Search:str

Vinyl Edition Featuring New Art! Features Guest Verses From Cormega, N.O.R.E., Meyhem Lauren, Freddie Gibbs, And More Plus Guest Production From Alchemist, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, And More. Kool G Rap doesn’t let his legend status stop him from continuing to do what he loves. Last year, the Corona, Queens veteran dropped his ‘Return Of The Don’ album, and in 2018, he’s following up the solid effort with a collaborative album full of heavy hitters behind the boards and on the mic, alongside Rochester native 38 Spesh (aka $pesh), who linked with Griselda Records’ Benny the Butcher earlier this year for the well-received ‘Stabbed & Shot’ album. The album’s tracklisting boasts veteran features like Cormega and NORE, while also brandishing newer school spitters like Freddie Gibbs and Meyhem Lauren, and Griselda Records’ Benny The Butcher. Behind the boards, as mentioned, KGR summoned production akin to MCing prowess. Alchemist heads up “Land Mine” while DJ Premier and Pete Rock lay the beats for two tracks each. Album mainstays Midnite and 38 Spesh handle most of the rest of the production. Overall, the project is a lot of what you’d expect from Kool G Rap: grimy street rhymes full of stories of peril and the beats to match. On “Land Mine,” the duo of 38 Spesh and Ransom provide a rather introspective look-back on their troubled come up while a song like “Flow Gods” reminds everyone that G and his assembly are nothing to be taken lightly when it comes to witty wordplay and velvety smooth bars.

* Dubplate style from The Disciples and Boomshackalaka Sound System from the early 90’s.
* In-demand heavy-weight instrumental in-a Jah Shaka style.
* Featuring 3 mixes for maximum speaker distress.
* Strictly limited to 300 copies only.

Rare musical magic from the Bruton library catalogue – ambient, spacey, pastoral and electronic. Music by John Cameron, Alan Hawkshaw, Fran-cis Monkman, Brian Bennett and more – all total masters of the scene. All very cool. All very now. All will sell very fast.

Over the last three decades Jonny Trunk has collected and written about library music. But he’s never had a great deal of luck with the Bruton catalogue. By this he means that he’s never stumbled across a massive stash, or lucked-out buying a huge run for practically nothing –that’s the kind of thing that used to happen in the 1990s and the early noughties if you were out there looking hard for library music. But he did manage to get about 25 in one hit about 20 years ago when the BBC shut down their “TV Training Department” near Lime Grove and also when a box of Brutons ended up being dumped at a hospital radio, and they didn’t want the records, so Jonny got a call.

There are lots of Bruton albums in existence – over 330 LPs in the vinyl catalogue, issued between 1978 and 1985. That’s a lot of music to wade through if you are looking for sublime modern day sounds. For many years now the “trophies” from the Bruton catalogue have been the beat or action driven LPs – the two Drama Montage albums (BRJ2 and BRJ8) have always been the big hitters, and others such as High Adventure (BRK2) too.

But Jonny has always found himself drawn to the lime green LPs, the pastoral, peaceful albums (The BRDs), which were full of the kind of gentle, lovely music that would turn up in Take Hart as Tony was paint-ing a woodpecker or a badger or an Autumn tree. The other Brutons he likes are the orange ones (The BRIs) simply because they are full of ex-perimental futuristic electronics and would remind him of 1980s ITV backgrounds. This LP series includes Brian Bennett’s cosmic classic Fantasia (BRI 10). Jonny has been knows to refer to this style of library music as “Krypton Factor library”, because it’s exactly what that strange but successful 1980s TV quiz show sounded like.

In recent years as interest in library music has expanded, we’ve watched
the price of a handful of Brutons really going through the roof - not the just the action and drama ones, but the more esoteric and experimental LPs too – like the BRDs and the BRIs. Jonny gets the vibe that people fi-nally want to hear this other more interesting and experimental side of the Bruton catalogue. So what better time than now to put together a compilation of such sublime period sounds.

Not only does this album bring together a set of fabulous cues that would cost the average man in the street a month’s wages (if the origi-nals were all wanted and if you could even track them all down), but it also chops out the need to listen to other tracks on library albums that are nowhere near as good.

The cues here all date from between 1978 and 1984. They come from the BRD, BRI, BRH, BRJ, BRM, BRR and BRs catalogues.

The composers are all legends within the genre, and here, were doing what great library composers do best – fulfilling a brief and utilising modern studio equipment to both commercial and beguiling effect.

The MINDFULNESS HIPERNORMALISATION album itself marks a new turn in Eduardo's work, breaking away from any musical style or stereotype and always trying to seeking freedom of expression,marked also by a strong connotation of voluntary ostracism.A new stage in which Eduardo uses this double vinyl like a tool to mark a distance with the current international scene and also support the Adam Curtis theories shown on his acclamed documentary "The HiperNormalisation" 2016 . The album show influences that goes from romantic ambient melodies to the most complex and experimental electronica,also including easy listening techno where it is difficult to differentiate the line between techno and ambient.

Francois Kervorkian,DJ and official engineer of albums belonging to Depeche Mode or Kraftwerk, gives support to this great work of Eduardo which will remain in the near future and without any doubt as a cult album.

Parisian label Chuwanaga curated by Clémentine & Saint-James is back in the production game with fresh music from Ishkero, maybe the hottest Jazz-Fusion band of the capital city. Going from Jazz-Funk to Afrobeat through Prog and Psychedelic influences, Brume infuses together killer grooves, irresistible melodies and excellent musicianship. The 12inch, coming with its beautiful illustration, reveals a uniformly good yet diverse musical journey. Behind Ishkero, you’ll find five young and gifted musicians with strong jazz knowledge: Tao Ehrlich (drums), Adrien « Dridri » Duterte (flute & percussion), Antoine Vidal (bass), Victor Gasq (guitar) and Arnaud Forestier (keys). With its strong evocation power fuelled by their youthful energy and creativity, Ishkero’s music is a one-of-a-kind variation on the Jazz genre. Fusion at its best potential! Expect intense rhythmic sections, virtuoso solos, lush FX sections and robust arrangements. Used to play a lot live, the musicians developed a vigorous connection that really shines on stage and during studio sessions. Collectively with Saint-James as their co-producer, they recorded Brume in summer 2019 at Studio Delta (Paris) with sound engineer David Cukier aka Greita (Disques Flegon). The first track, "Triple B", is an ode to 70’s jazz-funk carried by Jeff Mercadié’s Sax performance. "Tonik Gin"’s mighty jazz-rock groove which comes afterwards brings the genre to its emotional climax. B side starts with the main track "Brume", bringing together long-tailed reverberated guitars and Mizell-like piano chords for a very warm and hazy effect. As the last track, "Gare De l’Ouest" is a nice jazz variation on the Afrobeat genre, again with Jeff Mercadié on Saxophone.

Vox Populi!'s cult and highly sought after debut LP is finally reissued here after 30 years. Recorded after their first single - Ectoplasmies (1983) - between 1984 and 1985, the original band of Mitra and her (then) 14 year old brother Arash and Axel Kyrou, evolved from 2 early cassettes and the 7"s' rudimentary, idiosyncratic and improvisational structures to more cohesive edges. Living together, but with no formal music education, the nature of the disparate elements led to a sparseness of the recordings. Influenced by his mother, the concrete music pioneer, Mireille Kyrou and her work at GRM (State Institute for Musical Research), Axel challenged his creativity by utilising their Vox Man studio as an instrument. Building on minimal synth, rhythm box, hand percussion and Persian poetry, they experimented with tape manipulation - layering the music with forward, backward and echo simultaneously - creating a leap in the band's development. The dark nature Myscitismes was reflected in their increasing interest in industrial and ethnic music, with a great fascination for the religious traditional music of Tibet. Ceremonial, gothic, drone-folk, the progression is apparent; onward perceptions.

The King & City reissue series continues with Paul Robinson's disco boogie jam Come On Sister. Moving from the Lovers sound of his early productions, his first solo recording was aimed straight at the blues, clubs and pirate stations of South London and beyond - a prolific artist on the rise.

Appearing as a 13 year old protegee drummer in The Simeons, recording for the legendary Freedom Sounds label out of Kingston; to forming the influential Roots / Lovers Rock outfit One Blood; then vocalist in the Nick Straker Band; and through to a 30 year career as "dubplate" producer / singer Barry Boom, Robinson is a man of talents and serious legacy.

This highly sought after debut, part of Neville King and Lee Laing's family of labels, followed releases in One Blood and productions for female Lovers groups Blood Sisters and Charisma. A pure disco boogie party cut, Come On Sister sees the Robinson family hit the Brit funk.

In label style, the flip is given the Discomix treatment, here by up and coming digger, dealer and producer, Bruno (Perfect Lives). Letting the horns, dub bass and drums build in anticipation before the keys and guitar join and it all drops to Robinson's vocals - Come On Sister.

Mashup to deaf ! Crazy stuff straight from the Momtormouth crew... A crazy sound for crazy people... excessive and speedcore, full of breaks and defenitly a masterpiece to scratch and throw and cut and manipulate... touch your records you deejay !! And cut cut cut ! Pass-Pass style for the big diggerz !!

Time Lapse is the debut EP from Monzanto Sound, scheduled for release on September 4th 2020 on None More Records. Across the 5 tracks, the four piece journey through krautrock inflected funk, psychedelic trip hop and cosmic neo-soul.

This release follows on from their Moses Boyd produced track 'Open Flower' being included on Rhythm Section's 'Shouts' compilation celebrating 5 years of Rhythm Section, which dropped in April.

Direct from New York city hardcore :) The Rayor still bring the heavy noize around after producing on Rancorous of Peace off !! Pityless stuff !

Westcoast Goddess first came to our attention at the end of 2018 following his debut release on Canadian label Heart To Heart, but his productions actually date right back to ’93 (under various different guises) when he first began making music with his trusty Roland DR550 and Kawai K1. With a fresh and distinctive sound, WG successfully fused soulful touches and late 80’s-era digital synths with raw, punchy grooves and a euphoric, ravey atmosphere. Since then, the Berlin-based producer has built a solid following amongst underground house heads with subsequent releases dropping on esteemed labels such as Omena, Slam City Jams and Let’s Play House.

Opening up the EP we have Step Inline (The Narcotic Soul), which is a piano driven, uplifting slice of house heaven. A simple repeating 2 bar chord pattern lays down the foundation for soaring strings, cascading chimes and seductive echoing vocal hook.

Next up we have The Devil In Mr Holmes (The Erotic Soul) which once again goes heavy on the piano stabs but this time developing the arrangement into something that feels more like an instrumental dub of a long lost Prelude release. Crystalline synth lines come and go, whilst electronic tom hits add pace and energy to the unrelenting house groove.

Flipping over we have the epic I Might Be Ok (The Faithful Soul) coming in at over 9 minutes and being all the better for it. A dirty Moog bassline leads the charge with beautiful synth lines layering up on top, creating a blissed-out vibe which can’t fail to lift your spirits.

The different seeds that have been planted throughout the life of Croatian Amor come to bloom on 'All In The Same Breath,' affirming an equilibrium that's all its own. Spiralling through the half-light electronics are gentle bumps and breaks that are layered into moments of elevation. A coarse edge remains just an arm's length away, but there is an unmistakable element of celebration throughout the album's 10 tracks. As the syncopated terrains ring out, their perpetual rhythmic motions call a medley of human voices that speak in security. They sing to everyone just as they sing to themselves. In the years since the seminal Croatian Amor album 'Love Means Taking Action' Loke Rahbek has strode a twofold path. There are the delicate, meditative compositions that he has made with Frederik Valentin; setting acoustic instrumentation against affecting digital treatments, each of their collaborative albums are an exercise in the magnificence of subtle restraint. And with the sharpest of turns you'll find Rahbek's parallel universe of rave-shocked rhythms and kinetic helixes that eddy through genre and tempo with few constraints. Collaborations with Varg²™ have yielded the wildest of this, and remain ongoing, yet the traces were already apparent across much of the previous Croatian Amor album 'Isa' with its treated vocalizations and cascading rhythmic mechanics. 'All In The Same Breath,' arrives as a steady handed synthesis of these divergent instincts. Elaborating the distinct techniques and themes that form the wistful essence of the project, the album's quiet composure is a sign that these familiarities have been set adrift to settle into their own private ecosystem.Small vessels travel in a perfect array. Light following shadows, following light. Every movement a signal, every second is camouflage. 'All In The Same Breath' is perhaps more than anything an invitation to be open to wonder.

Taken from their acclaimed self-titled debut album, ‘One Hand Tommy’ is its latest single and proves no matter how strange our world seems right now, it could always be stranger…

In a blitz session of blood curdling vocals, disarticulated fretwork and wickelly deranged lyricism, ‘One Hand Tommy’ sees The Imbeciles tell us the tale of: Tommy; a child trapped in a dystopian landscape of nuclear annihilation with only a giant killer snake for company.

‘One Hand Tommy’ is the latest exhilarating track to be released from The Imbeciles self-titled debut album - out now. Comprising 13 imploded songs which rarely last more than two minutes, the album was recorded on tape in eight deranged days on the Texan-Mexican border. Packed with stripped-down musical information and resonant with atmosphere, the album was hailed by CLASSIC ROCK as “Some kind of Apocalypse Now” (✭✭✭✭). The band also gained masses of support at radio from BBC 6 Music, Radio X, BBC Radio 1, amongst others. The delirious fun of ‘One Hand Tommy’ is just another reason to believe the hype...

And now it’s been remixed by DJ Tennis & Danny Daze, Mark Broom, Suzanne Kraft and Duncan Forbes.

The remixes have picked up a fantastic amount of support from a long list of names, including this lot – Radio 1’s Pete Tong, Red Axes, Jackie House, Len Faki, Gerd Janson, Laurent Garnier, Ben Sims and more!

This is the 2nd pressing.

The blues roots grow surprisingly deep in the Finnish music scene. From this fertile ground rises singer Emilia Sisco, who debuts on Timmion with her phenomenal single "Don't Believe You Like That". With her strong background in fusing blues, r&b and jazz, Emilia apparently slips also nicely into the dark soulful grooves of Cold Diamond & Mink.

In "Don't Believe You Like That" Emilia sets herself into the role of a mistreated lover, who still tries to see a speck of hope in the doomed relationship. By dubbing herself, and accompanying the lyric with graceful harmonies, she succeeds in building a powerful beat ballad, that should appeal to the darker end of the dance floor.

There's a special lane in history for soul music this understated. It's cool and intimate at the same time, like there's something dangerous lurking under the surface. So roll up something nice, if that's your thing, and hop along for the ride.

Truth is stranger than fiction they say, 2020 has proven it. This is not the year we asked for, but it's the year we received. Remarkably, even as clubs and social events across the world shuttered, the spirit of Techno remained alive in living rooms, bedrooms, and basements planet-wide. We hope you still draw inspiration, and excitement in the culture we've collectively nurtured for so many years. Before long we will see each other again, hug and kiss one another, and reconnect under more auspicious stars. For now, we wait. Luckily, we have new music for you to pass the time. We present our latest vinyl 12” record release: 'Life Under Lockdown', featuring tracks by Kessell (1/2 of the legendary Spanish duo, Exium), Joton (founder of Newrhythmic Rec.), HD Substance (co-founder of Sub_tl, and teacher at the Bass Valley), and JX-216 (co-founder of From 0-1). Modern, syncopated Techno for the new world.

Purgate is the solo work of Frederic Arbour, one half of Industrial Techno duo Stärker and also works under the name Visions, creating Deep Ambient Atmospherics. As Purgate, Arbour explores purely analog circuitry through dense layers of treated modular systems and sparse, pulsing rhythmic structures. Monolithic, abrasive and atmospheric, he exerts the elemental properties of sound and the textural possibilities of signal processing as an exploration of the inherent forces, and physicality, of sound. His live A/V performance has been created with long time friend and experimental film maker Karl Lemieux (Live film projectionist for God Speed You Black Emperor), keeping a focus on all analog mediums with live projections of abstract layers of decomposed 16mm film experiments. Arbour is also the founder of the Cyclic Law and Aesthetical labels.

»Sonic Healing« is the third full-length release by Martin Steer’s Bad Stream project. While the concept was started by one person in response to a singular situation, it fully came to life as a product of collective imagination. For the album, Steer sent a single guitar loop to twelve musicians from the extended network of his ANTIME label who improvised with the recording, which was later collaged by Steer into a single, 39 minute long track that stylistically ranges from feverish jazz to brooding ambient and abstract electronica. Together with the Iranian artist Arash Akbari’s vivid animations based on generative algorithms and real-time processing, »Sonic Healing« does not ask how one person can deal with turmoil in their life alone, but how we can create new forms of being together with art as a mediator.

The legendary Monk's quartet appearance at the world-famous Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in May 1961. The high priest of Bop, one of the most important, if enigmatic figures in modern Jazz together with three of his main disciples, tenor sax specialist Charlie Rouse and the ultra dynamic rhythm section of John Ore - double bass and Frankie Dunlop - drums, in a wonderful performance based on super tight renditions of classic tunes such as Jackie -ing, Straight No Chaser, Crepuscule with Nellie and Rhythm-a-Ning. Surely, both the band and a packed house had a ball that night!!!

Seit 25 Jahren gehört das Berliner Duo zu den Pionieren und führenden Vertretern des emotional-melodischen House & Techno und legt nun mit "Dear Future Self" sein neuntes Album vor, geschrieben und produziert auf seinen globalen Touren von Neuseeland bis Berlin, mit Künstlerkollabos aus Island, Südafrika, England und Deutschland. "Das ist unser cluborientiertestes Werk bislang, viele der Songs wurden in den letzten 18 Monaten rund um den Erdball live getestet. Von wunderschönen Sonnenuntergängen am Strand bis zu Fabrikhallen, von grossen Festivals bis zu kleinen Clubs, nur die wirklich essentiellen Tracks schafften es auf das Album", so Booka Shade. Ein weiteres Must-Have für die zahlreichen Fans, das die sich immer weiter entwickelnde und verfeinernde Palette von Booka Shade um ein Juwel erweitert. Zusätzlich belegt das Duo seine Innovationsfreudigkeit mit dem "Dolby Atmos 3CD Audio Blu-ray" Format, für dessen Mix Kraftwerk-Mitglied Fritz Hilpert verantwortlich zeichnet, der bereits für seinen Surround Mix von Kraftwerks "3D - Der Katalog" 2017 für den Grammy nominiert wurde.

in a trio of records by Andrew Wasylyk which unearth and reshape the landscape of Eastern Scotland as shimmering and inventive instrumental music.

Where Themes for Buildings and Spaces (2017) toured the architecture and industry of Dundee, evoking a place caught between decay and regrowth, the Scottish Album of the Year Award shortlisted The Paralian (2019) explored the littoral exchanges between sea and shore on the North Sea coastline.! !

Fugitive Light And Themes Of Consolation carries a trace of this arc on a return upriver, drifting back inland along the River Tay's inner estuary: a record of the low light on winter fields, empty suburban streets at dawn, the deep clear waters of the quarry excavated to build the city.

Ten songs circling landscapes for meaning, channelling half-heard melodies and misremembered memories; caught somewhere between settling down and setting out towards the shining levels of the estuary and beyond.! ! The record is threaded with the influences of people, place and musical lineages – David Axelrod, John Barry, Virginia Astley, Mark Hollis, Alice Coltrane – yet as with all of Andrew's solo work it has a deft, clear voice all of its own. Recorded between Summer 2019 and January 2020, Fugitive Light…

displays his talent as a multi-instrumentalist and composer: all hushed drum grooves, rolling waves of plucked acoustic guitar, cascading upright piano, Bob James-inspired Fender Rhodes, rippling clàrsach harp, and ECM-worthy electric guitar motifs. As on The Paralian, string arrangements are by fellow Tayside musician Pete Harvey, known for his work with King Creosote, Modern Studies and The National Theatre of Scotland.! !

clocolan is Emlyn Ellis Addison, a South African artist now living in Providence, Rhode Island. Exploring themes of ontology and psychedelia, his is a music of imaginary futures—of neglected hinterlands and unconquered vastness lost in the background noise of human endeavor.

Addison’s 2017 album, Nothing Left To Abandon, examined the experience of memory while his new album, It’s Not Too Early For Each Other, examines a more pressing experience: the ecosystemic collapse. clocolan dotes once more on dusty melancholy and electronic psychedelia in his new album, pressing into darker territory and more visceral textures.

It’s Not Too Early For Each Other examines the looming inevitability of a future shaped by mankind's destruction of natural ecosystems—and its seeming inability to alter that course. This music is dedicated to the pariahs: the messengers who confront the murder of the ecosystem.

Emlyn was introduced to Colin Morrison at Castles in Space by Strictly Kev AKA DJ Food. It's proving to be an incredibly fruitful collaboration and a third clocolan long player is already delivered and undergoing mastering for future release on Castles in Space.

Ed Wizard & Disco Double Dee channel that summer sun into this soulful house, Balearic and disco laced four tracker on their own label, Editorial, complete with a slice of Cody Currie remix brilliance.

Kicking things off, Cody Currie takes to remixing ‘Spirit Power’ with those tantalising Rhodes keys and skipping percussion laid behind a pensive female vocal. String laden, and deftly sampled Balearic beats then ease your mind via ‘Slo Fusion’.

On the flip, two sun-kissed disco cuts ‘Summer Love’ and ‘Aruban Nights’, the former a hazy warmup groover and the latter a mid-tempo flex, dripping in funk.

Along with its sister imprint Fluid Electronics - dedicated to all things more muscularly 4x4 oriented, from house to techno via ambient, Fluid Funk will offer a platform of choice for creators and lovers of soulful house, hip-hop, jazz, funk, disco et al. The goal of the label is to bring a community of like-minded people together, cleared from the complexities that sometimes hamper the good course of the label-artist relationship.

First to grace Fluid Funk's dance floor-ready grooves is Rotterdam-based emerging talent Beau Zwart. Fresh off a choice inaugural sortie on INI Movements that hit the streets a few weeks ago, Beau steps in with his debut 12", "Beyond Two Souls" - an infectiously smooth and solarpowered six-track platter featuring Dutch duo Fouk on remix duty.

Expect lavishly orchestrated cascades of ankle-twisting breaks, prismatic synthwork and summer-flavoured melodies to wrap your ears around as your feet and body give in to the power of that funky bass. Brewing elements of fuzzy pop, pixelated soul and tropicalised rhythms, Beau Zwarts sound takes us on a wildly enjoyable ride across luxuriantly flowered scapes and fluttering cosmic house horizons. Interlaced with sugary Rhodes stabs and 8-bit harmonics a la "Floating Points", Sykes' warm vox intonations shows us the way into a pulsating heart of wonky, bop-infused boogie.

Expanding to further out-there, club-optimised bravura, Fouk's take on the title-track is the kind of track that'll make an impact in the sweatbox as well as in a more cabaret-like setting. Pulling out the weirdo harmonics and left-of-centre jazz aerobatics, "Ixodus" lets its free spirited sense of playfulness take over completely. Flip sides and here's "Marble Book" unbolts the spacious pads and whirling alien riffs as a sturdy sub-bass and gut-churning kicks beat time onto further estranged
dimensions.

A slightly more muscular but thoroughly sensuous workout, "Bustin Out" fuses classical two-step-indebted breaks with lascivious "P-Funk" tropes into one compelling club heater, before the EP's sluggish closer "Illustrate My Way" sends us into orbit for good with its slowed down romanticism and otherworldly piano fantasy.

Following a string of bag-on-site releases on leading 140 labels White Peach, Pearly Whites and his own No More Mailouts, Sir Hiss debuts on K-LONE’s label Wych with a pair of fresh 140 anthems. WYCH004 sees his signature sound on full display and at its best: all driving subs, skittish beats and N64-indebted earworm melodies. The record closes with a hyper-melodic K-LONE remix.

It's the third chapter in our 'Moonshine Recordings meets...' series where we focus on various talented vocalists from the UK sound system scene. In this session we have met the inimitable Rider Shafique straight out of Bristol. Riddims and versions built by the Moonshine family members - Baodub, Bukkha, Dubbing Sun, Inner Echo and our fresh signing Joyful Lion. Vocals mixed by Sam Binga and the whole project was mastered from stems by Studio As One.

Acte Majeur is a project from Alexandre Gande AKA Le Syndicate Electronique, French cold wave and electro pioneer on Libertine X, new label series from Libertine Records dedicated to a more experimental electro, industrial and wavey sounds.

BEATCONDUCTOR strips down the STEVIE WONDER’s “SUPERSTITIOUS” to the core of moogbass & vocals. PHIL COLLINS’ “I’M NOT MOVIN” gets a Balearic rework with new rhythms and MICHAEL JACKSON’s “ROCK WITH YOU” gets the vocals stripped out to make “DUB WITH YOU". Hand stamped limited 12″.

We're glad to be back with our latest reissue, a couple undercover soul gems from the Midwest originally self-released in 1984: LaVerne Washington's "The Promise" and "I Found What I've Been Searching For".

LaVerne has dedicated her life to the arts in every possible way. As an artist herself but also behind the scenes, helping and supporting her contemporaries fulfil their callings. Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams - LaVerne grew up in Kansas City listening to the all time jazz greats, and soon discovered she was blessed with a keen sense for playing music by ear, playing the piano to what she would hear on the radio. In her teens whilst the 60s transitioned to the 70s' disco and funk era, LaVerne was there to witness it all, and she would go on to study music at the Charlie Parker Academy where she was inspired to become an entertainer.

At Langston University, LaVerne kept studying music where her career blossomed, founding and touring the US with the gospel group "Emery Shaw and the Voices of Praise", singing in several college bands and with her choir "The Voices Of Bethel". LaVerne would go on to perform notably with her bands "LaVerne Washington and Rococo" and the "LaVerne Washington Quartet", and record several songs in KC including "The Promise" and "I Found What I've Been Searching For" in 1984 before moving to Washington DC.

In DC, LaVerne was offered a position as a Program specialist with the National Endowment For The Arts where she started supporting other artists through her work. Over the next couple decades, LaVerne became an associate producer for the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Pioneer Awards Ceremonies held in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, which saw the likes of Prince, Aretha Franklin and Jerry Butler attending among others. She has also managed and was mentored by DeeDee Sharp and consulted with artists including Bonnie Raitt (who acted as a mentor to Laverne as well), Kim Weston, Kathy Sledge (SisterSledge), Smokey Robinson and G.C Cameron (Spinners). During that time, LaVerne has kept singing, on her own and as a backing vocalist for DeeDee Sharp and Freda Payne and has never stopped her lifelong dedication to music and the Arts.

The Promise original 7" was LaVerne's last recording in Kansas City before her move to DC and the beginning of her involvement behind the scenes. Channelling her gospel roots - with impeccable arrangement, a contagious drum machine led rhythm section, soaring vocals and relatable lyrics, "The Promise" is guaranteed to bring back smiles to dancefloors and living rooms alike! "I Found What I've Been Searching For" on the flip is a beautiful soul ballad which really showcases the strength and emotion in LaVerne's voice.

Back again in it's original 7" format, we've had the audio transferred and restored from the original 24 track tape provided by LaVerne, and got the recordings re-mixed for the best possible sound! Floating Points behind the mixing desk for this new iteration of a lost classic, comes with a 14"x14" poster of the original picture

After his debut album for Discrepant (Papillon, 2013) and a couple of tapes for Dinzu Artefacts (Aqueducts, 2017) and Sucata tapes (Cercueill Flottant, 2019) Papillon aka Gonçalo F. Cardoso returns to the wax treatment for one last hurrah into the depths of tropical disquiet.

Taking liberties from Henri Charriere’s book sequel of the same name, Banco, the audio reader here dives straight up/down into a world of random dream logic. The same themes of Nightmare vs paradisiac dreams are present here yet with more nuance than the first volume. The adventure here is more subdued, less spiritual as most of it is lived outdoors, free from the states shackles of abuse. A lighter tone then, for what will probably be the last Papillon adventure. As with the first volume the album counts with contributions from fellow label artists, Mike Cooper, Cédric Stevens, David Daan and Yannick Dauby all feature in a way or another, raw or cooked into a boiling pot of irreverence.

All tracks were composed and edited by Gonçalo F Cardoso in the island of La Gomera, Lisbon and London between 2017-2019.

Composed & Performed by Gonçalo F. Cardoso with guest appearances by Mike Cooper, Yannick Dauby, David Naan and Cedric Stevens*

Special vinyl one time pressing to 300 copies
Mastered by Rashad Becker

The Danish label/imprint arbitrary announces the release of Framework 3 (arbitrary11) by Mads Emil Nielsen. Framework 3 is the latest instalment in Nielsen’s sequence of graphic scores and recordings. The series includes the Danish composer’s own subjective translations of visual materials and sound pieces accompanied by visual notations.

On this release he collaborates with Katja Gretzinger and Nicola Ratti. Published as a limited edition art print folder, Framework 3 consists of risographed scores and recordings on 10” vinyl and CD – with recordings by Nielsen, along with graphic scores by Gretzinger and contributions by Ratti.

Raised in a family of architects Nielsen has for several years been occupied with the question of “how do you intuitively sonify an image?” along with the complementary processes of translating sounds and music into illustrations and scores. In early 2019, he produced various drawings and sound pieces which formed the starting point for the three tracks on this 10” vinyl EP. The audio is derived from synthesizer recordings and basic electronic sound sources (sine waves, feedback, noise) and percussive loops combined with recordings made in the studios at EMS (Elektronmusikstudion, Stockholm).

The audio material was translated by graphic designer Katja Gretzinger into a series of visual notations made while listening to the music. Gretzinger developed various symbols, forms and structures, such as points, bars, 3D balls, irregular patterns / “swarms” and regular patterns (vertical hatchings). These were combined with found image materials and cut-outs from old prints and layered with large geometric forms, which define the individual character of each of the three parts. The resulting 18-page graphic score is included in the release in the form of risograph printed sheets.

Nielsen then invited musician Nicola Ratti, who is also trained as an architect, to create sonic re-interpretations of the graphic score. Ratti reinterpreted the imagery as a selection of sound elements positioned in a three-dimensional area; which he visualized as the space between the composer / artist, Ratti himself and the loudspeakers. These recordings are included on the CD.

1, 2, 3 written & produced by Mads Emil Nielsen, Copenhagen / Berlin, 2019 / 2020 (reworked and combined with a live recording from Standards, Milan, September 2019). Recording by + thanks to URSSS. CD: 1, 2, 3 written & produced by Nicola Ratti, Milan, 2020.
Scores by Katja Gretzinger. Artwork/design (packaging, discs, text) by Mads Emil Nielsen.

The Story Itself

On the 12th of April 1961, Yuri Gagarin was launched into orbit for the first and - so they tell us - the last time. Upon returning to Earth, Yuri became a global hero, travelling the world to tell of his adventure.

Secretly, he was plagued by strange hallucinations and a persistent glow around his vision; a cornucopia of colour in a constant corona. In 1964 - following a silent coup by Leonid Brezhnev - Yuri was banned from embarking on further manned missions into space. At first fearing madness, the cosmonaut came to see these apparitions as a signal, an invitation, a welcoming beacon from a distant lighthouse blinking across the cosmic void.

On the 27th of March 1968, aided by trusted friends within the space program, Yuri Gagarin swapped places with another cosmonaut on a secret test flight and was once more blasted into outer space. Knocked unconscious by the extreme velocity of his experimental craft, Yuri awoke a mere 15 minutes later in view not of the rapidly shrinking Earth, but an entirely alien vista; he was elsewhere...

About Tony Neptune

Tony Neptune is a multi-media persona created by the Leeds-based artist and producer Sam Jefferies who, inspired by the narrative and musical legacies of early Detroit techno culture, aims to tell a complete story for the senses through a combination of image, sound and text. Asa member of the DimensionsDJ Directory three years running, some know Jefferies for his notorious DJ sets—whether he’s playing new wave or booty bass; as Tony Neptune or Yuri; solo or alongside Mark ‘Turbo’ Turner in another peak time marathon b2b, it doesn’t take long for crowds to catch on to his deep knowledge of all things riddled with Hi-Tech Funk and Soul. But this isn’t the only storm he’s cooking up: in his visual work, Jefferies uses oil paint to unveil the surreal and celestial adventures of the original cosmonaut and space pioneer, Yuri Gagarin, capturing every aspect of their dream-like surroundings with an eye devoted to detail and depth. This painting lies at the heart of his debut EP, Reflections on a Daring

A four track, vinyl only EP, that falls into an unspecified subgenre of techno with hypnotic and atmospheric influences, complete with a cinematic touch. Side A is slow and atmospheric, while side B is dancefloor oriented and focused on building ideas/themes using the track structure. The highlight of the EP is ”Never Relax”, which is a track inspired by the struggle of producing music in residential areas.

2x12"
Radio Matrix returns! In the strangest of times a somewhat prophetic message reached us. A message delivered by Immediate Proximity, a collaborative project by Diana Napirelly & Niels Luinenburg, known for his output as Delta Funktionen. Their message comes in the shape of an album called '2334'. It covers nine tracks that perfectly act as the soundtrack for our society during COVID-19 times. With tracks and titles like The Apocalyptic Techno Cult, Broken Ether, Clone Morph or Skynet Skanner, we find our self on the brink of a new era where machines and algorithms have taken over humanity. Metallic beats kick hard and eerie melodies are placed against rhythms that remember us of ancient tribes carrying out ritualistic dances in order to try to escape the machine world. Fortunately, behind this somewhat dark and apocalyptic mood a strong statement appears and calls for hope and experience. It gives the listener a path to look beyond the horizon. This release is limited to 150 copies. Printed on 350g incada silk paper with high UV gloss varnishing. Includes a sticker sheet.

A memorable name with an outstanding cover, Fuzzy Duck is a classic slice of underground London art rock and melodic psychedelia. Originally released on MAM in 1971, it’s truly a musical force of infectious riffs and fiery solos, sharp tempo changes, a tight rhythm section and heavy, Hammond-drenched grooves. With echoes of Spencer Davis Group, early Grand Funk and Vanilla Fudge, it comes on like a heavier Soft Machine or Caravan. No wonder Fuzzy Duck’s cult appeal has endured.

The album features Mick Hawksworth (Five Day Week Straw People, Andromeda) on bass, acoustic 12-string, electric cello and some of the vocal duties, and also Roy “Daze” Sharland (Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Spice) on organ and electric piano. Accompanying those two were Paul Francis on drums and percussion, and Grahame White on guitars and the rest of the vocals.

Originally released in an edition of 500, Fuzzy Duck became legendary all over the world through a holy trinity of scarcity, personnel and its sheer brilliance.

The album kicks off with a heavy, bass-fuelled, Hammond rocker titled “Time Will Be Your Doctor”. This is pure hard-edged blues rock, brilliantly played. Its drum break intro was sampled by DJ Premier for Gang Starr’s “Mostly Tha Voice” on 1994’s legendary Hard To Earn. And we can hear its personality all over Harvey and Thomas Bullock’s Map Of Africa.

Rollicking highlight “Mrs. Prout” follows. At nearly 7 minutes long, it incorporates more psych-leaning guitar and drawn-out keyboards à la Ray Manzarek with the band effortlessly switching from jazzy rhythm section to a progressive one. That magnificent instrumental jam that starts half-way and continues through to the end is a true wonder.

“Just Look Around You” is propulsive folk-rock with a soaring, proto power-pop chorus, backed by frenetic organ and heavy bass high in the rich, intoxicating mix. Back comes the heavy, strung-out psych to both close out side one with “Afternoon Out” and kick off side two with “More Than I Am”. Both tracks are improvisational winners that stylistically nod to the late sixties and “More Than I Am”’s guitar hook, catchy organ and memorable chorus would’ve surely made it a great single.

“Country Boy” quenches the thirst for rhythm and melody, only the lyrics and vibe are wonderfully creepy. The sudden cut of the groove and the drop into a more sinister tempo will make you stumble, before the band pick up speed and toss you back again into the opening jam, this time with a badass organ to ride you home. The final, fully fleshed out track is the majestic “In Our Time”, which oscillates between endless organ-driven boogie and heavenly, genuinely moving vocals. Just stunning.

Infamous instrumental cut “A Word from Big D” rounds out the album. Yes, that’s the band jamming with duck quack sound effects accompanying the music. “Ducking vocals” as the sleeve says. You know, just in case the whole “duck” theme had passed you by. It’s an appropriate closer for what sounds like an album that must have been *a lot* of fun to record. It’s definitely fun to listen to.

Mastered by Be With’s chief sound duck Simon Francis and cut with glee by the veteran Pete Norman, this reissue of Fuzzy Duck’s one-and-only LP sounds as mighty as it should. That unforgettable sleeve artwork has been carefully restored and the records pressed by the wonderful Record Industry in the Netherlands. Essential.

Linda “Babe” Majika’s insanely brilliant Don’t Treat Me So Bad is a tight six tracks of blistering electro-flavoured bubblegum and synth-drizzled solar-powered machine-funk. It has become increasingly hard to find, with copies currently moving for over £200. But this is definitely a case of eye-watering price equalling heart-thumping quality.

Once of the Hot Soul Singers, Don’t Treat Me So Bad was Linda’s debut LP as a solo artist. It was produced by Ace Mbuyisa of boogie-funk maestros Freeway and was originally released on Umkhonto Records in South Africa in 1988.

The enormous “Let’s Make A Deal” is probably the best known track here, and it’s definitely the best one if you ask us. Linda’s vocals drip with attitude over warm, breezy synths and an urgent, edgy electro beat to create a timeless club-ready bomb that sounds as fresh as ever. But the rest of the album is far from filler.

Opening track “Kunzima (Tabalaza Mjita)” instantly brings the sunshine vibes, strutting out the gate with that unmistakable South African steppers groove. It’s a deceptively simple song, with multiple instrumental elements arriving and taking leave with admirable restraint.

“It’s Our Home” is a powerful showcase for Linda’s vocals, enhanced by some life-affirming call and response backing vocals throughout. In fact they’re a joyous presence on the whole album. The insistent pipes and swirling, bubbling synths of title track “Don’t Treat Me So Bad” follow. A spacious proto-piano house banger that closes out the first side in phenomenal fashion.

Arriving as track two on the second side, “Unga B’Omthemba Umuntu” has the unenviable task of following the huge “Let’s Make A Deal”. It does the job with class, bringing the tempo down to a mid-paced tropical bounce with lilting harmonies and welcome traces of hi-life guitar. Wonderful stuff. “Playboy” is is another unbeatable head-nod groover rounds out the set wonderfully. That bassline high in the mix is to die for, and the chorus will make any dancefloor smile.

As ever, Simon Francis on mastering duties elevates this release, adding heft and elegance in all the right places with his customary deft touch. The memorable cover art, in which Linda appears straight out of the 1950s with her polka dot skirt and butter-wouldn't-melt pose, has been faithfully restored. But don’t let the innocent styling fool you - Don’t Treat Me So Bad is the work of one badass woman who can hold her own, and then some.

Presenting a collection of stone-cold classic breakbeats and b-boy jams from the sunkissed vaults of Miami's legendary TK Disco label!

NYC in the late 70's and early 80's saw a nascent street subculture fully evolve, a movement with it's own language, art, aesthetics, dances, fashion and way of living.

What would become what is now globally known as 'hip-hop' was in its infancy, with it's own legends and history being forged on an almost daily basis across the city's Black and Hispanic neighbourhoods. Music was central to hip-hop, the DJ was king and at the hands of people like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Flowers, Mean Gene, Jazzy Jay, Afrika Bambaataa, Charlie Chase and numerous other groundbreaking DJ's of the era, music took on a whole new meaning that would reverberate through popular culture for the rest of time.

The breaks - minute sections or breakdowns of a record where we get to the unadulterated groove and the band on the record cut loose - is what it was all about! Unlike the discotheque DJ's who favoured the long mixes and blends in their club scenarios, hip-hop DJ's were amassing huge collections of records that had these magical sections on them, often x 2 copies of each, so that they could elongate the best part of the record ad infinitum by cutting them up live - all killer no filler! These special on the fly mixes and edits were then unleashed in the local parks of their neighbourhoods, on gargantuan DIY sound systems for all of their friends and neighbours to party on down until the wee small hours. These breakbeat segments also gave the MC's space to address the gathered masses without their voices colliding with lavish string arrangements or vocals underneath. A clear, concise, stripped back slab of funk on which to put forth their ideas, feelings and rhymes for all to enjoy.

Collected here are some of those most infamous breakbeats, all from the TK vaults. These records were studied by these young DJ's, coveted, covered up, hunted down, whispered about in darkened corners by those who needed and obsessed over the freshest of beats. There's a good chance you will have heard these records in some form or another as they have been covered, sampled, recreated and spun in clubs across the galaxy for over 4 decades. These are the very building blocks upon which popular culture and club music have been built, and here they are all in one place for your listening enjoyment!

Released with love and respect by: Above Board and TK Disco, Miami FL. 2020.

One of the most important labels in the history of dance music, Easy Street reflected New York club-land through its most

exciting years. From the Garage to The Sound Factory the clubs of the Big Apple echoed to the anthems released on Easy Street and then onto the world.

This compilation gathers up 12 of the most vital and important tracks. From 1984s Go Deh Yaka by Monyaka, through Da Lacy's house anthem 'Hideaway' via Adeva's anthemic 'In & Out My Life' all the bases are covered, whilst seminal producers Blaze, Paul Simpson and Todd Terry are amongst those who were behind the desks on these recordings.

The release is a loud cut double LP, that comes housed in a stunning sleeve and printed inner sleeves that highlight the label's
distinctive label art.

For the third release on Sofia Strahil Velchev is offering a selection of five diverse tracks, developing the concept of the label: rambling beats and alternative tunings, a feeling that the tracks will fall into pieces any moment. What keeps the compositions together is the artist’s sense of melody and relentless groove. House, Techno, Disco and Electro, twisted through a KiNKy mind.

The Man Who: The Man Who sounds as fresh today as it did then. One of the most successful British albums of the last 20 years, it spawned the timeless singles, “Writing to Reach You,” “Driftwood,” “Turn,” and possibly the band’s most iconic song, “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” Produced by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, U2, Pavement), The Man Who spent an astonishing 11 weeks at Number One in the UK, going on to sell 3.5 million copies worldwide. Critical recognition quickly followed including Ivor Novello Awards for Best Songwriter and Best Contemporary Song for “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” and BRIT Awards for Best British Band and Best British Album. Travis would spend the next 18 months on a 237-date world tour. The deluxe box set features 2-LPs, 2-CDs and a 58-page commemorative photobook, and includes 19 B-sides hand selected by the band themselves.