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Intimate November tour also announced After their 2012 Mercury Prize nominated debut and 2015's Top 20 follow-up 'Born Under Saturn', musical adventurers Django Django are back for 2017, exploring new sounds with their brand new album 'Marble Skies' which will be released on January 26th on Because Music. Today the album launches with first single 'Tic Tac Toe', a rousing, trippy upbeat rock track with an enormous echoing hookline which will excite fans of the band's rockabilly-influenced elements. The accompanying video for 'Tic Tac Toe' was directed by John Maclean, brother of Django Django drummer/producer David Maclean and director of the critically acclaimed modernist western 'Slow West'. It depicts vocalist/guitarist Vincent Neff enjoying a rapid-fire day-trip to Hastings which takes a turn into the surreal and sinister when a ghost train puts him on a collision course with a grim reaper inspired by Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal. As John Maclean explains: The film could be about the fading era of the beach arcades, time moving too fast, love and games, horror and happiness but it is actually about a man who needs to go buy a pint of milk to make a cup of tea.' After the brilliant, rave-shaped grooves and expansive arrangements of its predecessor, 'Marble Skies' is a more concise and focused offering which recalls the dynamic, genre-blurring music of their debut. It's a return to form, an album which finds them returning to the handmade, cut-and-paste approach of the past. Upon finishing the 'Born To Saturn' tour, Dave ventured to LA to work on a production project, whilst the other band members went to India with the British Council. When they returned, the new album process began with a back-to-basics approach which recalled the DIY ethos of the band's early days, Django Django - minus an absent Maclean - assembled at Urchin Studios in Tottenham, London with Metronomy drummer Anna Prior to experiment with the idea of coming up with new tracks through loose jamming sessions. After ten days of recording, there was plenty of raw material to send up to Dave (then back in his hometown of Dundee) for him to edit, refine and evolve. As ever, all four band members (completed by Tommy Grace on synths and bassist Jimmy Dixon) contributed to the band's music, melodies and lyrics as the final album took shape. Parts of 'Marble Skies' find Django Django sailing into uncharted territories, not least the driving title track (propelled by Prior's drumming), with its echoes of Krautrock and Suicide. Meanwhile, the hazy Zombies-like summer pop of 'Champagne', which explores the joys and ills of alcohol, was inspired by the band's over-indulgence during a boat trip on the Seine that was hosted by their label. Those drawn to the more dance-orientated side of Django Django will find much to love in the twisted '80s electro pop of 'In Your Beat' and the dancehall-influenced 'Surface To Air', a dreamy-headed pop song fronted by Rebecca Taylor of Slow Club. The collaboration came as a result of the two bands meeting up at SXSW some years ago, where Rebecca and Dave in particular bonded over shared interests in R&B, hip-hop and dancehall. Another more surprising collaborator is Jan Hammer, the Czech-born, American-based jazz-fusion and electronic artist who shares writing credits with the band on the gorgeously floaty 'Sundials'. If there's a mood running through 'Marble Skies', it's one of reflection on things past and present, and finding some kind of peace with your place in the grand scheme of things.

Ben Gibson & Mary Velo step up with two tracks each that are sure to find it into many record bags.

On the A side Ben Gibson steps up with Now Here. Massive strings and hats with a solid groove that is sure to inspire dj sets and have guaranteed crowd reaction, it's a stomper. Ben Gibson follows on with Trsuru River, modulated synths whirl, it has an infectious groove. A sure fire record for the bag.

On The B side, Mary Velo steps up with Code Of behaviour, a deep cut that grooves and has infectious synths, one for the early hours or beginning of the night. Following on Rack steps up, its a big room stomper. Massive kick and big hats whirl and enhance its' presence. A peak time affair that is sure to find its' way into many a record bag.

SHE'S GONE' is the very awaited debut of London trio S.A.D. As bandcamp inmediately noticed and announced as one of the top 5 'new and notable' worldwide release of the week, their music is 'dark post-punk with irresistible melodies, big synths washes, and punchy rhythms, designed for the modern goth club dancefloor'. It arrives on 12 Maxi-Single EP format and produced in a ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid black vinyl. All tracks have been specially remastered for LONG CUT vinyl by Eric Van Wonterghemand remastered for LONG CUT vinyl by Eric Van Wonterghem

So Low is an occasional night in Glasgow run by Iona Fortune, JD Twitch, Katie Shambles and Becky Marshall. So Low is strictly for creatures of the night and plays music that could perhaps be described by the words Dark Waves / Cold Waves / Minimal Synthesis / Maximal Industrial / Lo-Nrg / Forgotten Flemish Goth Bands, Teutonic Apocalyptic Beats +++
It is now also a label, administered by Optimo Music.
The third release on So Low is a 5-track EP from Ian Hicks, formerly one half of Soft Metals. Ian also appeared on our 'Now & Then' compilation EP. Here he commands his own release and sets the synths to stun with 5 tracks of analogue waves ranging from the XTC bliss out of 'Character Collapse' and 'Depths Of Psyche' to the shockwave klang of 'Chemical Environments' and 'Specter', perhaps leaving the very best to last with the ultimate hypno, sex slug groove of 'Continuous'. Subliminal vocals. Wrecked drum boxes. Synths spiralling.
Full colour picture sleeve designed by So Low collective member and acclaimed Glasgow artist Katie Shannon.

When we started The Bunker New York label in 2014 there was a short list of artists whose music we knew that we wanted to get out into the world. Lori Napoleon, aka Antenes, was high up on that list, although at the time the Brooklyn-based Chicago native had yet to release her recorded music at all. Five years on, after acclaimed records on L.I.E.S. and Silent Season, residencies at Issue Project Room and Bell Labs plus a busy global touring schedule as both a DJ and live performer, we are proud and excited to present Lori's Ante Meridiem EP under her Antemeridian production moniker. She tells us that the Antemeridian project is a special outlet for her more melodic synthesizer compositions and the name Antemeridian refers to morning light and the meridian lines of the planet, the view you would have from above if you were already in the sky/space/seeing the atmosphere also from a great distance.'
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With this EP, Antemeridian has created nothing less than a masterwork of synthesis comprising unique soundscapes unbelievably detailed and crisp. We asked Lori to tell us a bit about her production techniques, which include home-built machines from unorthodox source materials including vintage switchboards and telecommunications equipment. She actually built her first synthesizer out of an antique telephone switchboard we donated to her from The Bunker HQ! I use a combination of synths and controllers/sequencers that I've made along with commercially available/ bought or modded analog synths and field recordings that have gone through a number of effects chains. There may be a crackling sound that emerged from the modular which made me think about a flame sparking and burning out, recalling a very organic process in nature - but in a composition it's a drum element. Perhaps the sense of detail comes from how I work on finding sounds before arranging them in a track so when I find one with little nuances and textures, then I'll be inspired to compose with it. Visceral sounds are very important to me, and sounds that you may not instantly identify with this or that synth model - which is why I like the idea of designing my own palette for portions of tracks.'

Culross Close follow up their 2016 debut album HOME with a potent offering entitled MOMENTS. The
quartet (a moniker of K15) meld fusion and future grooves to create a captivating ride through some of their recordings. From the opening MANIFESTO, the listener is thrust into a world of purpose and understanding. SLOW YOUR STROLL is where the record begins to unfold, as floating synths and
percussion carry the groove. What follows next is the hypnotic INNA TRICE, the rawest of all the
recordings where snares and sincerity collide. The record closes with UNISON (a future groove if there
ever was one), a number that showcases the quartet's ability to truly explore their moments.

Having previously appeared alongside Tommi Vicari Jr on a 12" last year, Opto Mystics strike out on their own with this 12" for Italian powerhouse Vibraphone. New Horizon very much represents the new school approach with the long serving Italian house label, keeping that deep, melodic quality but embracing new rhythms, tones and approaches. "New Horizon" almost has an Akufen quality to it, while "Bucky Triangle" could easily transmit from the Motor City house scene. "M.I.Y.E." is a swirling blur of gorgeous synths, and "Suddent" finishes the EP off on a surprisingly experimental tip.

Fresh from his 'Let's Roll EP' on Radio Slave's Rekids, Hopeworks curator Lo Shea further cements his status as a true innovator of the UK underground with the 'Iterations EP' on Dusky's 17 Steps.

Leading the charge, 'Iterations' is 8 dark twisted minutes of tripped-out melodic techno that will sweat the walls of warehouses from London to Tokyo - drawing a lineage from The Omen, Atomic Jam and The Orbit through to Berghain, De School and - indeed - Hopeworks itself.

On the remix, Stockholm's Peder Mannerfelt takes it down an industrial rabbit hole of terror-core synths, rave sirens and sonic paranoia.

Across rest of EP, Lo Shea flexes his sonic diversity with 'Ornithurae' offering an intruiging mix of bruising bass, twitchy layer loaded percussion and sinister soundscapes - somewhere between d&b don Dillinja circa '96, early Claude Von Stroke, Radioactive Man and fellow Sheffield legend Oris Jay.

Dark, soulful and ravey, 'Higher' closes things off with a uniquely UK hybrid that traces lines through militant Tresor-heyday techno, vintage Strictly Rhythm diva house and hardcore vibes.

After a first EP of the year from STL, the Solar Phenomena label now welcomes Romania's Romansoff. The Raw Tools label boss hails from Bucharest and has also released his gritty, stripped back house and techno on Creme Organization and Sportiv. Here he offers four new tracks, with one remix from Timedance man Ploy completing the package.

'Halo' epitomises Romansoff's style with its slow, heavy drums and sparse, scattered perc sounds. A lo-fi melody adds colour, while 'Coach Jacket' ups the ante with busier claps and crashing hits laid over a turbulent, unsettled bassline. Increasing the pressure further, 'Graded' grows manic with punchy drums, layers of fuzzy synths and bass and distant cries that are dark and unsettling. Ploy flips this one into a prickly and atmospheric drum track that keeps you on edge and Romansoff's digital exclusive 'Michigan Lake Tapes' is a slow motion workout with unsettling synths and tortured pads that grows ever more unhinged. It rounds out a leftfield house EP in style.

Entering the void...

The Untitled was already present on the 'Unruhe' compilation... This one man project is located in the north of Holland far away from trends and hypes... and so is his music... The ingredients are evident: a pounding bassdrum, screaming synths, ear-splitting acid lines and distorted hi-hats. The result: disturbing and intense techno and acid... music that you can also call post-hardcore, tekno or acid core... and for sure sounds that could also interest fans of industrial music... or anybody interested in extreme sounds...

Respuesta Alternativa or the Alternative Response was the project of Spanish musician Jesus Mª Catalan, created with the help of Julián C. Pérez.
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As the title implies the music was generated in response to traditional music notions of the time, and reflects how Jesus Mª Catalan would challenge these traditional ideals using a fusion of styles and his unique vision. Jesus laid out his synths and drum machines, while other musicians played traditional instruments over the top. This unique approach worked to create atmospheric tracks capturing simple themes, with each influence being carefully thought of in the joint result. As he explains each instrument weaves independently throughout a passage in a curious game where the listener's attention goes from focusing on a keyboard, guitar to bass or percussion. Previously only released on a cassette album in Spain, Left Ear have polished 5 choice cuts for a 2018 12'.

First Word kicks off 2018 with the welcome return of Quiet Dawn, and a new EP, 'Human Being: The Short Story of The Reed'. A suitably ice-thawing six-track opus to compliment the change of seasons, dedicated to the winter blooming plant's desire to be human.

Parisian Will Galland first appeared on the label in late 2014, releasing his debut album 'The First Day' the following year. Collaborations on that album and subsequent mixes since have included offerings from Oddisee, Miles Bonny, Eric Lau, Bastien Keb, Sauce81 (Eglo), Mayaka McCraven and Sarah Williams White.

Evolving his music from a palette accumulated over the years of Hip Hop, Broken Beat and House, he has expanded his talents for arranging and composing, and now drafted in a wealth of musicians for this sublime new EP, his most ambitious yet. Strings glide effervescently atop of Quiet Dawn's assorted analogue synths, and an array of percussive organics combine to build the tale of The Reed. In-places, the set transcends into the kind of grooves that saunter somewhere between the land of Bonobo and Quantic, and the cinematic library record craft of Alan Hawkshaw et al. Deep, organic and epic.

"The reed from the earth and waters,
Human by the flesh and bones,
Bring by the love and others,
Now, you're not alone."

Each track of the EP tells a different chapter of the story. In the words of Quiet Dawn, "This record is about human behaviour, relationships, happiness, sadness, peace, anger, sex, love, birth, death... But as viewed by The Reed. The Reed is a plant that wants to be human, after observing them all around her. Over the course of the record, The Reed evolves and desires to feel feelings, gradually learning that becoming human is not so simple... ."

Also with artwork by Sophie Bass and Grégoire Marty, this glorious six-track vinyl and digital EP is released February 2018 on First Word Records.

Deep Club resident dj and head strobe controller Lone Dancer marks our label's 4th entry with his
first solo 12' on vinyl. After finishing two quality tape albums in 2017 already for Jacktone and Always
Human Tapes, 'House is a Tunnel' arrives packed with 4 club-ready jagged tekno bangers and one cut
for the chillout room. Side A - Communication: The title track is a sure-fire party starter centered around
a thick kickdrum and a repeating synth rhythm laced with weird percussion and synth stabs trickling
through the texture. Next, 'PO12-3' combines crisp claps, hats, and a central synth theme that calls
for an intergalactic rave. 'Colony Dwelling' kicks off the Transportation side, taking our extraterrestrial
dancers to a new dimension steeped in fog juice and flangers. 'Floor' has a chill intro until it launches
into a gritty track that throws broken kickdrums and distorted synths in every direction. Finally, 'Night
Rain' puts the party to rest utilizng soft pads while hinting at moments from the night before.
Overall, 'House is a Tunnel' is a fitting dance-centric conglomeration of Lone Dancer's unique style of
jacking techno, broken beats, and spaced out tracks that has set him apart in 2017.
—Ryan Scannura

Support by:
Jackie House
Derek Plaslaiko
Noncompliant aka DJ Shiva
Heidi Sabertooth
Bil Todd
Dee Washington

A multi-platform production that explores the overlap between the digital and the organic through field recordings of Inuit throat singing may sound, on surface level, to be something that is a rather niche. However, Zoe Mc Pherson's exploration of this world on String Figures is a deeply rhythmic, immersive and forward-thinking piece of electronic- leaning music that remains just as danceable as it does experimental.
The album is fundamentally one of duality, exploring the traditional and the contemporary, organic and electronic, audio and visual, history and the future. Rooted in this duality is also a core theme around string being one of the most ancient and playful art forms and the seemingly infinite possibilities it offers in terms of shapes, structures and figures lines up with this as a trans-global art project. One that over time will involve video art, choreography, 3D motion design, macro film, instrumental and electronic sound. Although for now is being presented through an AV performance, films and a record with Mc Pherson collaborating with director Alessandra Leone.!
Over the seven tracks (which are laid out as chapters) the record explores glitchy electronics, dub-tinged grooves, polyrhythms, and a huge array of instruments that takes in quiet blasts of atonal sax alongside wonky synths. This of course cross-pollinates with the throat singing and experimental field recordings to create an utterly inimitable sonic sphere. For Mc Pherson it's about mixing worlds, histories and timeframes and she uses a 1991 quote from Laurie Spiegel to hit home how she has elaborated upon this original thought of history and future overlapping. 'Folk music is considered anonymous common property in a culture and that's what a lot of computer music and other kinds of music data may end up becoming.' However, there's also a purer reason for the exploration of these worlds and colliding them together. 'Basically I thought that electronic music that is only digital is a bit boring and as I'm connected to jazz music for many reasons, I wanted it to sound organic: real instrumentation, field recordings.'

This initial release on the new Futurepast label marks Davy's first output as a producer, crystallizing his endeavours in the studio and bearing witness to his long-standing experiments in electronic music.Built between London and Berlin over the last four years, The Long Now lays down the blueprints for following ventures on the label: using old and new gear to create unique, obscure soundscapes both outside of memory and away from nostalgic projections of lost futures. In a timeless and precise collaboration, Davy has brought together two historical figures for this release: 1990s R&S Records associate David Morley mixed the tracks,
while Simon Davey of The Exchange lent his renownedmastering skills to the project.Temporality, time travel and perception are key concepts for Davy, and not only in the EP's title.The four stripped-down tracks move forwards, sidewards and backwards in a bid to get us lost - not in space but in what time might sound like should we be swimming through it.Mysterious and ageless synths mesh with the beats of an unnamed drum machine under Davy's control.We move through a non-linear story told by three distinct forward-thinking techno titles:No Memories Planned, Circular Weeks and Causal Loop.Finally, the titular ambient track pans out cinematically over the images left in our heads:an invitation to begin it all again in The Long Now...

After a more than well-received first release, Black Carpet returns with 4 fresh industrial tinged techno behemoths.

The Amsterdam centred producer Shrouds has been given the honours to do so, with Zhark veteran HUREN on remix duty.

A1: Starts of firing on all cylinders and does not stop doing so. Stomping four-to- the-floor on some serious up-tempo business. Ghostly sounds dominate the breaks, only for a short-lived period, continuing relentlessly with stomping kicks to warrant you a safe but not so sound journey home.

A2: An off-beat Industrial monster, for the dankest of warehouses. Eerie voices and squelching synths at a bonafide break-neck tempo.

B1: Heavily robotized techno with an Industrial swank for those sweaty 5-AM sessions, dancefloor destruction clearly is at mind here. After the second break, vocals intensify and so does all the other mayhem. An absolute monster on the loose.

B2: HUREN showing the more "subtle" aquatic one of the pack. A slow heavy burner, with the dreadest of bass. Something like an old-skool half-step lurcher meeting with a German industrialist over some coffee.

2Volt and Emasa land their first posthouse EP on EADEMVOCE. Four tracks that serve all needs, with a strictly selected sound palette declined in four different moods. A1 delivers the hypnotic energy which is necessary to take off in a brief and significant journey into the past future. A2 is a pit-stop, giving the listener a pause to gaze around, leaving a chance to the mind evaporate into the synthetic atmospheres. B1 turns the situation in a determined hunt for something hidden, in a scenario dominated by rubbery tweaks and acid stabs. B2 is the celebration of arrival, the success of discovering something unique traveling in an acid path that cross a forest of morbid synths.

Paper Recordings' Ben Davis takes off his Flash Atkins cape and mask to launch a new project exploring things left of centre and balearic.

In these disposable times, Stubb will celebrate community and DIY with a limited run of 300 vinyl screen-printed kraft card sleeves of commissioned illustrations by artist Rachel Johns plus hand-drawn labels by Hebden Bridge's The Egg Factory.

We Are Launching is a journey in to psychedelic balearia with one of the most exciting artists of recent years, Jane Weaver
Her Mercury Music Prize long-listed album 'Modern Kosmology' was described by The Guardian as "a lean and thrillingly addictive slice of unearthly pop".
The Stubb collaboration is a sublime head trip to the deep reaches of space and electronica with hallucinatory guitars, burbling synths and arpeggiators that are beautifully set off by Jane's ethereal vocals.

Mike Lindsay is founder and producer of folktronica pioneers Tunng and his distinctive tones sing the praises of doing nothing on Boring Days, which is psychedelic leftfield pop at its finest.
The track is locked down by a nagging fifth bass with vocal pops, hand claps, muted afro guitar, washed synths and arps that build before the choruses hit in a wave of analogue keyboards and fuzz guitar.
After that, a gloriously stretched outro takes you straight to the mediterranean. There's also an edited instrumental that brings out the sunshine...

Paal is passionate about hardware - analog drum machines, synths and pedals are tracked through a mixing desk, raw and unedited. Imperfections intrinsic to this process are essential to him and give his sound a unique character - warm, organic and, at times, lo-fi and grainy. This can be heard throughout the EP. The VOI 011 also marks a shift in cover artwork as Voitax departs from the utilitarian, hand-stamped labels of the first releases - German photographer Nina Roders, has conceptualised a series of her unique photographs for the forthcoming ten-part EP series.

Strap yourselves in as Post Pluto takes flight with French duo, RBDP, on their fresh self-titled EP. The record features four tracks of high altitude cruisers, soaring through the elements of acid, deep house, breaks and dubbed out synths. We depart the
troposphere with "Acid R", a mellow and low-end fusion of dubby textures and acidic lines. "Like Dat" follows, with moody pads, percussive grooves and celestial tones. On the flip, "St San" takes the record into an acidic journey of 303 sequences and saturated 707 drum patterns, with a sublime zero-gravity remix by Red Ember Records bossman Ewan Jansen.