quête:alter

The music of Chel White is celebrated in Automaton, a collection of mostly unreleased recordings from 1985 to 1991, by this innovative animator, film maker and visual artist.

Having studied music theory in grade school, White taught himself drumming and played in a new wave band until, in 1981, together with Dan Gediman, they formed the minimal wave duo Process Blue (Alternative Funk, 1985 / Dark Entries, 2018). Here their experimentation went way beyond playing drums.

His interest in industrial music, fostered in the late '70s and early '80s while working in factories as a way to put himself through college, informed his use of electronic instruments, tape manipulation, noise and unconventional percussion.

By 1985, as a now solo artist buoyed by newly affordable audio sampling technology, White tapped into his earlier teenage fascination with the art and films of both the Surrealist and Dada movements - in particular their disparate and fragmented imagery and sound - as a means to create striking new sonic palettes.

Science & Industry - a track largely influenced by Balinese monkey chanting and the consumer excess of American in the 1980's - is a clear example of "music collage". Photocopy Cha Cha, made for the short animation film Choreography for Copy Machine (Berlin International Film Festival, 1992 / Sundance Film Festival, 2001) moved his music into the realm of early multi-media.

Experimenting further, tracks like Liquid Shadows and Pensive provide minimalist moments, before the drone-like Dream #630 and Forest Song point to a future that included music video works (David Lynch/Thom Yorke).

The new album 'Aesthesis' from Shapednoise aka Sicilian artist Nino Pedone is out in November 2019 on Numbers.
Over the nine tracks and thirty seven minutes, there’s a controlled collision of noise and metal with rave and hardcore. Pedone’s penchant for the peak energies of gritty techno and modern rap/trap bleed through, with earth-shattering blocks of bass and beats conveyed within his practice of sonic sculpture. ‘Aesthesis’ melts these sounds down, evolving them into something new of his own - a complex, hybrid being designed to be played loud. The first listen, CRx Aureal, is one of the most arresting cuts from the record: a nightmarish thrill embracing a sense of constant movement, with intense shards of sound ricocheting and morphing, forged together through a series of metallic refrains. This flirtation with the extremes of sound has engulfed Shapednoise’s entire creative output and lifestyle - from his albums and EPs over the last decade, to his two labels Cosmo Rhythmatic and REPITCH, having recently dropped critically acclaimed releases by King Midas Sound, Shackleton & VTSS. Pedone describes ‘Aesthesis’ as “informed by a set of key elements that intwine all the tracks together, like steps in a long research process. It is intended as a sensory experience where the senses act as an interface, sound as space.” His experimentation with unorthodox rhythmic structures and radical cinematic design reveals actions grounded in direct experience, but “inspired by a kind of speculative realism”. In seeking to master the wild heights of noise and the weight of subsonic frequencies, Shapednoise aims to “generate a sense of unreal-yet-tangible space and time, where the physicality of the music builds up a place that exists between people and objects, rather than the other way around.”

A series of artistic collaborations are heard throughout the album - from the caustic R&B of album opener 'Intriguing (In The End)' which features vocals from multimedia artist E. Jane's alter ego MHYSA (of NON & Halcyon Veil), to Justin K Broadrick (founding member of Godflesh and ZONAL) on 'Blaze', and album closer 'Moby Dick'; a collaboration with Scottish legend Drew McDowall (ex-Coil and Psychic TV member), and Rabit (founder of Halcyon Veil).

Shina Williams ‘Agboju Logun’ was a ground-breaking fusion of afrobeat, electronics, boogie and disco. First released on Phonodisk in 1979 as part of the ‘African Dances’ album, then in 1984 as an alternative version on Rough Trade’s Earthwork off-shoot, it has gone on to attain cult-like status.
So it remains a bit of a mystery how so little has been documented about the follow-up. Shina’s self-titled album was originally released on Help Records in 1980. It differs from the upfront afro-disco-funk of ‘African Dances’ as it diverts into deeper, hypnotic, afro-beat territory. Though listed as a six-track album, each side (composing of 3 tracks) is built-upon one continuous groove with call and response female & male vocals and instrumental solos coming and going as each side progresses. The results are raw, hypnotic, locked-in grooves, which sit perfectly on forward-thinking contemporary dancefloors.
Official Mr Bongo reissue. Replica original artwork. LP only. Licensed from the family of Shina Wiliams.

Soul Jazz Records are releasing their new ‘Space Funk – Afro Futurist Electro Funk in Space 1976-84’, an intergalactic journey into black space, fuelled by funk, powered by computers.
‘Space Funk’ is a lovingly compiled collection of superb, rare and off-the-wall space funk and electro releases mostly released on small independent labels in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Reactors are reacting, boosters are boosting, pack your funk and shake your booty! Computer funk … makes you jump! This is the space funk program!
The album comes in deluxe artwork and three formats – digipack + slipcase CD, a very limited deluxe 2xLP + bonus 7” single + download vinyl version, and a standard 2xLP + download standard vinyl version.
Features music by Jamie Jupitor, Solaris, Robotron 4, Juju & the Space Rangers and many more intergalactic space warriors!
The shuttle program has been altered – there is no Star Wars only electro funk jam joyriders in Space – hold tight!

20 years of Pop Ambient. Already? One didn’t notice. It’s an anniversary which comes quietly. An anniversary with quiet tones.
In the spirit of the special restraint of pop-elegance, it has no reason to drawn attention to itself with a big „Tam-Tam“. Or better: „Bum-Bum“. The bass drum stays outside. Nevertheless, in fast-paced, overstimulated times of moving forward, it’s a joyful occasion to look back.
What strikes most by putting or listening to 20 years of pop ambient in a row is the central theme that holds together the dense aesthetic concept like the pearls of a necklace.
Floral beauty for digital naturalists. Music like flowers, that don’t wilt. Timeless. Ageless. But with all of the conceptual unity and resolution, Pop Ambient would not be Kompakt without the break, the friction, the expansion of musical boundaries in between tradition and innovation, in between conspiracy and the openness of the discourse.
Aestheticism, escapism, acting in the spirit of „nevertheless“. Swans drifting by, clouds pass over, everything is floating and: „Boredom is a stylistic device“ (Andy Warhol).

Pop Ambient Music is medicine against illnesses, that you don’t even suffer from. It’s giving everything, demanding nothing.
Musical lotus leafs, off which the virtual wastewater of our time is rolling like the reality is dripping off the matrix.


In this sense, we’re happy about the pop-ambient anniversary greetings from new and old companions like Thore Pfeiffer, Max Würden, Yui Onodera, Jörg Burger, Thomas Fehlmann, Morgen Wurde, Leandro Fresco aswell as contributions from T.Raumschmiere, Andrew Thomas and, after a long break, from friends from early days like Joachim Spieth, Markus Guentner und Klimek.

Pop Ambient 2020 is released digital, as CD and of course as a chic double vinyl. Also included in the package: The whole distinctive cover-series as an art book of 44 pages. And for all of the old and young fans and collectors there is the Pop Ambient 2001 in a overhauled original version out on vinyl for the very first time.



Breath in. Breath out. Thank you.



Wolfgang Voigt, September 2019.

20 Jahre Pop Ambient. Schon? Hat man gar nicht gemerkt. Ein Jubiläum auf leisen Sohlen. Ein Jubiläum der leisen Töne. Und ganz im Sinne pop-eleganter Zurückhaltung, kein Grund, großes Tam-Tam zu machen. Oder besser gesagt: Bum-Bum. Denn die Bassdrum bleibt ja draußen. Dennoch freudiger Anlass genug, in reizüberfluteten, schnelllebigen Zeiten auf dem Weg nach vorne einen Blick zurück zu werfen. Wenn man 20 Jahre Pop Ambient Platten hintereinander legt / hört, sticht einem zunächst der sprichwörtliche rote Faden ins Auge und ins Ohr. Der Faden, der das dichte, ästhetische Konzept zusammenhält wie die Glieder einer Perlenkette. Florale Schönheit für digitale Naturalisten. Musik wie Blumen, die nicht welken. Zeitlos. Alterslos. Aber Pop Ambient wäre nicht Kompakt, wenn nicht bei aller konzeptionellen Ge- und Entschlossenheit, auch der Bruch, die Reibung, das Ausweiten musikalischer Genregrenzen zwischen Tradition und Innovation, zwischen Konspiration und Diskursoffenheit, inkludiert wäre. Ästhetizismus, Trotzdemismus, Eskapismus. Schwäne treiben, Wolken ziehen, alles fließt – und: »Langeweile ist ein Stilmittel« (Andy Warhol).

Pop Ambient Musik ist Medizin gegen Krankheiten, die man gar nicht hat. Gibt alles und verlangt nichts. Musikalische Lotusblätter, an denen das virtuelle Schmutzwasser der Zeit abperlt, wie die Realität an der Matrix.

In diesem Sinne freuen wir uns über pop-ambiente Jubiläumsgrüße von neuen und alten Weggefährten wie Thore Pfeiffer, Max Würden, Yui Onodera, Jörg Burger, Thomas Fehlmann, Morgen Wurde, Leandro Fresco sowie Beiträge von T.Raumschmiere, Andrew Thomas und nach langer Pause, von Freunden aus frühen Tagen wie Joachim Spieth, Markus Guentner und Klimek.

Pop Ambient 2020 erscheint Digital, als CD und natürlich als schickes Doppelvinyl. Mit im Paket: Die gesamte unverwechselbaren Cover-Serie als 20-seitiges Kunstbuch. Und für alle neuen und alten Fans und Sammler, erscheint zeitgleich Pop Ambient 2001 erstmalig auch auf Vinyl, in generalüberholter Originalversion. Das Ganze gibt es zudem im schicken Jubiläumsschuber in limitierter Auflage und farbigem Vinyl, exklusiv erhältlich nur auf kompakt.fm …

Einatmen. Ausatmen. Danke.

Wolfgang Voigt, September 2019

We’ve been waiting a while for this one… Dark Sky return after a brief hiatus with this incredible EP featuring band of the moment Afriquoi. Many of you will already know one particular tune here: ‘Cold Harbour’ used by Bonobo on his Fabric mix compilation back in January. This gem is now backed with three more blissful, vital fusions. All created with different members of the deeply-rooted London-based live band.


‘Valmer’ sets the tone with its chimes, bells and chants, featuring the drumming of percussionist Andre Marmot aka Minioca. It's measured, restrained and impossible not to get goosebumps to, a near-spiritual experience the deeper you get into the groove. Elsewhere ‘Love Walk’ takes a much more subdued sojourn into the cosmic dusk. Mid tempo and much more focused on the rich layers of atmospherics than the beats, this will disarm a crowd at 50 paces. Next our minds are altered by eight-minute synth-striking mystique marathon ‘Cambia’ featuring the Kora playing of Jally Kebba Susso. Finally, ‘Cold Harbour’, one of the highlights from Bonobo’s evergreen mix from the London club institution, the combination of those rattled strings, pregnant bass staccatos, rolling percussion and deep undulating bass make it one of the most versatile and touching tracks Dark Sky have given us so far. And that’s saying something.


Breaking the Dark Sky silence that’s been almost two years, the ‘Clod Harbour’ EP opens up a whole new page in the London act’s legacy. And there’s plenty more to come. Watch this space...

“Mohammad Reza Mortazavi is a virtuoso percussionist known for playing traditional Persian instruments such as the tombak and daf. After developing more than thirty new striking techniques and progressing to be one of the most prominent players in Iran, Mortazavi travelled to Germany, eventually settling in Berlin to record and perform regular concerts the world over. His acclaimed performances have taken in venues such as Berlin Philharmonie and Sydney Opera House. In recent years, he has been embraced by the experimental electronic music community, collaborating with Burnt Friedman, Fis and Mark Fell.

Ritme Jaavdanegi is Mortazavi’s sixth LP, and his first one available on vinyl. The album came together from recordings made in Berlin in June 2019, inspired by Mortazavi’s vivid reminiscence about profound experiences he had listening to music as a child. As he drifted in this time-slipping reverie, the phrase ‘ritme jaavdanegi’ or ‘rhythm of eternity’ came to mind, and he found the phrase itself to match the 11/8 metre he was striving for. As such, all eight pieces on this album adhere to this time signature, which in itself harks back to the Aksak, a rhythmic pattern based on the alteration of binary and ternary quantities executed in a fast tempo, intrinsic to traditional music from Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and the Balkans.

In the same way these non-standard folk rhythms started to impact on Western music in the early 20th Century, so now you can hear an ever-increasing embrace of polyrhythms and metres that break away from the dominant 4/4 ideology. What’s most striking about Ritme Jaavdanegi, perceived through a lens of modern Western experimental music, is how Mortazavi’s virtuosic playing rivals the intensely programmed dynamics of electronica. His rapid, needlepoint drum hits bend their tonality in incredibly musical ways, but there is still an underlying focus on cyclical repetition that encourages the same ancient transcendental quality that so many contemporary artists strive for.”

This split release unites two female underground acts, both of whom have recently become pivotal parts of the contemporary electronic musical landscape in Japan. Hot on the heels of the acclaimed PAREDO EP compilation (TAL12), which has been released in May 2019 (and also includes contributions from Lena Willikens and Miki Yui), the SUPER MILD split album is the second outing by KOPY and TENTENKO on TAL. Their newest works punctuate their highly individual approaches to contemporary experimental dance music.

TENTENKO is a Tokyo-based electronic music producer. Her career began in 2013 when she joined the mainstream idol group BIS. Immediately after her departure from BIS in 2014 she commenced work on her solo project under her artist name TENTENKO. Since then she has radically reinvented her music away from glossy J-POP towards weird and industrial rooted dancefloor. TENTENKO first made a name for herself on the alternative Japanese music scene with a steady flow of live performances as well as collaborations with members of the legendary Japanese noise band HIJOKAIDAN.

For a few years now KOPY has been an unpredictable and charismatic part of the vital electronic music scene of Osaka. She has quickly garnered a reputation for creating her live sets exclusively with borrowed electronic equipment. Her name KOPY very much originates from this "concept". Apart from a few performances at Düsseldorfs famous nightspot SALON DES AMATEURS, she has been invited by LENA WILLIKENS to her showcase at the MEAKUSMA FESTIVAL in 2018. Her sinister dancefloor mystique is heavily steeped in the free spirited noise and rhythm cultures of her hometown.

East Man returns with a four track EP that explores his own Hi Tek take on Grime, stripping everything down to the raw, bare essentials.
Opening the EP is Fight For A Cause, a rough a fuzzy sub bass driven exercise in beat science that draws as much upon Dancehall as it does Grime. The second track, Selector, is a straight up DJ tool, utilising an alternating 32 bar pattern interspersed with splashes of pirate radio chatter.
The flip side opens with the storming Bandit Country.
The subdued intro lulling you into a false sense of security before the beats and bass are unleashed in full attack mode, the relentless onslaught pausing only briefly midway for you to catch your breath before continuing on it's devastating path.
The closing track, Darkage, is an ominous brooding affair that those of you familiar with East Man's sets will know well.

A real head nodding roller, it's definitely one for the technical DJ's.

Mythology for the posthuman age. From "The New Kind" to "Posthuman Wonderland", Simon Grab's album "Posthuman Species" is a sonic journey through an astonishing land of fragile feedbacks, pulsating drones and opulent outbursts of noise.

Recorded on a no-input-mixing setup consisting of low frequency oscillators, filters, analogue effects and a mixer patched with itself, the album sneaks up on dub and leftfield electronica from the side. Over time, the self-oscillating setup falls in and out of tune with itself, emphasising its transient nature. The album is a work of science fiction, telling the story of a time when "The New Kind" shapes its own wonderland.

Swiss sound artist and musician Simon Grab explores new grounds by negating assumed borders. In his recent work, he focuses on reduction, and the peculiarity of self-referential systems.
The album "Posthuman Species" follows his recent EP "Extinction" on -OUS. His "Diamonds EP" in collaboration with Togolese rapper Yao Bobby and Asian Dub Foundation's Dhangsha releases on Bristol's LavaLava Records in September 2019. Simon Grab's recent works includes "Hirnmusik 1 & 2", in which he dives deep into musical imagery by transferring his sonic ideas directly from his brain to vinyl.

The vinyl LP comes with a printed inner sleeve designed by Hammer and a download card that includes the digital only tracks "Transformation" and "Posthuman Wonderland".

In the 1960s and ‘70s, unbeknownst to most, Saigon (today named “Ho Chi Minh City”) had become a fertile environment for a flourishing music industry which produced countless recordings of beautifully crafted songs.

Ho Chi Minh City based band, Saigon Soul Revival has been bringing alternative pre 1975 music from Saigon back to the stage since 2016 with their live performances. Honoring the original composers, singers and the golden era from which this music (Nhạc Vàng) came, while applying new arrangements and interpretations of old Vietnamese songs. With tight grooves, psychedelic textures and a powerful unique sound, SSR has performed countless shows at a variety of venues across Vietnam, and accompanied live the two release tours to the Saigon Supersound Compilation releases.

While spending the last three years studying and playing this music, Saigon Soul Revival teamed up with producer Jan Hagenkötter (Saigon Supersound / INFRACom!) and finally in January 2019, they started to create own compositions in the same vein for their debut album Họa Âm Xưa. The album was recorded in Vietnam with additional guests during one week in May this year.

The album focuses on compositions that fuse Vietnamese lyrics and sounds with influences of western rock, soul, bolero, tango and other popular genres of this time period, most of which was banned after the war. This project strives to revive this beautiful musical heritage of Vietnam which represents an important cultural bridge between east and west.

Blaue Blume are a Danish alternative art pop band with a deep connection to the romanticism of the early 80s UK scene. Referencing artists such as Talk Talk, The Smiths and Cocteau Twins, it's clear their influences are with the more sensitive, magical aspects of music - and the eternal questions of love, life and death. Following two singles (Lovable and Vanilla) the album Bell of Wool is finally with us. It’s suitably enchanting from start to finish. Two themes dominate Blaue Blume’s new album Bell Of Wool, darkness and adventure. With the record mostly made before singer Jonas Smith slipped into a depressive episode, the album’s lyrics and moods draw pictures of the darkness, anxiety and tension that would mark Smith’s depression. Sonically, the album sounds a distance away from anything they’ve done before. Indie and electro pop and rock are out, and instead the album is crafted from soft, glowing synthscapes, dawns and skies transformed into sounds. Even on hints of their older work, like on the acoustics of “Rain Rain”, the synthwork comes into the picture and swells the song into something bigger and more majestic. Opener “Swimmer” introduces the listener to the softness and subtlety of the new sound, whereas songs like “Morgensol” and “Bombard” show it at its biggest and more grand.

Ross Ferraro is a seasoned producer from Australia that has been making waves as 1/2th of The Posse, - after a Posse remix on the Pulp side of things, Ross Ferraro now presents his first outing as Rosario on the Saft mothership. "Keep On EP" contains three originals and a remix by Adam Feingold's under his Ex-T moniker.

The title track is a breezy affair that combines crazed synth swirls with oddball disco FX and a tight section of drums which serves as the perfect opening track for this overall outgoing record.

"Ex-T's Phunqy Mix" starts off in a more timid way, but as the name suggests - quickly gets more extrovert and freakish. Vocals and experimental sounding blips and blops take over and cleverly come together in an original fashion.

"Lo" revolves around an tribal sounding chant, chord hits and an array of fx, and quickly becomes - while remaining quite stripped down - the most euphoric track in this collection. The chords sit beautifully with the bouncy drums and evolving arpeggiator that floats on top.

"Follow Me" is a silky smooth work with a soothing vocal and piano sample that work as the main sounds. Rosario is constantly altering the bass sound throughout this cut and creating a modern boogie ambience. The trance inducing synths suggest a relaxing evening atmosphere and cause for "Follow Me" to be the perfect farewell cut.

Repress with alternate label-art.

Never Ending Similarities sees MB return to his home base Frustrated Funk to do what he does best. Pushing the envelope while still keeping the emotive part of the music on the foreground. Interfusion Biamp and Never Ending Similarities are two relatively new tracks, both crossing boarders of various different sub-genres, telling beautiful little stories with their gorgeous strings and harmonized synth chords. But for most people the main focus will go directly to Demonia. A slowly building and uplifting techno track, already released on the digital version of his 2009 album Switches, Drawers and Washing Machines that we kept aside especially for this 12''. MB proves once again that he still has his own signature touch that makes his music such a treat and a recommendation to any connaisseurs of fine techno music. Hotness..!

Yellow Vinyl

Serotonin returns to revenge with Serotonin's Revenge 2, a four track compilation representing the depth and breath of what we live for.


While resting with his camel in the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang this summer, bpmf noticed a shiny object. He picked up a DAT labeled "Static Breaker - 1994". It contained some solid electro, including "Transmission Complete”. Who made this? Did it fall out of a UFO? We may never know. Look for more releases from this find coming from Serotonin Records in the future.

Hailing from Biella, Piedmont and now based in Milan, Kreggo is an eclectic and versatile artist. Defined by Juno as part of "the gum-under-the-schooldesk underground", he has been active since 2014. Along with being the brain behind the Art-Aud label and the cult Secret Rave series, he has released collaborations and projects for labels such as Lobster Theremin, Helena Hauff’s Return To Disorders, Super Rhythm Trax, FTP and Melodies Souterraines to name a few. For Serotonin, he delivers evolved, deep breaks with an edge of electro funk.

Siviyex is Toronto duo Castelvi (Bass Guitar, Vocals, Synths, Vocoder) and M. Gomes (Synthguitar, Programming). Their sound combines elements of Shoegaze, Electro, Italo and New Wave, with the conceptual influence of alternate dimensions, space, dreams and out-of-body experiences. The next wave sound of "Dreams in Wannex" is a definitive part of the world Serotonin envisions.

Schooled in dance culture since a young age, with influences and experiences ranging from rock to rave, London based Nexus 23 brings a "Vortex" of his stark, bass-heavy blend of electro and industrial sound to Serotonin records.

Also included on the vinyl version 4 loops from Serotonin in-house artists: John Selway, bpmf, Synapse and Pointsman.

Look for the digital release everywhere November 5th, 2019 and the vinyl wherever cutting edge records are sold.

Captivity is the next highly anticipated extended EP by Kush Arora aka Only Now, following a triptych of self-released output in 2019. Continuing the project’s ever evolving engagement with themes of time and existence, Captivity encompasses versatile synthesis, mutant kuduro, widescreen sound design, turbulent cold fronts of power ambient and melodic undertones of black metal.

The product of a two-year period in which Arora was contending with transitional shifts in his personal life, Captivity is a culmination of what the project has explored both in a prolific run of recent material and as a whole, across several years of time dilating, mind altering music.
 
Although shaped by adversity and corresponding sentiments of angst and insignificance, Captivity is pitched at total transcendence. Adopting a meticulous approach to production, a methodology which opens up almost every element to transformation and deconstruction, Arora generates forms which possess a sense of pointillist precision, as well as a keen psychedelic potency.
 
Despite consistency with his earlier output as Only Now, Captivity is nevertheless an indication of Arora’s ability to challenge internal and external assumptions. The introduction of new hardware – namely, the Nord Drum 3P synthesizer – as well as the incorporation of far-flung atmospherics – closing track ‘Clock Lust’ features field recordings from a trip to Kyoto – delivers fresh enterprise and experimentation, contributing to the expansion of a sound signature which remains as unpredictable and compelling as ever.
 
With the eponymous opener, Arora combines fathomless underworlds and riotous breakbeats. On ‘Mutants’ a hyper-kinetic onslaught of percussion, low-end and stray cut-ups of noise break out, building to a panorama of thunderous industrial firmaments. ‘Perpetual Slaughter’ maintains momentum with icy, ricocheting FX and concussive, tribal drums, and then unexpectedly shifts into a poignant outro which brings to the fore the enduring influence of black metal on the project. ‘Bound 2’ is cut with relentless sub-bass and rapid syncopation, resembling an abstracted form of juke music, something that could feasibly have been masterminded by Autechre. With the LP’s finale, ‘Clock Lust’, Arora presents a finale of transfixing 3D ritualism, the lone toll of a bell ringing out into a mesmeric emptiness.
 
Together these form a complete statement from Arora, illustrating the fertile and open-ended territories the Only Now project has arrived at after promising outings on Infinite Machine and Discrepant imprint Sucata Tapes. With Captivity Arora delivers a substantial highpoint and a profound voyage into the world of Only Now.

* The original sister label to Ram Records from the old Ram HQ studio in Essex, Liftin Spirit Records now celebrates it’s 25th year with a special ‘RELOADED’ limited vinyl series of remastered classics, alongside rare and previously unreleased tracks since the beginning in1992.

* DATs from artists such as Andy C, Ant Miles, Shimon, Joint Venture, Interrogator and Red One have been located in the archives. Also from the Ram & Liftin HQ came tracks for the Deep Seven label in 1993 and all these rare DAT masters have been located and now re-cut by Simon, the original Ram & Liftin vinyl masterer at ‘The Exchange’. Initially, Deep Seven remasters will present on a printed white label and unreleased tracks will have a black label.


* What can we say about Desired State? Their alter ego to Origin Unknown and an absolute force in the 90’s. Andy C & Ant Miles’s Hardcore roots grew into the emerging Jungle/Drum & Bass scene with huge success. Deep in the original RAM HQ archives was a DAT tape containing two tracks from 1992. Never before heard, let alone released, these breakbeat gems were created in the golden era of Hardcore. 27 years later they get a full master and release on Liftin Spirit Records, that are sure to please collectors of Oldskool Hardcore and early Jungle alike.

Promotion across chosen internet websites and Hardcore 12” vinyl communities.

After their brilliant label debut with "Grow Yes Yes" in 2017, Professor Wouassa now returns with their brand new third album on Matasuna Records.

The Swiss band's career spans more than 15 years, where they have played at many major festivals in Switzerland and abroad. The 11 members of the band have perfected their musical qualities over the years and captivate as a well-rehearsed live band with their energetic and rousing shows. So it isn't surprising that they supported concerts of Afrobeat legends like Ebo Taylor or Seun 'Anikulapo' Kuti.

Their still exuberant creativity can also be heard on their new work entitled Yobale Ma!, which in Wolof's language can be translated as "take me" or "get me". With their new album they take the listener to their musical island to explore the borders of Afrobeat and beyond.

The song Fallou Fall opens the album in a jazzy & big band way, and quickly switches to an afrobeat theme and solo. In the middle the song breaks into an Afro-style pattern, which is performed by Thaïs Diarra in Bambara (Malian dialect) in a traditional Mandingo way of singing. The track ends with a Sabar percussion part - a traditional Senegalese drum.

Yobale Ma is the single of the album, which is inspired by the funky guitars of a Nile Rodger and some typical fast Ghanaian highlife of Ebo Taylor.

The track Thiaroye Gare is about the Tirailleurs sénégalais, a unit of the French army who fought for France in WWII. After returning from captivity they were taken in Camp Thiaroye northeast of Dakar. Corrupt and racist colonial officials led to a revolt, which was bloodily suppressed by French troops.
From the musical point of view the song shows a link between afrobeat and funky James Brown rhythms, which ends in a fast afrobeat style with baritone saxophone and trombone solos.

Beguente Len in the middle of the album is a kind of interlude that represents Wouassa's own way of interpreting traditional afro beats and rhythms.

With the two songs Djongoma and Sama Yone Professor Wouassa leaves his usual afrobeat path to explore the "sound of the islands" (Mauritius, La Réunion, Cape Verde or Cuba) and blend it with their personal and unmistakable style.

With Iba Niawoulo the professors investigate a kind of Ghanaian highlife medium tempo with a chord progression from Serge Gainsbourg's song "Initial BB". The tracks change in the middle to a fast Rhythm'n'Blues beat, which is accompanied by afro guitars. The singer "Mamadou Diagne" talks about his alter ego in Dakar.

In Djougoudja typical afro rhythms are mixed with pure Ethiopian 70's brass sounds and funk guitars. As heard several times in other songs, the track breaks into a very personal and hard to describe Wouassa beat in it's middle. At this time, Mamadou Diagne recites a big slam about the spiritual ideas and the history of the famous senegalese theologian and poet Serigne Touba (Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba). Under his flow some sabar percussions (typical senegalese percussions) build a strong and intense musical rug.

NO MORE don't need much of an introduction - the legendary Kiel-based (No)Wave / PostPunk band project took the worlds dancefloors by storm with the release of their seminal single "Suicide Commando" in 1981 which was later re-introduced to the Techno / Electro youth of the world, when Munich's DJ Hell famously reinterpreted the tune in 1998.

Still actively touring and releasing on a regular NO MORE are now making their debut on the freshly launched Intrauterin Recordings-offshoot EL CABALLO SEMENTAL..

The labels cat.no. 001 is a first time on vinyl release taken off NO MORE's "The Return Of The German Angst" digital mixtape and sees one of the bands hit tunes being reworked in a unique, highly captivating manner, pressed exclusively as a limited to 200 copies whitelabel edition on purple / violet vinyl.

"123456789 (baze.djunkiii + Herr Brandt Dream A Nudream Remix)" exceeds the bands natural musical realm by far and transfers the song into MoombahGoth / DubWave territories previously unheard of, not only for a classic band like NO MORE.. The rework picks up latest developments from the urban and bass music world whilst keeping the haunted vibe of the original songs chorus intact, slighty references NuBeat / PostPunk and Dub, adds lush, dreamy Cosmic guitar textures and even winks to the underground whistle and rave posse with a sweet as candy piano breakdown.

In their conjunctional remix work we see Intrauterin Recordings-founder baze.djunkiii, quality electronic music activist and prolific DJ for more than 20 years, and Herr Brandt, founding member of the classic German Wave / Indie / Alternative outfit The Convent as well as of the praised underground Synth Pop / Minimal Wave band Sonnenbrandt, effortlessly merge the best of two musical worlds to create something new and captivating, like they used to do on the decks with their former BETA-ZERFALL parties which were the main and initial reason the two of them and NO MORE came together in the first place.

a A- 123456789 BAZE.DJUNKIII + HERR BRANDT DREAM A NUDREAM REMIX

‘Synth Expressionism/Rhythmic Cubism’ LP from Chicago’s Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being is a collection of idioms that have no past and no future, his jarring use of polyrhythmic polyphony imbues a sense of timelessness.

The prolific catalog of Moss’ covers many musical dialects from his hometown and beyond. Never standing in one artistic sphere for too long, this adventure for On the Corner Records sees Hieroglyphic Being exploring a multitude of expressions of the American Avant-garde.

Abstractions Of The Future Past — Afro-Cubism: The Designation, conceived by an African With A Mainframe — An Etude Of Effigy — A Hieroglyphic Being.

Rhythmic Cubism: In this ‘Dissertation Of Disorientation’ Neal Andrew Emil Gustafson temporal considerations are put aside as polyrhythmic propulsion is the current flowing through the work. As prelude the fastidious ‘Rhythmic Cubism’, Moss enacts a flurry of white noise and musical coda as it phases in-and-out of synchronicity.

The disjointed dance of an alternative Black Music, ‘The Spiritual Or ‘Electromagnetic Worlds’ takes the meter down a fraction to exonerate a granular groove of visceral refracted complexity. Sonorus static sits alongside spastic shards of synthesis to reveal a melancholic medley before its conclusion.

‘Apocrypha’ collages distinct rhythmic source materials in an entrancing abstraction of ‘Hypersonic Hemiola’. An assertion of Art Blakey proportions. Perpetually pushed forward through the building of distorted percussion, Moss precludes into syncopated synapsis before and end of reductive symmetry.

Evolving into a studdered off-kilter groove, ‘The Redemption Project’ flows as a dissipating organ medley dissolves into a deluge of layered sonic textures, creating an indiscernible metric center before fading to a distant vanishing point.

Departing with a common-time ‘Timbuk2’ takes off like a classic Chicago Acid track, then makes a left turn towards the center as it drives the rhythmic motion into a dystopian dreamland, as the sax line surges forcing the track to break free from it’s charted course.

The Fragmented Fantasy of The Synth Expressionism/Rhythmic Cubism LP is a conclusive work that has no end, a conundrum of conceptual calculated improvisation. Drifting through time, this fragmented abstraction of Afro-Cubism leaves room for posterity, as each listen summons a new perspective on the suite. Something ever so common in the work of Jamal Moss. Charting new sonic directions, the very nature of its precedent makes it a truly Hieroglyphic affair.

Words By Neal Andrew Emil Gustafson

Destiny is made. Realised. Driven by the acts of vision. Hireroglyphic Being is a seer. Atomic resonance echoing from the big bang defies the conceptual reality of purity. The nuclear static of ‘white noise’ is HBs canvas. Channeling poly rhythms into the universe. Experience, repetition and eternal decay. From purity back to the absolute by way of a deluge of slurry across time. Infinite layers of distortion and refracted complexity. This is HBs canvas. Sound of eternity channelled through a bass bin, represented by its own impure reflection and fragments. Always more than it's whole but never as was before.

This album seeks to reach beyond ideas and emotions, beyond the comprehension of a human archetype. Beyond ultimate history, forwards and back. To ends and a singular beginnings. Timbuk2 is the frenetic intersection where the call and response of these ideas lock and dissipate back into the void.

There Existed An Addiction To Blood" ist das insgesamt vierte Album von Clipping und ihr drittes für Sub Pop. Es ist der Nachfolger des von Kritikern und Publikum gleichermaßen gefeiertes Album ,Splendor And Misery" aus dem Jahr 2016. ,There Existed An Addiction To Blood" enthält die Singles ,Nothing Is Safe", ,Blood Of The Fang" und ,La Mala Ordina" (Feat. Benny The Butcher, Elcamino, The Rita), die von Clipping produziert, von Steve Kaplan gemischt und von Dave Cooley bei Elysium Masters in Los Angeles gemastert wurden. Das Album enthält auch Gastbeiträge von Ed Balloon, La Chat, Counterfeit Madison und Pedestrian Deposit. ,There Existed An Addiction To Blood" ist Clippings Interpretation eines neuen Rap-Splitter-Genres unter Zuhilfenahme ihrer einzigartigen Lupe. Clipping wenden sich auf dem neuen Werk intensiv dem Horrorcore zu, eines bewusst absurden und kreativ bedeutsamen Subgenres, das Mitte der 90er Jahre blühte. Einige der bemerkenswertesten Pioniere hießen Brotha Lynch Hung und Gravediggaz, aber es umfasst auch bahnbrechende Werke der Geto Boys, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony und die nahezu vollständigen Veröffentlichungen des klassischen ,Memphis cassette tape rap". Der wahrscheinlich subversivste und experimentellste Rap hat sich oft als ,Alternative" zu konventionellen Sounds präsentiert, aber Clipping verzerren das Ganze respektvoll in neue Konstellationen. ,There Existed An Addiction To Blood" absorbiert die hyper-gewaltigen Horror-Symboliken der Murder Dog-Ära, stellt sie aber in einem neuen Licht dar: immer noch dunkel getönt und düster, aber in einem seltsameren und lebendigeren Farbton. Wenn der traditionelle Horrorcore mit ,Blacula", dem populären Blaxploitationsfilm-Klassiker aus den frühen 70er Jahren, verwandt war, so ist das neue Output von Clipping analog zu ,Ganja & Hess", dem blutrünstigen Kultklassiker von 1973, der als unbesungenes Wahrzeichen des schwarzen Independent-Kinos gilt, dessen Score von Sam Waymon, Clipping als Inspiration zum Titel des Albums diente und auch Samples auf dem Track ,Blood Of The Fang" lieferte.ENG The science-fiction visionary Octavia Butler once declared that "there is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns." The aphorism could apply to any art form where the basic contours are fixed, but the appetite for innovation remains infinite. Enter Clipping, flash fiction genre masters in a hip-hop world firmly rooted in memoir. If first person confessionals historically reign, the mid-city Los Angeles trio of rapper Daveed Diggs and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes have spent the last half-decade terraforming their own patch of soil, replete with conceptual labyrinths and industrial chaos. They have conjured a mutant emanation of the future, built at odd angles atop the hallowed foundation of the past. Their third album for Sub Pop, There Existed an Addiction to Blood, finds them interpreting another rap splinter sect through their singular lens. This is Clipping's transmutation of horrorcore, a purposefully absurdist sub-genre that flourished in the mid-90s. If some of its most notable pioneers included Brotha Lynch Hung and Gravediggaz, it also encompasses seminal works from the Geto Boys, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and the near-entirety of classic Memphis cassette tape rap. The most subversive and experimental rap has often presented itself as an "alternative" to conventional sounds, but Clipping respectfully warp them into new constellations. There Existed an Addiction to Blood absorbs the hyper-violent horror tropes of the Murder Dog era, but re-imagines them in a new light: still darkly-tinted and somber, but in a weirder and more vivid hue. The album contains interludes with hissing recordings of demonic invasions, and guest appearances from Griselda Gang's Benny the Butcher and Hypnotize Minds horror queen La Chat. Other tracks feature contributions from noise music legends The Rita and Pedestrian Deposit. It all ends with "Piano Burning," a performance of a piece written by the avant-garde composer Annea Lockwood. Yes, it is the sound of a piano burning. There Existed an Addiction to Blood fits neatly into the broader scope of the band's career, which has seen them expand from insular experimentalists into globally recognized artists. Since the release of their first album in 2013, Diggs has won a Tony and a Grammy (both for his acting/rapping work as Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette in Hamilton), as well as co-written and starred in 2018's critically hailed Blindspotting, while Snipes and Hutson have scored numerous films and television shows. Clipping's last album, the 2016 afro-futurist dystopian space opus Splendor & Misery was recently named one of Pitchfork's Best Industrial Albums of All-Time. Commissioned for an episode of This American Life, their 2017 single "The Deep" became the inspiration for a novel of the same name, written by Rivers Solomon and published by Saga Press. But their latest masterwork embodies what the band had been building towards - a work that finds them without peer. This is experimental hip-hop built to bang in a post-apocalyptic club bursting with radiation. It's horrorcore that soaks up past blood and replants it into a different organism, undead but dangerously alive. It is a new sun, blindingly bright and built to burn your retinas.

japanese living legend electronic music producer “takayuki shiraishi”, this album is his debut album on legendary experimental music label in osaka in late 70’s to beg 80’s which was run by yuzuru agi when shiraishi was high school student.

shiraishi had a big influence from the music of post punk, new wave ,kraut rock…, this album is his unique mixture of that kind music style.

one of the most demanded alternative music album in japan is finally reissued. remastered from original tape and mastering by kuniyuki takahashi.

"Nicolas Gaunin's surreal sound experiments lift you out of the everyday and transport you to an off-world Tiki lounge set high amongst the tree tops of a tropical rainforest, where you're surrounded by bizarre, colourful creatures and weird psychotropic plants. Noa Noa Noa is modern Dada, a neon soundtrack to your most outlandish fever dreams.
Nicolas Gaunin is the alter ego of Nicola Sanguin, part of the vibrant experimental music scene around Padua, Italy where he plays in outsider rock groups The Lay Llamas and Orange Car Crash. Nicolas Gaunin is his solo electronic project, a bright and playful cosmic mash-up that uses the rhythms of traditional African percussion groups and skews them slightly to create unsettling, off-kilter grooves. These drum machine experiments are laid over a teeming microscopic sound world of bird calls, insect chatter and weird jingles reminiscent of advertising earworms or video game soundtracks.
Noa Noa Noa takes its influences from music from around the world, and inspiration from high and low culture; from composer Gyorgy Ligeti to the cosmic sounds of Italian DJ Danielle Baldelli, from the experimental music of Moondog or Harry Partch to the playful sounds of Francis Bebey or the exotica of Martin Denny, from Iannis Xenakis to 8-bit video game music. Noa Noa Noa ends up sounding something like the imaginary soundtrack to the Nintendo Gameboy version of a lost William S. Burroughs novel.
Incredibly, most of the tracks on Noa Noa Noa were recorded live in one take with the express intention of creating music that is, in contrast to much of today's electronic music, bright, sunny, light-hearted and mischevious. The resulting album is both totally essential and also completely throwaway.
These tracks were originally released in 2018 by Artetetra Records (Italy) as Noa Noa (cassette & digital) and Danse de l'Oiseau (digital only). Hive Mind Records are proud to present Noa Noa Noa on vinyl for the first time."

Alexander Pletnev started an entirely new journey under his own name two years ago. Release after release on forward thinking and respected labels like Media Fury, KUMP, Fleeting Wax, SZE and Hard Fist, he has built a solid discography of incredible diversity - from percussive DJ tools to viscous synthetic EBM to dreamy weirdness.

His latest EP titled Voranto Bros is a long awaited return to Le Temps Perdu and the prime example of refined musical storytelling. Title track is a cinematic tale, a sound novel about two migrant brothers hitting the shores of USA in the dawn of XXth century to became vicious gangsters, broken souls ruling the night of NYC. Dusty tape hiss, off kilter percussions and melodies all alternate to later sink under the weight of heavy drums. While Hope They Wont Come Back is a severe instrumental ballad with low drums, talking bass lines and noisy guitar riffs - five minutes inside confused man's mind.

On a remix front, Cocktail D'Amore's head honchos Discodromo strip Voranto Bros down to bear bones to deliver EBM style dance floor burner. And Harold Boué aka Abstraxion aka Lion's Drums of Biologic Records fame delivers menacing remix for Hope They Won't Come Back, a dark & mystic journey, which unwinds slowly and builds up to unexpected climax.

Over the years Kid Loco has become a reference in the French electronic music landscape. Firstly, known for being an activist in the French underground music scene, he cofounded Bondage Records in 1982. With Bondage Records, he introduced several bands to the French alternative music scene like Bérurier Noir, Ludwig Von 88 or Washington Dead Cats. Alongside his activity of label manager, he composed and released under the name of Kid Bravo, an experimental music at the crossroads of rock and electronic. Astonished by the beginnings of the instrumental hip-hop of DJ Shadows, Jean-Yves Prieur aka Kid Loco experimented new ways of composing music with the sample technic in his own studio near Orly. This new musical adventure led to the birth of a mini album Blues Project released in 1996 on Yellow Productions.

Exploring further his own psychedelic universe, he released his first album A Grand Love Story in 1997 under the name of Kid Loco. Acclaimed both by the French and international music review, “A Grand Love Story” established itself as an iconic album of the trip-hop and electronic music scene. During the two years following its release, Kid Loco continued to invent his own musical universe nurtured by multiples influences. In 1999, he released Jesus Life For Children Under 12 Inches, an album featuring thirty remixes he composed for French and international artists (Pulp, Talvin Singh etc.) as well as his mixed compilation for the famous DJ KICKS collection released on the German electronic music label, !K7.

After a first European tour, Kid Loco returned to his studio, nicknamed “The Lafayette Velvet Basement” and composed his second album Kill Your Darlings released in 2001. Compared to his previous compositions, Kill Your Darlings features more tracks without sampled vocals. Eager to explore new musical horizons, Kid Loco produced in 2004 the original soundtrack of the American movie The Graffiti Artist directed by James Bolton (Narrative Feature Sound Award – Austin Film Festival 2003). Cruising to new musical galaxies, Kid Loco continued to compose and released the album Party Animals & Disco Biscuits in 2009 followed in 2011 by the album Confessions Of A Belladonna Eater. In addition of his albums, Kid Loco continued to experiment with the production of compilations celebrating the trip-hop music with “Trip-Hop Classics” released in 2010 followed by a second opus released in 2013 on Wagram Music.

2019 marks the return of Kid Loco with his track Here Comes The Munchies selected in the original soundtrack of the show Vernon Subutex (Canal +), the vinyl reedition of his cult album A Grand Love Story and for the first time the digital release of the album Confessions Of A Belladonna Eater with exclusive remixes.

Halav Av is a Tel Avivian super-group consisting of members of the Israeli alternative music scene. Alonzo and Amitkes of The Crotches, Niv of Red Axes, Yovav of Shame on Us and Adiel of Hila Ruach & Future Shock.

This summer the band will release their first album, the first singles to meet the public’s ears will be To Live, Talk to Me and Mt. Beitar. These singles and the rest of the album were recorded by Uri Mixmonster of The Apples straight onto two-inch tape like the good ol’ days.
In addition to Mixmonster’s recording expertise, the album features Cello virtuoso Noa Ayali of The White Screen and Keyboardist Shay Landa of The RPS Surfers.

Wrapped up in a cover by the praised Israeli artist David Tartakover, the songs in this album are meant to be short and ticklish just like a father’s bristles. Because Father’s Milk is the essence of male gentleness. It is romantic, optimistic, nostalgic and naive. It’s childhood. It’s longing. It’s longing for childhood. Father’s Milk is the feeling of fatherhood, even if without offsprings. Father’s Milk is love, it’s music, it’s nourishing music.

MUSAR continues to explore the healthy landscape of underground and alternative electronic music with the debut release on the label from Nightwave. 'The Journey' is a fitting title for the Glaswegian producer, DJ and promoter, who has been a lynchpin for the city's vibrant music scene since her first release in 2010. In the time since, Nightwave has a developed a punchy and highly original sound that blends potent influences of acid, techno and forward-thinking bass music, with releases on DABJ, UTTU, Fool's Gold, DEXT and her own imprint Heka Trax.

For her MUSAR debut, Nightwave celebrates, in her own words, "joy, dance, exploring inner worlds, the celebration of nature and life and how it all interconnects". On a delicate tip, opening and title track 'The Journey' establishes the EP's "rainforest rave" aesthetic, spiralling upwards with weightless energy. It's underlying percussion steps forward on 'Jiboia Groove', which blossoms thrillingly into wave upon wave of ethereal, breakbeat-led rave.

'Monkey Puzzle' pulls a similar, if more uncompromising trick, only with its rhythmic timber instead succumbing to layers of rough-hewn, squealing acid synthesis and pounding snare drums. 'Forest Guru' meanwhile restores much of the record's spiritual equilibrium in one fell swoop, finding a clearing in the landscape to sculpt a rolling, detailed jam that's as playful as it is creative.

Naive founder and Lisbon's rave goddess, Violet generously remixes 'The Journey' in intriguing fashion, unravelling a trippy and tense riddle at the heart of the rainforest.

Die Martinez-Brüder Chris & Steven aus der New Yorker Bronx sind seit über 10 Jahren in der House-Szene aktiv. Seit 2011 haben sie eine feste DJ-Residenz auf Ibiza, legen auf renommierten Festivals wie Ultra, Time Warp oder Tomorrowland auf und kollaborieren für ihre eigenen Tracks mit Grössen wie Chic(!), Miss Kittin und Tiga. Sie betreiben mit Cuttin' Headz ein Label und gleichnamige Partynächte und legten 2014 dem Mixmag UK-Magazin einen exklusiven CD-Sampler bei. Grund genug für Fabric, sich das berüchtigte DJ-Duo zu packen und ihr erstes offizielles Mixalbum zu veröffentlichen. Dieses bestreiten die Brüder mit 23 erstklassigen Tracks, die von Chicago-Innovator Paul Johnson bis Detroit-Multiinstrumentalist Amp Fiddler reichen. Dazwischen steuern The Martinez Brothers mit "Jam Joint", "Mistakes" und ihrer Top-Kollabo mit NY-House-Legende Louis Vega ("Let It Go (TMB Alternate Version)") drei exklusive eigene Produktionen bei. Die DJ-freundliche Doppel-LP enthält 12 ausgesuchte Perlen, darunter von Mahony & Flogg, Roots Orchestra und zwei Exclusives der Martinez-Brüder.

Transversales Disques proudly presents the first LP reissue of Défense de savoir (L’uomo a destra basso nella fotografia) original soundtrack written by italian composer Bruno Nicolai.
During the Giallo boom of the early 70’s, a lot of French film directors started working with maestro Ennio Morricone. French director Nadine Trintignant decided to hire the maestro’s
musical orchestrator and collaborator Bruno Nicolai to compose the score of her fourth movie, a political thriller starring her husband Jean-Louis Trintigant. Recorded at Morricone’s Ortophonic studio in Rome, this OST is undoubtedly the most
underrated Bruno Nicolai’s soundtrack, probably because it was only released in France at the time. Presented here with previously unreleased tracks as an alternative to the rare original
french pressing. Limited Edition. Remastered from the original master tapes.

Mais Alors !!?... c’est à l’envers is the first release of new French Label ICI BIENTÔT (Here Soon ...), launched by Paris Fleamarket’s Record Shop, Geminicricket. On the Menu... Suspended Time,
Unsung Heroes, Hidden Records and Next Door Marvels.
In 1983, NEF released their first and only album, Mais Alors !!?... c’est à l’envers. At that point, the band already had a long history, interwoven with that of various musical trends and alternative
movements from the late sixties to the early eighties. That’s certainly what makes this record so special and able to conciliate such different worlds as Electronic Prog, Film Score, New Wave …
The band’s destiny was most certainly tied to their native region, the South of France, an idyllic environment that attracted a number of musicians during the 1970s, allowing the group to attend many
concerts or share the bill with several groups that have gone on to become well known: Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Magma, Catherine Ribeiro, Zao, Chêne Noir, Art Zoyd …
Founded in 1975 by Richard Lorenzi, NEF started as a kind of Free Rock band with multiple influences, going from Prog to Musique Concrete, in which any method of making sound, any way of
bringing out sounds was good … 2 musicians and a photographer, full member of the band who was projecting slides over the music and influenced their dreamlike universe. In 1978, Vincent Tronc came on board with his keyboards and synths. While the group had been influenced by electroacoustic techniques until then, Vincent broadened NEF’s horizons, bringing in a host of new influences: Ash Ra Tempel, Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze … the beginnings of electronic music. When the album is recorded in 1983, new directions were taken and changed NEF’s usual sound.
First, the idea of playing the accordion, clearly not a common thing and a new Drum Machine, the Roland CJ-5000. Pressed the day a figure of French Chanson died, NEF’s pressing is botched up, a
good part of the records were unusable since the records came out totally warped. Then, at the end of the eighties the small stock of remaining records is lost in the sadly famous flood of Nîmes. 2000
records had been pressed, but very few survived! All the more reason to reissue Mais Alors !!?... c’est à l’envers, an unsung record, free and multifaceted, a quirky and daring musical ovni, transcending eras and genres, between synthetic
Krautrock and Film Score, reminiscent of NEU! (with a red nose), François de Roubaix and Pascal Comelade.

Rolf Hansen, who as a guitarist is originally rooted in jazz, has been one of the most in-demand studio and session musician in the Danish rock, pop, and folk scene. Between 2010 and 2017, he toured under the name Il Tempo Gigante as a solo artist and released two albums: »Lost Something Good« (Speed of Sound, 2010) and »Watch It Watch« (Resonans, 2014). With subsequent tours throughout Europe, he made a name for himself in the alternative folk scene.

After a phase of reorientation, he now releases his first purely instrumental record under his real name through the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk label in September. On his third album »Elektrisk Guitar«, the many different influences Hansen has gathered as a composer, solo performer, session musician and producer shine through.

The concept of limitation - an album composed for and played with solo guitar - is being mirrored in the conception of the album itself. Not only does Hansen resolutely constrain himself to a sole instrument, he also eschews traditional composition techniques and follows an experimental approach.

»Elektrisk Guitar« is an album that enters into a dialogue with its conscious and attentive listener. Pieces whose melancholy is carefully weighed meet complex musical structures that again and again provide new challenges. In just 43 minutes, »Elektrisk Guitar« offers a plethora of ideas, impressions, details, and inspiration. And even more so, it opens up a room for its listeners to explore, precisely because its minimalistic compositions create a lot of space in which to get accommodated in.

Apart from his solo projects, Rolf Hansen has for several years been connected to Donna Regina as well as Anders Mathiasen (formerly Murder, now Vessel, DK) and Henriette Sennenvaldt (formerly Under Byen, DK) through close collaborations.

Vibrations is the second album released by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler's quartet featuring Don Cherry, Gary Peacock and Sonny Murray. The album was recorded in Copenhagen in September of 1964. Originally issued by the Freedom label, it also been released under an alternate title, Ghosts. Previously out of print for decades, the recordings were remastered for an audiophile-grade pressing on 180gram vinyl at Pallas in Germany.

NYC Synth master Steve Moore makes a welcome return to L.I.E.S. with his first ep on the label since 2012. Through these four tracks Moore creates a world with simplistic stripped down beauty, often using one synth and a drum machine to effectively construct alternate realities, as heard on the opener Broken Kills. This continues on the b-side opener Eigengrau, while Future 86 and Future 99 take a more dramatic komische influenced soaring arpeggiated approach. Unmissable.

Cologne’s resident conjurer Hodini steps up for his second solo EP on WOLF Music Recordings. Bringing elements from his hip hop background into this unique five tracker, Hodini dusts off long forgotten cuts, sampled with that MPC chopped graininess, blending lo-fi vocal sound bites with deft jazz loops, all adding a distinct, textured edge to his work.

‘Velved Groove’ and ‘Special Shoutout’ kick things off, snapping in funk fills and skipping guitar riffs behind a concoction of hazy spirals that transfix from the off. The former is an uptempo, twisted, jazz club house jam and the latter a bubbling voyage through the afterhours, bourbons flowing and faces flying from every corner.

A master of misdirection, Hodini also moonlights as one of Germany’s leading underground hip hop producers HulkHodn, proving he can flip styles and meld genres with ease. Featuring his alter ego, ‘Doggo Content’ is his nod to this - a crackling slo-mo trip through the intoxicated mind, soundtracked by stretched vocal snippets, wading bass notes and a crunching snare.

Two of the harder-hitting club tracks close out the EP, both focused around hypnotic bassline carousels and looping layers. ‘Where’s The Wine’ interjects Rhodes flickers with bongo rhythms and unsettling laughes, as ‘One4Fries’ marries off-kilter, piano stabs alongside jazzy flourishes and fizzing percussion.

* The one piece of connective tissue throughout the film, besides the subject itself, is the film's score, from Los Angeles electronic minimalist outfit The Acid. Throughout a harrowing parade of images and fleeting moments of whimsy, the droning, pulsating music underneath brings an alternating sense of dread and power.' - Indie Wire
* This is an ambient electronic soundtrack to the award-winning film 'The Bomb'. * Recently The Acid performed live at the Nobel
Peace Prize ceremonies in celebration of ICAN (International Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) winning the prestigious award this year.
* Confirmed appearance at Sydney Festival in January 2018 with further dates to be announced and further screenings at film festivals across the world.

PROPER PIC SLEEVE REISSUE OF THIS EARLY LCD 12" FROM 2004. ‘Yeah’ was the follow up to LCD's breakout track "Losing My Edge," and was kind of a sleeper that has definitely stood the test of time and is worth a revisit. LCD records seem to speak to those kids sick of the scene, who want their 12" to retain interest longer than the next trend, but without sacrificing up to the minute relevance. An impossible feat, but listening to tracks like "Yeah (Crass Version)" will make you a believer. The song writing and composition are the foundations that the track is built on, with enough rock pretentiousness and sleazy analog to keep you interested. It takes a little more to keep our jaded ears interested these days, and this is might be it. "Yeah (Pretentious Version)" is a completely alternate version, offering a cleaner instrumental take on the track. Also includes the "Clap-a-Pella." Recommended.

The Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Joyce Silveira Moreno was born and raised in the middle of Copacabana, a short beach stroll from the epicentre of the bossa nova universe.
Her father was a Dane that had settled in Brazil, but she was raised by her mother and step-father in a typical Portuguese-Brazilian household. Since her older brother was friendly with
leading lights of the bossa nova movement such as Roberto Menescal and Eumir Deodato, she was steeped in the form at an early age and witnessed its key evolution first-hand. At the
age of 16 in 1964, she was taken to the studio by Menescal to contribute to the coveted debut album by the mythical group Sambacana, assembled to record the work of composer Pacífico
Mascarenhas when the meagre budget would not allow the vocalists he preferred. Knowing that a full-time career in music was certainly not guaranteed, she began studying journalism
in 1967, shortly before her controversial song “Me Disseram” reached the finals of Rio’s second International Song Competition. The following year, her self-titled debut album was
released by Philips, produced by Armando Pittigliani, with orchestration by Dorival Caymmi and arrangements by Gaya; along with her own compositions, the album also featured songs
by her rising-star friends, including Caetano Veloso and Marcos Valle.

Ross Alexander first came to our attention with Memorias Vol.1 - Bugandan Sacred Places, released back in 2017 on Sucata Tapes, it featured a mind altering mix of recorded sounds from a series of visited sites considered sacred within the Bugandan kingdom and session recordings with Ugandan musicians Albert Sempeke and the Nilotika Collective layered with his own original composition using the Yamaha DX7 and programmed FM synthesis. The result being an unique reconfiguration of new age vocabulary with East African traditional sensibilities. The tape quickly sold out and the new Volume of Memorias presented here arrives now on the mother label Discrepant, on Vinyl with an expanded sound palette appropriate to the format.

Memorias Vol.2 - High Atlas To The Sahara Desert is the logical progression of Volume 1. - based on a series of field recordings Alexander made during a trip through the High Atlas Mountains and into the Sahara Desert in 2018. The aim of the trip was to visit a gathering of nomadic musicians at an oasis close to the Algerian border. Like Memorias Vol1. the recordings made on the trip were then later processed, layered and arranged with original compositions. Where Vol1. had clear nods to New Age music this volume explores the more ambient side of 80’s Industrial sound.

Charles Trees. Myth, tall tale, legend of a human being, one of those people who one minute you'll be scouring reddit for obscure content and the next, stepping on stage to casually DJ to thousands of people like “no big whoop” at a French music festival. Charles is unassuming, the kind of person who effortlessly mixes ghettotech into soul for lulz, who samples a speech (/rant) by Funkmaster Flex in an acid track, or rides BMG & Derek Plaslaiko’s “True Story of a Detroit Groove” with Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray” for 8 minutes straight.

Charles' relationship with electronic music started early. In high school, Dave Shayman (Disco D) introduced Charles to DJing and he was a regular at Dubplate Pressure*– Todd Osborn's now-legendary record store in Ann Arbor. By 1998, he was already playing on raves in Detroit. A year later, he was the first person to show Zach Saginaw (Shigeto) to Ghostly International, arguably altering the course of our lives forever. In the late 2000s, they became label mates on Moodgadget, the record label of Jakub Alexander (Heathered Pearls).

Through out the years, Charles has been a musical mentor (whether DJing, producing or throwing shows) to many, danced at every weekly at every venue in Ann Arbor & Detroit, produced Hip Hop, and fronted a psych rock band. He has released music on Moodgadget (US), Musique Large (FR), Lovemonk (ES), Vanity Press (US) and JFX Lab (FR). Today, between DJing, hosting radio shows and producing new music, Charles regularly throws shows/parties/raves, and hosts a monthly at Deluxx Fluxx.

We love Charles Trees and we're proud to present "2019," the eighth record on Portage Garage Sounds.

*Additional reading: Dubplate Pressure: was the precursor to Technical Equipment Supply; how Todd Osborn was discovered by Richard D. James and signed to Rephlex Records; where Sam Valenti IV, the founder of Ghostly International, met Tadd Mullinix (Dabrye, JTC, Charles Manier, X-Altera); one of the reasons why we're all here

"Got No"
Hit the ground running.
Chopped up vocal stabs and a playful syncopated melody accompany this percussion heavy two-step shuffle as it speeds down the Lodge on a Friday night in Detroit.

"Think First"
Undeniable rhythm section pocket.
Acoustic bass and dirty ride symbols swing alongside lush keyboards and sprinkles of light melodicism in this psych house banger.
Think St. Germain with CAN playing a warped version of "Rose Rouge."

"In Arms"
Crave the rave. Whips crack and sizzle in this dubbed out techno slapper. A modern take on a classic sound. Trees conjures an era close to his heart: when the warehouse was church and service didn't stop until the sun came up.


"Acja feat. Marcus Elliot ("12 club mix)
Beautifully understated and triumphant.
This closer marks the return of Detroit Saxophonist Marcus Elliot (Detroit pt II - PGS 001). His notes dance and soar over a creeping acid line, while driving drums and warm pads effortlessly take you home in this powerful house anthem.

This release contains twelve of the tracks from the 2000 CD release, a collection of working and master
versions of some of T. Rex’s biggest hits, including “Telegram Sam”, “20th Century Boy”, “Metal Guru” and
“Solid Gold Easy Action”. Mastered from the original tapes, this is a debut vinyl release for these tracks.

a A1. The Groover [master version with false start]
[b] A2. Jitterbug Love [working version]
[c] A3. Dishing Fish Wop [master version]
[d] A4. Telegram Sam [working version]
[e] A5. Laser Love [rough mix]
[f] A6. 20th Century Boy [master version with false start]
[g] B1. Silver Lady [working version]
[h] B2. Metal Guru [master version]
[i] B3. Fast Blues (Easy Action) [working version]
[j] B4. Light Of Love [master version]
[k] B5. The Soul Of My Suit [working version]
[l] B6. Thunderwing [alternate master mix]

[a] A1. The Groover [master version with false start]
[b] A2. Jitterbug Love [working version]
[c] A3. Dishing Fish Wop [master version]
[d] A4. Telegram Sam [working version]
[e] A5. Laser Love [rough mix]
[f] A6. 20th Century Boy [master version with false start]
[g] B1. Silver Lady [working version]
[h] B2. Metal Guru [master version]
[i] B3. Fast Blues (Easy Action) [working version]
[j] B4. Light Of Love [master version]
[k] B5. The Soul Of My Suit [working version]
[l] B6. Thunderwing [alternate master mix]