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Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Yearz Of Fokuz - Episode 1.2.

On the A-side Malaky brings the sweetness with 'Connected'. Heavy delayed chords, spacious strings and vocals in combination with a warm bass make this an abolute beauty! Great sounds coming from a producer you need to watch.

On the flip 'With U' by Moscow based Impish turns up the heat. Don't let the groovy intro fool you because the drop comes in unexpected! Rolling amens with soaring bass sounds make this a proper dancefloor banger, with a bit of class ofcourse. Not to be missed!

In the wake of Blocks & Escher's recent outings on Metalheadz, Critical, and Zomby's Cult Music, Narratives present the first solo
excursions on the label from one of its founders, Blocks. Varied, emotive and beautiful, the Séance EP is innately Narratives Music in sound and yet unlike anything the label has delivered previously. The Séance EP fleets between ethereal vocals, forlorn strings and analogue bursts of glassy synths, while drum machines dance with live kits that would be fitting of 90s Mowax records. Bass lines loom heavy throughout, simple and driving rhythms that bed the delicate keys and story telling harmonics above. As immersive as it is succinct, Blocks has created an extended player awash with feeling and juxtaposition; again displaying why Narratives Music has been lauded across electronic music from the likes of Goldie and
Com Truise to Zomby and Rob da Bank. Forming the veritable gem of the collection, is the vocal laden 'Haven', a collaborative piece between Blocks and the hugely talented Jennifer Hall. Live instrumentation of bowed strings and bass provide canvas for the heart wrenching tones of Hall. Doc Scott describes the track as 'Deep, deep blues'. More akin to a personal reflection of the artist than the frenetic speed of a club, more Twin Peaks meets Portishead than dance floor energy; this is music at a Drum & Bass tempo by a producer that doesn't want to be caught in a debate on style or subgenre. In essence it seems to emphasise a recent quote by Blocks, 'Drum and Bass is anything you can get away with'. Label support from Goldie, Kuedo, Doc Scott, Rockwell, Benji B, Paul Woolford, Zomby, Friction, ASC, Jubei, Teebee, Pedestrian,
Rob Da Bank, Midland, Kasra.

Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Yearz Of Fokuz - Episode 1.1.

On the A-side we find the mighty Lenzman on remix duties! With an album forthcoming on Metalheadz he's one of the major players in drum & bass today. Exactly the reason why he delivers effortlesy with this fresh, smooth take on 'Rock Steady' by Command Strange.

On the flip London based outfit Reds come correct with 'Meraki'. Their diverse production makes them stand out from the pack although this particular track leans more towards a more classic liquid funk sound. It contains gentle piano keys and tight drums that roll along nicely for the duration. Add a warm sub bass that shines through from below, little edits adding interest and you've got something exciting!

Slim Smith is high on the list of great singers that came out of Jamaica.
Although Jamaica was bursting with musical talent, few could match his soulful and heartfelt style.
Sadly he had a very short career but he produced a catalogue of music that still stands the test of time ,like all the great artists his story carries through the songs he left behind.
We have compiled some of his finest moments from his period working alongside the Hit Maker from Jamaica producer Bunny Lee...
A great set of tunes that we hope will keep his memory alive
Keep the Light Shining.....Respect

On the back of an exciting debut album in 2012 that saw him perform live at Sonar festival and later with his band at Vienna's Volkstheatre, before disseminating music on Permanent Vacation, Suol and Connaisseur Recordings, enigmatic Basque Country producer El_Txef_A returns with his sophomore longplayer 'We Walked Home Together'.
El_Txef_A (pronounced 'Elchefa') has crafted a work that just like its journey-conjuring title, charts a shifting palette of sounds and moods, exemplifying its creator Aitor Etxebarria's breadth of skill.
Produced entirely in Aitor's homeland of the mountainous Basque Country, the album showcases the talents of not just its creator who producers, sings and plays piano on the record, but also some of the Spanish region's most outstanding musicians.
Local artist Biskonti is one contributor, whose vocals coat a brooding bed of rough-cut drums on the ice-cold slice of electronica 'I'm Going to Paint You', while Hannot lends his pipes to the moving 'You Left Us In This Physical World' that sweep over a delicately crafted brew of guitars and keys. Both Basque vocalists featured on El_Txef_A's debut 'Slow Dancing in a Burning Room'. Sublime title track 'We Walked Home Together' turns into a family affair, with Aitor's brother Hibai playing the grand piano.
A graduate at 2013's Red Bull Music Academy in Madrid, El_Txef_A has an impressive array of sonic strings to his bow and the Detroit techno inspired 'Claim of Planet Earth' deliciously rubs shoulders with the album's single, the alternative slice of pop 'The Love We Lost' featuring DFA's Woofly.
Elsewhere, Aitor paints a dream-like soundscape with the sublime shoegaze-inspired trip '0730' that seamlessly bleeds into 'Every Day Is Blue Monday', with its atmosphere-heavy swirl of subtle acid lines, floating synths and evocative vocals delivered by Suol records contributor Meggy.
An artist whose music is inextricably connected with his homeland, the album concludes with the stirring 'Mugarrirantz' sung in the native tongue of Euskera by country folk band Napora Iria. It's proof that El_Txef_A is equally adept at doffing his cap to tradition as moving a dancefloor with his inspired brand of electronica.

LX ONE returns with another stirling release in the warm up to dropping his much anticipated debut album on Wheel
and Deal. Reflect has had constant support from N-Type, Youngsta, J Kenzo, Icicle and Faze Miyake. It is the logical
progression in the style and quality of LX One's signature dark, minimal sound. This release once again puts his
productions at the pinnacle of modern Dubstep. Distorted Politics is a fresh tribal banger with rib shaking bass and infectious percussion. Once again this has featured massively in N- Type, Youngsta, J:Kenzo, Icicle & LX One's DJ sets, and is another testament to his talent.

Caramelo is proud to bring you the new EP of the talented artist from Vienna, Roman Rauch. The Release Contains 4 strong
tracks of pure house vibes with collaboration with the quality producer Soulphiction and remix by the French
house pioneer Ark ! Vinyl Only

'You become responsible, forever, for what you've tamed", Antoine de Saint-Exupéry writes in his modern fairy tale 'The Little Prince', in which his protagonist travels through various worlds in search of friendship and benevolence. The quote is, no doubt, fitting for Niko Schwind, since the Berlin-based DJ and producer consistently demonstrates a deeply anchored love for and close bond to house music, the art form he himself has tamed. As a DJ, he travels the globe, having played in Europe, Australia, Thailand, Brazil, the US and Mexico, and in his sets he creates a feeling of connectedness between himself and others, as well as within the crowd. On Stil vor Talent, Niko Schwind now presents the fruit of his labour in the from of his third album: 'Grippin' World' captivates the listeners with its versatility and coherence, and kidnaps them to a world of sound, made up of elegantly reduced grooves, organic arrangements and accessible vocal-melodies. With 'Perfect Fit', the first single of the album, we are handed an absolute highlight, as Heartbeat's warm voice and a simple guitar-loop form a flawless musical symbiosis, accentuated by a synthetically creaking bass-line. Niko thus proofs he's more than capable of practicing restrained Minimalism with a pop-impact. 'Perfect Fit' then gets the floor treatment: while Niko turns in a reduced, tool-oriented club cut, the hitherto unknown Proud bursts onto the scene with a dreamy arrangement centred around atmospheric synths on his remix. Grippin'!

#3 Live Act of 2013 at Resident Advisor, one of the most in demand remixers around, a total of 156 gigs in 2013, releases for Rush Hour, Ovum, Macro; booked out months in advance from Berghain to Ibiza to the main electronic festivals ... KiNK: Arguably the world of dance music has not witnessed anyone else rising so clearly from bottom to top just by the centrifugal force of sheer talent. Being based in Sofia, Bulgaria, without a support network, a campaign or any media hype, his music alone - live and in the studio - created a momentum whose end we have yet to see. Lenin said: 'Communism is Soviet power + electrification of the whole country.' Hardly did Lenin suspect what an inspired take on these words could do: post-socialist techno. A child of 80's late socialism, KiNK grew up on the home computers Bulgaria's IT scientists had created by backwards-engineering Western technology. Fueled by nuclear energy on the edge of desaster, a whole generation of kids was trained to hack. Dance music gradually dripping in through early dial-up internet connections, the acoustic fingerprints of distant parties put Eastern producers from KiNK to Nina Kraviz to Vakula under a spell. Yet KiNK spent years of backwards-engineering the sounds of Detroit, Chicago and early Warp.

Perc's second album 'The Power And The Glory' despite being released in mid-February has already been predicted to be one of the standout releases of 2014, receiving excellent reviews, DJ feedback and radio support. Now Perc Trax is proud to announce the remix EP for the album, featuring remixes by three UK artists who all make their Perc Trax debuts on this release. Each remixer was given free rein to manipulate the source material as they wished and the results speak for themselves, as Perc's original mixes are transformed into something new yet still retaining the innovative, forward looking attitude of 'The Power And The Glory'

First up is R&S artist and Poly Kicks label owner Tessela, who thanks to 'Hackney Parrot' and his new BBC Radio 1 residency has been making huge waves recently. Already previewed on his debut Radio 1 broadcast and in Perc's FACT Magazine mix, the Tessela remix of 'Take Your Body Off' is a heavily swung, bass heavy take on the track, still featuring the unforgettable screaming vocal of the original mix.

Next up Hemlock main man Untold, who himself been enjoying a great reaction to his own recent album provides an experimental take on the already out there 'Bleeding Colours'. Sounding like a lost cut from his album the track revolves around a foundation of ever morphing layers of bass.

Finally Scotland's Clouds get their hands on 'Dumpster' and focus more on groove than big room dynamics as they show off another side of their already impressive production talents with a deeper than expected remix to close off the EP...

117 Presents Forbidden Codes.
This compilation project is compiled and envisioned by DJ Trace, a veteran of UK dance music.New School players Verb and Quartz take on two classics to kick things off.
Mutant and Sonar get a modern and minimal touch up on crystal clear 10" collectors vinyl. Three more 10's continue this sonic experience featuring a group of the finest underground producers in today's scene.Kid Lib, Tim Reaper, Gremlinz & Homemade Weapons, Friske, Fade and Genotype appear over 3 plates.
Artist's on the LP display their 2014 vision which compliments the direction that 117 is heading.This moves far away from the soulless noise that plagues in various electronic dance music genres today. They use in this compilation, modern studio techniques enhanced with a passion and respect for the history of drum&bass.This LP is not to be filed under throwaway music.
Breaks and vibes unite to reminisce the days agone whilst outlining a new blueprint that pushes the boundaries of music technology.The essence of the 117 sound is explored and continues into the 24 digital tracks written by a gifted selection of hand picked talent from around the world.
Now is your turn to be possessed by the sounds of the 'Forbidden Codes' Released 28th April via ST Holdings.Mastered by Beau @ Ten Eight Seven, London.

Vocal driven electronica, pop sensibilities and a touch of melancholia is a tried and tested recipe of SILENCE MUSIC cuisine. A new release titled My Holy Senses is no exception. This creative venture joins together a renown Lithuanian multi-instrumentalist and composer Vygintas Kisevicius, an up-and-coming singer and songwriter Markas Palubenka and a versatile SILENCE producer Few Nolder. Original acoustic versions come under the name of Kurak, a project which Vygintas started a couple of years ago with a goal of bringing together some of the most talented young Lithuanian singers and songwriters for something new and exciting. And indeed they managed to produce some well worthy musical material generating quite a few waves of interest and success back home. Few Nolder picked out a couple of tracks from an ever-expanding Kurak's repertoire and threw them onto the sweaty dance floor. Included in the package are two DJ friendly adaptations from David Krasemann aka Dave DK and Vidis. My Holy Senses is a short modern day Love story about Acoustics giving an adoring kiss to Electronica in a dim light of a nightclub.
- Early support from Âme, Tim Paris, Alex Barck, Michael Rainboth, Hannes Fischer and many others

Vincenzo returns to Dessous Recordings with something a little special. 'Merry Go Round' features the stunning vocal talents of Language aka Kaori Kaneko, a haunting, drifting and highly affecting piece of music that sounds like nothing else. Kaori already released two albums on Japanese Crue-L Records as Kaori and three albums with her band Language on Madoromi / Atari Productions and was also featured on the Chi Chi Squads classic 'Treat Me Right'. Built on dreamlike, evolving pads and textures, the vocals are reminiscent of the best work of Tracey Thorn, rising and falling over the 7-minute duration of the original mix. After some minutes a crisp, chugging, mid-tempo beat develops and lifts the track yet further, a moment perhaps best enjoyed at sunrise. The Reprise Mix is a totally beatless mix, emphasising the pads, guitar and piano work. The third track sees Axel Boman on remix duties, who primes it for the dance-floor with a loopy, hypnotic rework that retains the original character but adds a visceral, gritty quality for the dancers.

2024 Repress

Apart from the obvious love for his musical talents, both as a producer and as a DJ, one of the reasons why we love Theo Parrish so damn much is his repressing policy. Unlike some of his peers, the man has no problem in repressing in-demand Sound Signatures from the past, and this time it's number 32 that receives a much-welcomed resurrection. The EP features singer Dummine Depores, first on the utterly hummable and soulful "Chemistry" track, and then on "Untitled One", a classically off-kilter Parrish number filled to the brim with sampling goodness and even a distant set of guitar riffs! Killers.

SHADELEAF reaches out to the tribes and comes home with a serious crop to see us through !

For their debut V.A selection 'Please Come Correct' Thatmanmonkz has pulled in some serious talent from the fringes of forward-thinking House

Ny*Ak fires the opening beatdown salvo,'U Don't Understand', and cooks up another of those loose, low riding, sample heavy and heady jams, reminiscent of Berlin via early Sound Signature that made last year's EP for Intimate Friends via Rush Hour such an essential!

Next up Cape Town's Jumping Back Slash, who's been making some serious music, fusing elements of S.A House with Kwaito and, well pretty much anything else he can throw into the mix to move your assets.
'Bloodlines' however could just as easily have emanated from 8 Mile, a captivating piece of pure, crisply rendered machine soul back lit with township chants and emotive chords.

Mr 'monkz himself handles B1, and to say this guy's on a roll would be something of an understatement!
Much like Graef and Co, 'imgettintiredofyou' is Deep House that dines out on a diet of Hip Hop, dirty hertz in the low registers and deftly manipulated sample work throughout - killer stuff!

Finally our truly global selection winds up in Moscow as another hotly tipped up-and-comer Lay-Far gives us 'Many-Sided'.
Fans of last year's excellent EP on Fifty Fathoms Deep will know what to expect. Again, a loosely pieced together cut, hinting at West London vibes,and shot through with creative sampling and an undeniable ear for melody and groove that really shines.

Richie Hawtin, Someone Else, Amine Edge, Transmit Promo Radar, Luca Doobie, Mariano Mateljan, Guido Durante, Herck
Ceryx, Ovidiu Adrian, Indy Lopez, Edgar De Ramon, Javi Alvado & THC, Pantany, Claude Solis, Alessan Main , Elchinsoul, Michel De Hey , Marco Carola, Dirty Culture...
In time, Plusculaar has become an indispensable asset to our label so it is only fair that we kick off this Esemtrax Limited vinyl series with his "Rumänische" EP. After the massive success "Stai Jos" on Enough!Music, it is our turn to "take advantage" of his talent so we asked for some top quality tracks. The result is mind blowing! It contains his finest work yet, a blend of techno and minimal, the very well known "romanian sound".

Maricopa returns to Back To The Balearics to complete his stunning opus, Pastel Love.

And he continues where he left off building deeply textured songs packed full of simple melodies that really shine.
His music opts for subtle feelings and passing vibes over the more obvious structures of 'dance music'. The release of Part One led to a number of comparisons with the early work of Aphex Twin as well as more contemporary producers such as Four Tet.

Such comparisons don't come lightly, but Pastel Love demonstrates that a rare musical talent has arrived.

The release again has beautiful printed covers and looks as good as it sounds. Viva Maricopa!

Heavily influenced by Moodymann and Andres, new Home Taping artist Simba produces music that is full of soulful echoes, while still dripping in raw house music vibes.

Nothing is too straight in the Simba sound as FX drift around and subtle production touches come at you from all angles.
Vinyl hiss is as important as the kick drum and the overall atmosphere has that classic house music quality that can transport you instantly to another place.

The Black Madonna was the one who drew attention to the rising talents of this young producer. So fittingly she delivers her own 'Lost In Chicago' take on the original, which delights in the track's edginess and the wonderful release of the main hooks.

All of which are given the trademark BM Chicago stamp, or should that be stomp
Quality house music for the believers out there.

6th Borough Project are back with the follow up to their 2011 debut One Night In The Borough. A hectic couple of years have been lived out by Graeme Clark and Craig Smith during the making of this LP with Graeme continuing to play week in and week out as Revenge and setting up his new imprint Roar Groove whilst Craig has established the brilliant Fifty Fathoms Deep label. Studio time has been tight to say the least but that
hasn't stopped the duo from pulling out all the stops and ensuring that this LP surpasses the already sky-high benchmark set by it's predecessor. Followers of 6th Borough Project will be pleased to hear that all the low-slung, loopy, hypnotic vibes we've come to
expect are present and correct whilst the duo have still made sure to push things forward with their sound, bringing a minimalist, housier edge to many tracks.

Things kick off with the Intro setting the mood, coming on like a bizarre dream that's over in a flash but seems to include an entire episode of your life and succeeds in encapsulating the sentiment of the entire LP in 40 seconds! Soul, Beach, City, Gig, Party,
Energy, Relaxation.... It's all here.
On Our Love we find a brilliantly lop-sided shuffling groove laying the foundation for some classic 6BP-style vocal chops, easing us in gently with the warm up vibes. Things take a slightly darker direction on U Know U with this heads-down track, a crisp, stripped-back beat being joined by filtering pads and a distant vocal for company. Think It Over and In Your Arms follow seeing the boys building things perfectly and increasing the party
atmosphere with two floor-friendly tracks which look set to be just a couple of the DJ's favorites from the LP. Dropping things down a notch we're treated to the beautiful slow-mo gem entitled Through The Night before heading deeper still on the tripped out, dark and dubby The Call Back.

Back 2 Black picks up the tempo again for a percussion heavy workout with just a hint of Africa emerging through the echoing stabs and sub bass. The party continues with Read
My Mind which brings us some brooding, up-tempo warehouse vibes to get immersed in before F.E.E.L and a brand new LP version of previous single The Vibes pushes further still in a darker, more abstract and clubby mood. Finally, we wind down with Walk Away, making the perfect close for a brilliant, fresh and original LP from a highly talented couple of producers whose passion and knowledge of music shines brightly here. Difficult
second LP clearly not an issue with 6th Borough Project!

Andrade is a truely new talent coming straight from the Parisian underground. Having made a name for himself thanks to several well received gigs in his hometown and a few releases from good people like Steve Bug, D'julz, Delano smith, Ralph Lawson, Labels are already begging for more. After releases on Steve Bug's Poker Flat and Dessous imprits as well as D'julz Bass Culture, Andrade is poised for the future! Andrade is currently putting the finishing touches on his future productions and just started his own label Street Knowledge Recordings.