Fresh off the back of the languorous poolside disco and tropical pop of their debut album 'Shapes On Shapes' released last November, LA based duo Wild & Free return with a collection of essential remixes from label mates and influences alike by revisiting the heady disco of recent single 'Ferns and Stuff'.
Both multi-instrumentalists, singers and producers in their own right, Wild & Free duo Drew Kramer and George Cochrane came together in 2015 and have spent the past 2 years crafting a series of acclaimed EPs and remixes (for the likes of Joe Goddard (Hot Chip), Panama, Gigamesh, RAC and Ben Browning of Cut/Copy) that saw them tipped by the likes of Spin, XLR8R, Indie Shuffle, Clash Magazine, Data Transmission and many more and take their live show on the road playing alongside the likes of Brooklyn's Body Language.After releasing a few solid ep's and two full lengths album's Xinobi has gained real recognition among established and well-known artists and opinion-makers, and his underground cult has amplified. What has followed is remixes, edits and reworks for artists such as Sbtrkt, The Avener, John Grant, Toro Y Moi, Nicolas Jaar, Agnes Obel, Kris Menace and Tensnake.Along with Moullinex and Mr. Mitsuhirato he gave birth to the still-growing-influent Discotexas who here lend their label mates their expert musical arrangement skills with 'Discotexas Club Mix' thrown in for good measure. And it doesn't stop there, with legendary New Yorker Justin Strauss, who has produced and mixed records and remixes for the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Beyonce, La Roux and Goldfrapp contributing a 'Whatever/Whatever' mix as part of the slick and hugely influential production duo he formed with Bryan Mette.
Already noticed for his remixes and array of collaborators and with several releases under his belt (including a track on the 'Bonjour Colette' compilation), Tokyo-based Yuki Abe AKA producer/DJ Boys Get Hurt gets his inspiration from the melancholic feelings the end of summer inevitably brings about, a personal and evocative sensibility in tune with the land of the rising sun's delicate culture. Yuki expertly crafts bouncy disco-house music with sprinklings of electronica, indie, ambient, hip-hop and R&B. Here he adds a mix with a loose and joyful feel that fits the sentiments of what Wild and Free represent perfectly.
quête:thrown
Radical Connector was originally released in 2004 and is now fnally back on vinyl. This re-issue is pressed on mixed splatter color vinyl and presented in a high gloss jacket with free download card.
Though reference points like Daft Punk and Prince have rightly been thrown around, Radical Connector is in fact a strange album that doesn't sound like much else.' - Pitchfork
Mouse on Mars is recognised as one of Germany's most defning and versatile electronic music projects. With their
anarchic mixture of sound that oscillates between uncontrollable chaos and meticulously arranged structures,
Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma have forged a unique musical language, which is readily decomposed by the
unpredictability of its myriad mutations. Free from schools of thought, genre conventions, and from the constraints
of the music establishment, they have worked under the Mouse on Mars alias for 24 years, mapping their own
idiosyncratic trajectory through a no man's land between pop, art, club music, and the avant-garde. - Jan Rohlf
Sexy robot vocals slip and slide all over juicy squeals, raindrop plops, and jungle-thick beats.'
- Entertainment Weekly
Stirring songs drift out of its frantic aural mishmashes, fnding a controlled center amid all the dizzy spin.'
- AV Club
Mouse on Mars have a gift for making electronic bleeps and buzzes sound like tangible objects that bounce,
bend and collide in physical space.' - Rolling Stone
First Word Records is very proud to present the triumphant return of the UK's finest Hip Hop Soul duo, Children of Zeus, with a double-header of brand new material.
Since the release of 'The Story So Far' EP in 2017, Konny Kon and Tyler Daley have proceeded to draw in the attention of tastemakers across the world, receiving big ups from Hip Hop, Soul and dance music royalty, such as US legends Jazzy Jeff & DJ Spinna, and UK heavyweights Stormzy & Rag'n'Bone Man.
In addition to relentlessly rocking stages and studios all over Europe, Children of Zeus have somehow found the time to write and produce their debut album proper. This is the first taste..
'Slow Down' is a sure-shot Summer anthem, with a twist. A deceptively soulful slow jam that lulls you into a false sense of filtered smoothness, before a floor-shaking beat & trill hats drop in from above, as if thrown in via a thunderbolt from Zeus himself. On the flip, we have the uptempo boom-bap steppa, 'All Night'. Konny sets this one off on some straight b-boy isht, riding a rhythm that's guaranteed to make grown Hip Hoppers reminisce, before Tyler's sweet swing-tinged vocals glide into play to keep you firmly steppin' - this one again illustrating the Mancunian duo's craft of creating timeless Hip Hop Soul music.
Manchester has been riding a wave of immense creativity & musical prowess in recent years. Children of Zeus exemplify the heart and soul of Manny's now-movement - but don't get it twisted - the vibe is universal, and they definitely ain't new to this. Two decades on from the inception of Broke'N'£nglish and Hoodman, Tyler and Konny have consistently persistently held their corner, stayed true to the music they love and nurtured their own unique sound. It's almost time to drop that album... But for now, here's more future classics.
From Philadelphia beatmaker Knxwledge has been bubbling beneath the surface in the virtual world. Making his name via Myspace, global mixes spinning around the world and with a Mary Anne Hobbs mix & plays from Benji B already under his belt hes ready to step up to the plate in 2010 with his first solo release. 15 tracks here of varying rhythmic structures, lengths and speeds which go way further than mere beats and snippets. Sloppy, on beat and off its all thrown in the beat blender. Tip!
"Leon Bailey and Joe Rossitter aka Chromatic have already released music on such respected labels as Innerground, True Playaz, and Commercial Suicide. Now the Chromatic boys have their own solo 12" on Dope Plates, presenting to you on the 1's and 2's three brilliant 90s influenced dancefloor drum & bass, jungle music....with a hint of hardcore rave thrown in. Safe as fuck."
To know what's up right now, we must understand what went down in history... 'Rave History': Easily one of Catz 'n Dogz most evocative, classically-informed and ferociously euphoric pieces of work to date, this is a celebration of every black wax brick laid in the foundations of dance music culture. Every hand that was ever raised in sweaty exultation. Every stranger whoever got hugged on the dancefloor for no reason but pure love for the moment. Every whistle. Every horn. Every damn time. From its quintessential break to its iconic vocal via its sizzling bass-heavy groove; 'Rave History' is the ultimate finale piece, a show-stopping opener or a wild mid-set excursion. It resonates with everything that's relevant now and everything that's ever been relevant. Loaded with pure positivity, this will complement any style of DJ set, any crowd, any age, any country. This is our DNA. For added euphoric stimuli, the Szczecin boys have also thrown in a kickless hype tool in the form of the feel-heavy Life Mix. Choral pads, cascading FX, dramatic one-strike piano notes, splashing cymbals and that almighty vocal sample that comes with one essential message every single one of us can raise our sweaty hands and hug strangers to: no matter how weird things feel in the world right now, when we're together with like-minded dancing neighbours, everything is going to be ALL RIGHT.
'Macht Macht Zement'—what does it mean 80s drums, synths and vocals, almost without context. Fallbeil, two soon-to-be men (aka boys), finish tracks at the rate of butchers kneading meatballs. Due to laziness and a lack of technique, everything gets recorded on one track and immediately thrown into the frier. Nothing is planned. First up, school detention followed by rough LoFi rap.The album contains a wide variety of themes, from mailmen to warthogs, from latecomers to sensible conversation, every track is created out of spontaneity. Two very short tracks on this album date back to 1999, when the boys performed as 'Funky Granatos' in the local youth centers. Sadly, their performances weren't successful. Nobody wanted to listen to them and almost every concert ended in mass brawls. The track 'Postman' comes from the duo's side project Grand Malheur and was recorded in 2015 in Bronxfeld. More output from this project will appear on various EPs in the near future. The album title 'Macht Macht Zement' originates from Tom Pötgen. Tom always wanted to throw the sacred hand grenades. We hope he does that right now!
On this new EP, DJJ's trademark jagged take on filtered French house is still present, but with Chicago bump, techno and more random elements thrown in for good measure.I Keep Trying To Convince Myself is the tougher, more rugged and even funkier cousin to DJJ's hotly-hyped 2016 summer anthem just a lil. Chi house meets soca in this carnivalesque new classic, which hits the perfect spot between sweetness and dirt.Yn Y Ty is fast, jerky funk and almost a new genre in itself. Both melancholy and pumping, think DJ Rush meets the Tetris theme in an oddball, groovy-as-hell work of genius.The cut-up, loopy loops and tough, tribal beats on Apilli are deranged in a good way and - as with the rest of the EP - demonstrate a quirkiness and subtle humour akin to Basement Jaxx's early golden period.A big sample drives the jacking, sweaty, glitz of Upsqwar's warped take on handbag, which channels the spirit of Modjo and features a ponderous, almost chiptune melody drifting subtly over the top.The EP closes with the Greek flavoured stomper Glas, which wouldn't sound out of place on Richie Hawtin's 1999 mix album Decks, EFX & 909. This new EP is first release since jus a lil for Crazylegs, which gained high praise from NPR, Resident Advisor, Indie Shuffle, Mixmag, Dummy, Hyponik and FACT - who commissioned a video and coined the tongue-in-cheek genre name 'outsider Ibiza'. Comparisons have been made to Thomas Bangalter, Alan Braxe, Todd Edwards and David Morales - albeit a skewed reinterpretation. Like the punks' assimilation of rock and roll, DJJ's fresh and irreverent take on highlights from dance music history make for some of the most exciting sounds since Daft Punk's first forays.Although distorted and with lowered bit-rates, to call theses tracks 'low fi' is to do them a disservice, as DJJ's manipulation of frequencies, distortion and samples is deceptively simple yet not easily matched. There's a mastery of sonics and leftfield sensibility at play, akin to fellow EQ tweakers Heiroglyphic Being, Aphex Twin and Adrian Sherwood.DJJ is a member of the Bristol-based label/collective Crazylegs, alongside artists including Gage, Sudanim, Finn (all of whom remixed just a lil). He's also one half of ISLAND, whose grime-flavoured Nokia EP was release in 2015 - also on Crazylegs.
Seriously, how is it possible to spend two years and four months making a pop music album It's obviously not because of a fetish with technical perfection. Not a single take on 'Chemistry and Math' has been recorded in a recording studio. It is all living room, bedroom or kitchen table work. Which is the way we have recorded almost all Flunk albums. So really, how does it take 28 months to put together 10 tracks of alternative, lo-fi pop music Well, life Just life. We're busy with stuff like everybody else, ordinary stuff. And it's all in there, really. In the air in the recordings and in-between the lines of words.
'Chemistry and Math' might be about how you acknowledge the inevitability of the rules and patterns and natural laws, it's not so much mystery, it's math, and chemistry, and hormones, and a constant chaos of coincidence. In there are also a lot of pop music references, some obvious one, some slightly hidden. 'Chemistry and Math' is installed in a bleak and more distorted soundscape, reflecting the mood of the world thrown at us in a fucked up era.
'Chemistry And Math' is the sixth ordinary album from Flunk, the Norwegian downbeat/'folktronica' trio now expanded to a quintett.
With his new release the polish Transatlantyk sails into - as yet uncharted - waters of the 'lol- fi' breakbeat house scene to bring you the debut of DJ Stoner Dad.
Not much is known about the man behind the nickname, except that he is a DJ, a dad and that he likes getting his hits from the bong on during the infamously long Warsaw afterparties.
The "Raw Romantics EP" showcases his own take on the deeply saturated, smokey and breakbeat-infused house genre.
'Fake Strings' is a certified banger alluring the dancefloor with a great combo of rolling bass, squashed kicks and hats, grimy, atmospheric pads and a bits of spoken word thrown in.
'Magic Phunk' brings THAT break again and for a good measure. Drums are floating over an ocean worth of blazing pads, liquid synths, acid riffs, pillowy, yet dirty chords and whatever else DJ Stoner Dad could lay his hands on at the time.
'IV' is a full frontal ambient jam, with little bits of wandering drums coming into the picture at the very end.
Finally 'V' brings cinematic influences over slightly uneasy slow groove.
&apos's music veers between abstract, experimental compositions and more beat driven tracks, all held together by a defined aesthetic of sonic impurities and random patterns thrown up by algorithmic computations. In &apos's music compositional decisions are not merely reliant on himself but also on a range of processes from constrained randomness to full fledged neural networks. That is to say, the 'instruments' he creates have -to a certain extent- a mind of their own. There will always be a dynamic between the musician and something else that triggers, proposes or decides what will happen to the music.It is exactly from this human-machine interaction that &apos extrapolates his musical ideas that are both intricate and detailed while never losing an overall sense of emotional value.
His first solo project 'Lichtdrank' is a selection of four tracks made during his time studying Sonology at The Hague's Royal Conservatory and the time following. It is the third and final installment of bepotel's startupLabel trilogy. Previously, he has released music together with Walrus and Sagat under several musical projects like smaakwaterval and bepotel. The artwork of the Lichtdrank EP is based on screenshots from an interactive multiplayer video game where the musical universe of &apos can be explored.
Due to popular demand; a double A side from the one and only, Marcos Valle. This is the second time he has appeared in this Brazil 45's series LINK'Democustico' is a lush, uptempo MPB constructed from guitars, rolling percussion and soaring woodwind. Taken from his 1972 LP 'Vento Sul' on Odeon Brazil.
'Freio Aerodinâmico' is an uptempo piano driven, bossa/MPB, laden with hooky vocals, strings and horns, underpinned with a funk drum groove. Aeroplane sound effects thrown in for good measure! Taken from his 1970 self-titled LP on Odeon Brazil.
- A1: Black Feat Caitlin
- A2: Around Feat Hayze
- A3: Let It Go Feat Caitlin
- B1: Real Feat Symbol
- B2: Found Out Feat Richard Davis
- B3: Time Feat Hrrsn
- C1: Explode Feat Chris James
- C2: In A Vacuum Feat Richard Davis
- C3: My Fault Feat Hrrsn
- D1: Angel Feat Hayze
- D2: Glass Feat Symbol
- D3: Out Of Control Feat Cari Golden
2x12" Vinyl + full cover artwork
One of the world's most in demand DJs and producers, Noir has been responsible for some of the most poignant - as well as explosive moments in clubland's recent history. Arguably best known for his huge dancefloor bomb 'Around', Noir now drops his debut studio album, a project that has been nearly half a decade in the making.'Around', a sexy, synthesizer-tinted groove featuring vocalist Hayze dominated dancefloors across the world for close to two years, making Noir a household name across clubland. And it's still as popular as ever - the Solomon Vox remix of 'Around' has amassed more than 12 million views on YouTube.
As well as 'Around', Noir includes further club hits 'Around feat. Hayze', 'My Fault feat. HRRSN' and current single 'Black feat. Caitlin', evidencing Noir's desire to work with a variety of vocalists to create something far 7 weightier than simply a collection of club tracks. Noir is about telling stories, boating 12 completely unique productions that chart the artist's evolution over the course of his expansive career. With many of its cuts moving away from the strict four-to-the-floor parameters of house music production, the horizons of Noir stretch way beyond the dancefloor. Taking cues from a range of artists from Depeche Mode to Kraftwerk, and Massive Attack to Timbaland - all of whom have heavily influenced Noir's aesthetic - Noir is an emotionally charged and
utterly engrossing body of work. Says Noir of working on the album: 'The album has been in the making since I started working on 'Around' back in 2010, so for me it's a body of work that spans nearly 5 years, with changes to productions, melodies and moods before I was happy with the final tracks. 'What you hear on the album is the culmination of all the music and influences I grew up and have lived with over the years: it is absolutely my identity and honestly represents my musical passions. Unlike many 'dance' albums that are little more than a collection of thrown-together club tracks, Noir combines tirelessly creative songwriting with multi-faceted production that reveals fresh delights with every listen: a timeless release from a truly singular artist.
For this 14th release, we give you the opportunity to grab 6 fantastic trax done by one of today's hotest producer from germany : ANDREAS GEHM aka ELEC PT1.After a bunch of releases on MATHEMATICS, BUNKER, CHIWAX, SNUFF TRAX, he sent us his brand new tracks & we felt it was so good that we decided to release them straight !His sound is firmly rooted in proto-house and acid. A whirlwind of crystalline electronics, playful synthesizer riffs (with a dash of original chi-town jack thrown in), it comes on like a particularly cosmic jam session between Stevie Poindexter & drexcya. Jack Attack ! On this evidence, Andreas is clearly one to watch
TERRANOVA returns to the fore with the HEADACHE EP, another impressive assortment of floor-ready house weaponry - after the sublime sophistication of the PAINKILLER EP (KOMPAKT 262) and its accompanying remixes (FM X/PAIN 001), the new material shoves the pendulum back into more rugged club territory, showcasing the sort of sonic urgency and rawness the legendary project has become known for in the first place.
As missing links between the dystopian pop of TERRANOVA's turn-of-the-century work and the slick kinetic drama of their current incarnation on Kompakt, the three cuts of the HEADACHE EP congenially continue the multi-layered, nifty thrust of 2012's house nouveau epic HOTEL AMOUR (KOMPAKT 248 CD 95), but also manage to evoke the wonderstruck immediacy of an act burning through its first speakers. This becomes particularly manifest with the deployment of CATH COFFEY as vocalist for title track HEADACHE (also a primer for TERRANOVA's upcoming full-length). A member of iconic British rap outfit Stereo MCs in the early 90s and collaborator of Tricky, the singer was featured on TERRANOVA's initial outings and is a well-established presence in their early work. On the new 12", she reintroduces her unique brand of battle-hardened, deadpan soulfulness to the searing funk of the reinvigorated project.
HEADACHE, a cover of a song from Birmingham's iconic and controversial postpunk outfit The Au Pairs, as well as its instrumental sequel HEADLOCK are both fuelled by the propulsive beats and upscale hooks we've grown to expect from TERRANOVA, but there seems to be something else at work, too - a somewhat darker undercurrent that may or may not be part of the actual arrangement. In any case, this adds much-needed depth to today's dance floors, providing them with a riveting soundtrack for the most intense of prime times. There's no need for EP closer TOURETTE to hide behind its compatriots, either: it's a full-blown thrill ride in its own right, brimming with jittery sampling, arresting percussion and some pretty rad bassline abrasiveness thrown in for good measure. A well-placed shot at the dancer's solar plexus, this wraps up the HEADACHE EP nicely, giving players and punters another perfectly valid reason for post-apocalyptic celebration.
Idiot Savant Masterpieces is the 3rd release and the first full solo EP by Amir Alexander on the Vanguard Sound record label. On display is Amir's somewhat off kilter take on U.S. dance music. An approach so different that one critic described the work of Amir and his crew as Idiot Savant Masterpieces. All bases are covered, acid, deep, big room, and banging techno with a little hip house thrown in for good measure. Vanguard Sound is quickly establishing itself as a label to watch so serious collectors should buy this one on sight!
The Realest of the Real! - An acid/ hip house hybrid banger that draws influence from the classic acid and hip house vibes. With vocals written and performed by Amir himself, this track combines 303 808 and 909 sounds with Amir's "street chants" to create a vibe that looks back to classic Chicago while pushing it forward and into the future.
Sonic Weaponry! - An insidious techno groove that grabs you by the neck on the first note, and never lets go. Tough banging drums combine with a staccato analog synth passage that charges like an advancing army. The rubbery bass line joins the fray to incite utter madness as this deceptively minimalistic track whips the floor into a mad frenzy.
Rebel Music (Version One)! - A big room Banger lead by a phrenetic sine wave bass line that never lets up. Deliberate, yet, stuttering percussion anchors the track. The accompanying synth ostinato continuously shifts as huge lush chords blow through like gale force winds. Black Panther's H. Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael drop science about the nature of rebellion in the U.S.
Who are You - The "Deepest" track of the four opens with a beautiful ascending/ descending flute like synth passage that instantly sets the soul adrift. The hard and jumpy kicks interplay with a throbbing rhythmic bass that bubbles like a boiling cauldron. About halfway in a driving synth ostinato comes in to push the track forward. In the middle there is a dreamy
Part 2[14,24 €]
The EP starts with Mikael Jonasson's, 'Benefit of the Doubt' which uses dark, melodic bleeps to create tension before the epic chord stabs kick in that resonate over the throbbing bass line. Adam Beyer steps up with the second track 'Never Really Left Home' that uses a rhythmic synth-line to create a dark and moody piece of music. Ida Engberg then delivers her unique style of techno using old rave sounds and a huge hoover style synth to create a driving techno track that will keep any dancefloor moving. The Manic Brother's supply another big track named 'Different Directions' using reverberated stabs to create an atmospheric, but still functional track with lots of rhythmic percussion thrown in. Patrick Siech then steps up with the next track, 'Kill Room' that also uses atmospheric percussion and stabs to build into a funky drum groove. Joel Mull presents the sixth track on the compilation; 'Rimson' that uses hypnotic drums to captures the listener's attention to lead into a floaty synth and vocal line before the track introduces a pulsating bass line. 'Second Coming' is the next offering with Petter B using recurrent percussion to full effect to create a purposeful, heavy hitting techno track. The final track by Cari Lekebusch called 'Xylopeggiator', conveys a dark, pounding 5 AM rhythm that uses vocal samples and a melodic synth to create a hypnotic drum pattern.
SLEEP D's BACON EP is the next offering from Sydney's excellent DEATH STROBE imprint
SLEEP D are a couple of young cats from Melbourne, the production duo are sure to be an integral part of the deep house explosion coming from their city, spearheaded by the likes of Tornado Wallace, Fantastic Man and the Melbourne Deepcast crew.
The record has a range of flavours all tied together by a fundamental warmth and soulfulness.
The title track flows and floats in a dreamlike state, whilst simultaneously nailing the groove from beat one.
Bubbles vs The Cat takes it up a notch, entering the club realm with rich bass and tight rhythms.
Their remix of Chet Faker's Love & Feeling is certain to give any dance floor a collective orgasm, oozing an erotic strangeness as it heaves and thrusts away, while Ischa has a tickle of Techno thrown into the mix and, despite its druggy sedation, has a hidden energy for dancing feet.


















