Search:a hand

Patience began as bedroom synth project for songwriter Roxanne Clifford after the break up of her acclaimed indie pop band Veronica Falls. Born out of a desire to experiment with a new sound and analogue synthesizers, the project has since grown to become an all-encompassing persona and serves as the main vehicle for the full emotional spectrum always latent in Clifford’s songwriting. From her first long-sold-out 7” singles on Night School, her knack for melodic hooks and oblique emotional stances already contained a glistening sheen of promise. ‘Dizzy Spells’ serves as an intimate portrait of Clifford’s creative adventure, almost diaristic, conceived and recorded in her home studio, as well as with collaborators Todd Edwards (Daft Punk/Uk Garage fame), Lewis Cook (Free Love/Happy Meals) and engineer Misha Hering (Virginia Wing). Dizzy Spells delivers a debut album that twists Clifford’s songwriting into new shapes and ecstasies. The album dances around melancholy, thrown to the floor like a bad dream to be circled, emerging bright-eyed into the early morning full of hope. The Girls Are Chewing Gum (produced by Todd Edwards) bursts open Dizzy Spells like fresh fruit: sweet and rich with a synth-bass line beamed down from Chicago House heaven. Exquisitely sung by Clifford, it’s a wonderful, funky, instant-classic hinting at sexuality and memories dredged from our bodies’ secrets. The bouncy production expertly renders the addictive power of our ephemeral pleasures. Living Things Don’t Last chases themes of longing and loss, opening up into a life affirming chorus that sings of transience, the passing of time and railing against inertia. It’s the perfect example of a song formula that Roxanne Clifford has almost patented: simple and cutting straight to the point. There are shades of Strawberry Switchblade or French synth pop pioneer Jacno in the happy/sad dichotomy and it is all the better for it. Dizzy Spells features all three long-sold out singles, embedded in the full depth of Patience’s soundworld they fit like pieces of a puzzle. White Of An Eye, The Church and The Pressure—all recorded in Clifford’s former home of Glasgow—crackle with razor sharp melodies and dancefloor-ready dynamics. There are exciting additions to Patience’s sonic palette, brought into sharp relief on Voices In The Sand. In this song, a plaintive Clifford enunciates a heart-torn plea to the antagonist, a mournful cascade of synths and haunting vocals evocative of AC Marias, a sepia-toned ode to anxiety, “a storm is on the way”. On No Roses, a Vince Clarkesque production belies a sunburnt sadness. Clifford defiantly sings “you would go out tonight, but there’s nowhere you like,” describing a disenchantment with her adopted city of Los Angeles, she longs for home in a singular refrain “No roses… no roses for us.” An ode to English folk singer Shirley Collins, a surprising yet innate influence throughout Clifford’s work. On Moral Damage, former Veronica Falls bandmate Marion Herbain joins Clifford on an anglo-french duet that feels instant and spontaneous, a cutting comment on emotional accountability. More than a vehicle for Roxanne Clifford’s songwriting prowess, Patience is holding our hand through the night, dancing with tears in our eyes, dizzy and spellbound.

Founded by Larry Akles in 1971 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, The Chocolate Buttermilk Band, has been one of the busiest and most successful cover and backing bands in the Southern United States for the last 5 decades.
While they’re little known outside the region, their handful of singles from the early 1980s are, for record collectors, among the best and most desirable in Modern Soul and Boogie Funk.

Jerome Derradji & Past Due Records are proud to present “Head Games (The Story of Larry Akles & CBM Records)”. Released on a DLP / CD with printed inner sleeves (or booklet) that include never seen before pictures of the band and a story written by Jacob Arnold. Artwork is by the mighty Al Kent. As a companion to the compilation we are also reissuing the incredibly rare and sought after “Head Games” 7” with a picture sleeve.

This compilation includes every song released by the Chocolate Buttermilk Band, remastered and reissued for the first time.

Needless to say, this is an essential release for fans of Boogie, Soul and Funk as the Chocolate Buttermilk Band releases are known to fetch thousands in the collectors market.

In Larry Akles own words, “This girl in Atlanta told me one time, she said ‘Larry, I heard on the radio that Chocolate Buttermilk was going to be on the show, and I told my girlfriend, Oh, it’s gonna be onnnn if Chocolate Buttermilk on there, ’cause whoever come behind them, they got to go!’” He continues, “When we hit the stage, boy it’d be some fire. We wouldn’t have to get warmed up. We’d start off hot!”

As a singer-songwriter artist, JE (Jon Edward) Sunde composes abundant records that are as much folk as white soul, influenced by Nina Simone and Leonard Cohen. Without always being aware that he has gold in his voice, and Paul Simon's melodies in his fingers. A long-time friend of Bon Iver, JE Sunde shared the music scene with him at Eau Claire, their hometown, before leaving to Minneapolis. With his group Dardevil Christopher Right or solo, JE Sunde has played everything that the country has of small indie venues. After two albums released in the United States, JE Sunde releases his songs for the first time in Europe as a best-of album available on June 7.

Following up her 2018 EP ‚Which One Of Us Is Me‘ on Figure, Lady Starlight once again tames her hardware for some wild, live and direct cuts. These four tracks of unprocessed, unadulterated machine techno are some of the freshest analog output available these days, with acidic undertones tinging the record in a slightly old school flavor.

Starlight still leads way in a highly condensed and to the point way of producing, where simplicity rules and basic elements carry all the tension necessary. Clever arrangement and little filter tweaks are all that‘s needed for maximum rave energy and reveal the hand of a true master of her craft.

„Pitcher“ is Nadia D’Alò’s very first solo appearance on vinyl. Playful forwarding drums running hand in hand with a laid back wuthering synth line, carrying her melting voice right in it´s fountain. „Benzin“ on the flip side is a much slower, charming impish early morning jam by INIT (D’Alò & Benedikt Frey), based on a simple 808 infrastructure that leaves space for weird guitar riffs, wavy vocals and a bassy undercoat.

As with the first SchleiBen series, Emotional Response follows the success of the second set of split releases with a stand-alone album by one of the highlights, in Neil Tolliday.

Recorded over a 17-year period, the ambient, drone and noise pieces collected here offer a glimpse in to the depth of a supremely talented, thoughtful and at times, troubled musical mind.

As his love for house music and the success of his Nail moniker grew and waned during the ascent 90s boom, there followed his somewhat surprising success as one half of Balearic-pop combo Bent, propelling Tolliday in to a world of indie-charts and endless touring. The eventual unhappiness of this 'music career' and increasing need for personal escapism led him start experiment new musical forms of expression.

A thinker and oft-over drinker, success was viewed with a deep suspicion and introspection, drug use and later, depression. As his other music projects slowly imploded, this new, personal music was for many years, made purely for Tolliday's own absorption and comedowns.

Taken from an initial 4 track recording in Nottingham in 2000, more pieces were subsequently recorded around the globe on numerous devices - old portable cassette recorders, hand held digital stereos and even mobile phones. These heavily manipulated samples were slowed down, reversed, smudged and stretched before analog and modular patching, Mellotron, editing, programming and post production were added to the melting pot.

With hundreds of tracks collated, in the last few years Tolliday began putting them out via Bandcamp using different aliases, on made up record labels, with no press or mention to anyone. This would happen every 6-9 months - a new label was created with logo, band/artist names and a few albums worth of music, leaving it there for a few weeks before then deleting the lot.

Here then is a snapshot of those recordings, chosen to represent the depth of music, while trying not to think too much about in to the emotions that were used in making them. With special hand painted artwork by Sam Purcell, commissioned from the artist's own photographs taken from a adjournment at Homerton hospital, the hope is to do justice to such wonderful music and present Neil Tolliday, finally an artist, shorn of pseudonyms, in a broader light.

I grew up fascinated with the music played late at night on the radio.
As a kid, when times were tough and I couldn't get myself to sleep, I would tune the radio to my favourite FM station and dream on.
This was back in the late 80's and lasted until the mid 90's, a time when I was getting hooked by Hall & Oates, Loose Ends, Maze, S.O.S. Band, Soul II Soul, and other artists that used to rule the dial in the wee hours.
So this music didn't only comfort and nurture me at the time, it also shaped my music personality.

When Renata approached me in order to work on the first ever compilation for Hello Sailor, I knew the selection would end up reflecting this side of me. It had to come from the heart.
It also had to bring to the table something different than what's already associated with Brazilian music, and exploring our own take on the street soul genre sounded good.
It was never done before and it's also faithful to Brazil's musical heritage.

Back in the 80's and into the 90's, it was very common at parties to have a slow dance moment in between the more uptempo sections. A timeout from all the frantic dancing, when people could cool off and flirt in a more romantic way. (It does sound like a great idea to have this intimate just-the-two-of-us moment in the middle of a party; maybe it explains the number of marriages at that time.)
This is a tradition that goes back to the black music balls in the late 70's, which helps to explain why the majority of the early rap acts from Brazil used to have a couple of romantic songs in their albums. When you add to this recipe the power of the mellow pop acts during the aforementioned period, one can realise why it extended its tentacles to deeper depths of pop music in Brazil.

This compilation features some of my favourite music ever, songs that I've crossed paths with in different moments of my life.
Fernanda Abreu, for instance, is a longtime crush - I have been in love with her music since the mid 80's when she used to sing in a band called Blitz, which my mom loved.
Afrodite Se Quiser, on the other hand, created some buzz while the group was active with the minor hit "O Que Que Ela Tem Que Eu Nao Tenho", from their first album (1987), but I didn't know about "Fora de Mim" until 2015. My point is: even if it took me 25 years to find this track, I had a reserved spot in my brain for it and it laid there perfectly as if it innately belonged there.
It's a built memory, and I love playing with this idea when presenting music to people.

Street Soul Brasil is part mellow pop, part R&B, part rap.
One can surely feel a lot of street energy from the B Side. The music reflects the influence of international pop at the time, but it also shows how Brazilians are talented in making any sound their own!

This compilation is supposed to be a mixed collection of songs, something that might trigger the feeling of flipping through an old photo book full of tender memories. These are songs that should speak straight to the heart, music to comfort and heal, music that deals with joy and pain, feelings that I always liked being transmitted through music.
It's among the best forms of therapy. It worked for me and I hope it works for you...

Jacob Long’s reductionist rhythmic ambient vessel, Earthen Sea, ebbs towards a more purely elemental state on his second excursion for Kranky, Grass and Trees.
He describes the creative process as one of “simplifying things as much as possible,” designing uncluttered spaces traced in nothing but breath, field recordings, and “sounds that could be played by hand but weren’t.”
The results feel decentralized but dynamic, low-lit evocations of ambiguous nocturnal environments – dub techno disassembled into stray pulses and spare parts. It’s a music both interior and infinite, languorous yet transformative, made in the outer boroughs of a metropolis but existing in its own liminal wilderness.
Long’s vision is a grounding one, rooted in the physical body but attuned to larger currents: “In response to living in a fairly hectic city, and at a very hectic time for the world at large, creating something more drawn back and restrained felt appropriate.
track listing:1. Existing Closer or Deeper in Space 2. Window, Skin, and Mirror 3. Spatial Ambiguity4. A Blank Slate 5. Living Space and Usually 6. Shallow, Shadowless 7. Less and Less

‘New label out of Bristol, Ghost Phone represents RnB's deep and club friendly potential with four anonymous versions from various artists. Hand picked from across the globe for their deep love and appreciation of the original sound, each producer brings thier individual style to the fore. Bending things out of shape for the freaks but still retaining the genres slick, sensual aesthetic.

Chopped and screwed soul gets the full dub treatment on opener ‘Quiet Storm’, alongside 'Hit it Tool' where bumping 2 step drums meet Bmore breaks for the most dance floor primed cut on the 12". B1: ‘Single And Searching’ floats pitched vocal snippets in to the clouds, layering them over misty eyed rave chords. Finally, there is the pale faced club shuffle of '2ON’.’

The Soulpop Continuum – by Arno Raffeiner
Six songs, one sound signature, one vision. Supreme Beats Series by Drei Farben House is an album
that firmly stands in the tradition of the big records of the disco era: a vinyl disc full of kicks and licks,
just as much as two sides in amazing sound quality can hold.
The album is the latest work of Michael Siegle, the Berlin-based producer and owner of Tenderpark
Records. 13 years after Drei Farben House's first full-length on the acclaimed Force Tracks label, it
features contributions by singer and songwriter Mavin and none other than Robert Owens who's voice
shaped house music forever. The trademark sonic elegance of Drei Farben House blends perfectly
with the timbre of the man behind Fingers Inc.'s Mysteries Of Love. Siegle's work as a producer is not
so much about turning this rich heritage upside down, but about refining it and creating a space within
that realm that's very much his own.
The title of the opening song with Owens states it: I’m Remaining Here. And Supreme Beats Series
invites you to come over and stay there, too, in a refuge of class and funkiness. The record offers
dense layers of rhythm, vintage keyboard sounds, chucking guitar, and vocal samples that indulge in a
many-voiced conversation. Not to forget the prominent, singing rather than walking bass lines
performed by the hands of Michael Siegle himself with his bass guitar.

New Release Information
You could think of Supreme Beats Series as a cross-section in time and space. It allows you to take a
closer look at the here and now of a much bigger picture, both aesthetically and socially. Siegle uses
the vocabulary of house music in a way that transcends its conception as merely a genre and speaks
of the historic evolution and the profound roots of this music as a movement. His record takes
inspiration from 60s Motown hits as well as the blue eyed soul of the 80s, you can discover influences
ranging from Philly's pre-disco craze to new jack swing and on to the heyday when house-pop divas
stormed the charts. By drawing these lines, Siegle deliberately opens up the space of a visionary
Soulpop Continuum.
In the 1950s, the American issue of Vogue magazine had their say about Coco Chanel's work and its
ever-lasting impression on fashion and design. They claimed it was all about “infinite variety within
narrow limits,“ and meant that as a compliment, of course. Michael Siegle likes to think about Drei
Farben House in a similar way. And you should, too.
Info about the artwork:
As far as the cover artwork of 'Supreme Beats Series‘ is concerned, the release of Drei Farben
House’s new album shows the second part of an image series which has been started with TDPR
release # 021 and which revolves around architectural photos taken by Achim Valbracht. Tenderpark
art director Till Sperrle and photographer Achim Valbracht like these pictures of various commercial
buildings erected in Berlin in the 1990s to be seen as a critique of investor-driven architecture which
has been dominating Berlin for several decades now.
The fascination of these pictures lies in their ambivalence of staging a normalised and globally
standardised kind of beauty, but at the same time revealing a strong sense of isolation - noticeable not
only but also in the absence of human beings. This new series of images is to some extent a
continuation of art director Till Sperrle's and label manager Michael Siegle’s interest in architectural
photography. However, at the same time the photo series also embodies a new angle on the subject
since all previous picture series on Tenderpark had been an affirmation of socially progressive
architecture which expressed a longing for socio-cultural utopia.

Leipzig’s Dj Balduin has been a staff favourite for some time as we are avid fans of his GLYK imprint, and in particular his debut EP “Vvigmara”. Dj Balduin proclaims to enjoy producing music that creates “states of hypnosis with an occasional, gentle “hands-up-face-slap” every now and then” which perfectly sums up “Lost Cat” - his first release for KOMPAKT.

“E.W.B.A” came to Dj Balduin while having a shower, so chances are high we have this summer’s rain dance anthem on our hands as it has all the right elements - a classic rave synth meets an infectious open snare to break through the beat.

The kick drum thud of “Sheee” seems to be all too menacing at first, but surprisingly learns how to open itself into a gorgeously seductive uplifting house tune.

This story ends with the perfect set closer; “Lost Cat And An Untied Shoe” brings that beat back with soaring synths and a playful natural bass line that adds just the slightest edge of funk to carry the crowd home at the end of the night.
Leipzigs DJ Balduin und besonders seine Debüt-EP „Vvigmara“ trendet, seitdem wir sein GLYK-Label kennen, unter den Mitarbeitern von Kompakt. Laut eigenen Angaben genieße es DJ Balduin, Musik zu produzieren, die seine Zuhörer in den „Zustand der Hypnose versetzt und gleichzeitig mit gelegentlichen zarten Schlägen ins Gesicht wachhält“, was auf „Lost Cat“ – sein erstes Release auf Kompakt – auch geschieht.

„E.W.B.A“ kam DJ Balduin unter der Dusche, die Chancen stehen also hoch, dass wir hier eine Hymne für diejenigen Raves haben, die unter kräftigen Sommergewittern stattfinden werden – die richtigen Zutaten sind alle da: klassische Rave-Hooks, ansteckende Snaredrums, die hervorbrechen aus dem Bass.

Der Schlag der Bassdrum von „Sheee“ scheint zunächst bedrohlich, lernt aber überraschender Weise sich selbst zu wandeln hin zu einem prachtvoll verführerischen House-Stück. Die Geschichte endet mit dem aller besten letzten Stück: „Lost Cat And An Untied Show“ bringt den Beat zurück zusammen mit aufsteigenden Synths und einer verspielten, natürlichen Bassline, die einen Funken Funk hinzufügt, um die Dancer nach Hause zu begleiten in der Nacht.

A very warm welcome aboard to the splendid AMERICAN STANDARD label !!

Critical & hedonistic acclaim have already been lavished on this Charleston based sonic excavator of considerable note, so we won't bore you with an exhaustive biog, mainly because there isn't one.
The music is most definitely left to do the talking as this one man 'Folly Beach Psychemagik' fills the record boxes of the world's most discerning diggers with treasure beyond measure.

So, for this latest 3 piece for American Standard we're firmly in the FM synthesis musical district of early 80's planet earth.
70's session players still strung out from the previous decades' debauchery tried their hand at piloting these electricity powered units to wildly varying degrees of success.
Luckily for you, Jaz has been kind enough to find and reload three of the finest, more esoteric, obscure but eminently playable moments from this fertile era for some primo 'back to the future' frugging...

Dixon Avenue Basement Jams are proud to present "Rainbow Body" by Nightwave on their new sub-label Neutralizer Records.

New music from Nightwave is what life is all about.

Check out her new fantastic release for Dixon Avenue Basement Jams’ Neutralizer sub-label if you’re in any doubt. Rainbow Body EP is 4 tracks of Detroit influenced dance floor damage, taking in and breathing out lush melodic techno, driving ghetto beats, steppin’ authentic electro and bold yet synthy house music. It’s a release that does it all and with such style and confidence. You’d be a fool to miss out.

Limited Hand Stamped Vinyl and crazy story inlay included

The first of a new series of VA releases, Casting Shadows reimagines archival music through the eyes of our favourite DJs. Each volume is overseen by a different selector, inviting us to look through the peephole of their crates.

Cutting the ribbon, we invite German luminary Mick Wills. Active over 3 decades, a perennial influence and looming figure across the wave and techno scenes.
Wills refashions 3 of his favourites, giving them the trademark ‘Cut’ treatment for tender floors worldwide.

The first track sees a crucially overlooked Baby Red Torres number 7” fully expanded to 5 am percussive meltdown business.

Next up synth-botherer Paul Nagle sees his early tape emission‘The Mesomeric Effect’ re-cut by cool hand Mick, coming in hot & throbbing in all the right ways.

Closing on a dramatic note, Kehrschliefe’s Leonid Brezhnev (previously on Polytechnic Youth) is opened up, ripped apart and smartly re-dressed, oozing class and menace.

3 cuts your way from one of our favourite basement surgeons. Look out for the second volume of Casting Shadows, carefully compiled by an interplanetary presence .

Mastered by Alden Tyrell.

Nasty Electro-Acid and Techno from the lost mind of Shinoby including an repetitive & paranoid, spiritual yet sexy psychedelic techno funk remix by Unit Moebius

Georgian artist Sophia Saze releases her debut two-part album 'Self' on Francis Harris' Kingdoms imprint, with part one dropping on cassette this June. "The record embodies my story of duality within the context of identity, insomuch as the idea that every person has a deeper layer we don't show on the surface."
Born in Tbilisi, Sophia Saze is the daughter of political refugees who's spent her life living in numerous different countries before eventually finding home in Brooklyn. Finding it difficult to find her own identity due to living a nomadic lifestyle, the classically trained musician became entangled with electronic music before becoming a key player within New York's nightlife scene and launching her Dusk & Haze imprint in 2017.
A reflection of her struggles throughout life, 'Self' is very much a memoir of the many different places she's lived during her journey, including Georgia, Russia, USA, France and Canada. Contrasting to her recent productions, which are geared more towards the dancefloor, her debut longplayer is downtempo and features a medley of musical influences - mixed in two parts and released as a concept album on cassette. Maintaining a sonically raw feel throughout, 'Self' draws the analogy of analog to modern day digital culture whilst also taking a stance against perfection, whether integrating the distance crackle of her machines or intentional off-beat piano notes in minor. Part One was conceived, for the most part, during a sleepless yet inspired 48-hour studio session. Processed field recordings accompany samples from her childhood, such as soviet cartoons and intimate VHS recordings of her family. The result is a well-seasoned and personal story portrayed in fourteen tracks mixed together.
"I feel the element of patience is somewhat of a lost commodity in our generation, particularly for albums. We're consumed by track to track interpretations and constantly searching for the next instant stimulation. With this record, I wanted to reiterate the idea that if you don't have the willingness to sit through the whole thing, then you're not stepping into it with the right mindset to begin with."
Every artist who collaborated on the record is handpicked, such as vocalist Ricardo Rivera. The final production was also mixed by Francis Harris himself. All of their involvement means they share a fragment of the concept.

Borneo’s eighth release brings a sweet little five track compilation of eccentric and exotic electronica. All music is lovingly composed and constructed by the label’s family and close friends.

Ultrastation is the lovechild project of Cosmic Force and Nuno Dos Santos. Their Eau De Voodoo kicks this EP off with a fire starter made out of driving afro rhythms combined with mesmerizing vocal samples.

Phones On Fail Jah by Fader sees a quirky digital take on digidub. Centered around filtered chords, a deftly curated selection of melody and percussion is put through its paces.

The enigmatic Fizzy Veins poured his hart out on the song Handbrake. Guitar play over a subtle synth line, all sprinkled with fragile vocals that are almost drowning in the sea of echoes that lies underneath.

Rotterdam’s Nous’Klaer mainstay Mattheis has contributed V21. A stealthy weapon with synth driven melodies and electronic rhythms that are slowly morphing in and out of each other. This will hypnotize any dance floor.

Samo DJ closes the excursion with a remix. He handpicked OVFiets from the Borneo vaults, an unreleased techno work out by party crew Marck. Samo’s version brings the original in a more airy, wholesome and percussive state of mind.

Founded in 1990 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cold Front were what you'd call early adaptors, their music at the time of its inception an oddity. This fourpiece, consisting of spouses Ayanna and Cam Muata, Jon Jon Scott and Ron Clark, were far ahead of their time and faded just as rapidly as they entered the stage, only playing a handful of local shows in support of Nine Inch Nails, Meat Beat Manifesto and such, alongside several cameos during early house nights and techno events.

Though short lived, their music nevertheless speaks volumes. It's intriguing stuff, a magical association of sound reminiscent of Ron Hardy and Klein MBO. New Beat-like drum parts, overdubbed by politically engaged raps, basslines that would make The Cure proud, held together by freakout speaking in tongues vocal experiments while also showing an obvious parallel to the rise of triphop at the other side of the ocean.

Beyond the Beat will burst dancefloors soon. In collaboration with Paris' recordshop Dizonord, Knekelhuis will close the summer of 2019 with this amazing gem.

Last year, we got together with The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision’s RE:VIVE initiative for the second time, inviting four local artists to breathe new life into four archival films from the Sound and Vision and EYE Filmmuseum archives. Jordan GCZ, Suzanne Kraft, Parrish Smith and Upsammy were all assigned short animated films dating back to 1921. The films and their new scores debuted at EYE on August 2nd as part of Dekmantel Festival 2018. Unsurprisingly, each artist imparted their unique styles onto the films that they previously had no relation with. From Suzanne Kraft's sparse atmospherics that have become more apparent in his new SK U KNO project to Jordan GCZ’s free flowing hardware jams. Parrish Smith showed his contemplative side and sparse orchestrations that he demonstrated on his RE:VIVE release, Genesis Black, a sonic departure from his bombastic releases and DJ-sets while upsammy showed yet again her deft hand for melody and texture, a style that dominates all her releases to date.

These four scores can live apart from their films, fitting seamlessly into each artists' growing catalogs of work. But when combined, it’s as if the films and music were made simultaneously with the artist and filmmaker together in the same room. Dekmantel and RE:VIVE are proud to present these new works as the electronic music scene in The Netherlands continues to show its multifaceted talent that continues to expand far beyond the dance floor.

Strategy returns to Chris Farrell's Idle Hands label for the first time since his 'Seeds Of Paradise' LP, and his first record of the year following releases for Nite Owl's Diner and Zam Zam's sister label Khaliphonic in 2018.

Here he turns in a bassy house number by the name of 'Tropical Storm', one for those sloppy grins in the summer months. The most requested track ID on Shanti Celeste's Dekmantel mix, here it finally sees the light of day. On the flip is the more paired back 'Evolu'

Any historians keen on the subject of "French youth in the 1980s" are holding a treasure in their hands. As a true archaeologist of this decade dedicated to disposable culture, digger-in-chief Vidal Benjamin with his newest compilation, 'Pop Sympathie', offers them a unique journey in the heart of the cyclone of emotions that struck all teenagers during the first seven years of François Mitterrand's mandate. Fifteen musical nuggets, exhumed from the dungeons of history, each and every one of them teaching us about what really obsessed the youngsters at that exact moment, i.e. what happens when the city lights come on at dusk, when irrepressible urges that stir them to get lost even more appear until the end of the night.

The artists gathered here did not have the honour of breaking into the local charts, but they all individually reached for the sky. Each song of 'Pop Sympathie' tells more or less the same story: that of a girl who throws herself into the night like one immerses one's self into the void, who rushes into a one-night adventure to become a star. And too bad if in the early morning she finds herself back at square one. In all these miniature odysseys there is neon lights, lasers, smoke machines, broken glass on checkered tiles, strangers on leather benches, celebrities in the bathrooms, stolen kisses, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, Polaroids, venetian blinds and radioactive tubes.

If the first opus of Vidal Benjamin, 'Disco Sympathie', focused on the funky mood of songs that could have been played at Le Palace, then 'Pop Sympathie' develops itself as the imaginary soundtrack of another nightclub, Les Bains-Douches, the capital’s epicenter of nocturnal drifts. So what do we listen to, blasé, at Bains-Douches? Mainly synthesizers. The child of punk and post punk, French New Wave celebrates the matrimony of machines and lolitas under the auspices of a retro trend that revisits the atomic age. Trying to surf on that wave and hit the charts, a bunch of producers (Stéphane Berlow, Laurent Stopnicki, Bernard "Black Devil" Fèvre, Johny Rech, Jean-Yves Joanny ...) will spot their talents amongst friends, in a travel agency or at the local bar. These virtual stars are called Cecilia, Laurent, Sonia, Janou, Fabienne, Anne, Arielle or Ronan, not even 20 years old, and often leaving just an overexposed photo and their first name on a single as the only memories of their swift passage in this particular musical story. It took all the love and sweet madness of Vidal Benjamin to bring them back in the light of day.

Clovis Goux

Ahead of his second artist album on his own Millionhands label in July, Tee Mango teases with a fantastic first EP taken from it. The album finds the UK artist stretch himself with a dazzling array of soul drenched, fully fledged songs featuring his own singing and that of Detroit legend (and Moodymann collaborator) Amp Fiddler.

The sound, very much influenced by early Prince and even a little Bon Iver, combines effortlessly with that loose sampled MPC-house feel that you would associate with a Tee Mango production. It also comes with a seal of approval from Radio 6 Music legend Gilles Peterson and after EPs on the likes of Aus, Clone and Local Talk in recent years.

Opening up the EP, Amp Fiddler features on ‘Feels Like Whatever’. Dancing Rhodes keys, ooze jazz charm and float atop a simple house beat, while the Detroit legend’s emotive raw soulful vocal directs proceedings.
The heart breaking ‘No More Tears’ is an introspective sad soul song that shows another side to Mango’s skills. Tender chords, downbeat drums and vocal hums and coos all melt your very being. Last of all comes the dazzling ‘Lay Down (Disco Mix)’ with its slapped funk bassline, finger clicks and squelch synth work all topped off by an effortless
falsetto. This is a fantastic introduction to the full length to come.

Kate Tempest returns with her third studio album, The Book of Traps and Lessons.

The highly anticipated album was crafted with Rick Rubin and Dan Carey over the course of the past five years. It follows Tempest’s previous releases, 2014’s Everybody Down and 2017’s Let Them Eat Chaos, both of which were shortlisted for Mercury Prize in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Last year, Kate Tempest was nominated at The BRIT Awards for Best Female Solo Performer.

A handful of words often tell you everything you need to know. When asked, who is Kate Tempest? She gives a brief, albeit telling answer. “Kate Tempest is the words,” she responds. You haven’t ever seen, heard, or experienced anyone quite like her. Tempest uncovers the missing link between the Golden Ages of literature and hip-hop. The London-born BRIT Award-nominated spoken word artist, rapper, poet, novelist, and playwright rhymes with a century-turning fury. Since her emergence in 2011, she has redefined what it means to be a wordsmith in the Modern Age. To date, she has published three poetry collections, staged three plays, and released two studio albums. Along the way, she entranced audiences on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, NPR’s “Tiny Desk,” and more. Not to mention, she garnered widespread critical acclaim from The New York Times, The New Yorker, Forbes, and more, to name a few. In the midst of this whirlwind journey, she performed a passage of her popular 75-minute narrative poem, Brand New Ancients, on Charlie Rose. Legendary producer and American Recordings Founder Rick Rubin caught the show, tracked down her phone number, and made a call. This set a series of events in motion that led to her 2019 debut album for American Recordings, The Book of Traps and Lessons, set for release on June 14th.

Aggelos Baltas is a veteran of the global electronic music scene, responsible for a handful of celebrated EBM 12”s as Dream Weapons, and a particularly heady and open-ended brand of krautrock as Fantastikoi Hxoi. His newest project, Anatolian Weapons, was conceived as a way to bring together these two seemingly mismatched concepts, with the polyrhythmic percussion and wailing tones of Greek folk music serving as their unlikely bonding agent. His output garners praise particularly around the Golden Pudel scene, such as Vladimir Ivkovic, and Phuong Dan. Lena Willikens, from the same circle, included Baltas’ track “Disillusioned” on her Dekmantel Selectors compilation in 2018.

But where much of what Baltas has released as Anatolian Weapons is instantly recognizable as dance music, To The Mother Of Gods—Baltas’ debut album for Beats In Space—is something else entirely. Created in tandem with Greek folk musician Seirios Savvaidis, it is a work of simultaneous collaboration and subtraction whose meticulous construction becomes more apparent with every listen. An album-length exploration of what happens when the principles of dance music are applied to pre-digital musical modalities. It is a record of psychedelic folk music that has more in common with Kikagaku Moyo, Minami Deutsch, and the Habibi Funk label than it does with anything else Baltas has produced under any alias. It’s difficult to imagine this music in any kind of club setting.

And yet, it’s very much the work of a DJ. Baltas initially heard Savvaidis’ music through a friend, and was absolutely amazed. “It was his very esoteric, pagan [music and] beautiful lyrics that grabbed me,” he writes. Seirios is a composer and performer of traditional Greek folk music with a growing discography of regional psych-rock gems. Baltas reached out to collaborate and the seeds of To The Mother Of Gods were sown.

Savvidis contributed stems of ten songs, which Baltas deconstructs and rearranges with appreciation of the ancestry of their lineage and of the deceptively ancient eerie, droning qualities inherent in the style. Occasionally augmenting Savvaidis’ recordings with his own, Baltas treats these elements as if raw materials for an architectural process.

To The Mother Of Gods showcases Baltas’ arrangement skills. He treats Savvaidis’ songs as landscapes, filling them with slanted, droning light and setting the singer’s vocals in dead center. His years behind the decks have given him an intuitive understanding of dynamics—drums crest and recede like tides, snippets of bassline repeat and swirl. He knows how to entrance, and when to push the music from the head to the body. Opener “Taratchi Katarratchi” (“Stormy Cataract”) is sung as a spell to ward off the fear of death, but Baltas’ orchestration demonstrates that dancing is an equally effective way of dispelling the darkness. The beat he assembles from Savvaidis’ playing recalls the late-night ecstasies of Primal Scream circa Screamadelica.

To The Mother Of Gods is a reminder that folk music and dance music are both powered by their audience as much as the musicians themselves. Savvaidis’ lyrics echo pagan Greek themes, touching on what Baltas calls “the magic of nature.” At times, as on “Kalesma” (“Invitation”), this can feel incantatory. Savvaidis chisels his vocal melodies into hard, clipped syllables, their cadence recalling Gregorian chant, and yet Baltas cloaks these details in washes of distortion. “Ston Stavraito” (“In Stavraithos”) is delivered with a lamentive tenderness that Baltas swells into a prideful stomp, immersing Savvaidis in marching drums and distant vocals that form a resilient protest-song. To The Mother Of Gods is a testament to the ongoing and innate truth that music can take us beyond ourselves. That repetition and drone can shepherd us to a liminal space beyond thought and rationality, where the wall between perception and reality does not exist. Call it spirit, if you want, and watch as it courses its way through modern-day dance music, mid-century psych, and the ancient sounds of the anatol.

Anatolian Weapons’ To The Mother Of Gods will be available from Beats In Space on June 14, 2019 in limited vinyl and unlimited digital forms.

Artist Highlights
• Aggelos Baltas is an Athenian music producer creating and Djing under the monikers of Anatolian Weapons, Fantastikoi Hxoi, and Dream Weapons.
• The Anatolian Weapons moniker is an outlet for Baltas to explore global music—from African to Anatolian and Middle Eastern, while also incorporating sounds from his home country of Greece.

Formerly clandestine, today manifest, both sacred but also profane, sometimes meditated, very often improvised, the Kabar transpires in the daily Reunion, getting rid with insolence of any label that dares to impose. The Kabar is a fleeting but bubbling manifestation of an identity and a local culture that is still difficult to define. A moment of life and sharing where handcrafted instruments, neighborhood meetings, ritual dances and lyrical demands are mixed. A meeting.

Born from the musical union of maloya and electronic music, Digital Kabar is a compilation at the crossroads of cultures, porous to all sound experiences. It's also the result of a friendship that drives InFiné at Les Electropicales festival, from the fascination of a small team dedicated to the independent musical cause for a musical scene and its diversity.

Digital Kabar features tracks & reworks from Jako Maron, InFiné affiliate Labelle, Alex Barck, Christine Salem, Boogzbrown, Loya, Sheitan Brothers,Ti Fock, Force Indigène, Agnesca, Zong, Psychorigid, J-ZeuS, and Kwalud.

'No idea how to categorise this! I would have called it experimental dancehall but irel.ier who made it says it’s not! Besides i don’t care how you call it - it bangs! When I played it out in Pudel (Hamburg) people were losing their shit and someone screamed in my bleeding ear “MASTERPIECE!!” so let’s just call it that!

We made 300 copies. They feature a beautiful image of your inner ear Haeckelified by some naive AI and the title (gang guan li) skilfully handwritten in Chinese calligraphy on the flip in iridescent colours.'

The Analogue Cops are back on Memento, after their acclaimed remix of Francesco Farfa “Synchronicty 13”, with “Lucretio versus Marieu Vol. 1”.
This will be the first chapter of a series dedicated to a tidy compromise-less selection of their most groundbreaking club oriented tracks. On Lucretio’s side, “Accelerating Osc” is a minimalistic relentless techno cut that explores algorithmic sequencing and the boundaries of real-time delay manipulation in Kyma; pounding away, “Neon 3” is a furious peak-time ride with jacking drums, sharp hi-hats and worrisome hypnotic synthesizers.
Marieu’s side is a slower paced groove affair focused on his distinguishing seductive use of sampling: “Alterate Indigo” festive bass line and enthusiastic cymbals blossom with an enchanting blues piano and an handful of filtered quirks, while “Room Mate” combine hot vocal hooks and a funky bass-line with a massive kick-drum.

Aleqs Notal's introduction to the Sistrum family, 2017's Ascending Nodes, offered a taste of his capacity for jazzy undertones and rhythmically complex percussion. His return to the label, the LYU EP, takes his propensity for drums a step further. Heavy hand percussion drives the release across all three cuts, with a fourth mix that's stripped down to just its bare bones parts.

Thin gabber and raw hardcore... banging well done stuff , loud cut on a red plate. Sexy Sleeve ^^

New LP from French beat-makers La Fine Equipe featuring Illa J, T3, 20Syl, Mr J Medeiros, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Fakear ...

Let's be clear: La Fine Equipe is a band. The numerous hats wore by its four members are so various that it could mislead one's. Indeed, surrounding Blanka, oOgo, Chomsky and Mr. Gib, there are recording studios, collaborations, lives, side-projects... There is also and especially a whole universe built during the past ten years around their passion for beatmaking, embodied by the release of « 5th Season », new album.
So yes, La Fine Equipe is a band, but it's also much more than that.

Since their creation in 2006 and their first album « La Boulangerie » two years later, the four producers became inevitable when you think about a new scene breaking the barriers between musical genders. Hip Hop is at the heart of their craft, corner stone of their musical background and inspirations where the paths of J Dilla, Madlib, Flying Lotus, Kaytranada and the turntablists A-Trak, C2C and Birdy Nam Nam are crossing ways. Two things gather La Fine Equipe and those big names, the constant need of collaboration with other artists, and this thirst of discovery, main feature of the digger.

From 2008 to 2014, La Fine Equipe mastered its craft with the « Boulangerie », compilation gathering 34 beatmakers on 113 tracks. They also work on the creation of the label Nowadays Records (Fakear, Skence, Unno, Clément Bazin, Leska, Douchka...) and released more than 75 EPs and LPs in five years.
With an outrageous number of shows across the world, tour in Asia, South America, collaborations with several international artists... Their success changed the game: Whereas many producers coming from this environment where isolated, La Fine Equipe federated a growing scene and became its reference.
After years spent paving the way for other artists and creating a structure that could support the growth of a musical scene, they decided to go further and launch a new era with « 5th Season ».

Because the band works with eight hands and four brains, there's nothing surprising in the fact that the album sounds like a condensed of each and everyone inspirations and experiences, from hip hop and sampling, to electronica, jazz and Latinas inspirations. If homogeneity is the new trend, La Fine Equipe isn't ready to sacrifice its wishes to fit the mould.

« 5th Season » is also a glance at the world looking over our planet's current state, the cosmos, the vegetal and these things that are greater and stronger than us, and the things and behaviour that could led to our loss.
It's an almost apocalyptic vision of our future, but full of optimism at the same time. There is something solar and cinematographic in this album, a format that goes beyond the one chosen before, closer to playlist and compilations such as the three Boulangerie opuses remind us.

Loyal to their status of ambassadors, the four beatmakers keep on inviting other artists to complete their universe. Illa J and T3, respectively brother and partner (Slum Village) of the late J. Dilla, make the connection between a glorious past and the future embodied by La Fine Equipe on the track « The Source ». With « Aurora », it's the solemn and mystical voice of Madjo that take this electro-pop track to another level. The American rapper Mr. J. Medeiros on the boom bap anthem « What Eva », the Montrealer ZeFire on « Typical », each and every artists brings its stone to the edifice of « 5th Season », giving to the album a limitless and freed musical richness.

But to release an album isn't enough. In parallel, each member of La Fine Equipe continues to fulfil its multiples tasks and work on a new concept live show bringing a scenic and visual show in addition to their music. It is what the artists looking toward the future do, and La Fine Equipe is looking straight ahead.

_________________________________________________________________________

TRACK BY TRACK

AURORA (Ft. Madjo)
Already remixed by the quatuor on the beautiful track « Choose The Heart », it's Madjo's turn to be invited by La Fine Equipe for a collaboration. Her mystical voice, which fragility paradoxically seems to strengthen its power, turns the track into an epic pop anthem.

NOBU (Ft. Grems & 20syl)
The association of these three names seems obvious, like a family reunion. Grems did the visual of the anniversary box of La Boulangerie, 20syl (C2C, Hocus Pocus) was one of the beatmakers who took part in the project.
This time, the two big brothers are side by side behind the mic, for the first French speaking collaboration of La Fine Equipe.
On this trapy/footwork beat, the two rappers ring the alarm before it's too late to save our house, the earth.

THE SOURCE (Ft. T3 & Illa J)
In the family of Hip Hop jewels of 5th Season, here is one coming from the USA. Fans of J Dilla and Slum Village since the first hour, La Fine Equipe pays its respects to its influences by inviting T3 and Illa J. Respectively member of Slum Village and brother of the legendary Detroit producer, these two MCs build a bridge between the eras and let their sharpened flows confuse our perception of time.

5TH SEASON (Ft. Fakear)
A second collaboration with their little brother from the Nowadays Family, Fakear. Eponymous title, it represents the universe of both entities, true road trip through Fakearians melodies and La Fine Equipe's funk declined in five seasons.

TYPICAL BOY (Ft. ZeFire)
With « Typical Boy », La Fine Equipe express its love for House music with chopped rhythms and a heavy but swaying bass line. The freed track oscillate between power and lightness. A beat that quickly becomes ZeFire's playground. The Montreal singer, already heard on Her's tracks, brings a missing r'n'b touch to create the perfect chemistry.

Sergii Galan, the Ukrainian producer also known as Haze, makes his debut on the Kyiv-based Rhythm Buro imprint. The artist who released his first ever EP just two years ago (the excellent "Somewhere In Time" EP on Anagram Records) is now joining the roster of the label affiliated with the event series of the same name. While the Rhythm Buro events are best known for keeping the Ukrainian capital's dance floors busy, the Rhythm Buro label is set to hit its fifth release with Haze's RB005. As is evident with the EP's artwork, RB005 marks the beginning of a new era for the label, breaking the ties with what was previously its signature visual mark.

The record's opening tune is the heaviest on the EP, good reason as to why it was chosen as the title track. "Aimless" is bottom-heavy and bass-rich, done in the true "acid eiffel" face-melting fashion. However, its successor on A2, "Inner Voice", takes a completely different route sound-wise, referencing timeless old-school breaks and vocal samples, which showcase the diversity of Haze's palate. To further confirm this notion, "Prism" on A3 appears as the EP's "slow burner", the acidic-psychedelic-downtempo tune you wouldn't often come across on a record filed under "techno" in 2019.

In line with Rhythm Buro tradition of sorts, the B-side of the record is dedicated to the deeper tunes, which blur the lines between techno and house. "Majula Sunset" on B1 is both trippy and melodic; with a groovy rolling bass line only a quality sound system could handle properly. Closing the record is Ben Buitendijk's remix and combination of two of Haze's tracks from the EP: "Prism" and "Aimless". As indicated by the title, this track "Natura" is not only a rework of Haze's tunes, but also homage to one of Rhythm Buro's most original events of the same name, which Buitendijk has played, an event which is held in the forest outside Kyiv every summer.

Henrik Schwarz & Alma Quartet present CCMYK, a new album on Henrik's own label Between Buttons. Produced in collaboration with the Alma String Quartet, it's a free conversation between classical and electronic music, carefully transformed into a set of astonishing tracks, ready for club or concert hall. Though based on free improvisations between Laptop and String Instruments, CCMYK is not a record of bumbling jams. Rather, it's a record of startling density, control and emotional complexity. This is the sound of open conversation between piercing intellects, taking their individual instruments and musical backgrounds to create a new universe of sound. The vinyl comes in a unique, handmade, limited 4 colour CMYK pressing. Every record is unique! Black is available as well.

ZamZam 72 comes from one of our favorite producers for the last few years, the elusive Andy Mac. Known in particular for his “Diving Bird” series, a buy-on-sight trilogy of 12”s on Bristol’s Idle Hands, the idiosyncratic producer also has releases on No Corner (in collaboration with Ossia), and the seminal Punch Drunk label. His unique style of chopped, techy, warm, pastoralist dubwise had us from the first, and the tunes he sent us flew through our A&R gauntlet with ease. His are records we return to again and again, revealing more subtlety with each listen, free from genre or tempo constraints.

“Dawner,” the first of two transmissions from Lands End, Cornwall, is a perfect encapsulation of the Andy Mac sound: melancholy yet uplifting, rooted in techno-steppers yet rough-hewn and organic, breezy yet piercingly introspective. Led by a staccato kick and insistent metallic snare, featuring a bubbling Hammond organ lead by Richard Blackbarrow of cult UK Rough Trade band “Bob,” this one shimmers with summer warmth, lens-flare refracting saturated side-light, made for dusk sessions and sunrise sets, preferably out of doors, far from any city.

Layered with field recordings of streams and sea, “Tawny Grammar” is an altogether deeper affair, a dark, hallucinatory journey into the power of repetition in a 140-ish style. Shaker, kick, and hi hat lay the foundation for a looping and loping Binghi drum and guitar chop that begin their journey hacking through a dense undergrowth of sound, only to find themselves ensnared in a web of backwards delays and psychotropic effects that suspend the unwary in a strange tension between minimal and claustrophobic… the dance’s dark beating heart.

* 180 gram audiophile vinyl
* Insert
* Limited Edition of 1000 numbered copies on Clear & Solid Yellow mixed coloured vinyl

Dead Serious is the debut studio album of American hip hop duo Das EFX, originally released in 1992. Recording sessions for the album took place at Firehouse Studios in Brooklyn, New York and at Charlie Marotta's North Shore Soundworks studio in Long Island, New York.

Dead Serious caused an immediate sensation upon its release. The album was a certified hit, peaking at 16 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, topping the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks. Dead Serious went platinum on the strength of the singles "Mic Checka" and the Top 40 pop hit "They Want EFX", by 1993.

Well-received upon its release, Dead Serious has since been regarded by music writers as a significant and influential album in hip hop. Giving it a 4 out of 5-mic rating, The Source's Matty C compared the duo's lyrical style to that of Busta Rhymes, Treach, and EPMD.

The Jazz Diaries is proud to announce NYC’s favorite underground papi Toribio will be releasing his sophomore EP June 14th 2019. Hot of-the-heels of his Gator Boots 12” for Soul Clap, which received hands in the air support from Seth Troxler, Adam Port, and Soul Clap, Toribio makes you feel at home in the club with his expressive new EP - Capicua!

Growing up playing Dominican percussion instruments from an early age, and being a staple DJ in the NYC circuit for the last 7+ years playing with a who’s who of DJs (Danny Krivit, Rick Wilhite, Louie Vega etc), Toribio expands the palette of what dance music is, fusing his Dominican roots, afro-cuban latin riddims and 90s hip-hop to create a cultural melting pot that signals a change in the guard for NYC House Music.

As Toribio rightly puts…
“Capicua!” is an expression Dominicans yell as they slam the last domino of a certain hand with belligerent righteousness. It means you win on both sides of the table no matter which way you look at it. Top to bottom. This my musical way of saying in a Dominican style... I won on both sides with this record.

This is certainly true of EP opener ‘Get Up’, which hits you on the upside with a nasty dose of p-funk over a bed of live and programmed house riddims. The record showcases Toribio’s penchant for the funky, yet rhythmically inquisitive. It is this trademark sound that permeates the record and continues its way through the acid tinged ‘Make Your Mark’, where long time friend and collaborator Byron the Aquarius steps in on remix duties - providing a lush reprise from the frenetic afro-cuban percussion found in the original mix.

Last but not least, Toribio rounds of the EP with a sensual, take your girl home cover of ‘Household’ by Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. The tune showcases the broad depth of Toribio’s musical portrait, prominently featuring his voice and guitar, further giving credence to the musicality and diasporic nature of the new Nu York, and further cementing Toribio’s place in it for years to come.

King Britt appears as Sraddha for the second release on Rekids offshoot
Stranger In The Night entitled ‘Believe EP’, following a notable debut release
from Radio Slave.

King Britt, of course, is a long-time house head who brings his Philly roots and a
real sense of musical soul to his timeless and feel good grooves. Here he
introduces Sraddha on four fantastic new cuts that ooze quality from start to finish.
Fantastic opener ‘Believe’ is a shimmering house cut with well treated vocals that
bring an eerie quality to the warm, deep drums. The ‘No Drums’ version is an
intimate bit of late-night mood-setting that creates a dreamy ambiance.

The excellent ‘Memories’ is perfectly off-balance deep house, with live sounding
drums and gorgeous synth puddles, deft leads and a romantic feel that is perfect
for cosy dance floors. Last of all, the gorgeous ‘You’re All I Need’ sinks you into a
reverie over eight soft-focus minutes of persuasive hand claps and withering
chords, subtle sci-fi motifs and plenty of real musicality that is often all too rare in
modern house music.

Once again King Britt’s unique sense of class really shines through on these most
authentic and soulful house tracks.

“Every time I play Cour T.’s “Black Magic” the room changes. The entire vibe of the party goes from hands in the air to grinding, sexual energy. This track has arcane properties on the dance floor. I wish I had 10 tracks with this vibe because nothing else sounds like it and when I play it, I always wish I could keep the vibe for longer.

Selfishly, I asked our label manager to hold back this track for 6 extra months just so I could have it all to myself. That’s how much I’m into it. For all the DJs complaining about how everything sounds the same right now, take a risk and drop this one in your sets.”

-VonStroke

Names You Can Trust's long-running Swing-A-Ling party in Brooklyn has become an epic warm weather celebration of all classic styles of Jamaican sound system music on vinyl. The party itself, set in the deepest crevices of BK's Caribbean community, has been known to stretch for 12+ hours each session, serving non-stop musical entertainment and buckets of jerk chicken & curry goat to an adoring crowd of all ages, young and old. The event has also been the occasion of some extremely limited edition record presses that have come to embody both the ethos of the party and the NYCT label. The second in the series of the playfully titled Swing-A-Ling NOW SOUNDS is a new entry in modern reggae production from The Mad Geezers. Like the party's signature sound, the tunes on this double-sided single are timeless, intriguingly left-of-center, and most importantly in deep homage of the vast influences and inspirations that have been carved to vinyl throughout Jamaican recorded history. Elements of rock steady, dub, soul and middle eastern snake charmer sounds all find their way through the hands of the Geezers' skilled musicians and the resulting 45 record is sure to be another sneaky staple in sound systems all over.