Buscar:stee down

"Coconut Grove started as a secret. I wrote & recorded it in deliberate solitude over the course of a year, in long sessions when I was alone at home or after everyone else had gone to sleep. I had the uncanny sense of discovering something quite old rather than of making something new.

Every album I've made revealed itself over time - Coconut Grove snaked its way through my psyche, going back to my beginnings. While working on it, I found some notes I had jotted down back in 2006, when I was 22 & first inching away from punk towards electronic music. I wrote that I had been dreaming of something humid and menacing, melting but also alluring. I heard some of that in the haunting, dubby minimal techno of the time, and imagined it crossed with the slashing urgency of my favorite no wave & post punk bands. I imagined the catharsis I experienced as a performer rerouted through techno's mercurial endlessness. Those visions never left me, and I've been dreaming of them in one way or another ever since. Coconut Grove folded that time back onto the present, letting me start again from the beginning.

A lot can happen in a year, and, at the risk of sounding coy, a lot happened to me in 2018. Coconut Grove was an exorcism, or maybe a rebirth, but whatever it was it moved with a little extra fluidity. You can hear it for yourself, but I will say the album's softer touch is no accident. Living in that secret space, it felt good to let some air in."

-Daniel Martin-McCormick aka Relaxer

Woolfy vs Projections (aka Simon James and Dan Hastie) strike back with their new album on Permanent Vacation. “Destinations” is their fourth studio album, which makes WVP the longest running artists on the label from their debut release back in 2007. Once again, Woolfy vs Projections make California (one of the few places where endless summer isn’t just a hollow phrase) an outpost of the Balearic islands and proof that they’re truly one of the greats of the genre. Over the past decade Simon and Dan created a prolific catalogue of modern day classics with tracks like “Absynth” (described by Resident Advisor as “Air covering ?Steely Dan?"), “Neeve", “Set Me Loose” or “Set It Up". “Destinations” definitely follows suits. 10 tracks that combine the classic West Coast sound, a twist of dark disco, with a deep balearic twilight vibe.??

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LIMITED GREEN AND RED VINYL WITH DIGITAL DOWNLOAD INCLUDED.

All-conquering Dutch heroes Kraak & Smaak have taken the electronic music scene by storm in recent years with a slew of killer collaborations with the like of Mayer Hawthorne, Romanthony (RIP), Eric Biddines (Golden Rules), Parcels, and many more. Their live show has seen them play every festival and club worth the mention from Glastonbury to Detroit Movement, Coachella to Space Ibiza.

After their debut album 'Boogie Angst' established them in the spotlight with heavy Radio 1 support from Pete Tong and Annie Nightingale, the band followed up with breakthrough albums – 'Plastic People' and 'Electric Hustle'. Launching them to another level, these albums featured the standout singles - 'Squeeze Me (feat. Ben Westbeech)', and 'Let's Go Back (feat. Romanthony)' which have both become ubiquitous through TV ads, funky dancefloors and tens of millions of streams.

Riding high they then released a seminal piece of work in the shape of their fourth studio album - 'Chrome Waves'. An album that is a joyous fusion of disco, funk, indie, electronica and pop all smooshed together with Kraaak & Smaak's unique sonic signature throughout. Teaming up with a crew of ultra-talented vocalists: Sam Duckworth (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly), John Turrell (Smoove & Turrell), Stee Downes, Capitol A, Joi Cardwell, Janne Schra and their very own live band singer - Berenice Van Leer , they created an album packed full of dancefloor-ready jams for all occasions…

It was received well by both fans and critics alike, picking up a coveted Mixmag tune of the month award, topping European club charts, becoming a staple on radio playlists everywhere, and of course selling out on the original vinyl pressing runs.

Well after much demand we are now reissuing this masterpiece on a 2xLP limited edition green and red vinyl and once again you can own it on wax. A present for both the fans of old who missed it the first time around, and those who have discovered Kraak & Smaak in more recent times.

'Broken Toys' showcases the prodigious talent of Eshan Gopal andcaptures the essence of 70s soul and disco, yet it sparkles with more than enough retro-futurist fireworks to light up the pop horizon.Arranged and performed to perfection, this soulful track delivers feel good nostalgia and is elevated further by the young lead singer voice, which can only describe as the king of pop's second coming.

Carrying heartfelt messages about love, moving on and growing up, coupled with warm and uplifting instrumentation; 'Broken Toys' is a breath of fresh funk and soul without being marred by controversy. Its pure, exciting and enjoyable music for any age and The Tribe of Good have totally nailed down every element of this soul groove.

On the flip of the vinyl is a 'Percapella' which features these stunning vocals layered with a stripped down percussion backing. Offers a weapon clean enough to shake things up in your DJ mixes.

The Tribe of Good are the secret weapons behind your favourite chart hits. The super group steered by Grammy-nominated producer Hal Ritson (Chemical Brothers, Katy Perry, Duke Dumont, High Contrast) features an array of producers who have worked with the likes of Nas, Cee Lo, Taylor Swift, alongside a cast of musicians such as Basement Jaxx singer Vula Malinga and Jamiroquai guitarist Rob Harris to highlight a few.

SHELVED RECORDINGS 2.2

The second part of the two part set from SHELVED RECORDINGS !

Returning to a brief but very fruitful period in electronic music production, Shelved Recordings exists to look back to the golden age of the remix, with a clear view of the future it imagined.

Artists who were steered towards maverick producers, with a view to changing the rules, to re-defining the terms of what modern music should and could be.
Pioneering techniques, over-dubs and an exploratory period of pop production, resulted in many lost dub versions and mixes. Mixes, which invariably were left on the shelf, deemed too 'out there' by the bosses of the the hedonistic label managers who commissioned them.

Carefully reconstructed and rebuilt lost classics from someone who was there the first time around !








One limited vinyl press only

All aboard the Beyond Paradise escape capsule, as they throw down with a four-track trip of cosmic chuggers from The Local Beatnik.

‘Mountain Walk’ opens up proceedings, a weighty chugfest that stomps through the undergrowth. Tripped out vocals, throbbing bass synths and mystic wobbles, all venturing out of the interstellar jungle. Turning the corner, psychedelic new wave guitars, entrancing drum loops and lustful French phrases meld together for ‘Eskase’, causing kaleidoscopic swirls as far as the eye can see.

Flip it to take a trip to the Far East for ‘Travel’, getting lost along the way and wandering into a parallel universe where sci-fi, synth wielding robots dominant the dancefloors, drum machines are fed acid and disorientated travellers are captured for their musical knowledge. Out of their grasp and heading to relative safety, you stumble across a delectable ‘Eastern Dish’. One fork full, then two, spiced just right and you’re hallucinating to the space-age synths and percussive treats that follow. Sitars flow with steelpans offering a suitably immersive closer for this standout E.P. from The Local Beatnik.

Eno Williams, frontwoman of Ibibio Sound Machine, uses both English and the Nigerian language from which her band's name is derived for the dazzling new album Doko Mien. Long lauded for jubilant, explosive live shows, Ibibio Sound Machine fully capture that energy on Doko Mien, the followup to their Merge debut Uyai.
In a glowing piece in the New York Times, those songs were praised for following 'in the tradition of much African music, [making] themselves the conscience of a community.' By pulsing the mystic shapes of Williams' lines through further inventive, glittering collages of genre, Ibibio Sound Machine crack apart the horizon separating cultures, between nature and technology, between joy and pain, between tradition and future. That propensity for duality and paradox seems common in people whose lives span continents.

Williams was born in the UK, but grew up in Nigeria, always steeped in her family heritage. She obsessed over West African electronic music, highlife, and the like, but was equally empowered by Western genres such as post-punk, disco, and funk. The London octet have enveloped themselves in that maximalist quilt proudly since their 2013 formation. Though it can often bring with it news of stress and uncertainty, the modern world further brings all these disparate traditions into connection.
'Everyone has everything now,' says multi-instrumentalist Max Grunhard. 'Everyone has immediate access to every genre, picking things up from everywhere—like magpies.' And while they haven't suddenly left their African roots behind, Doko Mien does find increased representation of English lyrics in the ratio. By sharing more directly with more universal lyrics, the record feels more anthemic, reaching for grander heights.
'We wanted to give people a reason to sing along, to find their soundtrack every day,' Williams says. 'We wanted everyone to feel as if they're part of the music as well.'

Late album highlight 'Guess We Found a Way' addresses the change with a coy smile. 'Guess we found a way to speak to you/ Guess we found a way to say what's true/ To say what's real,' Williams coos over glistening chains of reverberant synth and diamond dust percussion, before returning to Ibibio in the chorus. Perhaps the best example of the group's ability to convey meaning across language and tradition, to blend past and future into a singular present comes on 'She Work Very Hard'. The traditional Ibibio folk tale bobs over the waves of tuned percussion, chunky synth, and pinprick highlife-esque guitar, while Jose Joyette's drums and Derrick McIntyre's bass funk groove bring everyone to the dance floor. 'These stories won't be forgotten. Feel the music: it speaks to everybody,' Williams says. 'We can travel back in time together, while convening on a futuristic, present tense. We hope that we can give people that reason to wake up, that one song to sing and dance and be happy.'

Doko Mien: Tell me everything. On their new album, Ibibio Sound Machine provide the perfect companion, ready to digest as much as possible and then further unfurl beauty and hope. They remember and honor the past and charge forward toward the future, all while intensely expanding the present.

Under the alias Ciel, Xi'an-born/Toronto-based producer, pianist, DJ, and Discwoman affiliate Cindy Li embodies the social conscience of progressive electronic music. She is at once a local and global artist, having flourished at the fringe of cutting-edge club culture since 2015, firmly rooted in her adopted city while reaching increasingly outward, her sets echoing from Berlin’s Berghain to Chicago’s Smartbar to Lisbon’s Lux Fragil. Back in Toronto, she co-runs the label Parallel Minds and event initiative Work In Progress, an extension of her radio show in both name and M.O. to improve female representation in the scene. She’s helped write safe space policies, hosted DJ workshops, and applied activist pressure on promoters through varying methods with a single-minded resolve. Those efforts have evoked responses, which Li has spent time reckoning with over the past two years. Now, manifesting as a self-guided reaction to her experiences as an artist and activist is Ciel’s Spectral Sound debut, Why Me?, a deeply personal and physical work.

Ciel’s stylistic pocket as a producer remains that of “soft-touch slammers,” but fans will note the material on Why Me? hits harder. “I wanted to write something that was heavy,” she says of the title track, the result of processing the noise leveled at her specifically after she amassed a database of female and nonbinary talents to highlight the lack of bookings amongst a subset of clubs in the community. “I was dealing with a lot... anger, despair, paranoia, feeling unjustly targeted.” She channeled these antiphons into her art. The cut’s namesake is sourced from the foregrounded sample, a snippet of dialogue from an old film about a man who believes he’s been abducted by aliens. Pulsing metallic drum patterns steer through the hypnotic passage; permeating beneath the beats are lush pads, washing the rattled urgency with unease.

Hardware-built tracks “Go Fish” and “Uri’s Song” came together over studio time with friend and occasional collaborator Colin Sims aka Wiretapping. Ciel brought her sampler to the sessions, with Sims contributing additional drums, which she’d arrange further at home, adding synth parts and basslines and effects, distilling it all down to its most potent core. The latter track — an effervescent minimal techno exercise both tender and tough — expresses Li’s reflections on today’s cyclical conditions for activism, dissension, and, ultimately, optimism. “These are harsher sounds but they also have elements that are really beautiful about them. I wanted to communicate that nothing is permanent, that there’s always hope for understanding and resolution.”

DJ, producer, singer-songwriter, one-half of world-touring soul duo Myron & E (Stones Throw), founder of boogie outfit The Pendletons (Bastard Jazz), part of electro-funk duo Lucid Paradise, and an endless string of collabos. Over 2 decades in the game means multi-faceted artist Eric Boss knows his way around music. Having been there, done that, gotten the t-shirt and watched the fat lady sing, it's finally time for E to take center stage and deliver his finest effort yet with solo record "A Modern Love", an effervescent collection of raw funk, sweet soul, west coast vibes and classic hip hop, produced by Björn Wagner and Steffen Wagner (The Mighty Mocambos / Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band).

"A Modern Love" has all the ingredients of a future classic. High-profile guests Check: with Gift Of Gab (Blackalicious) rapping on "I Wanna Ride", a track with more bounce than a lowrider chevy on Santa Monica boulevard, and soul siren Gizelle Smith featuring on "Spiders", a spooky number that will get you jumping out of your seat like you've been attacked by giant 8-legged arachnids. Need some dancefloor action "Get Next To You" gets down to serious bizniz with crisp drums and a catchy hook guaranteed to get the party started. Something for lovers We've got it covered with "Is It Love", where Eric waxes lyrical about his sweetheart over a honey-drenched soul beat.

From reggae-flavored vibes being served in inspirational number "Your Life Is Up to You" to the slow-burning grooves of "Merry Jane" which features singer Ishtar, the 10 tunes on "A Modern Love" all attest to Eric Boss' talent and versatility. Judging by how quickly the limited edition 45 of album opener "Closer To The Spirit" sold out when it was released, it seems safe to say Eric Boss is a king Midas with the golden touch when it comes to providing fresh grooves for contemporary ears, and "A Modern Love" is set to prove so once again.

On this third release, Deviant Disco keeps on digging up lesser known gems of various origins and delivers a hot batch of four brand new edits. The French label sticks to its peculiar aesthetics and welcomes you once again to an enthralling musical trip — starting with Tchamy Patterson's groovy & percussive afrobeat only to spiral into Barnes' and Ygalove's hypnotic The Mongol Raid slow-mo trance edit, and steering from La Decadanse's tropical and sensual rework of Yves Simon vintage hit Amazoniaque all the way down to Eric Vincent's obscure 80s French erotica.

The 68th edition of the DJ-Kicks mix series is another landmark one, withexperimental producer Laurel Halo taking the reins. The American's adventurous28 track trip features seven exclusives, including two of her own plus thosefrom Rrose, Machinewoman, FIT Siegel, Nick LeoIün and Ikonika. An electronic outlier, Halo hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan, but has been basedin Berlin for a number of years. Landing on labels like Hyperdub, Honest Jon'sand Latency, Halo has released a body of work ranging in style, yet cohered byproduction and compositional tendencies that sound distinctly her own. Herstudio work tends to be a multi-layered mix of the electronic and theacoustic, the organic and the synthetic. As a DJ, meanwhile, she lays downmore floor focussed mixes of techno, bass and worldly drum rhythms, and herlive sets are similarly visceral and direct. Halo's DJ-kicks packs a lot in to just 60 minutes. It kicks off with the firstof two of her own exclusives, 'Public Art', a tactile piano loop that sets themelodic tone of the mix in focus. Crunchy drums soon take over and begin whatis a blistering ride through electro, trippy minimalism and textures thatrange from icy and dubby to steel plated and sharp from the likes of Red Axes,Parris and an exclusive from Rrose. Another exclusive, rough and ready cut from Machinewoman follows, before themid section twists and turns on surging drum patterns, frantic industrialtextures and spaced out gqom sounds from the likes of Griffit Vigo, DarioZenker and Final Cut. This is a mix forever on the move: one minute itstightly coiled and kinetic, the next it's loose and joyful before switchinginto more cerebral and insular passages that keep you intrigued. Fusing together so many disparate sounds and textures is no mean feat, butlike everything Halo does, here they all add up to something as thrilling andedgy as it is unpredictable and compelling.

Picture your fercest self, taking your more introverted self on a loving peptalk-fueled shopping spree. Imagine the feeling of driving down the highway listening to Springsteen with a car full of friends.  Bathe in the comfort of lying in bed next to a bag of M&M peanuts watching Twin Peaks. Welcome to Sorry Girls.

Easier - their new 7' / double single - presents a culmination in Sorry Girls' sound. Equally steeped in lament and celebration.

Günter Schickert, four decades of multi-instrumental cosmic explorations, under Berlin's sky, above genres, and compromises.

It was memorable the time when I firstly listened to his debut LP of 1974, the monumental Samtvogel. It overwhelmed me with layers of echoing guitars roaring into space, causing a powerful release of dopamine spreading through my skin, in the way an Interstellar Overdrive', or a Richard D James Album would do. It was a proof of the divine to discover Günter Schickert, it is a profound honour today to present on Marmo his seventh album to date, Labyrinth, the first to be released on vinyl format since 1983`s Kinder In Der Wildnis.

Schickert's Samtvogel, self-published first, then licensed to Brain, equaled the imaginative leap and sonic power of the early Pink Floyd, Manuel Gottsching's Inventions For Electric Guitar or A.R. & Machines's Die Grüne Reise. What followed, from his second LP Überfällig on Sky Records to his collaborations with Klaus Schulze, Jochen Arbeit and Schneider TM, even if little acclaimed, spans a large spectrum of music styles, always through a distinctive and personal aesthetic, that is deeply linked to the one he firstly crafted back in '74, when Schickert pioneered the use of echo effects applied to guitar playing.

And now Labyrinth, a record that stands for versatility, where genres do not matter, soundscapes or life situations take over, song-writing emotions pop out, handing out a spectrum of surprises to the listener. You may find yourself flying low along steep cliffs and with a blink of eye you are thrown into a Middle Eastern scenery.

The album is divided into two parts, two different production bulks and periods of Günther Schickert's life. Side A features a selection of tracks recorded in 1996, appearing on the 2012 album HaHeHiHo, released via Pittsburgh based VCO Recordings, on a limited press of 100 units, tape format only. I felt that the visionary and emotional richness of these pieces deserved the vinyl format and a chance to reach to a wider audience.

The Raga-inspired Morning' opens Labyrinth with exotic charm and bitter-sweet nostalgia. Sieben' kicks off with the same guitar scales of the previous theme, before the motorised progressions of a Korg MS-20 synth surprisingly storm in, carrying along an intersecting multitude of filters and sharp guitar effects, flowing into an epic, paradisiac ending. Ninja Schwert' remains on astral dimensions, it is a struggle of cosmic forces, where the steady ride of a pounding beat gets embraced by different guitar layers and analogue electronic filtering. The side closes up with HaHeHiHo', a slow ballad featuring Mr. Schickert on vocals, guitar, bass guitar and drum machine - an example of simple, stripped down yet gifted songwriting that is capable to reach the heart of the listener.

Side B contains material produced between 2007 and today. The intricate, bewildering Tsunami' shows the multi-instrumental and recording abilities of Günter Schickert: a field-recorded storm with mesmerising powers, a peculiar progressive approach to guitar playing. Mysterious sinister spirits and sounds are emerging and the feeling of being lost in a pleasant trance arises. In contrast, Oase' muffles the intensity and jumps into a completely different soundscape, where in liaison with the sounds of a rolling drum tom and a desert-like trumpet, the microphone carefully captures the found sound tones of everyday-life objects and actions. Like HaHeHiHo on side A, Checking' represents the vocal gem of the B side, in a raw and direct way of songwriting like if Syd Barrett was his invisible helper. Palaver' (which means unnecessarily talk' in German) assembles different vocal recordings of Schickert into a bizarre free-style conversation through a mysterious language, where he attempts to emulate illiterate children conversating. The final track, Morning (Slide)', reprises the opening theme, this time solely performed through the caressing dilated sounds of Günter's slide guitar.

Nirosta Steel is a sometime alias of Steven Hall. Musician and survivor of the `80s NYC`s art melting pot. Everybody Sing dances like Steven`s long-term collaborator and lost-way-too-early friend, Arthur Russell. As he forced irresistible, idiosyncratic, Disco-Not-Disco, out of the Ingram Brothers. Riding low rumbling bass. Phased guitar, country picking, flickering in and out of the mix. Strings, choir boy falsetto, and blue yodel, cutting through its delay-drenched, dance floor delirium.

L.A.`s Cole Medina delivers two reworks. His Heavy Disco take is intro`d by cowbell and synth swirls. Cymbals crashing like sampled surf. With Stratocaster microtones, and echoes of the original, washing over an electronically, re-imagined B-line and trip-py sequences.

Cole`s Knuckles Tribute sets poignant piano and gated orchestral euphoria against a classic Def Mix groove. Revealing the song in epiphany. Clarifying the lyric`s call for unity. Where singing your troubles away is a analogy for strength in adversity. Everybody hurts sometimes. In that, we are united. Eventually heading towards its own disorientating climax. Comin` at ya from all sides.

Mind Fair`s version goes in for some tribal thumping. Stripping the track down, before building it back up. Its big kick blowing bins like a hyped heart pumping within a giant's chest. Chicken scratches dropping in between its colossal 'lub dub', and Coati Mundi-meets-Jah Wobble-like Punk Funk..

Ever since Onom Agemo & The Disco Jumpers broke the dreaded curse of the difficult second album by releasing "Liquid Love", a cocktail so spicy and delectable that it could warm the cockles of the grumpiest man alive's heart, even in the most Arctic conditions, everybody wondered how the Onom crew could top that one. But now you have an opportunity to whip out your "Magic Polaroid" as proof that this wasn't an impossible Project. Never before has the band so successfully captured their full-on live sound as they do here, thanks to three days of recording frenzy at Daniel Nentwig and Sebastian Maschat's Butterama studio, a haven of analog hardware hidden in a remote part of Berlin's Neukölln district. The exploding kaleidoscope of styles that make up this album, perfectly reflected by the stunning cover artwork from Nick Henderson and photography by Christoph Rothmeier, means that they can no longer be confined to their early description as an "Afro-Funk Quintet" or merely described as a lively tribute to the artists which have influenced them: their sound is 100 per cent pure uncut Onom Agemo, even though every track feels like a new beginning. The presence of a charismatic in-house vocalist who brought her own lyrics along has also boosted their confidence considerably and provided a further knock-out punch to their onstage performances.
And no one will be disappointed as soon as the first bars of "The Trumpets Of Denmark" stomp on stage like a boisterous fanfare, with Johannes Schleiermacher's impressive wall of sound production making the musicians sound like a much bigger band than what their line-up suggests (with Maria Schneider from Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra adding some extra percussive clout) and just the right amount of dizzying cross-rhythms to steer it away from potential bombast. When Onom Agemo's powerhouse vocalist Natalie Greffel starts chanting what at first sounds like a string of Onomatopoeia, it soon becomes clear that she's laying down her manifesto for a nostalgic Space-Age yet to come, with a few key words serving as Mantra (Focus, patience, tears and creation): an invitation to drive off the Information Superhighway and its endless litany of polite noises, to redirect our gaze inside ourselves and learn to understand and sometimes question how others perceive us.

2018 was the hottest summer on record...so let's see if we can cool things down while still keeping it warm all over (and over). Enter Kool Customer: a new collab from LA's beatsmith B.Bravo and the Bay's croon daddy Rojai, coming out September 21 on Bastard Jazz. The vibe: think West Coast Boogie Funk A la Dam-Funk, thrown in Styrofoam cup with some 80s synth steez, then escorted to the strip club (at 3AM) dressed head to toe in a white tux lined with gold chains.

The LP's kick-off "Play" is an ode to bed springs, as is the grand finale "Tonight's the Night"— but what happens in between the sheets Prepare yourself for the smooth basslines and raspy bars of "Sweet Tea," the creamy licks and buttery synths of "Pure Delight," and the heads down r&b of "Rain on My Window." You can also envision yourself cruising in a low-rider when throwing on the breezy "Blackberry (Somebody Told Me)," or surfing (slash exhaling) a cloud above the city on the woozy "Nice Touch." Expertly produced beats are nestled up to warm vocals and crafty lyricism about life and love and lust in 2018 a plenty here.


Metaphors aside, the debut from Kool Customer finds two talented musicians doing what they do best: chilling you out while making you move, in perfect unison. Also, keep an eye out for the super-special deluxe pack, that might just come in handy when you need it most. Ooh La La.

HINOSCH are a duo of Koshiro Hino from Osaka and Stefan Schneider from Düsseldorf, they first (met and) began their collaborative work of musical interaction and exploring contrasting possibilities in 2017. After a number of concerts in the EU and in Japan a debut EP (HINOSCH EP/TAL05) was released in late 2017. Fully instrumental, their first full-length album HANDS offers a more steeply focussed approach than its largely improvised predecessor.

Encouraged by the momentum generated during a number of on-the-spot recordings in Osaka, where Schneider had held a residency in April 2017, the overall sound of the album has been honed down through meticulous studio engineering. One of the outstanding qualities of HANDS certainly is an unprejudiced approach of sound and song structures. The instrumentation is condently reduced to a small range of analogue and digital machines. Snatches of tape-loops deliver lower-pitched vocal and drum machine samples. This characteristic technical set up soon proved ideal in order to dene a tactile vocabulary of fully unsynchronized rhythm patterns. The word tactile perfectly conjures that quality which is the very essence of HANDS. It is the result of the manner in which interdependent threads of rhythm units are deliberately disconnected to form a cohesive, soulful and exible whole. Most tracks on HANDS are devoid of a central motif and examine an unpredictable dialogue. A fantasy of constant change and a search for musical suggestions is the most vital ingredient in this abstract environment.

The album title HANDS refers to physical aspects of electronic music production. Every live concert of Hinosch usually starts out with a hand shake between Hino and Schneider. The general process of collective music making, programming, button pushing, playing, recording, decision making, all demand utmost concentration. The image on the front of the abum sleeve (designed by Takashi Makabe) reects the general approach of HANDS: layers of tuckled fabrics confronting one another to articulate a form for themselves to no other end than their own orchestration.

After having emerged from the ever thrilling Osaka music scene onto the international playgrounds of electronic music just a few years ago Koshiro Hino's solo activities as YPY and his involvement with the band GOAT have already garnered him a very favourable international reception. Stefan Schneider has over the years produced and collaborated with a.o. Joachim Roedelius (Cluster), Arto Lindsay, Klaus Dinger (NEU!), Dieter Moebius (Cluster), Alexander Balanescu, John McEntire (tortoise), Katharina Grosse, Bill Wells and St.Etienne.

By now, the story of how Jlin went from working in a steel factory in Gary, Indiana to being one of the most widely appreciated electronic musicians is well known. 'Black Origami' was one of the most reviewed and lauded albums last year. Seriously prolific and seriously hard-working, she has toured constantly since its May 2017 release and despite being involved in a wide range of projects, still manages to find a balance and 'do some personal healing and growing.'

Here we are over a year later with 'Autobiography,' the score for her collaboration with renowned British choreographer Wayne McGregor arranged by Unsound. This isn't technically her third album (that's due to arrive in 2019 or 2020), but the soundtrack stands up on its own with all the emotional peaks and troughs of a well-sequenced longplayer.

For Jlin, making music for dance is the fulfillment of one of her lifelong dreams - and remarkably, Company Wayne McGregor's performance was the first show she'd ever seen. She describes the process of working with Wayne: 'We first met face to face in October 2016 in a downtown Chicago hotel, talking for about a solid two hours. Immediately, I saw Wayne was very friendly and energetic. He's brilliant, witty, and knows exactly what he wants; an absolute gem to work with. Before I even started composing for Autobiography, Wayne told me so gently that he trusts me completely with my direction of creating the score. That was the best feeling in the world. I would wake up at two in the morning and work until six in the evening until I completed all the pieces. We were both very happy with the outcome. Creating the score for an impeccable piece of work such as Autobiography changed my life as an artist.'

'Autobiography' is a highlight in an evolving and growing career. During the last year, Jlin has also become an in-demand remixer, securing her place among a roster of music heavyweights. Unsurprisingly, given her positive and outgoing nature, she also developed friendships with the artists she has remixed such as Björk, Max Richter and Ben Frost.

Jlin will be touring with Company Wayne McGregor performing 'Autobiography' this year in addition to completing a commission for the Kronos Quartet titled 'Little Black Book.' She still approaches every performance 'with the same attitude of doing my best to execute a good show, no more, no less. Doing my best is what's most important to me.' She also still lives in Gary, Indiana, which keeps her grounded. She notes with her typical humility, 'The local community is a little more knowledgeable of me now. But I don't mind my community taking its time.'

Classic singles like Billy Fury's 'Halfway To Paradise', Dusty Springfield's 'I Only Want To Be With You' and The Walker Brothers' 'Make It Easy On Yourself' would not have been hits without Ivor Raymonde. As their arranger, and in the case of 'I Only Want To Be With You' songwriter too, he shaped the final recordings. He decided on the orchestration and backing
vocals, chose the instruments and determined what was heard on the radio - and what record buyers bought.
'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' is a long-overdue celebration of Ivor Raymonde, collecting his work as an arranger, musical director, producer, singer and songwriter. The story of a British musical great is told for the first time.
Billy Fury, Dusty Springfield and The Walker Brothers are heard. So is the only vocal performance for which Ivor Raymonde received a credit on a record label. He worked with the pre-fame David Bowie and Tom Jones. He spotted the potential of Los Bravos, steering them into the charts with 'Black Is Black'. Near-misses and obscurities made with Brit-girls Cindy Cole and
Helen Shapiro, the soulful Sonny Childe and confrontational protopsychedelic London band The Flies are as fantastic as the hits. With these and more, 'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' distils the essence of the magic of Ivor Raymonde.
'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' is released by Bella Union, the label run by Ivor's son, former Cocteau Twins member Simon Raymonde.
Compiled by Simon and Kieron Tyler, it is a very personal tribute to a sadly missed father. Born in 1926, Ivor Raymonde passed away in 1990. The previously untold story is revealed through a moving reminiscence written by Simon and in-depth liner notes and a track-by-track commentary by Kieron. Ivor Raymonde played on the ocean liner The Queen Mary in 1949. In the Fifties, British television viewers saw him in legendary comedian Tony Hancock's 'Hancock's Half Hour' but music was always going
to be most important - the hits with Billy Fury and Dusty Springfield in 1961 and 1963 meant he was in demand. The 26 selections balance the wellknown with collectable rarities and tracks drawn from - until now - barely heard-of singles. Each is a gem and each shows the magic of an Ivor Raymonde recording.
'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' is issued on CD and 180g heavyweight double vinyl album with digital download code. The vinyl version is sequenced slightly differently for listening flow. Every track was originally issued as a single issued in mono for the pop market until 1968 / 1969. Keeping the integrity of the compilation in mind, all but four tracks appear in mono as they did originally. The masters used are those of the original singles.