quête:together

Live At Robert Johnson is happy to announce the second release of Sao Paulo based artist Davis titled "Ordinary Sleep".

Davis a key figure of Sao Paulo's strong techno and house scene, and a member of the collective behind the underground warehouse event series ODD. On his forthcoming EP Davis brings together break-beat and acid with his trancy signature synthwave melodies.

There are some elements in electronic music that make them timeless, elements that if melted together they can give an impressive result, to the mind and to the body. Sawlin - Ursprung is the first album of the career of Sawlin, after his debut in 2010 he evolved like a wonderful orchid, an orchid that never followed the flow of the other flowers around him, but found his own way to the music. Ursprung is the result of an interminable evolution in the mind of the artist, 8 elements that complete a circle built on a very mysterious atmosphere, like a film that you never saw, but you always had in your head, something more bigger then a memory, and something more deep then a picture. This 8 elements are the blueprint of the work that comes from the background of the artist, Deep raw imaginary pictures, mixed with oldschool wallpapers of a new wall based on an old concrete. Sawlin Mix the new to the old in a way that no-one can do, and probably no-one risked to do. This is the power of an artist that needs more attention and more time, you can feel at the first listening that there is something really big going on, but you need time to understand what he wanted to create, meticulous details that he wanted to paint, in a way that we cannot see them at first, but we find them quite impressive after. Sawlin present himself in the most modern way he can, no compromises, he don't want to please you, he want to paint the future. in the most Artistic way possible.

Lebanon Hanover's bassist William Maybelline is back with his solo project. After the debut album Sable from 2015, Qual strikes back with a three-track 12' maxi-single. Each one of these new songs explore a different dimension of Maybelline's approach to Body/Wave electronics.

The title-track Cupio Dissolvi is what we may already call classic Qual: gloomy and throbbing, synth-driven and labyrinthine. A Bloody Blob explores new martial slants, with war-like timpani and a marching robot gait. Rape Me in the Parthenon is a 8 minute long dancefloor mayhem anthem scanned by some pounding techno drumbeat and EBM snare and pads. The most alert of you already checked this in some Ancient Methods DJset. By far the most extreme track Qual recorded so far.

'Buried in flowers with hands of gold / Buried together we'll never mold' shall be thy epitaph here, as well as your message engraved on virgin vinyl.

New edition of 300 on clear wax!

From four individual parts, with distinct musical pasts but also
overlapping histories, a new unified chapter begins with Piroshka and
the quartet's thrilling debut album 'Brickbat'.
The album is named after the word for a missile, which nails the
record's heavyweight lyrics if not the music's gorgeous, bittersweet
and euphoric pop. Think of 'Brickbat' as a wolf in sheep's clothing -
which suits the name Piroshka, the Hungarian take on the wolf
terrorised fairytale hero Little Red Riding Hood - a subtle nod, too, to
a certain red hairdo that stood out in the 1990s Brit-guitar-pop
scene...
The four band members are former Lush vocalist / guitarist (and
former redhead) Miki Berenyi, former Moose guitarist KJ 'Moose'
McKillop, Modern English bassist Mick Conroy and former Elastica
drummer Justin Welch. The connections between them are a
veritably tangled family tree. Before they lived together and raised a
family, Miki and Moose were notable figures on the so-called
shoegaze scene, while Elastica were Britpop peers. After post-punk
pioneers Modern English split for a second time, Mick became a
latterday member of Moose, while Justin joined the reformed Lush in
2015. And when Lush required a bassist for what proved to be their
final show (in Manchester) in November 2016, Mick stepped in.
It was the rehearsals for that Manchester show that laid the
foundations for Piroshka. 'We sounded great!' says Justin. 'Like a
proper punk band. Mick brings a huge amount of enthusiasm and
livens up the room, and I thought, this is the kind of band I want to
be in again.' Mick agreed. 'I'd seen Lush so many times, it was like
playing with old friends. Miki agreed it was good fun too. And with
Moose available, we thought, let's all have a bash, see what
happens.'
Though 'Brickbat' kicks off with a squeal of feedback, the album is far
from a proper punk record, with as much sublime delicacy as physical
force, with guitars to the fore but also electronic flourishes in all
manner of spaces. Combined, they drive the nuggety melodic bombs
long associated with Miki's songwriting
LP format includes digital download code.

Lisbon pals Photonz and Shcuro are two of the city's most active DJs and music makers, sharing a penchant for a moody yet electrifying brand of dance sonics. They've created Shermanworx together in the studio, recording machines live using an ethos of improvisation while relying on their fine-tuned dancefloor intuition. The Sherman Filterbank was the go-to piece of equipment, appearing in every track and eventually naming the EP.
Tribal techno swirls menacingly backed by dark melodies in the opening track, a hypnotic yet vivid peak-time belter that could go on and on.
A synth so textured you can almost touch it is the centrepiece of Sherman2, another driving club beast complete with modulated arpeggios and industrial-tinged percussions.
The record comes to close with a dreamier exercise in Sherman3: a dubby electro beat conducts melodic mutant synth lines and pads to achieve a slow-burning, expansive euphoria.

Nicewon kicks off 2019 with the 'Live on DuPont EP' from Christian James. Christian drops three new cuts, stamped with unmistakable mid-west vibes, fresh from flyover USA and pulls in a super-phat remix, from one of London's most exciting producer's- Cody Currie. Following up on his SummerSota EP, he stays true to his roots with driving drum-grooves, heavy use of samplers and drum machines, with some great synth work and pulls it all together by jamming it out- live. Cody Currie brings that floor-stompin attitude to this remix and cracks the WHIP with those beloved filter disco vibes, for all the heads. This EP kicks some serious Minneapolis warehouse flavor, to fit all corners of the dancefloor. We hope you enjoy NCWN04!

Produced in Minneapolis. Mastered by Rob Small Mastering ( Leeds, UK ). Artwork by Jeff Swiff.

Tarawangsawelas are a musical duo from Bandung, mainly performing a contemporary version of Tarawangsa, the sacred music from Sundanese West Java. Here they are joined by their teacher and maestro, Pak Pupung Supena, together with, Pak Jaja, on Sekalipon. Wanci is a minimalist, cosmic album composed with a careful modern interpretation of one of the most mystical and spiritual genres in Indonesia. A gorgeous and infectious six track album. TIP!
.
Producer Rabih Beaini says "Last year, Europalia Festival commissioned me to work on a musical project with local musicians from Indonesia and develop a performance to tour during Europalia 2017. I chose to work with Tarawangsa, the sacred music from Sundanese West Java. Tarawangsa is played on two string instruments: a rababa-like two-stringed bowed instrument itself called Tarawangsa, and the Jentreng, a seven-stringed kecapi-like instrument. Typically from Rancakalong village in Sumedang, West Java, Tarawangsa is played as part of a ritual consisting of almost eight hours of music and dance, complete with offerings and prayers. During a performance, a selection from the forty two known Tarawangsa pieces slowly build up from a cosmic slow groove to more repetitive and hypnotic rhythms, inevitably bringing the listener and dancer to a trance state. During the residency I had the great honor to be able to develop new structures and pieces together with Tarawangsawelas, recording them in Bandung, and ultimately having them joined by their teacher and Tarawangsa maestro Pak Pupung Supena together with Pak Jaja on jentreng. This album is a modern description for one of the local Indonesian music scene, but mainly it is an offering for the Tarawangsa ritual, like the food and incense and the prayers, and the messages of the ancestors to the people of Rancakalong."

Composed and performed by Teguh Permana, Wisnu Ridwana and Rabih Beaini, except Sekalipun (traditional) performed by Pupung Supena, Jaja Rohmat, Teguh Permana & Wisnu Ridwana.
Recorded in Bandung, march 2017
Produced, mixed and arranged by Rabih Beaini.
Mastered by Neel at Enisslab.
Cover design by George Sowden, curated by M-L-XL,

Eduardo De La Calle has been doing his thing since the early 2000s, but the last couple of years have seen him move into overdrive. Releases on Planet E, Hivern Discs, Nitsa Trax, Turbo Recordings, Gigolo and Darkroom Dubs to name just a few have shown he is both prolific and consistent, and this new four-track collection is just as compelling as his recent output.rnrnDistortion Theory III is a whirring hypnotic machine jam that melds shimmering synth snippets to mind-bending FX undulations and throbbing low end. Disorientating and wonky as hell, it's the sound of a funky computer malfunction somewhere in deep space.rnrnLight Tunnel continues the theme, coming across like the dying throes of space station spinning out of control due to excessive amounts of sub bass. It's a dizzying, disorientating ride.rnrnAcid Aaron C (Edit) wastes no time getting down to business with its gurgling, incessant 303 line present from the get-go. Shuffling percussion rubs up against heady female vocal lines and wonky detuned 8-bit synth blips, the undercurrent of the track swelling and calming seemingly at will. rnrnThe Dub Math takes things down a notch with hazy sounds and plodding sub bass combining with heavily reverbed vocal incantations which all combine to bring together the vibe referenced in the title.

NCZ007, 'In Memory Of,' brings together Stanislav Tolkachev, VSK, JoeFarr and ONTHEGROUND for a 4 track compilation. Each artist has contributed a track to the general theme of 'broken techno,' with outstanding, stylistically diverse results.

'Ant Parade' by Stanislav Tolkachev opens the record with a hypnotic march. Over a gently lulling rhythm, a bright melody repeats over an eerie and disorientating soundscape. VSK's 'Blue Snake' ratchets up the energy, with skittering percussion and tense, murky bleeps propelling the track frantically onwards.

Nicz records owner Myztical teams up again with Diagnetic Origin as ONTHEGROUND on 'Interstellar Gardening.' A sonorous melody emerges from rattling beats, serving up a heady communion of intangible, elusive euphoria and melancholy. JoeFarr concludes the record with 'I am a Visitor.' Staccato kicks and fuzzed out synths stretch and twist, while a dislocated, brash voice announces itself to the listener.

Paul DeMarinis is a key figure in the history of electronic music since the 1970s. Collaborator with the likes of Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and David Tudor, DeMarinis is a pioneer in the development of gallery sound installation and digital music technologies. Black Truffle is thrilled to announce the release of a double-LP collection, selected in collaboration with the artist, focussing on DeMarinis's exploration of synthesized voice and the digital analysis and manipulation of speech sounds. Drawing together tracks dispersed on compilations along with a number of pieces previously unheard in any form, Songs Without Throats offers a revelatory look into DeMarinis's alternately accessible and uncompromising production between 1978 and 1995. Opening with a mesmerizing piece from 1978 pairing the voice and tamboura playing of Anne Klingensmith with strings of letters spat out by a Speak n' Spell to the accompaniment of the randomised melodic patterns of DeMarinis's homebuilt electronic instrument 'The Pygmy Gamelan', the record then dispenses with the live human voice in favour of its recorded and synthetic doubles. We follow DeMarinis's restless probing of the possibilities of new technologies, from the hacked Speak n' Spell (which gives us the austere 'Et Tu, Klaatu' 1979, another duet with Klingensmith, this time on bowed psaltery, in which the toy's synthetic voice is stretched into an alien song) through to the use of digital audio samples manipulated with home computer technology in the early 1990s (including a remarkable dream-like collage piece that weaves a rare recording of Stalin's voice and bird-like electronic twittering derived from its formant-glides into a rich tapestry of samples reflective of the dictator's musical life). In between we get a rich sampling of DeMarinis's signature work with speech melodies - usually unnoticed melodic inflections that lie within speech patterns - which he analyses and translates into synthesized musical accompaniment. These pieces draw on a wide variety of textual and vocal sources, which range from the hilarious to the menacing ('Cincinatti (1830-1850)' sets a detailed description of butchering techniques, for example) and an equally broad range of musical conceptions, combining elements as seemingly unlikely as Beethoven's Opus 31 pianos sonatas and the sounds of 80s synth pop. The results are an extraordinary combination of the alien and the familiar. As DeMarinis himself characterises his work with vocal synthesis, this is 'a kind of signal that simultaneously carried and obscured meaning and ideation, even as it created a sound world totally alien in esthetic'. Presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with archival images and liner notes by Paul DeMarinis. Design by Stephen O'Malley. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin

We are extremely proud to have 4 tracks from Dominic Stanton aka Domu aka Sonar Circle aka Sonar's Ghost.

Dom's vast back catalogue spans over 20 years, the music on over 15 labels and many different genres. This body of work includes a number of Sonar Circle releases for the legendary Reinforced camp including a stunning long player entitled 'Radius'.

For Dope Plates Dom has lovingly and expertly put together 4 nostalgic and authentic tracks clearly taking inspiration from early 90s jungle, drum & bass and hardcore.

Enjoy the ride!

Tradition and experimentation are two familiar
territories that C'mon Tigre, a duo who find
their identity by working with musicians from
all over the world, can balance between very
well. As they did for their debut album (2014),
they have put together a multicolored collective
for their second record 'Racines', out on
February 15, 2019 for BDC/K7.
The title is a French word that means "roots",
referring to the musical roots in which C'mon
Tigre's feet, head and heart are immersed, and
from which their contaminated tracks sprout to
create unusual and original sound environments. In their new album the sounds of the
Mediterranean - the sea of their land -
intersect, intertwine and overlap with a
kaleidoscope of other sounds and a new
approach based - they explain - "on the type of
work we had done when we rearranged the first
album for live shows, by emphasizing the
synthetic part of our tracks". This time around
they did it from the very beginning: "The
composition of the pieces immediately included
the use of machines and synthesizers as a
basis for acoustic instruments. The goal was to
reprocess the terrain of Mediterranean
influences that was undoubtedly our starting
point".
Imagine a work in progress where bass and
guitars interact with woodwind, synths, percussions, vibraphones, dipping the listener into a
sensual and hypnotic musical journey. Sailing
from the Mediterranean basin and being guided
by the fascination for Africa and the Middle
East, C'mon Tigre give rise to a personal
language, made up of mixtures with jazz,
afrojazz, the rhythmics of hip hop, funk, 70s
disco. All without ever confining their songs to
one style, but pushing the exploration as much
as possible, into a dimension that every journey
worthy of this name should encompass. "With
the musicians we work with the exchange and
experimentation continue till the end, the
songs can take different directions at any time'.
The result is a mixed, cosmopolitan record,
which escapes from any label for the affirmation of a free attitude. The attitude that led
C'mon Tigre to seek a connection with dancefloor culture, even if considered only as an
evocation to revisit in an absolutely personal
way

Silk Road Assassins, a trio consisting of Tom E Vercetti, Chemist and Lovedr0id, return to Planet Mu with their debut full-length 'State Of Ruin' two years after their first EP 'Reflection Spaces'.

The trio recorded over two years, working together to start with, then across different studios and via the internet when their lives became more separated. They also finessed the album at Abbey Road studios, making use of some short time to add in extra layers.

The three producers day jobs are in production music, music designed and created specifically for film and games, and this album uses these skills to explore the musical forms that they love. The album explores how trap and grime's minimalist form can be built and curved into musical architecture: elegant, opaque and layered, turning the sound into lush, melodic world-building.

The work gone into the album is revealed on repeated listens, every sound on this record feels built to sit within it's delicate ecosystem. The fundamentals of the music are given their own sense of purpose: hand claps spray, bells tumble, guitars splinter and lush melodies waft over and fill the track's spaces like light, glinting across snapping, crisp rhythms and deep bass tones.

Lowell Dunbar and Robert Shakespeare are the renowned Jamaican rhythm section that has worked with a range of international stars, including Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Joan Armatrading, Garland Jeffries and countless others. They first came to know each other in the early 1970s, when both were based in rival bands playing in clubs on Kingston's Red Hills Road and started working together at Channel One studio in the mid-1970s, when Sly was musical arranger for the Revolutionaries house band and Robbie the main bassist for Bunny Lee's Aggrovators. After a stint of international touring in Peter Tosh's Word, Sound and Power band, which exposed them to the tastes and markets of overseas audiences, the pair joined forces more concertedly with their Taxi label, producing hits with Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Sugar Minott and the Wailing Souls. At the same time, as the driving force behind the Compass Point All Stars, they brought Grace Jones to prominence worldwide and made Gwen Guthrie a star through reggaefied disco, and then brought Black Uhuru into the top spot in the wake of Bob Marley's passing. Then, when Jamaican music went digital with the 'Sleng Teng' craze of the mid-1980s, Sly and Robbie made the shift in that direction too, becoming among the most prominent producers as the 80s gave way to the 90s. Dubs For Tubs: A Tribute To King Tubby is a digital dub salute to the King issued shortly after his terrible murder; it is mostly comprised of synthesizer re-cuts of classic Jamaican rhythms, with 'Dub For Joy' being a tough re-working of the Heptones' 'Love Me Girl' and 'Dub To Make You Move And Groove' a take on their 'Party Time'; Dennis Brown's 'Here I Come' is here mutated to 'Dub For Roots People' and his 'Here I Come' anthem shifted into the spongy 'Dub For All Seasons.' An intriguing offshoot of 'Sleng Teng' is among the other highlights.

Enigmatic Berlin label MASK return in 2019 with a vinyl only release consisting of four eccentric cuts entitled 'Hunter'. The mysterious German label maintains its reputation of providing quality, esoteric music by anonymous artists with a focus on analogue sound design and modulated oddities. 'Hunter' is the result of the first take of a live recording coming from a duo who have been playing together for over a decade. The A1 kicks off with lo-fi drum programming, emphatic leads and stabbing bass shoots before the A2 throws down sharp 303 bleeps, angelic pads and resonating kicks creating a euphoric ambience throughout. On the flip uplifting synth work, shuffling percussion and crunchy oscillations take the focus until chugged out experimentation becomes ever present in the final track as it harmoniously balances sweeping elements, growling tones and sonic obscurities.

As a first listen it was 2 am, 46° in a village Portugal, in a Convent, after a good night out. That moment stroke me from being magic, the energy was perfect, we were laughing and relaxing amongst friends. That listen was pushing the magic further because of the surprises it has all along the journey. A first groaning A simple rhythm Soft realms Noisy Round sounds Type machine sounds, of a sampled hi hat that never reveals, cut cut cut cut. Just because it's fun to not reveal it. And put that fist cut part of the upcoming timber that is not 'yet' one. It's like if the drum pack was used the wrong way, which is a great way. Flipping. (=to flip something) Belp has this ability to bring the most horrible samples in front, and turn over your mind to enjoy what first sounds like 'horrible'. Facade. 'Crocodile' is flipping it over. Rhythmically vibrating, ears are wide open, full attention. I'm into the non-repetition. Track 'Crocodile's call reminds me of the call in 'Klabb' by Deena Abdelwahed as well as within its playful change of tempo, of notes. Who cares The album is like a randomly composed pack. It is not random. It's flipping something, and I like that disturbance, it's what I want to hear. It is alive, through composition, arrangements, falsely randomised, non-arranged, it is a trick; it is the drunk clown playing 'endless preparations for a ceremony' and 'catch'. Not bothering about anything reveals a deep understanding of music and of arts, a crafted album in details. It is years of listening, it is years of challenging ones ears, and putting it all together in this piece.

'For The Colleagues Of Ubu & Their Authorities' is the brainchild of Vienna based vinyl enthusiast, DJ & producer The Reboot Joy Confession. What once started as a series of mixes has been expanded into this compilation, on which he brings together diverse genres of music like electronica, modern minimalism, folk, post-rock, avant-garde or modular music, which also reflect his own versatile musical taste. 'As I stopped thinking in genres, my attempt was to merge my musical taste in the most fluent way possible onto one record. There are mesmerizing songs from some of my favourite contemporary artists - I feel a timelessness in their music, I can ´t get tired of. With the compilation I wanted to create a contemplative, fictitious, surreal world, merging those different styles together. Giving it that title, I wanted the listener to be able to imagine a tale that is building up with each song. I am really happy about the outcome of this compilation and hope that many other listeners can feel the magic.' The compilation includes the surreal work of Swiss producer Dim Grimm (also known as Dimlite), as well as a collaboration between Merz & Julian Sartorius Drum Ensemble who radically altered the original version of 'The Hunting Owl' into a monstrous percussive live version. Taken off the debut album from one of Poland ´s most interesting musicians at the moment, Waclaw Zimpel & Kuba Ziolek, 'Wrens' is a fusion of folk, jazz and modern minimal music. Experimental pop musician & filmmaker Tujiko Noriko appears with an emotional piece that challenges the paths between pop and avant-garde. Gerhard Zander, whose musical work started on the outskirts of experimental pop music in the early seventies in Germany, delivers a modular synth masterpiece with unique sounds, textures and a far-out synth choir. Rock and ambient influenced musician Helen Money (also known as Alison Chesley) is a Los Angeles based cellist and composer who appears with a massively dark post-rock song called 'MF', which was recorded at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago in 2009. Often compared to Frank Zappa and known for their richness of ideas, Liverpool's a.P.A.t.T. contribute the hypnotic 'Young Free & Parasite', with references to British glam, post-punk or synth rock, but in a fresh and obscure sounding outfit. SSELLF, the moniker of New Zealand ´s Christoph El Truento, inspired by post-punk and noise. 'Visitors' is simple and simply in your face, with lo-fi drums, distorted synths and raw vocals by Christoph himself. After a few seclusive years, The Reboot Joy Confession returns with a new, crispy and soulful track. Cinematic strings written by Martin Riedler, arranged by Flip Phillip, and recorded at the established Vienna Konzerthaus, based on a properly arranged drum outfit and played by a villain named Gurlimu. Both strings and drums are guiding through the whole song and culminate in Glockenspiel and Rhodes melodies. Oceaneer aka Japanese pianist Oneechan Nanashi completes the compilation with her beautiful and profound composition 'The Sea, Forever'. She describes her music as 'improvised instrumental underwater music from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, played with broken instruments, directed by the spirit of drowned people who are talking through the hands of the pianist. It's lonely and bleak music for the dead.'

TUTTI is comprised of eight soundscapes: an audio self portrait comprising of manipulated sound recordings from Cosey's life, music and art:
'It's the only album I've made that is an all encompassing statement expressing the totality of my being. A sense of the past in relation to the present and everything in between.'

These eight pieces were originally conceived as the soundtrack to the autobiographical film 'Harmonic Coumaction', and performed live in February 2017, part of a series of events that accompanied the COUM Transmissions retrospective which opened Hull UK City of Culture 2017. Later that year, 'Harmonic Coumaction' was presented as an audio-visual installation for Cosey Fanni Tutti's solo exhibition at Cabinet Gallery, London.
Cosey Fanni Tutti explains: 'Working on the COUM Transmissions exhibition also coincided with writing my autobiography - collating archive material and re engaging with my past. My work is a continuum, the past feeding the present and vice versa. The album is an interpretation of my past and present, of my understanding the shifting perceptions of how they inform one another. One form creating another through a metamorphic process.'

On TUTTI, the music has been updated and enhanced with elements of the original tracks re-recorded and further processed specifically to create a unique stand-alone document, separate to the live performance and installation. Recorded at Cosey Fanni Tutti's studio in Norfolk, the album, as on her debut release, Time To Tell, merges Cosey's art activities with her exploration of sound: The album's autobiographical theme is not locked into any specific time or place, the 'voices', instruments and sounds together span decades of my life, music and art. In this context my name 'TUTTI' shifts from its role as a noun to perfectly represent the concept of the album, also acting as sign for me the artist.
TUTTI is Cosey Fanni Tutti's only solo album release since 1982's Time To Tell. Time To Tell was recently given its first release on vinyl, on a long awaited official deluxe edition. The interim years between solo releases has seen a blisteringly prolific output as an artist and musician. Renowned for her art, her work in the sex industry, as co-founder of Industrial music and Throbbing Gristle, and her pioneering electronic music solo and as Chris & Cosey, Carter Tutti and Carter Tutti Void, she has created throughout with the motto 'my life is my art, my art is my life'.

Cosey's autobiography ART SEX MUSIC was published to worldwide acclaim by Faber & Faber in 2017, a Japanese edition has just been published with further translations and an audio book to follow. TUTTI

The second release on AF Trax, again with all profits being donated to Hope Not Hate, is the debut from Al Jerry who has the following to say -

I was initially picturing Al as an ambivalent character trying to evoke in his music deep issues and emotions related to Middle Eastern cultures, but not without a certain self-depreciating sense of humour and a questionable taste for stereotypical arabesque harmonies.

On a personal level, I'm from a family who is half-French, half-Armenian (from Turkey). I grew up with this sort of historical ambivalence in mind, born and bred in the relatively untroubled French culture but not completely oblivious (how could I) of the troubled past of my modern Armenian ancestry who had experienced the first genocide of the 20th century - which as you may know some people and countries still deny its very existence as we speak now in 2018. So, instead of doing something purely on my personal history and origins, I just wanted to celebrate/acknowledge the modern history of the both fascinating and chaotic Middle Eastern cultures.

When I introduced that vague idea of a project/alias to B with an early version of Sana'a Riots, he got instantly into it. The hybrid feel of the project really allowed us to experiment and mess around with odd tonalities and enthused solos. It was the first time for both of us that we manage to collaborate on an EP with someone else. We had never tried something together before and it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. More to come from Al then :)

AF Trax = Against Fascism Trax and is a new label project instituted by JD Twitch/Optimo Music. Its aim is to make a musical and cultural protest in opposition of rising far right politics and ideology in the world. Encouraging artists to make music intended to interrogate these toxic ideas, and with all label profits donated to Hope Not which campaigns to counter racism and fascism. Against Fascism Trax's intent is to provoke conversation, inform and financially support the opposition to fascist thinking. Its simple idea is that we must do something more than just talking. The moral thing to do is to act

- Chas's very sad passing in September this year has made this release all the more poignant, as he had been planning
it for a while. Here is how Dave describes the LP:
- 'It had been on Chas's mind for quite some time to showcase our more laid-back numbers. A lot of people had never
heard this side of what we do even though our biggest hit - 'Ain't No Pleasing You' - was a ballad. So when the
opportunity came to put together this compilation, it became a labour of love for Chas. In fact, it was the last release
that he was involved with and wrote sleeve notes for. Enjoy listening to our 'other side''.
- The inner sleeve features many photos and Chas's commentary, and the record is pressed on 180 gram white vinyl.









I B3. Old Dog & Me [new version]