Search "dave+aju+heirlooms" 117 Items

The E.A.R. debut project, Mesmerised, is a total collage of drones, tones, and endless atmospheric washes that becomes a logical extension of earlier works into realms of psychedelic haze. This mysterious and beautiful sound is a complete exploration into 90's post/space rock. Only released on vinyl once in 1994, this RSD 2023 release has been created to exactly replicate the Space Age Recordings release from 2009. Transparent red vinyl, inside a clear acetate bag with concentric circles and the EAR logo printed direct to it (plus barcode, track list etc).

Close to VG+

This is the 2nd album by Har Mar Superstar. It was originally released on Record Collection/Warner Bros in 2002. The album features collaborations with Beth Ditto, Eric Olsen, Howard Hamilton III, Dave Gatchell, Dirty Preston, Clark Baechle, Jacob Thiele, Tiny E, and many more. The lead-off single Power Lunch became something of an international indie hit, and Har Mar Superstar performed at festivals all over the world culminating in a four month residency at the legendary club Manumission in Ibiza. This was the last album where Sean Tillmann would pretend he was his own brother, Harold Martin Tillmann.

Neon City is the debut release by Erik K Skodvin & Otto A Totland's Deaf Center project, finally re-issued 18 years since its first appearance.

Listening to Neon City in 2022 is like taking a melancholy journey down rainy city streets of the early naughts, made by the then two young Norwegians in their mid 20ies after spending time together in a basement full of vintage items. Armed with young optimism and a sense of musical experimentation, they started sampling everything around them, be it an old television broadcaster, tape recorders, a game of table tennis or conversations on film and merging it with pianos, plucked guitar, strings and anything in-between. The record turned out as something unique in the fields bordering post classical and ambient music, though without landing on any set genre. The record was filling a place in music that was barely touched upon and made them further experiment with samples and classical music which landed them on the 2005's classic Pale Ravine.

Although Erik and Otto both had been making music solo before, Neon City was the start of their more focused future paths as purveyors of both light and darkness in music that seeps through your soul to battle the anxieties of the world. We're glad to see this important start again be available to new ears. The record comes with a remix of the opener track “Dial” by Helios aka Keith Keniff, taken from the same original.

Re-release for the first time on vinyl for this album originally from 2004 on Daft Records. “Behind The Sun” marked the return of Dirk Ivens after five years focused on other projects (The Klinik and Sonar). This time in collaboration with the Spanish musician Rafael M. Espinosa (Geistform) and with production skills of Eric van Wonterghem (Monolith, Insekt). All gained experience by Dirk shapes this album in a perfect way and the Dive-typical sobriety is not long in coming on every track with a sense of electronic menace, shown through a blaze of squeaks, hisses and subliminal aggressiveness. "Behind The Sun" is a first class work and Mr. Ivens once again confirms his exceptional position in the EBM-industrial scene.

Limited edition of 500 numbered copies on double orange vinyl record, gatefold and printed inner sleeves. Includes all original album tracks plus a bunch of extras taken from the “Frozen” EP recorded together with Diskonnekted, the complete “Lies In Your Eyes” EP and the rare song “Lost Horizon”.

with new & unreleased stuff from DDay One, CYNE, Seven Star, Mathematik, Jahbitat, Lackluster, Epstein, Mr Cooper, Antti Szurawitzki, Manuvers, 40 Winks, Pablie, Glen Porter, Xndl, Rumpistol, Deviant and Dave Ghetto ... limited edition, only 500 copies made!!

with new & unreleased stuff from DDay One, CYNE, Seven Star, Mathematik, Jahbitat, Lackluster, Epstein, Mr Cooper, Antti Szurawitzki, Manuvers, 40 Winks, Pablie, Glen Porter, Xndl, Rumpistol, Deviant and Dave Ghetto ... limited edition, only 500 copies made!!

Single sided vinyl.

Limited 10 year anniversary repress with black/white artwork. In May 2014, Icelandic producer Yagya released his fifth album, Sleepygirls, across three slabs of vinyl on Dutch label Delsin. It's a deep, spacious and dubbed out affair that stays locked at a pleasingly sedentary tempo throughout. Since 2002 Yagya has been crafting lush electronic albums and always manages to find pure bliss and beauty and his simple, nature inspired soundscapes. "I wanted to create an album that's atmospheric, repetitive, and easy to listen to over and over again," says the man himself. "Something that works well in the background (e.g. when concentrating on work), as well as up close in a big sound system. I also wanted to learn how to make my music sound better than before, since I'm a huge sound-nerd, so that was a part of the goal for me personally." The album is a fine fusion of tropes from Yagya's earlier albums, features jazz instrumentalists that improvise beautiful melodies over monotonic, almost drone-like, techno beats and also uses live recordings of Japanese vocals, saxophone and guitar to counter the repetitiveness of the rhythms. Right from the rolling bliss of the opener, you're suspended in a womb like pillow of sound that is soft, warm and serenely beautiful. As tracks roll on, the pace stays the same but themes vary from upright and summery to more elongated and insular. This is natural, organic dub that is a delight and a pleasure to listen to. The vinyl versions of each track have been specially mixed with random LFOs, sonic quirks and unique fingerprints making them the subtly different to the CD version, but overall this is a brain soothing and mind melting album that can soundtrack lazy days, long summer afternoons and warm winter evenings in equal style.

DFA takes two artists who released different sorts of summer psychedelia in 2013 and pairs them with two fantastic new remixers / producers who have both done work for L.I.E.S.—Anthony Naples (whose personal obsession with Black Dice made him an obvious candidate for the job) and Bookworms (who Larry Gus watched play live at Output this year, mouth agape).

Naples takes “Bobby Strong” and ends up with what is essentially “Cone Toaster Pt. 2,” which is just what you wanted. Bookworms shreds “The Night Patrols” before building something dark and loud, sheets of sound layered on top of relentless sub sounds. A real surprise, this unique marriage of artists and remixers is limited to a hand-stamped and numbered edition of 500 blue-label copies with custom spine labels and download codes.

No more words to say… Stone Edge delivers 4 fantastic cuts, all on the edge of techno, house, dub and melancholy.

Known as the co-founder of Climax Golden Twins, Messenger Girl's Rrio and AFCGT, Robert Millis really delivers the goods here. The songwriting has depth, stinging clarity and vaporizing ambiguity. The LP features percussion by Dave Abramson (Diminished Men, Master Musicians Of Bukkake) and backing vocals by Alan Bishop (Alvarius B, Sun City Girls).

Original inner sleeve. With insert. PVC packaging with hype sticker.

The limited box (only 500 copies worldwide) includes five colored vinyl LP’s with over 35 exclusive tracks plus four additional digital bonus tracks (with digital download code), a bonus double CD version exclusively designed by Lorena Assisi, a T-shirt (only size L) and an exclusive documentary about the label – all in a specially designed box by Dave McKean.

Only 1 per customer!

A journey to the moon that began fifteen years ago now reaches another milestone – 15 years, one and a half decades, over 150 individual releases, many many artists, countless professional relationships but also friendships along the way. Many many stories and shared memories – not all of them good, not all of them bad either. While modern space age technology would make it possible to reach the moon’s surface a lot faster, for us it is not only about moving forward as quickly as possible, but also to turn around, look back and around ourselves and to reflect on everything that happened and is happening. This is why we have such a broad range of artists guesting on our latest compilation. Some that have been part of the voyage from its earliest stages, others that have been with us for major milestones along the way, and even more that might move ahead with us into new and unchartered musical regions.

Working with Dave McKean – a true legend, especially for anyone into comic illustrations – wraps up this whole trip in the sweetest way. Not only is it a big honour, but – in a way – it completes the circle, as Dave has been a major influence for the label’s artworks from its earliest beginnings already.

Luckily, we have not crashed into any lunar crater with our listeners. We want to thank you for making this long journey possible and we greatly look forward to celebrating this milestone with our partners, musical family and of course with you, our listeners.

Since our 10th anniversary the face of one of our founding members who passed away way too early graces our logo. This release is dedicated to her and commemorates the 11th anniversary of her death.

Featured on the compilation are such artists as Synkro, Rain Dog, Monsoonsiren, Tom Day, Robot Koch, Flako, 40 Winks, Long Arm, submerse, kidkanevil, 1000 Names, Tendts, Kafuka, Erik Luebs, My Panda Shall Fly, CYNE, Soosh, Nuage, Michał Lewicki, Jilk, Sieren, Olof Melander, KRTS, Deft, Barnaby Carter, Rumpistol, Fau, Button Eyes, Deceptikon, Pavel Dovgal, Memotone, Graciela Maria, Mujuice, Stompy’s Playground, Sina., Sweatson Klank, Senoy, Parra for Cuva, Fybe One, and many more. Artwork by Dave McKean (Dark Horse Comics / DC Comics / Tundra).

Before Disco, and before the transcendent echoes, Arthur wanted to be a composer.

His journey began in 1972, leaving home in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Heading west to Northern California, Arthur studied Indian classical composition at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music followed by western orchestral music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, before ending two years later in New York at the Manhattan School of Music.

Traversing the popular and the serious, Arthur composed “Instrumentals” in 1974, inspired by the photography of his Buddhist teacher, Yuko Nonomura, as Arthur described, “I was awakened, or re-awakened to the bright-sound and magical qualities of the bubblegum and easy-listening currents in American popular music”.

Initially intended to be performed in one 48 hour cycle, “Instrumentals” was in fact only performed in excerpts a handful of times as a work in progress.

The legendary performances captured live in New York at The Kitchen (1975 and 1978) and Franklin St. Arts Center (1977) feature the cream of that eras downtown new music scene including Ernie Brooks, Rhys Chatham, Julius Eastman, Jon Gibson, Peter Gordon, Garrett List, Andy Paley, Bill Ruyle, Dave Van Tieghem, and Peter Zummo.

Pitchfork lauded “Instrumentals” Vol. 1 as a masterpiece and one of Arthur’s “greatest achievements”. Americana touching on Copeland, Ives, and maybe even Brian Wilson. “Instrumentals” Vol. 2 is a moving, deeply pastoral work performed by the CETA Orchestra and conducted by Julius Eastman.

Also included are two of Arthur’s most elusive compositions, Reach One, and Sketch For “Face Of Helen”. Recorded live in 1975 at Phill Niblock’s Experimental Intermedia Foundation, Reach One is a minimal, hypnotic ambient soundscape written and performed for two Fender Rhodes pianos. Sketch For “Face Of Helen” was inspired by Arthur’s work with friend and composer Arnold Dreyblatt, recorded with an electronic tone generator, keyboard and ambient recordings of a rumbling tugboat from the Hudson River.

For this remastered vinyl edition, a key part of Arthur’s musical life has been restored. The sparkling, multidimensional results take the listener closer to Arthur’s coast-to-coast journey: his iconoclastic determination to combine pop and art music; and his desire to make music that would resonate in the present and, ultimately, across time.

The remastered double LP comes with a 12-page booklet including liner notes by Tim Lawrence, Ernie Brooks and Arthur Russell.

We continue The Orb's Sin In Space remix EP series with a third volume focussing on the duo's latest full-length, the highly acclaimed COW / Chill Out, World! (KOMPAKT 354 CD 134). The spontaneous, organic vibe and sample artistry of the album is reflected in three distinct reworks from highly respected Kompakt mainstays The Field, Dave DK and Jörg Burger - all of them informed with surprising twists and displaying a clear lineage to the source material. The Field's remix of 9 Elms Over River Eno takes the original's percussive part and unfolds it to a swirling, tropical epic that alludes as much to The Orb's multifaceted sound collages as it does to the hypnotic, looping flow of The Field's own output. Meanwhile, DAVE DK turns in a club-friendly revamp of 4am Exhale with the fittingly titled Accellerator Mix, indulging in exquisitely lyrical glitches and the magic of the straight bassdrum. Jörg Burger takes a shot at the beatless 5th Dimensions with the excellent Dschungeloper Mix - its loose pop jam feeling and flirty shuffle rhythm recall Burger's lush lounge core efforts under his Triola monicker.

Gal (Juju) and Jordan (Jordash) return home to the Dekmantel stable for their fourth LP. It’s their most complete record to date. A series of purpose-written compositions, that highlight their maturity as musicians, and adept dexterity in the studio.

Without the pairing of Juju & Jordash, there would be no Dekmantel. The duo are an integral part of the label’s history, dating back to 2009 when they where they were the first act to release on the imprint. The two vagabonds can often be found performing live at various outdoor festivals and renowned clubs around the globe, jamming away behind a tabletop of buttons, knobs, synths, and drum machines - like a retro, control-station from Star Trek - albeit one that hums along with the jazz-centric, discordant house, and techno whirrings played by the musicians.

Nowadays Juju & Jordash have evolved far beyond their ’oddball house’ moniker. Their freestyle approach to performance, and immaculate refined sounds have became somewhat more defined, in a style that’s unique, yet elaborate, with a sense of otherworldliness, not only befit for the dancefloor, but otherwise transcendental moments. Following on from their previous LP, 2014’s Clean-Cut, a record of primal, forward thinking, variations from the studio, Sis-boom-bah is an album steeped in studio traditionalism, with a direction towards composition. “We wanted the focus of this album to be the music and not necessarily the process, so we made sure to perfect the performances before shifting the focus on to the production,” states Jordash about the record. Recorded over the space of a few, intense weeks, and built upon years of improvised live shows in front of thousands of listeners, Sis-boom-bah was written around grooves written by Juju on the guitar, and Jordash on the Rhodes. It was the first album the duo have written using such an approach, and solely produced and mixed by Jordash in Amsterdam over the course of a year, making it their most authentic record to date.

Sis-boom-bah’s diverse, spiritual nature is built around Juju & Jordash's use of polyrhythms. The percussive sequenced grooves, and rhythmic backbone was generated using the Yamaha DX7, along with the Roland TR606 drum machine. This approach to rhythm can be heard from the outset within the very first track ‘Herkie’, an ephemeral, yet tribal approach to minimalist funk. The spirituality flows throughout the record, where it sounds like the duo have brought along the nature with them from the foresty raves. In actually fact, the background noise comes courtesy of “noise generators from two separate synthesizers, each with its own filter slowly opening and closing so it kinda sounds like waves or wind.” There are also nods towards their acid influences, with some surefire slices of house music too. Sis-boom-bah is still very much a Juju & Jordash record, yet it's one with a greater depth, musically and stylistically. As electronic music albums go, you'll be hard pushed to find one more complete. "People should listen to this on a loud and clear sound-system," explains Jordash, "high on life, in their own special safe place."

DFA is proud to present the long-awaited debut EP by London's Marcus Marr, Familiar Five. Influenced by
classic soul, rock, disco, and acid house, the multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and producer makes spacy dance
music, often including percolating synths, funky bass guitar, and vocals. A regular at Berlin's famed
nightclub Berghain/Panorama Bar since 2014, the lifelong music obsessive's first encounters with dance
music were acid house records, which grew his vinyl collection of rock and soul, and attending all night
parties under Brixton's St Matthews Church. At last, Marr returns to DFA with a collection of elastic
bassline stompers, reminiscent of early Daft Punk. The title track Familiar Five originally began with a rock
riff, which he later repurposed as the backbone of a piece of slow, dark, dance music. Inspired by Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Faust, and Kafka's Metamorphosis, Marr explains that he wanted to make something
spooky and simple - a song utilizing very few elem ents, with a throb and synth vomit. On the flip side,
lead single High Times channels the electric guitar stylings of Nile Rodgers circa 1979, and makes good
use of the producer's trademark whizzing synths as well as vocals from collaborator Nandi Bhebe. Love
Release and Rocketship are both equally effective tracks built for the dancefloor.

At the beginning of 2015 I approached Victor Greetham at The Agile Rabbit Pizzeria about programming a series of concerts at his spot in Brixton Village, an open air marketplace in the heart of Brixton (London, UK).

The premise being that I would bring a selection of great, strictly one hour long concerts every Thursday night, some of which would be completely improvised free form music. These performances came to be named “Agile Experiments”, paying homage to Victor & his venue for allowing us to expose the market's passing trade audiences to something they may well have never had an opportunity to hear before or ever again for that matter.

We implemented two simple rules for the performances:
1. We wouldn't discuss or plan anything around what we were going to play.
2. We would play for an hour straight with no breaks.

After a year of concerts in the market place, I organised 8 one hour long recording sessions in a studio with 8 different combinations of musicians I had had the honor of performing with over this period and we applied the same rules as we did for the live performances in order to document these happenings.

Two further years down the line, after sitting on these recordings trying to find a way for them to be heard, I am extremely pleased to announce a sequential release of two limited edition vinyls featuring 12 extracts from these raw & unpredictable performances.

I hope that you will truly enjoy these minutes of off-the-cuff cooperative creativity.

In good faith and love for people and music,

Dave De Rose

Dixon gave his personal touch to LCD Soundsystem's 'I Used To' on the A side. B side features a previously digital only version of 'Pulse'.

Herbert Bodzin’s “Revival II” is the next exciting vinyl highlight on this young label. It features completely unreleased electronic music which was recorded between 1979 and 1982. Check!
On the album you can hear the sounds of legendary machines like the ARP 2600, the Korg PS-3300, the Roland System-700 Modular synthesizer, the PPG Waveterm and the PPG Wave 2.2 as well as classic synths like the Roland Jupiter-8, the Polymoog and the Prophet-5 – the same equipment used by big names of the German and international avantgarde electronics scene at that time. For example, the ambient “Red Ocean” was recorded entirely with the polyphonic Korg PS 3300, one of the most desired and biggest synths of all time. The project features Bernd Hollendiek, as well as Bodzin’s two sons, Stephan and Oliver Bodzin on additional synthesizers and partly on drums. The songs are a mixture of mostly ambient, deep, psychedelic, yet experimental and futuristic sounds as well as two more vibrant synth rock recordings with drumming.
We hope that this album will find its way to the hearts and collections of electronic music lovers – somewhere in between the classic albums of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Cluster or Eberhard Schoener. As a side note, the album may also show early musical influences of Stephan Bodzin, who became world famous in the 1990s as one of the leading techno producers. Without any doubt, “Revival II” should be an exciting lost masterpiece of German electronic music and a must have for synth music lovers – revived and finally alive!

Exploring rhythms and instruments from all over the world has always been a motive in the music of German producer Tobias Kleine aka Tofu Resistance. His full length debut following a 7“ release on the label YNFND shows him expanding, deepening and developing his passion and techniques in a fusion of various influences. Although sampling still plays a key role in his productions, kleine plays most of the instruments featured in the album, from Fender Rhodes inspired synthesisers to his Brasilian berimbau or the asian jaw drum. Originally a trained drummer, you can hear his focus on rhythm and percussion without losing sight of harmonies or intrumentation. 1//23 is a stunning debut with depths and edges that dive into colorful downbeats and shapes, often creating mystery yet solidity, as the album title promises.

Suzanne Doucet was born in Tuebingen, Germany where as a three year old, Doucet discovered her innate artistic gifts. Instinctively, she was always drawing, playing music, singing, and writing. By the age of 18, Suzanne was an established pop star in Germany with several #1 hits. She also made her mark as a composer, actress, TV moderator, director, engineer, and producer. At age 25. she took a sabbatical from the music business to go on a spiritual odyssey. In 1970 she released a triple album of field recordings and mind-expanding psychedelia under the name Zweistein. For the next ten years, she developed her own style of New Age music while exploring many areas of metaphysics and spiritual practices, including astrology, music therapy, tarot, yoga and the Kabbalah.

In 1979, Doucet launched a record label in West Germany named Isis, after the Egyptian goddess of feminine divinity. She formed the duo New Age with her musical partner Christian Bühner, and released the 1982 cassette album ‘Transformation’, which was inspired by a visit to Findhorn, Scottland. Suzanne and Christian recorded acoustic sounds such as waterdrops and vocals using sophisticated sound manipulation devices and muli-track recording techniques. The only electronic instruments used were the Jupiter 8 and the Roland TR-808 drum machine. The next year the duo began work on the follow-up ‘Transmission’, which released on cassette in 1983. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios and each album is housed in jackets using the original cassette artwork.

TV Victor was one of the first artists of Tresor Records where he became legendary with several of his ambient and trance productions including Trance Garden 1-3 and Trancecology Chapter 1. In 1989, he launched his first solo project: Moondance – The Magic Sound of the Moon, where he lay foundations for later explorations with experimental sounds fused with pop elements and anticipated an ambient excursion to be had in the future.
In the following decades TV Victor created impressive solo works that traversed between ambient and trance, he collaborated with artists like Moritz v. Oswald, Max Loderbauer, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Paul Browse and Tobias Freud. Contrary to common mainstream tendencies he created a very unique interpretation of both genres. In recent years Victor has concentrated on creating experimental and abstract sonic spaces for escaping reality, spaces that live through the imagination of the listener. Each piece, a segment of a larger musical movement; stands alone to create new sonic continuums. Otherworldy music that is in its own sphere.
30 years after the release of Moondance and 50 years after the first landing, Lullabies For Insomniacs revisit TV Victor’s musical roots with ‘Back To The Moon’. The previously unreleased works were carefully selected from his vaults and restored by Berlin based engineer Brett Olke (B Ashra), the album offers a glimpse into the future by creating a soundtrack for mankind’s settlement of beyond in a conceivable hereafter.

Montreal duo Essaie pas return to DFA with a 12-inch that picks up where their 2018 album New Path left off. "Earth" is a blistering ride through the rave, an amalgamation of techno and trance. The galloping bassline is the backbone of the song, and Marie Davidson's vocals climb to new heights against synth stabs. "Corps Étranger," with its stuttering percussion, is a slow burner in comparison. For the remix of "Earth," Marco Passarani of Tiger & Woods (Running Back, Numbers) doubles down on the Italo disco angle and doesn't shy away from the more anthemic moments of the original, managing to rework it into something akin to a celebration of this "shithole" we call Earth.

TXLAX is Dave Aju’s first album in five years, and we couldn’t be more pleased to present it. As always there is plenty of fresh genre-defying ideas in the music, but this time wrapped in a much more relaxed and focussed aesthetic - a fitting personal soundtrack for the homecom-ing theme of his move back to Los Angeles from Berlin, as the combined airport letters in the title suggest.

First collaborational album by Craig Tattersall aka The Humble Bee (The Boats, The Remote Viewer) & Thomas Meluch aka Benoît Pioulard (Orcas).

Limited Edition. Clear Vinyl.
Cover is dogeared.

Cover is dogeared.

Limited edition

Age's “The Orion Years” finally reissued to celebrate his 25th Anniversary/ Hybride Sentimento invites Thomas P. Heckmann with one of his most prolific project; An ode to 60’s German sci-fi TV Serie: “Raumpatrouille Orion". Deluxe Edition with new artwork + bonus tracks.

Lose yourself in the circuitry of the original 1965 Buchla 100 with NYZ (Dave Burraston) as he utilizes Barbara Hero's Lambdoma tuning theories to create two slow, deeply layered, subconscious, organic and meditative compositions.

David Burraston is an award winning artist/scientist working in the areas of technology and electronic music, operating Noyzelab as an independant art/science music studio since 1981. His experimental arts practice encompasses field recording, landscape-scale sound art, chaos/complexity, practice-based research, sound synthesis and electronic music. He performs, lectures, conducts workshops and creates art installations in Regional NSW and around the world. David also designs and builds sound synthesizers based on his theories of chaos/complexity science. He was recently interviewed by Bandcamp Daily and The Wire Magazine.

David has worked with many diverse collaborators such as Aphex Twin, Chris Watson, Doug Quin, Russell Haswell, Robin Fox, Oren Ambarchi, Sarah Last, Cat Hope, Garry Bradbury, William Barton, Alan Lamb, MIT Media Lab and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 2014 he independently published the legendary "SYROBONKERS!", the most technical and in-depth interview ever given by Aphex Twin.

Recorded at Center for Contemporary Music, Mills College, Oakland, CA, USA on 5th April 2015
Mixed and arranged at Noyzelab, NSW, Australia between July 2015 & Febuary 2016
Sound Source: Noyzelab 4 Voice Digital Microtonal Oscillator
Processing: Buchla 100 Modular Synthesizer

NYZ's split 12" with ELEH will be released at the same time as Millz Medz and both records are available in a first pressing of 500 copies.

Tiatoma' is a compound latinised spelling of 'τι άτομα' [ti = what? • atoma = atoms/people], a Greek expression which is colloquially used for multiple purposes to show one is impressed, unimpressed or even surprised by people's behaviour. Its interpretation is dependent on the tone with which it's delivered.

The sounds on this record were unravelled by three individual groups of conglomerate atom particles currently experiencing 'life' as a correlational passage of time and space in human format. All this within the limited boundaries of our understanding. These beings came together to experience, express and document sentiments and reactive happenings within real moments spent in the same space interacting through sound.

Saber Rider and Dimitris Foken first met Dave De Rose during Fengaros Music Village (Cyprus, 2014) where he was tutoring a workshop. Unpredictably these grown up youngsters would be there for him to share both friendship and musical exhilaration as Agile Experiments embarked on the making of 'Athens' (Jan/Feb 2019). Together this trio amassed enough outstanding material to feature not only on the Ddr012 release but also to present here another whole batch of extremely lit and unique sounds from the sessions in the Greek capital.

Rider and Foken, who'd already been making fantastic music of their own, were particularly impressive with their use of on-the-fly sampling into lo-fi vintage synths, loop mangling, drone ambience, space, tone, lyrical melodies and precious noise. We are extremely lucky to be able to feature their uncompromising original sound on this release.

We hope that you will truly enjoy these minutes of off-the-cuff cooperative creativity. In good faith and love for people and music, Agile Experiments

Craig Tattersall made quite a name for himself by offering a series of consistent releases on his own imprints Cotton Goods and Other Ideas. After more than 5 years of silence, he is finally back with 2 new full length albums: Daymark and Nightmark. Both albums are made around the same time and can be seen as complementary odes to these different and opposite parts of the day.

Craig Tattersall made quite a name for himself by offering a series of consistent releases on his own imprints Cotton Goods and Other Ideas. After more than 5 years of silence, he is finally back with 2 new full length albums: Daymark and Nightmark. Both albums are made around the same time and can be seen as complementary odes to these different and opposite parts of the day.

"DAVE SHARP called the Dagoretti Records office one day in September, 2016 asking if he could do a recording session in Nairobi. We naturally told him 'Yes!' not believing he might actually come. Through some twist of fate, Dave came into a handful of money and appeared unannounced in May of 2017. NDIO SASA were available without question. An SMS message was sent out to BOAZ JAGINGO (of KENGE KENGE ORUFU SYSTEM). A positive reply came immediately, time was booked at ADA and we were practicing the next day armed with nothing more than a few riffs and ideas. Dave is a well known professional bass player from Michigan with a heavy, distinctive sound with jazz, Indian, funk and metal influences. Boaz is among the best active musicians in Kenya, playing the orutu, a one stringed, violin like instrument from Western Kenya and singing in a traditional Luo style. KABOGE is an accomplished African percussionist who melds numerous percussion styles from East and West Africa. Alongside him is TOMO TSUKAHARA, percussionist from Japan who has lived in East Africa for nearly a decade. PETE LARSON plays the nyatiti, an eight stringed lyre like instrument from the Lake Victoria region of Kenya and the shamisen from Japan. Rounding out the sound is COLIN CROWLEY, a long time resident of Kenya who plays the American banjo in a Malian clawhammer style typical of the ngoni. This was a truly unique mix of people create a truly unique sound. The sessions for the album were nothing short of magical. Dave has brought in a few simple ideas and made almost no demands on what people played or didn't play. The songs you hear on this record arose organically from the unique combination of people who happened to be in the room on that particular day and would have been possible with no other group of musicians.

On his debut album producer and Squama co-founder Martin Brugger hovers through Ambient, (upbeat) Downbeat and unfulfilled build-ups. Conceptualized as a blank soundtrack, the music was sent to fellow artists who shared their visual and verbal associations which became the source for the artwork and tracktitles, effectively making the album a collective effort. Evident in all of his recent projects is Brugger's passion for working and thriving within closely set limits. The only audio sources in the process of making the album were his record player and a Dave Smith Prophet 08 synthesizer. In an antithesis to most sample-based music, Brugger takes the more ephemeral moments of recorded music and uses pitching tools as a magnifying glass to dive deeper into the sound and bare layers that normally remain unheard.

Electronic producer Intriguant with his 3rd album Spirits on vinyl as a limited release under record label from Singapore, TAV Records. When it comes to the relationship between electronic music and its interaction with Singapore, we always find the theme of longing connectivity through its panorama even within the many concrete walls and high-rises we have grown accustomed to living in. With Spirits, Intriguant takes the role of an observer and explores the landscapes of many different cultures and sounds that have taken habitat past and present. Driven by hauntingly futuristic break-beats of the 90s, shaped 808s, imagined club sounds of dancing folks, bass-heavy textures reminiscent of Burial, Spirits is both for the late-night vanguards and personal home listening rooms. Intriguant's third album encompasses his experiences as an artist most vividly, highlighting his ability to use the flexibility of electronic music to link floating ideas to the physical world. The Analog Vault is honoured to be working with Intriguant for our third release as TAV Records.

El Hal / The Feeling by Electric Jalaba

Share / Embed Wishlist supported by Thom D thumbnail David Wagstaff thumbnail dickbonham thumbnail kosmicanimal thumbnail Michael Anthony thumbnail Samuel Vonäsch thumbnail Sarapuaj thumbnail eddystone thumbnail albondiga thumbnail wfryco thumbnail Jason Boon thumbnail Dietmar Petschl thumbnail zrankfappa thumbnail npmarsden thumbnail calico jack thumbnail duncanamhp thumbnail Pedb thumbnail Daniel Patrick thumbnail mongeese thumbnail almo182 thumbnail silentlistener thumbnail Fulan 00:00 / 04:50 Digital Album Streaming + Download Pre-order of El Hal / The Feeling. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, Flac and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released. releases March 19, 2021 Pre-order Digital Album €11 EUR or more Send as Gift El Hal / The Feeling (lp) Record/Vinyl + Digital Album package image Includes digital pre-order of El Hal / The Feeling. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, Flac and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released. digital album releases March 19, 2021 item ships out within 3 days Pre-order Record/Vinyl €18 EUR Send as Gift El Hal / The Feeling (cd) Compact Disc (cd) + Digital Album package image Includes digital pre-order of El Hal / The Feeling. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, Flac and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released. digital album releases March 19, 2021 item ships out within 3 days Pre-order Compact Disc €12 EUR or more Send as Gift 1. Tora Tora 2. Cubaili Ba 03:50 3. Agia Hausa 4. Daimla 03:56 video 5. Fulan 04:50 6. Shabakru 7. Briando 8. Tugra 9. Hindewu 10. Lagmami about Electric Jalaba comprises six accomplished musicians with an empathy that feels telepathic and a groove that immerses. In Arabic, the mother tongue of Moroccan-born singer and guimbri player Simo Lagnawi, a leading practitioner of Gnawa music in Britain, they call this indefinable quality, “El Hal” – “The feeling”. “It’s the feeling that comes when we’re playing and totally forgetting where we are,” says producer and bassist Olly Keen. “The feeling of being grabbed by the music and lost in the groove.”

El Hal is the new third album from Electric Jalaba and their first release in five years. It’s a multi-faceted work that finds the band tighter than ever, deploying a vast cache of influences across nine tracks improvised and developed in their south London studio then deftly produced by Keen. Some tracks pay homage to the origins of Gnawa music, whose repertoire of Arabic-language praise songs contains remnants of West African dialects – Bambara from Mali, Fulani and Hausa from the Sahel region – that point to a centuries-old migration.

“The trance-inducing effect of Gnawa was what hit us first. It was visceral, heart stopping,” continues Olly, whose siblings – producer/keys player Henry Keen, guitarist/ multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Keen and singer/multi-instrumentalist Barnaby Keen – make up Electric Jalaba alongside revered Anglo-Italian kit drummer Dave De Rose and Simo on vocals, krakeb and guimbri. “Simo selected the chant from the traditional song suites and, as a band, we extended these short pieces of ceremonial music and experimented with sound and structure,” explains Olly.

Tracks include the funky single ‘Cubaili Ba’ featuring the disco-fied patterns of a Juno synth and the drumming of De Rose; ‘Agia Hausa’ is a multi-layered wig-out that partly takes its inspiration from Senegal’s fiercely percussive mbalax rhythms and ‘Daimla’ is a gloriously dubby ode to Allah and iconic maalems including the late Mahmoud Guinea. “There’s a very strong rhythmic element within the band but because of our different perspectives but the melodic components are really unique as well,” says Henry. That feeling of being outside of yourself but totally within yourself at the same time… That’s what all of us, collectively, are striving for.”

Dauw present the release of What the Fog, the second album of David Allred & Peter Broderick. The album is a follow-up of their first full-length LP Find the Ways, which was released through Erased Tapes in 2017. The music itself was originally composed as a soundtrack for an 11-hours slow motion journey in the Louvre museum in Paris. The title, #monalisa, can be interpreted as a new way of perceiving art through technology and social media.

Dauw welcomes Taylor Deupree to the label with his new record 'Mur'. With this release Dauw also introduces Jelle Martens, a Belgian graphic designer and painter, for the artwork of this release.

Deupree describes the album title “as if there’s always something about my music that’s like a murmur”, resulting in a murmuring effect when pronouncing the names of each track. Mur is a personal journey through the challenging year that 2020 has been. The fifth and last track on the album, Mar, contributes as a catharsis to this turbulent period in Deupree’s personal life, which is defined by the interaction between the loud sounds and the soft keys of the piano. As if the storm has died down and the waters have found their peace.

Taylor Deupree is an American musician and mastering engineer based just outside of New York. As a former member of the American electronic band Prototype 909, Deupree has had numerous collaborations with artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stephen Vitiello, Alva Noto and Marcus Fischer. Curating 12k, a New-York based music label, is another aspect of Deupree’s career and brought together over one hundred releases since its beginnings in 1997. Having some similar artists in our catalog (Federico Durand, Will Samson and Steinbüchel for example), it’s safe to say that Deupree’s new release through Dauw will be in good company.

New collaborative album from electronic duo The Grid (aka Richard Norris & Dave Ball) and King Crimson’s Robert Fripp Combining Fripp Soundscapes with synth, drums, programming and effects by The Grid

Jochem Peteri comes drifting back into earshot with some new Nwaq tackle in tow. Beyond the plentiful reissues of his timeless earlier works, Peteri is just as productive in the here and now. Now he’s minting a new label with three pieces that embellish the Nwaq soundworld with a fresh slant. ‘Above II’ is a crystal clear beam of light strapped to a kick that trips over itself with grace and poise. It’s forthright and yet wholly untethered, a pre-echo for the anchorless expanse of ‘Above I’, which buries some heavy bass ruminations very far down in the mix. That leaves it to ‘Dume’ to come staggering out all bleary-eyed, caked in last night’s distortion and yet still exuding a cracked beauty that stands up to the first light of dawn. The artwork which adorns this record is by environment sculpting internet artist Jan-Robert Leegte. Nwaq has always stood for a kind of environmental immersion, and this new emission compounds that idea in three distinct, refreshing ways.

Wildly unexpected and crushingly good turn of drone metal from Tape Loop Orchestra’s Andrew Hargreaves and collaborator ‘Metal’ Dave Rothary, with artwork by illustrator of the grim, John Powell-Jones. Narayan commit a pair of monstrous tracks years in the making and left to marinate in the vault until the stars aligned. With lockdown finally bringing the world to its knees and their pace, the time has finally come for ‘Narayan’ to seep out; presenting one side of claw-handed, shuddering riffs, backed with an extreme take on Schoenberg’s 12-tone system applied to drone metal, with results clearly worthy of comparison to Sunn 0))), Earth, and Phill Niblock. Ostensibly not what one might be lead to expect from TLO when judging from previous outings, the two projects do share a core interest in the enduring mystery and metaphysics of drone overtones, which is here explored to more radical, tangibly physical lengths. Fusing pure sine tones, tape loops and charred guitar, they really revel in the earth shuddering downstrokes and decaying roil of their phantom overtones on ‘Bildung’ with uncompromising might, while the introduction of each tone at minute intervals in ’12 Tone Drone’ is stealthier in effect, appearing to circle rather than climb a craggy mountain of staggering black metal riffage.

Taavi Suisalu is an Estonian media artist particularly interested into complex and adventurous sounds, field recordings and harsh audio emergencies, organized under the form of symphony or as a result of performative interactions. “Noisephony of Lawn Mowers" is a score for lawnmowers, whose making is given to a conductor and executed by a group of artists.

Brittle tape-fluxed music box lullabies from art mystics Matt Krefting and Rick Myers, assembled and released via Andy Votel & Sean Canty’s Pre-Cert Home Entertainment label and sounding something like Colleen’s array of music boxes let loose at the GRM basement. Myers (former member of MancRap unit Violators of the English Language with Andy Votel, and whose artwork adorned classic ‘90s release by everyone from Lamb to Doves and Badly Drawn Boy), and Krefting (veteran of idiosyncratic tape miniatures and improv oddness for labels like Penultimate Press, Graham Lambkin’s Kye, Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! and cult Vancouver imprint Ascetic House) produce something much greater than the sum of its parts here, using a antique hand cranked Reginaphone - an archaic machine that plays both music box discs and 78s - to transport us into a crumbling, cassette dubbed wonderland. The pair explore the various anachronisms of the 100 year old family heirloom with results that are part sound art/sound poetry and part mechanical musical curio, delving into its cogs and wires with wonderfully time-out-of-joint effect springing fractured melodies and a drowsy oneiric ambience that gets under the skin.

Front Line Assembly Side-Project Noise Unit Returns With A Full Album Of Sinister Ebm Tracks!Front Line Assembly's Bill Leeb And Rhys Fulber Present Deviator, The First New Noise Unit Record In Over 15 Years. The Duo Continues Their Collaboration With Toronto-Based Artoffact Records And Will Release Deviator On Double Vinyl, Cd, And Digital Formats. The New Album Features Exclusive Artwork By Dave Mckean, And One Of The Tracks Is A Collaboration With Kmfdm / Pig Vocalist Raymond Watts.

100 copies limited edition 12" black vinyl. Printed artworks on labels, black inner sleeve with holes on both sides and 3mm outer sleeve decorated by sticker + A4 paper print about the project including track listing & personnel details.

This 7” attempts to represent a time when Ruth Goller, Dario Rossetti-Bonell and Dave De Rose would gather with the intention to create fresh music together, free of stylistic boundaries. Each one of us would bring our own compositions to Ruth's house in Walthamstow where we'd experiment and elaborate them together. You'll be sad to know many other recordings of this era were lost and now only exist in miserable mp3 format... sometimes things like these happen... what to do? Celebrate the surviving tracks with a lathe cut! In the later version of this group we invited our fantastic friend and collaborator Ed Begley to sing with us. We hope you enjoy!

Tafaa - Random activity of the work of art, escalates an extension of accepted (unproductive) concepts of art, nature and society' is a sound editing project led by Chloé Delarue, a visual artist based in Geneva (ch) in collaboration with Adeena Mey, a curator, art critic, managing editor of the magazine Afterall (Central St Martins, London, UK) and researcher/teacher at Ecal (Lausanne, ch).

Together, they gathered sound artists Jaeho Hwang, Lafidki of the Chinabot label and the performer-composer Seth Ayyaz in a desire to bring together horizons of thoughts with a singular tonality in resonance with the Tafaa* cycle. The release is a continuation of the deployment of Chloé Delarue's solo show - Tafaa - THE Century OF THE Snitch, which took place at the Villa du Parc - Contemporary art center in Annemasse (fr).

The four compositions resulting from this meeting are materialized in a hybrid compilation. Each of the tracks, affected by the aesthetic spectrum of Tafaa - THE Century OF THE Snitch, results from unique paths that each sound artist builds in their own works. This compilation released in the exhibition space and in its vinyl form, was infused under this particular atmosphere with the aura of sodium, as an echo of the previous opus Tafaa - Acid Rave. The title evokes territories in wasteland and multitude of theaters of an urbanity that has become tropical for one night.

For Chloé Delarue, the environment produced under Tafaa - THE Century OF THE Snitch and its aesthetic feeling is linked with the dissemination of these four tracks. As she says, it becomes “like the deep trance of a noise invisible to oneself but that we perceive thanks to the questioning of its own imperception, the work no longer looks at itself, it injects itself.”

Moult and Dystopia by Jaeho Hwang, Pandæmonium Cctv by Lafidki in collaboration with Ayankoko and Pisitakun (from Chinabot) and Apophenic studies | stochastic iqaat by Seth Ayyaz thus bring out, through their sound characteristics, a powerful emotional expanse driven by their glimpse of the conceptual reconfigurations of a world increasingly accessible through its ersatz.

The vinyl title Tafaa - Random Activity (...) is borrowed from Gustav Metzger taken from an extract from his Manifesto On random activity in material / transforming works of art in July 30, 1964.

Chloé Delarue constitutes what she calls environments under the influence of the Tafaa perception system, an acronym for Toward A Fully Automated Appearance. Tafaa is a conceptual organ that she builds as a cognitive outgrowth allowing her access to the reasoning that feeds her work. It is under this name, indexed by a number or a subtitle, that each occurrence of her work has been presented since 2015. Thus, she probes the ambiguous relations that our society maintains with its multitudes of transfigurations, real or simulated, at the time of permanent interconnections and raises questions relating to changes in perceptions and cognitive transformations of our beings under the visible and invisible authority of cosmotechnics.

Limited Edition.
Record is close to VG+.

Ambient folk musician and experimental composer from Portland, Oregon David Allred returns to Belgium-based Dauw Label with a full length record, Driving Through the Aftermath of a Storm on a Clear Day. The underlying theme of this music is about exercising calm and learning to find it in the aftermath of all situations. These modern classical compositions are primarily centered around felt piano, strings, brass, tape, voices, synthesizers, guitars, percussion, etc. with methodical dynamic dub-inspired experimental arrangements throughout.

David Allred is a musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and sound engineer based in Portland, Oregon. While primarily working and touring internationally as a solo artist, David has also released music under various collaborative projects such as Allred & Broderick (with Peter Broderick) and Good Enough for Grandpa (with Greg Eldridge). David has additionally appeared on works by Heather Woods Broderick, Lubomyr Melnyk, Masayoshi Fujita, Chantal Acda, Brigid Mae Power, Birger Olsen, Jung Body, St. Tsunami, The Beacon Sound Choir, etc.

While previous albums, most notably Leland and Minutes of Sleep (2014) as well as two albums released as one half of the duo Aris Kindt (most notably the stellar Swann and Odette from 2017) have relied on singular thematic and narrative drives that were often of a personal, collaborative, or hermetic in nature, Thresholds is an album that aspires to sonic universality and the presentation of a fully formed psychoacoustical world. That being said it is not an “album of ideas”. Inspired by the ecological and political upheavals of the present and the role of speculative thought as an avenue of global transformation Thresholds is the work of a mature artist fully in control of his powers. Both expansive and nuanced the album widens the aperture of the affective possibilities of the electronic assemblage; themes skip from one track to the next, elevating and informing each other in tangible fields of abstract figuration. The titles, while often heady, concisely allude to strategies implicit in the construction and arrangement of the works: Cut Up, within the context of the album, is exactly that. Luck Takes a Step juxtaposes stately synths with just the right touch of playful fluctuation and latent atonality. The title track itself is a knotted mass of uncertainty and propulsive beats the breakdown of which is a nervous series of fits and starts that resonate not just within the track but as the fulcrum of the entire album: the threshold of our Threshold.

Three years after his debut album, »Loops & Pieces«, a documentation of sounds he has been working on in the period 2017-2020. According to Kolàr, this tape, also his first release for Dauw, was full of vaporous drafts transforming into solid forms with the help of time and distance. Compared to his previous work, the music on »Loops & Pieces« is much more stripped down and minimal, yet the dreamy character remained. On »Liquid Rhythm«, we see Kolàr combining approaches of both albums. Using synths and acoustic instruments, he created 10 songs reflecting his typical playful yet melancholic aesthetics.

Weird Dust launches his own label Private Stress, kicking it off with 4 rabbitholes as deep as they go. Home made music, home made artwork.

Key Sales Notes:

12-track compilation of two David Toop albums originally released via Virgin, Pink Noir (1996) and Spirit World (1997). The music is remastered and now released on vinyl for the first time.
Features many guest musicians: Max Eastley, Toshinori Kondo, Musa Kalamula, Jon Hassell and more.
Double LP housed in a gatefold sleeve, containing a reflective piece written by David Toop.

'My intention with this music was to create an alchemy of the studio, to bring together impossible sounds, global voices and stories, obscure ethnographic narratives, new and ancient technologies, human and non-human species...' - David Toop

We are proud to launch our new library series with an incredible 12-track selection of music from David Toop. By compiling our favourite pieces from the albums originally released on Virgin, Pink Noir (1996) and Spirit World (1997), we have distilled the essence of this fruitful period into a new form: Pink Spirit, Noir World.

Following the release of his debut solo album Screen Ceremonies (1995), David turned to a more expansive palate to record his next two LPs. Enlisting the help of a whole host of friends and collaborators who joined him in the Mark Angelo Studios, including the likes of Max Eastley, Toshinori Kondo, Musa Kalamula and Jon Hassell, the two albums share an unabashed openness to new sonic possibilities.

Few recordings convey such a spirit of optimism; from a time when creation could be as free, unconstrained and ambitious. These albums are remarkable in both their harnessing of new recording technologies, and their weaving together a melting-pot of genres and influences that traverse the globe across centuries of musical tradition into something distinctly novel. They also document an almost visual memory, conjuring images both vivid and dream-like. Phantoms flit in and out of focus throughout their musical dialogues - perhaps the very same ones which were haunting Toop throughout the 'wildly contradictory mixture of emotional harshness and ecstatic inspiration' he found his life to be at the time.

It's the first time this music has been available on vinyl and to it's new lease of life, all the tracks on this compilation have been remastered by sound designer/engineer Dave Hunt. This stunning compilation is housed in a gatefold sleeve and contains an exclusive piece written by David, reflecting on how he came to record these incredible songs.

The first of two fabulous new Polytechnic Youth full lengths released this May, is a wonderful -and long overdue- vinyl compilation of key UK electronic pioneers Land OF YRX’s work between 1982 and 1984. Released almost exclusively across a series of DIY produced cassette only releases, the bands’ output is now revered in that golden period of groundbreaking, home recorded 4 track experimental / minimal electronics releases, all of which are highly sought after and hugely influential on the swell of electronic musicians that followed at that point in the UK. The duo consists of Shrewsbury based Rob Andrews and Dave Gate (extended for live shows) and with their core discography being so utterly wonderful, honing in on a fair representation of their work with 20 minute-a-side time caps here, was no mean feat. So much of their greatest work featured across epic 15 minute plus jams- ideal for the cassette format, but trickier for wax. But we’ve got there; 7 beauties which highlight the bands’ love for experimental electronica, kosmische / krautrock and prog perfectly- all underpinned with Rob’s superb often Gottsching-esque guitar work. A superb band, totally worthy of further investigation- massively recommended to anyone into any of the above, or that core of early UK electronic underground / cassette scene of Colin Potter, Paul Nagle, Neural Circus as well as heavyweights like Conrad Schnitzler etc… The duo are still very much busy and working today, as “Why stop just because you’re having fun?” A wonderful and long overdue vinyl collection, available as a pressing of 300 this May.

Kübler-Ross is a minimal synth/wave/industrial three-piece from Glasgow, Scotland, featuring Craig Clark, Katie Shannon, and veteran electronic producer and remixer Dave Clark, best-known for his Sparky moniker, and as one-half of the production/remix team Optimo (Espacio). First emerging in 2015 with a couple of compilation appearances, Kübler-Ross released their debut, self-titled album in 2020. Originally released as a limited-edition cassette on the Glasgow label Akashic Records, the album — now resequenced and released on vinyl via Suction Records’ minimal synth sublabel Ice Machine — is a collection of tracks recorded over a three year period in a variety of studios, rehearsal rooms, and gigs, documenting the musical variety and ferocity of their incendiary live performances. The Akashic tape, despite being low-key, under-the-radar, and released in limited quantity, managed to earn them a Long List nomination for SAY (Scottish Album of the Year) for 2020. Standout cut “Bridges”, first released in 2015, is synthpop perfection — sitting comfortably alongside classics from the first wave of UK electronic classics by Thomas Leer and Robert Rental, John Foxx, and even early Depeche Mode. It’s not the only synthpop track on the record, but the album is dominated by a more tough, raw, and punk spirit, featuring aggressive female vocals, live drums + bass guitar, and judicious use of crude analog synthesizers and tape delay fx. Think Liaisons Dangereuses meets Suicide, and you’re beginning to get close

Ecological Plantron was a CD released in 1994, the audio document of an installation held that year at a gallery in Tokyo. The Plantron is a bioelectric interface developed by botanist Yuji Dogane; it was designed to give voice to plants, using electronic means to make audible the energy of the natural world, prioritising the non-human aspects of nature. Dogane was assisted in the project by composer Mamoru Fujieda, who helped to convert the vegetal energies into audible sounds. Though they stress that this is not music, the recordings that Dogane and Fujieda released are actually quite musical and not at all unpleasant in the way that some other non-musical sounds might seem. There is an attractive gentleness and an intelligent flow here, a vibrant energy, and one can sense that the plants are communicating, waiting for us to understand. This re-release features original and new notes in Japanese and English. The CD includes a bonus disc featuring unreleased recordings from two related installations from 1995 and 1997, a fascinating glimpse into the world of our leafy friends.

"First Flight" documents about 40 minutes of jams recorded during the third week of my September residency at Nublu last year, and, for me, this show was just about the most enjoyable hour of music I played all year.

The ideal of the residency was to mix things up with special guests, different band lineups, and varied set lists, keeping things fresh and new week-to-week, and this show was the wild card of the bunch.

That's because although Ryan and I have played together for years, and Dave and Spencer have played together for years, neither half of the band had ever met each other. I was tangentially aware of Dave and his music and was intrigued by what I'd heard, so I thought it was a cool idea when Chris Tart, the residency promoter, suggested a collaboration.

So, about 30 minutes after we'd all heard each others voices for the first time, we got up and played for a little over an hour, uninterrupted. The only thing discussed beforehand was that we shouldn't discuss anything beforehand - not a key or a riff to start with, nothing - so as to preserve maximum spontaneity.

I think this music demonstrates a real connection on stage. In other words, each player was completely present and actively listening on the bandstand. Listening back, there are moments I can hear Ryan saying - musically - "Hey, let's go over here! Check this out!," or Spencer being like "Wouldn't it be cool to go down this path?" And we followed. And it was cool.

In my mind, that listening thing is the number one most important factor in any collaboration or cooperative effort, but especially in improvised music.

And I think it's fair to say that a little more listening, a little more presence, would do the whole world some good right about now, don't you think?

-Chris Forsyth

Tofu Resistance returns with his new ep “Thorídur”, marking his 3rd release on Ynfnd after his full length debut “1//23“ in 2019.

This EP sits comfortably between both the world of beats and a more relaxed environment. Returning to his roots, Tofu Resistance aka Tobias Kleine remembers his early influences of sample based music and classy hip hop grooves.

The result is a sonorous sketch of deceleration, answering with bouncy rhythms to nod your head to. You can hear him playing the drums, guitars and various other instruments on this record. A beautiful blend of organic and electronic production, adding his unique Tofu flavor.

Serious Trouble label presents a mind bending record that brings together forward thinking jams from the early 80’s into present time with reworks of Tiffy L’Amours’ „Follow Me“ and „Film Musik“ from Die Gesunden. Both received an editorial treatment by Benedikt Frey, Menqui & Philipp Otterbach. With kind allowance by the original composers this 12“ marks the editorial spirit of Serious Trouble and waves tribute to moist cellar jams.

The A-Side „Follow Me“ Rework by Frey & Menqui is a wild extension of the original which gently adds a weird drummy cowbell intro before it introduces the chanting eccentric original. That got enhanced with an extra electronic bass recording and relooped cut & phrases emphasing you to hit the bell just one more time.

On the flip side „Film Musik“ Frey & Otterbach dived into the artists main motive and layerd it with a lyra, sh101 and external drums in an 8 hour session. It respectfully keeps the spirit of the playful original. In comparison to that though they managed to built a seamless endless „escheresque" staircase to mad mountain. An Immortal Acid exploration.

12“ 180 gr. heavy Vinyl, Limited to 300 copies. Artwork by Cid Hohner.

After having released solo albums on Western Vinyl and Preservation, »Domes« presents the first entirely instrumental work of the California based multi-instrumentalist Heather Woods Broderick. »Domes« is a collection of meditative pieces based around the cello. While not being her primary instrument, the cello holds a very special place for the artist. Throughout the past 2 years, Heather often felt the need to find moments of respite in response to the chaotic and turbulent times we all faced in that period. Her days started or ended with the cello. A single melody initiated a process in which new elements were gradually added to the initial loop until the sounds filled her up.

On ‘Upon This Fleeting Dream’ Clive Bell’s Twinkle3 embraces medieval and 16th century Japanese poems and haiku about death and saying farewell. Twinkle3, consisting of Dave Ross and Richard Scott besides Clive Bell, expand their sonic borders to unknown territory: bringing these pithy epigrams to a new Fourth World where electro-acoustic sounds glitches into an hypnagogic, if not unconscious level of fragile beauty.

The distinctive voice of David Sylvian, who reads the English version of the poems and created field recordings and the artwork for this album, blends in the most organic way with the shakuhachi,Thai reed flutes and mouth organs played by Clive Bell.

The narrative voices of David Sylvian and Kazuko Hohki’s (Frank Chickens, Kahondo Style…) velvet timbre are the cornerstones of this compelling journey while the tangling and abstract rhythms transcending from Dave Ross’ modular synths and Richard Scott’s sampler and analogue electronics, unravel and unfold a mesmerizing universe with unknown dimensions and frequencies of a fleeting dream.

Vinyl edition with printed inlay and extra insert

File under:
electronica, spoken word, fourth world, sound art,shakuhachi, dub,minimal,ambient, abstract and good music

Recommended if you like:
David Sylvian, Japanese poems, Jon Hassell, Pan Sonic, Laraaji, Brian Eno, electronic, organic and excellent music

Japanese free improvising duo MAI MAO. Consisting of Shizuo Uchida of Hasegawa-Shizuo, Albedo Gravitas, Archeus, Kito Muzukumi Rouber, Terror Shit, UH, etc. on bass, and Kyosuke Terada, of HUH (who have their own release due on An’archives soon), Terror Shit, Bay City Rolaz, Praymate, The Obey Unit, etc. on guitar, they’ve previously released two wild cassettes, Curvature Improvement Plan (Haang Niap, 2020) and Folk Dope Rally (2021), both documenting one-take improvisations from live gigs. Ricshari was recorded by Nobuki Nishiyama in January 2021, and is proof, if any was needed, that this duo is one of the most fiercely unique, out-there units currently extant – in Japan, or anywhere, for that matter.

The music of MAI MAO seems to proceed by opposites and juxtaposition, shifting from frantic, hectic runs of splattering note spray to moments of granular stasis, where Uchida and Terada coax their instruments into and out of deep wells of silence, or rest, temporarily, in a lagoon of fermenting fuzz. Spiralling kinetics are largely the order of the day, though – the opener, “Chew a flying flash prayer”, skitters here and there, guitar and bass jumping over one another in games of leapfrog and Twister, finding new ways to perplex and puzzle the listener, and perhaps each other in the process, Uchida and Terada fully committed to the short-circuiting spirit of the moment.

The energy here is hyperactive, but it also speaks of a curious and committed attention to improvisatory responsiveness, one that’s just as likely to fork off into different directions in a split second – it’s real edge-of-the-seat stuff, as though the hands are moving too fast for the mind to follow. That’s all the better, then, to let the gush of genuinely free-thinking, devoted duo improvisation to fly at its most playful and intelligent. File next to the likes of Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith and their TransMuseq companions, or the wickedly perplexing bass-synth/trombone duets of Dave Dove Paul Duo, and you’ve some idea of what’s going on here, provisionally at least, ‘cos this one’s an enthralling, yet welcoming, head-scratcher of the highest calibre