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Following his collaboraton with Nicolas Jaar's Clown & Sunset label,
Ecuadorian-based producer Nicolá Cruz has self-produced and self-recorded this landmark
album.
Infuenced by new digital technology, blended with local culture, Cruz builds his tracks layer
by layer, instrument by instrument, drum by drum, exploring local
indigenous and Afro-cosmologies in a modern setng - using homeland traditons and
rhythms to build on a vibrant history of visual and sonic art, catapultng them into the 21st
century. The results of which will easily apply to fans of John Talabot, Romare, Clap! Clap!
and Nicolas Jaar.
'drifs efortlessly and at will between down-tempo electronica and woozy, beat-
driven house' Consequence Of Sound
'Woozy club music of lost innocence' Oslo World Music Festval

Following a self-titled EP last year, Dario Rojo Guerra aka Natureboy Flako is set to release his second album 'Theme For A Dream' on Five Easy Pieces on 20th July 2018. Exploring the boundaries of music, science and spirituality through a prism of colourfully synthesised-sound, heart-pounding rhythm and cinematic soundtracks; the core essense of 'Theme For A Dream' is the exploration of the human inne space, the balance of musical energies and music's healing capabilities. 'Theme For A Dream' is a more electronic sounding record than his debut. Guerra makes extensive use of old and new analogue equipment such as the Juno 106, Korg's MS-20, ARP Odyssey or Roland's SH-2000 synthesisers, alongside recordings of vocals, guitars and other instruments. This serves to create a dynamic and eclectic sound spectrum, all unique to his musical handwriting. 'Theme For A Dream' will be accompanied by an experimental and interactive website that allows users to preview music while being an immersive, unique multi-sensual 4D xperience of its own. Snippets of the music from 'Theme For A Dream' become audio visual poetry and an immersive exploration of state of the art technology and oneself. 'I don't think technology necessarily means not being natural. Technology can be very much in balance with nature, since it is mostly just trying to imitate or trying to understand something from within nature. Around recording 'Theme For A Dream', Guerra also co-produced/co-wrote and engineered Kutmah's recent debut and Jitwam's forthcoming album, as well as produced almost half of Fatima's follow up album to 'Yellow Memories'. He is currently working on a film project with a London based production company and is already working on a new album, which is expected to bring back his vocal talent, previously released under the moniker Dirg Gerner.

(180 gram pressing, blue coloured vinyl) Musique Pour La Danse presents CRON aka TODD SINES 'Scalable Architectures', the classic 1995 EP remastered. For fans of Dopplereffekt, Drexciya, Keith Tucker, Mid-West Electro A highly sought after EP equally blowing your mind and the floor. Cron is a project where Todd Sines focused on his long-running passion for electro music by exploring a specific set of machines composed of a Synton Vocoder SPX216, a Yamaha DX 100 and an Arp Avatar in a vibe completely different from his .xtrak alias or productions released under his own name. The record visual presentation was equally important as it features 3-D objects created Todd Sines through intentional misuse of mathematical functions, creating unique forms and 'scalable architectures'. Please find the complete 1995 liner notes below for more informations. Comprising of an intro + five highly danceable futuristic electro tracks of deep, sharp-edged electric grooves and hypnotic warm cuts that are each an exploration of a 'less is more' approach to production.

Echocord's Colour sub-label returns early June with a four- track EP from Eindhoven's Albert Van Abbe in the shape of 'Klangbilder'. Dutch Techno artist Albert Van Abbe has nearly two decades of experience under his belt in various forms of musical and visual expression, releasing on his own Vanabbe imprint, Figure Jams, Semantica and No Comment, as well as playing live and DJing at hot spots across the globe such as Berghain, Tresor, DGTL and Awakenings festival. 'Klangbilder 1' leads with a robust rhythmic drive, employing bumpy toms, shuffled hats and lumpy kicks at its core as vacillating synths, tension building drones and menacing pizzicato strings develop throughout. 'Klangbilder 2' takes things deeper next, retaining the dusty drums sound of the previous cut whilst stirring in airy ethereal pads and choppy, resonant stab sequences. 'Klangbilder 3' kicks off the B-Side with modulating synth whirrs, emotive organ tones and a muted drum tones throughout before 'Klangbilder 4' closes the package, taking things beatless and cinematic via emotive synth leads, droning subs and expansive echoes.

"Things take a psychedelic turn for SchleiBen 7 with a welcome to the label of arch exponents of mind expansion in NYC's Georgia and the unlikely but no less diverse inclusion of Balearic stalwarts A Man Called Adam. Having Georgia in the series might not now be a surprise, however discussions with this open, genuine duo started during a visit to New York over 3 years ago and so here, finally realised in this fluid journey of confident pace and harmony, is the best of their freeform evocations. A duo in the everyday sense, Brian Close and Justin Tripp are video / music production teamsters of unnatural talent. Having gained a status of their own that has seen them release for the likes of Palto Flats and FTD, the five pieces that form their contribution drip with psychedelic intent. Culled from archives, the interest is how the tracks - made over different years, locations and situations in life - meld in to something poetic simply by being placed within a specific format. Avant-chimes ebb to rhythmic pulses and erudite teachings before dark percussion and Eastern melodies reach a clattering, but gentle finale. With an upcoming collaborative album with Secret Circuit due on the label later in 2018, as well as recent works with RVNG Intl's Matt Werth and recordings for Sacred Summits' brethren Firecracker Recordings, it's a warm, effusive glow of a welcome. In contrast, the inclusion of A Man Called Adam in the series may indeed surprise but is a false comprehension. The "Sketches" included here show AMCA away from their Balearic pop incarnation of the last thirty years and towards the academia that both members Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones have pursued in the last decade. With both completing PHDs, Sally ('The Diachronic Impact of Technology-Led Abstraction in Oral, Written and Music-based Poetries') is a senior lecturer at Leeds College Of Music, while Steve ('Mobilise: The Carry Principle, Sound and Mobile Media') is based out of de Montfort University, now is the perfect time to highlight the diverse sound environments they have been working in. The music that makes up these recordings are drawn from sound works and audio experiments completed in recent years. From sound toys and apps to home made glass organs and electro-acoustic sound, custom patches to spoken word manipulations, the sketches are excerpts - some evolved from commissions for the National Science Museum, BBC Radio 4 and live performances with the world renowned video artist Milosh JL - fused especially for this release. Bringing these generated pieces in to an audible "mix" creates a discourse of their work in performance, interactions and visual media. An intellectualised album therefore, but still in the premise of the series to allow artists to present something new, unique, discrete, hidden even, all with the aim of giving the recipient the chance to sit back and (un)listen. "

(180 gram pressing, black vinyl) Musique Pour La Danse presents CRON aka TODD SINES 'Scalable Architectures', the classic 1995 EP remastered. For fans of Dopplereffekt, Drexciya, Keith Tucker, Mid-West Electro A highly sought after EP equally blowing your mind and the floor. Cron is a project where Todd Sines focused on his long-running passion for electro music by exploring a specific set of machines composed of a Synton Vocoder SPX216, a Yamaha DX 100 and an Arp Avatar in a vibe completely different from his .xtrak alias or productions released under his own name.

The record visual presentation was equally important as it features 3-D objects created Todd Sines through intentional misuse of mathematical functions, creating unique forms and 'scalable architectures'.

Please find the complete 1995 liner notes below for more informations. Comprising of an intro + five highly danceable futuristic electro tracks of deep, sharp-edged electric grooves and hypnotic warm cuts that are each an exploration of a 'less is more' approach to production.

One of the world's most iconic drum & bass acts, Pendulum have announced their return for 2018 with a brand new album and brand new live shows. 'The Reworks' is a project unlike any
other released by the band before, and marks the end of their seven year hiatus, officially launching on 16th March.

To mark their return, the band have announced their first headline show since 2011 at London's unique new space, Printworks . The show sold out in under an hour and will be both an auditory and visual spectacle for fans.

Also announced is Pendulum's return to one of the UK's biggest events - Reading and Leeds Festival . Headlining the BBC Radio 1 stage - the same slot they graced the last time they played in 2010, the shows mark a welcome return for the band in the UK.

The news will undoubtedly be well received by Pendulum 's legions of fans, with the band having hinted at a comeback by returning to the live stage last year, headlining the UK's South
West Four and Nass Festival , and confirming for this years Snowbombing festival in Austria.
For 'The Reworks' , the internationally-renowned band have tapped some of the most innovative talents from over the past few years to deliver dynamic and refreshing interpretations of their
biggest hits and some of their personal favourites. Friends and collaborators Skrillex , Icarus ,Knife Party and Matrix & Futurebound take their turn on this who's who of electronic music
royalty, whilst Noisia 's explosive cut of the now-iconic track 'Hold Your Colour' will be available with the album preorder from the 16th March.

'The Reworks' album will be available in both CD and vinyl formats from the 29th June.

This exciting announcement marks the beginning of a new era for Pendulum , who have long been considered one of electronic music's most important and pioneering acts, famed for their
no-holds-barred live shows. With more huge festival dates TBA across the summer and new originals on the horizon, 2018 marks the an exciting chapter in Pendulum's already lengthy career.

Noisia' s remix of ' Hold your Colour' , the first single to be taken from Pendulum 's 'The Reworks' album, is set for release on 16th March alongside the preorder, with the full album set to drop on 29th June.

Heady, astute, deep techno and ambient from Blue Veil, a new musical project from Danny Clancy. Blue Veil's debut EP reveals gorgeously textured techno on tracks like 'wherethetimegoes' and 'Citizen Score', as well as crafting some tender ambient passages on cuts like 'Night Czar' and 'A Kind Of Adventure'.
The EP will be released on Dichotomy Records, a new imprint, dedicated to refined electronic music. The label's ambition is to allow artists to explore dichotomies through their work, as they span sonic landscapes from pure ambient to techno, and other abstract dance sounds in-between. There will be a strong attention to the visual presentation of the label, with all artwork and photography also created by label boss Danny Clancy.
With the next release lined up from Ahu, and more to follow from there, the agenda for Dichotomy Records looks hugely promising indeed.

Mehmet Aslan returns to his own Fleeting Wax imprint, in order to deliver the first in a series of releases as part of a new project, ghost station, including a collaboration with fellow Turkish singer, songwriter and vocal producer, Idil Mese.


Efsun, translating to enchantment in Farsi, is the sound of Idil Mese transforming an understated, somewhat folksy instrumental of Aslan's into a bewitching and subtle musical spell. Initially tense,
Idil Mese's vocal spell wraps beautifully around a brittle guitar motif, inches above a sea of atmospheric ambience. In it's second half, synthesis and sitar unite, taking efsun into more revelatory territory, employing a playful melody and warm, cosmic textures.

Meanwhile, on 'ghost station', from which the project takes its name, layers of meaning and recording slowly unravel, revealing a compelling soundscape. Recorded in one take, and completed across one night, 'ghost station' began with Aslan and his sampler surfing the busy radio waves of Berlin, eventually settling on a beautiful score broadcast on one of the city's classical stations. Just as soon as Aslan had the frequency on lockdown, the signal disappeared unable to be retrieved quickly enough, if ever. Loosely inspired by the work of Swiss visual artist and musician Pipilotti Rist, the track instead unfolds woozily like a dream, undulating through offbeat bleeps, ghostly voices and improvised swells of noise, while still maintaining it's own quietly propulsive groove.

Sounding more like himself than ever on his own Fleeting Wax outlet and incorporating an impressive range of musical techniques over just two tracks, 'ghost station' further establishes Mehmet Aslan as a restlessly inventive musical talent. -Text by John Thorp

Ryan Parks is a mixed media artist, music producer/performer,
and CEO/founder of critically robust cassette tape label, HARSH
RIDDIMS. He was born in College Park, GA and grew up skating
all around Atlanta, soaking up the dense kaleidoscopic cultural
ooze found both in and outside the perimeter of Atlanta. Aside
from his visual practice, which usually takes shape as mixed
media (Jacob Lawrence/Matisse inspired in my opinion!) collage,
he has been releasing music as FIT OF BODY for seven years. Fit
of Body crafts soulful house ballads that draw on freestyle, Bell
Hooks, old school Detroit techno, jazz, and southern rap passed
through a No Wave paradigm. Fit of Body has previously released
work on CGI, DKA, Ransom Note, and his own label,
Harsh Riddims.

For his inaugural EP under new guise 'Yem Gel', NTS Manchester resident and visual artist Alecs Pierce comes through with a four-track cacophony of sounds for Dave Maclean (Django Django) run label Kick + Clap.
From previous experimental outings as Obsidian Pond, gristed petunia and, Handi Dogh he returns with this new project based solely on electronic compositions, giving the multi-instrumentalist artist a chance to further explore his electronic leanings. Operating with a clear mission statement, Yem Gel moniker seeks to live up to its name's reference to malleable 'fictional future plastics' by offering a set of genre-spanning compositions, drawing from multiple influences from ambient, drum 'n' bass or grime and leaving us wondering where he might take us next.

"30+ minutes of life affirming ambient and drone coming from Zen Zsigo, otherwise known for his work under the Cremation Lily alias and as one of the spearheads of the current UK tape scene, where he has been mixing things up for 7 years via his Strange Rules label.

Winter Orbit was inspired by science fiction and it's relation to modern life, recorded in 2015 using a mix of both modern and archaic equipment it was later released on Belgian tape label Audio. Visuals. Atmosphere. on an initial run of 33 tapes.

Winter Orbit is now newly presented via an expanded re-issue, chronicling the original material, re-issued on one side (Fragments in Hologram Snow) while showcasing new material (For Artifice Rose) which was created in response to the initial release by Zsigo in 2017.

As usual, remastered and cut @ Dubplates and Mastering, Berlin and pressed at Record Industry, Holland to ensure optimum listening quality."

Neddix from XIT sound system delivers his "Welcome To My Underground" famous track : exciting sub bass for a massive growing hard techno release...
On the flip you'll get my fave track of this record, a very Pumpin Hard tehcno tunes, totally in the state of mind of Famous Peur Bleue 04 from FKY.
The finish is a UFO... a techno acid tune with a long Dubstep-like break in the middle of the tune, making of this tune a melt between electro techno, hard techno and acid core track.
The plate is bluie and the visual by vstee is a twirling hypnotic 3D effect when you play the tunes :)
Big one !

Lil Jabba is a creator, possessing immense skills and artistry clearly demonstrated in both his visual and audio work. His profession in the latter has been acclaimed since his early releases, where he successfully delved into the realms of juke and footwork, producing tunes that took the genres to a new level. Since then, the producer has gone on to develop a sound distinct to himself, touching on ways in which he can blend his vast sound palette as seen in his recent projects released via Local Action.

For his first release on GETME!, Lil Jabba provides a five track mini LP that keeps us on our toes, unaware of what to expect next. It takes its listeners into positively weird places, combining aspects from dub, jungle and UK garage to produce sounds unrecognisable to any genre, yet well-fitting. Additionally, he presents us with tracks that are mentally stimulating in their dynamic and intense breaks, also offering songs which exhibit ambiguous dimensions.

A continuation of his kaleidoscopic sun-dappled cosmic-disco, Neon Leon was the much-loved CD-only sophomore album by Sorcerer. Just in time for Spring/Summer, we present the first ever vinyl issue, released as a deluxe double LP.

A perfectly formed suite of ten tracks featuring soft guitars, subtle synths and lightly grooving percussion, Neon Leon magically evokes that elusive summer feeling throughout. The guitar-driven "Algorhythm" serves as the album opener, blasting bold, sun-drenched jazz chords atop bright synths and groove-based drum programming. "Ride The Serpent" and "Distort Yourself" are guided by a more sultry, slo-mo disco impulse whilst the staggering "Chemise" and strident "Face It" merge 80s West Coast production sheen with Sorcerer's trademark laid back, gentle disco. "Raydio"'s undeniable head-nod groove adds a rare vocal to the proceedings, joyously combining with the bubbling cosmic funk.

Since its initial release in 2009, exceptional producers have created vibrant variations on the dreamy, dubby, melodic nu-disco theme. Happily, the emergence of such luminaries as Jex Opolis, Harvey Sutherland, Suzanne Kraft, Tornado Wallace et al has only served to make the master - Sorcerer - sound ever more brilliant and vital.

Utilising his array of guitars, drum machines, synths, and trusty MPC, the loved-up Sorcerer sound inspires halcyon memories of warm days, endless sunsets and pure youthful abandon. Influenced by surf, 80s dance pop, acid-R&B, space jazz, krautrock, disco, dub, and am radio gold, his music maps a tour through a uniquely Californian lifestyle. Yet when music so vividly captures a vibe and a feeling, it can make writing about it appear almost redundant. Instead, to glean the full colour of what your turntable will soon gratefully radiate, we prescribe the generous soundclips presented here.

And, for a unique insight into the process behind the wonderful sounds conjured up, here's Sorcerer himself:

"Neon Leon's is the name of a bar in a Elmore Leonard book I was reading on a vacation to Belize with my future wife. I was soaking up his brand of noir during the making of the songs on this record, along with another favorite Ross Macdonald. We were living in a small apartment in the Mission District of San Francisco where i had my own room to jam. It was painted Orange and Turquoise and was a very inspiring place to create and focus. I could walk out of my house to any number of hole in the wall bars where people were deejaying, hanging-out, and knew about me and my music.

After White Magic I developed more confidence in my style and process so I stuck with it and I believe it shows in the tunes I selected for the record. The sounds are rich and I dug deeper into sampling from obscure dollar records and getting looser musically. I made a handful of collage videos for the tracks at this time as well, which represent where my mind was at visually. In my mind it's Cosmic Funk that rules the day and I am thankful to have the opportunity to share it with the world again."

Lovingly remastered by the esteemed Simon Francis, cut reassuringly loud on to heavyweight double vinyl and presented in a deluxe gatefold jacket with freshly commissioned artwork throughout from original designer Rich Robinson, this limited edition of 500 copies is sure to fly.

WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND THE WEBSITE, YOU CAN FIND US ON THESE SOCIAL CHANNELS

LYBES DIMEM is a project by visual artist and musician Lukas Rehm. With a focus on digital sound-de- sign, elaborate beat structures and the use of error, the music plays with cognitive phenomena and abstraction while maintaining an emotional refuge. LYBES DIMEM is presented in formats ranging from spatial sound experiences to sy- nesthetic shows complementing the auditive layers with visualiza- tions of real-time data, computer graphics and moving image. Lukas Rehms installative art, and compo- sitions have been internationally presented and awarded with multi- ple emerging arts prices.

SYNCLEFT CHRONEM is the first album released by LYBES DIMEM in both digital and vinyl format and accompanied by a moving image artwork. The title reflects the pro- jects interest in the potential of difference, cognitive frictions and exertion: sync = variability in the processing of auditive and visual signals, syncleft = the synaptic cleft, which is a crucial empty spa- ce in biological neural networks, chronem = the chroneme as a the- oretical unit to measure the time of

an articulated sound. Mathemati- cally clean sounds juxtapose pat- terns and transitions familiar from the realm of organic acoustics. Multi-layered noise textures ex- plore the simulated space. A tem- porary continuity is provided by percussive and melodic elements, right until the next escalation, eventually awaiting a concluding resolution.

The visual language explores dif- ferent phenomena and techniques of cognition inspired by the rhe- torics of big science (computer graphics, discontinuity of materi- al, pop cultural references). Both the moving image artwork and the graphic design of the release pay tribute to the multi-layered appro- ach of the music. The design of the vinyl cover by studio BNAG.cc uses subtractive colour synthesis to interchange between abstract for- mality and representationalism.

SYNCLEFT CHRONEM is the first release by LYBES DIMEM on SVS Records following a first encounter at the SVS residency at the 4D Spa- tial Sound Institute in Budapest.

Transit Valley is the debut release by Joe Coghill, a multi-disciplinary artist, musician and experimental publisher based in Edinburgh. His practice incorporates sound, video, performance, social sculpture, facilitation and media distribution. Borrowing from multiple spheres of influence, his scattered output operates from a liminal position. Coghill works in an improvised and often haphazard way, incorporating disparate field recordings, modular synthesis and other sonic ambiences to create unpredictable and ephemeral multi-layer audio-visual performances. Alongside this Coghill has been producing music recreationally in his various bedroom studios over the past 14 years.

Tune after tune, Coops consistently delivers truly original and unique music, his newest single 'Jetpack' taken from
the recently announced 'No Brainer' project is no exception. Twist up a paper plane and take ight with Coops as he transports us out of the mundane into completely uncharted territory with this perfectly executed audio/visual experience. At High Focus Records, we are rm believers in artistic freedom, so when an artist as versatile as Coops delivered this 14 track project, it was a 'No Brainer' to share these highly innovative creations with the
world. 'Jetpack', alongside previous singles 'That Jazz', 'Bob Dylan' & 'What You Want' can all be found on Coops'
forthcoming 'No Brainer' project which is now available to pre order on limited edition splatter vinyl, CD, cassette tape and on all digital platforms. This forthcoming record showcases Coops' versatility and creative approach to his craft displaying a broad palette of sounds and moods. The cosmic cover art shows the two sides of the brain, representing the different approaches Coops has taken when crafting this project, ranging from experimental modern soundscapes to that classic Hip Hop sound. 'No Brainer' isn't really a album but more an experiment... I made most of these tracks alongside music I'd been making for an album... People have always tried to categorise me as a "Boom-Bap artist" but that I have never been. I am constantly making music of different styles and never work on one project at a time. Sadly some of these tracks never see the light of day, even though they are still of high quality and sick, so this time it was a 'No Brainer' that I put some of these tracks out.' - Coops
Coops - 'No Brainer' is offcially released on the 27th of April 2018 on High Focus Records.

Audio-visual artists Soundwalk Collective were granted exclusive access to the personal archive of the groundbreaking filmmaker and present their ambitious New Album and Remix EP: What We Leave Behind released on 18th & 25th May 2018.

The NYC and Berlin based group were invited to aurally explore the archive of the seminal French director Jean-Luc Godard and release their interpretations in an innovative new album What We Leave Behind. Drawing on Godard's personal collection of shot film, reel- to-reels and historical ephemera, the recordings reveal the moments before and after the camera rolls, from stage directions and on-set asides to rehearsals, false stars and outtakes.

'There are boxes filled with sounds, words, chaos, and also silence. For Godard sound is a musical composition and when I began listening to the tapes and heard his voice between takes, it was like little bits of life...each sound has its own value. It has always been part of our working practice to venture into untapped sonic territories, discover the poetics behind them, and explore how we (as humans) relate to it, it is part of a larger discourse.' - Stephan Crasneancki, Soundwalk Collective

Revealing much insight to the director's process and personality, the 6-track album will be followed by a remix EP, featuring unique reworks from Ricardo Villalobos, Jan Jelinek and Petre Inspirescu.

What We Leave Behind, and the subsequent remix EP, arrive 50 years to the day that the the Cannes Film Festival, 1968, was closed after Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Claude Lelouche, publicly announced their closing of the festival in solidarity with workers and students protesting across the country.

The LP features a conversation between Stephan Crasneanscki, of Soundwalk Collective, and Franc¸ois Musy, Jean-Luc Godard's sound engineer, printed on a translucent paper insert. The LP and Remix EP both contain imagery taken by Stephan Crasneanscki of the archives, which he has also filmed to create a series of mesmeric short music videos of original and remix tracks.

An international genre-bending group of artist-musicians with studios in New York City and Berlin, the three members of Soundwalk Collective (Stephan Crasneanscki, Simone Merli, and Kamran Sadeghi) formed in Manhattan to produce concept albums, sound installations, and live performances, and have worked with a diverse range of collaborators, from Nan Goldin and Patti Smith to Berghain and Zaha Hadid.

The artist run gallery Schloss, inhabiting the space of a defunct Porsche repair shop in Oslo, has birthed a record label under the same name. Run by the visual artist Ida Ekblad and the DJ/ producer Karima Furuseth. The first release is by Londoner Max Fowler,who has a certain affinity for ageing samplers and dusty samples.The B-side features a remix by Stockholm mainstay and, among other, The Trilogy Tapes-affiliate Samo DJ.
Mixed and mastered by Matt Karmil.

Osaka based producer 7FO. Having previously released a cassette on RVNG International, and a 7'' single on Bokeh Versions in 2017, this is the Japanese producer's debut full length vinyl release. The tracks, recorded between 2012 and 2017, have been tweaked, remastered and recorded to vinyl for the first time.
.
The mysterious figure recorded the tracks at home, processing guitar sounds, using a sampler, synthesizer and junk equipment. Following in the footsteps of the ambient giants of his native lands, 7FO's music continues this illustrious heritage whilst offering something fresh, modern and beautifully rendered. He describes his own sound as 'gorgeous sustained tones and dreamlike oscillations that drift through the inorganic/electronic world reverberating through our subconscious creating sonic fables in our minds'.

The 12'' comes with artwork designed by label head & visual artist Jack Hardwicke. To accompany the release Greek filmmaker George Kountouras, who also collaborated on the artwork, has directed a gorgeous video for the title track 'Moment'.

A thrilling 9-song set, Murmurations is as perfectly pitched for headphones as it is for clubs, named after giant cloud formations of starlings and themed around the stunning emergent behaviors that appear within them. To mirror these movements in the sonic landscape and visuals of Murmurations, SMD's James Ford and Jas Shaw collaborated with the celebrated Hackney-based vocal collective The Deep Throat Choir, as well as creative directors Kazim Rashid of ENDLESSLOVESHOW (Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawk) and Carri Munden.

Finding time in between Ford's work as a producer and Jas' club gigging last year, the duo arranged a session in Shaw's countryside studio. Via an introduction from a friend of Ford's wife, The Deep Throat Choir's director Luisa Gerstein and SMD began swapping some production and melodic ideas. They decided to bring the whole East London-based choir into the studio to experiment, and the results were intense. Jas says, 'Listening to them moving their voices around a tone, altering the timbre, making chords, was like working with an incredible new synthesiser.' Rashid and Munden explore related ideas centered on kinetic energy and communal movement throughout the visuals of Murmurations. Rashid says of the collaboration, 'We were both having discussions around the purity of collective human experience and how transcendental this can be. Techno and the dance-floor is one of the last true expressions of this euphoria.'

From the beat-less introduction 'Boids' onwards you can hear uncanny patterns and sounds rising up from the sea of voices -- not traditional chords or harmonies, but complex interference patterns that play tricks on the mind and merge perfectly with SMD's distinctive synth tonalities and instinctive dancefloor nous. At times you might hear hints of Bulgarian choral music, or Cocteau Twins, or avant-garde composers like Iannis Xenakis or Pauline Oliveiros - but really, thanks to the creative freedom of SMD's working methods, it is a sound completely of its own, something all too rare in an age of retro and reference.

Ford and Shaw still have the same love of pure sound, human harmonies and electronic possibilities that they did when they first met at university, and it's clear that their career path has allowed them to nurture this love and express it as vividly as ever before.

originally released in 1990-with Liz Lamere - Never released on vinyl-

Born in Brooklyn, Alan Vega was reared on the rock 'n' roll sound of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, but originally struck out on a career as a visual artist and light sculptor, making pieces out of electronic debris. But on the occasion of seeing Iggy Pop fronting the Stooges at The Stooges at the New York State Pavilion in 1969 was an epiphany for Vega. It showed me you didn't have to do static artworks, you could create situations,' he said. That show was the first time in my life the audience and the stage merged into one." It was that eradication of barriers between the two that Vega took to heart.

Their first two albums, 1977's Suicide and their 1980 follow-up, remain two of the era's greatest touchstones, beacons for others seeking to transform their worlds with sound. And even during the group's hiatus through the 1980s, Vega continued to pursue his singular vision across an individualistic solo output. From his 1980 self-titled debut and rockabilly-infused albums like Saturn Strip, through bracing albums like Power On to Zero Hour and IT, Vega forged his own singular path.

For all the darkness and despair that encompasses this moment in our world - and despite his work being depicted as bleak and nihilistic - for Vega there was always a sense of hope and a place for dreams to become reality. People have always told me that my music is angry,' he said. To me, it was always just an energy. It was the way I perceived the world. The key Suicide song was 'Dream Baby Dream,' which was about the need to keep our dreams alive. I knew back then that something poisonous was encroaching on our lives, on all our freedoms.' He fought to his very last breath for that freedom.

originally released in 1993 - with Ric Ocasek & Liz Lamere-Never released on vinyl-

Born in Brooklyn, Alan Vega was reared on the rock 'n' roll sound of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, but originally struck out on a career as a visual artist and light sculptor, making pieces out of electronic debris. But on the occasion of seeing Iggy Pop fronting the Stooges at The Stooges at the New York State Pavilion in 1969 was an epiphany for Vega. It showed me you didn't have to do static artworks, you could create situations,' he said. That show was the first time in my life the audience and the stage merged into one." It was that eradication of barriers between the two that Vega took to heart.

Their first two albums, 1977's Suicide and their 1980 follow-up, remain two of the era's greatest touchstones, beacons for others seeking to transform their worlds with sound. And even during the group's hiatus through the 1980s, Vega continued to pursue his singular vision across an individualistic solo output. From his 1980 self-titled debut and rockabilly-infused albums like Saturn Strip, through bracing albums like Power On to Zero Hour and IT, Vega forged his own singular path.

For all the darkness and despair that encompasses this moment in our world - and despite his work being depicted as bleak and nihilistic - for Vega there was always a sense of hope and a place for dreams to become reality. People have always told me that my music is angry,' he said. To me, it was always just an energy. It was the way I perceived the world. The key Suicide song was 'Dream Baby Dream,' which was about the need to keep our dreams alive. I knew back then that something poisonous was encroaching on our lives, on all our freedoms.' He fought to his very last breath for that freedom.

Japanese vocal performer Hatis Noit will release her enigmatic EP Illogical Dance via Erased Tapes worldwide on 23rd March 2018.
The arresting 4-track record creates unique song-worlds with transcendent vocal interpretations that at once deconstruct and recombine Western Classical, Japanese folk and nature's own ambience atmosphere. Illogical Dance also features Björk-collaborators Matmos, who were so impressed with Hatis Noit's recordings, they volunteered to edit the lead track Illogical Lullaby.

Hailing from the distant Shiretoko, a small town in Hokkaido, which is the largest island in north Japan, Hatis Noit's accomplished range is astonishingly self-taught, inspired by everything she could find from Gagaku — Japanese classical music — and operatic styles, Bulgarian and Gregorian chanting, to avant-garde and pop vocalists. The sounds she created on Illogical Dance, co-produced by Haruhisa Tanaka and Matmos, bring to mind the experimental vocal patterns of Meredith Monk with the attentive production of Holly Herndon.

It was at the age of 16, during a trek in Nepal to the Buddha's birthplace, when she realised singing was her calling. While staying at a women's temple in Lumbini, one morning on a walk Hatis Noit heard someone singing. On further investigation it was a female monk singing Buddhist chants, alone. The sound moved her so intensely she was instantly aware of the visceral power of the human voice, a primal and instinctive instrument that connects us to the very essence of humanity, nature and our universe.

The name Hatis Noit itself is taken from Japanese folklore, meaning the stem of the lotus flower. The lotus represents the living world, while its root the spirit world, therefore Hatis Noit is what connects the two. For Hatis Noit, music represents the same netherworld with its ability to move and transport us to the other side, the past, a memory, our subconscious. It is the same for Illogical Dance, a set of transformative songs that taps into our most primal instincts.

The human voice is our oldest, most primal yet most powerful instrument. I use it to describe nature's many sounds, a language that isn't logical. Yet it forms a beautiful conversation that isn't restricted to words like the human language is. I want my music to remind us of that.' — Hatis Noit

Wanting to interpret and mimic the sounds Hatis Noit hears in nature, Illogical Dance is as unpredictable, beautiful and mysterious as the world around us. Each track is made up from multi layers of vocals, all improvised and without words, before being carefully pieced together. Astonishingly no samples are used throughout, even the sound of crushing leaves came from Hatis Noit's own vocal chords.

The result is a stunning array of sound sculptures that see her switching between multiple styles with great ease. From the sweet operatics on Illogical Lullaby, the manipulated vocal loops duplicating electronic production on Anagram c.i.y. to the primordial chanting call to arms of Angelus Novus, a 10-minute odyssey that features whispering and leaves crunching, it showcases Hatis Noit's full range and introduces a truly original artist.

Previously only available in Japan, Illogical Dance will receive a worldwide release on 23rd March 2018 including a first edition on 12' vinyl. After participating in a ceremony for memorial and appreciation tailored to the withdrawal of the evacuation area in Fukushima on 31st March 2017, Hatis Noit collaborated with renowned visual artist Nobumichi Asai on a project titled INORI (prayer) which they premiered live as part of an Erased Tapes showcase at Mutek Japan in Tokyo.

Having recently moved to London and performed a first string of UK shows, followed by a special live performance at the Milan Fashion Week and Mutek Japan appearance, Peter Broderick has invited Hatis Noit to support him at the Jazz Cafe on April 15th. She's also been announced as part of this year's Sea Change Festival line-up, and asked to participate in a workshop with the London Contemporary Orchestra.

Using a modular system comprised of Make Noise modules (as well as a Prophet 5 synthesizer), Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith created Abstractions as a live score for the film of the same name by visual artist Harry Everett Smith. Comprised of a single track across the record's two sides, Abstractions presents a unique experimental release within Kaitlyn's stellar catalog of contemporary electronic music. This Make Noise Records release was Digitally Mastered by Shawn Hatfield at Audible Oddities
Pressed to 12" Clear (140gm) vinyl and inserted into a black inner dust sleeve and Matte Jacket featuring artwork by Harry Everett Smith (comprised of film negatives from Abstractions, licensed from the Harry Smith Archives), assembled by Sean Curtis Patrick.

Transversales Disques present a reissue of Bernard Baschet and Michel Deneuve's 4 Espaces Sonores, originally released in 1982. Rare 1979 recording of Bernard Baschet performing on his Sound Sculptures.The Baschet brothers are known worldwide as creators of Sound Sculptures, fantastic shapes of moulded metal and glass, which combine the visual arts with music.François Baschet had always been fascinated by acoustics, by the relationships between the shape and material of an intrument and the beauty of its sound.Bernard Baschet was passionately interested in contemporary music and firmly believed that such instruments were the proper tools for modern music, for they offered to the artist and performer a personal means of expression denied by electronic devices.Together the brothers began to design and produce Sound Sculptures, which could also be regarded as musical instruments.Circa 1965, Bernard worked alongside Pierre Schaeffer as a member of the GRM (Musical Research Group) on the elaboration of what was to become Schaeffer's "Traité des objets musicaux" (Treatise on Musical Objects).The Baschet brothers also created structures and instruments of all sizes, including bell towers, windmills and fountains, using the natural elements of wind and water to make music. Bernard Baschet was especially proud of his pedagogical work amongst deprived and handicapped children, with the instrumentaium made up of fourteen pieces.

td 80 copies. Numbered.
Music by Ayato
Serygraphied on 180GR glassed paper.
Visual by Raf & Chris with the help of Rom, Mathieu, Vestee, Virgi'.
I always loved Muslimgauze and Badawi's productions... This record is the result of loads of conversations with Ayato concerning these 2 musicians, who he is also feeling close to. Long time project, this finally comes out in a limited 100 copies edition, with hand made visuals from Bodega Absurd crew... With original letters and forms they created... A superb record for all oriental electro fans ! Enjoy !

"Emotional Rescue begins the first in a series of reissues looking at the music of guitarist Carl Weingarten and his Multiphase Records label, starting at his highly sought after collaborate album with Walter Whitney, Dreaming In Colors. With an early interest in photography and Super 8 film leading to a degree in cinema production, Weingarten's other, self-taught, love was the slide guitar. Taking its blues roots and merging them with his visual arts background created a unique "painting in sound" style of playing. While looking to break into the film industry he began writing and recording his own film scores and other music for modern dance companies. From this, he founded Multiphase Records in St Louis in 1980. By the time of Dreaming In Colors, the label had released a series of cassettes and vinyl albums offering abstract, experimental, jazz-fusion, new wave and increasingly, new age compositions. Throughout this period the work of engineer, keyboardist and programmer, Walter Whitney was often present and by the 1985 release of Dreaming In Colors the duo had collaborated for a number of years and released several projects together, most notably as members of the Delay Tactics band. Recorded during off days from the Delay Tactics sessions, the album came together at Whitney's Subterranean Sound studio with a focus away from the bands guitar driven instrumentals to explore a multilayered approach to synthesis, blending textures with Whitney's original samples and sound design, while Weingarten's guitar moved from shining solo moments to complimenting the overall oeuvre, all with heavy washes of delay. This ecumenical approach led to the creation of this compelling album. A masterful conceptual whole that is linked by rich melodies and a concise playing style, heavy on substance while never forgoing the uplifting vibrations. "

After a period of hibernation, aperture records awakens with a bang and a compelling program in the pipeline.
Following their first album released on aperture at the tail end of 2015 'no.3.obliate', the Italian duo T.e.s.o. bring us their second full-length album 'costruzione 04'.
As the title suggests, the album centres around an underlying theme of construction, inspired by radical architecture, brutalism and collages from Superstudio. The concept and title evolved from the nature of the album and the process of building up tracks from a number of separate samples, much like the singular elemental materials used to assemble a structure.
Alongside their music production, the duo have previously created a multimedia installation that investigated the geometric studies of Le Corbusier in parallel to the musical production of Erik Saite and Matteo Castiglioni continues to create impressive audiovisual installations such as the recent 'Freddo Flusso' and 'neon(i)', as well as a collaboration with Danilo Randazzo. T.e.s.o also continue to perform absorbing live sets of their own inimitable range of musical perspective and vision.
Intense, visual and structured, 'costruzione 04' again showcases T.e.s.o.'s complex, obscure and dominant beats and their oblique and sometimes challenging style.

Sam Vicary A.K.A Hunrosa (meaning "to dream") is an electronic music producer capturing the wild organic senses of his childhood and anchoring it with a darker 2am undercurrent. Based in Manchester, he is principally a bassist and currently a member of The Cinematic Orchestra, Paper Tiger and The Dominic J Marshall Trio, as well as performing with Manu Delago, Imogen Heap, Matthew Halsall, Anil Sebastian and Stuart Macallum.

His latest offering 'Ransome' is a heavily rhythmic journey, full of textured hand percussion and soaring strings, accompanied by the beautifully melodic vocals of Alice Higgins drifting overhead. The Clap Clap remix sees the Black Acre mainstay exploring expansive territories, polyrhythmic hand percussion and textured electronica perfectly intertwine, drenched in dub ambience, heightened by scattered arpeggios and swirling synths. The music is inspired by a coastal upbringing, represented in the music via field recordings, as well as being aided by visual stimulus throughout the writing process.

Having grown up with and on the internet, Martin Steer (1986) has transformed its pull into a concept album that is just as immediate and intangible as the digital world. Bad Stream is guitars and machines vanishing in the spaces between Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails only to reemerge amidst Ambient, Noise, and Drone. Bad Stream, then, is his modus operandi - a hybrid soundtrack to the feelings of resignation, isolation, and cynicism within neoliberal cyberspace and to that strangely numbing comfort of bodies transmuting into zeros and ones in real time.
'I look at my phone even when I play guitar,' says Martin Steer, 'and that isn't even entirely voluntary. The 2010s really changed my perception of how digital technologies and social media affect me as a musician. Through Bad Stream I want to make sense of this particular kind of anxiety, and to use sensory overstimulation as a way to develop an independent and progressive musical language.'
The past seven years took Martin and his laptop and guitar from Berlin to Mexico and Nepal and, as a founding member of Frittenbude, into the German charts and to various festival stages. And yet, Bad Stream is a true 'Berlin album,' out of Friedrichshain, Neukölln, and Kreuzberg and will be released on Martin Steers own label ANTIME. It was recorded with real drums and programmed beats, with shoegaze guitars, acid baselines, piano, smartphone synths, violins, field recordings from the darknet and his voice, whose hopeless timbre conveys reflections on systems, the future, drugs, people, and his own place. In his ever expanding A/V live shows and in the music videos, this is supplemented by complex visuals.

A Collection with An Exceptional Sound and Visual Aesthetic, In Collaboration With The British Photographer Chris Steel-Perkins, The Counter-Cultures Photograph.

Wælder are moving between ambient, industrial and pop. Their rhythms and soundscapes of voices, obscure samples and distorted field-recordings build spaces of barren material and soft ground, which teem and crawl - strange and harmonious. To present their music live, Wælder are mixing analogue and digital effects with guitar, synthesizers, vocals and loops. Rhythms and atmospheres blur, dissolve and re-assemble. Their live shows are often framed by visuals, generated in collaboration with various visual artists.

There are some records that manage to sound both of a time and utterly timeless and Bon Voyage Organisation's Jungle Quelle Jungle (a nod to Supertramp's Crisis What Crisis) is one of those albums. Its silken-smooth production, irresistible grooves, funk-tinged guitars, lush soundscapes and general glowing presence could easily lead one to believe that have dug up a lost disco gem from the 1970s. However, behind the disco-pop gleam lies eerie dystopian sci-fi ruminations of a futuristic bent and tones that can often feel as French as they do Asian or African.

This sort of cross-continental exploration is an expansion on BVO's previous two EPs, the man behind the Organisation, Adrien Durand, says. 'I tried to continue the musical expedition between dystopian Science-Fiction Haunted Africa - plus Haitian Vaudou on 'Soleil Dieu' - and futuristic Asia. Addressing, in a double entendre manner, some of the political issues that I am sensitive to.' In fact the jungle in question in the album's title is a metaphorical one and one that creates a vast series of environments for Durand to explore such subjects as world trade, utopian ideals and themes of idols, as well as of time and communication. However, one will need to speak French to decipher such explorations, as well as shake off the natural impulse to move with every glorious beat on its 13 tracks, of which are moved along by Maud Nadal and Agathe Bonitzer's golden vocals.

Durand is a full-time producer based in Paris, working with the likes of Amadou & Mariam, so it makes sense that this record would absolutely sparkle in this department. Durand feeds off the variety of musicians coming and going during recording sessions as well as the rotating members and numbers of people involved with the band but fundamentally he writes all songs on piano first before bringing them to record live. 'We recorded a rhythm section of five - drums, percussion, guitar and myself on bass/synth bass and keyboards - at La Frette which is a studio located in a mansion outside of Paris and fitted with a beautiful 1973 NEVE desk. We only used analogue gear, by taste really, and found it a pretty reliable way of doing things. This simply consists of putting good players together in a room and waiting for the right take to happen.' Two four-day sessions and a 'cooling off' period (to let the recordings settle) soon followed before Durand picked the material back up to give it a final polish.

The resulting album is one loaded with intricacies and idiosyncrasies, something that Durand puts down to his own unique approach. 'I don't consider myself much of a songwriter but I love arranging rhythm sections and I'm pretty proud of the ones on this record.' This applies when it comes to working with such musicians as Inor Sotolongo Zapata, who with Durand used traditional Cuban percussive instruments and explored Haitian rhythms. When Durand expands on some of the ideas and influences that were funnelled into the record, you begin to get a sense of the vastness of the sounds that fill his world, from Trevor Horn's production work on ABC's Lexicon of Love, to the literary work of JG Ballard to the visual flair of the original Blade Runner and even the Tuareg sounds of Tinariwen, due to the fact that his studio neighbours their manager's and he would hear their rhythms bleeding through the walls. You therefore end up with an album that offers tracks such as 'GOMA' that fuses Chinese and African rhythms as well as 'SI D'Adventure' a piece of pop music that is dazzlingly hook-laden.

As a result of this cooking pot of sounds, influences, thoughts and creations, Durand has more of a gumbo approach to making this music than a set-out scientific formula. 'There is no definite recipe for me to like the production of a record,' he says. 'Of course it really sticks out that my work is really influenced by the 1978-1983 period, the golden age and last stand of analogue studios and session musicians.' Whilst Durand adores the traditional and conventional music, he really views this as something bigger and wider. 'I have a taste for the otherworldly vibe from records coming from less sought-after musical scenes, particularly Poland, Haiti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Congo and early Cantonese pop. Languages and the rapport of the people involved in the making of those records really inspires me. I particularly hate the use of the word 'World Music' as a potpourri for everything that doesn't sound quite western enough.'

* To celebrate the second anniversary of Khemia Records we are pleased to welcome back In Aeternam Vale, the legendary French artist who inaugurated the imprint on a split Ep with Bronze Teeth in March 2016.

* This is the first single-artist Ep produced by the label, initiating a new series that will run parallel to the V/A editions.

* The tracks 'Dave' and 'Circles' form an elliptical conundrum composed of various references including Kubrick's alchemical allegory 2001 A Space Odyssey, (sampled in French) with it's existential narrative of a schizophrenic artificial intelligence lurking in the shadows. The Deus ex Machina wondering if mankind is still useful to machines, or perhaps even dangerous to them The infamous Seveso chemical disaster at the pharmaceutical laboratory ICMESA caused by human error, the glowing blood-red sphere of HAL 9000, the all-seeing eye of the sentient super-computer and the circular composition of the toxic compound 2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), released into the atmosphere at Seveso. With this cryptic feedback loop, Laurent Prot is suggesting that the new technologies we are developing now, for use in our near future could result in catastrophe when human control is lost to the self-learning of AI. The homicidal consequences of a machine take-over find visual form in the bleak, dystopian aesthetic of Evelyn Bencicova's cover artwork.

One year into his music production career, WHB' is the startling debut release from Brooklyn's Kellen303. A unique hybrid, the tracks are inspired by goth rock/industrial, footwork and vogue music. It's perhaps a happy but unlikely accident that they also fit into Keysound Recording's dark, rolling UK sound. Across five tracks, four cut to vinyl, Kellen303 maps out his unique but bleak vision. The title track, a relentless volley of thunderous kicks, samples a phone interview Kellen303 held with a grime MC close to Keysound's hearts. 'What's Happening Brotha' is titled such because these songs were made at a very dark time in my life,' he explains. I decided to turn my anger and frustrations into music.' There is also a visual/thematic component to my music. Specifically, within the world of 'Planet X.' Where 'Planet X' is a song about going war, the Interstellar mix is song about traveling to that war in suspended animation. The song take place in a dream state where thoughts, emotions and images from the day are passing in and out of the subconscious.' As his thoughts suggest, Kellen303 is also an intensely visual person: outside DJing, he's a filmmaker and screenwriter. He also co-founded Transit FM, a vibrant American web radio station. The EP also features a vocal from Bronx based Afro-Dominicano MC, Rainey.

A multi-platform production that explores the overlap between the digital and the organic through field recordings of Inuit throat singing may sound, on surface level, to be something that is a rather niche. However, Zoe Mc Pherson's exploration of this world on String Figures is a deeply rhythmic, immersive and forward-thinking piece of electronic- leaning music that remains just as danceable as it does experimental.
The album is fundamentally one of duality, exploring the traditional and the contemporary, organic and electronic, audio and visual, history and the future. Rooted in this duality is also a core theme around string being one of the most ancient and playful art forms and the seemingly infinite possibilities it offers in terms of shapes, structures and figures lines up with this as a trans-global art project. One that over time will involve video art, choreography, 3D motion design, macro film, instrumental and electronic sound. Although for now is being presented through an AV performance, films and a record with Mc Pherson collaborating with director Alessandra Leone.!
Over the seven tracks (which are laid out as chapters) the record explores glitchy electronics, dub-tinged grooves, polyrhythms, and a huge array of instruments that takes in quiet blasts of atonal sax alongside wonky synths. This of course cross-pollinates with the throat singing and experimental field recordings to create an utterly inimitable sonic sphere. For Mc Pherson it's about mixing worlds, histories and timeframes and she uses a 1991 quote from Laurie Spiegel to hit home how she has elaborated upon this original thought of history and future overlapping. 'Folk music is considered anonymous common property in a culture and that's what a lot of computer music and other kinds of music data may end up becoming.' However, there's also a purer reason for the exploration of these worlds and colliding them together. 'Basically I thought that electronic music that is only digital is a bit boring and as I'm connected to jazz music for many reasons, I wanted it to sound organic: real instrumentation, field recordings.'

Omar Di Bongo is an audio-visual project that melts video feedback from Hugo Saugier with two figures of french underground techno scene, Somaticae (In Paradisum, Tanzprocesz...) known for his dark cutting edge techno, and C_C (Small But Hard, Kvitnu...) master of no input mixer feedbacks, and savage analog industrial beats. Their music merges industrial music with tribal polyrythms, and makes us dive into a certain kind of psychedelia between hallucination and dementia. Reduced to the essence, their productions bring back techno to its core, the trance dimension, often fogotten in many modern musics of this genre.

Air Lows is the debut solo album by Silvia Kastel. The Italian artist has been a fixture of the underground since her precocious teens, clocking up many miles in Control Unit with Ninni Morgia ('It's like Catherine Deneuve dumped two cases of post-Repulsion psychiatric notes over Pere Ubu's Dub Housing, lit the fuse and, ahem, stood well back" - Julian Cope), including collaborations with the likes of Smegma, Factrix, Gary Smith, Aki Onda and Gate (Michael Morley of The Dead C). Both solo and in her work with others, Kastel has explored the outer limits and inner workings of no wave, industrial, dub, extreme electronics, free rock and improvisation. Air Lows is both her fullest and most refined offering to date, a work of vivid, isolationist electronics which draws deeply on her past experience but assuredly breaks new ground. Prompted by a late-flowering interest in techno and club music, Kastel sought to create something which combines a steady rhythmic pulse with the otherworldly sonorities of musique concrete, and avant-garde synth sounds inspired by Japanese minimalism and techno-pop (Haruomi Hosono's Philharmony being a particular favourite). The formal artifice of muzak / elevator music, the intros and outros of generic popular songs, the extreme light-heavy contrasts of jungle, the creative sampling of hardcore, and the very 'human' synths in the jazz of Herbie Hancock's Sextant and Sun Ra: all were touchstones for Air Lows' conception and composition, and all strains of music addressing - or complicating - the relationship between the human and the technological. By extension, visual inspirations also proved important: anime, and the avant-garde fashion of Rei Kawakubo. What does that shirt or dress sound like Though used sparingly, Kastel's voice remains her key instrument, whether subject to dissociative digital manipulations as on 'Bruell', delivering matter-of-fact spoken monologues, or providing splashes of pure tonal colour. Recorded between her expansive Italy studio and a more compact, ersatz set-up in Berlin, Air Lows gradually takes on some of the character of the German capital: you can hear the wide streets and uninhabited spaces, the seepage of never-ending nightlife, the loneliness. Air Lows is The Wizard of Oz in reverse: the glorious technicolour J-pop deconstructions of its first half leading inexorably to the icy noir of 'Spiderwebs' and 'Concrete Void'. These later tracks are reminiscent of 2015's magnificent 39 12', Kastel in the role of numbed, nihilistic chanteuse stalking dank, murky tunnels of reverb and sub-bass. But in fact there is contradiction and emotional ambiguity to Air Lows from the outset, and throughout - a sense of both infinite space and acute claustrophobia; energy and inertia; fluency and restraint.