quête:x over

This is the record of the year for us. GoldFfinch are mindblowing on this one, it's their very first move in this direction and the reusult is just brilliant. This is DJ material that cannot be overlooked, all three gorgeous tracks out on vinyl in September as part of our Clubwerks series.

Within the infinite flow of quality emotional techno, GoldFinch have geared up to follow the fine sonic trail lead by the likes of Life and Death, Innervisions, Ten Walls and many others bringing together the massive appeal that only impeccably crafted techno can draw.

We just want this music played where it can be heard by everyone. Endless love.

The second to last Black Boxx EP serves up a heavy 808 dance floor crusher on the entire A side, flip the record over for 2 more heavy, and melodic tracks unique to the Black Boxx sound.

The Viennese duo, otherwise known as Tosca, confound expectations on their new album, 'Outta Here'. The sonic collages and smooth downbeat jams with which they made their name are replaced with a soul/jazz/blues confection that's closer to a band like Brand New Heavies than anything else. 'It's called 'Outta Here' for a reason,' explains Rupert Huber. 'The title stands for change, a change to the concept we've had so far. It refers to a change in energy and dynamic. We've been know for an almost ambient sounds. The new songs are much more beatoriented and direct. Basically, it's just a lot more energetic.' it certainly is that. See tracks such as 'Crazy Love' for evidence. Built on a muscular bassline, it sees Rob Gallagher (ex-Galliano) doing his slinky, soulful thing, while keyboards and muted sound effects flare in the background. The rare groove revival starts here. 'Swimswimswim' reworks the same elements, with the addition of Cath Coffey (Stereo MCs) into a irresistible pulse of feel good vibes. Meanwhile, the title track, 'Outta Here', sounds like a lost gem from the early '90s acid jazz era. 'It was a natural evolution,' says Richard Dorfmeister. 'In the past, we were very focussed internally because we were in a studio on our own, working slowly making sonic collages. This time, because we were working more with singers the process was naturally quicker and the results more instant and upbeat. In that sense the title 'Outta Here' literally means that we got out of our studio.'
Do Tosca think the new sound will wrong foot their fans 'It's not completely different. It's still our style and mood, it's just more direct,' says Richard Dorfmeister. 'People always have a picture of you and it can take a long time to change that. You stand for something and that's how they see you. I think people see us in that laid-back and chilled kind of way. Over the last 20 years we've been described as lounge, chill out, downbeat. We always ignored it because we felt it was more about the music. We've always seen ourselves more in terms of being an alternative to commercial music. That's still what we're doing, just in a different, more direct kind of way.'

My Panda Shall Fly AKA musician and visual artist Suren Seneviratne, is set to release 'Tropical' It's a brand new 6 track vinyl release.

A kaleidoscope of rainbow textures and rhythms disperse into the exotic soundscape of 'Tropical'. Electronics, real folk instruments and noise-making objects feature here generously on this six-track concept album, blending together a sonic palette influenced by a rich variety of music, people and places.

The material was initially written over the course of a few months during what Seneviratne called "a beautiful burst of inspiration". Working with veteran producer Asier Leatxe Ibanez d'Opakoa (Electric Lady Studios, NYC), Seneviratne then set about disassembling all the songs and re-working them meticulously, enriching the sounds by adding a huge range of live instrumentation, before processing the audio through vintage analogue studio gear.

Suren Seneviratne, born in Sri Lanka before settling in London in 1996, first caught the attention of the music world with a remix that featured on Pitchfork back in 2010. Since then he has released a plethora of diverse records, gaining support from the likes of Clash Magazine, The Fader, Mixmag and Dazed Digital, as well as regularly touring internationally. He has also remixed the likes of The Weeknd, Stay Positive & Little Boots as well as appearing at festivals like BBC Hackney Weekender, Outlook Croatia & Glade as well as performing at prestigious venues such as The Design Museum, Tate Modern & Barbican.

With the release of 'Tropical', My Panda Shall Fly has yet again set himself apart as one of the most unique contemporary electronic musicians around today.

Steve Frisco, of Serie Limitee fame, brings us the latest bundle of hot tracks to hit Wax Classic in 2014. As the title suggests, Steve takes us on a journey through low fidelity sounds and production techniques. Think dark, moody, yet crunchy basement house tracks with inspiration taken from all over the U.S and the rest of the house world. It's a generous offering as well. Six whole dusty tunes for those diggers who are looking for something with a bit more range than another record of generic piano laden, house-by-numbers pieces that still seem to be flooding the record store shelves in 2014. The moods do vary from track to track, but they remain very reflective and almost melancholic at points. The title track, 'Adventure in Lo-Fi', is the deepest of the lot with filtered chords, echoing claps and a sporadic kick pattern that often clears way for the track's bass hits. Now, compare that to 'Da Brooklyn Beat'. Whilst the former had a distinct sunrise/sunset kind of feel to it, the latter is definitely more of a club affair. Skippy snare hits and a strong organ lead the track on, and at the risk of utilizing very overused buzzwords such as 'raw' and 'ruff', this track, and the rest of the A-side for that matter, certainly captures that essence.Stalwart Wax Classic fans will no doubt be picking this one up to add to their collection. However, I strongly recommend this EP as a jumping in point to the label for any newcomers out there!

Alexander Skancke makes his debut on Eskimo Recordings with the beautiful and compelling 'Found My Place', which will also appear on the forthcoming Green Collection. Deep electronic strings lead the almost melancholic yet balearic melody with luscious pads filling the low end and the infectious vocals from HEwrote flowing throughout for an overall emotive feel. No stranger to the label Vinny Villbass delivers two remixes. His first 'Tropical Mix' rolls with intricate percussion, sonic synths and plenty of groove, while his 'House Mix' is a deep house delight and one for the dance floor with a playful loop on the vocal and trippy synths. Local Berliner Oskar Offermann rounds off the release perfectly with his remix, adding a raw bass and sharp kick, with the warm synths and FX running throughout, this is another groovy addition for the dance floor.

Took a bit of a break from demos and releases after extending the family with a cute little boy, but now we're back with some of the best deep techno and house lined up for you! But first, something completely different.
Michele Mininni hails from the south of Italy and counts everything from post- and krautrock over new wave, house and disco amongst his influences. He's been a DJ for years, but only recently released his debut EP on Optimo Trax in Glasgow. He immediately found himself on the playlists of Beats In Space and Rinse FM. We were literally blown away when he sent us his music and didn't hesitate to release it although it's not what you're used to hear from us. It's hard to describe 'Endless Ceremony'. Epic, but not as you know it. Cosmic, definitely.
For the remix we thought of Rocketnumbernine. Two brothers with releases on Soul Jazz, Four Tet's Text label and more recently an album on Smalltown Supersound. Currently touring with James Holden and Neneh Cherry. Their remix could be described as almost dreamy electronica/idm.
We think this is a really special release. The following people already agree: Gavin Russom, Âme, Ripperton, A Made Up Sound, James Holden, Optimo, Deadbeat... First pressing on coloured vinyl!

Driving weirdo techno, warm melodic acid and daring sound experiments - Killekill welcomes a new duo on board: SKEW & SATIRIST are Max Cooper and Gareth Williams who met in the Not- tingham, UK club scene in the early 00s, living together for a number of years, leading to an effec- tive collaboration.
Max learnt production from sitting and watching Gareth in the studio, Max helped show Gareth the way with his DJing. Both became successful in their solo projects, Max as a regular guest
on stages all over the world, Gareth starting a music technology business with partners such as Richie Hawtin, John Acquaviva or Daniel Miller.
Over the years the musical collaboration between the two friends has continued in the background and they've finally found the time to bring it to fruition and start this project for their darker, more extreme and twisted techno which has been lying dormant over the years.

Third in the Fire Department series, this 12' vinyl compilation pulls together an awesome selection of smoking old skool disco funk - guaranteed party-starters every one. Kicks off with some serious squelching bass in the form of Roadway's up-tempo boogie monster 'Let's Go For It', a rare-as-hens'-teeth track released on the sought-after Chocolate Cholly's label back in 1982. Next up is General Caine's superb instrumental 'L.R.J. Pop', a relentless funk groover out of LA driven by the tightest percussion, pumping horns and some magnificent wigged-out bass and synths. Turn over for the 12' version of Clifton Dyson's brilliant bumping boogie cut 'Slow Your Body Down' followed last but not least by the über-rare 'Skate Party People' from Bobby Cash Redd, a heavy-as-hell funk jam with a fierce strident b-line, high-voltage synths and guitars originally released on tiny NYC label Duval. Red hot - don't miss!

Founded by Matthias Schildger & Carlo Ietri in 2013, Repeat is finally ready to conquer the world and bring it's sound to all music lovers out there.
The first imprint of the new label was made by Wigbert // Matt Star & Marvin (incl. Dorian Paic, Dragosh Rmxs) and is called - Play, Stop, Repeat'. It will be out very soon on vinyl and digital.
With the label comes a new booking agency which contains a nice mixture of already well known artists and a few fresh and talented ones.

Here a little overview what you can expect from the first release - Play, Stop, Repeat':


Wigbert - Destroy me:

Wigbert unleashes a monster of a track with - Destroy me' on the dancefloors worldwide. Powerful beats combined with hypnotic rhytmic and some dark vocals will shake your body for sure! This tune will destroy some speakers if you are not careful with the volume... :)

Dorian Paic Remix:

Dorian Paic transforms Wigberts tune into a more happy and melodic but not less uplifting setting with the addition of some nice piano chords. It will put some sunshine into your hearts!

Matt Star and Marvin - In the Trees:

Matt Stars long experience in production combined with the freshness of the very talented Marvin resulted in this deep and groovy track driven by some nice drums and a fat bassline. Dark Athmospheres meets broken beat dubbish minimalism is the best way to describe it.
This track will go straight to your bones!

Dragosh Remix:

Dragosh's interpretation of - In the Trees' is a more percussion orientated track wich will put a lot of smiles on the faces of dancers. Crispy, rhytmic and simply good.

And now, Play, Stop and REPEAT!!!

* Partial Records come with two brand new tracks from roots veteran Danny Red whose recording career stretches back to the mid-80's when he was known by his deejay handle Danny Dread.
* Danny, who is one of the most respected, lyrically-savvy and consistently reliable voices on the UK/European circuit with his classic `Jahvovia' being the best-selling single in that genre over the last few years. He also worked with Leftfield on the track `Inspection'.
* Both tracks here come with respective dubs mixed and produced by Dougie `Conscious Sounds' Wardrop.

Bunny 'Striker' Lee's standing in the Jamaican recording business has remained unassailable for over four decades.Known by many aliases including 'Gorgon'.
The legend of the Gorgon originated in Greek mythology some three thousand years ago and has become a common image in art, literature and in Jamaica...Music.
The name actually derives from the ancient Greek word gorgos which means 'dreadful' ,appropriate when one considers that the avalanche of Gorgon inspired records came as a direct result of the influence of the Rastafarian movement on the Jamaican musical mainstream and the dread locked hair of the Rasta brethren was likened to that of the Gorgon sisters.
''About her shoulders she flung the tasselled aegis, fraught with terror...and therein is the head of the dread monster, the gorgon, dread,awful....'' Homer

Great music extends father than your ears can hear. Listening to resent recordings of Peder Mannerfelts music is listening to recordings of a complete creative flow. Superb tracks created inside of Peder Mannerfelts Villa Nellcôte.
Opener "Rhythm Inflection" is similar to a heartbeat but rebuilt using a parade of machines and biting ice-cold sounds that implies a climax that never comes.
Repetitive thuds are the wrecking ball of "Technology As Apathy" while saw waves continuously crunch until your ear are obliterated on "Failed Grammar". "Titled" is the centerpiece, however. Its sonic gears grind into hollowed-out spheres. A voice from the heavens echoes "Reset, reduce, turn up, repeat" until the words lose all meaning and are battered into the metal walls by distilled rhythms.
EP2 is the last ashes of a manuscript that's been waiting for ages to be turned into dust. It is the final nail in the coffin of his past that began with EP1 and Lines Describing Circles. Peder Mannerfelts music is gradual and always on the move, the process spans over the whole production.

*Another classic from dubwise heavyweights Alpha & Omega arrives on 45 for the first time.
*This appeared on the now deleted `Safe in the Ark' album from 1994.
* Backed with a rare dub cut, this will fly out fast, so be quick.

* A brutal digital roots meets dancehall rhythm produced by Dougie 'Conscious Sounds' Wardrop and ridden by hot up-and-coming singer/deejay out of Paris with his second release on Partial Records.
*Flip is over for pure dubwise satisfaction.

Hot on the heels of his last outing for the Delsin house series comes this, another essential new offering from German producer Erdbeerschnitzel. The experienced producer has many skills in his arsenal and this new EP proves that once again. The title track The Ample Waters is a joyous and lively concoction that fuses curious melodies with busy little piano stabs and more trilling, sunny melodies. It's busy house for bustling dancefloors and next up, Never Tilt slows things down with jumbled, woody percussion falling over lazy drums and stretched, yawning synth smears. Colourful and effervescent, it's a track that makes you want to shake your limbs. With Level Hopes is again characterised by melodic colour, with pixelated patterns stretched over a funky, gooey bassline and clacking percussion. There's a beautifully DIY feel to the loosely assembled track that gives it a life all of its own before closer Yet Unfulfilled pairs slo-mo beats with neo-soul vocal snippets, lazy and stoned summer chords. It's the most emotive of the lot, but all four tracks are truly feel good jams that have come just in time for some serious summer action.

Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Years Of Fokuz - Episode 2.3.

In this last part of the 15 Year vinyl series we find drum & bass all star Lynx remixing 'Midnight Runaway' by Intelligent Manners & Enei. Fresh sounds all over, we're very happy to have him as a part of this project. On the flip Amaning and Dramatic deliver the goodness with Moods! Superb rolling sounds that are perfect for sunny, chilled days. Better get both tunes for the full effect!

Trek With Quintronic are the duo, formed from the ashes of prog rock band Masque in 1979. They recorded two pioneering albums of unique electronic rock. 'Landing Plus' compiles the complete discography of Trek With Quintronic on a double vinyl for the first time in over 30 years. Trek With Quintronic wrote songs with a powerful sound, myriads of compositional ideas, synthetic noises and catchy melodies. Paul's rather unique vocals lie somewhere between David Bowie and Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs.nThis collection highlights a lost duo with a big sound on par with Ultravox, Human League, OMD or Devo

New York City, USA, 2014. A community filled with amazing shit and amazingly fucked up shit. This Yin Yang is an ever-present part of life, and it is this contradiction that Isaac Basker seeks to take on with Swishin' & Dishin,' his sophomore release on Play It Say What Records.

On A1, 'Swishin' & Dishin',' Isaac references NYC basketball legend, Walt 'Clyde' Frazier to define the city's Yin. Starting off like a certified banger; a simple 'bleep' blasts the track over a thumping kick and rhythmic percussion, as if attacked by a penetrating crossover dribble. Yet Isaac then drops his trademark melodic chords to turn the track into an authentic deep house groove.


With A2 Plan B Recordings boss DJ Spider provides his latest remix for Isaac, helming 'Swishin' & Dishin' (DJ Spider Mix).' The original is then obliterated into his classic raw, deep sound. Hard kicks, obscure female vocals, hats and snares form the basis of the track as we then get slowed chords to tease us until deeper sounds and syncopated percussion elevate the listeners mood before bringing the track back to the remix's original rawness.


B1, 'Slumlord Billionaires (5Pointz Of Light Mix),' Swishin' & Dishin's most dance floor friendly track, takes on the Yang of the city, using the to be demolished graffiti mecca 5Pointz as a point of reference. Yet, this is an uplifting build up banger of a track emphasizing human resilience in the face of doom. Booming drums start the song off until a single fluttering melodic chord drops. Then syncopated claps, and vocal hits arrive challenging 'the powers that be' to further enhance the song's call for dance floor resistance.



Then there is 'American't.' With B2 Isaac, takes dark analog keys and syncopated techno sensibilities over a simple eerie baseline to further emphasize the Yang. A manipulated vocal later emphasizes this further and another layer of angry, reflective keys drive the operatic finale of this definite New York release.

Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Yearz Of Fokuz - Episode 2.1.

We're proud to have the mighty Bcee featured on this milestone album. Once again he delivers effortlessly with 'Praying Man' and 'Magic Mirror'. Watch out for these deep, soulful emotional rollers dropping soon on Fokuz! Perfect material for those who like their beats with soul.

During the '70s, work days at Umiliani's Sound Workshop Studios were hectic; thousands of sessions were held in order to keep up with a very busy Italian movie industry: Hundreds of soundtracks alongside with music library were recorded and released on vinyl in very limited quantities for TV and film production use only. Those LPs are now proper collectors' items, extremely hard to find.

Filled with hypnotic bass lines, heavy drums and screaming fuzz guitars "Underground", the first LP of the fictitious group known as Braen's Machine, is one of the rarest and the most expensive of them all, always "reaching" sky high prices throughout the second hand vinyl market. A fast-beat jam with hammond scales and a twin lead guitar theme ("Flying") opens the A Side soon followed by "Imphormal", a classicfunk-beat-meetsfender- rhodes-and-psychedelic-guitar number. The music then switch to "thriller territories" with "Murder" which is based on prepared piano swells and a deeply hypnotic walking bass, reminiscent of the best Morricone's soundtracks for Dario Argento's movies. Two highly percussive songs complete the A Side: "Gap" is an improvised song with guitar and keyboards dwelling over an infectious drum rhythm while a marching snare and a vibraslap effect are the special features on "Militar Police".

The mood relaxes slightly on the opening of the B Side with a lazy jazz groove on "New Experience" but the rock influences are soon brought back on the following track "Fall Out". "Obstinacy" is all about keyboards with syncopated rhodes themes and distorted hammond sustained notes whilst the fuzz guitar is back again screaming through the left channel on the last song of the album, "Description". We could happly say that that was the golden age of the Italian music library. But who's behind the name "Braen's Machine" On the original cover the songs are credited to the composers Braen and Gisteri. Braen was a pseudonym often used by Alessandro Alessandroni, an extremely skilled and versatile musician, and one of Umiliani's closestcollaborators. He could write, conduct and arrange, he could sing (ever heard "Mah Na Mah Na"), he could whistle (ever heard Morricone's "For a fistful of dollars") and he could play almost anything: guitar, bass tuba, accordion, sitar and the list grows..... His first album "Alessandro Alessandroni e il suo complesso" (Sermi, 1969), had transformed the Italian library music from orchestral sound beds into the psychedelia we all love; the extremely fuzzy guitars are very "present" on "Underground" too. For a long time Gisteri's real identity was rather mysterious; often wrongly attributed to Umiliani. Gisteri was the pseudonym of Oronzo De Filippi, art name of Rino De Filippi, music supervisor to the Italian public broadcast company (RAI) between the '60s and the '70s. De Filippi composed other notable pieces such as "Riflessi" (Edipan, 1975) and "Nel mondo del lavoro" (Sermi, 1972).

De Filippi passed away few years ago but we were able to contact Alessandroni to talk about this LP. Remembering "Underground" recording session as one of the thousands he took part of, Alessandroni told us that this record was produced very quickly, in two days maximum. This was made possible by a team of wonderfully capable session musicians and the creative genius behind the mixing desk; this incredible combination helped to focus on the mood of each track even more. Unfortunately there are no liner notes but Alessandroni's memories and speculations, based on other music tracked in the same period at Soundworkshop by resident engineer Claudio Batussi, led us to identify this as the most probable lineup: Munari on drums, Majorana on bass, Vannucchi on keyboards and Alessandroni himself on guitar. For this reissue the sound has been restored and the cover art reproduced exactly as it was.

On the mean streets of Chicago's infamous Southside, a music pioneer was born... DJ Slugo, born Thomas Kendricks, is most famous for his influential and fundamental position as the original King of Ghetto House. With 20+ years in the game, over 20 albums in his pocket and over 50 CDs on the street, began a journey that lead him to become one of the original creators of a style of music commonly known as Ghetto House, more recently regarded as Juke.

Meridian Brothers are back with a new studio album, the bizarre and wonderful 'Salvadora Robot'. Heading deeper into the tropical rhythms of Latin America and the Caribbean each song on the album focuses on a different style and playfully twists it into Meridian Brothers's surreal landscape. Released on Soundway Records on 16th June the album was recorded at Eblis Álvarez's appropriately named Isaac Newton Studios in Bogota, Colombia.

Originally formed in 1998 it was the previous album 'Deseperanza' that brought Álvarez's Meridian Brothers to the attention of the wider world. Released worldwide in 2012, the album's unique aesthetic and freaked-out blend of Latin rhythms and psychedelic grooves won him new fans the world over. DJ and tastemaker Gilles Peterson selected 'Guaracha U.F.O (No Estamos Solos...)' as his favourite track of 2012.

'Deseperanza' focussed heavily on salsa rhythms but on his new release Álvarez based each track in a different Latin American style. For example 'Somos los Residentes' finds it inspiration in Dominican Republic merengue while 'Baile ultimo....' is a slow and sad reggaeton. The lyrics talk of a man who has been sent to the electric chair because he was dancing too much reggaeton, a style that isn't accepted as 'good taste' within Colombia.

The release of 'Deseperanza' brought them to Europe for the first time, making appearances across Europe and at some of the prestigious festival including Roskilde and Transmusicales. The band will be returning to Europe this summer.

Ovum's 20th birthday celebrations continues with the return of Itamar Sagi. Itamar Sagi debuted on Ovum in 2009 with the amazing Fiona/Agnes Blue. After a five year hiatus from the label, he triumphantly returns with the Invisible Key EP. Raised in the hot spot of Tel Aviv, with his artist roots deep in the techno underground. Itamar is from the new breed of the current techno wave. Already well respected, Sagi's reputation continues to grow with his unique floor filling productions. His productions have caught the attention of legends such as Laurent Garnier, Josh Wink, Carl Craig, Francois K and others. It wasn't long before he found recognition on a worldwide scale, including reviews and interviews with many of the world's most popular dance magazines and radio stations. With releases on Ovum, Be As One, Soma, Drumcode and more, Sagi has shown that he is here to stay. The Invisible Key EP kicks off with the title track 'Invisible Key", which is classic Sagi. The track slowly brings you in with it twists and turns. The track bubbles and builds and creates a tension that will keep the dance floor wanting more and more. The second track from this EP 'New Order' harkens back to the sound of Basic Channel, G-Man, and John Ciaffone. Sagi once again builds the tension with vocal samples and effects that deliver an absolute massive punch without being over done. For the final track 'Dub Superstitions", Sagi brings us a proper techno workout. The track percolates and builds and once again Sagi's amazing use of tension deliver a proper massive finish to this stellar EP.

After releases on John Osbourne's label Tanstaafl BILL YOUNGMAN once again rips it off for Killekill with our catalog number 019.
From straight forward, hard hitting techno as in 'LEVITATE' he crosses over to the typical Youngman style 2-step/techno hybrid as in 'MAGNETIC'. Broken beats and playful me- oldies as in 'TEARDROP TURNS TO SOLID' are definitely not new to him, but the combi- nation of these two elements, as we find it here, definitely is. A beautiful masterpiece that works for the lonely hours as well as for the peaktime dancefloors.

Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Yearz Of Fokuz - Episode 1.2.

On the A-side Malaky brings the sweetness with 'Connected'. Heavy delayed chords, spacious strings and vocals in combination with a warm bass make this an abolute beauty! Great sounds coming from a producer you need to watch.

On the flip 'With U' by Moscow based Impish turns up the heat. Don't let the groovy intro fool you because the drop comes in unexpected! Rolling amens with soaring bass sounds make this a proper dancefloor banger, with a bit of class ofcourse. Not to be missed!

Phiorio's Animals release has been a labour of love. After co-running Metroline Limited for the past 6 years and after a series of digital releases and remixes for both Metroline and Retrometro (as well as Letroom Limited and MBF amongst others), Phiorio's vinyl debut on ML finally sees the light of day. The choice of remixers has also been laborious but over at Metroline HQ we are really happy that in the end we managed to secure two stunning reworks by the likes of the more and more in demand French producer Doubtingthomas (with releases on labels such as Hummingbird, Organic and of course, Metroline Limited) and the super-hot up and coming Russian producers Adjustment Bureau. The EP opening track Ninja Cat is a deep and quirky number. The groove is tight with heavy drums and crisp percussions. An acid b-line leads the way while atmospherics pop in and out until an off key synth appears and adds a level of spookiness to the proceedings. Doubtinthomas remix take things into even deeper territory. His landmark reduced drum programming is very noticeable here with shuffled up percussions, lush pads and a very heavy bass to guarantee maximum impact on the dancefloor. Superpupider is a no-nonsense straight up dark and dirty techno tool. It's all about the groove with this track, the drums lead the way with clever use of filtered hats and percussions. That said, Phiorio's ability with abstract sound is still in evidence with plenty of spooky voices, pads and noises firing off in all directions. Adjustment Bureau remix of Ninja Cat completes our tasty package. The Russian duo's (soon to release a stunning debut EP on Hypertone) approach is in line with modern trippy and experimental techno and has a distinctive 'Romanian' vibe. They used the original elements of the track and added extra percussive and vocal samples to create an epic, intricate and groovy paranoid funk number.

For the second instalment from Quantum Entanglement we delve into the misty past, a time when moving parts ruled the dance, when the power of the night rested on a needle and a bassline, and before CDJs calculated the bpm for you...you had to touch things, buy things, and the bassline ruled over all. Acid Thunder, a classic by Fast Eddie, was the first dance record i ever bought. It was important. The guy who sold it to me, at the time a spotty school kid in his school uniform, was called John Stapleton, and the shop was Sidetrax in Bristol. Mentrix totally gets the kinda NY sluttiness of the original, and brings it right up to date....less of a cover, more of a homage, the entanglement of then and now. Need You is an entanglement of two very unlikely BFFs... John Lee Hooker and Joey Beltram. This isn't really a cover, it's more like the offspring of many things, times, and moments - it's like the grandchild of John Lee Hooker's track dated the nephew of Joey Beltram's track and lived in Neukölln. Again, Direct - 'Techno Gone Mad' on R&S was another of my earliest techno purchases - at the time it was considered 'Dutch Hardcore' but now, it's almost cute.... Quantum Entanglement....recycling other people's good ideas since January 2014

Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Yearz Of Fokuz - Episode 1.1.

On the A-side we find the mighty Lenzman on remix duties! With an album forthcoming on Metalheadz he's one of the major players in drum & bass today. Exactly the reason why he delivers effortlesy with this fresh, smooth take on 'Rock Steady' by Command Strange.

On the flip London based outfit Reds come correct with 'Meraki'. Their diverse production makes them stand out from the pack although this particular track leans more towards a more classic liquid funk sound. It contains gentle piano keys and tight drums that roll along nicely for the duration. Add a warm sub bass that shines through from below, little edits adding interest and you've got something exciting!

Furfriend strong-arm their way on to Perc Trax after a run of eyebrow-raising releases on Berlin powerhouse Killekill. Vocal-led techno is not something you hear done well every day but Furfriend's below the belt lyrics fused with their percussive, bass heavy techno has proved the exception to the rule. Their filth driven releases fit perfectly with the anything goes atmosphere of Berlin, but also connect with the UK's love of both tougher techno and close to the bone humour.

'Endless September' is classic Furfriend, a foundation of chest beating kicks and sub-bass provide the perfect platform for their most politically charged release to date, taking pot-shots at everyone's favourite Eastern European aggressor whilst also spotlighting the ongoing global fight for LGBT rights.

Perc is known for delivering remixes that turn a track inside out, yet keep the essence of what makes the original track great intact, with his remixes of Factory Floor and Daniel Avery being recent examples. Here he does it again, as the key vocal message of the original mix is looped to infinity over jabbing kick drums and a snare drum volley sharp enough to cut through any sound-system.

Next up is L.I.E.S. / Avian artist Vapauteen (AKA Shawn O'Sullivan & 400PPM), who adds his own spin on the track, keeping the tiniest fragments of the original's vocal and building two completely different analogue environments around them, serving up the most experimental tracks on the release, but which also perfectly compliment the more club focused mixes...

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress" A lesson over four movements.

From the ruins of the birthplace of techno ...
Detroit Underground returns with this, their twenty second release, in a catalogue that has come to define the outer limits of experimental electronics while still adhering to dance floor basics.
This edition sees DU label boss Kero return to the spotlight in collaboration with LA based sound designer and interactive director Drasko Vucevic, aka Drasko V of Los Angeles based DRASTIC Music + Technology. Drasko has recently created, among other things, sound design for a promotional featurette for the Academy Award nominated film Gravity.
Given the label's long time fascination with the intersections of music, art and technology the collaboration is as fitting as it is fruitful.


Side A ups the collaborative ante as this 12'' comes blasting out of the gate with two very strong remixes, Exponent is the subject of a relentless 4/4 treatment from LA techno exponents Drumcell while Superheavy gets an acid-style work out from Canadian producer Jesse Somfay's Borealis project.


It is not until the second side that we hear the original versions of Exponent and Superheavy, both of which reveal themselves to be undulating masses of hip hop tinged beats over dark, bass rich undertones, with the latter offering some brighter tones as well - in other words pretty much what you might expect out of a Drasko V and Kero collaboration.


Side B is further rounded out with a couple of remixes from England's Si Begg and Valance Drakes the former coming in with a super compressed, squelched out, electro inspired take on Exponent while Valance Drakes chills us back out with an impossibly mellowed out version of the same

The debut release on new label Constant State comes from UK duo Al Gobi.
The pair (Ian Blevins & Phil Moody) had a steamroller of a year in 2013 with releases on Disco Bloodbath, Rothmans, Culprit LA and Audio Parallax. 2014 looks set to continue this trend with Al Gobi material signed to Messalina, Keep It Zen and Flight Recorder, amongst others. When they manage to get time together in the studio their output continues to shine.
While the original mix of a Cup of Tea is dark and unsettled - beautifully balanced bass notes and piano cutting through heavy, storm-pregnant air, Cottam's remix is the distillation of a second wind. His tribal, twisted, acidic treatment of this 3am concrete bunker anthem never overwhelms the piano refrain, instead giving it a new life, like the ghost of a party suddenly bequeathed fresh purpose as tired legs find boundless energy.
Meanwhile, Pueblo Grande brings something different to the party. Something harder, more insistent... Submerged snares and synths like razor wire combine with a raw bassline that stomps eloquently from 1994 to present day without missing a beat - and possibly inventing a few on its way - to create something wonderfully unique and very, very special.

On the back of an exciting debut album in 2012 that saw him perform live at Sonar festival and later with his band at Vienna's Volkstheatre, before disseminating music on Permanent Vacation, Suol and Connaisseur Recordings, enigmatic Basque Country producer El_Txef_A returns with his sophomore longplayer 'We Walked Home Together'.
El_Txef_A (pronounced 'Elchefa') has crafted a work that just like its journey-conjuring title, charts a shifting palette of sounds and moods, exemplifying its creator Aitor Etxebarria's breadth of skill.
Produced entirely in Aitor's homeland of the mountainous Basque Country, the album showcases the talents of not just its creator who producers, sings and plays piano on the record, but also some of the Spanish region's most outstanding musicians.
Local artist Biskonti is one contributor, whose vocals coat a brooding bed of rough-cut drums on the ice-cold slice of electronica 'I'm Going to Paint You', while Hannot lends his pipes to the moving 'You Left Us In This Physical World' that sweep over a delicately crafted brew of guitars and keys. Both Basque vocalists featured on El_Txef_A's debut 'Slow Dancing in a Burning Room'. Sublime title track 'We Walked Home Together' turns into a family affair, with Aitor's brother Hibai playing the grand piano.
A graduate at 2013's Red Bull Music Academy in Madrid, El_Txef_A has an impressive array of sonic strings to his bow and the Detroit techno inspired 'Claim of Planet Earth' deliciously rubs shoulders with the album's single, the alternative slice of pop 'The Love We Lost' featuring DFA's Woofly.
Elsewhere, Aitor paints a dream-like soundscape with the sublime shoegaze-inspired trip '0730' that seamlessly bleeds into 'Every Day Is Blue Monday', with its atmosphere-heavy swirl of subtle acid lines, floating synths and evocative vocals delivered by Suol records contributor Meggy.
An artist whose music is inextricably connected with his homeland, the album concludes with the stirring 'Mugarrirantz' sung in the native tongue of Euskera by country folk band Napora Iria. It's proof that El_Txef_A is equally adept at doffing his cap to tradition as moving a dancefloor with his inspired brand of electronica.

Kyle Hall back on Hyperdub for our 10th Anniversary - Yes please. In fact this is more or less a long delayed EP from the vaults, recorded around the same time as his 2010 'Kaychunk' EP ... which just goes to show how ahead of the curve the young Detroit producer is. Starting with 'Girl U So Strong', the track riffs on a distorted arpeggiating bassline, seasick organ and a dubbed out voice, and a flicking metronomic note, starting slowly before shuffling drums give the track some rhythmic focus. Soon a warm melody builds over some happy arpeggios, and the whole track feels like a product of brilliant spontaneous energy. 'Take Me Away' works an 8 bit bassline, bleeps and throbs into an off beat shuffle over a pulsing bass drum, loose and happy, dosed with sunshine and space.

Hi5 is the latest prank from A Different Jimi, aka Jimi Siebels. It's is a bitchy chicago house smasher in a surprisingly refreshing kinship to New York's hard bop of the 1960s, without ever being in danger of becoming acid jazz. Because in order to create his own definition of jazz-infected-house, Jimi makes no use of already overstrained rare groove samples, but a classic range of instruments and musical friends who he invites to recording sessions in his studio. So we hear RVDS (It's / smallville) at the piano, Hayo Doin (Die Boys / Deichkind) on drums and last but not least DJ Björnski (dérive) on guitar. And yet everything comes together to be pushing electronic music. Hi5 is like the joy of a child over a bucket of water on a hot summer day. And after the refreshment the B side reveals a deep disco pearl in brilliance, plain beauty and a warm, vespertine elegance, that has been created due to the cooperation between a different Jimi and Björnski, the dérive label tycoon himself. 'Hi 5 & Sweet Fancy Moses' is a vinyl-become-south-sea-island in an ocean of tears of joy.

That Dope Loop Pinning down Sascha Dive as Cocoons deephouse wunderkind wouldn't really hit the nail on the head however it isn't far from truth. Compared to most other artists of this genre he can for sure be classified as a young gun but there is no soundproof for his age in his music at all. Sascha Dive's music is loaded with a respectful amount of taste and house history you would normally find in the productions and DJ-sets of artists who started in the early 90s. And this is not unwanted: Dive admires and follows the big names of house and deep house and his musical efforts to pay respect to them brought him on par with his legends! So it's no wonder that Sascha Dive productions found their way to top notch labels like Tsuba, Freebase, Deep Labs (Balance US) or Raum...Musik. Not to forget his release for Ornaments and the Moodyman remix for 'Deepest America". Having in mind where Dive started with his first album 'Restless Nights' and what he achieved until he received remix-honours from Mister Kenny Dixon Jr. one could think Sascha Dive scored all goals he wanted to score. However the journey didn't stop here: Being a Cocoon artist and having played for some of the major Cocoon nights in Ibiza and around the globe Dive incorporated a decent amount of electronic soul and after-hour-madness to his music over the last years. He even admits that his current productions and DJ-sets are definitely influenced by current techno- and techno-house artists and this special feeling this music adds to a party. And this progression is clearly audible in his new and upcoming album 'Dark Shadow' which is a great example of the sound of Sascha Dive in the year 2013.

Fatima Al Qadiri is a multidisciplinary artist and musician from Kuwait. In just a few years, she has quickly built a reputation as a conceptual artist, exploring themes informed both by her own background and global pop culture, through a number of highly acclaimed EPs, multimedia projects and writings. She is also a founding member of the production team Future Brown. Fatima's debut album is called 'Asiatisch', and as the track titles suggest, the record provides a simulated road trip through an imagined China. Musically, the album is an homage to that quietly influential sub-strain of grime, often loosely termed 'sinogrime' due to its preoccupation with Asian motifs and melodies, pioneered by the likes of Wiley and Jammer at the beginning of the 2000s in East London. 'Asiatisch' is a provocation which asks more questions than it answers. The title is the German word for Asian. Unlike its title, however, the music on 'Asiatisch' revolves around the fantasies of East Asia as refracted through pulpy Western pop culture, in particular Hollywood, literary fiction, music, cartoons and advertising. Fatima asks what is meant by the term 'Asian' in a digital age of viral interchange and the hi-speed trading of cultural bytes; the concept of 'shanzhai' proves pivotal, a term whose meaning stems from a wild, out of control zone of banditry, but which has come to be used to refer to the Chinese counterfeiting of Western brands and goods. While a number of producers have made takes on 'sinogrime' over the last few years, 'Asiatisch' is really the first record that attempts to articulate this weird complex of sonic interchanges between the West and China. With the exception of the opening track, 'Shanzhai', a haunting cover of 'Nothing Compares to You' with nonsensical Mandarin lyrics, and the shimmering 'Loading Beijing', 'Wudang' and 'Jade Stairs' which sample and distort classical Chinese poetry staging an epic confrontation between China's ancient soul and the onslaught of the industrial factory machine, most of the tracks blend mallets, bells, gongs, flutes, steel drums and choral atmospherics with the searing synth-brass and the skittering drums of grime, playing melodies that are inflected as much by classic R&B as to synthetic versions of traditional Chinese music. On "Dragon Tattoo" for example, stereotypical iconography of imagined China is slotted into a threatening, robotic R&B format. The carefree pirating of Western brands blurs into a soft-synth pirating of Chinese musical signs.'Asiatisch' is wrapped in pristine artwork by Babak Radboy from Shanzhai Biennial, and the music was given a 3D sheen by in demand mixer Lexxx. Proclaiming both its love of both ancient and imagined China, 'Asiatisch' is a rare album that is both icily beautiful and conceptually layered.

117 Presents Forbidden Codes.
This compilation project is compiled and envisioned by DJ Trace, a veteran of UK dance music.New School players Verb and Quartz take on two classics to kick things off.
Mutant and Sonar get a modern and minimal touch up on crystal clear 10" collectors vinyl. Three more 10's continue this sonic experience featuring a group of the finest underground producers in today's scene.Kid Lib, Tim Reaper, Gremlinz & Homemade Weapons, Friske, Fade and Genotype appear over 3 plates.
Artist's on the LP display their 2014 vision which compliments the direction that 117 is heading.This moves far away from the soulless noise that plagues in various electronic dance music genres today. They use in this compilation, modern studio techniques enhanced with a passion and respect for the history of drum&bass.This LP is not to be filed under throwaway music.
Breaks and vibes unite to reminisce the days agone whilst outlining a new blueprint that pushes the boundaries of music technology.The essence of the 117 sound is explored and continues into the 24 digital tracks written by a gifted selection of hand picked talent from around the world.
Now is your turn to be possessed by the sounds of the 'Forbidden Codes' Released 28th April via ST Holdings.Mastered by Beau @ Ten Eight Seven, London.

Cute Heels is the solo project of Bogota´ born, experimental producer Victor Lenis. Since the early 2000's Lenis has been working on a myriad of electronic projects, including the management of the labels Black Leather Records and Romance Moderne, in his current home of Brussels. Drawing on the influences of the radical punk scene that surrounded him growing up in Columbia while nurturing his passion for synthesizers and drum machines, Lenis developed the broody, gloomy brand of electro-techno that is Cute Heels. Deemed by Juan Atkins as ''the new blood and spirit for the next step in techno music'' Cute Heels has released various digital only releases over the years, as well as his first vinyl release, an EP on Gooiland Elektro. His debut album Spiritual, rides the line between cold electro-techno and left field electronic body music. Inspired by equal parts Liaisons Dangereuses and Drexciya, Spiritual takes the listener on a journey over 8 tracks and 40 minutes of music. Listening to "Spiritual" you can see why. The songs on this full length reveal a sublime influence from Detroit techno, early Chicago house and new wave; advanced electronics for the dance floor, pumping and sophisticated. The album was recorded and mixed by Victor at Sensorium Studio in Zagreb, Croatia in November 2013. Each song has been mastered for vinyl at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley by George Horn. Each LP is packaged in a custom-made jacket by our in-house designer Eloise Leigh and incorporates the geometry of analog synthesizers and celestial rose patterns. 

The Hamburg based Hannes Rasmus released a record in 2013 called "Analog Ist Besser" on Gold Panda's precious label Notown which also featured Luke Abbott from Border Community. This put him on the map for minimal electronic melodic music with a lot of tastemakers and friends of melodic techno. Hannes Rasmus who can be described as a shy person who has eveloped a big knowledge for vintage synthesizers over the years. His challenge has been to write music with hardware, sequence und synths. This may sound not so much of a challenge but for "people who know" the analog sound can bear as much beauty as it can be disastrous since it can be pretty much unpredictable and hard to handle as well. So we are talking here about a person who really loves and lives with analogue g
Time led him through various forms/genres of electronic music making, going step by step towards minimal electronic techno and house music. Meanwhile his aim alongside writing music is to build in Hamburg according to his personal demands, so this is as much of a process as doing music and time as he says. When he is not making music you can see him with a soldering iron building synth
with DIY kits or fixing old synths.
His EP on Traum "Musik Für Fünf Maschinen" refers to the equipment he used to write the music... the tracks however refer to swimming pools.

Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics.
Optimo Trax is an offshoot label of Optimo Music for tracks aimed at DJs/dancefloors. Yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didn't seem quite right for Optimo Music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics.


Michele Mininni is from Southern Italy where he says people are not interested in his type of music so he was forced to reach out to Glasgow where it turns out some people most defintely are. Citing his influences as kraut, post rock, new wave and electronic amongst others, this is his debut release and most accomplished it is too. Lowering the tempo somewhat compared with previous OT releases, Tupolev Love is a sub 100bpm cosmic trancer while Telekomdisko raises the tempo and heads off into sun drenched space territory. The EP is completed by Michele's fellow countrymen, Boot & Tax's great acid-inflected remix of Tupolev Love.

Arma Label announces its eighth release. San Proper's Pet=Master EP is the second extended play record in a row produced by the label in year 2014.
Series of ecstatic appearances of San Proper at Arma17's major events literally forced the label to choose more in-depth format to publish the artist.
Pet Master is very subtile, contemporary reconstruction of colourful experience of Amsterdam underground veteran. It contains three tracks, each of them is full of energy that San Proper shared over the last fifteen years, "spinning and playing live from major clubs and festivals to smaller bars and dodgy underground locations".

Vincenzo returns to Dessous Recordings with something a little special. 'Merry Go Round' features the stunning vocal talents of Language aka Kaori Kaneko, a haunting, drifting and highly affecting piece of music that sounds like nothing else. Kaori already released two albums on Japanese Crue-L Records as Kaori and three albums with her band Language on Madoromi / Atari Productions and was also featured on the Chi Chi Squads classic 'Treat Me Right'. Built on dreamlike, evolving pads and textures, the vocals are reminiscent of the best work of Tracey Thorn, rising and falling over the 7-minute duration of the original mix. After some minutes a crisp, chugging, mid-tempo beat develops and lifts the track yet further, a moment perhaps best enjoyed at sunrise. The Reprise Mix is a totally beatless mix, emphasising the pads, guitar and piano work. The third track sees Axel Boman on remix duties, who primes it for the dance-floor with a loopy, hypnotic rework that retains the original character but adds a visceral, gritty quality for the dancers.

Gray Hoodie is the debut album from french musician / composer Elise Mélinand. The album, written in Berlin then sequentially recorded throughout various locations in France, was initially inspired by the techniques she was exposed to after being recruited as part of Christina Vantzou's (Kranky / The Dead Texan) Little Prism Ensemble. Her newly adapted recording and composition tool, the laptop, is undeniably the norm today. However, it allowed Mélinand to better visualize her compositions while experimenting with techniques that Gray Hoodie so skillfully showcases. Crafted by Mélinand to tell a story of a friend who gave her a gray hoodie one cold evening. This gray hoodie was a symbol of their friendship and this album is said by Mélinand to be "A way to thank him for everything he gave me". Gray Hoodie showcases Mélinand's childlike voice and legato string work juxtaposed over frenetic experimental beat-work that is injected into ten cinematic vignettes that exude the comfort and warmth of a sweatshirt on a cold day.

Dutch DJ, producer and Wolfskuil label boss Darko Esser is to self-release his sophomore album, Anipintiros, in April 2014. The eight track album comes four years after his debut and is his first as Tripeo, the techno leaning alias he has been working under most often in recent times.

Working as Tripeo has reinvigorated Esser, who under his own name has been producing his unique take on electronic music for a decade now. 'It was liberating to have another persona take over,' says the man himself. 'I have been so inspired and productive ever since that I woke up one day with the thought 'I'm ready to do another album' and started straight away that day.'

Tripeo music is aimed squarely at the dancefloor, and there sure are some full blooded cuts on the album, but so to are there concessions to the listening experience, meaning deep, dark passages and more leftfield experiments help tie the whole thing together into one cohesive and coherent whole. 'Like all albums, this is a very personal statement,' explains Esser. 'It's just me trying to translate the overwhelming inspiration I feel right now into sound. That, and making the record as diverse as possible without losing the purist identity of Tripeo.'

That identity shines through right from the off on the album, which has been made using a knowing blend of both soft and hardware. 'Anipintiros #1' is a firmly rooted, rubbery bit of deep techno that works you into hypnosis and comes detailed with plenty of otherworldly ambiances. From there, Tripeo explores gallivanting techno run through with celestial pads on 'Anipintiros #2' and tripped out, ever shape shifting and dusty minimal sounds on 'Anipintiros #3'.

'Anipintiros #4' channels the widescreen and pumping techno of Detroit's finest whilst 'Anipintiros #5' is a more industrial and muscular track of the sorts that would sound perfect in the bowels of Berghain. 'Anipintiros #6' is one of the busier and more kinked techno rhythms with punchy drums and fax machine like melodies, before 'Anipintiros #7' thumps with real menace and 'Anipintiros #8' hums and hisses, spits and stutters like the suitably epic and melodic comedown you need after such a captivating ride.Everything, though is backed with serene synth work and an otherworldly sense of alien spirit that runs through all great techno.

There is plenty to get lost in throughout Anipintiros and it proves once again that Esser is someone able to coax far more feeling out of his machines than most.

DJ FEEDBACK

Early support from Blawan, Rødhåd, James Ruskin, Reeko, Exium, Mike Parker, Ben Sims, Rolando, Pfirter, Craig McWhinney, Cadans, Sandrien, Nuno Dos Santos

Limited White Vinyl Pressing!
While some of you might think of Planet Rhythm as one of those old labels from back in the day, it may not necessarily be the correct judgement. Not only is it a product of its past achievements, but it's also pushing things forward in the present time, with Woo York being one of a few new artists emerging from the imprint's recent catalogue. That said, 2014 starts with Ukrainian duo taking over Planet Rhythm headquarters as the label's proprietors and getting in charge of all of its future development.

First out of press is the duo's own EP highlighting their shift towards brand new, hardware-driven studio setup. From abstract TB-303-ish structures of Acid Rain, through the building peaks of Analogue Swamp, a perfect example of stripping functional techno, to Come Closer's uplifting trance-y melodies and the closing sequence of Strobe 1, this record is shaping up to be Woo York's strongest release to date.

RAWAX proudly welcomes Mr. Gari Romalis to the family!

Gari Romalis is at the forefront on the techno scene in Detroit, working with labels such as Tresor, Soma Records, Terrence Parker's Intangible label, Mike Banks' Happy Soul Records, Reggie Dokes' Psychostasia label and Cliff Thomas' D-Bass Records.

Gari has been djing for over 30 years and has played at Detroit's most infamous underground club, the "Music Institute", along with traveling overseas spinning at Tresor in Germany.

Gari has worked for Transmat Records as well as managing Detroit's famous Buy Rite Records. Gari is single handedly responsible for training and influencing some of Detroit's most famous DJ's and producers. Gari heads also the Butch Strange Group, LLC, which houses several labels under his direction. He's back in 2012 with 'The Last Man Satnding EP'.

The Tenses is a duo comprised of Ju Suk Reet Meate and Jackie Oblivia, two veterans of the weirdo art collective that is known as the Los Angeles Free Music Society. They also form the core of legendary experimental juggernaut Smegma.

The LAFMS have been a singular force in DIY culture ever since the early seventies and encapsuled an endless string of projects and bands that married a sort of proto-punk with trashy guitars, avant-garde music, tape manipulations, free jazz, improv and absurd vocalizations into a hyper original and singular form of music. They're seen by many as the originators of noise music, and have been an immense influence on bands like Sun City Girls, Merzbow, Wolf Eyes, No Neck Blues Band, etc...

The Tenses is one of the latest vessels for Ju Suk and Jackie to explore the outer realms of sound and space. Compared to the mothership that is Smegma, it is a more compact and intimate project where turntables, tape collages, distorted surf guitar and coronet are used to create elaborate, haunted atmospheres.

After releases on Harbinger Sound and their own Pigface Records, The Tenses now add another chapter to their history with 'Howard', their new LP on Belgian imprint audioMER. 'Howard' is a mind expanding tour de force that scrambles spoken word deconstructions and spontaneous freak outs into a musical non-sequitur; a strange and disorienting trip.

Loops of voices from long lost instruction movies, shortwave radio dramas that get overrun with sirens, various non-instrumental sounds, and an bewildering stretch of Link Wray-like guitar riffs; 'Howard' is a record that oozes paranoia, the perfect soundtrack for making explosives in your basement.

Comes in a limited edition of 300 copies with artwork by Wouter Vandevoorde and design by Wouter Vanhaelemeesch and Jeroen Wille.

Cadenza head honcho, Luciano, often collaborates with many other artists, his constant touring schedule blessing him the opportunity to write and produce music with a multitude of like minded producers, and on 'Into The Aether", we get the first part of a two part series of tracks composed with various other Cadenza personnel. 'Arizona Green Song' sees Luciano and Marlowe (AKA Digitaline) get together for a vibrant and busy freak out. A plethora of rattling and sharp percussion cuts through a simple melody line and low slung groove. Building over ten tantric minutes, dubby inflections and hidden voices are woven into the detailed arrangement to great effect. A collaboration with Dani Casarano results in 'Bell's & Tonic", a slower paced vibe here, but with plenty of funk, from it's bending bass line and hand claps to the deft organ touches and shuffling shakers. A world within is created here, again distant voices, rattling cow bells and (yes) livestock and other field recordings are layered here to create a unique ambience. Uncompromising and original music then, from Cadenza's boss and friends. Expect a 'Part Two' to be released in the coming months....

Ladies and gentleman, we would like to introduce to you; Nachtbraker (Dutch for Night Hawk). This energetic dude from our hometown might not be a familiar name to you, but don't let that put you off. If you're into the darker shades of deephouse with a serious chunk of funk, have a listen to this. Gute Laune is the track that really captures Nachtbraker's style in all its facets. It starts of modest with basic percussion and a nice bended pad, but when the bassline comes in, every element in the track makes your head bop, ass shake en smile grow. The real kicker is the changeover where the long pads makes way for a set of filtered stabs that give the whole track the energetic vibe it deserves, without going overboard. The whole track just exudes the detailed way Nachtbraker produces his tracks, and we love him for it. Bluebottle is a wholly different animal. This track keeps a lower pace with a crunchy pad and mysterious synth setting the tone. With a lovely ever-changing bassline, a couple of changeovers in the percussion and a clever gate-effect on the pad, don't be surprised if you find yourself humming this tune several hours after the first listen. Last but not least, there's Xantippe. Xantippe is hard to classify because of it's two-faced character. What starts of as an atmospheric broken beat dreamy tune, jumps into a raw burner after the break with a haunting buzzy loop. Bassface-WTF-material for the after hours. Nachtbraker delivers a quality EP that is definitely one for the heads, more than for those in search of peaktime bangers. We're excited to share this solid slice of deephouse that represents everything we started the label for: Great music, no matter where it's from or who made it. Sincerely yours, Lars & Maarten

Matt O'Brien first came to our attention in 2005 with his Off-key Industries releases "Hidden High" and "Serotone", which would later get a license on Rekids. His first contribution for Curle was back in 2007 when he remixed Efdemin's "Acid Bells". In 2010 he made up the flipside to Dozzy & Van Hoesen's track on Curle 024.
After "Starting Over" in 2011, we're proud to welcome Matt back on Curle for his second full EP. Don't forget your scuba glasses, it's deep!

Steve Lee's (The Project Club) ABOVE MACHINE label returns with another superb release from acclaimed Italian duo Almunia
Their last single for AM was a best-seller, and their celebrated output through Paul 'Mudd' Murphy's Claremont56 label, including the recent Pulsar LP has seen the their blissful & uplifting Balearic sound win over many a new follower
'Find My Way' is a gorgeous, acoustic guitar led vocal number, conjuring up twilight beach side boogie, balmy breezes and ice cold drinks
Marius Circus gets to work on the B side, taking the irresistible melodies to a much later, darker dancefloor.
Laying a foundation of squelchy moog style bass and a toughened up rhythm track before heavily effected guitars sweep across the mix elevating the whole thing to near transcendental heights !
A superb release and addition to the Above Machine catalogue

Maricopa returns to Back To The Balearics to complete his stunning opus, Pastel Love.

And he continues where he left off building deeply textured songs packed full of simple melodies that really shine.
His music opts for subtle feelings and passing vibes over the more obvious structures of 'dance music'. The release of Part One led to a number of comparisons with the early work of Aphex Twin as well as more contemporary producers such as Four Tet.

Such comparisons don't come lightly, but Pastel Love demonstrates that a rare musical talent has arrived.

The release again has beautiful printed covers and looks as good as it sounds. Viva Maricopa!

Franc Spangler is back with three brand new cuts to form the Painted Lady EP. Spangler, also known as Jamie Odell also known as Jimpster returns to Delusions Of Grandeur following something of a hiatus since his 2010 EP Forever And A Day. Not that there hasn't been demand (following his brilliant remix of Norm De Plume for vinyl only label Kolour Limited) but with a busy gig schedule and two labels to keep on top of, the Spangler moniker has always been seen as a bit of a special side project where quality presides over quantity.

Title track Painted Lady kicks things off in fine style with warm, deep house being the order of the day. Franc gets just enough dust in amongst the layering keyboards and echoing stabs to keep things the right side of smooth, the overall vibe is rolling with subtle FX and sounds poking through every now and then bringing a new element to latch onto.

Up next we have Lumpsucker, which brings us a lovely, blissed out, slice of electronica underpinned by classic TR707 beats adding just the right amount of jack to the track. We're getting hints of YMO and Balil with a lingering note of Larry Heard on the finish.

Finally, we're treated to the epic closer that is Camberwell Beauty. Mid tempo boogie beats with crunchy claps and steady hats lay the bedrock for a loping CS5 bassline whilst lush keys shimmer and swirl like little fluffy clouds in a bright summer's sky.

Blank Code start 2014 off strong with their latest EP Rituals of Submission, produced by Luis Flores, with remixes by Black Asteroid and DJ Hyperactive. The opening track Discipline starts off with a nice creepy atmosphere supported by a solid kick and just the right amount of percussion to hook you into the tracks core rhythm, which stays consistent while the supporting percussion keeps the intensity of the track in constant motion. Black Asteroid's Discipline remix gives the track a whole new perspective, while staying true to the original's excellent use of classic elements. The straightforward kick and up­beats work perfect with this track's industrial bassline, while cleverly programmed analog synths carry the track with slow triplet rhythms, and quirky stabs that drift off to space.

Luis Flores' second original composition, The Word, follows the same philosophy as Discipline, with many elements coming together to form one solid rhythm. This is a huge sounding track with intricate metal percussion and pitch modulated stabs that form a dark and inciting hook which is overtaken by filtered claps as the track progresses. DJ Hyperactive gets down to business with his remix of The Word and lets his Chicago roots shine through as hats on all fours and hard hitting claps are used to raise the energy sparked by the deep kick and well processed stab.

France proves to be rich pickings once more for the Minimal Wave label with this absolutely superb collection of "ritualistic minimal electronics" from French duo DZ Lectric + Anthon Shield. Crossing paths in Paris in the early 80s, Christian Dezert (DZ Lectric ) and Michel Lecamp (Anthon Shield) bonded over a mutual appreciation of The Stooges, Throbbing Gristle and Suicide and went on to record numerous albums together over a five year period. The focus of Minimal Wave's attentions on the Lickin' LP is the cassette Confessions D'Un Masque the pair released in 1985, with eight tracks lifted and remastered from the original reel to reel tapes. DZ Lectric + Anthon Shield's sparse yet manic approach, described as "challenging and hypnotic" by Minimal Wave, will appeal to fans of CHBB.

Heavily influenced by Moodymann and Andres, new Home Taping artist Simba produces music that is full of soulful echoes, while still dripping in raw house music vibes.

Nothing is too straight in the Simba sound as FX drift around and subtle production touches come at you from all angles.
Vinyl hiss is as important as the kick drum and the overall atmosphere has that classic house music quality that can transport you instantly to another place.

The Black Madonna was the one who drew attention to the rising talents of this young producer. So fittingly she delivers her own 'Lost In Chicago' take on the original, which delights in the track's edginess and the wonderful release of the main hooks.

All of which are given the trademark BM Chicago stamp, or should that be stomp
Quality house music for the believers out there.

The Appointment program was launched by Marieu, EMG, John Swing and Lucretio in the early 2010. They started to record coarse functional hardware compositions in the cursory sessions they were able to set up when all the four could summon in the same city. After a couple of seminal releases on LiveJam Records and an official remix made for Moodyman on Decks Reworx, they decided to start their own imprint, with bare handmade ink graphichs on thier white labels and with spare press information and media promotion. To celebrate their 10th release, they have decide to tell the world who they are cutting on vinyl their personal reinterpretation of a live session recorded at the Restoration heaquarters. From Lucretio's post-rave techno, to EMG shrinked deep-house, through Marieu's breakbeat-electro science to John Swing's overloaded hip-house, what you find on this 12 is a true dedication to the sonic quest.
Out at the end of February 2014. ONLY ON VINYL.

Tapper Zukie's 'Man from Bosrah' album still stands up today many years after its initial release, as only great music seems to do.
Tapper was one of the few Jamaican artists in the late 1970's that crossed over with the emerging punk/new wave audience.
Punk poet Patti Smith had practised her poetry over the rhythms from Tapper Zukies 'Man Ah Warrior' album, before reworking them as songs with her band.
Acknowledging this influence she brought Tapper on stage with her at the Hammersmith Odeon 23 October 1976 and introduced Tapper to a whole new audience. An audience that accepted Reggae as a music that also dealt with struggle and oppression.
The great cover shot shows Tapper standing at the back gates of the school yard in Trench town which was opposite his own yard...so sit back and hear what was happening back then that made this such a time defining album....

(green coloured 12")

June 8th, 1984, a deadly F5 tornado nearly destroys the town of Barneveld, Wisconsin, killing 9 people, injuring nearly 200, and causing over $25,000,000 in damage, only five months later Nenad Markovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia. May 3th 2000, a rare conjunction of 7 celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, planets Mercury-Saturn) occurs during the New Moon, few weeks after that in his room on the 10th floor of a new belgrade skyscraper nenad made his first steps into the wild blue yonder. December 27th, 2005 - Astrophysicists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching near Munich measure the strongest burst from a magnetar. At 21:30:26 UT the earth is hit by a huge wave front of gamma and X-rays. It is the strongest flux of high-energetic gamma radiation measured so far. September 23th 2008, in the Akihabara area of Tokyo, Japan, a 25-year-old man stabs seven to death and wounds 10, before being arrested, that night nenad adopted his pseudonym 33. 10. 3402 (33th of october threethousandfourhounded and two) Jun 11th 2009, a Texas mother was hit by lightning while standing in her kitchen inside her Texas home. Witnesses say the lightning came through a light fixture and struck her chest and exited her foot. Her 9-year-old son franticly called 9-1-1 to save her life. She had to spend three days in the hospital. Few months later nenad performed for the first time under the name 33 10 3402 along with Dj Brka in 'The Wash' club. From that time on, nenad had numerous gigs in prominent Belgrade clubs. Dec 8th 2010, with the second launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft. The same year nenad become resident in famous balgrade club '20/44'. Nenad is not responsible for many of these events, nonetheless,he is constantly on the move.

The second EP from Jack Dice sees a huge leap in ambition for the project, a 5 track session that's more addictive, direct and heady than its predecessor.
'Sip Paint' centres around 'Stash's Theme' featuring rapper and producer Stash Marina, a track that deploys crisp triplets and saturated production straddling mainstream signatures on the one hand and a world of analogue/deviant recording techniques on the other. It's an odd, hyper-addictive track - available here in both vocal and instrumental versions.
'Low Glo', 'Kerosene' and 'Radium Dial' are more subdued and immersive; you could draw lines straight through the material here to a number of different projects Twells has been involved with through the last decade, though he seems to benefit immeasurably from Chambliss' presence. The pair find a perfect balance between their respective disciplines, resulting in an EP that at different points throws stylistic references to everything from Prince's Black Album to The Art of Noise, Drake, Philip Jeck and Evian Christ's DUGA 3 sessions - without ever sounding overworked or too knowing, a feat in itself.

This is the year of Peder Mannerfelt's rebirth. After seven years he's laid The Subliminal Kid to rest. With this new 12", the chains have been locked in and the road map has been obliterated. EP1 is focused like a laser etching out intricate patterns in massive, humming machines. Mannerfelt's ideas have been reduced to a razor's edge and he balances these freeform compositions like a master.
This EP could be seen as a prelude to Peder Mannerfelt's debut album under his own name that will be released by Digitalis Industries in February and at the same time is the first part in a ongoing series of self released records by Mannerfelt.
Opener "Hook (end)" crashes like waves from a metallic ocean bearing down on the shore. The bass craters beneath, digging its way to the listener's core. Each idea is stripped down and simplified to the point of near exhaustion, resulting in tracks that are relentless and infecting. "Psalms and Songs and Voices" is propelled forward by crushing kick drums and rhythmic bass pounding. Somehow, though, Mannerfelt works unsuspecting hooks in between the peaks. It's incredible. "With Psalms and Songs and Praises," the final track on this 12", everything is pushed to the limit. This is absolute maximalism; an overload of the senses that cannot be escaped. It's the opposite of everything else on the EP, combining everything into a single, massive escape.
This is the sound of machines humming. This is the sound of the factory floor in rebellion. And yet, this is only the beginning; the first chapter of a novel yet to come. This is the sound of Peder Mannerfelt finding his voice.

Showcases acts who have performed at Something Cold over the years, + friends & allies. North America's minimal DIY synth explosion is represented by bands from East coast to West. LTD 200 repress.

6th Borough Project are all set to release the follow up to their 2011 debut LP One Night In The Borough at the start of March. A hectic couple of years have been lived out by Graeme Clark and Craig Smith during the making of their Borough 2 Borough LP with Graeme continuing to play week in and week out as Revenge and setting up his new imprint Roar Groove whilst Craig has established the brilliant Fifty Fathoms Deep label. Studio time has been tight to say the least but that hasn't stopped the duo from pulling out all the stops and ensuring that this LP surpasses the already sky-high benchmark set by it's predecessor.

As a taster for the LP we present you with this sampler single containing three gems that'll whet your appetite and leave you gagging for more! Kicking off we have In Your Arms which sees the duo deliver some classic 6BP business with a party-starting house track laced with Philly strings and a heavy dose of soul. Next up things take a slightly darker direction on U Know U with this heads-down track incorporating a crisp, stripped-back beat joined by filtering pads and a distant vocal for company. Flip over for Read My Mind which brings some deep and brooding warehouse vibes to the table. This is the sound of 6th Borough Project doing techno with just a hint of 909 ride adding to the layers of bouncing stabs and off-kilter vocals.

Traversing with an understated technical assuredness, the ambitious shapes of Steely Dan, the popping lounge funk of McDonald era Doobie Brothers, the sweet mourning of the Stylistics and Delfonics, and the exquisite song-craft and flawless harmonising of CSNY, Daniel Collas (The Phenomenal Handclap Band), Bart Davenport and Quinn Luke aka Bing Ji Ling have recorded an absolute darling of an album under the name Incarnations. They are three friends with enough musical guises, side-projects, collaborations and production jobs to fill the annual itinerary of your average musician twice over. When three CVs like these get together on a regular basis, it's only logical they speculate and hypothecate on the possibility of an album together. But, how to make those congested diaries synchronise? Bart lives in Oakland and Quinn and Daniel are in New York, all three of them are on tour for the better part of the year. One sunny day in Madrid, Spain, a plan was hatched and a proposal was made. Lovemonk, a small, eclectic and affable Spanish label, dangled the carrot that clinched the deal; 'find two weeks between gigs/productions/recordings and head down to this little place we know in Tarifa, Southern Spain'. A family-run studio, in a house 5 minutes from a wild beach and a short ferry ride from the coast of Africa; the perfect ambience for the fleeting melody and sultry grooves of the Incarnations debut album, "With All Due Respect". Arriving with bits and bobs of half-songs, grooves and melodies, Daniel, Quinn and Bart, sketched and improvised their way to the most intensely evocative songs you'll hear this year. Punctuated by a day trip across the water to Tangiers, all 9 songs were written and recorded inside a fortnight in October 2009 and laid to rest while our protagonists jetted off to their respective diary appointments. Whether it was the beach, the soft weather, the fact that you can smell Africa from the studio, the home cooked Spanish food or the relaxed environment of the recording room, when the band returned to the songs at a New York studio earlier this year, they found an album as fresh and resonant as the moment it came into being. Quickly mixed down with no over-dubs or re-records, "With All Due Respect" captures the combined gifts of Tarifa and the three very talented friends that paid a visit. Incarnations are: Daniel Collas: DJ, drummer, organist, and one half of production team Embassy Sound Productions, the minds behind The Phenomenal Handclap Band. Plays - drums, percussion, organ and synthesizers. Bart Davenport: Collaborator with Greyboy, General Elektriks and The Phenomenal Handclap Band; Singer-songwriter with The Loved Ones, The Kinetics and Honeycut, and most recently a touring member of the Kings Of Convenience. Plays - guitar, bass and vocals. Quinn Luke a.ka. Bing Ji Ling: Part of The Phenomenal Handclap Band, one half of DFA recording artists Q&A and long time member of Tommy Guerrero's band; Solo artist on labels Ubiquity and Lovemonk among others. Plays - guitars, keyboards, vocals The band are named after Encarnacion "Nini" Sagrista, owner of the recording studio in Tarifa, who housed and fed them during their stay.

We welcome back one of our favorite artists, Brendon
Moeller. This time as Beat Pharmacy. Brenson has
been releasing several records for us before, on
Echocord and Echocord Colour.
On all these tracks, one thing becomes apparent, with
a few simple elements and a dub approach to mixing,
one can create space, movement and groove without
the need to change keys. magic maybe.
Thank you dub manipulators of the past and present
for the music and lessons.
Brendon has been releasing music in many years on
many labels, also running his own famous Steadfast
label.

Struments Records opens 2014 presenting ''Fire to the Empire'', third record in 12'' format from this Barcelona label. Following the special dedication referred to the local talent shown by the label in its two previous releases, in this occasion the reference is signed by Clip!, relevant artist in the Spanish electronic scene that, after a versatile and prolific 2013, shows in this publication a new coordinate of their chameleonic sound. Thereby opening the door to more visceral coordinates, opaque and less intense dance that exudes less kindness and infects the club atmosphere with light and dark. The set, consisting of three original songs (Fire, Ash and Bitch), and a remix of ''Ash'' by the British artist Kommune1, discovers on side A two descriptive and powerful snapshots of translucent clubber atmosphere, winding and unfiltered. Proper of the dance hours closer to twilight in the shadows and lights mergers into sensations. While on the B side, the artists pays tribute to the most evasive and escapist concept that music can evoke, forged between the rage of techno and the subtlety of house, when instinct takes control over any convention and presents itself as a purely physical experience between the listener and the sound. Closing the total minutes of the reference, Kommune1 prints cosmic and expansive notes to ''Ash'', as well as he brightens the original version. ''Fire'', the central tune that starts and gives name to this third reference of Struments Records responds to six minutes that shapes a direct and powerful presentation letter. In which you can acknowledge progressive melodic phases and raw vocals that serve as a growing force of initial contact. ''Ash'' continues the incursion between hard and chiaroscuro dynamic, printing analog rhythm coordinations. ''Bitch'' represents the exact balance and highlight of ''Fire Your Empire'' EP, sobriety in enviromental nuances, vocal flare and power high-flying shape a depth completely orientated to the dance floor that condenses much intention in a speech coherently aligned with the sound. Kommune1 sets ''Ash'' with an eye towards fantasy and space, using resources in the original maximalist melodies and rhythmic accelerating phases provide the remix to get faster.


DJ Support:

Alizzz (Mad Decent)
The EP is so well balanced. Loving that analog feeling. 'Fire' makes me
dream, I get in trance with the bass and those pads on 'Ash' and I want
to listen to 'Bitch' really loud in the Berghain. Much support.
Jorge Caiado (Balance/Groovement)
"Excellent and fresh EP!! All tracks are powerful and effective, can't
wait to play them. My favorite is "Bitch" but Kommune1 also did a good
alternative mix to "Ash". Keep them coming Struments!
Kresy (Hivern Discs)
"Great EP. Bitch is my favourite"
Broke One (RBMA/Magic Wire Recordings)
"Aweome EP"

After her much lauded debut 'Playin' Me' last year, Cooly G returns with an EP that switches from songwriting mode to create extended, spaced out and rhythmic house tracks built for the dancefloor. 'Hold Me' starts with minor note stabs and Cooly's vocal refrain 'Hold me' over a punchy bassline. The rhythm slowly builds as the vocal becomes more dubbed out and the atmosphere more smokey. 'Oi Dirty', made with DVA, is a piece of wonky, rhythmically lopsided house with a cavernous elasticized bassline and lots of micro detail destabilising the track then bringing it back, pitching drums and mini breakdowns. 'Molly' is a slow burning 4/4 house track built around a static grid that gradually builds up, getting stiffer and more intense, with wobbly acid-like synth lines and hissing static stabs, underpinned by a one note bass kick. It's a masterclass in creating tension with sleight of hand production moves.

Once again Danse Club Records have unearthed a forgotten and sorely overlooked house track here, then they have enlisted a fine pair of contemporary producers - Sqim and Deepchild - to remix it and bring it right up to date. The original, 'Who's Dick Is This' is a 1994 kicking house bomb by the mysterious Princess Di, who released but three EPs during the 90s on Music Station with this track being the pick of the bunch. German producer Sqim is associated with labels like Exploited and Play It Down and firstly offers up a Ghetto Mix of the track. The result is a big and physical house track with sleazy samples, heavyweight drums and a kinetic energy throughout The warm up mix by the same man is a much deeper affair, as you'd expect from the name. This one resides in a much warmer and more inviting groove and is coloured with deft synths as it slowly builds in phases. The elastic vocals dart about above the drums, bringing with them a lively sense of soul and funk before Deepchild offers his own two unique versions.From quirky, stripped-back techno injected with soul to deep, dub-inflected excursions, Berlin based Australian Deepchild can do it all. Here he offers his 'Cockumentary Retug' a ragged and raging techno version riddled with spoken word samples culled from a documentary about penis size. Its dark and involving and sure will get great reactions on the floor. The final version is a straight dub that journeys in a heavy groove, has some weird spoken word snippets melted into it and is lit up with some celestial synth patterns in the latter half.

clear vinyl pressing!
Soundtravels Recordings proudly presents "Point Of View Part 1". We have compiled six contemporary, electronic bombs from artists all around Europe.

For some we didn't have to travel that far though...

The Hagues Baz Reznik provided us with "Nightdrive To Stuttgart", a moody, sinister track with that typical raw Reznik sound and a melody that will stick in your head for days after you first heard it.

Amsterdam based Arctic Boogie boss Endfest came up with another killer, "Von Heijden En Verre". Almost ten minutes filled with frosty synths and arctic melodies, accompanied by an ever present, very sophisticated 303 which peaks halfway the track, shivers!

Our last, but not least, Dutch contributor is Rotterdam based Louis Guilliaume who you might know from several straight forward techno releases on various quality underground labels. "Promiscues" is a rough edged, energetic track which fits somewhere between Detroit techno and Dutch Westcoast elektronica. At the end of 2013 he will release the "Unknown Forces EP" on Soundtravels.

Okay, now we fly all the way over to Croatia for Le Chocolate Noir with "Futu.e Is B.ight". A short but powerful EBM track with vocals from the man himself. Dark industrial mechanics accompanied by a threathening bassline, but no need to worry... cause Futu.e is B.ight! In 2014 he will release his first EP on Soundtravels.

Next stop... Düsseldorf. After discovering Dircsen's tracks we definitely had to have him on board. The first result of that can be heard on his astonishing "Aspiration EP" (Soundtravels 003). This guy keeps on producing his solid, high quality electronics and shows us his love for the TB 303 machine in a brilliant way. "Exist" is actually a downtempo dubtechno track but off course it has a fierce 303 all over it. Timeless again. Early 2014 his second EP named "Acid Wheel EP" will be a fact.

New to our family is the Russian Neotnas. He makes his first appearance with "Rewind". Typical for his sound is that warm, organic feel all over his house and dubtechno productions. Very often accompanied by female vocals and it's almost like you hear somebody play a live instrument if you listen carefully. At the end of 2013 he will release his "Slow & Steady EP".

We are pleased to welcome American producer Developer into our pack. Mr. Developer brings to Warm Up his beats and sequences all the way from the West Coast, with two original tracks plus a bunch of extra remixes available on the digital edition. On the list of remakes, none other than Argentinean top producer Pfirter and the label owner himself, Oscar Mulero, both in charge of providing all the funk.

The tangible plastic release starts with '
'Cuerpo', a frenzied number based on continuous synth lines, fast cabasa-driven rhythm patterns, obscure vocals and floaty strings. Spacey and grey, all at the same time.

On track two, Oscar Mulero keeps the fundamental elements, filtering them up and down and adding extra tension to create a perfect mixing tool to complement the original.

Side B opens with 'Western Ways'. Toms appear on the beat, along with FM sequences, and lush stabs that turn aggressive as the minutes go by. A floor stomper.

Pfirter fattens the kick, sharpens the hi hats, and provides some bleepy action and reverb-fuelled ambiances, giving the original a personal twist. Peaktime techno.

As a complement to the plastic version, the digital release boasts two additional revisions of 'Western Ways' by Oscar Mulero. One where he carries out the same routine as we found on 'Cuerpo', preserving most of the original elements, filtering and creating a dense atmosphere, and another with slower tempos, a liquid overall feeling and a more smokey and dubby approach.

So it seems that 2013 was the year Skudge team decided to camp by the pressing plant! The Skudge imprint is indeed growing along its artists as we're now ready to embrace longer formats, a testimony to the future and most than anything a continuous effort to grasp the present's relevancy.
After their wonderful EP from a year ago, the Fishermen are ready to take you on a diving trip with their very first album, an accomplishment in itself With 'Patterns and Paths', Thomas Jaldemark (YTA) and Martin Skoggehall (MRSK, Smell The Flesh) have crafted a rather mesmerizing story of abstract and figurative tropes altogether, and eerie is probably the best word to describe the general mood of this, but hard and raw eeriness! The affair starts with 'Green Horn', a gentle foreplay setting the tone for an imminent journey into the lightless abysses. 'Hope Is gone' further enhances the incoming grim turn of events in a coil-like fashion before 'Serpents' makes our feet and hips take over our fear of the unknown. The trance has indeed begun and we're soon entering a hidden warehouse rave cave of un-earthy shamanism, the unforgiving stomp of 'Get None'. 'Dyspnea' manages to find a path into deeper regions the groove shift towards a darker funk with 'Lost Teeth', a caribbean techno banger that'd wake any zombie in the making! 'The Four Skulls' suddenly hints of a safer journey with healing percs and melancholic pads, but 'Rise' soon shatters those false hopes with an evil lurking motoric groove. Then, you hit 'Scurvy' where the pace slows down a little only to introduce the seductive side of this gloomy adventure, a challenge to you feet inducing lascivious moves. Keeping you in trance, 'In Solitude' kind of combines both previous tracks strengths with an added Twin Peaks value. Now finally reaching the far bottom of the ocean, the mood gets even more claustrophobic with 'Sunken Mosque', the last stage of this trance before maybe getting back to the surface. Indeed, if 'Torments' might let you catch a breath of air, it is filled with minerals, the world above has changed, and you might very well feel safer back under the water, a reverse mirror to Mike Ink's old Gas project. While this tour guide concludes his narration, the Skudge camp proudly hopes to see you embark on it very soon!

With their debut album on Hamburg's taste making hafendisko, Deo & Z-Man proceed their research in contemporary electronic music beyond stylistic boundaries and present a wide-ranging lucky bag of songs. The Italo-rooted brothers melt influences from modern House music, HipHop, Electronica and even jazzy elements into a fresh and life-affirming total work of art. And here it is in all its glory - 'No Bullshit' . With a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humour and a seemingly endless supply of fresh ideas, Deo & Z-Man might have pulled one of the most creative albums of the year. Effortlessly gliding between wigged out house for the dancefloor, synthy space weirdness, hip-hop infused beats and twisted, smoked-out electro pop - 'No Bull-shit' is a rare thing, a collection of esoteric and eclectic influences that hang together perfectly as a proper album. The boys have long since created their own special vibe through their well received singles, live performances and DJ sets - mixing musical knowledge, party rocking skills and a sense of fun that is all too often lacking these days. Even more rare is to capture that magic in the studio over the course of an album. Yet 'No Bullshit', as the name cheekily suggests, nails it. Listening to the album it's easy to see how Deo & Z-Man cut their teeth with HipHop - tracks like 'Tamastar Santini' (feat Janos), 'Two Blue Bros' and 'YRUAG' reveal a background of beats and rhymes that infuses the whole vibe of the album. Equally at home in the club, recent single 'XTC', 'Chopped Memories' and 'Tales of Love' are lessons in leftfield club dynamics - deep, musical grooves that hint at the brothers' leg

With France's long-fallow club scene back in international resurgence as Paris storms back into fighting form, Europe now has found a new source for yet-unheard music. It was a long time brewing, but names like Concrete, Katapult, Zadig, and Society of Silence, have begun to appear in the international clubbing circuit, and the growth is not limited to the capital. Further south in Lyon, a city quickly gaining its own renown for busy club parties booking bigger names, there exists a smaller circle of energetic operators whose name is also spreading rapidly and whose recent accomplishments include Nuites Sonores, Boilerroom and more. Spearheaded by Kosme, a DJ and producer of quickly increasing notice, the provincial powerhouse has already turned heads throughout France as Kosmo's Caramelo Records was snapped up by legendary Parisian distributor Syncrophone; he has a new label set to launch in 2014. It is with this background in mind that THEMA proudly offers Kosme's international debut, the 'April Moon' EP.

Kosme comes to the table with six tracks of low-slung Detroit-referencing house music laced with extra grit. 'Fondamental' rides shuffling hats and a building acid line to dramatic heights. 'Ever Shake My Mind' is slower and dirtier yet, with crushed hats and a bottom-lurking bass between Theo Parrish-esque drum-machine-down-the-stairs breakdowns. After an interlude, 'Mothafunka' resumes the beatdown with a talkover house track that escalates uncontrollably in intensity as drums shuffle before breaking down in congos & pads. 'Deep Function' dials down to sexier sounds with sultry vocal samples and sampled hiss, but it doesn't lose the drum kink. Finally the digital bonus 'A Thought for Yvonne' is the most subdued and skeletal of all with echoed drums and a lonely bassline tumbling over each other in slow motion.

Following the explosion of new sounds from the capital, it is no surprise to find the movement spreading, and THEMA arrives first with the freshest France has to offer.

New label Back To The Balearics follow up the superb Maricopa EP with a stunner from Berlin based live music collective Spleen.
Part one in their musical odyssey 'Fusionary' consists of live jams and instrumentation over computer-based syncopation, their music has a strange yet organic flow to it, which is both hypnotic and rhythmic.
Think Kraut influenced, psychedelic dub funk with a touch of alt pop and you'll be on the right road, but still miles away.
Music is better than words...Spleen prove that.
LTD edition vinyl with beautiful printed sleeves.

Morn, even and next day. Man, woman and child. Can you see the rainbow there on a raining day... The welcome return of 10 Label the Japanese imprint co-founded by Katsunori Sawa and Yuji Kondo, from their first 'Mu EP' in 2011. TEN002EP is the second release in the various artists series. 'Replay' brings together the visions of Perc, Dalhous, Matthew Herbert and Steven Porter. However, there is a dramatic development in four artists' dexterous works. You discover that now you are standing on the centre of stark contrasts among all four tracks, with a photograph and your breath.
The vinyl is adorned with a stunning artwork by London's photographer Jone Reed. The print-design by Shinya Ishimura. Mastered by the Mastering Engineer of the Year 2013 at the Music Producers' Guild Awards, Matt Colton at Alchemy

"Between Stars" is the debut album from Barcelona based Venezuelan producer and DJ Maurice Aymard. More than two years in the making, 'Between Stars' has been a labour of love for Aymard as he travelled the globe to collaborate with musicians and singers in Barcelona, Berlin, London and Venezuela who could help to bring his vision to life. Released on Aymard's own Galaktika Records (Garnica, James Teej & more), 'Between Stars' was recorded entirely live and features contributions from the likes of Brazilian star Gui Boratto, Columbian singers Andrea and Paulo Olarte, Argentian guitarist Mariano Godoy and many more, the resulting album takes the house music template and expands it to a grandiose level. In an age when anything that isn't packed full of buzzsaw bass and 'sick' drops gets labelled as Deep House, "Between Stars" is the real deal, and from the first bars of the albums opening (and title) track, 'Between Stars' quickly establishes itself as something truly special, a 'house' album that not only works as a coherent whole but sounds as good at home, by the poolside or in a club at 4am. If 'live' house albums have in the past had a tendency to verge on the polite, Aymard's skill as a producer and experience as a DJ keeps things rooted in club culture and nearly every track off 'Between Stars' deserves to find its way into DJ sets over the coming months. Rather than smooth things out the live instrumentation instead adds an energy to the tracks and the subtle touches, that the likes of guitarist David Rondon brings to 'El Final', lift the album up to another level altogether. Since moving from Venezuela to Spain and launching Galaktika Records, Aymard has become an integral part of the European house music scene. With releases on the likes of Berlin's Moodmusic, Hamburg's Einmusika and Denmark's Tic Tac Toe Records, and remix credits for artists such as Mario Basanov, Compuphonic and Combo, Aymard has built a reputation for delivering quality underground house music and with his debut album Aymard looks set to secure his position as one of the scene's most innovative artists.

Low Impossible Rendez-Vous is an hypnotic and meandering house excursion by swing maestro Guillaume and his jazzed out Coutu Dumonts. From the funked up and highly danceable heat of A1 to the spaced-out drum ornaments and rider-on-the-stormesque keys of A2, the wriggly run of this record finally flows over into a deep slow burner on the B side - atmospheric elegance. Guillaumes inimitable expertise for intuitive dance patterns made him a well seen suspect on neat labels like Circus Company, Hartchef Discos, Karat, Oslo, Mutek or Vincent Lemieuxs Musique Risquée. Long in the making this EP is the logical continuation of a longtime friendship between Guillaume and the Meander gang. 'Everything in good time' was the slogan on this one and Impossible Rendez-Vous seems to bring together elements that would have, otherwise, been pulled apart by gravity and time. This debut on Meander certainly shapes great things to come. Featured musicians: A1 - Vocal and lyrics by Dynamike (Michel Ndeze), Guitar by Alexis Messier, Keys by Nicolas Boucher and Saxophone by Sébastien Arcand-Tourigny A2 - Drums by Andre Seidel - recorded by Felix Gebauer at KMA Studios Berlin. Mastering and cut by Helmut Erler at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.

Like the face-painted Celtic hordes that succesfully repelled all invaders, Seaghdha continues to dominate the high ground
and provide sonic sustenance for rave caves the world over

As the series continues to pick up new fans and plaudits aplenty, the modus operandi remains the same - precision club workouts, which ricochet between UK flavoured jams, to clean cut Techno & stripped down House

Dirt Chambre, a loose translation into English from a Gaelic phrase which would make even the most hardened warrior chief blush is a robust, clank-a-thon of the highest order, submerged vocals, dustbin lid metronomics and a rudimentary lawn mower preside over what unfurls into an irresistible dancefloor piece

Full Swing takes us into skeletal Mood II Swing territory - a nifty rhythm track number punctuated with vocal chops and atmospheric ear candy

On the flip, Corner Jams sees a Kevin Saunderson 'E-Dancer' style snaking bass underpin a rusty tracked ghost train ride into the depths of the dankest dungeon

Finally Someday gives us a taste of what Kenny Dope might be kicking out if he hailed from South Yorkshire instead of Brookyln.
An impossible to resist skin slapping groove with twisted brass refrains and an unrelenting march into the holo-deck for a spot of android Salsa

The Auf Togo combination of Clement Cachot-Coulom from
the Fabulous Penetrators and Sasa Crnobrnja, one half of In
Flagranti are back with a follow up 12' for Leng.
Once again they blend the warm analogue sounds with a
dancefoor approach this time bringing in some vocals on 'Old
Models' that sit over a tight live drum beat and lush guitar work
locking us into a killer summer groove.
'Waiting For Beggi' gets a Balearic workout with more hazy
guitars, percussion and a rolling bassline.

Always Stays The King This ist he Vinyl edition of Tigerskin's Album - All Those Goodbyes. This special Vinyl features 3 exclusive tracks that are not on the CD version of the Album. - The Essence', - Out of Breath' and - The King always stays the King' are three club bangers that will destroy your floor. As part of this 2LP we also added the strongest dancefloor titles from the CD. Main Info Album : After being the main artist on Dirt Crew Recordings for over seven years and with a staggering 13 EPs in that period either solo or with his buddy Till von Sein, the Berlin based Alexander Krüger has finally put together a full artist album for the Dirt Crew team. The album also features various collaborations featuring established artists such as Ulrich Schnauss, Eddie Richards and of course Till (all titans in their respective fields of 'electronica', 'techno and 'house') plus new producers and vocalists that Alexander has been working with such as The Lazarusman, Sebastian Oehlschlegel and Uffe.Alexander Krüger is one of Germany's most consistent producers and has a huge release list on Discogs ranging from the mid nineties when he started out as Korsakow and Dub Taylor on classic labels like Force Tracks, Müller and Raum Musik. The output of this man is enormous, not only solo under his 3 monikers but also with fellow producers he works with, most prominently the work he does with DJ Phonique. It has also been nine years since his last 'real' album on Resopal Schallware back in 2004 so 'All Those Goodbyes' comes as a welcome relief for Tiger fans. On the album you will find 14 tracks that reflect a broad variety

Narratives Music proudly present the debut EP of the artist Rhyming in Fives. The 'Hindsight' EP sees a well respected producer
embark on a new journey under a new alias, with an intention to breach the boundaries of Drum and Bass and the 170bpm template.
Fusing drift space ambience, glassy synths and retro drum machines with gritty warm bass grooves, Rhyming in Fives has gathered
sensibilities from the austere 80s pop of Depeche Mode and Gary Numan, the soundscapes of Cliff Martinez and Vangelis, and
transcended to something altogether more futuristic.
This highly anticipated release has already caught the imagination of DJ's across the genres with huge names such as Paul Woolford,
Om Unit, Com Truise and Zomby working it into their multi tempo sets while still finding its way into the record bags of Drum and
Bass' hottest players such as Doc Scott, Jubei.and BBC Radio's Friction.
Lead track 'Hindsight' glistens with the trademark Narratives sound of emotion and contrast. Melancholic calling synths build over
pumping kick drums and beckon the classic bass to grow and soar to an euphoric drop of arpeggiators and driving percussion. The
ability to draw the listener completely in to its immersive groove and simplicity, only feigns the depth of this beautiful track, a depth
which reveals more with each listen.
Turning many heads has been the track 'With You'. Instantly recognisable, it builds on the same retro influences as the flip but is
injected with the vocals of Hana. Bubbling basses, beautiful keys and a song like structure make this a golden addition to the
Narratives catalogue; one that evokes the summer decadence of Kavinsky's 'Drive' movie soundtrack.
The last track on the EP, 'All's Well' takes the Rhyming in Fives sound to a much more brooding and meditative place. Cavernous
bass, reverbs and FX lead this wave of haunting ambience to create a heartwrenching close to this debut EP. Sentimental, emotional
and relentlessly engaging, 'All's Well' refuses to let the listener do anything but be drawn in.
Only furthering Narratives reputation for releasing music of bold quality and longevity, this EP embraces experimentation and genre
shifting sounds whilst having relentlessly moved dancefloors and festivals over the summer months.
DJ Support includes : Friction, Paul Woolford, Doc Scott, Om Unit, Kuedo, Com Truise, Zomby