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Bathurst is pleased to announce the return of The Motion Orchestra with their new single Sonorous taken from their forthcoming album All One set for release in 2020.

Formed in 2017, this studio project consists of Alexander Bednasch on Double-Bass, Mark Matthes on Violins, Andy Sells on Drums and David Hanke on electronics and production. Though influenced heavily by Neo-Classical and Jazz sensibilities they occupy a musical space that sits in neither sphere, with a compositional style that deftly fuses the orchestral and electronic worlds.

Their debut single – All One was a gorgeous piece inspired by the notion that everything comes from the same source, the same starting point. And it was well received, garnering support from BBC 6Music and Bandcamp Weekly.

Second single Sonorous is just as elegant as their first offering and looks set to continue the upward trajectory the band are currently on. Starting witha repeated electronic motif, it incorporates piano chord harmonics, tasteful bass notes, and swirling jazz drum patterns that interplay wonderfully with beautiful string arrangements, altogether creating a truly captivating character.

The release is comprised of both the original version as well as a the arrangement without the drums. The Motion Orchestra is currently in the process of producing their live show for performances of the debut album.

So what’s the deal now - are we all just going under? And if so, what will we find below? On his second EP for the label, Leibniz immerses himself deeply in the subject matter with three tracks that draw on the titular »Hydron« as an alternative source of energy, with three tracks offering more water displacement than a regular Typhoon-class submarine - it’s that cold, clear bottle of Fuji in a desert full of uninspired memes.

The hundert co-founder overtakes the discussion about electric cars and those damn scooters by cruising down the aquabahn with his hydrogen car at 132 to 134 knots per minute. There’s a coming changeover of power to be felt in the air here for sure, yet there is much more to be gained from the water - the fuel for your deep dive into the unknown once we’ve gone under. In the meanwhile however, you have two options: become conscious of the impact that we as a species have on this planet or find the one gadget that will serve as a fix for everything. Just remember to stay hydrated along the way.

WRWTFWW Records is beyond thrilled to announce the first ever vinyl maxi-single release for "Raum", Grauzone's best-kept secret and underground mega-gem from 1980. The four-track affair includes the full title track sourced from the original reels, as well as a club-ready rework by Naum Gabo (Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo and James Savage) with help from Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid, and an extended edit by legendary Frankfurt DJ Ata (Robert-Johnson club, Playhouse/Klang/Ongaku labels). The 12 inch vinyl is cut at 45rpm and comes with a never-seen cover art by band member Stephan Eicher and a handmade Xerox hype sticker.

Initally released almost 40 years ago on the beloved compilation Swiss Wave - The Album (Off Course Records) alongside the band's massive hit "Eisbär", "Raum" is the biggest Grauzone track people have yet to discover. An über-infectious New York style bassline played by Christian "GT" Trüssel and frantic drumming by Marco Repetto blend with Martin Eicher's hauntingly hopeless lyrics and Claudine Chirac's saxophone escapades to personify post-punk heaven and all its wonderful anomalies. It's disco with an edge, pop filled with fear, it's The Cure infused with proto-techno and Swiss art chic. Or maybe, it's simply one hell of a song that will make you dance and shout. It's good!

Fabio & Grooverider have been at the forefront of UK dance music for over 3 decades. This is the roots of their story told through music.

The 2 London DJ's are part of the DNA of the global Jungle / D&B movement and they have remained relevant, cutting edge, authoritative and essential to this truly underground art-form since it's inception. RAGE could arguably be the ground zero of Jungle. The party was started at London's cavernous Heaven club by Fabio & Grooverider in 1988, at the height of Acid House fever that was making it's way up and down the motorways, slip-roads, fields and warehouses of the M25 and further beyond every weekend, troubling the nation, the police, your parents and the press as it went. RAGE was a different beast, it certainly channelled some of that Acid energy but pitted it against the new and exciting sounds emanating from Belgium, Amsterdam, Detroit, Sheffield, Essex and Hackney and in turn created a new style, a new sonic attitude and energy in the process. Rumbling bass-lines, narcotic synth rushes and roughly chopped and sped-up breakbeats all merged into a style that we now know as Jungle. Nothing like this had been heard before, this was a brand new style and it was coming out of London's West End and Fabio & Grooverider were the people firmly behind it.

RAGE is approaching it's 30th anniversary. It's sonic and cultural legacy is still being felt today, Fabio & Groove are still shutting down raves and festivals every weekend all over the world with their superior DJ sets and musical knowledge guided by their pioneering spirit. This musical selection you hold in your hands, the first of 4 parts, sees them delve into their prodigious memories and record boxes to select a true musical representation of the very beginning of one of the UK's most unique and influential musical movements of the last 50 years. Across 4 x 2 x 12"s compilations we are taken on the journey through the sounds of RAGE, accompanied with track by track notes from Fabio & Groove themselves. This is the sound of the underground, from the inside out.

This is a masterclass in the old-school. The roots. There is no filler here, it's simply ALL killer. Lovingly selected and programmed by the masters - 'The Living Shock' & 'The Ladies Choice'. Produced in conjunction with Above Board distribution and Fabio & Grooverider. All tracks mastered from original sources and fully licensed. Mastering by Optimum, Bristol. Artwork and design by Atelier Superplus. 2019

Wun Two remains one of the most envied lo-fi hip-hop producers on the planet. Consistently pumping out thematic releases from last summer’s Pirata to his ever-consistent Snow series, his first vinyl release through Fat Beats since his 2016 Baker’s Dozen was spawned by a horror movie binge watch. “Nosferatu represents the atmosphere of Halloween and cold and darker days. I plugged the SP into my TV and recorded movie dialogs and sound samples while watching. At the end I had a lot of material/sound sources...I liked the outcome of it and decided to release it for Halloween.” Wun Two said.

Inspired in part by composers Maurice Jarre and Bernard Herrmann, Wun Two wanted to create a project that didn’t emote the somewhat-depressive feelings of certain scores, but an atmosphere of tension and suspense so often associated with Hitchcock and Stephen King novels. This deluxe picture disc LP not only includes 2 bonus beats not included on the original digital release, but an additional track featuring vocals from CRIMEAPPLE. “My feature list is very short as I prefer to release instrumental tracks.

But CRIMEAPPLE is definitely one of the most interesting MC´s now and it´s really great that we could win him for a contribution,” added Wun Two on the rare appearance from an MC over his beats. Releasing this Halloween in a strict one-time vinyl pressing, Nosferatu is a perfect accompaniment as the weather gets colder and the nights darker.

One of the original catalysts of Latinx music in New York City, MAKU Soundsystem has been the connective tissue for several creative projects, bands and community roots for over a decade. As a group with a rotating membership, they've recorded multiple albums both DIY and for worldwide labels. Throughout their various iterations, the heart and mission of the ensemble has consistently built bridges, rather than tearing them down, remaining a remarkable beacon of positivity in a consistently competitive environment. The inspiring atmosphere has nurtured several notable musicians and acts over the years, including members of Combo Chimbita, Dilemastronauta, Bulla en el Barrio, Leon Brothers and Prince of Queens. Now down to a core group of three musicians, alongside percussionist Moris Cañate, MAKU and Names You Can Trust have finally teamed up for a vinyl edition after many years of collaborative shows and connections.

Perhaps their rawest and darkest recordings to date, this stripped down quartet is an ode to the creative source of their core members, lead singer & bassist Juan Ospina, drummer Andres Jimenez and guitarist Camilo Rodriguez. The A-side, "Culebra Coral" is a snakebitten taste ofla cumbia, played with an experience and restraint that only enhances the end result. It's a free driven approach born from familiar experimentation, rather than modern day trends — a singular jam, refined from years of playing together. Part psych, part cumbia, total MAKU. The B-side, "Contra Tambor," is emblematic of the group's roots in the traditional sounds of thetambora, a drum-forward percussive arrangement that follows Jimenez and Cañate on a free-driven approach to the ritualistic movements of the drums, this time drowned with an antidote of analog FX, synthesized glitches and atmospheric coros.

A Unique EP of remixes from Kniteforce Head Honcho, Dj Luna-C. Each remix is firmly based in the vibes of the old skool, with the rolling basslines and touch of madness that is expected when Luna-C gets in the studio. The tracks were all chosen based on their ability to be folded into something both new and old, and then refashioned into something very different from the source material.
The result is a cohesive mess, an orderly panic, and a clash of harmony, and all the expected trademarks of a prime Kniteforce EP.

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

Da Lata’s highly anticipated fourth album Birds is a genre busting journey through London Afro-Brazilian soul music.
The most homogeneous Da Lata record to date, Christian Franck has honed his craft and expanded his art to create a glowing testimony from the melting pot of the capital’s musical life.

Gathering his family of collaborators with diverse musical backgrounds in soul, jazz, and gospel as well as African and Brazilian forms, Birds is an album that finally lays waste to that tired idea of World music.

There are tracks that are inspired by Chris’ journeys to the source, there are elegant horn and woodwind arrangements recorded in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, there are lyrics in different tongues, but this is a London record.

Birds is an album of warm organic grooves infused with sophisticated funkiness and splattered with instrumental colour. From the Afro skank swagger of the low slung opener Mentality to the Beatles-esque pathos of the closing title track, it’s a record packed with soulful surprises and beguiling rhythms.

The sound is both intimate and expansive, drawing the listener into Da Lata’s London tropicalia and out into the cosmos.

Birds is an album about keeping doors open and conversation flowing, it’s about survival, hope, family, resistance, awareness, unity and love. 

WRWTFWW Records is insanely happy to announce the first ever vinyl reissue for both volumes of Yoshio Ojima's superb environmental music project Une Collection des Chaînons I and II: Music For Spiral, originally released in 1988 on CD only. Each volume is sourced from original masters and comes as a double vinyl LP with liner notes in English and Japanese . This marks the inaugural release from the ESPLANADE SERIES by WRWTFWW Records which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima and friends.

Une Collection des Chaînons II (along with its complementary predecessor Une Collection des Chaînons I) gathers selected music pieces conceptualized and produced for sound-designing the Wacoal Art Center in Aoyama (Tokyo) also known as Spiral, a hub for a wide range of sophisticated cultural proposals spanning visual arts, theatre, music, design, fashion, and lifestyle.

Named after its superb curled-shaped structures laid in a vast atrium, Spiral is a monumental work of architecture by Fumihiko Maki, designed according to the principles of Metabolism, a movement advocating the fusion of the notions of megastructures and organic biological growth - in essence, evolving designs and constructions, adapting to human needs naturally.

Evolving, organic, adapting, these are notions that perfectly describe Yoshio Ojima's divinely designed brand of environmental music. Continuing, embellishing and bringing the Collection des Chaînons (which translates as collection of links) full circle, this second volume approaches sound design in relation to various contexts, sizes, and shapes. The nanoscopic neoclassical lullaby "Les Trois Grâces" brings attention to the importance of small details, "Pulse at Soothe" starts with the minimalism of a Satoshi Ashikawa piece and slowly drifts into mystical landscapes and cavernous echoes, "Entomology" and its melancholic artificial forest feels like a Twin Peaks mirage, and "Atrium" literally feels like a floating visit of a gigantic open space structure. With each timbre selected with extreme precision, each element placed in space with the utmost care, and textures worked to allow a wide canvas of emotion for the listeners, Yoshio Ojima's music is the constantly transforming connecting point between humanity and architecture.

Sitting alongside Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way, Hiroshi Yoshimura's Green, or Yutaka Hirose's NOVA, Une Collection des Chaînons is a pivotal work of Japanese environnmental/ambient/minimalist music.

A note from Yoshio Ojima: "Please listen to this album at around the same volume as daily life sounds such as air conditioners and refrigerators."

The blueprint for both the Source Direct and Mirage releases on Odysee Recordings was always about presenting two complimentary styles of Drum & Bass; often a dark Amen track on one side would be paired with a more experimental ambient or Jazz-infused track on the other. Label partner Andy Odysee’s debut solo release remains true to that ethos. Taking a break from the remix/remaster series that has seen Mirage’s Bewildered and No Tomorrow return to vinyl, Andy delivers a 12” that demonstrates both musical depth and stylistic versatility.

DJ Support
Source Direct, Homemade Weapons, The Law, Paradox + more

Editions Mego is proud to present the latest addition to the compelling discography of Thomas Brinkmann. Throughout his career Brinkmann has focussed on the human operating amongst industry alongside rhythms that manifest as a result of technological advancement. With this new release Brinkmann makes a u-turn, looking back to the early industrial age. Comprised of recordings of various looms, Raupenbahn investigates the sonic properties and consequences of the first automatic loom as constructed by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1745. Thomas Brinkmann once again adheres to his tendency for clarity and simplicity whilst further investigating not only the sound and rhythms of the machines (looms) but also what role they serve in society and what consequences they have on the environment. Raupenbahn presents 21 tracks in total, 11 feature on the vinyl, the remaining 10 as digital bonus tracks. The majority of recordings were undertaken by Brinkmann in 2017 with a Neumann KM 184 stereo set. Additional recordings were sourced with permission from Monika W. recs. from 2014 Central Museum of Textiles Łódź, Poland. Each piece presents a diversity of material which borders on the breathtaking and beautiful in richness and complexity. The various looms unravel rhythms and patterns unexpected from machines of the early industrial age.

The loom holds a significant role in shaping our world being the catalyst for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine which, alongside the subsequent work of Byron's daughter Ada Lovelace, paved the way for modern computing. There is a linage of the loom that fits succinctly in Brinkmann's overall argument. Here we encounter a parallel between machine driven economies and the music that rose from such places, consider the Sheffield steel industries, the Manchester weaving industry or the Rhineland / Düsseldorf loom and machine industry. Is it a coincidence that the practice of such machines in the environment gave rise to today's predilection for electronic dance music, in pop, soundtracks, etc.

Raupenbahn features no treatment or processing and explicitly displays varying tempo and timbres which ascertain a wide range of acoustic structures. The artwork features Ingrid Wiener, Rosemarie Trockel and Alexandra Bircken, three different generations who would with ideas of fabric weaving, loming and the like. This exceptional release works on a number of levels alongside it's striking sonic palette.


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The avant-garde composer and conductor Pierre Boulez was a titan of post-War experimental classical music. Born in the small cheesemaking town of Montrbrison in central France in 1925, Boulez studied at the Paris Conservatoire with the composer and organist Charles Messiaen and received private tuition from pianist Andrée Vaurabourg; after moving to the Marais district in 1945, he briefly studied with Schoenberg disciple, René Leibowitz, and further influence came from immersion in Balinese gamelan, Japanese classical music and African drumming, among other sources. Earning money by playing an early electronic keyboard called the ondes Martenot on theatre productions, Boulez soon became music director of the Renaud-Barrault theatre company (led by actor/direction Jean-Louis Barrault and his actor wife, Madeleine Renaud), leading to tours of Belgium, Switzerland, Britain and both North and South America. American composer John Cage became an ally, though they subsequently clashed over Cage’s commitment to the role of chance in his compositions, paving the way for an intense and lasting friendship with the German composer, Karlheinz Stockhausen, who arrived in Paris in 1952 to study with Messiaen. In July of that year, the pair attended the International Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, leading to contact with Italian composer Luciano Berio and other noteworthy figures. Then, in 1954, with backing from Barrault and Renaud, Boulez began staging a series of concerts of experimental music at the Petit Marigny theatre, titled Le Domaine musical. The pieces collected on this album are all taken from performances staged for the 1957 Domaine musical season, beginning with Berio’s “Serenata I,” conducted by Boulez, which debuted in Paris in March of that year; arranged for flute and fourteen instruments, Berio said that the idea behind the piece was for the solo flute to be confronted by continuously interchanging elements, rather than mere accompaniments or oppositions. Boulez’s own “Sonatine,” composed in 1946 for flute and piano, is a 12-tone piece that evidences Messiaen’s influence, with shades of Asian classical music in places; then, Stockhausen’s monumental “Zeitmasze” or “Time Measures,” a serial composition for five woodwinds, played in different combinations of tempos and speed, was partly inspired by Webern’s principles of homogenous and harmonic textures. Finally, Messiaen’s 1949 work “Cantéyodjayâ,” delivered by pianist Yvonne Loriod, takes it shape from the classical Hindu rhythms of ancient India, as with much of the composer’s oeuvre.

Dan HabarNam returns to Chris Farrell's label with a follow up to last years acclaimed 'Draw Your Pattern' 12". Picking up where that left off 'Major Blinks' delves deeper into sub heavy techno with superb sound design and depth. On the flip 'The Source' transfixes with its eerie pads and broken drums. Another strong release from this label and another chapter in this unique Romanian artist's story.

‘Synth Expressionism/Rhythmic Cubism’ LP from Chicago’s Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being is a collection of idioms that have no past and no future, his jarring use of polyrhythmic polyphony imbues a sense of timelessness.

The prolific catalog of Moss’ covers many musical dialects from his hometown and beyond. Never standing in one artistic sphere for too long, this adventure for On the Corner Records sees Hieroglyphic Being exploring a multitude of expressions of the American Avant-garde.

Abstractions Of The Future Past — Afro-Cubism: The Designation, conceived by an African With A Mainframe — An Etude Of Effigy — A Hieroglyphic Being.

Rhythmic Cubism: In this ‘Dissertation Of Disorientation’ Neal Andrew Emil Gustafson temporal considerations are put aside as polyrhythmic propulsion is the current flowing through the work. As prelude the fastidious ‘Rhythmic Cubism’, Moss enacts a flurry of white noise and musical coda as it phases in-and-out of synchronicity.

The disjointed dance of an alternative Black Music, ‘The Spiritual Or ‘Electromagnetic Worlds’ takes the meter down a fraction to exonerate a granular groove of visceral refracted complexity. Sonorus static sits alongside spastic shards of synthesis to reveal a melancholic medley before its conclusion.

‘Apocrypha’ collages distinct rhythmic source materials in an entrancing abstraction of ‘Hypersonic Hemiola’. An assertion of Art Blakey proportions. Perpetually pushed forward through the building of distorted percussion, Moss precludes into syncopated synapsis before and end of reductive symmetry.

Evolving into a studdered off-kilter groove, ‘The Redemption Project’ flows as a dissipating organ medley dissolves into a deluge of layered sonic textures, creating an indiscernible metric center before fading to a distant vanishing point.

Departing with a common-time ‘Timbuk2’ takes off like a classic Chicago Acid track, then makes a left turn towards the center as it drives the rhythmic motion into a dystopian dreamland, as the sax line surges forcing the track to break free from it’s charted course.

The Fragmented Fantasy of The Synth Expressionism/Rhythmic Cubism LP is a conclusive work that has no end, a conundrum of conceptual calculated improvisation. Drifting through time, this fragmented abstraction of Afro-Cubism leaves room for posterity, as each listen summons a new perspective on the suite. Something ever so common in the work of Jamal Moss. Charting new sonic directions, the very nature of its precedent makes it a truly Hieroglyphic affair.

Words By Neal Andrew Emil Gustafson

Destiny is made. Realised. Driven by the acts of vision. Hireroglyphic Being is a seer. Atomic resonance echoing from the big bang defies the conceptual reality of purity. The nuclear static of ‘white noise’ is HBs canvas. Channeling poly rhythms into the universe. Experience, repetition and eternal decay. From purity back to the absolute by way of a deluge of slurry across time. Infinite layers of distortion and refracted complexity. This is HBs canvas. Sound of eternity channelled through a bass bin, represented by its own impure reflection and fragments. Always more than it's whole but never as was before.

This album seeks to reach beyond ideas and emotions, beyond the comprehension of a human archetype. Beyond ultimate history, forwards and back. To ends and a singular beginnings. Timbuk2 is the frenetic intersection where the call and response of these ideas lock and dissipate back into the void.

Razor-N-Tape welcome hometown hero Danny Krivit into their stable of editors with a 2-track EP that sources a pair of vibes from the catalog of the ubiquitous "Q."Stuff" begins with a mysteriously looped and reverbed-out saxophone sample, building perfectly toward an eventual explosion of soulful horn stabs and vocals over a percolating rhythm section, in classic Q style. "The Story" tells a mellower yet mesmerizing tale, with its lush string arrangement and artful groove, perfect for those early warmups or late-night comedowns. A true living legend of NYC's rich DJ history, Danny dug deep into his personal cache of edit weapons for this very special record. Absolutely essential!

Tachyon Audio 004 is a solo release by Tachyon's own, Paradaux. Paradaux has been on a production tear of late and offers a four-track E.P. that takes Tachyon Audio to a new place in space-time. Intro (A1) sets the mood of the E.P. right from the off with a broken experimental beat that forces the listener to move rhythmically.


The second track, Bolder (A2), offers distorted rumbling and broken drum kit sounds and tweaks pounding down through ethereal fading pads. This muscular groove is sure to warm up anyone.


Side B of the E.P. starts off with Absence of Rain (B1), a mind-bending desert acid masterpiece.


The E.P. continues its trek through the mind of Paradaux, as Step Down (B2) brings back a strong distorted broken rhythm that flaunts the cohesiveness and foresight of the record as a whole and creates an emotional end to the journey.


Lastly, as with every Tachyon Audio release, a raw sound of space is pressed into a vinyl locked groove. This time an open-source National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sample -- the Galileo spacecraft making the first flyby of Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, this audio track represents data from Galileo's Plasma Wave Experiment instrument.


IGC_for_life

After a seven year hiatus since the release of their debut LP on ESP Institute, Kyle Martin and Jonny Nash’s Land Of Light return with their sophomore album for Melody As Truth. Written and composed over the course of two years, “The World Lies Breathing” reflects the pair’s shared development towards spacious, abstract composition crafted from a wide range of contrasting sound sources. Utilising a combination of acoustic instruments, contact microphones and Martin’s self-built modular synthesiser “The World Lies Breathing” focuses on the space between sounds, conjuring up an organic yet alien landscape that exists on the edge of an unknowable void.

Huge dancefloor acid original track from the legend that is Orlando Voorn plus killer peak-time remix action from Polymeric record's Maxx Rossi plus a bass-heavy, deeper funkier cut from label boss Pat Hurley.

RAFF debuts with a solid assembly of made-to-measure club tracks. Be it new life dawning or physical pain, these productions drip character, finding their roots in personal moments that mark and scar RAFF's day to day life. As a linchpin of Rotterdam's deejay culture, one can hear technoid elements of his homebase fluctuate along an axis of Detroitesque electro. Naming afrofuturism as a major source of influence, this release locks you into RAFF's world through its emotional touch and technical precision. Designed for clubs and headphones alike, his works can be distinguished via their frequential layering and spatial design. Analogue warmth, a timeless feel - these are five cuts for jocks that seek the real deal. Comes in hand printed artwork by the BAKK Harbour City Service.

Wewantsounds continues its collaboration with Bob Shad's grandchildren, Mia and Judd Apatow, to present a 2LP selection of 13 turntable-friendly Mainstream Records tracks recorded between 1970 and 1973 and showcasing the label's superb blend of Funk, Soul and Jazz. All tracks remastered from the original tapes, most of them released for the first time since their original release with a few highly sought-after ones. Liner notes by UK journalist Paul Bowler. The Mainstream sound is unmistakable: earthy, rich and funky, it's the signature sound of producer Bob Shad. After working with such geniuses as Charlie Parker, The Platters, Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin over three decades, Shad decided to go back to producing Great Black Music in the early 70s through his label Mainstream Records and started releasing a formidable series of jazz albums known as the 300 series. Released between 1971 and 1974, these albums are the main source of this set. Coincidentally, it opens with one of the two tracks on the tracklist not produced by Shad himself. Saundra Phillips' "Miss Fatback" is nonetheless fascinating as it's one of cult disco producer Greg Carmichael's earliest productions from 1975 (before he went on to produce Inner Life, Bumblebee Unlimited, Universal Robot Band with fellow producer Patrick Adams). The other track not issued by the Shad sound factory is Almeta Lattimore's 7" single "These Memories," a truly great soulful track from 1975 and now a sought-after classic on the international Soul scene. Shad's forte was Jazz, and the sessions usually used the best musicians you could think of, including Bernard Purdie, Billy Hart, Stanley Clarke, Dom Um Romao, Joe Sample, Freddie Robinson, Gordon Edwards, Larry Willis, Wilbur Bascomb to name just a few. Filled with gorgeous Fender Rhodes chords and heavy basslines, they define the unmistakable Mainstream sound which had one foot in the great jazz and bop tradition and the other in the sonic jazz explorations of the early 70s. Oscillating between jazzed-up covers of soul hits like Jay Berliner’s "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" or Afrique’s "Kissing My Love" and more introspective originals such as Hal Galper's "This Moment" or Dave Hubbard's "T.B.'s Delight", They all have this perfect balance between groove and depth. One perfect example is Pete Yellin's "Bird and The Ouija Board," a superb 12 min opus starting off with a deep abstract improvisation before switching to an up-tempo funk beat fueled by drummer Billy Hart and bass player Stanley Clarke.

Untameable Anatolian feline fuzzy folk funk finally uncaged. A spontaneous Turkish-Norwegian-Dutch expedition, where seafaring jazz cats entangled with fugitive roadies and Tee-Set mods, makes the story of Durul Gence’s highly anticipated/ill-fated Asia Minor Mission group the stuff of lost-rock legend and remains one of Turkish music’s great “what ifs?” The black cat is finally out of the bag...

Having forged a celebrity status as one of Turkey’s premier percussionists and bandleaders, Durul Gence assembled the underground fusion group known as Asia Minor Mission (AMM) in early 1972 (with Irfan Sumer, Oguz Durukan and Ugur Dikmen) while trying to escape the constant daze of paparazzi camera flashes that followed him across Turkey. During a far-fetched post-gig brainstorm the group pondered relocating to Norway (based on fact that none of them had ever visited the country) when a local seaman who claimed to have recording studio connections in Oslo overheard them. Enlisting the roadie services of a streetwise Istanbul taxi driver friend on the run from the police AMM took the plunge, accepting the sailor’s offer of passage on his next sailing.
In these new idyllic surroundings, the same region that played host to fellow Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz, Durul found the peace he desired discovering a muse in Norway’s welcoming creative climate. Much like Barıs Manço and Mogollar in France, Cem Karaca and Gökçen Kaynatan in Germany, Gence’s relationship with Norway rekindled a passion for composition in ways he couldn’t have imagined in his homeland, opening doors thought previously unreachable. As a potential prodigal son for Anadolu pop Durul joined a wider pop-cultural diaspora alongside electronic pioneer Ilhan Mimaroglu, Tülay German (aka Tuly Sand) Kardasllar’s “Alex” Wiska (collaborator with Krautrockers Can) and Maffy Falay from the band Sevda.
Despite a blooming fan base and original repertoire the Nordic dream was not to be and after two years without a studio session, AMM called it quits during a tour of Holland after which Durukan and Dikmen went home to join Cem Karaca’s band Dervisan - Dikmen’s keyboards feature on Finders Keepers releases by Turkish singer Selda (FKR011). Retreating to the city of Delft to ponder his next move, Durul met Peter Tetteroo, former vocalist from successful Dutch psych-pop combo Tee-Set, who also found himself in a lonely boat after the demise of his long-running group. As an AMM fan, Tetteroo suggested they record two Gence penned AMM demos for Dutch Philips signed exotic songbird Sasi Naz at Peter’s home studio. A session was hastily arranged and a talented, yet unconfirmed, guitarist was enlisted. Durul maintains it was the work of Ferry Lever from Tee-Set/After Tea, something Ferry has denied, and with Tetteroo having died in 2002 the question remains. Upon entering the humble studio Durul stumbled upon a skeletal drum kit. Lacking hi-hat, toms or even a snare he cobbled together a bongo and a tambourine and set to work. Together, under the watchful eye of Tetteroo, the pair jammed stripped back versions of the AMM live staples Black Cat and Boo Song, with an added freak factor otherwise missing from their jazzier approach. Laid down in just 30 minutes, with Gence’s accomplished guide vocals and fuzzy overdubs, the rudimentary but professional recordings never made it to Philips execs and the tapes returned to Turkey under Durul’s arm as one of only two documented AMM recordings (the other being a live performance in Oslo’s Hennie-Onstad Art Centre in May 1973).
Unintended for commercial release, curiouser and curiouser, Finders Keepers proudly present these previously unheard tracks sourced directly from original tapes, which stand as a testament to the inimitable talent of Gence and the only studio document of the mythical AMM Turk jazz funk troubadours, representing a pop-psych Hollandaise holiday postcard which has taken five decades to be delivered. 45 revolutions later... The cat’s got the cream.

Primarily known for his work behind the boards with heavyweights; Kon, Bosq and Soul Clap, Caserta steps out from behind the console to present the first release on his new imprint...BridgeBoots.

Caserta and co. manage to source a vocal from a “blue- eyed soul” classic, usually reserved for the end of the night and craft it into a dance floor stomper.

With the aforementioned Kon holding down the flip side with a smooth reworked dub, BridgeBoots is off to a hot start!

DJ Support:

“Daymn. Loving this flip. Super smooth and that Kon Dub is tight in the pocket.” - “Love this -- both mixes are fire. Definitely in that.
Eli
Soul Clap

"Heavy warm up" sweet spot for when the room is starting to bubble or those Sunday roof-top jams! Will be rinsing this summer for sure.” –
Marc Meistro,
Sol Power Records

Prince will forever be remembered as a commanding live performer, chart-topping recording artist, and music business revolutionary. Yet for all the time he spent in the spotlight over his four-decade-long career, Prince also worked tirelessly behind the scenes to nurture talent and pen songs for the rising artists he respected.

Sourced directly from Prince’s vast archive of Vault recordings, ORIGINALS is a brand new 15-track album featuring 14 previously unreleased recordings that illuminates the vital, behind-the-scenes role Prince played in other artists’ careers. These are more than just demos, the production quality has been kept high and the recordings resemble a pristine quality similar to that of Nothing Compares 2 U released last year.

By the mid-1980s, Prince was dominating the charts even as a writer/producer with songs he’d composed and recorded for others. In addition to releasing nine of his most commercially successful full-length albums, he also wrote and recorded endless reels of material for proteges The Time, Vanity 6, Sheila E., Apollonia 6, Jill Jones, the Family, and Mazarati. Several of the iconic songs found on ORIGINALS were considerable hits for the artists who recorded them.

Packaging: CD / 2x 180g purple vinyl / hardback 12” gatefold book with glued pocket holding 2x 180g purple LP and 24 page 4 colour booklet.

Canadian quartet BADBADNOTGOOD take on creating the ultimate late night' selection of tracks from their record collections, set for release on 28th July 2017. The original trio of Matthew Tavares, Alex Sowinski and Chester Hansen formed while studying music at Toronto's Humber College (they've recently added Leland Whitty to the line-up). A shared appreciation of hip hop and instrumental covers of Gucci Mane and Earl Sweatshirt suggested a worldly outlook and reciprocated love from Tyler The Creator and Ghostface Killah, which whom they made 2015's Sour Soul.

This is an international effort: Velly Joonas' Estonian version of 'Feel Like Makin' Love', Kiki Gyan, Admas and Francis Bebey representing Africa (Ghana, Ethiopia and Cameroon respectively), Les Prospection from France, Scots' Boards Of Canada and fellow Canucks River Tiber and Charlotte Day Wilson.

Finally, there's the no-small-matter of the Late Night Tales cover version, in which BADBADNOTGOOD take on Andy Shauf's 'To You' is turned into a mournful delight. while the Queen Of Siam herself, Lydia Lunch, delivers a sexual sermon involving only you, her and Jim Beam.

We were really excited to have the chance to put together a Late Night Tales compilation, it's a great organisation. We decided to use it as a vehicle to show everyone all the amazing music we have gotten to experience by touring and meeting new people. Every track on this comp was either shown to us by an incredible person or made by one of our friends. We also included a little cover of a song by one of our favourite current musicians, Andy Shauf.

These artists, as well as many, many others, have infuenced us to create and kept our deep love of music alive. This mix will keep you company on a quiet night by yourself or with friends. You can check it out on the plane, the bus, a long walk, or any situation where you want a soundtrack for reflection and meditation.' - BADBADNOTGOOD May 2017

History of Heat is an eroto-intellectual retelling of a love story. It is the scholarship of heat, and the sources of its production in the body: desire, exaltation, anticipation, fear, rage and mourning . It is a fable circulating through the nerves, pumped and distributed by its own mythologies. Through different chapters, we follow the heroine of our story from the initial desire to love, the sensual pull which oscillates between the grotesque and sacred longing of the flesh (‘L’Enfer en pleine lumière’ translates to ‘Hell in plain sight’)...to the sudden ghostlike appearance of the Other (Apparition) as a projection of the dream. We enter into the spiritual, the seeing visions and the blindness of love. ‘Animal’ speaks of instinct, the smell of the beloved, already the deconstruction of the divine back into the realm of the physical. The title track ‘History of heat’ sings the hesitation of love, the precipice of openness and the invitation of the contract: Dance with me... (This is where the metaphoric marriage is forged). In ‘Perfection’, the pressure which keeps the relationship on the pedestal of the absolute stunts and paralyses love. Unrealistic expectations of the self and the other person creates the push and pull of the not wanting what one wants and the fear to get what one has been asking for. ‘Tiny engine’ speaks of mechanical attachment, attachment to the lover as habit, as a second nature, and the call to the other person as a magnet. In ‘Ditectrice’, the madness and the folly of separation spawns war and confusion. It is the violent refusal to live without the other... the pleading with god. ‘Feed him’ follows with resignation and exhaustion. Love has become the beast of burden who eats away at itself insatiably. ‘War text’ brings forth the devastation, the peace treaty and finally the metaphysical Divorce. In ‘Guttermoon’, the vita contemplativa begins, the blood starts to cool, the scene is a ghost town. ‘Wrong god’ similarly winds down as an ode to remorse and mourning. Finally, ‘Cinema Verité’ closes out the album with a mistrust of ‘reality’: the heroine becomes a philosopher, she becomes an artist... did the relationship ever exist or was it a projection “In front of a movie screen” ?

History of Heat is an experimental narrative and cinematic pastiche of all original and self recorded material. A chaotic mix of sounds both analog and digitally produced recalls a warlike interpersonal breakdown. The mood established by the lyrical content of the piece is meant to be demanding, enclosing the listener within a unique and compelling cocoon of otherworldly sound. the Album is framed within a discursive love story which reflects larger relational problematics and interpersonal traumas. looped vocals act as incantations woven in and out of lyrical singing and spoken word. The instrumentals embrace chaos and intensity. Improvised violin and broken down beats compliment and balance the melancholic overtones which flutter above off the grid rhythms in this charged ficto-personal account.

Repress!

Wiggle celebrate 25 years and relaunch their iconic label with a releases including co-founders Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Eddie Richards, as well as artists like D’julz, Silverlining, Mihai Popoviciu, and more.

Wiggle, the brand that gave birth to tech house a sound that would power London’s club music community for over two decades, step out into their 25th year. To mark reaching this remarkable milestone, they plan a special series of international shows and a relaunch of their influential and ground-breaking label.

Taking their lead directly from the acid house movement, Nathan Coles and Terry Francis first brought Wiggle to life through their heady warehouse parties in the early 90s. Unpretentious to their core, these now infamous events were known for their purist values – community and a sound that booms. Finding a kindred spirit in another new face, Eddie Richards became resident from early sets and was a key figure from the off.

Through these now historic events, they embedded themselves deeply into London’s party landscape becoming familiar faces at cultural institution fabric. Heavily based around the core residents they also invited parts of the international and local world from Richie Hawtin, Jay Tripwire, Abe Duque and Colin Dale.

It’s about here we acknowledge Wiggle’s place in originating tech house - working the hard line swagger of techno together with the depth of feeling of house, matching rhythm with bass in a way perfectly aligned with endless hours of hedonism. This potent mix of musical elements is where it began and set down the foundation of London’s rich and active community of DJs, producers and ravers.

The label was founded close to the parties, sourcing tracks from the ever building network of producers who were fuelling this sound evolution. For their 25th birthday you can expect to see the Wiggle imprint coming back in strength - returning to cutting tracks to wax and continuing its legacy for bass fuelled party sounds and pioneering new talent.

2019 will see a series of international shows and a quarterly London party bringing the much loved Wiggle sensibilities and celebrate what they are and have achieved.

Get on board 5 new space alchemists for the next level of “The Orbitants”!
The “Panic Side” (Side A) refers to a synthetic melody transition from the beatless Heinrich Dressel’s intro, to the mystical drama “Source Reality”, a utopistic abstract-composition by Galaxian, who serving his anarchic vision of electronic music.
Falling into the wicked flash born from Foreign Sequence’s Oberheim. 
Entering to the “Black Side” (Sibe B), the virus infected the system: it’s the Lake Haze electro hit! Spooky pads triggering the edgy arpeggio, body of the track. 
Jensen Interceptor provides yet another one of his tipycal alien incursion with a cruel-core on a beat techno influenced. 5 ruthless tools — Be brave!

WRWTFWW Records is blissful to announce the expanded reissue of one of the most fascinating Japanese ambient/environmental albums ever made, NOVA + 4 by Yutaka Hirose. The double LP includes the album known as Soundscape 2: Nova, sourced from its original masters, as well as 50 minutes of never-released-before recordings. It comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, packed with liner notes from the artist in English and Japanese. NOVA + 4 is also available on double digipack CD.

Initially released in 1986 as part of the Soundscape series* commissioned by Misawa Home Corporation for use in their prefabricated houses, Yutaka Hirose's NOVA has grown to become a mythical piece of the Japanese minimalist/ambient/environmental scene of the eighties. Initiated around the enchanting landscapes of the two first tracks recorded for the project, "Nova" and "Epilogue", Yutaka Hirose's magnum opus serenely blends vintage synth with nature sounds, exploring soothing palettes and organic backdrops. For "Slow Sky", Hirose explains he "went for a pointillism-like sound, and tried to express a scenery of awakening, where the portal of a heart is opening up", while on "Humming The Sea", he "tried to compose a kind of music that expresses the daily, lazy life of child-like innocence in a summer vacation in some small town."

The bonus LP gathers four long unreleased pieces created around the same period of time for installations, described by Yutaka Hirose as "not music per se but rather sound sculptures", and including the haunting "Shadow Of A Water Droplet" which was recorded for an Ikebana exhibition.

All in all, NOVA + 4 is a transcendent experience of nature in the urban context, an oeuvre which, much like Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass or Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way, holds the power to appease the soul in turbulent times. As one inspired YouTube commenter once said when describing Yutaka Hirose's masterstroke: "I can't tell if the birds are singing inside or outside! Thank you!"

*The Soundscape series also includes Hiroshi Yoshimura's Surround album.

“Acid Sensible EP” released by Johnkôôl Records is a compilation of tracks composed by french producer Botine (already seen on Acid Avengers Records) along those formative years. It is truly the fruit of back-and-forths between the stage and studio environment from 2013 to 2016.

The term Acid Sensible first appeared in Clément’s graphic work as he developed his musical adventures. It’s a tale in which pets, organized in a micro-society produce music that will free them from humans and their alienating lifestyle. Acid Sensible is how they name that musical genre they created and that Botine appropriated himself. Built on a complex mix of influences, Acid Sensible is a careful and melodious pop balance between new-beat rhythms and meditative sounds sourced from IDM, Braindance, Psychedelic Rock and Krautrock.

Most of the tracks on the EP were composed on analog devices. The recording was done in one take only, thus preserving its powerful esthetic sourced from the live environment.

A few years ago, Roi took the wise decision of changing his life, he got away from the madding crowd of the city and moved to the coast of Dexo, surrounded by nature and animals. This kind of retreat has been the trigger of an enormous personal growth and a strong feeling of freedom, which has led him to find a certain inner calm, also to feel the constant climatic changes which are so typical of Galicia, alternating between wind, rain and sun. Roi has found himself; this deep self-knowledge has provoked an internal explosion of inspiration that made him to fully immerse in music production after years of experimenting.

Concurring with the 10th anniversary tour of the label and promoter Fanzine Project which he co-manages, the artist from A Coruna will publish his first EP next month of June. He comes with melodies full of power, light and elegance, embracing a wide spectrum of music styles which meet in a perfect point of balance between strength and delicacy. Deixo EP is the outcome of a small tribute paid to his three main sources of inspiration: The wonderful landscape of the coast of Dexo, Seixo Branco Point and his unconditional companion: His dog Tigre.

Ready for an adventure running parallel to their lives in common units, the quartet boarded a starship
to set off on an astral expedition. The mission began perfectly, according to plan. From the very first
measures, the travellers were released from the Earth's gravity. Very quickly, their home planet
appeared tiny and distant, before disappearing completely. Comets and novae lit the way through the
fathomless depths of interstellar space. Their preliminary, in-depth studies of seventies jazz-funk
were a great source of inspiration. Very early on, they knew that this sonic esthetic would allow them
to travel even farther, navigating only with organic instruments and no digital backing or
enhancements.
Commander Virgile Raffaëlli's bass lines guided their journey, offering a calm, yet vibrant foundation
for the smoother phases and turning up the power to bring them through turbulence and meteor
showers safe and sound. Like a compass, the bass indicated the direction and traced a groove that
the loyal, valued crew could follow as their travels continued. Mathieu Edouard's drums solidly
locked down the rhythm to avoid any sudden jolts, working in tandem with Erwan Loeffel's jetpropelled percussion. On the keyboards, Florian Pellissier drew harmonies and riffs from the
synthesizers and electric pianos to oil the machinery and lighten the load when the ensemble needed
to rise a few feet. The crew's almost telepathic cohesion was key to their success, allowing them to
express interior emotions with just a few notes.
Here is the last transmission we received:
"We have landed on an unknown planet and are depressurizing the airlock with help from subtle
horns and ethereal choruses so we can discover the new horizon. It definitely meets our
expectations! The desert before us holds the promise of new life. The warm yet fresh air is easy to
breathe. A vague psychedelic scent floats through the atmosphere, as if ready to spring from the first
flower to bloom. Dreamlike, mysterious, enigmatic yet familiar, we will call it Aldorande."

Here we go with one of the most valuable records in the steaming pile of Bogwoppas. This one was bootlegged a couple of years ago from dodgy Youtube rips. So we thought we would go all out on an official reissue for you. Sadly the DATs were long since lost in the midst of time. However a NM copy was sourced and a small fortune spent on restoration. The guy who does the restoration usually works on African Jazz music on Shellac records. So he is used to doing his magic on much worse audio. The upshot of the restoration is the 4 tracks sound almost as good as the original masters. Bear in mind it's a 25 year old record with all the crackle and pop that goes along with that. We've tried to polish these turds without ruining the original vibe too much. The audio samples are the masters we used for production so you can hear them before buying.

Sorry this one has to be a couple of quid more as we shelled out a small fortune on the restoration. You know the score if you want the original though. So hopefully you're not too miffed!

"a kind of Radiophonic Workshop Rebel Alliance…" - The Quietus

Modern music concrete quartet Langham Research Centre follow-up their debut album, Tape Works, Vol. 1 with a short EP of remixes, also on nonclassical. Remixes come from a fan of theirs – experimental veteran Jim O'Rourke – and Berlin-based industrial duo group A.

On Side A, Jim O'Rourke uses 'Quasar Melodics' as his source material, transforming fizzing grains of sound into an oceanic swirl of noise. On the flip, group A find metallic rhythms and eerie melancholy in 'Perpetual Motion'.

On 7" and digital, the EP has gained radio play on BBC's Late Junction.

New LP from French beat-makers La Fine Equipe featuring Illa J, T3, 20Syl, Mr J Medeiros, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Fakear ...

Let's be clear: La Fine Equipe is a band. The numerous hats wore by its four members are so various that it could mislead one's. Indeed, surrounding Blanka, oOgo, Chomsky and Mr. Gib, there are recording studios, collaborations, lives, side-projects... There is also and especially a whole universe built during the past ten years around their passion for beatmaking, embodied by the release of « 5th Season », new album.
So yes, La Fine Equipe is a band, but it's also much more than that.

Since their creation in 2006 and their first album « La Boulangerie » two years later, the four producers became inevitable when you think about a new scene breaking the barriers between musical genders. Hip Hop is at the heart of their craft, corner stone of their musical background and inspirations where the paths of J Dilla, Madlib, Flying Lotus, Kaytranada and the turntablists A-Trak, C2C and Birdy Nam Nam are crossing ways. Two things gather La Fine Equipe and those big names, the constant need of collaboration with other artists, and this thirst of discovery, main feature of the digger.

From 2008 to 2014, La Fine Equipe mastered its craft with the « Boulangerie », compilation gathering 34 beatmakers on 113 tracks. They also work on the creation of the label Nowadays Records (Fakear, Skence, Unno, Clément Bazin, Leska, Douchka...) and released more than 75 EPs and LPs in five years.
With an outrageous number of shows across the world, tour in Asia, South America, collaborations with several international artists... Their success changed the game: Whereas many producers coming from this environment where isolated, La Fine Equipe federated a growing scene and became its reference.
After years spent paving the way for other artists and creating a structure that could support the growth of a musical scene, they decided to go further and launch a new era with « 5th Season ».

Because the band works with eight hands and four brains, there's nothing surprising in the fact that the album sounds like a condensed of each and everyone inspirations and experiences, from hip hop and sampling, to electronica, jazz and Latinas inspirations. If homogeneity is the new trend, La Fine Equipe isn't ready to sacrifice its wishes to fit the mould.

« 5th Season » is also a glance at the world looking over our planet's current state, the cosmos, the vegetal and these things that are greater and stronger than us, and the things and behaviour that could led to our loss.
It's an almost apocalyptic vision of our future, but full of optimism at the same time. There is something solar and cinematographic in this album, a format that goes beyond the one chosen before, closer to playlist and compilations such as the three Boulangerie opuses remind us.

Loyal to their status of ambassadors, the four beatmakers keep on inviting other artists to complete their universe. Illa J and T3, respectively brother and partner (Slum Village) of the late J. Dilla, make the connection between a glorious past and the future embodied by La Fine Equipe on the track « The Source ». With « Aurora », it's the solemn and mystical voice of Madjo that take this electro-pop track to another level. The American rapper Mr. J. Medeiros on the boom bap anthem « What Eva », the Montrealer ZeFire on « Typical », each and every artists brings its stone to the edifice of « 5th Season », giving to the album a limitless and freed musical richness.

But to release an album isn't enough. In parallel, each member of La Fine Equipe continues to fulfil its multiples tasks and work on a new concept live show bringing a scenic and visual show in addition to their music. It is what the artists looking toward the future do, and La Fine Equipe is looking straight ahead.

_________________________________________________________________________

TRACK BY TRACK

AURORA (Ft. Madjo)
Already remixed by the quatuor on the beautiful track « Choose The Heart », it's Madjo's turn to be invited by La Fine Equipe for a collaboration. Her mystical voice, which fragility paradoxically seems to strengthen its power, turns the track into an epic pop anthem.

NOBU (Ft. Grems & 20syl)
The association of these three names seems obvious, like a family reunion. Grems did the visual of the anniversary box of La Boulangerie, 20syl (C2C, Hocus Pocus) was one of the beatmakers who took part in the project.
This time, the two big brothers are side by side behind the mic, for the first French speaking collaboration of La Fine Equipe.
On this trapy/footwork beat, the two rappers ring the alarm before it's too late to save our house, the earth.

THE SOURCE (Ft. T3 & Illa J)
In the family of Hip Hop jewels of 5th Season, here is one coming from the USA. Fans of J Dilla and Slum Village since the first hour, La Fine Equipe pays its respects to its influences by inviting T3 and Illa J. Respectively member of Slum Village and brother of the legendary Detroit producer, these two MCs build a bridge between the eras and let their sharpened flows confuse our perception of time.

5TH SEASON (Ft. Fakear)
A second collaboration with their little brother from the Nowadays Family, Fakear. Eponymous title, it represents the universe of both entities, true road trip through Fakearians melodies and La Fine Equipe's funk declined in five seasons.

TYPICAL BOY (Ft. ZeFire)
With « Typical Boy », La Fine Equipe express its love for House music with chopped rhythms and a heavy but swaying bass line. The freed track oscillate between power and lightness. A beat that quickly becomes ZeFire's playground. The Montreal singer, already heard on Her's tracks, brings a missing r'n'b touch to create the perfect chemistry.

2026 Repress !

Fonky and tribal, sour and sweet and defenitly technoid ! The Maskk kick and the groovy Ixindamix style ! Party time full of cheesyness !! ENJOY !

* 180 gram audiophile vinyl
* Insert
* Limited Edition of 1000 numbered copies on Clear & Solid Yellow mixed coloured vinyl

Dead Serious is the debut studio album of American hip hop duo Das EFX, originally released in 1992. Recording sessions for the album took place at Firehouse Studios in Brooklyn, New York and at Charlie Marotta's North Shore Soundworks studio in Long Island, New York.

Dead Serious caused an immediate sensation upon its release. The album was a certified hit, peaking at 16 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, topping the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks. Dead Serious went platinum on the strength of the singles "Mic Checka" and the Top 40 pop hit "They Want EFX", by 1993.

Well-received upon its release, Dead Serious has since been regarded by music writers as a significant and influential album in hip hop. Giving it a 4 out of 5-mic rating, The Source's Matty C compared the duo's lyrical style to that of Busta Rhymes, Treach, and EPMD.

XOA, led by London based producer and musician Nick Tyson, is setto
release debut album 'Way West' via Five Easy Pieces.
XOA means to look outwards; to draw inspiration from many
sources.'Way West' is alive withthis: steeped in the rich analogue sonics
of the past,the warmth of machines and influence fromthe sounds of
London's fervent musicscene.
Featuring a blend of contemporary electronic production and
liveinstrumentation, 70s Afrobeat inspired drums and cosmic melodies
are thrustintothe present day with strong cues from house and techno.
Three vocalists contribute across the album, with Tyson choosingto work
with singers he has apersonal admiration and friendship with. HollieCook,
known to many for her ethereal pop tingedreggae, delivers a
sumptuouscontribution on 'Heartland', adding a beautiful emotional
dimensionto the hornled track. Lulu Jones' vocals are treated more as a
sample for the garagetinged 'CallOn Me' and Ruby Wood, of Submotion
Orchestra, has worked with Tysonover a number ofprojects and their
shared love of 90s soul comes to the fore onthe laid back grooves and
sunkissed 'Only One Thing'.

Moonshoe Records has bowled over first listeners by presenting this new side of their sphere - Air Space Ark’s debut, “All Rivers Lead” charts the course of divergent streams of contemporary ambient music, downtempo rhythms, and electroacoustic experimentation, arriving at a calming confluence of these sources. Across the 6 songs on these two sides, they evoke a calming and contemplative headspace

333 is an exquisite study in balance - the intermingling of bird song water sounds that could equally be field recordings or synthesized foley - the ambiguity adding a delightful trompe l'oreille effect - and crystalline keys ; these airy sounds weighted by washes of subbass.

BLANK PAGE is almost like a version of the previous track, retaining the nimble birdsongs and heavy sub, but foregrounding a lolling, stumbling hip-hop beat and placing more emphasis on the effects wizardry as abstract sounds careen across the track in wipes and wisps, before stripping down to a beautiful coda of birdsong, piano plinks and a textured backdrop.

The celestial keys, flute-like thrums and gentle chimes of WORDS BETWEEN SELF evoke the golden age of spiritual jazz, but the hazy ambiance and shuffling beats transmute the other elements around them into something more introspective and personal than jubilant praise. Lyrics aside, the subtle funk coupled with the pensive, meditative air channels the spirit of Stanley Cowell’s classic TRAVELLIN’ MAN.

LOFT IN 7 Is the most “out” moment here. It has echoes, literally, of jazz. Like decaying tape reels disintegrating in real time, we feel the tape buckling and warping under the weight of time as the sounds of a synthetic band warp and shift against electronic impulses and glitches, eventually leaving just a lingering, ghostly imprint. .

DUST SONG veers the closest towards a straightforward instrumental hip hop cut - a submerged sounding breakbeat coupled with a tender piano melody - but is buoyed by drifting pads and a dense, hallucinatory bed of effects.

CONCRETE closes proceedings. Charged with a crepuscular energy, it’s all-together as mercurial and magical as the transition from day to night. Different elements swirl and coalesce, honing in on dense, textural moments across a horizontal drift. The end effect is hypnotic yet captivating, so much so that when the track eventually blooms into silence at the end you’re struck by the brevity of the whole experience. Thankfully you can listen to it again!

* MIRAGES is the brainchild of Jean-Benoît Dunckel(AIR) and Jonathan Fitoussi.
* Spawning from Xavier Veilhan’s Studio Venezia at the 57th Venice Biennale and completing in Jean-Benoit’s studio in Paris.
* Collaboration between Jean-Benoit (AIR) and Jonathan Fitoussi.
* 12″ 180g heavyweight clear vinyl
* White printed artwork by Jean-Philippe Talaga
* Photos by Diane Arques
* Ltd Ed. of 500

“Synthesizers amassed through the years, which on this album, conceived with precision and care over the course of one year, reveal their essence –and more importantly, their soul, going from very cinematographic parts to very direct others. Between start and finish, a singular floating and inventive pop music unfolds. An upgraded form of instrumental electronic music, that takes the listener very far, and very high, perfectly mixing both musicians world, like fruitful pictures arisen from a desert that forgot to be arid. Their mirages are inventive, their mirages are fertile.” Joseph Ghosn