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Chloé Robinson & DJ ADHD still aren’t short on fuel. In fact, they seem to only be boosted further by their own supply. With such a weighty momentum driving forward their newly established identities, only one big question sits adjacent in the saddle: what’s next? It seems that Chloé and Alex already have the answer for today’s daily summon, and for the next Pretty Weird release, it’s a 4-track techno record reiterating the trusted adage of less being more. With an emphasis on space and silence placed intuitively, the first single from the ‘Steamin’ EP finally gets its much anticipated drop - including a killer remix from close friend Four Tet stamped on in classic, inimitable style.

‘Steamin’ is all serrated kicks, 909 drums and tenacious vocals that yell without inhibition, invoking the looseness of a party spiralling unphased into its collective apex.. ‘Redbull’ scales up on the pyrotechnics and rowdy behaviour, taking the sensation of several shots of caffeine and packaging it into a mean, raucous pick-me-up.

For ‘Pax’, Chloé and Alex continue on the stripped back disorder with white-hot conviction through rhythm and textures that find their power through no-frills, unpretentious simplicity. Kieran Hebden steps up for the remix, nodding back in appreciation to the past through the nestling of a sharply redefined ‘Pulse X’ sample alongside his addictive, punchy production all too suited to those can’t-go-home-just-yet stints.

Early support from artists including Four Tet, Peggy Gou, Jamie XX, Floating Points, Ben UFO, Caribou, Skrillex, Mary Anne Hobbs, Bradley Zero, Bonobo, Saoirse, Zenker Brothers, TSHA, HAAi, I. Jordan, Logic1000 and Pearson Sound.

Despite the title sounding like an archive collection, 1994 is actually the debut album from OKRAA. It has an emphasis on live performance and makes for a gorgeously immersive and even evolving listen from the aways excellent A Strangely Isolated Place label. All four pieces are over with minutes but they are worthy of their playing time for the way so much unfolds in such engaging fashion. Synths are cold and innocent on 'Ola De Luz' while 'Heartless' is more textural, dark, heavy in its mood. The title track is another heavy and introspective one while 'Plasma' has a more optimistic feel that lifts the spirts.

The first release of the new label Surfaced Trax submerges into deep waters, delivering three sonically rich compositions aimed at late-night peak-times and early-morning sun rising hours.

The 'Liquid Terrain EP' was produced by Parallax Deep and remixed by Christopher Ledger. And while "Liquid" takes the listener through minimalized yet funky arrangements of precise drum programming and steady grooves, "Terrain", on the other hand, explores the in-between palettes of the electro & acid genres with plenty of rhythmic experimentation and wonky modulations.

On the remix duties, the Italian wizard Christopher Ledger works his magic on "Liquid", turning it into a highly textured, deeply atmospheric, slightly acidic breakbeat monster.

Stunning and tonally fitting collage artwork by Joagi.

2022 Repress
Dear Friends,

25 years of KOMPAKT is no reason to get hysterical. Then again, it's a nice occasion to have a laid back look at the situation in electronic music today. Minimal techno in all it's varieties is now established as the worlds best dance music, as you may know. So far, so good. What's next Nothing. Dance on!

I've gain two essential insights with the passage of time. First off, that music which over the years only knew 'faster, better, stronger' and 'forwards ever - backwards never' can constantly repeat, quote and loop itself without killing itself. A music that suspends the meaning of time and eventually can set a parallel, better universe of fantasy against the twisted grimaces of reality. Again and again.

And secondly, that getting older living in/with this music is a quite relative term to which ideally a serenity of age can ring a bell. This shows that 25 years after 1993 so many protagonists, enthusiasts, DJs, musicians, relentlessly rave fighters - with all personal advancement - are still there and still celebrate, play or produce this/theirs music; and compete themselves and their music just with that.

Two such heroes of the neat and tidy bass drum culture are with no doubt T.RAUMSCHMIERE aka MARCO HAAS and REINHARD VOIGT. From day one, those two figureheads have given live-techno the glam of stage-diving rock 'n' roll, long before vodka and beer prevailed as alternative lube for ecstatic dancefloors.

Even better they both now raise the glass at the longest techno-bar in the world named KOMPAKT EXTRA/SPEICHER. With DREI MILLIONEN KO¨LSCH, Reinhard Voigt continues to establish his savvy 'way into sound', which he's pursued for a few years now on his many releases. He's turning genre cliche´s into a very personal take with his defiant mix of the deepness of a lonesome cowboy and his implicit faith in the dancefloor and gives the music a very personal touch of ennnoblement of the faith in itself. Technos dignity shall be inviolable.

For me, AUGEN ZU by T.RAUMSCHMIERE is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of bass-heavy 'Umta Umta' techno. A few strikingly brilliant vocal lines from the master himself, put through the machines and combined with a relentlessly sequencer that says it all. This cheers my heart and we will always need such tracks to remind us of ourselves. And to forget about ourselves. Smash hits of unreason! Or the prettiest declaration of love to a music which gets its magical moments from what's happening between the bass drum-beats. But only by this when the bassdrum remains linear and will do so forever. Both Marco Haas and Reinhard Voigt know that. Because after techno comes always techno.

Wolfgang Voigt - May, 2018 Wolfgang Voigt - May, 2018

25 Jahre KOMPAKT sind kein Grund sich aufzuregen. Aber dennoch ein schöner Anlass, einen gelassenen Blick auf die Lage der elektronischen Musik zu werfen. Denn der globale Minimal-Techno, in seinen unterschiedlichen Spielarten, hat sich bekanntlich längst als beste Tanzmusik der Welt etabliert. Recht so. Was nun Gar nichts. Weitertanzen.

Zwei essentielle Erkenntnisse haben sich bei mir im Laufe der Zeit durchgesetzt: Erstens - dass eine Musik, die über Jahre nur ein »Höher, Schneller, Weiter« oder ein »Forwards Ever - Backwards Never« kannte, sich ständig wiederholen, selbst zitieren und loopen kann, ohne daran zu ersticken. Die Bedeutung von Zeit und Vergänglichkeit im besten Sinne außer Kraft setzen und der hässlichen Fratze der Realität eine parallele, bessere Welt der Fantasie entgegensetzen kann. Immer wieder.

Und zweitens: dass »Altern in/mit dieser Musik« ein sehr relativer Begriff ist, dem bestenfalls Altersgelassenheit etwas sagt, Alter. Das zeigt sich immer wieder im schönsten Sinne, wenn 25 Jahre nach 1993 so viele Akteure, Enthusiasten, DJs, Musikanten, unkaputtbare Kampfraver, bei aller persönlichen Weiterentwicklung, immer noch da sind und immer noch diese/ihre Musik abfeiern, auflegen oder eben produzieren und sich und ihr Tun auch nur daran messen lassen müssen.

Zwei solche Recken der gepflegten Bassdrumkultur sind zweifelsohne T.RAUMSCHMIERE aka MARCO HAAS und REINHARD VOIGT. Zwei Rampensäue der ersten Stunde, die Live-Techno den Glam des Rock'n'Roll Stagedivings gegeben haben, lange bevor Vodka und Bier sich als alternative Gleitmittel eines ektatischen Dancefloors in der Breite durchgesetzt hatten.

Umso schöner, dass sich eben diese Beiden mal wieder an der längsten Techno-Theke der Welt, genannt KOMPAKT EXTRA/SPEICHER über die beiden Seiten einer Schallplatte hinweg musikalisch zuprosten. Mit dem Track DREI MILLIONEN KÖLSCH setzt REINHARD VOIGT seinen smarten »way into sound« fort, den er schon seit ein paar Jahren auf diversen Veröffentlichungen konsequent verfolgt. Mit einer trotzigen Mischung aus lonesome cowboyhafter Deepness und dem unbedingten Bekenntnis zum Dancefloor schafft er es, den Klischees des Techno eine sehr persönliche Note der Veredelung des Glaubens an sich selbst zu geben. Die Würde des Techno ist unantastbar.

Der Track AUGEN ZU von T.RAUMSCHMIERE ist für mich eines der schönsten Meisterstücke in der Tradition des oktavbassgeschwängerten Umta-Umta Techno. Einige wenige markant brilliante Textzeilen, vom Meister selbst in deutscher Sprache durch die Maschinen geschickt, gepaart mit einem Sequenzer der keine Gefangenen macht, lassen keine Fragen offen. Da geht mir Herz und Rucksack auf. Solche Tracks werden wir immer brauchen, um uns an uns selbst zu erinnern. Um uns immer wieder selbst zu vergessen. Smash-Hits der Unvernunft! Oder die schönste Liebeserklärung an eine Musik, die ihre magischsten Momente immer aus dem gezogen hat, was zwischen den Bassdrumschlägen passiert. Das funktioniert aber nur, wenn die Bassdrum gerade ist und es für immer bleibt. Und Marco Haas und Reinhard Voigt wissen das. Denn nach Techno kommt immer noch Techno.

Wolfgang Voigt, Mai 2018

When Irish DJ and producer Pineal Navigation set up Awareness System in 2020, he intended to use the label as an outlet for music, specifically Techno & Electro, that told an evocative story. As the world went into lockdown, Niall, aka Pineal Navigation, decided to hone in on a sound that produced a positive frequency and dismantle the negative energy that started to seep into everyday life. Two years on, the Dublin-based artist launches Awareness System with a split EP called ‘Combination 1’. Swedish producer Daniel Andréasson contributes two tracks to the release, adding another layer of intensity that aligns with the label’s aesthetic. Andréasson is an artist who approaches music with a no-frills attitude, which inspired Niall to invite his long-time friend into the fold of Awareness System. On ‘Sensory Open’, Pineal Navigation creates an eerie atmosphere with swirling synths and gnarly basslines — a response to the chaos unfolding in the modern world. Daniel Andréasson cranks up the pace on ‘Enable’ with wonky drum patterns and distorted FX, veering into the darker textures of techno. The flip-side opens with Daniel Andréasson’s ‘Money Is A Motivator’ where he mutates bleeps and crackling percussion, luring the listener into a dystopian soundscape. Pineal Navigation closes the EP with ‘Off The Earth’, a stomping blend of rumbling bass and stabby percussion. A potent club-orientated track to mark the first chapter in the story of Awareness System.

Seed it’s here! Growing inside of Soil Records.

Focused on different styles and tempos that we usually recognize at Soil which will be more focused now on mainly EBM, Darkwave and Industrial Sounds.

Seed will be irrigated with DIY screen print design to keep the textures alive.

Four years in the making, Duct Tape Project is the new brainchild of Tripmastaz in the realms of Trip-Hop and Downtempo. And it's a project that makes perfect sense to anyone familiar with Andrei's background (making Hip-Hop beats since his teenage years), musical capabilities and decades-long experience. Duct Tape Project joins Andrei with a troupe of stellar musicians not only from many different corners of the world but also from acutely distinct genres - Guti, Argenis Brito, Mad Dim, Denis Kaznacheev, Krussia, Damien Vandesande of DOP, Sarkis Ricci, Andrey Orenstein, and vocals by Inga.

Featuring all sorts of live instruments, drum machines, synthesizers and modular systems, Duct Tape Project brings forward a complex work brimming with musicality. Using Hip-Hop, not only its rhythmic structures but also its sampling techniques, as a foundation, Tripmastaz created a vibrant and fascinating ecosystem with enough sonic texture to leave one captivated, enraptured and lost at the edge of words. There are 13 musical compositions in total that explore all things Hip-Hop, Downtempo, Trip-Hop, Chill Pop and Lounge, forming a cohesive and deeply soulful album.

The debut full length album from Gloved Hands, entitled Empty Terminal, finds the musician straying from the dance floor in search of something amorphous and less tangible. Ambient in nature, the eight tracks that comprise the LP have a deep focus on texture, space, and human feelings rather than a need for constant propulsion and momentum.

The A-side, the more rhythmic and percussive of the two, is awash with vague echos and smudged, slow-moving chords. Subaqueous drums shift in and out of focus. Sound sources are at once distant and intimately close. The curtains part to reveal a glimpse of a crystalline melody or a fraction of a vocal phrase only for the room to fill with fragrant smoke and go dark. It is a place beyond the dance floor. Perhaps it's a place without any floor at all.

The B-side is even more fragile and diaphanous. The foreground and background are obscured, leaving a hazy mesh of delicate, interwoven forms and rhythms; glistening and brushing against one another in the warm, dimly-lit space in between. With a swirling mix of cavernous bass and sweet-but-never-saccharine melody, the details are stretched and abstracted into something new yet familiar. The compositions ripple in midair, appearing and vanishing, close but just out of reach.



b A2 The Hungry Army Arrived As the Beans Ripened Master

The full moon of May 2022 brings the 6th Hypnus record by Birds ov Paradise.

Early support from Dorisburg, TM404, Brando Lupi, Abstract Division, Arnaud le Texier, Ben Buitendijk, Felix Lorusso, Mosam Howieson, Samuli Kemppi, Takaaki Itoh, Hydrangea and Forest on Stasys to name a few.

Love and light

Having crested the west coast modular-ambient wave in just a few releases - including 2018's Sharing Waves on the influential LA experimental imprint Leaving Records - Sean Hellfritsch has swapped the mossy analog synth improvisations of his prior output for refined melodic arrangements dressed in sprightly dawn-of-digital textures. Big Earth Energy plumbs the depths of Hellfritsch's multimedia mind and naturalist heart, spinning an impressionistic narrative world off of cultural touchstones like the PC game MYST, and the work of Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. Inspired by the aforementioned, and guided by Hellfritsch's experience as an animator and filmmaker, Big Earth Energy is the soundtrack to a hypothetical video game with a pointedly ecological premise, and a twist of psychedelic charm. In Hellfritsch's imagined virtual journey, the player assumes the perspective of a treefrog sixty-five-million years ago, hopping epochs with each new level, forming a comprehensive picture of the massive changes the planet has gone through over the eons. The ultimate goal of the game is not to amass resources, defeat enemies, or gain power, but to fully witness the unfolding of one of the biggest systems of energy imaginable - or as the album's creator puts it - "to explore the incomprehensibly vast energetic expression and mystery that is Earth." Big Earth Energy is steeped in exploratory RPG intrigue, possibility, and contemplation, lovingly overlaid with Miyazaki-an sentiments and aesthetics. The through-composed, organic, meandering synthesis heard on previous Cool Maritime albums has been fully replaced by meticulous polygonal arrangements that recall the computerized sheen of late 80s work by composers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Yoichiro Yoshikawa - using true-to-period gear no less. Even given its referentiality, Big Earth Energy comes off as forward-facing where so much reminiscent music remains fixed to a bygone moment in pop culture. Hellfritsch has created a musical world where the endless verdancy of the biosphere finds its parallel in the golden age of early 1990s video games, and late 80s Japanese environmental music, all while pointing to a hopeful planetary and artistic future that vindicates the motives of all of these muses.

Magnetic is a project which has been build on the principles & awareness of environment design and its importance. Every moment in our lives is influenced by the environment we are immersed in and music plays a huge part in this concept.

We welcome Sublee to curate the first release on the label, with his Until We Dance EP. The two tracks on the A-side, draws you into serene places before releasing you with textured Sublee baselines. Misto Sup, on the B-side of the vinyl is an energetic journey which is meticulously crafted providing a joyful experience for the listener.

We thank Max Binski for the ecstatic artwork design as we present you with Magnetic.

Son of Chi returns to Astral Industries, alongside Spanish artist Clara Brea, for the collaborative release of AI-29. A product of fate, chance experiments, but most of all, sensitive artistry - ’The Wetland Remixes’ exists as a confluence of two kindred musical spirits, a wayfaring epic that draws together a rich archive of ecological field recordings, live instrumentation and higher inspirations.

Ahead of Hanyo’s concert at Calma (Madrid) at the end of 2019, the curators organised a special dinner and arranged the meeting of Clara and Hanyo. As Hanyo recalls,“It was like stereochemistry. There was an instant match and understanding, and basically we decided in a split second to exchange recordings and to collaborate on future live and studio experiments.”

The auspicious meeting of the two ignited a remote exchange of materials and ideas, as the world descended into a series of pandemic-related lockdowns. The first of said recordings included the stems of Clara’s ‘Wetland Project’ - a site-specific audiovisual project originally produced for Eufonic Festival (Spain), using field recordings from the Ebro Delta nature reserve (one of the most threatened regions of climate change on the Iberian peninsula).

From this initial impetus, Hanyo began working on the first sketches of the album back in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Just like their meeting in Madrid, the project developed naturally and spontaneously with extraordinary ease. Later, Hanyo started adding field recordings from the Magic Cave and Wetlands of the ‘Kallikatsou’ (Patmos, Greece) as well as organic and acoustic overdubs, featuring bass, drums, percussion, guitars, oud, piano, hammond organ, wurlitzer, flutes, bells, and mouth harp.

In the distance, the sound of birds peak through the effervescent wash of the wetland soundscapes. The pass of running water flows deeper into a land full of secrets never told. On the strike of dusk, the silhouettes of shapely trunks and foliage melt slowly into the impenetrable darkness. As darkness passes, light emerges, with exquisite moments of tranquility that seemingly emerge from nothingness.

Beneath the shimmering veneer of textures, wildlife and melodies, one may hear the deeper references of ’The Wetland Remixes’. With credit to Clara’s input, for Hanyo the album process became a kind of refuge, and ultimately inspired the return to the core of Abstract Sound - what the Sufis call“Saut-i Sarmad.”Such references allude to the spiritual quality embedded in the music - the autonomous process of self-expression, the great mystery. Hanyo: “An ambience like this cannot be created by routine. There is no blueprint. The music has to find you. It’s like a blessing if it happens. You should not interfere, just observe and be impressed...”

Deep, luscious mind trips as per the classic Chi sound, ‘The Wetland Remixes’ beautifully correlates the interconnecting dots of geography, ecology, and mythology’s forgotten lore.

After the Ron Trent/Other Lands smashing combo, Yellow Jackets offers its third outing. This time contributions come from Detroit’s own Patrice Scott and Mother Tongue’s young members EDB & Gary Superfly.

Patrice Scott does what he’s known for: emotional tech funk, rich in melodies and deep in textures! ‘Mood Swing’ does exactly what the title says, keeping you dancing while mind travelling….Butter!!!

On the flipside EDB & Gary Superfly, who recently broke some necks with their jam ‘Pressure’ from the Madre Lingua album, deliver straight from “The Fifth Floor” a twisted bubbly acid number with swing a plenty and melodic overtones…a match made in heaven!

Once again full impact loud pressing 12 inch as in Yellow Jackets tradition!

Like every record Superchunk has made over the last thirty-some years, Wild Loneliness is unskippably excellent and infectious. It’s a blend of stripped-down and lush, electric and acoustic, highs and lows, and I love it all. On Wild Loneliness I hear echoes of Come Pick Me Up, Here’s to Shutting Up, and Majesty Shredding. After the (ahem, completely justifiable) anger of What a Time to Be Alive, this new record is less about what we’ve lost in these harrowing times and more about what we have to be thankful for. (I know something about gratitude.

I’ve been a huge Superchunk fan since the 1990s, around the same time I first found my way to poetry, so the fact that I’m writing these words feels like a minor miracle.) On Wild Loneliness, it feels like the band is refocusing on possibility, and possibility is built into the songs themselves, in the sweet surprises tucked inside them. I say all the time that what makes a good poem the “secret ingredient” is surprise. Perhaps the same is

true of songs. Like when the sax comes in on the title track, played by Wye Oak’s Andy Stack, adding a completely new texture to the song. Or when Owen Pallett’s strings come in on “This Night.” But my favorite surprise on Wild Loneliness is when the harmonies of Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley of Teenage Fanclub kick in on “Endless Summer.”

It’s as perfect a pop song as you’ll ever hear sweet, bright, flat-out gorgeous and yet it grapples with the depressing reality of climate change: “Is this the year the leaves don’t lose their color / and hummingbirds, they don’t come back to hover / I don’t mean to be a giant bummer but / I’m not ready / for an endless summer, no / I’m not ready for an endless summer.” I love how the music acts as a kind of counterweight to the lyrics.

Because of COVID, Mac, Laura, Jim, and Jon each recorded separately, but a silver lining is that this method made other long-distance contributions possible, from R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Sharon Van Etten, Franklin Bruno, and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura, among others. Some of the songs for the record were written before the pandemic hit, but others, like “Wild Loneliness,” were written from and about isolation.

I’ve been thinking of songs as memory machines. Every time we play a record, we remember when we heard it before, and where we were, and who we were. Music crystallizes memories so well: listening to “Detroit Has a Skyline,” suddenly I’m shout1singing along with it at a show in Detroit twenty years ago; listening to Overflows,” I’m transported back to whisper-singing a slowed-down version of it to my young son, that year it was his most-requested lullaby.

Wild Loneliness is becoming part of my life, part of my memories, too. And it will be part of yours. I can picture people in 20, 50, or 100 years listening to this record and marveling at what these artists created together beauty, possibility, surprise during this alarming (and alarmingly isolated) time. But why wait? Let’s marvel now. - Maggie Smith

Polish composer Olga Wojciechowska and veteran electronic producer Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner, combine on A Strangely Isolated Place to revisit a beloved Strie album - Olga's more electronic and experimental alias. With previous releases on Serein and Time Released Sound as Strie, Olga Wojciechowska's 'Struktura' was released in 2015 to a limited audience due to its physical-only format.

As Olga's work becomes increasingly more coveted, through her more recent releases on A Strangely Isolated Place (Unseen Traces & Infinite Distances), and with Struktura praised as one of her finest albums to date, the discussion to breathe new life into the album resulted in a unique pairing with Scanner, an electronic music producer and multimedia artist responsible for some of the most defining works of the genre since the early 1990s.

Blurring the line between harmony and dissonance, Struktura's original recordings paint an eerie, haunting and beautiful picture, conceptualized around abstract art, with intricacies and mystery abound. Here, Strie's original recordings remain untouched, albeit lovingly remastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, and it is left to Scanner to provide further interpretations of Olga's original recordings. Scanner productions can typically traverse a myriad of styles, but here, Robin took a primarily live-hardware approach to the remixes, allowing the rawness of his recordings to add story and depth. Recorded in one take, with no overdubs, the reinterpretations strip the melodies and textures to their original essence, bringing an entirely analog element to Olga's intrinsically detailed originals. Featuring artwork by Rep Ringel and mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, Struktura Revisited will be available on Gatefold 2LP in a black/grey half-and-half vinyl, with 6x6" soft-touch heavy art card.

Fast fünfzehn unerträglich lange Jahre ließ Grammy-Preisträger D'Angelo seine Millionen Fans auf ein neues Album warten - am 15. Dezember 2014 überrascht er die Welt mit der Veröffentlichung des Longplayers "Black Messiah", der AB SOFORT erhältlich ist. Die erste Single aus "Black Messiah" trägt den Titel "Really Love".

Die Aufnahmen zum dritten Longplayer des 40-jährigen US-Amerikaners fanden in den vergangenen fünfzehn Jahren in Zusammenarbeit mit seiner Band The Vanguard statt. Darüber hinaus waren Pino Palladino, James Gadson and Questlove an einigen der zwölf Songs beteiligt. An den Texten schrieben neben D'Angelo auch Q-Tip und Kendra Foster mit. Aufgrund der Qualität der Musiker konnte im Studio komplett auf digitale Plug-Ins verzichtet werden. Die Aufnahmen, Bearbeitung, Effekte und Abmischen erfolgten analog auf Band, zum größten Teil wurde altes (Vintage) Equipment verwendet.

Kerri Chandler’s Kaoz Theory kicks off 2022 with Mr. ID’s Language Of Jazz EP, featuring two remixes from the label boss himself alongside two original cuts.

2021 saw Kerri Chandler’s Kaoz Theory continue to move from strength to strength, unveiling material from the likes of Dutch rising star Chris Stussy and of course Kerri himself, here we see the imprint wrap things up with a new addition to the roster, Casablanca, Morocco-based artist Mr. ID.

Up first on the release is ‘Track ID1’, a collaboration between Mr. ID and Youssef Grirane featuring Rita Mdn. It’s a unique six-minute journey through jazzy pianos and organ licks, intricate organic percussion and mesmeric, textural atmospheres. Kerri gives it the remix treatment in style extracting all of the jazziness of the original and retwisting things with the classic Chandler authentic house feel. Next, Chandler employs his revered 623 alias for the ‘623 Again Mix’ version which strips things back to low-slung drums, bumpy stabs and emotive piano lines.

The flip side houses ‘Track ID1’ in all its original glory before ‘Track ID2’ closes out proceedings seeing Mr. ID join forces with Younes Akhraz, rhythmically shifting to a jazzy 4/4 drum groove while wandering keys and warm subs fuel the mystical vibe.

DJ Feedback:

Sasha – Tasty

Laurent Garnier – Love the whole EP

Jimpster – Jazzed up piano house heaven! Love It!

Lea Lisa – Lovely remix by Kerri

Mr. V – Kerri delivers the goods once again!!!

Anja Schneider – Great. Love It.

Archie Hamilton – Nice

Andrew Treagust - Man that's some crazy production – really like it!

Mike W - absolutely classic release. how on earth could you go wrong? the world needs more piano!

Fish Go Deep - All tracks sounding great here. ID1 is a lovely warm groove and Kerri's remixes inject a little dancefloor bump to proceedings.

Daniel Troberg – incredible music

Kiki Navarro – excellent single, loving all the mixes special ID1 and the Kerri Chandler Main Remix

Ben Lovett – Remix mastery from Chandler – wonderful meeting of piano and drum – fire.

Sergio – Excellent example of classic house with personality

Hector Samper – Amazing EP!!!

Six years on since his latest appearance on the label's main series, Stroboscopic Artefacts boss Luca Mortellaro, aka Lucy, returns with 'Dyscamupia' - an introspective, multisensory techno triptych revolving around the core sequence of Albert Camus' classic existentialist novel, 'The Stranger'. Also known as the 'killing of an arab', this pivotal moment in Camus' seminal book - which also inspired The Cure their song 'Killing An Arab' back in the day, is here evoked through three variedly intense, deep and hypnotic techno variations - flexing from 120 to 130, onto 140 BPM - each of them translating a particular step in the author's minute, focal-shifting depiction of the unknown man's murder on the beach.

Embodying Meursault for a minute, Jason Snell lends his voice to the narrator and his inner demons, casting a strange, ominous spell on the club and its crowd. Willing to explore and dig up further into the textural wealth and crucial warmth of organic sounds and synthetic treatments, Lucy made wise use of the binaural microphones technology during the vocals recording process, greatly enhancing the immersive force of his compositions to create thoughtful, dystopic narrative bubbles that stand in their own right.
The first number, ' Dyscamupia (Forward)', happens before and right until the actual killing - hence time flowing at a metronomic, heartbeat-like tempo; the second cut 'Dyscamupia (Pause)' takes place right after the nameless man's death, when the narrator enters a kind of existential 'pause' and a whole new flow of consciousness begins; the third sequence, 'Dyscamupia (Backward)', plumbs the depths of the action itself as played backwards, like an equally hazed-out and dizzying reminiscence of the sad encounter's mechanism. Don't let its seemingly conceptual framework fool you though, like most of his past output 'Dyscamupia' also aims to bring dancefloors to a steady simmer, whilst maintaining Lucy's ascending momentum towards an all-round genre-busting, thought-provoking apex.

A1 East Vision by Milanese’s finest Uabos uncovers an extraordinary musical experience with a lot of twists and twirls that are skilfully crafted. Constructed of mouth-watering synth textures and dusty melodic samples that hover over the rolling bass engine, Uabos surely delivers a dancefloor killer.

Herzel’s Transformation as the A2 track adds deep blue melodic depth on top of icy rhythmic pattern. It tickles the senses as sharp leads and powerful kicking stabs appear above the grinding bass line, providing mesmeric effect.

Flute Power’s Discothalia heats up the B side. Lush breaks and ripples meet a cloud-bursting bass line, intertwining with the ethereal vocal traces that unveil throughout the composition and into infinity.

Metropolitan Soul Museum in the closing B2 track Former Glory introduces a delicately structured musical narrative that has blocks of steady rhythmic percussion accompanied with unforeseeable melodic samples and tender vocal cut-ups.

Reissue of Elizio De Buzios's "Tamanquiro". Remastered and pressed on 45 RPM!

Sitting a good 90-minute drive away from Rio de Janeiro’s crowded beaches and packed tourist hot-spots, Campo Grande is not a neighbourhood that attracts travellers from around the World. Traditionally it is home to the city’s lower middle-class, whose aspirations of moving up the social ladder were played out in a suburb that has always been solidly working-class.

Campo Grande is home to Elizio De Buzios, a Brazilian musician who started playing music in the late 1970s and early 1980s. De Buzios began as a drummer, before learning to play guitar and starting to compose and sing his own music. When he turned 18, De Buzios joined a local band formed by some of his friends and other like-minded local musicians: Sol da Terra. The band mostly played samba in neighbourhood bars and small venues around Camp Grande, but De Buzios was interested in more than just samba. While he naturally admired great samba composers such as Cartola and Beth Carvalho, his musical pass went far beyond Brazil’s national music. He also loved MPB and bossa-nova and at home he listed to Joäo Bosco, Milton Nascimento, Luis Melodia, Tom Jobim, and many bossa-nova singers.

In 1980 De Buzios was noticed by a local representative of international major label Polygram, who gave him the opportunity to record two songs. He was excited, so started searching for inspiration for the songs he would eventually lay down. He found that inspiration close to home while passing a neighbourhood shop which made and sold clogs. After noticing a display of then fashionable Portuguese clogs outside the store, De Buzios popped inside to talk to the owner. It turned out that he was a tamanqueiro – as clog-makers are traditionally called in his native Portugal – and was as passionate about music as he was about the footwear he made. Thus inspired, De Buzios returned home to work more on the lyrics and music.

The next day, he headed into the studio to record the song, with Vale Ribeiro, who later went on to produce tracks for Marcos Valle, behind the desk. With Ribeiro’s assistance, De Buzios managed to record two songs in one day: ‘Tamanqueiro’ and ‘Sou Um Louco’, a ballad with English lyrics blended into the mostly Portuguese text. From the start, it was clear that ‘Tamanqueiro’ would be the single’s A-side. Incredibly catchy and funky, with some subtle disco elements, the song remained distinctively Brazilian thanks to the use of the cuíca. Listening back all these years on, De Buzios’ lyrics seem almost spontaneous, carry the track forward, and make it almost impossible not to sing along. Its infectiousness and funkiness made it an instant hit with the first few people to hear it.

When it was released, responses to the song were enthusiastic, even if it never became the Brazil-wide smash it should have been. It resonated well in the local clubs and on the radio, but unfortunately the marketing was handled by an inexperienced Polygram employee who failed to adequately promote the track. As a result, the record sank without trace and De Buzios’ dreams of stardom evaporated. Having just started a family, he realized he could not live off the uncertainty of being a musician. Instead, he got a job at city hall as a civil servant, a role he continued until his retirement a few years ago. ‘Tamanqueiro’ and ‘Sou Um Louco’ remain the only two songs he ever recorded.

In the early 2000s, with the rise of diggers’ culture, ‘Tamanqueiro’ slowly surfaced again. It became a sought after, hard to find seven-inch single, finding its way onto the airwaves once more and into the ears of a new generation of listeners. Some started appreciating the song so much that it was referred to as the “best-Jorge-Ben-song-Jorge-Ben-never-recorded”. And they are right: ‘Tamanqueiro’ does have that Jorge Ben-straight-forwardness. It’s a completely honest song that’s almost impossible not to fall in love with. Thanks to this remastered reissue on Rush Hour, De Buzios may now get the props his sole record so richly deserves.

Now for the good news: De Buzios is still singing in local bars and clubs in and around Campo Grande. He is surprised, but also incredibly proud, that the record he had almost forgotten about is appreciated so much by a group of music lovers he didn’t even know existed. But above all, he is happy that more than 40 years after the recording session, the record lives on – not only on this re-release, but also in his weekend sets in the bars of Campo Grande.

160 gram clear red vinyl, glossy sleeve, Cititrax presents rare live recordings from Birmingham techno legend Regis. The 12" EP features recently uncovered recordings of Regis playing live in New York City on January 4th, 1997 at the famed New York Film Academy. Original tapes discovered by Evan Kreeger, studio work / transfers done by James Ruskin in London and audio mastered by Veronica Vasicka in New York. The EP will be pressed on 160 gram clear red vinyl and housed in a gloss sleeve, featuring text by Evan Kreeger. An excerpt is below: Gymnastics broke techno - first time performed ! Regis has recreated this show for you - from the tapes in storage Over twenty years later - You're welcome! You are born! Now you can say you were there - rather than Skavoovee chore Damage and flame was our desire for this fight Two fans rebuffed tossed cinderblocks thru the front doors that night Locking up the Film Academy was only pageantry and a lie Nothing secure anymore - just crouch down - on your knees - crawl inside"

Orange Tree Edits build on their rock solid catalogue with this stellar Vinyl EP debut from Ukranian DJ Yucca Mü.

Richly textured A-side ‘Bluebird’ samples a Soviet era Sci-Fi film to assemble a delightfully weird and wonderful, at once ethereal, refreshing and playful dancefloor heater. Church bells, choral hymns and villainous voiceovers layered on top of a rolling, chuggy low-end propel this tune into peak time territory. A tender church choir acapella outro is a joyous highlight - think festival closing time.

The flip side cut ‘Femme Symbole’ offers up organ stabs alongside swirling grand piano and a sensuous vocal to produce a belter of an edit built for the dark and steamy dance zone.

With support from Hunee, Jonny Rock, Lauren Hansom, Bell Towers, Nicola Cruz & Paula Tape you know you need a copy!

Multicast Dynamics returns to Astral Industries for AI-26, this time collaborating with Sid Hille, the German born, Finland based instrumentalist and composer. ‘Metamorphosis’ transmutes both artists’ unique styles into a synergistic blend of transportive storytelling, a delicate dance of light and dark.

Divided into two parts, ’Metamorphosis’ originates from a live performance recorded at Temppeliaukio church in Helsinki on March 2nd, 2019. The material was then edited, where Hille’s soothing keyboard work and haunting passages on the theremin, combine with processed textures and desolate sonic backdrops from Dijk. In this voyage beyond space and time, the subtle dialogue reveals new and perhaps unexpected dimensions in their creative arsenal, finding fresh new boundaries and enriching the palette of both performers. Encounters of sweet fleeting moments of lyricism emerge amidst the chilling outback, in which we're given some final consolation between the long lines of cavernous rifts and deep space tundra. 

STANDARD 2LP VINYL EDITION - LIMITIERT Geboren 1970 in Tokio, verbrachte Jonathan Meese seine frühe Kindheit in Japan, und kam mit drei Jahren 1973 gemeinsam mit seiner Mutter zurück nach Deutschland. Als Kind sprach er nur japanisch und englisch. 1995-1998 Studium an der HfbK in Hamburg, 1998 Durchbruch als bildender Künstler auf der Berlin Biennale. In seinen Gemälden, Performances und Aktionen thematisiert Meese immer wieder die Rolle Deutschlands und deutsche Mythen. Eine ursprünglich beauftragte Meese-Inszenierung des ûParsifalë 2016 in Bayreuth wurde 2014 wegen angeblicher Unfinanzierbarkeit gekündigt. Der Münchener Techno- und House-Produzent Hell ist seit zwei Jahrzehnten ein Bewunderer Meeses. Als Hell vor zwei Jahren bei Jonathan Meese anfragte, ob dieser das Cover für Hells neues, kürzlich erschienenes Album ûHouse Music Boxë gestalten wolle, sagte dieser sofort zu. Die Wertschätzung entpuppte sich als gegenseitig. Man verabredete eine experimentelle Studiosession, um auszuloten, ob die polarisierenden Sprachperformances von Jonathan Meese in Verbindung mit Musik von Hell eine eigene Qualität entwickeln würden. 2019 nahmen Hell und Meese zum ersten Mal gemeinsam auf. Meese steuerte Textideen auf Papier bei, Hell hatte Instrumentals vorbereitet, die sowohl Hells stilistische Interessen, als auch Meeses musikalische Vorbilder - von DAF über Sisters of Mercy bis hin zu Kraftwerk - berücksichtigten. Hell: ûMir wurde in vielen gemeinsamen Gesprächen klar, wie musikaffin er eigentlich ist und wie viel unterschiedliche Musik er kennt. Und vor allem: Wie sehr die Musik ihm auch in seiner Kunst als Inspirationsquelle dient.ë Die Sessions - insgesamt drei, davon zwei gemeinsam mit Meeses 91-jähriger Mutter Brigitte - fanden im Trixx-Studio am Berliner Moritzplatz statt. Meese assoziierte Freestyle über Beats und Loops von Hell. Hell: ûIch bewundere Jonathan Meese nicht zuletzt als performativen Künstler - und gerade auch seinen stimmlichen Vortrag. Im Studio sang, sprach oder flüsterte er dann seine improvisierten Texte über die Tracks, die ich vorbereitet hatte.

Repress

From Another Mind continues to establish itself as an essential label with a fantastic fifth
release entitled 'Die Augen Des Teufels' from label bosses SHDW & Obscure Shape.

Marco Bläsi and Luigi Urban are main room techno talents who make no bones about the size of their
sound. Classic techno, rave, EBM and acid all colour their grooves. In 2016 Groove Magazine chose
them as Newcomer of the Year', while they have also released their 'Himmel Und Erde EP' on the
mighty Rekids, as well as remixing the boss's anthemic 'Grindhouse' in recent months. Two years later,
the duo now follow up 'Die Weiße Rose' - their last original release on From Another Mind - with four
tracks that reflect the pair's trademark versatility as producers and the sound they play as DJs.

Things open in monstrous fashion with the brilliant 'Die Augen Des Teufels.' Built on tightly
programmed and unrelenting drums, it has a hypnotic synth line riding about the scales that locks in
your mind while your feet march to the beat. Frazzled synths and icy hi hats add to the pressure and
ensure this one makes a devastating effect. 'Wächter Der Nacht' is equally forceful, with hammering
kick drums and minimal driving percussion joined by a brain frying acid lead synth line that will blow up
any DJ set.

The flip maintains the release's rave-spirit whilst taking things into a more melodic direction. Keeping
up the high class pressure is 'Die Prophezeiung', which has hulking kicks leaning into a stiff wind as
hugely texted synths rumble up top to bring real rawness and impact. This one stays relatively stripped
back and builds atmosphere throughout before closer 'Verlorene Seelen' picks things up again with
quick and slick drums, nimble chords and an irresistible sense of techno force that cannot fail to carry
you away.

Amphia welcomes Ferro, making his debut with a
four-tracker EP titled “The Unforced”.
“I Said” starts off with a mysterious vocal sample
complemented by a gliding bass line and abstract
percussion that drives the audience to create their
own narrative. A change of direction and a deeper
exploration of a darker dimension are brought on by
“Post Apocalyptic”, characterized by a slightly more
mechanical, nuanced rhythm. “Unforced” with its laidback mood and stripped down groove keeps your
attention focused, the percussion arrangement
working in unison with the glitched textures to create
a distinctive character. Concluding on a high note,
“The Contrary” keeps a steady flow through its lowend bassline, enigmatic synth line and vocal cuts.

Utter presents 'Citizen Void' by Celestial Mechanic, a special collaboration between celebrated author Rian Hughes, Kevin Foakes (DJ Food) and Saron Hughes. The deluxe package was designed by Rian and contains the LP and 7" on yellow vinyl plus an art print and press release.

Rian Hughes' novel "XX" includes a review of a fictional album based on a mysterious signal of extraterrestrial origin. DJ Food and Saron Hughes were tasked with the job of taking this review and making the album a reality. In what may be a first, the review actually preceded the music.

"XX", a Novel, Graphic, was published by Picador (UK) August 20 2020, Overlook Press (US) November 2020.

"The best genre novel of the last 25 years"
—Grant Morrison

‘This is a book which only Rian Hughes could have created, which should make us all eternally grateful that he did.’
—Kieron Gillen

‘A novel that is novel in so many ways. A brilliant co-mix of text and graphic design in which sign, symbol and word are linguistically intertwined and reinvented.’
—Steven Heller

‘Rian Hughes is a luminescent pop culture demon.’
—David Quantick

Harald Björk follow up his recent releases on Cocoon Recordings, Traum Schallplatten etc. with the four track 12" Sketch On A Feeling. A record featuring German legends Extrawelt, no introduction needed and Swedish Teenage crime star Adrian Lux who we recently have gotten to re-known beyond his EDM stardom through his band Off The Meds (Studio Barnhus) and 90's techno banger alias Luxxy.

The record wears two original's written and played entirely on Roland MC-202 and TB-303 by the label head himself, Mr. Björk.

Textextext - (add your write up)

Kranglan Broadcast, established in 2009, is the record label of Swedish artist Harald Björk (Cocoon Recordings/Traum Schallplatten/Studio Barnhus). The shifting genres and gaps between releases might seem confusing? But… the core seems to be quality releases by good friends who have crossed each others lanes and teamed up in creativity, and there are some friends!!! Axel boman, Nathan Fake, Popnoname, Kate Wax (Aisha Devi), Fairmont, Anton Kubikov (SCSI-9), LOKATT and many more. Electronic music as it used to be before the "business era", friends sending files and pressing vinyl!!!

In 2021 Kranglan Broadcast have some fine gems coming up and Sketch On A Feeling is the first one to get public.

Harald Björk follow up a weird and packed year of 2020 with guest shows on John Digweed's Transition Show and releases on Cocoon Recordings,Traum Schallplatten, Studio Banrhus, Internasjonal and many more! The record features German legends Extrawelt, no introduction needed and Swedish Teenage crime star Adrian Lux who we recently have gotten to re-known beyond his EDM stardom through his band Off The Meds (Studio Barnhus) and 90's techno banger alias Luxxy. Dense stardom in a perfect blended EP with all modes included!

Long Story short Harald got in contact with Extrawelt over an old unreleased remix of Björk's that got to see release light on Traum in the summer of 2020. Similiar Harald reworked Teenage Crime duo Lux and Lune same year… What follows of great connection is often friendship and Kranglan Broadcast is all about friendship, quality and fun… Perfect soil for electronic music to grow organic and full of energy.

The record wears two original's written and played entirely on Roland MC-202 and TB-303 by the label head himself, Mr. Björk.

Artwork by Lukas Nystrand von Unge and mastered and cut by maestro himself LUPO!

Enjoy electronic music on vinyl at best!

Kurtiss is a shadowy and enigmatic figure working on the boundaries of civilization. A sporadic figure on the House music scene with eccentric habits, Kurtiss’ music is a rarified sonic experience for those who seek it out. The Ameri-can artist is hard to pin down and his music is a tantalizing little secret only for adept diggers who appreciate the style of Hi-Def House music that the artist has cultivated. Although he’s a known Soundcloud fixture, he’s only put out a handful of digital singles as Curtis Vodka in the past, with Mutual Intentions facilitating his latest and immortalizing his music on their next set of releases. A nomadic artist, who’s worked on music ranging from Ghetto Tech to House, his music has spanned the known musical spectrum, forging uncanny relationships with everything from 50 Cent to Mall Grab. Under the pseudonym Kurtiss (or Curtis Vodka), he’s all about HIGH-Fi House, life, aliens, Jazz and no trends. It’s an attitude that he lays bare on this rare contribution to the physical, recorded format for Mutual Intentions on ‘The Curtis Vodka EP’. The EP weaves classic House music influences through a penchant for vintage sound machines and arrangements that evoke a solemn air. Elements of Gospel and New York’s deeper inclinations in House music seep through his sound as archived vocal samples and noisy machines give his work its defining character. Glistening keys and strings that slither through airy textures create dense aural experiences on ‘The Curtis Vodka EP’, calling to mind the musical masterpieces of House music’s golden era when the likes of Kerri Chandler and Mas-ters At Work were producing som

Razor-N-Tape Reserve presents a very special new package of remixes of the band BaianaSystem, bringing together one of Brazil’s most exciting contemporary sounds with modern dancefloor-minded production.

The standout track of their 2018 LP 'O Futura Não Demora', Água is a lyrical poem to the people of their native Bahia, featuring the legendary Antonio Carlos & Jocafi, with orchestral melodies, an incendiary vocal chant, and traditional organic Brazilian rhythmic approach.

On the A side, Freerange boss Jimpster delivers two exceptional takes on the song, augmenting percussion and adding synth layers to create deep and hypnotic tribal house textures within a sublime sonic soundscape.

On the flip side Brazilian producer Diogo Strausz joins forces with RNT boss JKriv to highlight the symphonic and melodic elements with their vocal mix, and then go into dark and driving percussive electronic territory on their fiery dub. With stunning visual art realized by Costa Rican designer The Myno, this package is as essential and smooth as water!

Kapoor and Hvitling’s first album, The Odyssey, is monumental. It boasts eight tracks that are generous in terms of length and sophistication. Each has a distinctive feel and predominant mood, balancing intricate sonic arrangements with dynamic and rhythmically pleasant beats. Yet certain ethereal sound textures and melodies
make the tracks echo each other, creating a sense of journeying through uncharted waters. Masterfully produced female vocal synths become spectral presences in several tracks, most notably in Vox Diaboli and Vox Angeli. In the former, seductive whispers hiss a hymed incantation, creating a delightfully spooky atmosphere; while the latter lures the listener into sacred ecstasy with a combination of vibrant synths pristinely arranged with a string orchestra and LFO female vocals. Akumandra’s fourth official vinyl release stays true to its multicultural essence, adding this young Polish and Swedish producer duo to their vinyl catalog.

A well-known figure of the Roman nightlife, resident of the city's iconic Goa Club and its infamous Ultrabeat nights, Simona Calvani, aka DJ Red, steps up on Danza Tribale with 'The Prophets Are Smiling' - her first material to surface since the release of her 'Raw Cacao' EP on Wolfskuil in 2016, here featuring an exclusive revamp from local hero Lorenzo D'Angelo, alias Lory D.

Fitting the label's trance-triggering ethos to perfection, this new record finds the Italian DJ and producer rushing headlong into tropicalised techno grounds, halfway ethno-ritualistic music and a future-ready kind of big-room churn, primed for Berlin's fiercest subterranean raves as much as ayahuasca-induced rituals in the heart of a misty rainforest.

Dipping its toes in teeming beds of organic textures and ancient rhythmic tribalisms, 'The Prophets Are Smiling' fully gears toward awakening your senses and elevating your mind to a broader and further acute state of consciousness. Bathed in a mystique-imbued atmosphere, the track steadily oscillates betwixt a no-nonsense steely swing, glazed industrial tints and epic-sized primitive chants to better daze and confuse its audience.

Hopping on remix duty, Italian techno legend Lory D provides the wares with implacable efficiency, as he reveals the more intricate side of DJ Red original's cogs and wheels to turn it into a proper off-axis floor crusher. Rolling onto a more classic and functional pathway, 'Moon' is a paragon of hypno-tech efficiency. Channeling the pulsating energy of a thousand dancing hearts through a distinctively rich and deep melodic prism, DJ Red confirms her status as one of the Roman scene's most gifted pacesetters.

French techno artist Cøncenträte returns for his second vinyl release of Gynoid with a very deep and haunting track Semantika, that also gets a slightly more industrial rework by Jonas Kopp . The second track Timewarp is much fatter with lots of dance-floor punch and a bonus Developer remix.

The EP has already gained support from Ben Klock, Dave Clarke, Deep Space Helsinki, Drumcomplex, Kwartz, SLAM, Philippe Petit, Robert S (PT), Arnaud Le Texier, Rraph, Takaaki Itoh, Amelie Lens, Noaria, Advanced Human, Tom Hades, T-Dok, Unbalanace, Marcel Fengler, Cari Lekebusch.