Search:sound of smoke

Following on from their 2021 debut album “Lowlands”, Birthname (fka Caro) returns to Limbo Tapes with "Spiral Dance”. 8 signature beats in the form of smoked out sequencing, warped percussion, field recordings and ceremonial sub frequencies.

Their ability to meld ethereal heights and sound system depths continues to provoke movement and headphone speculation alike.

Limited 50 cassettes + Digital.

Mark Hawkins has had a career in music spanning the past 25 years.
It has encompassed torturing Goa trance ravers with esoteric techno records on Welsh hillsides in the mid '90s, hanging with UK house heads like the DiY and Smokescreen sound-systems around quarries, fields, clubs and pubs in the Midlands, after which he found his initial niche in producing punky techno around the turn of the millennium for labels like Djax Up Beats and Mosquito.
After an eight-year stint producing, releasing and playing out proper underground house music as Marquis Hawkes on labels like Houndstooth and Aus Music, making techno records for DVS1's Mistress imprint and Len Faki's Figure recordings as Juxta Position, alongside other work under the names Contactless and Falcon Black Ops for Unknown To The Unknown, Hawkins now embarks on the next phase of his career, which will gradually amalgamate his broad influences into one unique sound.

• Laser engraved, transparent red tinted single cassette.
• Full colour double-sided printed 4 panel J-Card.
• Super Ferro Normal-bias music grade tape.
• 43 minutes per side minutes (A- 42:55 / B- 42:52). (The mixtape totals 71 tracks at 1 hour and 15 minutes.)
• Not available since 2019 and reissued to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of its release in June 2019.
London-based producer and musician Vegyn unveils the reprint of his debut mixtape, "Text While Driving If You Want To Meet God!", a 71-track project originally launched in June 2019, now available again on cassette format. This time, featuring a transparent red tinted cassette chassis, this reissue offers fans a nostalgic journey through Vegyn's early experimental soundscapes. Crafted with Super Ferro Normal-bias music grade tape, each cassette boasts 43 minutes per side, meticulously duplicated in real-time for optimal sound quality. With clear front and back cassette cases, alongside laser engraving, and a double-sided full colour printed 4 panel J-Card. This reissue is set to captivate listeners once again. The cassette repress is scheduled to hit shelves in June 2024.

a A1 4 Year Break 126 Bpm
b A2 80's Nihtmare Setup [127.136 Bpm]
[c] A3 100 Leagues V2 [142 Bpm]
[d] A4 201886 002 _ [145 Bpm]
[e] A5 A Thousand 500 Apr V2 [149.287 Bpm]
[f] A6 All In Me All Of It - [124 Bpm]
[g] A7 Anothher Time Anothher Place [150 Bpm]
[h] A8 B... Arp Forever V3 [109.613 Bpm]
[i] A9 Bedtime Again V2 [130 Bpm]
[j] A10 Big Shoes Big Hands V3 [120 Bpm]
[k] A11 Buddy Lent Me The Pen Again V006 [218.814 Bpm]
[l] A12 Ch---- Pa------- V2 [169.706 Bpm]
[m] A13 Chords To Fix 002 [126 Bpm]
[n] A14 Country Song Without [187.089 Bpm]
[o] A15 Dean Told Me! [132 Bpm]
[p] A16 Deep Throwaway 003 [100 Bpm]
[q] A17 Desktop Speaker 003 [130 Bpm]
[r] A18 Dumb To Everythhing V2 [140 Bpm]
[s] A19 Evil Man Two V2 [120 Bpm]
[t] A20 Feet Too Tough 005 [128 Bpm]
[u] A21 Find Hihs Password 003 [96 Bpm]
[v] A22 First Of 2018 002 [140 Bpm]
[w] A23 Get This Thang Right Here 003 [170 Bpm]
[x] A24 Gnot Up! V2 [109 Bpm]
[y] A25 Go Tow Work [134 Bpm]
[z] A26 Gsc Cbd V1 [98.995 Bpm]
[xa] A27 27.Gsc Cbd V2 [98.995 Bpm]
[xb] A28 Happy Birthday Friendo! [154 Bpm]
[xc] A29 Here We Are - Chords Again [137 Bpm]
[xd] A30 I Only Play Games I Know [160 Bpm]
[xe] a31 If Not Someone Then Somewhere 004 [89.797 Bpm]
[xf] A32 Infinite Freeze Frame [96.532 Bpm]
[xg] A33 Iphone Speakerz [112 Bpm]
[xh] A34 Is It Rough Is It Tough [154 Bpm]
[xi] A35 It's All In The Eyes Of [124 Bpm]
[xj] A36 Its Okay Its Just Okay 002 [145 Bpm]
[xk] B1 Last Pieces Of The Year [120 Bpm]
[xl] B2 Less So More So [140 Bpm]
[xm] B3 Life Feels Good [91.71 Bpm]
[xn] B4 Malibu Hillside - [155 Bpm]
[xo] B5 Maybe Inspired [145 Bpm]
[xp] B6 Midday Sun [124 Bpm]
[xq] B7 Milk Dudz 006 [140 Bpm]
[xr] B8 Mistakes Were Made Risks Were Taken [155 Bpm]
[xs] B9 Monét Monét [135 Bpm]
[xt] B10 Nobody's Business [148 Bpm]
[xu] B11 Noise Making Problem [100 Bpm]
[xv] B12 Ns10 + Sub Combo Classic V2 [120 Bpm]
[xw] B13 Nuish [103.181 Bpm]
[xx] B14 Olbass All Bass 004 [140 Bpm]
[xy] B15 Once A Smoker - Always A Smoker [108.065 Bpm]
[xz] B16 52.One More For The Homies [115.203 Bpm]
[ya] B17 Picnic B_st_rd [112.380 Bpm]
[yb] B18 Picnic Trajegdy [142 Bpm]
[yc] B19 Positive Nightmare [134 Bpm]
[yd] B20 Post Thought Of Knowing Nothing [152 Bpm]
[ye] B21 Pull Shark [127 Bpm]
[yf] B22 Right Noww [150 Bpm]
[yg] B23Sadly Does It [123 Bpm]
[yh] B24 Safety At Night [99.226 Bpm]
[yi] B25 Save Yall Ready Know What It Is 003 [138 Bpm]
[yj] B26 Snslo Modem [135 Bpm]
[yk] B27 Thouhtless Thouhts [155 Bpm]
[yl] B28 To All The Photos Going Up Online Rn [118 Bpm]
[ym] B29 Try And Do A Cd After That [132 Bpm]
[yn] B30 Try Towards Overtime [140 Bpm]
[yo] B31 Veggie Burritotu [120 Bpm]
[yp] B32 Waitin On An Ambulance 002 [205.367 Bpm]
[yq] B33 What Goody In The Back [138.089 Bpm]
[yr] B34 Whhat The Fuck Did I Buy_ 002 [123 Bpm]
[ys] B35 Yo This Is The Next Tune Yah Get Me [124 Bpm]

2024 Repress

There isn’t many who would disagree with the underlying sentiment that electronic music makes us feel something extraordinary. Much in the same way, the possibilities for creative discourse and cosmic interactivity are accessible to anyone with an open mind. It’s in this place where these possibilities materialise, and it’s in this space where SYNCROPHONE 39 operates within.

You see, you won’t find cleverly constructed adjectives or nonsensical descriptors for the music presented here. It doesn’t need them. The music speaks for itself, much in the same way the artists do. Stojche has been carving out timeless techno for two decades now, working tirelessly without fanfare to enrich a scene that sits close to his heart. Whether that be through releases on his own imprint TANGIBLE ASSETS or the ever expanding a.r.t.less, his trademark sound signature is synonymous with the soul of Detroit. You may be hard pressed to find anyone else who’s been as consistent with this sound over the years as he has. On the other hand, Gerard Hanson aka Convextion has been doing exactly that without fault his entire career. So the combination of these two artists on this release makes perfect sense.

Syncro39 is a celebration of core values in music. Of devotion to a singular obsession crafted over the course of decades devoid of trends or cheap influences, social or otherwise. It’s that unwillingness to compromise and to put everything on the line in the pursuit of the dreaming process that makes this a special release.

One thing is for certain. Those who are inspired by Stojche’s signature original and the timeless journey of Convextion’s remix,
will carry themselves through the smoke and haze into the sunlight as it takes some time for the rush to subside. That’s probably an apt abstract for this release thus far. For the most part though, the narrative for Stojche has only just begun.

Forest Jams continues the journey into the great beyond with Mori Ra’s Mantra–an EP composed of four edits created for any inquisitive earthling and forest wanderer.

Mori Ra is a DJ based in Osaka, Japan his sets are a witches brew composed of balearic, cosmic, and electronic disco ingredients. He has released on other labels such as Rotating Souls, Macadam Mambo, Berceuse Heroique, MM Discos and more. In Mantra, Mori Ra acts as a mysterious wanderer who has stumbled upon the doors of our minds in the middle of the night. When we answer the door he is bearing gifts of creative glory and all we need to do is provide shelter in return. We invite him in so that he can rest, recharge, and continue his journey.

During his visit in our minds Mori Ra shares “Mantra” the secrets of the universe disguised as parables packaged neatly into four tracks. Catharsis begins the journey and immediately throws us into a sound that feels like we are driving a spaceship in Gran Turismo 37, the spaceship simulator. Now that we have successfully crossed the plane and have entered the digital unknown, Seinn O! becomes the story of communication. Seinn O! gave the smoke leaving my mouth color and the shamanistic chants placed me in an atmospheric state with the ability to cross over and communicate in the digital space. Then comes 孫行者 the Grandson Traveler, which embodies the story of the simulation. Imagine the sound of a bustling dystopian city in the matrix–neon signs, dancing billboards, talking vending machines, radioactive wildlife, and overgrown foliage leaking in from the jungle the city is carved into. Mori Ra seems to have melded all of those sounds together to create the soundtrack of the big city where everyone is lost. Finally, before leaving our minds Mori Ra offers the final parable, あの星 That Star. Which becomes the story of realization, the journey back home from the exploration of the mind. That Star brought me into a cave and I could see the opening at the end of it, all I had to do was walk towards it. However, I couldn’t walk. I could only galumph forward, while bouncing up and down to the beat. My arms slivered and guided my body forward as the vocals came in. As I moved forward the opening, the clearing, the destination remained the same distance away. The endless tunnel of the mind gave me a feeling of comfort because I did not want this journey to end.

The EP ends and we will never know who visited our minds that night, but we know we loved the journey. Mori Ra is the steward of our journey through consciousness, and the vessel is “Mantra”.

Osmose's Deep & Dub EP on Smokecloud delivers a diverse selection of deep house tracks with a unique flair. Side-1 opens with 'Mystic House,' which blends a vintage 70s sound with a loose rhythm section and smooth organ feel, creating a delightful, jazz-infused atmosphere. 'Afternoon DUB' follows, reimagining the late 70s classic 'Afternoon Delight' into a dub version that adds a fresh, rhythmic twist. 'GSK (Guitar Sax Keys)' fuses jazz, funk, and house, showing a seamless blend of genres that keeps the groove dynamic and engaging. Closing the EP, 'Live Magic' is a late-night, atmospheric groove that's both soft and sexy, perfect for winding down. Overall, the Deep & Dub EP is a journey back in time with each track offering a distinct and enjoyable experience rich in 70s inspired nightlife.

Ten years after his first full-length effort ‘Man Is Deaf’ landed him firmly in the runnings for DJ Mag’s album of the year, prodigal son Michael Anthony Wright AKA Brassica returns to Civil Music with a deeply accomplished, painstakingly whittled LP of hydraulic electro slickness, rich synthscapes, and hooky, peak-time tearjerkers for the most discerning front-left lifers. ‘Tribeless Gathering’ is a barnstorming testament to Brassica’s stylistic and timbral deftness, touching down in the elusive epicentre of the club/home listening venn diagram with ease.

From the elastic, neon acid pointillism of opener ‘Hop Kweng’ to the mardy, miasmic plod of closing chugger ‘Changa Hill’, Brassica seamlessly segues between avenues of influence, his notoriously omnivorous musical knowledge roadmapping each turn. Raised on a diet of everything from early rave standards to metal, and schooled in avant garde sonics as a student of sound design at LCC, Brassica does a peerless job of sublimating his countless influences into a record of refined, heterogeneous, and most crucially, catchy, club moods.

Less spartan than his more recent oeuvre on Feel My Bicep, and less baroque than his technicolour experiments in postmodern synth pop with vocalist Stuart Warwick, Tribeless Gathering represents Brassica’s triumphant return to the main room, replete with rushy hooks primed for the planet’s finest soundsystems, and passages of heads-down tension bound to draw listeners right to the edge of their seats. Overall it is a concise and refined testament to Wright’s command of spectral sonics and effortless ability to pressurise a dancefloor. It is no surprise that he has also worked as a prolific mastering engineer, tuning music from a plethora of dance disciplines for maximum club impact. This work extends to his own projects (including this one), cementing them as rare expressions of complete artistry from studio to turntable.

As we delve deeper into the record, we are ushered through a series of accomplished and varied club moods, each channelling a unique cocktail of influences, but retaining a warm, ebullient analogue sensibility unique to Brassica’s work. This playful scope of influence calls to mind James T Cotton or Machinedrum’s experiments in dance music form, but Wright manages it all under one roof, wrangling everything from sashaying wub-laden two step to snarling Dillinja-esque FM damage into something inherently his.

Choice cut ‘Change Yourself’ layers an almost Cerrone-like piano refrain over radiant surges of saturated bass, dubby, strobing chords and a jagged, driving break, building to a jaw-clenching apex of dancefloor elation, while the rude, playful half-step of ‘Elevation’ breaks down the vintage speed garage formula into linear fragments, utilising a tight palette of resonant bass slugs, infectious synth leads and Papua New Guinea-style vocal strobes. The aptly named ‘Hold Tight’ fuses heart-in-mouth UK ‘ardkore pads with glissando acid disturbance and surgical snare fills in a formula which recalls the ethereal grit of Nubian Mindz’ 00s experiments in big-smoke break science, while the questing melodic arcs and arpeggiated squarewaves of ‘Pinball Marinara’ could easily have soundtracked an 80s sci-fi epic, beset with sparkling, bare-bones drum programming and hazy beds of sub sediment.

With ‘Tribeless Gathering’, Brassica both irreverently fuses and pays homage to the many unique and weird permutations of UK dance music. The short lived gathering of junglists, ravers and house hotsteppas of a similar name may have long since dissipated, along with the tribes themselves, but across these 11 tracks, he lays a blueprint for a new sound of togetherness.

2000BLACK returns once again with 'Circus Retreat' a song trying to navigate the continuous confusion that surrounds us today.Samii provides the voice and lyrics on a unique uptempo soul fusion track.

The originality continues with one of the signature sounds of 2000BLACK 'London Boogie 7'the music giving off the sound of modern boogie and house combined.To round up the ep 'Shrug' displays the marriage of dub and techno residing in the big smoke.

2024 Repress

Classic jacking tracks by Byron the Aquarius on Clone Jack for Daze. A 6 track ep that will make you dance till your numb. A big booming sound system in a dark room filled with big artifical clouds from the smoke machine, rattling drum machine with pulsating basslines, the hypnotizing lights from the strobe and you've entered the Land Of Confusion! Thats all we need to have a good time. Byron hits exactly that sweet spot with his take on the classic stripped down jack tracks.

Chicago house artists don't come much bigger or more accomplished than Boo Williams. The man has a famous signature sound that is full of party but never short on class. His chunky drums are always the foundational element and they come embellished with superb synth work. This new EP on Pariter finds him lean into tech with the loopy acid squelches of '303 Effect' keeping you in suspense, 'Acid Smoke' layering soft 303 lines into a punchy deep house cut and then comes the EP highlight, 'Extension Time'. It's a zoned-out roller with tender piano chords turning you inwards for deep reflection as the rubbery drums keep things moving.

Berlin-based dark electronic music duo NNHMN – creates moody, dark electronic dance music infected with haunted synth sounds, eerie ambiences and mysterious female vocals. NNHMN have built up a local following and has been appreciated by numerous alternative festival organizers. The night-infused, arps-driven production is undeniably entrancing.

The newest 8-track album titled – Circle Of Doom – mirrors the state of the world we are living in. The album encapsulates eight existential tracks for the modern body music lover – body music – for the contemporary listener that is not necessarily drowned in the faraway past only, who is aware of electronic music genres that are flourishing in the world right now.

Live expect smokey electro-pop, a gloomy but sexy atmosphere, trancey techno, the fever of dance peaks and vocals that might put you into happy hypnosis or nostalgic ecstasy.

Tropical Disco Records open their 2023 vinyl account in triumphant form with Volume 27 of their well loved 12” series. Yet again they have successfully delivered a four track paean to the boundless dance-floor power of jazz infused disco. It’s a sound which the label has very much made their own over the last half decade.

Opening proceedings is Scruscru, an artist whose immense rise to prominence has very much followed the same time-line as Tropical Disco. He is in glowing form here with vinyl opener ‘Phunk U Do’, a slinky hip-shaking 70’s funk-fuelled disco bomb. Expect this one to set dancefloors on fire across the summer with it’s swirling keys, James Brown-esque vocals and ferocious bassline.

Next up are Lance and Disco Strummer who keep the feel-good vibes topped up to full with ‘Hey Amigo’. An ever so cheerful Latin bomb, it packs in happy-go-lucky vocal loops with brass stabs aplenty alongside a shoulder shaking bassline which will keep those floors grooving from dusk till dawn. If you want to unleash uncontrollable joy in your DJ sets, look no further.

Over on the Flip Tropical Disco’s own Sartorial delivers a smokey sexy-as-hell vocal gem in the shape of ‘Fly’. Merging 70’s jazz licks with a powerhouse live bass, sublime sax solos a divine vocal and some serious scatt, this is a track that just exudes cool.

Closing out the EP in style is one of Mexico’s finest disco proponents, Monsieur Van Pratt. On ‘Journey’ he deploys a huge brass section and percussive breakdown to serious hip shakin’ effect. With guitar licks and synth stabs galore he has given this one both a ridiculously tight groove and bags of warmth. It’s a winning combination.

Tropical disco have yet again unleashed another exquisite 12” showcasing their unique sound. You can expect to see this one hitting the heights of the vinyl charts in quick smart fashion.

Support across Mi Soul & House FM.

The seventh and penultimate season of the HBO fantasy drama series Game Of Thrones premiered in 2017. The series received 22 nominations for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards and won Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Peter Dinklage (who plays the role of Tyrion Lannister).

The music for this seventh season was composed by Ramin Djawadi, just like the previous six seasons. The albums opens with a new version of the well-known main title. Djawadi is best known for his scores for Iron Man, Pacific Rim, Prison Break and Westworld amongst many others. For his work for Game Of Thrones, he has won two consecutive Emmy Awards and a nomination for a Grammy Award.

Game Of Thrones Season 7 is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on smoke coloured vinyl, is housed in a gatefold sleeve and includes an insert.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• GATEFOLD SLEEVE
• INCLUDES INSERT
• PVC PROTECTIVE SLEEVE
• MUSIC BY RAMIN DJAWADI (WESTWORLD, PACIFIC RIM, IRONMAN)
• GOT SEASON 7 RECEIVED 22 NOMINATIONS FOR THE PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS AND WON 2 (OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES AND OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES FOR PETER DINKLAGE)
• GOT SEASON 7 RECEIVED A GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATION FOR BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA
• LIMITED EDITION OF 1000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON SMOKE COLOURED VINYL

Here we are at the dawn of a new compilation series and we’re kicking things off with an absolute gem that features a selection of hard-to-find records (some impossible to find) and some that have been hiding in plain sight all along. They all share common qualities, being that they are beautiful, soul quenched songs that sing of love, peace and unity.

‘With Love: Volume 1’ has been compiled by Miche and presents a curated selection of rare Brazilian, gospel, modern soul and jazz-fusion fire. We have Brazilian rarities by Alcione and Quientaessencia, UFO gospel by Keith Chism & Light, the jazz-funk/AOR sounds of City Lites taken from a Radio Station album, and the anthemic feel-good emotional soul of Belita Woods to name but a few.

Tracking down artists and musicians from the past is an art form. Like a seagull swooping for treats, sometimes the prizes are easily found, and at other times, it’s the result of very late nights trolling through Facebook profiles, message boards, hitting dead ends and following red herrings, and yet still the search goes on. This compilation is a true labour of love with all the artists tracked down and licensed by Miche. It has long been an ambition of the London based musical connoisseur to compile an album, and like anything that requires craft, care, and knowledge - it takes time. There are many twists and turns in the hunt for those records that make your jaw drop.

In 2018, when just 24, Miche became a music programmer for London’s illustrious Spiritland group of venues. From this musical sanctuary, he was able to listen, learn and meet some of the best selectors from around the world. It was a musical education, and he was particularly drawn to the deep sessions by DJs such as Mark Taylor, George Arthur, Kev Beadle, Patrick Forge, Dr. Bob Jones, and Colin Curtis to name a few. He also used this time to begin running his re-issue label Discs of Fun and Love with co-owner and friend Frederika.

Sometimes the cynical knock compilations, there is certain snobbery amongst some about the original pressing, but music shouldn't just be about lucky collectors giving over large sums of money to record dealers. It's also about a bridge to the past, a celebration of the legacy of somebody’s art, and a second chance for initially overlooked work to shine. As with all the best compilations, it has been compiled with love…

Classic jazz-funk fusion from the late, great Japanese guitarist Ryo Kawasaki. Recorded in New York, and originally released in 1976, 'Juice' presents Ryo at the height of his powers.

Born in Japan in 1947, Ryo had a long and stellar career recording and releasing music up until his passing on 13 April 2020, in Tallinn, Estonia. Ryo is one of the pioneers of the jazz fusion genre, with the Japanese jazz fusion / funk sound becoming extremely influential within the 80s UK club scene and amongst its DJs. His track 'Trinkets & Things' became a bonafide underground classic. In the US he worked with some of the greats of jazz, such as Elvin Jones, Chico Hamilton and Bobbi Humphrey, to name but a few. A forward-thinking and ever-evolving musician, Ryo collaborated with the Roland Corporation and Korg on the 'guitar synthesizer' and later wrote music software for computers. Later in life he relocated to Estonia and worked there, as well as Finland, Sweden, and the Baltic states.

'Juice' has become a much-loved album for crate diggers and jazz-funk enthusiasts, with its tracks frequently being sampled and re-imagined in hip-hop. The smokey, beat-down, spiritual funk jam 'Bamboo Child' has been flipped by Diamond D, Puff Daddy, and Kool G Rap. The album was released in 1976 on RCA Records and features the musicians' drummer Jimmy Young, rhythm guitarist Hugh McCracken, and bassist Stu Woods amongst other luminaries. A solid album throughout that incorporates a heavy dose of tripped-out synths alongside the emerging disco sound of the time. Tracks such as the opener ‘Raisins’, with its drum beat intro and bubbling bass-line, rivals The Headhunters at their finest. A superb album from an underground legend.

The debut full length album from Gloved Hands, entitled Empty Terminal, finds the musician straying from the dance floor in search of something amorphous and less tangible. Ambient in nature, the eight tracks that comprise the LP have a deep focus on texture, space, and human feelings rather than a need for constant propulsion and momentum.

The A-side, the more rhythmic and percussive of the two, is awash with vague echos and smudged, slow-moving chords. Subaqueous drums shift in and out of focus. Sound sources are at once distant and intimately close. The curtains part to reveal a glimpse of a crystalline melody or a fraction of a vocal phrase only for the room to fill with fragrant smoke and go dark. It is a place beyond the dance floor. Perhaps it's a place without any floor at all.

The B-side is even more fragile and diaphanous. The foreground and background are obscured, leaving a hazy mesh of delicate, interwoven forms and rhythms; glistening and brushing against one another in the warm, dimly-lit space in between. With a swirling mix of cavernous bass and sweet-but-never-saccharine melody, the details are stretched and abstracted into something new yet familiar. The compositions ripple in midair, appearing and vanishing, close but just out of reach.



b A2 The Hungry Army Arrived As the Beans Ripened Master

Since he started producing music, Berlin-based American sound artist Jake Muir has been obsessed with sampling. His 2018 album "Lady's Mantle" was based on manipulated chunks of vintage Californian surf rock, and its follow-up, 2020's midnight symphony "The Hum Of Your Veiled Voice" was sourced from a wide variety of old records, and inspired by the work of experimental turntablists like Marina Rosenfeld, Janek Schaefer and Philip Jeck.

On "Mana", Muir looks back to a misunderstood musical movement. Around 1995, a group of New York producers and DJs - including DJ Olive, DJ Spooky and Spectre - pioneered a genre-dissolving sound by unifying hip-hop techniques with ideas pulled from dub, jungle, ambient music and industrial noise. Badged "illbient", it was a short-lived genre that felt like a high-minded psychedelic cousin of the UK's trip-hop.

Muir uses illbient as the springboard for "Mana", utilizing a selection of samples to inform his frothy drones and foreboding atmospheres. He ushers the material into 2021 by diverting it through his own contemporary worldview, attempting to recreate the hyperreal fantasy histories of Japanese RPGs (think "Dark Souls" and "Final Fantasy") and nod to sensual, tactile soundscapes of European industrial labels Staalplaat and Soleilmoon. The result is a magickal, sensory journey that's as physical as it is representational.

If the illbient producers were encouraging a burgeoning experimental music landscape to emphasize the tactile feeling of turntablism and sample manipulation, Muir is doing the same with "Mana". Each track heaves and breathes not just with his cultural reference points, but with layered, complicated emotions. We can hear joy, sadness, desire and anguish, obscured by disintegrating noise, hallucinogenic harmonies and sub-aquatic bass. It's electronic music that's rooted not in technology, but in touch.

This June Session Victim return to Delusions Of Grandeur imprint with their third studio album. Listen To Your Heart is the result of a year of cross-continental scripting, started in their Hamburg studio and wrapped up stateside in San Francisco's Room G Studios where the duo had worked on their 2014 LP See You When You Get There. Here we present the second of three LP samplers containing four tracks each, cut nice and loud for the vinyl crew.
Shadows gets things rolling with a classic Session Victim housey groove, looped up pads and hooky spoken vocal samples. Filtered string stabs bring a warm and soulful edge whilst dub delay touches add a floaty element to get lost in. Next up we have Unchained which drops the bpm's for a widescreen, slo-mo jam clouded in a smokey haze with jazzy touches, recalling the halcyon days of Pork Recordings.
Flipping over we have a brand new LP version of previous single Up To Rise, another sublime slice of blissed-out house music with a wonderful organic and live sound palette. Echoing Rhodes licks join the lead guitar tune for a Balearic beauty which will be stuck in your head long after the sun sets. Closing this second sampler we have Over And Over, which winds things down somewhat for an inspired, bass-led roller.
An impeccable demonstration of retro-inspired yet forward thinking house and downtempo music, Listen To Your Heart sees Session Victim at the top of their game.