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366 DAYS MUSIC, the brand run by Geneva-based artists Auguste Safar and Raphael Graham focused on promoting music events, is expanding its horizons and finally debuting as a record label. Aimed at showcasing house, techno, and minimal techno sounds, the label owners Auguste and Raphael are debuting with "Za Ria." On the remix duties? No other than veterans Dandy Jack and Ricardo Villalobos resurrecting their Ric Y Martin moniker.

The title track, 'Za-Ria' (A1), provides a glimpse into the young duo's talent and producer ethos: robust minimal grooves, rolling basslines, modular bleeps and bloops, ritualistic percussions and meticulous sampling — all the necessary ingredients for peak-time shenanigans. 'Depth's Drunkenness' (A2), on the other hand, follows a somewhat hypnotic path. Its rhythmic structure remains as tight and stomping as the previous track but expands on minimalism. Vocal whispers and synth stabs fill the space, keeping the frequency spectrum exciting and alive. On the flip side, Dandy Jack and Ricardo remix 'Za-Ria' (B1), throwing a 4-by-4 groover into a frenzy of sample mangling in micro/macro proportions. And while granular sampling and modular processing are usually unpredictable tools, here, everything is rhythm, like beautifully organized chaos.

Quickly establishing themselves as some of the most exciting young talents in the Swiss electronic music scene today, Auguste Safar and Raphael Graham, along with their 366 DAYS imprint, are ones to look out for.

Chamber music masterpiece with electronics

Albert Alan Owen was born in Wales in 1948 to parents of Welsh and Latvian heritage. His family later moved to Zimbabwe, where his father took up a teaching position. There, Owen was deeply influenced by local music and culture, while also exploring American RnB and jazz. It was during this period that he became acutely aware of the harsh inequalities under British colonial rule, which instilled in him a lifelong aversion to discrimination and racism.
In 1967, Owen returned to Europe to pursue his studies and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He went on to spend time in Paris, studying composition with the eminent Nadia Boulanger and piano under Jacques Février, a favorite pianist of Ravel’s and Poulenc’s. Owen's focus shifted almost entirely to composition, and the acquisition of a Fender Rhodes electric piano marked the beginning of a divorce from his classical Western training. This transition allowed him to merge his passion for African and African-American music with the impressionistic styles of Ravel and Debussy while exploring the innovative realm of electroacoustic composition.
These formative experiences framed Owen’s career as a composer and educator at the Royal Academy of Music and London’s Working Men’s College. He eventually returned to Wales, where he continues to reside.

In 1979, 29-year-old Albert Alan Owen released Keyboards & Strings, a light magical chamber music masterpiece.
Transcending the formal conventions of its era, Keyboard & Strings is an acoustic and electric piano piece, where the violin is met by synths and electronics.
As is often the case in Albert Alan Owen’s most intimate works, there is a sense of ethereal beauty that emerges from the music, akin to the emotional state one might experience while contemplating a Félix Vallotton landscape or the unfathomable mystery of dawn’s first light.
Quiet, profound, and immersive, Keyboard & Strings stands out as an electronic-age tone poem, a rare gem that transcends time and place.

The label's first EP is by Yu, a great Italian artist who gives us 4 tracks with his unique and unmistakable style, with an energetic and natural flow.
Fruit of experimentation and research dominated by strong kicks and basses accompanied by hypnotic and captivating sounds.
Characterized by the rhythmic energy of club music.

NEW WORLD DEPRESSION by $uicideboy$ delves deep into a tumultuous psyche, portraying a world riddled with inner demons, existential crises, and a stark defiance of societal norms. Throughout the album, the duo navigates through themes of fame, self-destruction, and the relentless search for identity amidst chaos. Their raw, unfiltered lyrics serve as a gritty narrative of personal turmoil, substance abuse, and the struggle for authenticity in a world that often feels cold and indifferent. This album is an unapologetic exploration of the darker sides of human experience, resonating with anyone who has ever felt out of place or battled with their own shadows.

Having plied his trade around the world for more than three decades, German guitarist, bandleader and musical explorer Jan Whitefield has always instilled in his craft a natural aesthetic of authenticity, a key component which has seen him amass a sizeable and varied catalogue of material which has remained timeless where some of his contemporaries have faded away.

In the early 90s, as various UK bands were signed up by sizeable labels and enjoyed even mainstream chart success in the Acid Jazz and rare groove boom, Jan and his brother Max formed the Poets Of Rhythm, self-releasing their own uncompromisingly hard-edged take on 70s street funk on the then completely unfashionable 7" single format, forerunning the Deep Funk scene by almost a decade. 30 years on, in spite of a legion of retro-focused bands having followed in their wake, few have yet to come close to matching the energy and spirit of those early Poets 45s.

Since then, Jan has applied himself to all manner of new incarnations and innovative side-projects, releasing further funk surveys as the Whitefield Brothers before leading his own band under the pseudonym Karl Hector, with releases on labels such as Stones Throw, Daptone, Ninja Tune, Mo'Wax, Strut and more. An avid music lover, explorer and record collector extraordinaire, Whitefield's music has effortlessly absorbed his expanding interests along the way, particularly drawing influence from Ethiopian Jazz and West African funk and highlife, as well as Kraut-rock and ambient via his Rodinia alter-ego.

More recently, Whitefield has begun to venture into the astral planes of what's now commonly referred to as 'spiritual jazz', and this is very much where we find him manifesting on 'The Infinity Of Nothingness'. A set of mature, delicate and meditative orchestrations, like much of Whitefield's best work the album is studiously true to its key influences - and in this instance the twin figureheads of Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders are particularly preeminent - but also completely avoids falling into a trap of mere tribute or facsimile. With subtle yet diverse accents of Hip Hop, Library and the Avant Garde appearing wholly unobtrusively, the album is unified by a marked trance-like feel, beginning with the sparse, processional opener 'Nothingness' through to the 3 part 'Infinity Suite' of 'Time', 'Space' and 'Energy'.

As he did as a schoolboy with the Poets of Rhythm, with 'The Infinity Of Nothingness' Whitefield achieves that exceptionally rare feat of creating music that is not only worthy of sitting alongside that of his overarching influences, but will also stand up with it against the tests of time.

Through the medium of a distinctly synthesised, sustained ambience, seasoned artist and composer Jasmine Guffond arrives on OOH to explore the tension between technology and human creativity in an increasingly ambiguous playing field.

Alien Intelligence came into being during Guffond's residency at fabled Parisian institution GRM in 2021. While learning how to generate sound and make music with the in-house Serge modular synthesiser, the Australian artist noticed the typical role of human input for machine output was being subverted by the behaviour of certain electronic elements, which came to exercise their own influences on the direction of the music.

Taking this idea one step further, Guffond proceeded to explore the programming environment MaxMSP, a customisable interface which allowed her to blur the lines between human input and machine directives even further. Across the three extended pieces which make up Alien Intelligence you can hear the results of Guffond's inquisitive approach as she coaxed the machines into bringing their own ideas to bear on the music.

The tension inherent in this thematic duality is mirrored by the contrast between glacial ambience and chaotic interference across the album. On 'Serge & Maxine Variation One' the presiding mood is a slow and patient one, as undulating waveforms rich with harmonic overtones spill out over one another across 10 minutes. The track's latter passage, driven by steadily intensifying oscillations, is then interrupted with an unexpected flurry of pitch shifting. This kind of complex technical movement features more prominently at the start of 'Serge & Maxine Variation Three', which then gradually shifts into a gentler ebb and flow of rising and falling frequencies.

Angled slightly differently and residing on the B side of the album, 15-minute quiet epic 'Serge & Maxine Variation Two' bookends a louder passage of synth work with serene, sustained notes that ring out a sort of hymnal melody. Throughout, the movement in the music evolves in subtly modulating, hypnotic, ways, but there are also unexpected turns or melodic diversions which feel much more incongruous. In its closing stretch, the notes dart around more freely as though played by hand, but it's hard to be sure whether these shifts in the otherwise delicate tonal music were a human conceit or a programming by-product. In the end, the two inputs logically become one.

As Guffond says herself, "More-than-human logics emerge, a kind of alien intelligence that questions an assumed central position of human subjectivity in socio-technical assemblages and considers the philosophical, socio-political and cultural implications beyond music practice in an increasingly technologically mediated world."

As AI creeps into art as much as other aspects of modern life, Guffond applies her playful instinct to the theme of these works by re-considering machine intelligence as 'alien', crediting its contributions with a more robust yet enigmatic identity in the creative process, leading to an end result which is far from artificial.

►Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi, cover art by Ilan Katin, layout by incepBOY, photo by Camille Blake, words by Oli Warwick

Death Is Not The End together all three LP volumes of the critically acclaimed If I Had a Pair of Wings LP compilation series for a bundled edition.

"...all of the music on this compilation is the result of the forward-thinking artists and producers that realised the worth of local Jamaican artistry during a time when the island's leading political figures had not yet managed to throw off the colonial yolk. These are sounds with a certain innocence and the optimistic promise of better to come, with the influence of American pop ballads and doo-wop looming large, yet already pointing to the innovations of the future. Listen keenly and take in the sounds of the Jamaican music industry at its very beginnings, its singers and players drawing from the popular styles of the island's larger neighbour and already changing those styles into something their own." - David Katz

Lauren Laverne's comp of the week on BBC Radio 6 Music w/c 11th Jan.

First released over 30 years ago, this EP is where The Future Sound Of London started before “Papua New Guinea” later in 1991. All four tracks were instrumental in establishing a new genre of electronica within dance music. They were ahead of their time and extremely progressive, and here three decades later they are making an impression. “Pulse State” has been described as the ‘best bleep track ever made’, and at the time dominated the airwaves on London pirate stations.

First reissue in original format since 1991!!

First released over 30 years ago, this EP, as with Volume 1, is where The Future Sound Of London started before “Papua New Guinea” later in 1991. All four tracks were instrumental in establishing a new genre of electronica within dance music. They were ahead of their time and extremely progressive, and here three decades later they are making an impression. “Stolen Beats” is a hypnotic roller with all the jazz, bleeps and bass you could want, still a regular Radio 1 ‘Essential Mix’ track, and “I’ve Become What You Were” pure hard hitting UK techno from the heyday of this music in the early 90s and the blueprint for the deep jungle sound to emerge later.

This edition of The Pulse EP is the first reissue in its original vinyl form since 1991, those initial pressings now expensive on Discogs.

Ralph Session is a producer who has been making his mark on the house music scene dropping quality underground house music since 2009. The New Yorker, now based in Barcelona, has racked up well received releases on some of the hottest labels around including Razor n Tape, Local Talk, Nervous, Moulton Music, Large and Exploited and continues to head up his own label Half-Assed as a platform to curate the culturally deep sound of his native New York City. For his Freerange debut he’s joined forces with LA producer and vocalist Juliet Mendoza who can also be found dropping gems for the likes of Planet E, Ocha and Shaboom.

Freak sees Ralph stay true to his roots once again with all the US house hallmarks present and correct. Muscular beats keep things punchy and with plenty of weight and energy whilst the simple stabs and vibraphone hook and just the right touch of musicality without getting in the way of the all important groove. Juliet Mendoza adds the icing on the cake with her spoken word urging you to cut loose on the dance floor.

Detroit’s own Ladymonix steps up for remix duties and turns the Freakometer up to 11. Fresh from output on her own Frizner Electric label as well as Planet E, Toucan Sounds and Studio Barnhus, she twists things into an otherworldly house jam which will lock you into it’s minimal groove. By glitching out the vocal and keeping the groove stripped to the core Ladymonix has created a club track that will stick in your head long after the lights come up.

In addition to these two versions we also have Ralphs own Brooklyn Bounce Mix and an instrumental to get your teeth stuck into.

In 1969, Albina in the US underwent a pivotal transformation which saw the arrival of Black residents displaced by the Vanport floods. While a local Black economy thrived to start with, the neighbourhood eventually got neglected due to disinvestment by the city's elites but citizens didn't take it lying down and some of them formed Shades Of Brown, a group that emerged at the Albina Arts Center which was a haven for artists during civil unrest. With members from various musical acts, they found unity under leader Thara Memory who instilled discipline and required them to read and write music before performing. This EP, which is the group's sole record, embodies their camaraderie and the community's struggle against neglect across six raw-as-you-like funk cuts laden with emotion and narrative.

As Token gears up for its 126th release, the time has come to invite a label favorite - Inigo Kennedy. The Englishman responsible for Token 1 readies us for three tracks of pure grain and warbling melodies packaged as 'The Calling' - a hypnotic yet stomping club record that highlights his unique production style full of character.

Taking up the entirety of the A side, 'Magnitude Seven' pulses itself through the first part of the ep. Melodic yet dissonant as many of Kennedy's best records, the track calls on a stripped down acid line to support a saturated groove and noisy synthwork. Epic in construction, 'Magnitude Seven' comes in waves of unsettling intensity emphasized by a powerful double kick sequence. The B1 takes it up a notch as the title track appropriately named 'The Calling'. A frantic four to the floor rhythm pushes along sustained notes, settling in a certain pressure. Harmonic sections breathe more life in an otherwise nail biting record that defines the Token sound accurately and Kennedy uses this arrangement to distance himself from the classic loop based template used by most producers in his field today, confirming the ongoing relevance of a longstanding career in club music. Ending with a bit of a twist for most, longtime fans will be unsurprised by the choice to wrap things up with 'Out of the Woods' - a fitting electronica closer that departs from 'The Calling' with a focus on introspection. Drifting notes and a shuffled percussion line are reminiscent of his UK roots and fit perfectly as an epilogue to his previous techno tracks. Ethereal as ever, Inigo Kennedy offers us another masterclass in out of the box production techniques in soulful electronic music.

Pitch Dark is a new VA series brought to you by Berlins Pure Hate Trax. For this the 1st in the series they invite 3 new Artists to the label but by no means new to the scene in Codex Empire, Maedon & 7CIRCLE. Also making a welcome return after his debut on VHXX1 is STRISC. Codex Empire – Since 2014, British born, Vienna based Codex Empire has built an international reputation for dark and intense techno productions and live shows. Combining this background in dark electronic music with heavy rhythmic elements makes Codex Empire an intense and simultaneously danceable experience both live and on record. Codex Empire has performed over 100 live shows across Europe, Japan, Korea and Canada, as well as numerous appearances in Berlin at Berghain, Tresor, Arena Club, Suicide Circus and BoilerRoom. Maedon – A native of notoriously grimy Baltimore who spent some seasons in filthy Philadelphia learning the craft, her arrival in New York City circa 2018 signalled a shift in development, one confirmed by the emergence of her Maedon moniker and her partnership with Brooklyn/Berlin techno powerhouse Sonic Groove and its head Adam X. Fast forward three years to Berlin, two albums, a residency at Tresor and an entire world later, Maedon forges ahead to the next phase of a rapidly building career. Assuring her future as the world falls apart, Maedon’s bracing sound and undeniable skills are a story now unfolding, with its beginnings already written in grit.
7CIRCLE – At the helm of Destroy to Rebuild, 7CIRCLE is a musical project without boundaries. Drawing from post punk and metal roots, 7CIRCLE navigates across all genres including Techno and Industrial without compromise or frills. The journey through the discography of 7CIRCLE is a fascinating path filled with darkness and aggressive sounds which are sometimes embellished with a melancholy touch to satisfy lovers of strong emotions. STRISC. – Hailing from the East Midlands, UK and residing in Berlin for the last 8 years, STRISC. is an Artist, DJ & Label Owner who has been making waves due to a relentless output of no-compromise productions that have garnered him the respect and attention of Techno aficionados and peers alike.

A group of friends go sailing and one disappears. The others start
searching for her. But it gradually becomes apparent that she won’t
be found. So the friends return home one by one. Only the missing
girl’s lover and her best friend remain.They have begun an affair.
As the lovers come together the girl’s disappearance is all but
forgotten.

From Michelangelo Antonioni — “Auteur of eerie angst”
(L’Avventura) by Richard Skinner from Vade Mecum Essays,
Reviews & Interviews (Zero books, 2015).

Since 2008 our Spiritual Jazz series has presented unlimited horizons. Each album celebrates the rich tradition of African-American songs based on the belief in a higher force than oneself and has also focused on geographical areas, such as Europe or Japan, thus recognizing that these territories have immense cultural riches. Religions, like Islam, whose musical traditions have vivid Arabic and North African resonances, have also been highlighted. The stylistic range of all the above is wide.

Yet historic record labels, from Blue Note and Impulse! to Prestige and Steeplechase, have also featured because their catalogues are musical treasure troves that could not be more relevant to Spiritual Jazz, even though they issued vast amounts of music between the late '30s and present day, that have not been confined to any one school.

Spiritual Jazz 16 is a focus on Riverside and its associated sister labels. Riverside itself was founded in 1953 by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, and became an important purveyor in that decade and beyond of what would be marketed as of modern jazz. That coinage was itself an amorphous, umbrella term that essentially created a demarcation from the vocabulary of pre-war classic jazz and inter-war big band swing, thus recognizing that improvising artists were breaking new creative ground that would subsequently give rise to a flurry of sub-genres, for example bebop, hard bop, cool, modal and Latin jazz. And it's from this multiplicity of sub-genres that we choose the deepest, most vibrant selections that the vast, pan-generational catalogue of Keepnews & Grauer has to offer

Airrica makes her Crosstown Rebels debut with ‘Hi Speed Lover’, featuring Nick Morgan and KinAhau remixes.

Balancing experimental musical curiosity with her playful take on house and techno, Los Angeles’ Airrica may only be two releases into her blossoming journey as a producer, but she has already showcased her growing sound and vision while aligning with her own powerful DJ sets. Following her collaborative release alongside Ashee on Diplo’s Higher Ground and building on her debut via Crosstown’s sister label Rebellion, Damian Lazarus now welcomes her to Crosstown Rebels for the first time ahead of her appearance alongside the label boss at Hï Ibiza as she unveils her ‘Hi Speed Lover’ EP - accompanied by remixes from Canadian-born DJ/producer Nick Morgan and hotly-tipped talent KinAhau, as both also make their label debuts.

Bumping and trippy, ‘Hi Speed Lover’ is a snaking, bass-heavy cut loaded with energy as warped vocals are accompanied by slinking drums, icy hats and resonant chords and strings, while Nick Morgan’s take brings a stylish, hazy glow to the track as dubby low-ends and delicate keys work amongst the mix. Second original ‘Cherries’ is another impactful production merging metallic drums with further vocal murmurs and an infectious acid-dipped bassline, while KinAhau’s remix strips things back to deliver a classy journey through rich textures with an ethereal trip to close the package.

2024 repress.

Ever dreamed to travel to Trinidad & Tobago? Disco Segreta makes this dream come true with it’s 6th release: the much awaited officially licensed reissue of this tropicalo-disco synth bass boogie atomic bomb, from the original analog masters.

Written in late 1983 by Mario Baldoni aka Miro of “Real Life Games” LP (1977) and Brina’s “Stranamore” (1984) fame. Originally released in July 1984 on the small Pineapple label – a sublabel of Armando Sciascia’s “Vedette” – with close to no success and a pressing fault: a glitch on the vocal version, that affected all copies.

This tropical summerish blend of italo and boogie, along with the male/female alternate spanish/english singing, turned into a true classic of the genre over the years, slowly making the playlists of the most respected DJs and diggers worldwide. The 4-tracks 12″ features the original vocal and instrumental versions in their original length, carefully dubbed from the analog stereo masters and taken back to new life through Disco Segreta’s usual respectful mastering. Also, two new remixes are featured.

After “Matjesfilet” or „Verbrennungsmotor”, the single “Supermarkt” by Berlin producer ACUD, released in 2023, was also very successful. On the radio, on streaming platforms or on the festival stages: the song was present
everywhere! A remix EP was just a formality and is now celebrating its awakening, digitally and on vinyl! Included are the Norwegian disco masters PRINS THOMAS and OST&KJEX, as well as the Mexican MIJO, the
Argentinian ANA HELDER and from Berlin: AMOUNT. There is also a new acid variant from ACUD itself, as well as the original. Reason enough to fill existing gaps in the vinyl case.

Live electronics duo REKK&KUTOBOY provides raw electronic manipulations, femme noise, and off-kilter dance extravaganza for a self-titled EP on Attention Management.

Katya Rekk and Ilya Kutoboy have been playing live shows for years and cut their teeth on the local improv, noise, and experimental scene in several projects and collaborations. Ranging from unholy fx-scape crackers to haunted lullabies but mostly striking as kinetic grooves, the band embodies a heavy, amplified synth sound, sitting somewhere between machine sequencing, processed vocalizations and use of DIY electronics. The enfant terrible of Katya's grrrl high-energy and improvisational tactics paired with Ilya's mutant beats blends into an idiosyncratic sonic realm that empowers you in its own way.

Recorded on the edge of Berlin in a semi-deserted building complex formerly used by the East German Sociality party, André Uhl's debut on the label taps into the spectral frequencies of the space and the ritual practices of recording.

Created in isolation amongst this decaying structure and surrounded by lakes, dense forestry and the sounds of boars and unknown wildlife outside, Every Step Causes a Crack is a title that reflects Andrés connection to the environment around him and the death or glory stance of the artist, with field recordings, electric doom synthesis and lurching drum tracks temporarily fracturing the darkness before being pulled back through the void.

Limited vinyl release of 150 copies.

Live electronics duo REKK&KUTOBOY provides raw electronic manipulations, femme noise, and off-kilter dance extravaganza for a self-titled EP on Attention Management.

Katya Rekk and Ilya Kutoboy have been playing live shows for years and cut their teeth on the local improv, noise, and experimental scene in several projects and collaborations. Ranging from unholy fx-scape crackers to haunted lullabies but mostly striking as kinetic grooves, the band embodies a heavy, amplified synth sound, sitting somewhere between machine sequencing, processed vocalizations and use of DIY electronics. The enfant terrible of Katya's grrrl high-energy and improvisational tactics paired with Ilya's mutant beats blends into an idiosyncratic sonic realm that empowers you in its own way.

Remastered Reissue des bahnbrechenden Israel Vibration-Albums "Strength Of My Life" von 1988 mit den Hits "Cool And Calm", "Pay Day" und "Live and Give", die Bestandteil aller ihrer folgenden Welttourneen sein sollten. Begleitet von der legendären Backing-Band The Roots Radics, wurde das Album von Doctor Dread für das Kultlabel Real Authentic Sound produziert und von Jim Fox im Lion & Fox Studio abgemischt. Remasterte Auflage im CD-Digipak und auf schwarzem 180g Vinyl.

2024 Repress

New 4 track EP from Amotik with a varied selection of stripped back techno/broken beat.

2024 Repress

A powerful addition to PATRICE BÄUMEL's steadily growing Kompakt catalogue, SPEICHER 89 is the third contribution to the series from the Dutch producer and former Trouw resident. Hitting dance floors in the wake of SPEICHER 81 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 81) and SPEICHER 85 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 85), his latest 12" offering brings you a duo of massive belters, headlined by cyber-calypso manifesto DUM DUM and backed by techno string showdown SURGE. Both tracks nourish some serious bass drops while showcasing an artist invested in carefully crafted melody and impeccable flow - excellent material from a leading beatsmith and DJ who knows how to woo a crowd.
SPEICHER 89 ist die nunmehr dritte Scheibe vom holländischen Produzenten und ehemaligen Trouw-Resident PATRICE BÄUMEL in der Serie, mächtiger Zuwachs in seinem sich verdichtenden Kompakt-Katalog. Nach den Einschlägen von SPEICHER 81 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 81) und SPEICHER 85 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 85) birgt auch die neueste 12" ein massives Set an Schiebern, angeführt vom Cyber-Calypso-Manifest DUM DUM und unterstützt vom grossen Techno-Streicher-Showdown SURGE. Beide Tracks züchten sich ein paar äußerst ernsthafte Bass-Momente heran, vergessen aber nicht den Künstler hinter der Welle, der stets auch in sorgfältige Melodiearbeit und reibungslosen Flow investiert - exzellentes Material von einem führenden Beatschrauber und DJ der weiß wie man mit einer Crowd umzugehen hat.

Repress!

Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is a tasty collab from label founder, Mark Knight who teams up with rapidly rising talent Crusy for a staunch collaboration ‘Daddy Shhh’. A fiery club heavy cut, focusing on Toolroom’s founder’s speciality of Tribal Tech House, ‘Daddy Shhh’ is a record made for the dance floor specifically. Mixing high energy grooves, Latin percussion and rolling tech bass line that’ll keep you moving until the early hours.

Next up, we’re welcoming UK selector and producer Huxley who drops brand new single, ‘All I Need’. An artist not bound by conventional genres, Huxley’s sound shifts and melds into whatever fits the record, and that is certainly true when listening to ‘All I Need’. Coming through with a lush, Deep House synth vibe and an earworm vocal that melts into the mix before launching into Classic UK House style bass stabs means only one thing, a straight up belter.

Up next is another heater from Liverpudlian DJ and producer ESSEL who returns to the label with ‘Lennon’. An artist well versed in the art of hit-making; ESSEL has been a firm fixture of the Toolroom family over the past few years. A darker take on her typical vibe, ‘Lennon’ is a record that skirts the edge of her sound, tipping over into clubland and we have to say, it’s absolutely class. If there’s ever a glass ceiling above then ESSEL is sure to smash straight through it, she certainly is an exciting new prospect and without doubt one to watch.

Last but not least, we see the return of powerhouse DJ and production duo Leftwing : Kody who team up with fast-rising producer James Hurr on their debut outing ‘Music Is the Medication’. Reggae vocalist I Jah also features, bringing some Ragga styled heat to the record. ‘Music Is The Medication’ is a sublime record, mixing a tough, Tech House focused vibe with UKG styled breaks and a straight to the point Ragga vocal overlayed for maximum delivery means only one thing, a certified banger.

DJ Support: Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche


Kicking things off on our next 4-track vinyl sampler series is Toolroom's very own Martin Ikin who returns to the label with ‘Make U Sweat’! He was the Best-selling Tech House artist on Beatport in 2020 and 2021 and has over 1m monthly listeners across streaming platforms. Recent studio collabs have included Noizu and Joshwa and tours have seen him travel far and wide to the US, Brazil, Bali, Ibiza, Italy, Croatia and of course, his hometown of London. This new record is the follow up to 'Oscill8' that dropped in March 2023 and sits in a similar lane, in that it's pure, unadulterated club weaponry! Next up is Italian house legend Flashmob with the frenetic, high-energy club vibe of new cut ‘My Body’. Flashmob's sound, production and go-for-broke DJ sets have changed with the game, embracing the vitality of new house music rather than hankering after sentimental sunsets. His ethic and aesthetic move relentlessly forward, using the old and new to craft unique sonic alchemy from big festivals like Tomorrowland to the intimacy of small clubs on the international circuit. ‘My Body’ is typical of Flashmob's current sound, combining solid drums and some insane synths and fx, alongside an earworm vocal sample that results in yet another memorable club cut from an established master. Canadian Tech House maestro Nathan Barato debuts on Toolroom kicking off the B-side to the vinyl alongside studio partner, Matheo Velez with 'Weapon'. A record that has already caught the attention of the underground elite with Michael Bibi premiering the track at his first appearance back at DC-10 in Ibiza last Summer. Both artists are enjoying great success across key labels such as Viva, Circus, Snatch and RAWthentic. This is an addictive, bumpy club track

that packs a huge punch on the dance floor and actually features Nathan's very own 'Move me… Rock me' vocals! Rounding things off is UK DJ/producer duo, Jenn Getz & Alfie who are residents at Dubai's #1 nightlife destination, Soho Garden, where they warm up for legends such as Sonny Fodera, MK, Claptone, Solardo & Fisher on a weekly basis. In their relatively short 3 year career they have already released on Solotoko, Abode and Toolroom Trax and now debut on Toolroom with 'Vibration'. Both girls are incredibly passionate about house music and are also big advocates for a life centered around well-being and meditation, and the idea of this record was to combine their 2 passions in life, so they proceeded to co-write these original lyrics to accompany the track, which in itself is very inspiring! This is a super cool club record that will excite fans and DJ's alike, welcome to the Toolroom Family, Jenn Getz & Alfie!

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

"Let's dream of underground raves or enigmatic gatherings of the clandestine, where your mind shall wage ethereal battles against soulless algorithms amidst the nocturnal dance, traversing a labyrinth of dystopian dreams. Dance the night away, dance the night away."

Strange times are here.

One of the most prolific electro artists of his generation, Boris Bunnik aka Versalife, returns to TRUST with an exceptional soundtrack for the algorithmic hellscape we live in. As neofeudalist power structures solidify around us, Versalife's tracks remain in constant flux. Subtle tonal shifts and undulating synth currents create tension and beauty while crisp machine beats provide the clockwork rhythm for humanity's march into the singularity.

A holy grail for fans of French boogie, early hip hop, Arabic funk and Balearic bops,"Ettika" has been seriously sought after since Vidal Benjamin found it in the 1€ bin back in 2006. Teasing the ears of the underground via Vidal's 'Balearic Nightmare' mix for Noncollective, copies of the original were soon snapped up completely, and the later adopters were sated by a Blackdisco edit from Alexis Le-Tan (himself gifted Vidal's second copy), which is now also rare as hen's teeth. The fervour for the track is easy to understand. Underpinned by an endlessly buoyant bass groove, chanted female vocals dart out the speakers like a post- modern mantra while synth vamps flare in stuttering stereo.

Middle-Eastern motifs add an air of mystery, but this truly belongs in a dance floor utopia. That the track was the product of a 'back-to-work' scheme aimed at unemployed immigrant youth in Rouen only adds to the appeal. Led by teacher Bernard Guégan, a quartet of students delivered lyrics in French and Arabic inspired by their rejection letters, serving a little social commentary and a lot of funk. If you're mad on Ahmed Fakroun and Shams Dinn, or even those folks in the Bush of Ghosts, then this is a must have for you.

Archeology isn't just about excavation, there should be interpretation too, and in this case it comes from Italian duo Hear & Now and Leeds' The Veteran Delinquents. The former furnish the 12" with two radical takes, the dreamy downtempo stroll of their French Remix - all unhurried percussion, Gilmour-riffing and coastal élan - and the peaktime pump of their Arab Remix, which transports the original vocal into a land of desert new beat and Balearic trance with a little space left for some frazzled fretwork. If you've followed their work with Claremont you know the quality on show.

The Veteran Delinquents, the collaborative vehicle of Leeds stalwarts Craig Christon and Tim Hutton, condense a lifetime of club experiences into their remix, establishing the infectious groove of the original before subverting with chugging bass and winking acid, all augmented with their own slick synth work. The original was an all time classic at Craig's Joe's Bakery nights way back when, and this new interpretation is both respectful and revolutionary.