Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 337 Items

Selten hat es in der neunjährigen Geschichte von Pingipung ein solch frenetisches Echo auf eine Ver- öffentlichung gegeben, wie auf das Album „The Ke- nya Sessions“ von Sven Kacirek (Pingipung 20). Die Kooperation des Hamburger Schlagzeugers mit ke- nianischen Musikern verbindet auf eine eigene, auf- regende Weise Electronica und afrikanische Klänge und wird deshalb in unterschiedlichsten Kontexten von der Techno- bis zur Weltmusik-Szene gefeiert. Demnächst erhält die CD den „Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik“ für das erste Quartal 2011 in der Kategorie „Nu and Extreme“. Auch mit dem Label befreundete Künstler zeigen sich ob der Qualität des Materials begeistert und Pingipung veröffentlicht deshalb Ende Mai die 10“ „The Kenya Reworks“ mit Neubearbei- tungen des Albums. Lawrence, melancholischer Hansestadt-Houser, Label-Mitbesitzer von Dial, Smallville und Laid sowie international hochgelobter DJ widmet sich dem Stück „Kayamba Tuc Tuc“. Für seinen auf die Essenz maximierten Edit klaut er dem Original viele Spuren und lässt dafür ein großes Herz zurück. Taprikk Sweezee ist neben Gizmog oder Fussel eine der viele Identitäten des Musikers Niko- lai von Sallwitz. Als Taprikk Sweezee bastelt er elektronische Soul-Beats schon zum Früh- stück. Für seinen Remix war ein einziges Original deshalb zu wenig. Zum dekonstruierten Funk von „Kayambriä“ würden wir ihn gerne zusammen mit den kenianischen Musiker der beiden Originale tanzen sehen. Außerdem auf der 10“: Eine Neubearbeitung von „Paperflowers“ von Sven Kacirek selbst, die zusammen mit dem Samy Deluxe Produzenten Sebastian Winkler entstanden ist. Und, weniger Bonus als heimlicher Höhepunkt der Platte: Das exklusive Sven Kacirek Stück „Takaye Village“.

With over ten years’ experience in the music game, including three full length albums and a slew of EPs, Sweatson Klank – formerly known as Take – is one of L.A’s longest standing producers working at the periphery of hip hop and electronic music, a man who had a direct hand in shaping L.A’s beat scene in the 00s through the Sketchbook night alongside Kutmah. Whether or not you’ve heard his music before you’ll n have felt the impact of his work. After a two-year hiatus Sweatson Klank returns with the Elevate Me EP on Project Mooncircle, five tracks that further cement him as one of the nicest and most articulate producers in the game today. Elevate Me is both a departure from Sweatson’s previous output and a continuation of what has made him a unique voice in L.A’s thriving instrumental hip hop and electronic scene.

From the opener Always You the bar is set high with music that could only come from someone with musical savoir faire born of experience and hard work. The music is intricate and playful, the rhythms are hard to resist and the melodies perfectly match the uplifting mood, qualities that are carried throughout the EP.

Own almost feels like a band is playing yet it’s all coming from one man’s mind. The track references both Sweatson’s hip hop lineage and a deep understanding of the emotional potentials of electronic dance music. The tempo might surprise you at first but once you let the music take you in you’ll be pressing play again in no time.

I Can’t Explain is an ode to Sweatson’s love of hip hop, of the beat. The crunchy breaks will make your head nod before you’ve even realised it while the melodies and samples evoke images of sunny, lazy L.A days.

All of these ideas are further explored on My Love Is Here where certain tropes of popular dance music are put to use in a way that is rarely heard today. Instead of being the all-consuming focus of the song, the bass is used to reinforce the rhythmic foundations and combined with a beautifully emotive vocal sample that can seem jarring at first yet makes perfect sense. There is a subtlety to the music that really shines through on repeated listens.

In Between closes proceedings, winding things down with a smoother mood that’s still full of musical intricacies. Combining melancholic vocal samples with uplifting melodies and intricate rhythms, Sweatson manages to push through emotions that seem to burst out of the music, rendering any discussion of genre or style irrelevant.

Elevate Me is genuine, honest music born of emotions and offered to the listener with no disguise. It’s subtle and beautiful and it lets Sweatson Klank’s experience shine through in a way that will no doubt appeal to both old and new listeners. Jump aboard and let yourself be taken on a ride.

12" EP clear vinyl - Limited edition

Classic Szare release.. Last copies...

We’re proudly announcing our first Finest Ego solo releases. Available digitally and on limited chrome cassettes (with digital download code), we are releasing a series of albums and EP’s from talented and promising artists. Expect all facets of instrumental hip-hop, future beats and electronic beat music….

Images of classic movies come to mind while listening to the “Hypnotic Machine“ by Vienna-based beatsmith Szenario. Wether a thriller, crime story or action flick, this album will turn your imaginary cortex into a screen for a true cinematic experience.

Mastered by Dj Buzz of Waxolutionists. Original paintings by Simon Walter.

Project: Mooncircle & Finest Ego have teamed up to establish a fresh new 12” producer series, entitled “Faces”. On every edition, you will find two different producers. Respectively, each producer will have their own record-side and unique cover artwork by the aspring LNY, known for his surrealistic portraits, blending humans and animals.
The very first installment of the “Faces” series will feature the two prolific beathsmiths Pavel Dovgal & Ta-Ku. Coming from backgrounds which could not possibly be any more different – Ta-Ku has Philippine roots and grew up in Australia while Pavel was born in Russia and moved to Ukraine at young age – these two artists share a common connection through their relentless work-ethic and individualistic creative approach to making music. They have been fighting for international recognition with their extravagant beats, just like the Megasoma & Hercules beetles fight for female recognition with their extravagant horns.

Limited edition of 300 copies.

High quality reissue of the monumental work August 1974 by Japanese experimental music ensemble Taj Mahal Travellers. Pressed on 180gr. vinyl with extensive liner notes by Julian Cowley. Remastered & Cut by Rashad Becker. In April 1972 a group of Japanese musicians set off from Rotterdam in a Volkswagen van. As they crossed Europe and then made their way through Asia they made music in a wide range of locations. They also paid close attention to the changing scene and to differing ways of life. Midway through May they reached their destination, the iconic Taj Mahal on the bank of the Yamuna river in Agra, India. The Taj Mahal Travellers had fulfilled physically the promise of the name they adopted when they formed in 1969. But their music had always been a journey, a sonic adventure designed to lead any listener’s imagination into unfamiliar territory.

On 11 October 2010, Brainfeeder released the debut album by a 23 year old ex-skater, painter and music producer from Chino Hills called Teebs (real name Mtendere Mandowa). The title 'Ardour' means great enthusiasm, love or passion and was a fitting descriptor for his inherently warm, lushly textured beats. It’s an undisputed classic in the Brainfeeder canon and more widely considered an essential chapter in the ever-evolving puzzle of the global “beat scene”.

Brainfeeder and Teebs are celebrating the 10th anniversary with a limited special edition reissue of this landmark record. Pressed on deep pink 2LP and housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with artwork by Teebs himself, the new edition features six previously unreleased bonus tracks.

With roots at the ‘My Hollow Drum’ collective, Dublab and Low End Theory, Teebs has been a staple in Los Angeles music. “My creative family in LA is so important,” he explains. “It’s a part of who I am when I step outside and how others in LA view me. I love the feeling of community and trying to understand how I can be useful in it.”

Following 'Ardour' (2010), Teebs released 'Collections' (2011), 'Estara' (2014) and, after a 5 year hiatus, his most recent album 'Anicca' in 2019, with the help of a host of musical friends including Panda Bear (Animal Collective), Sudan Archives, Ringgo Ancheta aka MNDSGN, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Anna Wise. Universally acclaimed, Pitchfork gave 'Anicca' a glowing 7.8 review hailing Mandowa’s “effortless, shape-shifting tracks that make time stand still.” Meanwhile, FADER described the record as “deeply atmospheric... cool-headed and uncanny.”

180g Vinyl

The Future Sound of London's long and varied history stretches back almost 25 years and as such a vast amount of unrealised material exists in the FSOL Archives.

Archived 8 brings together another 12 such tracks; in some cases these are completed but unreleased songs from that time, in others the songs have been reconstructed or enhanced and then further mixed to form the journey. This album is not just a collection of random off-cuts. It is a fully realised album, worthy of sitting alongside the rest of the band's critically acclaimed work.

Did you know - The Future Sound of London were the first band to distribute their music via the internet, in 1994.

Did you know - The Future Sound of London were the first band to use ISDN technology to transmit their music via the internet and also to radio stations across the world - a system that has now been adopted by the radio industry worldwide.

This album originates from 2015 and was only issues on an extremely limited edition (only 250 copies) and now highly sought after CD. For Record Store Day 2023 the album is being issued one more time, the first time on vinyl only and limited to 1000 individually numbered pressings. "Life in Moments" is classic melodic weirdness from the minds of Fsol - this release contains an additional track "Sonata Andantino" not on the original CD.

The Q4 is a Dutch production trio consisting of sampling specialists Sense, Arts the Beatdoctor and STW. Although their collage of sounds covers bits of many genres, it is generally perceived as hip-hop or trip-hop. Numerous of obscure records are worked into every song with the greatest of care, often accompanied by live instrumentation or scratches giving their music an organic feel.

The Q4’s name refers to the quadraphonic sound systems that where used in the seventies, as one of the earlier forms of surround sound installations. Hence the title: Sound Surroundings for their critically acclaimed debut that was released on the 22nd of January 2010 through Project: Mooncircle. Aside from instrumental songs the album also features a number of guest vocalists, ranging from rappers to flamenco and blues singers.

Their upcoming release Darker Days however will be fully instrumental and features four original new tracks and two remixes. The 12 Inch comes with a promotional cassette (yes, a cassette!) on which another new TheQ4 song can be found, as well as an introduction to Shahmen, one of Sense’s solo projects which will be released in April/September through Project: Mooncircle.

The Q4 is a Dutch production trio consisting of sampling specialists Sense, Arts the Beatdoctor and STW. Although their collage of sounds covers bits of many genres, it is generally perceived as hip-hop or trip-hop. Numerous of obscure records are worked into every song with the greatest of care, often accompanied by live instrumentation or scratches giving their music an organic feel.

The Q4’s name refers to the quadraphonic sound systems that where used in the seventies, as one of the earlier forms of surround sound installations. Hence the title: Sound Surroundings for their critically acclaimed debut that was released on the 22nd of January 2010 through Project: Mooncircle. Aside from instrumental songs the album also features a number of guest vocalists, ranging from rappers to flamenco and blues singers.

Their upcoming release Darker Days however will be fully instrumental and features four original new tracks and two remixes. The 12 Inch comes with a promotional cassette (yes, a cassette!) on which another new TheQ4 song can be found, as well as an introduction to Shahmen, one of Sense’s solo projects which will be released in April/September through Project: Mooncircle.

Limited edition for Record Store Day 2015!

A special 7" single done with Dubspot featuring the original "Culture Of Fear" with vocals from Mr. Lif on the A-side and on the B-side the Dubspot remix winner Kaliedoscope Jukebox, handpicked by Thievery's Eric Hilton & Rob Garza themselves.

Fuzz Club's excavation of the underground has yielded another stellar discovery in coldwave duo Throw Down Bones. Their debut album is 8 tracks of instrumental electronica born from experimentation which dances between minimal rhythms and industrial soundscapes, shadowed by repeating riffs and persistent beats that got the crowds dancing at Psych Fest and the Fuzz Club Festival, London. To create this album, the band's experimental creative process saw them locked away in their alpine studio for a weeklong jam session, which was harvested for sounds, riffs and effects, from which they built the final tracks.. Their mix of infectious beats and the raw energy of live rock n roll make Throw Down Bones a great act to watch and a dark and modern definition of coldwave.

Limited edition for Black Friday Record Store Day 2021!

TIM HECKER’s classic Ravedeath 1972 approaches a form of secular musical transcendentalism from within the battered temple of spirituality. Recorded in a church in Reykjavik, Iceland and using a pipe organ as the primary sound source, this piece is essentially a live recording. In reality, it exists in a nether world between captured live performance and meticulous studio work, melding the two approaches to sonic artifice as a unity. It is in parts a document of air circulating within a wooden room, and also a pagan work of physical resonance within a space once reserved for the hallowed breath of the divine. While the title of the piece “Hatred of Music” might be a clue, the album is also partly an attempt to confront a pervasive negativity surrounding music. Historical rituals of destroying pianos, mountains of pirated CDRs pushed by bulldozers in Eastern Europe, or the melancholy of the digital music era began as sideline motifs which quickly informed the work on this record. They also really didn't at all. Despite that the context is wide open in such a form of musical abstraction, the substance of these immersive compositions showcases Hecker s continued mastery of organizing sound into a visceral near entity. It is an almost physical presence that the listener feels as much as hears. This work is a significant contribution to Hecker's oeuvre, one which spans over ten years of musical production. Ravedeath is an enigmatic document of beauty and force. The album was recorded mostly over the period of one day in July of 2010. Iceland-based musician BEN Frost assisted with the engineering and performs on this recording.

Incredibly versatile debut album from the one and only Toro Y Moi. Think of Madlib and Thomas Bangalter producing the next Panda Bear album and you’re halfway there.

Brand new 5 track EP by Chazwick Bundick!

Handsome and mysterious Dane Trentemøller will release his sophomore LP at the end of May entitled Into the Great Wide Yonder. The man, who constantly offers up musical surprises for us, will release his first single ‘Sycamore Feeling’ in early April via his own label In My Room.

/ TTB / Mahala / Raxa Remix ... Storming, squinty Shangaan Electro to herald the current European tour of Tiyiselani, the Tshetshas and producer Dog.

10 year anniversary edition on orange & red marble vinyl. While his formative years were spent listening to everything from Yes to Photek, Scott Hansen didn't get his hands on an actual guitar or drum machine until he left his native Sacramento for San Francisco in 1995. "Encountering this whole new world at 20 years old was a profound experience," says Hansen, better known by his musical pseudonym Tycho and as the graphic artist Iso50. "At the time, I was just learning the processes of design and music; both felt very similar, and have flowed back and forth for me ever since."As seamless as his two creative outlets have been, nearly a decade passed before the release of Hansen's first proper Tycho LP, Sunrise Projector (later expanded and reissued under the title Past Is Prologue). And while three striking singles have emerged since then, the sum of all those sepia-toned parts is nowhere near the double-exposed soundscapes of Dive. The product of a prolonged break from IS050's design work and blog, it pays tribute to Tycho's prismatic past (the dense, guitar-guided turning points of "Daydream" and "Adrift") but spends most of its time pointing to the project's not-so-distant future.That can mean any number of things, really, from the halcyon hooks and hopeful horizons of "A Walk" to the expansive, wildly expressive tone poetry of the title track, an eight-minute epic that unfolds like a compressed concept album. Or at the very least, a restless vision of prog-rock - one that's been coated in neon colors and filtered through a thick piece of blotter paper. And then there's "Elegy," a spare curtain closer that pairs a vulnerable crescendo with a fitting bridge to future works.And with that, Dive establishes its position as the most diverse musical statement of Hansen's multi-medium career; the point where his skills as a performer finally catch up with his vaporized vision of a world that doesn't belong to any particular time or place."Nostalgia is a common thread in my work," says Hansen, "but this album wasn't driven by that idea. I see these songs as artifacts from a future which might have more in common with our past than our present."

Umeme Afrorave was founded by Daniele Labbate and Bas Bouma, two friends and experienced musicians who found themselves falling in love with analogue electronics and traditional African music.

Three years have passed since the world first learned of Ursula Bogner's work. Since then, her identity has been surrounded by rumours, her graphic work have been exhibited (ceacc, Strasbourg, France, 2011 and elsewhere) and her compositional instructions have been performed (by Mo Loschelder, Andrew Pekler, Kassian Troyer, Jan Jelinek among others). The release of Sonne = Blackbox brings together all of these aspects in one CD and book: compiled by Andrew Pekler, the album presents Bogner's early experiments with voice and tape music – a previously unknown emotional side of her music is revealed here through her singing.

The 126 page book contains, along with drawings, photos and other curiosities from Bogner’s life, an introduction by Jan Jelinek, texts by Momus, Andrew Pekler, Tim Tetzner, and Bettina Klein as well as interviews with the orgone researcher Jürgen Fischer and the ethnographer Kiwi Menrath. Sonne = Blackbox attempts to locate Ursula Bogner, the sound experimentalist within broader cultural history. A central theme is the phenomenon of fake: how did the erroneous suspicion of fakery come about in the case of Ursula Bogner and what is a post-fake? Answers in this book.

A subjective compilation by David Le Simple and Vincent Romagny after the three exhibtions cycle ‘Doppelgänger’ at Ceaac curated by Vincent Romagny. The double LP ‘Doppeldoppelgänger’ is a purely subjective compilation of sound works by artists (Félicia Atkinson, bruant&spangaro), sound from films by artists (David Lamelas), sound poetry and performances (John Giorno, Karl Holmqvist, Lisa Holzer & David Jourdan); of works by very different cult composers (Benjamin Britten, Jean-François Pauvros, Gérard Pesson, Jean-Claude Vannier), legendary groups (Deux Filles) and unclassifiables (Potima Zen Neuman, Joiejoiejoie).

The third volume in this album series of ethnic/electronic music from Istanbul. Besides Yekta Kopan, Dolunay Obruk and Derin Sariyer, Oguz Kaplangi is the main composer of the album, contributing seven songs. This album offers traditional sufi music with instruments like the ney, the oud, the duduk, the bendir and the darbouka, next to modern electronic/dub rhythms, reggae, break beats and indie pop songs. The LP reflects Istanbul's multi-cultural character. Included are tracks by Asli Omag, Ters Takla, Zenci United, Huseyin Bitmez, Suzy, Toussaint Liberator and the aforementioned composers.

Presented here is the next chapter in the history of Faruk Green's keyboarder and founding member Jeff Özdemir... a compilation of soulful, pop & electronic inspired music. Jeff Özdemir, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and owner of the "33rpm Store", an independent record shop in Berlin Kreuzberg, also runs the label 33rpm Records with some of his musician friends.

Bop & Synkro / Nuage / Microfunk Crew / Dissident

Med School Music veteran Bop launches his own label "Microfunk Music". The first release contains 4 minimalistic tunes, starting from the chill autonomic moods and the lovely nostalgic arpeggio of "Telescope" written by Bop and Synkro, moving to Nuage's fragile synths and luscious summer vocals, followed by a warm analogue bass in "Endless Green". In addition to these beautiful sounds, Microfunk Crew includes the more energetic, fit for the dance floor drum&bass with strong juke and ambient influences of "Crab Nebula". The EP is perfectly completed by Dissident with his kind and even slightly infantile soundscapes in "Design Yourself". This vinyl record is a great introduction to the label's unique sound. Each song has its own character and tells a specific story; however the whole piece sounds very organic and will definitely appeal to the intelligent electronic music fans.

This is a story about a young Russian girl named Jinna Morocha who had a vision of one day flying to the Moon.
Many years ago during the hard times of life in Moscow, the young girl saw the Moon consciously for the first time and at that very moment the dream began. These vivid thoughts remained in her mind and she started to ask herself “How can I get to the Moon?“. Soon she found the label Project: Mooncircle over the internet and told them her story, at once she saw a chance to come a few steps closer to her dream. By now Jinna lived in Germany and it was possible for her and the label to meet, her key question was “Can you bring me to the Moon?“. The answer was a faltering “No, but maybe we can let you fly to the Moon in your mind. Let’s build the soundtrack to this vision, close your eyes, clear your thoughts and let us begin on your journey“.

That was the beginning of “The Moon Comes Closer“, come embark upon this voyage with us lead by the next level soundscapes of:

Robot Koch, fLako, Pavel Dovgal, I.D. 4 Windz, John Robinson, Lambent, 813, Nienvox, Juj, Mr Cooper, MyOwn, Long Arm, Daisuke Tanabe, Graciela Maria, Scienz Of Life, Andy Kayes, Abnormal, Capella, Comfort Fit, Kansano, Gards From KC, Puzzle, Sense of The Q4, Sotu The Traveller, V. Raeter, Himuro Yoshiteru, Skyence, Dexter, Portformat, 40 Winks, Dela, Brazzaville & Killing Skills.

Despite being created over a decade ago for a controversial limited double cassette and then compiled on ‘It stands to conceal’ this is patient, esoteric, cold, industrial perfectly suitable for our end times.