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Wait for Me is the compelling new album by Snowpoet, created by Irish vocalist and lyricist Lauren Kinsella and producer Chris Hyson. After their hugely successful release of 2018 Thought You Knew, this fourth body of work is a bold, flowing statement offering a mantra evocation to explore the deeper questions of how we love, how we accept our faults and how we let go in a time of profound confusion. With storytelling at its core and impeccable taste they weave their signature and evocative hook-like melodies, rich harmonic movements, flutters of emotive sung-spoken singing and thick, rich production to create an album that suggests repeated listening.

LTD. CLEAR BLUE VINYL

Fresh off of their 2020 offering Adult Themes, El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled Yeti Season, this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where Adult Themes inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, Yeti Season brings us to a different place in time_with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with Yeti Season. If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. The first single off of Yeti Season showed their hand back in 2018. A double-sided banger, that release brought the musical textures to the fore that dominate this record. The first song, titled "Unathi," is fully realized with the beautifully haunting-yet-hopeful vocals of Piya Malik, formally of 79.5_another Big Crown artist. Singing in Hindi, Piya's ethereal voice is telling us to work and strive together toward progress. Even if you don't understand her language, you can still hear the urgency of purpose, creating a lasting vibe that sits on top of it all. Leon Michels explains that Piya had a vital influence on this record: "When Piya started singing in Hindi, she had a different voice, a different tone. I knew we had to do something together." And so Piya appears on three other songs on Yeti Season: "Zaharila," "Murkit Gem," and "Dhuaan." Each providing particular signatures to the album. "Zaharila" is a building and changing love song punctuated by blaring trumpets, driving drums, and Piya's pleading lyrics. While the more upbeat "Murkit Gem" opens with a fuzzed out, Wu-Tang-esque baseline that buoys Piya's stylings. The psychedelic guitar and Piya's changing tones and textures singing about an all-consuming love are what pushed "Dhuaan" on to the second single from Yeti Season. There is also a vocal appearance from Shannon Wise of The Shacks, yet another Big Crown artist. Her song called "Sha Na Na," lies more in the familiar EMA vein: melodic, hypnotic, soulfully visual. But between Shannon's airy singing, the jumpy baseline, moody vibes, the active drum lines, it sounds like a pensive walk home after a strangely dramatic night. So what is Yeti Season? It could be more of a feeling than an actual place or time of year. It's a heavy album_as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better_or fuller_coming our way. You hear it in songs like "Ala Vida," with its stabby, pulsing chords laying a bedrock for EMA's bright, atmospheric horn lines. Or even in "Fazed Out," which leaves you with a feeling of determination, a striving for resolution even though the driving, march-like song structure should accompany some conquering army. This persistence has to come from the fact that Leon Michels and company finished this record during the lockdown. It was a tough and troublesome time. But look at what has come of it: Yeti Season_a record of high and heavy drama, but also one of hope and promise. It may take a year like 2020 behind us to find hope in a winter big footed creature like a Yeti, but that's where we are.

Limited edition white vinyl. Two signature Average White Band funk bombs, much danced to and sampled across the years - but nothing beats the originals and the first time either have been pressed on 12".

The A side houses 'Pick Up The Pieces' an essential sax laden gem loved by hip hop producers the world over, for that melt in the mouth funk hook. The flip a cover of the incredible Ned Doheny anthem 'Get It Up For Love', featuring the mighty Ben E. King on lead vocals.

For Chris Tooker, the first decade of his artistic journey was immersed in bands while the second was engaged in wandering the realms of electronica in the form of creator, composer and engineer for DJ duo KMLN. Today, after many incarnations, Tooker returns to the source of himself while carrying both the treasures of his past and a vision for the future. Tooker has long been called to pursuing obsessive trails through the greater cosmos. On these journeys, he seeks particles with a hypnotic essence. Once found, he interprets this magic in his own special way, through the most universal language - music. His music tells stories of fascinating adventures through the dust, the palms, and the gritty streets of yonder. It is colorful, deep, and disco laced. It flaunts rare collected percussion (delivered live in his sets), various instruments and sometimes whispers a touch of voice. Now his solo-debut EP Nang’o drops on Acid Pauli and Nico Stojan’s label Ouie. For the lead track Nang’o, Tooker recruits the phenomenal talents of Kenya’s multi-instrumentalist Labdi. Labdi’s oruto (a western Kenyan fiddle instrument) and bewitching vocals provide the hooks for this subtle, shuffling track, presented here as both a full version and as an instrumental. Baladi features Shawna Hofmann both on co-production and vocal duties - this time a more driving, rolling groove develops with Shawna adding sultry, evocative vocals to the mix. Undone rounds off the physical release - another signature exercise in subtlety and restraint, as an infectious groove folds in bubbling synths, crisp percussion and dubby effects.

Seven years and a handful of lifetimes ago, New Bums came
out of nowhere with their debut album, ‘Voices In a Rented
Room’ - a record the New York Times described as “feeling like
it’s falling apart.” New Bums took this as a compliment and,
thus emboldened, they toured relentlessly in support of the
release: criss-crossing the USA in the spring of 2014, with a
European run that summer. Then, silence descended, as the
Bums withdrew to the place from which they’d mysteriously
emerged.
Now, the Bums are back. 2021 finds them with a new album in
hand. Following a West Coast US tour in late 2019 it’s clear that
the duo of Donovan Quinn (Skygreen Leopards) and Ben
Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Rangda, etc) are fully
reanimated, as evidenced by the songs and sounds of ‘Last
Time I Saw Grace’.
Retaining the drunk-dog-locomotion of their debut, New Bums
sprinkle a bit of fresh fancy into their signature twin guitarsand-vocals sound, with cleaner recording techniques, further
developments in harmonies and a new appreciation for a song
with more than two parts, making ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’
nothing less than the perfect progression from the purposefully
murky mixes of their debut.
Continuing to embrace an acoustic rock ’n’ roll sound, inspired
by artists such as Jacobites, Robyn Hitchcock, Johnny
Thunders, Replacements and such, New Bums push the words
and the stories to the front of the line, crafting tales with satiric
glee on ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’. However, this world of empty
perfume bottles, bodies tied to masts and moving onward to
devastation (after the bottle on the table pulls out a gun) feels
much more Gombrowiczian dreamscape than drunken night on
the town. Yes, everything is wasted but this is an existential
wasteland rather than a substance-laden one. This combination
of arch Californian post-aristocratic melodrama with torn and
frayed acoustic guitars opens up a new genre entirely, one
those at Drag City are tempted to call Rent Control Romantic.

Calgary songwriter Chad VanGaalen’s new album, ‘World’s Most Stressed Out
Gardener’, is a psychedelic bumper crop. A collection of tunes that does away with
obsessiveness, the anxiety of perfectionism, in favour of freshness and immediacy -
capturing the world as it was met while recording alone at home over a period of
years. “Don’t overthink it,” VanGaalen told himself again and again, despite the
push/pull love/hate of his relationship with songwriting. “I’m always trying to get
outside of the song - but then I realize I love the song.”
This is a record that gleams with VanGaalen’s musical signatures: found sound,
reverb, polychromatic folk music that is by turns cartoonish and hyperphysical - like
ultra-magnified footage of a virus or a leaf. Apparently, the album began life as a
“pretty minimal” flute record. (There’s only a vestige now, on ‘Flute Peace’, one of
three instrumentals.) Later it became an electronic record “for a while” and finally,
“right at the last second,” it “turned into a pile of garbage.” The good kind of
garbage: glinting, useful, free. Music as compost - leaves and branches ready to be
re-ingested by the earth, turned into a flower.
Throughout these 40 minutes, VanGaalen floats from mania to solace to oblivion,
searching for zen in all the wrong places. “Turn up the radio / I think we’re dead,”
he sings on ‘Nothing Is Strange’; or, on the inside-out rocker ‘Nightmare Scenario’:
“You’re stressed out when you should be feeling very well.” The singer’s mental
landscape is rotting and redemptive, beautiful in spite of itself - and his soundscapes
reflect this fertile decay.
He has been influenced by his instrumental work on TV scores (Dream Corp’s third
season began this fall) but still “nothing can really replace the human voice,” he
admits. Like Arthur Russell or Syd Barrett, it’s VanGaalen’s vocals that shine a path
through the swampland - from the cello-lashed ‘Water Brother’ to ‘Starlight’’s
krautrock pipe-dream.
These days, VanGaalen cherishes the privacy of the studio, the capacity to wander
around, get distracted, and “move at the speed of life.” Whereas once he would
obsess over mic techniques, now he puts the microphone in the same place every
time - trying to capture a song quickly, the idea at its heart. He’ll act on his
infatuations - for the flute, a squeaky clarinet, his basement’s copper plumbing
(remade into xylophones for ‘Samurai Sword’) - and then he’ll try to get out, “veering
away from responsibility,” before he overdoes his stay.
In the end, it’s like gardening. You have to live with your horrible decision-making;
the weather’s going to mess with you if it wants to; and if you plant a hundred
heads of broccoli, “now you gotta eat a hundred heads of broccoli - or watch them
go to seed.” But mostly VanGaalen just tries to be a deer: “I remember seeing some
deer come out in the Okanagan Valley once,” he says, “watching them wait for a
sunbeam to hit a perfect bunch of grapes - and then eating them right out of the
sunbeam. I’d recommend that.”
Initial LP copies pressed on clear with gold, red and blue high melt coloured vinyl.

Two years after their first record came out, the crew operating legendary dance nights in Nantes are back on top of the new release pile. Two original tracks by Kanot and two remixes. Overall, their stylistic balance signature is maintained, although the gravity center is a bit more leftfield and poetic, a bit less dance-obvious. But that’s only in comparison to other material: any of the four pieces here can take a dance floor apart, played at the right time.

Hit & Run has a massive “star grabbing” feel, the synth and guitar surges sounding like as many jumps above the stratosphere, and the vocalizing choirs on top making it a definitive cosmic jam.

Turbulens is more earthy than spacy: drum breaks and big ass basslines bring out an irresistible leg shaking feel, the melodic guitars on top balance the vibe into that delicious moment when Caribbean sunsets turn the day into a warm a groovy night, certainly a party starter. The Pilotwings Remix is to the image of their added touch: trancy on edges but very far from easy or obvious. Constantly jumping above and diving under the line, it’s playing greatly with dancers’ feet, and eventually their minds.

Houseman Vidock delivers the most danceable material on this record. His strong experience as a DJ for parties focused on having people dancing freely for a long time is clearly audible. This slo-mo belter doesn’t need much advertisement, it just needs to be played to any dancefloor, be it at midnight or 8 am.

Melbourne’s Cool Sounds return with their fourth full-length album Bystander, out February 12. Warm and deftly balanced, Bystander moves through indie rock and alt-country with an alert effortlessness.

Cool Sounds’ signature lead guitar lines are in dialogue with lead singer and songwriter Dainis Lacey’s lyrics, which are at turns introspective, self-aware, irreverent and unflinchingly observant. Bystander was written during a European summer and recorded in three weeks over the following Australian one, produced by Lacey alongside Dylan Young (Way Dynamic). While it can sound serene, Bystander isn’t always as laid back as the warm weather might suggest: this album sees Cool Sounds more attuned to their surroundings than ever. While Lacey has always been interested in storytelling, these songs bring lyrics into sharp focus – for the first time the words were all written before the music, and he took notes in the band’s cramped tour van on the autobahn and while wandering through small towns in France and Italy, reflecting on his home while away from it.

Bystander sees Cool Sounds explore the contemporary moment and the everyday with nuance and dexterity, never losing sight of the intimacy and charm that characterises their work. An exercise in observation and reflection, Bystander takes snapshots and zooms in, underlines phrases, and asks its listener to continue paying close attention.

Cool Sounds are Dainis Lacey, Nick Kearton, Ambrin Hasnain, Steve Foulkes, Jack Nichols, Pierce Morton

Produced by Dainis Lacey and Dylan Young

Engineered by Dylan Young

The music on Dance Nos. 1-5 was originally conceived as a three-way collaboration between composer Philip Glass, choreographer Lucinda Childs and artist Sol LeWitt. Dance received its world premiere in Amsterdam on October 19, 1979 and its New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on November 29, 1979.

Post-dating Einstein on the Beach - Glass’s 1975-76 collaboration with director Robert Wilson - Dance was another Glass collaboration, this time with choreographer Lucinda Childs, known for her austere, athematically exact dances, and artist Sol LeWitt, who provided a ghostly, gigantic black- and-white film for several of the piece’s five sections.














RELEASE: 5-3-2021





• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• DELUXE HEAVYWEIGHT SLEEVE WITH GLOSS LAMINATE
• PVC JACKET
• THE COMPLETE ALBUM, AVAILABLE ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS ENTIRETY ON A 3LP-SET
WITH FIVE SIDES OF MUSIC
• INCLUDES PHILIP GLASS CATALOGUE WITH INFO ON THE PHILIP GLASS SERIES ON MOV


SIDE A

Dance has an abstract purity that easily earned it the label “minimalist,” a term that Glass himself disavows but that seems appropriate, at least in this case. After Dance, Glass’s music took several turns, not so much in style as in the various new contexts in which it was presented: major opera commissions and film scores led him to write for forces other than those of the Philip Glass Ensemble. At the same time, an attempt to reach a wide audience resulted in some shorter, perhaps more accessible, narrative pieces. Dance marked the blossoming of the composer’s experimental work. Here, though, the music - particularly Dance Nos. “1”, “3” and “5”, all written for the Ensemble— has an unforgettable exuberance that somehow speaks all at once of joyful innocence, intense erotic desire, tenderness, regret and, finally, acceptance. On the other hand, Dance Nos. “2” and “4” see Glass composing several large-scale works for solo organ; for instance, Dance No. 2 originated as a 1978 work entitled Fourth Series Part Two. This piece, later incorporated into Dance, and Dance No. “4” as well, have a more subdued, more darkly romantic quality than the work’s other sections and are quite unlike anything Glass had previously written. Still, they too, with their mysterious tilts of time and key signatures, continue the exploration of polyrhythms and harmonic complexities within the context of Glass’s repetitive, “minimalist” style.

The complete Dance Nos. 1-5 album is now available on vinyl for the first time in its entirety on a 3LP-set with five sides of music. The 3 LP’s are housed in a heavyweight sleeve.

Hot Creations continues its 2021 release schedule this February with a four-track EP from Josh Hvaal. Getting Better sees the UK talent return to the label, fresh from releasing his maiden EP, The Sound, on the imprint in March last year.

Basic leads the charge and takes no prisoners as it goes, pairing rapid kick-hat combos against layered vocal tones to create Josh’s signature late-night sound. Getting Better comes next, blending a retro acid vibe with an up-tempo lead bassline before the near six-
minute Oi takes the form of a heavyweight techno number. Tiptoe brings things to an emotive close, showcasing Josh’s eclectic style with drawn-out chords and percussion- laden breaks.

Josh Hvaal has become a household name in the contemporary house sphere in recent times. It was in March that the young UK-native achieved a remarkable feat: releasing his debut EP on Hot Creations. Such an achievement didn’t go unnoticed, with industry heavyweights soon playing his music in the form of Joseph Capriati, Andrea Oliva and many more. Releases have since followed on Yousef’s Circus Recordings, Malgado’s Distortion and Hot Creations’ offshoot Hottrax, standing him in good stead for another successful year in 2021.

Live At Robert Johnson kicks off 2021 with a new cut above the rest thanks to Benjamin Fröhlich, who dons a cosmic Acid-to-Italo four-track EP. Whether „Club Fantasy“ insinuates the phantasy of clubbing in times of a pandemic shutdown in global club cultures, or a club by the name of it, lies within the ears of the listeners. Either way, Benjamin’s ties with the Robert Johnson club can be heard resonating throughout this fantastic EP.

Club Fantasy (Club Version) introduces a a happy 303 reminiscent bouncy bassline, supported by relentless rim shots, fast-forwards the Club Version of the title track directly into the uplifting domains of well-established sounds. Sparse echoing vocal snippets, encouraging us to dance, and by the time the piano stabs finally kick in, it’s all hands up for your very own club phantasies. Club Fantasy (Fantasy Version) boasts a less peaky signature, while working a more playful and driving treatment of the title track, supported by mellow strings, a harder kick and subtle room reverberation. On the flip-side, Escape presents a warm, emotional and cinematic Italo soundscape, featuring floating arpeggios, which flash like coloured strobes in the dark. Benjamin’s final track, Dream Machine, is a beautiful kaleidoscope of sounds, slightly more energetic yet moody, that is sure to catch everyone's ears on the dancefloor.

As a co-founder to Munich based record label Permanent Vacation, but also as a DJ and producer, Benjamin Fröhlich’s musical involvement traces back many years in the Cosmic Disco and Balearic scene, and into the networks of both Robert Johnson club and its label.

Early support by Alienata, Cyan85, Laurent Garnier, Marcel Dettmann, Swarm Intelligence, SLAM, OM Unit and many more!

As VOITAX enters its eighth year as a label, co-founder Christoph Siegert aka Masha Motive steps up to the plate with his first solo material - "The Imponderable Bloom". Having played a highly in uential role in whittling the label's established signature sound, the German producer chose to take his time to hone in on his craft, before dropping any production of his own. The result - a studiously crafted expedition filled with dominant breaks, dense bass and swelling ambience, flirting between the realms of jungle, dubstep and down tempo.

Rebuke returns to Drumcode with a trio of timeless dancefloor weapons.
The Irishman’s ‘Rattle’ was a standout of 2019, judged by DJ Mag as their no.22 top track of the year and is etched in the Drumcode discography as one of the most original releases to date. A valued part of Adam Beyer’s extended collective; he would have made his Drumcode event debut at WMC in Miami this March. Without a doubt, a sophomore EP was always on the cards.

‘Instatik’ kicks the work into gear, a rugged, reverb-heavy cut with industrial drums that pump like pistons and an undulating synth effect that makes you feel like you’re on a turbo-charged rollercoaster. ‘Livewire’ has the trademark Rebuke brain-scrambling stamp on it, a flurry of steelyard percussion bring the track to life, before a low-end melody swells to attention, rubbing shoulders deliciously with driving drumlines, for an uplifting second half. The title track ‘Obscurity’ is a dark slice of techno funk, filled with synapse-tickling arpeggios, before a rollicking groove takes hold and launches the track home at full-flight. Another thrilling and innovative release to add to the Rebuke canon.

“I think 2020 will go down in history as the craziest year of our lifetime. The future is still pretty unknown right now and things are drastically changing week to week. With that in mind, I felt ‘Obscurity’ would be a fitting title for my second Drumcode EP. It represents the state of being unknown, unclear or difficult to understand – feelings I’m sure most of us are going through right now. Most the tracks aside from ‘Livewire’ were written in quarantine; ‘Livewire’ was written right before the virus shut the world down, in a hotel room in Lima, Peru in January. This EP is my favourite to date as I think it shows a different side to my musical palette, whilst still developing the signature sound heard in all my music.” – Rebuke

Kuldaboli returns to bbbbbb records, this time with a 6-track EP on which his idiosyncratic sound of icy, cryptic electro fully emerges. BBB015 being the second release of Kuldaboli on bbbbbb records is destined to be a historical release for the Icelandic dance music scene and a very important one for Kuldaboli’s legacy. The EP title ‘Ekkert nema ískaldur veruleikinn’ roughly translates to “nothing but the ice cold reality” and that is exactly what is delivered across the six tracks laden with poetic lyrics and spoken word.

In the opening track ‘Ég er bara ég’ Kuldaboli’s signature sound of uncompromising electro is overlaid with haunting vocals recited in Icelandic saying “I am only me and you are only you, people exchange words measuring each other out, trying their best at discerning life’s riddles’’. It is easy to say that Kuldaboli knows how to capture the listeners with deep reflections on subjects that most people are aware of but hardly ever speak of.

A2 ‘Ískaldur veruleikinn’ or ‘the ice cold reality’ is the most bouncy dancefloor track of the EP with the openings lyrics saying ‘’Are you telling me the truth? If I were to guess you are lying cold to my face’. The power of word play in this release is by far the most interesting poetic turn for Kuldaboli to date, where he shows great insight to the subconscious and human behaviour.

The smooth sounds of possessed Italo disco on A3 ‘Finn innri frið’, along with the funky bassline and trance like synths has perhaps the most positive vibe to it if you are not familiar to Kuldaboli, along with the playful opener of B-side ‘Afi kenndi mér íslensku’.

Following B2 no-bullshit-electro-track ‘Kuklari’, the final track B3 ‘Fönix úr ösku’ shows the haunting dark depth of depressurisation that vocal and electronics can create, where melancholic lyrics convey images of lost dreams of former lives.

A fixture on Copenhagen's music scene for nearly two decades, Nikolaj Jakobsen, aka Sugar, has to date thrived on concentrating - usually to the point of obsession - on one type of music at a time. Early on, it was punk: from his mid-teens he lived in the legendary squat and artistic community Ungdomshuset, toured worldwide with punk and metal bands, and was completely immersed in and dedicated to the city's DIY punk and metal scene.

Then in 2012 he set foot in a techno club for the first time, and his laser-like focus turned in that direction. Jakobsen began producing fast techno under the Sugar alias, and co-founded Fast Forward Productions, an agency and party that has gathered together the city's previously disparate band of fast techno and trance producers, DJs and collectives. Fast Forward has been instrumental in launching the careers of the likes of Schacke, Repro, Funeral Future and Rune Bagge, as well as Jakobsen himself.

Now Jakobsen is launching a new label that, even down to its name, is an open challenge to himself to focus on multiple musical styles at once. Perfumery, of which the Eyes Cream EP is the inaugural release, will be a home for his productions under the Sugar name and other aliases, as well as collaborative efforts with others. The label's open remit defies definitive categorisation of is to come, but its second release will be an abstract, atmospheric album by the cimbalom and tuba player and composer Anders Bo Eriksen, aka OPICA. On that record's heels will be collaborative projects with D.Dan and HVAD, as well as an experimental-minded debut LP by Jakobsen as Sugar.

Though Perfumery will be a platform for the exploration of new musical territories, Eyes Cream comprises four fast-techno hardware jams in Jakobsen's signature style. As well as showing off his knack for punning in a second language, opener Bright Side Of The Spoon is a classic Copenhagen splicing of darkness and light, with insistent, ominous bass waves leavened by twinkling synth textures. On the surface the middle two tracks, Eyes Cream and Try Me, are harder, flintier, Detroit-referencing tools. Just beneath, however, lurks the texture and warmth that is one of Copenhagen techno's prime calling cards. Perhaps the greatest treat of the EP is saved for last: Once And For No One is a gorgeous, gauzy, end-of-the-night banger that packs a hefty emotional punch.

All proceeds from physical and digital sales of the first EP on Perfumery will go to Sea-Watch.Org, a German NGO dedicated to saving migrants trying to reach Europe on stricken vessels in the Mediterranean.

The “nighters” at Wigan Casino initially ran from 2am-8am every Saturday night/Sunday morning. From midnight onwards, crowds would gather outside and spill over onto the road blocking the local traffic. As attendances grew the crowds became a problem, particularly to the local constabulary, and on the eve of the Casino’s 1st Anniversary – with a genuine threat of closure looming – a momentous decision was made. Gerry Marshall, the Casino’s owner, somewhat reluctantly decided to open the club’s adjoining cabaret lounge, known as “Mr M’s” (named after the man himself).

That night Northern Soul history was made. It was the start of an era, the birth of the “club within a club” and, as it proved to be, a temple to fans of Northern Soul “oldies”. Eventually at 3am the black double doors – which separated Mr M’s from the upstairs balcony of the main ballroom – burst open, and a sea of soulies hit the dancefloor for the very first time to the banging sound of “Hey Sah-Lo-Ney” by Mickey Lee Lane, spun by DJ Alan Cain and featured here in all of its remastered glory (side 1, trk 1).

Such was the incredible response to that first night in Mr M’s in 1974 that a petition did the rounds gaining over a thousand signatures demanding that it should continue every week! What had intended to be an emergency one-off event had unintentionally ended up being the longest, most popular “temporary” oldies venue EVER!

M’s, as it was more affectionately known, soon became the No.1 oldies venue in the 70s. It was unashamedly “100%” oldies and “100mph” dance tunes!!! It was like an engine room churning out vinyl memories week in, week out and the atmosphere and sounds are captured here!

Repress

Coachella is Deniro's second full release on Trip. After the success of 2017's Mendoza EP, the TAPE Records owner has prepared a series of live takes for us and we couldn't be more excited. The release received its name from the eponymous festival, where Nina first played the title track of the release during her AV Performance. Sonically this record brings what Deniro is best known for: his signature timeless groove immersed in beautiful, classy techno music.

Altın Gün return with a masterful album that widens their critically acclaimed exploration of Anatolian rock and Turkish psychedelic stylings to include dreamy 80’s synth-pop and dancefloor excursions. Yol (Road) brings together all vectors of the AltınGün experience and delivers their most compelling and individual album to date.

Amsterdam’s Altın Gün have built a strong reputation for melding past and present to make brilliantly catchy, psychedelic pop music, as seen with their Grammy-nominated second album, Gece. They are also a renowned live band with strings of sold-out shows on three continents, who have consistently brought a muscular groove to their recordings. Yol, their third album in as many years, excitedly continues these trends; while also digging in deep to unveil a new palette of sonic surprises.

Though it draws from the rich and incredibly diverse traditions of Anatolian and Turkish folk music, Yol is not just a record that reframes traditional sounds for a contemporary audience. The album often presents a textured, avant-pop sound as evidenced by the debut single "Ordunun Dereleri.” Mysterious and atmospheric, the track is a thrilling evolution for the band. It patiently coaxes the listener into a resonant soundworld of down-tempo electro beats, majestic synths and Erdinç Ecevit's yearning vocal of unrequited love.

The album also signals a very different approach in making and recording for the band. Singer Merve Dasdemir takes up the story: “We were basically stuck at home for three months making home demos, with everybody adding their parts. The transnational feeling maybe comes from that process of swapping demos over the internet, some of the music we did in the studio, but lockdown meant we had to follow a different approach.”

Yol displays a noticeable dreaminess, maybe born from this enforced time to reflect. And select elements of late 1970s or early 1980s “Euro” synth pop also shines through. This new musical landscape was nurtured by certain instrument choices; namely the Omnichord, heard on ‘Arda Boylari’, ‘Kara Toprak’ and ‘Sevda Olmasaydi’, and the drum-machine, an instrument that is key to the gorgeous closing number, ‘Esmerim Güzelim’. Dasdemir once more: “bass player Jasper Verhulst loved the song. He said, ‘it doesn’t sound like Altın Gün, this sounds like a Turkish kindergarten music teacher from the 1980s using an 808!”

As ever, the tracks are the result of a true group effort, with ideas on Omnichord, 808 and other elements - such as field recordings and new age-esque ideas - continually kicked about between the six band members. At a safe distance of course. The record also owes something special to its production team, the band working this time with Asa Moto (the Ghent-based producer-crew, Oliver Geerts and Gilles Noë) who mixed the record. Before this Altın Gün always recorded on tape with their own sound engineer.

It would be wrong to say that what made Altın Gün such a loved and successful band has been left to one side. The pressure-cookers ‘Sevda Olmasaydı’ and ‘Maçka Yolları’ are classic cuts from the band. And their signature employment of a dizzying array of ideas and approaches can be heard with the marked Brazilian feel of ‘Kara Toprak’ and ‘Yekte’. Cosmic reggae filters through the grooves of ‘Yüce Dağ Başında’, and there is a steaming version of ‘Hey Nari’ which gives the traditional composition by Ali Ekber Çiçek a kick onto the dancefloor.

But with Yol, Altın Gün have maybe patented their own magical process of reimagining and sonic path-finding, one probably not heard since the late 1960s and early 1970s British folkrock boom. Less of a reworking than a seduction, their recordings transport the listener to a world where the original songs never previously inhabited. Merve Dasdemir again: “After we worked on them, they got a whole new life of their own. Maybe we went a little bit too far (laughs).”

Hoshina Anniversary returns from forever for a majestic dance. This is his second offering for the ESP Institute. Side A’s Karakuri contains all the elements of Hoshina’s signature sound; bouncy staccato bassline, minor chords and organ stabs, a Chick Corea-inspired Rhodes that walks all over the place, all tracked along sparse bits of Japanese percussion and cymbal that juxtapose organic texture with precision-machined timing. The lead keys feel at first as if they’re freeform, however, Hoshina’s obsession with order becomes apparent as the bars develop and his systematic control and repetition is revealed. On side B’s Michinoku, we’re treated to a deep and slow burner. A roller of a beat based on 808 toms and a pishy snare sets the somewhat bumpy base for this groove, and again the meat of the rhythm is built with dirty chords, this time on the upstroke, in an almost Reggae style. What the flipside taught us about Hoshina’s controlled chaos, is here again the lesson and perhaps even moreso. The voice of the track remains the Fender Rhodes, played in brief but wild phrases and arranged into patterns upon which Hoshina builds layers over some 8+ minutes. There is a deep and dark mood throughout both sides of the record, but perhaps more sultry than devilish, and one that listeners educated in the stoned arts will appreciate. These two songs have built the end into the beginning.

Jupiter, the gas giant in our Solar System, with thunderstorms a thousand times more powerful than on Earth, rainfalls of diamonds in the atmosphere, temperatures below -100°C, plenty of hydrogen, 79 moons and a South pole that looks like an abstract painting, has just the kind of environment this music seems to emanate from.

Jupiter and Beyond, the second collaborative effort of composer/performer Rafael Toral and percussionist João Pais Filipe as a duo (after Saturn in 2016), is definitely not quite a record of Earth music. On the contrary, Jupiter and Beyond, is indeed gas music, unfolding over two long movements without solid body or any tangible outline, between ambient and noise. A music of sheer volume and beauty, icy, massive, in which the elements of Toral's signature, in particular his use of jazz-inspired electronics and feedback, dissolve to become a labile, nebulous, expansive material, occasionally struck by abyssal depressions and masterful densities, magnified by the return, after 17 years of silence, of the electric guitar in Rafael Toral's instrumentarium.

Towards the end of Beyond, the second piece on the record, lurking behind the volutes of feedback, a bell and a bass drum, one can detect from the distance... a barking dog, as a surreptitious and prosaic reminder of where we are here and now, a calling back to Earth. Between sadness and joy, anger and peace, movement and stillness, Jupiter and Beyond is indeed a mirror held out to us, music reflecting our times and that emotionally speaks first of all about us.

"While João Pais Filipe was drummer in the Space Quartet, we played a live duo set. During soundcheck we were jamming for a while on bowed gongs and feedback and lost track of time, it just flowed so well. I joked "we could make a whole record with this!". But later we took the idea seriously and set to record an improvised session at his cymbalsmith workshop (he made the gong on the cover and it was used in the recording). When we listened to the first take the mass of sound was amazing. At some point it reminded me of the complex clusters of sound in Ligeti's music as it appears on Kubrick's 2001 scene "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite". In the end the title felt like an apt choice for Saturn's successor. Back at my studio I felt the need for some more layers of density in some sections. I thought of using trombones, but ended up picking up the electric guitar, which I hadn't used since 2003.” Rafael Toral

Ralph Heidel is one of the young musicians that represent the spirit of Berlin’s new musical ecleticism better than others. He is part of the avantgarde circles that mix modern jazz and contemporary classical music with elements of new electronica and experimental ambient music. This is the vibe of Germany's next generation.

Heidel creates a sonic universe that is unique. He takes the listener into a deep, atmospheric travel that stimulates emotions and feelings on a different level. Heidel brings together two worlds: what he learned at Musikhochschule München, Germany’s leading academy for classical music where he studied saxophon and composition and the moods happening in Germany's new electronic circles.

On „Relief“ Heidel created six songs. Except one, all of them are instrumental music. Partly composed and often improvised these sounds take the listener into Heidel's specific sonic universe. Raw beat structures, emotive horn lines, strong harmonical tensions and dramatic build ups. Heidel’s signature sound.
In fact Heidel is a multiple influenced artist with a strong personality that absorbs whats around him, connects it with his own wide artistic knowledge and fullfills it into magical musical moments.

Relief is the next step in what could become a longtime artistic career.
After a (very composed) debut album for string quartet and rhythm section for Kryptox (Moments of Resonance 2019), it was important for Heidel, to process current feelings of daily life.
Not just his cultural learnings, but also emotions connected to the hard COVID times and a lot of personal experiences.

Relief are six abstract, distorted patterns. Long deep transitions that lead into euphoric parts of sonic greatness. Heidel's sense for sound design and the soft tone of his saxophone phrases, add a personal note that is somehow alone in the current music scenario. Sampling his saxophone (reeds, keys etc.) to create very organic beats is one of the many techniques to create that special „Heidel“ sound. Also his calm and wide harmonies over disquiet, rough drums are part of his unique ambivalent, disrupted moods.

Most of this EP has been played by Heidel alone. For a few parts he was joined by musicians from the local scene. In fact besides his albums on Kryptox Ralph Heidel is very connected in Berlin’s current cultural playground: He creates music for underground performance art happenings in Neukölln as well as for new German theater (Volksbühne, Berliner Ensemble). Also German rapper Tarek from K.I.Z heard about Heidels string debut album, so they collaborated for an album, where Heidel reworked his record for stringquartet, piano, drums and bass.

Wretched Cuts is the new solo EP by gender-nonconforming techno artist, Projekt Gestalten. The release comes via the New York’s Mild Fantasy imprint run by DJ Elle Dee and features three original themes focusing on introspective techno plus a remix by veteran, The Lady Machine.

The project reflects an array of themes using as the starting point the story of Estamira and the Brazilian documentary of the same name, telling her life story. Estamira was an incredibly enlightened older woman who scattered one of the largest landfills of Rio de Janeiro for food. Not because she had to, but because she loved that place as she loved “her own children” and enjoyed making a living out of other people’s disposable goods. Simultaneously, while dealing with schizophrenia and abuse, she believed she was a superior spiritual being whose magical powers could control time, space, and other elements of nature.

The tracks are inspired by some of her most memorable quotes and moments that made an impact on Projekt Gestalten. “Wise People In Reverse” goes into a darker approach and samples Estamira’s voice talking in a mysterious unknown language with an unrevealed force, using only a broken piece of a telephone that she had just found it in the trash. “Morte Macaca” takes a rhythmic approach towards dub techno, and “Holographic Principle” gets trippier and hallucinogenic with Projekt Gestalten’s signature acid lines. The Lady Machine’s “Wise People In Reverse” remix takes the original theme to a driving, peak hour approach and transforms it into an effective DJ tool.

“There are no more innocent people on Earth, only wise people in reverse”.

A folk/bluegrass troubadour from Vermont who delves into shape-note traditions and Appalachian ballads and makes it all beguilingly his own. His guitar lines have the fancy fingerwork of a crack banjo player and his banjo lines have the tugging suspensions of a jazzer.’ – Guardian

‘Amidon is a rare Americana artist whose … signature banjo-strewn style … and disparate mix of influences play into a sound that is at once archaically rootsy and savvily refined.’ – Wall Street Journal

Sam Amidon considers his new self-titled album the fullest realization to date of his artistic vision. It comprises his radical reworkings of nine mostly traditional folk songs, performed with his band of longtime friends and collaborators. Amidon produced the record, applying the sonic universe of his 2017 The Following Mountain to these beloved tunes, many of which he first learned as a child. ‘Pretty Polly,’ for example, was one of the first traditional tunes he learned to play, and ‘Time Has Made A Change’ is a song that his parents – singers who were on the 1977 Nonesuch recording Rivers of Delight with the Word of Mouth Chorus – sang around the house when he was young. Amidon will perform two concerts at Kings Place in London on October 3. A limited number of tickets will be available in the venue, as well as tickets to stream the event from home. Further details are available here.

Amidon and his frequent band of multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Chris Vatalaro were joined in the studio by Belgian guitarist Bert Cools (who played on his last EP), as well as Amidon’s wife, Beth Orton, who adds vocals on three songs. Acoustic bassist Ruth Goller and saxophonist and labelmate Sam Gendel also play on the album, which was mixed by Leo Abrahams. Sam Amidon was mostly recorded live in the studio. Amidon arranged the songs, which are traditional tunes, with the exception of Taj Mahal’s ‘Light Rain Blues’, Harkins Frye’s ‘Time Has Made A Change’, and ‘Hallelujah’, which is an 1835 William Walker shape-note tune using earlier words by Charles Wesley, found in the Sacred Harp collection of early American folk-hymns.

Sam Amidon is Amidon’s fifth recording on Nonesuch and follows the 2019 EP Fatal Flower Garden (A Tribute to Harry Smith). Additional recordings include his 2017 album The Following Mountain and Kronos Quartet’s Folk Songs the same year, on which he was a featured singer along with Rhiannon Giddens, Natalie Merchant, and Olivia Chaney; Lily-O in 2014; and his label debut, Bright Sunny South, in 2013.

Sabaturin is Charles-Émile Beullac (Galerie Stratique, Canada) and Simon Crab (Bourbonese Qualk, United Kingdom). In the spirit of old school tape exchanges that resulted in musical collaborations developed over long periods of time but informed by the infinitely easier processes of the digital age, "Kenemglev" was assembled without the musicians ever meeting.

The title "Kenemglev" means "consensus" in Breton, something which quite naturally had to be achieved between both musicians. The other consensus was a sort of virtual middle ground symbolized by the Breton language, particular to a geographical area (Brittany) that both agreed would stand for a neutral meeting point between their respective native languages and, consequently, cultures. All titles are Breton words and the name Sabaturin ("standing on one feet", "to be off-balance") expresses mainly Charles' excitement: "Simon's bold approach has been some kind of a shock therapy for my music".

The sleeve was designed by Simon Crab, using a Chladni pattern simulation based on specific pitches. Looking like stained glass, it sort of reflects the way the music is presented: although including 9 titles, the album's tracklist flows uninterrupted on each side of the vinyl, semi-mixed, blended.

Detailed electronic ambience, glitches, loops and tiny details are augmented by a sort of signature rhythmic grid we recognize from "My Government Is My Soul"-era Bourbonese Qualk. It never settles into a formula and so the music remains loose, as much Mille Plateaux as classic 80s industrial shortwave-sampling or dub, rolled into one same entity, touching base with the gorgeous glitch dub "Morgouskus". This concludes a gentle and discreet album that doesn't require the validation of being associated with any of the current keywords in the electronic music scene.

ACCEPT ARE BACK! The German kingpins of heavy metal will release their new, eagerly-awaited studio album via Nu- clear Blast on January 15th 2021. The ingenious title of the masterpiece is “Too Mean To Die”.
Speaking of heavy metal kingpins, when ACCEPT first launched at the end of the 70s, the metal genre didn’t even exist - at first the band could only be labelled with the (quality) seal “crazy loud and crazy wild”. Today we know that this was (and is) metal par excellence. And we also know that ACCEPT opened the door to thrash metal, inspiring giants such as Metallica. Guitarist Kirk Hammett recently stated in the German magazine “Gitarre & Bass”: “Wolf Hoffmann has a huge influence on me.“
ACCEPT, who once had their origins in the city of Solingen, a city of sound, have been a worldwide music phenomenon for more than 40 years. They still impress with razor-sharp guitar licks and a steel-hard sound. The band created all-time metal classics like “Balls To The Wall”, “Metal Heart” and many more.
Countless world tours and headline slots at the biggest, cutting-edge festivals cemented the band’s reputation as one of the best, hottest and loudest live acts ever. In addition, the band has sold millions of records, has achieved gold status in the USA, top 10 chart positions worldwide and a number 1 album (Germany, Finland) for “Blind Rage” (2014).
Now with “Too Mean To Die” their 16th studio album is in the starting blocks - it is the fifth album that US vocalist and front man Mark Tornillo has put his incomparable vocal stamp on.Recorded in the world music capital of Nashville (USA), ACCEPT’s music was once again produced by British master producer Andy Sneap, who is responsible for the mix. Sneap, who works for Judas Priest and Megadeth among others, has also been responsible for all ACCEPT productions since 2010.
Special circumstances often lead to very special albums. This is certainly true for “Too Mean To Die”, which of course alludes to the Corona period, although in a different way than one might assume. Hoffmann says: “Its to be expected that many musicians will address the Corona situation in their songs. There will certainly be slogans for cohesion, through which positive vibes should be spread, which is also good. But we have decided to not let ourselves be influenced by it. The fans will get a hard, direct and uncompromising metal album, but of course accompanied with a wink: We are too mean to die! Weeds do not go away! ACCEPT do not let themselves get down!”
Wolf isn’t wrong - the title track is a classic Accept cracker: dynamic and unwavering, turned up to eleven!
Zombie Apocalypse’, also relentless and hard, strikes the same note in the band’s signature style.
The first single - which will be released on October 2nd 2020 together with a remarkable video - is different. Titled ‘The Undertaker’, its a terrific midtempo number with great vocals and a built-in character that chugs along – certain to deliver some mermorable live moments! According to Wolf Hoffmann its one of the most catchy, pleasing pieces of the album.
New to the band, and thus to be heard for the first time on an ACCEPT album, is Philip Shouse (Gene Simmons Band, among others). The US guitarist fights hot duels with Hoffmann, while Uwe Lulis makes the guitar trio perfect and pro- vides the right rhythm. “Phil was part of our orchestra project and was also completely convincing live. We recognised his great talent immediately and simply didn’t let him go,” explains Hoffmann.
Just how varied the ACCEPT guitar trio performs on the new album is proven by one of the secret highlights: ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ – a beguiling ballad in which Mark Tornillo is at his best. The metal world knows that Mark can scream like no other, but here it shows once again that the frontman can also sing magnificently. “Mark sang this, for us rather unusual song stunningly well. The fantastic thing about Mark is that he not only masters the typical metal screams, but can also sing melodically and beautifully. He proves this impressively in this song”, chief guitarist Hoffmann raves.
In addition, ACCEPT have strengthened their team even further with newcomers Martin Motnik (bass) and Philip Shouse (guitar), thus forming an unbeatable team together with “Drum God” Christopher Williams and “Rhythm Mas- ter” Uwe Lulis.
There’s no doubt that with “Too Mean To Die” Accept are once again playing at the top of the Champions League of the genre. Wolf Hoffmann & Co. present the (music) world eleven masterpieces at the beginning of 2021 - eleven songs for eternity!

Marco Shuttle is back on his own label with unreleased material for the first time since 2017. The EP features 4 carefully designed and colourful Techno tracks with a strong electronic flavour, diverse in their elements but still very cohesive as a whole with the signature Shuttle spacey reverbs and organic textures. Dance music for body and for the brain.

Dexta and Crypticz are delighted to announce their long awaited 12" single, 'Together', featuring two remixes from Munich-based Danny Scrilla. Two years in the making, the project will finally see the light of day on 10th November 2017 via Diffrent Music.

A fusion of Drum & Bass, Jungle, House and Garage, 'Together' is built for the dancefloor. The track borrows vocals and breaks from the early '90s, while blending drum machines, bass samples and vintage effect processes crafted by Dexta & Crypticz.

Danny Scrilla debuts on the label with a pair of remixes. The 'Reslice', is a great example of signature Scrilla, manipulating the original parts into an exploration of dubby, half time soundsystem music. His 'Reflop', meanwhile, is a 140bpm re-think, splicing chopped up breaks and bass stabs from the original along with strong percussion lines and weird vocal edits.

Since his outing on Hospital Records in 2015, and his debut 'SE4 EP' on Diffrent Music last year, Dexta - otherwise known as Londoner Chris Royle - has released the third part in an ongoing series for None60 Recordings, honing tracks for dancefloors and stereos alike.

Somerset's Crypticz (aka Jordan Parsons) has had quite an eventful 12 months, with his 'Echo Sound EP' on Doc Scott's 31 Recordings, and more recently the 'Forever EP' Om Unit's Cosmic Bridge imprint, while evolving his club performance from a DJ set to a custom live show consisting solely of his own music and explorations in sound design. This single comes two weeks after his latest release, the 'Access You EP', also on Diffrent Music, which set a new benchmark for Jordan, refining his sound to its highest quality.

Danny Scrilla (born Daniel Pirkl) has gone from strength to strength this year, dropping a cassette tape project on Cosmic Bridge, compiled of 16 synth and hardware-led experiments. Last month Dan also released a collaborative 12" with Sam Binga called 'Weird In Munich' - a superb effort, pushing boundaries from both their usual styles - before putting out an EP for Amit's AMAR imprint in early September.

'Together' will be available as a limited 300 run of 180gsm coloured 12" vinyl, and will be officially released on 10th November 2017. An exclusive small batch will be available at the Clashmouth D&B Label Market on 28th October 2017 at Cafe 1001 on London s Brick Lane.

First Word Records are extremely proud to welcome aboard Allysha Joy and her first EP

for the label, 'Light It Again'.

Well versed in poetry and performance, Allysha Joy's potent lyricism, unique musicianship and killer vocals have garnered legions of attentive fans the world over. She's an integral member of the Melbourne soul jazz scene, known as part of the acclaimed 30/70 Collective and for her own equally revered solo work.

'Light It Again' is a 4-part expedition across a variety of grooves and deep lyricism that marks a defiant statement of intimacy and hope. Produced and engineered by twice Grammy nominated artist Clever Austin, the EP features accompaniment from an all-star set of Melbourne artists; Horatio Luna, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Danika Smith and Josh Kelly. This EP marks a new sound for the young artist, transmitting her honest and raw expression through the signature crunch and sonic landscape of Clever Austin.

Allysha is already well established across Europe, performing on the live circuit alongside the likes of Sampa the Great, Matthew Halsall, Ezra Collective, Bradley Zero and Children of Zeus, as well as currently hosting two regular radio shows, on Worldwide FM and Reform Radio in Manchester respectively.

Her 2018 debut album 'Acadie : Raw' on Gondwana Records won 'Best Soul Album' at the Music Victoria Awards, was nominated for a Worldwide Award, and featured in many an end-of-year list, including Bandcamp's Top Soul Albums, whilst she's also featured on releases on UK labels such as Rhythm Section, Total Refreshment Centre and now an EP for First Word, 'Light It Again'.

The EP touches on love, shame, mental health, grief & spirituality. 'Watercolours' sets off on a mid-tempo neo-soul jazz tip. Allysha says "I wrote this in the hope that maybe we could all feel the beauty that is present in the every day - in nature, in art, in each one of us mirroring each other so intrinsically. Then maybe we'd all start to live out a message of love."

'Better' follows on an uptempo vibe influenced musically by The Senegambian Jazz Band, who Allysha would watch regularly at Bar Oussou in Melbourne. Lyrically the song explores the external and internal struggles that occur trying to create a more inclusive and compassionate world. "It's about catching myself pointing the finger outwards to challenge social / political systems and certain individuals, then coming to the realisation that I must turn that finger back on myself to ask, "how can I do better, how can I know better?"

Lead track 'Light It Again' begins with Allysha's keys gliding a steppa-like rhythm - head-snap snares and punchy bass accompany ethereal harmonies and delicate vibes on an ever-evolving groove before switching entirely mid-track. This time the subject matter is mental health and "the cycle of addiction and pain, the coping mechanisms that hold us back from reaching our true potential".

The EP closes out with the beautiful 'Mardi'; deep Rhodes, sax and synths build ahead of deliciously slushy percussion and jilted drums. Named for her grandmother, 'Mardi' is a tribute to the spiritual connection they shared before her passing. Allysha writes, "it's about the connective forces of the matriarchal lineage and the drive to step into my own sense of self, in all the beauty and pain which that entails".

Allysha's lyrics weave together a heartfelt mix of love, power, desire, wonder, anger, faith and hope for change. An artist that presents a palette of intricate grace and optimism, whilst unafraid of adding uncomfortable truths. Allysha is an incredibly powerful live performer; her husky vocals sonically synced with her formidable Fender Rhodes playing, whilst her influences are a solid base of jazz, hip hop and R&B; all glazed with the unique special sauce the Melbourne soul scene has become known for globally. A gloriously meditative, raw soul, we are delighted to be able to share her music with you.

'Light It Again' is released on vinyl & digital worldwide, November 20th 2020.

From Norway via Berlin, O.M.Theorem debuts with an EP rooted in 160BPM sub-heavy atmospheric soundscapes, that explores connections between different tempos and time signatures. Side A presents two percussive driven polyrhytmic explorations while side B steps into slightly more familiar dubstep / UK Garage territory.

One thing hip-hop has never been great at – and certainly something for which it has zero reputation – is nuanced emotion. Enter Large Professor and ‘Looking at the Front Door’, the group’s first single on Wild Pitch Records and the lead out for their stunning ‘Breaking Atoms’ album.

Wrapped around a loop from Donald Byrd’s Blue Note classic ‘Think Twice’, bolstered by the infectious chorus of ‘Chick A Boom’ by The Pazant Brothers and Beaufort Express, it’s a melancholy tale of love gone wrong. It was a brave choice of lead single in the 1990 hip-hop landscape, plucked from an album full of genuine head-nodders and standout tracks. It was also the right choice – a piece of production perfection laced with romantic honesty.
The B-side also strikes a different tack, a tale of a brother who “doesn’t fight, his brain is his left and right.” Using a solid foundation of drums from Funkadelic’s ‘You’ll Like It Too’ (most famously used on Eric B & Rakim’s ‘I Know You Got Soul’), Large Pro weaves his tale of an ambitious, studious man over an original organ line (by JD Drumsticks) that wouldn’t sound out of place at a hockey rink. The theme is sledgehammer subtle – don’t sell drugs, stay in school – but delivered with the lightness of touch that would be Main Source’s signature.

This is the first official UK release, and the first time both sides have been together on a 7”.

Over two years in the making, and it’s finally here. Amsterdam based, brand new old-school label “Betonska” kicks off with this highly diverse release for the selector, collector, radio host and club DJ.

Crisp instrumentation, tight retro drum computer programming and propulsive danceable bass lines are what you will find here. The Amsterdam based label will be focusing on previously unreleased and tough-to-find material from the 80s and 90s – all re-mastered, officially licensed and in collaboration with the original artist. In addition to the original material an occasional modern twist will be given by contemporary artists who cherish that signature sound.

The first release is an alternative issue of Flo Sullivan’s “Higher” release, originally recorded in 1984 in the world famous Amazon Studios in Liverpool and released in 1985. On the A-side both the 12” and the 7” version of the hard-to-get, firm synth-pop track “Higher” will be pressed on a loud 45rpm vinyl. The 12” version is the (bass-)heavier one, while the 7” version sounds more “organic” with an extended intro and an added horns part. The tracks on the A-side have been pressed before and are made available now again for the wider public, giving those tracks the recognition and attention they deserve.

The B-side focuses on previously unreleased original downtempo material by the same artist but released under her real name: Gayna Rose Madder. This, accompanied by a refreshing club-ready remix of one of those tracks by Vienna’s top-notch selector, producer and Neubau label owner: Heap.

Neither of the two original tracks “Over” and “Element” have ever been released on vinyl before, up until now. “Over” was written and recorded in 1983 in Splash Sound Studios in Liverpool. A beautiful melancholic synth-pop track, which was meant to be released, but unfortunately never saw the light of day. At the time it was recorded Gayna left her band “Shiny Two Shiny” and therefore needed a new deal from a different company for her solo releases. But by the time she found the right one, many newer songs needed release. Much later, in 2005, Gayna decided to self-release “Over” on a compilation CD to sell copies online.

“Element” is a spoken-word poem accompanied by a fire-crackling tribal kind of rhythm. It was written for a musical play and recorded in Sparks Studio Liverpool in 2004 and has never officially been released before. (For a short period it was available on a self-released CD on Gayna’s website; a compilation of the songs written for one of her musicals).

And last but not least, the icing on the cake is Heap’s remix of “Element”. He translated this spoken word poem into a refreshing 90s-style and danceable club-track to complete the diversity of Betonska’s first release. A chugging acid bass, breakbeat rhythms, crisp claps and sharp snares and a screeching lead synth to get you screaming on the dance floor.

Following the labels 150th release, Will's teamed up with Paul Woolford to rework the original. A good friend who's spent the past two decades redefining a sound to move dancefloors. Paul's signature piano chords and reworking of Gill's vocal creates the type of big moment he's well known for. A watershed moment for the label. Your Time Is Up.

New full length album by France’s most singular contemporary composer. Reflecting on ancient culture’s use and reverance for emblematic monuments which most often represent myths and stories, the album’s narrative has been infused with such symbolic and depicts an envisioned mythology, unfolding through it’s 10 aural pieces. Franck Vigroux‘s music is unique and comprised of tectonic tension, pulsating rhythms and abrasive analog textures like few can produce. Applying his own calculated personal signature in his sonic explorations his distinctiveness comes not only by his unique approach to sound but also by his incorporation of new media practices and performing arts into his A/V work.
Mastering by Denis Blackham.

Double Vinyl Edition of 500 copies in matt laminated Gatefold Sleeve.
10 Tracks. Running Time 55:10.

Having established himself in the UK's contemporary Jazz funk scene with a slew of high calibre releases, Dr Rubberfunk holds a reputation for quality productions surgically delivered by an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and producer.

After being hounded to join the roster in his early career, he signed to Jalapeno Records in 2008, and the years since have seen him release multiple albums, produce label artists, such as Izo FitzRoy, and be regularly called upon to bring his flair to remixes across the roster.

In 2018 he stepped back into the limelight to release a series of limited 7" singles, winning praise from fans throughout the 45s scene. This wide-ranging support led to the release of his LP 'My Life at 45' in early 2020, garnering critical acclaim from the likes of Bandcamp, BBC 6Music, Fatboy Slim and Blues & Soul Magazine, to name a few.

Now, and not a moment too soon, Dr Rubberfunk brings us a pair of outstanding beat treats from his back catalogue, pressed to 7" vinyl for the very first time. Featuring 2 tracks originally written for the 2006 Red Bull Beat Battle at the behest of Rocksteady Crew legend Mr. Wiggles, 'Come Back Breaker' & 'Beats Working' have become firm favourites with breaking crews worldwide.

Drawing on his continued influences from the sample-based collages of early cut and paste pioneers, 'Come Back Breaker' and 'Beats Working' suitably highlight the lessons learnt from that era. Coupled with the good doctor's signature drums and rolling basslines, spoken words snippets and needle-drop samples get the party started and carry it on well past bedtime.

Following the well received inclusion of Bonus Beats on all of the 'My Life At 45' series 45s, and upholding the noble drum-a-pella tradition, Dr Rubberfunk went back to his original session recordings to bring you 'Drums Working' - grab yourself two copies and keep the beats working for days!

This 10th anniversary release of Spaven's 5ive on vinyl for the first time celebrates one of the UK's most phenomenally talented drummers. With roots in the UK club and hip-hop scenes, Richard Spaven brings a fresh approach to the instrument that's at once modern and traditional.

Combining machine-like accuracy with jazz-influenced improvisational sensibilities, Spaven's drumming landed him gigs with vastly varied artists such as Guru, Flying Lotus, The Cinematic Orchestra and jazz/hip-hop vocalist Jose James. His brilliance is evident beyond his world-class performance abilities as he's equally impressive in production and compositional territories.

Spaven's signature drum sound often sees him combine high-pitched, crisp snares, round jazzy toms and small punchy bass drums. His cymbal choices are a sonic contrast of dry, lower-pitched hi-hats, rides and crashes.

Altogether, the drummer's tone could be described as a nod to the past while keeping an ear to the future.

Spaven's 5ive is released as a limited clear vinyl edition for Record Store Day 2020.

A welcome solo production from Igaxx on Japanese label LADYBUG !!
As with his contributions to the first release, we're enveloped in perfectly crafted, richly textured afrocentric deepness. With Detroit signatures, and a roots House spirit throughout, these tracks really sound timeless.

Hugo Capablanca provides a dark, psychedelic rework. Superb !!

Demon Records presents the first ever vinyl pressing of The Durutti Column’s 2003 studio album “Someone Else’s Party”.

Formed in Manchester in 1978, The Durutti Column were one of the first acts signed to the iconic Factory Records by Tony Wilson. Primarily the project of guitarist and vocalist Vini Reilly, the group have a cult following with notable fans including Brian Eno and John Frusciante.

Recorded after the passing of Reilly’s mother, the melancholic “Someone Else’s Party” explores themes of loss and reflection. Highlights include the trip-hop influenced ‘Vigil’, and ‘Spanish Lament’ which weaves together Reilly’s signature shimmering guitar sounds with a sample from David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.

Pressed on two 140g clear vinyl, housed in printed inner sleeves.

DOWNFALL is the first album under the name SAITO created by Lena Saito, aka Galcid, and produced by accomplished analog synthesizer guru, Hisashi Saito, aka Lena’s husband. Having descended from a long line of Japanese sword-smiths, the industrial sound of smashing steel is embedded in Lena’s DNA and reflected in her music, however there are also refined, hypnotic tones showing a side with more finesse. The music itself is not scored and is predominantly improvised. Words and vocals are ad libbed as well. Sometimes the machines respond as if through telekinesis, altogether emitting a sound which can be categorized somewhere in the range between modern experimental dance music and something possibly making more sense to enlightened minds a thousand years in the future.




There is a new addition to the forge of talents of Mille Plateaux, a Japanese musician by the name of Saito whose album has been released on the label under the title of Downfall. After a whole series of releases under the signature tag clicks & cuts, there comes out a work, much more suited for a dance hall, that is different in terms of the genre from everything that has been published so far.
Like a bucket of ice-cold water poured over the head, erratic agressive hardcore rhythms pour all over the audience in the first track, interrupted only by grinding noises and minimalistic technogenic clicks.
Downfall won't fail to infect even the most experienced music connaisseur with its out-of-control energy, while offering a wide range of techniques: at times, robotic voices, one second long fragments of looped melodies and many other audio gimmicks.
Lena Saito (that is the author's name) is not afraid of conducting experiments in her chemical laboratory, freely mixing sound reagents without taking any precautions. It feels like, this new chemical substance, that she has been working on so thoroughly, contains quite a long list of ingredients, although its main component is the various rhythm breaks.
The synthesizer part of Red Hammer sounds in the best traditions of the acid style, and the rhythm section is akin to African tribal dances of the future. Downfall is absolutely unrelenting in its concept.
The melody of the composition Nucleosome is a little bit like the melancholic IDM of the 00s, finding itself secondary to the dominating, yet again convoluted rhythmical web meticulously woven by Saito.
This album can be definitely named as a big contender aspiring to start a new golden era of Mille Plateaux, and Saito as the hidden treasure of the label that can challenge even the veterans for the right to be the headliner.

Selva Discos keeps broadening horizons. Its next release celebrates the start of a new series called Novaterra, this time focused on showcasing the music of contemporary Brazilian artists. First up is Zopelar, known not only for his work with the anarchic-techno-punk act Teto Preto but also for the project My Girlfriend and his solo LP, both on Apron Records.

Novaterra vol. 1 by Zopelar is a mini-LP featuring 6 tracks that range from the introversion to the extraversion. In one hand you have an A-side banger like "Be Together", with its addictive looped-sample, and in the other, you get the laidback interlude of "Modo Avião", which sounds like one of those MF Doom's instrumentals – and between both, you will find a whole spectrum of music where you can experience the duel between super crispy beats (a signature in Zopelar's work) and the richness of melodies and harmonies that he's able to knit stitch close to perfection.

The opener "Livre" has a great deep house vibe that makes you think of Prescription Records and Jazzanova, featuring a catchy bossa ad-lib. "NOX" is a Hammond-led tune with a groove bassline and lead that gets you going in no time as if Cesar Camargo Mariano and Larry Young toured together in the late 70's, like, a big, fat jazz-funk tune. "Dias Tensos" is a nervous drum workout led by an automat Tony Williams as if jamming in a 16-bit version of The Tony Williams Lifetime. And to wrap things up, "Boogie da Paz" is one of those perfect comedown tunes – a true tearjerker that works its melody line like a good pill works your serotonin, making it one of those tracks that you keep under your sleeve for those special 6 AM moments on a dancefloor.

The artwork is courtesy of Colletivo Design Studio in Sao Paulo.

Green Vinyl

'2016 - My Generation”?: a momentous comeback for Mirwais, two decades on from his classic “Production” album.
It all started in 2016 with an idea Mirwais had for a music video to promote his upcoming single ?“2016 - My Generation”?.
The idea led Mirwais and co-founder of graphic design studio H5/creator of the Oscar-winning ?“Logorama”? animated short
Ludovic Houplain? ?to work together on a fascinating ten-minute short entitled “?My Generation?”.
Since its 2017 release, the film “?My Generation?”, produced and scored almost liturgically by Mirwais, made the rounds of
festivals, winning several prizes worldwide.
It presents itself as a backwards travelling shot during which all of our pop culture moment’s gimmicks collide at 100 km/h:
sex, the net, art, politics, sports, stocks, big pharma and big porno – from Hitler’s speeches to Trump’s contemporary
analogues.
Flash forward to 2020, and it is this very six-minute ?pop-litical ?critique of our era’s societal excesses that Mirwais chose
as the music video for his new single ?“2016 - My Generation”?, set to be released during the coming fall’s American
presidential election.
A sonic deflagration that heralds a new album from one of Madonna’s most iconic collaborators, succeeding, two decades
later, the now-classic ?“Production”?. A punchy, percussive single poised between hard techno and electronic disco,
sprinkled with choirs and distorted, psychedelic synths ?“2016 - My Generation”? is a dance floor-ready opus bearing
Mirwais’ inimitable signature. This way of mixing genres, of conjugating past and future, and of making pop experimental
and vice-versa, cements Mirwais’ reputation as one of times’ most singular composers.