Search "88-Keys" 3858 Items

2LP | 2019 | UK | Original (Gondwana)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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With obvious intent Nui and Simon set out to create an album that encompasses all of their influences and experiences as musicians and journeymen in the world of African inspired rhythm and sound and have arrived at a work that is at once global, innovative and deeply funky. It’s been an incredible journey that has taken them from the wilds of the northern hinterlands of New South Wales in Australia to the dreamy secret gardens of Marrakesh, from the onsite recordings of Afro-Cuban choirs of Havana, to the Gnawa street sounds of Moroccan medinas. Nui and Simon have traversed the globe to create these recordings and have collected diverse and international group of artists to collaborate with in the making of Heart of Drums. Artists such as Cazeaux Oslo, who is an African-American Mc and vocalist hailing from California. Olugbade Okunade , Nigerian trumpeter and vocalist , was formerly a member of the Femi Kuti Positive Force band. Members of Clave y Guaguanco, One of Cuba’s foremost folkloric groups, who have been around since the 60’s. Lalita Yagnik, Portuguese Speaking Indian, vocalist and martial artist. Radouan Naim, Traditional Moroccan vocalist and instrumentalist. And Close Counters, Australian Up and coming Electronic duo. Digital Afrika is made up of two main protagonists: Zhonu ‘Nui” Moon (Future Roots) An African-Australian producer, percussionist and Dj that has performed and recorded all over the world. With a strong focus on African music,He has worked with the likes of Femi Kuti , Mulatu Astake and Tony Allen. And Simon Durrington (Si Fixion ) who is an Australian based producer, keys player and DJ. With extensive experience of working with Melanesian , Indian and world musicians. Drawing on these influences, Si weaves these styles together seamlessly with his unique high quality electronic production. This album ‘Heart of Drums’ is a synergy of lush analog electronica and fiery African percussion, vocals and instrumentation. With occasional reinvented throwbacks to the Disco and Funk era as well as forward thinking Afro-futuristic Record bag essentials, Heart of Drums really brings the party! These are constructed dance floor motivators for any environment. The artwork for this record deserves special mention as the mask was handcrafted by the interesting and talented artist Ju Mu Monster. Based in Berlin, the studied fashion designer creates colourful, wildly dancing image-worlds, in which beings from diverse cultures are combined with shamanism and spiritual worlds. Her enchanting works of art include murals and canvases as well as magical masks. All tracks produced and arranged by Zhonu (Nui) Moon & Simon Durrington

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Matthew Halsall

Colour Yes

2LP | 2019 | UK | Original (Gondwana)

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Remixed and remastered with bonus material and released on vinyl for the first time.

Deluxe 2LP editions with artwork re-imagined by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.

"If I could watch any jazz band in the UK, any, I would choose Matthew Halsall's band, just love what he's been doing over the last few years... It's always high level, spiritual jazz music" Gilles Peterson BBC Radio 1

Matthew Halsall (born September 11, 1983, in Manchester, England) is a Worldwide Award winning and MOBO nominated trumpeter, composer, producer and DJ. Since 2008, Matthew has released seven critically acclaimed studio recordings and has been a key figure in the rise of a new jazz sound in the UK. In addition to his own releases Halsall has collaborated with many DJs and producers, most notably DJ Shadow and Mr. Scruff, and in 2013 Matthew's music was selected by Bonobo for his Late Night Tales compilation. Halsall is also the founder of Gondwana Records, a genre bending independent record label featuring a wealth defining albums by the likes of Portico Quartet, GoGo Penguin, Hania Rani and Mammal Hands. His own rich music draws on the spiritual-jazz of Alice Coltrane and Phaorah Sanders, contemporary electronica and dance music alongside his travels in Japan, the traditional art and music of which, has left a lasting impression on his compositions.

Sending My Love (2008) and Colour Yes (2009) were his first releases and document Halsall's first great bands featuring the likes of flautist Chip Wickham, saxophonist Nat Birchall, harpist Rachael Gladwin, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. Joyful, life-enhancing albums, drawing on UK jazz and spiritual jazz influences but with a decidedly modern bounce, they introduced Halsall's music to the world gathering support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum, Mojo, Straight No Chaser and beyond. But Halsall was never completely happy with how the records were presented and as part of Gondwana Records 10th anniversary decided to revisit the recordings, meticulously remixing and remastering them for vinyl and commissioning new artwork from Ian Anderson, one of his favourite designers. These then are the definitive editions of the records. Sending My Love comes complete with the beautiful bonus track This Time, while Colour Yes features the equally striking It's What We Do and Ai.

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Matthew Halsall

Sending My Love

The Uncanny Adventures Of Watson & Holmes

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Blacastan & Stu Bangas

LP | 2017 | US | Original (Brick)

LP | 2024 | Original (Brutal Planet)

Release: 2017 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Official Army Of The Pharaohs and Demigodz emcee Blacastan has been steadily staking his claim to the title of ‘savior of underground rap music’ since his debut mixtape Me Against The Radio and its key cut and video "Life Of A Tape" became an underground cult classic in 2007. The rapper turned his attention to the mic after the Hartford, CT street life, and his strong-arm style of handling business, left a then 16-year-old Blacastan serving a bid in the mid-'90s. He emerged from prison with a remarkable skill set, a throwback style, and an unrivaled drive.
His 2010 debut album Blac Sabbath boasted production & vocals from the likes of Statik Selektah, Blue Sky Black Death, Mr. Green, Esoteric and Celph Titled, and 2012’s The Master Builder Part II, which was mixed by legendary DJ Doo Wop, had features from Slaine and Reef the Lost Cauze, among others. He has since also racked up appearances on Jedi Mind Tricks Violence Begets Violence, the Army of The Pharaohs albums In Death Reborn and Heavy Lies The Crown, the Demigodz Killmatic album, Apathy’s Wanna Snuggle?, Mr Lif’s Don’t Look Down and Czarface’s A Fistful of Peril, plus toured extensively across Europe, North America, and Australia with Celph Titled and Block McCloud.
2014 saw Blac teaming up with producer and longtime AOTP and Demigodz collaborator Stu Bangas for the first installment of Watson & Holmes, which featured Esoteric, Apathy, Celph Titled and Vinnie Paz. Stu has been in the trenches since the early 2000s, producing heatrocks for Slaine, Esoteric, Tragedy Khadafi, Heltah Skeltah, Jedi Mind Tricks, Vinnie Paz, Blaq Poet, Copywrite, Chino XL, Cappadonna, AOTP and Sean Price, including the lead single “Definition of God” from Sean Price's upcoming posthumous album Imperius Rex.
The duo is back with The Uncanny Adventures of Watson & Holmes, a sophomore effort that improves on the first in every way. Stu gets completely brutal with the beats, and Blac ups the ante on the rhymes. Plus, they’ve enlisted Ill Bill (Non-Phixion, La
Coka Nostra), Nutso, Apathy (Demigodz, AOTP) 7L & Esoteric (AOTP, Czarface), and Tragedy Khadafi to lend their talents to the project.

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Awful Truth

39,99 €*

12" | 2024 | UK | Original (Heels & Souls)

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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In the late 80s, King's X had just launched their now-iconic Sam Taylor-produced debut album Out of the Silent Planet (1988), ushering in what would soon become known as the "Houston sound." This sound was a unique blend of progressive metal, groove, rock, and rich harmonies. Around the same time, another band began making waves: The Awful Truth. They had recorded their debut album for mainstream Metal Blade Records but sadly broke up before it even came out. By the time the album was released in 1989, two-thirds of The Awful Truth had formed a new band with two other members, the now-legendary Galactic Cowboys, further defining that groovy-metallic Houston Sound. Although signed to the infamous Metal Blade Records (known for releasing albums by Slayer, Fates Warning, Voivod, etc.), The Awful Truth's eponymous album featured poetic lyrics expressing a sincere faith. A key example is "Ghost of Heaven": High above the highest star Songs of You the angels sing Only You could fill my heart Only You could bring me where You are Ghost of Heaven, hear my plea Holy voice, won't you speak to me? Most of the material was written by David von Ohlerking and is adventurous, though more in a traditional progressive context, not foreshadowing the unpredictable style of the Galactic Cowboys. The one track with shared writing credits is Drowning Man, where you can definitely hear the chugging riffs and rhythms that would characterize Monty Colvin and Alan Doss' next project. The distinctive guitar sound, overdriven/mid-rangey bass tones, and oblique Christian imagery in the lyrics are reminiscent of the first four King's X records, but The Awful Truth ventures into heavier and more progressive territory. The epic Should Have Known All Along might even be mistaken for a lost King's X song, especially with the way Ohlerking's vocals break at the end, sounding very Dug Pinnick-like. The end result is a stone-cold classic in every way. The 2024 Brutal Planet Records reissue has been completely remastered by Rob Colwell (Nevermore, Flotsam & Jetsam, King's X, Poundhound, Voivod, etc.) and it sounds better than ever! Collector's are treated to Orange Crush Heavy-weight Vinyl and a 12x12 full color lyrics insert featuring band photos. This limited edition of just 300 Vinyl units is a must-have. Grab this slab of progressive hard rock brilliance while you can!

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100th Monkey

Raindance / Nyika Nyika

LP | 2024 | US | Original (Impatience)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Heels & Souls Recordings hit release number nine, looking across the pond to Toronto in the mid-'90s to reissue two blissfully Balearic house gems from 100th Monkey. Alongside remastered versions of ‘Raindance’ and ‘Nyika Nyika’, the flip features a pumping remix of ‘Raindance’ courtesy of dream house hero Manuel Darquart and a previously unreleased ‘90s stunner, ‘River Ride’.

100th Monkey were most known under their Boomtang Boys moniker, a killer Canadian production trio and record label. In the early ‘90s, with a release already out as Fun Wow, brothers Tony and Paul Grace were introduced to Rob DeBoer. With respective backgrounds as a drummer, DJ and keys player and inspired by the sounds coming across from the UK, they began producing releases for the label under a variety of different monikers. From the street soul grooves of ‘Love Trip’ as Boomtang Boys, to the hip house flavours of D.S.B. and the progressive rhythms of The Riders of the Soundguard.

Their only release as 100th Monkey though is a jewel in this Canadian crown. Cooked up in their home studio, packed with synths, samplers and drum machines, ‘Raindance’ is a hit of summertime heat that instantly transports you to sandy shores. A slice of mid-tempo, Balearic deep house anchored by shuffling hats and a spine-tingling bassline, the African vocal samples, dreamy strings and goose-bumping chords merge to send you floating out across the horizon.

Picking up the pace, ‘Nyika Nyika’ is another dream-inducing house cut, equally adept at soundtracking a sunset, as it is at powering a dancefloor. Shimmering arps and looped African vocal samples glisten through the haze, with a punchy bass and enveloping strings reeling you in.

On the B side, Manuel Darquart puts his trademark spin on ‘Raindance’, looping up elements from the OG with a dash of that Darquart hot sauce. The kick gets an injection, steamy synthlines are laid down and a salacious sax is slipped in the mix.

Finally, plucked from the 100th Monkey vaults, ‘River Ride’ is an unreleased cut from 1996. Washing over you with a wave of floating pads, trickling arps, a laidback breakbeat and grooving bassline, it’s the perfect warm-down or warmup material, that rightly sees the light of day for the very first time.

Licensed from The Boomtang Boys and remastered from the original DATs by Justin Drake.

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Nuke Watch

Pepper's Ghost

II Gold Colored Vinyl Edtion

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Don’t believe your ears - Pepper’s Ghost is the latest offering from NYC project Nuke Watch.

Whatever you think it is - it is not. By the same token it really can be whatever you want - electronica, jazz, improv, noise, new age, ambient - it’s none and all of these. Like the primitive visual illusion it’s named for - Pepper’s Ghost is a projection of a thing, it’s not the thing.

The Nuke Watch method - like that of Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos’ other primary project Beat Detectives - leans almost entirely on live improvisation, with some advanced studio alchemy in post. Where the Beat Detectives palette draws from club music tropes, Nuke Watch blends recognizable tones (hand drums, woodwinds, keys, fretless bass) with sounds of providence unknown, the line between organic and synthesized instrumentation unintelligibly smudged. What is real and what is projection? It’s hard to say. What do our ears tell us? This is where we arrive at Pepper’s Ghost.

Warped as the sounds may be, the playing belies a crew of deeply expressive, learned improvisers who have their craft honed. Their friendship and psychic connection enhances the ritualistic rhythms, mutant modular synthesis, nimble keyboard runs, absurdist sampling and unidentified skronk. They’re wonderfully complemented across several tracks on this set by Cole Pulice’s levitational, sublime saxophone.

As unhinged as this might all appear, once the mind and music meet on the same wavelength this is profoundly moving, energizing and uplifting Alive Music that recalibrates the sense of what music can be.

Nuke Watch is Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos, with an array of friendly guests. They’ve released records as Nuke Watch on The Trilogy Tapes, Commend and Moon Glyph. As Beat Detectives they’ve released records on Not Not Fun, 100% Silk and their own studio imprint Nypd Records.

Pepper's Ghost was written and produced by Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos. Additional instrumentation on these recordings by Cole Police, Leonard King, Eric Timothy Carlson, Chris Farstad and William Statler. It was mixed by Chris Hontos and mastered by Jack Callahan. Painting on the cover is “The Unity Of Being” (2020), by Ry Fyan. Design and layout by Aaron Anderson.

Riyl - Musical illusions, puzzles and magic tricks, downtempo, music of the spheres, good journey, Eddie Harris, Ketron, "world building", orange sunshine, suspension of disbelief.

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Soyuz

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

26,09 €* 28,99 € -10%

Sahib Shihab & The Danish Radio Jazz Group

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Soyuz (союз) stole our hearts back in 2022 when we released their album Force Of The Wind to critical acclaim. Here we proudly present the predecessor to that LP, the band’s sophomore long player from 2019 that was previously only available digitally. It captures a pivotal evolving period in the band's career, the recordings giving a snapshot of what would become their sound on Force Of The Wind, yet with echoes of avant-psychedelic-pop footprints from yester years.

Produced at a time when band leader Alex Chumak had moved from Minsk to Kyiv, torn between the need to try something new and the homesickness it brought about. Travelling back to Minsk almost weekly, Alex joined fellow band members Mikita Arlou and Stanislav Murashko to lay down II at Studio 42. The album captures these transient feelings, contextualised through the broad scope of influences the band were nourished by. From MPB to Ethio-Jazz and the Italian library soundtracks of Piero Piccioni and Piero Umiliani, the album shines with touches of joy from across the globe.

The opening track 'Verocai' is a tribute to the Brazilian maestro and 'Mirouze', whilst being named after a French favourite of the band, Jean-Pierre Mirouze, pays clear homage to Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges. A ghostly sample and invisible connection to music made miles away in a different era that has influenced and become part of the band’s lives. This is further reinforced in the album's enchanting closer, the aptly titled 'Nascimento', another nod to the great Brazilian musician and singer.

The beginnings of the cinematic, soul-laden jazz Soyuz are now known for, are on display across the likes of ‘Lyric’ and 'Motive I'. The latter an orchestrated jazz instrumental with sensuous string sections, all of which were recorded on the warmth of a Studer reel-to-reel and waltzing Rhodes keys.

Soyuz’s wide-ranging palate is further demonstrated in tracks like ‘Business Partners’ with its Krauty, kosmische, new wave production featuring Inturist, and the oh-too-short Anatolian-influenced interlude 'Corrida'. Elsewhere, 'Tezeta' and ‘es-2 Jazz’ hint at the psychedelic haze of soul-funk, with the former featuring verses from Serbian rapper Petar Martic.

For this new physical and digital release, the whole album was mixed from scratch by Ryan Power before Joker worked his magic on the remaster. More excellence is to come from Soyuz, but in the meantime, we are thrilled to present this essential recording from the band’s foundational years, mixed to a level that does it the justice it deserves.

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Oktav

LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Sam)

37,99 €*

12" | 2023 | EU | Original (COD3 QR)

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Stickly Limited Edition 3000 copies. Re-mastered from the original stereo master tapes. 180 gr vinyl pressed in Marciac, France by Garcia & Co. Deluxe flipback album jacket. Facsimile reissue using the original artwork. Double insert using an original photo by Jan Persson. Each record has been visually checked to prevent defects. Recorded August, 1965, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Original LP issue: Oktav – Oklp 111

Sahib Shihab (Edmund Gregory) played with many of jazz’s finest musicians. Shortly after he became one of the first jazz players to change their names due to an Islamic conversion, he joined Thelonious Monk for his Blue Note sessions. He also played with Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Pettiforn and Quincy Jones. A unique musician, he was at home in every musical style, from the experimentalism of Thelonious Monk to the more direct hard bop of Art Blakey. Sahib Shihab’s distinctive sound was rooted in his modernist compositions and arrangements, complemented by an intense, soulful playing style.

In 1959 he toured Europe with Quincy Jones after getting fed up with racial politics in USA and ultimately settled in Scandinavia. He worked for Copenhagen Polytechnic and wrote scores for television, cinema and theatre. He remained there until 1973. During this period, he recorded several albums as leader for European labels such as Vogue, Storyville and Futura.

In 1961 he joined The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band and remained a key figure in the band for the 12 years it ran. He married a Danish lady and raised a family in Europe, although he remained a conscious African-American still sensitive to racial issues.

This record, on the Danish Oktav label, his second as a leader and also his rarest is a true masterpiece !!!

Personnel : Sahib Shihab (Baritone saxophone, Flute, Cowbell) Poul Hindberg (Alto saxophone, Clarinet) Ib Renard (Baritone saxophone) Bent Nielsen (Baritone saxophone, Flute, Clarinet) Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (nhop) (Bass) Alex Riel (Drums) Allan Botschinsky (Trumpet) Fritz von Bülow (Guitar) Bent Axen (Piano) Bent Jædig (Tenor saxophone, Flute) Niels Husum (Tenor saxophone) Svend Åge Nielsen (Trombone, Bass trombone) Torolf Mølgaard (Trombone, Euphonium) Palle Bolvig (Trumpet) Palle Mikkelborg (Trumpet) Poul Kjældgård (Tuba) Louis Hjulmand (Vibraphone)

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Works Of Intent

Richer Sound

Another Moment In Time LP

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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UK dance music antagonist Works Of Intent redefines big room techno on ‘Richer Sound’, an album sampler with four new tracks to accompany the digital release of his album of the same title which features with six

all-new tracks alongside six cuts previously released on Laurent Garnier and Scan X's Cod3 QR label.

Works Of Intent is a vital voice in the underground who champions the sounds and stories of South Asian creatives in his role as Project Manager and Visual Designer for Daytimers. He has also written multiple essays on race, class and privilege in the industry while laying down expressive sets across four decks at key clubs like fabric, Panoramabar and Rex. His emotive, storytelling sounds have come on labels like Turbo, Rekids and Monkeytown, and outside that, he's a go-to mix engineer for some of the UK's most exciting prospects.

‘Richer Sound’ features six tracks previously released on the label’s Various Artist EPs and six brand new offerings that avoid tired big room tropes. Gone are the snare rolls, white noise risers and kick drops, instead Work's operates under the mantra of "big tunes for big hearts" where musicality makes the motive. The artist himself has taken care of the artwork, mixing and mastering and says of the album, “It’s melancholia turned up so loud you can’t ignore it. It’s a deafening barrage of emotions designed for super clubs. It’s unsubtle, it’s unabashed, it’s unrelenting, and it wears its heart on its sleeve. It’s unmistakably a work of intent.”

Cars and motorsport have been a recurring theme in previous Works Of Intent releases and appear again here in 'Left Unseen', which has the high octane, death-defying adrenaline of rally driving perfectly transposed into a big room techno experience. ''Old Ways, New Mistakes' bounces boisterously with stadium-sized kick drums and synthetic mourning that will break hearts across arenas. 'Dreamt I Saw You' takes fawning imaginations to lucid heights with a synthand cymbal pairing designed to get you stargazing in the club.

‘Richer Sound’ is just the sort of expertly-crafted, genre-busting work of emotional and physical potency you would expect from such a restless nonconformist as Works Of Intent.

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Vince Watson

2LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Everysoul Audio)

27,99 €*

LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Wrong Speed)

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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We’ve waited over 20 years and finally Vince Watson is releasing the follow up to his seminal ‘Moments In Time’ album released on Ibadan and Alola, entitled ‘Another Moment In Time’. Over the twenty years since the release of ‘Moments In Time’, Vince has put out more than ten LPs of various flavours. Here he returns to the vibe and feel of those early works. ‘Another Moment in Time’ wastes no time in exploring those rich, melancholic tones with his stunning piano chords and an essence of nostalgia that is both thought provoking and deeply satisfying. This album takes Vince Watson ever further into his original sound but with a pristine quality and finesse that his early work was yet to benefit from. There are many highlights, from the opener with its rich acid deepness and subtle keys, to the energetic and deeply fulfilling ‘Flashback’ that gives a nod to Funk d’Void’s Diablo or KiNK. ‘Peace Of Mind’ features the incredible talents of the hallowed Underground Resistance ‘Timeline’ keyboard master Jon Dixon as co-writer, this combination of both musicians is an ear to behold; the piano and Rhodes playing is straight up high-tech jazz. ‘Lost In the Deep’ takes its cues from Detroit but hits different with twisting chords and grooves. ‘Whispers’ delivers the most melancholic deepness on the LP, whereas ‘Sunshine’ is pure out and out happiness with its twisting chords and a firm foundation in Detroit. Written on the first sunny day after the winter, you can hear the breath of relief within the track. ‘Rendezvous [Finale]’ is the 3rd and final version of a cut that’s had a long and satisfying journey. Originally released on Carl Craig’s Planet E in 2006, it was then formatted into Afro House for Osunlade’s Yoruba Records in 2018, and in ‘22 this new version was debuted for Carl Cox’s Birthday at Dc10 in Ibiza for Vince’s live set. The reaction sealed the deal! ‘Forever’ and ‘Make A Wish’ are straight up club cuts that featured on a single also in ‘22. The album closes out with the peacefully beautiful ‘Sleep’ that rounds things off to sonic perfection. 20 years is a long time to wait, and it would do ‘Another Moment in Time’ no justice to simply say it was worth the wait. This feels like the next evolution in Vince Watson. The finesse, the musicality, musicianship, and the production levels are of the highest level. ‘Peace of Mind’ and ‘Flashback’ may well be two of the biggest tracks that Watson has released to date.

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Jellyskin

In Brine

12" | 2023 | US | Original (Fresh Meat)

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Limited Aquatic Blue Vinyl! Much anticipated debut album from this Leeds-based electronic duo, following high-profile UK festival slots, and shows alongside luminaries The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Warmduscher, Sea Power, Moonlandingz, The KVB, with multiple plays across BBC6/BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio, jellyskin are finally ready to unleash 'In Brine', their first full length release. The result of four years spent writing, recording, and refining the album between Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Palamos, and Berlin, 'In Brine' showcases the many talents of Will Ainsley and Zia Larty-Healy in a work straddling iridescent electronica, tungsten-tipped techno, art pop, and queasy, brown acid folk. The songs are pieced together with themes of longing, misadventure by the sea, desire and aquatic apparitions that showcase Larty-Healy's warm but urgent vocal range, as at home around the campfire as it is in the club. The pair's meticulous arrangement and rearrangement, sculpting, recording, and mixing was a glacially slow process of adaptation, mutation, cooperation, growth, and, yes, natural selection. First single 'Bringer of Brine' thumps from the speaker anthemically and forcefully, pitched somewhere beautiful and uncanny; Larty-Healy's vocals soar and skim off the production like a smooth stone across choppy waves. The radio-ready pop electronica of 'I Was The First Tetrapod' bursts into the world with an urgency in line with the lyrics. An aquatic tale of crawling onto land for the first time, desperate to make new life forms, it's also a positive, joyful rebuke to the despair of the world around us. "Growing my legs...". The fuzzed-out psychedelic keys and forward-moving, Knife-like structure echo throughout while beautiful lyrics detail visions of where this would all lead life as we know it-"I can run freely, white horse behind me. Flexing my bones and artery twine, find human tone and reach for the vine." 'Fox Again' opens with chopped alarm clocks segueing into a lurching rhythm, before exploding into skittering beats and a soaring chorus. The effect is like waking up drowsily, going over to the window in your room and yanking open the curtains to be blasted by searing sunshine. The pair brought in Berlin based co-producer, mixer and masterer Lewis D-t to help finesse the tracks into fat-free hunks of ecstasy and sonic exploration, their rich depths marking 'In Brine' as an album everyone should be talking about this summer and beyond-all nine tracks will have feet moving and hearts swelling in equal measure. RIYL: Jockstrap/Working Men's Club/Stealing Sheep/Broadcast etc.

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Audio Soul Project

Simurgh

14,99 €*

What Do You Call It? From Grass Roots to the Golden Era of UK Rap

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Audio Soul Project is back with their latest vinyl-only EP, Simurgh. With a title inspired by the mythical Persian bird, these four tracks fuse elements of house, R&B, dub, and drum & bass to create an ecstatic and hypnotic experience. The EP kicks off with "Deliver Me," a dreamy house track with warm filtered chords and bouncing synth bass. R&B female vocal ad libs pepper the groove and the refrain "Deliver Me" adds a sense of yearning. The percussion, including morphing 4x4 and breakbeat drums, piano and synth stabs, nod to the cerebral Detroit and Chicago house compositions of the mid 90s. "Azizam Dub" takes a more stripped-down approach with a subsonic bass line bump and Juno 106 stabs. Frantic percussion and deftly cut vocal samples accent the ebbs and flows of the arrangement, making for a dynamic and engaging dance. The B-side of the record starts with "Internal Vybrations," a bass-heavy drum & bass track that winds and jumps with multiple layers of deep, fluttering bass and ambient pads and strings. Percussion layers like hi-hats, shakers, and maracas lift and relax the rhythm in parallel to the rest of the composition, making for a hypnotic and trance-inducing vibe. The B2 track on the EP, "Celebration Dub," is a bass-heavy swinging house track with ecstatic diva "Whooo" samples that punctuate the ups and downs of the groove's energy. Classic reggae and dub-influenced vocal samples and heavy tape delay on certain key instruments add to the joyful and uplifting vibe of the track. The keyboard and string section can transport a dancer to other realms of consciousness if they let themselves go to the groove. Simurgh is a masterful fusion of various genres that showcases Audio Soul Project's production prowess and ability to create an entrancing sonic journey. TL;DR: Audio Soul Project's Simurgh EP features 4 tracks of dub-infused house music. Deliver Me has dreamy chords and female R&B adlibs, Azizam Dub is stripped down with subsonic bass and vocal samples, Internal Vybrations is a bass-heavy drum & bass track, and Celebration Dub is a swinging house track with reggae and dub vocal samples. Everything by Maziar Namvar except where indicated below Mix on Deliver Me and Celebration Dub by Brian Boncher Mix on Azizam Dub and Internal Vybrations by Tim Vitek Mastering by Dietrich Schoenemann

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David Kane

Velocity Press

19,99 €*

Tape | 2024 | EU | Original (Nothing But Net)

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Preorder shipping from 2024-11-22

In July 2019, eleven years after Jay-Z became the first hip-hop artist to headline Glastonbury, Stormzy became the first English rapper to follow suit. Wearing a customised stab-proof vest designed by Banksy, the South London rapper delivered an explosive performance and finished by thanking the “legends for paving the way,” name-checking Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, and Giggs. Despite how unlikely it seemed for decades, UK rap was now firmly a part of pop music and the greater hip-hop canon.

Rich, nuanced, and often misunderstood, the history of UK rap is a story of music that refused to stand still. Factoring in socioeconomics, gender, identity, music industry disruption, and innovation, What Do You Call It? charts the artform’s first four decades, beginning when rap landed on our island in the early 1980s. Shaped by sound system culture, inspired by punk, and accelerated by rave, it has evolved from Britcore, UK hip-hop, and trip-hop of the late twentieth century to garage, grime, and drill.

Through cultural theory, historical research, and original interviews with key figures and collaborators in the UK rap scene, from pioneers like Malcolm McLaren, Soul II Soul, Tricky, Roots Manuva, and Roll Deep to modern artists like Dave, CASISDEAD, Little Simz, Loyle Carner, and Skengdo x AM, adds a rich human dimension to the UK rap story — one that helped change British music and culture forever.

Cover design by Trevor Jackson.

“A long overdue exploration of rap music in the UK and its longstanding – albeit overlooked – legacy and influence. In an era when UK rappers dominate the charts, star in major movies and TV shows and front huge advertising campaigns for multi-national corporations, Kane traces back the arduous journey from maligned sub-culture to celebrated mascot of neoliberal capitalism.” Jehst

“David Kane writes with a deft touch and possesses a disarming and deeply insightful interview style. Sparking life, humour, and sorrow across every page of more than three decades of UK rap history.” Charlie Dark MBE

“Kane builds bridges in a rich musical universe full of heroes and villains—and plot twists. With an inimitable style, he merges culture high and low to bring new meaning to the music. What Do You Call It? is a landmark tome for UK rap music.” Brian DiGenti, Wax Poetics

“A mind rich in ideas” Stanley Ledbetter, The New Yorker

Weight: 0.4 kg
Dimensions: 23 × 3 × 17 cm

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Jamma-Dee

Perceptions

17,99 €*

Las Camelias, Tres Esquinas White Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Nothing But Net presents “Perceptions”, the debut LP from Los Angeles producer/beat maker Jamma-Dee aka Dyami O’Brien. Jamma-Dee has been a figure in the west coast modern funk and boogie scene, both as an accomplished DJ and music producer, having released records under his own name and producing for the likes of Joyce Wrice, Mndsgn and others.

From a musical upbringing in Los Angeles, Dyami’s adolescent obsession with record digging and beatmaking eventually led him to Dam-Funk’s renown Funkmosphere parties where he built friendships with key players in the LA funk scene and began to make a name for himself as a DJ and producer. In the second half of the 2010’s he released a series of EPs on Arcane and hosted the legendary Soul In Paradise show on NTS radio.

His first full-length, “Perceptions” is a long time in the making. Beginning with studio experiments nearly a decade ago, a version of the album found its way to producer and Nothing But Net label boss Onra, who helped guide the project to completion. The album artwork was created by outsider soul music conceptualist and painter, Mingering Mike, whom O’Brien felt compelled to reach out to after discovering his work years earlier. Thematically, the artwork, record, and its title touch on very modern themes: the alienation of life in a world of instant-gratification, an overly-connected society of masks, distorted realities and shifting identities.

Musically, “Perceptions” is the culmination of a life lived under the groove. Featuring a long list of collaborators, including Benedek, Mndsgn, Koreatown Oddity, the legendary Craig T. Cooper and fellow NBN labelmate, Devin Morrison, the double album touches on all of O’Brien’s musical influences. Album opener “Up N Down” sets the scene with it’s syrupy g-funk impressionism, before “Jamma’s Jam” bounces out of the speakers through an auburn-colored sunset haze of lush Rhodes chords and sparkling vibraphones. “It Takes A Freak” and “Datafile Groove” shuffle westward, re-imagining New Jack Swing grooves through a distinctly Californian lens. Elsewhere, the album touches on classic deep house rhythms (“Tic Toc” and “Silly”) and crystalline, downtempo R&B and UK street soul (“Joy”, “Saturday”).“U.R.” features legendary L.A. guitarist Craig T. Cooper laying down a network of stunning, silken guitar lines with absolute class.

Over the course of these 15 tracks, Jamma Dee consolidates, renovates and perpetuates the sound of his influences. “Perceptions” is a masterclass in modern funk and soul production.

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Johanna Orellana

LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Smalltown Supersound)

Brain Worms Blue Vinyl Edition

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Flautist Johanna Orellana teams up with Carmen Villain for a collection of horizontal, pastoral field recordings and close mic-ed flute sounds that zero in on the instrument’s unstable resonance and levitational magic. There’s no cringe virtuoso business or fourth world firewalking here - just sonic purity, sublime minimalism and the precise capture of time, place and poetry. You might have come across Johanna Orellana before if you’ve listened to Carmen Villain’s music (or seen her perform live), and Villain appears here in a producer’s role, using her engineering expertise to impart a level of restraint and sonic fidelity that’s quite startling. There are only really two central elements to the album: environmental recordings and flute. There’s no psychedelic delay, no cavernous reverb; no audible treatments at all - Orellana and Villain instead force us to consider the flute and its musical lineage. ‘El Jardín I’ introduces the instrument as a physical conduit; Orellana allows her breath to distort the sound - the padded pat pat of the keys forms a kind of rhythm, closely recorded so it’s amplified and jarring, linking to primal wind instruments like conch shells, bamboo flutes and wooden whistles. Recalling the way in which Debit interfaced with the ancient world using AI- assisted tech on last year’s ‘The Long Count’, Orellana uses a comparatively modern contemporary transverse flute, an instrument with roots that stretch back through the baroque era, into Medieval Europe, back to the Byzantine era and into Asia. The component that connects the instruments and eras is breath, and its amplification and modification through differently shaped pipes and vessels. Orellana lets the environment sing: insects, rushing water and zephyr-like winds form a stage that presents her mortal energy, suggesting a harmony between our use of breath and its environmental ubiquitousness. Her technique is steeped in folk history and decouples itself from expectation by rooting itself in nature. It allows her to bridge the gap between equal temperament and less ordered (less commercially-focused) microtonality without overstating the concept. Other sounds waft in from the sidelines; what might be an Indian bansuri, stray notes, a gust of air. There’s a link to the foundational new age recordings that Joanna Brouk made with Maggi Payne back in 1980, but Orelanna also absorbs the outdoor folk magic of Fonal or Stroom, and the improvisational grist of Bendik Giske or legendary US horn duo Nmperign

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RVG

LP | 2023 | US | Original (Fire)

LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Cattrack)

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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A pivotal record for contemporary times; bright, free, adamant, optimistic. Brain Worms is RVG’s fullest, most pristine album yet.

All throughout Brain Worms, it’s apparent that this is a band in very fine form. Album opener ‘Common Ground’ sets the tone for what’s to come; a shiny, thrilling, punch of an album, with all the beloved RVG hallmarks. Vager’s voice is unfiltered and commanding as ever when delivering her clever, not-quite-ironic lyrics. Here, though, those lyrics feel so much less resigned to yearning, and so much more defiant and joyous.

‘Tambourine’ is the only Covid song Vager wrote when “trying not to write Covid songs”, and it’s a painfully honest portrait of grieving mid-isolation. ‘Brain Worms’ tells the all-too-familiar story of a person falling down the internet rabbit hole and finding comfort in conspiracies. ‘Nothing Really Changes’ is a keys-heavy new wave-ish thing, while closer ‘Tropic of Cancer’ sparkles with Vager’s self-assured new manifesto: I know what I’m like, and I know how I get. If you think I’m strange, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Bloxham, Nolte, and Wallace are flawlessly adept in bringing Vager’s songwriting to life. Recorded in London at Snap Studios with James Trevascus (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, PJ Harvey), all ten tracks surge with lush sounds and clear intentions and the magic of an acoustic guitar once owned by Kate Bush, given to her by Tears for Fears (who, legend has it, wrote ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ on it).

Between the four bandmates lead singer and guitarist Vager, guitarist Reuben Bloxham, drummer Marc Nolte and bassist Isabele Wallace this is the most confident they’ve ever felt in RVG. They’ve moved past their influences, pushed themselves, and tried new things. And they have made a record they can, by all accounts, call their best.

“Brain Worms feels like the antithesis to what a post-pandemic record could easily be. For a band who were already writing music about being reclusive “we were depressed and not going outside on our first two albums” the enforced isolation and time to think gave Vager space to write about anything she wanted. And, it turned out, she was ready to write about acceptance.

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Chicken Grass

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Finland’s best kept secret Chicken Grass is releasing a long-awaited debut album - Chicken Grass Chicken Grass has been playing together for 25 years and has developed a unique sound (Swamp Soul !) over the years. The band gets inspiration from different styles of afro-american rhythm music: funk, soul, hip hop and jazz. You can hear influences from the roots but also from today’s modern music. The band consists of some of the best musicians in Finland. The members are: Tapio Wiik (voc, keys), Janne Valppu (bass), Mikko Räisänen (guitar), Olli Tuomainen (sax,flute) and Janne Mathlin (drums). Sensational singer Princess Shaw from New Orleans features on two songs. The album was recorded live in Philophon studio in Berlin with grammy awarded producer Max Weissenfeldt (Poets Of The Rhythm, Dr.John) and sound engineer/producer Stibbo Spitzmuller. The recordings were done with vintage gear, which lends the album a retro yet fresh feeling. Chicken Grass wanted to make an album like the old classics in the 60’s and 70’s, which meant recording it live without any loops or samples. Chicken Grass is not ”fakin the funk” as they say! The first 45 single from the album (Snakebites/Trading Bullet) got a lot of positive feedback from music lovers all around the world. It was released by the legendary Tramp Records. Radio shows like the Craig Charles funk soul show on the BBC Radio 6 Music have been playing the single. A Finnish radio DJ even said ”this band is going to be the future of Finnish music”. Each song in the album is unique and stands on its own. You can hear the whole spectrum of funk and soul in the album. There are vibes from James Brown and Jimmy Castro Bunch (Have A Break), Curtis Mayfield style gospel soul (Sister Rosetta’s Train), P-Funk inspired modern funk (Woman), Blue-Eyed Soul (Street Haze), Isaac Hayes and psychedelic soul (Right Face), Dubby Blues (Jailbird) and African disco-funk (Pyroclastic). The band also focused on the quality of the lyrics. All in all, the album is a perfect combination of styles and genres, old and new, hi-fi and lo-fi, but the sound is still unique Chicken Grass. The more you listen to the album, the more it grows on you. You can hear the depth of the songs and the experience of the band with each playthrough.

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Factory Classical: The First 5 Albums

5CD | 2023 | UK | Original (Factory)

LP | 1980 | US | Reissue (Mesh-Key)

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Classical Music

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Factory Benelux presents a box set collection of the first five albums released by the celebrated Factory Classical imprint in 1989, featuring modern classical works composed by Benjamin Britten, Elliott Carter, Paul Hindemith, Theodore Lalliet, Gyorgy Ligeti, Steve Martland, Olivier Messiaen, Francis Poulenc, Dmitri Shostakovich and Michael Tippett.

The new Factory Benelux clamshell box set includes a 24 page booklet featuring the original Factory commissioned liner notes from 1989, as well as a contemporary essay by writer Stuart Huggett and an interview with Tony Wilson. Each individual CD is housed in a card wallet which reproduces the original artwork by designers Peter Saville, Trevor Key, Ben Kelly, Mark Farrow, Neville Brody and Trevor Johnson.

The 5 CDs have been newly re-mastered in 2022 by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works.

Curated by Durutti Column viola player John Metcalfe, the performers include the Kreisler String Orchestra, German pianist Rolf Hind, The Duke Quartet and oboist Robin Williams, with Steve Martland’s material performed by Residentie Orkest Den Haag and pianists Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees Van Zeeland.

Explained Factory founder Tony Wilson: ‘The idea I had in mind was people like Peter Saville, the Factory designer, and his girlfriend - art school kids brought up with Bowie and Roxy Music, into punk, maybe they find acid house interesting, but they’re looking for something else. For people like them or younger, there is no easy way into classical music, because it’s all quite exclusive. They’re scarcely likely to read Gramophone magazine, or make head or tail of it if they did.’

‘I was a relatively angry young man at that time,’ adds Metcalfe, ‘and chose to channel some of that into a rather naïve disapproval of standard classical industry practices. The white tie and tails and very, very boring, reproductions of Constable paintings on album covers, all that stuff. So I had a chat with Tony and he said, “Off you go, fill your boots”.’

Largely drowned out by relentless Acid House beats and faddish Madchester guitar rock in 1989, the bold, contrarian Factory Classical catalogue is now ripe for re-appraisal by much the same audience identified by Wilson. Indeed since 1989 Metcalfe has worked as an arranger for artists such as Peter Gabriel, U2, Blur, Coldplay and Bat for Lashes, as well as performing and recording with the Max Richter Ensemble. Sadly contemporary composer Steve Martland passed away in 2013.

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Morio Agata

Norimono Zukan

31,99 €*

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Albina Music Trust)

Release: 1980 / US – Reissue

Genre: Pop

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Japanese folk-rock legend Morio Agata stunned fans with this way-outta-left-field dispatch - a synthesizer-laden, new-wave/post-punk classic. Originally released by Osaka’s Vanity Records in 1980 and back on vinyl for the first time in nearly 40 years, this fully authorized reissue has been remastered from the original analog tapes. In tip-on sleeve, with double-sided insert.

50 years ago, Hokkaido-born singer-songwriter Morio Agata released his debut single, Sekishoku Ereji (Red Elegy), an emotive, shuffling piano ballad that (shockingly) sold half a million copies in Japan. While he would never have another Top-40 hit, Agata would spend the next half century issuing a series of idiosyncratic, experimental pop albums. Today, he’s a beloved cult figure, still actively touring and recording in his seventies.

In his first decade as a recording artist, Agata released a stream of classics right out of the gate — Otome No Roman (1972) melded American-styled folk rock with traditional Japanese melodies, Zipangu Boy (1976) was a sprawling, Haruomi Hosono-produced psychedelic opus, and Kimi No Koto Suki Nan Da (1977) saw Agata tackle slick, lightly funky AOR. While this sort of stylistic schizophrenia might sink your average artist, Agata’s singular voice and magnetic charisma elevates everything he touches, and subsumes it all into Morio Agata World — a joyous, playful and frequently unhinged world.

Arguably the biggest left-turn of Agata’s early career, however, came in 1979, when legendary experimental label Vanity Records’ Yuzuru Agi paired Agata with major players from his label’s roster and the Osaka punk scene for an impromptu recording session. An impressive list of musicians took part (sab, Yukio Fujimoto (Normal Brain), Masahiro Kitada (inu), Taiqui (Ultra Bide), Jun Shinoda (ss), Chie Mukai (Che-Shizu), and others) and even though they all came from different wings of the underground music scene, together they built an arresting, minimalistic bedrock of synthesized and acoustic sounds for Agata to work his magic over. The recording sesssions were tense and it took a while for the collective to find their footing. But the hard work paid off — Norimono Zukan is a masterpiece of ramshackle new wave and droning dirges, topped off with Agata’s unmistakeable croon, at times delicate, other times twisted. It’s a relatively short album, but a deep one, and Mesh-Key is honored to introduce it to a new generation of music fans.

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Transport

25,19 €* 27,99 € -10%

Michal Prokop & Framus Five

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In the summer of 1979, a Chicago DJ started a riot that killed disco overnight. Inciting fans to blow up disco records during a nationally televised major league baseball game, the cultural impact of Disco Demolition Night was felt globally. It even made waves in Portland, Oregon.

In the months to follow, clubs in the City of Roses were out to hire anything but disco. For Transport, hot nights as a stage-ready show band would fade to memory. First went the horns, then the vocalists, until all that remained was the rhythm section. The band's days were numbered or so it seemed.

But keyboardists Jimmy and Johnny Sanders were fiercely experimental. Freed from the disco formula, the brothers' exchange over synthesizers and other keyed instruments was electric. With drummer Towner Galaher, the group bore songs in homage to the fusion music ever present in Portland. Inspired by the national success of local groups like the Jeff Lorber Fusion, Tom Grant, and Dan Siegel, the band was reborn.

Months before signing a multi record deal with Geffen, Quarterflash's Marv and Rindy Ross offered Transport a shot at recording in their home studio. The group recorded over two sessions and soon shelved the tapes. Band members were summarily recruited by other acts shortly thereafter. The tapes have continued to sit.

Now over four decades later we hear this music. With tape restoration and mastering by Gus Elg, a calculated spitshine envelops the recording and positions listeners in the shag carpet-lined haze of a 1970s fusion session. With design by Eric W Mast, viewers can check out the aforementioned period upholstery through archival photography in the album's insert, depicting wall-to-wall shag gracing the booths at Mel Brown's Drum Shop.

Out of the gate, "Latin Summer" burns through with an urgency akin to The Gangsters - an album recorded by members of this band a decade prior. On the Funkadelic-fused "Chrome Dome," Jimmy Sanders continues to make use of the synthesizer, through squiggling tones and fried bursts, as well as on “Gospel Bridge,” a track that evokes Heavy Weather in its Pollock-like splashes of melody. Jeff Bruce's fretless bass brings a psych-propelled elasticity to the groove, adding a sinful undercurrent to “Time of My Life” - a languorous tune that could be a Head Hunters outtake - while giving “Song For Valerie” a playful Peaches & Herb-like wiggle.

Transport's output is staggering for a group entirely unreleased and but a drop in the bucket for Portland's cottage industry recording business of yesteryear. This installment in the group's catalog probes a layer deeper.

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Mohlo By To Bejt Nebe

2LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Supraphon)

36,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (London)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Long awaited new album of our rock legend

After almost ten years since the release of “Sto roku na ceste” (One Hundred Years on the Road), here is a compilation of thirteen recordings by this year’s jubilant singer, musician, composer etc. Michal Prokop. Twelve original tracks and one cover version feature Prokop and his band Framus Five in a classic line-up, complete with extraordinary guests – and in great form.

Logically, nothing changes in the essence of the blues-based electric songwriting. The principle of a uniquely sung, melodically strong and carefully chosen-worded repertoire is once again a given. Seven times Michal Prokop himself, but also Lubos Andrst, Jan Hruby or Martin Nemec added new music, and the unreleased legacy of Petr Skoumal was also included. The already existing texts by Pavel srut, Zdenek Rytir and Jiri zacek were supplemented by Michal Bulir, Tomas Rorecek, Milan sasek, Martin Nemec and Jan Lacina. A special bonus is Jezek’s, Voskovec’s and Werich’s “Svet naruby” (World upside down), reminding us of the fate of the censor’s deleted recording from 1969 and the permanent validity of the old song.

Pleasant echoes of American rock, not just the violins demonstrating home-grown origins, thoughtfully sparing use of keys, winds and choruses. Emphasis on civil lyrics, effective choruses and memorable slogans. Proven listening functionality of this music and the friendly togetherness within the band. This is also why the creation of the album was able to cope with the serious health indisposition of guitarist Lubos Andrst, in his unfinished recordings respectfully replaced once by Michal Pavlicek and several times by Pavel Marcel.

Both CD and 2LP have been graphically decorated by the studio “3. dilna”, i.e. by Karel Haloun and Ludek Kubik. The fundamental visual concept is based on images of nature as an infinitely changing symbol of life. There is a complete set of song lyrics, and the inserted sheet offers documentary photos of Framus Five. The 180 gram vinyl version also provides a unique code to download the music in MP3 format for free.

It’s a sympathetically unsentimental album, colorful in arrangement, and needfully energetic. An album anchoring Michal Prokop in the position of an unmistakable Czech rocker, faithful to his own musical opinion and his numerous fans. An album released after a long time by Supraphon, where the singer started out an incredible fifty-three years ago.

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Blancmange

Private View

28,99 €*

CD | 2022 | EU | Original (London)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Pop

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Blancmange return with their 16th studio album ‘Private View’. The band returns to London Records some 40 years later after their first album ‘Happy Families’ (1982). Album features vocalist Neil Arthur with producer, keyboardist and programmer Ben Edwards (John Grant, Stephen Mallinder, John Foxx) and guitarist David Rhodes (Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker). With 7 Top 40 UK hits and 70 weeks in the UK Official Charts, Blancmange’s influence on the global electronic and pop music scenes cannot be understated. Private View is distinctly Blancmange while also expanding into new sonic terrain. There’s a deft marriage of futuristic electronic sounds, Neil Arthur’s unmistakable vocal hooks, and songs veer from buoyant and joyful to dark and brooding. Private View will be released on London Records almost exactly 40 years to the day since the label released Blancmange’s debut album Happy Families. This neat full circle of Blancmange re-signing to the same label that ignited things all those years ago is also reflected in the album itself, being the perfect crystallisation of four decades of creativity. On Private View Neil returns with key collaborator Benge (Wrangler, John Foxx, John Grant), and David Rhodes (Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker) also returns as the guitarist, having previously performed with the band as early as 1982’s Happy Families (as well as several other Blancmange albums). Private View is a record that manages to capture an artist who is potently in the moment when it comes to creating new work, while also being able to draw on 40 years’ worth of knowledge, experience, and built-in intuition. “I'm really lucky to be able make the music completely on my own terms,” Arthur says. “Being able to just continue being creative...that's when I'm happiest.” As he said before: “within myself there are no limits.” Blancmange is also reflected in the ongoing influence the music has on younger generations of artists and fans over the years. Contemporary electronic producers like Honey Dijon and Roman Flügel have paid tribute with remixes, Moby once called Blancmange “probably the most underrated electronic act of all time.”; while John Grant continues to profess his love for Arthur’s music, old and new, and has invited Blancmange to perform as part of Grace Jones’ Meltdown festival.

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Blancmange

Private View

18,99 €*

Levity Clear Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Pop

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The Stroppies

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Tough Love)

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Cosmocities)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Riyl: Guided by Voices, Pavement, The Clean, XTC, Flying Nun. The title of The Stroppies' newest LP, Levity, serves as a creative statement of intent and an acknowledgment of the dichotomy between the music they have made and the conditions in which they were produced. Levity, The Stroppies strongest creative statement to date, is the result of this new approach to creative process. Playful yet focused, but broader in scope and experimentation than previous efforts, the ten songs that comprise Levity continue the band's exploration of the pop song as both foil for experimentation and conduit for personal reflection. Whereas the group's debut LP Whoosh! demonstrated their ability to craft clean, concise jangle pop, Levity takes a different route by utilizing a darker pallet of sounds to create its impressionistic whole. Fuzz and distortion are employed to add weight to songs built on tape loops and Motorik drum patterns. Warbling synthesisers and modulated keys add new moods and dimensions to The Stroppies unique brand of pop classicism. Thematically, the band continues their exploration of the personal refracted through the lens of the absurd, though this time around the music feels a few shades darker, a somewhat inevitable consequence of the collective trauma of the past 24 months. While the narrative around the 'lockdown record' is increasingly commonplace, there are unavoidable realities involved in making creative decisions under such circumstances that can't be overlooked, especially for a band that thrives on collaboration. "The restrictions around Covid really informed the way we made the record', says Angus Lord, the band's co-founder and guitarist. "It meant that there was a lot less opportunity to meet and build ideas collaboratively, which is how we've worked in the past. Instead, ideas were developed in isolation, then shared digitally, developing slowly over correspondence and only bearing fruit when we were able to be in a room together. I think this had a big effect on the songwriting and execution." This process even extended to the studio, where The Stroppies found a kindred spirit in John Lee of Phaedra Studios, who mixed the record in isolation, somehow managing to synthesise the band's pop sensibilities with their penchant for studio experimentation. Furthermore, the addition of new member Zoe Monk, known for playing in a diverse array of Melbourne acts (Eggy, Thibault, The Opals) contributed both synthesiser experimentation and rock solid rhythm guitar, a huge addition to the band's developing sound, an infectious combination of the off-kilter 90s US underground, British artpunk ala Wire and a more than generous love of classic Pop songwriting. The Stroppies have managed to craft a record of weight and substance. Through Levity the Stroppies have, at least temporarily, found their feet amongst the chaos.

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Inkswel

Chasing Infinity

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Heist)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Adelaide producer & DJ Inkswel introduces his new project ‘The Snaglepuss’ with ‘Chasing Infinity,’ a concept LP with a star-studded guest list that takes us on a stylistic journey from hiphop and g-funk to up tempo broken beat, boogie and house. With guests including Talib Kweli, Amp Fiddler, Steve Spacek and Kylie Auldist the album describes a cosmic quest for a new galactic home, searching for a better place and stopping on every dancefloor on the way.

Inkswel (aka Jules Habib) has spent much of the last two decades in the Northern Hemisphere DJing every party and club from Rhythm Section in London to Output in New York and released music on BBE, Atjazz, Sonar Kollektiv, Tokyo Dawn and Motor City Wine. He’s produced tracks for artists like Pugz

Atoms & Georgia Anne Muldrow and remixed artists including Amp Fiddler and Dez Andrez. On the Snaglepuss material, he’s taken a more collaborative approach and much of this record was co-created with bassist Stephen Lane, Sloth on horns, UK broken beat royalty Kaidi Tatham and Inkswel’s wife and musical partner Erin Buku. Inkswel and the team’s genre bending productions draw influence from P Funk, 80s Pop, Boogie Funk, Classic 90s Hip hop and Contemporary Soul stitching it all together into a seamless multicoloured package.

The album kicks off with a nod to Inkswel’s musical roots, golden era hiphop. ‘Let It Grow’ features the legendary Talib Kweli, supported by Erin Buku and Baba Israel. Next up, staying in the hiphop lane, is ‘Everything’ feat. Dudley Perkins, followed by the spacey stylings of ‘Mystical Magic’ featuring Lee “Scratch” Perry and Elf Tranzporter and ‘Butterflies’ featuring Steve Spacek. From there the album turns up the tempo and the heat with the bouncy rollerdisco jam ‘New Day’ featuring Melbourne legends Kylie Auldist and N’fa Jones and the title track which features UK Soul luminary Oliver Night on vocals. Amp Fiddler jumps on organ and vocal duties on ‘How I Feel’ and Kaidi Tatham steps up on keys for ‘Cosmic Love Affair’ featuring the princely vibe of Erik Rico and contributes again to the instrumental cut ‘Intergalactic Bboy Anthem’. The album is rounded out by remixes from UK legend Mr Scruff, Detroit don DJ Dez Andrez and Adelaide’s Funkwig.

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Orlando Voorn

Heist Mastercuts EP

13,99 €*

CD | 2021 | UK | Original (Polytechnic Youth)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Heist welcomes, late 80’s DMC World DJ Championship contender, Techno veteran, and house royalty Orlando Voorn to the label with his ‘Heist Mastercuts’ EP.

Orlando Voorn is a man who needs little introduction. He’s played a pivotal role in the development of the electronic music scene in the Netherlands, as well as in the USA where he now lives. With countless aliases, he has released everything from old school hiphop to sample heavy breaks, to banging Detroit techno to soulful house music. His recent outings as ‘Frequency’ on Clone, as well as his latest EP on our sublabel Transient Nature, are proof that even after 30+ years, the man is still very much on top of his game.

The Heist Mastercuts EP sees Orlando dig deep in his archive for some of his undercover hits from the nineties that have been remastered for this EP. On top of that, he delivers a new track in the form of soulful house bomb “Be with you.”

“Be with you” starts off with a hazy groove and distant pads. The steady beat and funky electronic chops set a steady foundation for a rush-inducing string sample that works together with looping diva vocals for maximum dancefloor excitement. No heavy drumrolls, FX or other tools necessary here: It’s clever sampling and Orlando’s soulful touch that make this track tick.

Next up is the vinyl only track “Love Feelings” – originally released in ’96 on Urban Sounds of Amsterdam-. Think 130+ BPM vintage house grooves with hazy pads and you’ll get an idea of what’s coming. Love Feelings is an up-tempo dreamhouse track that, even though it’s almost 25 years old, still ticks all the boxes of a contemporary festival groover.

On the B-side you’ll find 2 versions of “Tenderness”: The original mix and the Late nite dub, both originally released on Clubstitute records back in ’95. The original has a 90’s garage groove with male vocal chops, old school house keys and strings. The late night dub is exactly that: a dreamy ethereal deephouse groove with warm synth hits, introverted percussion some very on point sax loops.

The Heist Mastercuts EP is the first EP of Orlando Voorn on Heist Recordings but considering the connection we’ve built with him over the last year and having heard the music he’s shared with us, we’re sure you’ll see much more of him on Heist in the future.

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Lone Bison

Transistor Memory

12,99 €*

Release: 2021 / UK – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Polytechnic Youth’s enforced, quickfire pre-Christmas release schedule continues apace here with the wonderful debut full length from Lone Bison. As many small labels are discovering just now, one of the only viable alternatives to the current nightmarish world of vinyl pressing, is wandering back into yesteryear and -armed with a call from the PY devotees to ‘just keep getting the music out’- turning to the previously scorned upon compact disc. With ticks alongside the ‘cramming more music onto it’, having it look cool and charging £9.99 tops, we present this fabulous first Lone Bison full length. An incredible 13 track, electronic project for Ramsgate UK based Nick Bonell. Inspired by a love for ‘70s German electronic music and the current golden age of synthesizer based film soundtracks, it’s key theme as Nick says is “Repetition. I just like to lose myself in interlocking arpeggios which transport me away from the stresses of the day job. The tunes came out of me moving increasingly away from guitar and towards using hardware synths like the Korg Ms20, and, having made music as part of a band or a duo- I fancied something solo this time. The album was recreated very quickly, often with single takes and carefully choosing times when the family and neighbours were out!” Hugely recommended to fans of Tangerine Dream / Klaus Schulze or Edgar Froeses’ solo work as well as Cluster and lots on (label favourite) Sky records’ output. Musically, the album is wonderful but the sleeve is pretty neat too; Nick adds “I will be forever grateful for the amazing linocut cover art by Ieuan Edwards aka The Black Gold Press. I originally asked if I could use an existing print, but he insisted on a bespoke piece and chiselled lino all night to turn around the print in 24 hours. Then Jules Bigg (one of the original team behind the launch of Ramsgate Music Hall) did the photography and graphic design, the man is a wizard. I am truly lucky to live in an area where, if you chuck a rock in the air, it will land on an artist or musician. I had pretty much given up on making original music, after the untimely death of my songwriting partner some years ago. However, living in an area where new venues have mushroomed and great gigs are so plentiful, has inspired me to dig out the synths and fx pedals again”. Released in a one time pressing only of 500 with insert cards carrying more of Ieuan and Jules’ work, the album is released by Polytechnic Youth in December.

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CD | 2021 | EU | Original (Kompakt)

Pop Ambient 2022

11,24 €* 14,99 € -25%

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Note: With THE Purchase OF THE Vinyl OR THE CD YOU Will GET THE Single MP3 Files AS Well AS A Continous MIX VIA E-mail. With the cover artwork for Pop Ambient 2022, longtime Kompakt graphic artist Veronika Unland has once again outdone herself. Following the almost baroque, blood-red and jet-black, extremely physical sculptures of Pop Ambient 2021, which emerged from a dark, floral sea like bodies erect for dancing, the front of 2022 is adorned with a pastel-white form, intertwined, folded many times and crisscrossed with delicate shading, which seems to float on a pale pink background; soft, gentle waves woven from Venetian colors that leave the viewer puzzled: Is it a flower, a coral, a mollusk?

Again, the current edition of the tradition-steeped compilation series curated by Wolfgang Voigt is about the persistent and ever-necessary definition of beauty, of reduction, of electronic music of heavy lightness and light heaviness, of ambient's eternal promise of a state of physical and acoustic weightlessness and Pop's of redemption. And about the question why a never arbitrary combination of soundscape, drones, samples and loops, put together in a certain way, can create this feeling of warmth, depth and space, - something three-dimensional, where the imagination feels at home as a fish in the water or a bird in the sky. A key aesthetic stimulus that sends all the senses into a slow glide and drift, after which your synapses feel like they've been bathed in essential oil. Next to Soul, Ambient is probably the most effective musical healing plant of mankind.

Behind the aural test tubes, the who's who of Pop Ambient is once again at work, led for the first time by the highly trafficked Californian duo Blank Gloss, whose debut album "Melt" this year was certified by The Guardian as nothing less than "heartaching beauty". Yui Onodera's "Chrome" as well as "Kari", a cooperation of Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth, could also be imagined in the score of Denis Villeneuve's new film version of Dune - however, colleague Hans Zimmer managed that quite well without the three. After such wonderful and stylish contributions by Reich & Würden, Triola and Thomas Fehlmann, the ear then lingers a bit longer on the ghostly "Weiht" by Morgen Wurde feat. Maria Estrella, a track like a temple of sound, a deep electronic immersion in a Japanese onsen. In this sea of unnameable time you could sink forever, but with the tracks of Andrew Thomas, Thore Pfeiffer and Max Würden & Pepo Galán the journey slowly comes to an end.

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LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Kompakt)

Pop Ambient 2022

Makoto Kubota & The Sunset Gang

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Important Note: Unfortunately THE Sides ARE Reversed ON THE Vinyl, I.E. THE A-side IS THE B-side AND Vice Versa. With THE Purchase OF THE Vinyl OR THE CD YOU Will GET THE Single MP3 Files AS Well AS A Continous MIX VIA E-mail. With the cover artwork for Pop Ambient 2022, longtime Kompakt graphic artist Veronika Unland has once again outdone herself. Following the almost baroque, blood-red and jet-black, extremely physical sculptures of Pop Ambient 2021, which emerged from a dark, floral sea like bodies erect for dancing, the front of 2022 is adorned with a pastel-white form, intertwined, folded many times and crisscrossed with delicate shading, which seems to float on a pale pink background; soft, gentle waves woven from Venetian colors that leave the viewer puzzled: Is it a flower, a coral, a mollusk?

Again, the current edition of the tradition-steeped compilation series curated by Wolfgang Voigt is about the persistent and ever-necessary definition of beauty, of reduction, of electronic music of heavy lightness and light heaviness, of ambient's eternal promise of a state of physical and acoustic weightlessness and Pop's of redemption. And about the question why a never arbitrary combination of soundscape, drones, samples and loops, put together in a certain way, can create this feeling of warmth, depth and space, - something three-dimensional, where the imagination feels at home as a fish in the water or a bird in the sky. A key aesthetic stimulus that sends all the senses into a slow glide and drift, after which your synapses feel like they've been bathed in essential oil. Next to Soul, Ambient is probably the most effective musical healing plant of mankind.

Behind the aural test tubes, the who's who of Pop Ambient is once again at work, led for the first time by the highly trafficked Californian duo Blank Gloss, whose debut album "Melt" this year was certified by The Guardian as nothing less than "heartaching beauty". Yui Onodera's "Chrome" as well as "Kari", a cooperation of Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth, could also be imagined in the score of Denis Villeneuve's new film version of Dune - however, colleague Hans Zimmer managed that quite well without the three. After such wonderful and stylish contributions by Reich & Würden, Triola and Thomas Fehlmann, the ear then lingers a bit longer on the ghostly "Weiht" by Morgen Wurde feat. Maria Estrella, a track like a temple of sound, a deep electronic immersion in a Japanese onsen. In this sea of unnameable time you could sink forever, but with the tracks of Andrew Thomas, Thore Pfeiffer and Max Würden & Pepo Galán the journey slowly comes to an end.

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Champroo

LP | 1975 | EU | Reissue (Wewantsounds)

34,99 €*

2LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Euphoria)

Release: 1975 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Wewantsounds is delighted to announce an ambitious Makoto Kubota reissue program with his three albums recorded with The Sunset Gang between 1973 and 1977. The albums feature Haruomi Hosono (who also co-produced ‘Hawaii Champroo’ and ‘Dixie Fever’) and also include Minako Yoshida, Taeko Ohnuki and Tatsuo Hayachi to name a few. Makoto Kubota has been one of Japan’s true musical innovators and following his involvement with Les Rallizes Dénudés in the early 70s, he developed a unique sound bringing American, Hawaiian and Okinawan music influences to his own Japanese folk music mix. Starting with the reissue of 'Hawaii Champroo' recorded in Honolulu in 1975 and co-produced by Haruomi Hosono, Wewantsounds will then release 'Sunset Gang' from 1973 followed by Dixie Fever from 1977. All albums have been newly remastered by Makoto Kubota and they each come with original artwork, OBI and the original japanese inserts. This is the first time the albums are released outside of Japan.

Recorded in 1975 at the famed Sounds of Hawaii studio in Honolulu, Hawaii Champroo was co-produced by Haruomi Hosono and marks the start of Kubota's keen interest in Hawaiian and Okinawan music (Champroo is derived from Chanpuru, the traditional Okinawan stir-fry dish). A companion album to Hosono's own 'Tropical Dandy' and 'Bon Voyage Co.' albums(on which Kubota plays), the album was at the forefront of a tropical musical movement started in Japan in the mid-70s. The core Sunset Gang consists of Kubota on Guitar, Takashi Onzo on bass, Yosuke Fujita on guitars and mandolin, Keni Inoue on lead guitar and Hiroki Komazawa on pedal steel guitar. They are joined on the album by Hosono on drums and Teriyuki Kokubu on piano. Having travelled to the United States in the early 70s, Makoto Kubota had fallen in love with American music and had brought back many influences from his sojourn on the East and West coast. these are evident from the tracks covered by the band on 'Hawaii Champroo', including Jesse Fuller's 'San Francisco Blues', The Rooftop Singers' 'Walk Right In' (an old Gus Cannon ragtime) or The Texas Playboys' classic 'Steel Guitar Rag.' 'Hawaii Champroo' also features originals such as the funky 'Shanghai Gaeri' and a nod to the Hula Hawaiian dance 'Moonlight Hula'. One of the highlights of the album is the classic 'Haisai Ozisan', the Okinawan 1972 cult classic by Shoukichi Kina which has become a standard in Japan. All in all, 'Hawaii Champroo' is a timeless classic and one of the key Japanese albums from the 70s which Wewantsounds is happy to introduce outside of Japan for the first time.

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Omni A.M.

Key

12" | 2020 | US | Original (Clear)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Born out of a love for extended live performance and late night studio jams, Adam Collins' and Marky Star's much revered Omni A.M. collaboration released their debut LP 'Key' 23 years ago, also launching their label Euphoria Records. A very limited amount of CDs were pressed and sold exclusively at Euphoria events throughout Chicago at the time, and with Omni A.M. and Euphoria's stock rising over the following decades, this timeless classic has become a Holy Grail amongst music heads and collectors alike, as the eye watering discogs prices will attest. Although heavily influenced by the Chicago house scene and it's luminaries Derrick Carter, Gemini, DJ Heather and Tyree Cooper, the pair embarked on a remarkable mission to record an album that owes much to their love of The Orb and KLF, the experimentalism of Psychic TV and Cabaret Voltaire, industrial favourites Skinny Puppy and the mind bending dub of Lee Scratch Perry, through to San Fran's West Coast house scene and the Tech-House sounds emanating from South London in the late '90s. LP opener 'space horse' rolls out the breaks before swathes of synths and sonic trickery abound, 'wo ist meine bier?' is characterised by haunting IDM-esque melodies, underpinned by the chug of a 4/4 beat. Over onto the flip where Villalobos favourite 'naked groove' unleashes an infectious rhythm, bass riff, synths and vocal, before 'splendid idea' moves into a more tripped out acidic territory, keeping the musical elements and energy to the fore. On disc 2, the aptly titled 'fusion' turns up the breakbeat heat, adds a hypnotic dub-funk b-line, building into an inspirational lead line. 'v.23's other-worldly throb neatly segues into the moody burning breaks of 'bitch', and closing track 'ready to know' is playful and confident in it's execution, without ever losing any depth or substance. What comes across is an unwavering dedication to creativity and pushing the boundaries of what's sonically possible, whilst defying the genres through a unique and essential collection of musical moments and psychedelic jams underpinned by beats that deliver the funk. These tracks have stood the test of time and have remained exciting and relevant throughout, this is the first time they have ever been released on vinyl. This double LP features exclusive edits and never heard before versions, lovingly remastered by Lawrie Curve Pusher from the original DATs and artwork recreated from, and inspired by the original release.

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Steve Summers

Counter-Factuals

5,99 €* 14,99 € -60%

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Sosure)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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It’s been a while since we last heard from Steve Summers, one of the many musical aliases of former Brooklyn and Berlin resident turned Chicago-based producer Jason Letkiewicz. When he last landed on proudly Chicagoan imprint Clear with the robust and unearthly “Artificial Light” EP, it was on the back of nine years spent building up Steve Summers as a purveyor of forthright club cuts that pushed at the limits of acceptability. That was 2017. In the three years since, Letkiewicz has prioritized projects that indulge different sides of his complex musical persona. There was the critically acclaimed, all-action Mutant Beat Dance “record album booklet” on Rush Hour – a collaboration with Melvin Oliphant III and Beau Wanzer – and then the EBM, electro and industrial-influenced grooves of Opposing Currents on Artificial Dance. 2018 also saw him release the sophomore set from his 1980s horror soundtrack-infused Death Commando project, while in 2019 Letkiewicz finally put out his first album under his given name – the picturesque new age and ambient movements of “The Reflecting Pool” on Into The Light. But that was then. Now Letkiewicz has finally donned the Steve Summers pseudonym again for a return to Clear that’s defiantly intense and otherworldly in tone, “Counter-Factuals” is powered primarily by the kind of psychedelic acid lines and thrusting machine drums that have long been a hallmark of Chicago house. This is no nostalgia-fest though, with Letkiewicz’s take on “acid” being more abstract and unorthodox than the music of his predecessors. Proof of this analysis arrives straight away, with EP opener “Counter- Factuals” ratcheting up the intensity through waves of hallucinatory acid lines, blunted electronics, druggy male vocal samples and clanking machine beats. Letkiewicz takes similar sonic approach on “People Watching”, whose full-throttle approach cuts a path through jacking acid house, surging EBM and the more dystopian aspects of 1980s industrial music. Over on side B, Letkiewicz combines all of these sounds and inspirations on a cut that pivots around the twin attractions of trance-inducing acid lines and hypnotic analogue beats. Clocking in at a fraction less than nine minutes, the track surges forward relentlessly on a tornado of off-key electronics, fizzing Tb-303 acid lines and barely audible speech snippets. It seems a fitting conclusion to one of Letkiewicz’s most impactful releases to date.

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Hollis Parker

Newscapism

17,99 €*

CD | 2020 | EU | Original (Favorite)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Pure House from an emerging name is rare – the kind of sound that you would expect to hear from the greats, Masters at Work, Dennis Ferrer, Honey Dijon, Kerri Chandler, CJ Mackintosh… This is the authentic real deal from Hollis Parker and his new album Newscapism. He is a unique DJ who crafts his productions with a touch of the old-school NYC production style with added hip hop feel and jazz fusion style, but with a totally contemporary and fresh approach, effortlessly holding his own against the above greats and an artist to take note of. New York (Queens) born and London based, his roots really shine through with regards to his production style. This new album Newscapism is a natural extension of his last album, continuing the story, reflecting his final 24 hours in the city and his move away to a new life. The tracks individually examining what was holding him there and why he had to move away. Continuing the narrative, naturally bringing you to the next chapter in his life with a new city, new loves and new adventures. Using samples to create a collage of different feels and structures in his tracks like ‘Can’t Let Go’ exhibiting the emotion of a reluctance to leave, full of energy, pace and floating piano keys and a driving kick, house production at its finest. With diverse tempo’s and feels featuring throughout ‘The Way You’re Making Me Feel’ is slightly low slung but still dreamy in its feel. Moving onto ’Uptown Sunday Morning (aka Flashback), with more sub-bass, spoken word and jazz elements, it is then followed by the interlude ‘Reasons For Leaving’ giving further insight int the city. Further pace, guitar licks and house mastery are introduced on City Blues, and a homage to the big apple in ‘A Page About Manhattan’ and then onto ‘A Fair Goodbye’ closing out his NYC story and bringing his album to a subtle end. This is a cohesive and emotional collection of pure house tracks and joy to hear in its entirety. Hollis Parker has managed to consistently put out material that pays homage to his roots both in Hip Hop, Jazz, Jazz Fusion and House, garnering support from heavyweights such as Larry Heard, DJ Sneak, Charles Webster and Joyce Muniz to name a few. This is undoubtedly a name that many of you will first discover and subsequently pay attention to.

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Le Deal

Jazz Traficantes

14,99 €*

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Favorite)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Favorite Recordings presents Jazz Traficantes by LE Deal, a new musical adventure from the finest French jazzmen with Florian Pellissier (Piano & Fender Rhodes - Camaraõ Orkestra, Cotonete, Aldorande, Setenta), Yoann Loustalot (Flugelhorn – Bruit Chic, Old & New Songs, Aerophone, Lucky Dog), Théo Girard (Upright Bass – Pensée Rotatives, Discobole) and Malick Koly (Drums - The Wallace Roney Quintet). Needless to say, they’re used to play all over the globe and quite often to New York. During one of these trips to the Big Apple, they discovered that the legendary Van Gelder studio (where most of Blue Note, Verve and CTI albums were recorded) was still active and opened so they decided to book a few days session. Here is the story told by Florian Pellissier: “The tracks had been written the night before. We were going to run through them and then record. A simple plan. Van Gelder had passed a while back, but he left the keys and secret codes with his faithful assistant Maureen before heading off to create the right sound up in heaven. Nothing had changed in the atmosphere or configuration, not even the way the mics were placed. The studio and its wooden beams still exuded New York’s sixties jazz, dimly lit streets and clubs where anything might happen past midnight. Maureen knew just how to capture the ambiance of the sessions and bottle the energy without spilling a drop, taking infinite care to collect each cymbal tone, drum roll and trumpet phrase, without losing a single vibrating bass string or the slightest keyboard pause.” Indeed, the four contrabandists succeeded to deliver an outstanding album, filled with themes that’ll get stuck in your head, just like in the 19 minutes long performance “Mexican Junkanoo Suite” and its three parts. But more than just beautiful melodies, LE Deal truly managed to bring a sense of drama to their compositions, going into the deepest emotions through gutted arrangements, improvising with great attention to the articulation of their ideas. From the beginning to the end, musicians and engineers did their best to emulate the proper vintage sound. Jazz Traficantes could prove once and for all that French Jazz can indeed cross the borders. The album will be available as Tip-On Deluxe Vinyl LP but also on CD & Digital with a bonus track, “Noche en la Carcel”.

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Le Deal

Jazz Traficantes

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Ltf Records)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Franky Rizardo

Primrose EP

13,99 €*

LP | 1984 | UK | Reissue (Outernational)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Franky Rizardo announces the launch of his new label, LTF Records with four-track EP ‘Primrose’. The culmination of a number of years hard work, the Dutch DJ, producer, promoter and now label head proudly presents an outlet for his own music.
Encompassing an immersive feeling of energised focus, involvement and enjoyment of his journey within the industry so far, LTF Records (Listen To Flow) is Franky Rizardo’s new platform to transport its listeners and followers into a flow state of mind.
One of The Netherlands finest exports, Franky Rizardo has established himself as an international touring artist, as well as name renowned within his own country. Being an ever present on Dutch national radio station, SLAM! has provided him with the perfect platform to develop and nurture a label that is crafted with clear intentions and identity. Building a career based on strong philosophies, Franky has consistently aimed to do his own thing, keep everything in perspective and most of all, having fun.
From ingraining himself within the ANTS and elrow camps, to releasing on labels such as Strictly Rhythm, Rejected, Saved and 8Bit, Franky has become a name synonymous with deep driving house music that blurs the lines between Techno and House. The multi-faceted Dutch artist has also represented himself and his brand FLOW, at events such as Tomorrowland, Fabric – London, Shelter – Amsterdam, Amnesia – Ibiza and Soho Garden Dubai, further cementing his status as a one of electronic music’s most dynamic individuals.
Across four-tracks on the ‘Primrose’ EP, Franky focuses his energy firmly on the dancefloor, keeping people locked into his flow state. Opening with ‘Primrose’, the tracks low-end rumbles throughout, supplying the perfect atmosphere to keep the crowd moving. ‘Faze’ offers a wonky blissed out vocal alongside stabbing synth. Whereas ‘DC Terrace’ is a nod to the peak-time movements at Ibiza’s famous club, DC10. Closing the EP ‘Clouds’ provides an energised up-tempo focus track to engage to zone.
The label launches at time when authenticity within the industry is key, Franky continues to focus on his own output, never taking himself too seriously and always keeping full perspective on the task at hand. Inviting you to join him with LTF Records, Franky wants you to enter his flow state.

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Nate Morgan

Retribution, Reparation

Music For Film Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 1984 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Available on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1984, Outernational Sounds proudly presents Build An Ark pianist Nate Morgan’s second outing for the celebrated Nimbus West label – the conscious and spiritualised sounds of Retribution, Reparation.

Pianist Nate Morgan (1964-2013) was a central figure on the Los Angeles jazz undergound. A core member of the circle around the legendary bandleader, pianist and community organiser Horace Tapscott, Morgan had been part of Tapscott’s U.G.M.A.A. (Union Of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension) since he was just a teenager, and was a key member of the Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra, known as ‘The Ark’. Through the 1980s and 1990s he kept the PAPA flame alive, organising the Ark’s sprawling songbook, running legendary jam sessions, and keeping LA’s deep jazz roots well watered. By the early 2000s he was bringing hard won knowledge to a new generation as part of the Build The Ark collective. He was a musician’s musician, at the beating heart of the radical, community-minded Los Angeles jazz network that Tapscott and his associates had first put together in the early 1960s.

Retribution, Reparation was the second of the two LPs Morgan recorded for Tom Albach’s storied Nimbus West imprint. His first, Journey Into Nigritia (Outernational Sounds OTR- 008), had been a declaration of arrival laced with energies drawn from Cecil Taylor and Coltrane. One year later, with nods to Herbie Hancock (‘One Finger Snap’) and Ellington (‘Come Sunday’), Retribution, Reparation was a confident statement of purpose. Politically charged with pan-Africanist and Black nationalist sentiments inspired by Marcus Garvey, and titled with uncompromising directness, the album focusses the soundworld of the Ark into a surging, restless masterpiece of spiritualised modal jazz. With Danny Cortez on trumpet and Ark stalwart Jesse Sharps on saxophones the frontline is explosive (this set is also one of the few places the extraordinary Sharps can be heard in a small group setting), while Fritz Wise and Ark regular Joel Ector hold down the rhythm section. Morgan’s forceful, Tyner-like chords and virtuosic solos and bind the music together. From the poised drama of the opening dedication to Tapscott’s U.G.M.A.A. (‘U.G.M.A.A.GER’) to the propulsive militancy of the title track, Retribution, Reparation spreads the word: ‘Advance to Victory, Let Nigritia Be Free!’

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Jacaszek

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Ghostly Edition)

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Hear The Art)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Since his earliest projects nearly two decades ago, Polish composer Michal Jacaszek has kept some proximity to film music. Initially, his output simply felt cinematic by nature; densely detailed electroacoustic textures on releases like Lo-Fi Stories (2004), Treny (2008) and Glimmer (2011) evoked dimly-lit worlds within themselves, vignettes of the imagination. Over time his interest in sound design and collaboration would manifest actual film projects and commissions, some of which have earned him awards. Jacaszek's practice - an amalgamation of ambient, classical, and musique concrete - deploys field recordings, acoustic samples, poetry, and baroque instrumentation to paint pictures, oftentimes melancholic, nostalgic, tragic. His 2020 album, Music For Film, marks the naturally-occurring intersection of his identities as a solo artist and a film score artist. The collection is now sequenced and released as a single autonomic movement. "I didn't write to particular scenes," says Jacaszek, recalling the process of envisioning music for Rainer Sarnet's 2017 black-and-white fantasy drama November. "He asked me to create a bunch of pieces for a dark fairytale-like movie about love in old Estonian pagan times - full of dark magic, strange beliefs, poverty, grit, and natural beauty." That versatile purpose from the onset affords the material particular pliability in the album format; the pieces work on their own. Two tracks originated from the 2019 documentary He Dreams of Giants; another was first used in 2008 project Golgota wroc?awska. Context removed, they fuse seamlessly; ten years time between some recordings, erased. A visceral dynamism emerges here with a relatively restricted palette of sounds. Music moves in measured steps, inconspicuous yet holding attention. Opener "The Zone" is curious and brittle, crawling on keys and a foundational bass thump as strings seep beneath in a raspy hush. Centerpiece "Dance" folds into an ominous and molasses-slow trot through minor chords, spacious percussion, and static, all under the spell of a mournful violin lead. Windswept vocals haunt "Liina" from a distance, while they sink deeply into orchestral closer "November Late." Jacaszek's work is that of an auteur; he has signatures that he uses faithfully and with much aplomb. Listeners can expect subtle gesture and baroque grandeur on Music For Films: soaring melodies cloaked in reverberation, delicate piano ruminations, and textural craftwork capable of creating and disrupting motifs, smothering and enchanting minds.

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Moab Dep

Art Of Heart EP

14,99 €*

LP | 1981 | EU | Reissue (Bureau B)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Melodies Of Ancient Beats Depth or Deep, (with Dep also meaning beautiful in Indonesian) is the meaning of this newly created persona from the artist DemoDc. After many years of experimenting with music making, releasing digital eps and albums, Demo has come to an end of a cycle arriving to a mature state of craftsmanship, ready to deliver his dream onto the vinyl medium.
This is the 1st ep that kickstarts a volume of a 5 ep project. Its own kind of album type edition so to speak. Down the rabbit hole is a deeply rich exploration of the unknown, immersing oneself with faith and love into a pandora’s box type scenario to find not chaos and random violence of destruction yet a carefully arranged melodic structure of orderly tapestry, traveling through the expression of quirky acid gobbles, with a steady deep chord of drive, arriving at a climatic unwind of free moving dance type melodies and wonder. This track gives electro a fresh stroke to a well founded genre, giving it a different approach to the medium. Today’s special is a track held close to heart, made back in 2007 after a skiing incident left MOAB DEP immobilized for 2 weeks. Whilst having travelled to NZ Queenstown for the trip, it dawned on the wounded artist to make sense elsewhere with his time, using it to create a very special track, of course unknowingly at the time. Returning home to Adelaide it quickly become a favourite for many underground artists yet the track has never really been given a chance to shine, to be heard…. not until now 12 years later, 2019.
All made on his laptop, no midi used ( which is to be said mostly with all tracks created at heartheartrecords studios).
Today’s Special has a certain energy and vibe that immediately calls for the listener to pay attention. From its moody beginnings with lush rhodes keys, glitch ambient sounds, followed by the groovy-type horn sounding hook, whisking the listener away into a sunsetting type mood elevating itself onto new ground each step of the way. With some subtle bass movements and emotive chord progression, we arrive at a very warm heartfelt dance track that can only leave any dedicated listener and lover of common deep house music, with a tingling effervescence of radiant glow and smiles.
Today’s Special proves to be its own cult hit within the archives of tracks made in the heartheartrecords realm. Today's special celebrates the meaning of 'NOW' the present moment.

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Serge Blenner

Magazin Frivole

27,99 €*

7" | 2019 | UK | Original (Cacophonic)

Release: 1981 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie, Electronic & Dance

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Bureau B present a reissue of Serge Blenner's Magazin Frivole, originally released in 1981. Cold, concise analog synthesizer instrumentals -- on his second album Serge Blenner remained true to his style, albeit shifting course slightly towards pop territory. The juxtaposition of dark harmonies and pop structures is what makes this album so appealing. In places, it feels like a blueprint for early Depeche Mode. Having seen his first album La Vogue (BB 324CD/LP) snapped up by the Sky Records and fast-tracked for release in 1980, Blenner delivered his second LP, Magazin Frivole, the following year. Mindful of the success of its predecessor, Blenner added the name of his debut in big letters to the front cover of the new sleeve. Blenner remained faithful to his musical style, albeit adding more of a pop flavor. Magazin Frivole would not look out of place filed alongside Depeche Mode on the record shelf, as a certain resemblance is undeniable. Moreover, Blenner was one of the few proponents of electronic music who preferred to keep his songs concise, in contrast to the meandering odysseys of many of his electronic contemporaries. The far better-known French artist Jean-Michel Jarre adhered to similar principles, yet although Blenner was often compared to his compatriot, he claims only to have heard his music long after La Vogue had appeared. Minor chords dominate his harmonies, the bass performs octave leaps which mirror the zeitgeist. Unexpected key changes abound, adding a restless, almost disquieting quality. Overall, Magazin Frivole is less dark than the preceding album, but a picture of cheerfulness it is not. Nevertheless, a poppy drum computer introduces a lighter note. From the very first track, chord changes pop up at unexpected junctures -- they seem to come in prematurely, before harmonic sequences have run their course. Blenner doesn't have any explanation for this curiosity, other than to note that "most of the music was played by hand, so of course it wasn't all perfect." "I did all I could to avoid being successful -- on a subconscious level, at least. Unpredictable metrics and irregular beats were definitely part of the process," Blenner admits with an enigmatic smile. Juxtaposed with Blenner's more recent works, one can see what he means. His latest album Musique de Chambre (2008) comprises modern classical chamber music, built on digitally sampled real instruments. Besides, Blenner points out, handling all of those analog devices was a convoluted and complex undertaking.

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Brussels Art Quintet

Vas-Y Voir

11,99 €*

LP | 2018 | UK | Original (Brainfeeder)

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The lesser-spotted jazz atoms that formed the fusion of Futurist Flanders! It might sound like an ambitious claim but having been a firm fixture at the top of many European jazz collector want lists over the past decade Finders Keepers wouldn't be alone when proclaiming this extremely rare, lesser-known two-track 7" from 1969 as one of the best jazz 45s of all time! Alongside Polish pianist Krzysztof Komeda's soundtrack 7" for the film Cul-De-Sac and ranking closely with François Tusques' commemorative Le Corbusier exhibition 45 (featuring Don Cherry) this format-specific release known only as Brussels Art Quintet might well sit at the top of the podium while striking similarities and arguably combining the best stylistic traits of both aforementioned contenders.

This is all speculative and clearly a matter of individual opinion but it's not often that one should find a recording from this era, comprising such high production qualities, keen compositional values and robust craftsmanship spread across two equally spellbinding individual tracks, all of which awards this record justified hyperbole albeit subject to a 50 year delay. It is safe to say that this unique release is "rare" on many levels. Like all privately pressed art projects this 45 comprises some serious outsider art trappings. However, on closer inspection it also stands as a pivotal record in the micro-genre of Belgian jazz, pin-pointing an early axis for some vital progressive jazz players who went on to become sturdy pillars of the central European happening.

Essentially as a five-piece, the short-lived Brussels Art Quintet neatly combines members of both the mythical Babs Robert Quartet (early exponents of Belgian spiritual jazz) and key players from the leading progressive jazz/rock/funk unit known as COS (formally Classroom) who would stand as close affiliates of the likes of Marc Moulin, Kiosk and Placebo through the 1970s. Reproduced in close collaboration with COS leader Daniel Schell, who, under the early guise of Daniel "Max" Schellekens, authored both tracks that make up this facsimile 45 single, this one-off single includes the only known output by the Brussels Art Quintet thus marking the essential in-road to instantly start and complete your entire BAQ collection not without reliving the early germination of the froward-thinking jazz fusion that came to shape Belgium's truly unique movement.

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Dorian Concept

The Nature Of Imitation

12" | 2018 | EU | Original (Cree)

Release: 2018 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Following the release of “Joined Ends” in 2014 – a deeply intimate and textured project he describes as his “chamber music” record – Dorian Concept performed everywhere from Glastonbury to Sonar to MoMA PS1’s Warm Up and then deliberately took himself off the radar. The time since has been spent meticulously un-learning his prodigious production process and developing a brand new sound that even the most clued-up won’t be expecting – showcased on ‘Promises’, in the most prominent use of his voice to date. The recording and processing of his vocals represent not only a more human expression of his highly technical sound, but also an inclination toward recursion – the challenge, ephemerality, and demand for attention of “unequal repetition” which shapes the build and deconstruction of energy throughout the record.

Taking inspiration from multi-generational eclecticism (‘60s jazz, ‘70s fusion, ‘80s neo prog-rock, ‘90s electronica), Dorian Concept sought to replicate “modern” music elements with old-fashioned methods, live-playing and hand-recording deceptively digital sounds in service of a tongue-in-cheek “parody of nostalgia”. Having produced the record largely in the years 2016 and 2017 – widely characterized as periods of a cultural reckoning throughout the democratic world – he ambitiously took timely themes of cumulative error, shortening attention spans and subjective experience and transposed them into his making. As is to be expected from him by now, for all the considered, high-concept musing, the result is refreshingly unpretentious: dizzying swells, cacophonous breakdowns and formidable rhythms are both expert and childlike, hyperactive and hyper-focused.

Born Oliver Thomas Johnson, the self-taught keyboardist and producer should be no stranger to those in the Brainfeeder orbit. He first caught the attention of the crew in its infancy, when head honcho Flying Lotus discovered Dorian Concept’s MySpace profile and swiftly included a remix in his lauded debut Essential Mix (2008). Dorian Concept went on to tour with FlyLo’s live band, appeared at some of Brainfeeder’s earliest international label nights in 2009 (Off-Sonar in Barcelona and the infamous Hearn Street Car Park session in London), and released a string of celebrated EPs and albums for Kindred Spirits imprint Nod Navigators, Affine and Ninja Tune – as well as remixing Taylor McFerrin, contributing production to Thundercat’s “The Golden Age of Apocalypse” and playing keys on Flying Lotus’ seminal “Cosmogramma”.

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Leston Paul

Let's Party Tonight

LP | 1973 | UK | Reissue (Pure Pleasure)

Release: 2018 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Limited edition vinyl!
Only one copy per customer!
Being totally infected in the mid Seventies by the new possibilities analog synthesizers were offering in sound and studio production, Leston Paul became the pioneer in electronic music production in the early Eighties in Trinidad. Leston Paul is one of the most in-demand music producers and arrangers in the Carribeans. It is said that he has worked as a producer on more than twenty thousand recordings.
In 1983 Leston Paul felt the time was right to record his debut album, 'The Arrival' which was done at K.H. Studios in Port of Spain. His obsession with synthesizers led to a heavy use of electronic instruments like an Oberheim synth, a Roland bass machine, a Roland drum machine and a Simmons Digital Clap Machine on this record. Most of the instruments were played by Leston himself. On vocals he used well known singers like Charmaine Forde, Nadie La Fond, Carl & Carol Jacobs, Joanne Wilson and Peter Britto.
Due to lack of proper distribution sales weren't very good. This circumstance makes this record very rare today and sought after.
Leston was introduced to Kool & The Gang's background vocalist Barbara Hernandez by his friend Jeff Medina. Leston had started to write and record All Nite Tonight in Trinidad and brought the song to New York. At the Millford Plaza Hotel Hernandez and Paul finalized the song and decided to re-record the track at the Sound Lab Studio. Kool & The Gang were playing a gig the same day of the recording session in New York and Leston managed to get them into the sudio to record the horn section.
Barabara Hernandez took Leston to Kool & The Gang's home studio in New Jersey and was very impressed by the sound quality they were able to produce and decided to adopt this model in Trinidad. While working on the recording of Arrow's 'Hot Hot Hot' album in New York in 1982 he had his first encounter with an Apple Macintosh computer being used in a studio and was deeply impressed. From the money he made from the production of Arrow's album he bought a Tascam eight-track recorder and an Apple Macintosh computer.
In the bedroom of his apartment in St. Augustine he set up the first home recording studio in Trinidad. Here he produced his next album 'Keys To The City' in 1987, which was completely done on a computer and showcases the potential of electronic music production. The track Everyday Life is very popular among djs and electronic music enthusiasts.

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Cecil Payne

Zodiac

34,99 €*

LP | 2017 | EU | Original (The New Black)

Release: 1973 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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It's impossible to talk about this album without acknowledging the spectre of death that hangs over it - not only is it the third entry in Strata-East Records' Dolphy Series, a collection of archival recordings from some of the label's close associates honoring the recently deceased multi-instrumentalist, but it is actually dedicated to two members of the band, Wynton Kelly and Kenny Dorham, who died in between the recording sessions and its release. The point is driven home even further by the fact that the album begins with a tribute from Payne to the fallen Martin Luther King, Jr., a piece that acts as a de facto solo for Dorham - his playing all rosy elegance and regal warmth - before shifting into the lighter (though equally coolly-paced) "I Know Love," a showcase for Payne's sax. While not the most somber jazz track ever recorded, this opening suite is a low-key and mournful way to open the affair, but thankfully the album really picks off and shows these musicians more in their element the rest of the way.

"Girl, You Got a Home" is a funky piece, beginning very soulfully with some tight interplay among the rhythm section of Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Albert Heath. Ware is in especially fine form on this track, tying together the disparate passages of the piece by grounding the more ponderous moments in a deep funk, while Kelly's playing is especially ear catching in the way he stabs at his piano like it's an organ. After the first two tracks take up nearly twenty minutes, the four-minute "Slide Hampton" feels almost impossibly brief, a feeling that's enhanced by its quick, jittery, and infectious rhythm, driven by some really dexterous work from Kelly. The final track, "Flying Fish," may be the album's highlight, a Caribbean-inspired composition that casts the rhythm section as flighty ground for both Payne and Dorham to vamp on. The track is oddly danceable for something released on Strata-East, maybe the most fun moment ever for the label, and relentlessly uptempo. Though this release may be in part defined by the deaths that preceded it, it's clear that the recording process was actually a lot of fun for everybody, as their enthusiasm and energy jumps right out of the speakers. This is one of the first Strata East records I really got into and is still one of my favorites, a must-hear for any fans of the flightier moments of Dorham or Kelly's career, and a fitting tribute for both master musicians.

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Roll The Dice

Born To Ruin

17,99 €*

2LP | 2017 | US | Original (Audika)

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Peder Mannerfelt and soundtrack composer Malcolm Pardon reprise their acclaimed cinematic duo, Roll The Dice for a 4th album of moving, widescreen electro-acoustic sound design, ambient and rhythmic noise themes. Huge recommendation if you're into Peder's solo material or indeed Colin Stetson, The Haxan Cloak, John Carpenter, Deathprod, Willie Burns...

It's an intensely physical yet starkly spacious suite of stone cut electronics and frozen instrumental timbres that in the space of ten sensually riveting and often punishing tracks wrest a poignant, timely sense of emotion from oblique, shadowy structures and burning tonal textures.

Issued on the duo’s newly minted label, The New Black, and incorporating the vital input of Per ‘Ruskträsk’ Johansson’s beastly saxophone animations, the results pursue Roll The Dice’s two soundtrack contributions - for the Blanck Mass-curated score to Belgian horror movie The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears [2013], and their score/end credits for The Last Panthers - into more visceral psychoacoustic space where there’s scant chance of escaping their gloaming tonal apparitions and tensile, bony percussions.

The set is less a mannered symphony, like Until Silence, and more an urgent, angry clash of duelling jazz noise cyborgs, rendering their sound in sharply angular, convulsive spasms of vacuum-packed wind, wood-on-skin, and black cloud palls whose semi-organic nature is belied by the dry punch of air-tight studio production. The results are more pummelling and angered than anyone has previously heard in their music, forging a much harder nosed, anxious aesthetic whose intent resonates with contemporary political pressures.

In between the muzzled grind and bark of album opener The Derailed and the depressive grip of it’s closing statement, Broken In Time, Mannerfelt and Pardon’s dissected instrumentation is tweaked to aching levels of tension, sometimes a sublime tension as with the wilting keys and weightless bass jabs that support Under The Arches and The Kronos Quartet-like pits of Coffin & Nails, or equally with a death-drive fury in the condensed Faust-meets-Tony Conrad impact of Cannonball, the nerve-biting burnout of Bright Lights, Dark Hearts, and yoked tight into Locked Hands’ breathless escalation of arid white noise and thorny pulse.

By straying from the lighter sensual relief conveyed in their earlier releases, Born To Ruin manifests Roll The Dice’s riskiest but arguably most successful move in ten years of producing together, one which pays off with deeply bittersweet appeal though intimate investment and focussed reception.

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Arthur Russell

Instrumentals

41,99 €*

LP | 2016 | EU | Original (Teklife)

Release: 2017 / US – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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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.

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Taso

New Start

14,44 €* 16,99 € -15%

2LP | 2016 | EU | Original (430 West)

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Teklife Records are ready to drop their third release: New Start by Taso. The 7 track LP features collaborations with DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn, Gant-Man, DJ Tre, DJ Manny, DJ Taye and DJ Earl. New Start follows on from a highly coveted vinyl edition, critical acclaim and strong DJ Support for Open Your Eyes by DJ Earl. Once again, the spirit of collaboration is a key element: Teklife is a closely connected group of friends, working together harmoniously, and pushing each other to greater heights and depths through a shared love of footwork music. Smoke Dat Green, Taso’s collaboration with DJ Earl, was featured on Open Your Eyes, and now Taso himself takes centre stage for the next instalment, presenting unreleased classics alongside brand new footwork sounds. An accomplished DJ and MC, Taso frequently appears alongside Spinn at Teklife showcases all over the world. But despite a busy touring schedule, Taso never stops making beats. A multi-instrumentalist with a degree in audio engineering, Taso fuses raw musical talent with technical expertise. Since January this year, he has released an impressive 8 volumes of the Cold Heat EP series, bringing together a whole range of musical styles and moods through his MPC at 160 BPM. This versatility and willingness to draw inspiration from different sources is evident throughout the New Start LP. The title track is sultry and soulful, with Rashad and Spinn’s masterful influence clearly present. Don’t Get Mad provides a stark contrast: a dancefloor-orientated hype track featuring an on point vocal by Gant-Man. Bussin featuring DJ Manny and DJ Tre sounds like a love letter from footwork to jungle music. Over on the flip side, we start off with AM Track: another beautifully crafted classic featuring DJ Rashad and Dj Spinn. In the Green Room featuring Dj Taye is a muscular, speaker-rattling West Coast jam, and Murda Bass takes its cue from golden era UK Dubstep. The heavily - filtered final notes of De Capo Al Coda featuring DJ Earl round off a diverse but consistently high quality outing from Taso and the Teklife family. Message from Taso: “Thank you and much respect for supporting Teklife music. Without you there is no us. This record is dedicated to DJ Rashad and his family.”

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Octave One

Love By Machine

20,99 €*

LP | 2012 | EU | Original (Pingipung)

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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A year after their impressive last album Burn It Down, Detroit techno legends Octave One are back with a nine track double EP that again shows they are masters of big hypnotic grooves.
Entitled Love by Machine, the album's name is a nod to the fact that the Burden brothers are such revered masters of their hardware. Both in the studio, where they cook up atmospheric house and techno with soaring synths and vocals and also in the live arena, where they are celebrated as one of the most accomplished and forward thinking performers in the game today. That is all the more impressive when you bear in mind they have been active since the ‘80s, most often releasing on their own 430 West label, which is where they appear again here.

Say Lenny: "We've been exploring the theme of connection with this project. How technology gives us the illusion that we are closer to each other more than ever. At some point humanity crossed a line where the devices that we created to bring us together are the same devices that are blocking us from organic experiences.”

"Technology is only a tool, which we also had in mind during the recording process.” Adds Lawrence. "We decided to go back to how we used to make our records, when we didn't have so many ‘sophisticated' audio devices. Back to when we interacted in the studio together as musicians.”

Things open up with the loose metallic percussive line that is In Mono, which sets the machine made tone and is filled with promise. Locator then immediately gets to action with a gallivanting techno kick and various synth lines wrapping round each other as you get sucked into the groove. Just Don't Speak (Midnight Sun Redub) is a more deep and house leaning track with big feel good piano keys and slithering synths that will get hands in the air. Proving they have real range, 7 B4 Dawn is a moody and reserved cut with subtle acid pricks, hip swinging claps and a spaced out dead of night feel.

The second half of the album offers peak time business in the form of the spectacular Bad Love II, the whirring and cosmic Sounds of Jericho and the big loops and fluid grooves of [Where] Time Collides. Pain Pressure is a wonky number with big bassline and a focus on percussive patterns as well as some vocals with real attitude and last cut 8 B4 Dawn ends things in a downbeat and sombre way with sad chords and emotive strings. It is pure Detroit, much like the whole album, and rounds out another fine release from these most revered veterans.

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Rom

Foot Signal

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Poppy Ajudha)

Release: 2012 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The New York and Miami based duo ROM deliver this LP with twelve super energetic instrumental pieces. Pingipung very happily welcome Roberto Carlos Lange and Matt Crum to their artist family. ROM is the vibrant collaboration of two sound artists who have been on the radar for a long time, as members of beloved projects such as Savath&Savalas (Warp, with Prefuse 73's Guillermo Scott Herren), Comic Wow (Asthmatic Kitty, with Tortoise's John McEntire) or Roberto's solo project Helado Negro. ROM's first appearance marked their self-titled debut on the Japanese WIMM imprint in 2005. Raised in south Florida on tropical fruits and pan con lechón; surrounded by picturesque beaches and stifling humidity, ROM’s members Roberto Lange and Matt Crum create music so deeply imbued with the contrasting textures found in the world in which they were reared. Despite having been recorded over the span of three years, and in various locations in different cities, ROM’s sophomore “Foot Signal” effort is an entirely cohesive sonic outing. That they used mostly broken instruments throughout the process only reinforces that soundscape they sought to create. That they played them even with their feet as the title reveals gives us a slight visual hint at the anarchy of the sessions. Could they have used an organ that stayed in tune? Probably. But taping its keys down and pressing record in hopes to document something at all usable is part of the random fabric that makes ROM’s music so incredibly transcendent. Largely recorded with Will Loftin at Shangri-la Studios in Atlanta, Roberto Lange and Matt Crum captured scores of live improvised sessions onto two-inch tape. The two also set up shop in apartments, studios, and storage units in Miami, Savannah, New York - even Jeremy Lemos’s Chicago studio to try and document the inspiration they felt lurking. The sessions were then labored over at home studios, shared over the Internet, processed and reorganized until this collection of twelve wildly captivating instrumental pieces emerged. Foot Signal contains material that had been released on CD through WIMM in Japan in 2008. It has now been reworked by the band and cut onto vinyl at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin. Standout track “Whale Vomit” does not sound like a regurgitated mess it purports itself to be. Instead, it is the perfect combination of unwavering percussion, vibraphone flourishes, and studio-manipulation wizardry. It’s the kind of stuff that makes ROM and Foot Signal so darn exciting.

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Poppy Ajudha

Poppy

31,99 €*

Carte Blanche Splatter Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Pop

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Preorder shipping from 2024-11-22

Multi-talented artist Poppy Ajudha will be announcing her sophomore album, titled ‘Poppy’, which will be released 22nd November 2024. This follows Poppy’s triumphant return to releasing music this year with the release of 'My Future', following a two year hiatus. ‘Poppy’ was created alongside Mike Malchicoff (Kanye West/King Princess) with contributions from the likes of producers Maestro (Rihanna), Fred Ball (Alicia Keys/Raye/Mariah Carey), Grades, (Kali Uchis, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears), and Travis Sayles (Ariana Grande).

Poppy says: “I can’t believe I’m writing this, but my sophomore album is finally coming out! After numerous trips back and forth from London to LA, millions of revisions to perfect each song and a lot of moving the track listing around, I’ve made an album I’m so in love with, with people who I felt truly seen by, who I respected and found a natural synergy with. I really put everything into this album, it is a reflection of my growth over the last 2 years, an outward pouring of my raw vulnerability, the inner workings of my chaotic brain and the deep desire I have to challenge myself with everything I do. I’m really proud of what we made, and I hope that when you hear it, it means something to you too. Thank so much to all the special people who contributed to the making of this project, the producers, engineers, musicians, visual creatives, the friends who listened to me while I processed my life in order to write it down, I wouldn’t have been able to manifest this dream without you.”

Alongside the announcement of her upcoming album, Poppy has also released new single ‘Lean On Me’, a bold pop banger about the importance of community and showing support for each other even during challenging moments. ‘Lean On Me’ was written by Poppy with production from Wesley Singerman (Kendrick Lamar/Anderson Paak).

On ‘Lean On Me’, Poppy says: “We realise true friendship in the moments we are most vulnerable with each other. When I wrote ‘Lean On Me’ I was going through a breakup and struggling to make sense of my world. My friend who was experiencing their own kind of grieving found the time to give me the advice I needed, and the next day I wrote this song about the power of friendship, community, unconditional love and showing up for each other through our hardest times.”

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Phat Kat

2LP | 2007 | EU | Reissue (Rrc Music)

47,99 €*

SORCS 80 Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2007 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Hip Hop

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“For fans old and new, they can expect to be reintroduced to some raw, authentic, classic Detroit Hip-Hop from beginning to end.”-Phat Kat on the Deluxe Edition re- release of “Carte Blanche”. Phat Kat’s phenomenal sophomore solo LP, “Carte Blanche”, fi rst released in ’07 via Look Records, is the sound of Detroit. It’s gritty, soulful, and raw, three key ingredients in bringing the blue-collar city’s vibe to life in music form. It’s also a modern classic that is getting the deluxe edition re-release it deserves, Below System Records is adding two rare bonus tracks produced by late Detroit legend, J Dilla. Anyone familiar with Kat or Dilla’s work knows the two shared a special bond. In fact, Dilla would often go to the gruff-voiced emcee whenever he was looking to create a particularly tough track. This friendship led to them forming the group 1st Down, and this re-release’s two bonus cuts, “World Premiere” and “It Don’t Get No Liver Than This (feat. La Peace),” which were recording in 1996 and ’97, respectively. Despite 1st Down never taking off due to label issues, Kat and Dilla remained close and recorded a number of underground classics. Those include several joints off “Carte Blanche”, such as the stirring “Don’t Nobody Care About Us”, “Game Time”, and the Elzhi-featured “Cold Steel”. It’s actually that last track that Kat picks as his favorite cut off the record. “If I gotta choose one, it would have to be ‘Cold Steel’ because it makes you wanna wild out as soon as the beat drops”, he says, adding that this was the fi rst time he got to choose a Dilla beat to rap over. “He would never let me rock over beat tape beats-he use to say ‘Nah Kat, just write to them cause I’m gonna make all ya shit from scratch.’ ” The album also boasts collaborations with other Detroit rap heavy-hitters, such as Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Nick Speed, and T3 & Young RJ (of Slum Village). With Kat as their host, they were able to not only capture the sound of the Motor city in 2007 (when the album was originally released), but also cement its place in the greater canon of hip-hop as we know it today.

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Osees (Thee Oh Sees)

LP | 2024 | US | Original (Castle Face)

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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“This album [sorcs 80] was a self imposed ambitious project for us [osees]. Something to kick in the creative flow. The last few years, having been a challenging time in general, felt like a good time for a pivot. The last two albums were so guitar and keyboard centric, I wanted a weird and fun set of parameters for us to work with. I demo’d everything at home on cassette four track (harkening back to simpler times) using drum loops, and just had at it ’til I had a pile of ‘songs.’

“Tom [Dolas] and I chose one sound each using synths and created a range of three octaves of that sample, then loaded them into Roland Spd-sx samplers and learned the transcribed songs using drum sticks. The idea was to change the way we wrote and to have four people along the front of the stage essentially playing percussion. So no guitar, no keys.

“As we were recording I kept thinking how the sounds, when paired up, sounded a bit like brass. So, we added a saxophone horn section to round out the horniness of the sound with a bit of reedy bell tones. Thanks to Cansfis Foote and Brad Caulkins on tenor and baritone saxophones.

“Sort of a Dexy’s Midnight Runners meets Von LMO meets The Flesh Eaters meets the Screamers kinda punk junk. Poppy and hooky, heavy at times. Sort of vacuous and maybe a bit sci-fi in sound. Boneheaded in riff and heady in lyrics. Recorded at Stu-Stu-Studio by me on eight track 1/4-inch tape. So pretty hot and raw. Lots to write about today. A lot of these lyrics were taken from things people said in passing about taking on life right now that stuck with me. Things that made me reflect. Things that made me laugh. Things that made me WTF. Some folks are kind, genuine and give you love and energy. Some are greedy manipulative ghouls who hang off your veins. You must be strong, composed and take care of yourself. Be self aware and check your mind for cracks. Learn to relax and be well. There are moments of beauty and redemption. It’s not all bad news and there’s always hope. People continue to surprise me one way or another. Anyhow, hope you enjoy and good luck out there.” —John Dwyer

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12" | 2024 | EU | Original (Wigs)

WIGS002

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Hell Yeah)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Imogen presents Wigs002 - a four track EP celebrating the women of Wigs, featuring Grace Dahl, Nvst, Rebecca Alle Paine and Imogen.

Wigs002 kicks off with heavy breaks and kick drums bringing a rough hardcore vibe to Imogen’s latest single ‘shoutout 2 Ldn’, premiered by radio legend Mary Anne Hobbs on her Radio 6 show.

Imogen samples a vocal from her favourite 90s MC Alex Pearce, adopting the same “zero f***s attitude” of the early 2000s techno scene. She combines this with squelching reese basses and slick programmed breaks to bring the same energy of early warehouse parties to the dancefloors of today.

Next up, Grace Dahl departs from her usual rolling techno style with electro banger ‘I Like Em Sexy’. A fast-paced distorted vocal slides its way through the drums into an epic breakdown before an unexpected 4/4 drop. Imogen and Dahl’s musical chemistry shone in their B2B on the Wigs NTS show, making this the perfect A-side combo of the EP.

Upcoming Italian DJ and producer Rebecca Alle Paine keeps up the EP’s high energy with the perfect DJ tool of rolling 909 drums. Hardgroove is having its resurgence right now and Rebecca is a leading light in the genre currently flooding the scene. Wigs isn’t the only label to pick up on Rebecca’s driving style - she recently released an album on hardgroove legend Ben Sims’ label as well as featuring on Freddy K’s KEY. It is clear Rebecca is one to watch for 2024.

Nvst closes off the EP in a mind bending Aphex Twin-style crescendo. ‘A Face Has No Voice’ is an eight minute long saga boasting her skill as a multiverse producer. It follows a journey through dub, breaks and IDM. Wigs002 showcases the true diversity of the next generation of musicians, and that one piece of music can traverse many genres.

Wigs kicked off as a project aimed to offer a new approach to party series and workshops with an emphasis on community, bringing like minded ravers together to build a platform for the next generation of artists and party goers. As well as a residency at Tresor Berlin, Wigs has hosted sold out parties across Europe bringing names such as Daria Kolosova, Dr Rubinstein Salome and more. After the success of Wigs001, Wigs is proving itself to be a staple sound in dance music right now.

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Michele Mininni

Pop Archetypes

20,99 €*

Character Actor Ep Record Store Day 2024 Edition

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Having been long-time admirers of one another from afar, Hell Yeah and Michele Mininni finally come together for Pop Archetypes. It is a multifaceted debut album that collides broken beats, worldly rhythms, jazz, eastern melodies, live drums and much more into one thrilling 15-track opus that arrives on May 31st.

Italian artist Mininni has always had a leftfield take on electronic music and imbued it with rhythms, melodies and instruments from around the globe. He has released it on cult labels like R&S, Optimo Trax, Internasjonal and Curle Recordings but has saved his magnificent debut album for Hell Yeah. It is much more than a collection of sounds he has already explored and instead finds him heading off into all new territory without losing his signature sense of inventive and beguiling rhythm and melody. It is a multicultural journey that takes in heterogeneous styles and diverse influences but distills them all into one cohesive album with its own unique storyline.

Says Mininni of the record, 'I wanted each track to be like pieces of a unique, multifaceted picture, like walking through train cars or progressing through the levels of a video game, all filtered through my own vision and concentrated into 36 minutes. I wanted a pop album rooted in the extraordinary richness of popular music and projected into the future, a continuum where pieces communicate with each other and are received by the ears in symbiotic balance.'

Despite that concept, the album is a spontaneous listen full of surprises, left turns and original ideas that all hold together in thrilling fashion. It kicks off with the tumbling jazz drums and swirling synths of 'Spinning Around Cotton Candy', takes in mellifluous melodic layers and broken beats on 'Golden Room' and 'Slipped Air' casts you adrift amongst gorgeous piano keys and refracted vocals on the suspensory 'Vertigo'. There are jungle interludes with Eastern string melodies like 'Bangkok Tempo', lavish fusions of organic and synthetic sounds on 'Kundalini' and more charming Far Eastern rhythms on 'Muting Cat'. 'Congoflash' brings electrifying cosmic rays to busy hand drum patterns, 'The Magic Of Synesthesia' combines dark amen breaks and bright and uplifting flutes while 'Carousel Of Tears' douses you in watery melodies and celestial pads that awaken the soul.

Pop Archetypes is an adventurous work packed with meticulous and infinite details but all with an overarching narrative that makes it far more than the sum of its parts.

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The Near Jazz Experience

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Sartorial)

15,29 €* 17,99 € -15%

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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This is a 5 track EP of brand new, previously unreleased material from The Near Jazz Experience (Terry Edwards, Mark Bedford and Simon Charterton).

Whilst recording the new album Terry asked pianist Mike Garson (best known for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins) – whom Terry has toured with if he’d like to play on a track. Mike said yes, recorded a stupendous solo for Character Actor at his home studio and sent it over. All in the space of 24 hours! On hearing the piano part NJE bassist Mark Bedford came up with the idea of having the piano mixed with the original track (as intended) but also using it as the basis for a completely new recording with the piano leading rather than complementing the band.

Side 1 of the EP has these two very different versions from the same seed. Unidentical twins indeed. Side 2 of the EP contains 4 outliers from the album sessions. These aren’t out-takes or unfinished pieces. They simply couldn’t find a place for themselves within the album – along the lines of the tunes Tom Waits put together for his Orphans compilation of 2006. They are standalone tunes which have found a home together on this EP because in some way they all have filmic qualities.

Side 1 contains 2 takes on Character Actor (the title being a nod to Cracked Actor, a tune on Aladdin Sane, the album that introduced Bowie fans to Mike Garson), and Side 2 has The Loping Four; Projector; MacGuffin and Lockstep, all titles which contain strong cinematic elements, MacGuffin in particular.

It was Alfred Hitchcock’s favourite word for a red herring in the plot. The musical cast on this release has a remarkable pedigree. The NJE consists of Terry Edwards (solo artist and session player with PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand, Siouxsie, Jimi Tenor, Piroshka, Tindersticks etc); Mark Bedford (Madness, Robert Wyatt, Robyn Hitchcock, Nightingales etc); Simon Charterton (The Higsons, Alex Harvey, Zook, Serious Drinking etc). Alongside featured guest Mike Garson there is an appearance by Oliver Cherer (Aircooled, Miki Berenyi Band) on keys and synth.

This is an RSD exclusive on black vinyl in full colour sleeve which reflects the filmic quality of the recorded material. No download. The title track will appear on the next Near Jazz Experience studio album. The 4 additional tracks, however, will remain exclusive to Record Store Day.

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Transparent

Transparent Speaker

1.000,00 €*

Brain Worms Red Vinyl Edition

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Powerful yet balanced sound that fills any room. The Transparent Speaker, a revolutionary speaker that offers a truly transparent sound experience. Designed with simplicity and elegance in mind, this speaker features a unique transparent design that blends seamlessly into any room while providing an unmatched audio experience. Made with aluminium and tempered glass, this 11 kg speaker is a statement piece that commands attention in any home. Comes with Bluetooth but it is also ready for whatever tech that might be useful in coming years. An aspiration to become better over time.

The Transparent sound
The tightly sealed 10 liter acoustic volume and the custom designed 6 inch woofer helps in creating a very controlled reproduction of sound. We enlist the worlds best audio engineers to tune the digital sound processor (DSP) to reach full transparency. With the Transparent Speaker you will hear a detailed reproduction of complex low-ends of modern music production. With the base and treble dials you can crank up the setting on the high- and low-end to fit your music preference and make everyone get off the couch and start dancing at your home party.

Modular Design
A modular design is key for future proofing our products. It enables repairs and upgradability.

CONNECTIVITY
• The Transparent Speaker comes with Bluetooth 5.0 connection
• Connect two speakers using True wireless and play both simultaneously
• Connect multiple devices with the Wi-Fi Module.

DESIGN
• Dimensions: Height: 33,3 cm / 13 in, width: 43,1 cm / 16.9 in, depth: 11,8 cm / 4.6 in
• Weight: 11 kg
• Materials: Aluminium and tempered glass
• Colors: Black, black with red cables
• Front Controls: Volume, bass and treble
• Line in: 2 x 3,5mm (front and back)

SOUND
• L/R Drivers: 2 × 3’’ (Full Range)
• Woofer: 1 × 6.5’’
• Amplifier: Class D built-in (active)
• Rated power: 100-120W
• Sealed Cabinet Volume: 10,2 l
• Frequency Response: 35 Hz - 20 kHz ±5dB
• High Quality Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
• Recommended room size: ≈ 70 kvm

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
• White cotton gloves
• Long and short audio cables
• Power cables (mains and USB)
• Wall Mount: Brackets and screws included
• User manual

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RVG

LP | 2024 | US | Reissue (Fire)

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Room)

Release: 2024 / US – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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The Big Idea

Tales Of Crematie

30,99 €*

Off The Grid: Houses For Escape

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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If the genesis of The Big Idea was written both in the corridors of their high school and the surroundings of La Rochelle, the first chapter truly takes place in a big house in outskirts of Paris, where the six boys settled once they got their baccalaureate in 2015. Throughout these five years, The Big Idea hosted every European band playing in Paris with no landing place. The house of Champigny-sur-Marne, almost invisible in the monstrous metropolis, became a central location of the capital’s underground scene.

That creative cyclone within which the band is placed quickly shows results and the band hit it hard with their debut LP “La Passion du crime 3” (2017). This quadruple album, written as the movie score of a police investigation story, affirms something fundamental: The Big Idea is determined not to do things like everybody else. The influences of the great psychedelic rock’n’roll tribes naturally appear, the band release several record, start touring all around Europe allowing them to develop a furious alchemy on stage. But then covid brought everything to a halt. However, the band returned to La Rochelle and plotted a new, mad project.

The Big Idea becomes the first band to record an album on a sailing boat while crossing the Atlantic. Once again, the idea is fabulous, and “The Fabulous Expedition of Le Grand Vésigue” represents both the thirst of adventure of the sextet from La Rochelle, and their yearning for calm, psychedelic horizons. After the release of the documentary film and the big tour that followed this extraordinary adventure, the band decides to reaffirm the most essential part of its identity and announces for February 2024 the releasing of a new record more electric and radical, in the image of their live performance with more and more intensity. “Tales of Crematie” is a story built on a fantasy medieval backdrop, but could have however taken place in our modern era. If the elegant, psychedelics parts have not disappeared, the record’s tone is clearly more rock than what the band has ever created before, and as The Big Idea always likes to go overboard, the album will be released as a double LP in which you’ll hear trumpets as well as pianos, violins, tropical influences, post-punk, and above all, loads, loads of fuzz. Just like a toy chest whose key would’ve been thrown away on purpose, hidden arrangement treasures abound inside of “Tales of Crematie” , along with a violent revolt against the modern archetypes of “too normal music.”

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Dominic Bradbury

Thames & Hudson

39,99 €*

Neither The Beginning Nor The End Exist

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The ultimate escapist collection of self-sufficient cabins and retreats in the world’s most stunning and inaccessible locations.

Recent advances in technologies and home-generated renewable energy have made building away from urban and rural infrastructures more practical, affordable and desirable than ever. This survey of the world’s most innovative off-grid homes reveals the stunning spaces and constructions that enable us to escape to some of the most extraordinary natural environments on the planet.

All of the houses featured in Off the Grid are fully, or almost fully, self-sufficient in terms of energy, water and, in some cases, food. Architecture and interior design expert Dominic Bradbury reveals how each house makes everyday living in these wild and natural settings a rewarding and tempting reality. From snowbound cabins in the far Northern Hemisphere to coastal retreats that can only be accessed by boat, the diverse projects collected here show the ingenious ways in which architects and their clients are tackling extreme climates, remoteness and construction challenges for new lifestyles that are both liberating and sustainable.

The imperative to reduce our carbon footprints and refocus on renewable sources of energy has a profound impact on our domestic lives. Off the Grid proves that creative architecture, design and technology are redefining living a truly responsible and fulfilling lifestyle.

'Stunning … [an] inspirational overview' Actual Size

'The key here is a desire to be as close to nature as possible, while still enjoying some seriously stylish architecture and interiors … this is a book about escapism, which we can vicariously enjoy via the printed page' Elephant

'Cutting edge in both their architecture and their technology, almost every house featured is also self-sufficient in terms of energy and water' House & Garden

'This international selection - ranging from Thoreauvian writer’s cabins to two-storey barns with acres of glazing - offers bracing independence from utilities and the chance of a digital detox' World of Interiors

About the Author: Dominic Bradbury is a journalist and writer specializing in architecture and design. He is the author of many books on the subject, including Mountain Modern, New Brazilian House, Vertical Living, Mid Century Modern Complete, The Iconic Interior, Mediterranean Modern, New Natural Home and The Iconic House, all published by Thames & Hudson.

Format:PLC (no jacket) Size:29.0 x 23.0 cm Extent:272 pp Illustrations:310 Publication date:21 February 2019 ISBN:9780500021422

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Petteril

LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Neither The Beginning Nor The End Exist)

21,99 €*

Spin Age Blasters Colored Vinyl Edition

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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A box of old photographic slides uncovered at a house clearance centre with a £5 asking price. On the slide's a collection of shots from the 60’s–70’s: British rural life plus various trips around Europe and a trip to the US. The lives of Bill, Jean and Edith (and Pippi the budgerigar). The relationship between the three is unclear but they seem to live together—or at least spend a lot of time together—they seem close. They like to travel and garden. What became of these people? Presumably, they have since passed away given their apparent ages in the pictures and the dates scrawled on the slides and boxes. What happened? How did these slides come to be here and were there no family or friends that wanted to claim them?

Initially, the discovery feels uncomfortable, intrusive, upsetting even. The lives of these people—whoever they were—were lovingly recorded, only for the resulting documentation to be discovered decades later in a musty, tattered box, buried amongst other people's ex-belongings. It feels sad. Considerations on the transient, the ephemeral. It feels inescapable that—regardless of intention—this is in some way a commentary on the value of a life. On the value of Bill, Jean and Edith's (and Pippi’s) lives. But studying the slides in more detail it is clear that the 3 subjects shared many happy times and experiences. They are always smiling and there appears a sense of genuine camaraderie and affection between them. A passion for photography too.

So should we be sad that these lives are seemingly forgotten? That £5 is the asking price for the physical documentation of years of adventures? Or satisfied that the imagery represents lives happily lived and shared. The value of these physical items (ie the slides themselves) is not equal to the value of the actual lived experiences of the subjects or the lesson that Bill, Jean, Edith (and Pippi) can teach us. Realising this provides an invitation to recognise a simple truth: the value of a life is in how it is lived in the moment. Exist and enjoy it—if you can—because in the face of impermanence that’s all we can really do. In the moment neither the beginning nor the end really exist.

Petteril (James Gilbert) has been creating audio collages and improvisations with these concepts in mind. The music is not so much about the slides or the people on the slides, (although both the imagery and the music evoke a kind of nostalgia) but concerned with the whole philosophical discourse that ensued. Improvisation (with various instruments, physical, analog and digital) is a key consideration based on the aforementioned theme of being in the moment. Generative elements also represent that transience and the fleeting nature of moments coming and going, flowing from one moment to the next. These evolving beds of sound and improvisations coupled with Tape loops, field recordings and more are chopped, layered and collaged, processed, layered, collaged and processed again.

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Electric Eels

2LP | 2023 | US | Original (Scat)

41,99 €*

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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***on Limited Clear With Black Swirls Vinyl!!! The electric eels were the first punk band, full stop. They may not have “started” the genre, but they were the first to tick all the boxes. The eels rejected every 1970s rock convention—professionalism, virtuosity, subject matter, image. Dave E.’s caustic vocals, complete with an aggressive lisp and a head full of snot, would become de rigeur a few years after the group disbanded. Meanwhile, the songs’ focus on car crashes, suicide, neuroses, and generally hating people were as far out of the mainstream as possible. The two eels tracks that do approach the subject of romance couch it in terms of not really caring that much about it (“Jaguar Ride”) or placing it in the context of a grisly murder (“Silver Daggers”). Also consider John Morton’s signature guitar sound, a nails-on-chalkboard tone with brutally free soloing inspired more by Albert Ayler than the blues or aspirations to technical facility. Ditto Dave E.’s clarinet playing and affection for lawnmowers and vacuums during live performance. They were notoriously violent not only among themselves, but towards audiences, police, and anyone unfortunate enough to be around them when things went south. Then of course there are the leather jackets, the clothing festooned with rat traps or safety pins. And no bass player, why bother. There is simply no other “proto” band to have had all these pieces in place circa 1973-1975. Yet it is a mistake to consider the eels exclusively in such a context. Yes, the eels could and did shock anyone who encountered them, but they also had great songs. While both Dave and John were visionary writers, they also had rhythm guitarist Brian McMahon, a melody and riff machine who wrote many of the band’s signature songs. And they were no one-trick pony. Although much of the band’s material is appropriately high-energy, there is also the downer eels—morbid, harmonically risky, and in full existential crisis. Although it’s not a focus of this compilation, the eels also had a penchant for completely free improvisation. Over the last forty plus years, there have been several electric eels compilations. Spin Age Blasters is quite simply the best one ever assembled, every single key track is here in its best version, properly mastered by John Golden, and sequenced with an eye towards both flow between tracks as well as individation between sides. A true monster of an album.

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12" | 2023 | EU | Original (Microtonal)

Roams EP

13,99 €*

White Souls Lost (Part II)

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The first release from Microtonal Records, Residents of Aotearoa: Microtonal Showcase (roams) EP, presents producers currently living in New Zealand and their interpretation of a warm, atmospheric and dark sound with a groove that provokes movement and thought.

Track A1: Astral Aura by Seb Selknam A pure analog production from Seb Selknam - Astral Aura provides an instant groove from a warm bassline that sits in pure harmony with the kick to give structure to the melodic and atmospheric landscape you are led into. Minimal crisp percussion and echoing vocals add a familiar and human element to the journey as you slowly float through vista's unknown and aura's unseen. This is 08:22 of pure bliss.

Track A2: Bosun by Hrzntl The last beat drops, the party ends, the taxi awaits. Bosun by Hrzntl is a reflective piece, the transition from pure adrenaline and the buzz of the rave into a lasting memory of a night spent with family and friends dancing at a castle in the hills of Barcelona. The track itself is built around a detuned dubby key which represents the emotions of ending an epic night, it is surrounded by dark and haunting stabs to add to the atmosphere and a bubbling synth which brings an optimistic reality that it's only day one at Sonar.

Track B1: Admiral Frick by Harvo x Patella The first ever demo sent to Microtonal HQ, Admiral Frick by Harvo and Patella is pure energy. Taking elements of tribal percussion and combining it with acidic stabs, it is balanced perfectly with a wandering atmospheric pad. There are subtle shifts between four four and breakbeat, as it builds with syncopated snares and a beautiful unrecognisable monotonous vocal calling you deeper into mysteries of the jungle at night. Calmness descends to create space for a powerful sweeping drone like bass that drops you back into a hypnotic state of being. Your relationship with this track will be like an addiction, constantly seeking a hit.

Track B2: Introspection by Felipe Martinez The epitome of a Microtonal Records track; warm, atmospheric, dark and with a groove. Introspection by Felipe Martinez is a microbreaks track that draws you in with a wide pulsating low end and irregular percussive stabs that float from left to right at the high end. A soft acid synth builds and explodes like a solar flare creating an outer planetary experience. The beautifully crafted breakdown gives you time to pause, observe and contemplate, creating space to process your mental state and explore your emotions from the past, present and future. Introspection; 10 minutes of self healing.

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Isaac Basker

12" | 2019 | US | Original (Play It Say What)

4,99 €* 9,99 € -50%

Favourite Artists (DJ Koze, Robag Wruhme, Superpitcher)

Release: 2019 / US – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Used Vinyl

Medium: VG, Cover: Generic

Play It Say What Records and Isaac Basker return after a 5-year hiatus with White Souls Lost (Part II), providing 4 styles of Isaac’s distnict, “thumping” take on American house music designed for dancefloors, headphones, or contemplating human existence. Never shy of controversial track titles and themes, a trend that can be traced back to previous collaborations with Public Enemy as a hip-hop DJ and turntablist, Isaac cuts right to the chace again focusing on the state of the “soul” in post-Trump America.
On the title track, A1 “White Soul’s Lost (Part II),” a play on words of Nas’ “Black Girl Lost,” Isaac calls into question the state of some white folks’ souls in an appropriately emotive banger that starts with Afro house- oriented congas and layered deep pads until guitar solo-like chord riffs build to a layered crescendo. From this point on, to its conclusion, the track keeps the listener on high.
A2, “So Lonely Here” brings a definitive Isaac sound influenced by his experience growing up dancing in clubs to vintage NYC deep house. The track provides a deep, dusty, almost lo-fi-esque vibe geared to be a perfect track for an early set or afters. Isaac’s love of simple vocal drops in part from his background as a turntablist comes into play again as a lone, sexy female voice casually reminds us of their feelings of isolation, and is a double entendre on the state of lost souls everwhere.
B1, “Noisy Neighbours,” evokes that “thump” Hard Wax once labeled some of Isaac’s tracks. Created in response to noise complaints, a coded reference to Trump supporters, and even Isaac’s world football allegiances it could be categorized “deep house techno” but this ain’t no tech house. Heavy kicks bump over choped up live percussion as a lone pad keeps it deep, and then an analog bassline reveals the underground, grooving along to vocal drops that demand the listener to “Stop, look and listen.”
Lastly with B1, “A Paradox Now!” Isaac’s love for titles derived from word play refers this time to Francis Ford Coppola’s classic film “Apocalypse Now!” The track teases with mellow keys laid over strong 909 drums and a prominent minimal bassline as it builds slowly over panned high hats. However, it then flips from chill to bumping as a live percussion sample arrives along with a repeated Terre Thaemlinz influenced vocal that proceeds to drive the track to its peak.

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My Dear

3LP | 2023 | EU | Original (My Dear)

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Hrsmn (Kurupt, Canibus, Killah Priest, Rass Kass)

The Last Ride Colored Vinyl Edition

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Fat Beats)

29,99 €* 39,99 € -25%

Case Studies (Jesse "The Duke" Lortz Solo)

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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The debut finale album from the original Lyrical supergroup Hrsmn - Kurupt from Dogg Pound, Canibus, Killah Priest, Ras Kass have finally formed like Voltron to give The Culture 'The Last Ride. Real Hip Hop is Back!

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The World Is Just A Shape To Fill..

LP | 2011 | US | Reissue (Sacred Bones)

16,99 €*

Talawah / Mafia & Fluxy, Bongo Herman & Gussie P

Release: 2011 / US – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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...the Night.

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I'm Gone / Instrumental

7" | 2000 | UK | Original (Eruption Production)

11,24 €* 14,99 € -25%

Release: 2000 / UK – Original

Genre: Reggae & Dancehall

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DJ Kool & L. Mac Dee Feat. Kesia

Body Dance

12" | 1990 | Original (Black Flame)

3,99 €*

Release: 1990 / Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Used Vinyl

Medium: VG+, Cover: VG

TNT Presents Casa Royale Feat. Adela Martinez

Dancin'

12" | 1996 | BE | Original (Xtra Nova)

3,39 €* 3,99 € -15%

Release: 1996 / BE – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Used Vinyl

Medium: VG, Cover: VG

Anna Maria Castelli / Gianni Coscia / R. Sellani

Something To Remember Natural Sound Recording

LP (Foné)

56,99 €*

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP | 2024 | US | Original (Backwoodz Studioz)

Cavalier

Different Type Time

65,54 €* 68,99 € -5%

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Komos)

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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It seemed that if I didn’t somehow repeat the process of greatness, and do so immediately, multiple times away to satisfy playlist and binge watch culture, then I “wasn’t shit”. After a while I was like “nah this doesn’t feel good,… I don’t know if I am finding joy in this”. I would record songs and not release them, obsess over sessions recorded in my home with 30 takes of vocals and wake up only to delete them. When it began to feel right I found solace in an epiphany that I was not obligated to operate at any other wavelength. I am moving on a different type of time, and that doesn’t expire. -Cavalier For heads of a certain time period of NYC hip-hop, Brooklyn born, New Orleans-based rapper and songwriter, Cavalier was the one that got away. The outrageously talented artist whose name and reputation preceded him everywhere you went in the scene. The rapper who everyone knew was so dope that he had to blow, but who never seemed concerned with any of that. The pretty boy draped in Polo who stole every live show with a feather in his hair and a mouth full of gold fronts. The cat so dedicated to his own independence that even indie labels stopped trying to sign him and projects came when they came, but when they came they were undeniable. Cavalier was That guy for a lot of us; a silver-tongued philosopher with an eye for the poignant details of black life and a delivery as effortless as a young Ken Griffey’s swing. All that said, it never really felt like Cav had that moment in the spotlight that we always assumed was coming. After chiseling away through headier cult corners of the NYC hip-hop scene Cavalier was recognized for his memorable co-pilot to Quelle Chris’ 2013 Mello Music debut, Niggas Is Men. The critically acclaimed LP helped propel Quelle Chris into the forefront of indie hip-hop (and also happened to be the first production credits for Messiah Muzik). Cav followed up with his first full length, Chief, which sports a notable Raekwon feature but also early work from producers like Ohbliv and Tall Black Guy. A relocation to New Orleans and partnership with producer/vocalist Iman Omari yielded two more projects: 2015’s Lemonade EP and Private Stock in 2018. Great records all; eagerly sought by collectors and signal boosted by influential media like OkayPlayer, Solange’s Saint Heron, and Pitchfork. Cavalier’s bonafides have never been in question, but his new album Different Type Time feels like a revelation—a sonic suspension bridge between his rich history and the artform’s future. Different Type Time doesn’t sound like the future though, its vibrations are somewhere all their own. It sounds like jazz, like a conversation overheard in roti shop, or a pool hall, or the foyer of your old building on a fall day, front door propped open with a brick. The blues is in there too, and the south—the American South, and the Global South, and South Brooklyn. It’s not that it sounds like the past, but you can hear everything that came before in the thick of the basslines and the yearning of the keys. Different Type Time also doesn’t sound like now, it sounds like Right NOW; the bounce of the lyrics like the staccato of basketball in the park, carried on a spring breeze. Although he doesn’t rap on DTT, Quelle Chris plays a pivotal role; producing eight songs and serving as associate producer/consigliere to Cav throughout the creative process. “There is no time wasted in explaining things when I collaborate with Quelle. He understands the universe I am in and the realities I want to create. He’s in them. And I don’t think I can envision one without him,” Cavalier explains. Messiah Muzik, Wino Willy, Ohbliv, Ahwlee, Child Actor, Fushou and several other producers round out the credits, all lending their talents to the album’s spaciously soulful sound. At the center of all these alchemies is Cavalier, nimbly dancing in and out of pockets like a sidewalk game of jumprope. Different Type Time is a masterclass in this thing we call hip-hop; daring and original, yet always standing deeply rooted in the culture

1. Different Type Time prod. Quelle Chris & Cavalier
2. Custard Spoon prod. Quelle Chris
3. Can’t Leave It Alone feat. Eric Jaye prod. GLassC!ty
4. Come Proper prod. Jacob Rochester
5. Touchtones prod. Aummaah
6. Déjà vu / Tydro ‘97 prod. Messiah Muzik / Quelle Chris
7. Doodoo Damien prod. Quelle Chris
8. Baby I’m Home prod. Wino Willy
9. Yeah Boiii prod. Quelle Chris
10. All Things Considered (prod. Wino Willy
11. Pears (prod. Malik Abdul-Rahmaan
12. Told You (prod. Fushou
13.Badvice (prod. Low Key
14. Think About It feat. Billzegypt prod. Obliv
15. Up From Here / 7th Ward Spyboy prod. Ahwlee / Quelle Chris
16. Manigaults / I Miss Them prod. ruffiankick
17. Lazaroos prod. Vinny Cuzns
18.Bespoke feat. Dominic Minix prod. Hann_11
19. 50 Bags feat. Lord Chilla prod. Child Actor
20. Axiom / My Gawd prod. GLassC!ty / Quelle Chris
21. Flourish prod. Quelle Chris

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Bumcello

The Party

31,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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It’s a family affair. One formed almost thirty years ago, back in the mid-nineties, when the pair joined seminal French jazz combo Olympic Grammofon. For twenty-four years they have worked together as Bumcello, each complementing the other, echoing polar opposites. The Boom in Bumcello is none other than Cyril Atef, incisive drummer, relentlessly pushing beats towards new horizons. The Cello is Vincent Ségal, cellist without blinkers and extraordinary musical alchemist. Since 1999, these two die-hard music fans, coming together for mercurial results, have released one record after the other whilst conquering the hearts of their live audiences, old regulars as well as new recruits. We have all been seduced by the way their music leapfrogs categories - these two experts are much more interested in kindred spirits than pigeonholing, and this very spirit is celebrated on more than one track of this ninth record, whose concept is original to say the least.

Everything began with an idea by Cyril Atef - a soundtrack based upon drawings penned by Marin, Vincent’s son, architect and visual artist. The musicians involved then coached their reaction to these images on a score, and the pair were charged with collating and adjusting the results. These thirteen ink drawings, in a heroic fantasy vein, constituted a matrix which was then to serve as a guide, like a roadmap through a singular and multi-faceted labyrinth. The key to this sonic fresco is in Bumcello’s image – an eclectic aesthetic twinned with a great sense of contrast. Herein lies the trademark of this entity animated by the gift of musical ubiquity, gorged on scales and rhythms, capable of a slap as much as a gentle caress. From classical music to electronics, from improvised music to sophisti-pop, everything is allowed with no preconceived ideas. They can even reclaim the traditions of others, all the better to propel them towards new horizons - this is how the very history of music has always panned out.

If you listen between the lines and look at the details, more than one piece bears witness to the moments and individuals that have impacted the criss-crossing lives of Vincent and Cyril. The track Crash is the perfect excuse to create a Jamaican-style jam with New York inflections, and we can see, in capital letters, the name Hilaire Penda, playing alongside Bumcello at the Apollo Theater in the associated drawing. This bass player from Cameroon, who died on 5th November 2018, was more than just a friend for the two Frenchmen. He was one of the family. Similarly, they give a nod to another Cameroonian, and another departed friend - singer of rock band les Têtes brûlées, Zanzibar, through the vocals of fellow countryman Zanzi. The ghost of Rémi Kolpa Kopul, emblematic voice of Radio Nova, haunts the margins of Spark Av, in a vocal sample with a smattering of effects. As for I Remember Tim, it directly honours the memory of Timothy Jerome Parker, aka The Gift Of Gab, another friend who left us in 2021. Tim is depicted in a drawing with the docks of Oakland in the background, and it’s his alter ego within Blackalicious, Chief Xcel, who remotely added his signature to the track, notably by adding the words of Lateef The Truthspeaker to brass and woodwind sounds.

These are the only additions to Bumcello’s original nucleus, all the better to create a genuine musical concoction where Vincent Taurelle is in charge of production and mixing sessions recorded live and direct. He is also invited for a twinkle on the keys (piano, synths, Wurlitzer, organ), on a handful of tracks. Already at the commands of previous opus Monster Talk, always taking care over the slightest detail, the one that makes all the difference, this pianist is now also part of the family. “Everything he brings is perfect, whether added though slight touches or through very important choices”, say the two members of a combo which today, appears to us under the guise of a trio, adding an extra dimension to a far-reaching mix, in the image of the veiled or more explicit tributes making up the cornerstones of this release.

Booker, a drawing where we see the musicians enter a club, honours James Booker, great pianist from New Orleans who has always fascinated Vincent, in a genre that is off-beat and gender defying. Her Story was created by Cyril in support of the Iranian women’s movement. Aysyen Kampe evokes, even in the original drawing, a tradition that remains impactful for Bumcello – Haitian mysticism, and Ouï Khouïette Ouï conjures up the beats of the Allaoui, a war dance from Western Algeria, one they have taken part in in the past with the help of Cheikha Rabia. They deliver a metal version, original and surprising, especially as Marin Ségal’s drawing features the Nicholas Brothers, those iconic dancers of the 30s jazz scene!

Resolutely hard to pin down, Bumcello’s beats can initially take on the structure of disjointed house, though Sangre begins like a film soundtrack, “in a Mexican style” adds Vincent, who was at the origin of this track. A delicate alap on the cello can open up onto afrobeat rhythms, a well-pitched voice can enchant, like on the amazing The City Has Eyes which has everything of a hummable pop hit. Emblematic of this manner of encompassing all music without being exclusive, Le Grand Sommeil, a direct reference to the Howard Hawks movie inspired by Raymond Chandler, a precursor of David Lynch, begins nice and smooth but ends on a wild tempo, on a drum’n’bass tip, as in the good old days of Cithéa, when this Party story began in the other century.

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Crosstown Rebels Presents Cr20 The Album: Unreleased Gems And Remixes

2LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Crosstown Rebels)

37,99 €*

Sentir Que No Sabes Red Vinyl Edition

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Damian Lazarus celebrates 20 Years of his world-renowned Crosstown Rebels imprint with a special album project of unreleased cuts and fresh remixes, featuring material from Black Coﬀee, Maceo Plex, Art Department, Dennis Cruz and many more.

Undeniably one of the most influential record labels within underground dance music, releasing material from Laurent Garnier, Krust and Mathew Jonson to Rósìn Murphy, Deniz Kurtel, Francesca Lombardo and Jennifer Cardini while playing a pivotal part in the careers of artists like Maceo Plex, Jamie Jones, Art Department and Seth Troxler, Crosstown Rebels stands today as a hub and platform for flourishing projects across the electronic spectrum, including via sub-label Rebellion and across a long list of showcases across the globe. More than just your everyday label, the Crosstown Rebels legacy has grown alongside its founder in equal measure, with head honcho Damian Lazarus continually showcasing, championing and spotlighting artists from across the globe who share his radiant, experimental vision for house music and beyond. Ringing in a major milestone in style, 2023 will see the biggest twelve months to date as Lazarus and Crosstown mark the 20th Anniversary of the label with a series of projects set to be unveiled in the lead-up to summer, with ‘cr20 The Album’ set for release on 12th May 2023.

“20 years ago, I dreamed a dream of creating a family of like-minded, crazy individuals from all corners of the planet - releasing music to the world and making people dance. That dream was Crosstown Rebels, and this year we are 20. Over these years, I have forged beautiful friendships, discovered very talented artists and tried my best to help, advise and support some of the most colourful characters in dance music. Crosstown Rebels is more than a record label, it is family. So 2023 will mark the label’s 20th Anniversary. This is an opportunity for the Crosstown Rebels family, a global community of artists, DJs and creatives, and the label’s myriad of followers to celebrate this momentous milestone. There will be parties and events around the world. A killer compilation of exclusives and special remixes, a beautiful coﬀee table book, a short film, and a special launch event are planned to bring together the sights and sounds of the label’s unique and influential history. There’s lots to share, announce and reminisce. 20 years young.” - Damian Lazarus.

Comprised of six stellar, high-profile remixes of releases from the label’s catalogue, alongside two previously unreleased original gems, the eight-track package is a rich and exemplary showcase of the far-reaching corners of the Crosstown Rebels sound and also its globally connected family of artists and close friends.

Opening the package, Lazarus’ own 2020 collaboration ‘Into The Sun’ with regular Crosstown vocalist Jem Cooke is given a cosmic rework by Johannesburg’s Major League DJz, while Jamie Jones’ slick ‘Paradise 2011’ is stripped back and given a new lease of life by the hypnotic and heady sounds of Art Department. Opening the B-Side, Dennis Cruz brings his percussive Latin-infused signature sound palette to Chilean musician and producer Pier Bucci’s ‘Hay Consuelo’, before Audiojack’s ‘Feel Good’, another standout collaboration alongside Cooke, is taken into synth-led territories as Michael Mayer reaches for an evolving bed of captivating tones.

The second half of the project brings more excellently remixed material, both new and old, with GRAMMY-winning DJ/producer Black Coﬀee turning his hand to the label’s first release of 2023 in Made By Pete and Zoe Kypri’s emotive ‘Horizon Red’, unveiling reworked melodies and sparkling keys as he delivers an interpretation of a track which has featured as a staple in his sets. Next, the project welcomes Adam Ten & Yamagucci’s playful yet oﬀ-kilter and wonky ‘The K Dance’ which unveils itself as a production perfect for those late night hours and early afters, before Ellum boss Maceo Plex’s ‘Together (2011 Mix)’ brings another lost production to the mix with a driving and zipping ride through sugary synths and soaring leads. To close, Tibi Dabo turns his attention to Guti & Dubshape’s absorbing ‘Every Cow Has A Bird’, delivering a nimble minimal-led trip through lush pads and crisp percussion to round things out in style.

Alongside the album, the 20 Year celebrations will also welcome a 192-page hardback book, ’20 Years Of Magic, Madness and Music’, with words from renowned journalist and key underground music player Joe Muggs, and a feature-length documentary directed by acclaimed director David Terranova.

Crosstown has become known globally for throwing some of the world’s best parties, from the wondrous cultural journey of Day Zero Tulum to longstanding Music Week marathon Get Lost Miami. This ethos of creating magical dancefloor moments spills into the label’s 20 year celebration with its worldwide Get Lost tour, launched with Get Lost Miami, and followed by Bali, Tokyo, Ibiza, Dubai, Istanbul, Rome, Paris, London, Berlin and more, plus a special to-be-announced London showcase.

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Mabe Fratti

LP | 2024 | Original (Unheard Of Hope)

Dawn Is A Melody Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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A sense of destiny hangs over Sentir Que No Sabes, Mabe Fratti’s fourth solo-credited album released in a five year span. Her work has always possessed a finely tuned sense of drama capable of expressing a range of emotional states, and across this new album, she conveys the struggle to process various relationships or situations–and the actions that come next. Sentir Que No Sabes is urgent and clear, poppy, generous and approachable, while showcasing a considerable emotional hinterland. It is also, as Fratti is quick to mention, “groovy.”

Written and recorded with her partner, multi-instrumentalist, and co-composer Héctor Tosta (I.La Católica, Titanic), Sentir Que No Sabes is the result of an intense, detail-oriented process. Fueled by a new confidence gained in their collaborative project, Titanic, and its critically acclaimed 2023 LP, Vidrio, the two hunkered down in the familiarity of their studio (aka Tinho Studios) to bash out the initial sonic coordinates of her new record. “We talked and talked, and discussed ways of playing and recording, until things became inevitable,” Fratti explains. “We recorded a bunch of demos at our home studio and that meant we had a lot of time to re-edit and experiment. We really dug in. We were super focused on detail.” Tosta also took up the controls as producer and arranger-in-chief for all additional instruments. The album was later completed at Willem Twee Studios in Den Bosch in the Netherlands, and Pedro y el Lobo Studios and Soy Sauce Studios, in Mexico City.

For the final studio recordings, the pair were joined by drummer Gibran Andrade and trumpetist Jacob Wick to fill out and expand on Tosta’s percussion and brass arrangements. This small group of friends were able to work quickly and openly, and without fear: a testament to the exhaustive groundwork put in at Tinho Studios.

Sentir Que No Sabes is a record full to the brim with a modern pop sensibility, invoked by the sort of magpie spirit that ensnares anything it can find, repositioning sounds for the here and now. The keys and melody on the melancholy “Pantalla azul” (“Blue screen error”) transport us back to the glossy mid-1980s.

The lyrics, for their part, have a stop-start quality to them, and hint at the small, incremental emotional taxes we pay through just living our lives. They circle around the music like birds waiting to swoop. There is something of the spiritual in all of Fratti’s work that expresses itself in a form of yearning: she looks to new horizons while personal dramas find themselves internalized, contextualized, and then dealt with through metaphor.

So what to make of Sentir Que No Sabes? High gloss Pastoralism? The sound of a city-bound, post-post modern soulscape? No matter the emotions evoked, it's the work of an artist coming into their own, and creating a benchmark record.

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Finn Rees

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Open Space)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Mr Bongo proudly presents the debut album from Tasmania-born, Melbourne-based, Finn Rees. Gliding across a swirling palette of saturated hues, Dawn Is A Melody feels vintage yet vibrant, new but familiar at the same time. A spiritual, deep and textured jazz record, tipping its hat to greats from the past, capturing memories and reformulating them into new ideas with the help of some of Melbourne’s finest talent.

Expert keys player for the likes of 30/70 and Elle Shimada, alongside one-half of Close Counters, this debut LP was Finn’s conscious departure from the realm of groove-based jazz. Instead, Dawn Is A Melody places the piano and arrangements centre stage, giving Finn and his fellow Melbourne crew freedom to explore the spaces in between, new emotions and alternate soundscapes.

In Finn’s own words: “My intention with Dawn Is A Melody was to create a world; a microcosm of colour. Something rich and beautiful that allowed the melodies and compositions to reach their full potential. It was driven by hope, curiosity and the search for beauty and reassurance in this ever-changing world. The emotion behind the music is really about the journey of life, growing up and changing, as well as my relationship with Tasmania’s natural landscapes where I grew up, a part of the world that is incredibly unique and beautiful.”

The album arcs between opening, middle and end. Beginning with the optimism of ‘Looking Up’ and ‘Lagoon’, the former a celestial, string and harp marbled slice of positivity, the latter a spiritual journey of exuberance and hope, Finn’s fingers dancing across the ‘70s Yamaha grand piano. From there the songs blossom outwards with the cinematic soulful journey of ‘It’s Behind Me Now’ and Brazilian-inspired ‘Expansion’, as the divine ‘Crossing’ signals a transition to a new realm. The energy is transformed from the rich cosmic textures to a more intimate and personal feeling with ‘Ablaze’, ‘Between Spaces’ and ‘As It Passes’ which blissfully fades down to simply piano and strings to close out the record.

Recorded at Rolling Stock in Collingwood, Melbourne, Henry Jenkins was drafted in as recording and mix engineer, his minimal vintage mic setups giving a live aesthetic and warmth to the arrangements. Lucky Pereira and Blakely McLean Davies form the rock-solid rhythm section, with a hand-picked line-up of other Melbourne talent on display, including Cheryl Durongpitikul on tenor sax, Siwei Wong on harp, Audrey Powne on trumpet and Allysha Joy on vocals to name only a few.

Plotting a course from Alice Coltrane, through Herbie Hancock, to Arthur Verocai, this is a debut nourished by the past but firmly made in the present. A record unable to be age-stamped, casting ambiguity as to when, what era and by whom it has been crafted. Like a vintage lens capturing a current scene, Dawn Is A Melody is warm and familiar yet focused on the here now.

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Puli

Swirling

LP | 2022 | CA | Original (Constellation)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Open Space is proud to present our first ever full-length LP by LA’s newest 3-man band, Puli. Some words from our dear friend Matt McDermott below: In recent years, a cadre of musicians from the east side of Los Angeles have reestablished the city of angels as the first city of Balearica. Alex Ho’s “Move Through It” followed in the lumbering footsteps of Project Sandro’s “Blazer.” Now, there’s a new landmark for the floating west coast sound. Swirling, the first album from LA supergroup Puli. If you’ve got your ear to the ground you know the names involved here. Drummer and producer Damon Palermo’s pedigree stretches back a good 15 years or so, starting off with dub punks Mi Ami. Phil Cho is one of the busiest DJs, musicians and advocates for the deep stuff in LA, throwing legendary hillside parties under the Third Place banner. John Jones, the preternaturally talented guitarist and electronic tinkerer, records as AV Moves, is a key member of the Suzanne Kraft and Baba Stiltz live configurations and plays in The Trilogy Tapes-affiliated act Geo Rip. But this listing of personnel and credentials puts too fine a point on it. Puli are three close friends who go to parties, DJ and get tacos together, repairing to their Chinatown studio a few times a week and coming out with remarkably textured, idiosyncratic downtempo jams. Building off the solid foundation of their 7-inch of heavyweight dubs for Melbourne’s Constant Delay, Swirling is an exploration of new horizons in chill out. “Ramona” acts a statement of purpose—with halftime/double-time dub-tinged rhythms, hazy yet bright synth motifs and atmospheric guitar from Jones, not terribly far from the expansive approach of Japanese dub aesthetes Pecker. “Cloudy,” meanwhile, is a sort of deconstructed and bittersweet Balearic pop featuring Cho’s ethereal vocals. “Bongo Springs” is steppers’ house not far from close LA peer Benedek or the Mood Hut crew up north. But what truly sets this record apart is the space and layers in the production—while it’s nominally an electronic record, Puli is a band that has slowly crafted these songs in the rehearsal space. “Havana Jam” cruises along a sliding roundwound bass guitar take with dubby chords and textural guitars. Palermo’s hand drums and live percussion enmesh perfectly with icy pads on “Leech Seed Dub.” Cho is back on the mic for the gorgeous closer, “C.S.B.”, underpinned by breakbeat and trunk-rattling sub bass. Puli doesn’t sound like anyone else, and is ultimately reflective of the city itself. Listening to Swirling feels like navigating a warren of side streets in the eternal sunshine. Take the drive and dive.

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Black Ox Orkestra

Everything Returns

As Palavras Volume 1 & 2 Pink Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / CA – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Everything Returns reunites the original Black Ox Orkestar lineup following a 15-year hiatus. Arising from the fertile Montréal post-punk agit-prop scene of the early 2000s, the band comprises Scott Gilmore, Jessica Moss and Thierry Amar of Thee Silver Mt. Zion (Amar also continues to compose and play bass for Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and Gabriel Levine of Sackville. Black Ox made two acclaimed albums of roiling acoustic avant-folk in the mid-2000s, exploring Eastern European and North African folkways through the lens of a gritty, resonant indie rock sensibility, juxtaposing interpretations of instrumentals from various Jewish, Romani and Arabic traditions with originals led by Gilmore's politically-charged Yiddish vocals. These early albums have since become lodestars for many among a new generation of Yiddish, Klezmer and radical Jewish diasporic music practitioners and fans. First revealing its resurrection in February 2022 with a surprise flexi 7" single issued by left journal Jewish Currents as a gift to its thousands of subscribers, Black Ox has indeed fully and fruitfully reunited. Exquisitely recorded by Greg Norman (Jason Molina, Nina Nastasia, Electrical Audio), Everything Returns picks up right where the band left off: an incisively atmospheric, melancholic yet resolute album of uniquely modern Jewish folk music, with piano, violin, upright bass, clarinet and cymbalom making up the core instrumentation, and the vocal tunes sung primarily in Yiddish, alongside album centerpiece "Viderkol" and closer "Lamed-Vovnik" where English also features. This is not fusion music, but diaspora music: a cross-cultural call and response of musical lexicons, emerging from the history of Jewish persecution and displacement, the musicology of 19th century repertoire from Jewish shtetls , the improvisational traditions of nusakh in Jewish music and taqsim in Arabic music, and a wider polyglot dialogue of Jewish, Slavic, Arabic, and Central Asian musical traditions. Lyrically and stylistically, Everything Returns connects key current issues_from refugees forced to leave their homes, to the return of fascism and exclusionary nationalism_with the legacy of modernist Yiddish poetry and song. The new Black Ox Orkestar album is a sublime, poetic, politically-informed statement of re-energized diasporic musical intent, where Gilmore's voice and the band's simmering arrangements conjure an ardent, doleful balladry that echoes the sound and sensibility of artists like Tindersticks, The National, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Everything Returns is a haunting, richly textured, darkly sparkling song cycle at once from a vanished world and very much of our time and place. Thanks for listening.

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Rubel

2LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

LP | 2024 | US | Original (Leaving)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Some albums are game-changers in a genre. Take OutKast's Speakerboxxx / The Love Below or Primal Scream's Screamadelica, they observe, study, and then flip what an album can mean to a genre or moment in time.

From the very first listen of Rubel’s Latin Grammy-nominated third album As Palavras, Vol. 1 & 2, you can feel its transformative force for the MPB genre. Here we see one of Rio’s brightest stars, fusing the contemporary with the classic, soaking up the richness of Brazil’s musical heritage. The result is a marauding 20-track epic, incorporating traditional styles such as forró, MPB, pagode and samba with modern baile funk, rasteirinha and hip-hop.

The album exudes a sense of freedom and creativity, playfully and provocatively juggling the familiar with the forward-thinking. The tracks are divided across two records, navigating feelings of love, heartbreak and discovery, whilst balancing themes of violence, passion, irony and affection. Collaborating with some of the country’s most esteemed artists such as Gabriel do Borel, Liniker, Luedji Luna, Tim Bernardes and Ana Caetano, Rubel takes this fusion of styles, subjects and flavours to the global stage.

The grand, forró-blending, choral opener, ‘Forró Violento (Instrumental)’ sets the tone for the album, with references and links between tradition and modernity everywhere to be seen. From the Ana Frango Elétrico produced, funk flexing, samba-soul brilliance of ‘Não Vou Reclamar de Deus’, to the album’s title cut ‘As Palavras’, in collaboration with Tim Bernardes, that melds MPB influences with electronic elements and hip-hop touches.

Across both sides of the album, Rubel’s story-telling gift is given space to shine. ‘Torto Arado’ featuring Liniker and Luedji Luna, beautifully references the racial injustice, tragedy, hope and ambition found in one the most celebrated Brazilian novels of recent times by Itamar Vieira Júnior. Elsewhere, ‘Na Mão do Palhaço’ manifests a satirical march about a suicidal conservative middle-aged man, who is rescued by the miracle of the carnival.

At times the album is gentle and intimate with tracks like ‘Toda Beleza’ featuring Bala Desejo, or the ode to friendship ‘Lua de Garrafa’, composed with the legendary Milton Nascimento. At others, the grooves hit harder, with sounds from the favelas laced within. ‘Put@ria!’, explores the universe of baile funk, with BK’ and MC Carol trading off on the mic, as ‘Rubelía’ moves between reggaeton, funk, and hip hop. The latter is a tribute to a key influence of the album, Spanish star Rosalía and her parallel mix of current with classic.

Ultimately though the beauty of this album lies in its concept. In the midst of a country divided, ‘As Palavras Vol. 1 & 2’ sets out to bring together genres and generations, grounded in rhythms and words that have helped define Brazil through the ages.

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Sharada Shashidhar

Soft Echoes

M. Takara & Carla Boregas

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Los Angeles-based vocalist, composer, and producer Sharada Shashidhar has a deep awareness of the cosmos. There’s a distinct tug-of-war in her music, an understanding that scanning the heavens to answer existential queries isn’t quite enough; there are internal depths to plumb as well. Shashidhar’s first album, 2020’s Rahu, found her voice billowing out of smoky, post-beat-scene soundscapes, meditating on the collective unconscious and the energy exchange between all living things. Her newest work, Soft Echoes (out September 27th on Leaving Records), is a bold step forward, eschewing her previous work’s hip-hop tilt for expansive compositions that blend jazz and Indian classical influences into a swirling, spiritual whole.

Though she has an extensive resume as a collaborator in LA’s experimental jazz scene, notching work with the likes of Carlos Niño, Zeroh, and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, Soft Echoes marks Shashidhar’s first outing as a bandleader.

Gathering an ensemble thatincludes Anna Butterson bass, Julian Rodriguezon keys, Devin Danielson saxophone, and Timothy Anguloon drums, Shashidhar sought to create a band that ostensibly functioned asan extension of herself. Her primary goals in writing these songs were to “let [her] body do whatit wanted to do,” to trust her intuition, and “play without judgment.” Through that process, making Soft Echoes became a practice of presence and exploration, a chance to unlearn rigidstructures and rediscover the joy of creating for oneself. Recording took place over three brief, distinct sessions at Altamira Soundin Alhambra, California.

She describesthe album as having “two poles,” illustrated by the whimsical, buoyant opener “Soft Echoes” and the darker, more anxiety-ridden closer, “New Echoes.” The songs in betweenmay come from different emotional spaces, but “it’s all really reflective,” she explains. The album can play like a loop, with Shashidhar entering a portal “into the endlessness” during “NewEchoes,” only to be transported back to the beginning, full of gratitude and pondering “howstrange it is to be alive.” ”

She describesthe album as having “two poles,” illustrated by the whimsical, buoyant opener “Soft Echoes” and the darker, more anxiety-ridden closer, “New Echoes.” The songs in betweenmay come from different emotional spaces, but “it’s all really reflective,” she explains. The album can play like a loop, with Shashidhar entering a portal “into the endlessness” during “New Echoes,” only to be transported back to the beginning, full of gratitude and pondering “howstrange it is to be alive.”

On Soft Echoes, Shashidhar leads us on a journey through her mind,traversing its peaks and canyons in search of greater connection. “I want to take people places,”she says, pausing thoughtfully. “I can’t always guarantee that they’re good places, [but] hopefully you’ll feel something.”

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Grande Massa D'agua

LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Hive Mind)

21,99 €*

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Mauricio Takara and Carla Boregas have long been key players in the experimental and underground music scene in São Paolo,Brazil.

Grande Massa D'Agua (Great Body of Water) is their second album as a duo and it sees them continue to explore themes related to water as they dive into uncharted musical depths. In discussing the duo's relationship with water, Mauricio said:

“...on the first record it kinda came a little by coincidence (or not), Carla had the name "Linha D´água" in mind and when we were listening to the opening track one day while I was filling up a bottle with water we thought the sounds combined well. so that kinda became a little bit of a remarkable sound of the record. Funny enough in the beginning of the pandemic we decided to take a turn and move to a small beach close to São Paulo, and that´s right in the middle of the rain forest, so by then water definitely took a major role in our lives. We were living right in between the ocean and a water fall, it´d rain for days on a roll sometimes and it was an open house where we had the sound of rain 360 degrees around us... I kinda think our music has a little of those different dynamics of water in its different states. also, it might seem strange but São Paulo is a city in the water too, and it has a very chaotic relationship with it.”

The music itself is difficult to pin down, always kinetic and driven by Takara's fluid, nimble percussion; there's a freeness to the sound as a whole, but also an atmosphere of tight discipline as the pair harness and channel the elemental force from which they've drawn the inspiration for their works. At times the lines between Takara's skittish percussion and Boregas' idiosyncratic synth work and sound manipulation blur into flowing rivers or torrents of sound - here, both water and sound have the ability to awaken in us different memories, and emotional or physical states.

Carla Boregas' other projects include Rakta and Fronte Violeta as well as being a prolific solo artist and founder of Auta, a venue dedicated to experimental music in São Paulo, and the record label Dama Da Noite.

Mauricio Takara also plays with the bands Hurtmold and São Paulo Underground (with trumpeter Rob Mazurek from Chicago) and Mnth, as well as sitting in on live sessions with an array of improv / experimental / jazz figures such as Pharoah Sanders, Damo Suzuki, Yusef Lateef, Joe Lally (Fugazi), Naná Vasconcelos, Prefuse 73, Makoto Kawabata.

M.Takara: drums, percussion, electronics, vibraphone, harpsichord Carla Boregas: synth, elecronics, gong, field recording, harpsichord

Recorded & mixed at Estúdio El Rocha by Fernando Sanches in 2022. Mastered by Julian Tardo at Church Road Studios, Hove. Cover painting by Rob Mazurek. Design by Theo Payne.

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Pacific Breeze Volume 3: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1975-1987 Pink Vinyl Edition

2LP | 2023 | US | Original (Light In The Attic)

47,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (MAL)

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Pop

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* The latest chapter in the acclaimed Pacific Breeze series! * Artwork by renowned illustrator Hiroshi Nagai * Compiled by Yosuke Kitazawa and Mark “Frosty” McNeill (dublab) * Newly remastered audio * 2xLP housed in a deluxe wide spine jacket with full color inner sleeves and custom die-cut OBI * Extensive artist bios by Yosuke Kitazawa * Digital mockups are not an exact representation of colors * Available in two vinyl variants: Pink or Black Vinyl

Light in the Attic’s Pacific Breeze series has supplied the world’s growing legions of Japanese music fans with an expertly curated selection of the most sought-after City Pop recordings—the mesmerizing and nebulous genre of Japanese bubble-era music of the ‘70s-’80s that encompasses AOR, R&B, jazz fusion, funk, boogie and disco. These familiar sounds are spun through the unique lens of optimistic, cosmopolitan fantasy colored by Japan’s affluence at the time. Much of the music has previously been nearly impossible to acquire outside of Japan and continues to captivate listeners with its unique blend of groove-laden escapism, even birthing wholly new genres such as Vaporwave.

Pacific Breeze 3: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1975-1987 marks the latest chapter in the famed series and features holy grails plus under-the-radar rarities. The collection bursts at the seams to reveal some of the greatest Japanese tracks ever laid to tape, pushing towards the edge of City Pop to reveal glimmers of the next waves of styles to spring forth from the country’s creative minds. The appearance of Pizzicato Five hint at the emergence of Shibuya-kei while the influence of hip hop and electro as an emerging global trend are also evident here through the prevalence of heavier programmed drum beats on tracks such as “Heartbeat” by Miho Fujiwara.

This volume of Pacific Breeze, like its predecessors, is a female-forward offering with many tracks being voiced by women who would become household names in Japan as actresses and pop idols. Their songs here subvert the norm and brim with an innovative spirit that shatters gender roles in favor of sonic transcendence. Techno-pop classics from Susan, Miharu Koshi and Chiemi Manabe sit alongside sublime funk from Atsuko Nina and Naomi Akimoto while Teresa Noda slides into the mix with a sultry reggae jam. The genre span is stretched wider with hypnotic jazz fusion by Parachute and Hiroyuki Namba, a synthesizer fantasy from Osamu Shoji, and magnetic pop by Makoto Matsushita and Chu Kosaka.

Although not front and center, the visionary members of Yellow Magic Orchestra are still very present on Pacific Breeze 3, with Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi taking up producer and musician roles on many of these tracks. Pacific Breeze 3 serves up a captivating musical journey that adds an essential chapter to the iconic compilation series.

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Gav & Jord (Equiknoxx)

Writings Ov Tomato

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Jon K & Elle Andrews MAL imprint returns with its second release - a long rumoured excursion from Equiknoxx skippers Gavin “Gavsborg” Blair and Jordan “Time Cow” Chung operating under the Gav & Jord masthead for the first time. It’s their most probing x tight set of productions thus far - showcasing that naturally wild rhythmic mutability that’s earned them followers in every corner of the experimental paradigm over the last few years. ‘Writings Ov Tomato’ ties off a certain loop between Equiknoxx and their early supporter Jon K, who was pivotal in bringing their productions to the attention of Sean Canty at DDS, who went on to release their by-now seminal ‘Bird Sound Power’ album a good half-decade ago. This new set of tracks came about after MAL suggested to the duo that they explore any under-excavated musical territory they’d been thinking about since they began to tour the world, and the result is this incredible, purely instrumental LP that romps between Autechrian mutations, avant R&B swangers, Jersey-style sluggers and proper, wig-flipping club missiles. Who else would boot off a new LP with a track titled ‘Childish House Mafia’? The fact it sounds like Actress formulating an industrial noise tape using ritual chants just makes it all the more screwy. The title track returns the duo to more familiar ground, with prickly “Bird Sound Power” drums notched up a few BPM and spliced with whirring trap hats and disorienting synths. ‘A Yow Jon K’ is a Kingston-fried take on sun-bleached Miami electro, with a rolling beat filled out by Gav & Jord’s hard boiled soundboard x foley crunches, before ‘Pig Pilot’, the record’s most substantial cut, loops JBC Radiophonic Workshop convulsions around a booming 4/4 that wouldn’t sound completely out of place at Berghain’s Klubnacht. Saturating the hook and allowing ferric hats to fill in the gaps, the pair manage to fabricate a sound closer to 1970s library music than Villalobos, and we’d wager you ain’t ever heard owt like it. Combine all this with lower-key slithering industrial-ambient moments like the plughole-wonked outro ‘Brent Bird’ (named after Gav’s producer brother), the tuned tinkle of ‘No Sweat in my Sweatpants’ and the airborne elegance of ‘Appinness’, and you’ve got another Equiknoxx joint that draws from the syncretic mosaic of Afro-Latin-Sino-US influences and re-contextualises them into remarkably odd and effective structures that dance in the integers of a myriad styles.

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2LP+7" | 2024 | EU | Original (Tramp)

Movements Volume 12

36,99 €*

LP | 2024 | Original (Unheard Of Hope)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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** Initial 400 LPs Contain A Bonus 7" Single **
Movements Vol.12 – A bag full of rare rhythm & blues, mod-jazz, and mid 70s funk.

Side A starts with rhythm & blues from the 1960s. Most of the tracks were pulled from hopelessly obscure 7" singles. The only names of which some of you might be familiar with are most likely Mat Mathews and Lu Elliott. However, both original 45 RPM singles are pretty hard to find these days, especially in playable condition.

Side B is all about deepfunk this time. "Hipper Snapper " is a prime example of that genre. Some say its groove is reminiscent of Charles Wright's "Express Yourself. Agreed! The Villagers are responsible for the first 'aha' moment. Their (previously unreleased!) version of "Funky Broadway" would have certainly astounded even Dyke & The Blazers. Representing Germany on this volume: The Rippers, also called the "Offenburg Beatles"! Back in the USA, John Fogerty has probably never heard of this heavy school-funk cover of "Proud Mary". Drum breaks galore!

Side C begins with another German contribution. Saxophonist Gus Brendel delivers a mod-jazz belter of the highest order as do The Hornets. Definitely sure-shots for any dance floors! High time for 'aha' moment #2. Many bands have tried their hands on a cover version of the Nat Adderley jazz classic, incl. vibraphone player Bret Breitinger! The perfect choice to finish this side is Downtown Trio's smooth and groovy cover of Gershwin's "Summertime ".

Side D is reserved for proper 1970s funk. ONYX's "Break It Loose " has become a certified Rare Groove classic. Here you can enjoy it for the first time with the blessing of the band! Glenn Doughty and his Baltimore Colts Shake and Bake Band of the 70's is the first musical group consisting of former NFL All-Pro players that Tramp Records has partnered with in its history! Watch out, "Shake and Bake " will be re-released on a good old 45 RPM single, too!

Those of you who have been enjoying the detective work of the people behind the label over the past 21 years know that the Movements series can be easily considered as the flagship compilation series on Tramp. So, after having listened to the entire selection of this brand new volume we sincerely hope that we will have achieved our aim to surprise, delight, and enlighten you once again!

Key selling points:
- initial 400 LPs contain a bonus 7" of a Superrare funk 45
- incl. full album download code - deluxe double-gatefold LP with detailed liner notes & unseen photographs
- ALL but three songs appear on CD, LP & digital for the very first-time

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Mabe Fratti

Sentir Que No Sabes

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Nippon Psychedelic Soul 1970-1979

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Time Capsule)

27,54 €* 28,99 € -5%

Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day--The Unissued Atco Recordings 1970-1971 Black Friday Record Store Day 2024 Edition

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The kaleidoscopic psychedelia of 1970s Japan captured a fragile and fertile moment as the country sought its future in funk grooves, heavy reverb and lyrical hallucinations. The follow-up compilation to Time Capsule’s Nippon Acid Folk, Nippon Psychedelic Soul takes myriad pathways into the tripped-out undergrowth of 1970s Japan. Finding their feet at home and looking for inspiration abroad, the musicians featured here were engaged in the communal soul-searching that followed the breakdown of the 1960s protest movements. Some made it big, others drifted into oblivion. The music they left behind shimmers with intensity.

At the core was Happy End, the first project of YMO’s Haroumi Hosono, whose distortion-heavy guitar and crisp back-beat laid the foundations for Japanese lyrics that flipped the paradigm of Japanese rock music on its head. With it came a new found sonic ambition, such as in the bold Philly-soul style arrangements of producer Yuji Ohno, whose work with occult wandered Yoshiko Sai shares some of the bittersweet grandeur of Rotary Connection or David Axelrod.

Then there was Jun Fukamachi, a pioneer of Japanese synthesis, whose debut album was a carnival of orchestral funk, euphoric horn lines and rich production, complete with soaring guitar solos, psychedelic organ and a truly cinematic finale. The first and only time Fukamachi would sing on record, ‘Omae’ rips like the ultimate end-of-nighter.

Influenced by giants of the US soul scene, maverick composer Hiroshi “Monsieur” Kamayatsu (otherwise known as ‘the Brian Wilson of Japan’) went one step further, enlisting Tower of Power to play on ‘Have You Smoked Gauloises?’ The B-side to Monsieur’s biggest-selling single, it coasts with sophisticated cool - a liquid bassline and suave keys comping under a roaring trademark ToP sax solo. No surprise it found favour once more on the Acid Jazz dance floors of ‘90s London.

Such was the spirit of experimentation that big studio productions and private press releases sat side-by-side, with the likes of Momotaro Pink and Kazushi Inamura, taking their hopes of success into their own hands with the resources available to them. More reflective but no less robust, theirs was a heavy, fat-backed drum sound, soaked in dramatic, soulful psychedelia.

If some were dreamers and others space cadets, none were further out than sci-fi writer, musician, activist and self-made scientist Tadashi Goino, who transformed his own fantasy novel Messenger from the Seventh Dimension into an operatic prog odyssey with few discernible musical reference points – a majestic and completely bonkers outlier even among company as strange and brilliant as that which is collected here.

Less a compilation of a scene, as a compilation of a sentiment, Nippon Psychedelic Soul is a wild ride from start to finish, shattering the narratives of the Japanese folk and rock tradition into a million tiny pieces.

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Jesse Ed Davis

2LP | 2024 | Reissue (Real Gone Music)

79,99 €*

Triorox (DJ Rocca, Giovanni Guido & Joe Rehmer)

Release: 2024 / Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Coming Soon 2024-11-29, 12:00 CET

RSD First, Limitation: 1000

Native American guitarist Jesse Ed Davis was the “go-to” guy for a remarkable group of musicians. Starting in the mid-‘60s, he toured with Conway Twitty, then became a key part of Taj Mahal’s band, playing on several albums and tours including an appearance in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, and, perhaps most famously, accompanied George Harrison during the Concert for Bangladesh, followed by work on various solo albums by John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Gene Clark, Leonard Cohen, and Jackson Browne (that’s Jesse taking the solo on his 1972 breakout hit “Doctor My Eyes”).
All this activity caught the eye of ATCO Records, who released his debut LP Jesse Davis in 1971. The album featured Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Gram Parsons, Merry Clayton, Ben Sidran, John Simon (producer of The Band), Alan White (of Yes), and many others including Delaney Bramlett behind the mixing desk. A year later, Atco released Ululu containing some of the same all-stars, plus Duck Dunn, Jim Keltner, and Dr. John – and a version of George Harrison’s “Sue Me, Sue You Blues” before even George recorded it.
Of late, there’s been something of a Jesse Ed Davis revival. Besides Real Gone Records releases, Davis was a major figure in the documentary Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World…and now this fall comes a full-fledged biography, Washita Love Child: The Life and Times of Jesse Ed Davis, by Dr. Douglas Miller.
To honor the man and the occasion of the book’s release (and to slake guitar-heads the world over thirsting for more tasty Jesse Ed licks), Real Gone Music releases Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day: The Unissued Atco Recordings 1970-1971, a double-LP collection consisting of, as the title says, all unreleased recordings taken from Jesse’s sessions for his two Atco solo records. Along the way you’ll find completely unreleased songs (“Slinky Jam”), unexpected covers of “Ain’t No Beatle,” “Kansas City,” and “Tracks of My Tears,” unissued instrumentals (including a version of Dylan’s “Love Minus Zero/No Limit”), and an entire side featuring alternate versions of Jesse’s masterpiece, “Washita Love Child.”
Remastered by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision, and featuring notes by Dr. Miller festooned by photos contributed by Jesse’s son William “Billy” Noriega, Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day: The Unissued Atco Recordings 1970-1971 represents a major archival find from one of rock’s most intriguing characters, out on Cobalt “Blue Jean” vinyl limited to 1500 copies worldwide.

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Mood

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Irma)

25,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Preorder shipping from 2024-11-01

TrioRox is a project born from the meeting of three protagonists of the Italian music scene (and not only): pianist Giovanni Guidi, bassist Joe Rehmer and electronic musician DJ Rocca (Luca Roccatagliati). Three characters who boast an eclectic and consistent curriculum. Guidi, enfant prodige of Jazz piano, has published several albums for the prestigious ECM label, and has collaborated with the best jazz and electronic musicians, from Enrico Rava to Matthew Herbert, from Joe Lovano to Ricardo Villalobos. Joe Rehmer, an American transplanted to Italy, is one of the most sought-after bass players, sharing stages and recording studios together with authorities such as Bob Mintzer, James Moody and Danny Gottlieb. DJ Rocca is a DJ and musician active since the nineties, and boasts numerous albums, singles and remixes with, and for key protagonists of the alternative dance scene (Andrew Weatherall, Dimitri From Paris and Howie B), as well as a militancy in the jazz scene with several albums together with Franco D’Andrea. The music that the trio proposes is a mix of electronic, dance, Jazz and pop, with groove impulses in the field of house and techno music, without neglecting mixes between electro, classical and minimalism. A melting pot of styles between Keith Jarrett and Carl Craig. Album to be released by Irma Records in October 2024, with guests Luigi Di Nunzio, Gianluca Petrella, Dan Kinzelman and Jacopo Fagioli. “Moods” is the debut album of Triorox that represents the photograph of the ‘Here and Now’. All the music was born from a studio session that lasted a few days, in which the mood of the three musicians gave the album its sound imprint. What came out of it became incandescent material to elaborate the musical flow of the entire work, which had three different phases. The first, in which the tracks were born from the recordings, some developed as creations with a common denominator (the three moments of Mood), some as thematic suggestions (Angels, Corea and Next To Canada), and others as a stylistic challenge (the techno of Space Rain, or the drum and bass of Sax & The City). The second phase, where the compositions were subjected to the test of live concerts, in which it was understood how the tracks could be better arranged, optimizing them and keeping the best ones. The last phase was the choice and insertion of the guests, reasoning according to the type of suggestion that we wanted to give to the specific song. So we gave free rein to Luigi Di Nunzio, who also participated in phase two, playing with us on stage on some occasions. In the same way, Gianluca Petrella chose the piece where he felt most at ease, also contributing to the arrangement. Dan Kinzelman, a historic collaborator of both Guidi and Rehmer, was included because we wanted his bass clarinet in a specific suggestive situation. Finally, we wanted Jacopo Fagioli (the Tuscan reincarnation of Don Cherry), we wanted him in a specific episode of Mood, for his particular style, impeccable in determining the mood that the piece needed.

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Pacific Breeze Volume 3: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1975-1987 Green Vinyl Edition

2LP | 2023 | US | Original (Light In The Attic)

47,99 €*

Philippe Maté / Jef Gilson

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Pop

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* The latest chapter in the acclaimed Pacific Breeze series! * Artwork by renowned illustrator Hiroshi Nagai * Compiled by Yosuke Kitazawa and Mark “Frosty” McNeill (dublab) * Newly remastered audio * 2xLP housed in a deluxe wide spine jacket with full color inner sleeves and custom die-cut OBI * Extensive artist bios by Yosuke Kitazawa * Digital mockups are not an exact representation of colors

Light in the Attic’s Pacific Breeze series has supplied the world’s growing legions of Japanese music fans with an expertly curated selection of the most sought-after City Pop recordings—the mesmerizing and nebulous genre of Japanese bubble-era music of the ‘70s-’80s that encompasses AOR, R&B, jazz fusion, funk, boogie and disco. These familiar sounds are spun through the unique lens of optimistic, cosmopolitan fantasy colored by Japan’s affluence at the time. Much of the music has previously been nearly impossible to acquire outside of Japan and continues to captivate listeners with its unique blend of groove-laden escapism, even birthing wholly new genres such as Vaporwave.

Pacific Breeze 3: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1975-1987 marks the latest chapter in the famed series and features holy grails plus under-the-radar rarities. The collection bursts at the seams to reveal some of the greatest Japanese tracks ever laid to tape, pushing towards the edge of City Pop to reveal glimmers of the next waves of styles to spring forth from the country’s creative minds. The appearance of Pizzicato Five hint at the emergence of Shibuya-kei while the influence of hip hop and electro as an emerging global trend are also evident here through the prevalence of heavier programmed drum beats on tracks such as “Heartbeat” by Miho Fujiwara.

This volume of Pacific Breeze, like its predecessors, is a female-forward offering with many tracks being voiced by women who would become household names in Japan as actresses and pop idols. Their songs here subvert the norm and brim with an innovative spirit that shatters gender roles in favor of sonic transcendence. Techno-pop classics from Susan, Miharu Koshi and Chiemi Manabe sit alongside sublime funk from Atsuko Nina and Naomi Akimoto while Teresa Noda slides into the mix with a sultry reggae jam. The genre span is stretched wider with hypnotic jazz fusion by Parachute and Hiroyuki Namba, a synthesizer fantasy from Osamu Shoji, and magnetic pop by Makoto Matsushita and Chu Kosaka.

Although not front and center, the visionary members of Yellow Magic Orchestra are still very present on Pacific Breeze 3, with Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi taking up producer and musician roles on many of these tracks. Pacific Breeze 3 serves up a captivating musical journey that adds an essential chapter to the iconic compilation series.

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Workshop

LP | 1973 | EU | Reissue (Souffle Continu)

Release: 1973 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In October 1974, the first number of “L'Indépendant du Jazz”, a small self-produced magazine DIY -before punk supposedly invented the concept- was launched by Jef Gilson, Gérard Terronès, Jean-Jacques Pussiau and a few other specialists of a different kind of jazz in France, it looked at the already long career of Jef Gilson and in detail at the album with saxophonist Philippe Maté : “The ‘Workshop’ is, with Philippe Maté (alto-sax), an undeniable success. Maté is genuinely ‘the’ most inventive French saxophonist since Michel Portal burst onto the jazz scene (who has also worked with Jef Gilson on both “Enfin” and “Gaveau”).” Even though the author of the article is a mysterious I.H. Dubiniou, and it is difficult to know if it is a real person or a pseudonym used by one of the merry bunch, it is also tempting to hear it as what Jef Gilson really thought about his new discovery. Even more so as the two men would work together over a long period, as Maté became one of the key figures of Gilson’s Europamerica orchestra up until the 1980s. Philippe Maté had started to make a name for himself with the Acting Trio when they released an album on the BYG label in 1969, and he was also one of the regular sidemen for the Saravah studios (he can notably be heard on albums by Higelin, Fontaine or his cult duo album with Daniel Vallancien). The album was recorded on 4 February 1972, at the Foyer de Montorgueuil, where Gilson had set up his studio, with more or less the same team found on “La Marche Dans Le Désert” by Sahib Shihab + Gilson Unit (recorded ten days later). This was drummer Jean-Claude Pourtier and pianist Pierre Moret (regular Gilson accomplices since “Le Massacre Du Printemps”), alongside Maurice Bouhana and Bruno Di Gioa on various percussions and/or wind instruments. On bass is Didier Levallet, of the now mythical Perception, (Jean-François Catoire would replace him with Shihab) and Philippe Maté who took top billing, rather than the American saxophonist afterwards. The two albums are however quite different. This “Workshop” is more abrasive, more free. Made up of two long improvisations each of over 22mn, “L'Œil” on side A and “Vision” on side B (Gilson specialists would recognise the nod to one of his albums from the 60s), the album plunges you into the depths, attempting to drown you in electronic waves, dragging you back to the surface by the collar, giving you a good shakedown, before showing you the light, leaving you breathless on the shore after 46mn of the most intense music French has to offer. “An undeniable success”, they said.

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Tropical Disco Records Volume 24

12" | 2022 | UK | Original (Tropical Disco)

2LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Dimensions)

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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One thing that is written in stone even in these days of near endless uncertainty is that when Topical Disco unleashes one of their vinyl releases they are a no questions asked, must have. For a label which regularly dominates the top spot of the download charts they still consistently manage to up the ante for their vinyl drops. It’s no wonder at all that the previous editions have gone on to become collector’s editions, disappearing from the shelves as quickly as you can say here today, gone tomorrow. Volume 24 easily keeps this incredible run of club vinyl masterpieces going strong. Packed across two side of black gold are tracks from newcomers and scene heavy hitters alike Toscana, Toby O’Conner, Charly Angelz and Frank Virgilio. The mysterious Toscana leads the way with the wonderfully enigmatic ‘The Girl With The Red Hair’, a six and a half minute slice of pleasure packed Balearic disco. Incessant, warm and inviting it combines a divine groove heavy bassline, funky guitar licks and a subtle percussive backbone with a rather brilliant stand-out guitar solo. This is a track which is guaranteed to fill those summer dancefloors. Next up is Toby O’Conner who is returning to Tropical Disco after his lauded ‘The Heist / 1920 EP’ with another high energy slice of disco goodness in the shape of ‘Cave Of Gold’. Again this is classic Tropical Disco, combing both live chops with jazz overtones as throbbing club ready drums provide the framework for a bubbling bassline, subtle keys and sax solo’s aplenty to weave their magic. Expect jazz inspired shapes to be thrown on dancefloors across the globe when this one drops. Over on the flip is Charly Angelz, another artist who has been making a considerable swirl on the disco scene of late. ‘Mother Phunk’ is very aptly named with an absolute gem of a bassline front and centre as classic funk vocal chops, vibey pads and guitar stabs all combine perfectly with earworm strings for anther sure fire floor filler. Closing the EP out is scene stalwart Frank Virgilio. Hailing from Napoli Frank has been behind a virtual disco smorgasbord over the five years including regular chart bothering appearances on Tropical disco. ‘What We Love’ tips its hat to the golden era of house music, think 90’s Soulfuric meets MAW. Vibes abound here from the classic drum sounds right through to the divine ethereal percussion which adds that touch of class. This is another track which will sound just perfect on the golden Isle this coming summer, did some-one say Ibizan boat party? We’re onboard! Support across Mi Soul & House FM.

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Charles Webster

Decision Time

2LP | 1996 | CA | Reissue (Get On Down)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Dimensions Recordings are very proud to present 'Decision Time', the first major solo album from the legendary Charles Webster in two decades.

Operating in house music since the mid '80s, Charles Webster is revered as something like the producer's producer, spoken about in the same breath as Larry Heard or Ron Trent amongst the DJ cognoscenti.

Growing up in the Peak District and falling in love with electronic music through a parent's Kraftwerk record, Charles' apprenticeship was with Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, back when they'd record at Square Dance studio in Nottingham, where Charles worked as a recording engineer. His production work started right at the roots of electronic music in the British Isles, writing tracks for electro/breakdance outfit The Rock City Crew and 1987 UK house cut T-cut-f. Since then he's released music under 30 different pseudonyms with over 500 remixes.

'Decision Time' is Charles' first major solo record since 2001's 'Born On The 24th July', and features an array of artists from a number of different eras, guises and genres Charles has been involved with over his prolific career.

After moving to San Francisco in the late nineties, he created an album under the alias Presence entitled 'All Systems Gone'. The "pillowy" sound design of this classic is cited as a key influence on the music of Burial. For 'Decision Time', Burial has paid a further tribute here, contributing a rare co-production, 'The Second Spell'. This track featuring the words of Prince muse Ingrid Chavez. who also wrote the spoken word poetry in Madonna's 'Justify My Love'.

Charles was at the forefront of the halcyon years of deep house, working with vocal talents like Robert Owens, Tracey Thorn, Terra Deva (aka Furry Freaks), who features here on 'Wait And See', and Shara Nelson, perhaps best known for her vocals on Massive Attack's 'Blue Lines' album, featuring here on 'This Is Real'.

Charles' influence also spreads to the South African house scene with his Presence single 'Better Day' becoming a huge radio hit there in 1997. Charles later moved to South Africa and immersed himself in the local scene, collaborating with some of the country's most exciting talent, including Sio, Thandi Draai and Sipho â€“ all of whom appear on this project.

With an album of this quality and the 20-year cycles of electronic culture, it feels like this is the perfect moment to celebrate the brilliance of Charles Webster's legacy. From the downtempo soul of 'This Is Real', to the impressionistic words and ethereal two-step on 'The Spell', a new generation of ears are about to discover the influential underground sound of Charles Webster.

"As if Everything But The Girl, Larry Heard and Womack & Womack decided to merge musical ideas in the studioâ€¦" Billboard, USA.

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Nas

It Was Written

36,99 €*

Release: 1996 / CA – Reissue

Genre: Hip Hop

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Illmatic, the 1994 studio debut of Nasir "Nas" Jones, was more than just a critical success for the Queensbridge-based rapper. At a time when East Coast hip-hop was increasingly being taken less seriously than their West Coast counterparts, Illmatic's raw jazz and soul-based production, dire atmosphere and lyrics, coupled with Nas' uncompromising flow was integral in restoring interest in the East Coast as a hotbed of hip-hop artistry. Along with key releases from Wu-Tang Clan and Notorious B.I.G.,it shifted attention away from the funky, dayglo synth-based G-funk coming out of California and back to the grimy streets of New York. After such an unprecedented debut record, expectations were understandably high for Nas' follow-up. What came next threw critics and fans for a loop, but was no less influential than Illmatic, and would become the most commercially successful album in the entirety of Nas' discography. The 1996 sophomore follow-up was titled It Was Written, and in contrast to the urban bleakness of his debut, had Nas dipping his toes into the world of mafioso rap. Amidst production from heavy hitters like Trackmasters, Dr. Dre, L.E.S., Havoc of Mobb Deep, and Illmatic-collaborator DJ Premier, among others, Nas weaves evocative narratives of gang warfare, downtrodden neighborhoods, drug deals gone awry, and gangsta triumph, against a backdrop of samples from Sam Cooke, Etta James, the Isley Brothers, and even Chuck Mangione.

It Was Written was not hard up for top-tier guests either, featuring major guest turns from Lauryn Hill and Joel "JoJo" Hailey of K-Ci & JoJo. It also introduced the world to The Firm, the brief Nas-led msupergroup featuring rappers AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. mIt even managed to cause some minor controversy in the hip-hop mcommunity for its collaboration with West Coast producer Dr. Dre, at a time when the East Coast/West Coast rap feud was reaching a fever pitch, briefly attracting the ire of one Tupac Shakur. Not only was It Was Written received warmly by critics, but became a major commercial success, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 charts, reaching platinum sales status four times, and alongside malbums like Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, helped usher in the era of mafioso rap in the mainstream. It rendered chart hits out of singles like the Eurhythmics-mimicking "Street Dreams", and the Grammy-nominated "If I Ruled The World Imagine That", and proved to be a major influence on artists like Kendrick Lamar, Lupe mFiasco, and many more.

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Toolroom Sampler Volume 11

12" | 2024 | UK | Original (Toolroom)

16,99 €*

Dawn Is A Melody Orange Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Kicking things off on our next 4-track vinyl sampler series is Toolroom's very own Martin Ikin who returns to the label with ‘Make U Sweat’! He was the Best-selling Tech House artist on Beatport in 2020 and 2021 and has over 1m monthly listeners across streaming platforms. Recent studio collabs have included Noizu and Joshwa and tours have seen him travel far and wide to the US, Brazil, Bali, Ibiza, Italy, Croatia and of course, his hometown of London. This new record is the follow up to 'Oscill8' that dropped in March 2023 and sits in a similar lane, in that it's pure, unadulterated club weaponry! Next up is Italian house legend Flashmob with the frenetic, high-energy club vibe of new cut ‘My Body’. Flashmob's sound, production and go-for-broke DJ sets have changed with the game, embracing the vitality of new house music rather than hankering after sentimental sunsets. His ethic and aesthetic move relentlessly forward, using the old and new to craft unique sonic alchemy from big festivals like Tomorrowland to the intimacy of small clubs on the international circuit. ‘My Body’ is typical of Flashmob's current sound, combining solid drums and some insane synths and fx, alongside an earworm vocal sample that results in yet another memorable club cut from an established master. Canadian Tech House maestro Nathan Barato debuts on Toolroom kicking off the B-side to the vinyl alongside studio partner, Matheo Velez with 'Weapon'. A record that has already caught the attention of the underground elite with Michael Bibi premiering the track at his first appearance back at Dc-10 in Ibiza last Summer. Both artists are enjoying great success across key labels such as Viva, Circus, Snatch and RAWthentic. This is an addictive, bumpy club track

that packs a huge punch on the dance floor and actually features Nathan's very own 'Move me… Rock me' vocals! Rounding things off is UK DJ/producer duo, Jenn Getz & Alfie who are residents at Dubai's #1 nightlife destination, Soho Garden, where they warm up for legends such as Sonny Fodera, MK, Claptone, Solardo & Fisher on a weekly basis. In their relatively short 3 year career they have already released on Solotoko, Abode and Toolroom Trax and now debut on Toolroom with 'Vibration'. Both girls are incredibly passionate about house music and are also big advocates for a life centered around well-being and meditation, and the idea of this record was to combine their 2 passions in life, so they proceeded to co-write these original lyrics to accompany the track, which in itself is very inspiring! This is a super cool club record that will excite fans and DJ's alike, welcome to the Toolroom Family, Jenn Getz & Alfie!

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Finn Rees

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

25,99 €*

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Astigmatic)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Uniri

Infinite Reflections