Suchi’s bouncy, airy productions are so organically deft that they almost belie the complexity that exists within. Prior to her !K7 debut the Oslo-born, London-bred, Delhiinfluenced DJ and producer found herself in a period of creative stagnation, while attempting to rediscover her own voice through production. After going back to the drawing board again and again she resolved to let go of overthinking, eschew the process, and let experimentation lead the way, revisiting some simmering sketches and work in new ways.
Ghungroo EP is the result of this reset, and rediscovers Suchi’s sense of playfulness through different production styles. It’s pressed on eco-friendly vinyl, PVR free and 100% recycled. “Ghungroo” is a homage to Suchi’s early years, and named for the small metallic bells strung around the ankles of classical Indian dancers. The track is equal parts cosmic, bassy and wavy, with a downwards bassline that plumbs the depths of low frequencies. The memory of early music passions emerges as the same melodic loop undresses and redresses in different guises - between breezy pads, glowing chimes and euphoric bells.
“Blåmerke” means bruise in Suchi’s native Norweigan tongue, and it leads heavily with double-time polyrhythmic drums, ravey rhythms and percussive bubbles popping. Triplets of synth stabs are artfully deployed with reverb and warped, stretched pads, bringing a whimsical twist to a track that is otherwise a tough-edged stomper. “Bottlepop” loosens up the tempo for a funky house framework, foregrounded by a big melodic synth riff. The track’s hookiness is enhanced by its old-school school feel, with distorted whistles and evocative pads. “Blåmerke” is then given a rework by Sam Goku who was chosen for his euphoric, dusty-sounding club tracks that hit hard; in his care the remix provides exactly that, via throbbing, shimmering, deep trippiness
quête:the hard way
clear vinyl
Brooklyn Sway returns for its fifth release with another all-star cast of names drawn from the Brooklyn underground, as always vinyl only and with label art from NYC mural legend Cern.
Label regulars Vivian Wang and DeWinter lead off the A-side in a tough-but-dreamy style on 'What About Love', the heavily processed vocals of NYC house guru Kevin Williams giving the tune a true NYC afterhours flavor. Next up is David Paglia, also a frequent label contributor, whose 'Spellbound' toughens up the rhythm section with dub bass and a steady breakbeat backbone while liquid pads and the vocal hook hold dancers in their spell.
The flipside ups the ante for grime, leading off with label head Jay Prouty, DeWinter, and NYC OG Emma's 'What We Do', precision tooled for when the afterparty gets dicey. A hip hop acapella floats through a dense web of flutes, breaks, and a rugged house beat: smart DJs will sense main floor potential here, swaying halfway between gangster lean & proper house dancing. Charles Levine from Soul Clap needs no intro, and his 'Gimme A Break' is equally literal, a funky breakbeat belter with effortless vocal flourishes that balances perfectly between hard and smooth, just the way we like it in Brooklyn.
- A1: Alice Smith - Love Endeavor (Maurice Fulton Remix)
- A2: Rick Wilhite - Ruby Nights (Gilb'r Solo Flight Remix)
- B1: The Detroit Experiment - Think Twice
- B2: Zomby - Tarantula
- C1: Langenberg - Times (Manuel Tur's Ground Glass Reflex)
- C2: Carl Craig - Sandstorms ( 2011 Version)
- D1: Lil Silva - Seasons
- D2: Dj Spen Presents Dj Technic - Gabryelle (D-Malice Re-Fix)
- D3: Kingdom - Stalker Ha
- E1: Mala - Lean Forward
- E2: Martyn - Vancouver
- F1: Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo
- F2: Pearson Sound - Stifle
- G1: Baron Zen - Burn Rubber (Dâm-Funk Remix)
- G2: Wajeed - Tron
- G3: Flying Lotus - Melt!
- G4: 00Genesis - No Shoes Trampoline
- G5: Dorian Concept - The Fucking Formula
- H1: Azymuth - Morning (Manha)
- H2: K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas - Kyenkyen Bi Adi M'awu
WAREHOUSE FIND
Deviation Classics celebrates the legacy of the legendary London club night and record label created by Benji B and Judah in 2007. Famously "one of London's most aurally audacious nights”, Benji B’s Deviation is a name synonymous with music and at the forefront of London’s culture scene and within music internationally.
The collector’s box will include four 12” vinyl including 20 carefully selected tracks, many of which have previously been unavailable on vinyl or hard to find and all capturing those key moments from the past 13 years. The compilation will also be accompanied by an exclusive mix curated by founder Benji B marking the end of this chapter for Deviation, the mix will be available to purchase on CD and streamed or downloaded on Bandcamp and all major digital platforms.
Spanning all genres of music, the compilation comprises tracks from Moodymann, James Blake, Joy Orbison and Flying Lotus and many more from across Deviation’s impressive roster of guests. Though several of the tracks went on to become hits, all of them became part of Deviation’s regular playlist and are now considered to be part of the Deviation DNA - a club night that has its own sound, its own hits and its own classics. The tracks highlight how the best club residencies can hone and shape their own identity, where reactions from the dance floor can influence which tracks make it into the resident sets to become future classics, and how a single tune can conjure the nostalgia of an era, venue, place and time.
Including regular staples from Benji B’s resident sets, the DJ comments: “This album showcases the tunes that got the biggest reactions month after month, drawn from my sets at Deviation over the years. They would not only be my choice, but also the choice of the Deviation regulars. Not all of these were necessarily big tunes outside of the club night – some would go on to be, but some could be 12-inch B-sides, album cuts or unreleased dubplates that went off when dropped for the very first time, and then became our own classics: all certified Deviation anthems in their own way”
The interstellar cosmonauts of Staatseinde create a theatrical mix of pulsing electro with nostalgic hopeful synthlines, all performed live with synthesizers, a sequencer and tantalizing vocals. From Wave to EBM, from NDW to Punk and everything else in and out of the box. It is like walking into a club meeting Kraftwerk on speed and The Sex Pistols on acid.
Their new release “De Nieuwe Golf” is characterized by dystopian prospects and hopeful sounds, confirming Staatseinde’s name as the founder of the “Neue Niederländische Welle”, in other words the New Dutch Wave.
The uplifting italo rifs in opening track “Grauw” take you on a journey through a gray world in which color cannot be taken for granted. Minimal wave track “Einzelganger” makes you feel like an outsider who can’t keep up with society. “Geef Me De Tijd” sounds like a schizophrenic dreamer swinging casually, but ending as a hard hitting track. Dystopian doom and pessimism is captured in EBM/techno floor filler “Doembeelden”. The raw West Coast Sound of Holland infused “La Haya” is a tribute to the city of The Hague which calls out on everybody to get wasted. The epic ode to space travel “Ruimtevaart Vooruit (2022 Refix)” is back in a rendition inspired by Rude66’s 2010 remix version. “Isla Inutile” is a dark and tropical delirium. In the hopeful “Alles is Weg”, Staatseinde takes you from the downfall on the way to…?
Staatseinde’s “De Nieuwe Golf” holds up a mirror to humanity…progress has not helped us any further. There is hope…but will this new wave be on time? Or is it already too late?
Having been re-discovered as a groundbreaking slice of proto-grime from 1994, Dylan Beale’s legendary soundtrack for the SNES game Wolverine: Adamantium Rage finally gets the reissue treatment it deserves via Sneaker Social Club.
When the game came out in 1994, Beale’s soundtrack for the SNES edition stood out from the pack for its gritty beats, deceptively weighty low end and edgy orchestra stabs, but few would have guessed how certain tracks would predict the shape of music to come. Around 2016, the ‘Tri-fusion’ track in particular was picked up on by London-based producer Sir Pixalot as a mind-blowing slice of Eski beat coldness. To prove his point, Pixalot ran an acapella from J-Wing over the track and the results spoke for themselves.
While ‘Tri-Fusion’ is a straight-up accidental grime sheller, there’s scores more heat packed away in Beale’s soundtrack for Adamantium Rage. The limitations of the space on the game cart meant Beale had to get creative with the most limited samples. Fortunately his background producing UK hardcore and jungle in Rude & Deadly and Stuck To Your Lips meant he knew his way around the restrictions of an Akai s950. Fuelled by the inspiration of jungle and West Coast rap, he worked on the game soundtrack with a similar spartan attitude, limited to 200kb with which to load up the music engine for the game, samples and all.
Given the importance of minimalism in the effectiveness of soundsystem music, it’s not surprising tracks like ‘Cyber’ and ‘Dark Queen’ pack a punch which could absolutely set a dance off. Watch out for ‘Weapon X Lab’ too - another stand out bomb creating a deadly machine funk out of the tightly clipped bass samples and weird animal groan loops. Alongside the full, original soundtrack, this first issue of Wolverine: Adamantium Rage OST comes with additional tracks never used in the original game which widen out the styles Beale was exploring within the shockingly limited means at his disposal.
“I vividly remember when we first played the soundtrack on a bigger set of speakers to the boss,” Beale recalls, “his initial reaction was one of amazement that we had created something so ‘real’and different in comparison to everything else out there in terms of video game music, which I remember with great pride and fondness. Comparing to everything out there, it was totally unique- a moment in time.”
As we get ready to say goodbye to the Telomere Plastic series, we are excited to present Telomere 020.1, aka the first part out of 5.
Each release will have four different artists, making it a compilation of twenty different artists who will deliver unique, juicy and eclectic frequencies that will keep your telomeres bopping for the rest of time!
This first VA, features producers, ESB, Synaptic Voyager, Vinaya and Vonsuck.
A1, Fancy Organ from Vinaya, is a sexy deep and house cut that is guaranteed to bring smiles all around the dance floor. Arpeggios and groovy bass lines galore. Prepare your piano hands because you will find yourself playing that sweet air organ on this one!
A2, Self Destruct Sequence from Synaptic Voyager (aka Telomere 014’s Illuminators), is a very emotional cut. Originally released digitally on Frame Of Mind, we were overjoyed to be given the green light to put this beauty on wax. Deep pads, tommy drums, hints of IDM and techno, and soul striking arpeggios pave the way for a special sonic journey. Close your eyes and melt away with this one!
B1, Keio Acid from ESB. We are always delighted to share more ESB with you. Elan’s love for analog and tape give off a raw and authentic energy that is hard to come by. This deep, jazzy and loopy cut will keep you on your toes from start to finish. We can only dream of being on the dance floor as this one plays out!
B2, Unemati from Vonsuck, is a deep and dubby cut that beautifully blends the three genres dub techno, house and techno. Dark rooms and dark skies are recommend for this one here, even though we could see these frequencies accompanied by a pink and red sunrise bringing waves of energy and nostalgia to your soul. Its a real treat to have Vonsuck aka Galaktlan on the Telomere series!
Very limited black copies as always with a few colored copies available via the Wex bandcamp, be quick!
South London Soul Band Trambeat, influenced by the floor shaking sound of 1960's Motor City. With brand new single, "Don't Hold Back"
Trambeat were formed in 2012 by guitarist Graham Potter and drummer Des" Jammy" James. Graham and Des had played together in several bands previously and already had a good musical understanding. Trambeat's manifesto; to write original songs influenced by a love of Northern Soul, Motown, Rocksteady and RnB. But also to look forward and include elements of more contemporary genres. Bass player Nipper Smith, Saxophonists Robin Ogleby and Nadia Barbosa, and organist Emer O'Hanlon were recruited to form the core band and Trambeat set about recording and gigging with various vocalists until, in 2016, Aimee Grinter became Trambeat's permanent lead singer.
Written by Graham Potter and Des James, "Don't Hold Back" is in some ways a comeback single for Trambeat. The pandemic years took their toll on many bands and Trambeat in particular, with the loss of founding member Robin Ogleby being a very hard blow. Following a tribute single in 2021 to raise money for Robin's charities, and a couple of festival gigs in the summer of 2022, theyndidn't have much appetite for writing new material, and were unsure whether to continue as a band without Robin. It was during a jam between Graham and Des in late 2022 that the bones of "Don't Hold Back" came together. The drums and rhythm guitar clicked into an infectious dance groove with echoes of vintage Motown. The band members came together in the studio with renewed enthusiasm and laid down the track in just a day. The band, who remained close,even during this hiatus, realised how great it was to be back in the studio together again. Graham's lyrics, as well as the euphoric feel of the track, reflected this new optimism within the band. "Don't Hold Back" is a celebration of life, of deep friendships and most of all, of love!
Plays on Gary Crowley's show on BBC London.
Regularly played by Button Down Radio, Heavy Soul (Cambridge), The Influential Factor show on Solid Front Radio (album of the week for TTN), Mod Radio UK (various shows), The Edward B'stard Radio Show, several stations in Germany and Edge Radio and couple of others in Australia
GRAILS don’t mince words. Awesomely communicative but entirely instrumental, this dynamic band’s violin, guitars, piano, and drums collide with sober melodies and massive emotion. At alternate moments, Grails can sound vaguely classical, Eastern European, Irish, like the lost tapes of Pauline Oliveros, and, you know, rock. They’re not really like anything else on the Neurot roster, but they’ve got something in common with all the Neurot bands: a commitment to intense music that forges new paths and, yeah, communicates in the most real way possible.
Grails have their fair share of ambient noise - shivery violins, a trickle of a high-hat, the amplified scrape of a guitar string - but their music is based on strong, narrative melodies that resonate in the heart. At times it sounds delicate, but they never cower; Grails ROAR, even when they’re being quiet.
The Burden of Hope is the debut LP, following a pair of self-released, eponymous ep’s in 2000 and 2002. The LP is the culmination of a year’s worth of recordings, including a reinterpretation of Sun City Girls’ classic “Space Prophet Dogon.”
Grails are gathered in Portland, Oregon from Baltimore, Little Rock, Louisville, Chapel Hill, and Reno. As an ensemble, their respective backgrounds in hardcore, classical, folk, and rock blend seamlessly. Formed in late 2000 to execute live the bedroom recordings of guitarist Alex Hall, the once-tentatively-assembled group found unexpected success with both audiences and local press. Originally formed under the moniker Laurel Canyon, the name of the group was changed to Grails to coincide with the release of The Burden
Mal- One’s new single tells us about the punk fanzines that initially appeared in late 1976, but really exploded in 1977.They provided vital information on the scene and later became a great artefact of the time. A quick, fast, format, put together by fans of the music. It provided a great way to communicate with likeminded people. A couple of interviews with band members, that were keen to encourage the support. Culled together with some reviews of gigs attended and reviews of new releases, then quickly photocopied, stapled together and away you go. It’s amazing how many fanzines there were. Some examples are listed in the lyrics of this track. If you got your fanzine copies to Rough Trade, who seemed to take them all !!!, man you got it made. The hard copy these days seems a thing of the past and is sadly missed. Today’s messages arrive mainly in digital format. To take another example from the lyric ..Punk Rock Fanzines way to go…. and only 25p a go…
- A1: David Holmes & Raven Violet - It’s Over If We Run Out Of Love (Hardway Bros Live At The Ssl Dub)
- A2: Unloved - Mother’s Been A Bad Girl (Horse Meat Disco Remix)
- A3: Pip Blom - Keep It Together (Ludwig A F. Under Pressure Mix)
- B1: Confidence Man - Holiday (Erol Alkan Ooo Remix)
- B2: Toy - You Won’t Be The Same (Dan Carey Dub)
- C1: Audiobooks - The Doll (Bruise Remix)
- C2: The Orielles - The Room (Shy One Remix)
- C3: Eyes Of Others - Once Twice Thrice (The Orielles Remix)
- D1: Fever The Ghost - Source (Leo Zero Dub)
- D2: Working Men’s Club - The Last One (Forgemasters Remix)
Heavenly Recordings release the next two volumes in their series of remixed classics and unreleased versions. ‘Heavenly Remixes 7 & 8’ sees the label going back into the archive, as well as picking off some more recent remixes, and both albums primarily feature either previously unreleased versions or re-workings available for the first time on vinyl and CD.
Heavenly have always seen immense value in the remix, a value way beyond what it might bring commercially. Since their first release in 1990 (where Andrew Weatherall overhauled a one-off single by club kids Sly and Lovechild) Heavenly remixes have been carefully curated and treated as a key part of the A&R process. It’s an opportunity to view an artist through a different prism, to play out a musical ‘what if’ scenario. It’s the kind of exploration that’s happened consistently through the thirty plus years the label has released music.
The ‘Heavenly remixes’ series continues to showcase the very best remixes, versions, meditations, re-rubs and dubs from all around the world of artists right across the roster of the country’s most exciting record label. In most cases, the albums offer the first physical release for a remix, elevating them from streaming playlists to their rightful, spiritual home on super heavy vinyl (or shiny, super-packed compact disc).
‘Heavenly remixes 7’ heads to Belfast, where David Holmes - a producer who first appeared on Heavenly in 1994 amping up the acid on Saint Etienne’s ‘Like A Motorway’ - appears as solo artist and as one third of Unloved, who get a lift right to the heart of a Vauxhall sweatbox by Horse Meat Disco. It draws a line between Amsterdam and Frankfurt as Ludwig A.F. amps up the electronics on Pip Blom’s ‘Keep It Together’. It stops off in a south London studio where super producer Dan Carey plays the desk with Toy, then relocates LA psych rock band Fever The Ghost to an Ibizan shoreline as the sun sets on the horizon. It cements Sheffield’s reputation as the home of modern British techno with the return of true originators Forgemasters. And it pitches up in front of a renegade soundsystem late night at Glastonbury as Erol Alkan’s mighty rework of Con Man gets its third rewind of the night.
‘Heavenly remixes 8’ opens with Space Afrika’s lush, ambient reimagining of the Orielles’ ‘BEAM/S’ before Justin Robertson stretches Amber Arcades’ ‘Turning Light’ into eight minutes of electronic dub. Elsewhere, Baxter Dury’s peerless ‘Miami’ becomes a string-laden electro skank in the hands of French producer Pilooski; Edinburgh’s bedroom techno genius Eyes of Others’ ‘Safehouse’ turns into an East End bathhouse courtesy of disco deviants Decius; Ashley Beedle’s Black Science Orchestra turns Unloved’s heartworn torch song into seven minutes of glimmering dreamlike percussive house and Katy J. Pearson’s freak flag is flown high thanks to The Umlauts’ throbbing filtered electro mix. It ends similarly to how it began as TONE takes
Fran Lobo’s ‘All I Want’ on a gorgeous slow motion spacewalk.
The wax is hot. The tunes are massive. Oath’s sub-label, Last Year at Marienbad, dispenses a foursome of punchy house tracks for its fifth release, lovingly crafted by some of the genre’s finest producers.
‘The Way We Flow’ by Sam Paradise pairs detuned, lo-fi samples with thumping kicks, and muffled drums. Just when those innocent lo-fi elements simmer, the drums slam back into your periphery harder than ever, making for an absolute dancefloor smasher.
‘De Nuit (3 A.M)’ by Nu-Cleo descends deeper. Swinging drums and chocolatey, indulgent keys lay the basis for a hypnotic acid bassline. Real tension builder.
Flipping over to the B-Side – careful, it’s hot – is ‘She Wrote’ by Gloved Hands. Seemingly just a ride through a well-made bouncing synth and house groove combo at first, this track soon shows off Gloved Hands’ knack for leftfield flavours. There’s an unexpected trap-esque vocal that gets re-contextualised for the club alongside piercing synths and a bulging broken beat.
‘Hard Deep’ by Rick Wade is an obvious one. The stalwart of the house scene serves up another of his zesty, masterful grooves. Shimmering, effortless keys steer a tight drum groove while a subtle bassline nestles between the kick’s low end.
Four cuts from four house experts. Is there much more a dancefloor could ask for?
Life has changed in the eight years since the release of II. In ours, yours and Gala Drop themselves. Most times without noticing it, partly due to those two years of a semi-existence that still resonates and with the ongoing predatory gentrification process changing the landscape and life of Lisbon, home to the band since ever. Close to a decade and a half of existence, with various mutations along the way enacting new perspectives and moments of stillness and reflection to a sound that's been mutating itself to its own internal rhythm and agency under the guiding light of the core duo of Afonso Simões and Nélson Gomes. Now a trio, with Rui Dâmaso transitioning from II after the departure of Jerry the Cat and Guilherme Canhão, Gala Drop sound even more focused as a working band, with their new album title Amizade – friendship in Portuguese – making perfect sense in a celebration of their, by now, patented soundworld of cosmic inspiration: krautrock's endless and hypnotic potential, dub's sense of transient space, the throb of house, balearic dreams, polyrhythms and a communal sense of belonging.
Again, this sprawling sphere of influence opens itself to new shapes and inspirations, but there's a deeper sense of accuracy and direction, with the band channeling those legacies into something we can only grasp as the Gala Drop sound. An organic outcome of working steadily as a trio, made possible by a residency promoted by gnration in Braga, Amizade dwells on the psychedelic nature of the group through seven tracks made up of dreamy synth washes, loads of percussion, echoes, chilled guitars under a radiant aura. Gala Drop have never sounded as openly dubby as on 'Dub da Meia Noite' and 'Areal Dub' or capable of converging different tropes of the hardcore continuum – rave stabs and cut up vocals – on a slow burner as memorable as 'Monte do Ouro'. Or given free reign to electricity as on the narcotic guitars of 'Guitarra Voadora' – excepting the one off with Ben Chasny on 2012's Broda. 'Amizade' points towards all of that with comforting escapism and wrapping things up 'Raio' turns dubstep's original bass weight meditations into a cosmic funk workout. One last hug before we leave. An album that feels like a collective moment of celebration, just when we most need it.
Afonso Simões - Drums, percussion and synthesizers
Nelson Gomes - Electric guitar and electronics
Rui Dâmaso - Electric bass & guitar and synthesizer
Recorded by Budda Guedes at Estúdio Mobydick, Braga
Mixed by Gala Drop and Hugo Valverde at Estúdio Cão Andaluz, Lisboa
Mastered by Anne Taegert at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlim
Cover photo by Sara Graça
Design by Nicolai Sarbib
- A1: Don’t Forget Me
- A2: What Type Of Games
- A3: One Of Those Nights (Feat. Fivio Foreign)
- A4: Fire Inside (Feat. Zayn)
- B1: Fuck Her Face
- B2: The Real Side
- B3: Love In The Way (Feat. Nicki Minaj)
- B4: Freak Freak (Feat. Kelly Rowland)
- C1: Life Worth Living (Feat French Montana)
- C2: Rich Killaz
- C3: Bad Lil Vibe
- C4: Your Love Is Dangerous (Feat. Lucky Daye)
- C5: Soul Child (Feat. Lil Wayne)
- D1: No Good Decisions
- D2: Feel It Inside (Feat. Ty Dolla $Ign)
- D3: Hard To Find
- D4: Walk Through The Fire (Feat. Ne-Yo)
Multi-platinum award winning and GRAMMY nominated artist YUNG BLEU is coming off of his smash radio single, “Love In The Way” with Nicki Minaj,” as well as the follow-up street record, “Life Worth Living” with French Montana to deliver us his 2nd studio album, “TANTRA.” YUNG BLEU has amassed over 2 billion streams across all platforms.
Winner of Best New R&B Artist award at the iHeart Music Awards 2022. His debut album, “Moon Boy” album has been certified RIAA Gold. “TANTRA” is a special album where we see different shades of the artist and which showcases his versatility as a songwriter, producer, and vocalist. The album encompasses who he is as a fully versed and well rounded artist.
Two mavericks, out on the weekend, trying to make it pay...
"Maverick was the word that came to mind when I listened to this music. A slightly wayward independence of spirit and outlook. The word originally referred to an unbranded male calf that had become separated from the herd (because Texan rancher Sam Maverick was so negligent in his branding - ‘if it ain’t branded, it’s a Maverick’). But Sam’s grandson Maury Maverick gave it a different twist in his short but stormy Congressional career as the only liberal member of the Southern Democratic caucus. Maury was so out of step with his own folks that he not only voted in 1937 to make lynching a federal crime, he even addressed the House to condemn the practice as barbaric. His attempt to ban racist mob murder sadly failed, but it’s that refusal to march in step which distinguishes the two ‘mavericks’ who made this record.
Who would attempt to combine cunning ethnological forgery, Scottish folk songs, claw-hammer guitar, untutored horn-tootling, elastically relaxed drumming and garage electronic fuckery? Only Greg and Stefan, high on sea, sunshine and mis-judged micro-dosing – that’s who. ‘Don’t drown’ was offered as practical advice during the self-described ‘Yellow Submarine’ phase of making this record. And while they managed to avoid literally doing so (phew), they sound here like they got pretty ‘deep in’ to an Octopus’s sound world all their own. This surprisingly clear analogue recording has just enough Bikini Bottom grit to ensure traction. The tunes are inviting, and the sonic disruptions are too good-natured and goofy to upset even the most delicate digestion.
The sessions have had a couple of years to marinate, courtesy of some pandemic, and are here offered in that most Archducal of vinyl formats, the double ten inch. What are you waiting for, a side of Crabby Patties? Get your water-wings and dive in (unless you’re tripping)!" - Bruce Russell (The Dead C)
Pumice is the long-running, endlessly inventive project of New Zealand native Stefan Neville (1974), whose shambolic music is equally reminiscent of Kiwi pop groups such as The Clean and Tall Dwarfs as well as the country's experimental noise-rock bands like the Dead C. Largely recorded solo by himself on junky equipment, his songs typically feature blown-out guitars, wheezing chord organs, and vocals disguised by tape hiss and static.
Greg Malcolm (1965) is a guitarist from New Zealand who has played everywhere on the globe and with all most everyone, including Rosy Parlane, Toshimaru Nakamura, Tetuzi Akiyama and Bruce Russell, as well as solo releases on his own label, Corpus Hermeticum, Kraak and Celebrate Psi Phenomenon.
Wildflower is a trio comprising Idris Rahman (sax), Leon Brichard (bass) and Tom Skinner (drums).
The trio takes you on an intense, meditative and spiritual musical journey that embodies the spirit of freedom. Based around hypnotic grooves laid down by Brichard’s unswervingly solid bass lines, drummer Skinner plays around artfully with the beats, grooving hard in constantly shifting, unexpected turns of rhythmic play. Rahman’s contributions range from subtle conversational interplay to loudly expressed angry passion to the most delicate of whispers, conveying a depth of emotion and a deep sense of musical structure withIn an ever changing sea of musical conversation.
Using simple, arresting melodies as a starting point, the trio create freely improvised waves of emotion ranging from powerful climaxes to hauntingly beautiful breath-like passages and everything in-between, creating unique forms and structures that react to the acoustics and the atmosphere of the situation.
Taking inspiration from the spiritual jazz pioneers such as John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef and Sun Ra, compositional influences range from Gnawa music to modal jazz to Bengali folk music but the scope is wider still and the important unifying factor is the spontaneous communication and interplay between the three musicians. Rather than having a tight rigid structure, the tunes are allowed to breathe and develop into new unexplored forms, allowing fresh interpretations that make each performance a unique experience.
The album is a collection of live and studio recordings that have been recorded and mixed by the band.
Repress!
Purple Disco Machine unleashes ‘playbox’ the thrilling next chapter of his disco-house odyssey.
The Dresden based disco megastar leads a rallying call to his disco army of super fans across the globe, with the release of his new single ‘Playbox’, a vibrant, high energy, disco-house treat that marks yet another exciting chapter of his sophomore album release.
With three extraordinary singles having made their way into the ether, Purple Disco Machine has kept his fans grooving throughout this past year - providing a huge ray of sunshine as we need it most. Already a globally renowned producer, Purple Disco Machine has quickly become a household name with the success of his international hit singles ‘Hypnotized feat. Sophie and the Giants’ (an anthem the world over having been streamed over 250 million times) and more recently ‘Fireworks feat. Moss Kena & The Knocks’ (with over 35 million streams to date).
‘Playbox’ is accompanied by an extraordinary video illustrated and animated by Juppi Juppsen, and Mathias Lemaitre Sgard, who created a vibrant homage to classic science-fiction, cyberpunk, retro-futurism spiced up with disco influences for ‘Playbox’. In the clip, Tino, in the form of a space superhero, and his female droid search for an ancient artefact which is said to hold the essence of music and, therefore, possess unimaginable power.
With just shy of 900 million streams across his catalogue to date, and over 9 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Purple Disco Machine continues to live up to the hype of #2 Beatport Artist of All Time. With a succession of notable remixes for Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, Foals, Calvin Harris, Fatboy Slim, Sir Elton John, Royal Blood, Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande, Duke Dumont, and Diplo & SIDEPIECE, coupled with his own dominating originals ‘Body Funk’, ‘Dished (Male Stripper)’, and ‘Devil In Me feat Duane Harden & Joe Killington’ from his debut album Soulmatic, Purple Disco Machine continues to innovate and elevate at every turn.
Spanning a decade of sophisticated funk from the Motor City, two midtempo picks from the crates of Mr. K get his trademark classy edit treatment on this Detroit-themed 7-inch.
G.C. Cameron was a solid singer in the Motown stable, a vocal chameleon whose range extended from clear tenor to soaring falsetto. Though this agility is most easily heard via his lead vocal on the Spinners’ “It’s A Shame,” he shows off the same versatility in the rare groove classic “No Matter Where,” a 1973 Curtis Mayfield-esque burner that’s the subject of Mr. K’s latest release on Most Excellent. For Krivit this has been a lesser known & hard to find floor filler for years. Intro cleanly extended, now ready for the big stage and modern club play.
Our flip side stays in midtempo, rare groove Detroit territory but jumps ahead a decade to the early ’80s with Candye’s “Time Is What You Need.” Candyce Edwards got her start in the Detroit funk powerhouse One Way (her predecessor was Alicia Myers) and soon became connected with the group’s wunderkind songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kevin McCord. McCord had already taken Myers to the top with “I Want To Thank You,” and seeing if lightning could strike twice with Edwards. Although only resulting in this solo debut, time and the untiring excavations of latter-era vinyl junkies have subsequently made her collaboration with McCord (a union that briefly included marriage) a sought-after boogie gem in the rough. Mr. K plucks perhaps the most winsome LP-only cut and subtly extends intro and outro to provide a useful 7-inch version that should get plenty of warm weather play.
Both tracks have been carefully remastered for this release & have never sounded better.
- A1: Nandele & A-Tweed - Deserto 05 20
- A2: Nadia Struiwigh – Lovessong 04 38
- B1: E-Saggila - Pr1Nt 04 18
- B2: Nvst - Heatstress (Tunnel Edition) 05 36
- C1: Ryan James Ford - Totes (Bath Mix) 04 42
- C2: Viikatory – Cinema 03 56
- D1: Jean Redondo – Hypersonic 03 52
- D2: Significant Other - Cellar One 04 30
- D3: Willis Anne - Späti System 03 28
- E1: Dj Sotofett Meets Kavadi - Kandhan Karunai 05 10
- E2: Ireen Amnes – No Longer Human 05 12
- F1: Solid Blake – Hexaghost 05 33
- F2: Nit. - Cirrus Virga 06 00
yet is a slippery word in English. Amorphous, these three letters in dierent contexts can define contrast or emphasis, set a place in time, show an expectation that something will occur or, paradoxically, that it is likely to stop.
It is this mercurial nature that makes yet the perfect title for Tresor’s latest compilation: the label follows on from the more explorative sections of 2021’s landmark Tresor 30 boxed set with a compilation, featuring 13 artists making music that resists easy definition.
Every track hints at and borrows from the familiar yet none follow the expected path: halfway through Deserto, Nandele & A-Tweed dramatically reveal a very dierent sonic landscape that was initially suggested; DJ Sotofett collaborates with Sri Lankan artist Kavadi with results that are unlike anything in the Norwegian producer’s catalogue as yet.
Further invention can be found as Jean Redondo’s Hypersonic moves across spaces inhabited by digital hardcore and hyperpop before swerving o-road and into a futuristic hip-hop section; on No Longer Human, Ireen Amnes takes a dierent path at the crossroads melding hyperpop, trance, and sci-fi soundtrack atmospherics, Significant Other heads towards UK Bass and Dubstep, and France’s Willis Anne skims by the outskirts of footwork with a piece that is almost completely uncategorisable.
Yet more sonic experimentation comes from E-Saggila, Nadia Struiwigh, NVST, Solid Blake, and Viikatory who oer unique takes on the well-established electro blueprint, while Ryan James Ford, and Nit. both find ways to blend elements normally found in ambient pieces with those heard on a dancefloor.
The feel of the compilation is yet again reflected in the enigmatic artwork by Malik Arbab, where shapes and colours suggest animals and plants but in a world that appears to be transient and constantly evolving.
Through Crooked Aim has the feel of a record to accompany the listener on epic journeys through strange and daunting territories. Adjust the rear-view mirror and press play as the landscape rolls behind you. Filmic. Atmospheric. Classic, Americana and Folk influences peppered throughout, It's a journey that rolls through valleys, painting its own rich, vivid pictures inhabited by troubled, nuanced characters looking for ways to keep going. Recording it at Old Jet in Suffolk, an old US Airforce base turned creative arts community developed and run by Quin added its own majesty to proceedings. Waking up to see herds of deer walking through the moors and mist whilst surrounded by these aircraft hangers. You can't help but find some of that magic seeping into the recordings.




















