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Born in Majorca, Marc Melià is a composer/producer, who’s been based in Brussels for over 10 years. First spotted alongside Françoiz Breut, Lonely Drifter Karen or Borja Flames, he released Music for Prophet in 2017. It was issued on Gaspar Claus’s label Les Disques du Festival Permanent, as part of Flavien Berger’s curation.

On that first album, Marc Melià had explored the possibilities of a mythic synth; on Veus, as if sloughing, he applied the process of sound modification to his own voice, until becoming an android. But an android who sings of love and dreams, a sensitive automaton who plays with the tropes of pop music. Through this device, Marc Melià knowingly seeks poetry and beauty within transgenics, in the search of a universe where one can surf though waves of profoundly moving chord patterns, hear voices unconstrained by range limitations, or dance freely, as in zero gravity.

Part of the album has been recorded in Une ferme dans les Vosges, courtesy of Rodolphe Burger. It was recorded with Roméo Poirier, one of the most promising figures of ambient, and the elegant multi-talented Lou Rotzinger. As if progressing in parallel with his own linguistic experience, to add another layer to the sloughing, side A is sung in Catalan, Marc Melià’s mother tongue, and side B in French, his adopted language.

Like an echo to his previous album, Veus opens with an instrumental, “Pulse on a E”, which starts with a sequence created with a single note transposed to its octave, just like “Fata Fou”, the last song on Music for Prophet.

Although the title seems to reference an iconic 80s synth, “DX7” is actually about the seven days of the week. It is a love song, about the temperamental oscillations which make every morning the blank canvas of an unpredictable story. Wednesday, I hate you, Sunday, I love you. With few words and a lot of emotion, a synthetic voice is trying to grow more human each day.

“Dent de Serra” deals with the weight of memory on our relationships, but also with the way we revisit them constantly in order to integrate souvenirs within present relationships. Suddenly, the song stops and enters a new dimension, everything is different, as if what had just happened was now forgotten forever.

Oxytocin (“Oxitocines” in Catalan) is said to be the hormone of love. This song deals in a playful way with the duality between science and faith, between rational and magic, when it comes to sentimental relationships. Love is a universal theme, it is everywhere in the world, and love songs have been written for a very long time. But this particular love song is an ode to an aspect of love that has been less sung about: biology, which makes it possible to feel like you’re floating in space when you fall in love.

“Les étoiles” is a trio with Flavien Berger and Pi Ja Ma. The song is about attraction. What attracts humans to each other, but also the inevitable gravitational attraction. The song is also about accidents, magic moments that take us outside of our daily lives and give us the possibility to imagine a sidereal, infinite love.

“A propos d’une chanson” was born after Marc Melià had dreamed he had written the most beautiful song he’d ever created. When he woke up, he realized that song was actually O Superman by Laurie Anderson.

Aside from these songs, Marc Melià offers a few breaks, instrumental but no less narrative.

“Final d’hivern” conjures these quiet moments between two intense events; sleeping at night between two days; the calm that settles in after a hard winter, right before spring properly starts.

Using a musical language that clearly references Ryuichi Sakamoto, “Romain”, with its theme based on a melancholic chord pattern, could be the soundtrack to a 1970s movie lost in time. Little by little, elements that seem to come from a completely different context find their place, while turning the initial mood into something strange and unexpected.

Finally, “Retorn”, which finishes the album, is a reprise of the theme of “DX7”.

From the chords that make up a song, to the days that make up our lives, existence is but a cycle, and Veus is an exploration of them. Marc Melià keeps on drifting on his personal path, between homage to the past and visions of the future.

MAUGLI blends vibrant sounds and driving rhythms from all over the globe. With a background as a drummer and of various styles, his genre-bending music blends sampling and recording into a lively collage. His crisp arrangements balance an electronic yet organic feeling. His debut album “Alba” (translated from Italian as “sunset“) is inspired by traditional music and the dance rituals of various Afro cultures and their diaspora such as capoeira, work songs or gnawa. While seeking to translate their spirit into the present day, MAUGLI combines these elements with electronic music, wobbling synthesizers and stomping beats. “Ladainha” is a soulful homage to the capoeira culture featuring Professor Chipreu PDM and "Baksheesh" to the rich American blues tradition, with hypnotic synth riffs and chopped up guitar licks resolving in a south african chant (recorded in the late 1950`s). “Mizan” opens with a pounding Guembri (a traditional gnawa three-stringed lute) accompanied by it’s descendant the ’banjo‘, allowing the sampled berber vocals to shine through. “Rawa’s” striking guitar riff is set up against biting synth blobs and piano chords, Nigerian fiddles and chants that swing us deeply into the groove. Get your ticket, for this album is an outernational roundtrip.

Work on 'Fragile' began last August at the height of lockdown. Grill locked himself in the recording studio where he found himself experimenting with new sounds and technologies and was able to learn more about the techniques involved in mixing, production and arrangement. "The aim was to write a physical album maintaining an energy throughout and utilising sounds and structures I'm interested in. Using limitation was a big part of the process to push what I used as far as possible. Reading about Robin Guthrie's breakdown of Cocteau Twins minimal setups across different albums and how Prince distorted the Linn Drum Machine were also inspirations."

Musically, 'Fragile' is a more dance-centric record than 2020's 'Ride', with eleven blistering tracks aimed straight for the dancefloor. From the lush, pulsing synths and blistering beats of 'Another Time', to the hazy, sun-soaked 'Wildflower', Grill seeks to create dance music that is endlessly catchy and hugely uplifting. He draws heavily on a Euro-dance influence in his search for pop perfection with melody instrinsic to each track. The Italo disco sound of Giorgio Moroder is never too far away, climaxing with the pumping 'Crash' while the emotive dance of New Order is echoed in 'Wandering Sky' and 'Romance'.

From a visual perspective, 'Fragile' is inspired by gothic, renaissance art and architecture. The album artwork is a photograph Grill took on Château d'If, a fortress and former prison located on the Île d'If, the smallest island in the Frioul archipelago, a short distance from Marseille in southeastern France.

Oráculo Records joins forces with Wrong Era to release the vinyl debut of the Lithuanian young act Ton Globiter. In between techno, ebm and new beat, his sound is fresh and overwhelming, ready to fire up any dance floor. It includes remixes by Kris Baha and Synths Versus Me to complete a ballistic weapon EP.

British producer Patrick Tipler spent his formative years immersed in psychedelia as a bassist and guitarist in various bands and groups. The arrival of synthesizers –along with his move to Bristol– radically changed his vision of sound and impacted on his musical direction with the force of an asteroid. This shockwave subsequently saw the birth of Delay Grounds.

After releasing the outstanding 'Onomatopoeia' Pressure Dome, 2020 and 'Upcycling' Tropopause, 2021, Delay Grounds’ output has made it clear for all to see that Tipler’s sound design skills are second to none, and with just two releases to his name he has already transformed himself into an artist to watch very closely.

Today Patrick joins the Lapsus crew to present 'Genus', a five track EP that he says "is my most personal release to date, something I've always carried inside and wanted to produce, but had never managed to articulate before". On 'Genus', Delay Grounds preserves the essence of his sound but takes things a step further, with a form ofmaximalist electronica, sprouting powerful torrents of high-pitched and ruff-as-rock avant-techno, glitches and mutant sound elements, combined with sweet and delicate melodies in the purest IDM style. Polishing is provided by sound engineer Nick Earle, with whom Patrick has recorded and remarkably treated a kit of "deconstructed drums" especially for the occasion.

‘Genus’ is 30 minutes of astral travelling, an experience perhaps analogous to what we would feel if we opened a vault, containing music from a lost civilization.

1976 Space jazz-folk masterpiece infused with prog scents from one of the true legends of Argentinian music, latin rock pioneer Litto Nebbia. Floating electric piano, acoustic guitar, female choirs and moog sounds combine with Litto's own voice and create a unique blend of delicate beauty. The use of analogue synthesizers in this conceptual album was a turn in Nebbia's work at the time. A long 7-minute suite opens the album, mixing acoustic textures with synth sounds, setting the grounds for the entire LP. Songs of introspective darkness alternate with other tracks influenced by sunny bossanova, musical passages fueled with epic energy where the voice of Mirtha Defilpo accompanies Nebbia along with the intricate and enveloping instrumental work driven by Daniel Homer's guitars and Litto Nebbia's keyboards. The album draws a complex soundscape made up of an almost infinite number of musical pieces, rich in layers and textures, that - decades after its original release - still stands out for their modernity. "Bazar de los milagros" is undoubtedly one of the most advanced recordings of those

that appeared in Latin America at the end of the 70s. Includes the song 'La Caída', as recently sampled on Jay Electronica/Jay Z's hip-hop hit 'The Neverending Story'. "Bazar de los milagros" has also been listed on Japanese DJ and music expert Chee Shimizu's Obscure Sound guidebook, a must for record collectors.

First vinyl reissue, including a facsimile version of the 32-page booklet that accompanied the original 1976 release, and remastered sound.

Peter Sagar — also known as HOMESHAKE wrote the majority of his fifth studio album, Under the Weather, in 2019, when he was going through a long, unrelenting period of sadness. “I was in a deep, deep depression,” he recalls of that time period now. Sagar and his partner were living in Montreal, and while everyone was out being social, he was inside listening to ambient music, binging Star Trek, and writing songs. (Sound familiar?) “It was a bit of a dark pit,” he says. “That’s kind of what the whole album is about.”

Under the Weather is hazy and moody, the pace slow as syrup, and from beginning to end, a fog falls over every synth and guitar line. “Oftentimes when you’re in a dark place, you’re supposed to journal and that helps release the pressure,” Sagar says. “For me, it always found its way into the music.”

Capturing the cloudy sound of a depressive funk was no simple feat, especially in the headspace Sagar was in for over a year. For that reason, he decided to enlist his friend, Jerry Paper ’s Lucas Nathan, to help with production on the record. Having Nathan contribute helped Sagar dial back some of the “dry, pristine digital sound” that defined his fourth studio album, Helium , and add back personal analog touches that drew people to the HOMESHAKE project in the first place.

As Sagar readies for the album’s release this September, the record he wrote about feeling isolated, alone, and despondent has begun to seem eerily prescient. “I’ve been writing about feeling isolated my whole life,” he says — but with age, he has come to understand them better. “I had a fairly clear idea what the album was going to be like based on where I was emotionally at the time,” he says about Under the Weather . “I just try to make music that is honest about how I’m feeling.”

Deep space Electro! Serbian Electro astronaut Kalson returns to his German base Dominance Electricity. The title track Solarni Sistem, featuring Direct Control, is a broken beat Electro opus with precise sound design, that starts minimalistic und organically builds up to epic spacy Electrofunk. The beatless Synthapella bonus version highlights the beautiful synth work. Next stop is the Taurus constellation, to which Kalson drives the listener with a hypnotizingly slow-paced, melodic beat. Somewhere between dark Synthwave and classic Berlin School, Kalson and H! round up the release with an ambient rendition of a theme from the 1994 Amiga video game Universe ...floating into deep space eternity.

The French electro genius returns to New Flesh Records. Author of a remarkable "Moving Corridors" contribution on the mighty "Elektro Diktators Vol.1 - The French Dissidents" compilation (New Flesh 15) back in 2015, dynArec delivers today on Umwelt's imprint four raw and dystopian slaughters calibrated for maximum impact on the dancefloor.

The title track signs a no nonsense aquatic electro/techno tune a la Drexciya, tinted with melancholic strings and heading Speak n' Spell samples. Pure madness! Cyberpunk "Correlation" goes harder, offering a pounding 4/4 song enhanced by appealing vocoder lyrics and deep synth flights while syncopated "Influoncers" coming next focuses on a more robotic, experimental yet unhealthy approach. Final cut "Clean It Up" concludes the EP on a machine funk note characterised by insane female vocals, distorted chords, relentless bassline and futuristic touch throughout.

Magnetic and emotional, forward thinking "Disenchanted EP" alternates in a minute between very melodic moments and epic hard techno sequences. With roots from both Germany and Detroit, this electro masterpiece sees dynArec in full effect, showing his unique sense of the dancefloor thanks to an incredible use of bass, rhythm and pads that makes the tracks effective and advanced at the same!

Crepuscule presents a brand new collaborative project by Julie Campbell (aka LoneLady), Stephen Mallinder (Wrangler, Cabaret Voltaire) and Benge (Wrangler, John Foxx). Titled Clinker, the first 800 copies of the 6 track mini album have been pressed in turquoise vinyl.

‘The project began a couple of years ago,’ explains Julie. ‘Benge had these great sketches that were beats and synth patterns, so those were the starting point. I really went to town adding lots of guitar layers and experimenting with different sounds. On some tracks the guitar is deft and rhythmic, as if mimicking sequencer patterns. On others it’s a deconstructed noise-based approach - scratching strings, making fitful, heavy chunks, howls and scrapings of noise and texture.’

Due to competing solo commitments for all 3 members the tracks disappeared into hard drive exile for a couple of years. Julie continues: ‘Last year we revisited the mixes and Stephen added his trademark mysterious and menacing vocals. Now we find ourselves with a finished piece of work. I thought of the name Clinker as I love its meaning: 'stony residue from burnt coal'. This seemed liked an apt description of both industrial and creative processes, and a nice nod to the industrial North of England.’

Stand-out tracks include Camouflage and Condition Collapsing. ‘I’d forgotten how liberating it is to play bass guitar on something,’ enthuses Mal. ‘It compliments Julie’s beautifully angular guitar, and Benge and me ripping up live percussion onto the sound of machines… As a collection of tracks these benefited from a lengthy gestation, as they follow no particular trend and were allowed to twist and turn to develop a life of their own. After successive cycles we suddenly drew it all together so the tracks have a sense of completion and identity.’

‘The real fun for me was during the mixing process when Mal and I looked at each other as the rawness of the tracks hit us on the big studio monitors,’ adds Benge. ‘We knew we had something untameable, and wanted to preserve that feeling of edgy rawness in the mixes.’

The cover image is by Julie Campbell, with overall design by Twilight. The vinyl edition comes with a digital copy (MP3).

A jazz musician’s vision of hip-hop’ – The Times

NYC-based rap lyricist and jazz trumpeter Pan Amsterdam returns on Def Pressé with a distinctly fresh sonic swagger on single RETAIL, announcing the P.A.&JSammich EP 4-track EP.

RETAIL exemplifies perfectly the mood of the EP (which sees a very limited vinyl release), four tracks of cheerily ominous storytelling set to synth stabs and trumpet flourishes, with a smattering of personality disorder.
The release follows up BBC 6Music favourite, the GUTS-produced single Carrot Cake, and its mother album, HA Chu.
Carving his own niche of a jazz-rap very different to and darker than its Golden Age cousin, Pan Am’s sophomore LP (“one of the strangest rap works of recent times”, thanks, The Independent) saw him hit the buttons of leftfield hip hop fans and word association enthusiasts.

Ha Chu saw Pan Am reflect on his touring life over the years, from his jazz scene displacement in NYC to becoming a songwriter and bandleader for Iggy Pop under his real life pseudonym, Leron Thomas. HA Chu featured collabs with the aforementioned GUTS, Jason Williams of Sleaford Mods, Malik Crumpler of Madison Washington (and Def Pressé) and Coup Diablo - aka Jimi Goodwin of Doves.
Pan Am’s first album, The Pocket Watch, saw him tour with DJ/producer Mr.Shn and rapper-wrestler/‘What Had Happened Was’ podcast host Open Mike Eagle.

No less than 12 months later arrives ‘Deep Blue View’ – not so much of a follow-up, as a mini-flipside moving the Jazz from AM to PM, between city and sea.
“I originally had AM Jazz down as walking around some New York backstreet at 4am, smoking in a fedora, looking for crimes to solve but it now ends as night begins,” reveals Al, of his latest tale’s gradual evolution. “Deep Blue View is the night-time album now… like losing yourself deeper in the fog, or disappearing in the sea… would someone, or some 'thing' come to save you or would they , or it , come along for the ride?”
Usually by now, Daveyhulme’s own could-be John Barry would have left distractions of success for suburban side-projects and writing with his fellow Mancunian musicians, but AM Jazz left unfinished business - and, with 50 or so session recordings leaving a litter of sonic debris strewn about the cutting room floor, one major clean-up. Deep Blue View is 6 brand new tracks crafted from its reconstructed and revived remnants, unfurling like Sinatra’s Wee Small Hours to reinforce the strangely beautiful atmosphere of Al’s now revered repertoire. “I had the urge to create something new and started playing around with different EPs and pseudonyms but when I sequenced these tracks, I was really happy how smoothly they flowed; it just needed an opener. I quickly wrote ‘Deep Blue View’ and it fell into place. It’s great, so I carried on, knowing it was time to save the best stuff for myself,” Al grins.
Just as AM Jazz was created in the spirit of his earlier working style on debut album Tower of Love, Deep Blue View fuses Al’s love of finding the ‘right’ in the odd, weird, back-to-front and everything in between, with the hi-fi meets lo-fi sounds of his crate-digging curiosity and empathy for TV themes and movie soundtracks. Guided by melody, his home-based sorcery of working with analog, tape and field recordings opposed to the lure of studio mechanics allowed his inner subconscious to tap at the door and reveal itself in new musical forms. “In the studio it’s tempting to turn everything up loud but I’ve got bad tinnitus and don’t want to write anything else in a Beatles style. I have done all that now… at home I have a computer, a microphone and just go crazy and lose myself staring at the screen. Then suddenly loads of music is written.”
Setting his inner autopilot to flight mode, ‘Peppergone’ adds to the tracks’ nocturnal narrative and appears reborn after a last-minute culling from AM Jazz’s initial tracklist. Like a beautifully romantic ode to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, it is a fitting tribute to dearly departed best friend 'Batfinks', written in the middle of a tough night. “I have no idea why or how the song came about because I was so upset to do anything, let alone record any music. But there you go. Somehow I did and it’s a really special thing. I know he would have dug me using his chords; growing up we’d both try to create the perfect chord sequence. This is his idea of that. I hope he doesn’t think it’s shit,” Al jests.
Also revived from AM Jazz’s archive is the simmering groove of ‘Night Talk Late Street’ and instrumental ‘Star Six Seven’, whilst ‘Have Another Cigar’ weaves its own semi-autobiographical fairy-tale with lyrics written and sung by long-time pal and former housemate Aidan Smith. Transformed from backing track into a cool morsel of story pop, it recalls the drunken joy of when the pair would make recordings together between singing the Everly Brothers at full volume. “I’m sure it’s about not wanting the musical party to stop and having to get on with real life,” Al says.
‘String Beat’ meanwhile, soars like a beautiful Bond theme with the shimmer of Lee Hazlewood holidaying in Palm Springs, alongside perhaps, the waltzing string-like synthonies of some long-lost rhythm and blues orchestra of Davyhulme (whose real-life origins reside with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra), introduced to him by Super Furry Animals’ Cian Ciaran. “I’ve never created anything this moody before and have always threatened to do something John Barry-esque with some slightly dark and spooky musical changes.”

Mark Lower is back, and Nervous Records once again hand over the reins to the Nu-Disco prince for his second full length album.

Through a series of high-streaming single releases and high-profile remixes, Mark has firmly established himself as one of the freshest sounds in the ever popular Disco-inspired House Genre.

His relationship with Nervous Records goes back to 2013, when he released his break-out hit “Bad Boys Cry”. Since then Lower has gone on to see his discography on Nervous alone reach over 150M total streams, and he has developed an especially productive relationship with the A&R Director Andrew Salsano where he has full confidence to constantly push the envelope of genre and format to continue to be a creative leader in the industry, knowing the label will stand behind and work in tandem to bring his sounds to the widest audience possible.

It took Mark 7 years (and a break-up) to release a new LP.

On « Blurry Dreams Of You », Mark explores new horizons while also keeping his famous signature sound on a few cuts.

While his first album « Mark Lover » (2014) was 100% made with virtual intruments and synths, « Blurry Dreams Of You » features talented musicians like LEFTI (bass / guitars), Pete Whitfield (live strings) and Edouard Musiala (Sax) among others.

On the vocal side, the album features good friends like Scarlett Quinn, Yota or Alexandra Price, but also the amazing Scavenger Hunt, Adeline, Alena and Leeloo.

Docile Recordings continues with part three of a five cat series. Docile #30, the Alpha Cat ep, was produced, arranged, and crafted on vinyl by Andy Garcia at Archer Record Press in Detroit Michigan U.S.A.. This Docile is a reaction to the stimulus of sight and sound; experiences, people and places inspire a sonic approach steeped in the realization of a moment. Docile aims to capture and release this moment in a minimal style that is its own. The Docile style appropriates noise of any sort to weave into its mello brand of 4/4 digi-o-log techno. Docile will continue until it can not; to shape sound into a spartan beauty.
hese arrangements speak soulfully, whether disruptive or smooth they define a struggle.

A1- brian wilson rides again----- this tribute to a master reflects a studio awareness theory in the breakdown of a minimal “good vibration” . a bass line scales down leading waves of synth and effect to crash upon an ambling kick shifting steady through a western soundscape.

A2-too jada ta’ trotta---the trash can of audio is thrown down the stairs with this haughty mover rocking a rolling crash through digi-glitch symposium.

B1-bumper car cocktail party--- a patchwork rhythms stutter and form together in a ruff and tumble jaunt soothed by a sexy sax that brings the assembly into line.

B2----pong-----crisp hi-hats rotate next to a steady clap complimenting a ponging in various forms under a cloud of dramatic synth calming the animal spirit.

Honing your skills is under-appreciated in times of instant gratification and the continuous stream of music. Rotterdam-based producer Kofi The Unknown subverts this idea and took time for spiritual introspection, studying rhythms and sound production. Where being a late bloomer normally is seen as a sobriquet, the producer, composer and beatmaker wears it as a badge of honour and solidifies it as an honorary title by pinning it to his debut EP on Wicked Wax: The Late Bloomer. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Kofi The Unknown shares his journey that led to The Late Bloomer, an emotional journey through sophisticated dance music, straight from the heart, aimed at the soul and feet.

Highly influential to Kofi’s sound and this EP is London’s Broken Beat scene. Syncopated drums, soulful chords and heavy bass lines work in tandem to emphasise the danceability the genre is known for. This is further solidified by the track Kofi released leading up to this release: One for Motet, an ode to the Broken Beat MC and Jazz Refreshed host Jason Hicks. The Late Bloomer further develops Kofi’s ode, but provides his Rotterdam flavour and brings his Hip Hop and Funk lineage into the mix.

Embrace Mistakes sets the stage for what’s to come in various ways. It is a textbook case of how dance music can tell a story and be introspective. Kofi’s honesty shines bright on the entire EP and strikes from the first kick drum on. It also shouldn’t be hard to recognise and feel the emotion the producer shares on the title track The Late Bloomer. The emotionally-laced chords and crushing drums are reminiscent of late nights at a warehouse or emotional sequences from a dystopian movie.

Staying true to his ethos ’exploring the university that music holds’, Kofi finds this beyond music production as The Late Bloomer provides an audible experience through creative mixing. Stuttering analog synths, enveloping leads, multiple percussion rhythms and off-beat snare rolls hit from all directions of the stereo spectrum, further underlining the sophistication of his merit. While the EP follows the Broken Beat accents on dance, it is an equally mindful listening experience.

Kofi The Unknown is a Rotterdam native producer with a knack for rhythms. His keen ear is informed by mentor and Dutch enigma Trian Kayhatu. While Kofi has taken the time to perfect his skills under the guidance of Trian, the two are simultaneously working on the exciting follow-up project to this debut EP. Without looking too far ahead, enjoy The Late Bloomer. It’s not only a crown jewel Kofi proudly wears, it is also establishing him as a future household name in the sophisticated dance scene. "

"Oscillation associations

This album is titled Os. When I look at the shape of these two letters, O and S, I realize that they are a rotation and an oscillation.

Os is Dutch for Ox. An ox is a castrated male bull. The primary benefit of castrating bull calves is to temper their tempers, making it easier and cheaper for people to handle them. Os is also an abbreviation of oscillation, -cillation being castrated off. Oscillation means a movement back and forth in a regular rhythm, like breathing, push-ups, tides, swinging or sound. For this album Lyckle was not dealing with oxes or bulls, but with oscillations, guiding them through synths, handling their tempers. If I look at the etymology of oscillation, I learn that it stems from the term Oscilla, which were ancient disks depicting a face or animal on each side. Oscilla is a diminutive of os and means ‘little face’. They were hung in trees during religious feasts honoring various deities, as well as being thought of as purifying the air as they swung in the wind.

The wind chime with its little sunny face, smiling on the cover of this record was hanging in the windowsill of Lyckle’s studio, behind his back, where the wind would make it jingle, averting the Evil Eye according to apotropaic magic. In ancient Rome, wind chimes named Tintinnabulum were decorated with a phallus, which was also seen as a good luck charm. Phallic charm also appeared as objects of jewelry such as pendants and finger rings. It has been suggested that some types of phallic pendants were designed to point outwards in the direction of travel in order to face any potential danger or bad luck, nullifying it before it could affect the wearer.

When I take the record itself out of the sleeve, I see that there are two phalluses carved into the surface of the vinyl, like little ornaments. When you start playing the record, they start chasing each other, going round and round. They point in all directions of the room, but are never able to point at each other. Finally, I am told that it is recommended to listen to this record with the window open, allowing sounds from outside to blend in with the music. "

- Bernice Nauta

David Wrench and Evangeline Ling - aka audiobooks - threw
absolutely everything at their 2018 debut album, ‘Now! (in a
minute)’, a hectic, head-spinning blast of freewheeling freak-pop
genius. On its follow-up, ‘Astro Tough’, via Heavenly
Recordings, they’ve somehow found a way to ramp things up
even further, concentrating their chaotic energy and inherent
weirdness into a record that’s bigger, deeper and more powerful
han even its predecessor.
“The first album was a photograph of the beginnings of the
project, recorded without any overall plan,” Wrench explains.
“‘Astro Tough’ is more scripted, but a script that still allowed for
ots of improvised scenes. There was more intention behind the
songs, and a lot more refining. We weren’t precious about
everything being spontaneous and a first take, like on the first
record, even though some of it ended up being that. We made a
ot more material for this record, but chose the tracks that best
worked together as an album.”
Multi-instrumentalist and super-producer Wrench is as
comfortable unleashing monolithic psychedelic wig-outs and
heavy dub-driven monsters as he is crafting irresistible synthpop bangers. Writer, vocalist and visual artist Ling is as
chameleonic as she is charismatic, able to jump from
detachment to rawness to aggression to tenderness to hilarity to
oe-curling awkwardness, sometimes within the same song.
Though the record is a product of increased refinement, the pair
were physically together only in bursts, cramming sessions
around their respectively hectic calendars. “We had much less
time together than on the first record, but every time I did see
David that thirst and the ability to come up with something was
there. I think this record is better than the first record, and I
think we’re dying to make more. We’re going to try and better it
again,” says Ling.
Eco-mix colour vinyl. Black vinyl format (HVNLP183) will be
made available once coloured vinyl is sold out.

Clear Vinyl

Paula proceeded to question each dot down that wave and each answer led her back cross the river, up the ruler which measured her life.

Remixes by Cignol, Vertical67, Sound Synthesis, 36

limpe fuchs' first solo record came about by accident. initially, christoph heemann invited the famous anima duo to do a studio record in his home-town aachen, but paul fuchs decided not to join in, so limpe went on her own - and the recording sessions taking place in late 1986 and early 1987 turned out to become "via", limpe's first solo-record and the (visible) starting point of her ongoing exceptional career as an internationally performing, independent female improviser. besides a plethora of (partly self-built) acoustic instruments that can also be heard on her legendary anima (music) records, such as violin, saw blade, chimes, wood block and limpe's unmistakable unique vocals, "via" featured a korg-synthesizer, that drew limpe's attention in the studio and she decided to give it a try and recorded a lot of electronic music for "via" - and in all the years to follow since then she never got near the instrument again; neither for studio recordings nor live performances . fast forward to 2015: after not having met christoph heemann for many years, they got in contact again and performed selected dates (as macchia forest together with timo van luijk) when he proposed to limpe another korg-synthesizer recording. not having touched the instruments in decades limpe was reluctant at first but warmed up to the idea eventually and improvised a wonderfully meditative and soulful electronic piece of music. she also recorded five of her pendulum strings exclusively for the first time (with a bit of vocals, too) - huge self-built instruments of various size with an amazing sound rich of oscillating overtones. the both side-long recordings - one side korg, one side pendulum strings - featured on "solaia" are a visceral document of limpe fuchs' artistic versatility and musical sensibilities. it's fair to say: the spirit of her musical approach is captured perfectly on this new studio-album (mixed and mastered by her son zoro babel), which is released in conjunction with a first-time re-release of "via" - both to celebrate her long-standing musical career (and her eightieth birthday). "via" and "solaia" are available now as two separate lp's. both records are released in an edition of 300 copies and accompanied by a 30-page longform interview with limpe fuchs and christoph heemann to give an insight in their collaborative history and portray limpe's outstanding artistry.

limpe fuchs' first solo record came about by accident. initially, christoph heemann invited the famous anima duo to do a studio record in his home-town aachen, but paul fuchs decided not to join in, so limpe went on her own - and the recording sessions taking place in late 1986 and early 1987 turned out to become "via", limpe's first solo-record and the (visible) starting point of her ongoing exceptional career as an internationally performing, independent female improviser. besides a plethora of (partly self-built) acoustic instruments that can also be heard on her legendary anima (music) records, such as violin, saw blade, chimes, wood block and limpe's unmistakable unique vocals, "via" featured a korg-synthesizer, that drew limpe's attention in the studio and she decided to give it a try and recorded a lot of electronic music for "via" - and in all the years to follow since then she never got near the instrument again; neither for studio recordings nor live performances . fast forward to 2015: after not having met christoph heemann for many years, they got in contact again and performed selected dates (as macchia forest together with timo van luijk) when he proposed to limpe another korg-synthesizer recording. not having touched the instruments in decades limpe was reluctant at first but warmed up to the idea eventually and improvised a wonderfully meditative and soulful electronic piece of music. she also recorded five of her pendulum strings exclusively for the first time (with a bit of vocals, too) - huge self-built instruments of various size with an amazing sound rich of oscillating overtones. the both side-long recordings - one side korg, one side pendulum strings - featured on "solaia" are a visceral document of limpe fuchs' artistic versatility and musical sensibilities. it's fair to say: the spirit of her musical approach is captured perfectly on this new studio-album (mixed and mastered by her son zoro babel), which is released in conjunction with a first-time re-release of "via" - both to celebrate her long-standing musical career (and her eightieth birthday). "via" and "solaia" are available now as two separate lp's. both records are released in an edition of 300 copies and accompanied by a 30-page longform interview with limpe fuchs and christoph heemann to give an insight in their collaborative history and portray limpe's outstanding artistry.

Dans le Sable is the first new album in over 40 years by composer, pianist, and digital audio pioneer Loren Rush (b. 1935). Active in the Bay Area new music scene since the late 1950s alongside composers such as Robert Erickson and Pauline Oliveros, he also co-founded the Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics in 1975. His music has been performed by the Boston Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra amongst others.

The title piece "Dans le Sable" (1967-68, 70) covers the first side of the record, of which Charles Shere in the Oakland Tribune (1972) writes: “A surreal opera scene. A narrator dwells on the significance of passing time. A soprano sings Barbarina's cabaletta from Figaro, which describes her distraught search in the sand for a lost pin. The chamber orchestra—mostly solo instruments—plays soft, half-forgotten tunes reminiscent of the Parisian music hall. If Marcel Duchamp wanted to put painting once more at the service of the mind, so did Rush seem to want to make a composition that speaks directly to that thing behind the mind—the point where it connects with the soul. And he succeeded. But only because the work is so brilliantly constructed, so careful in its structure and the timing of its phrases, so well balanced in the disposition of its parts that it quite overcomes the audience.”

The second piece on the album “Song and Dance” begins with the watery held tones of “Song.” Melancholy phrases are deconstructed and stretched in different retellings, invoking a harmonic fog. We are then thrust into “Dance,” one of the first orchestral pieces to employ computer-generated digital synthesis. A hypnotic and percussive march is propelled into a storm of early computer-processed cannonades.

Recital is proud to now illuminate the deeply overlooked composer Loren Rush, whose meticulous attention to detail has perhaps kept his toiled-upon works in the shadows these past decades. Dans le Sable is among the most gorgeous records I have heard.

With 10 years in the 'biz' firmly under his belt, Jiah Wells is poised to release the first full-length LP of his Galtier project, Pulchra Es Elementis. Whilst Galtier is arguably one of the originators of the percussive style that would eventually fall under the Hard Drum label, the heightened theatrics of his recent output have seen him channel Blade Runner-styled sonics and move further away from absolute club functionality. Whilst Galtier's output often seems to soundtrack hypothetical, off-planet words, Pulchra Es Elementis turns the focus inwards: towards Wells' own emotional constellation, his evolving spirituality and his attempts to tap into planes of existence beyond the tangible. The album's Latin title translates to 'Elements are Beautiful' and encapsulates the artist's belief that there is grace in all of life's aspects; pushing past what we deem as good or bad, minuscule or massive.

Pulchra Es Elementis begins with Crystalised Larva, a brooding opener of breathy pad synths and expansive kick drums which reverberate through the mix as if the hits originate from the bottom of a valley. There's an indistinct sense of tension on this track, in part due to a central melody, which never resolves but only descends lower in pitch. This tension turns to explorative wonder on Wilfull Saviour, where a mirage of musical ideas come in and out of focus. Although the sonic worlds Galtier explores are internal to him, Wilfull Saviour still possesses that sense of a cosmic journey we've come to expect from Wells; an ardent fan of dystopian films and literature.

Continuing this emotional odyssey, Bruised, But Not Broken sees the artist push deeper into the psychological undergrowth; its murky tonality juxtaposes crisp, Reggaeton-inspired drum patterns with a heavily compressed one-note synth line that modulates wildly - cutting through the mix like a nagging thought that won't leave your mind. Next up is U Were, U Are & What U Will Be, one of the more club-ready tracks of the LP, which gets us moving with a snarling bassline and layers upon layers of percussive hits and inflections.

At Pulchra Es Elementis' mid-point is the LP's title track, a drumless interlude where blissful, shimmering synths create a patchwork of intensities. Galtier's approach to songwriting shines through here; ignoring musical pragmatics, he opts to feel his way through his compositions without knowing where they might end up. Following on from that weightless breather, Phantasiai turns up the freneticism with its head-spinning mix of drum programming and a glitched-out synth line that yo-yos up and down octaves. Things get even more furious on the Superficie-featuring Cavernam, a hollow Hard Drum banger inspired by Eskibeat sensibilities and designed to create a sense of self-implosion.

The album's penultimate track, (U Are) Beautiful, is a tale of two halves: beginning with a moment of serenity as synthesizers swell like an ocean tide before evolving into a marching crescendo of raw energy. Rounding off the album, Shine Forth hurtles through pacey drum work and all manner of strange zaps and klaxons before giving way to a final dose of nebulous ambience.

A musical journey unlike any other 'club music' albums, Pulchra Es Elementis is an LP that demands to be consumed in one sitting. Reflecting on his place within the universe and the musical landscape, the album could be viewed as a musical exorcism which sees Galtier working through and shedding huge chunks of his ego that stuck to him out of fear of the unknown. Pulchra Es Elementis begins on an insecure, overwhelming or, even, existential note before rounding off with a related sense of vastness seen with new, more positive eyes. It's a voyage we hope you will join him on.

Stuart Evans, aka Sordid Sound System is one of the founders of The Green Door Studio, a not for profit, analogue recording studio in Glasgow which emerged from an increasing disillusionment with the modern ways of music production. His sound holds outsider qualities, being everything but generic and predictable, mixing dub with movie soundtracks in the tradition of Carpenter and Italian likes.

On this 7” released on Höga Nord Rekords, SSS deconstructs and rebuilds music in an imaginative style, pairing tribe-ritual “back to ape”-beats with synthesized cosmic harmonies. In a way, we are enjoying straight up dub here but this record is also a display of the vivid and creative Glasgow scene centred round “The Green door studio” and record labels like “Invisible Ink” where krautrock and 80’s/90’s electronic music is part of the foundation. Boundless joy for every girl and boy!

This summer, Saft welcomes Dubbyman after a three-year hiatus from releasing music. He serves up a gorgeous new EP in the SAFTX series that features a remix from Detroit mainstay FIT Siegel.

Dubbyman is a master of the deep. As a DJ and producer, he explores warm and heady soundscapes that are rooted in house and techno but decorated with much more. His musical synths and compelling rhythms have resulted in countless vital EPs on labels like Ferrispark, Soul People Music and the Deep Explorer label he co-runs. Now, after a break, he is back and in brilliant form.

Opener 'En La Ciudad' is an effortlessly loose and languid house track. The hip-swinging claps and funk bass riffs bring a sunset vibe, with wordless vocals from Carlito Brigante Rojo and dreamy pads really soothing the soul. Remixing is legendary FIT Sound label head, FXHE associate and pillar of the Motor City scene FIT Siegel. His famously no-nonsense approach results in a track here that is laced up with smoky soul. The dusty beats roll deep, the twisted synth work brings light and lush pads soften the whole groove with a real sense of heart.

"Up Again" strikes another perfectly seductive pose with its jazzy keys, soulful vocals, and rough-edged beats that make you want to dance. It's a tune packed with feelings and irresistible funk, and is sure to be the soundtrack to many outdoor parties this summer. The Deep Explorer Mix is a little more direct, with dynamic house drums, sunkissed motifs and warm pads taking you straight to the Mediterranean. Last of all, "Tropic" featuring Arturo Sanchidrian on bass is a downtempo classic, with beachy vibes, gently breaking synth waves and soft-focus melodies sinking you deep into a
reverie.

This is an EP of life-affirming, heart-warming house sounds that take you to a better place.

Ancient Africa represents Nat Birchall’s official follow-up to last year’s universally acclaimed Mysticism of Sound.

Nat once again plays all the instruments here, tenor and soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, bass, drums and percussion. But this time around the Korg synth is replaced by piano as

Nat wanted to utilise a more “classic” Jazz sound to express his musical visions. He has also arranged the songs for multiple horns, with melodies and harmonies played by up to five different instruments to achieve a fuller and often glorious sound.

An exception to this is Mirror Mind, a ‘duet’ featuring tenor saxophone and piano, hence the title.

With most of his compositions Nat tends to come up with titles depending on the thoughts or images the music manifests within him as he listens back to the recording.

The title track conjures up images of an African sunrise, the horns perhaps invoking the sun as it begins to illuminate the land which was the origin of the human story on Earth.

“Africa is the root of everything, and is the source of civilization, art, music, you name it.”

Paladins is so titled for the African heroes of the past and the present, in all walks of life, social, political, the arts etc.

“Anyone who fights against oppression, whether it be through activism or art, not only in Africa but throughout the whole diaspora, is a Paladin in my book.”



Song for John Blanke is named for the African trumpeter who played in the court of Henry VIII. The horn line sounding

a little like a fanfare, but in a lower register than the Tudor trumpets might have played for the court of the king!

Malidoma is named in honour of the African writer Malidoma Patrice Some. His excellent book ‘Of Water and The Spirit’ is a deeply

moving and illuminating narrative of his life’s journey. From his abduction by Jesuit priests at an early age from his village in Burkina Faso to

his being reunited with his people and subsequent assignment to spread his people’s ancient knowledge to the Western world.

The final song, Ancestral Dance, is a musical reminder to both celebrate life as and when the occasion demands, but also to not forget where we came from, as individuals and as a species.

UK multi-instrumentalist and story-teller Mara Simpson's new album In This Place will be released on September 24th, 2021. A heady blend of alt-folk, analogue synth and classical composition, In This Place is a tale of quiet rebellion, and taking back control. Fittingly, the new album marks the start of another new journey for Mara. In This Place will be the first record to be released on Downfield Records, a non-profit imprint set up by Simpson, placing artists at it’s centre. “I want to try and promote transparency and equality, assist other artists to get public funding and to ‘pay’ forward the time and resources I’ve benefited from,” she says. The label’s mission is to see musicians paid fairly and release records through a creative and joyous process.

Whilst the struggles of 2020 will go down in history, for Mara it was 2019 that was the tough one. A year spent consumed by worry, whilst in and out of hospital with her one year old daughter, had left Mara feeling like she was playing a constant game of catch up with a world that wouldn’t slow down. With songs ready to be recorded for her new album, she headed into the studio. “I stepped into the studio not needing my hand held, just my voice heard” explains Mara, who quickly came to the realisation that she was working in a toxic environment. Enough was enough

It was whilst waiting for a train that she had the sudden realisation that the album she was recording would never see the light of day. Struck by an overwhelming feeling of failure, Mara began to ruminate on the time and money she had wasted but then something clicked. “Perhaps it’s something about train stations, the coming and the goings, that allows a stagnating frame of mind the grace and space to clear” she says. “The funny thing is, upon realising failure, the despair I’d been feeling was now replaced with something else...Relief”.

Feeling re-energised, Mara called her dream producer Ellie Mason, of Voka Gentle, and together the pair began working on a new record. “I’ve been more hands-on with this album than I’ve ever been, taking a much more active role in production. Throughout the whole process Ellie has heard my voice, and been open to any possibility” explains Mara. “We’ve stumbled across golden moments, recording four part harmonies in Brighton’s oldest church, using every drum there is in Brighton Electric, layering New Zealand bird song with tape delayed piano, all thanks to her nurture, playfulness and kindness” she continues.

Album opener ‘Serena’, named after the apartment building in Brighton where Mara’s daughter was born, is based on the experience of becoming a mother and the responsibility of making important healthcare decisions. “How will I know how to love you” she sings over undulating synths and sparse piano chords. Title-track ‘In This Place’ is about the confrontation between mother and new-born child. The ‘sizing-up’ of one another as they embark on a new journey together. “When I left home to travel around the world and was so worried about breaking my Mum’s heart,” says Mara. “I just remember her saying that your children are never yours to keep. This is a song about the rawest of loves, and the fact that however much we love someone, they are never ours, and the beauty in that.”

In addition to the experience of motherhood, the songs on In This Place take inspiration from a wide range of places, including Mara’s ‘second home’ New Zealand. ‘Christchurch’, written in response to the Christchurch Mosque shootings in 2019, layers New Zealand birdsong on top of swirling piano and moving choral vocals. ‘Fault Lines’ was inspired by The Waitangi treaty. Signed in 1840 in New Zealand by the British Crown and Maori chiefs. The British understood that the Maori were signing over land that the British could now govern and effectively ‘own’, however to the Maori people it is impossible to own land, in the same way that you can’t ‘own’ air. “We live and die, the land remains and we are just it’s keepers for the very short time we are here. This song is about us not owning this earth - how can we? We are only the guardians of it while we are here” says Mara.

Backed by a band of accomplished musicians (Jools Owen (Bears Den) on drums, James Smith (Anaïs Mitchell) on banjo, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres on clarinet and strings by Poppy Ackroyd) on In This Place, Mara sounds the most confident she’s ever sounded. With her new material, Mara Simpson hopes to promote a gentle, yet radical shift toward kindness and it’s this warmth that can be both heard and felt across her new record.

Effortlessly hopscotching between vintage acid and 80s Rn’B, insouciant Francophone pop and twinkling electro house, Lou Hayter has delivered something at once utterly unique and defiantly timeless with her much anticipated debut solo LP, released on Skint Records. It has been a long time coming for London native Hayter, who first made her mark professionally as keyboardist for New Young Pony Club, one of THE bands at the epicentre of the white hot day-glo nu rave scene alongside the likes of the Klaxons and Test Icicles in 2006. But, to fully place her debut album in context, it is necessary to rewind a little bit – to the very beginning in fact, with Hayter growing up on a diet of Bowie, Prince, Human League and Jellybean-era Madonna while concomitantly learning classical piano from the age of five. The flames of this deliciously varied musical palette were further stoked by trips to record shops in Soho with her brother (Soul Jazz was a particular obsession), but it was while studying in Cambridge that the match was well and truly struck – she used her student grant to buy a set of Technics and started putting on club nights, before moving to London and working at Trevor Jackson’s seminal Output Recordings, placing Hayter smack bang in the middle of all the action, with disco punk fever hitting full force and bands like the Rapture and LCD Soundsystem first breaking out.

The hugely successful, Mercury-nominated New Young Pony Club followed shortly after, but it’s through her subsequent output that she started to distil and refine her idiosyncratic tastes. And certainly, you can hear hints of both the New Sins, the 80’s New Wave duo she formed with Nick Phillips, and Tomorrow’s World, the swooning Gallic pop act she fronts alongside Air’s JB Dunckel, in her remarkable debut. Full to bursting with evocative electro-soul love letters to her home town of London alongside addictive disco torch ballads, it’s like Kylie meeting Mr Fingers or, Jam & Lewis producing Jane Birkin – something beautiful and melancholic yet sharply modern and new. From the warm, woozy, lysergic harmonies of opener “Cherry on Top”, which sound like a beloved old cassette unravelling, to the fizzy, infectious “Cold Feet”, which calls to mind Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam at their most heartworn, taken in toto the album perfectly nails the essence of gorgeously nostalgic synth-pop with a twist; crisp, stylish and sophisticated music which heralds the next chapter of Lou Hayter quite nicely, actually. Her retro-futuristic results will give 2021 the pop fix it so desperately needs.

Light Blue Vinyl

**Tracks 'Sixth Sequence' and 'Tenth Sequence' are bonus tracks & exclusive to the vinyl release only.** limited transparent green vinyl LP

Past Inside The Present is pleased to announce 'Wave Variations' which is a new mini-album by veteran ambient producer Dennis Huddleston AKA 36.

36 has often enjoyed exploring self-imposed restrictions, as it forces him to be creative, while allowing an inherently coherent sound between the different compositions. All the arrangements on Wave Variations use a limited pallete of mostly synth-based sounds, with particular focus on keys and melodies. Each track directly influenced the next one.

Dennis has kept almost every track around three minutes in length. He states, 'I feel like a lot of ambient music (including my own) is often unnecessarily long and these small vignettes work as a nice counter to that. Don't expect long build-ups or over-extended crescendos; These are short tracks that take you straight to Elysium and then dissolve into the ether.'

He further explains the output of Wave Variations, 'Ocean tides inspired the album. I think we've all felt that sense of longing and wonder while standing at the beach, staring at the waves and gazing into the endless horizon. I think it's something that transcends all generations of people. Like the waves, these tracks leave as quickly as they arrive. I feel it's one of the most minimal records I have made, with far fewer individual sound sources at my disposal. It keeps me on my toes and forces me to deeply explore the instruments I have available to me.'

This stripped-back sound gives the album a hypnotic quality to it. Like much of Dennis' work, there is a delicate balance between melancholic melodies and rich textures, resulting in an understated yet deeply exhilarating sound. Fans of emotional, melodic ambient music should find plenty to enjoy.

Exceptional recordings by this New age maestro. Only recently re-discovered by his friend JD emmanuel & the band Sun Araw. Originally released on cassette in 1983 and now for the first time vailable on 180g Vinyl. For fans of Joanna Brouk, JD Emmanuel and Pauline-Anna Strom.

Randall McClellan was a founding member of the electronic music studio at the Eastman School of Music in 1967 where he later received a Ph.D. in Composition, Theory and Musicology. A growing interest in North Indian music and vocal technique prompted him to develop his personal compositional practice into an active platform for inducing altered states of mind. He constructed his concerts to be spaces for harmonization of mind and body through a musical practice informed by his esoteric studies of ancient mystery schools and sacred geometry, believing these to be primarily teachings on intentional resonance.

These performances were given between 1977 and 1983 in semi-darkened spaces that allowed listeners to relax on carpeting while being enveloped by sound. Each improvisation lasts from twenty-five to forty-five minutes. An entire performance is up to three hours and is designed to provide an environment of meditative sound. They gained in popularity and were soon attended by larger audiences. His final live performance took place at New York City's Alternative Museum in October, 1983.

The “Music of Rana” Enviromental Series uses synthesizers, drone box, tamboura, voice and tape delay to create an environment of continuously evolving multi-layered melody. Described as subtle, graceful and of other worlds. The name RANA, meaning “Sunbreath”, has its origin in ancient philosophical concepts that recognized vibration as the fundamental creative force and central principle of the many esoteric mystery schools of the ancient world. It is now evident that the use of music for its ability to alter mind states and for its effectiveness as a therapeutic aid was music’s original purpose and an important concept of these mystery schools. In the broadest sense, the practice of music for its healing ability may well stand as our oldest continuous musical tradition.

This album is the first volume in the series, previously issued as a cassette in 1983, and part of the cassette box set published by Sun Ark in 2013. This music is based on principles outlined in Randall’s book, The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory and Practice. These compositions are selected for their meditational and healing abilities. EQ settings of treble and bass levels determine the music's effect upon you. Please explore until the most comfortable settings are found.

FACT MAG: "These deeply meditative pieces are an expert take on how subtleties and concentrated listening go hand-in-hand. There is inherent beauty here, but it’s the deeper aspects that make the biggest impact."

Exceptional recordings by this New age maestro. Only recently re-discovered by his friend JD emmanuel & the band Sun Araw. Originally released on cassette in 1983 and now for the first time vailable on 180g Vinyl. For fans of Joanna Brouk, JD Emmanuel and Pauline-Anna Strom.

Randall McClellan was a founding member of the electronic music studio at the Eastman School of Music in 1967 where he later received a Ph.D. in Composition, Theory and Musicology. A growing interest in North Indian music and vocal technique prompted him to develop his personal compositional practice into an active platform for inducing altered states of mind. He constructed his concerts to be spaces for harmonization of mind and body through a musical practice informed by his esoteric studies of ancient mystery schools and sacred geometry, believing these to be primarily teachings on intentional resonance.

These performances were given between 1977 and 1983 in semi-darkened spaces that allowed listeners to relax on carpeting while being enveloped by sound. Each improvisation lasts from twenty-five to forty-five minutes. An entire performance is up to three hours and is designed to provide an environment of meditative sound. They gained in popularity and were soon attended by larger audiences. His final live performance took place at New York City's Alternative Museum in October, 1983.

The “Music of Rana” Enviromental Series uses synthesizers, drone box, tamboura, voice and tape delay to create an environment of continuously evolving multi-layered melody. Described as subtle, graceful and of other worlds. The name RANA, meaning “Sunbreath”, has its origin in ancient philosophical concepts that recognized vibration as the fundamental creative force and central principle of the many esoteric mystery schools of the ancient world. It is now evident that the use of music for its ability to alter mind states and for its effectiveness as a therapeutic aid was music’s original purpose and an important concept of these mystery schools. In the broadest sense, the practice of music for its healing ability may well stand as our oldest continuous musical tradition.

This album is the first volume in the series, previously issued as a cassette in 1983, and part of the cassette box set published by Sun Ark in 2013. This music is based on principles outlined in Randall’s book, The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory and Practice. These compositions are selected for their meditational and healing abilities. EQ settings of treble and bass levels determine the music's effect upon you. Please explore until the most comfortable settings are found.

FACT MAG: "These deeply meditative pieces are an expert take on how subtleties and concentrated listening go hand-in-hand. There is inherent beauty here, but it’s the deeper aspects that make the biggest impact."

Andy Compton is undisputedly one of the hardest working producers in dance music. With over 40 albums and 150 EPs released either solo or as part of deep house legends The Rurals, the Bristol-based producer just can't stop creating profoundly funky and vibey music that works on loose-limbed dancefloors, beach bars and shag carpets alike.
He has appeared regularly on quality labels as diverse as Lumberjacks In Hell, Hed Kandi, LARGE and naturally, his own vital imprint Peng.

Andy's latest long player for Tangential Music is a collaboration with LA artists Irantzu Pujadas and Brad Kent under the name Blue Dream.
Aptly titled: 'A Trip To LA' the album is a deliciously louche and laidback twelve tracker of pure LA heat. The project began as many great ones do, without a plan. Visiting Brad's studio to check out his huge vintage analogue synth collection in search of new sounds for The Rurals, they got to thinking...and jamming. With Brad on the dusty old drum machines, Irantzu on the microphone and Andy in synthesiser heaven, Blue Dream was born.

Their first and equally good album 'California Dreaming' was released on Peng in early 2019 and now we are here with a second round of perfectly realised dream-like grooves. Think of the sun-facing vibes of Shuggie Otis, Eddie Chacon, Bobby Caldwell or Roy Ayers at his most relaxed and add a passionate knowledge and experienced grasp of electronic forms. They make this seem easy goddammit.

'I Wanted To See You' sounds like Khruangbin with a 303, 'You Want Me Back' with its mid-tempo shuffling groove, saucy squidge bass line and seductive soul house vocal is pure daytime at Houghton Festival happiness, like Crazy P in the hot tub.

At no point are we required to sweat. Lie down if you must, stand up and sway if you're ready. This could be lovers music or just for you alone. Irantzu's vocals throughout are whispers and purrs, evocations of humid love drenched in reverb and easy living. Sunset music.

The singles 'I Wanna Go Home' and 'Sandwich Dub' don't deviate far from the endless feeling of hazy cinematic sunshine, one a sultry plea for intimacy, the other a heavily dubbed-out slice of musique française amour.
'Trip To LA' with a vocal more than suggestive of the Balearic classic 'Sueno Latino', spare guitar chords and a prodding repetitive bass line creates a feeling of slinky bliss.

Every track is full of sensual melodies and the space required to be truly funky. Press play and invite a bit of California magic in...

New school techno star Lee Ann Roberts continues to light up 2021 with another brand new single on her own NowNow Records. Her standout original is backed by remixes from MRD and D.A.V.E. The Drummer.

This year already belongs to South African-born, Amsterdam-based Lee Ann Roberts. Her new label has had high-profile support from tastemakers like Charlotte de Witte & Ken Ishii, and is already well known for its off-grid techno sounds. Roberts herself debuted only last year on Suara. She immediately hit the number 2 spot on the Beatport Hard Techno chart and followed up with more on Octopus Warehouse Series. She has played festivals like Caprices this year and is lined up for BPM as well as plenty more headline gigs.

The excellent 'Feel' is a nine-minute, hard-edged roller. The drums are flat-footed and unrelenting, the synths bring turbulence and dark vocals add dystopian unease. The edgy textures and caustic pads make for a visceral groove that is perfectly designed for shadowy warehouse spaces. An Acid Trip Mix sees the track erupt on wild acid lines that spray about the mix and cannot fail to blow up the dance floor.

Remixer MRD hails from Norway and has released plenty of EPs and an album in a short space of time. He has a ferocious sound that fuses new wave, hardcore and banging techno as evidenced here. His version is break-neck techno with trance pads lighting up the airwaves in euphoric fashion.

The second remixer is the legendary London techno titan and label boss D.A.V.E. The Drummer. He heads up Hydraulix Records and Apex Recordings and always brings the fire. His take on 'Feel' is a wall-rattling banger with oversized bass. Saw-tooth synths rip up the track while the stark, strobe-lit stabs and some buried vocals make the floor sweat.

Belgium's Milo Spykers pays homage to his homeland with "Belgian Bass" EP, featuring four old school rave cuts set for release on his resident label,Lenske Records.

Part of the Lenske family since its inception, DJ/Producer Milo Spykers returns to Lenske Records for his fourth EP on the Belgian label. Packed with four explosive tracks, the EP marks another stand-out release for Spykers following his "Accelerator" EP last summer.

Kicking off with authority is the thunderous opening track "Stainless Steel", armed with a marching kickdrum and whompy bass. The track breaks down midwa yto give way to a weighted synth melody and flared hi hats that conjoin with a triad of melodic themes, creating an intoxicating blend of rhythm and sound. Next up and packed with explosive pairings is "Blood Hound". Taunting synths and a punching kick create a propulsive rhythm. More chaotic than its predecessor, an array of drums are used to raise the intensity. Sinister synth notes blend seamlessly with the dramatic percussion that feels custom built for dark, thumping techno basements.

On the flip is title track "Belgian Bass", a high voltage stomper with a powerful kick, jackin' rhythm and metallic textures. Siren like synths sound out amongst powerful snares and cymbals. Creating an almost cinematic feeling, the track is brilliantly hectic, broken up by a solitary clap before the chaos resumes. Lastly is "Cjax", a raucous roller that feels like a perfect peak time energy spike, ending the record on a triumphant high note. Gurgling vocal samples stir beneath a driving kick drum and syncopated hi hats,while stabbing chords cut across the soundscape, intertwined with elongated droning synth notes that echo in the distance.

South African born, London based producer Kai van Dongen follows up two killer releases on 1Ø PILLS MATE and Ei8ht Records with a massive four tracker on CYBERDOME spanning lo-fi electro, gabber-influenced techno and Detroit acid.

‘Command’ gets started with the typical Cyber-aesthetic; a bruising, otherworldly electro cut that sounds like it was sampled from an intergalactic star-ship battle on a galaxy not so distant. Spooky, raw and uncompromising - classic horror synth lines creating a haunting atmosphere before its pulsating rhythm brings the listener back down to earth. ‘Losing Power’ again makes use of Kai’s knack for crafting emotionally captivating synth patterns, but this time under a lo-fi identity with hefty influence from the synthwave golden era; neon shapes and patterns blooming in the night as we continue our journey into darkness.

What sounds like an angry swarm of bees approaches on ‘Body Moving’ - a track title fit for purpose. Face-melting, brain-spinning techno creates a dark, psychedelic environment where sweat drips from the ceiling and faces react with a blend of euphoria and disgust, before we head to the Motor City on ‘Breathe’ - a cut of acid techno-electro that borrows from the icons of the past for a typically punchy and raw experience.

Peggy Gou returns with 'Nabi' - her first single in over two years and the follow up to 2019's global crossover, 'Starry Night'.

'Nabi' is an incredible piece of slow-burning, 98bpm electronic pop, inspired by 80s synth classics, the piano pieces of renowned composer Erik Satie and the 80s and 90s Korean songs Gou’s mother used to play at home during her childhood. Showcasing a less familiar side of Gou’s diverse sound and influences, it retains the hallmarks of her unique take on electronic music; at once both nostalgic and totally modern.

‘Nabi’ - which translates as ‘Butterfly’ - is also Gou’s first ever vocal collaboration, as she teams up with fellow Korean sensation OHHYUK, the lead singer and guitarist in Hyukoh. It’s set to build on the widespread acclaim for her 2020 production collaboration with Baltimore techno legend Maurice Fulton (on his ‘Jigoo’ release for Gudu), ‘Nabi’ is the first of two songs Peggy Gou will release over the coming months.

While the forthcoming follow up is set to dial up the tempo, kicks, 808’s and 909s to soundtrack a summer where we can all (hopefully) dance together in our thousands again, ‘Nabi’ is very much the sound of now – a lowkey anthem fuelled by feelings of hope, freedom and positivity for what’s to come.

Portuguese experimental trio 10 000 Russos are gearing up for the release of their fifth album ‘Superinertia’, which is due out September 10th on Fuzz Club Records. Following on from 2019’s ‘Kompromat’ LP and tour dates around the UK, Europe and Mexico in support, the Porto-based band describe ‘Superinertia’ as a record addressing the “state of inertia that humans live in the West nowadays. It isn’t a record about the past or future. It’s about now.” For all that ‘Superinertia’ might take aim at a world without motion, however, the same cannot be said of 10 000 Russos themselves.

On the one hand, since their 2013 debut LP and the three that have followed on Fuzz Club since (2015’s self-titled, 2017’s ‘Distress Distress’ and ‘Kompromat’), 10 000 Russos’ music has always been about as kinetic as it gets: a truly unrelenting and motorik sonic force. On the other hand, ‘Superinertia’ also sees the band itself move into whole new musical territories – aided especially by the recent addition of synth player Nils Meisel to the line-up (who replaces former bassist André Couto.)

“The synths really opened up the sound of the band and gave more routes for the music to journey down. The most important thing on this album was to not repeat ourselves. A new arc in our sound is coming to life”, drummer and vocalist João Pimenta explains. On said arc, the Russos sound is expanded to include moments that invoke Ry Cooder’s ‘Paris, Texas’ soundtrack (‘Mexicali/Calexico’), dancey outbursts that transport you to the 90s Summer of Love (‘Super Inertia’), the closest thing Russos have ever done to a pop song (‘A House Full of Garbage’) and even a touch of banjo (albeit one that sounds like a country band on amphetamines playing over a feedback-blasted Stooges beat.)

“10 000 Russos are bizarre and excellent in equal measure.” - The Quietus

“Songs drip with heavy echo, relentless beats and bass and a sense of charging into the ultimate infinite.” - Bandcamp Daily

“Something unholy has indeed been summoned out of the ground, and it is a power trio from the Iberian Peninsula.” - Clash Magazine

Portuguese experimental trio 10 000 Russos are gearing up for the release of their fifth album ‘Superinertia’, which is due out September 10th on Fuzz Club Records. Following on from 2019’s ‘Kompromat’ LP and tour dates around the UK, Europe and Mexico in support, the Porto-based band describe ‘Superinertia’ as a record addressing the “state of inertia that humans live in the West nowadays. It isn’t a record about the past or future. It’s about now.” For all that ‘Superinertia’ might take aim at a world without motion, however, the same cannot be said of 10 000 Russos themselves.

On the one hand, since their 2013 debut LP and the three that have followed on Fuzz Club since (2015’s self-titled, 2017’s ‘Distress Distress’ and ‘Kompromat’), 10 000 Russos’ music has always been about as kinetic as it gets: a truly unrelenting and motorik sonic force. On the other hand, ‘Superinertia’ also sees the band itself move into whole new musical territories – aided especially by the recent addition of synth player Nils Meisel to the line-up (who replaces former bassist André Couto.)

“The synths really opened up the sound of the band and gave more routes for the music to journey down. The most important thing on this album was to not repeat ourselves. A new arc in our sound is coming to life”, drummer and vocalist João Pimenta explains. On said arc, the Russos sound is expanded to include moments that invoke Ry Cooder’s ‘Paris, Texas’ soundtrack (‘Mexicali/Calexico’), dancey outbursts that transport you to the 90s Summer of Love (‘Super Inertia’), the closest thing Russos have ever done to a pop song (‘A House Full of Garbage’) and even a touch of banjo (albeit one that sounds like a country band on amphetamines playing over a feedback-blasted Stooges beat.)

“10 000 Russos are bizarre and excellent in equal measure.” - The Quietus

“Songs drip with heavy echo, relentless beats and bass and a sense of charging into the ultimate infinite.” - Bandcamp Daily

“Something unholy has indeed been summoned out of the ground, and it is a power trio from the Iberian Peninsula.” - Clash Magazine

Revered Danish producer and live performer KÖLSCH follows his 2013 hit album "1977" (KOMPAKT 276 CD 107) with the new full-length "1983", again chaining up heroic techno tracks for a grandiose sonic journey to the vibrant heart of today's dance floor. PRIORITY RELEASE

Coupling contemporary production pizzaz with nostalgia-tinged soundscapes and sweeping melodies, this opus acts as both a skilfully composed portfolio of personal memories and a sublime collection of crowd-charming cuts - a modern classic in the making, coming from a master of his craft.

1983 features collaborations with Gregor Schwellenbach, Waa Industry and WhoMadeWho's Tomas Høffding.

Hot on the heels of SPEICHER 84 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 84), featuring club crackers DERDIEDAS and TWO BIRDS, the latest full-length offering from KÖLSCH is very much a travel album: "When I was a kid in 1983, we used to drive through Europe every summer on the way to the south of France", he explains. "A lot of my early music memories stem from these long travels, as we would listen to all my father's favorite records on the cassette deck. After getting a walkman, I would make up my own soundtrack for travelling, with early electro and hip hop creeping into my life. My father of course did not like it, and it never grace the official cassette deck of the car, obviously"

These trips became a primary source of inspiration to a hungry young mind forced to sit on the backseat of a car for several days: "they were also journeys through the seasons. In Denmark, it would be spring time, so I could nearly see us driving through spring into the summer. The scenery would change, and so would the mood in the car." Informed by the symbolic quality of these slightly gauzy childhood memories, KÖLSCH's unique melange of emotional and functional elements works exceptionally well for the full-length format - a seamless transition of musing introspection and explosve expression, where catharsis never seems far away in dance-ready techno vignettes like MOONFACE, UNTERWEGS or PACER.

From beatless opener and title track 1983 to the filigreed piano banger DIE ANDEREN or the bleep-infused synth-fest E45, each cut operates as its own little time capsule, storing bits and pieces of recollection and then magically transforming them into epic, beat-driven soundscapes. Confronted with other producers' input (and other memories), these traits find themselves extended in the most interesting ways - TALBOT, THE ROAD and CASSIOPEIA (also featured on KOMPAKT EXTRA 79) make excellent use of GREGOR SCHWELLENBACH's emotive orchestral flourishes, while BLOODLINE's lyrics come to life thanks to the distinct timbre of TOMAS HØFFDING of WHOMADEWHO fame. A new powerful take on an earlier collaboration, PAPAGENO 30 YEARS LATER not only rejoins WAA INDUSTRY on vocal duty, but also ends the album on a wonderfully elegiac, yet hopeful note - basically turning water into wine, as we've come to expect from KÖLSCH.

Spirits Having Fun records are ones made from and for shows and spaces—arrangements rooted in a deeply collaborative process, that come to life through intuitive and locked-in live improvisation. Following their 2019 debut Auto-Portrait, Two finds the New York and Chicago based four-piece continuing to challenge ideas of what a rock band can be, pulling apart their musical experiences and reimagining them as kinetic compositions, equally studied but palpably organic.

Two is constructed around gut feelings and strong grooves, elastic rhythms and playful pacing. Its twelve songs expand, contract, and make sharp turns between melodies under singer-guitarist Katie McShane’s meditative lyrics. “Broken Cloud,” which was also released last year on a compilation in support of Chicago Community Jail Support, offers a glimpse into her reflections on the natural world: "A city grew out of the ground / to a mountain it's only a blur."

True to its name, the internal logic of the band is also just a lot of fun, built on trust and deep-rooted musical relationships. Before there was Spirits Having Fun, McShane, bassist Jesse Heasly, guitarist-vocalist Andrew Clinkman, and drummer Phil Sudderberg had performed together in various arrangements over the years. McShane, Heasly and Clinkman met in a specific corner of the Boston underground in 2013, a time when a scene had coalesced around students from local music conservatories frequently collaborating with punk bands and noise artists, exchanging ideas and warping musical worldviews. Heasly and Clinkman played together in Cowboy Band, making mutant, free jazz-inspired takes on old country tunes. When Clinkman moved to Chicago, Heasly and McShane played in experimental groups like EKP and Listening Woman; in Chicago, Clinkman met Sudderberg playing in projects like jazz scene fixture Ken Vandermark’s high-powered band Marker.

Spirits first came together as an attempt at a long-distance collaboration among friends in 2016, driven by the simple feeling of missing each other; they’d meet up for marathon weekends here and there to practice, playing small loops through dive bars and art spaces around the Midwest—just enough for McShane and Heasly to afford plane tickets back home. Being split between Chicago and New York forced the project into a deliberate pace. “We tried to take it slow and let it be what it was,” said McShane. That sense of patience unexpectedly prepared them for March of 2020, when their planned tours and the release of Two were indefinitely delayed.

Two was mostly recorded in the summer of 2019 with the help of omnipresent Chicago engineer Dave Vettraino and DPCD’s Alec Watson, whose contributions on organ, synths, and piano are laced throughout the record. The album reflects a synthesis of solitary and communal songwriting processes—each song drawing on fragments written by individuals, which McShane threaded together and shaped through her distinct compositional lens, making the songs whole before returning to them to the band to mature collectively. When composing, McShane writes first on the keyboard before adapting parts for guitars played by herself and Clinkman. Their dueling approaches to guitar are complementary: McShane, being a newer guitarist, brings a freshness to the project (“I'm just discovering the whole time,” she says) while Clinkman has been playing since childhood.

“There's a lot more collaboration on this record,” says Clinkman, “in terms of all of us letting stuff bloom a little bit more.” The record’s first single, “Hold The Phone” is a good example of this process—it started with a playful intro riff from Clinkman, a melody and bridge added by McShane, a wobbly outro groove added by Heasly, which Sudderberg brought to life. Another single, the dynamic “See a Sky,” written primarily by Heasly, underscores the rhythm section chemistry at play across the record, the song ebbing and flowing around Heasly and Sudderberg’s eclectic percussive palettes.

“Entropy Transfer Partners” is the only song on the record with lyrics by Clinkman, and the album’s most politically direct—a call for solidarity in the face of systemic failures, an acknowledgment of the shared material devastation caused by our country’s ongoing healthcare and housing crises: “These are not things we're experiencing individually. We struggle through them collectively. And we could actually declare, all of us, that it doesn't have to be this way, and fight and organize to ameliorate some of those conditions.” (“We won't work to create the shit you monetize, to run our lives,” they sing.)

From front to back, Two is an absorbing listen simply for its impressive range. But as the members explain themselves, the complexity of the record is about more than its intricate riffs, or how often they count out an odd time signature, but how they reject the notion of boxing the songs in, letting the melodies take on lives of their own. “Making music that feels alive is important to us,” says Clinkman. “Music feels most powerful to me when it deepens our sensation of feeling alive and connected to other humans. It’s so easy to feel worn down and isolated; that your life’s value is fixed to your productivity at your job, or the things that you have or don’t have. Making music that feels joyful and fun seems like one effective antidote to that feeling.”