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The Works of John B. McLemore, the star of one of last years biggest podcasts, S-Town, which is coming out on Dais. The story behind this release is truly fascinating.. the music itself is ambient remixes of Tor Lundvall's best works, but with John's idiosyncratic slant on them, with some having been woven together using the horde of clocks he use to keep in his basement. This story is really worth a read if you get a chance."In September 2012, I received an e-mail from someone named John B. who said he had assembled a lengthy remix of my music, which also incorporated some of his own material. John asked if I'd mind if he posted this recording on YouTube, to which I agreed. He also mentioned that there was a second part to his mix that was "roughed out", but never completed. I was curious to hear both parts, so shortly afterwards, John mailed me two CDrs which I enjoyed very much. The recordings were hypnotic and haunting, evoking images of vast fields at twilight. I was especially fond of the second disc which had a darker atmosphere and featured more of John's original material, beginning with ghostly clock chimes and ending with a mysterious piece using dried seed pods and other cryptic sounds that slowly built-up into an intense, almost claustrophobic environment.

My correspondence with John lasted about two months. In one of his final e-mails, John said "I have to observe that your paintings seem to have a great deal of loneliness involved in them... even multiple characters seem to be together alone, so to speak... I really appreciate looking at your paintings as well as your music, I think I have connected with the spirit of them both as much as anyone can." He went on to discuss his struggles with depression, caring for his aging mom and his concerns about the future. I tried to encourage his music as a possible outlet, perhaps as a means to help transform his feelings of loneliness into a more content solitude. Always easy to say, but as I well know, not always easy to do.

In his last e-mail in late October 2012, John sent me a beautiful slideshow of his Fall flower beds and his dogs. I was touched and I told him how much watching his video had brightened my day. That was the last time I heard from him.

Last year, I visited John's YouTube channel to see if Part One of his mix was still posted, which it was, and still remains. I was shocked and saddened to read in the comments section that he had passed away. The comments also suggested that John had received some sort of national attention recently. This quickly led me to the S-Town podcast. Although I had mixed reactions after listening, I was thankful that S-Town shed more light on John and his remarkable life... but somehow, I just couldn't place the person in the podcast with the person I had corresponded with. Had I not listened to S-Town, I would have remembered John as a very private, somewhat dark and lonely person. He may have been these things, but there was obviously far more to him than that.

After finishing the final episode, I decided to play the second, unreleased CDr of John's recordings for the first time in years. Listening to his clock chimes ringing in the dark was an eerie and chilling moment. I was reminded of a line from my song "29" which says "I live with dreams and a lonely mind, my clock is set to a different time". I wondered what those lyrics might have meant to him.

John had mentioned that he wasn't satisfied with his final mix, but I felt his work was too special not to be heard. I hope that these recordings offer another glimpse into the creative mind of a unique, complex and gifted individual who tragically left this world all too early."

Tor Lundvall
January 17th, 2018

JOHN B.'s NOTES:

This is what was intended to be the second part of my Tor Lundvall Remix series. Unfortunately I am dissatisfied with it due to a few defects, and it is highly unlikely that I will ever be able to complete it. Still it serves as a testament to my interest in the work of Tor Lundvall that I made it this far. Defects are as follows: The first movement is too 'fussy', and the first section of the fifth movement seems a bit long and may bore the listener, but since it consisted of so many slow moving textures, I don't know how I could redo it and still achieve what I was wanting to accomplish. Additionally, this recording was done just days before my Father died, and there are many feelings of guilt associated with the time spent on it. If you are receiving this recording, either you are one of my better friends, or you are a great admirer of Tor Lundvall, and requested that I send it to you.

1st Part: Basically a track of me fiddling around with old clock bells, and air turbulence mixed with Tor Lundvall and Field Recordings of rain, birds, cicadas, frogs and such.

2nd Part: My interpretation of Lundvall's Dark Spring. This track was inspired by the music of Carl Michael von Hausswolff.

3rd Part: Very ambient Field Recordings inspired by the work of Francisco Lopez.

4th Part: A Very Quiet passage consisting of delicate Field Recordings.

5th Part: Music performed entirely by me inspired by the Darker paintings of Tor Lundvall. Most of the instruments on this piece consisted of dried seed pods from the plant; Showy Rattlebox (Crotolaria Spectabilis), that I had collected and dried the previous Fall. There are other sounds from my own environment as well.

This mix was assembled in the Late Fall of 2003. There are some very Quiet passages in this piece, so it requires a nearly Isolated listening environment... It should be heard After Midnight, in the Late Fall of the year, and, not surprisingly, a Very Long Attention span is a Prerequisite.

John B. McLemore
September 10, 2012

S3A, a fundamental player in the French house scene and resident at Paris' famous Concrete between 2012 and 2016 has been making serious waves with releases on labels such as Gerd's 4lux, Local Talk, Hold Youth, Lazare Hoche, Quintessentials, his very own Sampling As An Art records and in 2016 he debuted with his track "Antois Benime (Austral Parc)" on the second release of Quartet Series. This cut became a major summer hit, played by nearly every house music DJ, including Byron the Aquarius during his wicked set on the Boiler Room stage at Dekmantel in 2017. We decided this greatly deserved a follow up and we're proud to finally present Climax EP with S3A's signature sound written all over it....

Opening on the A side is "Presentiment", a collaboration with Mika Blaster. Starting off with majestic strings then suddenly dropping into a massive beat with haunting samples flourishing over the thriving percussion telling you to dance... THOU SHALT DANCE!! The second track "Something More" picks up where Antois Benime left off. A genius mix of uplifting samples and 909 percussion makes this another club ready weapon, bound to leave smiling faces on the dancefloor.

When flipping the record you'll dive into S3A's deepness with "Wu Impact". Soft and sweet Rhodes chords, an insanely groovy bass line with percussion and those mellifluous strings again. Finishing off the release is a deep slammer that goes by the name of "Influences", again a display of S3A's ability to use a wide array of elements within a single tune, molded together to one coherent, lovable and danceable piece. Boy did we wish we had the sampling skills of this master.

A must have record for any House Music lover. On y va!

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An artist as versatile as Alex Krüger is a rare find these days, not only did he release numerous EP's and albums as Tigerskin or Korsakow since the mid 90s, he's also been on the forefront of the 'Dub Techno' movement since 1999 with outings on classic labels such as 'Raum...Musik", 'Force Tracks' and '3B/ United States of Mars". Now ten years after his last album on 'Opossum Recordings' Alex is back with this well crafted genre bending full length 'Caves & Cages". From deep techno cuts through rippling ambient excursions to funky reggae infused live jams with Haushausen this work is yet another milestone in the creative bubble Alex lives in (i.e. his studio). A predominantly analogue producer, Alex recorded most sounds for 'Caves & Cages' on his modular synths and vintage gear at Organic Domain during 2017 and early 2018. Throughout the album tension ebbs and flows effortlessly via syncopated subs, analogue improvisation, subtle chord stabs and sustained swells interspersed with textured field and home recordings. The ambient opener 'Intra' sets the tone for the album. Rich with alien atmospheres, distant soundscapes, out of reach voices and licks of live instruments dug up from numerous recordings dating back as far as 30 years, even before Alex started his electronic journey. The sojourn ventures deeper from there. Subaquatic dub techno is the mood on 'King's Cave", 'Helix' and 'In Air' only surfacing ever so slightly for moments of clarity where shimmering tops and glistening synth lines shed some light on the steady grooves. The tracks 'Future History' and 'Transition State CIV' border on deep house territory.

Transversales Disques present a reissue of Bernard Baschet and Michel Deneuve's 4 Espaces Sonores, originally released in 1982. Rare 1979 recording of Bernard Baschet performing on his Sound Sculptures.The Baschet brothers are known worldwide as creators of Sound Sculptures, fantastic shapes of moulded metal and glass, which combine the visual arts with music.François Baschet had always been fascinated by acoustics, by the relationships between the shape and material of an intrument and the beauty of its sound.Bernard Baschet was passionately interested in contemporary music and firmly believed that such instruments were the proper tools for modern music, for they offered to the artist and performer a personal means of expression denied by electronic devices.Together the brothers began to design and produce Sound Sculptures, which could also be regarded as musical instruments.Circa 1965, Bernard worked alongside Pierre Schaeffer as a member of the GRM (Musical Research Group) on the elaboration of what was to become Schaeffer's "Traité des objets musicaux" (Treatise on Musical Objects).The Baschet brothers also created structures and instruments of all sizes, including bell towers, windmills and fountains, using the natural elements of wind and water to make music. Bernard Baschet was especially proud of his pedagogical work amongst deprived and handicapped children, with the instrumentaium made up of fourteen pieces.

'Source', a new release by Wolfgang Tillmans, comes in an original version and two remixes by legendary German producer Roman Flügel.
The sixteen-minute original version is a vocal piece in which Tillmans explores his abilities to generate vocal sounds to tell a story while refraining from using actual words. Meshing six different sequences into one composition, each sequence investigates different moods and emotions meandering between the guttural, sacral, and absurd. Recorded in a studio session in 2017, the piece focuses on the immediacy of vocal improvisation as much as on its post-production and edit.
Tillmans knows that whatever is achieved through spontaneity can as easily be lost, as he recently told Emily Bicks in a feature for 'The Wire': I am, of course, always planning things ahead, and I am managing an archive of 25 years, and communicating in the now with dozens of contacts, but the fortunate thing that I feel I've retained is an ability to get in touch with this moment of being in the here and now, and seeing, or hearing, or allowing words or melodies to pop into my head in such moments.
The A-side and an additional bonus track are both remixes by German producer Roman Flügel. In a ten-minute remix, the multi-faceted producer stays true to the original's spontaneity and develops changing arrangements wherever Tillmans' vocals are creating momentum. Exploring various directions, Flügel's experience allows him to glide effortlessly through the different sequences. The bonus 909 Mix instead takes a tighter direction with claps and high-hats and builds up around Tillmans' staccato laughter before culminating in beautiful house piano chords.

The title may suggest a specific origin, a 'source' that is to be located, but in Tillmans' understanding it is a transient space abundant of undiscovered possibilities.
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Great return of the classic and pioneer band of the French Funk scene! After a long absence, Malka Family reformed, burned some scenes and composed a new album without changing anything to its magic formula. Recomposed with almost all original
musicians, they come back today with a new album, Le Retour du Kif. At the heart of a still popular and multicultural Marais area in Paris, young musicians gather to jam. This is where Malka Family is formed. Their first self-produced album, Malka On
The Beach, was released in 1991, and gigs were immediately chaining up all over France and Europe, famous for their eccentric costumed performance and after-parties. In 1992,
Warner France signs them for a second album Tous des Oufs, a real P-Funk space opera with guests such as Sidney, Dee Nasty, Marco Prince (FFF), or Juan Rozoff... They will then traveled France, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Namibia, Japan ...
And in 1994, the band becomes independent again and records an EP for Big Cheese Records, titled Fricassee de Funk. After a final tour for the third album, Fotoukonkass (BMG) recorded with Renaud Létang , the band finally broke up. At a time when Daft Punk is using funk artists to support their performance, when Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" continues to make the crowds dance, it's time for the original funkateers families to come back and teach a lesson to new generations. After the
band reformed and started touring again since 2015, they quickly decided to record a new album and to leave on the roads again...

Stix Records is a sub-division of Favorite Recordings specialized in the exercise of producing covers with a Reggae twist. Acclaimed in 2013 with a first official single by Taggy Matcher Birdy & Nixon (STIX033), quickly followed by the first volume of Disco Reggae (STIX035) compilation, Stix is back in 2014 with a scorching Disco Reggae Vol.2.

Following the success of its first volume, the Disco Reggae series also expands with this 9 tracks compilation, composed with 8 new and exclusive versions by artists such as Taggy Matcher, 7 Samuraï, Mato, or John Milk, and the classic cover of Tainted Love' by Grandmagneto. But this time, if they still explore famous hits like Watermelon Man' by Herbie Hancock or Happy' by Pharrell Williams, they also dug within the home labels' catalog,
taking over some of the finest titles by Mr Day, Lee McDonald, Lucas Arruda or The Joubert Singers.

Again this time, their swaying renditions seem straight out of the smoky studios from Kingston or Montego Bay, while also remembering the 80s Pop-Reggae sound of artists like Grace Jones or the less famous Earons.
Everything is mastered and cut at Carvery Records (UK), known for their expertise in Caribbean and Disco music. The vinyl LP comes in a deluxe version, housed in an old-school tip-on jacket.

The Fame-Beats' Davey Lane and Rusty Hopkinson are known to some as long time band mates in celebrated Australian rock-and-roll group You Am I. These two plucky charmers share a keen interest in Hamburg era British pop and it was on a stroll down the Reeperbahn that they decided to commit their love of all things BEAT to tape.

The Fame-Beats motor along a Cuban-heeled path from Merseybeat via the Medway, doffing their caps at favorite big-beat-acts, such as Bern Elliot & The Fenmen, The Milkshakes, Russ Kruger and of course that most Fab Four, along the way.

DON'T TELL NO LIES is the sad tale of a young man spurned told with the aid of chiming chords and soaring harmonies.

THE WATFORD STOMP is a reckless Cavern styled romp that demands you to DANCE.

Tint is the first new solo recording from Joe Talia in over a decade. Australian-born but now based in Tokyo, Talia is known to many listeners as a drummer (frequently collaborating both live and in the studio with artists such as Oren Ambarchi and Jim O'Rourke) and as a recording and mixing engineer responsible for dozens of releases across the fields of contemporary experimental music, wayward pop, and jazz. Alongside James Rushford, he is also responsible for one of the most legendary releases in the Kye records catalogue, the creaking electronic morass of Manhunter (2013).

Lovingly crafted over many months in his tiny Tokyo studio, Tint is an album-length electroacoustic suite that brings together Talia's expertise as percussionist, studio engineer, and performer on analogue electronic instruments (primarily modular synth and Revox tape machine). Ranging from minimalist austerity to kosmische lushness, Tint refreshingly refuses the dark and moody sonic palette of much contemporary electroacoustic music in favour of an airy, at times almost weightless sound-world of gliding tones, skittering percussion, and burbling field recordings. Drawing inspiration from Jean-Claude Eloy's epic concrète love letter to Tokyo, Gaku-No-Michi, Talia makes extensive use of his own recordings of his new home, but removes any sense of audio verite, abstracting them into transparent glosses of outdoor ambience or unidentifiable chimes and creaks. Flowing seamlessly between distinct episodes, Tint is compositionally controlled while retaining a sense of played spontaneity, eventually building to a maelstrom of analogue synth zaps and tape manipulated percussion that reflects Talia's deep engagement with the relentless yet constantly shifting dynamics of free jazz.

After successful releases with labels such as Rawax, Taped Artifact & Thule Records, the two Icelandic techno titans bring us yet another intriguing release.A Ohm is best known for his releases on Force Inc with his long-time partner Exos and as an inventive techno DJ. Octal Industries, a veteran who has already gained a reputation within the IDM community under his Ruxpin pseudonym, returns yet again to his origins with collaborating with Ohm, a pioneer of the within the Icelandic scene. Bardo EP offers us four enigmatic & atmospheric techno tracks with intricate soundscapes and otherwordly chords. From the ethereal sounds of Bardo to the hard hitting Flow Machine,A this EP works as an essential choice for both the dancefloor as well as for dancefloor within your mind.

This is a THIRTEEN MINUTE track split over two sides and as such will be our VERY FIRST 10" SINGLE and the first time we have deviated from our 7" single format.

From the redwood forests of Big Sur and the industrial warehouses of downtown Los Angeles comes PFEIFFER, a label dedicated to quality and a diverse musical output. Pfeiffer follows in the footsteps of labels such as Svek and Kompakt, known for releasing a wide range of techno and house with a common thread of unique and unpredictable energy. Looking to bring this type of eclectic curation into the modern era, Pfeiffer draws inspiration from the raw simplicity and effortless magnetism of its namesake location on the central coast of California.

The sophomore release from Pfeiffer is here, and with it new sounds and styles from the label's anonymous lead producer. 'Forgot' kicks things off with an off kilter, swinging groove and clever zany synth work to match. Shifting basslines bounce under classic Robert Owens vocals, evolving into a huge riff over the course of the tune. On the flip, 'Feel The Love' follows suit with a sub-heavy, stomping groove, staying in the deeper end of the spectrum. A playful synth riff grows throughout the track, weaving throughout the combination of chopped vocals, analog sounds and hand played percussion.

Forriner are Lee Forster (Last Waltz) and Oli Warriner (Traela) Having both previously released material under their respective projects on labels such as... ESP Institute, Mule Musiq, Hhatri and World Unknown to name a few. The duo released their first offering on Futureboogie Recordings to great success, picking up airplay on BBC Radio 1. With material on Man Powers - MeMeMe and a forthcoming release on Father & Son Records and Tapes, Poland. This is the first release on their brand new imprint, "Forriner Music" The release features two Forriner originals whilst collecting remixes from underground heavyweights, Persus Traxx and Frank Butters.

It's taken almost 3 years to get the man like Medlar back on Delusions fol- lowing his 2015 release with Dan Shake but finally it's come together. That release, along with his regular output for Wolf, Riverette and For Discos Only has helped cement Medlar's reputation as one of the leading UK un- derground house producers and led to official remixes and approved edits for legendary labels TK Disco and West End no less! The Medlar seal of quality has led to support from such influential heavyweight selectors as DJ Harvey, Gilles Peterson and DJ Koze.

Kicking things off we see Medlar in straight up dance floor mode on title track NRG, coming through with a drum-heavy workout that utilises a gnarly bassline, echoing synth stabs and rasping hats to excellent effect.
Flip over for his own Dub Version which strips things back further placing all the emphasis on the bassline and going heavy on the Space Echo for a tripped out, dubby warehouse vibe tailor made for the freaky hours.
Closing the EP we have the aptly named Tripped which drops the BPM's for a low-slung mood-setter to warm up the floors with. A simple groove lays the foundation for a rolling bassline while chiming synths weave in and out of the spacious mix.

After a period of hibernation, aperture records awakens with a bang and a compelling program in the pipeline.
Following their first album released on aperture at the tail end of 2015 'no.3.obliate', the Italian duo T.e.s.o. bring us their second full-length album 'costruzione 04'.
As the title suggests, the album centres around an underlying theme of construction, inspired by radical architecture, brutalism and collages from Superstudio. The concept and title evolved from the nature of the album and the process of building up tracks from a number of separate samples, much like the singular elemental materials used to assemble a structure.
Alongside their music production, the duo have previously created a multimedia installation that investigated the geometric studies of Le Corbusier in parallel to the musical production of Erik Saite and Matteo Castiglioni continues to create impressive audiovisual installations such as the recent 'Freddo Flusso' and 'neon(i)', as well as a collaboration with Danilo Randazzo. T.e.s.o also continue to perform absorbing live sets of their own inimitable range of musical perspective and vision.
Intense, visual and structured, 'costruzione 04' again showcases T.e.s.o.'s complex, obscure and dominant beats and their oblique and sometimes challenging style.

In the Eighties there was an incredibly interesting underground scene emerging in the Belgian Leuven area. Bands like 'The Neon Judgement', 'Sovjet War' and countless others all came from that area and era. One of the most underestimated bands in that scene was 'Company Of State', a duo with a unique sound that played dark moody guitar-electro with a minimal DIY touch. Influenced by a wide array of artists (such as Joy Division, Velvet Underground & Edith Piaf) the duo Rudolf Hecke & Paul Taes formed the band 'Company Of State' and recorded their self-titled debut (a four track 7'EP) on their self-founded label in 1983. Best described as: wild guitars with all kinds of feedback & distortion combined with a heavy bumping rhythm-box in the background... and once the vocals kick in you get that melancholic magic that makes this EP a true classic. With this kind of pedigree, it was only logical that the band landed in the stable of Ludo Camberlin and his label 'Anything But Records', where Belgian dark & danceable underground groups such as 'The Neon Judgement' & 'Aroma Di Amore' resided in those days. Later the band would move to Maurice Engelen's label 'Antler', in company of similar acts such as '2 Belgen', 'Nacht Und Nebel', 'Siglo XX' and many others.

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UPPERMOST will be releasing his upcoming album on March 23, 2018 with a completely new perspective that should change the course of his career, expanding to a brand new pop oriented approach but keeping his French signature at the core of the project. His previous hit tracks Flashback and Beautiful Light have already generated more than 27 Million combined streams across platforms, while Mercedes-Benz selected Uppermost single Disco Kids to be featured in their Formula One advertising campaign and Starz/Encore chose another of his instrumentals for their 2018 TV spot only few weeks ago. Uppermost is being closely followed by international media leading to great articles from influent press channels such as DJMAG, Vice, Complex, Paper Magazine, and famous radios such as BBC 1 and Virgin. In addition to releasing music via his own independent label Uppwind Records, Uppermost has released music through powerful labels such as Sony and Ministry Of Sound and done official remixes for Dada Life, Lemaitre and Crystal Fighters. He has also already shared french festival SOLIDAYS's stage with Madeon, Yelle, Fakear and Die Antwoord. This new year, Uppermost premiered his upcoming live show at Paris . Point Ephemere . for a sold out event that turned into a great success. Meanwhile, a U.S. tour is already confirmed for the month of March.

Music Mania is proud to present the next instalment in their Reprise series. Following the highly sought after classic 'Elle et Moi' (MMR001), comes the blissful Belgian synth pop anthem 'Crocodile Tears' (MMR002). The track was one of the first singles of Kuruki, the minimal wave project spearheaded by Ghent-based musician Gerry D'Haeyer and Alain Bureau (Sally Joy). In an age of electronic sequenced experimentation, the band managed to find a distinctive sound that easily puts them between the likes of Telex. The original ep 'Such A Liar' was released in 1981 and clearly echoes the new wave of its time. The scenes described by vocalist Sally Joy as well as the melancholic keys of the main track 'Crocodile Tears' breathe tristesse. Nevertheless, it has a playful sound full of catchy synths. A dualism between such beauty and melancholy: this track was undeniably made in Belgium in the eighties, but should also appeal to lovers of Italo Disco.

Be aware: for their second reprise Music Mania managed to include an exclusive instrumental version of this Belgitude. Even more synths for your listening pleasure.

Although better known for his euphoric uptempo European disco edit style across labels such as Public Possession, Ostra Discos and most recently Bahnsteig23, here the Melbourne based collector and DJ steps away from the dancefloor and presents two slower paced and (dare we say) more mature, sample-based efforts on this double-A side limited edition 7''Temple' continues the Middle Eastern influence Hysteric has been working on since several years, with a dark and hypnotic Egyptian melody accompanied by tough drum programming.'Tranquil' is a peaceful and melancholy arrangement based around an oriental melody to float away on. Recommended listening for your next visit to the local opium den.

New to the Stay Underground It Pays gang, the 11h release on the label comes from one of the most elegant japanese producer we've heard in ages : MOTOMITSU ! We get the chance to get 5 cuts on one ep (!) which is almost a mini album introducing you guys to his astonishing sound. Born in 1977 Hamamatsu, Japan
Motomitsu is a Japanese artist, DJ, children's book author, Musician, Poet, Event organizer living in Paris. He crosses freely the border of music and arts, literature. He is publishing his children's books and releasing his music. He plays DJ as a member of DJ team"Cracki" in Paris, also play the keyboards and accordion for some bands. His art work is influenced by Music and Poem. He has released tracks on various labels such as Cracki, soirée records (detroit) & cherry juice. All in all, another wonderful release that feels straight at home in the Stay Underground It Pays catalogue. Skylax always.