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Bad Colours is back with his sophomore album, "Always With U," out on Bastard Jazz Recordings in November, 2022. The London-born, Maryland-raised, Brooklyn-based DJ, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist - aka Ibe Soliman - continues to build on the well-deserved acclaim from his 2021 debut LP, "PINK," as well as a slew of standalone singles and collaborations with the likes of Shabazz Palaces, Jarv Dee, and Stas THEE Boss.

"Always With U" sees Ibe further develop his talents as a songwriter and producer, while maintaining the signature balance of banging dance music and dense bars that he's quickly becoming known for. The album expands Ibe's role to a collaborator, band leader, and all-around star-of-the-show; it's certainly still a dance record, but there's also so much more. Live instrumentation accompanies every track, with the notable contributions of Nigerian bassist Akin-Alade Ogo heard across the album, as well as the NY-based saxophonist Carras Paton on the jazzy, upbeat house number, "Heartache + U."

The lead single, "Maybe I Should Move to LA," sees the proudly Brooklyn-based Bad Colours contemplate a move out West – an idea that came about following a trip to LA for the 20 Years of Bastard Jazz anniversary party (which he DJed) in November last year. Bright pads, a thumping four-on-the-floor beat, and a catchy vocal line make it the perfect accompaniment to a top-down joy-ride up PCH. The album's second single, "You Don't Know," features frequent collaborator and PNW darling Jarv Dee, as well as KAS and JVDE who have both been making waves in the Brooklyn scene (KAS for his work with Grammy- nominated producer Harmony Samuels featured on BET, and JVDE as the lead-singer of alternative band Blind Benny). "You Don't Know" turns up the heat with Jarv and KAS trading dense, rapid-fire verses over a high-tempo beat and detuned vocal; the kick cuts out for the bridge, replaced by syncopated keyboard stabs and JVDE's stacked vocals. "You Don't Know" is high-energy hip house at its finest: Super catchy and irresistibly dancey.

The two singles are emblematic of the rest of the album, which largely alternates between vocal and hip house, sometimes jazzy, other times touching on R&B or dancefloor influenced pop. Dave Giles II and Cor.Ece (who recently both contributed to Beyoncé's chart-topping "Renaissance" LP and Honey Dijon's "Work" single) feature on "Flow," while Toribio (of the acclaimed Brooklyn band Conclaves) provides vocals for "Do Better;" both tracks are on the mellower side, reminiscent of late-90s New York mid-tempo garage. Rising artist N.O.V. features on the second track, "Ready," rapping over a bass-heavy beat; MarcusHarmon makes a return after appearing on "PINK," with smooth vocals on the romantic "Come Closer." Aforementioned JVDE can be heard throughout the album, contributing to "You Don't Know," "Flirtation Avenue," and "Easy Come, Easy Go."

While Ibe's career has spanned nearly two decades - as both a DJ (alongside the likes of James Murphy, Mark Ronson, and Q-Tip) and producer (for Kendrick Lamar, Faith Evans, Keyshia Cole, and Rick Ross, among others) - the Bad Colours name only came into being in early 2020, with the debut LP, "PINK," being released in February, 2021 on the Brooklyn tastemaker label Bastard Jazz. By tapping into his deep network of artist friends, Ibe compiled a treasure-trove of vocal samples, snippets, sketches, and fresh instrumental loops into a beautiful debut record that touches on hip-hop, house, and left-field electronic, while remaining danceable.

A slew of singles throughout 2020 and 2021 included "Feelin' Like," featuring the Seattle rapper Jarv Dee, has become an underground hit, popping up everywhere from Best Buy ads, Hulu's "Woke," celebrity Peloton instructor Emma Lovewell's playlist, and even as a soundtrack to the Mayor of Madrid's TikTok video. Most recently, "Feelin' Like" had a prominent placement in the #1 Netflix film "Spiderhead," directed by Joseph Kosinski ("Tron: Legacy;" "Top Gun: Maverick") and starring Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett. The breakout success of "Feelin' Like" further led to a collaborative EP with Jarv Dee, titled "BLAKHOUSE," which saw additional features from fellow PNW natives Shabazz Palaces ("Clouds," featured in Hulu's "Shoresy") and Stas THEE Boss ("Black Skin"). This year, Bad Colours dropped the early Summer banger "Hit The Breaks," and served as the musical director for the influential MADE New York festival, a two-day fashion, music, and arts event presented by Public School NYC and Paypal, that saw performances by Nas, Heron Preston, and Bearcat among others.

"Always With U" is a testament to Bad Colours' versatility as a producer and artist, which has allowed him to bring together such a diverse group of friends and collaborators. Yes, the house and hip-hop roots remain, but "Always With U" shows an evolution of the Bad Colours sound into masterfully crafted dancefloor sounds. It's a truly stunning follow-up from an artist undoubtedly on the rise. The album is out on all platforms, via Bastard Jazz Recordings, November 11th, 2022.

Heralding the release of Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz, the forthcoming album by Detroit-born-and-based artist, Waajeed, the 12” features further examinations of the track’s motifs by the vaunted Detroit collective, Underground Resistance, Zambian producer SHE Spells Doom, and a special reimagining by Waajeed himself featuring live drums.

Alongside the LP version the three remixes further explore the links between Techno and Jazz, styles both founded on African traditions that make commentary on the present but are always oriented to potential hereafter.

On the People Mover Remix, Waajeed enlists the talents of Zo!, Tall Black Guy, Michele Manzo, and more to explore one extreme of the track’s musical heritage. Syncopated drums, driven by a full and bright snare drum, firmly place this version in the sphere of contemporary Jazz emanating from Detroit and cities across the US.

Coming from an album inspired by revolutionary efforts against oppression in Detroit and in Black locales around the world it is entirely fitting that Underground Resistance should provide their take on Motor City Madness. UR’s Mike Banks follows the lead of the original’s melange of genres. By thickening the bassline, peppering the mix with extra brass from the Mad Brass Horn Section, and adding strings courtesy of Six Mile Strings, UR further explore the dynamic intersection of music, history, and geography.

SHE Spells Doom closes the remix package with his second release on Tresor after his contribution to 2021’s Tresor30 compilation. The Zambian artist trims Motor City Madness down to the bones of the brass section and infuses them with a gqom beat, simultaneously referring to Jazz and Techno’s deepest roots in Africa, as well as suggesting where they might be headed in the future.

PUBLISHED: 6TH OCTOBER 2022

Fleeting configurations of piano, wind, strings, synthetics, and field recordings, inspired by the Greek isles.
Previous albums adored by the likes of The Quietus, Exclaim, Drowned In Sound, etc.
For fans of Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch soundtracks, Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, and Global Communication.
While on the island of Syros in the Aegean Sea for a film festival performance, Christina Vantzou experienced what she characterized as “a moment of focus”—a specific vision for the sprawl of raw recordings she’d been amassing for her fifth album. Upon relocating to the Cycladic island of Ano Koufonisi, she situated herself outside at a patio table with a laptop and headphones, taking brief breaks to swim, and began the “reductive process” of shaving and shaping the source material into uneasy but lyrical movements, alternately austere and adorned with strange inflections: glottal groaning, cavernous water, glittering eddies of modular synth, languorous silences. Mixing the pieces herself without outsourcing to an engineer compounded the intimacy and autobiographical dimension of the music; she refers to No5 as “almost like a first album.”
Drawing on sessions staged in February 2020, Vantzou’s editing instincts emphasize process and isolation, spotlighting resonance and restraint, liquidity and long tails. Fleeting configurations of piano, wind, strings, synthetics, and field recordings, these are spaces as much as compositions, surreal grottos of shifting light, suffused with a sense of invisible divinity. Although seventeen musicians appear on the record, the proceedings feel minimalist and malleable, sculpted from interstitial moments and oblique synchronicities. The definition of a composer as “one who joins things” is here both plumbed and proven; Vantzou describes No5 as “a letting go,” a place of “soft borders,” unfixed and undefinable.

Zopelar arrives on Tartelet with Charme - an album of effervescent machine funk harking back to a golden era of Brazilian party music, releasing October 21st.

The era of interest for Sao Paulo’s Pedro Zopelar begins in the 1980s in Rio de Janeiro, when a particular phenomenon caught on at suburban parties which became known as Charme. “Charme was like a mix of slow boogie, RnB and new jack swing,” explains Zopelar. “DJ Corello started calling ‘charme’ the moment of the party when he played slow grooves and felt that the people started dancing differently, with sexier synchronized moves. Some years later, charme evolved from an awaited moment of a night to a whole movement of parties just playing that kind of music. On this record I tried to make something that brings this emotional feeling to my music in a modern way.”

Much like the original genre-not-genre he drew inspiration from, Zopelar’s approach across his latest LP spans different moods and tempos. There’s blissful, sultry mystery lingering around ‘Clara’ and ‘Do You Feel?’ while OSAGIE lends some chops to the exquisite, Rompler-powered synth funk of ‘Chain Net’. The lead singles ‘Shibuya’, ‘Charme’ and ‘Passado’ all tap into varying shades of deep house, from slinky City Pop-tinted loungers to peak-time dance pop and Larry Heard-influenced flavours, with the constant being Zopelar’s immaculate production and the unbridled warmth of his compositions.

Continuing the Latin-rooted theme of the album, the artworkconception of Charme was realized by multidisciplinary artist and curator Ode, showcasing a popular style of street paintings made by anonymous artists throughout Latin America. It’s not about graffiti-culture but a popular solution utilized by small restaurants, bars and other establishments to use their own walls for commercial purposes, hiring artists to paint food and drink menus or other information about their products.

With an emotional sincerity stemming from his move to reconnect with the Brazilian dimension of his creative background, Charme arrives as Zopelar’s heartfelt celebration of life and music, of sentimental moments shared and good times enjoyed.

Blue Vinyl

Throughout his productive career, Carl Oesterhelt has proven to be an artist who finds it easy to move between musical genres and concepts. Much of his work has been within classical and chamber music, but he has also scored museum exhibitions and he is sometimes part of The Notwist crew as an angular figure on the Munich scene.

In Umor Rex we have been lucky enough to publish an array of Oesterhelt's universes. In Eleven Pieces for Synthesizer (Umor Rex 2019) we heard his kosmische side, where the connections with Harmonia or Klaus Schulze were amalgamated with ecclesiastical organ pieces and intense semi-automatic rhythms. A deeply melodic, fresh album. Pure syntax of the modern synthesizer. Further, in The Aporias of Futurism (Umor Rex 2021), in collaboration with Andreas Gerth (Driftmachine, Tied & Tickled Trio), Oesterhelt showed what is perhaps his darkest side —a work full of nuances within concrete music and midnight atmospheres. As deep and cerebral an album as it is surprising and catatonic.

Yet it seems that Carl Oesterhelt has another ace up his sleeve. Now he surprises us with The Dualistic Principle, a fantastic album full of weird but charming electronic melodies, rhythms that push the body to movement, sometimes syncopated and abstract, others permanent and fluid. In this work, Oesterhelt invited Johan Simons to give voice to the lyrics. The Dualistic Principle is a sort of rendition of a philosophical review or a nostalgic memory of the glamorous years. There is also underlying humor in the Post / Space-pop / Munich-disc assortment. The Dualistic Principle is the score to an imaginary film of contemporary hedonism.

All music & lyrics by Carl Oesterhelt. Voice by Johan Simons. Additional strings played by the Ensemble für synkretische Musik. Recorded in Munich & Bochum, Germany. Mastered by John Tejada in Sherman Oaks, USA. Artwork by Daniel Castrejón in Mexico City.

AMRA, the collaborative project between Paul Purgas (Emptyset) and artist and filmmaker Imran Perretta, continue their excavations into syncretic mythologies, diasporic echoes and ancient rhythmic talas. hills/demons ruminates on spectral landscapes whilst bringing together a wider group of collaborators, forming a collection of dense percussive polyrhythms alongside sitar improvisations from British-Pakistani multi-instrumentalist Nabihah Iqbal and guest vocals from Bangladeshi singer Sohini Alam. Developed for a performance with the London based commissioning platform Artnight, the release expands on AMRA's exploration of archival traces and the struggles that marked South Asia's partition, summoning alternative histories and the echo of ancestral voices.

Lucrecia Dalt is a Colombian recording artist, songwriter, and producer currently based in Berlin, Germany. Dalt channels sensory echoes of growing up in Colombia on her eighth studio album ¡Ay!, where the sound and syncopation of Tropical Music encounter adventurous impulse, lush instrumentation, and metaphysical sci-fi meditations in an exclamation of liminal delight. Dalt's introspective approach to composition, last surfaced on her entrancing 2020 album No era sólida, refracts across ¡Ay! in a subconscious spectrum of the music genres she absorbed as a child. Treasured sounds and syncopations of bolero, mambo, salsa, and merengue rooted in Dalt's early surroundings awaken on ¡Ay! and give glow to the album's contours. The intuitive melodic structures of this music, processed by memory and modular synths, led Dalt to a mirage of her creative origins and the album she has always wanted to make. ¡Ay! is a tincture of rich acoustic textures filtered through the warmth of Dalt's signature machinic distortion, diffused of easily-defined edges as previously explored on No era sólida and her 2018 album Anticlines. Here, vivid incantations of upright bass, wind ensembles and brass form shimmers of harmonic motif, distilled across radiant rhythms. Dalt worked closely with friend and collaborator Alex Lázaro to cultivate new shapes and colors for slowed down tumbaos and bolero percussion patterns. Together they deconstructed the traditional drum kit into serpentine expansions of congas, bongos, temple blocks and timbales, all of which they tuned to dance among Lucrecia's lucid vocal processions. For Fans of David Sylvian, Rosalía, Robert Wyatt, Rita Indiana, Matías Aguayo, Tom Waits, Meridian Brothers.

Lucrecia Dalt is a Colombian recording artist, songwriter, and producer currently based in Berlin, Germany. Dalt channels sensory echoes of growing up in Colombia on her eighth studio album ¡Ay!, where the sound and syncopation of Tropical Music encounter adventurous impulse, lush instrumentation, and metaphysical sci-fi meditations in an exclamation of liminal delight. Dalt's introspective approach to composition, last surfaced on her entrancing 2020 album No era sólida, refracts across ¡Ay! in a subconscious spectrum of the music genres she absorbed as a child. Treasured sounds and syncopations of bolero, mambo, salsa, and merengue rooted in Dalt's early surroundings awaken on ¡Ay! and give glow to the album's contours. The intuitive melodic structures of this music, processed by memory and modular synths, led Dalt to a mirage of her creative origins and the album she has always wanted to make. ¡Ay! is a tincture of rich acoustic textures filtered through the warmth of Dalt's signature machinic distortion, diffused of easily-defined edges as previously explored on No era sólida and her 2018 album Anticlines. Here, vivid incantations of upright bass, wind ensembles and brass form shimmers of harmonic motif, distilled across radiant rhythms. Dalt worked closely with friend and collaborator Alex Lázaro to cultivate new shapes and colors for slowed down tumbaos and bolero percussion patterns. Together they deconstructed the traditional drum kit into serpentine expansions of congas, bongos, temple blocks and timbales, all of which they tuned to dance among Lucrecia's lucid vocal processions. For Fans of David Sylvian, Rosalía, Robert Wyatt, Rita Indiana, Matías Aguayo, Tom Waits, Meridian Brothers.

Zu Beginn der 1980er-Jahre zählten sie zu den größten Acts des Planeten, und ihre Reunion-Tour füllte 2007 weltweit die Hallen und Stadien: The Police. Wie kaum eine andere Popband profitierte das Trio von Einflüssen afrikanischer und vor allem jamaikanischer Musik. Songs wie "So Lonely" und "My Bed"s Too Big Without You" wären nichts ohne Stings parallel zum Gesang gezimmertes Bass-Fundament, und "Walking On The Moon" ist wahrscheinlich eine der wenigen Reggae-Killer-Basslinien, die außerhalb Jamaikas entstanden sind. Zeit für eine Würdigung der besonderen Art: "DubXanne" ist das wohl erste Dub-Showcase, das komplett auf Police-Riddims basiert. Eingespielt wurde das Album von Okada, der Backing-Band des Reggaekünstlers Zoe, und vielen Gästen wie Earl 16, Rankin Rogers, Eased (Seeed) und dem Dichter Benjamin Zephaniah. Das Ergebnis sind gesättigte Bässe, ein dynamisches, repetitives Gleichmaß, Sound-System-Atmosphäre und vor allem: Synchronicity - eine Rückkoppelung der abstrahierten Reggaeelemente von The Police mit deren jamaikanischen Wurzeln.

The debut album from Leeds singer-songwriter Jake Whiskin. Streaming (to date at November 2021) - Spotify Editorials: New Music Friday (3 times in a row), Duvet Day, The Indie List, The Lovely Little Playlist, Hot New Bands, Garden Indie, Undercurrents, My Life is a Movie, Fresh Finds: Pop, Fresh Finds: Rock, Fresh Finds: UK & Ireland, Modern Eclectic - Apple Music Playlists: New Music Daily UK - Amazon Music Playlists: Taufrish: Indie - Youtube playlists with Alex Rainbird (1M subs), Indie Vibes (81.6k subs) and Ethereal (431k subs) Press, Radio & TV (to date at November 2021) - Radio 1 plays from Jack Saunders Future Artists - Ongoing radio support from BBC Introducing (2 live sessions) and Amazing Radio (playlist) - Press features with: The Independent (Live Session), DORK, Clash, When The Horn Blows & more - Synch on Made In Chelsea (Channel 4) Marketing (to date at November 2021) £25k marketing spend across album campaign throughout regular single releases in 2022 (to be spent across online ads on Instagram / YouTube and original creative content) Live (to date at November 2021) - Recent festival slots at leading new music showcase festivals:Live At Leeds, Twisterella - Live plan in 2022 to coincide with single releases with support slots and new music festivals, followed by headline album tour in November 22.

Puckered with ruggedly pointillist swagger and evoking discrete worlds hidden in plain sight, »Traditional Music of South London« is a riveting masterwork by experimental music’s distinctive and cherished modernist, Dale Cornish. It is a concrète grimoire of recent and ancient folklore that binds Dale’s music, lyrics, and background into a strikingly personal synecdoche of South London.

Since emerging as part of London’s shouty electroclash movement in the mid ‘00s, and assuming the role of deconstructed rave pioneer and poet in 2011, Dale Cornish has been (lo)key to new movements in electronic music’s underbelly for the best part of this century. His 12th LP, proper, »Traditional Music of South London« is Dale’s definitive record; a confident testament to artistic maturity that comes with doing your thing against the grain over decades, and a potent expansion on ideas chiselled during his run of releases with the inspirational (now sadly defunct) label, Entr’acte, who helped foster Dale’s explorations of concrète rave and industrial pop tropes during the ‘10s.

On one level the album reads as a deep topography or psychosexual-geography of London’s lost gay club haunts, with the meat-motoring deep house of ‘Great Storm’ recalling DJ Sprinkles taking Loefah to the darkroom in its concrète carved and flesh trembling 8:08 perfection; or more literally in »Foxhole«, with Dale’s deliciously Croydon-toned accent describing urban gay mythologies with pungent lyrics about rotten fox cadavers synced to drily ricocheting hand claps, while the tight swinge of his “requiem for all the dead gay venues” in the gut-level bass of »Hoist Crash Fort«, and the playful evocation of “internecine conflict within the gays - live!” on »Palace Intrigue« just utterly slap like nothing else.

Yet it’s in the LP’s slower, bloozier and folky vocal bits that Dale’s dare- to-differ character comes into its own. The clandestine skulk of ‘My Geography’ portrays him like a modern Jandek traversing London’s brutalist- meets-semi rural meridian, and at its gooier core flashes of folk-classical brilliance such as the groggy ‘Norman Lewis’ give way to the writhing foley orgy of »Crowd Scene«, while the naked, one-take end of szn paean of »SCY BFR HNH« and slurred, Tricky-esque confessional »Shout Outs« consolidate and temper the conflicting aspects of his persona with a deep burning pathos in the LP’s fading phosphorescence.

In an era of overproduction and imitation-not-innovation, Dale’s strikingly original, sensually brutalist industro-folk-dance-pop critically cocks a snook at conventional, careerist music while embracing its heartical truths. An extremely personal record certain to resonate with those who believe art in music still matters.

Hailing from the land down under and busy taking the northern hemisphere by storm, Gecko Force leader Reptant joins forces with TRUST for 'Halls Of Perception'. Five tracks of blistering electro bass, percussive beat workouts, and bleepy moments of transcendent bliss.

For over a decade, Names You Can Trust has presented a variety of new music that has grown from a prolific network of talented musicians in Colombia's capital city. Frente Cumbiero, Romperayo, La Boa, and Meridian Brothers are some of the important names to have reached a well-deserved global audience. The scene itself in Bogotá has been on the cutting edge for some time, and this new generation of musical spirit has naturally become a beacon in the tropical music community, not only as a standard bearer for honoring tradition but as well as the ability to flip that tradition on its head, with thoughtful modern and technological experimentations. The good news is that there are no signs of this particular renaissance slowing down, as some of these marquee names in the aforementioned list have expanded their creative output as producers, engineers and mixers.

In this case, Meridian Brothers creator and musical savant, Eblis Álvarez lends his expertise to a new emerging septet of tropicalistas, La Sonora Mazurén, named after a northern neighborhood in Bogotá. The group's mission is best described as an exploration into the many influences of tropical music that have thrived in Colombia for decades. Thinkcumbia,chicha,charangaandvallenatoto name a few, and that's where we land on with the group's debut single for NYCT. It's an apt illustration of the band's range, starting with the A-side's quintessential "Charanga Mazurén," a throwback to pure dancefloor accordion bliss, a pulse that is synchronized with the aura of Colombia's legends such as Landero, Meza, or Gutiérrez. The B-side "Cachicha" is a take on the all-importantchicha, which has become an inescapable and essential part of Peru's nationalcumbia, and likewise a staple within Colombia's borders since the advent of the popular style on record back in the day. That tradition continues here, the familiar pluck of the psychedelic guitars mixed with an array of synthesized sonics, the palette of Peru mixed with that of producer Álvarez's wizardry and the group's talented players.

Now available in green marble vinyl. 'Gettin' by on Gettin' Down" is the
follow up to Sam Morrow's career-defining third record 'Concrete and
Mud', a staple of Americana radio on both sides of the Atlantic, with
outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR singing the album's praises
'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' is a modern album that revisits and reshapes the
primordial sounds of hip- shaking rock & roll. These nine songs are rooted in
grease, grit, and groove, from the swampy soul of "Round 'N Round" to the funky
syncopation of "Rosarita" to the hook-laden rock of "Money Ain't a Thing". There's
hardly an acoustic guitar in sight; instead, amplifiers and guitar pedals rule the
roost, with everything driven forward by percussive rhythms that as much to R&B
as country music. Written and recorded in the wake of 'Concrete & Mud's'
acclaimed tour, 'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' doubles down on the electrified fire
and fury of Sam Morrow's live shows, with a road-ready band joining him on every
song. Co- Produced with Grammy nominated producer Eric Corne. Musicians
include alumni from bands like Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard,
Jacob Dylan and John Mayer. The album was recorded at The Doors' Robby
Krieger's studio.

Now available in green marble vinyl. 'Gettin' by on Gettin' Down" is the
follow up to Sam Morrow's career-defining third record 'Concrete and
Mud', a staple of Americana radio on both sides of the Atlantic, with
outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR singing the album's praises
'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' is a modern album that revisits and reshapes the
primordial sounds of hip- shaking rock & roll. These nine songs are rooted in
grease, grit, and groove, from the swampy soul of "Round 'N Round" to the funky
syncopation of "Rosarita" to the hook-laden rock of "Money Ain't a Thing". There's
hardly an acoustic guitar in sight; instead, amplifiers and guitar pedals rule the
roost, with everything driven forward by percussive rhythms that as much to R&B
as country music. Written and recorded in the wake of 'Concrete & Mud's'
acclaimed tour, 'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' doubles down on the electrified fire
and fury of Sam Morrow's live shows, with a road-ready band joining him on every
song. Co- Produced with Grammy nominated producer Eric Corne. Musicians
include alumni from bands like Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard,
Jacob Dylan and John Mayer. The album was recorded at The Doors' Robby
Krieger's studio.

Vargmal Records is an independent record label and multidisciplinary platform founded by Gent Gjonbalaj. Operating from Prishtina, Kosovo, the imprint publishes hypnotic compositions of various forms, exploring the realms of electronic music and beyond. The label's debut release marks the birth of an initiative started several years ago, reflecting on a process of growth, research and refinement.

Conceived as a foundation record, the 'Classics' EP demonstrates Vargmal's concept and overall spirit. The Italian pioneer Leo Anibaldi inaugurates the label featuring two cuts on the A-side, originally produced in the early 1990s--'Muta 5' and an as yet unheard version of 'Endurance 4'--replete with Anibaldi's signature sound programming and high-octane output. On the flip, the torch is passed to another Italian master, Donato Dozzy, who takes them to another level with his peculiar and precise remix treatment. Where Anibaldi paves the way for a possible future, Dozzy applies a modern touch to the same fundamental approach--a balancing act that shows a spectrum within the conceptual framework from two different points in the continuum, transcending any individual style or place in time.

Selected by their ability to extract the full potentiality of the sound, the tracks on this release reflect a minimalist approach that is inherently resourceful and discerning, whilst maximizing effect and impact. The efficiency of the sound can be heard in the stripped-back elements, practical arrangement and execution of the creative idea. 'Muta 5' opens the EP, a throbbing mass of pressure cooker action, continuously building tension with rippling percussion lines and syncopated beats. Ahead of its time in 1993, 'Muta 5' has a raw, driving energy and commanding authority. Dozzy reworks it into a tighter, linear forma--whilst retaining the angst of the original, he applies new synth motifs and notches the speed down for extra poise. 'Endurance 4' (Version II) is a tribal workout with hallmarks of the classic Italian deep techno sound. With arching drones, chugging rhythms and dramatic narratives, 'Endurance 4' presents an idiosyncratic style and emotive character which later became the model for this sound. Dozzy's hypnotic faculty shines through on the remix, a polished re-run that elaborates on the ominous melodic theme, and lifts the sound majestically to a gliding altitude--marking the end of this record and the beginning of Vargmal's journey.

crystal clear vinyl / limited

Vargmal Records is an independent record label and multidisciplinary platform founded by Gent Gjonbalaj. Operating from Prishtina, Kosovo, the imprint publishes hypnotic compositions of various forms, exploring the realms of electronic music and beyond. The label's debut release marks the birth of an initiative started several years ago, reflecting on a process of growth, research and refinement.

Conceived as a foundation record, the 'Classics' EP demonstrates Vargmal's concept and overall spirit. The Italian pioneer Leo Anibaldi inaugurates the label featuring two cuts on the A-side, originally produced in the early 1990s--'Muta 5' and an as yet unheard version of 'Endurance 4'--replete with Anibaldi's signature sound programming and high-octane output. On the flip, the torch is passed to another Italian master, Donato Dozzy, who takes them to another level with his peculiar and precise remix treatment. Where Anibaldi paves the way for a possible future, Dozzy applies a modern touch to the same fundamental approach--a balancing act that shows a spectrum within the conceptual framework from two different points in the continuum, transcending any individual style or place in time.

Selected by their ability to extract the full potentiality of the sound, the tracks on this release reflect a minimalist approach that is inherently resourceful and discerning, whilst maximizing effect and impact. The efficiency of the sound can be heard in the stripped-back elements, practical arrangement and execution of the creative idea. 'Muta 5' opens the EP, a throbbing mass of pressure cooker action, continuously building tension with rippling percussion lines and syncopated beats. Ahead of its time in 1993, 'Muta 5' has a raw, driving energy and commanding authority. Dozzy reworks it into a tighter, linear forma--whilst retaining the angst of the original, he applies new synth motifs and notches the speed down for extra poise. 'Endurance 4' (Version II) is a tribal workout with hallmarks of the classic Italian deep techno sound. With arching drones, chugging rhythms and dramatic narratives, 'Endurance 4' presents an idiosyncratic style and emotive character which later became the model for this sound. Dozzy's hypnotic faculty shines through on the remix, a polished re-run that elaborates on the ominous melodic theme, and lifts the sound majestically to a gliding altitude--marking the end of this record and the beginning of Vargmal's journey.

"Ich muss sagen, dass ich dies für den großen vergessenen Zyklus der Klaviermusik des 19. Jahrhunderts halte. Vielleicht sind das große Worte, aber ich empfinde das so", sagt der Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes über seine neueste Veröffentlichung bei Sony Classical. Auf diesem Album präsentiert er die umfangreichste Klaviersammlung des großen romantischen Komponisten Antonín Dvorák - die zu Unrecht vernachlässigten Poetischen Tonbilder. Dem norwegischen Pianisten zufolge zeigen diese unentdeckten Perlen eine ganz andere Seite des für seine Sinfonien und Streichquartette bekannten Komponisten. Ich liebe diese Musik und niemand scheint sie zu spielen", sagt Andsnes, der sich 2017 mit der Veröffentlichung "Sibelius" auch für die selten gespielten Klavierwerke von Jean Sibelius einsetzte. Die 13 Postkarten für Klavier, aus denen sich Dvoráks poetische Tonbilder zusammensetzen, wurden im Frühjahr 1889 geschrieben und signalisieren eine Stilverschiebung von einem Komponisten, der sich von formalen Konstruktionen weg zu einer freieren, inspirierten Ästhetik bewegt. Zu diesen bezaubernden Stücken gehören Beschwörungen von Magie und Geheimnissen ("Das alte Schloss"), ländliche Tänze ("Furiant" und "Bauernballade"), nostalgische Stimmungsstücke ("Dämmerungsweg") und tragische Reminiszenzen ("Am Grab eines Helden"). Die Werke reichen von tiefgründig bis verspielt, von heiter bis wütend - "ich spüre in ihnen eine sehr starke, wunderbare Erzählung", sagt Leif Ove Andsnes, der fest daran glaubt, dass Dvorák die Stücke dieses "außergewöhnlichen" Sets als einen Zyklus konzipiert hat, der zusammen gespielt werden soll.Sur son nouvel album, Leif Ove Andsnes présente la plus importante collection pour piano du grand compositeur romantique Antonín Dvorák - les Poetic Tone Pictures, injustement négligés. Selon le pianiste norvégien, ces joyaux méconnus montrent une toute autre facette du compositeur connu pour ses symphonies et ses quatuors à cordes. « J'adore cette musique et personne ne semble la jouer », déclare Andsnes. Les 13 cartes postales pour piano qui composent l'oeuvre Poetic Tone Pictures de Dvorák ont été composées au printemps 1889, et signalent le changement de style d'un compositeur s'éloignant des constructions formelles vers une esthétique plus libre et inspirée. Parmi ces charmantes pièces, on trouve des évocations de magie et de mystère (In the Old Castle), des danses rustiques (Furiant et Peasants' Ballad), des pièces d'ambiance nostalgiques (Twillight Way) et des réminiscences tragiques (At the Hero's Grave). Les oeuvres vont de la profondeur à l'espièglerie, de la légèreté à la fureur - « Je sens en elles un récit très fort et merveilleux », dit Leif Ove Andsnes, qui croit fermement que Dvorák a conçu les pièces de cet ensemble « exceptionnel » comme un seul cycle à jouer d'un coup. L'un des pianistes les plus éminents du monde, Andsnes a eu l'idée de jouer de la musique tchèque lorsqu'un nouveau professeur est arrivé de Prague à son conservatoire de Bergen, en Norvège. Alors âgé de 12 ans, son énorme fascination pour les Tableaux de tons poétiques l'a conduit à présenter une partie du répertoire lors d'un concours pour jeunes pianistes. Des années plus tard, alors que la pandémie de Covid-19 frappait le monde, Andsnes a profité de ce temps d'arrêt pour se plonger plus profondément dans les tableaux de tons poétiques et communier avec leurs histoires. Il a trouvé des oeuvres d'un charme infaillible et de nombreux exemples de Dvorák déployant une largeur de couleur orchestrale à partir du piano - en plus de son utilisation excitante de rythmes croisés et de syncopes, à la manière des danses folkloriques tchèques.

Pittsburgh, PA-native Buscrates returns to Bastard Jazz with a synth-heavy 7" single, "Internal Dialogue." The two-tracker sees the artist take an easy-going approach to his signature funk-filled sound, with a slowed-down tempo and melodic key riffs. "Internal Dialogue" is a mellow boogie joint that combines plenty of Moog, rich ARP strings, and syncopated clavinet chord stabs; "Early Morning" is reminiscent of a late-90s neo-soul beat, with rich Rhodes chords, while a squelching bass line evokes 70s electro-funk. Both tracks are undeniably Buscrates and are sure to have your head bobbing.

Buscrates - aka Orlando Marshall - is a DJ, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Pittsburgh. He draws influences largely from 90s hip hop and early-mid 80s electronic funk, which is evident in the boomy, swinging drums and bubbly Minimoog bass lines heard throughout some of his productions. He works locally and sometimes internationally either behind a pair of turntables spinning 45s or working his trusty Roland SP-404SX sampler and various other little portable gadgets at one of his beat sets. Some of his production credits include Phonte & Eric Roberson, Wiz Khalifa, and the late great Mac Miller.

Hand Stamped, Hand numbered, Limited press, with insert.

An oddly familiar/familiarly odd entity floating about the relatively cohesive surface of contemporary electronic music, Belgium-via-Italy based duo Front De Cadeau has been knocking genres askew and blowing overused terminologies out of the water with unrelenting panache over the past decade. Championing a sound unmoored by vanishing trends and cross-pollinating approaches, F2C punch back in on Antinote with their anticipated debut album, “We Slowly Riot”, an 8-track mishmash of tunes previously released and not.

Bastardizing tried-and-tested rave tropes by slowing the tempo down to barely recognizable shapes and contours, Hugo Sanchez and Maurizio Ferrara dish out a new high in their ever expanding discography. Free-falling down the K-hole with no parachute on, “La Ketamine” burns slow but steady. A practically immersive dub filled with processed minutiae and vibrational drums out a mystic forest, it’s a helluva trippy post-industrial joint that unfolds, heady and empyreumatic to the bone. “We Slowly Rot” puts on offer a buggy script-like swing, adorned with F2C’s trademark blend of spoken word and jacuzzi-warm vibes, whereas “There is Something Wrong” steers us into further sizzling, syncopated groove territories through a fevered meshwork of sliced-and-diced vox samples, overheated machine talk and primitive percussions on a African Headcharge tip.

Draped in eerie, 8-bit-infused layers and Arabian Nights ambiences, “Slam is Slam” treats us to a spookily fun Oriental mix of hot-tempered darbukkahs and FX-soaked riffs. The outrageously sensual “Ouvre Ta Bouche” is a tactile invitation to get down in some dark alcove of sorts and more if you hit it off. A steely dub primed for post-party divagations, “Climate Change” slowly veers off into verbed-out industrial jazz as bars run by, while “Legal Illegal” cuts a path of acid-dipped dancehall from outer-space across the club. Last but not least, Jewish clarinets quietly move along waves of sedated bass on “Casa Gaza”, rounding it all off on a dreamy, cinematic note that serenely phases into a liquid-like roller over one solidly deeper-than-deep home stretch.