Buscar:the syn

Brand new Bastard Jazz signing Buscrates comes out of the gate swinging with his first release for the label full of the bubbling, electronic funk he's become known for. "Lost & Found" features the vocal talents of Sally Green over a slappin' bassline, guitar licks and airy synths while "Cruise Control" goes on an instrumental ride with it's heavy drums, catchy g-funk lead and growling bass. Another funky affair from the Pittsburgh producer.

Wewantsounds is delighted to continue its Akiko Yano reissue program with the reissue of her superb double album recorded with YMO at a time when she was part of the group’s touring line up between 1979 and 1980. The album is pure Akiko Yano featuring her superb singing and piano playing, enhanced by touches of YMO’s synth-pop sound (check her cult version of YMO’s classic, “Tong-Poo”). It is the first time the album is released outside of Japan and the deluxe 2-LP set features the original artwork with gatefold sleeve and 4-page insert.
When "Gohan Ga Dekitayo" came out in 1980, Akiko Yano had been touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra for more than a year. She'd play keyboards alongside the three founding members, Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, plus guitarist Kenji Omura and Synth wizard programmer Hideki Matsutake (as part of the 1980 North American tour, she'd also feature in the group's cult TV appearance on Soul Train for a memorable rendition of "Tighten Up") and they are all present on "Gohan Ga Dekitayo."
The double LP, whose title could be translated by "Dinner is ready," was co-produced with Ryuichi Sakamoto and recorded at two legendary studios: Tokyo's Alfa Studio "A" and Los Angeles' Sound City. It was Akiko's first shift towards a fuller synth sound following four studio albums mixing Pop and Jazz Funk, including her landmark debut from 1976, "Japanese Girl". A shift that would continue with the release of "Tadaima" in 1981, also featuring the YMO musicians.
?The fourteen tracks featured on "Gohan Ga Dekitayo" find Akiko in top form mixing her singer-songwriter's sensitivity with the electro-pop sound of YMO. It's interesting to note though that it is very much an Akiko Yano album even if the group is present on the album (interestingly they do also play analog instruments on the album). Akiko is clearly the one in charge with a string of beautiful compositions and the rendition of one of the group's classics, "Tong Poo" which she reinvents as a slower, less metronomic-paced song adding her own lyrics.
?Other highlights on the album include "Dogs Awaiting..." an hypnotic composition featuring fascinating electro arrangements or "Coloured Water" sung in English by Akiko accompanying herself on Fender Rhodes with subtle percussion by Tatsuo Hayashi and electronics by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
There are many more great moments on this superb album which announces the further experiments of "Tadaima". "Gohan Ga Dekitayo" is an album that urgently needs to be (re)discovered by her growing international fanbase and Wewantsounds is happy to reissue it worldwide for its 40th anniversary.

White Vinyl 10"

A new release this winter marks a landmark moment in an important musical story. Way back in little 2009, the label hfn music was born in Hamburg, and made its introduction to the world with the release of the Trentemøller compilation Harbour Boat Trips: 01 Copenhagen.
Founder Tobias Lampe wanted to start a label that was more broad in scope than his previous, more electronic-focused projects, and the compilation provided the perfect opportunity to launch one. In the 10 years since then, the label has survived the whirlpool waters of the early 21st century’s constantly changing music industry, and released everything from pop to art-punk, with artists ranging from New York to the Faroe Islands.
Now, they’re about to put out their 100th release. Fittingly, given the label’s focus on new and innovative music, and the historic aspect of the release, hfn100 sees one of hfn’s best songs of 2019 put into the hands of the man it all started with, Anders Trentemøller. His Danish compatriots Blaue Blume’s new album Bell Of Wool is one of hfn’s standout releases this year, and so hfn100 sees Trentemøller remix one of that record’s standout tracks, the fragile, but soaring “Lovable”.
In Blaue Blume’s original, “Lovable” is an airy, tormented song, a gossamer-delicate composition that carefully stitches together layers and layers of shining synths that gradually build up and up into a peak, before crashing into a subtle beat, a musical journey that mirrors vocalist Jonas Smith’s trip from anguish to numbness. Whereas the original’s music sounds woven together from light, Trentemøller takes it into darker territory. He hooks the song to a harsh, sparse beat leaving Smith’s vocals bare and isolated in the burnt-out, dystopic musical landscape he creates.
Trentemøller mirrors the original’s careful building up, adding new elements to fill in the song’s sound, before it collapses into a tough, noir disco groove. It’s a perfectly realised remix – Trentemøller keeps the original song’s skeleton and soul, but fills in the space with sonic touches that could be no one else’s but his.Ultimately, it’s a fitting song for hfn’s hundredth release. For a label that’s always been a platform for its boundary-pushing artists, a collaboration between two of them, that sees an already innovative song pushed into a bold new shape is the perfect way for hfn to step into the next 100 releases..

'All Human - No Conditions" is the first solo EP by the French producer Itako. The opener "The Country That Does Not Exist" is a slow burning and bass-driven tune in which hypnotic synth and acid lines merge with North African vocal pieces. Thereafter, Itako shows with "Freehands Desire" his darker side. A mid-tempo composition with massive drum patterns and forward-moving melodies. On the flip side, "Groove That Dust" is screwing the tempo back down. Six minutes based on a 90s Hip-Hop sample with an irresistible groove where we assume no one can stand still. The release is rounded off with a remix by MR TC. The Glasgow based musician stretched "The Country That Does Not Exist" into a tribal workout with breaks in which he lets the machines speak for themselves.

Rhythm Syndicate Records is proud to present their debut vinyl release. Both tracks come from a true veteran of the Drum & Bass scene, and an exclusive release from top level producer Blade. DJ Blade, has a sound that is much sought after amongst headz, and his following has continued to grow steadily over the past few years. His production style is distinctive, and has seen him have various releases on labels including, Good Looking Records, Fokuz Recordings, Soul Deep Recordings, Smooth N Groove, Liquid V, Think Deep, and Flight Pattern, to name a few. Known for producing big anthems, and a prolific unreleased back catalogue die hard fans can only dream of owning, its no surprise that Blade receives continuous heavy support from some of the top Deejays in the game. The song, "China Town Womad", has been supported consistently by scene legend, LTJ Bukem. Now this sought after track is available on a limited vinyl run, so get one while they last!

Samuel Rohrer CONTINUAL DECENTERING
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of categorydefying releases, Samuel Rohrer continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique Gigure within the European electronic music realm. In the current era, talk of blurring boundaries between musical genres and attitudes is more the rule than the exception, but not always something done with any degree of success. Rohrer is one of those rare alchemical explorers to have truly created a hybrid which is all his own, one that does not just exist to melt distinctions for its own sake, but is a natural result of years of experimentation with both the determination of electronic music and the ludic spirit of ‘free improvisation.’ On his newest offering, Continual Decentering, this vision is applied to a set of mostly in real time (live) performed explorations. 
In keeping with his many years’ worth of fruitful collaborations, the tonal palette on this new record is one that is expectedly rich for those familiar with his work, yet still surprising in terms of how exactly the differing tonal colors come together. Representative tracks like Spondee and The Fringe are brimming with dub pulses, noir shivers and blooming timbral variations that are in many places carefully isolated / focused and in other places blended together in vivid fusions. In terms of the emotional atmosphere created here, the pensive and questioning tone hearkens back to the ‘wide open’ state of electronic music in the mid-late 1990s, yet with a greater clarity and maturity of vision that makes this music feel like a possible answer to aesthetic questions being raised at that time. As with Rohrer’s most recent solo work, like the Range of Regularity LP, Continual Decentering showcases the artist’s skill in turning the drum kit into a lead instrument. While the term “lead instrument” denotes a kind of exuberant “Glash,” or a clear separation from the rest of the voices in an ensemble, we can take the term to mean something different throughout this listening program of 13 short vignettes: that is to say, everything else within the audible environment exists to complement the character of the percussive playing rather than to stand apart from it. It helps that Rohrer has, in fact, developed a unique and complex hybrid system in which drum hits trigger modular synthesizer processes, the use of which makes for an incredibly fluid response time between distinct sonic events. In contrast to the previous Range... LP, this new offering is propelled less by interlacing threads of intensity and more by a shared sense of deep listening. As displayed on pieces like All Too Human, there is a profound sense of attention to silences or thoughtful pauses that maybe hints at another crucial aspect of Rohrer’s style: over the course of this program, we tend to hear the player not only playing but listening, an activity which makes perfect sense given the sense of instrumental dialogue already mentioned. All of the above come together to give Continual Decentering a “live”-ness that will easily translate from recorded document to dynamic performance.

Chengdu-based Chinese female techno producer/DJ L.Y.Li (aka Diva Li) is releasing her first 12” EP “Escape” on Ran Music’s sub-label Ran Groove. This EP includes 4 melodic techno tracks she has recently created. These dance tracks are full of feminine energy and minimalistic melodic sequencers, not only delivering the massive sound scape of classic techno music, but also satisfying dance floor’s endless pursue of a good groove. The emotional synth melodies and vocal samples are evidence of the special approach to dance music she has as a female producer. Being an experienced DJ, L.Y.Li also proves her skills in the studio with this EP.

L.Y.Li (aka Diva Li) is an electronic music producer and DJ currently living in Chengdu, China. An excellent vocalist, she is also an active figure in China’s techno music scene and has been considered as one of the most popular and respected female DJs in China’s top techno clubs such as Lantern (Beijing) and TAG (Chengdu). Having playing in clubs for many years, L.Y.Li has her special point of view towards electronic music and dance music, with her music always being full of rich and exquisite emotions, intense and minimalistic melodies as well as her own soulful vocal lines. These characteristics have guaranteed her uniqueness within the country’s techno music scene.

"Marble Grounds" is the first release on new Seattle vinyl imprint Rhizome (US). Local live duo JamRat provides the two original tracks "Marble Grounds" and "Neurocare Locale" each accompanied by a remix from Glueped, consisting of Cristi Tudorache aka Melodie and Mihai Mihalcea (Teluric).

"Marble Grounds" on Side A drifts through singing synths and steady percussion, the melody gently arising and humming to the listener before evaporating as the breakdown arrives.

Glueped's first remix of the EP is a cosmically-charged reinterpretation of "Marble Grounds", a dreamlike rhythm providing a quicker pace into lofty synths and a guiding drum.

"Neurocare Locale" is a harmonious hymn fizzing with auspicious vocals joined by a playful synth, provoking ephemeral reflections deep within.

A deep kick and baseline actualize together and announce a dancefloor-ready dive, uncovering a starry remix of "Neurocare Locale", concluding Side B.

ACID CUBIK


Banging tribe acid Masterpiece of a kind ! With a solid 303 Abuse :

The ambiance is defenitly hesitating between Transcore and HardTechno, with is very rare with these kind of music... And therefore very usefull for a DJ. Because it's still quiet minimal and evolutive, with a "take your time" sprit.

Once again the Label confirm it's multiples faces, keeping on exploring how different ACID can be !

Cut & Mastered at The Exchange

When Elena Colombi launched the Osàre! Editions label in the autumn of 2019, she explained that the label would become home to bold, daring, future-facing music rooted in experimentation and free-spirited musical abandon. These are all descriptions that could apply to the label’s latest release, a retrospective album of little-known works by Greek musician and producer Thanasis Zlatanos.

Many will not have heard of Zlatanos, or Nekropolis, the band he fronted alongside dear friend and regular collaborator Trygve Mathiesen, yet the music he made during the 1980s was otherworldly, intergalactic and undoubtedly alluring. These songs and instrumentals made extensive use of analogue synthesizers and lo-fi drum machines, as well as Zlatanos’s trusted Gibson Les Paul guitar and his own distinctive voice.

Stylistically, the musician and producer refused to settle on a specific sound, preferring instead to create inspired, often mind-altering pieces that join the dots between wave music, skewed leftfield pop, ambient, prototype electronic and Madedonian folk music. Operating for much of the period from a crumbling house earmarked for demolition, Zlatanos kept up a daily music-making vigil that resulted in a vast vault of music, most of which has remained unissued since the 1980s.

The breadth of and width of Zlatanos’s distinctive approach is laid bare on Retrospective, a compilation album prepared by Colombi and the artist himself that draws on tracks from his numerous albums, those by Nekropolis – whose sophomore set “The New Europeans” was banned in Norway – and his epic archive of previously unheard material.

The artist’s singular but wide-ranging musical vision is free for all to see across the 13 tracks stretched across the vinyl version of the album (digital buyers also get a further four superb cuts). It veers attractively from the ghostly, traditional-meets-futuristic new age electronica of “The Crystal Sight (Excerpt)” and the doom-laden coldwave throb of “Master Chameleon”, to the undulating, soft-touch creepiness of “Surreal Moment”, the Vocoder-laden operatic poignancy of “The New Barbarians” and the squally guitar solos and effects-laden electronics of “The Light”.

Words from the artist___:
"I live in the Internet. Visits from outer space make me compose. I breathe here. I am the master chameleon, the psychedelic clown. I am not here anymore, neither in the picture, nor the reflection. Our bed is a boat that takes us tomorrow without us.

Here is an album of dreams and digital emotions. Analogue recordings made with a Prophet, a Moog Rogue, a tape recorder and a Gibson Les Paul guitar.

As far as I can remember I have always been in a recording studio. I listen to, understand and live my life through songs and music. I have worked alone and with friends such as Trygve Mathiesen. Although I am a guitarist, I continue to work with synthesizers on music that blends elements of Macedonian folk music, recordings from the streets and embryonic electronic sounds.

Some of my albums have been critically acclaimed, others banned by radio stations. For years I worked on endless recording sessions in a crumbling house that should have been torn down. The music on this retrospective compilation was recorded at various points between 1982 and the present day. Some of the compositions first appeared on previous albums, while others have never been released before. They were sat on tapes waiting for a saviour. Now that saviour has arrived and they can be free.

For further proof of Zlatanos’s unique sonic approach, check the startling contrast between the bass-laden slacker pop headiness of “No Expectations” and the spacey ambience of “The Dead Don’t Remember”. Considered together, the selected pieces and those elsewhere on Retrospective forms a snapshot of a genuinely unique and visionary musician, composer and producer. It’s a celebration of someone whose work has previously been overlooked."

Joe Lewandowski started his career by mixing in NYC raves and parties. Back in France, he became resident of Parisian club Garage. He also made a name of himself as a producer by releasing promising EPs that combined house with jazz, afro and italo disco, to create his own musical identity. With this new opus “Egosexual” for Skylax records, Joe Lewandowski confirms his talent by delivering a banger EP that mixes Soulful vocals (He invites the incredible singer Tyve on ‘Egotrippin’ ) with killer grooves and vintage synths to offer modern house anthems. Vinyl ONLY.



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Andras’Joyful is a cornucopic vision rooted in the decay of dance music from one of Australia’s most distinct yet understated voices. Cutting a path through an overgrowth of nostalgia around 70's acid folk and 90's acid house, Joyful is an invitation to till a n old garden in a glistening new light.

A thirteen year old Andrew Wilson sits in the back of his parents’ sedan, driving down the coast from Melbourne. Headphones covering his awkwardly aged ears and connected to a jam-packed mp3 player, he experiences an intense synchronicity when the car careens over a mountain crest in the Otway Ranges right as the track in his ears peaks. A momentary vision of a “first rave rush,” in which Australia’s lauded party history dances tellingly with this dreamer’s destiny.

Not so much later but perhaps more worldly and certainly more aware, Wilson returns home from touring, now a “veteran” of the dance world, to realize a different synchronicity in his record collection. Finding Ian Van Dahl nestled next to John Fahey, William Orbit spine-to-spine with Shira Small, the harmony between folk music of the early 70's and dance music from the 90s becomes perfectly audible in unimaginable ways.

Through an afterglow from both summers of love seeped in shared sonic soil, on Joyful, Wilson cultivates melodic drama and tenderness, memorable hooks and rapturous arpeggios; sentimental strings summon both joyful aspirations and the shadows of faded dreams. Using folk songs as fodder—lyrics, samples, note progressions—each entry of Wilson’s debut album under his Andras moniker is a return to a different springtime of the mind.

Many artists working in Australia can relate to the feeling of “not quite being there,” as Wilson describes it. Always a couple years behind trend. Turning up at the party as it’s winding down. Fearing that in many ways the culture is looking backwards, confirming the narrow outlook of a parochialism that many have worked tirelessly to disprove. Using this disconnect as an invitation to dream another dream, Joyful becomes the soundtrack of early teen Andrew’s fantasy of Utopic parties past, specifically the late discovery of a bygone warehouse rave scene, as well as a return to a guileless chapter of personal history as heard through plain, sane, and simple folk melodies. Joyful is a homecoming, a testament to the evolving euphoria of a flower garden rooted in earth’s tender rot, of birds and bees flying free but not without a changing landscape in sight.

Andras’Joyful is available on LP and digital formats on January 31, 2020 via Beats In Space. On behalf of Andras, a portion of proceeds from this release will benefit the Invasive Species Council on the recommendation of Tim Low, author of the book Feral Future and Where Song Began.

Following his debut LP in June 2017, Trenton Chase returns with “Planar Array”, a 7 track LP on Artificial Dance. As half of Manie Sans Délire and the co-owner of June records, he’s known for his uncompromising sound that touches a wide range of genres. The release is heavy-hitting with distorted vocals, industrial textures and dagger-like synths, a satisfying array of wave, EBM and experimental music. From Transit Decay with the clunky bassline and depth at its core to the aggressive electronics in Narked. From the title track, Planar Array’s melodic high synths to the dreamy contracting offbeat of Doppler Shift. Trenton Chase brings the smoke out of the machine, progressively getting harder, faster and more destructive.

Synkro handpicks three great producers to remix tracks from his ‘Images’ album. Claro Intelecto has been releasing consistently on point deep techno and electro since 2003. His remix is perfectly equipped for dancefloors in 2020. Sad City represents R&S offshoot Meda Fury with a trademark hypnotic beatdown workout and Apollo label mate and collaborator Sieren ramps up the emotions for his remix of the title track.

Album features Ernie K Doe’s ‘Here Come The Girls’, The Meters, Eddie Bo, Professor Longhair, Lee Dorsey, Wild Magnolias and more.

This is the definitive collection of New Orleans Funk featuring acknowledged masters next to some of the earlier artists who shaped the meaning of funk. The album is also filled with many rare, sought after and undiscovered funk tracks. It covers the period from the emergence of New Orleans Funk in the early 1960's through to the mid-seventies.

The record is an essential part of anyone in any way interested in Funk's record collection. It has some vital ingredients in it that you can't find elsewhere. With the sound of the New Orleans Funeral March Bands, Mardi Gras Indian Tribes and Saturday Night Fish Fries all as inspiration New Orleans Funk developed into a unique sound.

New Orleans is a port town. Originally owned by the French, this was where many slaves were brought from the West Indies. Many of these slaves came from Haiti and brought with them the religion of Voodoo and its drums and music. It became one of the first parts of America to develop a strong African-American culture leading to the invention of Jazz in the early 1900's.

A main feature of Jazz in New Orleans were the Jazz Funeral Marching bands. Solemn Brass bands accompanying a coffin would, on burial, be joined by a second line of drummers and dancers which would turn the event into a celebration of the spirit cutting free from earth. This African tradition is strong in New Orleans and still goes on to this day. The backline drums play a syncopated style that is neither on the beat nor the off-beat. It is these rhythms that are the basis of New Orleans Funk.

The album comes with a booklet presenting a historical explanation to how and why this music came about, and with lots of information about the people involved.


Reviews: "A Perfect Primer For Funk Fans" Q (Top 5 albums of the year). "Probably the finest compilation that Soul Jazz has released. Essential" Time Out.

Italian cult combo CALIBRO 35 release their highly anticipated 7th studio album "MOMENTUM" on January 24th 2020. "Momentum" follows "DECADE" their previous studio album released in 2018 that had marked 10 years of Calibro 35 and it stands out as a new starting point for the project. In the last 10 years Calibro 35 have dug the golden age of soundtracks and they had been to the future with "S.P.A.C.E.", "Momentum", as the band stated: "represents a look at nowadays and a reflection about making music right in the time that we're living".

Inspired by the work of artists such as Tortoise, Jagajazzist, Dj Shadow, Budos Band, Stelvio Cipriani, Ennio Morricone, Sandro Brugnolini, White Noise, Comet is Coming, JPEGMafia and DJ Signify, compared to the previous Calibro 35's full lengths on the 10 tracks that make up the new album, band's instruments and sounds have increased in number and complexity as well as reality.

The music palette is further extended by incorporating even more synths and electronic sounds, but keeping everything true and 100% real, with all the instruments played live and with no presets or programming. The two featurings on the album serve the cause as well. On the first single "Stan Lee", they collaborated with rapper, producer and songwriter Illa J a former member of super group Slum Village and younger brother of the late legendary hip hop producer and rapper J Dilla.

On "Black Moon", the combo from Milan provided the groove for London-based artist MEI. "If Decade was the sum of everything that the band had felt in the previous ten years", Calibro 35 says, "Momentum is the prequel of what you will hear in the next ten".
To mark the new beginning and come full circle, the recordings took place under the expert hands of usual suspect Tommaso Colliva, in the same studio where Calibro released their self titled debut album twelve years ago.

When Air’s Nicolas Godin released his debut solo album, Contrepoint (2015), he channelled the influence of Bach into a rich, resonant and hugely rewarding spread of musical explorations. One soundtrack (A Very Secret Service) later, Godin builds on equally fertile conceptual foundations for the follow-up. Released through Because Music on 24th January, Concrete and Glass is an exquisitely crafted set of variations on architectural reference points: mounted with minimalist precision and delivered with an abundance of pop warmth, it finds Godin in his element, working seductive wonders with poise and style to spare.

For Godin, the album circles back to his formative work as half of ground-breaking French electronic group Air. Revered modern architect Le Corbusier was an influence on the young architecture graduate’s music, notably on his 1997 debut “Modular Mix”. Twenty-plus years later, Le Corbusier featured on a list of modernist architects Godin was invited to compose tributes for, tributes intended to be heard as the soundtrack to site-specific installations around the world.

In its soft ambient pulse and melting minimalism, lead track “The Border” is a perfect entry-point to Godin’s hymns to buildings, arranged and co-produced with Pierre Rousseau. Its levitating synths, vocoder vocals and scudding bass hove into view with understated elegance, all the better to accommodate the discreet slow-build of delicate details within. As with Air, Godin makes gorgeously light work of every angle: this is music that seems entirely unperturbed by gravity, occupying an elevated atmosphere of its own.

Elsewhere, the title-track’s clean synth lines, crisply apportioned arrangements and tender timpani offer another inviting entry-point, sculpted with architectural clarity. While Godin’s vocoder vocals also hark back to Air’s early work, the album accommodates a diverse spread of guest vocalists elsewhere. Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor guests on the falsetto-soul dream-pop of “Catch Yourself Falling”, one of Godin’s sweetest melodies yet. Oxnard singer/activist Cola Boyy brings soul to the righteously engaged “The Foundation”; the squelchy synths and buoyant grooves burn slow, allowing the stealthy arrangements and message room to resonate. Psychedelic soul singer Kadhja Bonet sings with measured serenity over tremulous synths on “We Forgot Love”, while Russian experi-pop artist Kate NV brings a gracefully aching romanticism to the blissful swoon-pop of “Back to Your Heart”.

Additionally, Australian conceptual provocateur Kirin J Callinan contributes a vocal of restrained drama to “Time on My Hands”, a midnight-drift soft-pop ballad with a silky allure. One of the quickest tracks to record for the album, it emerged in collaborations between Los Angeles (”During some lively sessions in Mac DeMarco’s studio,” notes Godin) and Paris. After he missed his flight home, Callinan stayed in France for a day as the guitar solos were recorded, complementing the song's air of sleek luxuriousness.

Between its title-track and the sultry, smoky jazz stylings of closer “Cité Radieuse”, Concrete and Glass is an album that truly travels, in tune with its global pitch. For Godin, it marks another milestone in a musical journey that began when Air’s 1998 debut album, Moon Safari, became the sublimely weightless soundtrack of its time. For Concrete and Glass, Godin builds on his storied past with tremendous finesse, charm and fluency, opening fresh windows of perspective at every lovingly executed turn.

On October 4th Erased Tapes present Handfuls of Night — the highly anticipated follow-up to Penguin Cafe’s much applauded 2017 album The Imperfect Sea — inspired by the Antarctic, Arthur Jeffes’ journey following in Scott’s footsteps and our penguin friends that reside there. Using gut-stringed violins, viola, cello, bass, percussion, upright and grand pianos, synthesiser, harmonium and more, Arthur Jeffes and his cohorts have crafted a vivid series of panoramic sonic landscapes, that are as rich in cerebral poignancy as they are in emotional depth.

Bookended by the atmospheric ambient piano pieces ‘Winter Sun’ and ‘Midnight Sun’, the album traverses glacial minimalism with ease, combining their signature contemporary classical panoramas, such as the melancholic yet upbeat lead track ‘At the Top of the Hill, They Stood...’ and the colossal cinematic piece ‘Chapter’, with the crystalline folktronica on ‘Pythagorus on the Line Again’ — a re-visiting and continuation of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s 1993 Union Cafe song on the principles of harmonics.

'WRWTFWW Records' is insanely excited to announce the first ever vinyl release of Tom Raybould’s award-winning movie soundtrack for excellent AI-themed sci-fi thriller The Machine (2013). The limited edition LP boasts 16 superb tracks and is housed in a special glow in the dark sleeve.

"Tom Raybould’s Music For The Machine Is Amazing" - Bloody Disgusting.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest (and most overlooked) movie scores of the 2010's, The Machine finds its influences in the works of John Carpenter, Vangelis, Brad Fiedel, and Tangerine Dream, but presents its own unique twist, one that cleverly evokes the thin line between man and machine that haunts the whole film.

Cold and tenacious rhythms suggest mechanical killer instincts, brooding synths crystallize the fear of an AI-controlled future, but the warm and gentle sounds of guitar and piano ease the tension and bring hope of humanity. From its menacing introduction to it's tender ending, Tom Raybould’s masterwork ingenuously blends ambient, electronic, neoclassical, and synthwave to recontextualize and upgrade the classic 80's sci-fi movie score template, holding it's own against mammoth soundtracks like Blade Runner or The Terminator. Truly.

Cold with a touch of humanity like the perfect machine, Tom Raybould’s movie score won the BAFTA Cymru award for Best Original Music in 2013.

Portuguese artist Armando Mendes makes a huge statement with his debut album 'Parallel Universe', which was written and recorded over two and half years between LA, London and Berlin with legends including Robert Owens,Ithaka from the N.W.A. crew and Defected's Jinadu.

Armando Mendes is one of Portugal's most assured artists. His rich and musical sound is informed by jazz and funk and he has played all over the world from Russia to Australia, all while picking up more than 80,000 monthly plays on Spotify for his music. His tremendous debut album ranges across the electronic music spectrum from downbeat and jazzy to deep house and electronica.

Ithaka is the guest on the album opener 'This Life's All We Got,' which is a lush downbeat song with pensive lyrics. Late night jazz house stylings define 'Things U Do 2 Me' while 'Acid Yardies' looks to the club with its serrated 303s and dub wise drums. Chicago vocal royalty Robert Owens lends his heartfelt and buttery tones to the perfectly deep 'No Regrets' and after an acid and piano ambient fusion on 'MS20 Interlude' there is more rich, spiritual and jazzy house ('Parallel Universe,' ' Khun Pui - Mae Nam' and 'The Melody Inside') as well as more synth laden and electronic grooves to get dance floors moving ('One Night in Bangkok').

The majestic, percussive and colourful 'Tropical Affair' is just that, then things get tender and introspective on the gorgeous 'Electric 88' before a radio edit of the classy pop house that is 'The Melody Inside' feat. Jinadu closes things out in emotional fashion. This is a widescreen musical journey that makes a lasting impact from an artist who is looking set for big things.

For the first time, Len Faki decides to dish out a full foursome of his Deepspace-mixes, sharing one of the most profound entries into the series yet. Originally released within the last couple of years. The atmospheric and dubbed-out ’Biker Scene’ is one of riding blissfully under a sky illuminated by the milky way, followed by a streamlined update on the soaring metallic shuffle that is ’Depth Charge’, its tribal undertones prowling in the underbrush. The flip tucks NYC‘s Craft‘s wild synth work into a tight corset, channeling its lively energy even more effectively for the floor. Closing out with A Sacred Geometry, the Berlin/Rome-connection‘s finely plucked synths glide above elated pads and a skittering rhythm.

Repress

After recently making an appearance on the 100DSR compilation and having released on Ann Aimee in the past, Area Forty_One now steps up for a full EP on Delsin.
The Dutchman proves himself to be an elegant producer of electro that has a super future soul to it across the four tracks on offer.

First up, 'Nocturnal Passions Part I' skips on snappy drums through an ethereal galaxy lit up with neon trails and twinkling lights. It's a vastly spacious track full of celestial vibes and expert production before 'Reminiscence' deals in more serene pads and glassy melodies and conjures the sense that you are lost floating in deep space without a rudder. It's a beautiful place to be for the way it has no real drive or direction.

Then, 'Freefall' trudges along some heavy, gloopy drums. All around are huge mirrors of melody that shine and reflect light back at you and leave you marvelling at their sheer scale and sereneness. Final track 'Isolated Soul' sure does sound like a forgotten cut from the Blade Runner soundtrack with its sad synths, skipping beats and raining melodies. There's a rather menacing sense of tension pervading the whole track that makes it all the more engaging.

This is a truly captivating and musical EP that exudes a terrifically cosmic and celestial aura.. here's hoping it's the first of many from the still mysterious Area Forty_One.

Etruria Beat boss Luca Agnelli returns to the label as he unveils four fresh originals in the form of ‘Dangerous’. A leading name within Italy’s techno landscape and beyond, DJ, producer and label owner Luca Agnelli’s musical journey continues to surge with releases and remixes via the likes of Drumcode, Soma and his own Etruria Beat imprint.

Having played a series of stand-out shows to close the year including Universe82 festival (Valencia), Duel (Naples), Die Rakete (Nuremberg) and Steam (Athens), not to mention a breathtaking performance from the top of Torre Del Cassero in his home region of Tuscany, early 2020 sees a welcome return to home turf as the Etruria Beat boss steps out to reveal his latest EP ‘Dangerous’, comprised of four commanding productions.

Title track ‘Dangerous’ unveils a high-octane ride through escalating synths, resounding kicks and menacing low- end tones, whilst ‘High Gravity’ utilises further infectious lead line work and slick, metallic drum licks. Next, ‘End Of Time’ sees the introduction of soaring melodies alongside off-kilter sonics and tripped-out vocal snippets, before closing proceedings with ‘Acidulous’, a driving acid-led effort that snakes through both tough and more melodic territories in impressive fashion.

From the cosmic creative musical mind of Swiss/Catalan studio whizz, Zeleste Nightclub engineer, video nasty film composer, occasional Jaume Sisa (Muìsica Dispersa) collaborator and future electronic music therapy pioneer J. M. Pagaìn comes the synth-ridden, vocoder-loaded 1984 sci-funk soundtrack to Barcelona’s daytime TV response to the universal E.T. phenomena. Get ready to meet your new alieniìgena amic and the unidentified flying object of thousands of Catalonian kids’ affections through the 1980's as Finders Keepers present Pagaìn’s lost lunar modular synth score to ‘Kiu I Els Seus Amics’ (Kiu And Friends aka Kiu Is Your Friend).

From the same intergalactic phenomenon that brought such delights as Turkey’s exploito cash-in ‘Badi’ or South Africa’s lo-rent homage ‘Nukie’ to our unregulated small screens and the same craze which filled international airwaves with the likes of Extra T’S electro smash single ‘E.T. Boogie’ or the million selling Columbian ‘Cumbia De E.T. El Extraterrestre’ smash hit... not to mention a wide range of unofficial theme-tune cover versions from Holland, Austria, France and Germany (lest we forget an inspired late period Lee Scratch Perry Album).

In 1982 the diaspora from Steven Spielberg’s small fictional mid-American neighbourhood that played host to everyone’s favourite torch fingered, three toed, Skittle-scoffing space goblin touched virtually every family home in every major city resulting in one of the biggest cinematic merchandise phenomenas of the 21 st Century, resulting in an unexpected high-demand / short-supply play-off in which bootleggers, copyists and counterfeiters rose to the challenge like never before.

When Spielberg regrettably told interviewers that he had no intention of making a sequel to ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestria’ it instantly became open-season for the imitators... but way before somebody squeezed-out ‘Mac & Me’, ‘ALF’ and ‘The Purple People Eater’, a team of kid’s TV executives in Catalunya were ready to fill the widening gap in the market without haste. Created in 1983 by Luna Films and Televisioì de Catalunya (TV3) and screened exclusively in Catalunya, ‘Kiu I Els Seus Amics’ was one of the first E.T. ‘tributes’ to make it out of the gate and with a crew of five individual directors and writers to ensure that the five episode, one-off series hit the wave of phone-home-fever, Kiu has since remained a short but sweet micro- memory in the hearts of an entire generation of Catalonian cosmonauts.

This special Finders Keepers edition comes complete with all of Pagaìn’s cosmic synthesiser soundscapes fully intact (barring striking comparisons with the likes of Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter, Vangelis and the soundtrack music of Suzanne Ciani), as well as some rare, unreleased, incidental TV edits. The bulk of this LP is made up of tracks taken from the rare full-length album, which was released after the TV programme had already been aired and coincided with sales of jigsaws and rubberised play figures in an attempt to catch-up with the unexpected mega-success of the show, needless to say, with a short promotional window, the LP (and cassette edition) did not benefit a re-press and with most copies sold to children, few vinyl pressings have escaped repeat needle scratches and decorated sleeves.

AIRCHINA is a weightless instrumental machine music, sometimes ghostly anthropomorphized with a hushed voice or a synthetic choir. AIRCHINA is playful-melodious electronic music of and for today, which also takes its cue from global ambient and pop music from the end of the 1970's to the end of the 1980's. AIRCHINA is a solo project by Nikolai Szymanski. 'LP 2' is his second release, his debut album 'LP 1' was released in summer 2018 on ITALIC.

Nikolai Szymanski (*1986, Düsseldorf) is an artist living and working in Cologne and Düsseldorf, Germany. He uses a wide variety of media with a focus on film/video, performance and music - whereby all areas give each other impulses. In a narrower artistic framework (exhibition, gallery) he stages his works site-specifically and installatively. Performative interventions (for example at BER - Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Summer 2019) from the soft transition to his musical work.

Together with Lucas Croon and Martin Sonnensberger Nikolai Szymanski is a founding member as well as singer of the band Stabil Elite. After concerts in China, Szymanski created the video work AIRCHINA, the title he uses as a name for his current solo project; in his musical work Nikolai Szymanski is responsible for composition, lyrics, production, singing and performance, paying attention to a stringent appearance from cover design to stage appearance.

Helsinki´s own underground powerhouse duo Trevor Deep jr. collaborates with young Berlin based and Korean born producer Wewerka. Flavourfull four-track ep is titled “KINDRED”.
Opening track “4 The Ladies” is paying homage to warehouse parties. Raving stabs and vocal samples screaming to start a riot. Followed by the second track Namu, pure deep house music inspired by breakbeats. B-side opener ”Nuna” displays the soulfull side of the producers, where African singer Nanghiti provides beautiful vocal foundation for Magic Manfred´s funk on the live bass. I guess you can call it Detroit soul.
Last track ”Spirits” is driven by soul sampled breakbeats and heavenly synths, transcending you to new hights.
A kindred spirit: ”Someone who you share a mutual meaningful connection with. Kindred spirits will encourage each other to develop as people and offer positive energy to each other.” That´s exactly what this record is all about.
limited 300 copies

"21" is the well-crafted, sharp and original first album by the duo HILA, composed by American cellist Artyom Manukyan (who already worked with Kamasi Washington, Daedalus, Flying Lotus, Run DMC, Gretchen Parlato, Raphael Saadiq, Clive Lowe Mark...) and french producer Dawatile.

The combination of jazz, Los Angeles beat-scene and the vibrations of 80s and 90s Soviet Armenia make it a striking and unprecedented fusion. These kind of nostalgic and unconventional references forcefully shake the codes of mainstream culture to create a sincere, raw and intimate expression.

"HILA" was born from a spontaneous and intense creative impulse between Artyom Manukyan, a Los Angeles-based Armenian celloist and his partner in crime, David Kiledjian aka Dawatile, a French multi-instrumentist of Armenian descent. This project is proving to be a true master stroke given that it only took 21 days for the duo to make it a reality.

"HILA" was made in less a moon cycle but captivates and electrifies audiences upon its first outings. "H.I.L.A" colors the warmth of the Californian "High" with Armenian vibes. The artists chose this name for their creation since both have a close and valuable connection to these locales. This journey began in 2007, on the day Dawatile went to Yerevan, the capital of this small country in the Caucasus mountain to realize a first fusion project centered around local folkloric music genres.

There he was introduced to local musicians including the Armenian Navy Band, one of the country's foremost groups in which Artyom played the bass and cello. In this context, he also met many musicians such as Tigran Hamasyan and Norayr Kartashyan. This will be the beginning of connections between Lyon, Yerevan and Los Angeles. The following year, the two artists will be be seen performing next to Taylor Mc Ferrin at the Jazz à Vienne festival. More recently, they partnered up again when the cellist, who had freshly relocated in California, invited Dawatile to produce his album. As soon as the studio’s threshold was crossed, they decided to postpone this record and create a joint project: Hay (as the Armenians call themselves) / High In Los Angeles. HILA was born at the end of these 21 days of intense creation. The association of Artyom Manukyan and Dawatile is the combination of two visions, two versions of Armenia, two personalities, the reunion of the Eastern and Western blocs.

One grew up nurtured by the sounds of hip-hop and jazz in Europe and the other by art music and Russian-influenced 1980s Armenian folkloric music before moving to L. A., Ca. The cornerstone of it all, the glue that unites everything : Armenia and music. They generate a new identity synthesizing two perceptions, their complicity transcending these cultural discrepencies. To achieve this, they will scour through images of Artyom’s childhood, within the popular culture of Soviet Armenia. Together, they revisit this decidedly retro vibe, based on the work of Caucasian groups inspired by African American music. This background is rehashed and fused with ancestral Armenian sounds. The DNA of the album "21" is molded by these dear influences.

We can also hear the ancestral sounds of Armenia, a country at the edges of both Europe and Asia. The presence on two tracks of Armenian music Master Norayr Kartashyan, infuses the languor of past melodies and traditions. These purposeful anachronistic sounds offer a fantastic depth to this powerful opus. Listening to the album, one can appreciate the successful fusion of styles and influences. Those combinations, however, manage to preserve individual identities only to enhance the art through an adamant musical dialogue.

Being driven by the urge to transpose Armenian musical traditions into a unique universe, the daring artists, offer an innovative combination by blending, for the first time, these ancestral sounds with the world of Los Angeles beat-scene and jazz. An invention largely fueled by the magic strings of Artyom and maestro Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, a pillar of the genre in Los Angeles combined. These associations resonate with a triumphant equilibrium. HILA is musical uncharted territory in which Artyom's cello strings intertwine to ignite the harmonies of keyboards, the machines, the vocals and electronic layers Dawatile pieced together. HILA plays the soundtrack of an adventure set between Armenia around the end of the Soviet era and a mysterious near future.

Artyom Manukyan grew up in Armenia in the 90s. At the time, he studied Russian classical music while learning jazz with assistance by his father, a music journalist. Being an unconditional music lover, he went on to sharpen his skills at the prestigious Berkelee College of Music. Subsequently, he’s been lucky enough to travel the world touring with numerous acts and mainly with the Armenian Navy Band. The group has fostered alacritous success honored by a BBC Award as a crowning achievement. He moved on 10 years ago and made his way to L.A. with his cello on his back. In the City of Angels, he quickly became a popular figure of the jazz and hip-hop scenes thanks to his first album "Citizen". He’s accompanied prestigious musicians such as Kamasi Washington, Melody Gardot, Daedalus, Flying Lotus, Run DMC, Gretchen Parlato, Raphael Saadiq, Clive Lowe Mark, or Vulfpeck. He released his solo album on the cello, "Alone" in October 2019.

Dawatile is a bold producer and multi-instrumentist as well as a passionate and resolute musician molded by jazz. As a versatile artist, he handles and juggles the saxophone, the keys, the bass and composition. Simultaneously, Dawatile produces cross-over projects and soundtracks for the movie industry. He, as well, has had the opportunity to be a part of many tours, including with his electro hip-hop band, Fowatile and more recently with the "Future Kreyol" trio, Dowdelin. Being the ever workaholic, he has under his belt a string of prestigious collaborations with the likes of Talib Kweli, Foreign Beggars, Roy Ayers, Tigran Hamasyan, Mathieu Boogaerts, Voodoo Game and Piers Faccini. His taste for developing new musical recipes and his know-how in production make him a much sought-after album producer. In concert, the HILA duo offers a sober, precise and rhythmic performance. "21" is an aerial and lively album taking the audience on an at times joyous and sometimes melancholic dreamlike journey. The magic of "HILA" operates at the speed of light and positions it already as an avoidable group.

A record to be enjoyed to its very last second AM Jazz is set to place this songwriter where he just might, finally, receive the recognition he deserves; from unsung hero to a truly worthy candidate for being called up to join the City of Manchester’s ranks of great musical icons. Whether you prefer to know him as Mr. Roberts or simply call him Al, it’s time to become acquainted with the real Jim Noir.

Tossing his bowler onto the hat stand and sliding on his slippers, AM Jazz sees ‘Jim’ putting his feet up whilst Alan Roberts takes the lead. A creative masterpiece for the record player and the mantlepiece, it’s a multi-layered album that features close friends including those dearly departed, and is his truest record to date, by a songwriter painting his own hypnotic Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

“I haven’t 'felt' like Jim Noir for a long time. I’m not sure I ever did; it was a construct of other people’s imaginations,” reveals Al. “AM Jazz is definitely the kind of music I make generally. It harks back to when I started making music years ago and didn’t worry about capturing a particular style. It will be nice to show people more of that.

It's the best album I've written; real hypnotic minimalism, the good stuff!” 15 years since he recorded the first ever 'Jim Noir' EP, AM
Jazz is the record all Noirheads won’t be surprised Al had inside him.

Letting the Beatlesesque stylings of his most recent album Finnish Line be (5 years ago no less), AM Jazz suits the Noir repertoire of his catalogue so far and is another homegrown offering which sees the Daveyhulme composer tinkering in his suburban Manchester studio once more, with the magic of his computer work sorcery, analog and tape recordings.

“For this I went back to the slightly more haphazard way I wrote my first album, Tower Of Love, wherein I’d use things in front of me, or a bit wrong like headphones for a microphone, to make the most Hi-Fi Lo-fi album ever.”

Whilst a brief disappearance of Jim’s online persona may have provoked bleak theories as to his whereabouts, Al had little time for digital distraction. Whilst writing and creating with friends, he has worked on electronic pet project, FAX with former Alfie guitarist, Ian Smith, and the vintage analogue house meets electro sound of his own solo EP Granada Personnel Recovery, as well as producing local band, Shaking Chainsor, and helping long-time musical colleague, Aidan Smith with his long-awaited 'The Planets' project; “I’ve been writing in dribs and drabs when I feel like it,” Al says. “I used to write all day everyday but it’s a lot harder now I’m (feeling) over 100 years old.” Never not sonically exploring or being inspired by the sounds around him, there was even a red-carpet moment when he appeared as a film premier guest after a couple of his songs were selected for the OST of director Jason Wingard’s film Eaten By Lions.

Performing all AM Jazz’s instrumental parts himself but also, at the right moment, bringing in present and past pals along the way, sexy lounge song, ‘Hexagons’ features 'Phil Anderson' and Mark Williamson singing and playing “legendary OTT guitar solo” respectively. Meanwhile the orchestration of ‘Peppergone’ waltzes like a beautifully romantic ode to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata – a tribute to dearly departed best friend 'Batfinks' who originally wrote the chords in his song 'Peppercorn.' “I hope he doesn’t think it’s shit,” Al jests. Listen closely and you may even find a few unsuspecting celebrity guest appearances as, perhaps, it could be the very first album to feature soundbites of podcasts sneaking onto the recordings. “I will have a podcast on if I’m recording; Adam Buxton, Athletico Mince, Frank Skinner or Richard Herring… I’m sure some mics will have picked them up, like in the old Tower of Love days,” he says referring to his breakout debut.

Culled from around 50 tunes AM Jazz moves like the time of the day, from dawn to night, stirring from the pop of ‘Good Mood’ and ‘Upside Down’s Beta Band groove. “As the album was playing, I imagined this smoky backstreet with all those neon signs outside clubs at about 4am,” Al says. Mellow ‘TOL Circle’ is like Percy Faith’s Theme From A Summer Place synthesized, capturing the style of TV library music or movie soundtrack obscurity that has always stirred Al’s curiosity, and the album plunges into a vast chasm of instrumental exploration with ‘Mystermoods,’ visiting Japan’s funky synth whiz duo Testpattern and Hakabashi Sakamoto. Darkening and deepening in intensity, ‘Eggshell’ is like an undiscovered gem from Angelo Badalamenti’s cutting room floor, the Panda Bear shimmer of ‘Lander’ is where blissful positivity and sadness meet, about another of his friends who left the world too young. “By the album’s close, its nearly time to let go and enter the ether,” he says of the album’s story. “Like one would do when they take their final sigh on this earth.”

For The Geek and VRV, everything is a matter of time. Since they first met six years ago, the two beatmakers have been broadcasting their music to the four corners of the world, and their collaboration is as strong as ever after the years. Vanguards of the French instrumental hip-hop scene, they’re coming out today with their first album, Time Machine, a synthesis of the sounds and the ideas they’ve been working on from the very beginning of their careers. A trip back through time, as its name suggests, demonstrating the range of sound possibilities that they created in previous projects and on their international tours.

The release of their hit “It’s Because” in 2013 launched them on the scene as French producers who managed to break into the United States, with sampling as their musical base. Closer to home, the Coachella, Osheaga, and Solidays music festivals were won over by the pair’s complementarity, which made the success of their BTOS beat tapes and their EPs, Electric City and Origami.

But since everything is a matter of time, it was sometimes necessary to just let things go, take a break and think things over before coming back even stronger. A year and a half ago, The Geek and VRV started to slow things down, in order to take a step back and concentrate on this new album. With one overriding idea: to explore different eras and time periods, and transpose them into our modernity. Each track is associated with a pivotal year in music. With “Paris Jazz Club 1920”, the first single on the album, we're plunged into the cozy atmosphere of the cabarets, featuring the virtuoso Montreal pianist Anomalie. A meeting made possible thanks to the famous beatmaker Gramatik, who was a fundamental inspiration for their music, and who is also present on the album, as well as the flagship producers Fakear and Møme.

On Time Machine, The Geek and VRV have turned on their time machine to bring us to the year of James Brown’s birth, and find the unstoppable groove of “Get Funky 1933”. Always with hip hop in sight. The explosion of disco inspired them to record “Roller Disco Party 1980”, and the film Back to the Future was behind “Time Machine 1985”. The mixing of different time periods means that the styles, genres and atmospheres are channeled to perfection. The Geek and VRV have been preparing for this trip for five years now. With Time Machine, the time has come for them to begin their exploration, and to take us along for the ride.

Hotly-tipped Glasgow duo Manakinz are next up on Jasper James’ budding imprint Mitchell Street Records with a vigorous three-track dispatch.

Behind the duo is Jasper’s father and house music legend, James ‘Harri’ Harrigan, and venerable selector Affi Koman. Both are steeped in Glasgow’s rich musical history, with Harri being one of the legendary faces behind Scottish institution Sub Club with its world-renowned flagship residency Subculture, and Affi Koman is known for his lauded Sunday Circus residency.

Established in late 2018, the duo’s productions have bagged support from a long list of respected artists, including Andrew Weatherall, The Black Madonna, Levon Vincent, Ashley Beadle and Bill Brewster.

“A week after I got these tracks, I dropped the A-side ‘Snakehips’ at a Boiler Room gig and the reaction was amazing. Approval doesn’t get much better than spinning it through a road test and I’m looking forward to kicking 2020 off with this killer EP. ” – Jasper James

The EP leads with ‘Snakehips’ a frisky peak-time brew loaded with propellant, tribalised drums and a soulful vocal cut set to stir. On the B side, ‘Yamaha Rumba’ runs with the headiness, amplifying the atmosphere with a maelstrom of synths and skittering keys, and it hits the spot with the release of a lustful, lascivious female vocal. ‘Partizan’ completes the package, giving listeners a robust, heavyweight club track.

"Hasta la muerte" is the first vinyl release of the new mexican label called Baox, runned by g13ck.

Stellar full-length album selection of archival material from Tim Jackiw ranging from timeless late night techno and deep space soundtracks through to electronic jazz and ambient atmospheres. All music sequenced and recorded in Tim's Adelaide-based bedroom studio between 1995 to 1997 using an Amiga 500 interfaced to various analog synthesizers, drum machines and samplers. Limited colour vinyl double pack - big tip!

Bombstrikes make a long awaited return to the world of vinyl with this limited edition 7'' from The Allergies. There are two outstanding funk jams to choose from here, both taken from their Funk N Beats compilation, with the guys working their magic in the form of collaborators or remixers.

On the A side, long time friend of the duo Andy Cooper (Ugly Duckling) delivers the vocals on ' Why You Buggin'' a tribute to the legendary Run DMC. Over on the flip, the Bristol duo remix Dr Syntax and Pete Cannon's 'Downtime' in their trademark style with the funk licks complementing the infectious vocals perfectly.

This is pure dancefloor gold and available for the first time on vinyl! Get in quick though as these won't last long.

Andy Ash has been quietly sneaking out seriously good analogue-driven electronic music on some of the best underground labels for over a decade.

The Liverpool-based producer, DJ and visual artist (the artwork for this re- lease is Andy’s own oil on canvas) has graced the likes of Chicago’s Stilove4music, NYC’s On The Prowl, Sydney’s People Must Jam and has remixed Fantastic Man for Detroit label Kolour LTD amongst many others.

The bottom line is that he’s definitely one of the UK’s unsung heroes when it comes to deep, raw, Chicago and Detroit-influenced house music and we’re proud to welcome him to Delusions Of Grandeur with an amazing three tracker entitled the Bottleneck EP.

The title track opens with snappy hats, flappy congas and sloppy baseline all sitting perfectly in the mix and with a looseness that is much harder to achieve that it may seem. A simple synth melody doubles up the bassline while an extra square wave lead adds that little extra hook without distracting us from the bouncing groove. With Bottleneck, less is definitely more.

Flipping over we have Hump, an altogether darker affair with a twisting acid line joining distorted 808 drums and tripped-out snippets of spoken word coming in and out of focus. The low-slung bumpy groove and spacey synth parts make this a compelling warehouse track which will draw everyone into it’s seductive confines.

Closing the release we have Actual Price, a shuffling, deep groover with rumbling low end and machine-like analogue synth part skipping around the crunchy beats. A cerebral yet punchy and dynamic closer to an excellent release!

Ever since dropping her critically-acclaimed debut LP Online Dating through Central Processing Unit back in 2017, Tryphème (Tiphaine Belin) has marked herself out as one of the more unique voices in contemporary electronica. We mean that literally - Belin's productions are characterised by frequent use of vocals, either processed to provide atmosphere or deployed high in the mix as passages of singing/spoken word. When these are wedded to her typically deft electronic productions the results are lush, atmospheric and moving.

Two years on from Online Dating and Tryphème has returned to CPU with the six-track Aluminia EP. While Online Dating leaned into a range of rave styles, Aluminia is more painterly, with Belin putting greater emphasis on timbre and texture. 'Lava', 'Fey' and 'Cry Silent Cry' are some of the most innovative tracks Belin has produced to date.

While another producer would allow listeners to luxuriate in such warm synth tones, Belin doesn't let you get comfortable, constantly surprising you with innovative structural choices or unexpected sounds. The way in which 'Lava' is agitated by chattering voices and processed singing recalls both the uncanniness of Holly Herndon and the maximalism of A. G. Cook, while the synth line that snakes through 'Cry Silent Cry' nods to Lorenzo Senni's recent trance deconstructions. Beats and bass take precedence in Aluminia's midsection.

This is the portion of the record which most closely recalls Online Dating - 'Eedyu' and 'X-Ray Mantra' are more settled than the other cuts on Aluminia, and it's here that the 90s electronica influences that so often inform CPU's output are most keenly felt. Those who enjoyed Bochum Welt's recent Seafire full-length - itself another CPU drop - will be able to get behind these tunes.

The two sides of Aluminia are combined in penultimate number 'In A Cyber Spiral'. The track's eerie beginning, with its ghostly vocals and nagging drums, is reminiscent of Hype Williams. Soon things morph into a leftfield digi-dub replete with speaker-crushing sub. Halfway through Belin wrong-foots us again, cleverly flipping the drums from half-time to a kind of fluttering breakbeat. It's the most diverse and unique production in a record full of them, drawing on everything from IDM to Eskibeat, and a track which furthers Tryphème's status as an exciting new artist on the European electronics scene.

Medicine used to be, we expected, good for us. Albeit with added sugar. Now medicine is a huge problem in itself, with vast companies caught mis-selling dangerous drugs. It’s one of the biggest scandals ever. How on earth did we get here? Who did this?

The Imbeciles are on the case.

“It’s about the dark side of prescription ‘medicines’. Oxy, Xanax, Ambien, all that. Big pharma is pushing these addictive ‘medicines’ that we don’t actually need, to desensitise / numb / kill. All for profit,” says Butch Dante.

A new classic from The Imbeciles. They know. And they made a video. Watch it here.

Now they’ve been remixed. By these people:

C.A.R.:
Impossible to categorise, and all the better for it - London based, Franco-Canadian, C.A.R., flirts with elements of new wave, cold wave, synth-pop, post punk and off-kilter disco; and without doubt wields some of the most satisfyingly other-worldly melodies and synth lines around.

Ryan James Ford:
One of the most exciting underground techno producers on the block - Ryan doesn’t constrain himself to any one rhythm, aesthetic and motif, but can always be found to be hitting the listener with thick atmosphere, dark melodies and an upfront, experimental attitude.

Legowelt:
A true pioneer of left field house and disco, this Dutch master draws from disco, italo, dub, dancehall, techno and many more sonic pools to create his wonderfully engaging, but always envelope pushing sound.

The Venetians were formed in late 1982 as a studio concept band after Rik Swinn (lead vocalist) arrived in Sydney with master tapes of tracks he recorded in England with engineer/producer Vic Coopersmith-Heaven - It's Cat Stevens, The Rolling Stones, The Vapours & The Jam. - He also read a newspaper advert placed by two musicians who were looking for a lead singer.

Within weeks Swinn formed a touring band and enlisted David Skeet on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals, and Peter Watson (ex-Scandal, Extractors) on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals.
Drummer Tim Powles (ex-Ward 13) joined next and keyboardist Matthew Hughes (ex-Gotham City) completed the line up of the Venetians.

They released their first single, "Sound on Sound", in April 1983 - original copies of which go for upwards of £150 on Discogs.
This 12" includes the original plus remixes by Andrew Weatherall & Zatua (Music from Memory).

“…Voices Heard From The Year Of Thirteen Moons…”
Beyond the decay of ruins hums the subtle sound of Vapor, a suite of dystopian instrumentals by Italians Do It Better visionary Johnny Jewel. His trademark analog synthesizers have never sounded more crystalline, their landscape never more evocatively barren. Chiming bells slowly twirl like the rusted music box of a child’s nightmare, a pitch-black bleak that is utterly frightful — Jewel channels the beauty & horror of a world that long ago abandoned its own destiny. This is a fever dream flashback. The kind that strikes you in the blur of night & refuses to weaken its grip until the sheets are drenched in sweat. This soundtrack is as elegant as it is violent, conjured in the deepest blacks & most vivid reds. These 21 celestial tracks clock in at just over an hour. Warping wind from a spiraling pinwheel…The sound of dust in the Garden of Hera, walking the tightrope between Life & Hades. The thin line that divides the Heavens from the Earth. Breathe Deep.

Produced & Mixed By Johnny Jewel
Mastered By Mike Bozzi At Bernie Grundman Mastering
Cut By Bernie Grundman In Hollywood
Artwork By Johnny Jewel

Mr. Collage’s debut solo album “Layers” takes a traditional Hip-Hop approach, utilizing samples as well as recorded instruments. “Layers” is a sonic painting consisting of dusty vinyl memories and future plane tickets. Funky beats and basslines, afro percussions and a second-hand synth are layered to complete the musical background of the album.

Is that all? Def not! The album features some very talented artists from the USA, Australia, Spain, Greece and Belgium. The rappers Nico The Beast, S Squair Blaq, Mic Bles and 1989TRE get funky on Collage’s beats and lady MC Amira Lacrima with her mellow raps gets into a story telling.

Soul comes strong in the album too with Lady EMZ cherishing life over a Northern Soul-inspired beat and Mantique spicing up the funkiness with her deep voice. Not to mention vocalist Lisa Spykers adding an extra R&B/Soul vibe by joining forces with 1989TRE.
On the wheels of steel, the IDA World Finalists - Fly Immigrants (DJ Mysterons and DJ Hypercutz) and the heavy artillery of scratching of Mind The Wax, DJ Moya take care of the scratches in the album.

Layers will be released on vinyl by label Mind The Wax in December 2019, and includes 11 tracks.

Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The music of Johnny Jewel, Glass Candy, Chromatics, Mirage, & Symmetry all articulate different visions for different moments — the pure ecstasy of a Saturday night out; unrestrained romantic devotion between vulnerable people; walks on wet streets on foggy nights; isolated twilight meditations. They make music for all moments, all feelings, all stories — in films & in life. Theirs is natural soundtrack music. Bruce Thierry Cheung brings their cinematic music to celluloid to tell the story of a family’s struggles in Don’t Come Back from the Moon, starring James Franco, Rashida Jones, & Jeffrey Wahlberg. The soundtrack mixes new & beloved work from the Italians family. Classic cuts such as Chromatics’ revered “Cherry” & “The River” (alongside the newer “Magazine”) & the disco-bliss of Mirage’s “Lady Operator” are alongside cues from Johnny’s instrumental solo album Digital Rain, all remastered to articulate the resonance of the visuals. Joining them is new music from Johnny & Symmetry. “Bicycle” finds Symmetry taking their Tangerine Dream and John Carpenter vibes into a haunting modern R&B space. Cues like “Street Lights” & “Dusk” use twinkling piano keys & glassy, minimal synthesizers to craft ambient electronic bliss. “Death Valley” is a foreboding & atmosphere track, laced with spectres of fading memories. Once you go to the moon with these songs, you’ll never want to come back.

Produced & Mixed By Johnny Jewel
Mastered By Mike Bozzi At Bernie Grundman Mastering
Cut By Bernie Grundman In Hollywood