quête:underground system

***BACK IN STOCK ON ORANGE CREAM VINYL!!!

On Fire is widely recognized as the canonic pinnacle of Galaxie 500's career. The artwork conveys this, with a low-angle shot of the band, looking up towards an amber sky. This record marked the realization of their signature sound. Nowhere is it clearer than on the album opener, "Blue Thunder," the closest a song can come to waves crashing on a beach in song form. Lyrically inconsequential, with a chorus composed entirely of "la"s, the track's power lies in a systematic build and break of intensity that reaches a Spector-like climax. It is the quintessential Galaxie 500 song, encapsulating all that was great about the band. With the Boston trio once again utilizing the bizarre genius of producer Mark Kramer, On Fire sounds like anything but. The guitars are warm blankets enwrapping Dean Wareham's vocals, percolated by the open percussion of Damon Krukowski and anchored by the emotion-laden bass of Naomi Yang. Songs like "Snowstorm," "Strange," and "Decomposing Trees" have an endless quality, without beginnings or ends, but rather frozen somewhere on a spectrum of melancholy. For the first time since its original pressing, On Fire is available again on vinyl. Cut by vinyl ace Kevin Gray from a remaster by Kramer and Alan Douches, the album sounds more vibrant than ever, and Galaxie 500 exists again as one of the most enrapturing and glorious bands to emerge from the underground in the past 25 years.

Not so long ago in 2017, the first release on Michiel Claus' and Ailsa Cavers' Basic Moves saw the light of day and especially the shine of night. Produced by founding father Walrus, BM01 set the tone for a record label that focuses on releasing hidden archives from the 90s, whilst combining them with modern club music from the here and now. By highlighting the musical heritage of the Belgian electronic music scene, the label illustrates the continuity between past and present, history and shaping identities of 21st-century artists, undeniably building on the strong foundations of their forerunners. Seven years and nineteen releases later, Basic Moves is rounding off the series with BM20, a final double 12'' by one of the major figures from the Belgian underground: Circadian Rhythms also known as Dj Deg. After many years of collecting, deejaying and producing music, his musical spectrum ranges from synth, library and wave, to jazz, funk and disco, from house to techno. His journey started in clubs like Bocaccio (1988 - 1993), and La Gait? (1979 -1989), where young Deg came across deejay's like Olivier Pieters or Eric Beysens who made him choose the path of becoming a devoted disc jockey himself. BM20 is a sonic witness of Deg's first musical encounters with his machines, revealing a withdrawn selection of six bedroom patchwork tracks produced between the years of '93 & '99, a time without the internet or user manuals to help you solve the riddles of technology. Though only at the very beginning of his creative process, Deg's unique personality is nevertheless already clearly identifiable: blending techno with jazz, where the sharp edges of 16-step drum-sequences are smudged and bent in different directions. In the lower countries, the second half of the 90s was a period of fast & funky, happy Detroit, 140 BPM techno. Whenever Deg was not oscillating between record shops or gigs and had a moment on his own, mostly during morning hours after the club, he would spend his leftover energy in the studio. Either by himself or with his loyal ally Mike DMA, he would benefit from these moments to slow down and give space to a different, introverted sound - processing moods, feelings and thoughts. This record therefore gathers only a few of many (unrecorded) one-shot live sessions which were never intended to be shared - and only existed for the love of music and its power to take you beyond all things known. Thank you Deg for sharing your music and giving us a glimpse of your universe. Without your productions, your memorable warm-ups and closing sets - many of us would not be where we are now, and Basic Moves might never have been founded. As a last note to a closing song, BM20 is about being fully committed to the music and the club, a medium and place of fruitful settings for encounters, creativity and growth. Where dreams and ideas have a chance to exist, being almost ready and thought out to shape future times to come - and many party nights. Gurl, December 2023

2024 Reissue

Founded with the intent of bringing hidden sounds out of obscurity, Rarefied will project these sounds on to a platform to be experienced by the many denizens of sound system culture. While the music is made to enjoyed by all, it retains its identity as both an underground and unique form of artistic expression.

After a series of successful digital releases, Soukah bursts onto the vinyl scene, presenting a sound crafted over the course of almost a decade. His past works range from Industrial Noise to his own unique take on Dubstep. RARE1 showcases Soukah's versatile approach to production - His organic style, based on dark synthesis and unorthodox drum patterns, is a true representation of the Rarefied sound.

'JAK FOU' is the result of six months of studio time, the classical piano riff combined with haunting percussion results in an experience akin to ingesting 18 grams of psycobilin. On the flip side 'Loner' is a far darker, moodier affair. Written solely by candlelight, the production evokes the darkest elements of Soukah's soul. This track is best enjoyed alone, in the wilderness.

This debut full-length album by Stockholm-based composer and electroacoustic experimentalist Theodor Kentros, could easily be interpreted as 'just' an assemblage of pieces written between 2021-2024. Named after the paranoid hallucination (or, if said hallucination is real, the underground secret mail system) figuring in the 1966 Thomas Pynchon novel ‘The Crying of Lot 49’, it should rather be perceived as a very distinct, coherent stream running through his output during these years.

The six tracks – ranging in sound and disposition from serialised organ drones constructed to reach screeching and beautiful culminations, to minimalist, repetitive studies in tape loops and string synthesis – were composed and recorded in Stockholm and Visby at different occasions during down-time from his many other projects, which include a myriad of other commissions, co-running labels XKatedral and Kalkatraz Cassettes and touring with punk groups and solo shows.

Six meticulously selected tracks by Black Quasar Records once again reflect the synergy of sounds between the pulsating rhythms of electro and the textures of IDM in this fourth release.

Despite the differences in the personalities and styles of the six artists featured in this V.A., there is an undeniable harmony that connects them into a single creative system.

Weaving new networks between the passion for music and respect for the essence of the Underground is the main goal of “Conexiones Electrónicas”.

Following a string of releases on a who’s who of top labels such as Planet Euphorique, Salt Mines, Haws and Craigie Knowes, prog-trance pioneer Lisene drops a full-length LP on his On Rotation imprint. With 8 hyper-detailed tracks ranging from club-focused techno, progressive and electro to slo-mo downtempo, Lisene brings his A-game to an album sure to cement his place as one of the most exciting producers and DJs in the UK’s underground music scene.

Created over several years with a perfectionist’s attention to detail, “Science Friction” flits between moods and sonic environments with ease while retaining the cohesion of Lisene’s inimitable production style. Despite being an album, this is still very much a record for the DJs, featuring heads-down club tracks and bass-heavy electro crafted with precision and a cinematic sense of scale. For the home listeners, expansive slo-mo soundscapes and cerebral synth odysseys float high above the clouds, with widescreen details revealing themselves ever further with each re-play.

“This album has been 15 years in the making and represents a culmination of everything I’ve worked towards in defining my own sound and style without letting myself be pigeonholed. I’m immensely proud of each track - it really reflects where I was at musically while making this, while giving a glimpse into my future sound. This is a record that deserves to be played on the finest sound systems and hi-fis, and I couldn’t be more happy with how it’s turned out. Dive in and enjoy!”

Combining influences from across the spectrum of dance music with a cinematic sense of psychedelia and his own inimitable production skills, “Science Friction” is sure to see a lot of airtime across the festivals, after-parties and living rooms of the world this summer and beyond.

On Rotation is a Leeds based label, event & mix series run by Chris I’Anson, Lisene & Adam Pits. Artwork illustrated and designed by Patch D Keyes.

One of the hottest talents emerging from the New Zealand underground, Brassic, returns to DDD with a tour de force of a record, Into Chaos EP.

Switching from the sublime to the ridiculous, while simultaneously traversing a mental cliff edge under the constant threat of experimental torture - this EP is a no hold bars attack on all your senses.

Out on a limited edition six track vinyl and digital EP, come and get lost in the deep caves of Brassic’s warped and psychoactive mind.

Ranging from the grunge-influenced broody opener, Antagonist, to the outright naughty system banger, Alienated, through to the string punctuated grime influences of title track Into Chaos and the epic EP closer I Am - this body of work is a true gaze into the mind of a truly visionary creative and at points the producer’s soul.

Will you step Into Chaos?

Ten bad boy digi riddims from the myspace era by Copenhagen’s Maffi crew, dubbed out into 3D space by disrupt in 2024. Raw, minimalist CyberDancehall at its best, nostalgic and oddly futuristic at the same time, this album is quickly becoming RoboCop’s favorite playlist when going to work.
…………………………………………………………………

Maffi Promotions a.k.a. Maffi Boys come straight outta 1773 Kbh V, Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally founded in 1990 by the two homeboys, lazy body Moog and Junior the Rat, Maffi Promotions have been a steady producer of simple digital riddims for years. Hanging out in the streets of Hummel City Junior & Moog used to entertain their friends with the primitve riddims of the Maffi sound. Not knowing that they would do the exact same thing fifteen years later, they continued to believe that one day they would move up the ladder, break out of the underground and reach for the stars.

Now, after finally adopting a little sense of realism, the two homeboys have realised that stardom is nothing compared to spamming people on myspace. So the two stoners decided to get a couple of friends together and turn up the bass online. Together with their sound crew FIREHOUSE, Maffi deal nuff weed and gyals!

Maffi Boys are very dedicated to the art of playing Sensible World of Soccer, rolling weed joints with Manitou tobacco and keeping it real in a Vesterbro-style. So watch out! And don’t test! We’ll be putting up new riddims on a weekly basis. We have nuff things brewing – including a delicious chicken!
………………………………………………………………

Growing up in the streets of Hummel City, Vesterbro, MOOG learned the pleasures of sleeping late, playing Sensible World Of Soccer and picking up hot gyals at an early age. He has spent most of his life trying to master these crucial skills. Taking a break from the dog race, Moog is currently focused on reaching a higher understanding of reggae-science and weedology.

JUNIOR experienced the necessity of rolling well-made spliffs at an early age. Incorporating the aestethic heritage of Scandinavian design, he has spent most of his life perfectionizing this old and traditional art form. Junior is currently taking his ph.d. in digital reggae by buying crates of 80’s 7″ and selecting for his sound system Firehouse.

To celebrate 10 years of one of London’s most loved underground club nights, Tangent, Mr Bongo are thrilled to launch this new compilation series. Crafted by its two residents, John Gómez and Nick the Record, it aims to transmit a taste of Tangent’s spirit. A party rooted in inclusivity and open-mindedness, whose name captures the spontaneous switches in musical direction that are a defining element of their nights. For the compilation, the pair have cherry-picked a selection of their prized, rare and dancefloor-ready tracks from around the globe, that have soundtracked the past decade of parties.

Friends for close to 20 years, music lovers, record obsessives and internationally renowned DJs in their own right, John and Nick have two lifetimes worth of musical knowledge to draw from. John a long-standing NTS Radio resident and compiler for Music From Memory. Nick one of the UK’s go-to record dealers, resident DJ since the ‘90s at one of Japan’s pioneering parties, Life Force, and co-captain / co-edit-expert of Record Mission with Dan Tyler (Idjut Boys).

In 2014, the pair decided to bring some of Life Force’s grassroots principles to the UK, whilst channelling underground clubbing institution Plastic People’s meticulous attitude to sound. Tangent grew from being a small gathering of friends, to an established fixture in London’s nightlife, whilst always maintaining a strict no guest DJ policy. “As London’s clubs have become increasingly reliant on international guests, we wanted to emphasize the importance of a club night growing through its residents”, John and Nick reflect. With 10 years of the duo at the helm, an intimate connection between DJ and dancefloor has been built, allowing for freedom of expression on both sides of the decks.

Tangent reaches around the globe and across different eras to make connections that stimulate emotional reverberations in the unfamiliar. Where the blissfully Balearic ‘Laberinto’ by Miguel Perikás, goes hand-in-hand with the Cameroonian hip-house of King B.’s ‘Love is Crazy’. The thundering ‘Amek Amek’ by L'Innovateur Djoe Ahmed et le Zoukabyle, rubs shoulders with the soulful Caribbean-influenced touch of Champagn’s ‘Bel Ti Négress’. And Pellegrin El Kady’s afro-cosmic ‘Seiva de Carnaval’, crosses paths with Kajou’s Kompa disco anthem ‘Tet Chajé’.

Tangent’s longevity is in part down to it having always embraced contemporary sounds. The sub-rattling bass of Srirajah Sound System’s stunning Molam dub stepper ‘Si Phan Don Lovers Rock’ and the slow, woozy mantra of leftfield dancehall explorer Androo’s ‘Lyriso’, are two shining examples.

This compilation represents an ongoing dialogue between past and present, transporting listeners to the heart of a pure musical experience, where open minds and open hearts are eager to follow the tangent.

Perfectly timed for Systematic's 20th birthday, we have this super special collector's item for you. 19 years after its release, the label presents you with a transparent vinyl version of one of the biggest club hits on the label, "Freakin" by Blake Baxter and Marc Romboy.
Blake has previously released tracks on prestigious labels like Underground Resistance and Tresor. This edition is limited to only 300 copies, and in addition to the two versions from 2005, we've pressed an exclusive and brand-new SID version for you, which teleports the track into the pixelated worlds of SID and Commodore C64 sounds. Close your eyes and feel like you're in a video game. Don't miss out before it's too late!

New sounds from the gaullic underground on Violent Cases’ latest release, the first one since many moons. Two long tracks born out of myths and mist to take you on a mental journey.
Side A’s „Chaos Theory“ sets off at 145 bpm. Synth layers and strings over deep bass create the atmosphere. Drama. Then a brilliant incorporation of a classic guitar solo in mid track. Unique.
Side B „Pagan Blade“ is a joint venture with Ciklo and ups the tempo to 160 bpm. Rolling and riding it’s pushing the dance floor while the pagan assassin whispers the rhythm.

You can tell the artists have honed their skills playing live, these tracks will unfold their full potential and deepness on a proper system.

Stunning full sleeve artwork by Darkam. Graphically edited and arranged by TDSIGNZ. Mastered by Stefan ZMK in the low countries.
Each copy includes an artwork poster, artwork sticker and digital download link.

As the winds of music blow, a wise heart navigates the spiral, finding wisdom in each of its twists and turns.

As the releases of DUBBLACK’s catalogue pile up, the novelty and exploration for new music keeps on thriving.


A brand-new record is approaching, as always available both on a 12” vinyl – limited to 300 copies – and in digital format, featuring the presence of two Masters from the Electronic Music scene: A2 Abd El Monim and Tocchitek.


The two-track EP baptised “Dark Side” includes the gems “Euriale” and “Steno”; two expansive compositions that, also due to their length, masterly observe the task of narrating two complementary stories, each with its distinct moments, yet marked by a strong rhythmic temper. Both tracks are planned to share similar sonic elements: a pulsating 160 bpm kick drum, ghostly pads serving as an inevitable backdrop, and indispensable rhythmic details enriching the whole structure and arrangement.


A2 Abd El Monim, born Alan Abd El Monim, is an Italian-Egyptian artist/composer. He expresses himself through the creation of music ranging from electronic to purely instrumental, and through the interaction between the arts. His poetics opens in a “dark” dimension that considers and interprets the facts through the notion of shadows and darkness but also through penombre. His “dark” vision stands as a filter through which he reads the world and its interactions, therefore using also the notion of light. His music has been performed in Festivals including Musica d’arte (Riccione – Italy), Luci d’Artista (Salerno – Italy), GAMO (Firenze – Italy), Spazio Musica (Cagliari – Italy), On Air – On site (Den Haag -Netherlands), Sound Spaces (Malmö – Sweden), etc.


He composed songs for the solo exhibition “La pelle degli oggetti” and for works Lui&Lei by the artist Giovanni Oberti. In 2020 he undertook a collaboration with the poet Milo De Angelis , putting to music the lyric “A volte , sull’orlo della notte, si rimane sospesi”. He wrote music for several theatre performances by director Emily Tartamelli and has written music for several directors films including Reto Gelshorn, Enea Francia, Paola Piscitelli and Fabio Corbellini. He collaborated with the London based fashion brand B DODI and was invited as an artist to participate in the collective exhibition “Instructions to Light-Keepers” (Milano – Italy). In March 2023, “Periodo Nero”, its interactive and generative installation music and video, was selected for the tribute to Picasso in the city of Florence, will be presented at the Certosa of Florence in September of the same year. In 2017 he won the International Competition of Composizione Silenzio Musica, in 2020 the diploma from President and Artistic Director of Winterreise International Composition Competition Moscow, in 2021 the Call For Scores banned by the Cultural Association Esecutori di Metallo su Carta. A2 Abd El Monim is signed to international label F.M.T Records and Dubblack Records, with which he regularly publishes his electronic music.


Tocchitek is an underground Tekno producer and performer born in Milan, Italy. He started playing live in 2007 as part of the “Approdo Caronte” sound system based in Milan. His first significant appearance as a live performer was at a “Mayday Parade” in 2008 in Milan. In 2009, he joined the “R909 Records” chapters crew based in Milan, bringing his live set to many local club dance floors. Meanwhile, he collaborated and played with many crews around Europe, spreading his music in the free Underground Tekno movement. In 2021, in Milan, he launched “F.M.T Records”.


Simplicity is often the hardest thing to achieve when producing this type of music, primarily designed for uncompromising dance-floors, but the duo successfully channels their message with purity and truthfulness.


The visual aspects of layout and design are once again entrusted to Vittorio Valigi, who puts a greyscale spiral at the center of the cover. A spiral within which one an eye can be glimpsed – the eye of the musical soul of DUBBLACK harmoniously fused with that of A2 Abd El Monim and Tocchitek, who become worthy ambassadors of the Dubblack’s sonic mission.

After a decade-long hiatus, Blake Baxter (Underground Resistance, Tresor) and Marc Romboy (Systematic, Kompakt) have reunited to release their latest track, "Muzik is Love." More than just a song, it represents a philosophy, a mindset, and a tribute to authentic techno music.
The duo previously collaborated on the hit "Freakin'" two decades ago, a track that continues to electrify dance floors. They followed up with several iconic tunes, including "Muzik," "Where Would You Be?" and "House Ya."
This new 12-inch record features special locked grooves on the B-side, catering specifically to vinyl enthusiasts.
With two records, DJs and music lovers can creatively rearrange the track, blending the locked grooves with individual stems from the original to form a unique mix.
Dive into a new realm of vinyl mixing with this innovative release and experience the evolution of techno firsthand

DJ Polo returns to Livity Sound with an EP that moves beyond the UK funky styles he established alongside Tribal Brothers on The Link Up EP in 2021. Through his productions and steady online radio presence, the Bristol-based producer has been flying the flag for lean, punchy rhythms with a low-end focus, but on If The Glove Fits Polo has branched out to explore different tempos and sounds taking influence from gqom, techno and Afrobeats.

Much like his approach to funky, this isn’t a set of genre exercises but more a celebration of the shared qualities which bind together dance music from different parts of the world. The result is four sharply-defined club workouts unique to DJ Polo that balance tension and release, flair and subtlety and a consistent physical weight true to Livity’s emphasis on soundsystem suitability.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

Matching his signature melodic futurism with enduring club music structures, Pev brings the Pulse series to a natural conclusion with the Pulse Phase EP. On this third release he underlines the broader approach to tempos and styles he’s taken across this latest period of his output, soon to be coalesced into a new live set.

If there’s been a nostalgic streak detectable amongst the crisp modernism of the Pulse series, it comes through clearer than ever in the looped-up house jack and starry-eyed techno synth hooks of ‘Pulse IX’. ‘Pulse TEN’ pares back for a lean soundsystem workout driven by a strafing arp and fractured drums while ‘Pulse XI’ revisits 90s bleep techno with a deep, dubby intention. ‘Pulse XII’ completes the picture capturing the skeletal pressure of 2-step at its most slender and deadly.

There’s never a sense of over-familiarity — the exacting angles of the drums and alien hue of the synths maintain Pev’s distinctive sound first and foremost. But this series has also been an opportunity to hear some of his musical DNA more explicitly than before, cast in universal rave motifs propelled by the unrelenting pursuit of new forms for the dance.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

Significant Other unveils a new project: Pain Management. A new imprint presenting music and visual media across a variety of formats. The outlet launches with an original 4 track EP: When It Rains.

Christening the label with his first full length release since 2021, the subversive producer steps out from behind the curtain with a batch of tracks guaranteed to soothe psychic woes and challenge sound systems alike.

True to the name of the label, this debut release delivers a healthy dose of leftfield club weight. Tough and tender in equal measure, it’s a record that explores in-between zones. A fever dream of narrative experiments at the outer edges of club music, packing enough punch to shake a dancefloor, but enough delicacy to soundtrack the ride home. The final product is a meeting of outsider sonics and sleazy dance tropes, body music for restless minds.

The record begins with the lead single ‘RPG’ (A1). A smoked out, drug chug power ballad featuring fellow NYC underground alum James K. Anchored around a growling 4/4 battle beat, swells of dub and inchoate vocal cries rise intermittently from the haze. Within the fever dream fugue of thuggish sub weight and engine-room crud, a tender, sustained warmth shimmers.

A2’s ‘I Get Such Bad Headaches’ is a twisted club thumper built around a questioning vocal refrain. It’s a tongue in cheek nod to the label’s origins that takes shape in a sleazy beat track with some serious club weight. Slowed n’ chopped to the maximum, it’s a low slung sleeper-hit with attitude. DJ Screw meets Tylenol PM, a bass-boosted anthem for the neural punishment enjoyer.

The B-side opens with the title track, ‘When It Rains (It Pours)’, a droned out mess of distant voices and textural grit. Anchored around the titular looping axiom, the track has a deathly, abyssal weight to it. A claustrophobic hymn of surrender, faithful to its stark refrain.

‘Bad Blood’ wraps the record on a tender note. A sluggish heartbeat pumps beneath the fog of dub delays and distortion, propelling forward a lethargic rhythm. Out of nowhere a blissed out synth line pierces the tension. A sharp, emotive melody disrupting the paramnesia with something new. If the record’s title track suggests a downward spiral through some psychic storm, then ‘Bad Blood’ shows the outline of dry land coming slowly into focus.

Art Direction by Ciaran Birch

First EP from the RODF Sound System, based in center Japan.

A side brings a superb live : full of ideas and good surprises, kick changes, hypnotic sparks and breakbeats supports. Fresh and absolutly not dark ! Wicked !!

The flip opens with a deep mental Yogi bassline and a sweet Tribe pumpin kick...
The second tune is an experimental Tribe track, melting the SPAZ californian's oldschool ambiances to the KGB01 69DB Hit Hat... Xp oldschool i'd say ??

A japaneese production for the newskool underground never die fever !

Enjoy !

Limitierte LP-Neuauflage: rot-goldfarbenes Vinyl, inklusive eines neu gestalteten Posters zum Ausklappen. Unser Album zum 1.Mai. Zum Tag der Arbeit und für den Kater danach. Die Arbeit verändert sich. Roboter ersetzen uns. Der Kapitalismus zerbröselt. Wir brauchen einen neuen Soundtrack - aber wie klingen work songs in einer Zukunft, in der die Natur der Arbeit selbst so unsicher ist? Mit ihrem zweiten Duo-Album Never Work suchen Ariel Sharratt und Mathias Kom (von der kanadischen Garagen-Folk-Band The Burning Hell) nach Antworten. Einige Songs sind Lieder über Arbeiter, andere sind Lieder für Arbeiter, aber die meisten sind beides zugleich. Musikalisch nutzt Never Work die akustischen Elemente eines Old-School-Folk-Revivals (...Guthrie, Seeger, Dylan..) die, tongue-in-cheek, mit Billig Electronica der 80er versponnen werden. Textlich greifen sie Anregungen von Gewerkschaftsaktivisten und situationistischen Witzbolden auf. Alles in allem die richtigen Instrumente, um die sogenannte Gig-Economy, technologischen Feudalismus, Klassenkämpfe, rebellische self-service Geräte und vollautomatisierten Luxuskommunismus zu erkunden. Sharratt und Kom sind vor allem als Teil der kanadischen Garagen-Folk-Band The Burning Hell bekannt. Seit fast einem Jahrzehnt haben sie sich mit ihren smarten, von dunklem Humor geprägten Songs und ihren dynamischen Live-Shows eine solide Fangemeinde erspielt, teilweise mit Freunden im Geiste, wie Jeffrey Lewis oder The Wave Pictures 2016 legten Sharratt und Kom eine erste Pause vom Bandformat ein, um ihre erste Duo-Platte "Don't Believe The Hyperreal" aufzunehmen. Das Album belebte die Atmosphäre klassischer Pop-Folk-Duette der 60er neu und bot eine intimere Seite ihres Songwritings, darunter den Underground-Hit "Fuck The Government, I Love You". Never Work nun gibt ihrem zweifellos charmanten Duett einen neuen Dreh: weg von der Romantik hin zu selbstreflexiven, zuweilen bissigen Betrachtungen von Arbeit in unserer Gesellschaft. Das beinhaltet ihre eigene Position als Musiker, unser Selbstverständnis in einem bröckelnden System von Arbeit, sowie die Rolle des Kapitals, das uns alle weiterhin prägt, auch wenn wir selbst keins besitzen. Never Work ist eine Protest-Playlist für unsere kollektive Reise ins Vergessen oder an den Strand, ernsthaft und ironisch zugleich.

Il Quadro di Troisi presents La Commedia
Everything changes, all things evolve: four years after their eponymous debut, Il Quadro di Troisi return with a new album and a new line-up.

The perfect circle traced by Eva Geist (aka Andrea Noce) and Donato Dozzy (aka Donato Scaramuzzi) becomes a triangle with the permanent addition of Pietro Micioni, who collaborated in the previous recordings and had been part of ll Quadro’s live set.
Nothing stays the same, and the world is a lot different from what it was in 2020. The global crisis generated by the constant escalation of conflict and by the pandemic was mirrored by a time of individual crisis and personal, often irreversible transformation that underscored the entire period of the album’s composition.
The influence of these turbulent times is felt in the writing: La Commedia is about turning a crisis into an opportunity and using change as a catalyst for rebirth. Much like the characters in classic Italian comedies, who are masters in using irony to face life’s hardships, Il Quadro di Troisi explores the vast and unpredictable terrain between the lighter and darker sides of the human experience, matching the magical with the mundane.

La Commedia is about the many facets of life: each song is named after an archetype (e.g. the truth, the night, the Earth, the prophet), as though our existence were a tarot deck and its reading an exercise in collective consciousness.

La Commedia marks the band’s embrace of a more traditional song form, shaped by a very personal and distinctive musical style. The distinguishing elements of Il Quadro di Troisi’s music – classic Italian songwriting with an electronic spin – meld into a unique mix that is both seductive and eerie, elegant and earthy, contemporary and timeless. La Commedia celebrates the band’s cultural roots while constantly moving into new territory, balancing nostalgia with a forward-thinking approach.

La Commedia is a rare gem that confirms Il Quadro di Troisi’s relevance in the international music scene, as demonstrated by the number of top-level artists featured on the album: from Suzanne Ciani, a legend and a pioneer of independent music with a career spanning five decades, to Aimee Portioli, aka Grand River, a Dutch-Italian musician, composer and sound designer based in Berlin, along with Francesca Colombo’s eclectic violin (the de facto “fourth angle” of Il Quadro di Troisi’s frame), Fiona Brice’s strings, cultural agitator and icon of the Roman underground scene Stefano Di Trapani (aka Demented Burrocacao and a member of Trapcoustic and System Hardware Abnormal, among other projects), Maestro Daniele Di Gregorio, an excellent musician and a longtime collaboration of songwriting legend Paolo Conte, and Tommaso Cappellato, whose professional description goes well beyond “drummer” and who has been working with artists like Rabih Beaini and Maurice Louca.
The cover of the album, as well as those of the singles, was designed by Francesco Messina, another icon of Italian music. Messina is a longtime Franco Battiato collaborator and co-author, a cult musician (his Prati Bagnati del Monte Analogo, made in collaboration with Roul Lovisoni, is considered a seminal record by the alternative Italian music scene), as well as a photographer, visual artist and the author of legendary record covers.

Mint Condition - A record label focused on excavating the outer fringes of classic House and Techno. Unreleased mixes, classics, overlooked gems and never heard before material, mined from the last 30+ years of contemporary dance music are the order of the day. From Chicago, Detroit and New York to Manchester, London and beyond. Mint Condition have got their digging hats on to bring you exclusive heat and those rarer than rare jams that have been in your wants list for years. Dig in......

MC065 presents a highly anticipated reissue of Kilowatt's 'The Last EP' – a coveted 4-track compilation featuring a blend of technoid electro-funk and Detroit-inspired house grooves. Originally unleashed on Rob Gretton's legendary Manchester label 'Rob's Records', this EP seamlessly meshes with contemporary sounds and promises an immersive experience on a powerful sound system. Catering to aficionados of the more intricate and funk-infused facets of electronic music, Kilowatt unleashed this underground gem in 1995, earning it a well-deserved cult status among dedicated music explorers and DJs alike. Secure your copy of this exceptionally rare piece of UK musical brilliance now, courtesy of your friends at MC.

All tracks have been lovingly remastered by London's Curve Pusher from the original sources especially for Mint Condition. 100% legit, licensed and released. Dug, remastered, repackaged and brought to you by the caring folks at your favourite reissue label - Mint Condition.

Like the best of them, Daniel Chavez got his start immersing himself in the nightclubs, dingy basements, and record stores of Chicago. Cycling around the South Side with records and a small PA system strapped to his back, he found himself at Smartbar and eventually began slinging records at Gramaphone alongside some of the deepest heads of his generation. Before long, Daniel made the jump to Brooklyn and landed at A-1 Records, while diving further into the global deep house community and soaking up knowledge like a sponge. After sowing seeds in obscurity for many years, Daniel saw the fruits of his labor in 2023 with a debut 12” on Halo’s Muted Noise imprint.

These tracks were designed and refined over the course of a year to meet the strict specifications of the Jewel soundsystem and dancefloor. “Writing on Water” is a submersive, simmering tune that heaves and moans for eight minutes, but could probably go on for an hour. “Terras” strips away the layers to reveal a spacious, floating world supported by a fat, rolling bassline. On the flip, “Spiraling” echoes a feeling of early My Love Is Underground and the New York deep house golden era before it: a time of revolution. Finally, “67th Session” combines space and depth with a simple vibraphone riff that can go off day or night.

Rare as hen's teeth digital dancehall from out of late 80s/early 90s NYC, via Cooly aka Koolindian aka Super Cat's cousin Andrew Maragh, originally released on his own Mad Indian Records - reissued here for Death Is Not The End sub-label 333.

Maragh sang in church choirs and on soundsystems in Jamaica before moving to New York in the 1980s where he quickly became involved on the underground music circuit, taking inspiration from his cousin the legendary Super Cat. "Freedom" was penned while he was incarcerated, and details the unfairness of the judicial system at that time, alongside the heartfelt need to "hustle everyday to make ends meet, whether that's picking up scrap metal or cutting lawns or voicing dubplates, whatever you do to make a dollar", says Maragh.

Having bought an Ampex tape in Manhattan, Maragh headed over to the legendary Philip Smart's HC&F studio on Long Island with the intention of laying down his lyrics on the version to Dennis Brown's "Children of Israel". After hearing the song however, Smart went ahead and built this one-away "Freedom" rhythm on the spot. The track was then carried to Count Shelly's Super Power Records where it was then pressed & distributed as the first and only release on the Mad Indian label around the turn of 1989/1990.

Maybe your demands of punk are a little too high. Maybe they're a little too exacting - you know what you want, but you don't know how to get it. Maybe you've got an itch that's needed scratching since you first heard '(I'm) Stranded' (sounds like a doctor needs to look at that, mind). Maybe all or none of these things are true and you're just in search of three or four chords and some righteous snot. Reader, you have come to the right place. Split System came sauntering out of Melbourne back in 2022 with a self-titled 7" and a debut LP (the sensibly-titled 'Vol. I'), and as a listener of exquisite taste, one or both of those items will have carved out their own spaces within easy access of your record player. With members of acer-than-ace garage punkas Stiff Richards and Speed Week among their number, not to mention the redoubtable Jackson Reid Briggs, they deal in a gloriously back-to-basics take on punk that's part Undertones, part Royal Headache and part Chris Bailey - all hooks and glory, all the time. They're so much more than the sum of their parts and they make this shit sound effortless. Well, here's an update for you: they're back! Second album (the equally-sensibly-titled 'Vol. II') is now upon us, and a thoroughly tremendous follow-up it is too. As soon as opener 'The Wheel' slams into your speakers, it's clear that they've lost none of the pep or power that made their debut such an essential listen; if anything they're even more raucous and revved-up than before. Yep, that's jargon for 'they rule hard', and let me add here that you could listen to this album 100 times in a row or simply try inserting dynamite sticks with lit fuses into your ear canal; either way, your poor little mind is gonna blow. It's an album made entirely of bangers (still on that explosion metaphor, are we?) - the concise questioning of 'End of the Night' is as pure a punk rock nugget as you could ever wish to uncover, and 'The Drain' is just energy distilled to a perfect series of hooks - with a passion for rock'n'roll in its most scintillating form. Just listen to it. That's all you need to do. Your demands have been met - here's your new favourite record.

Following his 2021 debut on the reverse label with Retreat Ites EP and a spot on the Molten Mirrors compilation, Jurango is back on Livity Sound with another four tracks of low-slung soundsystem pressure.

On An Amorphous Mass EP Jurango presents a particularly focused sound which draws on halftime D&B, dancehall and broken techno all filtered through the meditative pulse of low tempo club music. The measured pace of the tracks doesn’t detract from their weight, whether it manifests in the heavy roll of murky opener ‘Big Saver’, ‘Inner Seam’s mutant dembow rhythm or the heady breakbeat chops of the title track. The stripped-back subs and fractured percussion of ‘Muni Ce Boa’ close the record in potent yet understated style, proving minimal music doesn’t have to compromise on impact for the dance.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

tapetopia 010 FO 32 extra hart arbeitendes rastermaterial für kontakt did not emerge from the usual underground milieu – their setting was the base of the 4th Flotilla of the GDR People’s Navy! The propaganda unit PrK 18 had among its recruits some who turned the logistics for agitation against the intentions of the system. Inside a barracks, but under the state radar, the paramilitary music corps FO 32 boarded an NVA studio and recorded industrial tracks and dark ambient. The experimental military band gave an illegal concert; they had previously been heard on the radio programme “Parocktikum”, a pirate gig from the ranks of the People’s Navy on GDR radio. In 1989, a first FO-32 tape was shared among just a few friends. Shortly after, an abridged mix of material was released on the illegal Trash Tape label in an edition of no more than one hundred copies. The vinyl version on tapetopia is based on the original tape. The tapetopia series, using the original layouts and track lists, publishes cassette editions from the GDR underground of the 1980s, especially from the “walled-in” scene in East Berlin. More than three decades after their initial “release”, these tapes have yet to be heard on either vinyl or CD, even though they made an audible mark in the canon of GDR subculture. Despite the tiny original editions of the time, many of the bands were considered cult in countercultural circles, which made them highly suspect in informed circles.

tapetopia 007 Corp Cruid I was the only release of the planned tap series BleiBeil. The tracks were recorded over a longer period of time in 1988 – and in changing constellations that corresponded to the lineup of the East Berlin underground band Ornament & Verbrechen. 30 copies were circulated exclusively among friends. Concerts were not part of the plan, also due to the band’s rejection of a playing permit; there was no interest in being tolerated by the cultural apparatus, which treated projects like Corp Cruid with contempt or even hostility. Even before the GDR collapsed, in November 1989, almost half of the Ornament & Verbrechen musicians had left the country. Ensembles as remote from the state as Corp Cruid sounded like a faint scratch on the Wall of Sound of a hysterical system. The tape survived on a master tape and on a few copies; today the GDR is only its background noise.
The tapetopia series, using the original layouts and track lists, publishes cassette editions from the GDR underground of the 1980s, especially from the “walled-in” scene in East Berlin. More than three decades after their initial “release”, these tapes have yet to be heard on either vinyl or CD, even though they made an audible mark in the canon of GDR subculture. Despite the tiny original editions of the time, many of the bands were considered cult in countercultural circles, which made them highly suspect in informed circles

Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd1 in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road in Kingston.1[2] Amongst its earliest records were "Easy Snappin" by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, and "This Man is Back" by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos.
In the early 1960s, the house band providing backing for the vocalists were the Skatalites[3] (1964–65), whose members (including Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Lester Sterling and Lloyd Brevett) were recruited from the Kingston jazz scene by Dodd. The Skatalites split up in 1965 after Drummond was jailed for murder, and Dodd formed new house band the Soul Brothers (1965–66), later named the Soul Vendors (1967) and Sound Dimension (1967-). From 1965 to 1968 they played 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week, 12 rhythms a day (about 60 rhythms a week) with Jackie Mittoo as music director, Brian Atkinson (1965–1968) on bass, Hux Brown on guitar, Harry Haughton (guitar), Joe Isaacs on drums (1966–1968), Denzel Laing on percussion, and on horns (some initially and some throughout): Roland Alphonso, Dennis 'Ska' Campbell, Bobby Ellis, Lester Sterling, among others on horns during the era of Rock Steady. Headley Bennett, Ernest Ranglin, Vin Gordon and Leroy Sibbles were included among a fluid line-up, to record tracks directed by Jackie Mittoo at Studio One from 1966-1968.
During the night hours at Studio One from 1965-1968, singers like Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Ken Boothe, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bunny Wailer[4] and Johnny Nash, among others, would put on headphones to sing lyrics to original tracks recorded by the Soul Brothers earlier each day. These seminal recordings included "Real Rock" (by Sound Dimension), "Heavy Rock", "Jamaica Underground", "Wakie Wakie", "Lemon Tree", "Hot Shot", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Dancing Mood", and "Creation Rebel".
Jackie Mittoo, Joe Isaacs, and Brian Atkinson left Studio One in 1968, recorded drums and bass for Desmond Dekker's and Toots' biggest hits at other Kingston studios, then moved to Canada. Hux Brown stayed in Jamaica to record on the soundtrack The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, and toured in Nigeria with Toots and the Maytals and Fela Kuti. The Soul Brothers (a.k.a. Sound Dimension) formed the basis of reggae music in the late 1960s, being versioned and re-versioned time after time over decades by musicians like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Snoop Lion, The Clash, String Cheese Incident, UB40, Sublime, and countless other Billboard originals and remakes trying to emulate their original Rock Steady sound at Coxsone's Studio One.
The label and studio were closed when Dodd relocated to New York City in the 1980s.

Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd1 in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road in Kingston.1[2] Amongst its earliest records were "Easy Snappin" by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, and "This Man is Back" by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos.
In the early 1960s, the house band providing backing for the vocalists were the Skatalites[3] (1964–65), whose members (including Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Lester Sterling and Lloyd Brevett) were recruited from the Kingston jazz scene by Dodd. The Skatalites split up in 1965 after Drummond was jailed for murder, and Dodd formed new house band the Soul Brothers (1965–66), later named the Soul Vendors (1967) and Sound Dimension (1967-). From 1965 to 1968 they played 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week, 12 rhythms a day (about 60 rhythms a week) with Jackie Mittoo as music director, Brian Atkinson (1965–1968) on bass, Hux Brown on guitar, Harry Haughton (guitar), Joe Isaacs on drums (1966–1968), Denzel Laing on percussion, and on horns (some initially and some throughout): Roland Alphonso, Dennis 'Ska' Campbell, Bobby Ellis, Lester Sterling, among others on horns during the era of Rock Steady. Headley Bennett, Ernest Ranglin, Vin Gordon and Leroy Sibbles were included among a fluid line-up, to record tracks directed by Jackie Mittoo at Studio One from 1966-1968.
During the night hours at Studio One from 1965-1968, singers like Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Ken Boothe, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bunny Wailer[4] and Johnny Nash, among others, would put on headphones to sing lyrics to original tracks recorded by the Soul Brothers earlier each day. These seminal recordings included "Real Rock" (by Sound Dimension), "Heavy Rock", "Jamaica Underground", "Wakie Wakie", "Lemon Tree", "Hot Shot", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Dancing Mood", and "Creation Rebel".
Jackie Mittoo, Joe Isaacs, and Brian Atkinson left Studio One in 1968, recorded drums and bass for Desmond Dekker's and Toots' biggest hits at other Kingston studios, then moved to Canada. Hux Brown stayed in Jamaica to record on the soundtrack The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, and toured in Nigeria with Toots and the Maytals and Fela Kuti. The Soul Brothers (a.k.a. Sound Dimension) formed the basis of reggae music in the late 1960s, being versioned and re-versioned time after time over decades by musicians like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Snoop Lion, The Clash, String Cheese Incident, UB40, Sublime, and countless other Billboard originals and remakes trying to emulate their original Rock Steady sound at Coxsone's Studio One.
The label and studio were closed when Dodd relocated to New York City in the 1980s.

Reissue des 2018er Debütalbums von Hot Mulligan, eine der vielseitigsten und zutiefst bewegenden Bands des US-Emo-Undergrounds, deren Musik ein kathartischer Aufschrei nach Wachstum einer Generation zukunftsorientierter Mittelwestler ist, die - in den Getrieben eines verrosteten Systems gefangen - verzweifelt nach Hoffnung suchen.

EVERIS'S NEW ALBUM FOR THIS CHRISTMAS 2023

Everis has returned this Christmas with yet another Sell Out vinyl that will make your collection the envy of the Soul Music World!

This new offering by the soul legend Everis entitled, Everis - “Songs in The Key of E”. This limited-edition vinyl album is scheduled for a Christmas 2023 release and features some enormous brand-new tracks. This album comprises of two magnificent award-winning singers, two international rappers, from the US & UK, plus one of the UK’s Biggest Sound System Dance MC’s performing on it. This solid Holiday vinyl smash, see’s Everis deliver exciting vocal performances, with a real feel-good factor, over these tough rehashed and fresh sounding beats that are bound to make you wanna get up and dance, there are 8 solid tracks in all.

Grammy Award winning US singing sensation, Shirley Jones of The Jones Girls, best known for her numerous No:1 hit both here and, in the US, has finally jumped on a record with Everis. She last worked with him on her smash solo album entitled “Shirley” many moons ago, and of late as part of the “Soul Syndicate” crew that remixed her ‘Soul Steppin’ track. Now they have come together on a monster track entitled “This I Know - Filly B Mix (featuring Cam Jones)” which is an absolute club banger for sure, an instant underground hit!

The rest of side A called “This Side” has even more really banging tracks, a Club / House Party smasher entitled, “Come Home Tonight” and the coolest sexiest Neo Soul Vibe titled, “Just Say the Word” with Everis giving a spine-tingling vocal performance that would leave the toughest of you feeling weak. The album also features Everis’s last UK Soul Charts No.1 Christmas hit “What You Doing to Me” which totally sold out in just one day, and had Everis’s name and music heard / played everywhere in the UK, and also earned him yet another award. The album is littered with great music from Mr Smooth from start to finish, with Fresh Cuts too, just take a look.

Brazil's Zopelar continues to make stellar underground dance music and as a result, Techno House Connoisseurs has another hit record on their hands. He launches with FalaSerio into the acid jazz breakbeat stratosphere and doesn't look back as the track weaves, skips, jumps and floats...all with crisp hi's and acid distorting throughout. 808 Dream is exactly as it sounds, mezmerizing, quirky and jacking. Pads warp and drift but not too far, all while the acid worms into your head for that early am mind f*ck. Acid 1 is the peak hour monster that is set to demolish even the most discerning dancefloor. Relentless and unwavering, it's an all out onslaught of acid squelching, percussionistic chaos. This track is not to be denied and will have the walls sweating. Lastly, Zopelar and fellow Brazilain artist RHR collide to deliver an epic acid techno driver in Acid Republic. What a thrill it is hearing this on a proper system, nearly 7 minutes of pure 303 techno hypnosis. Limited 300 copies.

With 2 solo albums («Digital Pixel » in 2016 and « Bass Attack » in 2018 ), a dozen of EPs and more than 800 shows performed all over the globe, the most international French beatmaker in the world of Reggae is back on November 2023 with his brand new album « Step Up », in which he pushes further the fusion between Reggae and Bass Music. With « Step Up » Manudigital made his music evolves toward more electronic and hybrid productions. He navigates between musical genres like no one does, inviting guests from all over the world. Armed with his bass, MPC and synthesiser, Manudigital surrounded himself with no less than 17 hand-picked artists to make his productions their own. « (…) I was already working on my upcoming album and I thought I would keep this small Reggae loop to take it to another style, fully electronic which has given my new album’s DNA » - Manudigital about the track « Step Up » The album opens with the eponymous explosive track « Step Up » featuring veteran Jamaican deejay Joseph Cotton and British Drum & Bass MC Bellyman, author of the successful YouTube video series « Carz Barz ». Among the artists of the British underground musical scene, Reggae/Soul genius Liam Bailey has been invited on the Pop-infused Digital Reggae track « Enough » which will delight the lovers of soulful Reggae. Manudigital also reminds us Reggae has always be his first love and, after having produced Alborosie and Protoje’s hit « Strolling » a few years ago, he proposed the Sicilian MC to collaborate with Jamaican artist Yami Bolo on the track « Reggae Music and Love ». A big tune built upon a classic digital riddim in the Jamaican way, a catchy chorus carried by the high voice of Yami Bolo and the legendary flow of Alborosie of the verses. Cult band Asian Dub Foundation’s singer Ghetto Priest takes also part of the project with « Rasta Corner », MC Caporal Negus joins Manudigital on « Dub and Bass » and on tour, and Jolly Joseph sings on « The world is Hell » for the Reggae Dub tracks of the album. In terms of surprises, Manudigital takes pleasure in inviting benchmark artists in each musical genres, walking through Lo Fi Hip-Hop’s path with the Dancehall President aka Skarra Mucci on « Fi Di Youths », Baile Funk with Punjabi-American rapper Alo Wala and their song « Love on Tap » or even Afrobeat with Dynamq for the last song « Piki Piki ». Finally, whereas Manudigital will soon celebrate his career 10th anniversary and as his name resonates in sound systems from all over the world, we appreciate each risk taken and each nod to Reggae Culture, wondering what his next shape will be. First parts of response on November 17, 2023 with the release of

RIYL: The Fall, Royal Trux, The Dead C, Shirley Collins, ’70s British progressive rock, Dean Blunt.
Throughout their legendary, decade-long run, the Shadow Ring were an enigmatic force on the international musical sub-underground. Before their disbandment in 2002, this shambolic rock outfit, formed by a group of rowdy teenagers in southeast England, left behind a mighty run of eight LPs, a handful of 7"s, and a spate of raucous live shows and cryptic zine appearances on both sides of the Atlantic, all which have bolstered their enduring word-of-mouth mystique. Beginning this year with the first-ever vinyl pressing of the self-released pre-Shadow Ring tape The Cat & Bells Club (1992), Blank Forms Editions is conducting a systematic retrospective of the storied group, including a multi-year LP reissue effort and a forthcoming comprehensive CD box set and an over five hundred page book. Recorded in summer of 1994 at S.H.P studios (frontman Graham Lambkin’s parents’ home), the group’s sophomore record Put the Music In Its Coffin is a more sinister, saturnine affair than their debut City Lights. Coffin was many listeners’ introduction to the Shadow Ring, who had hitherto self-released their music, courting a steady stable of international fans through the magazine and mail-order catalog Forced Exposure. For their follow-up, the duo reached out to the ascending Philadelphia label Siltbreeze, whose eclectic roster of sneering, low-fidelity rock and noise connected disparate subterranean scenes from rust-belt America to the English Midlands, Dunedin, and beyond. As luck would have it, Siltbreeze proprietor Tom Lax was already a fan of the band’s first record and arranged to release both a 7” and their “difficult second album.” The connection proved to run deeper than vinyl within six months, Lax would pick up the pair from the airport for their spring 1995 US tour. This episode marked not only their first trip to the States but their first live performances at all, formally introducing the Shadow Ring to the American underground and solidifying the allure of the Folkestone pair. From the get-go, the record has a menacing, vile ambience. Its opening track “Horse-Meat Cakes,” inspired by an anecdote by pulp author Philip K. Dick about how he and his wife subsisted off low-grade pet food when he first arrived in San Francisco, sets the tone lyrically and sonically. Subsequent tracks are filled with Rabelaisian body horror and sinewy, haptic diction. “I try to pass out vital organs, convinced that they are waste,” intones Lambkin in “Heart, Liver & Lungs,” before a chorus of detuned guitars kicks in, nearly drowning out the speaker’s account of consuming chevaline intestines. Later songs similarly detail vernacular cooking (“Caribbean Porridge,” about a cornmeal hangover cure), bodily processes (“Nocturnal Middle Rumbles,” about nighttime defecation), and creaturely conflict (“Crystal Tears” and “Spin The Animal Dial”). The album’s makeshift percussion and teenaged rawness resembles the verve of City Lights, while its screeching strings and gnarly distorted vocals give it a sparse, miasmic atmosphere that look towards the uncompromising, otherworldly experimentation of the band’s Hold Onto I.D. (1996) and Lighthouse (1997), making this one of the Shadow Ring’s most distilled musical statements

Throughout their legendary, decade-long run, the Shadow Ring were an enigmatic force on the international musical sub-underground. Before their disbandment in 2002, this shambolic rock outfit, formed by a group of rowdy teenagers in southeast England, left behind a mighty run of eight LPs, a handful of 7"s, and a spate of raucous live shows and cryptic zine appearances on both sides of the Atlantic, all which have bolstered their enduring word-of-mouth mystique. Beginning this year with the first-ever vinyl pressing of the self-released pre-Shadow Ring tape The Cat & Bells Club (1992), Blank Forms Editions is conducting a systematic retrospective of the storied group, including a multi-year LP reissue effort and a forthcoming comprehensive CD box set and an over five hundred page book. Recorded and self-released by the group's own Dry Leaf Discs in 1993, City Lights is the debut record of the then duo Graham Lambkin and Darren Harris_an assured arrival statement teeming with stripling angst and ambition. Lifelong chums Lambkin and Harris were barely nineteen and living at home in the seaside town of Folkestone, Kent, with few overhead expenses. The two were freshly employed as a forklift operator at a hardware store and an aide at a home for children with disabilities, respectively, affording them the time and funds to commit to a proper full-length release. Frontman Lambkin describes the album as a "microscopic examination of leisure activities, this time centered around a nightclub," a conceit surging through its lyrics, song titles, cover art (depicting an audience of cats and mice at the Leas Club, a Folkestone fixture), and flip side (replete with fictional bandmates and pseudonymous liner notes). On a recently-acquired secondhand guitar, Lambkin plays repetitive, brooding licks that form the record's backbone, weaving in and out of sync with Harris's free-form percussion and the pair's sing-song poetry. Tracks range from unraveling nursery-rhyme ditties to extended jams awash with Casiotone and toy piano noodling. The duo's musical hobby-horses work themselves in: the influence of Mark E. Smith's breathless deadpan, the headless outer-edges of ESP-Disk's back catalog, the eerie atmospherics of Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa, and the deconstructed rock tunes of the Dunedin scene are all detectable, although there is a sui generis quality to the Shadow Ring's artless temerity. "I've got to see and taste those city lights," intones Lambkin on the album's title track_indeed, this is a record of naked drive and pent-up desperation, and a shimmering glimpse of what's to come. For Fans of The Fall, Royal Trux, The Dead C, Shirley Collins, '70s British progressive rock, Dean Blunt.

Repress with the same visual and the original lackers from one of the ebst Falcom record. A pure Hard Tribe, progressive underground EP. Enjoy !

Repress!

Pressed On Clear Vinyl! To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of UGK's first album, Get On Down goes the extra mile, presenting it for the first time ever on vinyl. AND 2LP clear vinyl at that, giving the strutting, funky grooves the chance to really stretch out on your system. Back in 1992, Southern hip-hop was still proving to the world that it could sustain a fan base that was chiefly raised on rap from New York and LA. The Geto Boys and 2 Live Crew had made strong cases by the earliest '90s, and Pimp C and Bun B were ready to make their own. Most of the trunk-bumping bass comes from drum programs and basic sampling on these tunes - in later years they would build their sound into something even fuller and deeper. Self-produced with additional work from Houston locals Bernie Bismark and Shetoro Henderson, the tracks here are minimal, slow and menacing, which matched their lyrical approach quite nicely. You can hear the beginnings of the group's true greatness in these early lyrical workouts - several taken from the regional cassette-only EP The Southern Way that got them signed to Jive - with tales of street hustles, relationships and self-reliance in a world stacked against them. They may have been done early-on, but that doesn't mean they aren't crucial to UGK's legacy - cases in point being the three singles: Something Good', a charismatic update to Bill Withers' Use Me Up', and Pocket Full Of Stones' (the latter featured on the Menace II Society soundtrack). Beyond the singles, deeper cuts like I'm So Bad,' Feels Like I'm The One Who's Doin' Dope' and Cramping My Style' made it clear to the world that this crew had the attitude and charisma to make even bigger waves in the years to come.

Following nearly 20 years of working together as a trio, and numerous cross-collaborations in different configuration between them, Ideologic Organ presents Placelessness, the debut full-length by Chris Abrahams, Oren Ambarchi, and Robbie Avenaim, comprising two long-form works at juncture of ambient music, minimalism, rigorous experimentalism and improvisation, and machine music. Having carved distinct pathways across a diverse number of musical idioms for decades, Chris Abrahams, Oren Ambarchi, and Robbie Avenaim are each, respectively, among the most noteworthy and groundbreaking figures to have emerged from Australia's thriving experimental music scene. Ambarchi and Avenaim first encountered Abrahams when seeing the Necks - the project that has served as the primary vehicle for his singular approach to the piano since its founding in 1987 - together during the late 1980s, not long after having met in Sydney's underground music community. The pair's collaborations date back more than 35 years, criss-crossing Ambarchi's pioneering solo and ensemble work for guitar and Avenaim's visionary efforts for SARPS (Semi Automated Robotic Percussion System), robotic and kinetic extensions to his drum kit. In 2004, fate brought the three together in a trio performance at the What Is Music? Festival, the annual touring showcase of experimental music founded and run by Ambarchi and Avenaim between 1994-2012. For the nearly two decades since, Abrahams, Ambarchi, and Avenaim have intermittently reformed in exclusively live contexts, in Australia and abroad, cultivating and refining the fertile ground first tilled in that early meeting. Placelessness is the first album to present this remarkable trio's efforts in recorded form. Placelessness is the joining of three highly individualised streams, working in perfect harmony; the point at which friendship, mutual respect, and decades of creative exploration produce a singular spectrum of sound. Featuring Abrahams on piano, Ambarchi on guitar, and Avenaim on drums, the album's two sides draw on each artist's enduring dedication to long-form composition. Its two pieces, Placelessness I and Placelessness II, initially began as a single, 40 minute work, before being divided and reworked into distinct, complimentary gestures for the corresponding sides of the LP. Beginning with restrained clusters of reverberant piano tones, Placelessness I progresses at an almost glacial pace, with Abrahams' interventions increasing met by sparse responses, darting within vast ambiences, on guitar and percussion by Ambarchi and Avenaim. Remarkably conversational within its convergences of tonal, rhythmic, and textural abstraction, over the work's duration a progressive sense of tension unfurls and contracts, refusing release, as each of the ensemble's members contribute to an increasingly tangled sense of density at its resolve. While an entirely autonomous work, Placelessness II rapidly realises a distillation of the energy hinted at across the length of its predecessor. Following a luring passage of harmonious calm, Abrahams' launches into shimmering lines of repeating arpeggios, complimented at each escalation of tempo by Avenaim's machine gun fire percussion work and Ambarchi's masterful delivery of tonality and texture, as the trio collectively generate dense sheets of pointillistic ambience within which individual identity is almost lost, before slowly unspooling into unexpected abstractions and dissonances that deftly intervene with the work's inner logic and calm. What could easily be termed a maximalist take on Minimalism, Placelessness is a masterstroke of contemporary, real time composition, that blurs the boundaries between ambient music, experimentalism, free improvisation, and machine music. Drawing on Chris Abrahams, Oren Ambarchi, and Robbie Avenaim's decades of respective solo and collaborative practice, and the culmination of nearly twenty years of working together as a trio, it's two durational pieces - Placelessness I and Placelessness II - take form with a startling sense of effortlessness and grace, neither shying away from explicit beauty or rigorously tension within their forms.

Bump 'n Grind Wax takes another turn in their vinyl-only exploration into the intersections of dance and sound system music. The Uganda Connect, Swordman Kitala, brings two dancefloor killers straight from Kampala's active underground hip hop and dance scene to this limited edition vinyl-only 7" release on Bump 'n Grind Wax! An MC with heavy influences from dancehall and hip hop traditions, Swordman Kitala has been tearing up leftfield dance-focused productions from cross-genre artists like Tom Blip, Soft-Bodied Humans, and DJ Scotch Egg. With memorable performances and releases with the musical-trendsetting Nyege Nyege Festival, Swordman Kitala's infectious flow pairs perfectly with club-ready tracks, crafting a sound that is being felt in all corners of the world!


The A-Side of BNG-006, "Chidongo", hits straight to the gut with militant drums, off-kilter claps, industrial tones, and rapid-fire lyrics. The elements combine for a rough and tough dance track that will have necks breaking, bodies shaking, and sweat-dripping from your brow as your gun fingers pop off in the dance. B-Side brings the magic man from Richmond, VA, Charles Benjamin, into the fold, with this special edit of Swordman Kitala's "Bade". Swordman Kitala's rudeboy lyrics champion him as the "Uganda Connect" while Charles Benjamin adds the omnipresent low-end, sirens, and wick drum pattern which crescendos towards the end of the track into a dance-ready drum groove that DJs will be looping for years to come.