Prague based sound foundry Moving Pictures is introducing its latest vinyl release from Japanese singer and electronic music producer Junko Yoshida, also known as "Juterus". Hailing all the way from the "Land of the Rising Sun", Junko showcases her unique style of utilising and manipulating her voice alongside self-produced grooves. Two original tracks are accompanied with 2 remix cuts by label's founders, Roman Rai and Täino, transcending original productions into more abstract dimensions.
Suche:the producer
Malmo-based producer Sacred Grove takes care of the second release of French label Parodia.
Taking his name from an important feature of mythological landscapes, Sacred grove music is like a hole in our dimension, a moment of levitation where everything stops for a minute.
« Through the Mire » is a fantastic 4 track EP of untouchable, fascinating sounds of dance music, taking influences in early deep house and twisting it in a very unique way.
Enter the trip with the EP opener « Dusk » , a mysterious track full of hazy pads and stabs blending together to make you enter into an imaginary forest. Subtle and classy, « Dawn » is the second track of the record, 9 minutes of introspective sounds yet dancable, with an unstoppable groove. If you're not already tripping, your mind is a about to hallucinate with the third track Neusea (Delay mix), the most impactful track of the record, with a laidback peak time roller keeping the same cinematic atmosphere as the other tracks.
Last but not least, B2 track « Loverz » is like reaching the Sacred Grove that you were looking for when you entered this forest, and finally your mind is going in a total trance.
Everybody Digs Bill Evans was Evans's second album, done two years after his first record as a leader. Though his producer (Orrin Keepnews) had wanted Evans to record a follow-up album to his debut sooner, the self-critical Evans felt he had "nothing new to say" before this album.
The recording captures Evans at a time when he frequently played extended musical ideas using block chords, a technique also favored by Milt Buckner, George Shearing, Oscar Peterson, and other jazz pianists. That combined with his use of pedals gave him a sound considered by critics to be innovative. Though Evans had quit the Miles Davis band a month before the album was recorded, Davis was enamored of Evans's piano sound as it was developing through 1958, and decided to use him as the pianist for four of the five tracks on the 1959 recording Kind of Blue.
The Alpha Transmissions EP is a new project from Dubbyman that has been long in the making. The always classy producer brings his trademark deep house sound to Inner Shift Music with label owners Brad P and Rai Scott getting in on the action. 'Transmission #1' is smooth, serene and dubbed out deep house with cosmic energy, while 'In The Space (Song For Joey)' is a more loose-limbed groove peppered with gentle percussion.'Transmission #2' first comes as a Man-Drake edit that is widescreen and drenched in prog rock guitar licks and as a Rai Scott remix that is more rolling and heady. A typically versatile package from Dubbyman.
La Bestiole comes back with her dancefloor eclectism: 4 tracks celebrating friendship with various producers & musicians and different approaches.
BEST006 musical journey begins with a classic sample-based latin house track, including a cheesy Pleyel grand piano introduction. An oriental & electronic downtempo track follows, to bring some mystery on the classic foor of the floor pattern.
B-side changes the rhythm with two breakbeat productions: deep & sweet electro on B1, and a funky jam to conclude, with the help of Paris jazzmaster Anthony Honnet for the fire synth solo.
As always, a bunch of loops are included, for the skilled DJ to play with and to do your remix yourself.
Limited to 100 copies with stencil handsprayed cover art.
Eora (Sydney) based collective Headnoiz, presents the second installment of their developing imprint. Featuring original works from Naarm (Melbourne) residing producers Mick Gristle and Hasvat Informant, whose collaborative efforts synergised to form their “Chiral Centers” EP.
The EP's 4 original productions traverse a myriad of genres and themes whilst still maintaining an impressively cohesive atmosphere of ominous euphoria.
Chiral Centres also includes two extremely dancefloor friendly remixes. The first of which being an anthemic trance rework of the opening track "Swordbox" courtesy of Norway's "Omformer", followed by a driving psychedelic interpretation of "Last Apparition" from Copenhagen based duo "Atikka".
- A1: Introduçào
- A2: From The Foundation - Ft Dub Judah
- A3: City Walls - Ft Ras Addis
- A4: More Jah Songs - Ft Tena Stelin
- B1: Moses - Ft Ras B
- B2: Strictly Ital - Ft Ras Addis
- B3: Babylon Ambush
- B4: There's A Love - Ft Christine Miller
- C1: Respek I-Spek - Ft Levi Roots
- C2: Touch I Heart - Ft Afrikan Simba
- C3: Rua Joào Vieira 106
- C4: Sangue Brasileiro (Brazilian Blood)
- C5: Nyah Keith
- D1: Transformai - Ft Ras Bernardo & Jeru Banto
- D2: Zulu Dawn
- D3: Hail Jah - Ft Ras Addis
- D4: Foundational Dub
When Transform-I was released in 2009, Bristol’s Dubkasm were unmistakably prominent on the reggae scene but it is this LP - their tenth release - that put them on the map and cemented their status as outernational roots innovators and one of the most creative outfits in reggae. By 2006, Jah Shaka had been rinsing their percussive vocoder smash ‘Zulu Dawn’ (track 15) at the end of every dance for close to three years. Dubplates from the LP became firm favourites on some of the greatest soundsystems in the world, including Aba Shanti-I, Iration Steppas, and Channel One.
DJ Stryda and producer Digistep’s reputation grew still further when the pair managed to get an extremely rare vocal from the legendary Dub Judah, who at the time had not voiced a tune for many years. The resulting 7”, ‘From the Foundation’ (track 2) was the first tune to be released from Transform-I, an album which took the music world by storm with its singular blend of a deep, conscious roots reggae sound with instrumentation that drew on Digistep’s Brazilian heritage.
As the great DJ and journalist Steve Barker said in his rave Wire magazine review of the initial release, ‘Like many innovations heard for the first time, you wonder why this has not been done before’. Indeed, the LP’s blend of percussion instruments like zabumba, cavaquinho, and cuica with an absolutely stellar cast of vocalists including Tenastelin, Christine Miller, and Ras B, with a pre-Reggae Reggae Sauce fame Levi Roots recording from his living room, became timeless the moment it was released. Barker praised the album for being ‘more orthodox than expected’, by which I think he meant that the album is a completely authentic roots record, rather than an attempt to mix musical flavours to conceal a lack of ideas. Instead, ideas flew back and forth across the Atlantic, as basic tracks were laid in the Dubkasm Studio (then in Brazil, now in England) and overdubs and vocals were recorded in London, Nottingham, Bristol and Norway, with the final mixes being done at the Daddy Roots studio in Bristol. The combination is seamless both because Digistep grew up with Brazilian music, courtesy of his father, and because Dubkasm have lived and breathed reggae since their formation in 1994 – just go and listen to early releases like ‘Chemical Reaction Dub’ (1996) or ‘Hornsman Trod’ (2003) and you’ll hear heavyweight productions with a Rasta ethos immersed in U.K. soundsystem culture.
Since the album’s release, Dubkasm have gone from strength to strength and collaborated with a dazzling array of artists. Transform-I was remixed by some of Bristol’s best electronica producers in 2010, and 2013’s 12” ‘Victory’ became a huge soundsystem hit around the world, before being voiced by two of the greatest singers of all time, Luciano and Turbulence, and being remixed the following year by one of the world’s finest dubstep producers, Mala (who in 2016 released his own project fusing Latin music with electronic bass – the excellent Mala in Cuba).
The first project of its kind, beautifully reissued in its original format by Dubquake (the outfit behind France’s incredible OBF Soundsystem), Transform-I is the LP that launched Dubkasm on their current trajectory and has truly lived up to its name.
Brutal Nature Redux is a continuation of Rhys Fulber’s “Brutal Nature” album and art concept, featuring remixes by carefully curated artists. Years of Denial’s take on “Rogue Minority” injects some emotion and humanity into the stark and aggressive original while preserving the driving bass riff and lifting it into the sound of a futuristic tribal gathering. Berlin’s Sarin is up next, leaning into the future EBM style he also shares with Fulber but amping up the intensity and apocalyptic dance floor elements of Central State Institute. Night Render is given a darker and more sinister sheen by up-and-coming Bulgarian producer, Evitceles. The nature elements of the original are replaced by a cinematic dystopia, akin to salvaging lost technology in a ruined city. Orphx add their rhythmic sophistication to “Stare at the Sun, tripping and refining the original down to its base elements while tuning Sara Taylor’s (Youth Code) screams across what appears to be several channels of short wave radio. Qual’s radical re-interpretation of “Pyrrhic Act” brings elements of Fulber’s past history in EBM right to the fore, creating a groove that’s both retro and very modern, slowing it down so the tension hangs heavier in the air. Lastly but certainly not least, Vanity Productions highlights the “nature” of “Fragility”, accentuating it with delicate clouds hanging in an air of contemplation; darkness and light coexisting in thick emotional textures. A fine way to close out this collection of cohesive individualism.
Silicon Scally, the alias of electronic music producer Carl Finlow, released his critically acclaimed album 'Mr Machine' in 2002 on SCSI-AV. The album was a masterful blend of electro and sci-fi soundscapes, showcasing Finlow's unique style and production prowess, which took the listener on a journey through a futuristic world of machines and technology. It ranks as one of the finest electro records of the early noughties. Fast-forward to 2023 and Sync 24's Cultivated Electronics label is proud to present 'Mr Machine PT 2'. Like its predecessor, the new album is filled with intricate synth melodies, driving rhythms, and pulsating basslines, all perfectly balanced to create an immersive listening experience. 'Mr Machine PT 2' once again showcases Finlow's ability to not only create relentless beats for the dancefloor but also dynamic soundscapes that transport the listener to another world. Created using a mixture of both old analog gear and very modern plugins, both albums were written with a very strong emphasis on the machine aesthetic, reflecting the cutting edge of what was available at their respective times. Futuristic and timeless. The album will be released on triple-pack vinyl and digitally.
For the last twenty years, Sami Yenigun has DJed, thrown parties, released records and built community in Washington DC. He lived in and helped produce the underground event space Subterranean A. He's a co-founder of the DC mega party ROAM. He started the label 1432 R alongside Joyce Lim and Dawit Eklund. He's made music for Future Times, World Building, Rhythm Section, and Ghostly International. He’s produced for Dreamcastmoe and jammed with the Lifted crew.
Sami's also an award-winning journalist and Executive Producer of the largest afternoon news broadcast in radio, All Things Considered. He's won a Peabody, a Murrow, A World Press Photo Award and a National Press Club Award for his work, which includes creating a show with the legendary DJs Stretch and Bobbito, serving as editor of NPR's podcast about race, Code Switch, and covering elections, epidemics, insurrections, and of course, music.
It’s a lot, but whether finding a flute that fits, an extra battery for his Marantz, or the energy to make beats after a week of telling stories, Sami's enthusiasm for life, and the people in it, make it work.
The latest record, Elevate, is a testament to that enthusiasm. Four tracks that crackle and pulse with the same electricity that runs through all of what he makes. Just as Sami's interests in his personal and professional life are ranging, so are his tastes for club fare, and you can hear it on this release.
Four views of mother nature: a forest and a mountain range; a wicked city and a well. Traced from house and techno, through a lens and back.
It's a body of work that continues to branch and build. Elevate is a step into Sami's next chapter: Where flutes, stories, queerness and truth curve together.
"Almost two years after the multi-charted and heavily played 'Player's Paradise' EP, Lex returns to B2 Recordings, marking the milestone 10th release for Bengoa's rising Athens - based imprint.
The Greek artist has had quite a joyride since then, with releases on Delusions Of Grandeur, Samosa Records and his debut LP on Leng, which brought worldwide attention. Here we see him deliver his latest work, 'Fast Jags' - an unmistakable piece of his trademark nu-disco-meets-house excellence. Popping organic percussion, shaking funk-infused bass lines and an amalgamation of wandering trippy synthesisers and cinematic strings.
For this anniversary release, B2 Recordings could have no other than the man of the moment, prolific DJ and producer Felipe Gordon on remix duties! The highly acclaimed Colombian musician delivers an outstanding ten-minute journey into deep, funk & heart warming house music, playing along with jazz-tinged bass lines and intricately intertwined keys, strings and synth licks.
Rounding things up, label-head Bengoa adds a bit of rawness to the original, effectively bringing up natural percussion and trippy synth stabs, creating a club-ready house roller that you never want to end.
A perfect package for the anniversary tenth release by B2 Recordings.
blue 12"[19,29 €]
First time on wax for P.0.3 and BLUMET!!!
Printed sleeve
A1 TRASHIN is a POWERFUL 194 bpm melodic hardfloor banger, old school off beat bass, full of mini breaks and surprises with a stomping kick!! FIRST DEBUT FOR P.0.3 ON VINYL!!!
A2 ANTRAX is a mega TRIBE CORE track with an impressing solid kick and mental melodies. Slowing down a bit to 165 bpm, driving off beat bass and ghosty effects, nice mixing tool!! FIRST DEBUT FOR P.0.3 ON VINYL ALSO!!!
B1 BLUE ANGER is the very first debut on vinyl for BLUMET, 2013 RS7000 drum machine remake. The track recall IVAR THE BONELESS war cry saying "you cannot kill me". Mad 210 bpm angry tune to make the crowd gabber kick the air! Edit and mix from STITCH!
B2 THE NAME OF DOVA is an old school hardfloor unreleased banger at 180 bpm from the infamous UZI. Stomping and deep first part with fidget recalls and digi sound effects, second part goes melodic on a Zelda Epic theme sound like, very cool!
MASTER from the very talented producer and Master engineer 1NC1N.
GRAPHICS from STITCH!!
Mancunian pianist and producer Matt Wilde prepares to release his debut album 'Hello World' via Band on the Wall Recordings. With a slew of hotly tipped projects released over the past two years via Root Records & Inner Ocean Records- Matt has been steadily gaining support from the likes of Jamie Cullum, Gilles Peterson, Jazz FM & many more. With his name firmly cemented as one to watch in the Jazz / Beats landscape, 'Hello World' promises to be his most expansive body of work to date.
'Hello World' is an audio catalogue of personal experiences, thoughts and feelings, shared with honesty and curiosity for the human condition. Matt crafts emotive and uplifting compositions denoting a tender illustration of the human experience, finding and celebrating the simple and beautiful moments of life.
Baldini Records is a brand new edit-centric imprint out of Naples inspired, you might guess correctly, by the legendary DJ, producer and cosmic house innovator Alessandro Baldini. It kicks off with two disco versions that he would surely be happy to reach for. They come from Alex From Utopia - he is a party impresario and a so-called DJ's DJ. Both of these have already been getting plenty of high-profile plays from the likes of Lovefingers, Jonny Rock and Ivan Smagge. 'Story Of Devotion' has a proto-deep house feel to it with nice analogue drums and a silky vocal, while 'Ask Ives' is slower and more psyched out.
Dennis White, Charlie May, and Dave Gardner return with their second outing as Quiet Places on A Strangely Isolated Place, expanding upon their deep and suitably hypnotic long-form compositions across four continuous sides of wax.
Minimal in context and retaining the untitled track approach, the trio of producers, well versed in a variety of music styles between them, leave the music and the subliminal messages contained within as the descriptor.
Finding moments of melody amongst the wide landscape of abstract sounds and samples, is the only glimpse of reality you’ll find down here.
It's the summer of salute. The Manchester-based producer makes his debut on Steel City Dance Discs. In salute's words: "Ultra Pool is a selection of club tracks I started making as lockdown restrictions were being lifted and shows started rolling in again. Over the last few years, I've been revisiting a lot of the French House records I used to listen to as a teenager – I wanted to let that influence shine through as I'm a huge fan of that sound. I wanted a body of work that was both very high energy and harmony-heavy, and I think Ultra Pool is the perfect way to summarise where my head is at right now"
Wisdom Teeth co-founder K-LONE returns with his second full length project, ‘Swells’: a kaleidoscopic and expansive record that looks to deep house, synthpop, leftfield R&B and beyond for a spellbinding masterwork of melodic electronica.
His debut LP ‘Cape Cira’ became the accidental soundtrack of the long strange summer of 2020 - its lush marimbas, hazy atmos and synthesised bird calls providing the ideal soundtrack for some much needed collective escapism. The record was widely deemed one of 2020’s standout electronic LPs, gaining glowing reviews in Pitchfork, DJ Mag, Mixmag and Resident Advisor, and ranking highly in end of year lists by Crack Magazine.
Approaching its follow up, the Brighton-based producer felt a fresh perspective was needed. Originally landing on the name ‘Swells’ as a secret pen-name to write the record under, the intention was to keep the project as separate as possible from ‘Cape Cira’ to avoid settling into familiar territories - but as the record took shape it became clear that it made perfect sense amongst his already diverse discography.
Like ‘Cape Cira’, there is a distinct and intentionally limited sound palette at play on ‘Swells’. Looping vocal cuts, rich cluster chords and undulating arpeggios sit front and centre here - as does the lo-fi plonk of of the CR78 drum machine. But while the record clearly takes influence from a range of vintage sound sources, its overall aesthetic is unmistakably contemporary. Sounds are not artificially degraded nor obscured under washes of sampled tape hiss. Rather, everything is processed with a gloss, hi-fidelity sheen. The record’s rhythms are bright, dry and snappy, and its melodies are processed with a neon poppy glow.
The producer’s unabashed love of contemporary pop music is most obviously exemplified by the appearance of British singer-songwriter Eliza Rose. The pair met for a session at a North London studio back in 2021, and the now Brit Award-nominated singer’s warm, emotive vocal takes became an immediate source of inspiration early in the record’s conception. As such, Rose’s voice is heard in various states of manipulation throughout its duration - initially as reduced and looped phrases, and then finally in full form on ‘With U’: a low-lit, dubbed-out slice of leftfield R&B that beckons comparisons with Tirzah, Little Dragon and even Erykah Badu.
Elsewhere, there are references to G-Funk (‘Oddball’), Autonomic drum and bass (‘Shimmer’), hip-house (‘Love Is’) and even Metronomy-era electro pop (‘Love Me A Little’).
As always, the true magic of K-LONE’s artistry is to present complex, subtle and original ideas in ways that feel familiar and immediate. Melodies are introduced as effortless earworms, only to be twisted out of shape into strange and unusual formulations. Looping rhythms unspool into washes of hazy, dubbed-out ambience before rebuilding themselves. Refined and endlessly creative, ‘Swells’ marks a captivating next step for a producer and record label that have both reliably positioned themselves at the very forefront of contemporary electronic music.
Repress!
Defected’s vinyl series continues to commit the label’s biggest digital releases to wax, delivering some of the best house music previously unavailable on vinyl. The fifteenth edition celebrates two artists who have put their stamp on the international scene; Chicago’s face of new house John Summit, and internationally renowned Dutch producer Ferreck Dawn. The A-side of this four-track EP begins with one of the biggest hits of summer 2022. A Latin-infused tech house record, the BBC Radio 1 A-Listed ‘La Danza’ is bursting with energy thanks to infectious vocals that we have come to expect from John Summit. What follows on the A is a dark and gripping remix of ‘Whisper’, originally by Dennis Ferrer & Disciples and featuring vocals from James Yuill. The two tracks show Summit’s range as a producer, from the light, inviting sound of ‘La Danza’ to the heavy tech house of ‘Whisper’. The B-side features Ferreck Dawn’s collaborations with two of the London’s most recognisable dance vocalists. ‘Life’ (written and recorded with Izzy Bizu) is an excellent demonstration of the producer’s signature vocal house style, brimming with summertime energy whilst still retaining a cool club feel. Finishing off the collection is ‘Back Tomorrow’, a clubbier house collaboration featuring shuffling percussion, a grooving bassline, and a distinct piano line that contrasts with Jem Cooke’s haunting vocals.
Don Glori, a.k.a multi-instrumentalist Gordon Li, returns with a remix EP that tears open five tunes from his groundbreaking debut, Welcome.
Taking an opportunity to sink into some of the ideas explored on the original album, the five remixes featured here sees some of Europe and Australia’s finest throw open the shutters and shine a light on Li’s inventive compositions and remarkable instrumentation.
Rosie from the Block, a.k.a Belgian multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ Roselien, leans right into the percussion and drum kit playing that made Welcome so infectious, layering this with cheeky bubblegum-beat bass lines that lend the whole affair an incredibly smooth, street-soul styling.
Other key players include Swedish duo Mount Liberation Unlimited, lending their take on things an introspectively dark, brooding atmosphere that evolves into one of their trademark acid-house extended journeys; Australian radio DJ and producer Ennio Styles working alongside Liam de Bruin, hip-hop/soul duo Man Made Mountain, led by MC Cazeaux O.S.L.O, and an insanely infectious organic house take on hit single Dlareme by one of Melbourne’s finest, Teymori.
A perfect companion to an album that broke open the Melbourne scene and laid out new parameters for the quality of jazz, samba and funk-inspired music emerging from that city, Welcome Remixes breathes fresh life into this incredible album and reminds us just how goddamn fun making, playing and performing music can be.
The project of internationally acclaimed DJ Guy Mantzur, Moments, is an extensive party and label concept, connecting the elite producers with a series of gatherings.
The twelfth release of the label continues the successful realization of the vision with, Everything Nice This Morning by DJ Zombi. The two-track release includes the original version of the track, followed by the remix by Volen Sentir.
The genius of Zombi's production lies in the optimal balanceof hypnotic arrangement structure with seemingly effortless melodies. While the original cut showcases his distinctive audio palette, an alternative version takes the sonic esthetics to another level.
Volen Sentir is one of the biggest acts in the Organic House genre. Their take on Zombi's track transforms the idea into a nine-minute hypnotic journey.
Life is about moments! Please, pay attention to them!
‘Lindstrøm returns with his sixth studio album Everyone Else is a Stranger, and the first since 2019’s On a Clear Day I Can See You Forever. The title of the album was inspired by John Cassavetes’ original title for his 1984 film Love Streams, and contains four tracks of his signature chord-stacking disco epics and freeform cosmic voyages, stretching across nearly 40 minutes. An album that in many ways sums up his career, and gathers his different musical paths into one sound and one album.
Where his previous album had a slower and more mellow feel, 2023’s Everyone Else is a Stranger sees Lindstrøm take on a much more rhythm-oriented and uptempo approach, containing tracks that fit perfect with the artist’s revered live sets. That said, this album also contains the unexpected twists and turns that has become the Norwegian producer’s trademark, including recordings of him playing a cheap Chinese cello and violin for the first time alongside the old Solina String-Ensemble he has used on essentially every track since his debut.
Named «the king of space disco» by The New Yorker, Lindstrøm has always made a virtue of his obsessive work ethic, turning his city center studio into a factory floor for churning out monster tracks. He has collaborated with the likes of Todd Terje, Prins Thomas and Todd Rundgren, has remixed a slew of acts including LCD Soundsystem, Lana del Rey, Haim, Grizzly Bear, Flume, RAC, London Grammar and more.’
Repress!
‘EP11’ stays true to committing Defected’s biggest digital releases to wax, delivering an upfront package of house heat previously unavailable on vinyl. Opening the release with two massive tracks from long-time friend of the label Dennis Ferrer, the A-Side kicks off with his stunning cut ‘Whisper’, produced alongside Disciples and James Yuill, followed by another slice of house heat in the form of his joyous collaboration with Dawn Tallman ‘Sunny Days’. On the B-Side comes another massive collaboration, this time from Idris Elba and Inner City, with their club weapon ‘No More Looking Back’. Finally, closing out the package is Endor’s ‘Fur’, the record that saw the Brighton producer return to his underground roots following the platinum selling ‘Pump It Up’.
N-gel is back on Memento with his brand new 4-track “Wild” vinyl, plus an exclusive extra track for the digital release. Following up to his 2020 EP “No matter who I’m” that saw him debuting to much acclaim on Idriss D’s label, the talented producer returns to what he does best. “Control” is an energetic, stripped down groovy Chicago House-inspired number, with an infectious bassline and robotic vocal samples. “Dance” opens with a steady beat and flows with a crescendo of synth arpeggios that create a hypnotic mood. “Dreaming” speeds up the tempo with plenty of jacking snares and sounds from outer space. Title track “Wild” is upbeat and pumping, its swinging melody a catchy ear candy for the most discerning dance floor connoisseurs. “The night is my house” closes off the release as the digital bonus: loopy vocal snippets and an old school big room melody take it up a notch, ending the EP on a high note
James Poole makes his Hot Creations debut with his three-track ‘Miss Tony’ EP, featuring collaborations with Mizbee and Sugur Shane.
Hailing from the North of England, DJ/producer James Poole set about following up an early release on with an impressive double header of releases on Jamie Jones’ Hottrax imprint last summer and at the end of 2022. Marking a big label debut in style, he joins Jones and Foss’ iconic Hot Creations for the first time as he uncovers a trio of productions spanning a wide-reaching range of influences across his ‘Miss Tony’ EP.
A vibrant production guided by provocative vocals, title track ‘Miss Tony’ featuring Sugar Shane, welcomes a wealth of inspiration from across the house and disco spheres, with resonant sax riffs meeting crisp percussion and bubbling bass grooves. Next, the low-end heavy ‘Inner Child’ is a garage-soaked heavy-hitter made for the peak time as a commanding reese bassline is coupled with skippy hats and Mizbee’s infectious vocal hooks, before ‘Juicy Roots’ closes the show with another energy fuelled production fusing sweeping synths and a commanding, driving groove.
- A1: The Uniques - Love And Devotion
- A2: Roy Shirley - If I Don't Know
- A3: Glen Adams - Taking Over Orange Street
- A4: Lester Sterling - It Might As Well Be Spring
- A5: The Uniques - Girl Of My Dreams
- A6: Roy Shirley - Good Ambition
- A7: Lester Sterling - Soul Voyage
- B1: Glen Adams - Hold Down Miss Winey
- B2: Errol Dunkley - I'm Going Home
- B3: George Dekker - Foey Man
- B4: The Uniques - Hooray
- B5: Don T Lee - It's Reggae Time
- B6: Webber Sisters - My World
Rocksteady took Over Orange Street, Jamaica around 1966, the same time that an extreme heatwave hit the Jamaican island. Some say the previous jerky Ska Rhythms proved too strenuous of an activity to partake in, during the all night Sound System sessions .So it proved a winning formula to slow the beat down to a more leisurely pace.
Whatever the reasons were this two year period that ran until 1968, would see some of the power escape from the big three producers, Clement ‘Coxone’ Dodd, Prince Buster and Duke Reid, who up until this period had ruled the airwaves .It was time to make room for a new wave of up and coming producers that also had something to offer the people. Such names as Joel Gibson ( Joe Gibbs ), Sonia Pottinger, Derrick Harriott and most prolific of them all Mr Bunny Lee.
These new names would unleash some fine music in what would be a short lived chapter in the ever changing and moving beat that is reggae’s history. We have compiled some of the biggest hits from the Rocksteady period, alongside some lesser known cuts we believe deserve to be re-evaluated. Rocksteady was an inspirational and somewhat over looked sound that provided us with some outstanding music. So sit back and enjoy some Rocksteady straight from the dances of Jamaica.
- Musical Train – Roy Shirley
- Conversation - Uniques
- Till I Die- Delroy Wilson
- Daddy’s Home – Pat Kelly
- Run Come Dance – Glen Adams
- Forst Gate Rock- Lester Sterling
- Rock, Rock And Cry – Raving Ravers
- Trying To Find Me A Home - Uniques
- Warming Up The Scene- Roy Shirley
- I’ll Get You – Dawn Penn
- It’s Been So Long – Winston Samuels
- Long Life – Bill Gentiles
- She’s So Fine – Glen Adams
- Forever – Cynthia Richards
- How Could I – Ken Parker *
- Super Special – Lester Sterling
Fever hit Jamaica around 1966 when the jerky Ska rhythms slowed down to a more leisurely, sexy pace. Some say due to the extreme heat that hit the island that year, making frenzied dance routines of the earlier sounds seem like hard work in the all night Sound System Sessions. Others would say Reggae’s beat is always evolving and changing into something slightly different and moving with the times.
Whatever the reasons were, this two year period that ran until 1968, would see some of the power escape from then big three producers, Clemet ‘Coxone’ Dodd, Prince Buster and Duke Reid, who ruled the airwaves. They had to finally make room for the new wave of up and coming producers who had something to say.
Such names as Joel Gibson (Joe Gibbs), Sonia Pottiger, Derrick Harriot and the most prolific of them all, Mr Bunny Lee, would unleash some fine music in this fascinating, if short lived period in Reggae;s history. We have compiled some of the biggest hits from the Rocksteady era alongside some lesser known cuts we believe deserve to be re-evaluated.
Rocksteady was an inspirational time and some may say a little overlooked, but we hope you agree with us when we say that it brought us some outstanding music. So sit back and enjoy some Rocksteady straight from the dancefloors of Jamaica.
Hope you enjoy the set…..
Five years after the release of ‘Luyando’, Zimbabwe’s most celebrated music export returns with their long-awaited follow-up album ‘Tusona: Tracings in the Sand’. The six musicians from Victoria Falls are refining their unique sound: infectious Afro grooves deeply connected to Zimbabwe’s cultural DNA. ‘Tusana’ is their most danceable album to date, a DIY production recorded in Zimbabwe. It features horns by Ghanaian highlife outfit Santrofi.
Every Sunday, there is a gathering in the sweltering heat on grounds of an old local beer hall in the Chinotimba township in Mosi-o-Tunya (Victoria Falls). Entertainment is provided by various traditional groups including the Luvale Makisi masquerade. It is a day full of singing, drumming, dancing and storytelling. Mokoomba’s lead vocalist Mathias Muzaza can often be found here singing with a voice both soaring and vulnerable. In the course of the afternoon the other band members - guitarist Trustworth Samende, bass player Abundance Mutori, keyboard player Phathisani Moyo, percussionist Miti Mugande and drummer Ndaba Coster Moyo - often join in with singing. The drum driven song “Bakalubale” featured on their new album invites you to this gathering.
Mokoomba recorded ‘Tusona: Tracings in the Sand’, the follow-up album to ‘Luyando’ (2017, Outhere), in Zimbabwe during the pandemic. Instead of working with outside producers like Manou Gallo or Steve Dyer as they have in the past, this album was entirely recorded in a DIY fashion by Mokoomba. The collective from Zimbabwe put in all the experiences made over the previous years and have forged their music into a unique Zimbabwean sound. On popular demand from their fans in Zimbabwe they have even re-recorded three songs from their last more acoustic album ‘Luyando’ turning them into dancehall bangers (featured on the CD and digital versions of the album). In short, this album is more Mokoomba than any of the ones before.
On the album Mokoomba are singing about love, loss, courage in a changing society. The first single “Nzara Hapana” means “no money” in Shona. The song talks about a man who wants to ensure the future of his wife and family and is trying to protect them against the greed of his relatives. The danceable up-tempo song “Nyansola” praises the goddess of harvest and asks her for rain. “Makisi” is sung in Luvale. It celebrates the beauty of the initiation ceremony for which the whole community comes together. “Manina” is a song about losing a loved one. It was written during the pandemic and features the young singer Ulethu from Harare. Mokoomba sing in many different local languages. Their songs are in Tonga, Luvale, Shona, Nyanja and even Lingala used in “Makolo” when they team up with Congolese singer Desolo B. (The album also features horns by Nobert Wonkyi Arthur (trumpet), Bernard Gyamfi (trombone) and Emmanuel Arthur (sax) from Ghanaian highlife outfit Santrofi.)
The title of the album is a nod towards their immense respect for tradition. ‘Tusona’ refers to an ancient system of signs and symbols, drawn in the sand and used for instruction during initiation ceremonies by the Luvale in Southern Africa. Another important part of the Mukanda initiation ceremony is the incredible Makisi masquerade. Since 2008 the Makisi dances are on the UNESCO list of intangible heritage. The Makisi are masked characters, representing the spirit of deceased ancestors. During the yearly initiation ceremony the Makisi return to the living world to teach the young children to become responsible adults among the Lubale people of Southern Africa. In the last decade the interest - especially among the young people – has faded and the Makisi dances have nearly died out.
“Our inspiration comes from these gatherings”, Trustworth Samende explains, “from listening to and playing pure traditional music with everyone in the township. We then add influences from music that we listened to in our homes growing up and the sounds we experience travelling around the world.” It is the connection with the cultures around them that gives Mokoomba’s music its spiritual power. When you hear Mathias Muzaza singing and you watch closely, you will see the music carrying him away to a different sphere, a place where he is singing with the ancestors. Only a split second later though Trust Samende’s sparkling guitar riffs kick in, blending Congolese influences from neighbouring Kasai with Zamrock and Mbira inspired Chimurenga music, making you want to hit the dancefloor. It is this unique blend of local musical styles with contemporary dance music that is at the heart of Mokoomba’s music. The strong reference to tradition is also reflected in the cover illustration by young Zimbabwean visual artist Lomedy Mhako.
It has been nearly 10 years since this young energetic band from Zimbabwe has exploded onto the international music scene. Since then they have shared their music with fans all over the world: Mokoomba have performed in over 40 countries, rocking audiences in places like Roskilde festival (Denmark), WOMAD festival (UK), Sziget festival (Hungary), SXSW (USA), Apollo Theatre (New York) to name but a few.
Like anywhere in the world Africa’s musical output has become more and more producer based. Mokoomba are the living proof that Africa’s great guitar band heritage is well alive and ready to set any dancefloor on fire. Most important though is that deep below the surface of Mokoomba’s sound - flowing like the Zambezi River - you can still hear the heartbeat and the rhythm of a community connected by its music. Like ‘Tusona’, it is a source of rejuvenation, resilience and strength in these changing times. May the tracings in the sand not fade.
he Congos possess what all bands look for, that unique distinctive sound that draws the listener in. Alongside the great songs, lead singer Cedric Myton's singing, phasing and falsetto voice makes that just the case.
The Congos were formed by Cedric Myton (b. 1947, St Catherine, Jamaica) around the mid-Seventies when the
Rasta message was central to the reggae sound coming out of Kingston, Jamaica. But he had started out in the
Rocksteady era, when he formed the vocal group 'Tartans', taking lead vocal duties alongside Devon Russell, Prince Lincoln Thompson and Lindbergh Lewis.They cut 'Dance All Night' (1967) and 'Coming On Strong' (1968). The line-Up became The Royal Rasses and from this Cedric moved on to form the Congos on meeting Roydel Johnson, who had previously sang with Ras Michael and the Sons of Negas. Cedric's Rasta roots were firmly in place when he went to work with producer Lee Perry to cut the seminal album 'Heart Of The Congos' at Perry's just built, Black Ark Studios in 1977. Cedric Myton has carried on the mantle, cutting a set of tunes with the help of his good friend Mr Brent Dowe, who had previously sang lead vocals with the Melodians.This is the Dub set to the vocal album released on the Kingston
Sounds label called 'The Congos Feast'(KS008).With such strong songs, rhythms and vocals it always had the chemistry for a great dub set. Hope you agree and enjoy the dub excursion...
R&B, funk and soul icons Kool & The Gang are returning with a new album release – People Just Wanna Have Fun is out July 14, 2023 on Astana Music Inc. With six decades of hits, the internationally celebrated group continues to tour the world and recently performed on Good Morning America. The band is led by founding members Robert “Kool” Bell (bassist) and George “Funky” Brown (keyboardist, drummer & producer of this album), whose book Too Hot: Kool & the Gang & Me will be released on July 11, 2023. Continuing to release music that makes the good times better and the bad times more bearable, this collection will be the band’s 34th studio album, featuring some of the last studio work by founding horn players, Kool’s brother Ronald “Khalis” Bell and Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, who passed in 2020 and 2021. Lead vocals on the album also include Sha Sha Jones, Shawn McQuiller, Lavell Evans, Dominique Karan, Rick Marcel and Walt Anderson, plus rappers Ami Miller & Ole’. Both Bell and Brown view People Just Wanna Have Fun as a summation of their long career, during which they sold 70 million albums worldwide with hit singles like “Celebration,” “Ladies Night,” “Get Down on It,” “Hollywood Swinging” & beyond. Since their start in 1964, the group has amassed two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award and star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Kool’s bass guitar is even featured in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. From Newark to Nairobi, Kool & the Gang have performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history and are the most sampled R&B band of all time, including by Madonna, Jay-Z, Beastie Boys, Janet Jackson, Cypress Hill and P. Diddy.
‘Bad Neighbor’ is a collaborative studio album by rappers MED and Blu and producer Madlib. Originally released on October 30, 2015, the 13 track LP features guest appearances from the likes of the late MF DOOM, Aloe Blacc, Mayer Hawthorne, Jimetta Rose, Dâm-Funk, and Oh No. The album is undoubtedly an extension of all three artists’ signature sounds, but it simultaneously defies all precedents to reaffirm each individual’s position at the forefront of LA’s legendary hip-hop landscape.
For the first since it’s original release date, the album is set to be rereleased on vinyl in a special edition red and black color-in-color configuration equipped with two new mixes of the focus tracks, “The Strip (feat. Anderson .Paak)” and “Knock Knock (feat. MF DOOM).”
"Bad Neighbor is as if the Ruff Ryders albums were reimagined by this trio and all the avant heads get to party, but it is also worth mentioning that the often slept-on MED and Blu seem to steer this beast as much as the beloved Madlib." -AllMusic
orbit is the electronic project of 28 year old producer and songwriter Marcel Heym. With a soundscape marked by a blend of raw acoustic guitars and atmospheric synth leads, orbit combines imagery of life in the countryside with an immersive dream world. After releasing three EPs since 2020 and having an international Hit with his track “Perspectives” as well as several live shows and a Support Tour through Europe with Parra for Cuva, orbit announces his upcoming EP for April ‘23 alongside a special concert in the Berlin Zeiss Planetarium. The new EP is moving a newly dark sphere into the artist’s universe - a powerful piece of gloomy, vast synthie soundscapes, orbit’s characteristic hazy vocals and soft acoustic guitars.
Tammy Lakkis is a singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ, who embodies the whole spectrum of the modern musician. The daughter of Lebanese immigrants, she grew up in Windsor, Ontario Canada and Dearborn Heights, Michigan and is now based in Hamtramck, Michigan. Over the past 3 years, Lakkis been on the rise in Detroit's underground music community, becoming known as a versatile DJ and performing all-hardware live sets with a hauntingly beautiful, one-of-a-kind voice.
"Notice" is the first vinyl release from Tammy, four tracks across the spectrum of dance music, each track a unique color.
Habibi Funk is excited to share “Marzipan” - our first full length contemporary release courtesy of Beirut’s multi-instrumental phenom Charif Megarbane, also known as the man behind prolific Cosmic Analog Ensemble. The LP is a journey into Charif’s styling, one he terms “Lebrary”: a vision of Lebanon + Mediterranean expressed through the kaleidoscopic sonics of library music. Drawing from artists that encapsulates the HF sound, such as Ziad Rahbani, Ahmed Malek and Issam Hajali, Charif translates these influences into an LP that is equally at home in ’23. We always wondered why Charif’s music stayed under the radar for so long, that all changes with “Marzipan”.
Charif Megarbane, the staggeringly prolific producer, instrumentalist, and all-around musical mastermind returns with full LP “Marzipan.” Following his previous release of EP “Tayara Warak” in 2022, “Marzipan” is a sonic journey that seeks to capture the full scope of Megarbane’s habitus. As a composer and producer, Megarbane touts hugely versatile, sometimes volatile musicianship — his 100+ catalogue of projects (including legendary groups like the Cosmic Analog Ensemble, Free Association Syndicate, Monumental Detail, etc.) features a huge domain of sonic direction. This collection was previously developed in Megarbane’s own Hisstology label which hosts a wealth of collaborative efforts. Now, Habibi Funk represents Megarbane under his own name. Megarbane finds a sonic through-line in his surrounding soundscapes as he draws on the chaotic energy of the crowded Beirut metropolis (“Souk El Ahad”), the warm atmosphere of the Lebanese countryside (“Chez Mounir”), or the lushness of a Mediterranean beach resort (“Portemilio”). Reflecting the aural composition of his direct surroundings into kaleidoscopic instrumentation provides a unique insight into how one musical phenomenon transposes sight into sound. Habibi Funk is thrilled to share “Marzipan” and finally throttle this under-theradar phenomenon into the solo spotlight. Despite the magnitude of his catalog, Megarbane’s LP sounds as fresh—as resolutely inspired—as a debut record. “Marzipan” continues down the winding path he trod on EP “Tayyara Warak” (released Decmber, 2022) which features solid footing in the hectic city sounds Megarbane hears as home. Despite his obvious musical acumen, Megarbane’s greatest talent seems to be his open ears. In many ways, “Marzipan” is a cartographic feat — it travels and traces a journey across many dimensions (both sonic and physical). Megarbane’s instrumental catalogue is vast: toy glockenspiel, harpsichord, pedal steel, a classic Wurlitzer, et al are used liberally on the record. The resultant sound is as sprawling as the musician’s instrumental dexterity. “Marzipan’s” closing track “Bala 3anouan” can be translated loosely to “without address” — a fitting final word. Despite the entire record being a sincere testament to Megarbane’s environmental approach to music-making, the record is not bound to any particular coordinates, or any particular sound for that matter. The vastness of his influences — beloved artists like Ahmed Malek and Issam Hajali (both Habibi Funk veterans); West African funk deep cuts; European cinematic scores; et al — result in a record of somewhat unparalleled expansiveness. Floating melodies and frantic rhythmic interludes both find natural homes across “Marzipan.” The record is tinged with psychedelic elements—fuzz-drenched guitar, sliding microtonal interludes, hypnotic rhythmic breakdowns. Reflecting on his creative process, Megarbane cites a stream of consciousness approach: “It’s a very spontaneous, playful, and diary-like approach and workflow…I trust my instinct because instinct is based on experience.” Lead single “Souk El Ahad” opens the roll-out with a raucous energy, out June 12. Megarbane abstracts busy city sounds into a psychedelic framework, casting technicolor hues on everyday experience. Following is second single “Pas de Dialogue” out June 23. The track jerks the listener towards a more meditative state with lulling harpsichord and expanding, cinematic sound. “Marzipan” will be available physically and digitally everywhere on July 14, 2023. Be sure to listen for focus track “Chez Mounir” that captures the warmth of community in a joyful, laidback groove.
Uncover greater insight into the world of Charif Megarbane in the booklet accompanying the LP
Long time Leng recording artists 40 Thieves are back with one of their most notable singles to date – a surprise collaboration with two NYC disco originals, storied vocalist Cinnamon Jones and multiinstrumentalist/producer Gary Davis.
San Francisco outfit 40 Thieves has been serving up cosmic, dubbed-out and otherworldly contemporary disco treats since the mid 2000s, and have been part of the Leng family since 2011. The crew, headed up by Layne Fox, Jay Williams and Corey Black, have released countless killer cuts on the label, as well as an expansive
debut album, 2014’s The Sky Is Yours.
They’ve worked with other artists before, but nobody at the same legendary level as Cinnamon Jones and Gary
Davis. The latter cut his teeth as a musician working with iconic disco producers Patrick Adams and Peter Brown at their P&P Records stable, before becoming a producer and artist in his own right writing and arranging the disco classic ‘Got To Get Your Love’ performed by Clyde Alexander & Sanction.
Jones, meanwhile, has enjoyed a hugely successful career both in her native New York (as Joyce Jones, an original member of First Choice) and on the West Coast, where she not only became an in-demand performer, but also snagged a role in the Supremes biopic Dream Girls.
‘The Gift’ is one of Jones’ most cherished solo songs – a joyful celebration of a new day dawning that has long been popular in her live sets. With input and instrumentation from Davis and a fantastic delivery of her own lyrics by Jones, 40 Thieves has successfully re-framed the track as a sunrise-ready future Bay Area free party
favourite; a dubbed-out, suitably cosmic creation that’s presented in three potent versions.
Leading the charge, and stretched across side A of the vinyl version is the band’s ’Disco Mix’ which boasts a fully realised instrumental arrangement and extensive use of passages from Jones’ vocals. Not all the lyrics are present as the Bay Area band has chosen to focus on selected lines that most neatly fit their musical vision and
celebrate the joys of dancing at sunrise. There are more spaced-out keyboard solos, sharper guitars (smothered in effects in true 40 Thieves fashion) and sound design that’s as immersive as it is heady and intoxicated.
On the flip is the ‘Disco Dub’. A bona-fide dub disco chugger rich in relentless synth-bass, addictive guitar licks, echo-laden vocal snippets, sparkling nu-disco electronics, tactile, deep house style electric piano stabs and cosmic effects aplenty, it’s a track tailor-made for slowly shuffling while the sun peeps over the horizon.
To complete an inspired package, 40 Thieves have also included a killer DJ tool: a ‘Beats’ take that wraps energy packed percussion hits, trippy electronic noises, trailing dub delays and sparse melodies around a metronomic drum machine beat. It’s a wavy, groovy and pleasingly mind-altering way to conclude one of 40 Thieves’ most magical EPs to date.
Grammy-winning producer, composer, guitarist and songwriter Blake Mills returns with his first solo record since 2020’s Mutable Set, co-produced by Blake and experimental artist Chris Weisman.
Blake Mills has released four acclaimed solo albums and produced, played and recorded with artists such as Fiona Apple, Alabama Shakes, Phoebe Bridgers, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Bob Dylan, Laura Marling, Cass McCombs, Weyes Blood and Randy Newman, among others. His album Mutable Set, released in in 2020, was praised by Pitchfork as “a hushed collection that floats through the subconscious like a tender dream” and earned their Best New
Music title. Most recently, Mills worked as the Executive Music Producer and chief songwriter on Amazon Prime’s limited series Daisy Jones and the Six.
Crackazat & Heist present: “Senses”. A stunning mini album that sees the artist deliver a heartwarming perspective on contemporary electronic music
On “Senses”, we see the pure talent of Crackazat come to life like never before. We’ve all danced to “Alfa” or his most recent hit on Heist “Demucha” and have heard his venture into the more poppy side of things with his 2022 album ‘Evergreen’ on Freerange. “Senses” however, is on another level. Crackazat takes you on a sonic journey exploring his musical personality with live keys, vocals, bass and production all coming from his studio in Uppsala, Sweden. The
jazzy horns that are featured throughout are recorded by Adeev and Ezra Potash, better known as the Potash twins. The duo took a sidestep from their recordings with John Legend, Robert Glasper and even Diplo to dive into this project with Crackazat and help him deliver arguably his best work to date.
The 6-track album starts off with the low-slung groove of ‘I need to know’. The whole atmosphere is warm, dreamy and seems to be written to lift your spirits, no matter where you are in life. Plucked strings, arpeggios and long horn notes give this song its energy, which is subtly supported by lo-fi drums and sparse bass licks.
“Do you think about me”, keeps the energy tight with a lovely drum groove and a sparse bass section. From the first note of the track, you get the feeling like the energy could change any moment. Halfway through this is exactly what happens, when uplifting keys and a buzzing lead take control of the track. The string arrangement is subtle enough to never overshadow the other instrumentation, but simply adds a beautiful layer to a track that’s already filled with
emotion. It’s all smiles when the energy of this track is set loose!
If “Do you think about me” is Crackazat in pop mode, “Freddie’s Groove” is Crackazat in full-on jazz mode. The nod to Freddie Hubbard is clear, and Crackazat cleverly takes ideas from both the jazz legend and his legendary French sampler, Pepe Bradock for this track. The horns are deep and moody, the groove is jazz-house at its best and Crackazat’s soft vocals have the perfect amount of fragility to fit the groove. The changeover into a stabby synth section
halfway through the track is a subtle reminder from the skilled producer that – even with all these musical elements – he can direct you to the front of the dancefloor with the twist of a note.
“Phantom” sees Crackazat move into a shuffling Latin-dance vibe. Here, the song reaches its full potential through the horn section, so it’s only fitting that this is the feature track for the Potash Twins. The Latin rhythms are lush, the key progression is on point and the energy on this track just keeps on going with layers and layers of horns, powerful vocal chops, and subtle but effective percussion changeovers.
“Endless life” is a track that feels like it’s building up momentum with every repetition. Whether it’s the broken beat groove, the offbeat keys or the sparse horn hits, chord hits or leads, there’s a certain energy in this track that takes a hold of you and simply doesn’t let go.
The outro “When we last met” is built around vibey drunk keys and a downtempo hip-hop groove. There’s a hint of old school D’angelo in this track and you can clearly hear the artist feels at ease with the path he’s taking the listener on. It’s a perfect ending to a record that showcases the beautiful world that Crackazat has crafted through his compositions and one thing is for sure: This is an album we will all keep coming back to for a long time to come.
Yours Sincerely,
Maarten & Lars
Keni Burke's seminal Changes yielded the eternal club classic "Risin' To The Top". You need this record for this iconic steppers anthem alone. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that the whole of Changes, first released in 1982 on RCA but now a tricky one to find, is something truly special. It's a masterpiece of sophisticated 80s groove, containing first class funky soul that sounds as fresh as ever. This is multi-tempo soul music conceived in heaven.
Ace bass player, songwriter, arranger and producer, Keni Burke was discovered by Curtis Mayfield and a childhood member of the Five Stairsteps. Emanating from that magical 81-83 era and pristinely recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound Studios, his third solo album Changes really perfected Keni's groove. It incorporated tight, snappy rhythm arrangements which, despite the era, featured *real drums* courtesy of Steve Ferrone (from Average White Band) to compliment Keni's meaty bass lines. With Dean "Sir" Gant on synths and keyboards and Ed Walsh handling the Vocoder-OBX and Prophet 5, wonderful lines from Earth, Wind & Fire's legendary horn section and hooky rhythm and lead guitar riffs courtesy of Ed "Tree" Walsh, Keni was truly spoiled for excellence. With Doc Gibbs on percussion and Vince Montana on vibes elevating the sensational writing and arrangements, Keni couldn't really go wrong.
“Risin’ To The Top” is undoubtedly the defining crown and lasting legacy of this album. Wth its instantly captivating bassline, slowly creepin' groove and uplifting lyrics, it was a favourite among both the 80s soul steppers and hip-hop crowd and remains canonical to this day. Written by Burke, Allan Felder, and former Chic member Norma Jean Wright, it incredibly failed to garner much American radio play or really trouble the soul charts. Whilst it was an instant classic in the U.K., in the States it took the hip-hop generation and later R&B and hip-hop samples of the tune to finally make it popular, many years later. Of note, Big Daddy Kane sampled it for "Smooth Operator", LL Cool J for "Around The Way Girl", Pete Rock & CL Smooth for "Take You There" and O.C. with "Born 2 Live".
But the highlights are not restricted to this one behemoth. For example, the track which precedes "Risin'" on Side B is another steppers favourite. "One Minute More" is a perfect mid-tempo ballad and the epitome of deep modern soul. A truly timeless work of genius. We, for one, struggle to think of a better song segue than the moment you're still reeling from the intense beauty of "One Minute More" and "Risin'" elegantly stirs into action. Frisson in excelsis. The propulsive, bass-heavy opener "Shakin" is an indisputable cracker and its followed by the timeless mid-tempo class of "Hang Tight". Just gorgeous. Next up, "Can't Get Enough" is another emotional, horn heavy chugger. The side closes with the sparse, tender, floating sl-o-o-w jam "Who Do You Love"; a truly divine ballad. The B-side beings with the title-track, "Changes", a squelchy, melodic boogie banger with fantastic keys, incredible vocals, ace shuffling percussion and spacey synths. It's followed by the ultimate one-two in "One Minute More" and "Risin'" before this sensational set closes with the glorious easy glide "All Night".
An absolutely essential record for fans of deeply soulful modern-funk, Changes was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Balston for Alchemy at AIR Studios. The artwork was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months so, hopefully, this fresh new edition ensures this long-lusted after album is no longer so awkward to find.
DONNA SUMMER gained prominence during the 1970s disco
era, propelled by her incessant and creative driving force
behind the genre’s global popularity, rightly earning the title
“Queen Of Disco” and becoming one of the most
successful recording artists of the entire decade, now
having sold more than 130 Million records worldwide
Donna’s ‘80s close-out album was 1989’s ‘ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME’, which paired her with multi-hit making,
multi-million-selling UK producers Stock Aitken Waterman. The album is widely regarded as the best album they
produced, and which was heavily featured in the recent two-part TV documentary Stock Aitken Waterman:
Legends of Pop.
• The album’s lead single ‘This Time I Know It’s For Real’ was an uplifting, club floorfiller and radio-friendly hit,
peaking at #3 in the UK (#7 on the US Billboard Hot 100), giving Donna her highest charting solo single for more
than a decade.
• Four further singles were released from the album including the two Top 20 hits, ‘I Don’t Wanna Get Hurt’ and
‘Love’s About To Change My Heart’, giving Donna back-to-back UK Top 10 hits for the first time since 1977, as
well as remixed versions of ‘When Love Takes Over You’ and ‘Breakaway’.
• This special Picture Disc edition has a zoetrope effect on Side 2 that incorporates elements from the ‘This Time I
Know It’s For Real’ promo video and which gives a continuous dancing effect. It is best experienced using a
smartphone running a third party stroboscope app.
Renowned Italian spiritual jazz master, DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader Nicola Conte proudly presents his new album Umoja via London based label Far Out Recordings.
A joyous exultation across ten tracks, Umoja taps into the abundant well of knowledge Conte has amassed over his career as connoisseuring compiler and archivist of deep jazz, latin, afrofuturist, bossa-nova and soul music from around the world. Expressing unity, oneness and harmony in Swahili, Umoja coalesces universal feelings through the multifaceted global music Conte has spent his life studying and researching.
Having released music with Blue Note, Impulse! and Schema records, Nicola Conte’s relationship with Far Out began over a shared love of hard-edged bossa-nova and swinging samba-jazz. Between 2009-2013 Nicola Conte compiled five volumes of forgotten 60s Brazilian music for his Viagem series. He then released his critically acclaimed Natural album: a collaboration with vocalist Steffania Dippiero, featuring jazz standards alongside covers of lesser known Brazilian gems.
The music of Umoja draws on the deep-dug 70's independent spiritual and free jazz sounds, private-press soul records, and African and Afro Caribbean rhythms in Conte’s collection. But he equally recognises his debt to many of the decade’s more celebrated musical icons, such as North American cosmic jazz masters Lonnie Liston Smith and Gary Bartz, and Afrobeat originators Fela Kuti and Tony Allen.
Since founding the Bari-based bohemian cultural movement and club night Fez at the dawn of the nineties, Conte has proven to be a pillar of the contemporary, international soul-jazz scene. Composed alongside his long time friend, guitarist Alberto Parmegiani, Conte brings together a dazzling host of guests from around the world, including award winning British vocalist Zara Mcfarlane, acclaimed Finnish saxophonist Timo Lassy, french vibes player Simon Mullier, US vocalist Myles Sanko, rising South African drummer Fernando Damon, former Roy Hargrove bassist Ameen Saleem and Serbian flute sensation Milena Jancuric.
Proudly revivalist, Umoja was recorded direct to analog tape, with just two takes for each track. “Searching for an unadulterated, spontaneous, almost improvised feeling”, Nicola made sure that the few overdubs were also transferred to tape in order to retain the colour and warmth of the analog sound. “Very little post production or editing has been added, so what you hear is largely what happened in those magical live sessions”.
Rollover Milano is back with another killer release from Lorenzo Morresi entitled ‘Isla’ EP. The label is still kicking up the cosmic disco dance dust at their longstanding weekly party at the Apollo Club, Milan.
This glam affair has hosted a long list of luminaries, which is mirrored on the labels roster and output of dark disco, deep house, and Italo space funk. Lorenzo Morresi, a producer, and DJ who is constantly searching for new sounds, blending genres, merging analog and new technologies. With releases on 22a Records, Fly by Night Music, Roots Underground, Wall of Sound, INRI, and SuperEclectic, his sound spans other worldly vibes, jazz-funk sonics, and blazing electronica as a DJ and live performance. Isla is one of the main protagonists of the movie ‘The Holy Mountain’ by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
She is a companion of the Alchemist who tries to find the Holy Mountain to find the secret of immortality. This whole EP is inspired by Jodorowsky’s work. Morresi imagines transforming the dreamlike atmospheres that accompany Jodorowsky’s dystopian vision into music, bringing them to the club, primed to be played at high volume, in dark light, on discerning dancefloors. 'Jodo' is recorded live, and flows between electronica and experimental jazz, but with a dark and ritualistic core.
'Odissey Venezia' originates from studio recordings that Lorenzo made while playing the Loutar – a Moroccan stringed instrument - combined with a deadly dancefloor backdrop made up using a Roland TT303. 'Isla' is based on slower rhythms, organic percussion, and decontextualized voices of old sampled records. The 'Outro' uses some quotes from Jodorowsky’s books, robotic and digitally generated phrases combined with a rhythmic beat that encapsulates the meaning of this EP, being Lorenzo Morresi’s life long focus on the fusion between dance rhythms, psychedelia, and musical transcendence.
Exit North are: Japan co-founder, solo artist Steve Jansen, Swedish singer songwriter Thomas Feiner, pianist Ulf Jansson, and renowned Swedish producer/multi-instrumentalist Charlie Storm. Their 2nd studio album 'Anyway, Still' continues the quartet's appetite for exploring provocative song structures. Weaving classic elements such as piano and strings into the layered threads of the bands material. Where intimacy and atmospherics give way to powerful dynamics, animated rhythms and grooves, driving distortions and crescendos in cinematic scale. Like excavators with uncompromising autonomy, Exit North relish the exploration of every nuance and detail of the recorded performance. Artwork contains full lyrics. " Exit North is truly about generating an aural gravity that pulls the best out of its participants. Those who admire Jansen's instrumental, experimental solo output, as well as his song-based work with Japan and Rain Tree Crow, will find much to enjoy on Book of Romance and Dust. Similarly, the audience Feiner has cultivated with his group Anywhen and its acclaimed recording The Opiates, will encounter a related, spacious aesthetic. LP limited to 500 copies on 180gm black vinyl with a gatefold sleeve (release date is later in July).
Dark, evocative beats engulfed by bold raw vocals: this is
TOTEK, the genre-defying electronic project of Allysha Joy and
Max Dowling.
In their own right, Allysha and Max both lay claim to an
extensive musical prowess: the former as a member of the
internationally-acclaimed nu-soul outfit 30/70 and her equally
revered solo project, the latter as a prolific producer, performer
and collaborator (Client Liaison, NO ZU, Parvyn and countless
others).
Born out of burn out and edging frustration for the pace and
complication of life at times, this collaboration came together
almost immediately. TOTEK found itself in the dark edges,
wanting to punch a little harder and move through it all quickly,
boldly, unafraid in relief. The chemistry held between Max and
Allysha found songs written in mere moments that expressed
something new that neither artist had been able to access
alone.
On face value, the six tracks on ttk.1 could feel musically
divergent: representing different idioms, different tempos and
different themes. Yet they are unified on a more holistic level
through their energy, ethos and character. TOTEK prefers to
view music in this way: what is the overall experience of a
record? Pushing boundaries and eschewing conventions has
been organically at the heart of TOTEK from the beginning. The
process of crafting a record was no different: The artists
intended to create a work that is characterful and unpredictable
yet unified by a throughline of potency and intensity.
TOTEK represents a masterful coming-together of influences: a
blend of multiple electronic idioms with a unique soul sensibility;
channelled through two creatively potent individuals. While their
music conjures shades of Dorian Concept, Jana Rush and
Flying Lotus, ultimately their sound is eclectic, elusive and
unique.
Lindstrom returns with his sixth studio album Everyone Else is a Stranger, and the first since 2019's On a Clear Day I Can See You Forever. The title of the album was inspired by John Cassavetes' original title for his 1984 film Love Streams, and contains four tracks of his signature chord-stacking disco epics and freeform cosmic voyages, stretching across nearly 40 minutes. An album that in many ways sums up his career, and gathers his different musical paths into one sound and one album. Where his previous album had a slower and more mellow feel, 2023's Everyone Else is a Stranger sees Lindstrom take on a much more rhythm-oriented and uptempo approach, containing tracks that fit perfect with the artist's revered live sets. That said, this album also contains the unexpected twists and turns that has become the Norwegian producer's trademark, including recordings of him playing a cheap Chinese cello and violin for the first time alongside the old Solina String-Ensemble he has used on essentially every track since his debut. Named "the king of space disco" by The New Yorker, Lindstrom has always made a virtue of his obsessive work ethic, turning his city center studio into a factory floor for churning out monster tracks. He has collaborated with the likes of Todd Terje, Prins Thomas and Todd Rundgren, has remixed a slew of acts including LCD Soundsystem, Lana del Rey, Haim, Grizzly Bear, Flume, RAC, London Grammar and more.
Black Rhythm Revolution! Is the first solo album from the jazz-funk legend Idris Muhammad, a New Orleans-bred rhythm king who successfully made the leap from the finest soulful jazz records of the ’60s to the nastiest fusion funk of the ’70s. Here we catch him literally on the cusp of the two in 1970, with one good foot in the get-down of “Express Yourself” and “Super Bad,” and the other in his own heady excursions into modal rhythm and melody, accompanied by virtuosos Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Melvin Sparks, who came together for sessions overseen by legendary producer Rudy Van Gelder. This 180-gram reissue of Black Rhythm Revolution! was cut from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI, and comes packaged in a tip-on jacket.
Lendas is the Brazilian guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento’s fifth album for Now-Again Records. Like his previous albums Prelúdio and Ykytu, Lendas features do Nascimento’s compositions, this time with orchestral arrangements by Vittor Santos and also special participation by Arthur Verocai. Vittor Santos is a composer, arranger, trombonist and music producer from Rio de Janeiro, who has worked in Brazilian music for over thirty years. Do Nascimento and Santos met in Rio in 2017 during the recording of Do Nascimento’s hero, and 70s and 80s Brasilian guitar catalyst Carioca Freitas album Aquarelas. The two bonded over a mutual appreciation for Do Nascimento’s uncle Lúcio and the Bossa Nova star Leny Andrade, both of whom largely influenced Do Nascimento’s musical foundation. In Santos, Do Nascimento found an arranger who was sensitive enough in his orchestrations that he could create an orchestral dialogue between stacks of strings and Do Nascimento’s plaintive plucking. It was only natural to invite the highest regarded, now legendary, 1970s Brasilian arranger, Arthur Verocai, to contribute. Verocai, who had worked with Do Nascimento on his forays in Los Angeles, was pleased to participate. In this way, the circle of old and new, so crucial in Do Nascimento’s work, comes together and flows outwards. “Lendas” translates from Portuguese as "legends,” but the literal translation itself doesn’t describe this album. With Lendas, Do Nascimento recalls memories from places that no longer exist; from fever dreams in the Amazon; from parts of the world we might never see or engage, but can imagine through music. Fabiano Do Nascimento’s Brazilian guitar meets a full orchestra arranged by Vittor Santos and with special participation by Arthur Verocai and his string quartet. Lush yet lively, standing alongside Jorge Ben’s work with Verocai, and Tom Jobim and Baden Powell’s work with Vinicius de Moraes..
Voitax continue their forward thinking, explorative musical and visual output with the latest release on the label from the dynamic and multi-talented DJ and producer Giordano. Italian-born and Berlin-based, Giordano has established himself as a genre-defying selector whose vibrant, charismatic sets deliver unsurpassable energy via old-school rave, retooled UK bass wobblers, acid-dripped electronica and clever club experimentalism. On this six-tracker his sophisticated production skills and vast musical knowledge burst to the forefront, forging an irresistible path to all four corners of the dancefloor and beyond. Following previous releases on the likes of Soma and Savy Records, here Giordano reaches a new production zenith with "Transmute", crafting a metamorphosing set of breaks-infused bangers and carefully-sculpted rhythmic grooves.
Everything about her her, the first full length album by Berlin-based Australian artist L.Zylberberg seems at first a little bit strange—in the best possible way. A little bit off yet playful, intriguing and perhaps a touch deceptive. Sounds, arrangements and images cajole the listener to second guess themselves and re-evaluate the listening experience as it's happening. It's a trip, it’s transcendental, but her her does not stylistically fall into such simple catagorisations. her her is a meticulously-crafted egress into a sonic world that is at times tense, lush, dense, and sometimes just hush.
This is the third offering by Zylberberg on Swiss publishing house Präsens Editionen, following a split tape with producer and singer Belia Winnewisser and a digital release that was accompanied by a silk foulard. Zylberberg has strong ties to Berlin's Sameheads family and Tbilisi’s Mutant Radio. She also co-runs the infamous party series Twista and is a deadly DJ.
777 is a captivating collaboration between rapper Raz Fresco and producer Figub Brazlevic that takes listeners on a remarkable musical journey. Released to critical acclaim, the album seamlessly blends Raz Fresco's introspective lyricism with Figub Brazlevic's masterful production skills, resulting in a project that pushes the boundaries of contemporary hip-hop. 5 different color pressings sold randomly (Purple, Lime, Orange, Red, Green).
The garage-y psychedelic outsider pop band Being Dead shines bright with their distinctly right-brain songcraft, mischievous humor, and implausibly great vocal harmonies. As they've graduated from curiosity to cult favorites, we've yet to encounter a single person who dislikes Being Dead. Recorded at Radio Milk, producer Jim Vollentine (White Denim, Trail of Dead, Spoon) spit-shines Being Dead's sound without diminishing their weirdo-best-friend vibes. Their penchant for idiosyncratic lyricism and musical unpredictability shines throughout the album as the duo moves between everything from garage rock and pop to Laurel Canyon-style folk.
Experimental hip-hop/jazz quartet Bokoya team up with Colognebased producer / guitarist Gianni Brezzo (Jakarta Records) for collabo album on Melting Pot Music. Bokoya describe themselves as a four-headed human drum machine that play improvised beat music.
You can call it jazz if you like (all four members are graduated jazz musicians btw) but be ready to stumble over some Dilla, kraut rock, ambient or dub in the mix. We recommed their their doublealbum “Hausensession” (MPM, 2022) as a reference point.
Gianni Brezzo's music is a bit easier to access but not less leftfield. Jazz is a major influence too but it goes way further. On his album “Tutto Grosso” (Jakarta, 2022) Brezzo rides a sonic wave similar to Matthew Halsall, Surprise Chef, El Michels Affair and BadBadNotGood.
The recording sessions for “Minari” took place at the Gottesweg Studios in Cologne where Bokoya and Gianni Brezzo jammed for three days and nights based on some basic sketches and beats. The sessions were edited and arranged after by Bokoya and Brezzo but no overdubs added.
Improvised & produced by Bokoya & Gianni Brezzo.
Mixed & mastered by Roe Beardie.
Artwork by Jens Roth & Jeremias Diekmann.
Leon Raum - Drums
Darius Heid - Fender Rhodes, Synth
Lukas Wilmsmeyer - Guitars, Bass
Ferdinand Schwarz - Trumpet, Synth
Gianni Brezzo - Guitars, Sampler, Effects
New York, NY (May 09, 2023) - Techno powerhouse, Charlotte de Witte releases her highly anticipated EP, Overdrive as the anchor to her larger Overdrive Campaign within the KNTXT Label. Following de Witte’s breakthrough to the top of the electronic music scene in 2019 with her signature sonic approach that refuses to be boxed in, Overdrive is a reflection of this ethos. The EP aims to showcase street style that is both rough and energizing, while delivering high-energy tracks meant to pull listeners into the fast-paced thrill that unlocks one's turbocharged version of themselves. Listen HERE.
“While making Overdrive, I didn’t fully realize how applicable the lyrics are to my philosophy of life,” said de Witte. “The fast-paced tempo, which goes full force without looking back, is all about the feeling of being on the edge and living life to the fullest.”
Best known for her “dark and stripped-back” brand of techno and underground music, DJ, record producer, and label head de Witte pushes the boundaries of the electronic genre with music that has a distinct and unforgettable sound that is uniquely her own. De Witte’s innovative ability allows her to seamlessly blend genres and styles that have won her a dedicated fan base and critical acclaim.
“Overdrive is a love story between hip hop and techno, it’s inspired by both genres, but coated in a techno jacket,” said de Witte. “It’s meant to be played loud while driving at night and watching the city lights pass by, and where better to experience that than in New York City?”
Overdrive marks de Witte’s first release since her single “High Street,” and first EP on her KNTXT label since her last EP, “Apollo” which was released in October 2022 as well as her collaboration with fellow techno artist Enrico Sangiuliano on the “Reflection” EP in March 2023. De Witte had previously worked with Sangiuliano on their remix of “The Age Of Love”, which amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify and achieved certified gold status in Belgium. De Witte’s other recent releases include her “Universal Consciousness” EP in 2022 and her “Formula” EP in 2021, which featured the chart-topping lead track “Doppler”.
The truly one-of-a-kind Mathew Jonson treats us to a sonic journey like no other with his latest record INTO THE 5D.
This record is the latest gem from an illustrious tapestry of releases from the Vancouver-born producer. With a career spanning over 20 years, releasing music on legendary labels such as Hypercolour, Crosstown Rebels, Obscura and his own imprint Wagon Repair. Now residing in Berlin, Mathew has a busy summer ahead with his sought-after live sets locked in for Gottwood, Houghton & Sumdayz festival amongst club appearances at KOKO and DC-10.
The analogue legend presents a two-track vinyl release on visionary Mexico-born label Kilometro 4.5; a record that perfectly captures the label's ethos of seamlessly intertwining the realms of sound and nature.
A solitary reverberating synth blip opens Into The 5D, evoking visions of raindrops falling into a moonlit pool. Lush synths slowly cascade all around, as the atmosphere builds in intensity giving way to a driving beat that leads the listener deeper into the undergrowth. The B-side Into The 5D (Space Dub) takes these evocative elements and presents a darker and more intense dub destined for a forest rave. Close your eyes and float as Into The 5D takes you through the portal.
DAVID NUNEZ - STRANGE FEELING b/w I SEE YOUR FACE
New Mexico musical stalwart, John Wagner, is best known in these parts as the producer of Freddie Chavez’s Northern Soul classic ‘They’ll Never Know Why’. Throughout his career, John produced various styles of music, flying the flag for the New Mexico sound. His long time friend and collaborator, the singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist David Nunez, released a couple of albums in the 70s with John on production duties. Prior to these LPs, a batch of unreleased songs were recorded and recently unearthed from John’s archives.
IZIPHO SOUL is honoured to play its small part in preserving the musical legacy of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with two songs freshly pressed on a 7” single!
STRANGE FEELING: a Latin, Funk / Soul styled opus that lures you in … then pow … into a full-blown salsa jam, before returning to the song’s theme for a dazzling finale.
The flip, I SEE YOUR FACE: a haunting melody with thought-provoking lyrics.
Collectors and DJs … looking for something left field that’s previously unreleased and recorded circa fifty years ago? Then this may be the record for you!
Mastered from the original studio tapes.
- A1: Intrhrow
- A2: Fly Ego (Feat Venomous2000)
- A3: Backstabbers (Feat Skanks The Rap Martyr & Top Notch)
- A4: Magna Cum Laude (Feat Napoleon Da Legend)
- A5: Moving Targets (Feat Sadat X & Tame One (R.i.p.))
- A6: Target Practice
- B1: Planet Gant (Feat El Gant & Planet Asia)
- B2: Out Of Love (Feat Nejma Nefertiti)
- B3: All Of That (Feat John Robinson)
- B4: Freshh (Feat Reap Raw)
- B5: Grammarsmith (Feat El Da Sensei)
- B6: Outhrow
"What do you get when 2 esteemed Belgian producers/DJ's collaborate with their favorite New York / New Jersey MC's? You get a bullseye. The long awaited release of the international album 'Moving Targets' by Chillowproductions & DJ Grazzhoppa is in sight.
On March 10th, the first single ""Fly Ego"" will drop. Moving Targets pretty much speaks for itself. For this single, the duo set their scopes on New Jersey rapper Venomous2000. While he's aiming for you!"
Timeless minimalist approach to composition braced by repetition and playfulness.Alberto’s music reflects calm, focus and intimacy. Ethereal and atmospheric, his pieces operate within the digital as well as the analogue realm in equal measures. Sampling, Midi sequencing and field recordings are the instrumentation used in these 15 songs recorded on a four track reel to reel tape. Highest possible recommendation for fans of Suso Saiz,Jon Hassel, Eno or Harold Budd
“Haizetxe” which stands for wind house, is the first ever record consisting of unreleased material recorded between mid 80’s and 90’s by musicianAlberto Lizarralde in Zaldibia, Basque Country.
One of the founders of the first school of Improvisational jazz and contemporary music (Jazzle) established in San Sebastián to In the early 1990s,Alberto is a well-known figure among Basque musicians but not so much among the general public. In his professional curriculum we find the direction of the Plaza Festival, the Zirrara record company, his work as a producer, editor (editions 3e argitalpenak), the direction of the audiovisual installation JAArtzeren Unibertsoa, the arrangements and composition for the Iparraguirre 7 project, etc...And even so, he has managed to stay away from the spotlight.
In all this time he was composing and recording music, but the right circumstances never arose for its release.Thus, it has remained stored in a drawer all these years. Finally the music of Alberto Lizarralde sees the light on Hegoa label in a limited run of 300 LPs.
Following a 2020 debut on DJ Monchan’s Dailysession Records, Tinker’s Knob returns with a five-tracker on a new imprint, Pinehurst Music. “These edits were selected from projects dating back to 2017,” he explains, “and most of the revisions have to do with structure and arrangement, which are indispensable. I’m beholden to the original musicians and producers for providing the ‘bones’ of these edits. Some of the recordings are uncommon, some less so, but each has elements of magic, sparks blowing off of a burning branch that drove me to follow them into the night.”
Highlights from the collection include: “Juice,” an early Tom Moulton mix refreshed and dripping with strings (fiddle, not philharmonic); “Thief,” a looped-up boogie number with a break that goes all the way across the urban highway; and “Happy Air Dance,” a heartfelt homage to the late Hamilton Bohannon. Limited to 212 copies.
In the debut EP 'We Are The Ones/Fire/Forever', Chicago DJ legend Rahaan collaborates with an incredibly talented group of musicians, including Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals, Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, Carnell C. Newbill (also known as Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals, Todd Swope on guitar, and Lou Terry on bass. Together, they create a 3-track EP that perfectly showcases Rahaan's production skills and the musical talents of the entire group. Rahaan's experience and expertise as a DJ and producer are evident in each track, with grooves that are sure to keep the dancefloor moving. The title track, 'We Are The Ones', is a story of adventure and return, with a twist. Created by Rahaan and The Ones while under the influence, the track was lost for years as it was unnamed on his computer. However, Rahaan's determination to find it paid off, and with the help of Ohio Players' Kenny Anderson on the horns, he built upon the elusive skeleton track. With Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals and Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, 'We Are The Ones' delivers a soulful, 4-to-the-floor anthem that showcases the vocal talents of the group. And in 'Fire', Todd Swope's guitar skills shine through, creating an epic production that draws spiritual inspiration from traditional AfroBeat rhythms. It's worth noting that The Ones features some truly talented musicians, including Carnell C. Newbill (Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals. Spike Rebel is a well-known producer and musician in his own right. With his soulful vocals taking center stage, Carnell Newbill leads the charge on "Forever," he also superbly delivers on bass, keys, percussion, and guitar. Expertly mixed by Rahaan, this track is sure to become a dance floor anthem. In summary, 'The Ones' EP is an impressive collaboration between some of the most talented musicians in the Chicago underground House and Disco scene. With Rahaan at the helm, this project is sure to be a hit with anyone who loves to dance. Mastered with Love by the Grammy nominated The Carvery Studios, this is one for any worthwhile DJ’s record bag.
The excellent italian producer DJ Soch aka The italian stallion is back on skylax with the master from detroit keyboardist & lyricist Javonntee. And it's again a future classic; A perfect fusion of the old and new world. God only knows if this way of proceeding is lost today. A « deep » wonder.
The collaborative bi-coastal project between Andi (NYC) and Machino (LA) is dark, spiraling music that conflates the tension of running EBM basslines with the monstrosity of electro-saturated, industrialized beats. In 2021, Andi and Machino began sending music back and forth to each other virtually—thousands of miles apart—as they built upon their passion for creating off-the-cuff, dangerously degenerate dance tracks.
Parafernales, their first release out this summer on Mannequin, is a conceptual EP that deals with power struggles: love and lust, strength and destruction, dominating and domination. Andi's vocals are spoken, whispered, and yelled simultaneously, as if to mirror the mania of having control and losing it at the same time. The EP title, Parafernales, is a nod to Machino's first language of Spanish and stems from the idea of miscellany: it is parafernalia for drugs, or, simply, accessories for unsavory activities. With inspirations from turn-of-the-90s erotic thrillers to the Chilean post-punk band, Los Prisoneros, the duo collide in a manner that is unadulterated and, at times, completely unhinged.
Machino is an electronic performer and music producer from Mexico based in Los Angeles who started out making moody ambient, techno and has now pivoted towards industrial music. He has released several EPs on different labels such as Tresor and X-IMG. Andi is a DJ, producer and music journalist based in NYC. She runs the nine year strong label/party SYNTHICIDE in NYC.
- A1: Speedboat (2023 Edit)
- A2: Low Res Skyline (2023 Edit)
- B1: Blocks (2023 Edit)
- B2: Burma Heights (2023 Edit)
- B3: Skin Diving (2023 Edit)
- C1: Fukumachi (2023 Edit)
- C2: L O.9.V.e. (2023 Edit)
- C3: Cone (Mix 2)
- D1: Bueno (2023 Edit)
- D2: French Dub (2023 Edit)
- D3: Evil Dub (2023 Edit)
- E1: Blufarm (Abbey Road 2023 Edit)
- E2: Unknown Mind
- E3: Bueno (Ambient Mix)
- F1: Speedboat (96 Demo)
- F2: L O.9.V.e. (Boat Mix, 2023 Edit)
- F3: Redfarm (Abbey Road 2023 Edit)
Dance music has always been grounded in a sense of place. Chicago, Detroit, London, Berlin—a zip code can tell you as much about the music as the year it was made.
But beyond the nuts and bolts of the here and now lies a netherzone where some of the best electronic music floats, impossible to pin down. Swayzak’s Snowboarding in Argentina is one such record.
The title hints at its uncanny placelessness. The music has nothing outwardly to do with Argentina, for one thing. The work of UK producers David Nicholas Brown and James S. Taylor, it was recorded in a number of locations—mostly bedrooms—around London. Yet there is little that is quintessentially British about the music.
Instead, Brown and Taylor drew much of their inspiration from, on the one hand, the luminous chords and silky heft of Detroit techno, and on the other, the staccato drums and clipped textures that were then beginning to bubble out of Berlin and Cologne.
That brings us to the question of time. For if Snowboarding in Argentina belongs to nowhere, it is equally a product of nowhen.
On a practical level, the music took shape in the mid to late 1990s, although it took nearly 10 years for it to come to fruition. Brown and Taylor began jamming on instruments, then machines, in the late 1980s. Then, after Brown suffered a serious car accident, the two musicians began working together more seriously. Trial and error yielded a promising single with a downtempo vibe that a hired-gun studio producer promptly ruined; Swayzak retreated to their bedrooms.
They learned about Chain Reaction from a radio show, found new ways to burrow into the circuitry of their machines, and by 1996 they had hit upon their sound. brought 10 copies of the first to Berlin’s Hard Wax, sold them directly to the shop for a fistful of Deutschmarks, and turned around and spent the money on records; that’s how DIY electronic music worked in those days.) The album itself appeared in 1998 on London’s Pagan label and quickly built a cult following. It was clear that the music was in conversation with its contemporaries: Heard from the right angle, it was possible to imagine it as a halfway point between the proto progressive house of Underworld and the monochromatic minimalism of Kompakt. But it also didn’t quite sound like anything else around; it was a dispatch from an unknown territory that needed no special understanding to decipher.
A quarter century later, Snowboarding in Argentina sounds simply eternal. Certain hallmarks of ’90s production are available—the music’s almost murky warmth is a reminder of what electronic music sounded like before software swallowed everything into its digital maw—but there’s nothing dated about it. The exploratory nature of these tracks, as the result of experimenting with their machines’ limitations, never eclipses their musical or emotional essence.
Long since been deemed a classic, Snowboarding in Argentina remains an underdog in the annals of electronic music. Its semi-obscurity was surely not helped by the decision to publish nine of its original 12 tracks on the CD, and seven on the vinyl, with only four appearing on both formats. Twenty-five years after its original release, Lapsus’ Perennial Series edition unites, for the first time, all the album’s tracks as a single triple-vinyl package, rounding out the 12 original songs with previously unreleased material. Working off the original DAT premasters, Swayzak have created new edits of all the tracks. The result might be considered the definitive edition of the album as it was meant to be, after a 25-year journey. It seems fitting that an album so timeless would continue morphing throughout its lifespan. For fans, it’s the chance to hear a beloved album as never before. And for newcomers, it’s the perfect introduction to a record that, in its own quiet way, reshaped the sound of electronic music, opening up new frontiers unbound by cartography or calendars.
The core of Snowboarding in Argentina appeared on a series of three two-track singles in 1997. (Taylor brought 10 copies of the first to Berlin’s Hard Wax, sold them directly to the shop for a fistful of Deutschmarks, and turned around and spent the money on records; that’s how DIY electronic music worked in those days.) The album itself appeared in 1998 on London’s Pagan label and quickly built a cult following. It was clear that the music was in conversation with its contemporaries: Heard from the right angle, it was possible to imagine it as a halfway point between the proto progressive house of Underworld and the monochromatic minimalism of Kompakt. But it also didn’t quite sound like anything else around; it was a dispatch from an unknown territory that needed no special understanding to decipher.
A quarter century later, Snowboarding in Argentina sounds simply eternal. Certain hallmarks of ’90s production are available—the music’s almost murky warmth is a reminder of what electronic music sounded like before software swallowed everything into its digital maw—but there’s nothing dated about it. The exploratory nature of these tracks, as the result of experimenting with their machines’ limitations, never eclipses their musical or emotional essence.
Long since been deemed a classic, Snowboarding in Argentina remains an underdog in the annals of electronic music. Its semi-obscurity was surely not helped by the decision to publishnine of its original 12 tracks on the CD, and seven on the vinyl, with only four appearing on both formats. Twenty-five years after its original release, Lapsus’ Perennial Series edition unites, for the first time, all the album’s tracks as a single triple-vinyl package, rounding out the 12 original songs with previously unreleased material. Working off the original DAT premasters, Swayzak have created new edits of all the tracks. The result might be considered the definitive edition of the album as it was meant to be, after a 25-year journey. It seems fitting that an album so timeless would continue morphing throughout its lifespan. For fans, it’s the chance to hear a beloved album as never before. And for newcomers, it’s the perfect introduction to a record that, in its own quiet way, reshaped the sound of electronic music, opening up new frontiers unbound by cartography or calendars.
INTERSPECIES RECORDS, an inter-disciplinary label that brings together not only DJs and producers, but also visual artists, electronic instrument engineers, and other specialists in sound and space, is proud to release its fourth 12-inch record!
For our latest offering we present the return of Recloose, a veteran producer who has created numerous masterpieces on labels like Planet E, Rush Hour, Peacefrog, and other global imprints since the late 1990s. He continues to explore his sound in this ambitious work, blending old and new influences, samples and synths, delivering two anthems for the dancers and heads alike.
This release also includes stellar remix work from Middle Point, DJ NORIZM and kashi, the label crew of INTERSPECIES RECORDS. In the spirit of their label, each remix presents a unique twist on the original by pushing musical boundaries, fusing elements of Balearic, Loft House, Dub, UKG, Jazz House, and African sounds.
As is the case with the world’s best DJs, this is a piece of music that conjures a new, unknown world by freely mixing without restraint.
El Nido: a welcoming embrace in uncertain times. The world changed forever in the second quarter of 2020. The life we were used to ceased to be, as we were overcome by constant fear, distrust in all that surrounded us and a fatalist attitude towards the world we lived in. With the pandemic came lockdown, mandatory isolation for months, empty streets, face masks, hand sanitizer, the fear of going out, an absurd roll call of Covid fatalities, the daily tension of not knowing when it would all end and the urge to "get back to normal," something that certainly never happened. Out of that pandemic saturation and that urge for "normality" came El Nido ("The Nest"), the third album by Italy-based Colombian producer Montoya, who describes this record as "becoming virgins of destiny again, facing up to that fatalist world and creating that longing for tranquility. Savoring that moment prior to the pandemic, that instant when the most important thing wasn't the immediate reality or the global situation." Montoya sees El Nido as that quiet place that you think of when you close your eyes; it is a beach or a mountain, a sunrise or a sunset, a wave in the sea refreshing your body, or an almost-whispering wind that immediately silences everything around you. On his previous records, Iwa in 2015 and Otún in 2019, his work as a producer prevailed, feeding the growing wave of Latin American electronica, fusing IDM and techno with indigenous root music, Andean folklore and rhythms from the tropical Caribbean coast and ancestral Pacific in terms of instrumentation. But on El Nido Montoya splits the balance, offering us five merely instrumental tracks and six collaborations with Latin American artists, including Colombians Nidia Góngora on "Soñé," Montañera on "Sierra" and Pedrina on "Nubecita." It also features Mexican artist Pahua on "Flor del Mar," the Peruvian Lara Nuh on "El Faro" and the Franco-Venezuelan La Chica on "Palosanto." Starting from the name itself ("The Nest"), an evocation of home, El Nido is also a Filipino municipality on the island of Palawan, a place that turned out to be Montoya's last live experience before the pandemic. That place with crystal clear seas and white sand became the scene and starting point for this work, reflecting on the abstraction of a chaotic world and proposing blurred destinations with each song, like places that exist within memories when we close our eyes, letting us inhabit them, for a couple of minutes at least. On the other hand, it's a record that approaches love; as a yearning and a refuge, as a guide and an anchor, but also as a rhetorical figure that makes us vibrate and elevates us, while at the same time keeping us grounded and letting us settle in the place that we can use as our shelter.
PUTAS VAMPIRAS Vol.1 is the debut release of PUTAS VAMPIRAS, a DJ and producer who is an icon of Sao Paulo's queer underground scene.
As the organizer and mother of the infamous VAMPIRE HAUS raves and its community of vampires, her work is a celebration of DIY culture, resistance and an unapologetic commitment to inclusion and the freedom of the Brazilian LGBTQIA+ community.
Over the last decade VAMPIRE HAUS has become much more than a rave, its an aesthetic, a mind-set and a movement that spans across the whole of Latin- America. After almost 10 years, it is finally debuting as a record label.
In this first release, PUTAS VAMPIRAS reimagines post-punk attitudes and the frenzied energy of a rock and roll mosh pit through the lens of the queer Sao Paulo underground. The album's tracks were built to withstand the heat of the VAMPIRE HAUS raves, and to satisfy the legions of dissident ravers, drag monster queens, techno lovers, and "vampiras" from all around the world. She describes her sound as VAMPIRE TECHNO, the perfect soundtrack to a kinkier and queerer alternative reality version of Tony Scott's "The Hunger" movie.
All the tracks on this compilation are anthems at the VAMPIRE HAUS raves and part of PUTAS VAMPIRAS' live performances in recent years, with the track "Puta Vampira Bixa Loka" becoming the soundtrack of LGBTQ freedom and empowerment in Sao Paulo.
Using a hybrid setup of analog drum machines, modular synths and vinyl during her performances, PUTAS VAMPIRAS made thousands of "vampiras" dance like there was no tomorrow.
She has performed on BOILER ROOM and extensively toured across the world, playing amongst many places in the UK, USA, India, Turkey, Ukraine, Chile, and Paraguay and being the first Brazilian to perform a hardware live set on the main floor of Berghain.
PUTAS VAMPIRAS has become a household name and a symbol of LGBTQ+ empowerment, liberation, and resistance and her music will carry the VAMPIRE TECHNO spirit into more corners of the world.
In addition to his day job transforming pop music with his own records, as well as those of Gastr del Sol, Loose Fur and Sonic Youth over the past few decades, Jim O"Rourke has been contracted for several dozen film scores over the years as well. It makes sense - his abilities as an improviser, composer and producer allow him to interpret cinematic moments with a unique understanding for their construction and how they work. It doesn"t hurt that Jim"s a well-versed cineaste, a complete and total fan of watching films, which has given him a preternatural understanding of the role of music in movies. What doesn"t make sense is how Hands That Bind is the first film soundtrack of Jim"s to ever receive worldwide release! He"s worked with filmmakers of international repute, like Olivier Assayas, Allison Anders, Werner Herzog and Kôji Wakamatsu! He served as music consultant on Richard Linklater"s 2003 laff-fest, School of Rock! He"s played in ensembles of award-winning documentaries and films alike! Throw the guy an internationally-promoted soundtrack LP every more often, why doncha? It was left to the "suits" of Drag City Records to innovate, once again, by taking a leap on an O"Rourke work. Made for an indie film that"s been seen by festival audiences and not enough others, the soundtrack for Hands That Bind is a moody, atmospheric delight. Jim"s roots in composition via tape-editing have evolved into a sophisticated assembly of found-and-processed sounds that achieve highly musical, near-orchestral majesty as they hang in the very air of the drama that unfolds in Kyle Armstrong"s Hands That Bind. Described as a "slow-burn prairie gothic drama" set in the farmland of Canada"s Alberta province, and starring Paul Sparks, Susan Kent, Landon Liboiron, Nicholas Campbell, Will Oldham, and Bruce Dern, Hands That Bind is a spellbinding trip to the existential bone of rural working life in North America. As conflict rises over the hard-worked patches of land that provide a mere and mean existence, a desperate air settles in, as a series of mysterious, often supernatural occurrences rock the small community. O"Rourke"s vaporous, serpentine musical backdrops and atmospheres reflect the obsessions and distractions of the film"s principles; moods of all sorts seen or otherwise implied. Additionally, the music highlights cinematographer Mike McLaughlin"s closely observed accounting of the farmers" environment, as well as the striking widescreen images of the big sky country with unnerving flair. For fans of Jim"s ongoing steamroom series as well as collectors of soundtracks, Hands That Bind will provide hours of engrossing listening. And if you get a chance, see the movie projected in a movie house, please - farmers aren"t the only ones struggling these days!
12” LP cut at 45 (for the first time) (color vinyl only) Pressed on a 12" for the first time and cut at 45 RPM so it's EXTRA loud. Jacket is an extra hefty 24pt board with printed inner sleeve full of rare never before seen photos When Acid King pressed up their self-titled debut EP on a tape and started handing them out at shows with business cards, it wasn’t an aesthetic choice. It was 1993. And while the world was still reeling in the aftermath of grunge breaking big on rock radio, this dirty-as-hell trio founded by guitarist/vocalist Lori S. were digging into even heavier vibes. Born out of Lori's shiftless days of wasted youth hanging around Chicago-area public parks, Acid King laughingly adopted the name from the book 'Say You Love Satan' and its subject Ricky Kasso, a local drug dealer who killed a friend over angel dust, thereby becoming the stuff of Satanic Panic local news broadcasts all over the country. Founded after a move to San Francisco, Acid King were outliers on punker bills in the tradition of West Coast rifflords like Saint Vitus and Sleep, and this four-song outing captures them at their rawest. Long before the career-defining roll of Busse Woods (1999) and the psychedelic mastery of their latest offering, Beyond Vision, this EP set in motion one of American heavy rock’s most landmark careers. Presented on reissued vinyl through RidingEasy Records – the original 10” was on Sympathy for the Record Industry – Acid King’s Acid King also established one of the most crucial partnerships in underground rock in that between Lori S. and producer/engineer Billy Anderson (see also: Neurosis, Sleep, Om, Amenra, Eight Bells, Cattle Decapitation and too many others to list). As Acid King went on to help define stoner rock in the mid and late ’90s with Zoroaster (1995), their Man’s Ruin Records split with Altamont (‘97) and Busse Woods, that creative relationship would flourish no less than the band’s sound, and here it is distilled to its meanest and most elemental self. Led as ever by Lori, Acid King at the time featured bassist/vocalist Peter Lucas and drummer Joey Osbourne – legend has it both had to read 'Say You Love Satan' before joining – and Melvins drummer Dale Crover had a hand in producing it as well as singing lead on “The Midway” after Lucas took a turn on “Drop.” A preface to the many majesties to come throughout Acid King’s many-storied career, behold the formative incarnation that started it all. A piece of heavy rock history AND killer riffs? You can’t possibly go wrong. - JJ Koczan, May 2023
Originally reissued as part of the Promise Kept: The Complete Artist House Recordings boxed set, now available separately LP contains the original 5 tracks – CD/Digital include an additional 3 bonus tracks Remastered by Grammy® winner Michael Graves, with vinyl cut by Jeff Powell Producer John Snyder had always wanted to record Pepper and booked him into a week at the Village Vanguard in New York. At the time, Pepper was under contract to Contemporary Records and label head, Les Koenig, decided he would record the gigs, quashing any notion Snyder had of doing the same. However, Art promised Snyder that he’d record an album for Snyder’s label, Artists House, at some point down the road. Together they wound up making four. Here again on vinyl, CD & Digital are the original albums drawn from these sessions, lovingly recreated in their original form, remastered by Grammy® winner Michael Graves and recut by Jeff Powell. So In Love (originally issued in 1980) features Pepper’s takes on classics from Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, and Hoagy Carmichael, plus a pair of originals including “Blues For Blanche.” The CD and Digital add three bonus performances from the sessions. The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow noted: "Pepper is in excellent form throughout the album, giving these songs heart-wrenching interpretations". “John and Art both kept their promises. John brought Art into the wider world; he put him on the road. Just as he said he would, he brought him to New York and to the Village Vanguard, got his picture in the papers, got him on the radio. From Art, John got his dearest wish. He made these recordings.” —Laurie Pepper
[f] 6. Yesterdays (Take 2) [Bonus Track]
[g] 7. Landscape [Bonus Track]
[h] 8. Straight, No Chaser (Take 4) [Bonus Track]
"Existences" is the highly anticipated first album by Neurocore, a talented French artist known for his thought-provoking compositions. This album is a culmination of years of introspection and exploration into the complexities of human existence. During the Covid lockdown, Neurocore found himself with the precious gift of time, allowing him to delve deep into his creative process and tackle profound questions through music.
Each of the 13 tracks on the album tells a story, evoking emotions and painting vivid sonic landscapes. The cover art, meticulously crafted by URRU, captures the essence of the album's concept - a mesmerizing blue vortex symbolizing the unknown and the powerful energy that draws us towards it.
Neurocore breaks free from the confines of being labeled solely as a "speedcore producer." Instead, he presents a diverse array of electronic compositions that transcend trends and embrace the full spectrum of human emotions. Rejecting the notion that hardcore music is only dark and brutal, Neurocore sees it as a representation of the inner beauty within every human being.
"Existences" invites listeners to interpret and create their own stories, as music has the power to evoke personal experiences and emotions. With this remarkable album, Neurocore celebrates the diverse facets of existence and invites us to embark on a profound sonic journey.
3x12" album + digital release
Including an A5 insert with a personal note from Neurocore
After five years of adventure, Label Affaire finally unveils its first vinyl release with its deep house-tinged 5-track project: Coalescence!
The performance is a fusion between crew's producers (A-Link, yAs, Dis-Louis) and special guests (Denyl Brook & Romeo Louisa), offering a technical and cutting-edge experience.
As fresh as a bivouac night, the EP is the next freeze-dried expedition: light and unusual, yet vital and tasteful. Let yourself be guided on the journey offered by colorful, vibrant tracks, put on the sunglasses and don't forget the sunscreen.
Visually, "Coalescence" is the fruit of meticulous research and development over many months. Designed by Eiviloks and Hugo Wirth, it completes the experience with refined elements, such as a majestic summit offering a detailed panoramic view.
Get ready for a unique musical journey, and don't forget your water bottle!
Catz ‘n Dogz make a standout debut on Crosstown Rebels with two compelling new house tracks on ‘Can’t Stand’, complete with a remix from leftfield innovator Robag Wruhme.
A pairing whose renowned reputation has been built and shaped across an illustrious career, Polish duo Grzegorz Demiañczuk and Wojciech Tarañczuk, aka Catz’ n Dogz, have been serving up their own diverse and varied take on house for more than fifteen years. Founders of their own Pets Recordings imprint, in that time they have released on esteemed labels, from Diynamic to Defected, Glitterbox to Watergate and more, while playing at almost every major club and festival across the globe. Their fresh in-between sounds and knack for cooking up curious and impactful sounds have made them mainstays of the scene, and that run of stellar releases continues here with a debut appearance on Crosstown Rebels as they link with ZenSoFly for ‘Can’t Stand’ - with longstanding German favourite Robag Wruhme on remix duties.
Opener ‘Can’t Stand’ sees the pair reunite with vocalist ZenSoFly, a talent they’ve worked with on notable hits like ‘Wave.’ Her vocals bring soul and attitude over a tight, rubbery and sleazy house beat, underpinned with a heavy bassline - providing the sort of chunky cut to lock in a dancefloor and make it march in unison. Robag Wruhme has been a Pampa label mainstay and famously curveball producer for many years with his scintillating blend of minimalism, melody and unusual sound sources. That is the case again with this remix, a dark workout that hurries along on snappy drums, detuned vocals and scuzzed up, droning synths to ensure maximum impact.
The EP is closed out with ‘Wake Up’, a widescreen and atmospheric cut packed with detail. The bassline is taught, freaky vocals echo within the mix, and synths spray about to dramatic effect, delivering another full flavour house cut with a dark soul and futuristic designs.
Selected Classics presents a crucially curated cross section of Colorado producer Andrew Dahabrah, aka FOANS’ finest work, sourced from a nearly six-hour self-released vault of tracks posted to his Bandcamp in 2018. Simply called Classics, the sprawling 100-song digital collection was intended as the project’s final offering- a comprehensive culling of the hard drive, after which there’d be “no looking back”.
Fortunately, minds have changed, and FOANS remains extant, but an air of finality and desperation still haunts these tracks, born of bruised emotions and the burnout of working seven days a week “in the middle of nowhere” as an electrician in isolated oil fields. It’s music of hidden hours and private survival, slipstreaming through sleek cybernetic house, gauzy matrix ambience, low-slung dusty jack, and woozy fractal techno. Placeless and weightless, heady and kinetic, Selected Classics distills Dahabrah’s sidewinding inner vision to its swooning fiber optic essence.
After a successful series of party’s Leeds based 'On The Button' launches it's first release from rising Yorkshire born producer Miles.
Miles encapsulates the identity of the brand with a varied clubby EP. Each track has a different energy and groove but tie together perfectly on this well rounded 4 tracker.
World renowned producer Dez Andres, one of Detroit’s underground heroes returns with a fresh slice of latin hip hop. Since the late 90's, Dez has built a respectable catalog that blurs the boundaries between genres. One of motor city’s most prolific artists, his music can be summed up in one word: Quality. This is best exemplified in this release.
Following a groundbreaking cassette-only release on electro label du jour Casa Voyager, Montreal-based producer Simial releases his first full vinyl EP on Gated. This is raw braindance unlike anything else from an exciting new talent you’ll be hearing more from in the future. Over six tracks, Simial takes us into unexplored and highly personal territory, with music that drops and kicks, stutters and starts in unexpected and melodic ways. Watch out for the little surprise vocal hidden in B3.
Der Score zum vielbeachteten Film von Regisseurin Charlotte Wells starring Paul Mescal und Frankie Corio.
Mit seinen Kompositionen - einer glühenden Form von Ambient-Musik - ist es Cellist, Komponist und Electronic Music Producer Oliver Coates gelungen, der Kinematographie emotionale Farbe zu verleihen.
Leichter und zarter als seine frühere Arbeiten, steht Coates' Score für die Erinnerung im Film, für das wachsende Bewusstsein, dass der Film eine Erinnerungsreise sein könnte, die versucht, dem erlebten Trauma einen Sinn zu geben. Der Score gibt dem Film das Gefühl, dass er beginnt, sich seiner selbst bewusst zu werden, wie ein Film im Film. Mit der Zeit entfaltet sich die Musik und hilft dem Zuschauer, über das Naturalistische und Diegetische hinauszugehen. Sie besteht aus einfachen Elementen, alten Synthesizern, umgekehrten und verlangsamten Streichern. Diese, so erklärt der Komponist, "enthüllen allmählich die Trägheit in Calums (Paul Mescal) Auftreten und suggerieren, dass etwas über ihm schwebt".
Enthalten auf dem Score ist auch 'One Without', das vieldiskutierte Musikstück, das in der Schlussszene und im Abspann zur Verwendung kommt, noch lange nachhallt und laut Coates auch als Blaupause diente für den gesamten Score.
2023 will see the band releasing their new album I Want It All Right Now, produced by Grammy-winning producer John Congleton, on Glassnote Records and embarking on a North American stadium/arena tour with pop superstar P!nk.
Jackie Mittoo is one of the defining figureheads of reggae music!
From forming The Skatalites, at age 15, alongside Don Drummond, Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook and others, to his work as writer, arranger, producer at Studio One records during the sixties,
writing and playing for artists such as Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths and The Heptones (to name a few), to his career as a solo artist as well as leader of bands such as The Soul Brothers, Soul
Vendors and The Sound Dimension, Jackie Mittoo is at the heart of reggae music. He was one of the instigators of Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae. In the seventies, DJ music and Dancehall were based
upon classic rhythms of the sixties, many using the instrumental tracks that Jackie Mittoo created at Studio One at this time.
Loek Frey's Add Interaction is an exercise in damp, eerie atmospherics and intricate drum patterns. Released through Omen Wapta, the Dutch producer gets experimental through drum and bass, IDM and breakbeat deconstructed with unexpected tempo shifts and effects. Produced during the pandemic, the EP conjures loneliness, solitude and unfamiliarity. Expect tunneling, meditative, low-end structures fit for a journey through the earth's layers down to its core. And expansive, pearlescent vocals evoking spiritual bodies. Soundscape-leaning IDM weave into polyrhythms and muted breakbeats. Frey's release positions him as a teacher of brooding textures. The unpredictability can draw you deep into the sonic abyss -- if you let it.
- A1: Zake - Ll1
- B1: Coppice Halifax - Ll1 (Beige Mix)
- C1: Warmth - Ll2 (Faded Mix)
- C2: Aural Imbalance - Ll1 (Night Mix)
- C3: Influx - Ll1 (Acid Mix)
- D1: Innesti - Ll1 (Adrift Mix)
- D2: Asc - Llo (Line 1.5 Mix)
- D3: Aural Imbalance - Ll2 (Lull Mix)
- E1: Bvdub - Ll1 (Litsot Mix)
- F1: Zake - Ll2
- F2: Innesti - Ll1 (Calm Light Mix)
- F3: Nitechord - Llo (Lines Mix)
Another week, another new release from the unstoppable ambient powerhouse that is zake. His latest full-length LL has two new cuts by the American maestro with remixes from a hefty selection of equally prolific producers all served up on his home label Past Inside the Present and no fewer than six sides of vinyl.
Across this immersive two hours of music, there is a mix of ambient, drone, drum & bass, electronica, and deep techno from Warmth, Aural Imbalance, ASC and Bvdub. It is yet another essential release from zake and co.
Foundation music are proud to present our second project with the formidable talent that is Crooked Man aka Parrot, known to his mother as Richard Barratt.
The DJ turned producer from Sheffield, founder and resident at the seminal Jive Turkey night, member of Warp’s Sweet Exorcist, musical partner with the late great Richard H Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire), producer to such maverick talents as Roisin Murphy and Add N to X, longtime Jarvis Cocker collaborator and remixer to a myriad of artists over several decades.
More recently, Parrot's project with internationally renowned Jazz singer Lady Blackbird, Athletes Of God, released two singles on Foundation Music ‘Don’t Want To Be Normal’ and the clubland hit ‘Fontella’ that were both playlisted by 6Music.
Lady Blackbird now flies the nest, with the divine Earth Angel swooping into her place. A seminal, reclusive, heavenly voiced singer, also from Yorkshire and with deep roots in the soul and dub scenes… And no, it's not Lisa Stansfield!
A project that has its roots way back in the Sheffield’s Blues parties and Jive Turkey itself. The club being a home to all forms of exciting new Black music, from ’85 through to the early days of the UK’s dance explosion. It sees Parrot take all that he has achieved, written and learnt over the years at the cutting edge of electronic, dance-inflected, production and DJing returning to those heady days of down tempo, body moving, speaker shaking music that would move the British underground soul/funk scene in the mid to late 80’s.
Call it 'street soul', '80’s soul', 'electro soul'… Earth Angel is all of those things but it is also very firmly rooted in the NOW! Not some retro pastiche, it incorporates so much more. With elements of techno, bleep, dub and any other studio trickery that Parrot cares to employ in order to suck you into Earth Angels’ druggy, hypnotic, sexy, “Mogadon Soul”. A four songed, eight tracked vinyl EP, featuring some classic songwriting from the glory days of soul and Crooked Man’s bass heavy electronic rhythms.
Welcome to the heavenly world of Earth Angel, the journey starts here.
DJ Support:
Luke Una, Ross Allen, Sean Johnson (ALFOS) & Kebal.
Three timeless tracks from the esteemed D.C. LaRue back catalogue get brand new remixes from three equally exciting producers to give a modern spin to these ‘70s classics.
LaRue joined the music industry by recording two top 40 pop records influenced by the teen-idol era. In his early adulthood, he began writing songs about the fast-growing club and bar subculture he frequented where the most outcast of society’s young and marginalized could safely congregate after being ostracized in work, church, school, and often family. In this relatively brief selection of LaRue classics, contemporary remixes paradoxically bring out the timelessness of his songs, in tone, message and musicality.
First up, ‘Do You Want the Real Thing’ gets a fresh update from re-edit royalty Opolopo in the style of the lush yet sharp Motown and Philadelphia production pieces that inspired the arrangement originally, still resonates as a nightly inner dialogue or negotiation, another of LaRue’s literary signatures.
‘Let Them Dance’ greeted in its time as a one of the breakthrough moments of new music technology, is reinterpreted by Dr Packer mainly with its live acoustic tracks, also retaining bright, rhythmic synthesizer hooks with results that are still true to his intentionally oblique lyric, a novelistic portrayal of the drug dealers, the LGBTQ+ underground community, and the powerful upper class elite that made up the multi-racial, socially integrated crowds on the dance floors at the height of disco.
Last up, ‘Indiscreet’ from LaRue’s 1976 concept album, ‘The Tea Dance,’ tells much of the story about how disco had already birthed its own far more popular and influential successor form, Hip-Hop, by the time it was declared dead by the superannuated establishments of the radio, media, and record businesses. Released in a highly limited, personally inscribed 12-inch 45 rpm edition for a select list of top disco DJs, its complex, elastic polyrhythm made it as irresistible to younger black DJs and breakdancing teens as any of the year’s other big street breakouts. Only Good Vibes Music head honchos and Scotland’s finest The Knutsens give it the magic touch for the modern dancefloor.
Cosmic afterburners dialled up to the max, Pamela Records voyage out to the ends of existence with their latest four track trip from Jo Sims. Taking the lead leap of faith is esteemed producer, remixer and DJ David Holmes, who provides a signature cinematic remix of the title track ‘Bass – The Final Frontier’. Like the climax of a sci fi space odyssey, Holmes molds the track into a synthtastic epic with otherworldly vocal refrains ringing around your brain and body. The original mix is up next, a new beat flexing stomper that will have any crowd begging for more.
Flip it for darker, twisted chugathon in the form of ‘Demons Of Dance’ before the trip hop tinged, downtempo delight with a distinctly space age touch ‘Mumbo Jumbo’, takes the final slot.
DJ Feedback:
AXEL BOMAN
Ouff amazing 12" !!!!!!! love love love it
JD TWITCH/ OPTIMO
Excellent stuff!
RON BASEJAM
Ruddy hell, Holmes with the spirit of weathers. love the hi-fi mixdown too, the music providing the power. epic.
JACQUES RENAULT / LETS PLAY HOUSE
Wow, demons of dance and the final frontier...killer 4 tracker
HOT TODDY/ CRAZY P
The David Holmes mix is superb!
EDDIE C/ RED MOTORBIKE
I love this!! The David Holmes Remix is outstanding!
JUSTIN ROBERTSON
Loving this very much
MAKE A DANCE
Huge yes from me. Loved the first release on this label so nice to see it back with more fire
PBR STREETGANG
Really feeling this e.p. every track is strong, and the DH remix is stunning. Can’t wait to play them out.
JKRIV / RAZOR-N-TAPE
I really like the machine boogie vibe of the original Bass and that remix really takes its time and builds to a beautiful peak. All winners here
SUB CLUB HARRI
Lovely stuff
LEO MAS/ AMNESIA
The Final Frontier (David Holmes Rmx) is great, love it
JAYE WARD
YES!!! Glad there’s another Pamela! David Holmes mix is deep and lustrous.. REALLY love the OG’s tougher more dance orientated version.. love the other two tracks too especially mumbo jumbo.. brilliant release!!!
Official re-release, retrieved from original cassette tape (1988). First time on vinyl! Includes Turkish musicians like jazz & percussion star Okay Temiz.
Brought to you by the compiler of the Saz Beat series as well as the Bosporus Bridges series.
A Danish-Lebanese Afro-American who has learned Turkish and knows how to play the saz? Who entered the Anatolian Pop scene in Istanbul right in the heyday, the early 1970s? And who got so much musical credit that the renowned Turkish producer Nazmi Senel released a solo album with him in 1988, recorded in Istanbul and including musicians like Turkish percussion star Okay Temiz? Sounds pretty unlikely. Sometimes miracles happen and highly improbable music gets released. A person with a diverse heritage as Nyofu Tyson can be seen as a 'melting pot', as a 'synthesis'. Yet, he can be also seen as someone who is able to step out for new paths.
This is the case for TÜRK LOKUMU - TURKISH DELITE. Like nobody before, Tyson connects and opens up Anadolu Pop towards a whole range of styles: Synth-Pop, New Wave, Reggae, Hip Hop/Break, Latin, Disco Boogie… He shows us how vital, compatible and versatile one could think Anadolu Pop at the end of the 1980s. The compositions are basically all Türkü-s, traditional Anatolian folk songs, yet updated with a poly-cultural music practice, which involved a lot of the then current musical trends. So, this is Turkish folk music and it has at the same time all what you like about the late 1980s pop music: cold electronic drum sounds, crisp-flashy synths, crunchy bass - all in contrast with warm distorted saz tones, wooden Turkish wind instruments, and a disco-soul proven female choir. This is crazy music. This is a miracle. This is Anatolian-Synth.
Following up on his much acclaimed debut album ‘Opal’ released in 2022, Batu heads into a new year introducing A Long Strange Dream : a new imprint dedicated to his spontaneous musical explorations, conceived with the aim to follow curiosities and share his own music in a back-to-basics and spontaneous fashion.
The inaugural release « For Spirits » is packed with some of the Bristol based producer’s most psychedelic dancefloor studies to date. Flowing seamlessly as a whole piece, this long-form EP showcases Batu’s versatile and deep personal sound, as well as a riveting talent for electronic experiments ranging from trance-inducing ambient to peak-time techno wreckage.
BT78 sees the return of Shokh, presenting his first material in two years.
Having contributed previously to the Cold Readings VA and with outings on Omnidisc and Kompakt, the producer presents his stone cold take on retrofuturism across four tracks.
The legendary Ultramagnetic MC touches down in London for a one-away collab with We Are The Horsemen, featuring the one and only Kaidi Tatham.
What you sayin’, Kool Keith...? Enter your spaceship for a transatlantic meeting of minds as the legendary Kool Keith links up with We Are The Horsemen (Outernational Sounds head honcho Harvinder Singh Nagi and producer Sub One) and the great Kaidi Tatham for a future-jazz flavoured trip through the great MC’s London adventures.
Kool Keith needs no introduction to hip-hop heads worldwide. As one of the greatest MCs ever to touch the mic, Keith has never stopped innovating and progressing. From his days in the seminal 1980s Bronx unit Ultramagnetic MCs, through his pioneering development of new conceptual characters and styles in the 1990s (Big Willie Smith, Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, Black Elvis), to his continuous run of radically independent recordings in the 2000s and beyond, Kool Keith defines rap longevity and artistic originality. No one else in hip hop has a comparable record of continuous reinvention, conceptual boldness, and stylistic panache.
And after four decades in rap, Keith is still one of the hardest working rappers in the game, perpetually seeking new sounds to spit on and new collaborators from across the musical spectrum. Fresh off the acclaim for his new Black Elvis 2 release, the protean MC has touched down on Outernational Sounds for a unique collab with We Are The Horsemen and Kaidi Tatham. ‘London Is The Place’ finds Keith riding the Horsemen’s atmospheric, break-toughened riddim and reaching back in time to drop kaleidoscopic, stream-of-consciousness impressions of the Ultramagnetic MCs infamous 1989 tour, before flashing forward to the present in order to namecheck Honest Jons Records, saxophone star Nubiya Garcia and master keyboardist and broken beat pioneer Kaidi Tatham, who contributes trademark jazz keys and bruk steez to the AA side remix. The 12” is closed out by a third version, the Horsemen’s own Kool Jazz Mix, bringing see- sawing organ stabs and a neck-snapping Ultra-sampling hook.
Kool Keith, Kaidi Tatham and We Are The Horsemen, taking it higher and overcoming the pressure with ‘music so progressive’, to quote Keith himself! Limited press – don’t sleep on this one!!
Coming straight outta Salerno's vibrant music scene, "Amo' / Voce 'e Notte" is the first 7" single from female rap duo Zetas. Released by DJ's Choice, a partner label of Four Flies Records, it contains two songs produced bybeatmaker, rapper and producer Tonico 70, a true veteran of Southern Italian hip hop.
Both young millennials, rappers Annarella and Miriade were exposed to the world of underground hip-hop from an early age, jamming, freestyling and listening to different music than their peers. Active as a duo since 2019, they're now making their official debut with this 7", which will be followed byan album at the end of September.
The A-side track "Amo'", which is about the overuse and loss of meaning of the word 'love' (amo' translates as 'luv'), makes their intentions clear. Zetas rap in the exuberant dialect and slang of their native city of Salerno, while their sound looks back to the '90s through a contemporary lens. Raw rhymes are delivered with an urgent flow over a beat that, rather than boom-bap nostalgia, is a modern take on classic production styles. The result is a happy medium between old school and fresh – one where the melody of dialect rap and rhymes blends wonderfully with the rhythms of funk, soul and reggae.
"Voce 'e notte", on side B, has a different mood, but the same approach. Here, Zetas weave wistful verses tinged with disillusionment and toughness on top of Tonico 70's 808-led beat, paying tribute to a classic Neapolitan song also titled "Voce 'e Notte". The result is a rap serenade that transforms and reimagines the Neapolitan song tradition through today's sensibility and, of course, through hip hop.
What’s happening in the streets? This right here, a celebrated engineer Yas Inoue and Dj Takaya Nagase come together in the studio and rework the Voltage Brothers rare groove jam “Happening In the Streets” with a cleverly put together edit with filters, effects and sonically tweaking it to perfection. They've created a perfect dance floor masterpiece already championed by Louie Vega, Joe Claussell, Spinna, Mike Dunn, and Rich Medina. This choon has everyone in anticipation for it’s release.
Japanese sound engineer Yas Inoue, based in New York began his career in the world renowned Maw Studios in the late 90s and has engineered for producers such as Masters At Work, Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, and Randy Muller contributing to the creation of various New York house and disco hits.
Takaya Nagase, a New York based Japanese Dj started as an A&R for Japanese record label Soundmen On Wax. He learned and studied under the great David Mancuso of the Loft Party NYC and later held his own Joy parties along with other Loft members. Having had regular gigs at Club Shelter from 2006 to 2007 and at Club Output from 2017 until the closing in 2019, he built his dj chops and now currently djs at New York City's top venues such as Le Bain, Good Room and Nowadays along with monthly shows on the famed Lot Radio in Brooklyn.
Together they are Domo Domo and with their first project on Vega Records they are on their way to becoming New York household names in the dance music industry. Look out for “Happening In The Streets” coming soon at all digital and streaming outlets with vinyl releases on 12” and 7”. Lookout everyone, this one’s a sure HIT!!!
The turbocharged Boosted EP from Washington DC's Jackson Ryland drops in Peach Discs. Inspired by the multi-faceted work of hyper-prolific producers such as Paul Johnson, Heiko Laux, K-Hand, Aubrey & Cari Lekebusch, Boosted's four tracks highlight the various layers that make up Jackson's sound, and confirm him as a thrilling and versatile producer whose deep understanding of dance music's history informs his firmly present approach to production.
Recorded between 2018 and 2022, Boosted splits the difference between the booming drums and trippy synth patterns of "Glass Cut" and "Hyp Gruuv," and the complex, evolving textures of "Boosted" and "Lip," the latter representing a side not often heard in Jackson's output to date. Taken as a whole, the EP fits into the long lineage of DC-based music - one defined by an effortless flexibility to flip between emotions while never forsaking the groove.
This is the 2nd release of the year on Shanti Celeste and Gramrcy's Peach Discs.
Viscardi & Il Duo Magnetico is the new collaborative project between italo-swiss DJ, producer and singer Pascal Viscardi,
Yavor Lilov and Alain Sandri, respectively drummer and percussionist of the swiss cult band L’Éclair.
The three musicians joined forces in Geneva and worked in the studio for the past two years with Viscardi as the main
vocalist, Lilov producing the tracks and playing drums, bass and keys, and Sandri on guitar, percussion, and backing vocals.
The result is a unique and contemporary version of italian pop, peppered with new-wave, boogie, disco and world music
references.
On Sale Sole Pascal's mellifluous lyrics float on a midtempo boogie groove, projecting visions of sun drenched cities and
summer sunsets. On the flip side Jamba Club is a reggae infused slow burner, reminiscent of night encounters and forgotten
love stories.
Sale Sole / Jamba Club marks the project’s debut release and serves as a sneak peek into the upcoming full-length album,
set to release on Cosmic Romance in fall 2023.
Amsterdam based musician/producer Djosa (long time band member of Arp Frique & The Family) joins the Rush Hour Store Jams imprint with two uplifting songs. The legendary Ronald Snijders is featured on ''Vampiro" with whom he (together with Arp Frique) made the documentary Easy Man and the album The Nelson & Djosa Sessions. TIP!
Please note: Due to an unfortunate production mistake, the tracklisting on the labels and sleeve are in the wrong order. The correct order is: A. Botanica Obscura and B: Vampiro (feat. Ronald Snijders).
Obsessive tekno/grime experiment from London's lostdomain producer Leeway following the great great Krevet EP. Very compatible with ~160 BPM hardtek/trance. Grainy desaturated claustrophobic sound progressing to full, crisp and dreamy with alien salival textures...
Whole album varies on two or three circling themes. Super zoney and subdued and spiritual but then jumps right out of the speakers with violence.
Born of a thousand nights lost in a surrender to stillness and contemplation, In The Air is Anna St. Louis’ second full length album and her most considered work yet. St. Louis’ debut If Only There Was a River seemed to emerge fully formed out of the recesses of her mind; a gritty, mesmerizing affair, filled with jagged edges and ghostly apparitions. The type of record that announces a new voice; one haunted by what has come before.
But this time, St. Louis is no longer concerned with what could have been and sets her sights to exploring what could be. It’s an outlook on the world that was formed when her immediate one was small. The intervening years since her last album found St. Louis in a small one-bedroom cabin in the middle of the woods of upstate New York with a new love and time to think of what she wanted to express with her music. For weeks on end, the only trips she took were to and from her job as the front desk clerk at a nearby hotel. The previous years she had spent on tour and performing constantly in the venues of Los Angeles felt like they had occurred in another lifetime.
“It really compelled me to surrender to the unknown,” she says. And in this surrender, she found liberation. St. Louis is more self-assured, open-hearted and ready to say what she wants. St. Louis describes the writing period as one of a slow harvest; a fertile time but one that required a newfound patience. Instead of documenting her first thoughts, she spent more time with each song, going deeper with the themes and ideas she wanted to express.
This slower approach also guided the sonic textures of the album. Working with producer Jarvis Taveniere (Purple Mountains, Woods) in two extended recording sessions in Los Angeles in 2021, St. Louis used the studio in a previously unexplored way, opening up her songs to more experimentation featuring brighter tones and a more orchestral sound to accompany her new perspective. To that end, she was aided by a cast of friends and collaborators including Jess Williamson, Kacey Johansing, Oliver Hill (Kevin Morby, Vagabon) on strings, Alex Fischel (Spoon) on piano, Josh Adams on drums (Bedouine, Tim Heidecker) and Keven Lareau (Cut Worms, Hand Habits).
In the Air has the sound of a joyous consideration of the present moment; a quiet morning revealing a new snowfall outside, steam coming from the kettle, just before it whistles, St. Louis with her guitar, staring out the window, with a few free hours before work. She’s reflecting on the scene in front of her, imagining the times yet to come. You can hear it; she’s a long way from the noisy bars of Los Angeles, the rigors of the road. As she intones in “Rest”: “You spend your whole life believing in the chase. And then you realize that being somewhere doesn’t matter like it used to.” She doesn’t need a river to carry her anymore ... She’s in the air.
Created In the heart of Athens, GA with their trusty- producer, Henry Barbe (Deerhunter, Drive By Truckers) You Know Who is an 11-song record that pushes the boundaries of modern country and rock n' roll music. The Pink Stones sound takes influence from recordings of George and Tammy, as well as J.J. Cale's self produced Tulsa sound. The record is also just as inspired by the windy city cuts of Curtis Mayfield, all styles that covers the band's sound in cigarette smoke and whiskey spills. The six piece band has utilized their performing chops to make a tight but soulful album with featured guests such as Nikki Lane, Jack Quiggins and Ryan Jennings (Teddy & the Rough Riders), John James Tourville (Deslondes), and Annie Leeth (Faye Webster). No strangers to friends and guests, this ramshackle unit formed together flawlessly to take the next leap into The Pink Stones deep sphere.
It is also one of only five sessions led by Little as a band leader before his premature death at the age of 23 in 1961. The fact that this is only Little's third outing as a leader is further testament to the talents of this young artist. Arguably, the seven original compositions here might be more widely known today had his life not been so tragically cut short.
Little is mostly known for this association with Max Roach, who he began playing with as early as 1955. But it was not until 1958 that he officially joined Roach's outfit and began recording with him. Little made 8 albums with Roach between 1958 and 1961. And it is Roach's
ground breaking We Insist! album that is the precursor to the Out Front sessions, as this is where Little's talents fully caught the attention of Candid Records' A&R and producer Nat Hentoff.
Debut LP from fast rising Israeli pianist and producer Yoni Mayraz. "Dybbuk Tse!" combines jazz with the sound of 90’s New York hip hop. Yoni simultaneously interweaves unique Middle Eastern melodies, sophisticated structures and sounds, with beautifully crafted solos played by some of the scenes promising young talents. Fans of Alfa Mist should check!
The apartheid boycott In the 80s, the world – rightly - stepped up its boycott against South Africa’s apartheid government. But this had unexpected and sometimes adverse consequences for South Africa’s music professionals and consumers. Musicians still needed to work live shows both at home and abroad, and to make and sell records. The youth still aspired to clubbing and partying at the weekend after hard, poorly paid jobs under the thumb of an oppressive government. Music was their sanctuary: specifically, African- American inspired soul, jazz, boogie, disco and funk. Unique diversity Producing musical excellence was nothing new for South Africa, even in the 80s: both traditional and jazz music of various genres had been performed, showcased and recorded for decades with the assistance of some of the most skilled and ingenious sound-engineers and producers in the world, the jazz players rivalling their American peers in many cases. But what makes Mzansi 80s popular music unique is that it had to – and for the most part, did- appeal to a multi-ethnic, multilingual population almost like no other in the world, for its geographical size. There may have been many tribal and political differences between Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa, Tsonga and others day-to-day, but when it came to the weekend, those differences often melted away for a while on the dancefloor. Paul Ndlovu had kwaZulu fans as well as Shangaan followers; Black Moses and the Soul Brothers had followers and fans with everyone..and so on. And everyone- detractors and lovers alike- were content to settle on the monicker ‘Bubblegum’ as a general description. Mzansi took disco- and slowed it down a bit.. ..exactly as 90s and early 2000s South African DJs and mixers took House- and slowed it down a bit to develop Kwaito, Gqom and – later – Amapiano. The Roland TR-707 sampler came along in 1985- at just the right time for the flowering of Mzansi disco and boogie. And in the artful hands of arrangers, engineers and producers such as Peter “Hitman’ Moticoe, whose work figures on several of the tracks here, it became something unique to South Africa. 'Yebo! Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid's Dying Years' compiled by John Armstrong is out BBE Music on x3 vinyl set in a gatefold sleeve, CD, and across digital platforms for download and streaming.
Hannah Peel's viel beachteter Score zur sky orignal Science-Fiction-Serie 'The Midwich Cuckoos'. Nominiert für den Music Producers Guild Award in der Kategorie "Original Score Recording Of The Year".
Die sky orignal Serie 'The Midwich Cuckoos' basiert auf dem Science-Fiction-Roman von John Wyndham aus dem Jahr 1957 und erzählt die Geschichte eines englischen Dorfes, in dem die Frauen auf mysteriöse Weise schwanger werden.
Einzigartig und aufwändig produziert, harmoniert Hannah Peel's Klanglandschaft nahezu perfekt mit dem Sounddesign der sky-Adaption.
Mit analogen Synthesizern, Tonbandmanipulationen, Drones, Holzbläsern und Melodien, die den Gesang des Kuckucks widerschallen, schafft Peel einen Score, der ein perfektes Gleichgewicht herstellt zwischen den organischen Instrumenten und Melodien und der zunehmend düsteren elektronischen "Invasion".
Für ihren Score wurde Hannah Peel für den Music Producers Guild Award in der Kategorie "Original Score Recording Of The Year" nominiert.
- Ltd. Col. LP: (Transparent Yellow Vinyl)
A wild and funky collection of Afro grooves that was ahead of its time in 1977 and has become a collector’s item in recent years, especially due to the growing international interest in Colombian picó sound system culture. Fruko and his studio bands Wganda Kenya and Kammpala Grupo treat us to a diverse set of African and Caribbean styles, laced with crazy synths, psychedelic guitar and infectious pan-African polyrhythms. By the time Discos Fuentes released the album “Wganda Kenya Kammpala Grupo” in 1977, Wganda Kenya’s discography was expanding with many 45 singles and appearances in various artists collections. The group’s 1975 debut record “África 5.000” was a full length LP in the U.S. and a various artists compilation in Colombia, which was followed by the self-titled long player the following year. However, Kammpala Grupo, which shared the album’s title and was credited to three songs on the record, had never appeared before, yet was basically the same studio group as Wganda Kenya. Most likely the creation of this short-lived studio band was just a ploy by the label to make it seem like there were more groups playing the type of exotic afro tracks favored by the picotero DJs of Colombia’s Caribbean coast (especially in Barranquilla and Cartagena). 1974 Discos Fuentes’ management had sent musician, band leader and producer Julio Ernesto “Fruko” Estrada to the coast on an A&R mission to discover what people were dancing to in the verbenas (communal open air neighborhood parties) run by the owners of picó sound systems (decorated mobile DJ rigs). Always game for an adventure, Fruko was tasked with bringing some popular examples of these esoteric, hard-to-find African, French and Dutch Antillean records back to Medellín to serve as inspiration (or to outright copy) so that the label could enter into the growing regional market and spread its popularity to the interior of Colombia and other Latin American countries via its own studio creation, Wganda Kenya. Fuentes was always returning to exploit the rich African-rooted culture of the coast as it had with the cumbia and other regional genres before, so in a way it was not surprising that they were attuned to this particular niche phenomenon from a marginalized sector of the population. The most popular genres with the champeta dancers in the 70’s and 80’s were styles like Congolese rumba, highlife, afrobeat, juju, mbaqanga and soukous as well as the music of Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Curaçao and Dominica, all of which were fiercely guarded by the DJs who had managed to acquire them often through extreme means of travel, barter and intense digging. The record kicks off with the joyful ‘El Gallo Africano’ which features exquisite interplay between Sepúlveda’s highlife style guitar and an authentic-sounding African style saxophone, perhaps played by Carlos Piña. In reality it was ‘Go Call Police Chief’ by prolific Nigerian highlife guitarist Chief Oliver Sunday Akanite, aka Oliver De Coque. Next up is Kammpala Grupo’s ‘La Yuca Rayá’ (‘Grated Yuca’), written by Isaac Villanueva in a style he termed son haitiano which sounds much more like Zimbabwe Shona mbira music. Wganda Kenya’s ‘Caimito’ (star apple, a type of tropical fruit), on the other hand, is actually a cover of a relatively well-known Haitian merengue song. Kammpala Grupo then takes us from the French Antilles to the multi-cultural discotheques of Paris, where a cover version of Black Soul’s Afro-boogie anthem ‘Black Soul Music’ is retooled and renamed ‘King Kong’, perhaps in a nod to the 1976 remake of the monster flick of the same name. Side two introduces us to the infectious merengue rebita of Angola via ‘La riphyta’ with “Paparí”, aka Mariano Sepúlveda, doing the vocals and faithfully replicating the Angolan guitar style. ‘La Trompeta Loca’ (‘The Crazy Trumpet’), probably the nuttiest track on the album, is an ingenious cover of ‘Ye Gbawa Oo Baba (Tribute To Nigeria)’ by Joe Mensah of Ghana. As with all their covers of African tunes, this rendition tightens up the original with some pop sheen, more consistent drumming and higher production values, remaking it into a powerful slow-burning dance floor filler. This is followed by one of the most powerfully original songs to come out of the entire Wganda Kenya project, Mike Char’s reggae anthem ‘El Nativo’ with Joe Arroyo on vocals. The record ends on a more authentically Caribbean sounding note with the instrumental ‘El testamento’, a cheerful islands banger with bright brass, syncopated calypso beats and chunky cuatro guitar (or ukulele). The original was in the mento genre and titled ‘Sweet meat’, written and recorded by Jamaican trumpeter Bobby Ellis. First time reissue. 180g vinyl.
I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant is an expanded edition of the fourth full-length album by The Body, first released to widespread acclaim, and terror, in 2014. Sharing their moribund vision with Bobby Krlic, aka The Haxan Cloak, the tried and true sound of The Body is shred to pieces on I Shall Die Here, mutilated by process and re-animated in a spectral state by the collaboration.
This double album set is expanded with the previously unreleased Earth Triumphant, a full-length companion album that would become I Shall Die Here, showcasing The Body's brutality in its most primal form. With both albums revisited by The Body and Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets and remastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, this is the definitive edition of a shocking classic of unbridled bleakness and innovation. Formed by drummer Lee Buford and guitarist Chip King in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1999, The Body soon relocated to Providence, Rhode Island. The duo remained in Providence for a decade before moving west to their current home of Portland, Oregon. Their debut self-titled album (Moganano, 2003) and on the widely-acclaimed, classification curtailing of All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood (At A Loss, 2011) readied the band for even more experimentations. The employment of the Assembly of Light Choir's classical chorales on All the Waters, alongside more industrial music techniques such as vocal sampling and drum programming, prompted RVNG to inquire with King and Buford which darker corners of the electronic universe they were presumably interested in exploring.
The undertaking of I Shall Die Here was aided by Seth Manchester and Keith Souza, The Body's long standing engineer and creative collaborator, and noted producer Bobby Krlic. Krlic's own work as The Haxan Cloak struck a similarly despairing chord to The Body with the celebrated Excavation (Tri Angle, 2013), itself a minimalist evocation of the afterlife. I Shall Die Here shares similar nether space with the morbidly deviating darkness of Excavation, but remains sculpturally frozen in a sort of earthen purgatory.
The Body's musical approach, engraved by Buford's colossal beats and King's mad howl and bass-bladed guitar dirge, became something even more terrifying with Krlic's post-mortem ambiences serving as both baseline and outer limit. I Shall Die Here sonically serrates the remains of metal's already unidentifiable corpse and splays it amid tormented voices in shadow. This expanded edition gives us a window into the creation of a classic with the inclusion of its in utero twin, Earth Triumphant. Recorded as a nearly finished album by Buford and King before The Haxan Cloak's transformation, it stands as a raw statement of intent, the original DNA for what would soon mutate into something wholly new.
Fans of I Shall Die Here will find familiar sonic fragments in a more primitive state - like seeing an out-of-context photograph of a family member taken well before you knew them - but the album stands on its own in its minimalist brutality, a natural bridge to what The Body was soon to become. The Body's I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant will be released in digital and vinyl formats on June 30, 2023. On behalf of The Body, The Haxan Cloak, and RVNG Intl., a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Intransitive, an organization that works to advance the cause of Trans liberation in Arkansas through art, education, advocacy, organizing and culture in order to create effective systemic change and on-the-ground impact.
I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant is an expanded edition of the fourth full-length album by The Body, first released to widespread acclaim, and terror, in 2014. Sharing their moribund vision with Bobby Krlic, aka The Haxan Cloak, the tried and true sound of The Body is shred to pieces on I Shall Die Here, mutilated by process and re-animated in a spectral state by the collaboration.
This double album set is expanded with the previously unreleased Earth Triumphant, a full-length companion album that would become I Shall Die Here, showcasing The Body's brutality in its most primal form. With both albums revisited by The Body and Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets and remastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, this is the definitive edition of a shocking classic of unbridled bleakness and innovation. Formed by drummer Lee Buford and guitarist Chip King in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1999, The Body soon relocated to Providence, Rhode Island. The duo remained in Providence for a decade before moving west to their current home of Portland, Oregon. Their debut self-titled album (Moganano, 2003) and on the widely-acclaimed, classification curtailing of All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood (At A Loss, 2011) readied the band for even more experimentations. The employment of the Assembly of Light Choir's classical chorales on All the Waters, alongside more industrial music techniques such as vocal sampling and drum programming, prompted RVNG to inquire with King and Buford which darker corners of the electronic universe they were presumably interested in exploring.
The undertaking of I Shall Die Here was aided by Seth Manchester and Keith Souza, The Body's long standing engineer and creative collaborator, and noted producer Bobby Krlic. Krlic's own work as The Haxan Cloak struck a similarly despairing chord to The Body with the celebrated Excavation (Tri Angle, 2013), itself a minimalist evocation of the afterlife. I Shall Die Here shares similar nether space with the morbidly deviating darkness of Excavation, but remains sculpturally frozen in a sort of earthen purgatory.
The Body's musical approach, engraved by Buford's colossal beats and King's mad howl and bass-bladed guitar dirge, became something even more terrifying with Krlic's post-mortem ambiences serving as both baseline and outer limit. I Shall Die Here sonically serrates the remains of metal's already unidentifiable corpse and splays it amid tormented voices in shadow. This expanded edition gives us a window into the creation of a classic with the inclusion of its in utero twin, Earth Triumphant. Recorded as a nearly finished album by Buford and King before The Haxan Cloak's transformation, it stands as a raw statement of intent, the original DNA for what would soon mutate into something wholly new.
Fans of I Shall Die Here will find familiar sonic fragments in a more primitive state - like seeing an out-of-context photograph of a family member taken well before you knew them - but the album stands on its own in its minimalist brutality, a natural bridge to what The Body was soon to become. The Body's I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant will be released in digital and vinyl formats on June 30, 2023. On behalf of The Body, The Haxan Cloak, and RVNG Intl., a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Intransitive, an organization that works to advance the cause of Trans liberation in Arkansas through art, education, advocacy, organizing and culture in order to create effective systemic change and on-the-ground impact.
In the centre of deep space we tune in to the radio broadcasts from an old Class T interstellar spaceship. The emissions endlessly resonate the frequencies of the seventeenth release on the label HC Records by one of the titans of the Valencian scene, The Lost Boys, new pseudonym of the DJ and producer Raszia.
With releases on labels such as Bass Agenda, Subsist or Hxagrm Records, the artist mesmerises our senses with the Exiles of Mars Ep, available in both double vinyl and digital.
Syncopated rhythms are the protagonists across four original tracks together
with remixes by four electro legends: Boris Divider, Estrato Aurora, Dark Vektor, and Filmmaker.
The EP’s first cut is a remix of "Wall Of Bricks" by the legendary Boris Divider, which gives the track an air of crystalline, synthetic and cosmic sound, very much in line with his latest works on the Generative Operations series. Next, we find the original version, where the kick drums are heavier, the synths and basses more colourful and the acid sequences take centre stage in an odyssey of sidereal intensity.
On the record’s flip side, a feeling of overwhelming melancholy takes root in our soul. Valencian Estrato Aurora mentally transports us to the mysterious red sand of Mars in a precise exercise in symphonic minimalism with his remix of "Exiles of Mars", which mutates the original idea with velvety pads, synths and a slow and rapturous hypnotism that sinks us to unfathomable depths.
The Lost Boys' original concept on B2 is a combination of Miami Bass-style breaks and a demonic mantra-like main synth line, backed by what seems like an infinity of pearly effects and secondary melodies, pushing the track towards a crescendo punctuated by a dry and sharp snare.
The second disc’s opener "Bust My Moves" is a masterclass in deconstruction and reconstruction by Dark Vektor with his "Electro Escuadrón Remix”. The genius from Terrassa provides powerful lyrics loaded with a message about the modern rise of the 808 movement. We return to the original Lost Boys version on C2, a futuristic martial discourse takes shape with combating breaks combined with rave chords and brief episodes of respite, almost dreamlike, in the middle and end of the track’s exciting development.
On the D side, rough frequencies verging on distortion materialise through our ship's speakers as we pick up the Colombian Filmmaker’s remix of "Data Recovery For Brains". A psychotronic final appetiser that combines harshness and elegance in the use of the rolling kick drums and saturation of the sound, it is without a doubt the ideal soundtrack to narrate the collision of two galaxies. The closing of the EP features the original track, in which The Lost Boys show us his most mental and lysergic side as the track progresses along a slow and comforting broken rhythm, made dynamic by clever use of diverse acid sequences and clairvoyant stellar melodies.
The complete artistic experience is enhanced in all dimensions with accompanying artwork by
Daniel Requeni and videos elaborated by Frank-F.
Mastering as usual by Steve Voidloss at Black Monolith Studios in London (UK).
- A1: Kutiman - Badawee
- A2: El Khat - Ya Raiyat (Radio Trip Edit)
- A3: Boom Pam - Uniton
- A4: Baharat - The Egyptian
- A5: Les Dynamites - Pop Oud #2
- B1: Sababa 5 & Shiran Tzfira - Manginat Mahapeha (Feat. Matan Caspi)
- B2: Sababa 5 (Feat. Yurika) - Nasnusa
- B3: Sababa 5 - Baksheesh
- B4: Sababa 5 - Rosenzweig
- C1: Eje Eje - Saved From The Jazz
- C2: Yossi Fine & Ben Aylon - Peres
- C3: Yuz - Galgalit
- C4: Baharat - Parsley Disco
- C5: Romano - Six
- D1: Buttering Trio - Little Goat (Iza Ktana)
- D2: Koy Kardeşler - Shürük
- D3: Şatellites - Deli Deli
- D4: Cherry Bandora - Esý
Batov Records “Middle Eastern Grooves’ 7” series have become staples in the sets of DJs looking to broaden their sets to incorporate psychedelic and Middle Eastern sounds alongside the familiar funk, jazz, and soul catalogue. In the process, the series has enjoyed support across BBC 6 Radio Music, from Gilles Peterson to Gideon Coe, and made waves around the world, from Radio Nova and FIP in France, across the Atlantic to KEXP and Music Is My Sanctuary,
and laid the seeds for debut albums from series staples, Sababa 5 and Şatellites.
The compilation opens with the desert funk sound of "Badawee" by the iconic producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kutiman, followed by the instrumental edit of "Ya Raiyat" by Tel Aviv digging pioneers Radio Trip. Other highlights include the deranged & spooky synths of “The Egyptian” by Baharat, a prime example of the label's core sound, the
psychedelic Middle Eastern groove bomb "Deli Deli" by Şatellites, and “Nasnusa”, Sababa 5’s acclaimed collaboration with Japanese vocalist Yurika Hanashima.
Batov Records is thrilled to announce the release of ‘Middle Eastern Grooves’, a double gatefold LP compilation of standout tracks from the label’s highly successful series of 7” singles released
under the same name, hand selected by label co-founder DJ Kobayashi. Spanning from 2015 to the present day, the compilation features a mix of classic favourites, new releases, and neverbefore-heard gems from some of the most talented emerging artists.
The compilation also includes some exclusive tracks, released here for the first time. Following their recent collaborative EP, Sababa 5 back the newly discovered vocalist Shiran Tzfira with a simple but
effective combo of synths and percussion on the haunting “Manginat Mahepeha”.
Şatellites band leader Itamar Kluger contributes “Saved From The Jazz” from his new psychedelic funk project Eje Eje - watch out for the drums on this!
And finally, underground belly dancing princess turned Mediterranean psych chanteuse, Cherry Bandora, contributes the hypnotic “Esý”.
This first volume of highlights from the Middle Eastern Grooves 7" series offers a comprehensive look at the evolution of the label's sound and its place in the wider musical context. From surf rock
to Mediterranean psych, this collection showcases the diverse and captivating sounds of the Middle East and its influence on modern music. The compilation will be available on double gatefold vinyl and for digital download and streaming from 19th May, 2023.
When he isn’t managing Batov Records, DJ Kobayashi can be found digging for grooves and melodies that stand out from the norm, and sharing them at the likes of Brilliant Corners, Spiritland, and his biweekly show on Soho Radio. His vast collection spans funk and beats from across the globe, and reflects, of course, a particular
predilection for Middle Eastern grooves. His refined tastes have created a great demand for his selections, leading to him playing alongside the likes of Islandman, Balkan Beat Box, The Apples, and Baba Zula.
Repress coming!
High Focus Records is proud to present 'Put That Soul On Me' a brand new 3 track offering from arguably one of the best voices to emerge from these shores in recent years : Rag N Bone Man.
Since having been introduced to the world via High Focus Records in early 2013, Rag N Bone Man's career has flourished in an incredible way and it has become a widely known fact that, as cliche as it may sound, he is the next big thing. From gathering attention from the likes of tastemakers Zane Lowe, Rob Da Bank, Mistajam & getting daytime radio play on BBC Radio 1 among others to working with Hip Hop legend DJ Premier and touring all over the country with chart toppers Bastille, it is a proven fact that Rag N Bone Man's voice has the power to touch the hearts of millions no matter what genre of music you are into. With such a universally recognised talent, its going to be hard for nay sayers to deny the infectious flute grooves of 'Put That Soul On Me' or the slow pounding bass of 'Across The Sky'.
Dirty Dike, normally known for his outlandish lyrics and larger than life provocative character takes the back seat on this release, allowing his signature crunchy production to do the talking. Dirty Dike's instrumentals provide the perfect back drop for the smooth rumblings of Rag N Bone Man, the pair complement each other perfectly as the beat and the voice are just as heavy as one another, both putting on a fantastic display of skill and raw talent which has been synonymous with all High Focus Releases.
The title track, 'Put That Soul On Me' is a catchy celebration song, a festive underground tune praising 'that neat sweet soul' whilst denigrating those 'wack ass drums and played out synths' over swirling flutes. Following the festivities we have 'Across The Sky', a bass heavy downtempo number which explores the side effects of different drugs, upon which our protagonist asks for a helping hand before the heart wrenching saxophone kicks in. High Focus Records fans will be pleased to see that the infamous Rag N Bone Man 'exclusive Bars' from the HFTV channel is finally seeing an official release. 'My Business', which set the internet on fire upon its release on the channel, getting retweeted by the likes of super producers DJ Premier and 9th Wonder, is the third track on this project and features a guest verse from Contact Play legend Ronnie Bosh. With these three unmissable tracks on one piece of wax, The 'Put That Soul On Me' 12'' is going to be the soundtrack to your summer.
Available for the first time since originally released in 2006 via Stones Throw, Dudley Perkins & Madlib are pleased for the reissue of their sophomore collaborative LP, Expressions (2012 A.U.), their acclaimed follow-up to their 2003 debut effort, A Lil’ Light. And albeit the former can be accused of being excessively avant-garde, it’s Expressions where both Perkins and the Beat Konducta find a more fluid symmetry.
In everything from his collaborations with MF Doom and the late Jay Dee to his more recent pairing with Freddie Gibbs, Madlib is easily one of hip-hop's golden revolutionaries. At times his production has been accused of being sparse, but that's not the case with Expressions. This time around, Madlib's production is hitting all the funky corners with layered grooves that evoke the attitudes and emotions of A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory.
Perkins's objective to keep the grooves flowing on Expressions is laid down with first lines of opener "Funky Dudley": "A little bit of funk and a dash of soul/ A little bit of George borrowed from my Ol' gran' pappy's stack of old school/ One nation under a groove." From there on the funk samples dance famously with Dudley's vocal style, which cross-pollinates the worlds of D'Angelo and Ol' Dirty Bastard. From "Get on Up" to the James Brown vocal sample in "Dolla Bill," Expressions uses Perkins's voice as if it were a sample itself, incorporating it in the production and the rhythms.
Madlib's production works flawlessly, his semi-psychedelic influence on R&B, soul and hip-hop keeping Perkins's style fresh and original. All the parts seem to be in place on Expressions as producer and emcee work side-by-side to create a cohesive sound that not only represents the creativity of the underground but could also awaken the tired ears of the mainstream.
Following hot in the footsteps of his debut HF release ‘Cocoa Butter’, ‘Off The Grid’ sees Renelle 893 team up with producer Bay29 on a body of work that offers an escape route from the monotonous every day; the duo taking us further and further off the beaten track, marrying moments of purest hedonism with stark reminders that the real world lies in wait, just after sunrise, with no pause button in sight.
Laying the foundations with summer anthem (and lead single) ’Spaghetti’, Renelle wrestles with the fleeting nature of youth, and his topsy turvy relationship with the finer things in life. The dynamic is both gritty and nostalgic as Renelle walks the fine line between Hollywood hedonism and slurry excess, his mood swinging between moments of invincibility and vulnerability, expertly scored by Bay29’s ethereal, bass dripping instrumentals.
Another SE London / Brighton hook up, one of many on the label in recent years, Renelle utilised his late night train rides to-and-from Bay29’s Brighton studio as an opportunity to refine the verses that make up the bones of the project.
Twelve-tracks; six vocal, six instrumental, ‘Off The Grid’ is the first in a series of new works from Renelle 893 & Bay29. A perfect scene-setter for what’s to come.
As Renelle 893 explains… “Off The Grid is about soul searching and figuring out what kind of adult I am looking to be, navigating a world filled with distractions that will do everything to numb the pain as life inevitably passes you by…”
Mike Viola is a producer, musician, songwriter and singer. Viola may be best known for his work with Panic! at the Disco, Andrew Bird, Ryan Adams, Jenny Lewis and Mandy Moore, but his solo career stands on its own starting with a number of acclaimed records as the leader of New York based cult favourite Candy Butchers and 7 critically adored Mike Viola records. His original music has been featured on soundtracks for movies such as That Thing You Do!, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Get Him to the Greek. Decades into his career his music continues to resonate with and inspire new generations of musicians and music lovers. Viola is cranking out more music than ever including the fan favorites; “The American Egypt” from 2019 and “Godmuffin” from 2021. Paul McCarthy was recorded over the summer of 2022 on 1/2” tape at “Barebones”, Viola’s home studio in Los Angeles. Joined by his friends Jake Sinclair on bass and Brendon Urie on drums. Viola says, “I set out to make a sonic monster using the legs of James Gang Rides Again, the heart of Black Sabbath Paranoid, with my kid brain inside my greying middle aged head on top. I’ve hit a point in my life where instinct has taken the reins fully, logic now waits in the wings to sweep up the stage and pay the taxi fare home. This album is the result of committing to this path fully and laughing all the way.” Viola will support the album release with his first tour in over a decade with dates in Europe and the US in Winter/Spring 2023, and more dates to follow later in 2023.
Fantastic masterpiece, considered one of the best Italo-Disco songs ever. A mega-classic produced by Stefano Zito and Carlo Favilli (the latter passed away too soon) characterized by a heartbreaking melody and lush strings that exemplify the mood and rhythm of the Italo-Disco style with the use of some sounds of pre-bleepy keyboard and siren that technically make it one of the very first rave songs ever, inspiring the style of many artists that came later, like Duft Punk. However, many of them don't even come close with their imaginative computers to that bassline and string sounds that melted the souls of many of us back in that distant April 1983, even if it seems that part of the melodic line has been copied not very subtly by Casco from that of El Deux's Computer-Madchen released in 1982 in Switzerland, where Salvatore Cusato was working as a club-DJ. On the flip another excellent remix version by Danilo Braca of the song revisited a few years later. The confirmation of the wisdom and foresight of its producers, aware that the BPM would soon be lowered by a lot. In the more than 8 minutes of "Cyberlover" the constant melancholy background together with the drum/bass/synth lines are preserved intact, giving us a complete reissued product.
American Football (LP3) is the third album from the scene giants - American Football. American Football’s original triumph, on their 1999 self-titled debut, was to reunite two shy siblings: emo and post-rock. It was a pioneering album where lyrical clarity was obscured and complicated by the stealth musical textures surrounding it. Like Slint’s Spiderland, or Codeine’s The White Birch, even Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock, American Football asked far more questions than it cared to answer. But there wasn’t a band around anymore to explain it, anyway. The three young men who made the album – Mike Kinsella, Steve Holmes, and Steve Lamos – split up pretty much on its release. Fifteen years later, American Football reunited (now as a four-piece, with the addition of Nate Kinsella). They played far larger shows than in their original incarnation and recorded their long-anticipated second album, 2016’s American Football (LP2). The release was widely praised, but the band members still felt like their best work was yet to come. ‘I feel like the second album was us figuring it out,’ says Nate. ‘For me, it wasn’t quite done. I knew there was still more.’ Enter American Football (LP3). ‘We put a lot of time and a lot of energy into it,’ says Mike. ‘We were all thoughtful about what we wanted to put out there. Last time, it was figuring out how to use all of our different arms. This time, we were like – Ok we have these arms, let’s use them.’ The band used the same producer, Jason Cupp, and recorded the album at the same studio (Arc Studios in Omaha, Nebraska) as its predecessor – yet they approached it in a markedly different way. There was a determination to let the songs breathe, to trust in ideas finding their own pace. The final result is a definite, and deliberate, stretching of the band.
Amy Dabbs and Athlete Whippet deliver a perfectly crafted journey through house music with 'Into You' on Aus Music.
The duo's different yet wholly complementary musical backgrounds - Amy Dabbs bringing her extensive experience as a DJ & electronic music producer, and Athlete Whippet with his background as an instrumentalist & live band musician - have created a winning combination on Into You EP. The product of which is an intricately composed, highly musical suite of tracks produced to perfection for the dancefloor.
Having met for the first time at Cinthie's Elevate store in early 2021 for her DJ Kicks launch party, the compilation featuring one of Dabbs' earlier tracks, Amy Dabbs & Athlete Whippet stayed in touch, which culminated in the decision to start working together in the studio in their shared hometown of Berlin.
Amy Dabbs has released a string of lauded 12"s since her 2020 debut, including her latest highly acclaimed EP on Shall Not Fade, in addition to collaborating with Coco Bryce, launching her own imprint Dabbs Traxx last year, and featuring regularly on BBC Radio1 Dance.
Athlete Whippet, headed up by Robin Braum, have delivered a myriad of esteemed releases across Toy Tonics, Rhythm Section and Tartelet, which have earned heavy support from Pete Tong, Jamz Supernova and Tom Ravenscroft, to name a few.
Teaming up for the first time here, Amy Dabbs & Robin Braum deliver a fiery three-tracker for Will Saul's Aus Music, covering a variety of moods across the versatile EP. Kicking off the A-side is 'Deep In Your Love', with swirling pads and emotive strings tangling around a tear-jerking vocal refrain, which make for a highly moving opener. A2, 'Into You' continues the emotional journey with lively percussion, subby basslines, and sensuous vocal samples overlaid with luscious analogue chords played out on the Juno 106. On the flip, 'Milkshake' closes out proceedings with a glorious blend of anthemic hands-in-the-air piano riffs and deep acid grooves. This track is a surefire summer hit, set to ignite airwaves and the dancefloor in equal measure.
First Ever Vinyl Reissue (released in collaboration with the Numero Group)
180g BLACK vinyl limited to 500 copies (w/obi strip). Non-Returnable.
Little is known about the mythical band ‘Heart-Soul & Inspiration’ and their band leader, L.A. drummer and producer Vince Howard…The crooning Howard got his start in 1957 on Herb Newman’s Era label where he released a bunch of excellent Doo Wop, Funk & Soul singles. Over the ensuing decade Howard slowly began piecing together his “Orchestra” consisting of bassist Jimmy Soul, guitarist Ron Carr, and pianist John True.
Howard’s Heart-Soul & Inspiration Orchestra cut their self-titled (and only) album in 1974 for John Spriggs’ Los Angeles-based Viscojon concern under the watchful eye of R&B godfather Johnny Otis.
The result was the birth of an astonishing piece of art filled with playful sexy moans, climaxing grooves and soulful hooks. One of the many highlights on the album (and clocking in at an epic eleven minutes), Vince Howard’s “I’m Gonna Love You More” is a tantric reimagining of Barry White’s 1973 sexually charged classic. Where White was content delivering a subtle and syrupy innuendo, Howard transformed the break-heavy track into a meandering funk workout.
Sadly, after their Barry White/Isaac Hayes facsimile LP failed to gain traction, the group released their final recordings—“Funk on Down” b/w “Fallen Angel”—for Viscojon in 1975 which became a hit among prominent DJ’s in the nightclub circuit. This ushered in the end for Howard’s Heart-Soul & Inspiration project.
Heart-Soul & Inspiration was a true example of a bright light burning out way too quickly. Thankfully we are left with the unique (and very rare) document that is their self-titled album. Almost impossible to get ahold of…a well-deserved reissue has been long overdue. This is an album that deserves a prominent place in every serious Funk & Soul enthusiast’s record collection!
- 01: Worldwide
- 02: Angel Strike
- 03: Damien Darhk
- 04: Limbo Genki Dama Feat. King Kakarot
- 05: Old Earth
- 06: Intergalaktus
- 07: Fonk Abyss
- 08: 4000 Ad Feat. Renelle 893
- 09: Inside
- 10: Dustman Feat. Jerré
- 11: ?££ For Beats!
- 12: The Essence
- 13: Blue
- 14: House Of Cards
- 15: Hollywood Feat. Fliptrix
- 16: Soul Calibur
- 17: Most Blunted
- 18: Virus World
- 19: Solar Flare Feat. Verb T & Moka Only
- 20: Infinitizm
- 21: Astro Children Feat. Hpblk, Ash The
- Author & Booda French
- 22: North Star Feat. Maddy
- 23: Deepspace Slime
- 24: Old Earth
The adequately titled ‘The Album To End All Alien Abductions’ sees UK stalwart
King Kashmere and producer/rapper extraordinaire Alecs DeLarge unite for a 24-
track ride through an epic space age boom bap odyssey.
“F**k with your boy Judas Ascariot, who came back swinging - whipping the
super chariot” declares a triumphant King Kashmere on the album opener ‘Angel
Strike’, proving he hasn’t lost a step since his last full length rap project,
#LP4080 dropped back in 2017.
Thematically Kash’s lyrics are routed in sci-fi and Jack Kirby era comic lore,
but on cuts such as ‘Old Earth’ (an ode to his Mother and coming of age on a
North London council estate and ‘House of Cards’ (an exploration of mental
health) the Iguana Man shows a rare glimpse into the man behind the freshly
pressed super suit.
Several cuts also see Alecs stepping from behind the boards to join Kashmere
on mic duties, a pairing best displayed on the dusty bubbler ‘Most Blunted’ in
which the duo trade verses in a puff puff pass of lyrical spliff boxing.
[a] 01 - Worldwide [Intro]
[i] 09 - Inside [Skit]
[k] 11 - £££ For Beats! [Skit]
[m] 13 - Blue [Instrumental]
[o] 15 - Hollywood Feat. Fliptrix [Skit]
[r] 18 - Virus World [Instrumental]
[x] 23 - Deepspace Slime [Outro]
[y] 24 - Old Earth [Remix]
Delroy George Wilson (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child star, having first found success as a teenager. His youngest son, Karl "Konan" Wilson, has found success as part of British duo Krept and Konan. His voice matured as he left his teens, around the time of ska's transition to rocksteady and this period in the late 1960s produced many hits including one of the first rocksteady records, "Dancing Mood", "Jerk in Time" (with the Wailers), "Feel Good All Over", "I'm Not a King", "True Believer in Love", "Rain From the Skies", "Conquer Me" and "Riding for a Fall". "Won't You Come Home", a duet with Ken Boothe on a rhythm originally cut by The Conquerors for Sonia Pottinger has become one of the most-versioned Jamaican tracks ever. After leaving Studio One he recorded for other labels, with varying degrees of success, and set up his own short-lived W&C label. He enjoyed success with Bunny Lee in the late 1960s and early 1970s with tracks such as "This Old Heart of Mine", "Footsteps of Another Man", and "Better Must Come". His double A-side "It Hurts"/"Put Yourself in My Place" was a skinhead favourite and narrowly missed UK chart success. He recorded a version of "Run Run", a song he had originally recorded for Dodd, for maverick producer Keith Hudson. Wilson toured the UK and recorded for Trojan Records in 1970.
In the End It Always does marks songwriter and producer Amber Bain’s long awaited second album as The Japanese House. Featuring collaborations with Matty Healy and George Daniel of The 1975, Katie Gavin of Muna, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Charli XCX, it features some of Bain’s most dynamic work to date. Her forthcoming UK headline tour announcement saw her 1600 cap London show sell out instantly with other dates close behind. The Japanese House has been championed by BBC Radio 1, BBC 6Music, NME, i-D, Pitchfork, ES Magazine, The FADER, DIY & more. The album is available on Vinyl and CD.
Globally renowned for his wealth of intricate productions and an expansive musical catalogue that strikes the perfect balance between power and grace, award-winning producer Rodriguez Jr. now announces his latest full-length studio album project, Feathers & Bones - set for worldwide release via his newly launched imprint of the same name.
An extensive, ten-track opus that dives deep into the Frenchman's complex sonic identity, Feathers & Bones was recorded over the course of two years, conceptualized while living in Paris and completed from his new home, Miami. Pivoting towards a new chapter in his illustrious career, the album houses a collection of new Rodriguez Jr. solo productions, two singles with Cuban-American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Liset Alea, his collaboration with multifaceted Italian artist Giorgia Angiuli, as well as an eagerly-anticipated debut collaboration with legendary English hip hop / electronica outfit, Stereo MC's.
Producer Endemic Emerald has provided top-notch beats for
many in the rap game over the years - notable names such as
various members of the Boot Camp & Wu Tang camps,
Tragedy Khadafi, Ill Bill, and Planet Asia. On ‘Renegade
Soul’ he digs deep into his sounds to bring us his 1st
instrumental album. The set features an array of soulful
soundscapes, accompanied by a gritty undertone. The album
moves through different moods, utilising a range of jazzy
pianos, intense strings, and heavy basslines. Accompanied by
soulful voices throughout a real edge is provided and makes
‘Renegade soul’ guaranteed head-nod material. The album
will be available on 12” Vinyl, Cassette & CD on June 30th.
Produced by Endemic Emerald who has
worked with members of Wu Tang, Boot Camp
Clik, Roc Marciano, Ill Bill, Planet Asia,
Skyzoo
- 1: The Only Thing Left 04:50
- 2: Angels Of Libra (Feat. Nathan Johnston) - Revelations 04:39
- 3: House Of Zeus 0:26
- 4: Angels Of Libra (Feat. Milo Milone) - Gabriel 0:30
- 5: Raphael 02:11
- 6: Ganimed 03:45
- 7: Angels Of Libra (Feat. Jean Cortis) - In & Out 03:38
- 8: Kung Fu Noir 04:13
- 9: Angels Of Libra (Feat. Jepka) - Where Did It All Go? 04:08
- 10: Ayahuasca 05:17
After the recently released cooperation album "Nathan Johnston & The Angels Of Libra", the Angels are now releasing their first own work. Warm analogue sounds and a lot of groove. Guest musicians include Milo Milone (Rhonda) and also Nathan Johnston on Revelations. The project came about in a Danish holiday home, where producer & guitarist Dennis Rux, keyboardist Chris Hartel, bassist David Nesselhauf and drummer Lucas Kochbeck spent two weeks together writing instrumental songs and recording them on a 1980s TASCAM 388 8-track tape recorder . A large number of songs were created, some of which the band released on an independent album with singer Nathan Johnston. Other songs, some with other guest musicians, are now finding their way onto this album. "Revelations" sounds so varied that it would simply not be enough to classify it as a soul album; soundtrack-like film noir passages can be found here as well as progressive space rock elements.
New studio album from Zion Train, featuring the world renowned Zion Train brass section, along with three passionate, politically aware songs from singer Cara Jane Murphy, and featuring Paolo Baldini playing guitar and bass on several tracks - alongside veteran musicians Trinny Fingers, Blacka Wilson, Dreada One and (from Crete) Professor Skank. For this album Zion Train return to their roots, with copious amounts of analogue Dub mixing performed by producer Neil Perch on his vintage TAC Scorpion desk. Artwork is by the acclaimed anarchist artist Marko Gin from Croatia.One of the most unique and enjoyable live dub acts on the planet, their use of dynamic onstage dub mixing whilst performing alongside acoustic instruments and exceptional vocalists, make Zion Train one of a kind.
- 1: Find Yourself (Ft. K.o
- 2: Wake Up (Ft. Chuuweee & Bob Styles)
- 3: Everything (Ft. Derek Minor)
- 4: How Many More (Ft. Lando Chill)
- 5: Aquimibee (Ft. Michael Christmas)
- 6: Eastside With Love (Ft. Kadence / J Rolla / Td Badazz / Marvaluzz Thug / Grand National)
- 7: Moozie (Ft. Psyrotiual)
- 8: Lnb
- 9: Melody Lingers On (Ft. First Verse)
- 10: Duke Lucky (Ft. Krum)
- 11: Trouble (Ft. Runt & Ronni Wit Tha K)
- 12: Whatever Happens, Happens (Ft. Dewey Binns)
- 13: The Burden
- 14: Black Star (Ft. Scoopay)
- 15: Indulgence (Ft. Boldy James)
- 16: Wishing (Ft. Blu)
- 17: Savior
- 18: Key Of Life (Ft. Murs & Yah Ra)
- 19: Angels (Ft. Mistah F.a.b.)
- 20: All We Know (Ft. M1 Platoon)
- 21: Blessings (Ft. Che Noir & John Gives)
- 22: Enough
Jabee's Am I Good Enough is the prolific OKC hip-hop artist’s most ambitious project to date. Several years in the making, Am I Good Enough compiles four EPs of brand-new music (22 tracks total), each recorded entirely with a different producer. The resulting four EPs each could stand alone as powerful individual works, but combine to make one of the most remarkable and compelling artistic statements of Jabee’s career. Am: produced by Derek Minor I: produced by Blu Good: produced by Conductor Williams Enough: produced by Havoc (of Mobb Deep). Am I Good Enough is available on 2xLP, housed in a gatefold jacket with inner sleeves showcasing each of the four EP’s individual covers.
LYR return with their second, remarkable album, The Ultraviolet Age on Fri 30 June 2023 via Clue Records/EMI North. For a second, compelling time, the band concocts ethereal, pulse-altering, extraordinary sounds by combining the creative powers of British poet, Simon Armitage, singer-songwriter Richard Walters and multi-instrumentalist and producer Patrick J Pearson.
Jam Baxter returns with two new tracks 'The Stump' produced by Chemo X Last Japan & 'Red Hawaiian', produced by Zygote, the Strange U producer. These limited edition white double A side 7" vinyls are being released in conjunction with his newly released book 'Off Piste' - which sold out in under 12 hours. All records are hand numbered and come in a printed sleeve with 3mm spine & black paper inners. Limited to 500 copies (only 200 left), never to be repressed, get yours while stocks last.
Léman Records proudly presents the swiss producer Mystic V on this new swiss imprint project curated by himslef, Leo Luscher and Wolff. Blessing us with a perfect summer 4 track EP titled "Ever Since That Day I Met You".
Delivering his signature sound between mellow grooves and deeper sounds, a good way to start your holiday season
JOHN BARERA (2MR/ALLERGY SEASON/DOLLY/SORRY RECORDS) is a DJ, Producer & Label owner based in NYC. His sound is rooted in techno and house’s most classic iterations: sturdy, barreling grooves, shimmering pads, deep liquid dubs and the occasional acid burn. BRIAN ABELSON is the producer of JENNIFER VANILLA’s “CASTLE IN THE SKY” album. Here they team up for 6 mesmerizing tracks of funky disco-tech on the latest 12" from the YOU TOO CAN WOO crew. Intricate rhythms, hypnotic synth arpeggios, lush ambience & seriously funky basslines make "THE ARC" a fantastic showcase of this duo's talent and versatility.
The sounds of Cleveland seem to grow increasingly abstract with each passing release and a third Kalahari outing is no exception. Manipulating house and techno templates into newly mutated forms, ‘Lola Ran’ is a testament to a producer always playing fast and loose with concepts of genre. It’s possibly his most probing set of productions thus far.
Where predecessors came bearing remixes, it's strictly originals for the duration here.
‘Rand’ and ‘PrideBRK’ are direct but decidedly off-kilter; at once modern and faintly retro in their approach to breaks and deep-dwelling techno. ‘Lola Ran’, ‘Mano’ and ’Temp Oro’, on the other hand, shift gear into opiated, rhythmelodic territory. There are no doubt traces of Detroit-style sci-fi but the Brussels-based producer terraforms an alien microcosm unto itself.
- A1: Daytime Tv (Rainy Miller Remix)
- A2: It’s Hard To Get To Know You (Space Afrika Ambiv)
- B1: Pigeon Flesh (Mobbs' Butcher Mix)
- B2: Love Like An Abscess (Aho Ssan Remix)
- C1: Nervous Energy (Teresa Winter Remix)
- C2: I Was Born By The Sea (Morgane Polanski Remix)
- D1: I Was Born By The Sea (Fila Brazillia Remix)
- D2: Dream About Yourself (Bonus)
Richie Culver had been waiting his whole life to record I was born by the sea. His debut album immediately and messily inscribed the artist into the canon of outsider music and experimental electronics, serving both as an arresting statement of intent and a painful reckoning with the difficult path that lead up to it, stealing one last glance back at a place he always knew he had to escape. Between grim lamentations, faded memories and anxiety attacks, all told with searing honesty and disarming openness, I was born by the sea excavates a space for hope, finding Culver digging through Humberside silt to find a world weary optimism, the raw material from which his visual and sound art is shaped. For this collection of expansions and inversions, Culver invites a collection of kindred spirits, contemporary inspirations and old heroes to wade into the salt water of his formative years spent living for impromptu raves and afterparties, connecting vivid memories of his birth place of Withernsea to artists hailing from as nearby as Preston and Bridlington, further afield, from Manchester and London, Berlin and Paris, before returning back to Hull, to where it all began.
For some, responding to I was born by the sea means diving even deeper into the record’s furthest reaches. Space Afrika clear away the pummelling loops of noise from ‘It’s hard to get to know you,’ revealing a cool and cavernous expanse in its wake. Distant chatter, previously heard as though through thin, plasterboard walls, now echoes from outside the maddening claustrophobia of the original’s Sisyphean sonics, illuminated as a dense storm cloud suspended amidst a more open scene, washed clean by a lighter rain, allowing the tender heart of the track to beat clear. London producer MOBBS stretches out ‘Pigeon Flesh’ into an epic, 10-minute, cold-sweat spiral, strung-out tension wrung from disconnected phone tones twisted in unexpected directions, snatches of Culver’s voice turned inside-out and deep fried bass threatening to tip the track over into oblivion, the build-and-release of a nervous breakdown experienced in real time. In an act of subversive self-reflection, Morgane Polanski switches one kind of ennui for another in her adaption of ‘I was born by the sea,’ swapping the sea for the city, English seaside towns in January for summer evenings in Paris and flashing lighthouses and sparkling oil rigs for the Eiffel Tower and the traffic around L’Arc de Triomphe. Even Culver finds time to revisit ‘Dream About Yourself,’ a track taken from his EP Post Traumatic Fantasy, breathing new words into its glacial drift, the half-remembered testimony of a shut-in: Woke up in the evening / Pray for me / Don’t trust anyone / Pray for algorithm. Reframed in a more melancholy light, the track’s reverberant keys even more clearly evoke a mournful nostalgia, fresh pain felt in old wounds.
Others find a parallel universe in Culver’s visceral world building. Rainy Miller flips the script with a scorched, avant-drill rework of ‘Daytime TV’, threading puncturing hi-hats and queasy low-end surge through the track’s steady ambient cascade, invoking the irresistible Preston beat magic of Miller’s own essential debut album, Desquamation. Aho Ssan melts away the crystalline textures of ‘Love Like an Abscess’ with the ominous crackle of a nascent fire, building through swathes of organic Max/MSP squelch and brittle, nails-down-chalkboard scrape, swelling and metastasising the original to spill over Culver’s desperate hymn to corporeal desire, at once flesh and not. Teresa Winter transports us an hour up the coast from Withernsea to her native Bridlington, replacing the sea wall of synthesis on ‘Nervous Energy’ with muffled ASMR murk and fever dream whispers, transforming Culver’s unflinching observations into a haunting call-and-response, filling in the blanks with her own eerie utterances, a fleeting conversation with a ghost. In a touching victory lap, Fila Brazillia, eccentric stalwarts of beloved ‘90s trip hop imprint Pork Recordings, whose performances at Hull institution The Lamp convinced a young Culver of the necessity to make his mark on club culture, resurface for their first remix in 20 years. Steve Cobby and David McSherry lead a low-slung, heartfelt stroll back through a suite of tracks from I was born by the sea, tracing a full circle saunter from Culver’s origins to his current musical practice, the sounds of his present repurposed by the sound of his youth. In a gesture that reflects the emotional complexity of the project, Fila Brazillia find joy at the end of Culver’s troubled reflection, picking out an undeniable groove in the stasis of feeling trapped in your hometown. Underlining Hull’s vital musical legacy, from Baby Mammoth to Throbbing Gristle, Cobby and McSherry demonstrate that, though there are certainly storms, by the sea there is also sun and through the fog, if you listen, you can hear a singular sound, a sound now carried by Richie Culver.
Participant is a record label and creative studio run by William Markarian-Martin and Richie Culver
Repress!
‘Shapes,’ the third album from London-based multi-instrumentalist, Robohands, fuses elements of jazz, krautrock, hip hop and ambient music. For fans of Khruangbin, Yusef Dayes, CAN, Coltrane and 70s library music moods.
Shapes is the solo project of London based composer, instrumentalist and producer Andy Baxter. His debut LP Green was released on Village Live Records in 2018 and was received with much love and acclaim in the UK Jazz, hip hop and surrounding scenes.
His follow up full-length, 'Dusk’, dropped in 2019, combining soul, funk, Latin & experimental moods. It featured vocalists & musicians from around the world including legendary New York French horn player, John Clark, who has worked with Isaac Hayes, Gil Evans Orchestra, McCoy Tyner, Jaco Pastorius, Ornette Coleman and many more greats.
'Shapes' is inspired by 1970s library music and their legendary composers including Piero Umiliani, David Axelrod, Brian Bennett and co. The album builds on these influences and incorporates modern motifs, contemporary jazz/hip hop drumming styles with a nod to 1990s Mo Wax artists such as DJ Shadow. The theme for the record is future/nostalgia, mixing vintage & modern instruments and production techniques.
Much of ‘Shapes’ was recorded with JB Pilon at Buffalo Studios in Limehouse, London. Due to the COVID restrictions that changed everything in 2020, the remaining parts were recorded in Andy’s flat using a collection of old mixing desk preamps and instruments.
For the heads – ‘Shapes’ features an array of vintage snares, including a 1960's Ludwig Pioneer and a mono, overhead ribbon mic on the drum kit provided extra old school points! The kick drum was re-amped through a huge vintage bass amplifier on a couple of tracks to give it some real character: “My favourite guitar sound achieved on this LP project is a Sontronics Sigma ribbon microphone in front of a WEM Dominator amp, which you can hear on the track 'Odysea'. The bass sound for all the tracks is a 1973 Fender Precision into an old Altec valve preamp, the one used on most Motown recordings."
Another deep techno ride on Delsin's Cameron series by Rhythm B?ro co-founder Na Nich. The Ukrainian DJ and producer delivers four excellent vibrant, dreamy techno trips. From the punchy 'Inlamint' to the unstoppable flow of 'Subway'. A darker twist appears on the mesmerizing 'Black Soil' finishing it off with a downtempo eyes closed delight 'Argonaut'.
- A1: 20
- A2: Little Love (Ft Roland Faunte)
- A3: I Looked Into Her Eyes (Ft Ural Thomas & The Pain)
- A4: Bonxair
- B1: Nomadics
- B2: See You Dancing In The Dark
- B3: Emotional
- B4: Don’t Smoke
- C1: Thinking Of
- C2: Memories (Ft Lord Apex)
- C3: Dreams
- C4: Mo1994By
- D1: Cuzratatat
- D2: Aye
- D3: When My Heart In Your Heart
- D4: Outro (End Of The Part 1)
Three years after his last album ‘I Need Space’, Mounika. is back on his favorite playground: electronic music, which arouses his curiosity since his beginnings. He is now ready to unveil ‘Don't Look At Me’, a new opus that takes us, by other paths, to his unique universe. Recorded during the confinement in the intimacy of his home studio, the French artist reveals little by little another facet of his artistic personality, more raw and affirmed, without totally abandoning the cottony sounds already proposed on titles like ‘Cut My Hair’ (diamond single) or ‘Tender Love’ (gold single). We discover sensitive compositions, still inspired by his love for trip-hop, piano and artists who made his musical culture during his youth: Moby, Ratatat, Air or Bonobo. After all, a Mounika. album without a tribute to these figures is not really an album...
But something new was needed to distinguish this opus from the previous ones. From the very first tracks, we can clearly feel this need for exploration that has always guided the French producer. ‘BonXair’ or ‘Nomadics’ take us, for example, in a more straight electronic, more heady than usual. In the same spirit, the rhythms close to the deep house of a track like ‘See You Dancing In The Dark’ offer to the album a new direction, and yet is quite representative of the work undertaken by Mounika. these last years.
In this new record that will also satisfy the fans of the first hour (a sample loop well felt, as on ‘Little Love’ or ‘I Looked Into Her Eyes’, always makes its effect), the French artist has also opened to collaborations of choice. Mounika. works on the heart, and thus wished to welcome those who have particularly marked him during his more or less recent discoveries. The American artist Roland Faunte lends his voice to the effective ‘Little Love’, while Ural Thomas & The Pain (discovered notably on the series ‘It's Bruno’) takes care of the chorus of ‘I Looked Into Her Eyes’. The British rapper Lord Apex delivers a spellbinding performance on ‘Memories’.
Finally, if you listen carefully, you can even hear Mounika. singing on some tracks... like ‘20’ or ‘Don't Smoke’. Put together, these appearances perfectly complement the energy transcribed by Mounika. throughout ‘Don't Look At Me’.
And what could be better than an amazing graphic universe to open the doors of this album like no other? Meet Carl & TJ, two cartoonish characters created in collaboration with Berlin-based artist Joe Taylor, who take care of guiding the listener through this new adventure. One is dreamy and contemplative, the other asks himself a lot of questions... and between them, they form a colorful duet illustrating with tenderness the universal emotions that punctuate this third opus, and that Mounika. will notably defend in the first part of Wax Tailor's French tour starting next April.
The successive pianos composing the productions of ‘When In My Heart In Your Heart’ then ‘Outro’ come, at the end of the record, to conclude the setting in orbit proposed by this ‘Don't Look At Me’. One more step in the sensory journey that Mounika. is committed, from the intimacy of her room to the international success, to build relentlessly.
Repress!
**NEW 2018 ALBUM FROM KIKAGAKU MOYO**The shifting dimensions of Masana Temples, fourth album from psychedelic explorers Kikagaku Moyo,are informed by various experiences the band had with traveling through life together, ranging from the months spent on tour to making a pilgrimage to Lisbon to record the album with jazz musician Bruno Pernadas. The band sought out Pernadas both out of admiration for his music and in an intentional move to work with a producer who came from a wildly different background.
With Masana Temples, the band wanted to challenge their own concepts of what psychedelic music could be. Elements of both the attentive folk and wild-¬-eyed rocking sides of the band are still intact throughout, but they're sharper and more defined.
Kikagaku Moyo started in the summer of 2012 busking on the streets of Tokyo. Though the band started as a free music collective, it quickly evolved into a tight group of multi-¬-instrumentalists. Kikagaku Moyo call their sound psychedelic because it encompasses a broad spectrum of influence. Their music incorporates elements of classical Indian music, Krautrock, Traditional Folk, and 70s Rock. Most importantly their music is about freedom of the mind and body and building a bridge between the supernatural and the present. Improvisation is a key element to their sound.
More than the literal interpretation of being on a journey, the album's always changing sonic panorama reflects the spiritual connection of the band moving through this all together. Life for a traveling band is a series of constant metamorphoses, with languages, cultures, climates and vibes changing with each new town. The only constant for Kikagaku Moyo throughout their travels were the five band members always together moving through it all, but each of them taking everything in from very different perspectives. Inspecting the harmonies and disparities between these perspectives, the group reflects the emotional impact of their nomadic paths. The music is the product of time spent in motion and all of the bending mindsets that come with it.
- A1: Welcome Wav
- A2: Life Is Perfecto
- A3: Nostalgic Body
- A4: Model Castings (Ft No Joy)
- B1: Suburbilude
- B2: Punksong
- B3: Night/Day/Work/Home
- B4: Gravure Idol
- C1: I Regret The Jet-Set
- C2: Self Service 1999
- C3: Slippery Plastic Euphoric
- C4: After The After
- D1: Dirty
- D2: End — Curve Of Forgetting
- D3: Heaven (Ft Sarah Bonito)
- D4: The Ultraviolet Room
Repress!
Montreal’s eclectic producer CFCF (aka Mike Silver) follows 2019’s effusive corporate jungle opus Liquid Colours with a kaleidoscopic capital-E Electronica album that takes a range of styles from his earliest formative listening years (1997-2000) and throws them in a blender. Elements of jungle, house, UK garage, trance, pop and post-grunge are blended to form a glossy picture of restless youth in an
identity crisis: memoryland.
Inspired as much by Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins as the Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx; as much by films like Millennium Mambo, Demonlover, Morvern Callar, Safe and Perfect Blue as late 90’s Prada — CFCF jumps across genres as a means of portraying a breadth of overlapping milieus and identities in this hyperactive Y2K period-piece that both explores and criticizes our own nostalgic impulses. From the opening intro’s announcement of arrival to the final credits, it’s an album as film as RPG, with the listener as its protagonist.
Opener “welcome.WAV” functions as a start-up sound file for the journey ahead: from “Life is Perfecto”, a propulsive breakbeat-dreampop hybrid, to a grotesquely-remixed ultra-French-house version of previously released single “Self Service”, and the recursive, metaphysical garage of “After the After”. Two guest vocalists lend their talents: Montreal neo-shoegaze icons No Joy, fresh off their own genre-defying Y2K exploration Motherhood, laconically lists off advice for aspiring fashion ingenues with bite in the alt-rock-IDM “Model Castings”, while Kero Kero Bonito’s Sarah Bonito sweetly delivers the penultimate “Heaven”, grunge-pop paean to the myth of Icarus.
In CFCF’s words:
“I was feeling fatigued by an overabundance of ‘calming’, productivity-oriented music, and wanted to explore something angsty, messy, and dark, while also applying a pop sheen. I see a loose narrative across the album: your early 20’s, a new city, new people, new temptations and new traps. Losing your sense of self to the whims of your surroundings and trends in music and fashion; the wrong people, and trying to dig yourself out of that hole. There’s a hope of moving forward that glimmers in the last quarter of the album, but it’s out of reach and seems to come at a price. And then the looking back on it later with perspective; or the looking forward to it before with anticipation. As a kid I couldn’t wait to be in my 20’s; in my 30’s it’s bittersweet to look back. That’s the core of memoryland: the gulf between the fantasy, the reality, and the memory, and how we live inside each of those at different points.”
A growling echo came from deep within the tunnel. There was movement, he was sure of it, but was it living? The wind brushed the darkness, stroking his ears as it passed through the entrance where he stood. Whispers of air danced along the concrete walls and he felt the presence of another. Something stirred down there, but whether it was friend or foe, he could not be sure...
As the name suggests, this EP guides the listener with voices, vocal samples, and choral pads, glueing dub techno soundscapes together. The work brings a dark and brooding, yet warm sonic structure. Distortion provides textured atmospheres, while analogue rhythms build on sturdy 4/4 foundations in meditative cycles.
Guided By Voices: The title track beats with heartthrob kicks, gently arpeggiated melodies, and flecked, illusive vocal samples. Messier808 builds curiosity in the listener, as we try to catch hold of the voices. Each time they remain out of reach. Understated and subtle, the release marks a new outlet - bringing psychedelic, dub, and meditative techno under one roof.
Road to Frederikshavn: Driving, robust and punchy. This track comes with a clarity and forward motion that energises the meditative feel of the previous song. Falling choral pads juxtapose sturdy drums to combine meditation with movement.
Redshift: Bleepy stutters chime like electronic birdsong, looping in with the cyclical soundscapes of the EP, inducing another trance-like state.
This engaging and thoughtful release from the Dutch producer, Messier808, marks the first imprint on The Messier Objects. The tone has been set with breathtaking artwork and intricate soundscapes for what is to become an absolutely intriguing record label and a talented emerging artist.
* Strictly limited-edition 12” vinyl in full colour sleeve
* V Recordings is excited to bring you the latest addition to their 'Legends' series, featuring none other than the legendary Jungle and Drum & Bass producer, Dillinja. You know the drill by now, two tracks, much sought after made available for the very first time.
* Dillinja, aka Karl Francis, has been a staple in the Jungle and Drum & Bass scene since the early days. With his poinerring basslines, intricate rhythms, and futuristic sound design, he's earned a reputation as one of the most innovative producers in the genre. His music continues to be celebrated by fans and DJs alike and remains just as fresh as the day it was created.
* On the hunt through the vaults Bryan Gee, came across these two tracks, 'Lionheart VIP' from 1994 and 'Love 4 You VIP' from 1999/2000, and knew instantly they needed to be part of the collection getting the transf erred to digital and remastered for this release. The result? A taste of Dillinja's unmistakable production style, giving us a glimpse into his creative process during the early days of Jungle and Drum & Bass.
* V Recordings is celebrating 30 Years in the game this year and Dillinja has been a part of the family from the start, with tracks like 'Unexplored Terrain', 'Grimey', and '40Hz' amongst many others that are widely considered as timeless classics that have made a lasting impact on the genre.
* This vinyl release is a must-have for anyone who loves Jungle and Drum & Bass. The 'Legends' series is all about showcasing previously unreleased gems from the archives and taking fans on a journey through the history of the genre. So, don't miss out on this limited edition release and add a piece of Jungle and Drum & Bass history to your collection today!
Repress.
Barely disco and hardly jazz, Rupa Biswas’ 1982 LP is the halfway point between Bollywood and Balearic. Tracked in Calgary’s Living Room Studios with a crack team of Indian and Canadian studio rats alike, Disco Jazz is a perfect fusion of East and West. Sarod and synthesizer intricately weave around one another for 37 transcendent minutes, culminating in the viral hit “Aaj Shanibar.” Remastered from original analogue source material and issued with permission and blessing of the producers and performers.
Skepta and fellow BBK member Jammer launch house label Más Tiempo, with the pair collaborating for the debut EP ‘Mas Murder’
The release sees the Mercury Prize-winning MC, songwriter, and producer showcase his house sounds ahead of the label launch party at London’s KOKO on 30th April 2023.
Skepta, the influential Mercury Prize-winning MC, producer, designer, director, and founding member of seminal British grime collective Boy Better Know, unveils his new label Más Tiempo on 28th April alongside instrumental LOTM founder and BBK mainstay Jammer, as the pair launch the house-centric project with their ‘Mas Murder’ EP.
Featuring London talents J Kolo and Ossie (Club Bad/Madhouse), the debut EP showcases a first glimpse of the musical direction of the label, with the imprint set to provide a platform for producers to ‘expand their current portfolio range’ - with Skepta building on his iconic DC10 debut for Circoloco last summer, plus forthcoming appearances in Milan, Ibiza and more.
“‘This generation rules the nation, with version’... that really resonated with us for the Más Tiempo journey. Musical Youth sampled on ‘Mas Murder’ was perfect to showcase the way we feel about giving people our spin on house production with instrumentals while paying homage to the ones that came before us.” - Jammer.
Collaborating on the lead cut, Skepta and Jammer’s ‘Mas Murder’ is a low-slung, heady house cut shaped for bustling terraces and built for clubs, fusing crisp percussion, a snaking bassline and eerie melodies for a heads-down effort. Handing over to Jammer, who links up with J Kolo and Ossie, ‘Touch Me’ draws from UK house influences for a skippy, slinking production.
Alongside the EP, Más Tiempo will also take over legendary London venue KOKO on 30th April, with the event being the first standalone show for the collective, having collaborated with The Martinez Brothers and Cuttin Headz at The Beams in December. Featuring performances from Benji B and DJ Maximum alongside sets from both label heads, the show will see Skepta return to the venue for the first time since 2016 following the release of his critically acclaimed LP ‘Konnichiwa’.
Welcoming the inimitable DJ and Producer Dan Shake with his forthcoming EP Verde, set for release on May 26 2023.
Renowned for his infectious charm in the booth and an expert ear for funk, soul and disco rarities, the producer who cut teeth making maximum impact dancefloor groovers is now taking an introspective new direction. Dan was inspired after his relocation to Devon from London where a new found feeling of escapism and appreciation for nature allowed him to experiment with his own sound more than before, including using his own vocals at the forefront for the very first time.
Dan Shake (Daniel Rose-Weir) began his notoriety with the Mahogani Music released 3AM Jazz Club / Thinkin’ in 2014, using Moodymann’s seal of approval as a springboard for his ambitions. Even as dancefloor-igniting releases piled up year on year, such as the Ibiza-smashing ‘Claudia’s Trip’, or any number of Shake Tapes white label edits, Shake’s expertise as a DJ began to match his production chops. This makes for two combined sides of what Dan Shake represents: an explosion of colour, variety and flavour, no matter whether he’s jamming on a rotary in the booth, or juicing fresh joy from old samples in the studio. Basements, lofts, tents, festival stages with the production dialled up to 11 – all are welcome opportunities to let loose. But as his sound has evolved and his reputation as a killer DJ has grown, Shake’s love of connecting to the dancers in front of him has remained, well, unshakable.
Greg Paulus joins forces with fellow Brooklynite Taylor Bense for a new Freerange EP showcasing their left field, raw house sounds across three original tracks plus a bonus Martinez Brothers edit.
With previous releases appearing on labels as diverse as Soul Clap, Let’s Play House, Ghostly International and Kompakt, the producer, DJ and trumpeter is perhaps best known for being one half of No Regular Play who have recorded LP’s and EP’s for Wolf & Lamb, Crew Love, and Let’s Play House. Never one to be confined to one genre, Greg takes influence from Jazz, Funk, Hip Hop and underground house to form a unique sound primed for discerning dance floors. Taylor Bense is an in-house composer and producer at the highly regarded Hyperballad Studios in Brooklyn, where he works and records a wide spectrum of music for everything from high end commercial work to EP’s for Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap Records. The entire EP was recorded and produced at Hyperballad Studios over the past few years.
Title track Heat Make Sense wears its Prince inspiration on its sleeve with a hooky whistled tune, crunchy live bass fills and punchy, raw beats. Next up we have Switch which features Brooklyn MC’s Stimulus and Malik Work on vocal duties and Greg’s own trumpet adding top lines to the deep pads and rolling groove.
Marino takes us back to golden era jacking Chicago house of the 00’s but with Greg’s trumpet flourishes bringing a live, jazzy energy to the track. Fellow NYC mainstay Big $exy provides his trademark deep baritone vocal to give a little hip house flavour. Closing out the EP we have NYC’s Martinez Brothers providing an uptempo minimal edit of Do You Love Me, a track from Greg’s previous Freerange EP. The MB’s keep things rolling and stripped back for maximum club impact creating a useful DJ tool whilst allowing Greg’s musical and vocal parts to shine.
For it's 46th outing, Klasse Wrecks recruits the Brooklyn based producer Gee Dee to it's ranks. Gee Dee aka Greg Droggitis turns in a wonderful and fully fledged collection of tracks that burst to the brim with atmosphere and sunny vibrations. True to the label's ethos, the music is as always, hard to pin down under one specific genre but instead slyly calls on various classic House, Electro and Acid tropes. The overall sound is one that is both universal and transcendent, feeling familiar but still surprising. 'Dream In Colour' is indeed an apt title for the EP as it spans the musical spectrum and is a lucid and vivid trip into the imagination of this new and exciting producer.
The first ever release of electronic Jaglara, an obscure dance music being innovated in an area near the Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea border called Fashaga.
Among the most raucous, hypnotic, addictive, and celestial dance styles being made anywhere in Africa, this heavy, mysterious sound is being led by one man: Jantra, which translates as "craziness," a moniker bestowed to celebrate both his personality and sound. Jantra is a rather unknown quantity even in Sudan, outside of the circles which have granted him cult status to perform at their humble gatherings or at street parties far from the gaze of the cities.
Jaglara, which roughly translates as improvisation, has no songs. Jantra simply freestyles a combination of his melodies incessantly for hours on end, acting as a live producer and DJ for emphatic crowds, where the energy of his 155 - 168 BPM music is known to inspire the odd gunslinger to raise and fire his pistol in the middle of the dance floor. His music is hopeful in a hopeless world, uplifting in spirit, ancient and new, childish and mature, familiar yet refreshingly obscure, fueled by the hypnotic Sera rhythm. His Yamaha keyboard is specially tweaked to achieve what you're hearing — the perfect, sweet key tone, literally universal in its appeal.
A hybrid reissue-contemporary album, Ostinato combined extracted individual melodic patterns, rhythms, and MIDI data from Jantra's Yamaha keyboard with his older cassette and digital recordings to recreate his lengthy sessions into individual dance tracks for a worldwide audience to reach the enviable frenzy of Sudanese crowds. This promising new dance music emerging from the deepest reaches of Sudan has never made its way outside of Jantra's parties, let alone outside of the country.
This record is confirmation that the many electronic styles being exported from Africa have a worthy sibling and rival—Jantra's signature electronic Jaglara from the Fashaga underground. It is a privilege of the highest order to be exposed to this unheralded, incredibly well kept rural Sudanese secret.
New Copenhagen, Denmark based imprint Inherent Futurism shines a light on an unsung gemstone from the Detroit Electro genre, Autobot-1000's '3 Dimension Of Space'. Inherent Futurism is a new label coming out of Copenhagen, Denmark and headed up by Morten Kamper, a staple in the Danish electronic music scene who's been involved in it for more than 30 years and nowadays is running the 313vinyl_collective record store in the capital.
Inherent Futurism will focus on a blend of unearthed old records and new material with no real boundaries, just a focus on quality electronic music in all forms with an inclination towards Techno and Electro. To inaugurate the label, Morten will release Autobot-1000's debut album on vinyl for the first time, the project was only out on CD and released in 2001 on Hoodwink Records from North Carolina, US. Run by James B. Boggs who also was executive producer on the album.
Across the '3 Dimensions Of Space' LP, Autobot-1000 treats us to an array of classic Detroit Techno and Electro cuts, fusing an amalgamation of crisp analogue drums, intricately intertwined synth strings, squelchy acid licks and arpeggios alongside silky snaking bass grooves, twinkling chimes and vocoder vocal lines. The entire project embraces and encapsulates the futuristic, spaced out aesthetic synonymous with the Electro sound of its it's time and place, namely Detroit at the turn of the millennium.
Egyptian-Australian DJ/producer moktar announces his second boundary-pushing five track EP, ‘Immigrant’. An expressive and considered journey that combines his Middle Eastern heritage and influential club sounds in one.
‘Immigrant’ sees moktar continue to bring traditional Arabic instrumentation into the club by weaving samples like polyrhythmic drumming and the Arabic Oud into experimental club music which has captured the attention of many tastemakers. Giant Swan, Anz, Tash LC, Raji Rags, Jamie XX, Bonobo, Groove Armada, Hudson Mohawke, Mary Anne Hobbs and Jamz Supernova all championed his highly favoured self-titled EP in 2021, which topped the Australian community radio charts as a number #1 most played alongside the global support it received. The release represented re-learning the value of his Egyptian heritage following racism and stereotyping growing up. ‘Immigrant’ expands on the story.
Debut single ‘Immigrant’ was released in September and served as a backdrop for moktar to air the stories of many as well as his own, told through a chopped vocal sample of Arsenal Football Club’s host and hype man, Frimpon. ‘North Africa’ and ‘Al-Duqqi’ are a homage to moktar’s roots. ‘Crossroads’ represents his need to push himself and grow in life and music, and ‘Send it’ (a term in Australia that means you're about to do something wild) also aims to represent Middle Eastern communities in Bankstown, Sydney.
moktar explains - “Through Immigrant I wanted to highlight the struggle many people all over the world go through to be accepted, while representing the community in Egypt, North Africa and Australia. Fusing Middle Eastern sounds into sounds into my music has been a big part of helping me become proud of who I am. I feel passionate about bringing these sounds to a wider audience in the hope it helps others in the identity struggle feel a sense of pride too”
The EP falls just as moktar’s highly anticipated debut EU tour comes to a close, playing b2b with DJ Plead at Phonox for Yung Singh, Adaptations Festival, Repercussions Festival, Werkhaus Festival, b2b with Mr Scruff at Field Day, Lost Village, Amsterdam for ADE with Kode 9, Rex Club in Paris, and Takseer festival Berlin.
What’s happening in the streets? This right here, a celebrated engineer Yas Inoue and Dj Takaya Nagase come together in the studio and rework the Voltage Brothers rare groove jam “Happening In the Streets” with a cleverly put together edit with filters, effects and sonically tweaking it to perfection. They've created a perfect dance floor masterpiece already championed by Louie Vega, Joe Claussell, Spinna, Mike Dunn, and Rich Medina. This choon has everyone in anticipation for it’s release.
Japanese sound engineer Yas Inoue, based in New York began his career in the world renowned Maw Studios in the late 90s and has engineered for producers such as Masters At Work, Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, and Randy Muller contributing to the creation of various New York house and disco hits.
Takaya Nagase, a New York based Japanese Dj started as an A&R for Japanese record label Soundmen On Wax. He learned and studied under the great David Mancuso of the Loft Party NYC and later held his own Joy parties along with other Loft members. Having had regular gigs at Club Shelter from 2006 to 2007 and at Club Output from 2017 until the closing in 2019, he built his dj chops and now currently djs at New York City's top venues such as Le Bain, Good Room and Nowadays along with monthly shows on the famed Lot Radio in Brooklyn.
Together they are Domo Domo and with their first project on Vega Records they are on their way to becoming New York household names in the dance music industry. Look out for “Happening In The Streets” coming soon at all digital and streaming outlets with vinyl releases on 12” and 7”. Lookout everyone, this one’s a sure HIT!!!
Limited edition sampler from Japanese producer CALM. These two tracks have been taken from the Japan only Music Conception release ‘Quiet Music Under The Moon’ that came out early 2023 . Featuring his signature ambient musical meditations. Mukatsuku has worked with Calm several times over the years releasing music on Exceptional Records plus compilations on Fuego (Moshi Moshi) & Kriztal (Sakura Aural Bliss) but this is the first time to release his output on Mukatsuku. Limited to 400 only hand-numbered copies
...And I Mean It is an amalgam of girl group, new wave, blues, pop, and folk-rock by Genya Ravan. To hear her exquisite voice on "Night Owl" soaring above her own backing vocals is intense, imagine Etta James backed by the Sex Pistols doing a rock version of "Earth Angel." Of all Ravan's work, ...And I Mean It is possibly the most concise and picture-perfect statement of what the woman is musically about. A girl group pioneer who worked with Richard Perry prior to his finding the Pointer Sisters groove, there is no doubt Ravan influenced that major producer, and his work did the same for her. "Pedal to the Medal" is high-end treble rock before it came into vogue. This is the other side of Siren, the album Genya produced for Ronnie Spector, with more emphasis on a good-time rocking party. "I'm Wired, Wired, Wired" is a rock & roll anthem for people who burn the candle at both ends, while "I Won't Sleep on the Wet Spot" embodies the unbridled sexuality of this album. The music crunches while Ravan uses her voice, her production skills, and her legacy to create something far removed from her days in Ten Wheel Drive. The horns are replaced by searing guitars and Charlie Giordano's magical piano work. The sound of the keyboard and its erratic splashes really are key to "I Won't Sleep on the Wet Spot," while the guitar and bass battle it out. "Steve...," on the other hand, is Goldie & the Gingerbreads ten years after. This Ravan/Conrad Taylor composition was the 45 from the album, and it has "hit" written all over it. 20th Century just didn't have the right mechanisms in place to get some of the great music they put out on radio, such a pity as Harriet Schock, Randy Edelman, and the fake soundtrack for All This and World War II (a Beatles tribute album) contained songs that should have been big hits. What did hit off this album, on FM radio as an album track, is the brilliant duet by Ian Hunter and Ravan, the subtle and folky "Junkman." Released on Hunter's excellent Once Bitten Twice Shy CD on Legacy in 2000, the song and the performance are timeless. Ravan once said: "I was asleep with the tv on, and was saying to myself...that's my voice...that's my song...that's me! I woke up to find "Junkman" on TV in a film." The song got placed in a cable movie without the producer's knowledge! "Junkman" was a sound not heard on FM radio prior to its release, much like MTV's "unplugged" versions of songs, but it is more unplugged than most of this material -- take the rocked-out version of Motown that is the cover of Marvin Gaye's "Stubborn Kinda Girl," or the Springsteen-style blast that is "It's Me," a tune Springsteen should cover.
...And I Mean It is an amalgam of girl group, new wave, blues, pop, and folk-rock by Genya Ravan. To hear her exquisite voice on "Night Owl" soaring above her own backing vocals is intense, imagine Etta James backed by the Sex Pistols doing a rock version of "Earth Angel." Of all Ravan's work, ...And I Mean It is possibly the most concise and picture-perfect statement of what the woman is musically about. A girl group pioneer who worked with Richard Perry prior to his finding the Pointer Sisters groove, there is no doubt Ravan influenced that major producer, and his work did the same for her. "Pedal to the Medal" is high-end treble rock before it came into vogue. This is the other side of Siren, the album Genya produced for Ronnie Spector, with more emphasis on a good-time rocking party. "I'm Wired, Wired, Wired" is a rock & roll anthem for people who burn the candle at both ends, while "I Won't Sleep on the Wet Spot" embodies the unbridled sexuality of this album. The music crunches while Ravan uses her voice, her production skills, and her legacy to create something far removed from her days in Ten Wheel Drive. The horns are replaced by searing guitars and Charlie Giordano's magical piano work. The sound of the keyboard and its erratic splashes really are key to "I Won't Sleep on the Wet Spot," while the guitar and bass battle it out. "Steve...," on the other hand, is Goldie & the Gingerbreads ten years after. This Ravan/Conrad Taylor composition was the 45 from the album, and it has "hit" written all over it. 20th Century just didn't have the right mechanisms in place to get some of the great music they put out on radio, such a pity as Harriet Schock, Randy Edelman, and the fake soundtrack for All This and World War II (a Beatles tribute album) contained songs that should have been big hits. What did hit off this album, on FM radio as an album track, is the brilliant duet by Ian Hunter and Ravan, the subtle and folky "Junkman." Released on Hunter's excellent Once Bitten Twice Shy CD on Legacy in 2000, the song and the performance are timeless. Ravan once said: "I was asleep with the tv on, and was saying to myself...that's my voice...that's my song...that's me! I woke up to find "Junkman" on TV in a film." The song got placed in a cable movie without the producer's knowledge! "Junkman" was a sound not heard on FM radio prior to its release, much like MTV's "unplugged" versions of songs, but it is more unplugged than most of this material -- take the rocked-out version of Motown that is the cover of Marvin Gaye's "Stubborn Kinda Girl," or the Springsteen-style blast that is "It's Me," a tune Springsteen should cover.
Sidekick is the evocative, uplifting and adventurous debut from London based producer and composer Chris Hyson. Chris's work as duo Snowpoet with vocalist Lauren Kinsella has earned him a formidable reputation as a producer with refreshing perspective and spot-on taste; his blending of sweet hook-laden vocal lines with warm and lush arrangements has sparked serious interest from many artists, most notably Jordan Rakei (Ninja Tune). Citing influences ranging from James Blake to Bjork and Radiohead, Chris' music is soaked with sun-drenched harmonies yet underwritten with darker sub-tones and a sense of melancholy that deeply enriches the music and emotional narrative. Powerful and compelling, Sidekick is a major new album with collaboration at its core, featuring incredible singers Frida Touray, Alison Sudol and Soren Bryce as well as instrumentalists Josh Arcoleo and Joe Webb.
- A1: Pretending**
- A2: Running On Faith**
- A3: Breaking Point
- B1: I Shot The Sheriff (Feat Phil Collins On Drums
- B2: White Room**
- B3: Can’t Find My Way Home (Feat Nathan East On Lead Vocals
- C1: Bad Love **
- C2: Before You Accuse Me
- C3: Lay Down Sally
- D1: Knocking On Heaven’s Door (Feat Phil Collins On Drums)
- D2: Old Love
- D3: No Alibis (This Version Was Released As A B-Side Of The Single ‘Wonderful Tonight’
- E1: Tearing Us Apart
- E2: Cocaine
- E3: Wonderful Tonight**
- F1: 1. Layla
- F2: Crossroads
- F3: Sunshine Of Your Love
- G1: Key To The Highway
- G2: Worried Life Blues **
- G3: Watch Yourself **
- G4: Have You Ever Loved A Woman**
- H1: Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
- H2: Something On Your Mind
- H3: All Your Love (I Miss Loving)
- H4: Johnnie’s Boogie
- I1: Black Cat Bonei
- I2: Reconsider Baby
- I3: My Time After A While
- J1: Sweet Home Chicago
- J2: Watch Yourself (Reprise)
- Orchestral Show
- Side One
- 1: Crossroads
- 2: Bell Bottom Blues **
- 3: Lay Down Sally
- Side Two
- 1: Holy Mother
- 2: I Shot The Sheriff
- 3: Hard Times **
- 4: White Room
- Side Three
- 1: Can’t Find My Way Home (Feat. Nathan East On Lead Vocals)
- 2: Edge Of Darkness**
- 3: Old Love
- Side Four
- 1: Wonderful Tonight
- 2: Layla
- Side Five
- 1: Concerto For Electric Guitar Part
- Side Six
- 1: Concerto For Electric Guitar Part 2
In 1990, Eric Clapton performed 18 nights at one of his favorite venues - the famous Royal Albert Hall in London. During the 18 run of shows Clapton performed with three different line-ups: a rock band, a blues band, and an orchestra. Eric returned to the same venue in 1991 with the same three line -ups and played a further 24 shows. The huge undertaking of rehearsing for performances of three distinctly different genres was made even more challenging by the line-up for the rock shows varying from 4, 9 or 13 band members.
Clapton has always played with superlative musicians, and these shows were no exception. The bands included Johnnie Johnson, Jimmie Vaughan, Chuck Leavell, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Ferrone, Ray Cooper, and Jerry Portnoy. Additionally, legendary special guests joined Clapton on stage: Phil Collins in the rock ensemble; Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins for the blues shows.
The Orchestral performances were arranged and conducted by Michael Kamen the highly regarded and successful composer who had worked with Clapton previously (Lethal Weapon, Edge Of Darkness). The set list included the epic 30 minute ‘Concerto For Guitar’ that Kamen composed especially for Clapton - released now for the first time.
Many of the performances in both years were filmed and recorded. The huge volume of audio and film material from the archive has been painstakingly restored and upgraded by Clapton’s team of Simon Climie (audio production and mixing), producer Peter Worsley (Slowhand at 70 and The Lady In The Balcony), and director David Barnard (The Lady In The Balcony).
This remarkable series of shows will finally be given the release that they deserve. A full concert of each genre (Rock, Blues, Orchestral) has been assembled from the hours of material available and will be released on audio (CD, LP, digital) and with an accompanying film on Blu-ray and DVD.
The Clapton classics performed with the rock band include ‘White Room’, ‘Lay Down Sally’, ‘Wonderful Tonight’, ‘Pretending’ and ‘Layla’. The Orchestral show features a stunning version of ‘ Layla’, plus stand-out highlights of ‘Bell Bottom Blues’, ‘Edge Of Darkness’ and ‘Sunshine of Your Love’. Great covers of ‘Cocaine’, ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ and ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ also feature. The 14-song Blues set includes standards such as ‘Sweet Home Chicago, ‘Have You Ever Loved A Woman’, and ‘Key To The Highway’.
The limited-edition ‘Definitive 24 Nights’ deluxe box sets include 47 songs and almost 6 hours of music on 6 CDs or 8 LPs and 3 Blu-ray’s.
- A1: Crossroads
- A2: Bell Bottom Blues **
- A3: Lay Down Sally
- B1: Holy Mother
- B2: I Shot The Sheriff
- B3: Hard Times **
- B4: White Room
- C1: Can’t Find My Way Home (Feat. Nathan East On Lead Vocals)
- C2: Edge Of Darkness**
- C3: Old Love
- D1: Wonderful Tonight
- D2: Layla
- E1: Concerto For Electric Guitar Part 1
- F1: Concerto For Electric Guitar Part 2
In 1990, Eric Clapton performed 18 nights at one of his favorite venues - the famous Royal Albert Hall in London. During the 18 run of shows Clapton performed with three different line-ups: a rock band, a blues band, and an orchestra. Eric returned to the same venue in 1991 with the same three line -ups and played a further 24 shows. The huge undertaking of rehearsing for performances of three distinctly different genres was made even more challenging by the line-up for the rock shows varying from 4, 9 or 13 band members.
Clapton has always played with superlative musicians, and these shows were no exception. The bands included Johnnie Johnson, Jimmie Vaughan, Chuck Leavell, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Ferrone, Ray Cooper, and Jerry Portnoy. Additionally, legendary special guests joined Clapton on stage: Phil Collins in the rock ensemble; Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins for the blues shows.
The Orchestral performances were arranged and conducted by Michael Kamen the highly regarded and successful composer who had worked with Clapton previously (Lethal Weapon, Edge Of Darkness). The set list included the epic 30 minute ‘Concerto For Guitar’ that Kamen composed especially for Clapton - released now for the first time.
Many of the performances in both years were filmed and recorded. The huge volume of audio and film material from the archive has been painstakingly restored and upgraded by Clapton’s team of Simon Climie (audio production and mixing), producer Peter Worsley (Slowhand at 70 and The Lady In The Balcony), and director David Barnard (The Lady In The Balcony).
This remarkable series of shows will finally be given the release that they deserve. A full concert of each genre (Rock, Blues, Orchestral) has been assembled from the hours of material available and will be released on audio (CD, LP, digital) and with an accompanying film on Blu-ray and DVD.
Orchestral show features a stunning version of ‘ Layla’, plus stand-out highlights of ‘Bell Bottom Blues’, ‘Edge Of Darkness’ and ‘Sunshine of Your Love’. Great covers of ‘Cocaine’, ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ and ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ also feature.
- 1: The Wild Horses Of The Revolution Have Arrived Without A Knight
- 2: Central Crisis Management Cell
- 3: Painful Memories From The Past Need To Be Acknowledged
- 4: Dancing On The Head Of An Eagle
- 5: He Worked With His Eyes Lowered
- 6: Starting Something You’re Not Able To Finish
- 7: Diplomatic Cocktail Circuit
Repress!
N0!zy blighter Russell Haswell returns to Diagonal 5 years after his label debut with a spontaneously combusting follow-up to ’37 Minute Workout’ generated again from a mix of analog/digital synths and modular systems edited on a computer. It was inspired by a visit to CERN, The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, in Geneva; and dinner with Ted Nelson, whose theories of interwingularity and transclusion chimed with the direction recordings took.There are few artists who can genuinely make music that sounds like your needle and/or record is melting, but Russell Haswell is one of them. His 2nd volume of extremely kinky calisthenics is a potent example of daring to be different in a world where exponentially increasing production options are leading producers of all stripes to the exact same conclusions. But, with thanks to Russell’s iconoclastic intent, restless nature and ascetic aesthetics, he still sounds quite like nobody else, and, even better yet, doesn’t give a shit if you like it or not. For the record (this one in particular), we’re all over it like a hot rash.
Since reincorporating his early love of freestyle electro and Industrial dance music into his patented n0!ze matrices circa the 1st volume of ’37 Minute Workout’, Russell has steered that rhythm-driven style into a string of fizzy bangers for Diagonal and even applied it to his production for Consumer Electronics with typically radical results. Russell’s 2nd volume of ’37 Minute Workout’ is cut from similarly (but never the same) ragged material as the first batch, and spits, kicks and claws with equal amounts of eething, pent energy and rambunctiousness ready to jab the ‘floor in the eye or dissolve a party where needed.
Crowbarring cues ranging from the Latin Rascals to Incapacitants and Jeff Mills into 7 wickedly awkward designs, Haswell keeps his avant aerobics radically irregular as he hops from the tendon-twitching angularity of ‘The Wild Horses of the Revolution have arrived Without Knight’ to steel-hoofed clatter in ‘Central Crisis Management Cell’ and the lacquer-eating dynamics of ‘Painful
Memories From The Past Need To Be Acknowledged’, before toning a proper nasty acid special in the UR inversion ‘Dancing on the Head of an Eagle’, and seemingly sucking your brain out thru a straw with ‘Starting Something You’re Not Able To Finish’, with the dry witted, skeletal jazz-funk squirm of ‘Diplomatic Cocktail Circuit’ closing the party down in style.
- A1: Pretending**
- A2: Running On Faith**
- A3: Breaking Point
- B1: I Shot The Sheriff (Feat Phil Collins On Drums
- B2: White Room**
- B3: Can’t Find My Way Home (Feat Nathan East On Lead Vocals
- C1: Bad Love **
- C2: Before You Accuse Me
- C3: Lay Down Sally
- D1: Knocking On Heaven’s Door (Feat Phil Collins On Drums)
- D2: Old Love
- D3: No Alibis (This Version Was Released As A B-Side Of The Single ‘Wonderful Tonight’
- E1: Tearing Us Apart
- E2: Cocaine
- E3: Wonderful Tonight**
- F1: 1. Layla
- F2: Crossroads
- F3: Sunshine Of Your Love
In 1990, Eric Clapton performed 18 nights at one of his favorite venues - the famous Royal Albert Hall in London. During the 18 run of shows Clapton performed with three different line-ups: a rock band, a blues band, and an orchestra. Eric returned to the same venue in 1991 with the same three line -ups and played a further 24 shows. The huge undertaking of rehearsing for performances of three distinctly different genres was made even more challenging by the line-up for the rock shows varying from 4, 9 or 13 band members.
Clapton has always played with superlative musicians, and these shows were no exception. The bands included Johnnie Johnson, Jimmie Vaughan, Chuck Leavell, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Ferrone, Ray Cooper, and Jerry Portnoy. Additionally, legendary special guests joined Clapton on stage: Phil Collins in the rock ensemble; Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins for the blues shows.
Many of the performances in both years were filmed and recorded. The huge volume of audio and film material from the archive has been painstakingly restored and upgraded by Clapton’s team of Simon Climie (audio production and mixing), producer Peter Worsley (Slowhand at 70 and The Lady In The Balcony), and director David Barnard (The Lady In The Balcony).
This remarkable series of shows will finally be given the release that they deserve. A full concert of each genre (Rock, Blues, Orchestral) has been assembled from the hours of material available and will be released on audio (CD, LP, digital) and with an accompanying film on Blu-ray and DVD.
The Clapton classics performed with the rock band include ‘White Room’, ‘Lay Down Sally’, ‘Wonderful Tonight’, ‘Pretending’ and ‘Layla’
Urban Desire is Genya Ravan creating music on her terms after artistically successful work with producers Richard Perry, Jimmy Miller, and Jim Price, along with the three strong albums she recorded with Ten Wheel Drive. As producer of the prototypical punk band the Dead Boys and their classic single "Sonic Reducer," Ravan was an essential part of the new wave explosion of the '70s, which was a blend of punk rock and power pop. Urban Desire is the quintessential new wave album, and though it caused a stir, it has never fully been recognized as the groundbreaking work it is. A driving cover of the Supremes hit "Back in My Arms Again" has guitarists Conrad Taylor and Ritchie Fliegler fragmenting Deep Purple's "My Woman from Tokyo" riff under Ravan's brilliant New York party atmosphere. That comes right after her duet with Lou Reed, a tune called "Aye Co'lorado," one of the album's highlights written by Ravan and keyboard player Charlie Giordano. Classic girl group vocals, blues sensibilities, and the hard edge of underground rock & roll are the ingredients that propel "Jerry's Pigeons" and "Cornered," while a John Cale signature tune, "Darling, I Need You," becomes a barroom brawl -- and that's thanks to the band assembled for this: Bobby Chen on drums, Don Nossov on bass, along with the aforementioned Fliegler, Taylor, and Giordano. Ravan's harp playing pushes "Messin Around," which keeps up the intensity -- and volume. Joe Droukas, who would author the successful "Junkman" duet with Ian Hunter on Ravan's next outing, ...And I Mean It, brings the disc to a close with his third composition on Urban Desire, a tune called "Shadowboxing." Genya gets mellow with this performance, which feels like Ten Wheel Drive meets the Rolling Stones at the "Memory Motel." A bit of a different groove from the equally profound ...And I Mean It, which was released a year later. -Joe Viglione, AllMusic
Urban Desire is Genya Ravan creating music on her terms after artistically successful work with producers Richard Perry, Jimmy Miller, and Jim Price, along with the three strong albums she recorded with Ten Wheel Drive. As producer of the prototypical punk band the Dead Boys and their classic single "Sonic Reducer," Ravan was an essential part of the new wave explosion of the '70s, which was a blend of punk rock and power pop. Urban Desire is the quintessential new wave album, and though it caused a stir, it has never fully been recognized as the groundbreaking work it is. A driving cover of the Supremes hit "Back in My Arms Again" has guitarists Conrad Taylor and Ritchie Fliegler fragmenting Deep Purple's "My Woman from Tokyo" riff under Ravan's brilliant New York party atmosphere. That comes right after her duet with Lou Reed, a tune called "Aye Co'lorado," one of the album's highlights written by Ravan and keyboard player Charlie Giordano. Classic girl group vocals, blues sensibilities, and the hard edge of underground rock & roll are the ingredients that propel "Jerry's Pigeons" and "Cornered," while a John Cale signature tune, "Darling, I Need You," becomes a barroom brawl -- and that's thanks to the band assembled for this: Bobby Chen on drums, Don Nossov on bass, along with the aforementioned Fliegler, Taylor, and Giordano. Ravan's harp playing pushes "Messin Around," which keeps up the intensity -- and volume. Joe Droukas, who would author the successful "Junkman" duet with Ian Hunter on Ravan's next outing, ...And I Mean It, brings the disc to a close with his third composition on Urban Desire, a tune called "Shadowboxing." Genya gets mellow with this performance, which feels like Ten Wheel Drive meets the Rolling Stones at the "Memory Motel." A bit of a different groove from the equally profound ...And I Mean It, which was released a year later. -Joe Viglione, AllMusic
- A1: Psychonautic Escapism (Cold Alienation) (Cold Alienation)
- A2: Acetoxyhexorchid I (Cluster Phase) (Cluster Phase)
- B1: Lattice Dysmorphism Of Lysothymic Oneiroid
- B2: Ultraviolet Circumzenithal Arc
- C1: Trench Through Pink Death
- C2: Acetoxyhexorchid Ii (Dispersed Phase) (Dispersed Phase)
- D1: Sirencipher Eidolon In Chimeric Photisms (Cascade Xenofluora Entwining) (Cascade Xenofluora Entwining)
- D2: Sun Shimmer Repeater
Born from the fractal innerworld of Vymethoxy Redspiders,
better known as Urocerus Gigas from Leeds-based xenofeminist
crisis energy rock duo Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop's
debut is a synaesthetic acid bath that cracks open the doors of
perception to reveal a sonic landscape of ineffable beauty,
divine femininity and continual transformation.
"PsychonauticEscapism" sublimes Guttersnipe's teeth-gnashing spacegrindaesthetic leaving washes of dream pop ambience, dilated
speedcore fusillades and shapeshifting psychedelic dub effects.
It's an album that lodges itself creatively between Cocteau
Twins, Arca, Basic Channel and Napalm Death, lysergically
fluxing imperceptibly between seemingly contradictory sonics
and philosophies. Miss VR took 14 long, difficult years to write
the album, which developed cautiously as she broke through
the misery of her pre-transition life with shoegaze music, rave
and psychedelic drugs in Leeds' queer underground. An
existence languishing in negativity, soundtracked by extreme
music was replaced with the opportunity to experience
euphoria, elation and ecstatic freedom, emotions that coalesce
sensually on "Psychonautic Escapism".
These formativeexperiences are the album's initial building blocks, assembled between 2007 and 2018 as Miss VR came to grips with her
reality as an autistic/ADHD trans woman and the multidimensional psychotropic experiences that assisted that realization. And as V's worldview expanded and shifted as she lived a fresh life, the music itself developed spiritually. In 2018,after being impressed with producer Ross Halden's work with Guttersnipe, Miss VR asked him to assist her with developing The Ephemeron Loop's fragmented songs and visions. "I learned a lot about why people don't usually combine various kinds of sounds or styles in music," she admits. "It is very difficult to get it to all work together!" But after two-and-a-half years of the duo navigating a "labyrinth of fragmented Reason 5 and Logic
projects," re-recording and processing, and working tirelessly on
complex arrangements and compositions, they eventually found
a light at the end of the tunnel. The finished album is towering
and ambitious, Escher-like in its illusory reconstruction of
familiar elements into brain-altering forms. The album begins
with 'Psychonautic Escapism (Cold Alienation)', decorating Miss
VR's disembodied moans with throbbing dub techno synths,
insectoid digital percussion and disorientating high-BPM
electronics.
Her vocals hover weightlessly between My Bloody Valentine's Bilinda Butcher and Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, and on 'Lattice Dysmorphism of Lysothymic Oneiroid Cytoterrain' drift against grinding industrial hardcore kicks, serrated bass and Lorenzo Senni-esque trance pointillism. On 'Trench Through Pink Death', Miss VR's voice mutates into a shrill scream as she directs the music from splattered freeflowing doom into harsh hyper-speed death metal and
breakcore. Woven together with both precision and delicacy, "Psychonautic Escapism" turns a rough patchwork of ideas,
experiences, feelings and vivid emotions into a glorious neon
tapestry. In living and exploring the realities of autism, ADHD
and trans identity, Vymethoxy Redspiders has masterminded a
sonic language that feels fresh, urgent and shockingly honest.
Psychedelic is a term that gets thrown around far too loosely at
the moment - in this case there's just no better way of
describing the album's scope.
Back in 2018, two mysterious twelve-inch singles appeared in underground record sthops. Credited to Blotter Trax, a previously unknown outfit who cherished “faceless” anonymity, the pleasingly twisted and mind-altering music on show was a mutant form of electronic psychedelia. The included tracks were variously informed by analogue techno, acid, electro and minimal, but inhabited their own clandestine sonic space. These tracks were, we later discovered, lightly edited “straight to tape” jams, crafted on the fly by their creators in one of Berlin’s most admired studios.
By the time Blotter Trax delivered their follow-up on Clone offshoot Frustrated Funk a year later, the secret was out: the project was in fact a collaboration between two storied artists, techno titan Magda – a DJ/producer who should need little introduction – and serial underground aggravator (and man of many aliases) Jay Ahern, sometime Hauntologists member and acid techno royalty thanks to years spent releasing similarly shadowy EPs as T.B Arthur.
In the years that followed, and before the COVID-19 pandemic grounded them in Berlin, the pair took their incendiary, modular-driven live show to esteemed clubland institutions (Fabric included), on an acclaimed tour of Japan, and onto the stages of festivals across Europe.
Four years on from that appearance on Frustrated Funk, Blotter Trax are back in updated and expanded form. Now a trio thanks to the addition of bassist Hannes Strobl, the band is set to release their far-sighted, funk-fuelled debut album, Super Conductor – a pulsating, thrill-in-minute ride includes contributions from a swathe of notable guests (Nina Hynes, Ilhem Khodja and David Moss provided vocals, Shigeru Tanabu played guitar, Matthew Styles mixed the set and old friend John Tejada mastered it).
While rooted in electro and acid, the album is impressively low-slung, stylish and funky, with nods towards Blotter Trax’s mutual love of Arthur Russell, early ‘80s NYC downtown disco, leftfield new-wave pop and flash-fried punk-funk. Released by JD Twitch’s Optimo Music imprint, it charts the ongoing dancefloor evolution of a band whose days of mystery and mischief are now a distant memory.
Collins and Collins were the American brother and sister duo (Bill & Tonee) who released the self-titled album in 1980, which was their first and final release. The soul/two-step classic "Top Of The Stairs" was written by the Songwriters Hall Of Fame duo Nicolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson. The single was released as a promo and commercial 7" single and became a massive hit in the UK soul scene. The album also contains other great soul, disco and boogie tracks by the duo, such as the cover of Harold Melvin's "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good", "Please Don't Break My Heart" and "Do You Wanna Dance". The 8 track-set was produced by American disco producer John Davis.
For the first time, this sought-after album is being reissued on vinyl.
The third Mollono.Bass Album is dedicated to what we need most. We as inhabitants of the same planet, we as members of a free society, and we as a culture. We have to stick together more than ever, rather than drifting further and further apart. At the same time, Together brings together everything Mollono.Bass stands for since more than 20 years: Ritualist Afro-influences and acid loops, the sensual physicality of House, the laid-back boost of Dub Techno, analogue depth and digital highs, hope transcribed into groove and utopia set into rhythmic motion. It’s the dynamic novelty and pioneering spirit of the arrangements that reflect the unmistakable signature style of this producer. True to the traditional idea of an album, complete with previously unreleased tracks and special versions, Together is a highly immersive listening experience from start to end and works beautifully on the dancefloor and far beyond it.
To mark its ten year anniversary, Mexican Summer presents a new, limited edition pressing of No Joy’s classic album Wait to Pleasure expanded with two new tracks from the beloved band's original line up. Wait To Pleasure is the product of the Montreal noise-pop band’s first foray in a fullyfurnished studio environment. Here the band has flourished, delivering their finest set to date, rooted heavily in shoegaze ripcurls and devastating melody, finishing sentences whispered long ago with depth, variance and force. Singer-guitarists Jasamine White-Gluz and Laura Lloyd and drummer Garland Hastings knock down the fence between nostalgiaand modernity, chaos and control, in a perfectly- realized effort made to bridge their uncompromised musical pasts with the alarmist tendencies of the present. Wait To Pleasure found No Joy set loose in Mexican Summer’s studio, Gary’s Electric, for two weeks in 2012, with producer Jorge Elbrecht at the helm. “Our earlier records are purely guitar-based, rock band lineups,” Laura adds, “and with Wait To Pleasure we seized the opportunity to change things up a bit.”
pink vinyl
Rising Aussie producer Mincy joins the Time Is Now family, becoming only the second non UK based artist to release on the UKG focussed Bristol based Shall Not Fade sub-label. The Mind Boggles EP is 4 broken beat, techy, bass driven warpers, guaranteed to do damage on the dancefloor.
It's always good to have Norbak onboard again with this brand new slice of plastic. Four cuts of precise and gymnastic techno aimed for the most advanced dancefloors energetic and intelligent at the same time, as we like.
A side starts with "Tell me I'm wrong" a fast paced hypnotic exercise with adrenalinic synth lines running over complex rhythms, properly arranged in a constantly changing structure.
"Amongst Them" follow, textured flanged sounds running across the stereo field, shuffled beats and lots of space, the definition of how profound techno should be.
Flipping the vinyl, B1 is "Pure and Faithful", funk infused sequences constantly altered in shape, complex grooves and as always a profound structure full of twists.
Last cut in this exercise is "Unbearable Lightness", continuous and repetitive randomized synth lines spiced with lots of reverb over a well crafted drum workout, intense and spacious at the same time.
Another demonstration of studio skills and sound design from this young Portuguese producer.































































































































































