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Décalé. and Bongo Joe Records present an all new compilation placing the spotlight on the Swiss experimental and electronic scene of the ‘80s and the early ‘90s. The compilation Intenta assembles under-appreciated gems, sought-after titles and newly mixed versions. It places leftfield synth-pop next to otherworldly jazz, and joins the dots between lyrical post-punk excursions and proto-house experimentation.

The compilation covers a period of transition: When songs mutated into sounds. When synthesizers and samplers became the règle du jeu in DIY music-making. When a politicized youth movement slowly gave way to the hedonistic embrace of techno culture in Switzerland. Intenta mines the outer fringes of a scene yet to be. Many of these experimenters were pretty much on their own. Often the only way you would get in touch was at the local synth dealer.

A spirit of bold improvisation inhabited studios between Geneva and St. Gallen: these artists were articulating pop sensibilities (Air Project, Sky Bird, D-Sire, Peter Philippe Weiss), entering computer worlds (Claudine Chirac, Olivier Rogg, Carlos Perón), exploring exotic shores (Andreas Hofer, Bells of Kyoto, Fizzè), building future discothèques (Aborted at Line 6, Carol Rich, UnknownmiX) or finding glacial bliss (Dressed Up Animals, Elephant Château, I Suonatori).

The compilation was put together by Matthias Orsett and Maxi Fischer. Intenta unfolds as a sonic story that is laid-back yet energetic, sultry yet daring. The two crate diggers set out to meet with many of the artists arrayed here. Memories were shared, wine bottles opened. There were moments of sadness: Karl Lienert Löwenherz (Dressed Up Animals) and Claudius Scholer (Sky Bird) passed away during the making of this project. What remains of this journey into the backrooms of Swiss popular culture, is Intenta. If you listen closely, it will reveal a nation on the move. Beyond the Matterhorn, there is sweetness and light.

Compilation, concept and production by
Maxi Fischer & Matthias Orsett
Artistic supervision by Cyril Yeterian
Analog mastering by Tim Stollenwerk
Vinyl cut by Adi Flück
Editorial by Bjørn Schaeffner
Drawings and layout by David Mamie
Typeface (Office Grotesk) by Chi-Long Trieu
Leaflet design by Yanis Carnal
The gatefold cover illustration is the music sheet of ‘Mondtanz” by
Karl Lienert Löwenherz from Dressed Up Animals
Courtesy of the artist’s family

Should you find yourself taking a Thames-side stroll in the shadow of the City of London, keep an eye out for the headphone-clad figure of Ilan Pdahtzur. While be-suited bankers and frustrated office workers scurry home to their families, Ilan can frequently be found casting admiring glances towards the blinking lights of towering skyscrapers while filling his ears with the synthesizer-driven sounds of lesser-known 1980s dance music. Ilan, an avid but little-known record collector best known for sharing the artwork of obscure and under-appreciated early-to-mid ’80s club cuts on his popular Instagram feed, has been digging for vibrant, kaleidoscopic records since his teens. Now, thanks to Spacetalk, he’s been given a chance to offer a glimpse into his neon-lit nocturnal musical world. The result is Night City Life, a killer collection of 1980s synthesizer songs inspired by Ilan’s admiration for the glow of London’s late night skyline. Over the course of 13 essential tunes, Ilan escorts us on a vibrant sprint through rare Italo-disco, steamy South African synth-boogie, fizzing American freestyle, oddball Austrian electrofunk and so much more.
There are naturally a fair few sought-after cuts present, but also a fine selection of under-appreciated gems that for one reason or other have been all but ignored since they were released three and a half decades ago. In fact, some selections are so obscure that barely any information exists about them online. Check for example Preludio’s “Mysterious Nights”, an evocative fusion of slow electronic grooves, dreamy chords and twinkling piano motifs previously buried on a lesser-known album of unremarkable German synth-pop, or the dollar-bin brilliance of Fragile’s sweet synth-pop gem “We’ve Got Tonight, Boy”, a cut that Ilan says is capable of “wrapping itself like tendrils around your soul”. He’s not wrong.
At the other end of the scale you’ll find the ultra-rare Italo-disco breeziness of Friend of Mine’s incredible “Just Your Pride” and Mac & Monica’s soulful 1986 South African synth-boogie cut “You’re So Good To Me”, copies of which regularly change hands for hundreds of pounds online. Ilan originally reached out to the men behind the record last year to tell them how one of their other forgotten gems had been played on a Boiler Room session; naturally, they were thrilled. There’s plenty to admire elsewhere on the compilation, too, from the waves of analogue synths, bubbly melodies and bobbing beats of the instrumental dub version of Brian Tatcher’s “Hot Love” – a cold-war era cut inspired by the idea of love blossoming in the midst of a nuclear meltdown – to the Bobby Orlando-esque freestyle bustle of Janelle’s “Don’t Be Shy (Dub)” and the sparkling post-boogie brilliance of Jarmaz’s “Night City Life (Disco Remix)”, a track Ilan has listened to countless times while admiring the midnight skyline of his home city.

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.

The new LP by Krefeld-born, Berlin-based artist Philipp Otterbach entitled 'The Dahlem Diaries'.

Recorded in a little-visited corner of the German capital, 'The Dahlem Diaries' is a convergence of ideas, sketches and tracks, both old and new, most of which were produced between 2020-2022. Whilst eerie atmospheres, electronics and drums have played a pivotal role in Philipp’s earlier releases, his latest is a rather more introspective affair, in which the guitar takes a leading role. A role Otterbach uses to quietly bring light and hope to his music.

Speaking about his writing process, Philipp explains that, based around his original compositions, “Friends were nice enough to contribute additional parts on their instruments which I then reworked, put together and re-contextualized. The recordings encapsulate a very specific moment in time, one that would have sounded perhaps very different the day before or after.”

Combined with a strong use of effects and field recordings, 'The Dahlem Diaries' feels somewhat like a scene or fragment from a story, in which the narrative remains undefined. It is a playful album that is something of a blurred underwater adventure, sounding as bright as it is hazy, even psychedelic at times, yet with an almost melancholic positivity. In Philipp’s own words: “It could be an album about friendship and being at one with myself, whilst at the same time bringing a certain seriousness to my music, but not necessarily to myself; there is also a playful humour hidden in there. ”

Artwork by David McFarline.

Geier aus Stahl is one of the many artistic guises of Leonard Prochazka. No superfluous elements take away from the core experience of his sound. Somewhere a statement from David Byrne crossed our path, able to highlight something of the essence of Leonard's art: “No matter how alienated the subject or the singer might appear, the groove and its connection to the body would provide solace and grounding. But the edgy, uncomfortable stuff was still on the foreground”. The debut album 'Strapazen und Genesung' takes us to an exciting world that twists, squeaks and creaks, yet is grounded by an unmistakable groove.

Degrees of Freedom is a Canadian musical group founded in 1984 in Montreal by Janet Cadman (vocals and percussion), Martin Chartrand (bass, guitar, rhythm programming and vocals) and David Curtis (keyboards, vocals, and percussion). Established as a 5-piece New Wave cover band, Degrees of Freedom evolved into its classic quartet configuration following the departure of the original guitarist and drummer, and the subsequent enlistment of Santino Mastrocola on drums. With this lineup change came a new musical mission: the writing, recording and live presentation of original material only. Since Santino's withdrawal from the band in 1988, Degrees of Freedom has carried on as a trio in the studio while augmenting concert performances with additional musicians.

In February 1985, Degrees of Freedom performed at the newly formed S.O.S. (Save Our Songwriters) Club in Montreal. Like other participants in the S.O.S. project, Degrees of Freedom was rewarded with studio time to record some of its own songs. One of these, "August is an Angel" was selected to close out the locally produced 1985 band anthology album "Listen - A Faze Compilation of Montreal Music." The next year, a new track "In This Room," was included in the follow-up release "Listen 2." Both songs, with four newly recorded works, were issued in 1988 as Degrees of Freedom's eponymous sole vinyl release, informally known as the “China” album.

In 2015, the music of Degrees of Freedom experienced a renaissance thanks to a new generation of club DJs, traditional and internet-based radio hosts, vinyl disc collectors, and other aficionados of synth-based music. Local and international recognition has come in the form of record sales to fans in Canada as well as in the USA, Germany, Scotland, England, Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Lithuania, Sweden, Bulgaria, Australia, Vietnam, and Japan. Responding to the resurgence of interest, Degrees of Freedom has twice re-issued the disc (2017 and 2019). Today, with eyes on the future and the past, Janet, Martin and David continue to collaborate on new material including the songs, "Metal Flesh" and "Be This Way" both accessible on the band's YouTube channel.

David Lovato’s first outing as Lova, the superb Gypsophilia EP, was one of NuNorthern Soul’s most lauded and cherished releases of 2021 – a gorgeous collection of emotive, sun-soaked sounds from the mind of a producer who got his chance on the imprint after handing a USB of tracks to Phil Cooper at Hostal La Torre in the summer of 2020. Now, the EP returns for 2022 in expanded form, with a trio of fresh, mood-enhancing remixes joining the three original tracks featured on last year’s release. It’s those – ‘Cecilia’, Lovato’s glistening, emotionally resonant musical tribute to his baby daughter, mid-tempo nu-disco gem ‘Echoes of Memories’ and the stunning, sunset-inspired ‘Esperanza’ - that form the first half of the EP, with a trio of reworks following in hot pursuit. Long-time friends of the label Leo Mas and Fabrice, an Italian duo famed for their brilliant Balearic reworks whose individual and collective histories stretch right back to the late 1980s (Mas, for example, was one of the resident DJs at legendary White Isle venue Amnesia at the back end of that decade). Given this shared Balearic history, it’s fitting that they step up first and give their spin on ‘Cecilia’. Making the most of Lovato’s stunning, reverb-drenched guitar licks, dreamy chords and atmospheric pads, the pair delivers a shuffling, club-ready interpretation underpinned by a locked-in dub disco groove. It’s a fine take on a track brimming with positivity and joy. Hear & Now, an Italian duo best known for delivering a trio of brilliant albums on Claremont 56, give their interpretation of ‘Echoes of Memories’. Beginning with a mixture of quietly colourful chords, enveloping sonic textures and hazy guitar motifs, the mix gently builds as it progresses, with the pair introducing a pitched-down house groove, chiming electronic melodies and alluring elements from Lovato’s original version. Like much of Hear & Now’s work, it sits somewhere be-tween Balearica, slow-motion electronic disco and the Rimini-friendly dream house sound that marked out Italian club cuts at the turn of the ‘90s. To close out the EP, rising star Danilo Braca – an Italian producer based in New York City who began DJing in his home country way back in 1996 – gently leads ‘Esperanza’ towards the dancefloor. Braca is a member of production duo Synth & Soda, whose 2020 remix of DJ Harvey presents Locussolus track ‘Berghain’ was selected by the man himself as the winner of an online competition. On this solo revision, Braca wraps a punchy, Latin-tinged house beat in cascading melodic motifs, bubbly synthesizer arpeggio lines, rising and falling electronics and pads so sumptuous you might want to marry them. Simultaneously morning fresh and sunset-ready, Braca has delivered a classic-sounding chunk of Balearic nu-disco/deep house fu-sion. Gypsophilia Remixed is the latest volume in NuNorthern Soul’s Myths of Ibiza series of EPs, which all feature specially commissioned artwork from illustrator Emily McGuinness. This time round, McGuinness’s distinctive artwork depicts Tanit, the ‘protector goddess’ of Ibiza. A warrior deity of dance, fertility, creation and destruction, her spirit is said to watch over the island’s West Coast, particularly the area around Atlantic and the mysterious Es Vedra rock.

I Love It When A Band Comes Together…The one thing that has kept most artists sane during the pandemic is writing and creating. In an attempt to apply this logic Red Ant Records maestro Pete Bones decided to recruit the talents of a bunch of cool cats he had met whilst traveling the globe and put a band together. Having often wondered after 30 odd years as a DJ/Producer how the band would sound had he not been swept up by Acid House in the late 80s, six months later, plenty of file bouncing and numerous edits, and The Stones Of Convention are ready to wreak havoc; with Jeff Ward on electric guitar, Jeff Richey on saxophone, Pierre Davis on drums, Scott Anderson on slide guitar, Duncan Gray on bass and electric guitar, Sean Q6 on acoustic guitar, and featuring the effervescent vocals of Laura Clarke. Hailing from Galway, Orlando, Pittsburg, St Petersburg, Slough, San Francisco and Glastonbury respectively, band practice might be problematic. The album features 7 original tracks, 2 full vocal cuts, and a cover of the Talking Heads classic Pull Up The Roots

The Kempe Stone Portal is the long awaited debut album from long time musical adventurer The Vendetta Suite. It arrives on Hell Yeah Recordings on June 18th, and spans over 20 years of diverse musical experiments. In the words of label boss Marco, 'it's a nice ride.' Gary Irwin started dancing in 1990, when he was drawn to the dubbed out and psychedelic sounds of Andrew Weatherall and The Orb, at the same time falling for the forward looking house and techno played by David Holmes and Iain McCready at their regular nights at Belfast's Art College. After studying music technology and performing arts, Irwin gave Holmes a cassette of bedroom produced techno and it started a long and fruitful relationship that has continued to this day. In the intervening years, Irwin has been the in-house engineer at Holmes' Exploding Plastic Inevitable studio and label, has engineered and remixed with him, released on his labels and written music for his Holy Pictures album, all while picking up credits on labels like NovaMute, Sabrettes, 13Amp and many more. As time passed, Irwin explored non-dance sounds such as krautrock, library music, synth and 80s b-sides before more recently circling back to acid house, downtempo and Balearic. All of this and more informs this panoramic 12 track album, which is a testament to a life spent submerged in many different sound worlds. The Kempe Stone Portal opens on the ‘Neon Secrets’, which along with tracks like ‘Morning Star’ and ‘I Am The Ghost In My House’ betray Irwin’s love of wonky, shimmering experimental synth-pop musik. They are glistening tracks with heavenly harmonies that are truly life-affirming in their richness. Elsewhere, ‘Purple Haze, Yellow Sunrise’ is an homage to his early experiences of Balearic acid house music from the late eighties and early nineties with a not too subtle reference to the narcotics of the time. ‘Who Do You Love’ was Irwin’s first non-dance music production in 1998, a cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain's version of the Bo Diddly classic, with guitar feedback and distortion drawing you into a murky world of fuzzy sonics. 'Della Notte’ came 10 years after, with rumbling toms, bubbling synths and phased Rhodes making for a psyched-out post punk dub. Seasonal sleigh bells and obvious krautrock influences abound on ‘Christmas in Cologne’ while ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ is Air meets Phil Spector on a beach at sunset. ‘Warehouse Rock’ is a dubby acid track that follows on from where 2017 track ‘Shut Up Ya Dub!’ left off, but with a more experimental approach that found the artist limiting himself to a 303, drum machine, dub effects and samples. If King Tubby were to release on Acid Trax, this is how it would sound. Shorter tracks ‘Spring Blues’ and ‘The Adult Section’ were originally made for a modern library music side project and are brilliantly suspensory pieces of lush electronics, yawning chords and gentle rhythms that empty your mind of any tension. This is a storied album that traverses different musical worlds with style and skill. Some are old, some are new, but they add up to a long player that is both fascinating and timeless.

France, 1990. Fun Radio, NRJ, Skyrock set a new pace, and their crushing hegemony irrevocably marks the end of the free radio utopia. The giants become vital in the hit industry and carry on fuelling France’s greatest invention: la variété. A quintessentially French version of British dance pop with a very specific tang to it, too coy to emulate trendy clubs’ and rave parties’ music, europop cautiously tests the waters of what will soon turn into a tsunami : house music. Is house the soundtrack of the 90s? In Europe, it gave steam to comeback bands just as much as to the most memorable formations of the decade, while in France it paved the way for the global success of French Touch. “Real” house music emerges in early 80’s Chicago (where the Warehouse club, which allegedly gave its name to the genre, closes down in 1983). England’s acid house and Belgium’s new beat, its European offshoots, fed the cravings of tabloids in 1988 and 1989. The house music we’re interested in though, the type bound to soon overwhelm European charts, is already pretty far away from the afro-american music born in Chicago. So far away it inherited a new name: dance music. Just like it had been the case with disco a few years back, house and techno aren’t exactly in the good books – acid house and new beat even less so. And it’s precisely the genre’s mainstream iteration this compilation focuses on; the house en français, which strives to get on board the running train in 1990. The house which sports the all-over jean look, bandana, cap, chewing gum, peugeot 205 complete with snazzy beats on the radio. The big deal big fuss type, miles away from the original, underground house. It might not have been born in the nineties, but that’s clearly when house music became mainstream. What underpins house music might even be what is to define the decade to come: jingles and pin’s, megaclubs and clips. That and the hits. Very soon house is everywhere: on the air of the big radio stations and on TV, creeping in as far as kids’ programs. The French may not even notice, but they’re all listening to it. Meanwhile, music producers smell the gravy and, willy-nilly with the earnest, enlightened amateurs, propose their very own club versions, cross breeding French variété and house. The result: a chart and club ready ersatz that is to quickly seduce young audiences. Hits, that’s what we want – or tubes for the French, like in House Tube, one of the landmarks of this compilation. The tracklist, like the soundtrack to a club night that never happened, fictitiously reconstructs the fleeting moment when house made its arrival in France, bridging the gap between variété and eurodance. House quiproquo House music barges in like a UFO on European land. With the arrival of this repetitive, yet transgressive music, tabloids freak out, while widespread incomprehension over the genre inspires dubious misconceptions. The media are happy to suckle on the music’s popularity, though well hidden behind the veil of decorum: NRJ airs a remake of a famous new beat track, Rock To The Beat, in which, however, “ecstasy” is swapped for “fantasy”. Dechavanne, thoughtful as usual, calls fans junkies and nazis on his tv show, Ciel Mon Mardi – though the show’s theme song is nothing else than a house track. The footage became a classic, and the comments, sampled by producers, provided the vocals for a flagship new beat track (Dr. Smiley – L’Echo Dechavanne). The Dechavanne episode is representative of the general confusion surrounding this barbarian music; skepticism remained high, even (if not more so?) in the musical world. In fact, it’s the subject of the unequivocal House Tube: “House tube, bouse tube ; on n’aime pas vraiment le house tube House soupe, bouse soupe ; on n’aime pas vraiment le house soupe” That is: “House hits, house shit; we don’t really dig house hits House soup, shit soup; we don’t really dig house soup” The success of house music inspired many exasperated reactions, just like House Tube (the B-side of a deodorant ad’s theme). Laurent Castellvi, surprised that the joke-track he composed at the time still sparked interest, told us: “At the beginning of the nineties, house was all over the radio. It annoyed me a little that most tracks were based on the same two chords. House Tube is a joke, it’s me sitting at the piano playing two chords. And that’s what the lyrics say.” On the other hand and following up with the next track, Fred de Fred was clearly in the know. The Frenchman had moved to the epicentre of the English commotion, Sheffield, a few years prior to the arrival of house. That’s where Warp (Autechre, Aphex Twin) originated – and at the time Warp still went by the name FON, Fred already hung around in their studios. Robert Gordon, Fred’s pal and co-founder of the label, signs the remix of one of his 1989 tracks, Sous Sous. In 1991, he composes a record of songs, and when it comes to pairing a suitable club remix single, Fred knows what’s up. Je T’Aime En Amour, sleek rock, mutates into a syncretism of french chanson and nearly rave breakbeat (here provided in its “2020” version). Fred de Fred is exemplary of the variété-club crossover driving this record; his career started within the collective ZNR, he crossed paths with the likes of Alain Bashung and then the Stone Roses, was close to Warp, and ended up signing a record on Barclay. Studio sharks Electronic musicians are often referred to as “producers”. This emanates from the delimitation of roles in the making of recorded music, traditionally assigned as singer, songwriter and producer. The latter takes care of the recording per se; that is, he manages the project, rents the studio, hires the musicians (known as requins de studio – studio sharks – for accumulating studio sessions) and cashes in at the end. The artist in electronic music is the producer alone, who essentially combines all roles at once: totally autonomous in his home studio, he can do without musicians or singers. The moment we’re interested in is this transitory period in which the two types of producers coexist. On the one hand, the new producers, like Fred Rister with Everybody Dancing, who recorded in a shack on a 4-track recorder, according to the sound engineer. On the other, the revival of old brigade producers, always on the lookout for a hot deal. The producer behind Près De Toi is of the latter type – pursuing a long musical career though quick to forget Claire-An (and so did posterity). New beat’s heritage isn’t negligible : its pioneers fashioned the “new generation” producer formula, a one-man-band in his machine-filled home studio. They’re also the first to churn out major hits, hitting the floor of a few Belgian clubs and eventually making it to the European top 50. What seems like mad creative abundance (hundreds of tracks between 1987 and 1989) is in fact the work of a handful of Belgian producers, barely ten, hidden behind multiple aliases. Among them, Marc Neuttiens, Jack Mauer and Fabian Van Messen, who often work as a trio and produce some of the genre’s most iconic tracks. In the midst of which On Se Calme, produced under the name Bassline Boys, sampling none other than Christophe Dechavanne. It’s no coincidence then that Anne Zamberlan should knock on their door with in mind the idea of an antidrug track. She wants to make noise, they know how to make a hit. And the track has it all: proto-acid gimmicks, big beat, house piano, verses rapped with a hiphouse flow… It might have been great, but even a Virgin Megastore ad she appeared in two years later got her more success. À la folie, je danse This tale is also the one of the pioneers who brought house music to France, first on the radio, well before rave parties or Laurent Garnier’s nights in Paris. As soon as the early eighties, Robert Levy Provençal plays the edits of the young Dimitri from Paris on the airwaves of Radio 7. At the time they’re unusual: like one would use samples in hip hop, Dimitri loops soul, funk and disco tracks, creating extended mixes. He breaks down tracks, reducing them to a gimmick or a bass line, thus creating easy-to-mix tools for DJs and bringing them closer to the sounds of house and techno music. He soon becomes resident DJ on NRJ and hosts the popular show Hot Mix. Like his colleague RLP, Dimitri proposes a trailblazing selection, blending together French news and the odd new sound from the States. At the turn of the nineties, when europop wants in at the club, only these influencers master the dance side of things. There’s RLP, Bibi Fricotin, Dom T… And Dimitri, who becomes the assigned variété remixer, adapting dozens of songs that were never meant to make it into a club. The general tendency however is less to official remixes than to bootlegs: a “pirate”, unauthorised and often private remix – just like Jacques Dutronc’s Opium, stretched out into a nearly 7-minute-long mix. The nineties also set the stage for the first TV stars, the ones who become famous without anyone really knowing why. Take, say, Jordy, four years old. The kid, in his diapers, sings along a New York style, house piano production and somehow makes it to the top 50’s number 1. For years, Jordy plays out the role of the child star and demonstrates that dance music is a perfectly profitable affair: it fuels the radios turned juggernauts, and lands on TV, seeping through music programs… In 1989, Vincent Lagaf (a famous french TV host) dives in with Bo Le Lavabo. The pitch is simple: the TV host adapts a track well known overseas, Lil Louis’ French Kiss (without any direct reference), simply adding lyrics taken from a sketch. He’s rather clear on his intentions (“Well, that’s just how you make it to the top 50”) and has no mercy for a musical genre he clearly understands nothing about (“See? Easy.”). Single night stars The club is a democratic place where anyone can be a star for a night (a nineties remix of Andy Warhol’s famous saying, meaning to imply: never has fame been so near, yet so far). The ghost of stardom haunts all of these forgotten tracks… This is particularly true in the case of Techno 90, Fred Rister’s first band. The DJ hailing from Northern France takes part in the short-lived though seminal Maxximum radio and mixes everywhere on both sides of the Belgian border, quickly becoming a local celebrity. At the turn of the century, he starts collaborating with David Guetta – another DJ, slightly better known than Rister and a rising star of the Parisian club scene. Together they eventually co-sign a few global hits: Love Is Gone, When Love Takes Over, I Gotta Feeling. This tale is the story of French variété’s unforeseen encounter with the avant-garde, of DJs who rose to the status of pop stars and others who descended deep into the rave party scene. It’s all of these oddities our compilation seeks to recount, like a wacky TV show featuring anonymous stars, forgotten ghosts of a decade bygone (Jacques Dutronc, Jean-Francois Maurice) or yet to come (David Guetta), inspired though unlucky blokes plus a girl band. And somewhere in the shambles, the tracklist of our compilation, the B-side of dance music’s official story – what could have been France’s alternative hit machine.

Long time Leng recording artists 40 Thieves are back with one of their most notable singles to date – a surprise collaboration with two NYC disco originals, storied vocalist Cinnamon Jones and multiinstrumentalist/producer Gary Davis. San Francisco outfit 40 Thieves has been serving up cosmic, dubbed-out and otherworldly contemporary disco treats since the mid 2000s, and have been part of the Leng family since 2011. The crew, headed up by Layne Fox, Jay Williams and Corey Black, have released countless killer cuts on the label, as well as an expansive debut album, 2014’s The Sky Is Yours. They’ve worked with other artists before, but nobody at the same legendary level as Cinnamon Jones and Gary Davis. The latter cut his teeth as a musician working with iconic disco producers Patrick Adams and Peter Brown at their P&P Records stable, before becoming a producer and artist in his own right writing and arranging the disco classic ‘Got To Get Your Love’ performed by Clyde Alexander & Sanction. Jones, meanwhile, has enjoyed a hugely successful career both in her native New York (as Joyce Jones, an original member of First Choice) and on the West Coast, where she not only became an in-demand performer, but also snagged a role in the Supremes biopic Dream Girls. ‘The Gift’ is one of Jones’ most cherished solo songs – a joyful celebration of a new day dawning that has long been popular in her live sets. With input and instrumentation from Davis and a fantastic delivery of her own lyrics by Jones, 40 Thieves has successfully re-framed the track as a sunrise-ready future Bay Area free party favourite; a dubbed-out, suitably cosmic creation that’s presented in three potent versions. Leading the charge, and stretched across side A of the vinyl version is the band’s ’Disco Mix’ which boasts a fully realised instrumental arrangement and extensive use of passages from Jones’ vocals. Not all the lyrics are present as the Bay Area band has chosen to focus on selected lines that most neatly fit their musical vision and celebrate the joys of dancing at sunrise. There are more spaced-out keyboard solos, sharper guitars (smothered in effects in true 40 Thieves fashion) and sound design that’s as immersive as it is heady and intoxicated. On the flip is the ‘Disco Dub’. A bona-fide dub disco chugger rich in relentless synth-bass, addictive guitar licks, echo-laden vocal snippets, sparkling nu-disco electronics, tactile, deep house style electric piano stabs and cosmic effects aplenty, it’s a track tailor-made for slowly shuffling while the sun peeps over the horizon. To complete an inspired package, 40 Thieves have also included a killer DJ tool: a ‘Beats’ take that wraps energy packed percussion hits, trippy electronic noises, trailing dub delays and sparse melodies around a metronomic drum machine beat. It’s a wavy, groovy and pleasingly mind-altering way to conclude one of 40 Thieves’ most magical EPs to date

Infinity is the new release by Melbourne-based Leo James, and the second Patience production. Leo scratches a longstanding itch and delivers two sidelong excursions that inhabit a similar sonic space but spin off in opposite directions on the continuum.
Desert Nightflower hums with vitality in a seemingly lifeless landscape. Impressionistically tracing the lifecycle of a flower’s bloom in the desert night – from the searing afternoon sun through dusk’s chill, the midnight blossoming and symbiotic relationship with travelling bats, through the blue hour comedown to first light – Leo employs vibrant, buzzing electronics, plaintive strings and levitating clarinet to illustrate beauty’s brief conquest of nature’s harshest environment, with vividly evocative and deftly moving results.
After Desert Nighflower floats completely off the grid, an ever-present kickdrum drives Infinity’s near 20-minute trip into timelessness. Sharing Side A’s subliminal synthesised hum and free-form clarinet, Infinity moves fast and firm down a dub techno dirt road towards the end of time. As elements drop in and out of the mix, Infinity builds momentum to a pulsing, cathartic peak of poignant piano, ethereal keys and lucid clarinet expressions.
As an avid nature enthusiast, spatial awareness looms large in Leo’s work. His solo releases on Berceuse Heroique, Neubau and his own label Body Language have been inspired incarnations of techno, EBM, industrial and wave.
Patience is a new outlet for exploring further beyond the break than usual. Inspired by the music perpetually on rotation at HQ – with E2-E4 representing the format’s high tide mark – each release will be one artist’s deep dive down one inspirational wormhole spread across two sides of vinyl, or two side-long sojourns making full use of a round 12” piece of plastic. Set and forget, zone out to tune in.
Releases will be available via the regular digital platforms.

Stareaway is Markus Guentner (Kompakt, A Strangely Isolated Place) and Heiko Badje (La Grande Illusion) carefully combining ambient soundscapes, shoegazy guitars, melancholic Pop melodies and these amazing bodiless vocals to form a deep, subtle and somehow hard to define kind of enchanted music. Their 2013 album No Life In This Ghost Town (mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri) is now re-released (via Couldn’t Care More); seven wonderful tracks, caressing and thoughtful, yet touched by a certain darkness that makes you shiver. Brilliant works that need to be rediscovered. The album-rerelease is accompanied by a spectacular EP with remixes by Rafael Anton Iris-arri, Simon Scott (Slowdive), Thomas Fehlmann und David Westlake (ex-Sneaker Pimps).

Remastered reissue of Whitney's recording originally released on tape cassette in 1983.Produced and engineered by Walter Whitney from April 1982 to August 1983 at Subterranean Sound Studios, accompanied by Carl Weingarten and David Udell's guitar magic sounds.

Here after a long time the first EP release on Best Record containing new unreleased music. Afrodesia project born from a close collaboration between Periodica Records and Best Italy featuring Mystic Jungle & Whodamanny.
Afrodesia took inspiration from the italian afro-movement that lasted for few years during mid-eighties expecially from those songs produced at the legendary Les Folies Studios in Milan. Afrodesia sounds balearic boogie afro and cosmic with heavy use of original past synths and drum machines programmed and played by Dario Di Pace, Raffaele Arcella and real acoustic instruments thanks to the musicians : Giulio Neri
Tenor Saxophone and vocals), Andrea Farias
Guitar), Davide Di Sauro
Bass) and the late George Aghedo
Percussion).

Riot records return with the next installment of their Balearic Headspace compilation here we have a sampler featuring some of the biggest tracks.

Currently celebrating ten years of releasing music on vinyl & cassette and following hype for recent releases from Moscow (via Tallinn)’s Galun (glagol album) and Osaka's Kiji Suedo (Hosek EP & Riot album), Edinburgh's Hobbes Music label continues to mine a leftfield seam with this brand new album from singer/songwriter George Demure (Tirk, Output) aka DJ/producer George T (Greco Roman, Optimo), better known as George Thomson to his mum. And it’s another absolute peach if you have a taste for post-club sounds of a more leftfield persuasion.

This is the follow-up to his 'The Record Store' EP which came out via George's own All Noise imprint in 2021. He has also released the Roll On, King's Cross single via Hobbes Music under his George T moniker last November (plus various bits for the Paradise Palms and Ramrock labels in the interim).

“It all began with the Record Store EP in 2021,” explains George. “Limit my options. No samples, one drum machine, two analog synths (mono and poly), computer simply to record. I was so happy with the results I began with what you hear today. Same drums, same machines (or lack thereof) maybe some real percussion and melodica but hey, I only answer to me.”

Imagine, if you will, Scott Walker jamming with Kruder & Dorfmeister in a very small studio…

Bonus Album ‘Dandy In Dub’ features dubs, instrumentals and bonus tracks, with yet more regular flashes of pure brilliance. Be sure to check out opener 'After' and closer 'Blue Lou', which sound like George might well have sound-tracked some French 80s flick of the 'cinema du look' period (Betty Blue, Diva et al) in another life. Plus ‘Mr Minilogue’ with its clarinet-like synth.... Does it really get any better than this?!!

Sleeve art by the amazingly talented Bernie Reid, another local legend.

Top tier tackle from Heels & Souls Recordings for their fourth reissue as they let loose a much anticipated double header, Gold In The Shade’s 'Over You' backed with 'Shining Through'. Rough, tough, straight-from-the-heart ‘90s street soul, coming courtesy of TSR bossman Robert Roper and the Gold In The Shade ladies Arletta Davis and Sonia Johnson. One of the most sought-after cuts of this scene, it encompasses much of what made street soul special - heavy bass, gritty breaks, emotive chords and off-kilter vocals, marrying together to form a snapshot of a raw DIY scene with optimism at its heart.

The trio’s first single from 1990, ‘Shining Through’ is a no nonsense, bassbin-rattling love song from the underground, seeing long-term friends Sonia and Arletta pulling on the heartstrings from the mic as Robert works his magic behind the studio controls.

Lovingly remastered from the DAT by Cicely Balston, if only ‘Over You’ had been so easy. Two years of endless searching for the tape and subsequently a clean copy of the record, Heels & Souls even went to the lengths of having the multitracks restored so that Robert could attempt to recreate the original mixdown in the studio – but the magic of ‘91, unfortunately, can’t simply be conjured at the drop of a hi-hat.

After all but losing hope, Sean P (by way of Backatcha’s Aiden Leacy), came to the rescue with a mint condition copy of the record that he had from running in the same circles as Robert and Duval back in the day, ripping and restoring it with a precision he’s rightly famed for. And so (finally!) here it is: distorted samples, low-fi hits, speaker rumbling bassweight and all. Raw to the core, but that’s the point – pure, unbridled emotion from the depths of North West London.

Fully licensed from Robert Roper, 20% of profits from Heels & Souls Recordings and Prime Direct Distribution will be donated to Lives Not Knives, a youth-led London-based charity, working to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence and school exclusions.

Parisian label Chuwanaga proudly presents the first opus of its new 12inch series, starting with the brand new EP of Koji Ono: Ricochet / Maloja Pass. Recorded during a short week-end in Paris, it is the result of a true collaboration by a team of musicians who wanted to bring a modern twist to a classic and timeless sound, staying true to the original late seventies/early eigthies dance music spirit and the passion of Chuwanaga for the original Britfunk. On bass, you’ll hear Lester Batchelor aka LB from Atmosfear, the legendary British JazzFunk band best known for their En Transe LP and the classic track « Dancing In Outerspace ». Killing it on the drums, Roy Mistry is their 2020 official drummer. Recording together in Studio Delta, with Koji playing almost all the other instruments, from keys to guitars to percussions, they all had a blast collaborating on these two new tracks. Add a blazing Rhodes solo by Jean-Michel Bernard on « Maloja Pass », some precious magic from producers Seiji Ono & Saint-James, a great dose of savoir-faire by sound engineer David Cukier aka Greita (Disques Flegon)… And you end up with two killer tunes ready to blast their way through your speakers. On both tracks, you’ll immediately recognize Koji Ono’s touch – as found on his previous Incognito EP : simple but uplifting melodies on synthetizers, sparkling guitars and a certain playfulness in the arrangements. On side A, « Ricochet » sounds like an irresistible mid-tempo boogie banger. On B side, the uptempo « Maloja Pass » is faster paced and bursts with energy, giving the listener an irresistible urge to travel endlessly through the night.

Irisarri, Westlake, Fehlmann & Scott Remixes. Back in 2011 Markus Guentner and Heiko Badje formed Stareaway to follow their vision of creating both enchanting and haunting music from melodies and drones. Combining Guentners complex Wall of Electronic Sound and Badjes ethereal androgyn voice and multifaceted guitar play, they indeed produced some epic works between Ambient, Pop and Shoegaze, strangely shimmering and profoundly mysterious. Now Stareaways fantastic (and back then maybe a little overlooked) album No Life In This Ghost Town sees its rerelease and is, for celebrational purposes, accompanied by this EP of four stunning remixes by stunning artists Rafael Anton Irisarri (who also did the mastering), Simon Scott (Slowdive), Thomas Fehlmann and David Westlake (ex Sneaker Pimps). Rafael Anton Irisarris magical take on O Suomi sparkles bright, still with melancholia always present. David Westlake emphasizes the Pop-aspect of Appointments, adding lush synth melodies and light-filled grooves while Thomas Fehlmann lets All Over You spiral into Popambients most majestic heights. Finally Simon Scott builds a Kathedrale aus Klang on Dreams May Never. Amazing remixes of amazing originals.

With the success of The Vendetta Suite’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Kempe Stone Portal’ - Hell Yeah Recordings proudly present the remixes, featuring long-time friends and collaborators David Holmes and Timmy Stewart. The 90s in Belfast spawned friendships and connections made across the barricades; a time credited with some of the most important and significant cultural moments in the history of the city. Club-nights including the Art college, regularly played by David Holmes and Iain McCready helped to spawn a new generation of musicians and DJs looking to make their mark; Including both Gary Irwin (The Vendetta Suite) & Timmy Stewart.

The Venetians were formed in late 1982 as a studio concept band after Rik Swinn (lead vocalist) arrived in Sydney with master tapes of tracks he recorded in England with engineer / producer Vic Coopersmith-Heaven (Cat Stevens, The Rolling Stones, The Vapours, The Jam). He read a newspaper advert placed by two musicians looking for a lead singer.
Within weeks Swinn formed a touring band and enlisted David Skeet on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals; and Peter Watson (ex-Scandal, Extractors) on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals. Drummer Tim Powles (ex-Ward 13) joined next and keyboardist Matthew Hughes (ex-Gotham City) completed the line up of the Venetians. They released their first single, "Sound on Sound", in April 1983 - original copies of which go for upwards of £150 on Discogs.
This 12" includes the original plus remixes by Andrew Weatherall & Zatua (Music from Memory).

The runic inscriptions of the ARP 2600's circuit boards foretold the coming of "three explorers" who will reveal the ancient truths that lie within the pulsations of its ever-shifting squarewaves. The result of weeks of intense exploratory sessions in an NYC celestial echo chamber, this record documents the efforts of Tim Wheeler, David Kitt, and Conor Creaney to fathom and harness the sounds emitted by the ARP, Minimoog, CS60, and Jupiter 4 in a strictly live fashion. No overdubs or editing took place, just the sound that filled the room as the jams emerged. The results are two extended, hypnotic synth odysseys that unfurl organically as their melodic layers reveal themselves over time.
Side A 'Locked In' opens with tranquil, sparkling synth chimes that give way to a pulsating (but largely beatless) Krautrock-meets-dub groove, anchored by an insistent bassline and interlocking layers of synth lines that unfurl over its 15 minutes. Side B ‘Locked Out’ takes us to the outer reaches of the cosmos with its quavering, otherworldly arpeggios and tempestuous asteroidal outbursts.

Hell Yeah's next vinyl EP is a first solo release since 2012 from The Vendetta Suite aka Belfast's Gary Irwin. It features six tracks all handpicked by label boss Marco from vast unreleased vaults that have already been played by David Holmes and Andrew Weatherall, and it comes with a great backstory.
Marco's first ever E was at a UK club in Wandsworth in 1995. Joey Beltram was supposed to be on but missed his flight, so instead David Holmes played an extended set. It won Marco over instantly and since then he has been an avid fan, in awe of Holme's game changing Essential Mix and snapping up all the releases on his 13amp label, including one by The Vendetta Suite, who was in house engineer at David Holmes' Exploding Plastic Inevitable studio.
Other tracks from the artist including cult b-side 'Hula Bop' became classic staples in Marco's sets as Balearic Gabba Soundsystem and so he recently reached out to the Newtownards man and told him all this via Soundcloud. After chatting, Irwin invited Marco to pick some tracks from his vaults and they are now presented here for the first time with the amazing artwork by Andrea Amaducci that combines the producer's sense of humour and the esoteric.?
Opener 'Sirius' sets a lush tone with its wash of rippling chords and soft rock grooves carry you off into a sunset. From there the charming spring time sounds of 'Tacos For Zowie' mix bumpy drums with guitar riffs, whistles and cosmic synths, and Just Like Joe is a flower power spy movie theme tune that races along with orchestral elegance.
‘Shut Up Ya Dub' slows things down with wobbly bass, tons of reverb and acid twitches and 'Eye In The Triangle' is an exquisite dub cut full of studio trickery and sci-fi feelings that Scientist would be proud of. Closer 'Colin Wilson Said' is a widescreen ambient cut with spread synths, distant arpeggios and an intergalactic feel that leaves you drifting in outer space.
This is a cinematic EP that draws on myriad musical styles and showcases Irwin's peerless studio skills.

Mr Bongo is proud to present three unique reworks of Kit Sebastian. Each of the producers featured in this package created their own interpretation of the 'lo-fi-hi-fi’ originals and have taken the duo’s sound into bold new directions. When it came to choosing who should remix Kit Sebastian, Natureboy Flako (Flako / Dario Rojo Guerra) was a producer at the top of our list. Keeping true to the original, whilst leaving his own stamp on the track, his mix adds break-beat drums and middle-Eastern guitar riffs that transform the track into a more cinematic piece. It sounds to us like the music from an exotica dive-bar scene in a David Lynch film - which of course, is a very good thing.
Producer and DJ Baris K, who was behind the awesome 'İstanbul 70' series (re-edits of classic Turkish gems), takes ‘Durma’ in a very different direction. Totally reconstructing the track, his remix has flipped the original and totally run wild. The results are an epic left-field electronic workout. By bringing the spoken-word vocals to the forefront and giving the track a darker industrial vibe, it wouldn't sound out of place bouncing around the walls of a Berlin basement club at 5am on a Sunday morning. The pairing of Kit Sebastian and Halal Cool J grew after DJing together at the alternative Great Escape party at the Mr Bongo HQ in May 2019. They share a love for dusty old psychedelic Turkish records. Halal Cool J (aka Aly Jamal / Don Leisure) has released records on First World and is a co-member of Darkhouse Family with Earl Jeffers. For his interpretation he has delivered a mix-tape-collage with a hip-hop aesthetic, and rather than focusing on remixing a specific song, he has cut and paste his favourite elements of tracks taken off the band’s 'Mantra Moderne’ album. Available in 2 limited-edition, hand-numbered sleeve designs.

Love Not Sex is the second Stubb 12" from Paper Recordings' Ben Davis. The original is a melancholic slice of sunshine that draws inspiration from MOR and blue-eyed soul with a hefty dose of Balearica. Acoustic guitars, Rhodes, live drums and strings plus Crazy P's Tim Davis on bass provide the perfect cinematic backdrop for the plaintive vocals of Huw Costin (Torn Sail) and Rachel Foster. Japanese edit hero Mori Ra delivers his first ever remix and its a doozy. Keeping the bones of the original track, he takes it in to dark psychedelic waters with the help of former_airline's tripped out guitar. A spoken vocal tips it in to full balearic wonkiness that will have the likes of DJ Harvey and Bjorn Torske getting hot under their disco beards. Bergen's Leca employs his trademark stripped back crisp production for a warm, dreamy remix. Steel guitar, clicks, whirrs and a Nordic playfulness make for a cosmic journey in to the Northern Lights. The 12's will be a limited run of 300, screen printed in West Yorkshire by The Egg Factory with artwork by artist Rachel Johns in a project that celebrates community and collectivism.