Gabe Gurnsey returns with another limited-edition, white label pressing that melds
together two of the standout moments from ‘Physical’ into one irresistible slab of nocturnal electro. Combining the tectonic sleaze of ‘I Get’ with the roll call to rave transcendence of ‘Harder Rhythm’, Gurnsey creates, naturally, ‘I Get Harder’. Mutating his work to further perfect his halcyon club sound, ‘I Get Harder’ releases a slow-crawl ecstasy that’s ideal for dark rooms and open minds. Not one for the faint hearted
Cerca:v room
Ten releases in, and STILL far better than the rest
In a more raucous mood, it seems Bitter End have pre-empted the summer of debauchery ahead of us by unleashing their Sweetest exorcism yet...
ITCHICRICKITCH is the tweaking weirdo in the corner, the unsettling presence that invariably unites the room in the simplistic joy of judgement free release.
'PRINCESS' appeared on the flipside of a frankly far more regal diva originally on GALL005, here she's the smudged mascara version, much stroppier and not due home 'til way after sunrise.
As always, limited and LOUD
Southern Lord announce the next Caspar Brötzmann Massaker reissues in the ongoing series, continuing with Der Abend Der Schwarzen Folklore and Koksofen this July. Read on for more insight into these albums, and for information about incoming live dates supporting Sunn O))).
Caspar Brötzmann is one of the most unique and innovative guitarists of the last 40 years. With his Berlin-based trio Massaker, he evolved a whole new autonomous approach to writing rock songs, starting from sounds that were widely considered ornamental if not detrimental ‘sonic waste’, such as shrieking feedback and droning overtones. This plethora of sounds were arranged into tracks to sound like breaking concrete, grinding metal, or bursting glass, at once monumental and threatening, impenetrable and hermetic, yet also archaically tender and loving.
Even today, as the art of noise has reached a level of sophistication that no one could have imagined 30 years ago, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker’s music is resoundingly singular. Ultra heavy riffs and beats, ominous tribal chants and a raw physical force is conjured up by these three sinister and proud minds of their era. Their unhinged, unified stream of energy is captured on these remastered reissues and the results are thrilling.
Koksofen (which translates as blast furnace), originally released in 1993, has become one of Massaker’s most popular albums. Like it’s predecessor, ...Schwarzen Folklore, the album took shape in Massaker’s rehearsal room below the Berlin subway station Schlesisches Tor, and was recorded at Conny Plank’s studio near Cologne, with Plank’s former associates Ingo Krauss and Bruno Gephard producing.
There’s a different kind of intensity to Koksofen. The features of Massaker’s sound are in full bloom. Mountainous noises tower up and crash down, and tormented sounds rise from ominously seething grounds, haunting the entire song-scape. The feel of doom and dread hangs heavily over the five songs, and the title song rumbles, shrieks and wails, plagued by Caspar’s guttural growls of war, suffering and death.
Caspar recalls one anecdote from shortly after the original release whereby Bassist Edu Delgado called him asking to turn on the TV, thus discovering that “Hymne“ was being used as background music to a report about the death penalty in the US. A different kind of intensity indeed.
Reflecting on the album to this day Caspar remarks “Koksofen is still a mystery to me,'' he continues “I can still feel the troubled times in these songs.” - the effects are certainly potent for the listener too. And the album undoubtedly affirms Massaker as the fiercely original and compellingly raw musicians that they are.
Hoga Nord Rekords have had the opportunity to work with Al Lover twice before during the last four years and now it's time for the next step in the relationship between them, this time with the 7'' single 'Dark Matter Discotheque / Mark E. Moon'. In these tracks, Lover's influences mainly stems from a decadent eighties New York or Paris and you can almost smell the heavy perfume mixed with indoors smoking get the feeling of sitting in a room with mirror walls.
Emerging from the flourishing house scene in Århus, Forte is one of the most exciting producers to make his debut in Denmark in the past years. Having produced and released music under various monikers, Forte debuted in 2017 as Forte with the excellent mini album Techne on 12recs and the standout EP ”Away” on ØEN Records. Intermissions is Forte’s first full length album. Composed and recorded in Århus during 2018 Intermissions consists of six tracks and five interludes and is a study of, and tribute to, intermissions.
Across the albums eleven cuts, Forte effortlessly traverse between ethereal dreamy vibes, intricate electronica and bustling rhythmic explorations. Stretching far beyond the traditional house music boundaries, Forte’s layered and intricate compositions constantly balances melancholic and elevating atmospheres. Perfectly suited whether you are lounging in the living room, standing on a train platform or at discerning and esoteric dance floors. Out on vinyl and digital June 22.
- A1: Peggy Gou - Hungboo (Dj Kicks Exclusive)
- A2: The System - Vampirella
- A3: Pegasus - Perseguido Por El Rayo
- B1: I:cube - Cassette Jam 1993 (Dj Kicks Exclusive)
- B2: Sly And Lovechild - The World According To Sly & Lovechild (Andrew Weatherall Soul Of Europe Mix)
- C1: Deniro - Epirus
- C2: Psyche - Crackdown
- D1: Hiver - Pert (Dj Kicks Exclusive)
- D2: Aphex Twin - Vordhosbn
When Peggy Gou released her debut EP ‘Art of War’ in 2016, she made a list of career goals. One of them was to become the first South Korean DJ to play Berlin’s techno institution Berghain, an objective she achieved only a few months later. Another item on that list was to record an instalment of !K7’s DJ-Kicks series. “It’s the premier class of DJ mixes,” she says. “Some of my favourite selectors have contributed to it.” Now Peggy Gou can tick that off her list too as she proudly presents the 69th edition of the mix series.
The Berliner-by-choice started working on the mix last year. It was a
busy time for the 28-year-old: she’d just scored her first Mixmag cover
and her single ‘It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)’ was receiving awards
and critical acclaim. Each month she would DJ in 20 nightclubs all over the world. And yet, the goal for her mix was ambitious: instead of trying to capture the energy of her DJ sets, she aimed to create a portrayal of her own musical journey. An 18-track listening session that takes you straight into Peggy Gou’s living room where she plays you the formative tunes from her collection. No genre boundaries – she moves across disco, house, techno and electro. No tempo limits – the mix ranges from 90 to 150 BPM. And no age restriction – the earliest tunes on the mix are from 1983
7am. Tilburg. Black room. Strobe light. Dutch Soundsystem Wirwar. "Party Like It's '96" celebrates 23 years of musical debauchery, rinsing BPMs and battering bodies in forests, squats or wherever a PA system could be plugged in. Five tracks from five different aliases make up this descent into drum beat battery. Noses are up against sweat drenched wall from the needle drop, the thundering pace of Trippy D's maniacal offering being elbowed in the ribs by Bart Bral's nosebleed inducing "No Shit, Sherlock!" Distortion slices into squalid acid lines in the blazing "Water On Mars" by RAF before broken beats are blended and blitzed by Just So Nah. The night, or morning, comes to an end in Roel's nightmarish fairground ride. "Wurlitzer Express" minces chiptune cuteness with splintered snares, cracked kicks and mutated percussion to leave hearts, minds and souls thoroughly stained.
Last year, we got together with The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision’s RE:VIVE initiative for the second time, inviting four local artists to breathe new life into four archival films from the Sound and Vision and EYE Filmmuseum archives. Jordan GCZ, Suzanne Kraft, Parrish Smith and Upsammy were all assigned short animated films dating back to 1921. The films and their new scores debuted at EYE on August 2nd as part of Dekmantel Festival 2018. Unsurprisingly, each artist imparted their unique styles onto the films that they previously had no relation with. From Suzanne Kraft's sparse atmospherics that have become more apparent in his new SK U KNO project to Jordan GCZ’s free flowing hardware jams. Parrish Smith showed his contemplative side and sparse orchestrations that he demonstrated on his RE:VIVE release, Genesis Black, a sonic departure from his bombastic releases and DJ-sets while upsammy showed yet again her deft hand for melody and texture, a style that dominates all her releases to date.
These four scores can live apart from their films, fitting seamlessly into each artists' growing catalogs of work. But when combined, it’s as if the films and music were made simultaneously with the artist and filmmaker together in the same room. Dekmantel and RE:VIVE are proud to present these new works as the electronic music scene in The Netherlands continues to show its multifaceted talent that continues to expand far beyond the dance floor.
- A1: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher
- A2: All I Can Do
- A3: Jolene
- A4: There\'S No Place Like Home
- A5: My Tennessee Mountain Home
- B1: Do I Ever Cross Your Mind
- B2: Coat Of Many Colours
- B3: Applejack
- B4: Light Of A Clear Blue Morning
- C1: I Will Always Love You
- C2: Getting In My Way
- C3: Me And Little Andy
- C4: How Does It Feel
- D1: Holdin\' On To You
- D2: The Seeker
- D3: You Are / I Will Always Love You (Reprise)
- D4: Love Is Like A Butterfly
DELUXE VINYL EDITION!!!By the time this performance was recorded on the final night of her NYC debut in 1977, this show had become the hottest ticket in town and the Bottom Line was deluged with celebrity ticket requests, including from other iconic performers like Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger, who both attended. This three night engagement at the legendary music room was essentially Parton's New York City coming out party, and even those not necessarily country fans can surely appreciate this show for its pure entertainment appeal and Dolly's undeniable charisma.
Like a homage to smoke-filled vaults, aging billiard rooms and crumby packets of pork scratchings in the Working Men's Clubs of days gone by, Todmorden-by-way of-Europe trio Syd, Jake and Giulia are about to fling open the doors of their own millennial social hub with the fresh post-punk of infectious debut single, 'Bad Blood' / 'Suburban Heights.'
'We grew up in northern towns trying to get in to pubs in social clubs because that's all we had. The name is an ode to that,' explains Working Men's Club's 17-year-old singer and guitarist, Sydney Minsky-Sargeant. 'Our surroundings and their differences has influenced us a lot on these tracks.'
Joined by guitarist-vocalist Giulia Bonometti, 23 and drummer Jake Bogacki, 18, the trio have always had a clear sense of their whereabouts; quite simply, they wouldn't even exist without multi-nationalism. Meeting at college in Manchester, Syd and Jake are from Todmorden and Hebden Bridge, but their families hail from Poland whilst Giulia moved to the UK from Lake Garda, Italy. 'The songs are based on the culture of walking round Manchester every day then going back to the countryside each night and how the contrast of going back into the hills made us sane,' Syd tells.
Working Men's Club are wise beyond their years as they seemingly offer words of wisdom, to be repeated like some kind of break-up mantra, until everything's ok; 'Be happy when the sun shines / Be happy when the sun rains / You know you should do the same.'
If 'Bad Blood' is the day, 'Suburban Heights' is the night. Recorded with Alex Greave at The Nave in Leeds, steady riffs from Syd's fingers tap-dance on the strings alongside Jake's skill in working a jagged snare. Meanwhile Giulia's heavenly disco 'ooohs' recall Donna Summer feeling the love whilst cutting right to the contentious subject of gentrification. 'Suburban Heights refers to how apparent it is that cities are expanding to hold more people and buildings are rising, they're morphing into these dystopian party towns,' tells Syd.
Already with shows supporting The Wedding Present and Brian Jonestown Massacre behind them, Syd says it's only the beginning; 'Those shows were great experiences and ones we'll have for life. We love making music and we're so grateful for what we've achieved so far; hopefully there'll be plenty more to come.'
"One of the hardest thing as a musician is to maintain this naive, almost utopian and emotional approach to our music. Especially when it comes to a highly codified genre like Electronic music which appeared in the late 80s/early 90s like a promise of a bright future for music, everything sounding so fresh and revolutionary. When Katerina sent me those demos I heard that freshness, that pure intention, something I remember from discovering melancholic Detroit tunes in the 90s or early Warp ‘artificial intelligence’ compilations, bridging the gap between techno and more intricate electronica. It’s been a while since I didn’t hear an EP so sincere - and not JUST nostalgic, that makes me want to dance alone in my living room and forget about everything else. It’s a subtle thing that makes the difference but that difference is everything, it’s Music."
- Joakim
The runic inscriptions of the ARP 2600's circuit boards foretold the coming of "three explorers" who will reveal the ancient truths that lie within the pulsations of its ever-shifting squarewaves. The result of weeks of intense exploratory sessions in an NYC celestial echo chamber, this record documents the efforts of Tim Wheeler, David Kitt, and Conor Creaney to fathom and harness the sounds emitted by the ARP, Minimoog, CS60, and Jupiter 4 in a strictly live fashion. No overdubs or editing took place, just the sound that filled the room as the jams emerged. The results are two extended, hypnotic synth odysseys that unfurl organically as their melodic layers reveal themselves over time.
Side A 'Locked In' opens with tranquil, sparkling synth chimes that give way to a pulsating (but largely beatless) Krautrock-meets-dub groove, anchored by an insistent bassline a
nd interlocking layers of synth lines that unfurl over its 15 minutes. Side B ‘Locked Out’ takes us to the outer reaches of the cosmos with its quavering, otherworldly arpeggios and tempestuous asteroidal outbursts.
The Analogue Cops are back on Memento, after their acclaimed remix of Francesco Farfa “Synchronicty 13”, with “Lucretio versus Marieu Vol. 1”.
This will be the first chapter of a series dedicated to a tidy compromise-less selection of their most groundbreaking club oriented tracks. On Lucretio’s side, “Accelerating Osc” is a minimalistic relentless techno cut that explores algorithmic sequencing and the boundaries of real-time delay manipulation in Kyma; pounding away, “Neon 3” is a furious peak-time ride with jacking drums, sharp hi-hats and worrisome hypnotic synthesizers.
Marieu’s side is a slower paced groove affair focused on his distinguishing seductive use of sampling: “Alterate Indigo” festive bass line and enthusiastic cymbals blossom with an enchanting blues piano and an handful of filtered quirks, while “Room Mate” combine hot vocal hooks and a funky bass-line with a massive kick-drum.
WE R THE ALIENS is a fresh new label based out of Hamburg and Berlin. The label marks the start of a new chapter for Wareika’s beat machine Jakob Seidensticker, former Square Room Hero Boronas, and American house import Snad. Together, they are Mothership. The maiden voyage begins with this clubby three-track trip. Groovy technoid cut “Dubby White” sets the course, evolving into the spooky yet driving minimal house track “Melting” feat. Zhiqi Song.
Finally, Smallpeople round up the release with an uplifting House Remix of “Dubby White” perfect for warmer days.
Join us in welcoming the Mothership; the alien invasion has begun.
- A1: Bees Around The Lime Tree
- A2: Memory Gore
- A3: Confession Bay
- A4: It`s A Low
- A5: Decompression
- A6: Carcass
- B1: The Golden Bough
- B2: Palm Hex Arndale Chins
- B3: Babes Of The Plague
- B4: Four Bibles
LIME W/ SMOKE Vinyl[20,97 €]
Coming out of London and the South West of England, Hey Colossus are one of Europe's great live bands. Since 2003 the 6-piece has been driving around the continent with their “pirate ship” backline of broken amps and triple-guitar drang, elevating audiences in every type of venue imaginable; a doctor’s waiting room in Salford, an industrial unit in Liege and a vast field next to a river in Portugal. Wherever they may roam.
Four Bibles is their twelfth studio album and the first to be released by London label ALTER, whose sole proprietor (the electronic producer Helm) encountered the group at their first gig in 2003. Recorded by Ben Turner at Space Wolf Studios in Somerset, it's their most direct album yet and follows a well-documented trajectory of evolution that began (in the truest sense) with 2011’s RRR for Riot Season and continued across three albums for Rocket Recordings. Lead vocalist Paul Sykes sounds more in focus than before, dialling down the effects and using reverb / delay to carry his lyrics rather than smother. The band has also fine-tuned to leave some room for extra depth. Piano, electronics and violin (by Daniel O'Sullivan of This is not This Heat / Grumbling Fur) all find a way in amongst a familiar mesh of interlacing guitars, wrapped round a taut rhythm section. Like every other Hey Colossus record before, the line-up has altered and the sounds reflect this.
From the weight of “Memory Gore”, to the subtlety and swag of “It's a Low”, via the sonic extremes of “Palm Hex/Arndale Chins” this is exactly as the band are live; raging & rail-roading but somehow in control. Grooves for those who want to dance or for those who want to hug a wall and nod...bleak dystopian imagery submerged in relentless rhythms and low-end rattle. The songs breath life and soul - Hey Colossus have never sounded fresher or more on point.
“Every time I play Cour T.’s “Black Magic” the room changes. The entire vibe of the party goes from hands in the air to grinding, sexual energy. This track has arcane properties on the dance floor. I wish I had 10 tracks with this vibe because nothing else sounds like it and when I play it, I always wish I could keep the vibe for longer.
Selfishly, I asked our label manager to hold back this track for 6 extra months just so I could have it all to myself. That’s how much I’m into it. For all the DJs complaining about how everything sounds the same right now, take a risk and drop this one in your sets.”
-VonStroke
LP comes pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
On 29th March, Reclaimed Records are proud to present pianist and composer Taz Modi's elegant debut solo album 'Reclaimed Goods', which brings to light his love for contemporary composition – something which may come as a surprise to fans of soulful dance music heavyweights Submotion Orchestra, and jazz trumpeter Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Orchestra - for both of whom Modi plays keys/piano. Whilst also gaining further demand as a musician, including for A-list studio and live work for funk 'n' soul legends Dennis Coffey and Fred Wesley, plus beatmaker heroes DJ Shadow and Mr. Scruff, Modi has been discreetly pursuing an additional passion during down-time for years – and his prolonged, patient crafting shows in the record's tasteful and beautiful spirit.
Calling to mind the piano music of Cage, Frahm, Hauchska, Sakamoto and Aphex Twin, 'Reclaimed Goods' is a graceful affair, in which lush strings and gently pulsing rhythmic flutters sit alongside prepared and plaintive piano, with the tunes ranging from sparse beauty to weightier moments of electronic rhythms. This allows the music to appeal equally to fans of heavier electronic acts such as Cinematic Orchestra and Bonobo, to devotees of ambient and contemporary classical music, as well as those familiar with Modi's work with both Submotion Orchestra and Matthew Halsall.
Positive review by John Lewis for the Guardian's contemporary music album of the month section: 'An even more effective exploration of solo piano territory comes from British pianist Taz Modi; best known for his work in various jazz and funk ensembles, his solo debut Reclaimed Goods features a host of introspective instrumentals that are reminiscent, variously, of Ryuichi Sakamoto (Libra), Nils Frahm (Time to Practise, Crystalline) and Hauschka (Ethical Tourist).
Featured in Music Week's Tastemaker section, 15th April 2019 with Haydon Spenceley: 'Listen to it; it'll lift you high above our care-worn world to a place of safety and grace'.
First single 'Ethical Tourist' featured as a premiere on 18 Feb 2019
Second single 'Crystalline' premiered on Boiler Room's 4:3 video channel, 12 Mar 2019
'A kaleidoscopic album that seductively pulls you in and leaves you curious about the inspiration behind the songs' - AAA Music
Positive review on Magazine Sixty
Support on Soho Radio, Dom Servini
Played on Worldwide FM, April 3, Gondwana Records show
Featured on Bleep's Spotify playlist 'For Your Ears and For Your Head', April 2019
Played by Mischa Kreiskott, NDR Radio Germany, ndr.de
Worldwide FM's Gondwana Records show on May 1 featured an interview with Taz Modi, along with multiple tracks from the album.
Musicians:
Taz Modi – piano, keyboards/electronics, arrangement and production
Natalie Purton – violin + viola
Liz Hanks – cello
Margit van der Zwan – cello
Seb Hankins and Jon Scott – drums
Vor 20 Jahren startete Chloé Thévenin ihre Karriere mit Mixer und
Plattenspieler, bereits 1999 zählte sie zur Speerspitze der Pariser
Techno-Szene. Seitdem kennt man Chloé als technisch versierte und
groovig agierende DJ mit Vorliebe für Deep House und Minimal. In der
französischen Kapitale sind besonders die Batofar-Residency und PulpNächte im Rex in Erinnerung geblieben. Ihre Skills präsentierte sie einem
größeren Publikum auf Mix-CDs wie "I Hate Dancing" (2004) oder "Live
At Robert Johnson" (2008). Hinzu kamen regelmäßig eigene
Produktionen, die sie auf über einem Dutzend 12_ÇÖ_ÇÖes
veröffentlichte. Daneben brachte Chloé mit "The Waiting Room" (2007)
und "One In Other" (2010) auch zwei Großformate heraus. Dass es bis
zur Fertigstellung ihres dritten Langspielers sieben Jahre gedauert hat,
erklärt sich für Chloé durch die Wechselfälle des Lebens. Aufgrund
spannender Kollaborationsarbeiten und verschiedener
Kompositionsaufträge für Filme und Installationen blieb ihr zu wenig Zeit
für die Albumproduktion. Außerdem gründete sie mit Lumière Noire ein
eigenes Label, auf dem "Endless Revisions" als eines der ersten Werke
erscheint. Dieses gleicht einem elektroakustischen Soundabenteuer und
hat mit Tanzmusik nichts am Hut. Zwar mäandern immer mal wieder
satte Beats durch die Tracks, aber eben nur als ein Element unter vielen
anderen. Ein Album für den kontemplativen Hörgenuss
Berlin based trio Keller Crackers collective likes to shape haunting esoteric sounds, in which self-built instruments dance with ritualistic synthesised rhythms, field recordings, psychoacoustic drones and poetical spoken silhouettes.
After a self-released MC and a mesmerising tune called “Anem” out in February 2019 on the custom-made Kashual Plastik 007 double-vinyl compilation, now they give birth to their own debut record “KC”, a four track EP resulting from various improvisational studio sessions, a bag full of spontaneous visionary DIY sound fashion that melts meandering serialism, foggy ‘Chris & Cosey’-ness, exoticism and freely expressed emotions. Some pieces are given time to evolve, being dragged through long arrangements and slow transitions, while others are playful and short. To close up the magic circle, the release includes a tripping Tolouse Low Trax signature remix.
The opening tune “Specialised” swings on a trance-like hypnotic bass line, while a self-made kalimba played through a tape delay and overtones from a DIY circuit bended device inject dynamics and colour to the composition. Out of the sonic depth, the spoken words of Sylvana Wickman emerge enchanting and unreal, naming a series of technical terms, assembling a deep notion on the specialised society we live in.
“Cow Tongue” follows, a fleeting composition of crackling electronic clicks jumping off a micro-modular device. They got overdubbed again by Sylvana’s voice, delightfully reciting phrases from a recipe of regional delicacies.
The A side of KC`s first strike finishes with a spaced-out synth bass and the lo-fi beats of a Yamaha RX15 drum machine. They are the gripping foundation of “Aithouses Anamonis“, which means “Waiting Rooms”. It describes the scene of a man sitting in a waiting room observing the consumerist behaviour by the folks around him.
The B-side opens with a Tolouse Low Trax remix of “Specialised”, elevating the original with the bass line of “Aithouses Anamonis“, while melting the all into a dark nebulous Tolouse Low Trax signature stripped down funk for endless nights in neon lights.
For their final track “Colours”, Keller Crackers invited a steady free member of their live shows to record with them: free jazz musician Robert Würz. He tuned his flute enthralling over a suspenseful bass line formed in a whirlwind of synth-sounds. The whole frenzy gets divine through sliding chords that rise from a self-built guitar.
A musical bouquet for open spirits, that value charming minimal wave zones, undefinable post-industrial psychedelics and hallucinogenic poetry reflections on the current state of our mechanical times.




















