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Crazy brothers are getting nerveous... Find here on of their recent acid Xp techno to hardcore experience.

Enjoy the last mother fucking tune here !!

Strut present the 4CD edition of Sun Ra's 'Egypt 1971' along with the original albums 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon' released as individual LPs, documenting Sun Ra's first trip to Egypt with his Arkestra in December 1971. In the years leading up to 1971, Sun Ra wrote many compositions and poems specifically inspired by the ancient African Kingdoms and many others with associated mythological and heliocentric connotations. As such, a visit to Egypt and the opportunity for the Arkestra to play there was a matter of necessity. Ra's first ever concerts outside of the US had occurred in late summer and autumn of 1970 with performances in France, Germany and the UK and a second European tour was arranged for late 1971. At the end of that second tour, Ra caught wind of cheap flights from Denmark to Cairo. This release comprises recordings made by Arkestra member Thomas "Bugs" Hunter made in December 1971 in the streets around the Mena House Hotel, Giza, from a concert held at the house of Goethe Institute ex-pat Hartmut Geerken in Heliopolis, from a live Cairo TV channel broadcast and a concert at the Ballon Theatre in Cairo. The impact and significance of these few weeks upon Sun Ra can be measured by the growth and development of his output over the next few years; the immediate post-Egypt period included new studio and live recordings on the Saturn, Blue Thumb, Atlantic and Impulse labels and the 'Space Is The Place' movie. Ra also edited the three LPs of the 'Live In Egypt' series which were subsequently released on his Saturn record label and its affiliated twin, Thoth Intergalactic: 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon'. These three albums are now reissued as single LP editions in their original artwork. The 4CD set features these albums alongside previously unreleased material from the December 1971 recordings. All tracks are remastered from the original tapes and the CD set also features a 24-page booklet featuring new sleeve notes and rare photos by Hartmut Geerken and background information on the recordings by Paul Griffiths.

Strut present the 4CD edition of Sun Ra's 'Egypt 1971' along with the original albums 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon' released as individual LPs, documenting Sun Ra's first trip to Egypt with his Arkestra in December 1971. In the years leading up to 1971, Sun Ra wrote many compositions and poems specifically inspired by the ancient African Kingdoms and many others with associated mythological and heliocentric connotations. As such, a visit to Egypt and the opportunity for the Arkestra to play there was a matter of necessity. Ra's first ever concerts outside of the US had occurred in late summer and autumn of 1970 with performances in France, Germany and the UK and a second European tour was arranged for late 1971. At the end of that second tour, Ra caught wind of cheap flights from Denmark to Cairo. This release comprises recordings made by Arkestra member Thomas "Bugs" Hunter made in December 1971 in the streets around the Mena House Hotel, Giza, from a concert held at the house of Goethe Institute ex-pat Hartmut Geerken in Heliopolis, from a live Cairo TV channel broadcast and a concert at the Ballon Theatre in Cairo. The impact and significance of these few weeks upon Sun Ra can be measured by the growth and development of his output over the next few years; the immediate post-Egypt period included new studio and live recordings on the Saturn, Blue Thumb, Atlantic and Impulse labels and the 'Space Is The Place' movie. Ra also edited the three LPs of the 'Live In Egypt' series which were subsequently released on his Saturn record label and its affiliated twin, Thoth Intergalactic: 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon'. These three albums are now reissued as single LP editions in their original artwork. The 4CD set features these albums alongside previously unreleased material from the December 1971 recordings. All tracks are remastered from the original tapes and the CD set also features a 24-page booklet featuring new sleeve notes and rare photos by Hartmut Geerken and background information on the recordings by Paul Griffiths.

“Easy rider, come and take me higher”. When the world seemingly crumbles around, music can provide an escape few other mediums can. For their debut self-titled LP, Velour effortlessly levitate you above the madness below, each track taking a new turn, cruising over hazy flecked skylines, bustling walkways and bleary eyed bedlam. A trajectory that takes in all of jazz’s vibrancies, blending elements of neo soul, broken beat and hip hop coupled with a much-needed sense of hope across nine deep, soul-searching tracks released via WOLF Music Recordings.

A style and sound taking influence from genres and moods, environments and experiences, Essen-based Velour stretch their legs for this, their first full length album. From the off, they nestle you under their wing with the rustling sax washes of opener ‘CLP’ before diving into an epic slo-mo burner, swooping down into the chaos as singer, Eva Czaya, wistfully narrates the scenes beneath.

Unafraid to shift pace within songs, the likes of ‘Pose’, sauntering from soulful summer groove into woozy late night affair, and ‘Tom's Garage’, that progresses from roadside recounting to grungy basement blowout, finished with a sample of jazz-tinged dusty beats, show that accomplished and adept heads rest on the shoulders of these relative newcomers.

WOLF Music mainstay Mr Fries continues to head up production for Velour, his trademark touch capturing the intimacy of Velour’s sound presenting it in a way that’s considered yet raw - nothing feeling rushed, nor cluttered. A separation and space that gives each element the room it deserves to breathe, with short interludes and skits providing the perfect bridge between tracks, guiding you through smokey jazz bars and twilight whisperings.

Moving through the album, Czaya at points wanders in a serene spoken dialogue, at others letting her voice loose, but always with an ethereal demeanour that comes off with natural ease. One of many highlights, ‘Anthony Davis’ shows off this celestial prowess whilst perfectly embodying Velour’s dream-like escapism. A pent up release of creativity, as moody bass tones mix with deft keys, rolling snares sit behind swirling saxophones.

The journey ends with ‘Luminate’, a transcendent closer laced with space-echoed vocals that reverberate around over-driven Rhodes and feverish drums. Cymbals crash, as modulated synths rise, building and building before easing you off into the night and on your way to a parallel universe.

As a body of work, ‘Velour’ is a shining example of the freedom, energy and enthusiasm of the new school of jazz that’s been captivating minds the world over. An instant on repeat staple - let go, feel the flow, it’s what we need in a time like this.

To accompany the 18 track, 2 x CD Planisphere – Atmospheres release, we’re delighted to present another duo of vinyl for the purists. Atmospheres 2 x 12” Vinyl Album Sampler will feature 5 remastered originals alongside the brand-new Atmospheres. George and Laurent continue to click in the studio, and as the excitement built over the last few months, we just knew they were going to create greatness once again.

Vinyl 1 will house the main track Atmospheres. Taking up Side A, this hybrid groove encapsulates that Planisphere sound beautifully. Theatrical, cinematic, melodic and intriguing. Ambient sequences join a tight breaks pattern before a more driving bassline takes over along with 4x4 beats, leaving us thoroughly gratified and wanting more. On the flip, we have two gems. B1 has So Many Ways, a track that found its way into sets from the bedroom to the mega-party and beyond. A real epic, progressive trance groove filled with swirling, captivating pads and a melody that juts melts into your soul. B2 hosts Lektrophony, a solid breaks track that locks you in with its hypnotic charm and 303 lines. A relentless groover, the breakbeats are so addictive and the acid lines give it a real nice touch. Another epic smasher that never disappoints.

Vinyl 2 features the mighty Deep Blue Dream on the A side. With its relentlessly powerful bassline and dreamy melodies, this one remains a go to track to keep the groove solid. Besides the epic flavour of the track, the break on this is huge. Descending into slow moving pads, the arps never really fades before it all builds and builds into a wonderful climax, revealing powerful, sweeping strings and pads. Over on the B1 slot we have Cyborganic which intros with a Pete Namlook-esque arpeggio sequence alongside a deep droning bass before punchy kicks and huge synths take over. A proper peak time slice full of energy and drive. Rounding up this must have vinyl set in the B2 position, we have the impressive The Lost Planet, which was originally found in a superb two-part release, Sounds From Outer Space back in 2000. This one has everything, a Balearic groove with a spacey vibe. Undertones of 303 lurk as sweet, dreamy pad melodies allow us to drift.

This 2-part sampler is a must have for all vinyl enthusiasts, with limited quantities, keep an eye out for pre-order on our website and socials.

The Diabolical Liberties release their debut album "High Protection & The Sportswear Mystics" via the boundary breaking On The Corner Records label - a bastion of oddball jazz and electronics from the worldwide underground. Comprising Rob Gallagher (vocals, guitar, bass) and Alex Patchwork (head of squarepushing), the duo's debut longplayer is a rough, unpolished gem of a record that falls clumsily in the gaps between post-punk, electronica and jazz. Lead single 'Sliders' embodies this identity crisis, simultaneously honouring and deriding the ubiquity of said footwear over resonant breakbeats, plonking cowbell and the screeching horn of Ignacio Salvadores (King Krule / Gal Go). Elsewhere, the brilliant Emma Jean Thackray sprinkles 'High Protection' with cosmic dust, 'Bigger Than You' is a ramshackle (but no less respectful) homage to the 70s Ghanaian disco/fusion purveyed by legends like Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas. All produced and recorded in a shed, on train platforms, trains, tubes and occasionally Caffè Nero in Cheam when it was quieter than home.

Strut present the 4CD edition of Sun Ra's 'Egypt 1971' along with the original albums 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon' released as individual LPs, documenting Sun Ra's first trip to Egypt with his Arkestra in December 1971. In the years leading up to 1971, Sun Ra wrote many compositions and poems specifically inspired by the ancient African Kingdoms and many others with associated mythological and heliocentric connotations. As such, a visit to Egypt and the opportunity for the Arkestra to play there was a matter of necessity. Ra's first ever concerts outside of the US had occurred in late summer and autumn of 1970 with performances in France, Germany and the UK and a second European tour was arranged for late 1971. At the end of that second tour, Ra caught wind of cheap flights from Denmark to Cairo. This release comprises recordings made by Arkestra member Thomas "Bugs" Hunter made in December 1971 in the streets around the Mena House Hotel, Giza, from a concert held at the house of Goethe Institute ex-pat Hartmut Geerken in Heliopolis, from a live Cairo TV channel broadcast and a concert at the Ballon Theatre in Cairo. The impact and significance of these few weeks upon Sun Ra can be measured by the growth and development of his output over the next few years; the immediate post-Egypt period included new studio and live recordings on the Saturn, Blue Thumb, Atlantic and Impulse labels and the 'Space Is The Place' movie. Ra also edited the three LPs of the 'Live In Egypt' series which were subsequently released on his Saturn record label and its affiliated twin, Thoth Intergalactic: 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon'. These three albums are now reissued as single LP editions in their original artwork. The 4CD set features these albums alongside previously unreleased material from the December 1971 recordings. All tracks are remastered from the original tapes and the CD set also features a 24-page booklet featuring new sleeve notes and rare photos by Hartmut Geerken and background information on the recordings by Paul Griffiths.

(180 gram pressing) Kosmo Sound from Ghent presents its long-awaited debut album 'Antenna'. The instrumental sextet is inspired by the typical dub sound where their background in jazz is never far away. They mix heavy bass lines and tight drums with spacy melodies into an organic trip that sets every venue on fire. They have already performed twice as the support act for Dub legend Adrian Sherwood and became winners of Sound Track 2019.

Long sought after by collectors, DJs and lovers of hard salsa and boogaloo alike, 'Yo Traigo Boogaloo' is now lovingly reissued in replica form with the original cover art, remastered from the studio tapes, reproducing that magical MAG studio sound for today's aficionados to enjoy like it was 1969 all over again. Alfredo Linares is a globetrotting pianist, composer, bandleader and producer from Peru with a long, prolific career in latin music. His long sought after by DJs and collectors of hard salsa and boogaloo alike, 'Yo Traigo Boogaloo' is now lovingly reissued in replica form with the original cover art, remastered from the studio tapes, reproducing that magical MAG studio sound for today's aficionados to enjoy like it was 1969 all over again. Details: Alfredito "Sabor" Linares is a globetrotting pianist, composer, bandleader and producer from Lima, Peru with a long, prolific career in hot Latin music spanning more than half a century. Though Linares has come to recent international fame through his work with William "Quantic" Holland, he was already quite popular and famous in his adopted countries of Colombia and Venezuela in the 1970s and 80s during the salsa boom. However, his career began in Lima, backing timbalero Ñico Estrada at age 17 in 1961, and Alfredito's first notable recording as a sideman was a few years later on the now legendary 'El Combo de Pepe' album for IEMPSA/Odeon. Subsequently Linares would advance his career by recording two fabulous records under his own capable leadership as Alfredo Linares Y Su Sonora at the end of the decade for the MAG label. These releases capitalized on recent developments in New York Latin music, namely Latin jazz, boogaloo, descarga (jam session) and what would later be marketed as "salsa" with roots in the Cuban guaguancó and guaracha genres. One can hear direct inspiration coming from Joe Cuba, Ricardo Ray, and Eddie Palmieri, especially on the first album, 'El Pito', and yet by the second record, there are plenty of original tunes as well. More importantly there is a 'swing' and assertiveness to the playing (and arrangements) that prove every bit as authentic, tough and danceable as their New York inspirations. As Linares himself recounts, "In that era, we fought against a generation that was half-blind, because the people who understood what we were doing were few. We had to fight hard for our space in Perú, that's where the swing comes from." That special 'swing' also emanated from Linares' ace backing band, which happened to be a talented stable of MAG studio musicians who all understood Cuban and jazz music: percussionists Mario Allison and Coco Lagos, bassist Joey di Roma, Kiko Fuentes and Carlos Muñoz on lead vocals and Melcochita on coro (vocal chorus). According to Linares, the studio band was "open-ended, some musicians came some days, others on other days_Nilo Espinoza on saxophone, Betico Salas and Tito Chicoma on trumpets. Otto de Rojas played piano, and so did Charlie Palomares, who played vibraphone. Another good musician was guitarist Carlos Hayre." Though the recordings were cut "live in the studio" and many were basically composed on the spot, the intrinsic strength and maturity of the performances on 'Yo Traigo Boogaloo' stand the test of time as one of Peru's most important contributions to tropical music across the decades, establishing Alfredito Linares as a master of the idiom and serving as a harbinger for great things to come for him in Colombia and Venezuela. Long sought after by collectors, DJs and lovers of hard salsa and boogaloo alike, 'Yo Traigo Boogaloo' is now lovingly reissued in replica form with the original cover art, remastered from the studio tapes, reproducing that magical MAG studio sound for today's aficionados to enjoy like it was 1969 all over again. Pablo E Yglesias DJ Bongohead of Peace & Rhythm

Buenos Aires’ Santiago Garcia joins Upercent in his native Valencia, candidly integrating their own unique approaches to music and harmonizing artistries to render an unpretentious glimpse into the process of building a home, both literally and figuratively. Unveiling the birth of their new label, Interpret, the talented DJ/Producers draw on their personal and artistic connection, versatility on and off decks and penchant for metaphors to foster a safe space for interpretation and canvas for symphonic expression. INT01 is storytelling in its fine, sincere and genuine form, segmented into four distinctive and equally compelling tracks that naturally occurred upon graciously pushing sounds and nurturing instincts.

Carrer Bonaire EP is a mosaic of sounds traversing an infinite spectrum of emotions, handwoven by Interpret masterminds, Upercent and Santiago Garcia, with meticulous detail and quintessence through to the EP’s finish. But not to fret, Interpret is not only off to a good start, the label is here to stay, til imaginations run dry.

Fischgeist was recorded in a former water tank in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg in August 2019. The nineteenth-century brick building consists of five layered circles, with a spiral staircase in the middle leading up to an exit to a hilltop. Inside, it’s humid and cold, the temperature always around 8–10 C°. The building’s acoustics produce a long reverberation that lasts up to 20 seconds.

‘One day between recording sessions, a man, a passerby, wanted to look inside the building. He told me that it used to be full of fish. For a second I imagined a huge round aquarium with loads of fish swimming around in circles. Then I realized that he meant dead fish were kept there, to be sold on markets during the GDR era. But the image of fish swimming in the space stayed with me.’

In conversation with the space of the water tank, Tomoko Sauvage searches beyond the limits of her self-invented ‘natural synthesizers’: porcelain and glass bowls, filled with water and amplified with hydrophones.

While she continues to develop some of the classic techniques heard on her previous album Musique Hydromantique (Shelter Press, 2017) – hydrophonic feedback (Kinetosis Study) and ‘fortune biscuits’ (porous pieces of terracotta that emit tiny singing bubbles) (Deluge) – here new elements are combined with delicate gestures to make curious noises: stroking bowls’ surfaces to imitate the voices of sea mammals (Metamorphosis), drawing dots and circles by rubbing stones against stones underwater (Exit) … The underwater amplification of quasi-inaudible sound is even more magnified in the air by the echo of the water tank. Not only tiny bubbles, but also micro-movements of the bones and veins of the hand holding the sonorous objects in the water, are intensely amplified – sounding like a tempest on the opening Deluge. Sauvage’s longtime research into hydrophonic feedback develops with her new obsession with natural harmonics and sympathetic resonance. In Flying Vessels, the percussive notes of struck bowls resonate and turn into feedback loops before decaying, fueled by electric signal gain. Kinetosis Study is a sonic etude on fluid dynamics – the flow velocity, pressure and density of manually shaped water waves directly controlling the aquatic synthesizer’s parameters.

August, when the mid-summer Ghost Festival is held, is traditionally known as the Ghost Month throughout East Asia. The spirits of the dead visit their living families, who welcome them with feasts, dancing and music. Miniature lantern-laden boats are released in rivers, to help lost ghosts find their way home.

Animated by formless matter – water, electricity, sound – Fischgeist celebrates a phantasmagoric journey, as the souls of aquatic lifeforms find their way out of the labyrinth of the water tank.

Credits
Composed, performed and mixed by Tomoko Sauvage
Recorded and produced by bohemian drips prior to ‘Speicher’ festival in Berlin, August 2019 (binaural recording with a KU-100 dummy head microphone)
Mastered by Andreas Kauffelt in Berlin
Cover drawings by Baien Mōri (1798-1851)
© Tomoko Sauvage and bohemian drips – all rights reserved

SUMMER OF SEVENTEEN are MONIKA KHOT (NORDRA, ZEN MOTHER), WILLIAM FOWLER COLLINS, DANIEL MENCHE, FAITH COLOCCIA (MAMIFFER), and AARON TURNER. (SUMAC, SPLIT CRANIUM).

Wildfires plagued Washington state during the summer of 2017, their smoke drifting westward toward the Seattle area and toxifying the air. Shortly before that trauma, MONIKA KHOT, WILLIAM FOWLER COLLINS, DANIEL MENCHE, FAITH COLOCCIA, and AARON TURNER had gathered at the latter two musicians' House Of Low Culture studio on idyllic Vashon Island with revered producer RANDALL DUNN. There they cut eight songs that capture the makeshift band's feelings of what COLOCCIA calls "a kind of doomsday lurking in the background." It's as if these highly attuned players had a premonition.

"Summer Of Seventeen" -which was edited and arranged by MONIKA KHOT, who records apocalyptic music solo as NORDRA and plays in the avant-rock band ZEN MOTHER—is a nuanced admixture of these musicians' sounds and a culmination of all of their previous collaborations. COLOCCIA and TURNER have created eldritch folk and chamber rock for over a decade in MAMIFFER while engaging in various solo and group projects that explore their profound spirituality in sound. MENCHE has been a fixture on the abstract composition scene for 31 years and COLLINS is a savvy explorer of drone and ambient forms. Their ephemeral summit meeting has yielded a masterwork for the ages.

A heaven/hell and beauty/beastliness dichotomy pervades the album—as if a titanic struggle was transpiring in that small studio. The fearsome trumpet fanfare that starts "Chorus Of The Innocents" heralds a baleful fate. With a subliminal industrial rhythm bristling beneath the eerie exhalations, the song submerges us in a slow-motion maelstrom, a horror-film facsimile of MILES DAVIS' "Bitches Brew". "Perceived Slight" threads death-metal screams through a stark, suspenseful atmosphere, with austere glints of guitar and beats like fists on a casket lid intensifying the dread.

Angelic chants and celestial drones perfume the air in several of the songs on "Summer Of Seventeen", countered with muted blast beats, serrated hums, jagged glitches, simulacra of grinding gears and lightning. It's as if no good deed goes unpunished. "Spirits Of Redeemer" could be an elegy for the human race while "Cultural Orphan" sounds like a symphony for a malfunctioning factory. The album ends with "Theatre Needs An Audience," a harrowing ballad somewhere between EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN and MERZBOW; it's a savage rent in the space-time continuum.

"Thinking about this record now," COLOCCIA recalls, "it seems like we were all sort of anticipating something like this current pandemic happening, although we were thinking about it as fire in the hands of man (literal fire, and also gunfire) that would overturn the normal running of things and reveal the current false beliefs systems holding up most of America."

That grave aura infiltrates "Summer Of Seventeen", However, a hopefulness bubbles beneath the foreboding architecture of sound and noise summoned here. The bunker is the new penthouse.

-Dave Segal, April 2020

The new 7'' on Delights is a vinyl debut for two groove-heavy, retro-futuristic remixes from Markey Funk's vaults: "Magic" by Men of North Country - on the A-side, and "Sparks" by 3421 - on the flip. Both cuts, previously available only on streaming platforms, are a kaleidoscopic homage to the 1960's space age romance, sci-fi psychedelia and cinematic funk.

Limited to 300 copies worldwide.

Our first release, VA001, is a compilation of artists that have previously played at our venue Colour! Our primary goal with this record was to showcase the diverse range of sounds that make the venue so special to us- from jazz to fusion to early morning trance. Additionally, we're trying to raise money to keep the venue afloat and get artists paid while they can't perform.

On the orange side, you'll get the late-night live music style we push upstairs, and the blue side would be the early morning dance music, plus more experimental electronic music takes. Every element of the club, in one stunning 12" liquorice pizza!

"...while I like to think that creations are a 'moment in time', this, for me, is much more than just a moment."

Truenoys 2020

"Depression is not just for those with painful traumas but it can lurk in everyone who is willing to live in truth... this album can be a cure or a helping hand...soundwise and lyrically."

Amos 2020

A/T/O/S, pronounced 'A Taste Of Struggle' is a project by Amos & Truenoys.

Introduced by a mutual friend, A/T/O/S started creating music together. Their first creation, 'A Taste Of Struggle' was quickly picked up by dubstep pioneer Mala, who signed them to his label DEEP MEDi. Their debut release received an early spin by BBC 6 Music's Mary Anne Hobbs and impressive remixes by Skream and Commodo.

Their upcoming album 'waterman', is the 3rd on DEEP MEDi, following their self-titled debut 'A/T/O/S' and the follow-up 'Outboxed'.

'waterman' once again sees A/T/O/S exploring new territories with their formula of exciting beats and powerful vocals, accompanied by Michiel De Malsche (@MIDM) on the keys as their 'secret, not so secret' member in the studio & on stage.

Ocean Moon is a solo project from Jon Tye of Seahawks. A long time explorer of the sounds of spaciousness, having released the ambient classic LP iO in 1994 as MLO, Crystal Harmonics is a document of Jon’s latest discoveries. An ambient/new age/modern classical library suite for KPM, this is inter-dimensional music for mind, body and spirit.

Island Visions, the recent collection of music from Seahawks for KPM, touched on the deeper, more spatial side of music and led to Jon exploring this territory in greater depth, again for KPM, under his Ocean Moon alter ego. This time he brought along some of today’s most visionary musicians: Jon Brooks (The Advisory Circle / Ghostbox) for his intuitive melodic mastery, Seaming To (Graham Massey’s Toolshed) for her extraordinary vocal talents, Steve Moore (Zombi) for his sophisticated and inventive rhythmic sensibility and Richard Norris (The Grid) for his sensitive and deeply resonant ambience. The initial recordings were made at The Centre Of Sound in Cornwall, with the collaborators various contributions coming from London, Derbyshire and the US.

The supremely serene electronic flute and bells of “Crystal Drift” ease us into our journey and we take our next steps with “Rainbow Ripples” as it gently folds space with arpeggiated synth swells and delicate machine beats. Light vocal tones, bells and breath FX on “And Breathe” keep us going, accompanied by synth drones and billows of electric piano.

We travel through the synth-space-surf haze of “Lost Oceans”, with soft bass and warm ambience, to reach the “New Infinity” of revolving melody, spacious pads and light electronic beats. The celestial tone floats of “White Mirror” close out the first side.

Temple bells ring out to running water flowing together with deep resonant vocal tones as the second side opens with “Peace Bells”. “Revolving and Evolving” follows, a tranquil electronic meadow of lush pastoral synth tones where we rest for a while for “Mountain Dreaming”, a light rhythmic dance of zither and birdsong.

The undulating “Forest Motion” ripples with synth arpeggios, dreamy Solina strings and percussive modular electronics before allowing the crackling ambience and Cantonese whispers of “Sleep Golden” to wash over us. Finally we find ourselves on “The Long Path”, its warm temple ambience of drones and chants guiding us home.

Crystal Harmonics is inspired by four particular albums from KPM’s catalogue. There’s The Electronic Light Orchestra by Adrian Wagner from 1975 and then Temple Of The Stars, Breath Of Life and finally Keith Mansfield’s Circles, these last three coming from KPM’s mid-1980s run of modern classical/New Age gems. For Jon, “making library music can be very liberating. I really enjoyed the additional focus it brought to the music working on different facets of composition with each collaborator”.

But Crystal Harmonics is no mere exercise in vulger pastiche. As the past, present and future sound of paradise, this fresh exploration of mid-90s ambient and original New Age sounds exists outside of our linear experience of time.

The cover started as a collage Jon made a couple of years ago, a different expression of the same impulses that guided the music. As a nod to the records that provided seeds of inspiration, the collage was framed by KPM’s house style of the 1980s for the finished sleeve by Richard Robinson.

Mastered for vinyl by Be With’s sonic shaman Simon Francis, cut by the legendary Pete Norman and pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry, Ocean Moon’s Crystal Harmonics is the tranquil balm for these turbulent times.

November 2020 sees the 50th Anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World in North America. The album marks the beginning of a collaboration with guitarist Mick Ronson that would last through classic works including Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane—as well as the first in a 10-year series of indispensable albums stretching through 1980’s Scary Monsters…

Originally titled Metrobolist, the album's name was changed at the last minute to The Man Who Sold The World. The 2020 re-release of the album under its Metrobolist moniker has been remixed by original producer Tony Visconti, with the exception of the track ‘After All’ which Tony considered perfect as is, and is featured in its 2015 remaster incarnation.

The Metrobolist 50th anniversary artwork has been created by Mike Weller who was behind the historically controversial “dress” cover which Mercury Records refused to release.

As with the Space Oddity 50th anniversary vinyl, as well as a 180g black vinyl edition, it will come in 2020 limited edition handwritten numbered copies on gold vinyl (# 1971 - 2020) and on white vinyl (# 1 - 1970) all randomly distributed.

Mort Garson’s road to cool cultural caché and the sublimity of Plantasia meant a decades’ long journey through an underworld of sophisticated, international, string-laced dreck (i.e., your great-grandparents’ record collection) to arrive at Music from Patch Cord Productions, this set of queasy-listening you now hold.

Music from Patch Cord Productions shows that Garson’s knack was to exist in both worlds, super-commercial and waaay out. He cut delirious minute-long blasts for commercials (as to whether or not they were actually ever aired remains unknown) and spacecraft-hovering études. Were there really account managers out there in the early ’70s that gave the greenlight to these commercial compositions which seemed to anticipate everyone from John Carpenter to Suicide? What were these campaigns actually for, Soylent Green? Regardless, Mort’s jingle work laid the groundwork for the future. As Robert Moog himself noted: “The jingles were important because they domesticated the sound.” Via Garson’s wizardry, the synthesizer transcended novelty to ubiquity and dominance.

Other curios and questions abound. How did Garson’s arrangement work for Arthur Prysock’s satiny body worship album This Is My Beloved transmogrify into the body-snatcher pulses of “This is My Beloved”? Are the two pieces even related? What is the IATA code for the airport of “Realizations of an Aeropolis”? What denomination is the “Cathedral of Pleasure”? If “Son of Blob” sounds like a hallucinatory melted ice cream truck theme, what on earth does Blob’s father sound like? Every sound wrangled out of that Moog by Garson pushes things further and further out.

Of course, these are all questions that may never get answers, as Garson wasn’t the most organized modern day composer, busy as he was conjuring strange new realms with his circuit boards and synths. He worked and wrote right up until his death in 2008, his daughter and Sacred Bones still going through all of the material left behind. He wouldn’t live to see it, but his renaissance was just around the corner, the seeds that had been scattered in record bins around the world suddenly coming to bear fruit. Take a bite!

The specially designed game and accompanying music video pertains to the overall theme of the EP, which shows an absurd society obsessed with social media descending into a dystopian world. It is a paranoid graphic vision, set in Brussels, Strapontin’s hometown, that puts you in control of a role playing game as you march round the city collecting social points with scant regard for others.

Besides being a dancer, performer and on-and-off “Madame pipi”, French-born, Brussels-based Strapontin is also a DJ and producer who mixes up slow and rough techno with thrilling soundtracks and groove driven disco. He has released on Nein and I’m Single amongst others and marks this 10th Hard Fist release in fine style.

Opening up the EP is ‘Nervous Days’, a gallivanting techno-disco groove with rugged loops and jumbled percussion that sounds like a rampage through a cityscape, as per the video. Then comes ‘But The Nice One!’, a stomping and rough and ready ride on lumpy drums and bass that is dark but playful. The quality continues on ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, with some brilliantly heavy and reverberating drums making you jerk your body while sci-fi effects float and drift about up top.

Blindetonation label regular and esteemed modern disco man Thomass Jackson remixes ‘But The Nice One!’ In his capable hands it becomes a melon twisting workout with spangled synth lines, psyched-out synths and percolating drums that are finished with a vulnerable and eerie vocal. Last of all is a Damon Jee remix of ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, His music can be heard on the underground’s most sought-after labels including Roam, Hafendisko, Suara and Sincopat to name just a few. His version is a more direct affair, with searching laser synths and a hypnotic space-techno vibe that carries you off to the stars at increasingly high speeds.

This is a fittingly brilliant EP from the vital Strapontin on ever-excellent Hard Fist.

Multi Natural is a new example of Christina’s organic chamber music. We enter nine composed chambers. Nine rooms to inhabit, constructed out of elements that are slowly fusing. The album is a string of semi constant metamorphosis. A gesture appears, is elaborated upon—or is halted and replaced by a new gesture. Multi Natural has multi focal points, quite dissimilar to Christina’s other works that tend to have a more linear path.

Within this album lives a composer who is not afraid to let the content take over. In this, obviously composed work, there is still a large space for all those sounds to act freely. It is almost like Christina is waiting for the music to compose itself. This technique speaks of respect and trust for the listener, since it gives thelistener freedom to personally connect the lines.

When you put the needle on this record, everything turns to stone. The music flows and nurtures. Sounds that come from various realities—molded into a mutual understanding. With each spin, new events catch the ears. Like looking at alandscape, perceiving new details close and far with every gaze.

When Christina warps both time and space for you, it comes to you as a gift.