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This is a journey into sound. A series of journeys across the globe, in-fact. This time with Don Leisure from Darkhouse Family. Let us tell you a story. Firstly, we first need to answer a question. Who is Shaboo

It began in Africa. Nasser Barwani was the son of Shabudin. At the age of 15, Nasser (Don's Uncle) left Kenya and hitch-hiked his way to London. Nasser entered the movie business, occasionally finding himself in front of the camera, acting in Bollywood films. It was then that Nasser changed his surname to adopt a screen name - Shaboo.

According to Don, "Shaboo was the most colourful character in my family. I have fond memories of him playing tabla at family parties. When I was about 17, I was on a journey with my Uncle. Whilst Shaboo drove me around, he was playing the steering wheel as if it were a tabla. It was then I nervously asked "do you think, one day, I'd be able to make music too...". Shaboo was so furious he nearly crashed the car, slamming his hand hard against the wheel. He screamed "OF COURSE YOU WILL!! IT IS IN YOUR BLOOOOOD!!!"...

A week later, inspired by the creative energy of my Uncle, I acquired some music software, and began an all new journey. A journey through the beats..."

Long family car journeys were a constant in Don Leisure's life growing up. "We'd take frequent trips from Wales to London to visit family in the late 80s / early 90s. There I'd mainline into my cousin's record collections, and make full use of the signal radiance to the M4, searching the airwaves for pirate radio stations. However, I wasn't the only one to make use of this. Every trip, my parents would routinely tune their dial into Sunrise Radio - the only Asian radio station around back then.

The soundtrack of these road trips were somewhat unique. Whilst I tried to learn the lyrics to 90s hip hop songs taped off my cousins, my Mum would constantly interrupt, interspersing my boom bap with bonkers Indian radio ads. And here we have the premise of this album. An attempt to recreate this sonic mix, with sounds pulled in from dusty crates and breaks dug from all over the globe."

25 instrumental Hip Hop tracks, linked together in a truly unique style and fashion, this is much more than a beat tape. This is a journey into sound. For real.

Dedicated to Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwani.

Summer has not officially kicked in yet but Antinote's new addition to its roster will sure soundtrack perfectly its upcoming warm nights: encapsulating the teenage dream of an endless summer, 18 RAYS is the moniker behind which some of the label's most steady fixtures gave a try at recording music together, somewhere straight in the heart of Paris' 18th arrondissement.
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Nico Motte, Zaltan & Raphaël Top-Secret have been friends way before each of them occasionally played his part in the Parisian label and it is mainly out of this friendship that they conceived 18 RAYS, a vessel to finally give life to the band they dreamed of in their teenage years. It is safe to say that 18 RAYS has been in their mind for quite a while, but it was only last winter, after a couple of bottles of natural wine on a hazy evening, that they decided that it was time to give it a real go and to pick up the instrument each learned years ago: the guitar, the bass and
the drums.

Produced by Nico Motte - the man behind all the artworks of the label - the trio spent 5 weeks between Synth City (Motte's studio) and Red Bull Studio in Paris working on these 4 songs, each sitting somewhere between some sort of timeless and somehow aquatic dream pop and blurred visions of an eerie grunge sound, that probably
never was.

That being said, the genesis of 18 RAYS might explain why their debut EP turns out to be such an intimate affair: while it took its members down memory lane, the listener will embark on an ethereal trip, taking him to a parallel universe in which the sounds of Cocteau Twins,

Andras establishes a new home for his out-house productions with Punp Records. While House of Dad laboured in detail, 'Sanity' targets club play - speeding tempos laced with the larrikinism of Boiler Room, Australian reality TV and shark siren cut ups. 'Vinyl Only' takes a swipe at the 100% mentality with a stereo bassline threatening to derail the stylus, further sidetracked by being digitally available a week before the 12'. On the P-side, '40k' pulls swimmers from the Bondi rip while 'Sanitiser's simplicity cleanses the grease from Andras' former plumbing exploits.
Words by Michael Kucyk (Noise in My Head)

INCL. HIVER & CLAY WILSON REMIXES

Drawing on a pedigree of lush synth experimentation and cutting drum arrangements, Alfredo Mazzilli has been pushing his own brand of hypnotic techno over the past several years, charting releases with Lanthan Audio, Weekend Circuit and Edit Select. Now, Blankstairs is proud to announce the first U.S.-based release for the Italian producer with Vanaheimr , a pair of new tracks coupled with remixes from Clay Wilson and Hiver.

Mazzilli's work takes a considered pathway that walks the line between form and function, pulling his thick landscapes of synth wash and melodic punctuations through cutting rhythm tracks that owe as much to classic drum machine workouts as the dub-techno stalwarts that he frequently draws on here. Sculptural precision and rhythmic development work in tandem here, giving each track a shifting framework that seems to never touch down in the same place twice.

It s best seen in B-side Njord , a full-on assault of staccato kicks and flickers of percussion elements fleshed out with a series of short, repetitive pads, and washes of reverb, that create a meditative progression of interlocking textures. A similar approach defines A-side Vanir , where a lighter series of synth arrangements are woven through a driving, hypnotic rhythm that offers a fitting counterpoint to Njord's brutal kick patterns.

These are tracks about patience and concentration, allowing the slow, coursing process of the track to take center stage, turning the track into a negotiation between its functional, rhythmic ground and the high-mind ephemerality his arrangements conjure. A pair of remixes join Mazzilli's compositions, with The Bunker New York/Styles Upon Styles alum Clay Wilson twisting Njord towards a more balanced, rhythmic pacing, while pushing its hissing electronics towards a more caustic frequency range. On the A-Side, Hiver draws rhythmic cues from 90's house to turn Vanir into a trance-inducing sunrise groove.

Rune returns on his own Drum Island imprint, this time very ably assisted by UK House turned ambient ambassador Chris Coco
Weekend Billionaires, in its original form is a delightfully lolloping Balearic builder.The Chris Coco Sunshine mix immerses those guitar licks and synth pads in a sea of dubbed out, ultra-violet light. Already rumoured to be included on Harvey's eagerly awaited Mercury Rising comp. Anton Klint (Tryck & Ton / Public Possession) steps up on the flip with a no-less psychedelic, but decidedly more laser-lit interpretation.
Finally Alta Lab wraps things up with a pacier interpretation, Housing up the elements into a hypnotic, emotive rendition...
Quite a package

Beautiful Full Cover Art, Limited to 300 - Lumière Noire - The new label by Chloé!

Il Est Vilaine aren't from Brittany, but they sure are tricksters. The Francophiles among you might have caught on to the corny pun in their name (beating a certain presidential candidate to the punch all while turning the name of the pastoral Ile-et-Vilaine region into, literally, 'he's a nasty woman") but the real takeaway is that these born-and-bred Parisians don't take themselves too seriously - especially in an era in which there is much too much of that happening. It was in 2014 (and on Dialect Recordings) that Florent and Simon tossed their debut 12 into the ring, the rightfully named Scandale - a tight little bombshell released that roused the electronic music scene out of its complacent little catnap.So there we had it, two outcasts refusing to eat at the same table as the tech-house scene queens, serving up three whiplash-on-the-dancefloor cuts drenched in sweaty hedonistic disco and wrapped in a battered motorcycle jacket (with a gooey post-punk-pop core for good measure.) A clear mission statement right out of the gates, watermarked with mystical incantations and throbbing with rock 'n' roll's primitive drive. Everything and the kitchen sink, and a bag of chips - an invitation to just let lose that's even better than the sum of its parts. Moving on to this new platter. We set the scene: motorcycles blazing from the airport strip to the strip joint, our heroes traded their Oberkampf stomping grounds for a sleepless weekend of Spanish groupies, discount bikinis, whiskey and bukkake. And a creative spurt that left us with a mutant of a record, the sound of rock and techno crashing through a drum kit mid-coitus, interrupted by La French Chanson

With FBNM now celebrating their fifth year of operation, Lorenzo has marked the occasion by assembling his biggest project to date - an impeccably curated collection of obscure Italian production music circa 1974 - 1985. The project, nearly a year in the making, has been very close to Lorenzo's heart - beginning unexpectedly in the record fairs of Buenos Aires and leading him on several trips to Rome and Milan, tracking down the original musicians and licensors.

"In this compilation, I have tried to include some of the most interesting cuts I have collected over the years. Tracks like the entirely electronic "Nitrogen" from Alberto Baldan Bembo's "Sound Orchestra" LP on Star Track Records, featuring a wild evolving bassline leading us through frantic rhythmic experimentations. "In the Space", by French born composer Albert Verrecchia and taken from Italian poliziesco drama 'Il Tempo Degli Assasini' (Season for Assasins), tells the tale of wistful longing, played out with serenity on strings and keys, but unexpected interruption from its stop-start arrangement brings an unforeseen tension into the mix... And how could I not include the wonderfully charming "Screw Driver" by Fabio Fabor, from his collaborative album "Superman" with a young Antonio Arena. Featuring an orchestra of beautifully programmed ARP and Oberheim sonorities alongside the Commodore 64 programmed graphical artwork by Antonio Arena himself."

The music itself was partly sourced from Lorenzo's own collection, archived and then restored especially for this release. Where possible, tracks (such as "Vision", "Nitrogen" and "Blue Magnolia") have been lifted directly from the original master tapes kindly lent by the repertoire owners. Every track, however, has been carefully restored, remastered and cut for vinyl by the cautious hands of Andreas (LUPO) Lubich at Calyx Mastering, Berlin.

Over the years, Phil Mison has become the go-to selector for those looking for Ibiza-themed compilations. None of his previous collections, though, have been quite as personal as Out Of The Blue, a compilation inspired by his first spell behind the decks at the Café Del Mar in 1993 - and the remarkable chain of events leading up to it.

Mison made his first trip to Ibiza in the summer of 1991 and quickly fell in love with the magical music being played by Café Del Mar resident DJ, Jose Padilla. On his return to the UK, Mison began to cultivate his own take on the laidback, open-minded style, recording mix-tapes of Ibiza style chill out' tunes to give to friends.

In November 1992, Mison was hanging out in Tag Records, Soho, when Padilla walked in. He plucked up the courage to speak to the Spaniard because earlier that summer Mison had given one of his friends some tapes to take out to Jose in Ibiza so he wanted to see if he had got them. During the conversation Mison invited him down to his next DJ set at Nicky Holloway's club, the Milk Bar and less than three months later, and clearly impressed by what he'd heard on the tapes, Padilla invited Mison to fill in for him at the Café Del Mar, beginning in April '93.

It's that first trip to DJ in Ibiza - a crazy six-weeks spent dividing his time between spinning records at Café Del Mar, hanging out in Jose Padilla's house in the hills, and meeting some particularly eccentric White Isle residents - that proved the inspiration for Out Of The Blue.

The compilation contains a mixture of records that Mison played in his earliest Ibiza sets, those that remind him of that period, and recent discoveries that boast a similarly warm, loved-up vibe. Mison is at pains to point out that it's not a track-for-track representation of his first sets, but rather a collection inspired by this most momentous of experiences.

As you'd expect from a selector of Phil Mison's standing, Out Of The Blue is an outstanding collection. Some will no doubt hear the influence of his mentor - the man he credits with effectively turning his DJing career around - in the undulating rhythms and new age melodies of Kamasutra's Sugar Step', the meandering synthesizer solos and Spanish language vocals of Congarilla's sublime Sacred Tree', and the lilting flamenco guitars of Gambarra', an unreleased mix from Mison's popular Cantoma project.

Elsewhere, listeners can marvel at the starry ambient bliss of Belgian legend Frank De Wulf's The End', recline to the saucer-eyed fusion jazz of the Christoph Spendel Group, shuffle along to tactile, hard-to-find period deep house from Language, Moodswings and Don Carlos, and marvel at The Cactus Rose Project's ridiculously rare Jelly', a sparkling, disco-era jazz-rock outing partly inspired by the Doobie Brothers' Long Train Running'.

Out Of The Blue may well be a very personal selection of tracks celebrating a moment in time, but it's happily one that we can all enjoy.

incl. Remix by Eats Everything.

Our beloved record label ANALOG SOLUTIONS presents this time to V / A Signed by Kristina and ORBE and where Eduardo De La Calle label owner add as well a special detroitish techno soul tool on side B2. It's been several months since the last vinyl release of the record label But it certainly strike back again with a sonic quantum force! Dropping the catalog reference number 019 which is full of
usefull and mesmerized ideas dj tools for worldwide DJs that deserve it ! It would be nice to pay attention to this great job that will be available only in vinyl format for the first few weeks. Pure " shake that ass science " on 12 " ... special design for the dance floor .. DON,T LET IT GO !!

It was a tragic waste of a life, but the influence Cochran imparted on those he'd played and toured with, like Joe Brown, Georgie Fame and Marty Wilde, would ensure he'd not be forgotten. And with acts as diverse as the Who, Sex Pistols and Rush reviving his songs in future years, it was certain he would not be forgotten. But who needs an excuse to enjoy Eddie Cochran's music These tracks, some well known and others less so, tie up the first half of his tragically brief but unbelievably influential career. Pull your blue jeans on and enjoy!

French producer and DJ John Jastszebski has been involved in the French and global underground
House and Techno scene for over a decade now, releasing on imprints such as D'julz' Bass
Culture, Phil Weeks' Robsoul, Syncrophone Recordings and of course Phonogramme where he returns to here.
The original mix of lead track 'Season' takes the lead via infectious stab sequences, snaking subs
and raw organic percussion before Kai Alce's 'Restructure' of 'Season' follows and tips the focus
over to airy chords, jazz-tinged lead melodies and a bumpy rhythmic swing. 'Illusion' follows and sees Jastszebski focus on a more stripped-back aesthetic with rolling drums,
dusty string samples and warm Rhodes driving the composition. 'Gracelend' then closes the package with smooth, unfolding pad melodies, crunch drum sounds and a murky, hypnotic feel.

The thrid an final installment of archive material, selected by Antinote. A killer suite if you ask us. TIP!
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You can trail away with it. It is easy to enter, but hard to drop out. Tolouse Low Trax just needs an MPC, a small Synthesizer set up and some effects to create subliminal hypnotic music trips, driven by dark synthlines and drunken shuffled patterns. The primitiveness in my music is linked to something simple, and that don't have to be obligatory minimal. For me it is enough to dance rough around the core. Music you don't shape till the end contains of a moment of beauty. A veil of secrecy. I work very simply. I rather reduce my possibilities in ompass. Limitations offer lots of liberties.' He reveals about his work ethic. Even if his music sounds darker then any ever experienced night, he mostly produces it in the morning in his highly inspirational studio home. During the dark times of the day Tolouse Low Trax mostly performs live around the globe. Or hangs out in his second home: the Salon Des Amateurs club bar in Dusseldorf, which he once founded and where he held until today two weekly DJ residencies. The moments and atmospheres he inhales during these lightless moments are mirrored in his shadowy music, about which he also confesses: My art is more a cinematic, literally idea of a large to explore Megacity. This is one of the pictures I would link to my music.' On ' part one he now offers five sounding visions about that Megacity'. They listen to mysterious names like Hidden Flat' or Studies in Drama'. They are nervous. They have ephemeral pieces of dub, Industrial, wave or Italian library music. And at times strangealienated voice samples dance within his highly addictive arrangements. Words can't express their magic. But one thing is fore sure: his hypnotic dance-not-dance tracks do not only illuminate so-called freaks!

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Fit of Body (aka Ryan Parks) is part of a new generation of ATL producers; underground artists who draw on the space and grit of Southern hip hop and team it with curveball electronica discovered on late night, weed-fuelled web trawls.Having honed his sound on a string of feted self-released cassettes released on his own Harsh Riddims label - which has also put out everything from bizarro hip hop to gleaming synth pop - and dropped a hyped 12' released on the CGI imprint, the Healthcare EP finds Fit of Body delivering his most accomplished work to date. Five woozy original tracks jammed out on second hand drum machines, bass guitar, cheap mics and creaking synths, this is techno as it was first imagined; raw machine soul made for strange times and unknown futures.
Finding a commonality between Arthur Russell's vocal delivery, Jermaine Dupri's club shaking bass, and the militant drum attacks of Underground Resistance, the EP ghosts past rigid categories, instead taking a journey through heat and haze. On the A side, Parks switches between the languid analogue house of 56k, the melancholic Drexciyan electro of Ridin 2 That Trap or Die, and the lo-fi post punk grooves of 770-997-2341. On the flip he offers the late night 808 soul of Antonio Girl, followed by the uptempo techno ballad All This Time (Since), a song sad and euphoric in equal measure. On 12', the EP is closed with a remix from fellow ATL producer Divine Interface who stretches 56k into a glistening shard of time-stretched trip hop.

Newly launced Samo Records is setting out to explore the depths of the dancefloor by celebrating the darker, moodier facets of electronic music.The NYC label's first release comes from Pixelife (Sean Dack), a highly accomplished visual artist and veteran of NYC's underground. In addition to releasing on such respected labels as Throne of Blood, Horn Wax, and Let's Play House, he also makes up half of GHOST COP, a band known for its textured synths, iconic vocals, dissonant beats, and captivating live sets. Incorporating the same expert sonic-layering techniques he employs in his live analog sets, he's created a dynamic EP that's both intimate in feel and broad in scope.'Omega Block' stomps out of the gate, all driving rhythms and throbbing basslines with an underlying element of frenetic foreboding — aptly reflecting these geopolitically tense times, while still remaining suitable for losing yourself on the dancefloor. The track gets the remix treatment by Bristol, U.K.-born, Berlin-based Antoni Maiovvi, a self-described 'electrodisco horror mindmelt DJ/live performer/film composer' who heads up Giallo Disco Records with Vercetti Technicolor. Here, he trades his trademark horror elements for successions of staccato beats and a stripped-down sensibility that successfully translates to perfect late-night-at-a-warehouse vibes.Chimeras in the Matrix' soars with gorgeous dystopian melodies overlaying squelchy undertones, revealing labyrinthine layers and anxious crescendos before building to a full-on acid frenzy. Producer/remixer/DJ Tronik Youth (who, like Maiovvi, also hails from the U.K. and currently lives in Berlin) is co-head of the prolific (averaging nearly a release a week in 2016) NEIN Records, which he founded five years ago with Ian Considine; the label has released music from the likes of Rodion, Curses, In Flagranti, Heretic, Man Power, Daniele Baldelli, The Emperor Machine, and Moscoman, to name but a few. He is also a member of Permanent Wave, a spooky, pitched-down, dark-wave-inspired disco project with French singer Justine. He brings a chuggy, bleepy edge to his take on 'Chimeras in the Matrix' with bouncy rhythms, multiple breakdowns, and echoing robo-vocals, taking the original's intensity down while upping the dancefloor quotient.

Time to welcome an international champion of all things cosmic to Wrong Era, Slow Motion's international facing sister label. With releases on Clone and Viexlexx to name but two, Mr Pauli is one of the disco underground's favourite tastemakers and he doesn't disappoint with four slamming tracks of sublime synthesized funk.

High Plains is the duo of Scott Morgan and Mark Bridges.

Morgan, based in the Canadian Pacific Northwest, is predominantly known for his drifting, textured soundscapes released under the pseudonym LOSCIL.

Bridges is an accomplished, classically-trained cellist residing in Madison, Wisconsin.

The two met in Banff, Alberta while they were simultaneously there on residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts in 2014. They first collaborated when Bridges contributed cello parts to Morgan's generative music app ADRIFT, recorded in Seattle in 2015.

In early 2016, the duo embarked on a collaborative set of compositions in the oxygen thin air of Wyoming, spending two weeks holed up in a refurbished school house in the town of Saratoga, where this album was recorded.

Inspired by Schubert's Die Winterreiseand the rolling landscapes of
their surroundings, the collaboration culminated in a collection of recordings that evoke a shadowy, introspective and dizzying winter journey.

Cinderland takes cues from classical, electronic and cinematic
musical traditions but is mostly a product of the rugged, mythic landscape; vast and sprawling with a wild, uncertain edge.

The recording was made with a portable studio and all sounds were sourced on site, most notably from Bridges' cello, the resident Steinway D piano, and field recordings collected from the local soundscape.

The results are a site specific, wide scope view of thehigh valley terrain the duo worked in, a mix of analog and digital, neoclassical and modern electronic sounds, a complemental series of tracks to become absorbed in, a truly deep listening experience.

The cover art forCinderland was created by London-based artist, Peter Liversidge.

Repress

After last years slick selection for the series from MCDE, Young Marco steps up with a great set of obscurities. Top Tip!
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Born Marco Sterk, he certainly doesn't come from a standard DJ background. A former skate rat who grew up loving American post-hardcore and '90s hip-hop as much as early Warp Records, he's been affiliated over the years with Amsterdam institutions such as Rush Hour, Red Light Records (where you'll find him most weekdays!) and, of course, Dekmantel itself. Still, there's no question that he's always followed his own path, even during the years that playing his favorite records meant that he was occasionally clearing dancefloors.

Things are different these days, of course, as Sterk now regularly plays around the globe and has been widely hailed not just for his DJ talents, but also for his digging prowess and uncanny ability to pluck jams out of genres, eras and geographies that even veteran DJs will often ignore.

Still, Marco's entry in the Selectors series isn't some soulless collection of 'Holy Grail' rarities. 'Where's the fun in that' he explains. 'Anybody with an internet connection can check what flavor-of-the-month records are in demand.'

Just like the first Selectors compilation, this is not a mix CD, but a collection of hand-picked, unmixed tracks that Sterk has personally chosen from his own vinyl archives. Moreover, Marco has put together a collection of tracks that represent not only how he plays music, but also how he makes music himself. The songs here are melodic, electronic and bound together by a refreshing sense of naiveté. Nothing sounds overly calculated; the tunes here span several decades and include dollar-bin records, avant-garde records, club records and yes, a few things that collector types have likely been looking to get their hands on. It's not meant to be a grand statement, as Marco would rather provide an honest snapshot of his musical tastes and share a few of his favorite tracks and artists in the proc

This release - a collaboration between Ali X (Alphonse from Azari & III) and Mexico's Theus Mago - turns the heat up all the way to 'ON' and just leaves it there. The lyrical content of the title track would lead many to use descriptors like 'sexy,' 'sleazy,' and 'steamy like you wouldn't even believe,' and while the music also bears that out it's important to remember not to stigmatize something that almost everyone does at least a couple of times a week. 'Vision,' meanwhile, offers the perfect B-side accompaniment, a sci-fi techno workout where you don't even have to think about sex if you don't want to. The EP features dub versions of both tracks for more stripped-down club sets aimed at people who understandably have problems with the sound of the human voice. It also includes a remix by Curses, whom we recently 'bumped into' (he says 'cornered") in Berlin and asked if he'd provide one of his trademark eerie downtempo excursions. Long story short: he said 'yes.

- Weller's landmark, multi-platinum selling No. 1 album which stayed 87 weeks in the chart. It spawned the classic hits 'The ChangingMan', 'You Do Something To Me' and 'Broken Stones'.
- Gatefold LP sleeve featuring legendary Peter Blake design
- Colour inner sleeve with photos and lyrics

Singer, Producer and DJ Seven Davis Jr returns to his underground Soulful and House roots while fusing flavors from various eras in this uptempo sophomore album. "Live From The Other Side", plays like the soundtrack to a lovely weekend with visual designs inspired by underground festival culture and contemporary art. Dedicated to his fans, Sev hopes this album will conjure up good vibes and enhance sessions, from living room to club, for generations.

Phonica Records is extremely proud to unveil the next release on its Special Editions imprint; the stunning debut album 'Vuduwave' by Niños Indigo.Niños Indigo is the alias of audiovisual artist Valeria Hernandez. Developed over the course of a month, the album was recorded in Hernandez's home country of Chile and recorded in a single week, resulting in a flowing, organic yet otherwordly listening experience. Valeria explains; 'This record is a compilation of influences that have been inside me a long time... they keep coming back; Afro drums, Hindu instruments, Candombe, Psychedelia in South America. The rhythm of what surrounds me; the lake, the forest near where I live, the calm that surrounds it, the love of my friends and daughter. All of these feelings are what I like to put in my songs, a reminder to value the simple, to seize the resources that I have and to try and free myself of what's on my mind.'Originally released on digital and cassette label Discos Cetaceos in 2014, it's a recording that truly deserves to be given a new lease of life on vinyl.

New Album by Phil Weeks. 2LP with CD.

Finally the new Lossless hits the stores and labelowner Mathias Schober formerly know as SHOW-B delivers some great house tunes we played a lot in the recent weeks.
Housemusic the way we like it. Nuff said...!

Phantom Forth were the brother sister team of Paul Luker (Guitar, Bass, Vocals), Debbie Luker (Drums, Guitar, Vocals) and Lorraine Steele (Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals). They formed in 1981 in Auckland, New Zealand. Paul began recording his own music after purchasing a 2-track from Oceania Sound. He formed a band with his flatmate and eventually met Lorraine through Debbie. With a shared love of Young Marble Giants and Cabaret Voltaire they started to rehearse at LAB Studio.

'The EEPP' was recorded in 1983 within a few weeks at Progressive Music Studios. Slated for release in February 1984, the mini-album finally appeared in November on Flying Nun Records. It contained seven moody sketches of Auckland. Their sound blends cold wave guitars, drum-machine propelled post-punk with female vocals. The core recording set up was a Casio-Tone VL, Boss DR-55 Dr. Rhythm, Roland TR-606 and an acoustic Yamaha bass. All original vinyl copies contained many clicks and pops and due to paper bits from previous jobs that pressing plant melted down. Included with this reissue are two early demos recorded at LAB in 1982, made prior to Lorraine joining the band, plus a recording from the Flying Nun live compilation 'The Last Rumba'.

All songs have been remastered from the original master tapes for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in sleeve with original artwork collage designed by Paul Lurker. Each LP includes a two-sided 8.5x11 poster with notes and photos.

This is the second 12" of a 2-part series of 12"s that will be released digitally as a full-length LP.
After a split single with Muslimgauze and a single of their own on Optimo Trax, we are delighted to present the first Optimo Trax album release by Italy's Underspreche. The album is split across two four- track EPs, released two weeks apart (and also as a complete digital album).
We try to avoid over-hyping our releases, but this one is really fully deserving of the hyperbole I am about to bestow on it. Underspreche first sent me some music a few years ago and seeing them grow and develop has been nothing short of astonishing. I think this is some of the most nuanced and advanced music that Optimo Trax has ever released. There are several dancefloor destroyers here but also music for more developed/leading-edge floors too, as well as some music simply designed to make one's mind melt.

It is very rare that I listen to 4/4 music at home, but this album has been a constant on my hi-fi since it was sent to me.
Super-advanced, organic sampling, inspired vocalisations, acute psychedelic modular sequences, forward- thinking drum programming, this is exactly what I hoped Optimo Trax would be about when I started the label.
From Underspreche's souls to yours.

This is the first 12' of a 2-part series of 12's that will be released digitally as a full-length LP.
After a split single with Muslimgauze and a single of their own on Optimo Trax, we are delighted to present the first Optimo Trax album release by Italy's Underspreche. The album is split across two four- track EPs, released two weeks apart (and also as a complete digital album).
We try to avoid over-hyping our releases, but this one is really fully deserving of the hyperbole I am about to bestow on it. Underspreche first sent me some music a few years ago and seeing them grow and develop has been nothing short of astonishing. I think this is some of the most nuanced and advanced music that Optimo Trax has ever released. There are several dancefloor destroyers here but also music for more developed/leading-edge floors too, as well as some music simply designed to make one's mind melt.

It is very rare that I listen to 4/4 music at home, but this album has been a constant on my hi-fi since it was sent to me.
Super-advanced, organic sampling, inspired vocalisations, acute psychedelic modular sequences, forward- thinking drum programming, this is exactly what I hoped Optimo Trax would be about when I started the label.
From Underspreche's souls to yours.

Gerd Janson and Phillip Lauer are creatures of habit. Every week, the two club veterans meet up at Phillip's studio and spend an entire day making tunes. And while Gerd often likes to joke that his role in the arrangement is limited to making coffee and looking at his cell phone, it's clear that the two men have forged a potent partnership, one that's been responsible for an astonishing amount of dancefloor heat over the past few years.

Incredibly, this German pair has managed to maintain a relatively low profile, despite the steady stream of music they've released via well-respected labels like Unterton, Delsin, Internasjonal, Permanent Vacation and Live at Robert Johnson. And then there are the remixes—Azari & III, Scuba, The Juan Maclean, Fort Romeau, Avalon Emerson, Massimiliano Pagliara and Sinkane are just a small sampling of the artists who've enlisted Tuff City Kids to work their studio magic.

Throughout it all, there have been whispers of a proper Tuff City Kids album, and now that Adoldesscent has arrived, it will be all but impossible for the duo to linger in the background. After all, the LP is anything but shy—thanks in part to hooky vocal turns from the likes of Annie, Joe Goddard, Kelley Polar and Jasnau—and even the album's instrumental cuts feature some clear nods to various eras of dance-pop, from the boogie-inflected funk of 'Wake People' to the breakbeat techno of 'Boilered' and the tweaky rave nostalgia of 'Nordo.' Elsewhere, first single 'Labyrinth' is an infectious bit of new wave, while the guitar-driven 'Scared' recalls the gloomier side of '80s pop and 'Tell Me' is perhaps the record's most playfully soulful moment.

DJs will likely gravitate toward the darting strings of 'Aska' and breezy vibes of 'Farewell House,' yet Adoldesscent isn't entirely focused on the dancefloor. Dreamy opener 'Ophmar' evokes the legacy of John Carpenter, while the crunchy 'R-Mancer' offers up a sort of psychedelic synth freakout.

Much like the Tuff City Kids themselves, Adoldesscent isn't about any one style or sound in particular. It is, however, a cohesive effort, along with proof that the different corners of the electronic spectrum have a lot more in common than we'd all like to admit. More importantly, it's a whole lot of fun, and isn't that what dance music is supposed to be about anyways

The second release on TB Arthur's (312) label finds the mysterious artist revealing a collaborative project with Magda as Blotter Trax. The pair first encountered each other at the famous Motor City record store Record Time, when Detroit artist BMG introduced his then co-workers Magda and Derek Plaslaiko to Arthur, who was visiting the shop from Chicago. Sometime after that meeting, Magda and Arthur went into the studio and jammed together for a week, the session was recorded live on analog 1/4" tape and then three tracks were selected for release. 1A is six and a half minutes of modulated synth sounds that are psyched out and sci-fi, spooky and truly atmospheric. Full of cerebral cinematism, acid lines and ghoulish textures all add up to a truly standout track. 2A then marries dark wave pops and clicks, unsettling alien lifeforms and menacing, slo motion industrial drums into a physical and imposing groover riddled with paranoid sirens and drones. Last of all, 2B snakes and slithers its way through undulating drums, cosmic freakiness and gloopy synth sounds that are all seductive and subversive in equal measure. This, then, is a truly fascinating pairing.

After a run of releases including music from Rex Club residents D'julz and Phil Weeks, and a beautiful Atlantic breakaway with Fred P, Rex Club Music brings in the boss of Poker Flat Recordings, the maestro himself, Steve Bug. A gentleman and a scholar who has been a key figure of the techno scene since its very early days, Steve Bug is also the mastermind behind a prolific and in demand label. He is a man who is always on point, looking to the future, maintaining the present and drawing on the past to operate in that magical intersection between the different eras of time.Indulge in this short course of Rexology for proof of his mastery, which is expertly applied with this polished new EP.First up we have 'What's Happened', a track that occupies the space between tech house, acid and dub. Get ready for some hard stepping on the dance floor when this track is unleashed. Then ROD goes in hard with two remixes of 'What's Happened', upping the ante, increasing the tempo and urgency to create an air of emergency. With 'Remix One' ROD has us on high alert, while 'Remix Two' focuses a little more on the groove and catchy analogue flashes. On the flip we have a night of 'Berlinian Rexing', with its time-lapse atmosphere allowing us to teleport between Berlin and Paris in a cacophony of whirring synths and uplifting stabs. The track plays on timelessness, creating classic tropes and creating the kind of atmosphere that underpins all of the most unforgettable nights.

Debut album from Pacific NW rising star, named "Best Electronic Act" in 2015 by the Seattle Weekly. ** Past Press Coverage as included: A NPR Weekend Edition Feature, Spin, Stereogum, KEXP Live in studio performce, CMJ. ** Past performance highlights: Bonarroo Decibel Festical, Bumbershoot, Capitol Hill Block Party, Sasquatch Festival, What The Festival, & Bonnaroo, as well as national tours with acts like Emancipator, Blockhead, Blackbird Blackbird, Chad Valley, Yppah, ** First single from the album "What We've Got" feat. Flint Eastwood passed 500,000 Spotify plays and 135,000 Soundcloud plays in a month's time.

Amidst the lush environs of his northwest roots, Manatee Commune has fermented an organically molded electronic sound that has been teasing the synapses of audiophiles over the last few years. While not a stranger in the Pacific Northwest, Grant Eadie's tracks have grown tentacles that stretch deep into the dance floor, fueled by natural overtones that he extracts from field recordings. Following the head-turning EP 'Thistle' on Brooklyn-based label Bastard Jazz Recordings (Illa J, Lord Echo, & others) from earlier this year, he comes to the label armed with violin arrangements, nuanced programming and pressure-sensitive LED drum breaks peppering the audio-visual experience of his participatory live performances. His debut album Manatee Commune is set for a September 16th release on Bastard Jazz, and displays the elevated confidence and deft touch of a producer truly finding his footing. Already opening for Bonobo, and recently touring with Chad Valley and Blackbird Blackbird, Manatee Commune has been featured on NPR, Stereogum, and Spin, amongst other outlets.

Eadie describes the inspiration behind his approach: "Learning how to share my creative process with my friends completely revolutionized the last of year of music for me. Inviting those I trusted and loved into my studio to spend even just an hour talking or jamming opened fountains of inventive energy for me, especially from the ones who lacked any musical knowledge. I soon found myself incredibly inspired by the originality of even the smallest interactions with people, and so I pointed my field mic at anyone who had a story, a melody, or a stumbling beat they had been absentmindedly drumming, all in the hopes of capturing their individuality and framing it with my ever expanding insight into audio production."

Reimagining his musical approach by opening his studio and microphone to friends, collaborators and loved ones, Eadie was able to release fountains of inventive energy from these deeply personal interactions, inspired by anybody who had a story, a melody or a stumbling beat to share. Key elements are amplified that get Manatee Commune audiences bouncing, while cultivating his warm and textured production aesthetic to further complexity, layer by shimmering layer.

It means Noisy Stars'' - Fergus Lawrie.

So it's coming up for the 20th anniversary of the We Are Urusei Yatsura' album, so what better time to look back at the broken Woolworths guitars, damaged eardrums and bleeding knuckles of Glasgow's lo-fi, Tokyo dreaming geek rock quartet

You could say it all began at the Glasgow Sound City event, when legendary BBC DJ John Peel came along to check out Urusei Yatsura at the 13th Note at the invitation of future Franz Ferdinand front-man Alex Kapranos. Liking the chaos that he saw, Peel invited the band to record a session for his show, asking live on air while guitarist and singer Graham Kemp was visiting the studio to talk about his Kitten Frenzy' fanzine the next day.

Peel arranged for us to record the session in Glasgow' says Kemp, We didn't have any amps or any money to get to London.' Producer Stewart Cruickshank told the band that it was the first Peel Session recorded outside of Maida Vale since the Undertones. So no pressure there then.

This began a long association with John Peel and the BBC, which saw the band record 5 Peel Sessions, 3 Evening Sessions for Steve Lamacq, play live to air for Mark Radcliffe, and appear regularly on Radio Scotland for John Cavanagh and Mark Percival. Digging through old C-90's that had been partly taped over with that week's charts, the band have pieced together a compilation of the best tunes for you, the discerning 90's indie rock aficionado.

..they sounded a bit like the Saints' - Thurston Moore, SELECT

Some of the recordings we did for the BBC, I think, are better than what eventually made it onto vinyl. We did Kewpies Like Watermelon' live in the control room for Radio Scotland and we had just learned it so it sounds really fresh and exciting. The version of Siamese' is the best we ever captured, and I love the Dice/Nae Dice' tune we wrote especially for Peel'. - Kemp

The challenge of recording and mixing four songs in a single day brought out the best in the band, and suited their impulsive, DIY rock n' roll spirit. The album, available on CD and vinyl, features 11 songs, including session versions of 6 singles, choice album tracks and live favourites from the only band who have been threatened by both the Yakuza and the Mafia (the latter incident generating the hilarious headline Nerds Threatened With Death' in the Sun newspaper'). The band have decided to call this hand-picked selection of the highlights of an eight year career', You Are My Urusei Yatsura, BBC Radio Sessions.

Other highlights of said career include, a number one indie single with a video shot in a Star Trek themed bar (Phasers On Stun), a Peel Festive Fifty placing (Kewpies Like Watermelon) an actual top 40 hit (Hello Tiger), numerous chaotic tours of Europe, UK and USA ,narrowly surviving a collapsing stage at Benecassim and a tent fire at Phoenix Festival, releasing three studio albums and 13 singles (including splits with Mogwai, the Delgados and the Blisters), taking Mogwai, Eska and Pink Kross on their first UK tours, supporting Super Furry Animals, Pavement and Teenage Fanclub, playing at Roskilde, Reading and T In The Park festivals, The CMJ festival in New York and MIDEM in Cannes.

The band consisted of the writers Fergus Lawrie (guitar and vocals) and Graham Kemp (guitar and vocals), with brother and sister rhythm section Elaine and Ian Graham on bass and drums respectively.

Matthew Dear's Audion project stands proudly at the intersection between art and hedonism, realised over a decade long dedication to powerful and relevant dance music. Growing out of the vibrant DIY Detroit underground, Audion and his contemporaries were free to feed off the energy reverberating from UK and European dancefloors, but singular in their desire to create their own sound and spirit. An Audion release is techno in it's purest sense - whether it's pushing the bombastic limits, spinning the dancefloor out of control or elegantly toying with just a few sonic elements. 'Alpha' is Audion's first artist album in 10 years and comes at the end of a period of fevered activity. The collective body of work standing as a marker in time and a defining moment in the life of the artist. Drowning out the noise of the outside world, 'Alpha' was a puzzle pieced together sonically in the shadows and wildly brought to life in a matter of weeks. The artwork for 'Alpha' has again been realised by Will Calcutt, Dear's long time collaborator, who has a visual plan for the music that matches the sonic vision, completing the final critical piece of the puzzle. Taken from the album, Gut Man Cometh and Destroyer get the remix treatment from UK producers Matthew Herbert and FOLD

"It's the year 2024 and the planet Perth is under attack!!
The boys of SENATE Corp. are its only hope!"
Good Company Records returns for 2016 with two blasts of sci-fi Techno from the twisted minds behind last year's 'Gangstalker' cannonade for Lobster Theremin sublabel Pacific Command.
Strike one is the unrelenting, caustic hardcore of Pugilist Dub, strong enough to melt away even the toughest exoskeleton.
Into the centre hole & through the other side, it's Forza Rays - a dystopian electro stormer that will haunt your working week.
"Mission report: The Discoid invaders never stood a chance."
Select with extreme prejudice, and play without mercy: Just don't forget your gloves.

Some believe that the environment in which you make music - from the studio space, to the location itself - has a profound effect on the creative process. Immerse yourself in the world around you, the theory goes, and it will shape the music you make. Listen to Gorthleck, the third album from veteran downtempo alchemists Benjamin Smith and Paul 'Mudd' Murphy, and you can almost visualize the craggy, windswept and breathtakingly beautiful environment in which it was made. Reconvening after a near seven-year hiatus last summer, the duo headed up to the Scottish Highlands to spend a week recording in the surrounds of Gorthleck House, nestled on the shore of Loch Mhor in Inverness-shire. Earlier this year, they returned to the same venue, with its' stunning views of the tranquil loch and rocky, wooded hills rising in the distance, to complete the nine-track set. Certainly, the immersive environment and famously changeable weather seems to have inspired the longtime friends and studio partners. The album's epic centrepiece, the nine-minute Mhor', sounds like an emotional love letter to the body of water they strolled alongside every day. Its' undulating synthesizer line - reminiscent of classic Tangerine Dream and the Orb's A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain' - mimics the slow ebb and flow of water across the loch, while Smith's shimmering guitar lines mimic the glint of sunlight reflecting off the surface. Elsewhere, the audio references are a little more subtle, but no less relevant. The hazy jazz guitars, twinkling pianos, rich grooves and fluttering clarinets of Nether' sound like the perfect accompaniment to a single malt whisky-fuelled sunset session at the water's edge, while the quietly foreboding aural textures, layered guitars and urgent electric violin of Enos' evoke memories of watching storm clouds gathering behind distant Highland mountains. The same could be said of Mr Coats' - a track arranged in steamy Mexico, and blessed with all the humidity you'd expect from such an excursion - while you can hear gale force winds whistling around the rafters on Dogwood'. As for Errogie', it's as bracing as a crystal clear morning in the Highlands, chilly, but hugely life affirming. The duo's previous two albums, 2007's Blue River and its' 2009 follow-up, Le Suivant, were both hugely evocative, but neither captured a distinct a sense of time and place quite like Gorthleck. Listen carefully, and you could almost be there with them, watching the sunrise and sunset.

The eight tracks on 'Versus' exemplify a remarkable cross-pollination of genres, a true testament to the intense, 'it takes a village' spirit of collaboration among the artists in the Wolf & Lamb aquarium.

The LP kicks off with "Real Love," an electronic duet with San Francisco's PillowTalk. A sparse, airy kick and lackadaisical, scale-climbing bass line complement a vocoder-drenched croon, evoking nothing less than an R&B version of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works. In the album's next track, "Fo Porter," butter soft vocals from Voices of Black ("I want it/I need it/I just can't get enough/I hold it/I squeeze it/I just won't give it up") complement lush orchestral arrangements, doing for hip-hop inflected dance music what Metro Area does for disco.

"In The Morning," an after the after party, hands to the air entry into the house of god, will instantly conjure up for those lucky enough to have visited the Marcy the familiar image of Gadi's hands feeling up the wall in ecstasy while Zev soldiers through the groove. "Weekend Affair," perhaps the real standout of an all-round exemplary album, punctuates stuttering, oscillating synths with a ferocious cowbell and moaned vocals, continuing a long-standing New York tradition of sexualized Downtown funk.

The gorgeous "Serpentine," with it's kettle-drum compression worthy of Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" and atmospheric vocals from French chanteuse Rap Lisa, is rounded out by the it's a perfect ending to the album, a moment of calm before the sharks, always on the move, start circling again.

MERC is very proud to welcome Mark Seven as guest editor on E-Versions 7. It took a long time, a lot of telephone conversations, a lot of pleading, digging, sweat and tears to simply find out what TONY'S SLICE was after hearing it on Mark's Parkway Mastermix.
Turns out its MKVIIs attempt at recreating a live mix by Tony Humphries he heard on Kiss cutting 2 copies of the phone conversation back and forward forever.
With EV#7 looming we knew this would be a perfect opportunity to have a guest on the series, so we persisted and broke him down and he finally gave in to the pressure.
In addition to TONYS SLICE, MKVII has turned in a superb acid work out in the form of CASE STUDY 9.
"I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR THIS WEEKEND"

The Sound Of Young Jamaica - More Early Cuts From The Vaults Of Studio One 1959-63

This is the second collection to bring together many of the visionary producer Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd's early recordings made with Jamaica's most exciting young artists and musicians who helped define the world of reggae music over the decades following Jamaican Independence. These recordings were made when Sir Coxsone ruled the dancehalls of Kingston in the late 1950s and early 1960s with his number one Downbeat Sound System, where songs were tested out on dub plates at a dance to see a crowd's reaction - the most popular of which were then released commercially. Featuring early material by Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook (all of whom would form The Skatalites), Toots and The Maytals, young singers such as Bob Marley and The Wailers, Delroy Wilson, Owen Gray all captured in their formative days. The music here spans a wealth of styles - Jamaican rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, proto-ska, Rastafarian - all of which were drawn upon to create the future sounds of Jamaican reggae that Sir Coxsone and the artists featured would soon create at Studio One which opened its doors in 1963. This collection is released on heavyweight triple-vinyl plus download code and double CD with slipcase. Sleevenotes and text is by the author Noel Hawks.

After 3 releases on Tresor records, this collaboration between Roman Poncet and Dj Deep comes out on Deeply Rooted.

BodyTrax drops it's second EP of 2016 with another essential 3-tracker from Bodyjack. Laugh It Up opens things up and we are in vintage Bodyjack territory from the outset. Rough (and we mean rough!) beats and percussion, vocal hook and a metallic riff combined with possibly his ugliest bass line to date to make this an essential addition the bag/crate of any house DJ. Slow Clap strips things right down to just drums and bass taking the track into even more raw areas. Warehouse vibes! The title track I'm Here All Week on the flip is one of those simple but infectious house tracks that you're going to remember after a night out. Once again, our man's synth n' bass work duck around those sharply programmed beats he's know for to round off the EP with a bang.