Thermal Shadow is a first-ever long player from Intertoto, and it is one that has very much not been rushed. This record comes after the artist has spent more than 10 years lost in sonic experiments and now they are all distilled into the eight tunes presented here on a limited edition cassette on the artist's own label. It's a mix of sounds that embrace mistakes, that keep the perfections in and layers up dust, texture, absorbing ambient and barely-there hints of rhythm. They are full of suggestive energy akin to that you might feel when queuing up outside the club and the highs and bass are bleeding out. It's an enticing collection for sure.
It's often a good sign when one of your favorite musicians steps out from beyond the studio walls and past the stage lights to fulfill their own inspired and creative intent. And Caíto Sánchez is not just a favorite musician, but as his lengthy resume as a sideman shows, he's also one of your favorite musicians' favorite musicians, constantly working without fanfare as an essential ingredient in a larger music feast. Sánchez earned his stripes in the 2000s and beyond as a key session player and an integral touring band member, a quiet standout even among many oversized personalities. A dedicated drummer born in Panama and living in New York, Sánchez is quite capable of keeping time for legends like Charles Bradley, Lee Fields, and Brian Jackson, as well as supporting eclectic outfits like the live groups of Quantic, Chico Mann and Midnight Magic. For all the players who have shared a stage or studio with him it comes as no real surprise, and frankly as a long overdue development, that such a unique artistic force is finally stepping into the spotlight.
With this debut single we get a glimpse into Sánchez's creative and artistic personal space, more precisely a multi-instrumental discipline of not only drums, but also bass, guitar and lead voice. It's an intensely intimate recording debut, a fantastic studio concoction born from the heart of its creator, and later fostered and mixed down by the talented hands of NYCT and Daptone veteran Victor Axelrod. The defining result on this initial 7-inch offering are two heavy psychedelic and moody nuggets of rock enespañol, a decidedly new wave of sounds and style that are quite capable of shining on their own.
After three years of deep work, Stas Karpenkov's debut album is released on Gost Zvuk in the form of an abstract, free-form study. The album is saturated with the Black Sea breeze and the natural beauty of the peninsula, a land associated with the life of the author. It's a musical representation of its surrounding reliefs, an ode to the cyclicity of the waves, and a journey through soundscapes. These manifestations of maritime romance also include the experience of co-producing with Terrence Dixon and Kuzma Palkin on a couple of tracks that play an important role in the idea of the record.
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Hot on the heels of their sophomore release with DJ Rocca, Cyphon Recordings welcome Tijuana’s Cyborg Nerve to the family for the third installment in their busy label schedule.
A new project helmed by the Cedillo brothers - also known for their work under the monikers Soul of Hex and Mano De Fuego - Cyborg Nerve’s sound tips the hat to the roots of Detroit electro and techno.
The Vicario Musique Recordings bosses have already made a mark under their Soul of Hex alias, pushing their cosmic, vibrant take on deep house. It’s caught the ear of labels and artists across the world; the likes of Delusions of Grandeur, Freerange Records and Quintessentials have shared their music and they’ve even earned the Larry Heard seal of approval, with the legendary Chicago producer stepping up to remix their 2014 track ‘Lip Reading’. As Mano De Fuego they’re also getting their music into the hands of pioneering figures in the American dance music scene - summer of this year saw them release a shamanistic debut via the inimitable Underground Resistance.
For their debut outing as Cyborg Nerve, the pair deliver four tracks of old school electro grooves. Title track ‘Cristalizacion’ kicks things off. A slice of intergalactic electro; celestial pads soar above warm bass and staccato drum rhythms. Their eponymous track follows and takes the energy levels up a notch: a warbling bass line drives the track forward, whirring and revving while crisp hats fizz overhead.
‘Tijuana 3000’ is another cut that's custom-made for the dance floor. As with the title track, the duo call to mind the interstellar jazz-tinged electronics of Detroit outfit Galaxy 2 Galaxy, as they pair cosmic twinkling melodies with a hypnotic acid line that takes centre stage. ‘Machine Effect’ brings the EP to a close. Like its name suggests the track is powered by a raw, machine funk groove and precise drum programming - no bells and whistles, just pure cosmic vibrations to move your body.
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Gaïsha is the collaboration between the Belgian-Moroccan singer Aïcha Haskal and some exquisite musicians, bringing you oriental & psychedelic grooves. Aicha Haskal’s voice is smooth and warm, and switches seamlessly between Arabic chants, parlando and even rap. The diverse background of the musicians (Absynthe Minded, Sylvie Kreusch, Va Fan Fahre, Echoes of Zoo, De Beren Gieren) results in a brilliant melting pot of styles, ranging from cabaret to spaghetti westerns and eastern elements.
Their first album will be released on the 24th of March 2023. In November they dropped the single ‘Ana Aïcha’. An ode to the singer’s name, spreading a clear message: gender equality. The melody translates this protest into a great psychedelic oriental trip.
The previous track ‘Ghalat’ got some promising reviews:
•“Who is a fan of the music of Altin Gün, has a nice discovery with this new single from the Ghent based Gaïsha.” - Indie Style
•“The rhythm, synths and groove seem western, but otherwise everything about this track exudes an eastern melancholy. And when Haskal switches to French, you imagine yourself somewhere in a shisha bar in cosmopolitan Paris.” - Damusic
•“Sounds like: an Arab-psychedelic cracker with a pinch of funk and Serge Gainsbourg” - Cutting Edge
Space Adventure Cobra is the animated series from the masterpiece of Buichi Terasawa, produced by the prestigious studio TMS Entertainment and broadcasted from 1982. The series was a huge success and remains to this day one of the most appreciated in the world of Japanese animation.
In order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Space Adventure Cobra, we are pleased to offer this sublime vinyl box set of the OST with its 3 discs gathering a very large selection of music, all the songs (long versions) as well as several covers and rare unused tracks composed at the time, all completed by a 12-page booklet, illustrated with the most beautiful artworks of the master Terasawa!
The legendary soundtrack of Space Adventure Cobra, composed by Kentarô Haneda and YûjiÔno, has greatly contributed to the reputation of the series with notably rhythmic tracks, sublime jazz pieces and unforgettable songs.
Here it is now completely remastered in vinyl format & double CD in this collector's edition!
After the "curfew" (cf. album Out Past Curfew) and the "strange time" of adaptation following the health crisis (cf. EP Stranger Times), comes the relief and the open up to the world until now confined: the Salvation. Third artistic collaboration for Youthstar & Miscellaneous, the album Salvation is a 13 tracks journey with strong and optimistic subjects such as motivation, the quest for happiness, mixed with more melancholic themes such as addictions or dependency but always through incredible percussive flows and chorus with heady gimmicks that make you want to headbang! Faithful to the rap/hip-hop that forged the duo, this album also borrows the codes of electro, trap, bass music or even reggae. We find on this album a whole crew of top notch beatmakers such as Tha Trickaz, La Fine Equipe, as well as renowned artists & MCs like Biga*Ranx, Dope D.O.D, FP from ASM... Ltd. col. LP (splatter)!
US-based Mystery Circles is the next stop for Hiroshi EBINA following a previous outing here last year. This new cassette is another beautifully organic ambient soundscape with delicate pads and a sense of quiet hope and atomism. The beauty of the album cover really portrays the majesty of the music within as gentle chords linger in the air above warm and fuzzy drones. Some pieces are more empty that others which only lends the appearance of a wispy pad all the more weight while some grow in stubby intensity as sounds are layered up and draw you in ever deeper.
Experience an experiment turned masterpiece…"York". Originally titled "NoYork" and slated to be the major label debut from acclaimed Los Angeles emcee Blu, this much-discussed collection was eventually renamed and (finally) released through Nature Sounds in 2013. The result was a certified classic that remains one of Blu’s most ambitious projects to date.
Infused with the electronic experimentation of the early 2000s L.A. beat scene, "York" covers a wide spectrum of sound, displaying the production of beat icons like Flying Lotus, Madlib, Exile, Dibia$e, Shafiq Husayn, Daedalus, Knxwledge, and Samiyam. Melding world-class lyricism with sonic textures encompassing psych rock, dub, broken beats, and jazz, the album strikes a unique balance between golden era hip-hop and eclectic futurism. Several guest artists helped Blu realize this vision, including U-God of Wu-Tang Clan, Edan, Sa-Ra, Pac Div, Suzi Analogue, U-N-I, J*Davey, and more.
With the original 4LP pressing long out of print, Nature Sounds is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of "York" with the release of this new redesigned gatefold 2LP edition.
For the past ten years, the Bulgarian-Turkish artist Alper Durmush aka Impérieux has been carefully developing his artistic style and building strong momentum with a high-profile following.
Now the young Berlin-based producer enters a fresh chapter with his EP named “Extensions” on Sofia Records’s eight release. It is filled with brisk, forward-looking breaks, raw jungle attitude and highly combustible house. In all this we can still trace Impérieux's emotional signature interwoven into delicate soundscapes and ethno antics.
The place to kickstart this new direction is a symbolic one and in a way - coming back home. In his five-tracker, Impérieux keeps consistent with Sofia Records’ establishment as a breeding ground for hyper-energetic, yet intelligent sound.
And to do the honors, a signature stomping remix has been added by the label headmeister himself - KiNK.
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The Stripped Sessions adds to Wage War’s already impressive and numerous career highlights including over 580 total million streams; hitting high marks on Billboard Charts and earning press raves from Revolver, Loudwire, Kerrang!, Alternative Press, Rock Sound, Modern Drummer, and 2021 covers from Kerrang! and UPSET.
“These things happen,” says K. Leimer of LUYU. Listen Until You Understand is a test drive through an obstacle course designed for new instruments, arrangements, juxtapositions, and real-time experiments dedicated to leaving the original impulses untouched and unadorned. Joined at times by digital percussionist Dolphie Stein, the music throws itself against itself without loyalty to genre or form, mashing granular particles into a tremulous spectrum of soundwalls, transitions, noise, distortions, and the occasional clearing. As close to live improvisation as one can get in a multitrack studio setting, LUYU takes generative techniques and drops them into short-form events by building its soundstage in thickets of shifting elements, collapsing phrases, broken signatures, and implied patterns. An outlier in Leimer’s catalog of general stillness and subtle detail, LUYU revels in the bare sound of things usually hidden in the mix.
Kerry Leimer founded Palace Of Lights in 1979. Leimer’s work has also been issued by Abstrakce, Autumn, First Terrace, Les Giants, Invisible Inc., Origin Peoples and RVNG. His work is included in the Cherry Red Noise Floor compilation series and his early cassette work is featured in the critically acclaimed VOD box set American Cassette Culture. Leimer has been actively producing music since the mid 1970s—his current catalog includes twenty solo albums plus collaborative albums with Savant, Marc Barreca, and Three Point Circle. Recent soundtracks include work for video artists Cristiane Bouger and Fred Birchman, HBO’s How To With John Wilson and the Netflix documentary John Was Trying to Contact Aliens. His work is included in the collection of The British Library.
You reach a point in life where the question of how to stay at the top of your game looms; the only real solution being, you change the game. Our Love, the new album from Caribou, is the sound of Dan Snaith doing just that. Our Love is due October 6th on City Slang and is the sixth studio album from Caribou. The album features collaborations with Jessy Lanza and Owen Pallett. It was mixed by David Wrench and features artwork by Jason Evans/ Matthew Cooper.
Our Love is formed around a mixture of digital pop production, hip hop inspired beats, muted house basslines and a love of shuffling garage that can be traced all the way back to the time of Start Breaking My Heart which are, of course, all filtered through Dan's own unique perspective. The warm analogue sounds of classic soul should not be overlooked either, for they weave themselves most intensely into the records DNA. In fact, Our Love is probably Caribou's most soulful record to date, chock-full of heartfelt lyrics and organic nature which cuts through bubbling synths and blissful euphoria of their synthetic constructions. It's not all downbeat of course, whilst some thoughts linger on mortality, loss and letting go, there is always an element of celebration.
Having followed up his Polaris Prize winning 2007 record Andorra with the universally adored Swim in 2010 (selling nearly 175, 000 copies worldwide and being named 'Album of the Year' by Rough Trade, Mixmag and Resident Advisor whilst also hitting The Guardian, Pitchfork, Spin and Mojo's Top 20), Dan has spent the intervening four years not only touring the world, bringing not only the sounds of Caribou to the stage but proving his immeasurable worth as a DJ with epic 7.5 hour long sets. In 2012 Caribou were personally invited to join Radiohead on the road whilst Dan released his first album under the guise of his dance floor loving pseudonym, Daphni, to widespread critical acclaim. Following the shape shifting sounds of JIAOLONG and the brightly textured, fluid constructions of Swim - both inward looking records in their own way - Dan withdrew to the basement once more to work on Caribou's next opus. Only he didn't: Our Love isn't the sound of isolated creation but the sound of Dan at his most connected - with love for his listeners, his collaborators and those closest to him.
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"The Police - Greatest Hits is being reissued on vinyl in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the original release. Remastered at Abbey Road and cut at ‘half-speed’ for ultimate sound quality, the set contains two heavyweight black LPs with expanded artwork and packaging in a bespoke gatefold sleeve which enhances the original artwork.
A multi-platinum selling global smash on CD, it had a limited vinyl release upon its original release in 1992 which has long been out of print resulting in the original vinyl copies becoming highly sought after by fans. This collection is a perfect introduction to The Police for new admirers, original fans and vinyl collectors alike
This is the definitive compilation of the band - featuring 16 tracks, 14 UK top-20 hits and five UK number one singles – ‘Message In A Bottle’, ‘Walking On The Moon’, ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’, ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ and ‘Every Breath You Take’. "
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Limited first pressing on clear vinyl. Dick Stusso's third album is a document of slow mental unraveling with a world in perpetual decay as its backdrop. With S.P., California-based singer and songwriter Nic Russo has created his most out-there and toothsome record to date, plunging his listeners into a strange and thrilling new world at every opportunity. S.P. is the first Dick Stusso record in four years, following his stellar Hardly Art debut In Heaven from 2018-but this latest missive is more of an indirect sequel to the buzz-building 2015 release Nashville Dreams / Sings the Blues, diving deeper into the fictional character Dick Stusso's crumbling psyche and dystopian surroundings. If our introduction to Dick was someone trying to pursue their dreams and turning into a failure as a result, S.P. reflects the moment where, in Russo's words, "The character is becoming unlikable. He's succumbing to what is taking place around him."Nearly half of its 18 songs-spanning countrified rock duets, Guided by Voices-recalling anthems, and outro noise-burst sound experiments-were completed before the pandemic, when Russo decided to take a beat and allow the music to sprout new, weird buds in his rehearsal space. With mixer Andrew Oswald accentuating the record's unique feel, S.P. bridges the gap between the ultra lo-fi confines of his 2015 debut Nashville Dreams / Sings the Blues and the lush echoes of In Heaven, with a few helping hands to fully flesh out Russo's vision. Grace Cooper (The Sandwitches, Grace Sings Sludge) contributes vocals to "Dinner for Two" and "Self Reflection (Deep)," while his father Marc Russo-a Grammy-winning saxophonist who's currently touring with the Doobie Brothers-lays down expert horn arrangements on "Garbagedump #1." The myriad of twists and turns on S.P. further establish Russo as a fascinating craftsman who's never bound to do the same thing twice.
It seems like an age since Icelandic producer Adalsteinn Gudmundsson's last album as Yagya, 2020's "Old Dreams and Memories." The first album to be released on his own label Small Plastic Animals it was followed by the four-track "Always Maybe Tomorrow" EP in 2021. "Faded Photographs" is his ninth studio album, the most involved and time-consuming project to date and collaborative on a scale not seen since 2012's "The Inescapable Decay of My Heart." It also marks an exceptionally confident return to the art of song-writing, but where that earlier album was a more upbeat dub techno-pop affair, "Faded Photographs" is nostalgic, wistful, reflective and steeped in poetic romanticism. Gudmundsson's love of the art of the album is also more pronounced here than ever before, almost every single track tied together by the particularly unifying use of triplet rhythms in combination with 4/4 beats, beguiling hushed vocals and enveloping, molten dub bass tones. Combined with a typical dedication to sound design and production, "Faded Photographs" is rendered an utterly seamless experience, demanding to be heard as a whole. Written and produced when we had become more distant and disconnected from one another than ever before, "Faded Photographs" brings together and showcases an ensemble of artists in a spirit of collaboration that flies in the face of adversity, a true product of its time.
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Le Motel and Bruce Wijn met at school, during a school art trip to Munich. They went separate ways for a long time.
Hailing from Brussels, Le Motel's world is a vortex of sight and sound that takes in the many and varied corners of the planet. As a music producer and film composer his versatility has taken him to festivals and clubs in every direction as naturally as he has ventured out to the less accessible areas of the globe as a field recordist. It's somewhere in between these spaces that Le Motel operates, gathering unique experiences and sounds to channel through his studio.
Bruce Wijn is a Brussels-based guitarist who played in several postrock kind projects such as Sound Film, 52 Commercial Road, or more shoegaze Lazy Sin. These collaborations gave him the opportunity to perform in various locations in Belgium, France, England, and the USA. As a musician, his focus has always been attracted by progressively built rhythmic melodies, which would eventually turn into long reverberated or distorted swells, or the otherway round.
All these experiences brought them both to the idea of scoring movies with different yet similar approaches.
That's how their first collaboration happened as Le Motel was working on the soundtrack of the movie Binti, and invited Bruce Wijn for the track Exode, in 2018. Since then, they've been working on other scoring projects, such as the feature film 'Aller Retour' more recently.
Alongside the movie scoring activities another audiovisual live project was born, in collaboration with Antoine de Schuyter and his mesmerizing images.
This one is more focusing on tape textures, field recordings and glitchy effects in order to build atmospheric tracks that they decided to bring together in a first E.P. 'MAAR'.
'MAAR' is elaborated as a soundtrack for an imaginary journey between cold seas and volcanoes explorations.
From the first echoing sounds of playing kids on the shoreside in the opening track 'La Perche' Le Motel & Bruce Wijn let you slide in a technicolor dreamworld, reverbing slowly innocent childhood memories into a chilled, out of range, future.
'MAAR' dives deep into a kaleidoscopic microcosmos watching Nautilus playing hide and seek with 'Captain Ahab' floating on sonic breaking waves, while seagulls gently spread their wings flying through the breezy and misty clouds of Blankenberge.
Lava vulcanica slowly melts in the sad euphorica of the cold North Sea, crystallizing sounds only Le Motel and Bruce Wijn can deliver.
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Fusion Sequence is a new offshoot from the Mellophonia label that kicks off with a heavyweight release both literally - its 180g vinyl - and metaphorically. It features seven different artists offering up one track each on what is a widescreen exploration of fresh deep house. They are A Vision of Panorama, Eternal Love, Pool Boy, Wolfey, Laseech, Larry Quest and Jay Sound and between them everything from cuddly depths to more moody late-night deepness is covered on an EP that brings plenty of new perspectives. A fine inaugural 12", then.
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South Africa's reputation for expanding dance music again with Amapiano.
The past five years have seen amapiano, South Africa’s electronic music movement born in the townships of the country’s Gauteng province, evolve from an underground sound to a nationwide mainstream staple. Even with its commercial success though, amapiano’s DIY ethos has continued to disrupt music creation and distribution in the country. Most amapiano commercial successes today began their careers on cracked versions of production software like FL Studio, distributed their work through file sharing platforms like datafilehost and marketed it using social media pages they controlled and influenced. Amapiano Selections, the debut album by DJ and producer Teno Afrika, gives listeners outside the movement’s online release economy an insight into the high-burn nature of amapiano that has spawned a distinct typology under its larger umbrella. Twenty-one-year-old Lutendo Raduvha has spent the bulk of his life moving between different townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg and Pretoria in the Gauteng province. The palette of amapiano styles on the album reflect these influences.
But at first, South Africa’s youngest electronic music movement lived underground with a small, loyal following. “Amapiano is a genre that I chose because I have a passion for it,” says Teno “I started following amapiano in 2016 because I wanted to explore how it’s produced. It was not taken seriously in our country.” Interestingly, Teno Africa only gives vocals prominence on the closing track “Chants of Africa.” As a way of making their music recognizable and relatable for broadcast, amapiano producers have sometimes overly relied on vocals in the form of singing, catch-phrases and party refrains for the purpose. “It was my decision not to use vocals on this project,” says Teno “The reason is I wanted people to feel my instrumentals and style because this is my first album.” On his closing track the young producer gives a glimpse of the considered approach to music which buoys anticipation for greater things from his future releases.
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'Unconscious Collective' is the first album by PS5 - the new ensemble led by Pietro Santangelo (Nu Guinea, Slivovitz, Fitness Forever) - and it will be out for Hyperjazz Records on 21th May 2021.
It's a musical experiment where layered memories and hidden feelings resonate as if they arise directly from the most recondite part of the unconscious and produce a suspension of the stream of consciousness. With the aim to create a state of trance and override the human reason, this is an imaginary round trip across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, ideally connecting Naples with North Africa and Latin America.
The arrangements wrote by Santangelo are based on great freedom of improvisation: while the melodic textures of the two saxophones didn't give any clear references, the other musicians followed the rhythmic pulse and its unpredictable ways. The music moves naturally along an imaginary line highlighting the ancestral connection between Jamaica and Ethiopia or between Nigeria and Cuba. In the background, Naples is a synthesis of all the sonic ingredients, mixed and cooked in its own mystical and spicy belly.
Besides Santangelo himself on the tenor and soprano saxophones, the collective is made up of: Paolo Bianconcini, a brilliant Neapolitan percussionist with a very deep Afro-Cuban background; Giuseppe Giroffi, young and talented alto and baritone saxophonist; the bassist Vincenzo Lamagna and the drummer Salvatore Rainone, both loyal members of the former Santangelo's trio.
Recorded live at the Auditorium Novecento in Naples, the legendary studio of Phonotype Records, 'Unconscious Collective' is mixed in analog format by Fabrizio Piccolo, and mastered by Davide Barbarulo at his 20Hz20KHz Studio.
Pietro Santangelo
Pietro was born, lives and plays in Naples. As a saxophonist and composer, he has released five albums with Slivovitz and one with his PS3 trio (Clinamen, Emme records 2017). Graduated in Digital Sound Processing at the Faculty of Physics of Federico II University, he is involved and engaged in the Italian scene of radical improvisation (Franco Ferguson, Elio Martusciello and Officina Arti Soniche, Collettivo NISE).
Multi-instrumentalist since forever, he has collaborated with Nu Guinea, Enzo Avitabile, Fitness Forever, Marzouk Mejri, Dennis Bovell and many others.
He's also author of soundtracks and electronic musician. He appreciates analog photography, loves walking outdoors. He hates biographical notes.
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Brian Harden is one of the many talented Chicago house producers out there who sit just below the top talent in terms of global reputation. But he shouldn't - his sound is as musical and timeless as any from the Windy City. He's been grafting since the 90s and now taps into that long career with a new collection of rare cuts and unreleased gems on this Instinctive Meditation album for French label D3 Elements. There is textbook heavy drum work and spaced-out synths on 'Zion' before warmer, deeper basement cuts like 'Nomadic Jazz'. 'Yeah' is a party starter with clattering percussion softened by more jazzy chord work and 'Motionless' allows you a moment to catch your breath on some cosmic ambiance. The rest of the record takes in deeper techno, samba-tinged deep house shufflers and star-gazing beauties for 4AM. Proof if you needed it that Harden is a boss.
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On October 21, 2022, Merge Records will release Pigments, the debut collaboration between New Orleans electro-revival dynamo Dawn Richard and multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Spencer Zahn. Pigments is a project about the power of self-expression through living art, through motion. It's also a love letter to New Orleans, Louisiana. Not strictly classical, jazz or ambient electronica but rather a body of "movements," Pigments is an expressive soundscape that is an immersive passage through the city as seen through the eyes of a young Black girl with dreams to paint her future with the pigments given to her. Richard explains: "Spencer wanted to create one long piece of music that would ebb and flow around my lyrics and emotions, which tell a story of growing to love my own skin. I wanted my voice to be moss surrounding the roots of Spencer's compo - sitions, never forcing the moment to fill every space but rather reveling in the openness of thought and breath." Zahn agrees, saying, "I wanted to work with all these different textures, tones, and colors to have a new sound to frame Dawn's voice and lyrics. To hear a lone clarinet as the breath fades and a cello continues its melody to cue Dawn's vocal entrance is unlike any other record she has made. These are things that excite me as a composer but more as a listener. I hope that other listeners feel the same." Coming on the heels of Dawn Richard's critically acclaimed Merge debut Line, Pigments will introduce listeners to a different facet of Richard's outrageous talent and bring Zahn's thoughtful creativity to a new audience.
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"Dans cent ans" is not a record: it’s a talisman.
Flavien Berger doesn’t make music, he makes time machines.
In 2015, he released his first album, Leviathan, which he’d imagined like a moment suspended into the bowels of present time.
In 2018, Contre-Temps, his critically acclaimed second album, was narrated like a flashback.
Dans Cent Ans (“In 100 Years”) ends this trilogy and launches into the future with the grace of a poisonous serpent.
Flavien had just finished producing Pomme’s last album and was simultaneously scoring Céline Devaux’s feature film Tout le monde aime Jeanne, when he recorded this album, during six months of isolation.
In the garret of a Belgian house in construction, these 12 tracks were born, close to the sky, both direct and mysterious.
Because Flavien Berger knows how to make machines sound sensual (a key example is the pop song “D’ici là”) and dares to interweave electronics, chanson and art music, organic instruments and synthetic choirs, without ever falling into parodic territory.
Because his voice, more precise, unreverbed, and close-mic’d than ever, sings to our ears – using multisyllabic rhymes (“Trop ivres pour te plaire / Tropiques du cancer”) and surrealist imagery (“la neige restera rose” – “the snow will remain pink”) – stories that feel unknown yet obvious.
And like both previous albums ended with a long eponymous track like a breath of air, “Leviathan” and “Contre-temps”, so does “Dans Cent Ans”, a 15-minute long saga where vocals, wind instruments and machines converse, as if Debussy, Etienne Daho and a Sufi Dervish met in a dream.
After listening to this album, the vertigo of love and the collision of times are one and the same.
In one hundred years, music will survive us all, and its dangerous beauty will awaken other lives. In the meantime, Flavien Berger keeps stunning ours.
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This second collection of edits from Italy's matter-of-fact Edits Collection label offers another quarter of superbly feel-good disco sounds. 'Slow Luv' has lush strings and plenty of Philly vibes, while 'Stranger Beat' layers up the jumbled percussion, sliding hi-hats and funky bass. Flip it over for 'Xpress Yourself' which is sure to weave its way into your soul with its hip-shaking groove and more funky bass frets than you know what to do with. 'Xpress Yourbeats' is a more raw and drum focused sound for amping up those energy levels on the floor.
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A new collaboration of Philoxenia Records founders Luigi Di Venere and Neu Verboten, Affekt Unit is informed by an aim to "spark new feelings on the dancefloor". The three track Discorgy EP celebrates their musical obsessions - Italo house, Frankfurt EBM-house and trance - with the result proving an electrifying crossover of these classic genres together with surprising new sounds. 'Oct-Opus' boasts a serious electro component, fused with progressive trance, UK bass, techno, transcendental rave and even a climactic outbreak of rave-era breaks. The title track 'Discorgy' draws from Euro dance and EBM, experimenting with a polyrhythmic bass line and bringing the kind of 'stadium house' that The KLF were always aiming for. Closing track 'Dreams Of Wrestlers' is cosmic house at its sweetest and beefiest, spruced here and there with Italo stabs and pianos, drum machine fills and some lovely subtle filtering. Not so much a case of something for everyone than everything from everyone, you might even say.
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Tarotplane's new tape on Constellation Tatsu comes after many years of research and correspondence. They find him seeking to recreate the unique sound of the late great legend that is Manuel Gottsching. As such, his Aeonium album is a truly psychedelic treasure that fuses some magical moments from Krautrock as well as plenty of new and innovative sounds in between. It has twinkling cosmic melodies and sleek synth lines that are in constant flux. This one comes with great cover art in the form of a silkscreen from 1972 by Gernot Bubenik that captures the melting colours of the music.
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Title paraphrase of the legendary British film the crying game, track titles that refer to stories of Philip dick or William Gibson, melancholic pads a la Derrick May and jazzy melodies compose a hybrid of acid and drum and bass that brings to mind the braindance and breakcore sound of the UK . Αthens Computer Underground's The Crying Came is a sophisticated soundtrack of hardware electronica.
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Following the release of their 2021's critically acclaimed album The Black Stone Affair, instrumental cinematic-soul outfit Whatitdo Archive Group unleashes two startling new singles: "Forbidden Cove" and "The Cashmere Chamber", out on limited edition 7'' on March 24th via Record Kicks. The 45 is limited to 500 copies worldwide and it is just an appetizer of the upcoming new album Palace Of A Thousand Sounds, scheduled for release on May 5th, 2023. Whatitdo Archive Group previous 45s went sold out in weeks and are currently very in-demand from collectors and djs.
On side A, we find the first single "Forbidden Cove". We are immediately greeted with top-notch production that feels like we stumbled upon yet another lost rarity, but this time from the heyday of American "exotica" music from the mid-century movement of the early '60s (think Martin Denny and Les Baxter). The twist here is that the underlying tone is dark, heavy and cinematic. WAG flexes their compositional chops and maturity with clever arrangements, a tight rhythm section and dreamy vibraphone that lead us to dense Arthur Verocai-esque orchestral arrangements and hypnotizing eastern flavors.
From the first notes of the Javanese metallophone, Whatitdo Archive Group welcomes you into "The Cashmere Chamber", on side B of the 7''. Less a room and more an auditory experience, "Chamber" skillfully guides you deeper into its world complete with menacing drums and bass, sinister vibraphone melodies and a haunting choir. But this driving force of the rhythm section isn't enough for WAG; we see the song quickly blossom into an adrenaline pumping guitar feature layered expertly with a Turkish baglama saz and percussion. This track is a sample-worthy heater for any DJ.
The new album Palace Of A Thousand Sounds will be available May 5th, 2023 on limited edition LP, CD and digital platforms. Palace Of A Thousand Sounds finds Whatitdo Archive Group entrenched deeper in the worlds of mid-century exotica and library music—from the Tropicalia-steeped Amazon to the minor key tonalities of the far-out Near East.
Steeped in obscurity, a cult following of crate-diggers and musical oddity collectors has been brewing over the mysterious releases of the Whatitdo Archive Group. Surfacing in 2009 from the high deserts of Reno, NV USA, this three-piece recording collective (Alexander Korostinsky, Mark Sexton and Aaron Chiazza) focuses solely on curating, performing and preserving esoteric soundtrack, library and deep-groove collections. As an onlooker, it's hard to tell whether the music they are procuring is actually archival, music of their own creation, or both. Their debut LP The Black Stone Affair, the formerly lost soundtrack music of a once-shelved Italian cinematic masterpiece, was released in 2021 and received praise from the likes of Wall Street Journal, Mojo Magazine, Uncut, Shindig and Blues & Soul Magazine, BBC 6 (UK), FIP (FR), KCRW (US), JazzFM (UK) and more. Two years later, the Whatitdo Archive Group is back. Get ready for an exotic adventure with their sophomore full-length effort: Palace of a Thousand Sounds.
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New London based quartet Qwalia, led by drummer Yusuf Ahmed, offer a plethora of influences whilst remaining resolutely itself. Assembled from musicians who play with David Byrne, Joy Crookes, Nubiyan Twist, Frank Ocean, Jordan Rakei, Sampha, Cat Stevens and more; Yusuf is joined by Tal Janes on guitars and vocals, Ben Reed on bass and keyboardist Joseph Costi. Qwalia’s debut album ‘Sound And Reason’ is set for release by Alberts Favourites on 24th March 2023.
The name Qwalia stems from the same sounding word Qualia, a philosophy of mind with the property of being an ineffable experience. Qwalia’s music is an instinctive aural expression of how things seemed in the moment of creation.
In April ‘21, Qwalia spent two days recording completely improvised music at the Fish Factory in North West London. There was no plan or preconceived idea of what the music should sound like or what was going to happen.
“We set up altogether in one room, dimmed the lights, pressed record and just played,” says Yusuf. “We came away with over 13 hours of music, which was consolidated into three albums worth of material. The final record is mainly a result of pulling faders up or down to create space and structure out of what was already there from the live recording. The production process felt akin to a sculptor chipping away excess stone to reveal a statue that was already there, and occasionally putting some makeup on it!”
The band members are Pakistani, Italian, Venezuelan, Jewish and English. A reflection of the fact that cultural categories are infinite; Qwalia’s music unconsciously explores identity, exposing what this can mean. Or perhaps that it doesn’t mean anything at all.
Early support from Mary Anne Hobbs and Gilles Peterson, support to come from Huey Morgan, Cerys Matthews.
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Right Diagonal' kicks off with the title track which presents a potent wall of sound that undulates across a pensive current. Distant vocals, frazzled signals and stuttering drum patterns work together to build a fantastically unheimlich vibe. The Crosser version then projects sound into a spacious, chilly warehouse as reverberated flashes of sound depict futuristic machines at work.
'Conjugated In Boring Crimes' then follows up with a dense, shuddering recording. Growls and whispers swell beneath more dystopian sonics before 'Safe Resist' rolls out as a jagged Techno experiment. A steady kick propels a rich, metallic sound palette before 'One Man Clearing' renders another scene of murky futurism.
'Farewell Seesaw' then follows up with a subtle Electro track peppered with hypnotic vocals and a distant, snappy snare. The 'Clubmix' version then delivers what it promises as urgent drums whip up a menacing, heady dance floor vibe.
'Night Voodoo' then brings things to a close as cinematic sweeps suffuse a sawtooth sequence and thick, bubbling bass tones. Frazzled hats bleed through in giving the track a certain live feeling which brings the record to a close.
After last year's musical excursions to Central & South America and South Africa, Berlin-based reissue label "Matasuna Records" is once again making a detour to the USA for its first release in 2023. Two funk milestones by "United 8" and "Tony Alvon & The Belairs" have been selected from the archives of "Atlantic Records". Apart from a release as part of a Funk45's box set by Warner in 2004, the songs have only appeared on various bootlegs in the past.
Matasuna Records is thrilled tofinally release them as an officially licensed reissue with new mastering as a 7-inch vinyl single. This release is an absolute must-have for all funk enthusiasts, DJs and collectors.
"Getting Uptown (To Get Down)" by "United 8" is a funk classic released on Atlantic Records in 1972. The musicians of United 8 created an infectious sound with a combination of horns, guitars, drums and bass. The drums drive the beat and give the track its distinctive rhythm, while the bass provides a powerful, pulsating foundation. The horns add a jazzy note, while the guitar adds a funky touch.
The result is an energetic, danceable sound that still sounds fresh and exciting today. The song is timeless and has lost none of its appeal.It's no wonder that it has been featured on many funk compilations since the 2000s.
"Sexy Coffee Pot" by "Tony Alvon & The Belairs" is an explosive and energetic funk jointfrom 1969that immediately captivates the listener. The rhythm section lays down a steady, infectious groove, while the guitar and horns provide a funky, dynamic sound that complements each other perfectly.
It's no surprise that "Sexy CoffeePot" has been sampled and covered by so many hip-hop artists over the years, such as "Eric B. & Rakim", "Cypress Hill" or "DJ Shadow", to name a few. B-boys and B-girls also appreciate the upbeat vibe of this song, which has become a staple on battles.
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“Pour les gens supercool.” This slick tagline caused a commotion among Belgian electronic music fans in 1985 as a jingle in Liaisons Dangereuses, the infamous radio show on local station S.I.S. Antwerpen. Hosted by Paul Ward and DJ Sven Van Hees and playing an exhilarating mix of EBM, house, new beat, acid house, Detroit techno, synthpop and more, the transmit was without a doubt trendsetting, presenting music on the radio that before was only to be witnessed in dark clubs or underground record stores. Listeners needed to make an effort though, since the S.I.S. waves only reached about 10km out of the city center. But a network of copied tape recordings and a fast growing bunch of fans - some of which even driving their cars to parking lots inside the broadcast area to hear the show - created a buzz that would easily exceed the limits of the transmission signal.
In 1989 Ward and Van Hees formed their own band named after the radio show, but to avoid confusion with the eponymous German new wave band, they signed their records with Liaison D or Liaisons D. Assisted by Jan Van Den Bergh (Mappa Mundi, Kumulus, Buzz), Marcos Salon (Outlander), Frank De Wulf (B-Sides, World Party II) and J.P. Ruelle, Liaisons D released a solid string of EP’s and the album “Submerged In Sound” on USA Import Records between 1989 and 1992. We are extremely proud to present four tracks from the album here as a brand new EP, a must-have for fans of their unapologetically rough and ravy sound, testimony of a unique era in Belgium’s electronic music history.
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On behalf of re:discovery records, it is with great excitement that we announce the 1st of a 3EP set highlighting the music on 1990's Norwegian electronic act Neural Network. In 1993-1995 they released 2 full albums or Origo Sound that featured label mates Biosphere. In 1993 they opened up for Prodigy and shared the bill with other seminal acts like AFX, Autechre, Orbital and H.I.A among other heavyweights. However, their 2 full albums 'Brain-State-In-A-Box' & 'Modernité' did not get picked up by any other label or distributer and their popularity stayed regional. In fact a 3rd album was never released (Until part 3 comes from this series!) and sadly they went their separate ways to form other electronic acts in 1997. We hope to shine a bright light on their early music. Side A features the wonderful aquatic adventure in 'Aqueous' followed by a shift into the sci-fi realm with the mysterious 'Mechanical Heart'. Two great examples that show off the group's deep post rave sound for the future. A real melding of styles. All 3 EP's have inserts where the band shares their memories of the early days.
All these tracks in the series are placed on vinyl for the first time with fantastic artwork by UK's Grid Pattern. Dare to Dream! Its not only our credo at re:discovery records but it's also our goal in hearing music that was made for the stars.
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The impossibly cool 1973 album What's Going On from Late, Great Japanese Funk & Jazz Don Takehiro Honda which swings through jazz orchestral renditions of American R&B and Funk Classics like Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On,"
Otis Redding's "Sitting On The Dock of the Bay," and James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now" turning them into the most Down Home, Grits 'N' Gravy Grooviest Versions and sounding like they were recorded at the studio of the band that taught the Memphis Rhythm Sections all they ever were gonna need to to know.
As well as the aforementioned tracks the album also iconic funk/soul gems from the Impressions (Check-Out Your Mind) & Soul Jazz covers from Eddie Harris (Sham Time), The Crusaders (Greasy Spoon) and a Pacific Soul Jazz Classic in "Ain't Tell You A Good Way But" which was composed by Takehiro Honda.
Original copies regularly change hands for eyewatering sums and the album is seen as a much loved classic of it's era.
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Betonska continues their journey of (re)releasing concealed and wantlisted gems from the past, for the future. The Biotone - D.Wave EP is the first one on sub-label Dzungla, a sub-label focusing on the heavier sounds from the 90s and beyond. This early psy-/breaks release from 1996 was one of the first of many great releases by Sebastian Taylor, pushing the UK rave scene to its fullest.
While delving not too deep in the ‘psy’ part of early psy, this release remains notably bright/clean, uplifting and proggy, with a healthy dose of acid lines and breakbeat rhythms. An early bird in the psy-breaks genre, ready to strengthen its existence on contemporary dance floors."
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Death Is Not The End's 333 sub-label follows the reissue of Devon Russell's Darker Than Blue LP late last year with a first-time reissue of a veritable reggae-dancehall holy grail - Robert Ffrench's 1985 LP 'Wondering'.
Pioneering artist and producer (and cousin of the late, great Pat Kelly) Robert Ffrench was born in central Kingston in 1962, recording his first records in 1979 at the age of 17. Coming out off the back of a slew of roots & early dancehall-style 45s cut with a wide range of producers thoughout the early '80s, the Wondering LP followed closely after two acclaimed LP sets ('Showcase' produced with Lord Koos & 'The Favourite' for Ossie Thomas' Black Solidarity label - plus a split showcase LP with Anthony "Gunshot" Johnson for Jah Thomas' Midnight Rock label).
Ffrench would write and produce the Wondering LP himself in it's entirity, laying down the tracks at Herman Chin-Loy's Aquarius & Michael Carroll's Creative Sounds studios with the help of engineer Christopher Daley. Representing the sound of an artist first confidently sriking out on his own, the album elegantly mixes a classic rub-a-dub & lovers rock-inspired sound with nascent digi-esque flourishes. It boasts an enviable list of contributors too, incl. Sly & Robbie, Dwight Pinkney, Robbie Lyn, Nelson Miller (Burning Spear) and Ronald "Nambo" Robinson among others, with Beres Hammond also providing backing vocals in places.
Following the release of Wondering, Ffrench would continue to write and produce, soon after releasing two further self-produced LPs for Edgar White's Parish label - and founded his own 'France' label in the late 80s, through which his productions would start to hit big, most notably alongside Courtney Melody on 'Modern Girl', and with US rapper Heavy D on the track 'More Love'. Robert's productions released through later label 'Ffrench' would go on to boast the cream of the crop of dancehall artists throughout the 90s and early 2000s, and he is often credited with discovering Buju Banton (producing his first single "Ruler" on the Stamina riddim). Ffrench is still actively producing music of his own to this day, having released singles 'Everyday of My Life' and 'Black Is a Colour' in late 2022 and Feb 2023 respectively, available through all digital platforms now.
333, under exclusive license from Robert Ffrench.
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The year is 1999 and The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo) are working on a new track fo Wu Tang Clan Member, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s new album. The track in question, “Got Your Money”, w
an unexpectedly poppy, upbeat and melodic track that would go on to have global success.
Buried within the multi-track recordings of the ODB’s hit track is an acapella by Pharrell, recorded early in the tracks production. Bringing his own laid-back style and flow, but keeping to the narrat of ODB’s track, Pharrell delivers a secret version of the track, few will have heard.
Alloy Cuts delivers two versions of Pharrell’s hidden bars, mashing up one side with Montel Jordan “This Is How We Do It”, giving the track a more golden era sound and on the flip side the classic ragga riddim, the “Snake Riddim”, is used to great effect!
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A year and a half ago, THE MFA returned to the fore once more, when we released their "Oranges and Lemons EP".
Their new album, “Lights Out”, which could be described as a long time coming, is definitely THE MFA’s most ambitious work to date.
As they put it in their own words: “The album is very special to us. It’s a long ambition brought to fruition. It’s an album that is at home on the dancefloor or at home. We’ve always been influenced by 90s rave culture and the club scene of that era and the explosion of creative freedom through electronic music that happened back then.”
The album sums up what THE MFA stands for; their love of electronic music intertwined their love of songs and melody, sometimes banging, sometimes pensive, sometimes longing, occasionally up-beat and happy. Melodic techno-pop-rave then.
The album opener "My Desire" pins down the essence of the album, showing some pop sensibility and a healthy dose of that early 90s spirit with longing vocals by Rhys Evans. The track shows from many angles of the intensity of what club culture was about. The track has, for sure, that pop quality which sets it apart - it is a very complete and rounded and in the true sense, a hit.
"Identify This" kicks off with blissed-out sci-fi sounds but commences with 90s rave chords that gets under your skin and creates a fantastic kaleidoscopic picture of moody UK rave with these spurts of emotional uplifting moments which are worth every penny.
"Bear Likes To Rave" takes us back to the warehouse days and reminds us of the acid warehouse parties with fanned stroboscope beams and dry ice cannons. It’s like looking down on a rave party happening from above, from a bird's eye view, which is in full swing where the euphoria spills over into the audience. "Girl Ahead" is a vocal track exclusively on the digital version of the album, again with Rhys Evans on vocal duties. Here they ponder all the possibilities of the future and the mistakes of the past. Features space toms and grand piano rave chords to evoke a housy feel within.
With "Freedom24" a Hi-NRG melody meets nightcrawler sounds ala "Klang De Familie". This is a soundtrack for the night.
"Lammas Day" has the chilling exotic quality of 808 State "Pacific State" if you grant us this comparison, paired with some phantastic Dr Who sensibilities! This track is quite a voyage!
"Warehouse"... Make Some F-...ing Noise... A TV presenter speaks about Acid house...... This is a wild mash up of impressions which nicely go together due to the melodic string composition and the 303 sequences.
"The Snapping Branch" starts with a mash up of sounds and then dives into an episodic snapshot of "happiness" when the serotonin shoots in (just before it drops). Experiencing a perfect flow that does not want to end. Every clubber knows that feeling.
"You Make Me Smile" is the third vocal track on the album featuring Rhys Evans on vocals. It has fantastic radical stark mood changes and blatant shifts, therefore throws the listener from one corner to the other. Just like the contrast of day and night. Bits here and there might conjure a Radiohead spirit, but really this is all MFA.
"Lights Out” certainly puts across the feeling you get at the end of the night - the club has closed; you are walking home. These are the sounds and feelings in your memories as you chase the vibe that is dwindling as the club becomes ever further away.
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