quête:stripped

Baby Buddha is David Javelosa and musical partner Charles Hornaday playing instruments and providing their own whacked-out vocals. Baby Buddha really was less of a band than a project; a side project in fact, for some members of another group, Los Microwaves. Baby Buddha would eventually record and release an album, 1981's provocatively-titled Music for Teenage Sex on Robbie Fields' L.A.-based Posh Boy label.

Happily, the project's guiding creative light, David Javelosa has recently seen to a vinyl reissue of the now-40-year-old record, mystifyingly retitled Music for Teenage Sects. Definitely among the stranger releases of the new wave era, Music for Teenage Sex/Sects could perhaps only have been created when and where it was made. But on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the music sounds as weirdly wonderful as ever. "We Are Not" sounds like Human League stuck in a car with The Residents. And their cover of "All Shook Up" sounds like a musical kin to those inscrutable eyeball guys too; it wouldn't be out of place on Meet the Residents. "Little Things" is a house-of-mirrors, scary track, with spoken-word vocals by Los Microwaves' Meg Brazill and label head Fields.

The album cover is slightly different as well: it displays a bedroom scene like the original LP, but with the young female model absent. The new release (on Javelosa's own Hyperspace Communications label) is pressed on beautiful translucent blue vinyl and comes in a gatefold sleeve with a lively collage of photos, buttons, gig posters. Limited to 500 copies.This playfully titled release features David Javelosa (on synth and vocals) along with Meg Brazill (on bass and vocals) plus drummer Todd "Rosa" Rosencrans. Side One features five studio tracks, none of which were included on the band's 1981 Posh Boy LP, Life After Breakfast. Three of these tracks were recorded in '82; there's no information regarding the provenance of the other two songs. The records' second side collects five live recordings, capturing Los Microwaves onstage in New York City (The Peppermint Lounge) and Boston as well as at San Francisco's own I-Beam, a venue that often played host to the band. Those tracks date form roughly the same ear, 1980-83. Sonically the songs variously recall Blondie, Flying Lizards, Gang of Four and a far less dour Human League. Importantly, the band rocks, even when it's employing a spare drum kit, solid but elemental bass, and monophonic analog synthesizers. The stripped down aesthetics of the group – necessitated by its minimalist instrumental approach – are nonetheless thrilling. Even if you weren't there in 1980, this'll take you back.

Amphia welcomes Ferro, making his debut with a
four-tracker EP titled “The Unforced”.
“I Said” starts off with a mysterious vocal sample
complemented by a gliding bass line and abstract
percussion that drives the audience to create their
own narrative. A change of direction and a deeper
exploration of a darker dimension are brought on by
“Post Apocalyptic”, characterized by a slightly more
mechanical, nuanced rhythm. “Unforced” with its laidback mood and stripped down groove keeps your
attention focused, the percussion arrangement
working in unison with the glitched textures to create
a distinctive character. Concluding on a high note,
“The Contrary” keeps a steady flow through its lowend bassline, enigmatic synth line and vocal cuts.

With Resistance Belgium based Derlich presents his severly stripped down to its essence technoid visions. In avoidance of any irrelevant superstructures RESISTANCE delivers 6 equaly effective Tools ranging from ritual aesthetics with evolving rhythms and variations to unexpected heavy punches and deeply embeded obscurity reminiscent of the early Zhark releases.

Derlich erradicates the lines in genres as industrial, Underground Techno and Dark Ambient Minimalism, heavy strokes clarifies the abstraction of modern life. His passion for art, derelict dark landscapes, and abandoned locations feeds the inspiration to work in his shadowy area of electronic music.

Spirit Of House’ is a jackin' 90’s Chicago inspired groove. It’s an uplifting, dance floor ready track from two of House music's finest. Those unmissable vocals from the legendary Gene Farris add a stamp of old authenticity – he’s a bonafide Chicago legend, who’s contributions to the House music scene are undebatable. He’s been pushing musical boundaries for close to three decades, working with world-leading labels and artists such as Relief, Dirtybird, ViVa Music and Defected.

ATFC is a longstanding label favourite and household name in the scene. He has 3 UK top 40 hits under his belt and has remixed tracks for the likes of P Diddy, Missy Elliot, Simply Red, Faithless and Dido. He’s entered Pete Tong’s Essential Mix hall of fame - and the BBC Radio 1 tastemaker himself described ATFC’s productions as ‘verging on genius’. This collaboration is a match made in heaven.

‘Spirit Of House’ is a deeply playable, feel-good House record from two of the most established producers in the scene.

‘R U’ features a catchy piano hook, tough drums and that deep, powerful vocal from Gene Farris himself. It’s a stripped back, gritty house cut and we're proud to be giving it a home on Toolroom.

Whilst sampling can be a sticky subject in dance music, 'Tech House Kinda Thing' is a fine example of how digging deep and being creative can be hugely rewarding. The vocal sample on this record is from another house titan; Harry Romero. This was taken from an event promo video that Harry recorded himself and posted on his Instagram page. Being the creative soul he is, ATFC heard it, sampled it, brought the idea to a Toolroom writing camp last November, and voila, this record was born! The record itself is an energetic club workout, produced with the detail and finesse you'd expect from such a legendary producer such as ATFC. With driving rhythms, off beat quirky stabs and that unique, spoken vocal, this really is a special record!

‘Not Enough’ is an uplifting, funky, feel-good tune. It oozes that ATFC warmth and the vocals from Mia Mendez add some serious sunshine vibes! Her voice is super powerful and within seconds of hitting play on this record you're whisked away to a sun drenched terrace!

Christian Smith returns for his first solo release on Drumcode since 2016, re-contextualising a classic vocal work.

The Sweden-born journeyman has been friends with Adam Beyer since dot one. In the rare instances he has released outside his own label Tronic, Drumcode has received the fruits of his studio labour. Besides the recent contribution to this year’s A-Sides Vol.9 compilation, we haven’t seen a stand-alone Drumcode release from Smith in four years, when his excellent ‘Force Majeure’ stood as one of the year’s label highlights.

‘Your Lovin’’ is his fifth release on DC, taking inspiration from a ‘90s D&B classic. Driven by a Minimoog bassline and hypnotic arpeggios, Smith, a renowned perfectionist, made six versions before settling on the final cuts. The original is stripped back and searing, perfect for late night moments as restrained vocal grabs add colour to the techno palette. The ‘Ombi Dub’ is a straight-up propulsive tool that hits you straight between the eyes.

Following the success of Krewcial’s Woman edits, here’s three unmissable variations on another out and out disco classic, from stripped down and intimate, to peaktime dancefloor anthem, using only the original multitracks.

The Shapeshifters’ studio mastery and dedication to his craft has resulted in singles that stand up alongside golden era disco records as much as they sound fresh on dancefloors today. His rich relationship with Glitterbox has yielded instant classics that epitomise the label’s ethos for preserving disco’s mission to uplift and empower, especially with his latest release and debut collaboration with the Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winning Billy Porter, ‘Finally Ready’. Now, another of the label’s nearest and dearest, Dimitri From Paris, steps up to remix The Shapeshifters’ latest on a special 7” vinyl package. Co-written with Billy as a declaration of Pride, Dimitri adds his signature stylish flare onto the suitably theatrical original. Split into two parts, Pt. I on the A-Side keeps Billy’s unmistakable vocal at centre stage, with funk-fuelled organ chords and rich keys bringing Dimitri’s Sound Of Paris. On the flip, Pt. II is a more stripped back version, allowing the classic disco instrumentals to really shine, as a previously unheard and powerful spoken-word vocal from Billy narrates along with improvised vocals taken from the studio recordings. Expertly crafted and brimming with emotion, the joyful message of ‘Finally Ready’ rings true through Billy’s lyrics on both mixes, as Dimitri From Paris brings a new dimension to this dancefloor essential.

The concluding chapter of Jamaica Suk’s 17-track ‘Uncertain Landscape’ series arrives with a bang, with another four explosive tracks to round it off.

Milton Bradley — aka Alien Rain — begins proceedings with a hammering assault in the form of ‘Driving Force’. Detuned, ravey synths produce a cacophonous barrage of sound as the rubbery kick groove intones more hardcore vibes. There’s a touch of John Carpenter vibes in the spooky arpeggios that permeate the more stripped back sections. Bone-crushing groove abounds throughout.

Italy’s Kill Ref delivers a distorted thumper on ‘Subbaculta’, slowly eeking out a rasping groove from the underbelly of his pummeling drums. The track keeps building throughout, the shuffling rhythm
bolstering some seriously raw machine funk in the latter half that emerges almost imperceptibly.

The ringmaster herself, Jamaica Suk, makes her contribution to the series on ‘Escape’. She conjures up a tripped-out soundscape where layers stack in potent combination. Squelchy acid licks do battle
with the stomping bass groove and heavily-reverbered sustained textures. It sounds as if there are monsters loose in the speakers.

Nicolas Bougaïeff closes this momentous four-part release with his second contribution, ‘Nocturne 3’. Rocking a stuttered kick pattern, it revolves around grunting swathes of industrial noise, on-beat
clap patterns and all manner of weird and wonderful sounds that pitch-bend, tweak and freak to delightful levels of intensity. It’s a very well arranged and sequenced track that keeps you guessing.

Bringing a combination of two conceptual artists Ultrastretch 11 moves away from dance music to present this comtemporary off kilter.


On the A side, Montreal based producer Ohm Hourani, known for minimalistic jazz influenced works on his own imprint ANOMA and beyond, with compositions showcasing infusions of organic sounds combined with modular synthestisers, drum machines and vocalists such as his collaboration with award winning Jazz singer and Vocalist Diminique Fils Aime.


On this release he presents a 14 minute stripped down, intrinsically and subtly arranged combination of elements Initiale by a minimalistic kick drum joined by a synth driven, quirky / hypnotic mind drilling element paired with the finest straight hihats delicately placed on the background as the Constant. The subtle movement of the track is introduced by percussive drumming, vocals and piano keys forming the most beautiful atmospheric melody. The last element of surprise brings shuffling hihats bringing amazing swing to the overall elegantly slick piece.

The B side brings the highly sought-after drummer Samuel Rohrer. Ranging from ECM sideman to member of KAVE, a quartet alongside techno pioneer Max Loderbauer, Stian Westerhus and Tobias Freund as well as collaborative works with Ricardo Villalobos and Laurie Anderson, he is known for his unique sound aesthetics on advanced musical cross-pollination, developments of improvisation in acoustic jazz and wider horizons of live electronics.
Rohrer also brings a hypnotic reinterpretation but in a very different manner / mood than the A side. Initiated by strings combined with Rohrer’s tight drumming patterns at the forefront and bass line underneath as the constant, combination by which forms a tense yet peaceful core pattern to this track. To compliment this, synths create movement by adding cosmic and quirky sounds forming an atmospheric soundscape with the whispering vocal “shake it” on top. Overall, the paradoxical relationship between tight (rhythm) and lose (soundscape) is presented in perfect harmony with each other.

This ultra stacked remix EP see’s artists, Lauren Flax, Josh Wink, Radio Slave, and the ‘Missing’ remix contest winner Kai Van Dongen. Legend Josh Wink brings his minimalistic approach to the classic ‘Concentrate’. Lauren Flax brings her deep jackin acid flavor to ‘Culture’. Radio Slave does what he does best and keeps his remix of ‘Reflex’ stripped down and tough, Rekids style. Lastly, remix contest winner and new comer Kai Van Dongen, balances out the EP with his deep but driving rendition of ‘Missing’.

Vinyl only. In preparation for a stunning archival long-player out later this year, French duo Arcarsenal release their second EP on Inner Balance, containing 4 unreleased tracks that showcase their rich yet stripped-down voyager sound. Stay tuned for the LP!

FUSE resident Seb Zito returns to home turf to close October as he delivers his ‘Trying To Start’ EP. A key member of FUSE since its inception ten years ago, London-based DJ and producer Seb Zito has remained at the heart of the city’s scene featuring as a core resident for the brand across their homes of Village Underground, 93 Feet East and beyond, whilst also serving as the A&R of sister imprint Infuse. Following a busy summer that welcomed outings and remixes on the likes of Four Thirty Two, Play It Say It, ORIGINS RCRDS and Moxy Muzik, plus material via his own Seven Dials Records and two collaborations as part of Enzo Siragusa’s ‘A Decade Of Rave Volume 2’, Zito now returns to FUSE to deliver his second solo EP of the year on the label as he unveils four new cuts in the form of his ‘Trying To Start’ EP. Title cut ‘Trying To Start’ opens proceedings with authority as bright vocals meet skipping percussion, bubbling sub bass and slick hats, whilst ‘Arped Edge’ harnesses a slightly more stripped back aesthetic, introducing infectious vocal snippets amongst hazy pads, sci-fi electronics and menacing low-ends. Next, ’10AM Fuse’ takes cues from its title as snaking bass patterns go to work alongside sharp drum licks to reveal a cut primed for some huge early morning moments, before rounding out the package with ‘Geo Theory’, a lively peak-time production armed with shuffling drums and a signature driving bassline at its core.

The wondrous rarity that is Hipnotic 'Are You Lonely' gets the rework treatment form four masters of the re-edit, each with their own trademark sound.

First up to the operating table, Opolopo increases the tempo edging up to the 118-mark adding a characteristic juiced up bass synth that oozes smoothness and swapping the flute melodies with cosmic synth lines that sparkle in the darkness.

Greg Wilson & Che Wilson tackle edit duties next in classic Wilson style. Again, opting to move into peak-time tempo territory, they begin with a stripped back, spacey intro that sees elements added one by one from a bumping bass and panning pads to rough snares and crisp claps. It wouldn't be a Wilson edit without a double dose of tape delay, the duo dropping the vocals and synth lines expertly in and out for maximum dancefloor flavour.

Back down to the original pace on the B side, The Revenge offers up a slick, late-night redub treat. Only a handful of components are involved as he chops and changes the bass and synth lines to provide a mesmerizingly chuggy groove whilst dropping in choice vocal echoes that makes Hipnotic, even more hypnotic. Last up, Yam Who brings those strutting guitars further forward in the mix whilst adding some delicate piano touches that offer an elegant enhancement to the original.

Four new interpretations of a much loved and sought-after funk fuelled, boogie gem.

Techno's most influential label hits 200 releases with two powerful Amelie Lens interpretations of an Adam Beyer classic.

Over the course of its lifespan, Drumcode's vision has remained resolute, crafting techno that's both functional and forward-thinking. It's a philosophy that extends to the stable of artists who release on the label and play its showcases, with Adam Beyer's eyes and ears always focused on the future.

One artist in his viewpoint in recent years is Amelie Lens. Supporting her early productions on Lyase and Second State, a kinship naturally developed between the two artists, with Beyer asking her to contribute to 2017's A-Sides Vol.6 compilation.

Her blistering acid cut 'In Silence' blew the collective techno world out of the water.

Eighteen months on and now a regular on Drumcode showcase line-ups, Beyer has sought the Lenske Records boss to apply her energetic take on techno and remix 'Teach Me', his deep, Detroit-influenced cut from 2014.

The Main Mix highlighted the Swede's Drumcode Halloween set in London and is an exhilarating peak-team weapon driven by a grinding bassline that undulates with intensity, while Lens has made smart work of the vocal, teasing out the sample to harmonic perfection.

The Acid Mix sees the Belgian deliver a stripped back 303-led affair, utilising the looped vocal to build energy in the first half of the track, before rapid-fire percussion and squelchy stabs take control and push the atmosphere into darker and more ominous realms

Following on from releases on Mary Go Black, NovaMute and Sleaze, Charlotte De Witte continues her streak of stripped back techno on this latest EP for Suara Music.
The Heart of Mine EP leads with the dark stomper 'This'. A simple and very effective twisted workout. The title track 'Heart of Mine', is typical of her trademark style. Pounding kicks, stark synths, and snatches of uplifting vocal. The EP closes with the Lewis Fautzi remix of 'This'. It's atmospheric and crunching sound rounds of this solid techno release.

There is a way to reach into the pulse of everything. It comes when ideas
are stripped down to their bare essentials, blossoming then into massive monoliths that are designed with elegant simplicity. Such is the path taken on our next limited 7", led by Chronicle veterans Staffan Linzatti and new comer to the stable, Arnuad Le Texier. Entitled "Far Behind The Line", it embarks
with a sense of soaring weightless that only Arnaud can provide. "Radar"
is a statement of futurism, thrusting the listener forward and farther into the in nite. It's sonic qualities mimic radio towers, satellites, and frequencies transmitted from the far reaches of the unknown. "Destination" acts as the perfect counter, disrupting the psyche in all the right ways with dissonant wails and unearthly chimes. Together they come as a distinct package, presenting an impressionistic interpretation of what may come, or what already has.

After contributing a remix for our label in 2011 Daniel Stefanik now returns to Raum with his first solo single under his new moniker DLSK. The A side - Sense of doubt' is a bit more stripped down and melodic, as the B side and also the title track of this release - Subterraneans' is more of a jazzy house groove, that simply doesn't stop rolling and keeps the tension with subtle variations and other nice little gimmicks. As always we truly hope that you enjoy these tracks as much as we do and we are happy to have Daniel back on board as for sure he can be called one of Germany's top notch producers.

Belgian talent Ilario Liburni looks to the release of his debut LP, 'Travel So Far', forthcoming on his own label, Invade Records. The eight track affair comes on a double vinyl pack as well as digital form which will follow a month later and proves the man behind it to be a superb producer with plenty to say.

Combining elements of house, minimal and intricate sound design, Ilario also heads up the Cardinal label and first emerged back in 2011 on Monique Musique. Since then he has gone on to release on a number of respected imprints (including Riva Starr's Snatch! And Memoria Recordings), has had his tracks licensed to compilations including Noir's In the House album for Defected and has continued to make a big impression as a DJ around Europe.

The album kicks off with 'Travel So Far', a synthetic and stripped back groove with lots of squelchy sounds, scurrying synths and feathery percussive lines all working their way into your brain. 'Sudden' is another Ricardo Villalobos style track that is elongated, intricate and immersive as it unfolds on soft edged drums. Next up, 'Carrie' is a smooth, dubbed out affair that demonstrates plenty of restraint yet really locks you into its hypnotic groove as static hiss and crackles alongside distant synths colour the spaces left behind.

'Steampunked Sewing Machine' ups the ante a little with a hollowed out drum line rocking back and forth on its heels, and 'Can't Fool Data' starts all waify and minimalistic before getting pulled apart to the sound of whirring machines, and then it drops again; you can imagine dancefloors going wild to its hooky rhythms. 'Jenndrum' is all about the pinging drum kicks and globular toms that make for a peppery groove, 'Pherthothal' toys with a sense of abstract funk and closer 'Schwalbe' is a gloopy, gluey, druggy fusion of slurred synths, hiccupping drums and dark textures that make for involving listening.

This is a genuinely inventive album riddled with fascinating sounds,
a real attention to detail and plenty of otherworldly moods that really stick with you.