Mal-One’s seventh single sets out to tell the listener in 3 minutes and 21 seconds, everything that it is not. But in doing so by default or design, becomes everything it says it is not!!!
So here it is for your listening pleasure. The non-Punk, Punk single. As Mal-One is asked at the end of the song what this song is all about…seems he runs out of time….
Hope you enjoy the illusion…..
Let me tell you what these songs all about…
This is not a song about Young Parisians
This is not a song about an Outside View
Ripping Her to Shreds, Hong Kong Garden
One Chord Wonders or a Freak Show
This is not a song about Complete Control
This is not a song about Less Than Zero
New Rose, Defiant Pose
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
This is not a song about the Blitzkrieg Bop
This not a song about Top of the Pops
God Save the Queen, Something Better Change
I’ve Got a Right or Life’s A Gamble
This is not a song about London Girls
This not a song about Identity
An Alternative Ulster, Baby Does Good Sculptures
Or Everybody being Happy NowaDays
Hey Mal-One…..Yeah
So what’s this song about ?
Do you really want to know ?
Yeah well let me tell ya
On behalf of re:discovery records, it is with great excitement that we announce the release of Stryke – The Introspection Trilogy (1994-2022). rd011 features a track that is very close to my heart. My senior year in high school. I was heavily into chill-out music at the time. Labels like FAX, Instinct Ambient, Reflective, Astralwerks, em:t, Silent, Moonshine, Rising High, Warp, Exist Dance, Visible, Eye Q and others were giving me such a wide array of beautiful sounds of more subdued techno and rhythmic ambient music. I was buying every compilation I could at the time that looked remotely different based on the artwork, the unusual artist names or the tracks. I was soaking in everything I could under the chill-out style. That year 1994 I picked up the 2nd edition of Moonshine's 'United State of Ambience 2'.
It has so many good tracks on it. One track that always held a special place in my heart was Stryke's 'Introspection pt.1'. The simple but catchy melody layering. The easy atmosphere made me feel like I was floating in the ocean. The deep 808 bass notes (I hope one day you and I will hear this on an amazing sound system). The amazing strings reach a crescendo nearing the end. This track has so many simple but beautiful sounds on it. It's a great example of what I call sequencer-styled electronic music. At a time when producers layered tracks in more of a sequence then building or placing sounds. In 2021 I was able to get a hold of Greg Chin to see if he was interested in putting the track on my label and letting it breathe freely on its own side alone as the highlight of an EP. Greg was enthusiastic about the opportunity and told me that he always wanted to complete the trilogy he had in mind of a part 2 and 3. The ominous and eerie part 2 adds a terrific tension to the finale of part 3. The last being almost an updated part 1 really concluded the trilogy for me. Both parts melded together on side B pushing near 17 minutes. I want to thank Greg for letting us be a home to complete his journey.
SHDW & Obscure Shape return to their mothership label From Another Mind with their six-track 'Vergessene Welt' EP, signalling the first material on the imprint for 18 months.
Founded in 2015, the launch of SHDW and Obscure Shape's label From Another Mind saw the Stuttgart-based DJ/producers establish themselves via a wealth of self-released material while welcoming a long list of high-profile remixers, including Rodhad, James Ruskin and Dax J. However, the pair's evolution saw new ventures explored and attention focused wider afield with the launch of their second label Mutual Rytm in 2022. Utilising their A&R skills, the label has seen the duo curate and invite a selection of up-and-coming and established names while also delivering their first EP on the label in Summer, 'Poetic Justice'. Exploring the techno sounds of tomorrow while drawing on influences of the past, the label quickly turned heads and has become a go-to for many. Following a brief hiatus, the attention is now turned back towards From Another Mind as the pair explore their origins and the signature FAM sound once again, opening the New Year with six fresh productions across their 'Vergessene Welt' EP.
Opener 'Planet Der Sturme' is an exhilarating ride through driving basslines, menacing synth lines and hard-hitting percussion to march towards the peak hours and set the tone for what's to come. 'Der Urknall' is a trippy and murky dive through off-kilter textures and regimented percussion, while 'Das Gefallene Konigreich' ups the energy levels further with sharp metallic tones, skittering hats and subtle haunting melodies launching deep into the late night hours.
On the flip, 'Geburt Der Erde' brings a slice of paired-back, groove-led techno as a slick acid line takes control and ebbs and flows throughout the track's six-minute duration, before closing the physical record via the delicate yet compelling sonics of title cut 'Vergessene Welt' - showcasing a deep dive into far-reaching corners of the genre.
In October 1974, the first number of “L'Indépendant du Jazz”, a small self-produced magazine DIY -before punk supposedly invented the concept- was launched by Jef Gilson, Gérard Terronès, Jean-Jacques Pussiau and a few other specialists of a different kind of jazz in France, it looked at the already long career of Jef Gilson and in detail at the album with saxophonist Philippe Maté:
“The ‘Workshop’ is, with Philippe Maté (alto-sax), an undeniable success. Maté is genuinely ‘the’ most inventive French saxophonist since Michel Portal burst onto the jazz scene (who has also worked with Jef Gilson on both “Enfin” and “Gaveau”).”
Even though the author of the article is a mysterious I.H. Dubiniou, and it is difficult to know if it is a real person or a pseudonym used by one of the merry bunch, it is also tempting to hear it as what Jef Gilson really thought about his new discovery. Even more so as the two men would work together over a long period, as Maté became one of the key figures of Gilson’s Europamerica orchestra up until the 1980s.
Philippe Maté had started to make a name for himself with the Acting Trio when they released an album on the BYG label in 1969, and he was also one of the regular sidemen for the Saravah studios (he can notably be heard on albums by Higelin, Fontaine or his cult duo album with Daniel Vallancien).
The album was recorded on 4 February 1972, at the Foyer de Montorgueuil, where Gilson had set up his studio, with more or less the same team found on “La Marche Dans Le Désert” by Sahib Shihab + Gilson Unit (recorded ten days later). This was drummer Jean-Claude Pourtier and pianist Pierre Moret (regular Gilson accomplices since “Le Massacre Du Printemps”), alongside Maurice Bouhana and Bruno Di Gioa on various percussions and/or wind instruments. On bass is Didier Levallet, of the now mythical Perception, (Jean-François Catoire would replace him with Shihab) and Philippe Maté who took top billing, rather than the American saxophonist afterwards. The two albums are however quite different. This “Workshop” is more abrasive, more free. Made up of two long improvisations each of over 22mn, “L'Œil” on side A and “Vision” on side B (Gilson specialists would recognise the nod to one of his albums from the 60s), the album plunges you into the depths, attempting to drown you in electronic waves, dragging you back to the surface by the collar, giving you a good shakedown, before showing you the light, leaving you breathless on the shore after 46mn of the most intense music French has to offer. “An undeniable success”, they said. (by Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau)
It was in the year 1981 when Belgian electronic musician Michel Huygen and his Spanish colleague Carlos Guirao, both better known as Neuronium, met with Evngelos Odyss as Papathanassou, better known as Vangelis, to record a joint session in London.
Michel Huygen remembers: "The music we played together starting from my score, was flowing, flowing so fast and smoothly between the 3 of us, that I can now, many years after, say: We recorded all the music's parts in one single "shot", since the result was absolutely what we all wanted and Vangelis told us: "Don't touch what we have recorded, it is lovely " and so we did."Now, after some rather unofficial releases, the opus "In London" is finally released for the first time in its entire length, titled "In London - The Platinum Edition", fondly reworked, remastered and sonic refined to perfection exactly 45 years after Neuronium released their first album on the famous Harvest label.
Michel Huygen had intended to celebrate this anniversary with Vangelis in Paris. But fate had other intentions, on May 17, 2022, Vangelis died as a result of a Covid-19 disease.
Huygen: "I feel honored to have been able to meet him, to play music with him and to have him as a funny friend too. And mainly to have been able to meet a huge musician, a classical composer for the forthcoming generations, without doubt. R.I.P, dear Vangelis."
Great Dane Denis Horvat is back on Afterlife with an epic four-track odyssey.
Denis’ penchant for synth-driven melodic techno is evident across all four of these scintillating cuts. Title track ‘Cha Cha’ percolates and throbs, using a distinct vocal clip and exhilarating synth arrangements to create indelible memories. ‘Precious Unica’ brings in vocalist Lelah for a dour journey into our mind’s emotional centre. ‘Momentum Of The Arapaima’ merges unusual percussive elements with a moody bassline and an earworm vocal clip for ultimate dance floor effervescence. Finally, ‘Majstor’ utilises minimal framework to awaken our primitive state, encouraging deep primal expression.
Nous'klaer audio presents Oceanic's debut album Choral Feeling. A rhythmically diverse electronic album full of sonic explorations and beautiful moments, all bound together by a sense of colour. The album touches on the core of what music can be for: a sense of togetherness, finding meaning in moments, a way to cope with loss and soundtracking dreams about a different future. The music on this album reflects that in the most personal way. Each track consists almost entirely of his friends' voices, recorded and transformed into the sounds you'll hear. No, you can But how Just think of anything How can it just be anything Why does it need to be more Because they're afraid of it. They're not afraid of the words Then what are they afraid of The power behind the words How can words have power If you say something, only you, maybe I can hear it. Perhaps someone sitting over near that tree can hear it too. If we say it together, maybe we can reach past that tree and reach that rock. But if us and a million others say them same thing, all at the same time. Then every tree and every rock everywhere will hear us. Trees and rocks don't have ears. No they don't but they do. Why don't they just cover their ears Because then they need to do that every time we use our voice. And use them we did and use them again we shall. They got tired of covering their ears, so they decided to cover our mouths. Won't they hear us now? We're safe here. For how long will we be safe? For now. Perhaps until later. Just try. Read the words like I've written, but do so like the birds in the trees. You are my sunshine A little louder You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy When skies are grey You'll never know dear How much I love you Please don't take my sunshine away Beautiful. Shall we go teach the others When will we have enough to free ourselves We'll always have more than they do. We only need to not forget I'll never forget Sing it again. Artwork by Bob Verhoeven. Text by Gregory Markus.
Bernard Szajner is a French composer, musical theorist, visual artist. He is credited with the invention of the laser harp, which he patented.
Between 1979 and 1983, Szajner released five albums of innovative and Avant-garde electronic music. He became renowned as a light and visual effects technician with artists such as Magma, Gong, Stomu Yamashta and The Who.
During the 1970s, he became a pioneer in the field of using laser technology as an artistic tool. As a measure of his success, he became renowned by his work with companies such as Cartier and Renault. In 1980, inspired by the novel, Nova, by Samuel R. Delany, he first created the laser harp. The laser harp became so successful that Jean-Michel Jarre ordered a version from Bernard Szajner for his tour of China. Despite all this, Szajner would only occasionally use this instrument in his own performances. He has stated that he would rather the public not know him solely for his work on the laser harp, and that it not be allowed to take precedence over his work in musical composition that it enables. This is also why he continues to develop other instruments which use other innovative methods of interaction, such as tactile or holographic.
Towards the end of the 1980s and disgusted with the music industry, he chose to abandon music entirely, and shifted his focus towards digital and visual arts, and theatre.
From Bernard Szajner : “These tracks are my preferred ones .... Ever ! ... For a long time I've been waiting for a record label to release what corresponds to what I like playing these days... Until Sleepers records decided to release this compilation which contains most of the tracks I enjoy playing live on stage ! At last my wish is fulfilled !”
'Intensely textured, interlocking guitar riffs weave together on New Bright Object, the debut album from Berlin and Edinburgh-based duo I’m Not You.
Working under the name I’m Not You, artist Alex Gibbs (bass & vocals) and sound designer Niall McCallum (guitar & drums) have honed a sound that draws in equal measure from jazz funk of Weather Report and the math rock of Don Caballero. Their debut album, New Bright Object is their most developed statement to date, an intricate, robust and unique collection of songs born from serpentine jam sessions in rural idylls.
The duo make no secret of their admiration for bands like Battles and Tortoise. They reference Jim O’Rourke’s lounge numbers and the droll lyricism of Modern Lovers’ Jonathan Richman. There’s a touch of Vini Reilly in their sparse and serpentine guitar lines. A hint perhaps of Mogwai. All these names place New Bright Object within a constellation of albums made with bigger budgets for wider audiences.
New Bright Object opens In a flash of light, comet-like, with the sound of ‘Mr. Wind- Up Bird’. The threads they weave are full with intent, as moments of density rise like hills from the track’s quieter valleys. It’s easy to imagine the pair looking out over the rolling fields of the garden studio in East Lothian where they recorded the album, as they assiduously try and draw their own landscapes in sound.
Similarly, there is a crispness to ‘A Certain Arrangement Of Atoms’ - every clipped hat, rim-shot snare and tightly wound tom a fine-tipped mark on the score. It is intricate and precise, a result perhaps of Niall’s attention to detail. Then there is the piano, Alex’s grandmother’s, slightly out of tune, which adds a few expressionist strokes to this pointillist composition. The piece loosens, until all we’re left with is the bass.
Although the album orbits around the pendulum sway of ‘The Older I Get’, it is ‘What Cats Think About’ that stands out most. That it does is by design – a nod to the Sun City Girls and albums that like to throw their listeners a curveball every now and then. Pleasantly ramshackle, confusingly domestic, agreeably strange.
All this speaks to the spirit of the album and the creative relationship between two best friends whose differences seem to have been the only things they could agree on.'
An aura of mystery is hidden on this magnificent album released on EMI Nigeria in 1974 and today a collector’s cult object was the only one named Moonrakers Band.
Steve Black tells: “We were the original members of The Moonrakers and were based in Zaria, then in 1972 we left band management and started The Elcados. The original management of The Moonrakers sold the name to his elder brother who had a club in Kano and they brought Prince Bola Agbana to get other musicians to continue The Moonrakers while we moved in as The Elcados.”
Moonrakers Band and Elcados were the two bands that inflamed northern Nigeria in the early 70s with a more rocking and virtuoso sound, and especially with tons of rare grooves, then everything else around it.
Coming to the album content tracks like Wait For Me, Cut Your Coat According To You Size, Yara Manyan Gobe, but also Enia Sa Pele and Move on, will make floating camels appear on the dancefloor, or in your house.
Andreas Koeper is a German contemporary/experimental composer and drummer with a background in Philosophy and Art history. “Niemand Tanzt” was originally released in 1989 and in the past years it has become a sought after obscurity amongst diggers ever since Chee Shimizu put it on the radar after unearthing it throughout inspection rounds in Berlin record stores. Although the A-side might have been the essence of the single at the time, it's the B-side's “Pink Rhythm” that puts this release on the map for DJs, the track's gradient from an empty half tempo to rich 4 on the floor patterns serves any well versed DJ as an on-ramp for new gears to be put into place as the track grows into various ramifications of Andreas' studio production techniques: playful percussive elements, provocative guitar riffs over a solid rhythm section. Freshly remastered by manmade in Berlin.
Franco Esse is the moniker of Francesco Semproni, who in the late 60s began working as a music and recording assistant in major recording studios in Rome, Italy. He started out at Dirmaphone (then located in Via Pola) under sound engineer Gianni Fornari, before following him to the Emmequattro studios in Viale Mazzini, which at the time were the headquarters of Edipan, the record label founded by composer and conductor Bruno Nicolai after parting ways with friend and fellow composer Ennio Morricone.
Semproni tried to become a singer-songwriter in the early 80s, when he recorded a number of demos with the session musicians who gravitated around the studios. None of these demos was ever released though, for reasons that are still unclear today – his thorny and stubborn personality may have been a factor, since it apparently made him reluctant to compromise with the major record labels of the time.
The unsuccessful efforts to launch his solo artist career led to a personal crisis, and Franco Esse eventually quit music to go to work as a sales assistant in a toyshop in Rome's Prati neighbourhood.
Today he seems to have vanished without a trace, but after extensive research, we managed to dig some of his demos out of an abandoned archive and miraculously bring back to life two semi-instrumental tracks he recorded in 1983.
Both of them reveal Franco Esse as a refined musician with a reserved personality, an almost minimalist approach to lyric-writing, and a strongly cinematic synth-pop style that is in line with the musical trends of the time and gives a nod to the soundtracks of Fabio Liberatori, falling somewhere in between slow-wave and new-romantic.
These two ballads would have been the perfect soundtrack to cold winter nights in the early 80s, with snowflakes floating down on ski slopes, people clad in puffy down jackets, and music pouring into headphones from walkmans kept in back jean pockets.
Two certified Kingpin Cartel anthems, originals of which trade hands for hefty sums, get a much deserved repress having never been on the same 12 inch before. Mark Broom and C.J.Baker pulling out all the stops with the feel-good blinder ‘Ghetto’ on the A and the boogie bomb ‘Moogie Nights’ on the B. Essential cuts for every collection.
Everything that can be measured passes, everything that can be counted ends. Only three things are infinite: the sky in its stars, the sea in its drops of water, and the heart in its tears. Gustave Flaubert
18 track compilation of cult '80s French rock band Les Calamités,
includes their biggest hit "Vélomoteur" and tracks with the bands the
Dogs and The Barracudas Available as a digipak CD with 36-page booklet and vinyl with 8 page booklet and download code, with liner notes in French and English. Wouldn't it do them justice to rid Les Calamités (literally "the calamities") of the embarrassing phrase "girl band", durably stuck to their skins and plaited skirts? It's nothing but a pink puffy cloud obscuring their true importance as a "band" full stop, as well as their fleeting though mind-bending trajectory. In just a few months after going on stage with a handful of original songs recorded here and there, they became, from Dijon to Rouen, Paris to Toulouse, Bordeaux to Strasbourg, the darlings of an uncompromising rockers' demanding scene. Tolerated by some, maybe, they were also consecrated, certainly (should they have needed the accolade). The trade-off was a succession of quick and distinctive verse-choruses for which the adjectives "fresh" and "light" seemed to have been invented again.
They delivered just as many covers, which gave an idea of the origins of their songwriting: one foot in the fifties (on the dancefloor), the other in the sixties (in the garage). All of this leading to their final hit, a successful incursion in the top sales with a popular song for everyone to hum at ease, from seaside campsites to the cool kids of the capital.
Everything the Calamités touched, with their classy, rigorous, casual ways - plus just enough amused detachment - turned into gold.
I am proud to present the first EP featuring artists from my Patreon community on Electric Ballrom. A project very close to my heart, Patreon is a place where like minded people from across the globe meet, share knowledge and help each other grow. The first result of this a joint effort, every track a road tested gem, showcasing the raw talent and dedication of the artists. (Thomas Schumacher)
Fresh off the heels of 2021’s collaborative LP, Gotham from Talib Kweli and Diamond D, the BX icon returns with his sixth studio album, The Rear View. Comprised of 13 tracks, the album proves that without a shadow of a doubt, Diamond D’s reputation as the best producer on the mic remains unrivaled.
Never one to bogart the spotlight, Diamond is joined by a supporting cast of guest appearances that include Westside Gunn, Dre (Cool & Dre), Posdnuos (De La Soul), Ashtin Martin, Stacy Epps and KP, with a momentous introduction from the great Chris Rock. To boot, Diamond adds to the unblemished production value with additional board work from the likes of Nottz, Focus, D.R.U.G.S. Beats and Mr. Brady.
"I took my time crafting this LP to make sure every track could stand on its own as a possible single,” says Diamond. “Every feature and track was carefully selected from an elite group of artists and producers that I had the honor of working with. The end result is top tier bar work over pristine production,” he concludes.
After successful releases on Transatlantic and Monnom Black, German FM synthesis wizard Luca Daniel Schwarz (aka LDS) presents his latest record ‘algo5’. The EP captures a wide range of sonic ground with innovative and futuristic edge.
’nbdfoil’ the opening track starts the voyage with mesmerising awe before sliding into ‘kizzt_VF’ where reality distorts and mind-warping events unfold. Closing out the A side the interlude ‘<13’ stumbles along with playful weirdness and explorative sonic gestures. Back in more familiar territory the B-side’s ‘fl+’ and ‘Vone’ propel dynamic rhythms through the ether until arriving at the final track, ‘mfäg’ where fragmented arps and cinematic ambience give an emotional sense of closure.
LDS’s ability to compose to a high level of depth and intrigue is unmistakably a significant feat for any electronic dance music producer and testament to the possibilities of modern sound design.
Lescale Recordings releases "Falcon 9", a vinyl by Eliptica and including a Ramona Yacef Remix. A musical composition of the highest level, as the label has been getting us used to, dedicated to authentic experts of sound design. The Italian trio Eliptica (Howl Records), the recent project of the sound engineer Antonio Valente and his fellows Andrea Bruno & Rikha, surveys the modern musical landscape indulging in explicitly ambient realms, with an intro where spacey sounds and haunting tones take to the fore, making for an evocative atmosphere of beatless and experimental ambient. Eliptica follows with the EP title track, forgoing dub-centric rhythms and synth melodies filled with endless echoes on a steady and solid groove. Ramona Yacef brilliantly pushes the limits with upfront breaks and steady beats to reach a dancefloor intensity, with strictly percussion. With ‘Orion’ the tempo is lowered to a laid-back feel of a dub riddim inspired track with filtered stabs and lush pads on an atmospheric field. ‘Outro’ completes the journey with a subtle listen of rhythms buried in the mix and soft synths serving the melody.
One thing that is written in stone even in these days of near endless uncertainty is that when Topical Disco unleashes one of their vinyl releases they are a no questions asked, must have. For a label which regularly dominates the top spot of the download charts they still consistently manage to up the ante for their vinyl drops. It’s no wonder at all that the previous editions have gone on to become collector’s editions, disappearing from the shelves as quickly as you can say here today, gone tomorrow.
Volume 24 easily keeps this incredible run of club vinyl masterpieces going strong. Packed across two side of black gold are tracks from newcomers and scene heavy hitters alike Toscana, Toby O’Conner, Charly Angelz and Frank Virgilio.
The mysterious Toscana leads the way with the wonderfully enigmatic ‘The Girl With The Red Hair’, a six and a half minute slice of pleasure packed Balearic disco. Incessant, warm and inviting it combines a divine groove heavy bassline, funky guitar licks and a subtle percussive backbone with a rather brilliant stand-out guitar solo. This is a track which is guaranteed to fill those summer dancefloors.
Next up is Toby O’Conner who is returning to Tropical Disco after his lauded ‘The Heist / 1920 EP’ with another high energy slice of disco goodness in the shape of ‘Cave Of Gold’. Again this is classic Tropical Disco, combing both live chops with jazz overtones as throbbing club ready drums provide the framework for a bubbling bassline, subtle keys and sax solo’s aplenty to weave their magic. Expect jazz inspired shapes to be thrown on dancefloors across the globe when this one drops.
Over on the flip is Charly Angelz, another artist who has been making a considerable swirl on the disco scene of late. ‘Mother Phunk’ is very aptly named with an absolute gem of a bassline front and centre as classic funk vocal chops, vibey pads and guitar stabs all combine perfectly with earworm strings for anther sure fire floor filler.
Closing the EP out is scene stalwart Frank Virgilio. Hailing from Napoli Frank has been behind a virtual disco smorgasbord over the five years including regular chart bothering appearances on Tropical disco. ‘What We Love’ tips its hat to the golden era of house music, think 90’s Soulfuric meets MAW. Vibes abound here from the classic drum sounds right through to the divine ethereal percussion which adds that touch of class. This is another track which will sound just perfect on the golden Isle this coming summer, did some-one say Ibizan boat party? We’re onboard!
On every copy sold 2 euros minimum goes to Mealespoirs : An NGO association who fight for Childhood rights, malnutrition and education.
lets talk about music now :
Crazy meet up between 2 monsters !
Atomic Compressor, the GTI number one composer who did the best of KSI records, and more recently a brilliant Komum brings a full side of his best recent tunes : Speed pityless kickerz bringing "le Père Noël Est une Ordure" special Thérèse édition !
On the flip you'll get Leatherface, newcomer from Cellul R production, with 2 Industrial psychedelic rolling kickerz : the first one is a C.Mantle hit combo, light kick mentalism ; and the second a powerfull Brotherhood lesson.
Subtil's 25th release signs Romanian duo Alsi, formed by Alex Florea (Limpid) and Silviu Tanase (Einzig), marking their debut on the imprint. Since 2016, Alsi have created their very-own concoction of minimal, hypnotic and profound music, showcasing sharp drum programming skills and creative, intensely detailed sound synthesis.
'Madness EP' sees Alsi at the top of their game, displaying three tracks brimming with power, detail and bold sophistication. Under the infinite structures of expertly crafted rhythmic syncopations and hefty basslines, and as indicated by the EP's name, the themes of madness, hallucination, and hypnosis echo through the entire sonic palette. Such sound design techniques evoke several mental states one usually doesn't find in minimal techno, certifying there are enough layers of musicality for the boldest of DJs and the most curious of listeners.
Flexi Cuts is pleased to introduce Lazy Snail's new EP, Lucky Life. A truly valuable work, the result of time and research, where Alessandro (aka Lazy Snail) wanted to explore different sides of electronic music of an inner and mature nature at the same time.
Lucky Life is like going up to the attic and finding something precious to take care of; it sums up a long musical journey, from the past to the present, in five tracks full of meaning.
The first track, Remèrcier, is a tribute to 'dance' music, an intense talk over a hypnotic moog bass.
This is followed by Vagrants, dedicated to his hometown (Cudgnola), where we find an 808 rhythmic patterns as involving and beating as a walk in the rain.
The B-side opens with One Place, which features a vocal stunning collaboration with Flicker Fox, who brings the track into a techno universe with percussion and intimate echoes.
Climbin' High was inspired by Alessandro's passion and admiration for the mountains. He composed it imagining an extreme climb, and immediately afterwards an equally dangerous but necessary descent. Just like in reality.
The record ends with No Evil, an ambient-flavoured gem that opens on the climax in a riot of expert snares and synths.
14 years since it was originally released on Rephlex Records, Dopplereffekt's Calabi Yau Space (2007) finally gets a reissue on vinyl thanks to WeMe Records (following on their amazing reissue of Linear Accelerator). This album sees Dopplereffekt move even further out into their very own exploratory realm, where music and quantum physics meet. Eight tracks that when first released seemed challenging but with repeated exposure a strange almost supernatural event occurred as these new sounds and patterns gradually revealed a beauty and even simplicity about them. This is a brave album, epic in vision. An essential record for all fans of Techno in the sense that the term was originally intended.
Everyone’s favourite Israeli digger is back for another round of gloriously rare edit heat on RNT!
‘Baila’ gets the party started with infectious flamenco chants and claps over a churning acidic groove, and ‘Disco Hummus’ rounds out the side with a bit of joyful disco cheek.
On the flip, ‘Sun’ turns an unlikely cover of a classic into an Afro Disco banger, and ‘Simba’ rumbles and rolls with restraint toward a hypnotic peak of brass and vocals.
Nearly 10 years on since his last solo LP, Berlin techno icon Marcel Dettmann arrives on Dekmantel with an expansive album captured in a flash of inspiration.
In many ways Fear Of Programming is a reflection on the artistic process – the critical hurdles one has to overcome, the constant strive for originality, the ability to capture inspiration in its pure moment of inception. Bar the closing title track (and we all know Marcel loves a surprise closing), these 13 tracks came together during a period in which our hirsute host was able to immerse himself in studio practice and set the intention to record an album’s worth of material every single day. From the resulting mass of work there were many options to choose from, and Fear Of Programming stood out as one of the most complete statements on Dettmann’s approach in the here and now.
Unconcerned with an overarching concept, it was the work in the studio which drove the musical direction. No labouring over knotty arrangements, no painstaking mix downs – just honest expression, a moment caught, a groove locked, a stroke of synth sent pirouetting over a cavernous bed of texture. The results are varied, and while you might well hear plenty of bruising machinations in line with the techno Dettmann has made his name on, there are plenty of other shades expressed across the album.
Ambient sojourns, beatless epics and angular electronica have equal footing with strident, floor-friendly workouts. Standout piece ‘Water’ offers an icy ballet of swinging minimal and drip-drop melodics fronted by Ryan Elliott on lesser-spotted vocal duties, urging, ‘give me a sign, just a little something to let me know that you’re mine’. It’s playful, but still underpinned with the sincerity that comes with Dettmann’s work.
Running on instinct, Dettmann presents an honest version of himself in the here and now, speaking through the sonics and not over-thinking the results. His decades of experience helming a thousand techno parties speak for themselves, while his evolution as a musical entity through collaboration and his own BAD MANNERS label demonstrate his appetite for change. Indeed, the working method which resulted in the album also spurred him on to create a live set beyond his well-established DJ practice. Without resorting to a conceited overhaul, Fear Of Programming opens up the idea of what Dettmann represents in the modern techno landscape.
Presented together for the first time, American composer John McGuire’s Pulse Music series (1975-1979) blurs the popular narrative that Minimalism was a reaction against Europe’s angular, intellectual, inscrutable high-modernism. McGuire, born in California, studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles and UC Berkeley before going to Europe to study with Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Gottfried Michael Koenig. His compositions lock serialism’s warped geometries onto an evenly spaced grid, perfectly preserving serial music’s multi-dimensionality while smoothing its wildest disjunctures and sharpest angles. If serialism is Montreal’s Habitat 67 modular housing complex, McGuire’s Pulse Music compositions are the primary-colored grids of Le Corbusier’s L’Habitation apartment complex — an exuberant expression of the same materials and principles.
Every layer of pulses is made distinct through its timbre, register, and tempo. We hear them as a plurality, organized like stars in the sky. Every so often the sky rotates and the stars appear in a different arrangement. Our ear naturally starts to draw connections and, as it sweeps between one layer and another, what was discrete becomes continuous. Pulses become flows; quantitative reality becomes qualitative experience.
Following up 2021’s compilation 'and felt like...', ' ...it wasn't really me' can be seen as the missing part of a diptych, only separated by the passage of time, yet whole in spirit. Again, a familiar company of singular artists showcase remarkable unity in diversity. Similar to its predecessor, a rustic gloom glues everything together into a seamless whole, enabling the collective to transcend each unique contributors' musical voice elegantly.ambient
New sub-label to Gunfinger Food focusing on uptempo, bouncy beats. Volume 1 delivers a dose of speedy, acid booty hardcore slammers by the mysterious producer Beerus.
Limited to 300 copies.
Following their iconic remix of ‘Space Date’ in 2019, the classic collaborative work of Adam Beyer, Layton Giordani and Green Velvet, we are thrilled to have Pleasurekraft back on Drumcode for their debut solo release on the label.
Not keen to colour within the lines, the production duo caught Adam Beyer’s ear as they carved out their self-dubbed ‘cosmic techno’ niche within the techno genre. Conceived as a musical vision that attempts to go beyond mere hands-in-the-air moments, Pleasurekraft incorporate a cinematic soundscape as a canvas for philosophical themes regarding humanity's place within the cosmos. Their 2020 album, ‘Love in the Age of Machines’ explored the myriad and often dystopian relationships we have with the ubiquitous technologies that pervade our every interaction.
The new two-tracker ‘Sex and the Machine’, continues this thematic trajectory in considering the role machines will increasingly play in satisfying the more carnal desires of our species. The title track considers questions such as, will machines of the future have the capacity for thoughts and feelings? Will our answers to such questions be forever tainted by our singular perspective, unable and unwilling to grant future silicon entities such capabilities? The EP’s second track, ‘Body Horror’, with its repeating refrain, “You are changing”, considers the manner in which future technologies will continue to merge with biological entities giving rise to all manner of unimagined consequences. Both tracks showcase the tough, yet still melody-driven cosmic techno sound Pleasurekraft has become synonymous with. However, despite the cerebral content that inspired the music – the form is still pure dance floor muscle.
For the first time, these exclusive extended versions of NJOI's seminal tracks are available as a 3 coloured disc vinyl-only release. Carefully lifted from their original early 90's live sets, these tracks have been re-crafted, extended and mastered to todays sonic standards and we're very proud to present 'Collected' on Food Music.
This project is much more than simply re-issuing the cream of NJOI's catalogue. As we enter 2022, we begin a year long journey with the duo, eventually unveiling 30 year old unreleased sought-after material for the first time ever, together with remixes from some of the todays finest electronic artists. It’s a privilege to complete the circle with NJOI and their timeless music.
In the wake of a 2020 edition of Movement in the City's second album Black Teardrops (1981), Sharp-Flat Records returns with a prequel by way of a reissue of the band's self-titled debut from 1979.
As the 1970s were drawing to a close, the epic Black Disco studio project with its signature pairing of drum machine and organ had run it course. After delivering a killer trilogy of cosmic lounge outings dating back to 1975, the group yearned for funkier grooves and the core trio of composer Pops Mohamed on organ with Basil Coetzee on tenor sax and Sipho Gumede on bass decided to hire a drummer and rebrand as Movement in the City. In contrast with the New Age detachment of Black Disco, Movement in the City was conceptually grounded in the bleak social realism depicted on its photographic album covers and leaned into the vivid sensibilities of library music from the era. Blending Cape jazz with funk and soul, the group's output evokes a soundtrack for South African city life at the outset of the 1980s while nodding allegorically to the subterranean movements that were in the course of shaking the cage for political change.
With its cast of jazz fusion all-stars, Movement in the City is the manifesto of a band in transition - a bold and slick first offering that delivers a modern South African sound capable of both the funky exuberances of "Mister Lucky" as well as the down-home pathos of "Blue Sunday." Restored from its original tape masters and released in partnership with As-Shams Archive and Pops Mohamed, this rare artefact of South African jazz history is back in print for the very first time since its original 1979 release.
'Water Temple' is the debut album of the Berlin-based group Property. Comprised of Marijn Degenaar (NL) and Vivant de Non (AUS), the group use the theme of hydromancy to straddle the poetics of reverb from a post-punk perspective. The album wanders through dense end-of-world sensations without keeping away from piercing melodic instrumentation. As hazy as 'Water Temple' can get, Property just as easily trade the murky side of their post-punk sound for analogue synthesisers that feel almost celestial. Used to striking effect on 'Water Temple', the chorus-heavy bassline is interwoven with a strident melody that punctures the rhythm and accents the Neue Deutsche Welle energy that the pair play on at certain moments. Similarly, the vocals on 'Water Tempel' flirt with our cracked times from another angle, rendering a remarkable first transmission from this new duo. Foggy synthesisers fill the cavities of every track, though the driving leads ensure the ambience never overtakes the song-structures across the album. This tendency is best captured on the downer-anthem Blood Cube with its sharp drum machine rhythm, just as Clear Boys reprises this rowdy pop edge for a forceful album closer. The burning melancholy of 'Water Temple' is as shadowy as it is enlivening Track list: 1. Empty Leather Spell 2. Diet Of Worms 3. Water Tempel 4. Sea Wall 5. Blood Cube 6. Verbreek d Eed Niet 7. Het Oerslijm 8. Clear Boys
Time for another chapter in the ever expanding Yellow Jackets series from Mother Tongue!
On the A side we have a real definition of a Banger….Marcellus Pittman’s rework of the Belgian 1983 cult track ‘Death Disco’ by Arbeid Adelt! Not much to say about this one, it's simply a nasty piece of industrial acid disco!
On the flipside Chicago’s modern answer to Sun RA , Jamal Moss, brings the listener to an astral ceremony with ‘An Astronomical Object’. Another crucial moment in Hieroglyphic Being’s breathtaking discography.
''Fact & Fiction" The second Tranquil Eyes album delivers poignant & exciting synthwave songs. Drenched in an eternal 80s feel, well crafted & complete.Tranquil Eyes is a Dutch minimal synth band formed in 1982. Lex Grauwen and Paul Oosterbaan had worked together for about 8 years before they formed the band. They decided to turn their back to stage performances and started experimenting with home-taping. Using an array of electronics, they recorded a great amount of songs and made a fine selection on Walks. Their first and only release. Today, after digging into the archives, a lot of restoring, recording & re-mastering, there�s Fact & Fiction. The album is an extension to the Walks album both in genre and in spirit. Comprising a selection of lost tracks, compilation only releases, unreleased songs and even two newly recorded songs, Fact & Fiction gives a great view on the bands musical abilities & influences over the years.
(THIS ALBUM IS DIRECT ACTION: ALL REVENUE GOES TO THE ARTISTS IN ODESA. YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN KEEPING UKRAINIAN ARTISTS WORKING AND EARNING MONEY DURING THIS TIME. Слава Україні!) BE:AT WAR is the new album from Odessa’s MEDIUM, who released the acclaimed Evolution of the Universe on Ohm Resistance in 2017. They have been writing drum and bass for over 15 years and released on labels such as Ohm Resistance, Sonic Terror, Hardline, Close2Death Recordings, Distortion Records, Combat Records and more. This follow up album is made under adversely different conditions - the approach of war to their home city, the assault on their native land. Yet these men are making music happen in the midst of it, recording their artistic and emotional reactions as chaos unfolds around them. Guest starring London MC Flowdan, Godflesh’s Justin K Broadrick, SIMM and Submerged. BE:AT WAR is a full spectrum image of the horror, uncertainty, and perseverance surrounding these Ukraine-based producers.
Amsterdam based DJ and producer Mayo joins the Fides family with her Frenemies EP marking the 15th release of Fides Records.
Mayo showcases 5 cuts of finely crafted electro and EBM-influenced Techno, it's impossible not to be drawn by her distorted voice that defines each track.
Unrelenting grooves and a deeper look into her analog sound design flair, these tracks are timeless in sound and production quality.
“Tell me how you die” kicks it off as the A1 with stomping analog kick and drums, a dark jumping bassline pushing the groove with ethereal synths.
“Not your shadow” as the A2 strips it back into a 303Acidbass-based track marked by singular industrial sounds and Vocal Shots that are lost in the groove carried by a background synth sequence that follows throughout the track.
The last track of the A Side is “Frenemies” a pulsing, meditative composition featuring label owner and Tresor resident Z.I.P.P.O, who added to Mayo's energetic, analog and eventually dark sense, a more mental, deep and intense face typical of the Italian artist. The B Side starts with Miami Legend Danny Daze’s Hell Mix of “Frenemies” in which he exhibits his unique sound design techniques, combining tribal-tinged rhythm, sharp FX that pops up from the corners of the soundscape with stretched vocals in order to highlight the track's protagonist: a modulated brass bass.
Mary Lake’s Remix of “Tell Me How you Die” closes the EP with a deep kick drum driven forward with rolling and modulated closed hats that run through the track while atmospheric sounds carry the filtered Brass before dissolving into the end of the track.
• Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces Of A Man” is one of the most important albums in the history of black American music. Although it didn’t set the charts alight, it stands as a masterpiece alongside contemporary works such as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, Curtis Mayfield’s debut LP, Funkadelic's “Maggot Brain” and Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft”. All were brilliant in their way, but lyrically Scott-Heron was on a different level from almost every other writer.
• It was a landmark album with its bold, poetic lyrical content allied to progressive and melodic music, and it saw producer Bob Thiele help Gil and his musical partner Brian Jackson paint the picture they needed to get their message across. Thiele put Gil and Brian together with Ron Carter, Hubert Laws and Bernard Purdie, giving them the musical heft they wanted.
• For many years the focus was on ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, which was included in the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2014, but this focus sometimes overshadowed the heights which Gil reached throughout the album. Today ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ and ‘Lady Day And John Coltrane’ are also considered standards, whilst the album’s title track is a prescient and heart-breaking warning about the way in which big business dehumanises its workers.
• The album reached its landmark 50th year in 2021 and we decided that we would create this special edition to celebrate its incredible sound. The original master tape was taken to Frank Merritt at The Carvery in London, who cut it as a double disc 2 x 45 RPM record, in an all-analogue chain. The original record - especially side two - was long, and serving it up this way allowed the music a greater level of fidelity.
• The release is packaged in the original album’s gatefold sleeve.
3xLP, Widespine Jacket
Yellow & Black Translucent Smoke Vinyl
Yellow Tape 2 is the follow-up to Key Glock's 2020 debut album, Yellow Tape, and like it's predecessor, remains distinctly featureless. The album showcases Glock, at times alongside his alter ego, Glizock, floating over trap-heavy production with the authentic tone his fans have come to know. Featuring the singles, "Toolie," "Ambition for Cash," & "Da Truth," the album sees production from Tay Keith, Juicy J, Sosa 808, Budda Bless and more. The Deluxe version features 10 new tracks, including the standout single, Proud, dedicated to the late Young Dolph.
