Cosmic | Balearic Vinyl 264 Items

First release in 5years by Snaker, and the catalog counts 10th. The first full length album by Odopt, the duo being releasing their signature hypnotic, freaky feeling sound from labels like [Emotional] Especial、Hivern Discs、Born Free and so on. And they prepared a “contemporary library sound” for Snaker. Not quite for dance floor or not exactly for home listening, but definitely a unique cinematic sound scape is compiled for a new special experience. Artwork by Masato Mori.

This one has been in the works for quite some time. A statement compilation showing what Full Circle is about, paying homage to the very roots of psychedelic dance music. A little town in India, which was a haven to a bunch of hippie outcasts, was throwing freeform outdoor parties since the day those freaks put their flag down. What was once a gathering around live music blew up into a rave as electronic music started to appear, paving the way to what would eventually become Goa Trance.

Full Circle, the duo project of Alexis Le-Tan and Joakim, started 10 years ago when Alexis accidentally discovered that some of his old Goa Trance records he was about to sell sounded great when played at the wrong speed : 33rpm instead of 45rpm. He called his long-time friend and collaborator Joakim to work on edits of those tracks that became the sound signature of this DJ duo : a slow, heavy and trippy sound that would eventually infiltrate the fringes of the underground club scene via like-minded DJs such as Vladimir Ivkovic, Jane Fitz, Ivan Smagghe and many more.

10 years later and a bunch of releases and remixes behind them, Full Circle decided to tell the story of how this Goa sound came to life. At a time when Trance has made a major

comeback and infiltrated pretty much all the sub-genres of club music, it felt right to look back at where it all started - going full circle, when Trance was not Trance, Goa was not Goa but the seeds of tripped out dance music were being sown.

After all, there are countless compilations about Balearism, the Italian Cosmic scene,The Loft, The Paradise Garage etc but none about the roots of this Goa sound.

This is a compilation of the best tunes played by the pioneer Goa DJs like Laurent, Goa Gil, Mike Maguire amongst others, between the late 80s and early 90s. Proto House, New Beat, early Techno, Industrial, with a distinct psychedelic tone, a few arpeggios here and there, acid lines, chopped up vocals, all elements of what would later constitute a genre of its own.

This beautifully packaged compilation includes liner notes by Tom Colebrooke and excerpts from Tom and Alexis’ interview of Mike Maguire of Juno Reactor fame, one of the pioneers of Goa Trance.

Check the liner notes for more info about the early Goa history !

The 2nd of 2 singles from the wizards of editing, with lysergic renderings of some well-known pop/dance classics, just not as you might expect.

Finally on vinyl after some considerable time, this one has a limited pressing!

We are delighted to present the debut record by pianist, poet and radio producer Phil Smith. Turning his attention away from BBC feature-making, and his cult Jazz-Disjunction NTS show, Phil offers us the diaristic, heartfelt and homespun "Tagebuch".
"Tagebuch" is a collection of musical journal entries, spanning Phil's time living in Berlin from 2013—2017. Using sweetly tumbling piano as a starting point, he flexes his storytelling chops, shifting from scene to scene via voice, folk-jazz arrangements, musique concrète and the occasional techno-synth chugger.
Don't be fooled by Phil's back-of-envelope charm, this is an expertly-crafted radio biopic without words; the minutiae of life percolated through layers of accordion, U-Bahn harmonics and beer foam. A talented cast of guests and friends, notably multi-instrumentalist Zac Gvi, add an unassuming weight and emotional muscle to this deeply personal source material.
Recommended if you like John Carroll Kirby, Penguin Cafe Orchestra or Alabaster DePlume. The vinyl edition of "Tagebuch" comes complete with a book of poems and photos by Phil.

The much-talked-about cover of Yoshitaka Minami's "Yakanhikou" is now available on 7inch release! From Yoshitaka Minami's 70's urban pop sound masterpiece album "south OF THE Border", for which Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote all the songs, Halfby has produced a superb cover of the famous song "Yakanhikou", which has a brilliant Brazilian essence of samba and bossa nova, with Keiichi Sokabe on guest vocals.

Simple Symmetry are back on Calypso for a second offering but this time around it's in a different format. They've enlisted remixes of tracks from their Sorry We Did Something Wrong album which first landed back in 2021 as a self-released project, which won over many fans with a sound that went way beyond the club and now gets repurposed for the dancefloor with extended and club versions. The Horsemen Of Housing & Commercial Services rework of 'Che Che' is a dark disco classic, Smaghhe & Cross rework 'Rounded With A Sleep' into something taught and trippy and INigo Vontier layers in plenty of darkness, grit and grime to his take on 'I Must Not Fear'.

Stop what you're doing and give us your full attention because Hell Yeah mainstay My Friend Dario's new album Senza Estate is going to define the sound of summer 2024. It's an eclectic eight-track collection that has something for everyone and is inspired by dreamy Italian soundtrack composers Piero Piccioni and Umiliani.

Curveball Italian talent Dario is a real dance floor don who collides acid, nu-disco, breakbeat and electro. His take on Balearic is unique and always sends dance floors wild, as proven with his last outing Food For Woofers Vol 2 earlier in the year. His new album is the sound of life by the Mediterranean, Balearic audio pleasure for daytime dreaming and nighttime dancing with vocal tracks written and performed by the UK's Space Echo Records associate Darene Obika.

Dario hails from Catania on the island of Sicily and his inspiration for Senza Estate, which translates as 'without summer,' was an imaginary holiday, weekends at the seaside, car journeys in the sun, relaxing sunsets and late-night dancing. 'For five years, I worked in a shop six days a week so despite living on a Mediterranean island I could never enjoy these things. Instead, I locked myself in the studio and jotted down the ideas, sensations, melodies and rhythms I had about another lost summer.'

'Keep On Cruising' is a downtempo opener with innocent synths that are filled with hope and promise for the warm months ahead. 'Zingarella' is a wide open sea view with wispy pads, seductive flutes and jazzy melodies that bristle with life and the tropical title cut gets more dancey on shuffling broken beats and radiant synth glows. There's a seductive laid-back cool to the tumbling keys of 'Marittimo' and 'What You Need' is a horizontal groove with loved-up vocals, 'Falò' pairs sensual acoustic guitar with work with pillowy drums and 'Il Pianeta Proibito' layers up sci-fi synths and stuttering bass into a bubbly sound that leads to cosmic take-off. 'Acid Panorama' is the melancholic closer which hints that the summer sun is setting one final time after weeks of carefree fun.

But the good news is, you can repeat the joys of My Friend Dario's masterful Senza Estate over and over again.

Poly Dance Theatre speeds up the tempo (perhaps in search of lost time) and so here already the first announcement for the next release: Pol008, called "Le Commerce" (The Business).

It's a very special record. Beyond the deep bass line, the efficient ryhtmics and the ghostly apparitions of dubbed-out commercial romantic melodies, this 10" is above all an object-question, a small political gesture of sabotage. Be careful. Be careful. Rare! Very very very rare! even unique! (…300 copies)

Prepare yourself "mentally", as the EP contains 4x the same track (and that's all). A track that spins. A track that does the trick. An eternal return. Difference and repetition? All this is a opportunity to question consumption, especially in the "world of music", the "world of records", the "world of DJs", the "world of nightlife"... and so on. Production, distribution, consumption. Objects. Things. A history from the 60s to today. Where are we now? Still here: Organizing lack in the abundance of production. Lack. Abundance. A history of desires. And music? What's its role? What do we want? What do you want?

On the cover, there are poems/collages about commerce, scarcity, abundance, commodity fetishism, an insulting letter and other little things. The album is due for release at the end of June.

Undercover Lovers AKA Psychemagik's spectacular cover version excursion returns ! Ultra-Limited pressing on this one…

Eight cuts of cinematic electronic music from synthwriter OFFLINE. To follow this rainbow of silky sounds is to reach a point of no return, where the last person on Earth you'll be able to communicate with will be a 1970s synthesiser.

Belgian DJ and producer Gratts have joined forces with London-based vocalist Mr. Beale to follow up on to success of their well-received 'Sun Circles' release last year. Here, on the sublime 'Submerge Me', they are in fine form once more with a brooding sound that features the uniquely mesmerising mantras of Beale and plenty of raw, compelling and percussive grooves that full lock you in and get you going. Versatile Records' own Gilb'r then steps up on the flip and manages to take things even deeper with some fine liquid dub excursions to complete a top 7"

JKriv’s long out-of-press Bukom Mashie Rework gets a king-size reboot in this tasty 7 Inch package with a fresh new acid dub! J’s original 8 min opus is nipped and tucked in all the right places to make for a streamlined A-side stomper, and a brand new version on the flip, with a tastefully reimagined arrangement, punctuated with spicy 303 acid lines and live flute performed by the inimitable Domenica (of Underground System). Big summer banger alert!

Played on 6Music by Tom Ravenscroft & Deb Grant.

Banabila returns with a second LP release on Knekelhuis. The renowned Dutch producer is up there among the stars when it comes to ambient music and the so-called ‘fourth world’ legacy. On this eleven-track album, we witness soul-wrenching, kraut-tinted, and early-yet-modernist electronics.

Coming from his heart, these imaginative recordings center around otherworldly voices – fictional characters chanting in a made-up language, imbued with a captivating spirit, transcending linguistic barriers. Through remarkable complexity and technique, 'Unspeakable Visions' is full of sonic textures, together evoking a layered, emotional arc.

While the track 'Rattles' still references the artist's first album on Knekelhuis, 'Echo Transformations', the style of most other tracks departs towards an intriguing new mix of both pop-infused songs and gloomy abstraction, balancing between a sense of anticipation and desolation.

The various artists alternative sound concept (ude001) is the first reference, presenting a variety of styles and sounds which represents a sound personality from a listening point. These artists residing in Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona have participated with the first project to give the presentation. -Caradusanto, multidisciplinary artist includes “Semillas” made with analog modular and ramdomized sequences. -Dark Vektor, a pioneer in the electro scene, surprises us with “En Mitg De L’Espai”, sounds that are unusual for him and keeping the same relationship with his clarity when hearing it, sung with his native linguistics and message inside. -Intervalo, shows us a B side where the broken rhythm predominates, its harmonic essence and melody continues to be its identification, we talk about “Solitude”. -Guillermo Garate, innovates with electro sounds achieving the same thing, another B side of this artist “Larga”. -Tio solo by habit in its production slides on synthesizers and analog drum machines, thus achieving “Dark Fluid” an accelerated drum & Bass rhythm differentiated from it with atmospheric and acid pads.

Originally digitally released February 11, 2023 and now on vinyl for the first time, 'How To See Through Walls' by Windows 96.

Sähkö Recordings offspring and Helsinki's house music label #1 Keys Of Life presents their first part of two balearic 12inches by DJ Sotofett & SVN.

Each heading for their own side, DJ Sotofett stretches epic coastal synths, shaking tambourines, stomping bass notes and whirling crystal resonance to a 14 min ride. SVN on the flip side goes deeper, to the late night or early morning, with spacial rhythms, reverberated back drops and warm pads with a hint of acid.

12" compilation with new tracks by Eoism, Voertuig, Colkin and a lost gem by Peter Seiler featuring Sheryl Hackett. Picture sleeve with a bold artwork based on a sculpture by Hede Bühl. Limited to 500 copies.

Label text:

"Colkin (Raw Soul, Mauke Club) kicks off the a-side with a spheric acid house meditation. Next is a track by Peter Seiler which could be found on the extended reissue of his 'Flying Frames' debut LP on Innovative Communication in 1989. It features the soulful voice of Sheryl Hackett. An extraordinary groover that is meandering between song and jazz improvisation. Eoism (Pulse Drift, Undersound, Inch By Inch) complete the a-side with some low-swung electro flavors, driving you straight into sunset.

On the b-side Voertuig (Tonal Oceans, Cobra Club) hit us with a serious and raw acid jam - dark and dirty. On the following track they show us their experimental jazzy side and cool things down again. A track the 1990s downbeat era was missing. Eoism close the first volume of Futur with a floating, futuristic banger from their lab.

Benedikt Meger's aspiration for funkscapes was always to feature funk grooves, old and new, fresh and relevant for today. Whether some rare, not so rare or just under the radar recordings from the past or new productions from today's artists across different electronic genres. This idea now culminates into the selection for the compilation Futur.

Enjoy the ride."

3mm spine Kraftboard sleeve with sticker. Quiet Village, Tapes (Jahtari / Rezzett / Good Morning Tapes etc ) and Goodblock remixes

The label say: "A remix 12” of three Jura Soundsystem classics featuring interpretations from Quiet Village, Tapes and Good Block. “Having released a few Eps and an LP it felt like a fun thing to get some remixes. I’ve ticked off a few musical bucket list items with this 12”, Quiet Village being the big one. I’m a bit of a fanboy and Joel & Matt have not disappointed with a remix that sounds simultaneously futuristic and classic. Tapes brings his unique brand of Dub House and Good Block round off the party with a 90’s influenced slice of Balearic house”. (Kevin / Jura Soundsystem).

Designed by Bradley Pinkerton.

Welcoming North 90 to the M.A.D family, the couple DJ / Production duo from Liverpool make music we want to play. Euro Trash is a hot contented for tune of the summer!

Introducing ‘Total Blue’, the Los Angeles-based trio of Nicky Benedek, Alex Talan, and Anthony Calonico. Despite collaborating for over a decade, ‘Total Blue’ represents a new chapter in their artistic journey together as a trio.

Embracing chance, inviting the unknown, and guided by a spirit of sheer play and exploration, ‘Total Blue’ was driven by a desire to ‘touch the beyond’ in pursuit of an elusive vibe the three had been chasing for years.

Alex, Nick, and Anthony envision ‘Total Blue’ as the all-encompassing full picture, a place where the real and the imaginary begin to blur; a destination reached not through escapism but by expanding one's perspective; a widened scope of vision where personality both shines and disintegrates.

Across the album, their mission statement is expertly achieved with subtlety and delicate human touch; painting with a lush palette of digital synths, Akai EVI wind synthesizer, fretless bass, and guitar, the trio masterfully balance texture and color, evoking wide expansive vistas that stretch from Los Angeles right out to the furthest reaches of sky and sea. This is ‘Total Blue’ - a place of time and timelessness where echoes of history and tradition merge with rootless inhuman sonics.

Art and design by Michael Willis.

Tom Noble, digger extraordinaire, owner of Superior Elevation Records, and general Brooklyn/LA legend, dons his House Of Sprits moniker for the first single from a forthcoming LP on Razor-N-Tape.

'Times Are Changing' sets the tone for this album project that collects the work of nearly 15 years, a gritty vision of modern-retro soul that throws a reverent nod to its Mizell Brothers and Patrick Adams influences as it brings the sound into the future. Recorded with all live instrumentation and mixed tough for the dance floor, this limited 12 Inch boasts an extended original and instrumental on the A side, and a huge remix from Aussie synth wizard Harvey Sutherland on the flip that highlights the rich instrumentation and extremely catchy vocal hook. A surefire summer jam, this is timeless music that is only the tip of the iceberg from a future classic album.

Glasgow based Seated Records return with more 1980s Scottish Post-Punk / New Wave material. In this 8-track mini compilation the label introduces the work of Stirling band 22 Beaches, offering a deep dive into music recorded between 1980-1984 - the majority of which has never seen the light of day! 22 Beaches formed in Stirling in the late 1970s as an evolution of the short lived group ‘Alone at Last’ - drummer Fred Parson’s and guitarist Stephen Hunter being the two who spanned the divide. Out of the six members of 22 Beaches, many were school friends, and the rest naturally fell together. The band toured extensively and played at a truly diverse set of venues across the UK: from a local swimming pool boiler room, to small nightclubs and university parties, to several fundraisers for the miners strike. Maybe most notably of all, drummer Fred Parsons described playing at what he calls “the Grangemouth International”, organised by local promoter Brian Guthrie and which featured an all-star lineup of 22 Beaches, The Exploited and the first incarnation of The Cocteau Twins. A coach was hired to ship the audience to Grangemouth from Stirling, the cost of which was included in the ticket. The gig then paused halfway through for a 'help yourself' buffet. Young promoters take heed. This is how it's done! Over the course of the 80s the band released music on three different, and now sought after, various artists compilation cassettes. “What Day Is It?” and “Sadie When She Died” were released on a compilation of local Stirling artists 'The A.N.K.L.E File'. The track from which the current record takes its namesake - “Dust” - was initially released on a compilation-tape for the fanzine 'Another Spark'. And ‘‘Zoo” (also featured on this record) was first released on Glasgow label Pleasantly Surprised via compilation, 'An Hour Of Eloquent Sounds', where 22 Beaches rubbed shoulders with early music from Scottish names Primal Scream, Cocteau Twins, The Wake and Sunset Gun. Unfortunately, 22 Beaches never met the same level of commercial success as these others and decided to retire the project in 1984 - leaving their recordings and demos to gather dust (hehe)…until now! This compilation, “Dust: recordings 1980-1984” follows the band's journey and the changes in their sound over the years. It moves from the raw, punk energy of early DIY recordings through to the A Certain Ratio style Balearica of their later pieces. The record's opener and title track “Dust” is perhaps the most shining example of the latter. Characterised by the plenitude of sonic space in the mix, “Dust” has an almost dub sensibility that is communicated through centrality of Parsons’ drums, McChord’s percussion, and Fildes’ Bass while the harmonising vocals of Sharkey and McGregor chant over the top to give the track its distinctive psychedelic edge. This is an atmosphere only exacerbated by the lofi quality of the recording which sits the vocals in the same aural realm as much 1960s psych-folk. On “Cartoon Boy”, the band strips things down further. A droning bass line persists through the tape fuzz and is accompanied by the sounds of a sole looping guitar chord sequence and McGregor and Sharkey’s vocals - respectively and carefully dancing around one another before harmonising in the most beautiful way. The result is a haunting and abstract Marine Girls style heartbreaker. ‘That Girl’ again delivers a dub adjacent rhythm section similar to that of “Dust”. However, on this instance crisp guitar chords, a distant, phased organ and blue-eyed soul vocal delivery, produce a track that could easily have been a lost Orange Juice recording from their sessions with Dennis Bovel. On “Somebody Got It Wrong” and “One Of Us” the band employ a more macro approach where a jangling guitar with an almost highlife-influenced tone, vocal ad-libs and syncopated percussion give the music a Talking Heads-esque swagger. Taken together these tracks illustrate a clear trajectory in the band's sound, moving from from the high energy no-wave quality of early recordings towards a more dub influenced, and stripped-back sound - a sonic trajectory followed by so many bands of the time, not least those emerging from the diaspora of Manchester’s Factory Records. On “Breathing’’ we hear the beginning of this transition, with the strong influence of the oddball NYC disco styles of Was (Not Was) and ZE records. All of this is meshed together with the residual punk rock energy of 1980s UK. This combination is employed to excellent effect with the addition of the distinctly Scottish (and what the band confirmed to me to be spontaneous) vocal delivery of: “Do you love me? Do you want me?” “Aye!” “Do you love me? Do you need me?” “Naw!”. On the record’s closing tracks, “Zoo” and “Talent Show”, we hear early examples of the band’s work, playing with their rawest all-in-one-take live energy where Hunter’s spiralling guitar riffs and McGregor's distorted vocal exclamations lead the charge. The band recalls that these initial-forays did not always translate so well into multitrack recording and overdubbing: “the deconstruction took away some of the band's natural feel”. On “Talent Show” the record ends with Sharkey delivering an almost unintelligible spoken word section over the top of the track, making for one final, disorientating, almost manic slice of post-punk. These tracks from 1980-1984 chart the progress of a unique contribution to the world of Scottish Post-Punk and New Wave, encapsulating not only the musical trajectory of 22 Beaches but also echoing the broader sonic landscape of 1980s UK, a testament to the adaptability and creativity of the UK’s underground music of the time.

More astonishing new music from Jason Boardman's BiD imprint. KlangKollektor is a solo project by Lars Fischer (the drummer with the Psychedelic Cumbia band Trak Trak from Nurnberg.) The clips here only tell half the story, these are meticulously evolving and utterly absorbing pieces. A stellar collection of seven dubwise tracks over 4 sides with a Techno and Balearic influence.

M.A.D have rounded up some friends new and old to bring you this stomping VA.

There was a long time I considered Raymond Richards the ultimate secret weapon. There were sounds he could make that other people just couldn’t. Pure, whole, yet complex sounds. The pedal steel is an extremely niche instrument outside of its Country confines, but its sheer and transcendent depth has never failed to floor me. Raymond’s ear for implementing the steel into literally 'anything' has always been uncanny. After decades of being savvy to his work ethic, multi-faceted studio skills and overall sense of musical honesty, it became a priority for me to channel some of this into narratives through the ESP Institute and get his stories told. Without further recounting the history and trajectory of our musical relationship (see the press release for 2020’s critically-acclaimed album 'The Lost Art Of Wandering'), I can whole-heartedly confirm this sophomore release, 'Sand Paintings', opens an even wider door into Raymond’s visceral, contemplative world. The cast of players has elaborated to include Calexico’s John Convertino on drums and percussion, a bevy of eccentric stringed instruments and even a hint of brass to collectively stratify context for the pedal steel. Through diversifying the timbral palette, we invite an increased soundstage acuity but also reveal untapped wells of emotion for the listener, perhaps even testing cultural literacies. One foot remains in our established ambient realm, while the other steps toward grand cinematic gestures, and despite the dense, insurmountable emotion in these songs, there is a stoic singularity, like a lonesome cowboy pulling up his boot straps to endure another day. 'Badwater Basin' opens with courage, an enormous chord evoking Raymond’s image of “hard dawn”, but in navigating through the dramatic depictions of 'Monument Valley', 'Saguaro' and 'Deer On Hwy 80', we grapple with a cloaked vulnerability—weathered by the elements, beaten down and alone, yet still madly in love with the world. —Lovefingers

The only proved efficient time traveling method to date is through listening to music, particularly evident when indulging in Jona Jefferies' latest EP released by Spanish house specialists Apersonal Music. It's a refreshing nod to the golden era of 90s electronic music. Across its three tracks, Jefferies masterfully blends elements of ambient, downtempo, and electronica, evoking a sense of nostalgia as if plucked from a bygone era. In contrast to today's TikTok-dominated landscape of short, immediate singles, this EP harkens back to a time when music was crafted with depth and complexity. Drawing inspiration from legendary acts like Boards of Canada and Underworld, it seamlessly transports listeners to the Gen-X decade, when acts like Daft Punk, Orbital and The Chemical Brothers reign supreme and exploited the electronic scene during the MTV era.

On the A side, "Es Camp" embodies the seamless influence of British electronic music on the Balearic scene of the 90s, and viceversa. Feels like Moby’s “Porcelain” if the film "The Beach" had been set in Ibiza. Max Essa's "Romantic Breaks Mix" elevates the track to pure Balearic bliss, setting the perfect mood for any sunset terrace around the globe.

Side B, tailored for the dance floor, runs through “Lost in Paradise”, a track that channels euphoria reminiscent of the underground rave culture during the final years of the 20th century. Apersonal's trusted remixer, Eddie C, delivers an extended rendition of the track that continually evolves, echoing Jim Morrison’s words: 'the music was new, black polished chrome, and came over the summer like liquid night.'

Travelling extensively across Asia and Africa from 1974-1985 to study music, Roberto made many field recordings and collected many instruments on his travels which he would then combine with synthesizers and electronics back in Italy. TIP!

avigating vibrant influences of Latin-jazz, Tropicália and joyful grooves; multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer and producer Inês Loubet presents her utterly gorgeous debut album ‘Senga’. The album covers Inês’ experiences over the past five years, originating in Portugal, travelling through Brazil, before finding home in London.

Previously, Inês co-wrote and performed on Caravela’s album 'Orla' on None More Records, which was praised by the likes of Gilles Peterson and The Line of Best Fit. Her music has been played on Jazz FM, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 3, NTS and Soho Radio. A relentless live performer, she’s played alongside Brazilian legends Gilberto Gil & João Bosco, graced the stage of The Royal Albert Hall, Union Chapel, and O2 Shepherds Bush, around UK and international tours.

The album explores a range of profound themes including nature, travel, grief, unconditional love, separation, family dynamics, and the nuanced experience of womanhood in contemporary society. Dedications to the music, philosophy and revolutionary history of samba (‘Sambo Mesmo Sem’), everyday observations of joy (‘Guri’), and motivating generational change for the better (‘Sab Sabim’); glide across romantic harmonies and the Brazilian rhythms at the melodic heart of the album.

“I started writing whilst living in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, in February 2020”, says Inês. “I was shy and hadn't written fully composed tracks before then. During lockdown I received support from The Arts Council’s Dycp, started making demos, gained confidence and started playing them live”. In October 2022 Inês was presented with the Drake YoLanda award and went to Giant Wafer studio in Wales for three days, before recording the final vocals at her home studio and mixing and mastering in Porto, Portugal.

Inês is joined on the album by a band of close friends. Percussionist and long-time collaborator Jansen Santana from Salvador da Bahia brings the soul of the drums, the tambor. “I always have the Bahia drums present in my mind when I write a new composition. I studied Latin percussion at University and then lived in Salvador absorbing all that heritage and knowledge”. Playing four different stringed instruments on the album, Greg Sanders is a long-time friend and collaborator from London “I met him in a samba band in 2015 and he was the first person I ever showed my songs to and played with”. The band is completed by Ruta Sipola on flute, Jake Burgess on tenor sax, Peu Meurray who recorded a lot of the percussion and lead vocals, and bassist Julio de Castro from Sao Paulo. “I was blown away by his bass playing, his swing and creativity, his ton of experience and professionalism but also his voice - he's an amazing singer and I believe that adds a lot to the magic”.

Inês concludes, “Last year, I had a show in London and I asked everyone in the audience to write down what they felt when they listened to the music. These are some of the things they wrote: wholesome, refreshing, lifted, moving, joyful, happy, nostalgic, warmth, force, goosebumps, emotional, togetherness, transported, rooted”. ‘Senga’ captures all of these feelings and more in a memorable first impression from a highly talented musician.

Limited edition double vinyl release of Jezebell’s debut new-Balearic epic, which stylishly weaves the history of eclectic club classics through 16 tracks of downtempo, dub, and acid chug.

Metropolis; a powerful song addressing city inequalities and their impact on youth. It's a call for freedom, criticizing large corporations. The lyrics remind us of our basic human needs, while the smooth music eases the despair about environmental issues. Despite being recorded over forty years ago, the message feels relevant today, as we continue to struggle with harmful capitalism.

Originally part of a 1975 charity compilation LP raising money for environmental charities in California, which later became a collectors artifact changing has for silly money (which didn’t fit well with the Déjà vu kid team), so this Balearic nugget, the crown jewel of this album, was released on 7”…There is no better way to share it again than on it’s own 45 inch release at a fair price.

Moonboots, Danny Psychemagik, Spruzzi Monorecords, Micky Browne, Paul Hillery are just a selection of names who have championed this track from this great album and now we can reshare it with you in this first time format.

Artwork redesigned by GNB Studios.

Secrets Of Sound sold out their first release in quick fashion and now they return with a second instalment in the Exotic Origins series, designed to take you a million light years away from your current reality and deep into the far depths of space with eight superbly cosmic explorations of ambient and downtempo magic. Italians Do It Better man Johnny Jewel kicks off with some sultry sax-laced sounds, David Lynch's musical partner Dean Hurley crushes on shimmering pads and Pye Corner Audio bring a little intergalactic tension. Elsewhere there are sugary synths from Legowelt, suspensory pads from TM Solver and plenty more to help you escape to another dimension. Add to that the fact it arrives on a random variety of different vinyl colours and comes with a download code, and you've got rather a nice package.

Coyote team up with Quinn Luke Lamont for a one off collaboration. Quinns vocals add a distinctly yachty feel to Coyote's chuggy early evening acid groove. Project Sandro tighten up the percussion and strip the vocals back and create a dreamy more contemplative warm weather shuffler.

Lono Ritmo arrive at IIB HQ from some distant mysterious exotic land bringing a deeply authentic gypsy flamenco rhythm with them. Luz de Luna has a Spine tingling vocals and emotive guitar transporting you to a Spanish mountain side camp under the setting sun. Pablo's Groove highlights the percussion tracks. Ibiza legends Dj Pippi and Willie Graf turn the OG into a trademark deep dance floor groove that would sound right at home in their Ibiza dj sets The Dubstrumental drops the Vox and the hypnotic dance is on. Already roadtested on the white Isle last summer, Authentico!

We’ve always been careful not to call Balmat an ambient label, because we like having the freedom to move, to drift, to morph. But with our 11th release, we turn our ears—proudly, blissfully—to a strain of ambient at its most timeless. The appropriately titled Dreams & Whispers comes from Warsaw’s Bartosz Kruczyński, who has recorded under a number of guises, Earth Trax, as well as his own name. Over the years, he’s touched upon deep house, breakbeats, acid, techno, electro, IDM, and more; often, the throughline running through a given album is simply the refusal to remain in any one place for long—well, that, and his unusually nuanced ear for harmony and texture.

Those qualities come to the fore on Dreams & Whispers, which might be the most focused encapsulation of Kruczyński’s atmospheric sensibilities to date.. Across 14 stripped-down tracks for shimmer and pulse, Kruczyński evokes overlapping styles in ambient—warm vibraphones, taut arps, massing strings, lonesome delay chains —but always with his own twist. Fitting the album’s title, the album is loosely divided into two distinct moods: The A-side, “Dreams,” is charged with subtle movement, rhythms spreading out like rings around skipped stones, while the B-side, “Whispers,” plunges into a zone of shadows and hush. The two complementary moods flow into one another like the faces of a Moebius strip, yielding an album that’s intuitively shaped and rich in emotion.

Following on from Los Rayos Del Sol (2021) & the follow up Los Rayos In Dub (2022) NuNorthern Soul presents ‘Moonbeams’ by Ibiza based producer, per-cussionist and sunset selector, George Solar.

Inspired by nocturnal moods and illuminated by the moon in all its phases, this collection follows the vibrations of 'Los Rayos Del Sol.' It's a journey into night-time peace and harmony, embracing the moonlit atmosphere.

Back in 2016, Lars Bartkuhn was on a quest to expand his musical horizons. Inspired by the idea of the desert as a transformative place – an alien environment whose combination of vastness and beauty challenges those lost within it to first find themselves before they can find a way out – he loaded up his sampler with sub-Saharan samples and set about making two 12” singles, ‘Nomad’ and ‘Massai’, which subsequently appeared on Utopia Records.

Following completion of work on his 2023 album Dystopia, a conceptual ambient meditation built around electronic and acoustic improvisations, the German musician and producer decided to return to the core ideas that inspired those two 12” singles. Once again, he wanted to challenge himself, explore the more exotic side of his musical influences, and discover a course through the musical desert to ultimately become a better musician, producer, and composer.

The result is Nomad, an album that not only brings together two sides of his work – the immersive ambient explorations at the heart of Dystopia, and the club-focused rhythms that marked out his early career deep house explorations – but also draws on a familiar palette of influences, from Latin jazz-fusion and the deep jazz brilliance of ECM Records releases, to the ‘fourth world’ works of Jon Hassell and the African music that had initially inspired the ‘Nomad’ and ‘Massai’ singles.

Searching from the start for a more ‘analogue’ sound – hand percussion, kalimba, piano, voice, bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitars, alongside the modular synth sounds that were such a part of Dystopia – Bartkuhn combined improvisational and traditional composition techniques, painstaking editing, tweaking and reworking tracks over an extended period.

Added to impeccable sound design – even the more dancefloor-focussed excursions are optimised for headphone listening – the results are startling, even by Bartkuhn’s impressively high standards.

There are, of course, radically reworked versions of previous singles – a sun-kissed, Brazilian jazz-fusion informed re-invention of ‘Transcend’ (where Bartkuhn offers nods to another musical hero, Pat Metheny), an expansive, solo-laden take on ‘Nomad’ and a ambient inspired re-recording of ‘Massai’ – plus the kaleidoscopic brilliance of 2021’s ‘Every Morning I Meditate’, but far more never-before-heard highlights.

There’s the 6/8 time, Latin-tinged sunshine of ‘Back To My Innerself’, a track built on organic performances that were improvised straight into the sequencer; the meandering, densely layered sound world that is ‘Flame’ (a tribute to ECM recordings of the 1970s); the lightly techno-influenced fourth world futurism of ‘Ghibliman’; the organic deep house bliss of ‘African Skies’, where Bartkuhn’s vocalisations come to the fore; and the slow-motion ambient house of ‘First Kalimba’.

Nomad, then, is an album that effortlessly showcases Bartkuhn’s unique musical personality and ability to craft warm, colourful sound worlds – some rhythmic, others not so much – while neatly sidestepping categorization. It could well be his strongest and most personal musical statement yet.

For their 35th release Left Ear returns to the archives of Spanish Musician Jesús Mª Catalán and his project Respuesta Alternativa, or the Alternative Response. Unlike his previous release, the tracks from this compilation were not released at the time and the tapes only found recently, which had been lying dormant in a shoebox since their creation from the period 1987-1990. When not on the road working as a sound technician,

Jesús continued to craft atmospheric tracks in the quiet of his bedroom and later finished productions with the assistance of long-time collaborator Julián C. Pérez. Together, they captured simple themes, with the sound evolving over time. Transitioning from guitars, they incorporated vocal samples to weave enduring musical tapestries. Given Jesus’ geographic location (Spain) and the atmospheric down-tempo nature of the music, we wondered if the ‘balearic’ sounds had played a part in his productions. Jesus explains that “the distinction in the Balearic and Asturias Islands is marked by the different character of its people and the incidence of the weather, where the sea influences the Mediterranean Sea of the Balearic Islands is a calm sea. The Cantabrico de Asturias Sea is stormier”.

As a proud Asturian, Jesús was influenced by and payed homage to his surroundings, with lush breezy passages echoing calm ocean days and others reflecting sudden turns in conditions, weaving a stormier, more confronting layer into his already distinct sounds.

Junee (Fhunyue Gao and Zoé Sjollema) is an encounter between a violin, a theremin, two voices and two synthesizers. An intimate investigation into the formation of the duo, which mirrors the take-off into imaginary worlds, sometimes obscure, sometimes celestial. The point of friction between experimental and pop opens up in-between worlds of melodious stories, non-places and sonic squeaks. After several successful concert tours since 2021, the duo were keen to work on a first musical release bearing the name Océan Oublié / Assordante and containing seven songs of different lengths and stylistic colors for a total duration of 30-35 minutes. The album was recorded in Geneva by Augustin Sjollema and was developed on the compositional foundations already acquired, during residencies at Smem (Swiss Museum Of Electronic Music) and « Südpol Theater Luzern » and will be released provisionally in spring 2024, on the Geneva-based label Stone Pixels Records.

Océan Oublié / Assordante will represent the first official release of the Junee musical project. The two-part title evokes the very source of the duo's thinking around the concept of duo. A project with two names, an interstice between two universes, a two-sided album: on one hand, Océan Oublié tends towards melancholic pop, and on the other, Assordante is more experimental and theatrical approach to the « Junee » Sound.

The mighty Becker & Mukai return with a tidal wave of sonic highways with new album Spirit Only, this time travelling outside of their East London studio bunker to Japanese mountains, with pit stops in Mali and Trinidad & Tobago.

Experimenting between balearic, indie dance, psychedelic, folk and electronica, Spirit Only is a complete body of work, confident and unashamed.

oogielicious Synth Pop made in Napoli! "Acqua Di Sale" is the first mini-album of the mysterious Rosa. Recorded at the West Hill Studio, this is the umpteenth creation of the well known Neapolitan production team which inaugurates the "Pegaso Series" on Periodica Records.

"A deserted beach and a rendezvous at the bar, with waves crashing gently in the distance and wine glasses catching the last rays of the setting sun. The seductive panorama of Posillipo unfolds before the eyes, evoking the charms of a photo-novella, though something mysterious lurks in the emerging dark, leading to unavoidable questions and temptations of the soul. This is the Napoli of the heart…no longer a physical manifestation, but instead, a stage for clandestine encounters and forbidden desires, where the most vivid emotions take the form of notes on the staff."

This neat slice of mashup-Balearic from BJ Smith is a clever exercise in sample combination. First released in 2013 but reissued again here, we hear two iconic hip-hop tracks - Mos Def's 'Umi Says' and The Pharcyde's 'Runnin' - both laid to serene, lackadaisical Balearic backings. Thus two sunrise classics were born, complementing a very particular kind of rave.

Invisible Inc once again presents another incredible full-length album from the talented Double Geography. Following on from 2020's “The Indoor Gardener”, the new LP “Open Water” is bathed in a similar blissful atmosphere...it would be appropriate to describe it as rather sublime.

Double Geography aka Duncan Thornley (one half of Weird Weather and studio engineer at MAP Studios), following the success of his debut album “The Indoor Gardener” (also on Invisible Inc) had sent Invisible Inc label boss GK Machine demos of his second and third album, which the label reluctantly declined on the basis that the music didn't sound quite right for the label. However, this fourth studio album fits the bill perfectly. Leaning towards the label's more ambient and laidback output, the album is themed around water, moving on and escape and sounds as unshackled and free-flowing as you'd expect...you can almost feel the breeze in the air and the sun on your skin.

The album is a progression from his previous releases, this time featuring several additional guest musicians, including stalwarts of the London jazz scene Greg Foat and Kaidi Akinnibi, to compliment Thornley's electronics...adding a complexity and depth to each of these compositions and an overall 'organic' quality that makes these new pieces sound like quite a departure from the first album. Fretless bass, clarinet, piano and saxophone decorate the music with refrains and melodies that have been enchanting our reveries since first hearing them.

“I wanted to incorporate some live musicians on this release so called upon some of the talent I'd worked with as an engineer at MAP Studios...that was the main drive behind the music for this release. The tracks are named after things that relate to either leaving behind canal boat living, e.g. Goodbye Great Escape (Great Escape was the name of our boat) or memories from a trip to Hydra, Greece. All sorta water related… On one of our walks around the island we ended up sharing a beach with Pierluigi Collina hence Famous Italian Referee! That track felt like the weirdest of the bunch so it got designated the weirdest name / memory!” (Duncan Thornley, March 2024)

Duncan Thornley - synthesizers, programming, percussion Adam Hayes - drum kit, roto-toms (A1, A3, A5) Pike Ogilvy - congas (A2, A3) Jasper Osbourne - fretless bass (A1, A3, A5) Kaidi Akinnibi - tenor and soprano saxophones (A1, A5) Simeon May - bass clarinet (A2, A3, B2, B4) Greg Foat - piano (b1)

Recorded and mixed at MAP Studios, London Mastered by James Savage at Milk Mastering Cyanotype photography by Lydia Dique Sleeve layout and design by Gordon Mackinnon

Type-303 returns to ProForm Series with a blast! This four tracker offers something for everyone. A-side starts with a solid acid banger named “Abso-Funking-Lutely!”. Second take on A-side is “Bad Moms”, a nice percussive track to make every dancefloor to jack. On B-side the mood goes to late 80’s/early 90’s italohouse-balearic-flute-Ibiza style with a track named “Midnight Sun”. This is pure niceness with everything essential in right place showcasing the talent of Type-303. The record ends with Kalle Karvanen remix of “Midnight Sun” which replaces flutes with saxophones and adds more acid into mix. Limited to 200pcs handnumbered copies as always. No digital, no represses, so buy it now or regret when it’s gone.

A bit more than half a decade on from his widely acclaimed debut Vanishing Points from 2018, Swiss guitarist, composer, and improv musician Manuel Troller releases his new record Halcyon Future. A rhythmically dense and ambiguous, yet joyful ride for unstable times, a plea for warmth and hopeful resistance.

Troller’s mode of incorporating, zooming in, and expanding on small elements from improvised sessions creates a multilayered work of driving rhythms and abstract, vibrating textures. Opening with Halcyon Future I’s distinctive open pulse, this first piece guides us through subtle harmonic shifts that are almost unrecognizable as they take place over extended time, overlapping and creating a sense of ambiguity until the piece reaches an almost optimistic level with Mario Hänni’s unexpected introduction of driving acoustic drums. Relentlessly and with increasing excitement, heavy electronic 80s bass drums and an armada of layered hi-hats push them on, leading to the all-incorporating melodic finale.

The two long pieces Halcyon Future I and Halcyon Future II focus on forward momentum. In between them stands DNA, a purposely directionless contemplation on emotion as such. It is raw, naked, and confrontational, with a tender and subtly changing chord progression creating intimacy and proximity, abstraction and warmth, like a beautifully vibrant hologram for the listener to walk around in.

The B-side with its 20-minute Halcyon Future II features playful futuristic guitars, enhancing and challenging the stereo image that Troller is already well-known for. As it’s given time to develop and take root, the ever-varying guitar interactions densify and the staccato patterns jump out of the speakers with joy, creating excitement and building momentum. Compared to Side A, things turn to a slightly more complex rhythmical, melodic, and harmonic feel here. There are easy references, such as Manuel Göttsching’s E2-e4 or Pat Metheny performing Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, but Troller goes a different and very much more concrete way. Although the piece has been recorded in various places and through a long process of overdubbing, there is an astonishingly strong live feel to it, from beginning to the end, from the slow rise to the full spectrum and the almost krautrock-like finale. Improvisers Hans Koch on soprano saxophone and Michael Flury on heavily fuzzed trombone join in, while Troller and Mario Hänni on many guitars, bass, drum machines, and acoustic drums provide a joyous driving entity, not giving up until it all breaks down again. There is overkill and brute force, though never without depth and a vision of future.

In the musical scope of Halcyon Future, there is no need for an absolute definition of things. A continuously changing interpretation of repetitive and variable elements fading in and out of focus tells a story of an excited sense of acceptance. Feelings of transcendence stem from Troller’s layering of constantly shifting rhythmic structures with unforeseen improvised harmonic changes. Drum machine parts overlayed with acoustic drums shift between musical modes, anchoring the album on the verge of a jazz-influenced, motorik, post-ECM balearic plateau. Abstract textural elements gently swirl around and behind all that is rhythm, providing a submissive counterpoint. As with much of Troller’s work, Halcyon Future is an album that unfolds slowly, revealing more of its richness, detail, and subtle beauty at each listen.

Halcyon Future is a joint release by three:four records and meakusma.