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Fronted by Ho - a hydrahead techno-punk-industrialist variously regarded as Broken English Club, Slow White
Fall, part of Zov Zov, and many others - and here joined on distorted bass guitar from Jamie Croydon; NO
DETAIL is a serious proposition for those who like their post-punk with less jangle and more concentrated
industrial bite. Their ‘Closed Exit’ tessellates very angularly with Downwards’ prevailing, formative, tastes for
this sound on all seven cuts, which could arguably have been made at any time between the fallout of UK punk
and post NYC no wave, and an everything-at-once present.
Manning drum programming, noise boxes and a mic with time-tested aptitude, Ho’s deadpan vox and
needling prompts alloy Croydon’s detuned bass gnarl with an in-the-pocket discipline. The balance of
melody veiled in venomous noise on ‘Input’ gets them into gear for the revving swagger of ‘You Could have
Been Better’, optimising the barest elements in a formula that carries them to the stop-start jugular lunge
of ‘Private’ and the cold saucy slug of a ‘Utility’ where we half expect John Lydon to enter stage left, and the
bruxist yoke of ‘Dead Lakes’ that bursts at the seams with white hot distortion. Their hot-stepper ‘Grey Poles’
is an ideal showstopper, itching tendons with pointillist drums and guitars upping the ante with a buzzsaw
grind to trigger limbs with too much snakebite, lactic acid and wizz in the blood.

white label copy is close to NM

Following the release of "Sacred Love" second album by Galathea, Massimo Napoli as he already did for the acclaimed "Samba De Sausalito" offers us 4 totally unreleased tracks released by Space Echo in a single 12” named "Ancestral EP". Mystical and hypnotic atmospheres for "Ancestral" and "Karimabao" an addictive alchemy between African rhythmic elements and contemporary pulsating electronic sounds, in a unique mix suitable for the most sophisticated dancefloor. Afrobeat groove for "Africa Carnival" which however captures the essence of the Brazilian spirit infused with sensitivity between jazz and funk masterfully performed by Mario Pappalardo on keyboards and not surprisingly reminds us of the famous "Jazz Carnival" by José Roberto Bertrami of Azymuth. Closing The EP is the track "Sacred Club" an invitation to dance and clapping for a more moderate dancefloor, offers us micro elements of sacredness and mysticism of the African continent. Enjoy!!!!!

Pink/White Marbled Vinyl.
Ships in a label sleeve.

Glenn Echo & Daniel Meinecke are back with their hotly anticipated follow-up of What Happened To Yesterday?! This one makes a hat trick on MotorCity Wine Recordings, and cranks up the heat in time for the summer.

Vol. 2 grabs from our favorite moments of both their debut "Partly Cloudy" and Vol. 1, perfectly synthesizing the heady and dubby with the cosmic dance flavors, while always eschewing a genre-box. As the opening invocation "World In My Head" says, "why should I repeat myself?", and the boys continue to push the envelope and find new boundaries. The A-side continues with muscular downtempo joints, with highlights including the Psychedelic Hip-Hop of “Explanation of The Funk” (feat. sultry trumpet from Dre King and cuts by DJ Stylus) and the Gogo-Afrobeat fusion of “Three-Season Crank” (featuring the brilliant Raja Kassis on guitar).

Over to the flip side, "Off The Rails" kicks it off with the most dance-floor oriented joint on the record. From there the album gets dubbier and more meditative, culminating with the blissed out "Black Bird Dub". It's the perfect come down after the earlier beatdown.

Glenn's multi-influenced production is as inspired as ever, while Mr. Meinecke continues to show us why he's earned his stripes as *the* seminal keyboard player in the scene. Whether it's drawing from 70's weed jazz, early 80's dancehall, 90's downtempo, or the most rippin' jazz fusion, Glenn Echo & Daniel Meinecke round out the "What Happened To Yesterday" series in fine singular style.

Housed in a beautiful matte finish picture sleeve with art from Michal Rafaj and pressed on deep translucent purple vinyl. TIP!

Stamped white label copy with insert.

Reel People Music breaks new ground, in more ways than one, with the launch of fresh compilation series Broken, Deep & Dope. A spin-off from acclaimed compilation brand Soulful, Deep & Dope – introduced back in 2015 – this new series sees the much-loved independent imprint pushing further at the boundaries of soulful music. All with that customary Reel People feeling.

Broken, Deep & Dope 2024, the series’ first instalment, unleashes 20 superlative examples of the soulful ‘bruk’ (broken beat), nu beat and nu jazz sound that has so innovatively informed contemporary dancefloors around the world since its inception back in late Nineties West London.

Bringing together classic cuts from the Reel People Music stable (including those by Daz-I-Kue, Monkey Brothers and Reel People) and key productions from some of its closest affiliates and biggest inspirations (such as Vikter Duplaix, Jazzanova, Bugz In The Attic, Kaidi Tatham, and Sean McCabe), this white-hot selection nips and tucks beautifully between stuttered Latin and Afro rhythms, deep house-edged jams and soaring flights of soul-jazz fancy.

Reel People Music is a label borne out of the soulful success of acclaimed collective Reel People but representing so much more. Launched in late 2009, the imprint has built a fiercely loyal international fanbase through its passion for artist development, musicianship, song-craft and authentic soulful groove.

Broken, Deep & Dope 2024, with its scattered yet compulsive beats, frisky basslines and acrobatic melodies, promises to further expand Reel People Music’s reputation for soulful depth and drama. Gathering old and new favourites from some of the world’s finest taste-making DJs and producers, this is another scorching, oh-soul essential hustle. End of.

One year after his surprising debut, Agosta, the Catania musician-non-musician and Space Echo Records return to the point with “Reworks and Remixes”. Which from the very title disengages itself from the industrial 'album+remix album' chain and on listening reveals itself to be a record capable of moving, in total autonomy from its antecedent, on three different levels of reading. For, at its base, we would say, there is a much more stimulating idea than the simple compulsion from alternative versions, b-sides and so on. Point 1, transfiguration. Because, contrary to the genre stereotype, the remix mode allows songs to express themselves in creative and experimental ways. Point 2, the Rorschach Test. Because, on those songs, there is the personality, that is, the result of the cross-vision with experience, of the individual producers being measured against itself. Point 3, the stage backdrop. That is, its ability to show a cross-section of the current electronic scene in Etna. Agosta wanted some of the pillars of Catania's black-minded electronic scene with him and, together with them, reinterpreted songs from his first album. The result is a work that is as multifaceted, in terms of the specific weight of the artistic individualities involved, as it is homogeneous, in their idea of a sound that is as physical as it is mental and, above all, in terms of a totally Mediterranean underlying taste with which every single track is imbued. Whether it is the pensive house of “Apple 65” or “Lady G” (Butterfly Agosta's Rework) as much as AN-AN's dub on “Varanni”, between Grace Jones and Adrian Sherwood, or Galathea's more psychedelic and twilight Trip-Hop on “Three Chestnuts”. The Shaft-esque swagger of Salvo Borrelli and Reverend James, the donwnbeat pop of “Cellars” by Go.Soul.Map. and the caress of “Hearing The Call” (Lady G In A Rainy Day Version) by The Invisible Session, in which spoken and what they once called nu jazz flirt. Don’t Miss It!!!!

Fate is a funny old thing. One day in 2011, DJ/producer Tom Trago found himself sharing a train journey with Steven Van Lummel, a DIY musician, artist and co-founder of PIP, an underground nightclub and cultural hub in The Hague. Over the course of a rambling, open-ended conversation, the idea of making music together came up; a few weeks later, Trago travelled to van Lummel’s place – a former industrial unit that was now home to a rotating cast of artists and musicians – and didn’t leave for a month.

Cossetted away from the outside world in van Lummel’s loft, with multi-instrumentalists Janneke Nijhuijs and Wieger Hoogendorp joining them to create a musical four-piece, Mega Wega was born. Over the course of four weeks, the quartet embarked on an almost continuous creative session punctuated only by impromptu parties and mixing sessions. Life-long bonds were made and over 70 tracks recorded before the mundanity of day-to-day life came calling.

For one reason or another, the project never saw the light of day, with tracks sat gathering dust on hard drives for the best part of a decade. During the madness and loneliness of the Covid-19 pandemic, Trago rediscovered the tracks. Delighted by what he heard, a collective decision was made to add finishing touches and release the resultant album on van Lummel’s PIP Records imprint. Further instruments and vocals were added over two days at Hoogendorp’s studio, before mutual friend Tom Ruig got on board to mix the album.

So, what can you expect from Haunted, Mega Wega’s debut album? First and foremost, it’s the sound of pure creative expression – the distillation of a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, spontaneous musical journey variously inspired by the do-it-yourself ethos of musical counterculture, shared inspirations and influences, epic jam sessions, distant stars (Wega, sometimes known as Fidis or ‘the harp star’, is one of the brightest in the night sky), imaginary journeys across dusty deserts, and the comradeship of four new friends.

Enchanting and alluring, it’s an album that gleefully denies lazy categorization and ploughs its own eclectic, atmospheric musical furrow in vivid sonic detail. It’s a collective exploration of heady musical eclecticism unified by saucer-eyed vocals, low-slung bass, loose-limbed beats, sweaty percussion workouts and hazy electric piano motifs.

Haunted begins with the woozy and hallucinatory slow-burn soundscape of ‘Get Things Done’ – an effects laden shuffle akin to lying flat on your back tripping under an intense desert sun – and ends with the creepy, mind-mangling post-punk funk of ‘Brain Carpaccio’; in between, you’ll find spaced-out, low-tempo lo-fi soul (‘Move Around’, ‘Haunted’), deep and off-kilter opioid jazz (‘Copenhagen’), intoxicating psychedelia (‘Last Night on Earth’), piano-laden dream-pop epics (‘Shake Or Fall’), and Latin-infused, percussion-powered hedonism (‘Chopping Heads’).

Born out of spontaneous collaboration and immersive, almost endless recording sessions, Haunted is an album shot through with imagination and boundless energy, captured for posterity by four friends and collaborators at the top of their game.

Yellow Jackets number 6 pushes things forward with two exceptional pieces by Byron The Aquarius and Deenamic. The modern jazz funk of the american keyboard wizard meets the relentless electronic futuristic programming of the elusive Deenamic! Like Yin and Yang meeting this release fuses the best of both worlds, keeping Yellow Jackets’ now notorious boundaries pushing edge on a phat loud vinyl, only 12’ inch!

Robert Matos returns to Ocha with an Afro-jazz house burner feat. the voice of Deep House legend RON Trent reminding us that House Music needs soul. Afro House phenom Carlos Mena drives the message home with his club worthy remix, while Coflo delivers signature percussive deepness with his remix. Tracklisting:

YUKU's fourth record in what's becoming a increasingly sought after vinyl-only series of anonymous white labels brings the mysterious Kliptown alias back for a solo release. Extremely fun and versatile 130-140 bpm broken beat weapons.

Eddie Piller & Dean Rudland present Acid Jazz (Not Jazz)

Back in the early 1990s as Acid Jazz began a period of extraordinary commercial success where acts like the Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai sold millions of records, and US groups such as A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots and Digable Planets were actively influenced by what was being played in London, the whole scene was being fuelled by a small number of clubs, led by Gilles Peterson’s Sunday afternoons at Dingwalls but taking in nights in Leeds, Bari, Munich, Tokyo, Stockholm and New York. In those clubs funky jazz, latin boogaloo and 70s soul soundracks competed for time on the dance floor with import records from New York, and the latest sounds coming out of bedrooms and makeshift basement studios that created contemporary sounds out of the past.

Acid Jazz’s Eddie Piller and Dean Rudland have put together this compilation of the sort of sounds that we were playing at the time. They are releases on Acid Jazz and other label’s that surrounded the scene and they were mainly made by people we knew from either around the club scene, behind the counters of our favourite record shops, or from trips to New York or Europe. They range from The Ballistic Brother anthem ‘Blacker’ to the jazz house of A-Zel - a Roger Sanchez mix that still sounds fresh today. We have the Humble Soul’s instrumental version of ‘Beads Things And Flowers’ which at the time was only available as a DJ special on Acetate. There is the presence of A Man Called Adam before they went to Ibiza, and the early Mo’ Wax (before they went Trip Hop) single by Marden Hill ‘Come On’.

These records could fill a dance floor in seconds and we feel that they are today largely forgotten, as they were non-album, underground club records. It’s time to celebrate them!

Afrotronic is the new album by legendary Dutch dance pioneer and producer Eddy de Clercq, inspired by African rhythms and atmospheres.

All songs on the Afrotronic album are influenced by music from Southern to North Africa. Largely recorded in South Africa, not only electronically but also with an instrumentation of typical African instruments played live, such as the mbira (kalimba) and traditional drums and percussion. Exotic instruments adding a fresh characteristic sound to the music, not programmed via any existing electronic soundbank.

The plaintive vocals of a muezzin on 'Ibrahim' and the melody of 'Topaz' are unmistakably North African. The funky dance track 'Miss Ghana (Afro Baby)' is sung by the Ghanaian singer Consular. Although not typically African in origin, the didgeridoo, perhaps the oldest wind instrument on earth, plays the leading role in the North African-inspired instrumental 'A Track Called Africa'.

Inspired by his travels through South Africa and his love for the African languages of that country, Eddy wrote texts that he had translated into Xhosa. 'Coral Reef' was the first song recorded with South African singers Yemu Matibe and Alungile Sixishe, supplemented with classical arrangements for cello and piano. The original English text describes the loss of coral reefs worldwide due to climate change.

Afrotronic has ultimately become an adventurous, electronic, jazzy album, in which influences can be heard from Afro-pop, Dub Step, Deep House and South African Amapiano.

Hand numbered, coming in a white flap envelope with info card inside. Description: Luke Beats – Nature Walk Prod & Mix by Luke Beats “Put down the phone, press play, then breathe”

Released for the first time in CD and Digital format in 2017 this is the sixth album by Luca Trevisi LTJ Xperience It contains some of his most played songs such as Get Down, Let There Be Groove, Put Me Down and the one that gives the title to the album Beggar Groove here in its two versions. The release is in a limited edition double album on White vinyl. Luca LTJ Trevisi (ltj Xperience) trained as a producer DJ in the late 1980s. Resident first at the Kinki Club in Bologna and then at Cap Creus in Imola, he is one of the first Italian DJs to program house and above all to re-propose Black Music, Jazz and Latin Bossa, all the genres that then over time gave way to Acid Jazz and Nu Jazz. He began his work as an artist and producer with Irma Records and in the 90s also his activity as an international DJ who saw him play at the Blue Note and the Jazz Café in London, at the Giant Steps in New York and at the Jazz Festival in Montreaux.

Roberto Agosta, or just Agosta as he likes to be called, is a Sicilian DJ and producer from Catania active all along the eastern coast of Sicily, a place that proved to be a soulful place and a training ground for a long career, making him an excellent music selector and a reference point in the spread of alternative music. A soundtrack music enthusiast since he was a child, now a vinyl "serial gathere", Agosta has always put his vast knowledge at the service of a very personal sound that sums many different music styles and contaminations, simple and profound but straightforward and direct at the same time. Agosta’s eponymous album, released on LP, CD and digital formats, was conceived during the Covid-19 lockdown, thanks to the precious collaboration of friend DJ and producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea, with whom Roberto has already started another project called An-an that will produce a new record for Space Echo at the end of 2022. This record highlights a typical chill-out aesthetic, thanks to its trip-hop and ambient rhythms and atmospheres, while a deeper exploration reveals the psychedelic essence of the entire work, a daring and exciting journey in the most primitive Sicily, and the energy that sustains all of its ten tracks. Much of their author and his lifestyle - mainly based on meditation, the search for spiritual elevation, the relationship with nature and the regaining of contact with those particular places and with the people who live there - is revealed by those tracks that constitute a soundtrack for this spiritual but also extremely physical journey. The song titles are, in fact, intrinsically linked to Roberto’s real life: the Gorna and Ilice mountains at the foot of Etna, the Carricante vineyard and its excellent wine, Unna, Three Chestnuts, Varanni, Don Alfio, Lady G. Each of them represents a pleasant and dreamlike narration and the escape from the complex dynamics of a city like Catania, among echoes of the most dreamy Pink Floyd, the softer side of ’70s krautrock, but also the Massive Attack and Tricky’s Bristol scene. There’s also an excellent choice of synthesizers and overdubbed guitars, thanks to the talent of the multifaceted musician and producer Salvo Bruno Dub, and of Manuela Amalfitano, Loredana Poidomani and Deran Obika’s voices. Agosta is an introspective, deep work with a cinematic vocation, perfectly rooted in the territory where it took shape, among sunny landscapes, lush with vegetation but also deserted and arid lands. From Sicily to the cosmos... enjoy!

Berlin-based composer and producer Isaac de Martin, aka IKE, blends jazz and electronic influences into warm, smooth and often cinematic soundscapes. His second concept album is a collection of songs and instrumental pieces that explore the theme of escape from our present techno-scientific society. The songs in the album feature American singer-songwriter Sera Kalo, whose soulful melodies, powerful vocals and heart-felt lyrics beautifully complement IKE's elegant nu jazz compositions

Life is Worth Living, officially a second LP from El Niño Andrés, comes 9 years after its debut LP "Más Dinero Más Problemas", but sound wise it's still walking on the borderline between house, jazz and soul. El Niño's usual combination of Rhodes and Moog improvisations on top of house and jazz-funk drum-lines is present on all album tracks, with live sax additions on "Come Closer" and "Mercy Mercy". Album is an uptempo affair, but as usual with Jackie Brown releases, not your straightforward 4x4 routine - poly-rhythms and percussion drive "Wasting Your Life" and "Soul", while "The Approach of Midnight" sounds like it could have been placed straight into a Tenet soundtrack LP.

D’Angelo lost his shit over it. Aaliyah’s 3rd favourite track of all time is on it. David Bowie rocked up with it to a TV interview, declaring it “the most exciting sound of contemporary soul music”. In 1996, Lewis Taylor released his self-titled masterpiece. A true modern classic, it’s an album that was years ahead of its time. Forget 25 years ago, it could easily have been made in 2021. An effortless blend of neo-soul, sophisticated pop, smart grooves and laid-back white funk, it enjoyed rapturous reviews from critics and music legends alike. But the album never managed to make an impact and given what was likely a token vinyl release at the time, the original records have long since been near-impossible to find. Lewis Taylor’s Lewis Taylor remains a holy relic for some and criminally unknown to most. Lewis Taylor’s impeccable influences created a dazzling sonic palette: the LP as a whole suggests the visionary brilliance of Prince; the vocal stylings evoke the yearning power of Marvin Gaye; the effortless guitar playing shares the virtuosity of Jimi Hendrix; the haunting tones conjure Tricky; the innovative production and engineering invite comparisons to studio mavericks like Todd Rundgren and Brian Eno; the multi-layered, complex harmonies flash on Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson; the dark, drama is reminiscent of both Scott Walker and Stevie Wonder; the complex arrangements create textures and moods with the feel of Shuggie Otis on Inspiration Information; the bold experimentation is akin to progressive artists like Faust and Tangerine Dream; the atmosphere is in conversation with Jeff Buckley’s Grace and we could go on.

Ltd Black Vinyl Gatefold edition + 32 Page Booklet + Download Code The LP contains original compositions by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Pascal Comelade, Laurie Spiegel, Lyra Pramuk, Chassol, Nicolas Godin and Pierre Rousseau, Pedro Vian and Pierre Bastien, Visible Cloaks, Kelman Duran, Raul Refree, Lucrecia Dalt, Lafawndah. + a booklet with writings by contemporary thinkers like Shumon Basar, François J. Bonnet, and pictures by, Araki, Juergen Teller, Elizaveta Porodina, Dani Pujalte, P Jack Davison, Zhong Lin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Adrià Cañameras, Javier Tles among others. Lacquer cut by Josh Bonati & Mastered by Rashad Becker ‘prsnt’ is a unique global artistic project combining the input of artists across the worlds of music, video and written word which acts as a statement on how we, as consumers, engage with music in the 21st century. Vital electronic musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lafawndah, Lyra Pramuk, Lucrecia Dalt and Visible Cloaks have each contributed tracks, which are approximately 32 seconds long. The concept was devised by Created By Us and the Barcelona-based label Modern Obscure Music. They read a study which identified that the overwhelming volume of instantly accessible information online is shortening attention spans and altering how audiences engage with music digitally. Their curiosity about the state of online consumption developed further on discovering that around a third of all listeners using digital platforms skip to the next track, within the first 30 seconds of playing. Each musician was given a fascinating challenge to create engaging compositions with real artistic merit, inside the confines of this shortened span. Akin to Brian Eno’s famous Windows 95 start-up music, the time constraints are crucial, and the compositions are deceptively complex and more substantial than expectations of their nano nature would suggest.

Ltd White Vinyl Gatefold edition + 32 Page Booklet + Download Code The LP contains original compositions by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Pascal Comelade, Laurie Spiegel, Lyra Pramuk, Chassol, Nicolas Godin and Pierre Rousseau, Pedro Vian and Pierre Bastien, Visible Cloaks, Kelman Duran, Raul Refree, Lucrecia Dalt, Lafawndah. The booklet includes writings by contemporary thinkers like Shumon Basar, François J. Bonnet, and pictures by, Araki, Juergen Teller, Elizaveta Porodina, Dani Pujalte, P Jack Davison, Zhong Lin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Adrià Cañameras, Javier Tles among others. Lacquer cut by Josh Bonati & Mastered by Rashad Becker ‘prsnt’ is a unique global artistic project combining the input of artists across the worlds of music, video and written word which acts as a statement on how we, as consumers, engage with music in the 21st century. Vital electronic musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lafawndah, Lyra Pramuk, Lucrecia Dalt and Visible Cloaks have each contributed tracks, which are approximately 32 seconds long. The concept was devised by Created By Us and the Barcelona-based label Modern Obscure Music. They read a study which identified that the overwhelming volume of instantly accessible information online is shortening attention spans and altering how audiences engage with music digitally. Their curiosity about the state of online consumption developed further on discovering that around a third of all listeners using digital platforms skip to the next track, within the first 30 seconds of playing. Each musician was given a fascinating challenge to create engaging compositions with real artistic merit, inside the confines of this shortened span. Akin to Brian Eno’s famous Windows 95 start-up music, the time constraints are crucial, and the compositions are deceptively complex and more substantial than expectations of their nano nature would suggest.

As we head towards the end of 2019, the CoOp Presents crew unleash a heater for the cold months, and a very warm welcome to the label for Danvers, with an EP entitled 'Light Movements'.
Joe Danvers has been building a diverse catalogue of dance music over the past several years, including releases on FINA Records, Boogie Cafe and Wotnot (his debut release also featured mixes from the likes of Joe Armon-Jones & Warren Xcince). Aside from his solo efforts, Danvers makes up 50% of Kassian, who in turn have dropped releases on Phonica White & Heist Recordings, as well as a series of highly-acclaimed remixes. Their debut track 'The Premise' was nominated as "Track of the Year" at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards.
These various projects have been shown support far and wide from selectors such as Bradley Zero and Detroit Swindle, whilst Danvers & Kassian have been booked for parties across Europe this past Summer. Danvers is also co-founder of Curve Records, along with Luke Campion & Mike Wilkin of Fact / Vinyl Factory.
So to the EP - 4-tracks demonstrating Danvers' flair for eclectic bruk boogie. 'Devotional' kicks off the set, featuring the soulful vocals of Natalie May atop a rhode-laden bubbler. The EP's title track 'Light Movements' follows and is a more stripped-down affair, with big kicks and synth stabs. Next comes 'The Flex', inspired by Selectors Assemble runnings - a tasty stepper with a huuuuge b-line. Finally closing out the EP on a deeper jazzy vibe we have 'Calmer' featuring the don T. Williams.
Expect more big things from Danvers and from the CoOp Presents crew in 2020. In the meantime, get this one on your speakers and watch for the movements. Standardly essential business.

Electronic duo Spring Heel Jack return with a collaboration with the legendary American trumpeter and Pulitzer Prize nominee Wadada Leo Smith. Wadada was born in the Mississippi Delta and became immersed in the music of the great blues masters as a young musician. He then moved to Chicago and became an early member of the AACM alongside the likes of Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Malachi Favors and Roscoe Mitchell. Recorded last year in London, this LP sees Smith’s authoritative trumpet joined by Steve Noble’s drums and Pat Thomas’ piano, to make a stunning piece of aural theatre in six acts.

The release comes on 180g vinyl. For the second 12” of the series we’ve enlisted two of the most on-fire producers in Germany: Max Graef and Glenn Astro, along with one of the UK’s brightest ascendant producers. Back fighting, kicking and beating as strong as or perhaps even stronger than ever before, Ivan ‘Mamao’ Conti is releasing a brand new solo album next year. Now fitted with a new iron hip- thanks to the immense generosity of his fan base who crowdfunded the operation – the Azymuth drummer still remains one of the greatest and outright funkiest drummers alive anywhere in the universe as he enters this new bionic era. As people of earth are not yet quite ready to hear the explosively ethereal cosmic samba of his new album just yet, we’re easing into it with a series of appropriately propulsive percussive jazz-headed remixes. For the second 12” of the series we’ve enlisted two of the most on-fire producers in Germany: Max Graef and Glenn Astro, along with one of the UK’s brightest ascendant producers.

Journeyman, DJ, radio presenter, beat raconteur – it’s been hard to keep up with all of iZem‘s movements lately. The innovative Lisbon-based French producer has been hard at work on his debut LP Hafa, exploring the sounds of Latin America and North Africa in a vivid analogue-digital, genre-defying soundscape that is sure to leave your head spinning. Inspired by cultural greats like Jack Kerouac, Paul Bowles, Tahar Ben Jelloun and Matisse, iZem spent time soaking up the atmosphere at the inspiring Café Hafa, an idyllic cliff-pop joint overlooking the strait of Gibraltar, in Tangier, Morocco, which has formed a golden backdrop to his debut LP. Brimming with soulful exoticism, personal narratives and adventurous collaborators, Hafa has been an experiment in taking on the afro-centric sounds of his journey to-date by incorporating modern, introspective songwriting and hybrid beats.
Often writing music whilst crossing continents, the only place iZem allows dust to settle is in the heart, heat and rhythms of his local-global future sounds. A decade of nomadism between Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Ireland and Portugal made way for a series of critically acclaimed EP’s and remixes for Soundway, GAMM, Far Out, Agogo, ZZK records, Wah Wah 45s, and Mais Um Discos. Arrival on the global, forward-thinking, artistically leftfield scene was predicted by Gilles Peterson, XLR8R, Okay Player and fellow tropical hed Quantic. iZem is an acronym for “In Ze Early Morning” and his debut album “Hafa” evokes new days dawning in far-off lands and stirring horizons of the present. So if you aren’t hearing iZem’s pastiche of future tropical rhythms and organic grooves on stations such as BBC, KCRW or Funkhaus Europa, then make sure you you catch him raising the dance floor temperature on one continent or another.