundscapes, it is a journey you won't soon forget.
As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bill Withers' Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying "keeping it real" did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music's approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion.
These characteristics – along with Withers' strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.
After rising into the Top 5 of the Billboard Album charts and attaining gold status within a year of release, Still Bill has long been evaluated not by sales – but according to its merit, spirit, and agelessness. Included by The Guardian on its "1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list (2007) as well as in Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book (2008), its contemporary standing as one of history's most venerated soul efforts eclipses the positive reception it enjoyed in the early ‘70s.
Still Bill walks the same hallowed ground as What's Going On, Call Me, Night Beat, and Genius + Soul = Jazz. Like those landmarks, Still Bill plays with a mix of consistency, effortlessness, and complexity that rewards repeat listening and transcends categorization.
In combining four of the era's predominant styles – Philly soul, sweaty funk, Southern-reared blues, acoustic-based folk – and melding them with standout production borrowed from both minimalist affairs and sophisticated singer-songwriter albums, Still Bill occupies a distinct universe.
Its rhythmic fare is equally laidback and invigorating; relaxing and rollicking; eloquent and muscular; soft and tough. Withers' calm, self-assured voice hovers above it all, doubling as a warm blanket that adds comfort and grace to lyrics steeped in maturity, perspective, and compassion.
Withers' balanced outlook on human desires, needs, and situations stem from his own existence as a former blue-collar employee who believed his time as a musician would soon end. That grounding forever separates Withers from other contemporary soul greats – and stamps Still Bill with a conversational nature and egoless approachability.
"I mean look, I'm really a factory worker," said Withers in 1972. "That's a real job." There's that word again: real. The songs on Still Bill are tethered to modesty and actuality, wedded to a belief in simplicity, and connected to universal truths that link us all – independent of our economic or social standing. No track better exemplifies those principles than "Lean on Me," a feel-good paean to brotherhood and community that hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts en route to becoming a mainstream staple.
Withers approaches the plainspoken insight on "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" and heartbreaking vulnerability of "I Don't Want You on My Mind" with similar sincerity and straightforwardness. His proclivity for authenticity extends to the record's other big hit: the sexual, funk-laden "Use Me," which reached No. 2 and reflects the singer's everyman persona. It's an identity couched in keeping it real, the very inclination that ultimately led Withers to retire in the mid-'80s rather than bend to industry pressures or risk credibility.
That commitment to truthfulness and realism helps make Still Bill feel as unaffected as the air we breathe. Looking back on "Lean on Me" years later, Withers said it seemed like "something that was there before I got here" – the kind of song that could be 100 or 10 years old, or one we encounter anew 10 years into the future. The same can be said for every note on Still Bill.
A new artist on the Citizen Records / Clivage Music roster, Vhinz is a musician based in Brussels. After taking his time to break onto the electronic scene, he’s now ready to share Belvédère, his debut, dreamlike album, confidently intense, sweeping between cinematic songs and soaring, epic electronic sounds.
Vincent Honca is Belgian, with Armenian roots and a love of keyboards: the mini synth he used to play as a child, the classical piano of his years of training at the Académie de Musique, the Yamaha synth of his teenage years... During the noughties of his adolescence, electronic music was omnipresent in his life as he listened to and admired Daft Punk, Moby, Vitalic, Air and The Chemical Brothers. He also went out dancing, a lot, in the nightclubs and parties of Brussels and the vicinity, and soon his love of computers, technology and synthesisers led to him producing his own music. “I wanted to create beautiful textures with synths,” he says. “I wanted to have fun and discover the possibilities. As part of the internet generation, I taught myself everything I know through reading magazines and checking the forums.”
Vincent went on to become a computer programmer and decided to make music in as much of his spare time as possible. His first productions came out in 2015, including “Drastical”, one of three deep house dancefloor-orientated tracks recorded with none other than Kris Menace. “At the time I was really searching for my musical identity,” explains Vincent, and progressively his music started to lean towards another of his passions – films and film music. “I’ve listened to soundtracks a lot since I was a teenager, and they’ve been a big influence, in particular the music for Heat by Elliot Goldenthal, Gladiator (Hans Zimmer), Saving Private Ryan (John Williams), The Last Temptation of Christ (Peter Gabriel), The Virgin Suicides (Air) and Leon (Eric Serra).” Coincidentally, Vincent has already worked on two independent Belgian films by director Christophe Karabache, UltravoKal and Vortex, both collaborations with Michel Duprez.
Now Vincent has chosen the name Vhinz, bringing together his expertise with machines and computers, his passion and enthusiasm for the electronic sounds of his adolescence and his adoration of cinema’s powerful, impactful soundtracks. Vhinz’s first track is thus called “Aether”, a track brimming with character and confidence, with sung-spoken vocals that sweeps the listener up in bewitching synthetic themes and drums like an off- kilter heartbeat. The track perfectly encapsulates the Vhinz sound, and Citizen Records – the only label he sent it to – immediately loved it and were ready to release a 12” with more. “Then Covid and the lockdown happened, and everything came to a complete halt,” remembers Vhinz. During those long two years without anything being released, the project continued its gestation and has now grown in a mini-album of eight coherent, fascinating tracks. “I really wanted a strong concept for everything, and so was born this album that I’ve called Belvédère. I imagined myself on a belvedere with a panoramic view of the world, channelling all the emotions it elicited in me into music.”
Belvédère is a dreamlike debut album, confidently intense, sweeping between cinematic songs and soaring, epic electronic sounds. It’s a place for Vhinz to showcase his dreams, talk, sing and invite others too: Margot Ferro sings on “Le Passage” and “Envole-moi”, and Michael Meers lends his vocals to “Evolution”. “My album tells a story, with the tracks in chronological order. There are both times of hope and darker periods of my life, with sadness and love,” meaning that listeners are invited to experience a suite of different emotions and be swept along by the author’s musical daydreams. Musically, the album falls somewhere between Moby, Vitalic, Air and Serge Gainsbourg, with a density and atmosphere that are completely Vhinz. “With Belvédère I was looking for beauty, but also something darker, dirtier, more organic. The album is the culmination of that.”
Manda Moor steps out on Mood Child for the first time as the label co-founder links with mysterious talent Trangaz for four fresh productions on their collaborative ‘Peligro’ EP.
Ever since dropping her debut release in 2020, Danish-Filipino talent Manda Moor has been on an impressive upwards curve and one that doesn’t seem to be slowing anytime soon.
Having dropped back-to-back releases on Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’ iconic Hot Creations imprint, the hotly-tipped DJ/producer and label founder heads to her Mood Child label for the first time. Founded and created alongside Sirus Hood, the label serves as an artistic platform, a community-focused label, and an events series that delivers quality music via digital and physical formats, plus NFTs, unique experiences, and more. An ‘invitation to a journey that blends feelings, emotions and desires’, with takeovers at Hï Ibiza, Café Mambo, Lovefest, Fabrik and more, the first release saw Sirus partner with fellow Frenchman Malikk, and now the second arrives in perfect time for the peak summer months as Manda combines with Boogeyman and Pakate signee Trangaz.
New York City born-and-raised, he draws lines between primitive and futuristic sounds and rhythms influenced by world travel and different cultures, and the two reunite for their four-track ‘Peligro’ EP.
Crafted together in Ibiza, the EP showcases sonics capturing the island’s unique magic. Lead cut ‘El Peligro (Ibiza Mix)’ is a production made after a special day at the coves and hidden treasures of Atlantis, under full moonlight near Talamanca, with the rolling organic drums grooves, playful vocal murmurs and vibrant melodies journeying deep into the night.
Next, ‘Tagalog’ keeps the energy bubbling with another percussive workout sprinkled with vocal interjections and spoken words in the native Filipino language it is named after, while B1 ‘Chatita’ is a slinking production as wonky stabs meet and snaking low-end grooves. Closing the EP, the pair deliver the most stripped-back track with ‘Buena Vibra’ as a killer groove guides vocal chants to wrap things up in fine fashion.
Manda Moor & Trangaz ‘Peligro’ EP drops via Mood Child in July 2023.
We couldn't be happier to announce the first Mapache Records compilation after all these years. ONE MILE FROM HEAVEN is a dreamy travel through the 70's and beyond private singer songwriters scene.
There have always been privately-pressed records. Such a "private" LP is an album that has been composed, performed, recorded and edited usually very-DIY style by the very artist or by an amateur label. A private press record is, above all, an act of the artistic urge. It's an act that takes place outiside of the industry out of need, out of a lack of knowledge, out of love, out of a drive, out of ambition... you can choose among the many reasons.
Depending on their genre, origins, time, and above all, quality, some of these efforts have become valuable pieces for the music collector. Having been created behind the "canonical history of music" written by the industry, every now and then an archaeologist will bring to the surface an artifact they have found in some basement or flea market, or that was kept covered in dust in the shell of some old recording studio soon to be torn down.
All these records have their own story, and some are still especially relevant, and others are but small footnotes in the encyclopedia of music that made their way into the margins of the mainstream world. These are the most limited of editions (and mostly locally made ones) of largely unsociable and mostly unobtainable records--and when found, they are often exorbitantly priced. Many of these marginalized and onscure artists have stayed alive only through the wonderful work of tireless song rescuers, music lovers, vocational archivists, collectors, and record labels with an idealistic drive. These romantics have been rescuing and indexing a form of music that very few have showed interest in until recent years. This record is a tribute to all of those who managed to make these songs not be lost to time. Above all, this release is a tribute to all those artists who recorded their songs on their own, mostly because they couldn't keep the music inside themselves.
