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Some records are Vital :)

A defining transmission in the history of Skylax Records. Originally released across different moments of the Skylax catalogue, these recordings are now assembled as the final chapter of the Skylax House Explosion series — a project exploring the architecture, memory and survival mechanisms embedded within house music culture. The record opens with Move D’s “Outer Rim 64”, originally released in 2018 as part of the Skylax House Explosion narrative. Suspended between motion and distance, the track establishes the conceptual perimeter of this final chapter — a space where rhythm no longer functions only as propulsion, but as orientation. Here the listener stands at the outer edge of the dancefloor’s architecture, where structure persists even as its original social conditions begin to disappear. The sequence continues with Hardrock Striker’s “Motorik Life (DJ Sprinkles Dub)”, originally released in 2011. Rather than operating as a conventional remix, the Dub reinforces the motorik continuum of the original composition, transforming repetition into endurance. DJ Sprinkles preserves the infrastructural skeleton of the dancefloor — its capacity to sustain bodies through duration alone, without narrative resolution or emotional release. The record culminates with “Motorik Life (DJ Sprinkles Mountain Of Despair Remix)”, one of the most politically explicit works ever associated with Skylax Records. Through the relentless repetition of the phrase “mountain of despair,” Terre Thaemlitz dismantles the traditional function of dance music, transforming remix culture into structural critique. Referencing Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous metaphor, the remix removes the promise of redemption and leaves only the architecture of struggle. The dancefloor is no longer presented as escape, but as a temporary condition of survival. Together these recordings reveal house music’s true function: not to resolve despair, but to create temporary conditions in which bodies can continue to exist despite it.

AFTER THE DANCEFLOOR

you cannot preserve a dancefloor
by archiving its sound
because the dancefloor was never sound

it was bodies
finding temporary protection
inside systems designed to erase them

house music was never a genre
it was a survival strategy

when the lights disappeared
the structures remained
and so did we

Hold Jah Strength

A special Spain-based collaboration between Bukkha and Boadub Music, with rich, uplifting saxophone courtesy of Jahwind, Hold Jah Strength is a powerful, sound system-ready release built to move the dance.

Tested and approved on heavyweight systems, the tunes hit with clarity, depth and that unmistakable dub energy. Jahwind's saxophone lifts the riddim beautifully, adding warmth and soul to an already infectious production.

"After being praised as one of the best releases of 2025 by multiple platforms, the highly praised debut album from Obeka lands on vinyl via YUKU.

The rhythmic dynamics and emotive attitudes of A World No More captures the density of soundsystem culture in Obeka's ancestral roots. YUKU presents the Bermudians debut album capturing a Neo-Colonial dystopia, protest and Afro-Futurism hyperextended through decaying sonic structures of a dark past and its grievances which very much exist today.

Growing into adulthood within the walls of British and European Colonial systems meant the disconnection and lostness in a new country hid me from the world at a young age. Unlike London's vast and culturally engaging migrant communities, the industrial milling town of Stockport introduced a coldness towards people from other countries I experienced in my first year after relocating from Bermuda. I couldn't understand why. Whether cold words thrown towards me or actions upon other people who look like me, it has shown to be a dooming societal virus with no cure. The most comfort was found through what was familiar - drums and rhythmic spirituality of my homeland. It was a safe-haven, a place to empty the anger and confusion. It's been 15 years since relocating and as my sound evolved, it seems classism, racism, oppression and civil control of ethnic peoples has become worse - even now more legalised and normalised. Ogun (a powerful Yoruba deity associated with anger, justice and war) acts as the opening sequence of the record and its symbolism. Using distorted bass frequencies and dissected Regga-Dub immersed in live-sampled ghostly voices of the lost ones. This sonic exercising is also applied in Drillaman - a stampede of industrial framework and metallic instruments wielded over moody Dancehall MC'ing, magnifying two parallel worlds in cocooned evolution. The resurrection of Transatlantic African cultures and identity have never been silenced, rather carried elsewhere through trade routes of enslavement, which was pivotal when composing and completing the album upon returning home to the Caribbean for the first time ever. After reconnecting with my heritage my blurred vision of what's wrong in the world became so clear. Guidance in empty plains seek truth throughout the pain - A statement of finding oneself expressed on the poetic closing track A World No More.

On Fawohodie (A West African Adinkra symbol that represents independence, freedom, and emancipation stamped on the album cover) the motive and atmosphere begins to change. Afro-Caribbean idealism which refers to the philosophical concept that emphasizes the interconnectedness of individuals and the importance of community, often contrasting with Western individualism, begins to take shape in a new universe. We can co-exist. The track framework uses machine-led software forming frequencies we have no control over, then manipulated through decomposing soundscapes, scattered hand-drums and human-made weapons of control - exposing the hidden disparity that's been carried over generations whilst balancing hopeful and musical foundations towards equality and peace. On Pressure and Kuduro! the writing direction attempts to wake people up. Not settling for a composed approach like in past projects, quite the opposite. A call for native sonic awareness, dismantled vocals of protests, eroded percussion using chains, gears and motorised harmonies sculpted in challenging abstract behaviors far outside my comfort zone. A direct abrasiveness and weight I want people to feel, whilst finding hope and solace through enchanting choirs and hypnotic basslines in complete synchrony.

"Purity in sound manifests when you least expect it. The smallest memory or feeling grows from a seed into a sonic language that you, and only you can interpret and release back into the world." "

Mesh Convergence debuts on Renegade Methodz with 'Never Ask Why'. A strong, club - focused 4-track EP, introducing us to his singular sonic identity with a mixture of functional and hypnotic Techno pressure.

“Dub Walks In” is a five-track 12-inch vinyl release by Tokyo-based dub producer Hummingbird, created in collaboration with vocalist and melodica player ANNA OZAWA.

The record blends deep dub textures with organic vocals and melodica, exploring a spacious sound rooted in sound system culture.

ANNA OZAWA was a member of The Slits during the Ari Up–led reunion period and is also known for her work with Japanese dub band Dry & Heavy.

Analogue Audio Archive, Issue One (AAA001VA) moves between focused listening and the dancefloor, exploring the correlation between machine-made sound and human feeling. Featuring Linear System, Hugo Rolan, Translate, and Ben Behrendt.

No filler, no big gestures, just focused underground club music with soul, depth and proper drive. A strong and confident opening statement from Galaxy Dreams. A well-rounded 4 tracker with character, soul, and enough punch for both intimate clubs and bigger systems.

San Francisco artist Ross Hogg has been grafting away on his grooves for many years. He has plenty of styles in his arsenal and here digs into some sun-baked reggae and lovers' rock. Up first, he reworks 'Rose Inna Di Dark', the title cut from the debut album by British soul singer Cleo Sol. Her angelic vocal rides a clean reggae rhythm with sleek melodies reflecting rays outwards. On the flip is 'Come Around & Kick It', a deep cut groove with an r&b vocal and classic reggae guitar riffs. It's a steamy combination that's designated to get plenty of backyard parties and beefy sound systems ablaze as we head into the warmer months.

LN015 presents two new cuts from Watts' ADAT archive. On the A-side, "Wall Shaker" is a timeless anthemic track built to rock dancefloors. True Midwest grit, original sound design, and a thumping mixdown drive this track. Play it nice and loud and it's guaranteed to shake the walls. On the B-side, "All In One" provides a 9-minute journey of chords, rhythms, and deep sub frequencies. Pressed at 45 rpm, these cuts are crafted carefully to compete on any system.

Sound Synthesis. Four tracks. Analogue systems. Acid motion over faded structures. Electro pressure. Broken sequences. Direct impact. Internal drift. Signals extend beyond function -- suspended, displaced. Rhythmic force / latent space. No narrative. No ornament. Transmission.

In discotheques and dark rooms across Europe, Boys’ Shorts have earned the trust of the queer and wider clubbing communities as generous stewards of a timeless sound that, like themselves, never stops moving forward. The duo of Vangelis and Tareq initially met at an underground club in their native Greece. Sensing a rare sonic connection, the pair became friends, forming Boys’ Shorts to meet again and again, travelling from their adopted cities of Thessaloniki and London to appear as far afield as Berlin’s Panorama Bar and New York’s Le Bain, as well as supporting Goldfrapp and Hot Chip on tour. Their motivation? In their own words, “we make people dance!”

Following years of gradual, thoughtful studio sessions, and EP releases on tastemaking electronic labels including Phantasy Sound and Live At Robert Johnson, Boys’ Shorts establish their own imprint, ALL SORTS, in order to deliver a fantastically ambitious debut album, ‘What Does It Take To Make These Men Happy?’

The LP opens with the grandiose, cosmic vista of ‘The Space Between Us’, a classic passage of strings and synthesis, before the shared Boys’ Shorts vision falls back to earthier territory with deep groove of ‘Let’s Fall In Love’, mixing universal sentiment with a patient vision of human potential and the voice of Greek electronic pioneer, K.BHTA. ‘Come’ aligns with NYC’s Michael Cignarale, offering an excitable invitation to the mind and body sculpted by the way of a throbbing, warehouse-sized statement of nineties house sensuality. Channeling heroes Lowe and Tennant at their most introspective, ‘Short Life’ maintains the dance, yet dares to ask, “what if the parties aren’t enough anymore… Can you ask for something more?”

Out of the pet shop and straight into the strobe lights, ‘Disco Romantica’ makes true on the promise of its title, a lovelorn monologue giving way and slipping into rave stabs and whirring synthesis that looks forward to a memorable, emotionally-charged night ahead. Underpinning this feeling of anticipation, ‘Going Out Hoping To See You’ introduces the voice of Justin Strauss to Boys’ Shorts' musical world. A certified icon of club culture, spinning from The Mudd Club to modern day DJ booths, Strauss’s generation spanning experience of nightlife leans into the fundamentals of human connection and the pleasure of musical discovery, wrapped in irresistible chug.

Another transformative figure in club music, Fischerspooner’s own Casey Spooner dips into French for the Motorik cyber sleaze of ‘MECANIMAUX’, their own vocals pitching up and down with playful EBM abandon. ‘Montage’ offers a different kind of composition, conjuring an ecstatic club banger that finds inspiration in nineties indie rock motifs alongside the rave scene, while ‘Run’ promises to blow out sound systems before its weighty electro bassline succumbs to waves of glistening synths.

Such bombast into beauty perfectly sets up the record’s blissful conclusion; ‘The Stars Are Out For You’ is electro-pop so delicate as to heal aching feet (and mend broken hearts), while offering the final tender moments of the album as a form of tribute on ‘Untitled (For Mitsi)’. It’s a thoughtful ending to a thrilling trip through a shared passion for electronic and pop music in all its glorious potential. What does it take to make these men happy? It’s a pleasure to find out.

Relive three decades of Belgian clubbing history.

We're celebrating the 35th anniversary of Cherry Moon withan essential collection of the anthems that defined a generation. Hard to find tracks, classics and sounds from the underground combined in a splendid 10x12" Vinyl Box Set.

From the first beats of 1991 to the peak of the "House of House", this is the ultimate tribute to a legendary venue.

Easy Beat Productions are pleased to announce their latest release, an upbeat horns instrumental which see's Solution Sound System operator and selector Mark Solution join forces with stalwart reggae trumpet player, D.Fullwood AKA D.Cosmic.

Regular attendees of Solution Sound System events will be familiar with this one as it’s been mashing up dances on dubplate for a little while now!

Listeners are treated to the main horns mix as well as a stripped back dub excursion.

Fuse leans further into its proposed aesthetic of biting club tracks with a brand new release by Cirkle. ‘Infinity Drift’ balances powerful sound system sound design with lush ambiance, creating standout moments on a dancefloor with a taste of nostalgia. These tracks explore the richness in themes that techno can have when made by someone who’s spent years meticulously crafting it. ‘Skyland’ asserts itself first with impressive pace. Swift chord stabs open and close to create waves of excitement and craze in the track while percussion shuffles along to add impact; Cirkle is an artist of all rooms and dimensions. Shrill sound design cuts through the stereo field creating a wormhole in the middle of rhythmic determination. Tension balance and anticipation are his specialty and every transition whips his dispersed elements into singularity in the EP, specifically the title track. A truly musical piece that embraces the crowd with vintage warmth, ‘Infinity Drift’ tones down the dissonance in exchange for something closer to astral exploration. These larger than life themes are never lost on dancers and serve to unify the dancefloor into an organism instead of pushing sound system violence. This is a theme that is omnipresent in Cirkle’s music and carried through into ‘Stimulus’. Here, the Greek producer dips into the hypnotic bordering on psychotic, stretching arpeggios and delays across drum transitions and time. The dimension of ‘Stimulus’ matches the preceding tracks with ease, but stands out in its effect, rolling a powerful synth through reliably tuned percussion. For the final track, ‘Impulse’ sees Cirkle prioritizing the importance of drums. Pressing hard on the drive of the kick, rides and filtered claps squeeze their way out of the low end to create an infectious groove. Stabs of ethereal pads envelope the rest of the EP, leaving space for the rest to breathe. Bumping along the way, Cirkle lands the EP with class, cementing himself further as an artist whose knowledge of the dancefloor creates a singular experience.

Death Cab for Cutie is one of the definitive indie-rock bands of the century. After twenty-odd years in the major label system, the band returned to their indie roots and signed with ANTI- Records and they"re back with a brand-new eleventh album titled, I Built You A Tower out June 5th. I Built You A Tower is the sound of loss, compartmentalization, and then grief bursting out from the seams. It"s also the sound of the growth that comes after falling apart, of acknowledging pain without letting it destroy you. "I see the tower existing on your emotional horizon," Ben Gibbard states. "You don"t always have to look at what"s inside it, but it"s a reminder that it happened. You know it"s there. You have to face it." The band is set to hit the road in the US this summer, kicking off on July 10 and includes a two-night run at The Greek in Los Angeles. This comes on the heels of a historic, sold-out global tour marking the 20th anniversary of the album Transatlanticism, and the release of their universally acclaimed, 2022"s Asphalt Meadow.

Death Cab for Cutie is one of the definitive indie-rock bands of the century. After twenty-odd years in the major label system, the band returned to their indie roots and signed with ANTI- Records and they"re back with a brand-new eleventh album titled, I Built You A Tower out June 5th. I Built You A Tower is the sound of loss, compartmentalization, and then grief bursting out from the seams. It"s also the sound of the growth that comes after falling apart, of acknowledging pain without letting it destroy you. "I see the tower existing on your emotional horizon," Ben Gibbard states. "You don"t always have to look at what"s inside it, but it"s a reminder that it happened. You know it"s there. You have to face it." The band is set to hit the road in the US this summer, kicking off on July 10 and includes a two-night run at The Greek in Los Angeles. This comes on the heels of a historic, sold-out global tour marking the 20th anniversary of the album Transatlanticism, and the release of their universally acclaimed, 2022"s Asphalt Meadow.

Starting in 2021 the critically acclaimed Next Wave Acid Punx series has seen Luca Venezia, aka Curses, celebrate the music that has shaped both his life and career. Across the first two compilations Luca took us from theindustrial and post-punk sounds of the late 70s, through the emergence of EBM, new beat and freestyle in the 1980s and onto the music he both makes and plays himself in clubs today. Bringing the series to a close Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS sees the Berlin-based musician and DJ return full circle, this time exploring the sounds that first initiated him into Brooklyn's rave scene and the music that, in some way, continues to embody its eclectic spirit today.

Spread across three 2LPs and 3CDs Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS captures a moment whose influence can still be heard reverberating around clubland today. With the nascent rave scene obliterating boundaries, this was a moment where the darker, harder industrial electronic sounds of the mid 1980s were crashing headfirst into the ecstatic wave that was washing over clubland creating thrilling juxtapositions. Whether in the clubs and warehouses of New York, London, Frankfurt, Valencia and beyond, electronic music would never be the same again as countless new genres we take for granted today were born from the chaos and energy that had been unleashed.

Featuring 46 hard-to-find, new and exclusive tracks, Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS both documents that fertile period and shows how, despite rumours to the contrary, that early anarchic spirit can still be found today. From the Detroit Techno of Model 500 to Nitzer Ebb's EBM and the proto-Trance of Age of Love and onto brand new tracks from some of today's best producers such as Zaatar, Italo Deviance and Leona Jacewska, this compilation closes out a series that has to date revelled in exploring the darker corners of clubland in uplifting style.

This is Chapter 2.

4am Kru make a return to vinyl with the Love On The Line EP, an exploration of the familiar, bittersweet story of a romantic relationship between two people, from start to finish.

Across seven tracks led by collaborator Layla Sibelle, we feel every facet of this universal human experience. Exploring the more vulnerable shades of 4am Kru’s proven dancefloor technique, each track on the Love On The Line EP shakes sound systems, while staying true to the record’s emotional core.

From the tingle of excitement depicted on 'Rush', to the disappointment of being let down on ‘Boy’, the relationship ending on ‘Hush Now’, alongside everything in between, Love On The Line EP keeps bodies moving, while pushing the sound and songwriting of 4am Kru in unexpected new directions.

On a remote gravel-covered spit of land on the east coast lie the abandoned buildings of a government facility for weapons testing and experiments with radar.
In the mid 1960s this site witnessed the construction of an over-the-horizon radar, a technological marvel bouncing signals off the ionosphere, built to covertly monitor the activities of other nations.
The reflectivity of the ionosphere is a function of frequency, time of day, time of year and of the solar cycle. In essence, a sympathy for the celestial was required to fully exploit this man made construction.
Plagued by noise that created false returns on the monitors, the intended performance was never achieved, and despite several investigations the system was shut down and eventually dismantled in the early 1970s.
The long dormant Cobra is now a nature reserve.