Already having garnered support from the likes of Mixmag and other vital taste makers around the globe, Overdue's continued onslaught is led on by none other than the highly talented, US based artist Dalek One. Keeping the torch brightly lit, the eerie soundscapes and forward-minded arrangements, spellbound within the "Witchcraft EP" serve as a perfect follow-up and yet another example of superb quality.
Going straight for the flip-side, "Witchcraft" lunges straight into a tribal encantation of overdriven tape - rhythms like water luring you towards mammoth bass surges - ecstatically driven forward by bold drums and unparalleled groove. Swaths of low
frequencies hitting your every fibre alongside enthralling percussive movements - danger of high impact on sound systems guaranteed.
Lowering the needle on the other side, "Breakthrough" does literally that. As it sets off with a rainy storm - industrious drone and thunder - metallic clangs propelling us onward into what turns out to be an absolute destroyer, full-on armageddon kind of banger. Heavily overdriven bass surges kick some sense into you as the off-kilter drums and experimental switch-ups keep you yearning for more. Minimal sound system
music executed at its finest.
Finishing off this highly combustible collection of music, "Terror Strike" leaves no prisoners as its tribal atmosphere baits unsuspecting listeners into a low frequency rapture, showcasing Dalek One's intricate sound design once again.
Ken Oath slip on their moon shoes for a joint venture with Freda & Jackson, pressing up four cuts that will have you slipping the surly bonds of earth and dancing in the skies. Loaded with basslines heavier than a neutron star and well-chopped breaks, produced with a dubwise ear for space, this is some of the duo's finest material yet 'Kendama' is the heaviest cut here, a deep psychedelic outing that's swathed in an foggy haze. Abstracted digi-flutes and koto plucks are paired with a skull-boring bassline and exacting breakbeat dissection, adding some levity to the leaden heaviness of the track's bass-weight. 'Cubone' slows but retains the hallucinatory haze that coils around all these trackers. Thudding bass anchors the floating drones and glitches, while percussion snakes through the track, building, like smoke slowly filling a room. The steady build is transportive, to the point where you hear the final echo tail trailing out into silence, and wonder how that all time dissipated Flipping over the record, 'Platform 22' is where you'll find the two of them at their loosest. Submerged vibraphone melodies and swirling voices play over a bassline that sounds like its descending the stairs, boisterous and half-drunk, to culminate in an orgiastic percussion frenzy at the end. Spacious and dubwise, 'Noggin' is a tellingly heady closer. Samples are set adrift across the track as they are dubbed-out and dissolved into smears of sound. There's a buoyancy to the whole piece, a pleasant weightlessness that keeps you floating after the final notes fade out. One time for ya mind.
With Recent Appearances On Boiler Room And The Groove Magazine Podcast Plus Sets Across Asia And Europe, Jamaica Suk's Fearsome Techno Sounds Are Winning Fans Far And Wide. A Year On From Her Debut Release On Her Own Gradient Label Comes This Stunning Second Volume.
A1 Stinger Ray Kicks Off The Ep With Zingy Modular-style Synth Sounds Pulsing Over A Bubbling, Murky Bassline. Sheet Metal Snares Punctuate The Beat, With A Switch-up Halfway Through Into Gnarled, Distorted Synth Crunches Catching You Unaware. These Brutalised Rhythms Morph In And Out Of Hypnotic Arpeggiated Pulses To Make For A Hallucinatory Ride With Ample Dashes Of Psychedelia Throughout.
A2 Fallen Sets It Outs Stall Immediately, With Filtered Down Acidic Bass Playing Out A Jagged Groove. A Manic Counterpart Mimics Its Rhythm But Dizzyingly Delayed Off The Beat To Create A Rugged, Funk-fuelled Feel. Cymbal Rides Pitch Up And Down, Unidentified Snarls Of Fx Mutate Around The Edges, All The While The Sharp Hi-hats Keep The Metronomic Heartbeat Going.
B1 Whispers Ups The Intensity. Delicate, Arpeggiated Chime Sounds Set A Crystalline Mood Before Swathes Of Intense, Darkly-tinged Synths Swell In And Out Of Focus Atop The Throbbing Kick Drums. The Effect Is That Of A Factory Full Of Machines Growing A Mind Of Their Own, Malfunctioning In A Pleasing Harmonic Dissonance.
B2 Twilight Rain (vinyl Only) Completes The Set With Infectious Triple Kick Drum Patterns Underpinning Dramatic Drum Hits And Warped Atmospheric Shivers That Create A Spooky Feel As Droning Bass Tones Carve A Path Through Your Speakers.
Known for a broad swath of genre-obliterating club tracks on crucial labels including Critical, Exit, and 50Weapons, Sam Binga approached us earlier this year with a radically different kind of project, a collaboration with Welfare, true junglist and label boss at D&B bastion Rua Sound. The result of their team-up is Conamara Fieldworks. Its unique inspiration and patient process are best described by the duo themselves:
"In early November 2016, we set off through the bleakness of an Irish November into the wilderness that is Conamara, County Galway, Ireland, with about half an idea of what we wanted to do. Our friend Laney had been kind enough to allow us the use of a 300 year old cottage overlooking the sea, itself belonging to her family through generations which she was bit by bit restoring to its former glory. The isolation was perfect - very little in the way of creature comforts, no network coverage, but plenty of turf for the stove and Guinness for the belly.
Our routine for the next few days consisted of trudging the length of the rugged coastline in search of interesting sounds we could potentially process into usable elements for some kind of dub/dub techno-inspired composition...This took us inside tidal caves and abandoned ruins, across sheep fields, up and down mountains and winding country lanes, in and out of the odd pub, under upturned boats and (carefully) across huge washes of seaweed-covered shoreline. Using our handheld recorder (shouts Danny Scrilla for the lend) we assembled a palette of varied noises, constantly battling with the peaking and distortion created by the incessant Atlantic gusts.
Each evening, following some intense huddling around the stove and vital Irish home cuisine and stout, we'd examine and dissect what we had collected that day, sometimes discovering the most interesting material firmly planted in the background of the soundscapes. A certain amount of (but not too much) processing later we had the bones of a few short loops of each sound which made some kind of musical sense when played alongside each other.
Binga suggested staying true to the craft and keeping the rawness to the foreground by attempting to develop the loops into full compositions via live desk mixing, arrangement and effects. We said our goodbyes to Conamara and a month or two later said our hellos to the Dubkasm shedio. Following a crash course from the dynamic duo, we set to work for the day, learning as we went along and enjoying to the full the unpredictability, intuition and sheer vibes a dubbing session can bring, particularly in a studio kitted out with some fine analogue gear which undoubtedly helped us to keep that damp, saturated feeling that Conamara had sown."
The resulting collection of music speaks for itself, and does so in its own language. It is meditative, deeply textural, and richly saturated, with awesome sound design, generous bass weight, and dubwise finesse. Referencing ambient, concrete, and dub techno while never letting any genre dictate its path, Conamara Fieldworks is a deeply rewarding and intensely involving listen. A restrained yet transporting remix from the one Ossia completes the set.
Artilect's varied musical background is one of the primary reasons why his production is so coveted throughout the back catalogue of the labels he's released on. Beginning his career in Manchester during the mid 90s, his love of breakbeats lead him into the world of hardcore and jungle, where his appreciation of electronic music grew year by year, whether that was the sounds of Detroit or Acid Techno. Having supported artists like the legendary Marcus Intalex at Guidance, his part in the Northern collective Audiosalad helped promote his finely honed craft to a more widespread audience. And now he joins the roster of Horizons Music, an imprint who strives to only deliver the most cutting-edge records from the underground; it seemed like the perfect home for an artist who has only offered the same standard with every track he's released. And the 'Black Fire' EP is no different, with its full spectrum look at the influences which have enabled Artilect to reach this monumental stage in his career.* Title-track 'Black Fire' is chaotic with its swathes of crashing percussion; its impact gains more and more momentum as it gradually builds and crashes along its finely-chiselled bassline. 'Hoax' has the same old-school feel, paying homage to the producer's roots whilst he flexes his ability to create hard-lined breaks which crash against the record's firing drum sequences. 'Deep Signals' is moodier in its approach, with each weighty bass pad lowering the tone as it draws you in gradually. Whilst 'Deep Signals' still nods its head to the type of music which made drum & bass so infamous during its explosion, it alludes to its more contemporary world, with Artilect enabling you to become fully immersed within it. Finally, 'Tryptamine' once again offers a darker edge although this time is goes to even filthier depths, taking you along for the journey through shaking subs and cranking atmospherics. It has a creeping blow, proving that Artilect reigns supreme over his soundscape; another reason why Horizons brought him on board to deliver such a mind-bending release, alongside his eloquent production standard and refusal to bow against commercial pressure.
Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.
One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Land Of Hits was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. Mistafide's colossal old-school rap behemoth 'Equidity Funk' has long been a record that makes the serious collectors salivate and is now here in full 12" form repress, too legit to quit.
Not much is known about the crew behind 'Mistafide', their government names are listed online but this is the only record they put out using this name. Suffice to say, this has no impact on the fury and style with which the MC's deliver their raps, backed with the studio nous of impresario Peter Brown. Across 12 minutes 'Equdity Funk' is a slamming Disco-rap monster, interpolating elements of the evergreen B-boy jam 'Theme From SWAT' it sounds like everyone just got into the studio and went for it. In the style of the times this is the real hip-hop flavour, a live band, some MC's and some death defying bars being dropped, proper old school. A truly rare recording, 'Equidity Funk' has been one of those records fans of the Disco-rap era have been fiending for for decades - often commanding prices over the $1000 mark you can now grab this slice of essential NYC street Funk.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.
Bergsonist is the moniker of Moroccon born and NYC based Selwa Abd. 'Solyaris' follows the self-released '' and a prolific slew of releases for labels such as Styles upon Styles, Borft, and Angoisse amongst others. For Selwa her uncompromising & otherworldly, hypno technoid creations aim to capture a given moment in time, contextualising her often direct, hugely affective, & unpolished approach to production.
Selwa describes 'Solyaris' as 'an ode to the present broken education system that allowed me to sustain my dreams in NewYork', explaining, 'As an immigrant from Morrocco, I felt always fearful of the future, pressured to succeed at school. The only way I was able to channel all that anxiety was through music'.
There's a undeniable physicality to Bergsonist's work, and the idea of expunging anxiousness into her music is felt from the oft as 'Solyaris' strides into vision with it's quickening roaring pulse and scrambled explorative electronic probes. This sense of anxiety eases as layers of rhythm build - heads begin to turn down and lush minimalist swathes eventually envelope bodies in calm unity, Anxiety diverted.
'Conflict in Yeman' opens with a gambit of off-kilter percussive experiments & electronics, conveying a sense of determined urgency. Things grow more & more intricate & immediate as we progress - layers of disruption weave around a reoccurring 140BPM shuffle, anchoring Selwa's constant explorative concrete diversions.
'Former Alien who has been naturalized by a U.S Citizen' brings things down a notch - skittering drums linger below a truly haunting whispered melody, occasionally broken down by collapsed rewinds and thunderously raw in the red beat grit - to dizzying effect. Whereas previously 'Solyaris' had taken its cues from Drexciyan Detroit Electro 'Former Alien...' stands closer to a Fantastic Damage era EL-P instrumental rather than anything aimed at the floor.
The EP rolls out with 'Fidel Gastro', a structured & focused piece of Machine Funk & end of days drop cues, conjuring an effective mix of both euphoria & imminent dread.
Bergsonist cuts a unique figure for electronic music in 2018 as someone explicitly exploring the relationship between head & body music. Although undeniably more than oft aimed at the dancefloor, Selwa's work also holds an equal respect and understanding of the head & heart. From her politically loaded Track titles, to her ideologically aligned guise of 'Bergsonist', to most significantly - her music's ability to elicit a spectrum of finely tuned emotional responses within the confines of each track
Having debuted with a fine EP by Job Sifre, Artificial Dance has returned to the source for release number two. The 12' pays tribute to one of the most influential figures of original DIY electronic music scene of Holland, Hanjo Erkamp.
During the first half of the 1980s, Erkamp had a hand in some of the most experimental and forward-thinking releases on the now legendary cassette label, Trumpett. Famously, he was a member of two of the label's key bands - industrial outfit Doxa Sinistra and new wave combo Ende Shneafliet - but during the period he also recorded a swathe of solo tracks as C. Stein, most of which only saw the light of day decades later.
La Bombe Plastique', a thrillingly spacey and futurist cut rich in proto-techno rhythms, intergalactic electronic motifs and drowsy choral vocals. For this timely reissue, the superb original version comes accompanied by a fresh re-edit created primarily for DJ use.
Inspired by a longstanding respect for the pioneering sounds of Cluster, Neu!, Harmonia & John Foxx, the legendary K. Leimer fuses tape loops, Moog tones and a variety of real and imagined instruments into an immersive journey brimming with electronic emotion throughout this homage, 'Mitteltöner.'
A key figure in America's musical avant garde, Leimer's experiments with tape manipulation, fractal loops and textured ambience have been well documented in recent times, with RVNG and VOD both offering excellent and exhaustive retrospectives of the artist's seventies and eighties output. Tracing Leimer's discography from 1979's 'Translucent: / Memory' to 1983's 'Installation View', via the dislocated rhythms of the Savant project, these archival releases detail a move from the pastoral synthesis of kosmische into more angular, experimental territories. Simultaneously looking to the past and the future, this Origin Peoples release is both a return to Leimer's earliest stylistic explorations, and his first vinyl release of original work in twenty five years.
Oddly for such a sonic outlier, 'Mitteltöner' (midrange to non teutophones) takes its conceptual cues from the idea that the midrange contains all the core information. Over ten tracks, Leimer employs subtlety and skill to navigate the emotional depth of the kosmische genre while maintaining the focus and detail which has remained constant in his work.
Opener 'Dunne Luft' owes as much to post rock as krautrock, evolving from chiming harmonics and understated rhythms into an optimistic roar of motorik percussion and towering guitars. From there, 'Webermelodie' dives into crystalline calm, tracing delicate arps around a processed groove before 'Anode' sends us skywards, drifting through glistening piano refrains and hypnotic sequences. Te dramatic 'As Long Ago As This' glides through a deserted city of metal and glass leaving the measured ambience of 'Entferntemusik ' to close out the side in a swell of static.
Leimer shifts tone as we move onto the flip, segueing the stomping, cybernetic Sturm Und Drang of 'German Defaults' into the propulsive electronics of 'London Interiors', a dynamic sample-topped suite in the tradition of Bill Nelson. The addition of graceful piano motifs and swathes of hazy synthesis lends a tranquillity to the pulsating bass of 'Auf Einem Fahrrad', while 'SHM' marries soothing melody and crunching rhythm into a thoroughly medicated experience. Finally, 'Café Florian' pays homage to Schneider or Fricke with a euphoric fusion of metallic percussion and esoteric energies.
Far from a simple homage to the electronic idols of his youth, 'Mitteltöner' finds K. Leimer reimagining their nuanced sonic framework through a lifetime of musical experience and experimentation.
Following a killer debut on Optimo Trax Michele Mininni debuts on R&S with the heavy hitting psych detonation of 'Rave Oscillations'
Hailing from Southern Italy, Mininni's influences run to kraut, post rock, new wave and electronic amongst others, a long time DJ he manages to condense his influences into beguiling productions that come as a welcome breath of originality.
Taking a heavy dose of inspiration from seminal kraut groovers Silver Apples, 'Rave Oscillations' builds from the hypnotic motorik groove and off kilter bass into a pulsing peak time anthem.
On the flip, 'Vortex Stasi' takes things into a more psychedelic direction - dubbed out piano, jittery rhythms and spiralling swathes of guitar blossom into a truly tripped out, squalling, breakneck concoction.
Mininni's kaleidoscopic musical vision is a truly unique proposition, a myriad of different styles and genres deformed under his oblique lens to create sun-drenched space music.
Touching down for the inaugural release on the newly formed label, North of 7 Sounds, is the mighty Rumbleton - a true heavyweight with over 2 decades immersed in sound system culture, running the Stand Firm Hi-Fi label and releasing music on Scientific Wax, Rupture LDN, Outsider, and Samurai Music to name but a few. A true master of his sound, we are extremely proud to have Rumbleton set the bar for future North of 7 excursions. A New Day' takes you on a journey filled with haunting pads, razor-sharp drum kit clashes, and infinite amounts of low-end. Bottomless swathes of atmospherics respire in and out of the mix, culminating in a breathtaking breakdown - crafted with utmost devotion to the Godfather of Soul himself. A truly honourable homage to jungle's roots in sample culture and breakbeat science.Conscience' on the flipside is weightiness refracted in minimalism. Rumbleton fully submerges your mental space in a cavernous, dubwise fog, while militant, scorched-earth drums power the tune forward. A warm, subterranean bassline churns endlessly beneath, all the elements occasionally exhaling and collapsing under their own weight, only to regenerate once again...
Khemia Records the new imprint from Kaos London announces the fourth and final edition in their current series. A limited edition, transparent vinyl (333 copies): The 'Winter Solstice Edition' featuring Codex Empire and MARMO.
* On the Solar side British born, Vienna based, industrial techno pioneer Codex Empire delivers 'Sevde' an experiment in long-form techno written specially for the label. A massive, propulsive beast, punctured with hammered rhythms and sub-aquatic bleeps, a maelstrom of whiplash cracks, disembodied voices and electrostatic, reverberating across an insistent techno groove.
* On The Lunar side MARMO present 'Alchimia' a track written specially for this release. MARMO is a conceptual, straight-forward, complex music sculpture. 'Alchimia' unfolds an epic sonic journey across vast swathes of desert.
* Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.- Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
* Credits: 'Sevde' written and performed by Codex Empire 'Alchimia' written and performed by MARMO Mastered by Andrea Merlini, Utrecht Produced by Khemia Records, London Distributed by SRD Artwork commissioned from REIN VOLLENGA X LVM Khemia Records London
* Credits: 'Sevde' written and performed by Codex Empire 'Alchimia' written and performed by MARMO Mastered by Andrea Merlini, Utrecht Produced by Khemia Records, London - Distributed by SRD Artwork commissioned from REIN VOLLENGA X LVM Khemia Records London
* Returning to Dispatch LTD after a string of successful and hard hitting releases, DBR UK are back to present their debut album, entitled 'Rough Edges', comprised of sixteen original productions from the UK trio.
* 'Rough Edges' is an ethos by which DBR UK live by in the studio, an ethos and distinctive style which has been developed over the years and throughout their own influences. Made up of varying elements, styles and attitudes within drum & bass, the album covers the trio's full spectrum, carried out with their own unique flair. * Certified masters of crafting their basslines and low ends to perfection, the pulse keeps every track pumping with soul, carefully mapped out and delivered to a tee, whatever the chosen direction. Eloquently arranged, but purposely gritty, dynamic but not over-complicated and never straightforward, glossy or predictable, it's an ideology the group stand by, whether it's a melodic vocal swathe or a murderous minimal mod. * Equipped with murky steppers for the shadowy back rooms such as 'Demolition' (ft. Slippy Skills), the album journeys through old skool & dub focused influences, like reece thronged 'Dark Alley' and hypnotic stroller 'Man Hunt'.
* Alongside their solo productions, the album also sees guest collaborators from the past and present combining efforts, with Skeptical, Structured, Gremlinz & Ahmad helping craft the gullied landscapes, the poignant and piercing vocals of MC Fokus striking at the jugular in 'Blood Water and the smooth, dulcet tones of Amanda Seal perfectly contrasting to the darkness and hysteria, before leading the listener back up the garden path.
* Back on the scene with a vengeance, having blown us away with an astounding quality and output, DBR UK deliver their first long player, 'Rough Edges', utilizing their subtly edged weaponry to maximum effect.
Following his widely celebrated Macro Habitat EP of last year, Santos returns to Dissonant to deliver another three tracks, laying down detailed rhythms that shimmer with the infectious energy in which the man has made his twenty-year career on. 'Garlic' is a roving thrill-ride that hangs on to the commanding groove as it whips through a dense landscape of sound, constantly moving forward with an energy that speaks to primal instincts. That leaves it to 'Invisible' to get deep in the dub, letting masterfully handled delay and reverb pulse out a spiritually enriching techno mantra. 'Cable' takes a different approach, weaving some colour into the mix. The rolling beat flirts with playful swathes of synthesizer and samples for a wonderfully trippy end result that delights the mind, just as it moves the body.
Cadenza Records kick starts it's 10th year in the game with 'Hunter', a release that balances the warm and cinematic productions of Martin Patino's original mixes, with the dark and powerful remix by young upstart, Julien Bracht. With previous releases and remixes on labels such as Freerange, Suara, Trapez and Rotary Cocktail, Patino is carving out an expansive and eclectic deep house sound, and his talents are perfectly captured on this release. 'Your Lips, Underwater' is a track that's been bubbling under for many months, a percussive and melodic groove wrapped together with heavy analogue bass and teasing jazzy keys. Title track 'Hunter', featuring the vocals of Astrid Hald, is a powerful, brooding production. The house groove develops perfectly, with the melancholic vocal back dropped by the dramatic and haunting pianos and strings, evoking shades of Massive Attack production values. 'Hunter' is a stunning and very original piece. Cadenza's newest signing, Julien Bracht, supplies a remix of 'Hunter', offering up an all-together different shade to the original. Aptly titled the 'Darkmix', Bracht gets busy deconstructing and reconstructing, taking just mangled snippets of the vocal with swathes of rumbling, aquatic bass washing over the reverb soaked, drum heavy routine. Deadly!
