Поиск:ambient

"Delivering his first solo EP in over two years, Blue Hour releases Origins, the 21st release on Blue Hour Music. Following a succession of remixes, V/A contributions and an EP under his Tracing Xircles alias earlier this year, the Berlin-based producer and DJ shares four tracks diving deeper into his UK roots. Channelling breakbeat, techno and trance with the hallmarks of 90’s rave, Origins builds upon the foundations created from his EP ‘Devotion’ in 2020.

In this eclectic EP, Blue Hour explores several sonic palettes. The title track blends celestial chords with urgent drums and acid basslines, while uplifting vocals and subtle melodies wind through the track. ‘True’ dips more heavily into breakbeat territory with evolving and immersive pads, soaring strings and a twinkling synth-line. A dynamic fusion of fast-paced energy and soft touches.

On the flip, ‘Emergence’ dances a delicate line between melancholia and elation, as dystopian chords pool with a squelchy acid sequence and a classic house vocal. ‘Searching’ closes on an ambient tip with spell-binding pads and an angelic melody, conveying a bright side to Blue Hour’s aesthetic, akin to Origins as a whole."

Dial's label boss Sten aka Lawrence presents his long awaited third album on the ever-classic Berlin based Sushitech Records. Earthshine is an extended journey of 12 tracks written and produced by Peter Kersten over the last 5 years. Atmospheric Ambient to deep Techno and everything in between put together by a true master of the craft.

The good thing about techno is that you can reach the most diverse states. The possibilities are almost endless, the machines multifaceted and the imagination knows no boundaries. Just this joy
of experimenting with melodies and equipment is one of the specialties of Berk Offset aka Echowolf, which he brings to bear again in his latest release on Snork Enterprises "Dreieinigkeit".

Weird rhythms and twisted sounds develop in the end to a harmonic overall state.

The three new tracks, which all run under the title "Zustand" (the German word for “state” or “condition”) only with different numbering, are complemented by a brilliant rework by Headless
Horsemann. In full honor of his name, he enhances the wonderfully weird techno tunes with a mysterious ambient style that not only sounds but also feels like a mighty acoustic shadow.

2022 Re Edition

STAREAWAY is Markus Guentner from Regensburg, of Kompakt- and Ware-fame, and Heiko Badje from Hamburg, the man behind saudade-driven pop-band La Grande Illusion. Exploring the possibilities of combining Guentners critically acclaimed adventures in ambient scapes and Badjes melodies and distinctive singing, their track 'Baghira", as an early result, was selected on Kompakts 'Pop Ambient 6 compilation in 2005. Their first EP as STAREAWAY, called 'Learn How To Love Me", was released on Hamburg-based label Couldn.t Care More in 2011 including a remix by deep house icon Osunlade crossing all borders, yet feeling so natural, and the somewhat timeless electronic pop reference 'Unwise". Now STAREAWAY come up with their first album 'No Life In This Ghost Town' (again on Couldn.t Care More); seven sketches between song and track deliberately carved from a shimmering wall of electronic sound by guitars, spiritualized voices and subtle melodies. It.s caressing and thoughtful, but there is also a darkness that makes you shiver. Glowing embers in far away windows. STAREAWAY combine a vision of sound with multitudes of micro-organisms which take turns no one can forsee. And what may appear as a mere coincidence is in fact a concentrated search. They are seekers of the things lying underneath. STAREAWAY's 'No Life In This Ghost Town' is mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri. It will be available as Double Vinyl (+ Download-Code) and, of course, digitally. Layout by JL Prozess (Markus Guentner), artwork by Claudia Kugler.

Kilòmetro 4.5 takes you into danceable ambient sounds through a dreamy album produced by Snad. Loop DreamZz is an ethereal representation of nostalgic soundscapes. It wraps you in a strange yet familiar sense of paradise at twilight, be it before dawn or post-sunset. Faint birdsong, gentle waves, and the bittersweet tiredness when you’re one of the last on the sandy dancefloor, yet perpetually craving to keep the dream looping.

One year after its original release, the Placid Angles album Touch The Earth is being remixed by an impressive array of artists from the extended Figure family. With John Beltran being a distinct voice within the electronic music scene for over thirty years now, Figure is thrilled to reveal a whole LP’s worth of reinterpretations, including two works by the original artist himself.

Opening up is Marcel Dettmann, who seamlessly has integrated the lush soundscapes of the original album into a beat-driven but equally serene journey. Picking up on the LP’s underlying dark garage tropes, Planet Mu headmaster M-ziq infuses his rework with even more rolling drums and ethereal vocal chops. The also inherent IDM roots of Touch The Earth have been kept close by Warp-veterans Plaid who deliver a shuffling flurry full of horns, synths and syncopated rhythms. More straightforward interpretations include Dauwd’s dazzling piece of feathery, fast, atmospheric techno; a gorgeous melodic house remix by Baltra and Cassy who turns in a rigid UK stomper.

Amidst all the reworks, John Beltran himself makes two appearances across the record. As Placid Angles he adds another heads-down percussive/ambient swirl, which represents exactly what the producer has been hailed for since more than three decades now. His own remix finishes the record on an epic note, with an organic drum track that celebrates life and the necessity for communal gathering in order to dance.
Beltran’s own additions to this LP are like the essential glue that makes it all bind together, forging the old and the new into something equally exciting as already intimately familar.

The debut full length album from Gloved Hands, entitled Empty Terminal, finds the musician straying from the dance floor in search of something amorphous and less tangible. Ambient in nature, the eight tracks that comprise the LP have a deep focus on texture, space, and human feelings rather than a need for constant propulsion and momentum.

The A-side, the more rhythmic and percussive of the two, is awash with vague echos and smudged, slow-moving chords. Subaqueous drums shift in and out of focus. Sound sources are at once distant and intimately close. The curtains part to reveal a glimpse of a crystalline melody or a fraction of a vocal phrase only for the room to fill with fragrant smoke and go dark. It is a place beyond the dance floor. Perhaps it's a place without any floor at all.

The B-side is even more fragile and diaphanous. The foreground and background are obscured, leaving a hazy mesh of delicate, interwoven forms and rhythms; glistening and brushing against one another in the warm, dimly-lit space in between. With a swirling mix of cavernous bass and sweet-but-never-saccharine melody, the details are stretched and abstracted into something new yet familiar. The compositions ripple in midair, appearing and vanishing, close but just out of reach.



b A2 The Hungry Army Arrived As the Beans Ripened Master

Among those who have written the history of the Italian House is certainly Carlo Troja, aka Don Carlos. In 1991 Irma Records released her first single Alone which immediately became a cult record for DJs across the Channel and especially American DJs. Its particular soft and ambient sounds defined a genre that was then called Paradise House.

And it is precisely from this genre and from this Dj that Irma Records began the celebrations of its thirtieth anniversary a few years ago by
proposing a selection of its catalog chosen by Don Carlos, trying to dig among some of the pearls of the genre but above all among some
songs that featured in his evenings but were less popular at the time of their release.

This compilation had a great response and it was decided to make a volume 2, always selected by Don Carlos. Also this compilation, like the first one, consists of two compact discs and a vinyl version this time with a selection of only 8 of the 20 tracks contained in the CD and Digital version.

All the tracks on the double vinyl have been re-edited by Don Carlos for the occasion. The double cd is in a limited numbered edition.
Among the artists and producers included are: Don Carlos, Lust Unlimited, Subsonic Posse, T.M.V. (Marco Trani, Moz-Art and Maurizio
Verbeni), The Sweatbox Orchestra, Aritmya, Deep Aural Penetration, Be Noir, Love Nation, More Heavy Soul, Outdance, F.I.T.Z. and many
others

Having crested the west coast modular-ambient wave in just a few releases - including 2018's Sharing Waves on the influential LA experimental imprint Leaving Records - Sean Hellfritsch has swapped the mossy analog synth improvisations of his prior output for refined melodic arrangements dressed in sprightly dawn-of-digital textures. Big Earth Energy plumbs the depths of Hellfritsch's multimedia mind and naturalist heart, spinning an impressionistic narrative world off of cultural touchstones like the PC game MYST, and the work of Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. Inspired by the aforementioned, and guided by Hellfritsch's experience as an animator and filmmaker, Big Earth Energy is the soundtrack to a hypothetical video game with a pointedly ecological premise, and a twist of psychedelic charm. In Hellfritsch's imagined virtual journey, the player assumes the perspective of a treefrog sixty-five-million years ago, hopping epochs with each new level, forming a comprehensive picture of the massive changes the planet has gone through over the eons. The ultimate goal of the game is not to amass resources, defeat enemies, or gain power, but to fully witness the unfolding of one of the biggest systems of energy imaginable - or as the album's creator puts it - "to explore the incomprehensibly vast energetic expression and mystery that is Earth." Big Earth Energy is steeped in exploratory RPG intrigue, possibility, and contemplation, lovingly overlaid with Miyazaki-an sentiments and aesthetics. The through-composed, organic, meandering synthesis heard on previous Cool Maritime albums has been fully replaced by meticulous polygonal arrangements that recall the computerized sheen of late 80s work by composers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Yoichiro Yoshikawa - using true-to-period gear no less. Even given its referentiality, Big Earth Energy comes off as forward-facing where so much reminiscent music remains fixed to a bygone moment in pop culture. Hellfritsch has created a musical world where the endless verdancy of the biosphere finds its parallel in the golden age of early 1990s video games, and late 80s Japanese environmental music, all while pointing to a hopeful planetary and artistic future that vindicates the motives of all of these muses.

"In Waves is a new sister label of Lee Burridge's All Day I Dream. Its third release comes from Zone+ and is a superb 13 track collection that sinks you deep into the artist's rich house sounds.

A Balloon In The Wind (Ambient) opens top with dreamy pads and spring day sounds, then supple grooves arrive like Hello to take you away into a hypnotic world. Shinobi has bumpier drums and elastic bass, Bohemian brings worldly percussive sounds and Mandalorian layers up smooth drums with soft pads and angelic vocals.

This most heady and cuddly of albums plays out through the clipped house and subtly funky kicks of What's Going On, the bubbly sounds and Middle Eastern vocals of The Musician and widescreen melancholic chords of Luna. Electric Dreams is a fine collab with Usif and the album closes on the tightly woven late night deep house of Uncommon.

This is a masterful album of smartly layered grooves, emotional pads and escapist vibes."

Meetsysteem's 2020 album Cr:GO remixed. Rotterdam techno veteran Speedy J transformed 'Noch de Sterren van de Hemel'; a masterclass of synth wizardry, noise and fluctuating patterns, creating a fictional universe on its own that could be both heaven and hell. Mary Lake is back on Nous'klaer with a powerful, driving four to floor remix of 'Fkg Hoofd'. Konduku takes a deep dive with 'Sidda' and turned it into a 90 BPM dub version. To finish it off, Speedy J and Meetsysteem made collaborative remix, perfect for after hour ambient floors

Three years after he released the incredible New Experience EP (picking up plaudits from Bill Brewster, Tim Sweeney, Laurent Garnier, Horse Meat Disco, Leo Mas & 6Music’s Tom Ravenscroft, among many more), Tokyo’s Kota Motomura returns to Hobbes Music for his debut LP, Pay It Forward. This is the first vinyl release on Hobbes Music since the much-loved ‘Aranath’ EP by Leonidas & Hobbes last Spring. While the label maintains the level of quality control for which it has become recognised, the artist continues to subvert electronic and dance music norms in his iconoclastic way on this extraordinary record.

He’s a mysterious character with an ear for idiosyncratic music that runs the gamut from ambient, exotica and jazz to disco, house and techno via post punk, new wave and funk. It’s highly original and all adds up to a confection perhaps best described as ‘Balearic’.

Album opener Paradise is a certified jazz-funk JAM. Destined for dance floors worldwide, this one’s been dropping well with DJs, Motomura demonstrating his piano chops alongside Mutsumi Takeuchi’s sax. Tropical pushes the boat in a more rhythmic direction, some pretty wild drum programming laced with more sounds of the, um, tropics, before mad vocal yelps suggest something yet more tribal. To Be Free initially resembles early 90s progressive house (pulsing bassline, synth-driven melodies), before the arrival of some new wave guitar licks a la classic Talking Heads/David Byrne and ooh ooh vocal chants take it to another dimension altogether.

B-side opener Emotion features Takeuchi again (on flute this time) and more vocal chants before things take a dramatic turn, threatening to open up into a full fanfare before calming and then bursting into wild life again with the exhortation that “C’mon, everybody dancing!” Rhythm flirts with an energy and pace more akin to a techno record: drums, drums, more drums plus a fair few yelps and chants - the kind of DJ tool that will send a simmering dance floor wild in the right hands. Flower closes things in a more melancholy style, familiar to fans of ‘Aboy’ from the New Experience EP, with plaintive acoustic guitar (performed by Akichi), birdsong and big piano chords.

Support from Bill Brewster, Leo Mas, Al Kent, Red Rack’em, Nick The Record, Phil Mison, Phat Phil Cooper, KZA, Sean Johnston (ALFOS), S/A/M, Dribbler, Joe Muggs, Monolith Cocktail and more…

‘Gonna review in MÜ mag... very fine stuff!’ JOE MUGGS
‘Will be reviewed on the blog’ MONOLITH COCKTAIL 
BILL BREWSTER played Flower on the DJ History podcast #641 (25.3.22)
'I really like this album, Flower and Paradise are my favourite' LEO MAS
‘I like Paradise’ AL KENT
‘Woo this is tasty. DEFO playing on my next radio show. The label’s A&R is defo getting better and better. HM has been putting out some dope stuff and this one seems really good quality’ RED RACK’EM
‘Paradise and Flower sounding good’ NICK THE RECORD
‘Tunes sound great!’ PHIL MISON
‘Going to include Paradise and Flower on my Sunday Ibiza global radio show PHAT PHIL COOPER (Nu Northern Soul)
‘Very nice album with influences from many different genres. I especially like To Be Free with nice synths and guitar cutting, and Flower, which is a chill vibe’ KZA (Mule Musiq, Endless Flight)　
'100% correct about the ALFOS potential of To Be Free!' SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
'Stunning, will fit perfectly with the vibe of my radio show’ S/A/M (Music For Dreams, DK; Playa Del Sol, Ibiza)
'Stellar work, i'll make a bet that Flowers is a Balaeric classic this summer' DRIBBLER (Breakfast Club, Ibiza)
‘It's cool in a nice smelling psycho sense, it was a very DEEP sound that I couldn't produce. Congrats!’ ALTZ (Altzmusica)
‘Paradise is my jam, it's deep, sunny and never boring. I'm interested to see how this will work on the dance floor. Overall a great album with solid composition and impressive use of live instruments!’ SOBRIETY (fka Chloé Juliette)
'Very tidy selection' ASTROJAZZ (Kelburn Garden Party, Wee Dub, Samedia Shebeen, Disco Makossa)
‘This is a lovely release. Follows on from New Experience in the best way possible. It's got lots of vibes going on but holds together as a cohesive piece of work. Love it’ JAMIE THOMSON (La Cheetah, Glasgow)
‘To Be Free is a track i could imagine Andy Weatherall playing in one of his sets at A Love From Outer Space’ KIRSTIE PATON aka She-Bang Rave Unit (Threads Radio, Radio Magnetic)

Black Vinyl

Time has come for Futurepast to release a long format album: Alarm Phase Red - catalogue number FPLP01 - will be the first full-length work from Futurepast founder Davy Vandegaer, appearing here under a new name: Brainwashed Today.

Rooted in a conceptual approach of electronic music, this double LP ranges from industrial ambient to experimental techno. Like an antidote to a twisted reality of controlled screens and mental isolation, Alarm Phase Red uses the raw language of electricity
to reach the core of the machine and sabotage it, reverse its effects by mirroring them. Fighting fire with fire, deflecting the pressure and strain of a world driven by fear and anger, the music of Brainwashed Today acts like a cathartic escape from technological enslavement.

With the purchase of the vinyl comes a batch of three digital bonus tracks pursuing further the sound research of the album.

Sampled by Dr.Dre and Jay-Z, cult combo CALIBRO 35 release the new studio album "DECADE" and celebrate 10 years.

Italian super cult combo CALIBRO 35 release their 6th much awaited studio album "DECADE" on February the 9th 2018. "DECADE" marks 10 years of Calibro 35's releases and it's the very first album recorded by Calibro with an orchestral-inspired enlarged line-up that features horns, strings and percussions. Mixed and recorded by CALIBRO's usual suspect and Grammy Award winner Tommaso Colliva, on the album all the influences collected by the band during their last ten years' journey like music, collaborations, movies, gigs, books find their space. "DECADE" is CALIBRO 35's "time capsule" and is as rare and complex as a timeless work.

Musically CALIBRO 35's inner influences like Ennio Morricone, listen for instance to the epic journey of the album's end credits "Travelers", Luis Bacalov and David Axelrod are still there but are now mixed with elements from afrobeat or cosmic jazz. "Psycheground" sounds like Tony Allen involved in writing a score for a vintage Hollywood production while Sun Ra lurks on "Modo". Everything is mixed up with new influences from modern musical languages. References to Jaga Jazzist, Budos Band or Alternative Jazz and Alternative Hip Hop new acts such as Makaya McCraven, Yussef Kamaal, Oddisee can all be found on the album. In tracks such as "Modulor "you realize that Decade is certainly not a point of arrival and expresses the ambition of the band to look further and evolve. All classic Calibro's vintage instruments such as clavinet, eco, analog synths, fuzz guitars are now supported by new ones such as Dan Bau, Balafon and Waterphone ("Polymeri") in the band's new wall of sound. Thanks to the enlarged line-up and the orchestrated parts involved, which pushed the band to experiment new methods of composition, Calibro 35 on "DECADE" sound strong, full and tight as never before.

Active since 2008 CALIBRO 35 enjoys a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent band around. During their ten years career, they have been sampled by Dr. Dre on his Compton album, Jay-Z Love Child & Damon Albarn, they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat, Headhunters and as unique musicians they've collaborated with, amongst others PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet). Described by Rolling Stone magazine's as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing, that happened to Italy in the last years", Calibro 35 now count on a number of aficionados worldwide which includes VIP's fans such as Dj Food (Ninja Tune), Mr Scruff and Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) among others.

White Vinyl

Greyscale's most personal release and perhaps the most important for label owner grad_u aka Aleksandr Martinkevič. Earlier this year, Alex was diagnosed with cancer. Certainly a horrible thing to hear and there has definitely been some low moments in certain stages of the journey. At just 36 years old, many of us are shocked that such a young person can develop cancer. After some research he found out that younger and younger people are randomly getting cancer studies show. An alarming trend to learn about. However, there has also been a lot of other learning and different new levels of appreciation for the simple things in life as a new higher level of inspiration in making music has manifested. And this new release encapsulates that. Alex has also felt a duty to make things better for others. Focusing on what can be improved as he wants to highlight research, treatment and the overall communication of this disease to more people in the electronic music scene. Part of the proceeds from this new album will be donated to the National Cancer Institute in his homeland of Lithuania.
Alex wants everyone to know that catching these signs early and getting regular checkups are your best chance at beating cancer. Thankfully Alex did this also and his treatments have gone well. Alex plans still stay steadfast with his label and his life. Simplifying things with the love from his family and friends, focusing on his hobbies
along with making sure he makes his health his #1 personal priority.
The name for this full length release is titled 'T2NO'. grad_u's most introspective work yet features 8 emotional tracks overall. The honesty expressed in this album is blunt and to the point. These tracks take you on an audio journey thru grad_u as he expresses his feelings thru the entire process in each stage.
Beginning with two wonderful ambient tracks named 'Genetic Mutation' & 'Carcinogen'. In the opener, Chords rain over you as a beautiful ambient melody peeks out underneath it followed by a more stark and hazy field of interference. From the gentle opener to the more tension filled follower, the personal journey of grad_u is
developing before your ears. The b-side of 'Neoplasm' is a bit more somber but also has a ray of light in it.
Introspective as it can get, this is a true journey through an uncertain future. 'MRI scan' needs no explanation....
The second half of the album begins the understanding of what grad_u was going thru. 'Malignant Transformation' gives off that feeling of the human body working thru the science. Fight or flight becomes the theme for this track. 'Adenocarcinoma' almost gives off the sound of cells rebuilding themselves. Sci-fi meets real life in this epic battle. 'Resection' continues this scientific sounding reflection on the body healing with sounds of movement and time. As if the body is working itself out. Lastly and triumphantly comes the closing
track 'Waking up to a New Life'....
The emotional journey of this album isn't for the faint of heart. It leaves nothing to the imagination. It works thru all the emotions that can come with such and life changing event like having cancer. We want to thank grad_u for sharing his story with us. This story can happen to anyone...
"I would like to take this opportunity to express my great gratitude to doctors A. Dulskas, G. Jurevičienė, V. Sidorov and all staff in Abdominal Surgery and Oncology Department at NCI. Thank you for your expert care and for saving my life.
Also, big big thank you my family and closest friends for all their love and support during this difficult period of time and always being there for me."
Special thanks to Lithuanian Council for Culture, associations AGATA and LATGA for support of this special project.
Part of proceeds from the album will be donated to National Cancer Institute, Lithuania

Bona Fide & Luka Sambe deliver us four beautiful tracks for our second release on their Lost Orchestra EP.

For their second release Breidenbach Label once more gathers six artists from their regional circuit. Connected by their floating and sometimes even hypnotic soundscape, pulsating pads and strong grooves, each of the four tracks has its own intimate style.

With Love Entropy Crécy delivers a powerful and emotional ambient introduction to the A-Side. His fellow artist and close friend Ami adds a poetic layer: spoken word which shimmers through the sound, adding to the sentimental vibe. An atmospheric first serve. KliX picks up the love theme and transforms it into a mesmerizing ear catcher called Give Me Love. The somewhat trancy elements accompanied by evolving patterns, vocoder-vocals and classy 909 drums give this track its enticing and unique character.

Spaceloop on the records B-Side marks a debute release for the Mannheim based duo Seeder. They teamed up with Benny Delara to deliver a hip shaking dancefloor weapon that captivates through its strong and pulsating baseline combined with atmospheric elements that carry the records narrative. The EP is accomplished by Tech Report from the promising live-due CVSO. While blending breaky grooves with atmospheric elements the listener may find himself surprised by a jazzy piano melody that is proof of their creative and forward-thinking musical mindset.

For the eleventh release on their main catalogue Haven are excited to invite French king of spooky crunched-up rollers and Wrongnotes member Draugr to the label for the first time, alongside some half-time madness from Headless Horseman on the remix.

The A1 gets us moving with Gjöll, where creepy atmospheres, disembodied vocal hits and noisey drum rhythms crash together in a concoction of hard techno destruction. The A2 continues this formula in Völva, with rolling synth lines and demonic ambient textures leading in to an infernal animalistic wail breaking in to the mix following the breakdown.

The B1 continues the destruction on the flip with Vigrid - a hectic drum rhythm work out buttressed with spiky metallic patterns and further ghoulish sound design and sampling. Headless Horseman closes out the record with his remix of Gjöll, transforming it into sinister half-time stepper ripe with droning atmospheres and powerful drum hits to finalise another offering of club ready mania from Haven.

Intercepts is a brand new sub-label from London's Frequency Domain.

Frequency Domain has soundtracked late-night astral travelling since 2015, releasing drone, ambient and offbeat electronics from the likes of Forest Drive West, Plant43, Datassette, Matt Whitehead, Anthony Child, Jo Johnson and Ali Wade.

Intercepts indulges the parent label's more unruly and percussive leanings with a series of EPs drawn up from an anonymous pool of Frequency Domain artists and newcomers. Intercepts releases are served two at a time, with two separate strands - X and Y - each exploring their own sonic trajectory.

The first 'X' series EP delivers three tracks of skewed, mutant techno, landing some place between Livity Sound's cerebral rollers and Dynamic Tension's disorienting clunk.

The heat is rising with our 5th instalment coming from the volt of Meister Bert Ashra veteran from Berlin's 90s underground scene and active still in the city with his Mastering & Sound Design Studio and experimental audio production and studies.

The solo project B. Ashra has existed since 1993. B. Ashra is a live act, DJ, composer, sound designer and mastering engineer. The style is pretty cross-genre and ranges from ambient, experimental, soundscapes and trance techno to deep house and electronic jazz.

For his pure techno and house productions he uses the pseudonym Robert Templa and for the extremely experimental music, trash and gabba he calls himself Hackbert.

Furthermore, B. Ashra is active in several music projects and bands, including: Psychotikum, Cosmic Octave Orchestra, 70db, Morphon and Brain Entertainment Laboratory.

The collection is a double LP With a variety of sounds spacing between Ambient and Minimal - Techno vibes with deep bass-lines and layered melodic progressions written with special care to the evolution of the harmonies such to maintain those hypnotic feeling until the structure comes back together and releases a powerful groove.

A rich Album and a landmark in the growing of the label.

Since he started producing music, Berlin-based American sound artist Jake Muir has been obsessed with sampling. His 2018 album "Lady's Mantle" was based on manipulated chunks of vintage Californian surf rock, and its follow-up, 2020's midnight symphony "The Hum Of Your Veiled Voice" was sourced from a wide variety of old records, and inspired by the work of experimental turntablists like Marina Rosenfeld, Janek Schaefer and Philip Jeck.

On "Mana", Muir looks back to a misunderstood musical movement. Around 1995, a group of New York producers and DJs - including DJ Olive, DJ Spooky and Spectre - pioneered a genre-dissolving sound by unifying hip-hop techniques with ideas pulled from dub, jungle, ambient music and industrial noise. Badged "illbient", it was a short-lived genre that felt like a high-minded psychedelic cousin of the UK's trip-hop.

Muir uses illbient as the springboard for "Mana", utilizing a selection of samples to inform his frothy drones and foreboding atmospheres. He ushers the material into 2021 by diverting it through his own contemporary worldview, attempting to recreate the hyperreal fantasy histories of Japanese RPGs (think "Dark Souls" and "Final Fantasy") and nod to sensual, tactile soundscapes of European industrial labels Staalplaat and Soleilmoon. The result is a magickal, sensory journey that's as physical as it is representational.

If the illbient producers were encouraging a burgeoning experimental music landscape to emphasize the tactile feeling of turntablism and sample manipulation, Muir is doing the same with "Mana". Each track heaves and breathes not just with his cultural reference points, but with layered, complicated emotions. We can hear joy, sadness, desire and anguish, obscured by disintegrating noise, hallucinogenic harmonies and sub-aquatic bass. It's electronic music that's rooted not in technology, but in touch.

After a long hiatus in Comtron releases they are back. Stronger than ever. Comtron (Fatima Yamaha and Rimer London) are known for they're critical view on society, the financial and political world. From dark and twisted electro tracks to pumpin' big room, gimmicky techno, deep swirling ambient and slow house beats, this double 12" has no flaws.

For the tenth edition of its tape series, Climate of Fear presents "Empire of the Senseless," a rippling, brooding session by Izabel. Recorded at an april 2019 party opening for Legowelt, "Empire" shows the Lullabies for Insomniacs boss in a molten halftime groove, drifting from fungal ambient to dark-aura'ed club crawlers. Rich, unnerving, sorrowful and sensuous. Feel your face melt.

With Resistance Belgium based Derlich presents his severly stripped down to its essence technoid visions. In avoidance of any irrelevant superstructures RESISTANCE delivers 6 equaly effective Tools ranging from ritual aesthetics with evolving rhythms and variations to unexpected heavy punches and deeply embeded obscurity reminiscent of the early Zhark releases.

Derlich erradicates the lines in genres as industrial, Underground Techno and Dark Ambient Minimalism, heavy strokes clarifies the abstraction of modern life. His passion for art, derelict dark landscapes, and abandoned locations feeds the inspiration to work in his shadowy area of electronic music.

Crisp, freshly distorted & pulsating techno trips; Nous'klaer proudly presents Mary Lake's debut EP Askim. The rising dj/producer from Amsterdam steps up with three brilliant uptempo techno rollers and a blissful ambient excursion as epilogue. Four tracks that perfectly reflect her infectious enthusiasm and energy. On top of that, there is much more to come from Mary this year, both on Nous'klaer and elsewhere. Artwork courtesy of Sammie Straub.

The starting point for KOMPAKT's lovestory with Pop Ambient. Three marvellous ambient tracks that sound like Wolfgang Voigt's GAS dipped in liquid extasy.
POPAMBIENT VOM ALLERALLERFEINSTEN...KNISTERND, ELEKTRISIEREND, EKSTATISCH!!!

Double LP: Heavy 350gsm Sleeve, Liner Notes, Sticker

WRWTFWW Records is very happy to reissue Swiss cult band Grauzone's self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.

The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".

Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.

This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.

When the first Placid Angels album dropped in 1997, John Beltran was already an established force within dance music’s then-emerging scene. He had a knack for both the melodic side as well as intricately designed rhythmic programming. A signature style that went for his early records in the 1990s as much as it does for this new installment of the Placid Angles series. The blissful synths, Aphex Twin-era IDM and loose percussive patterns take you right back to where it all began when genres didn’t mean anything and Beltran was just starting out to experiment with any sound that would elevate your consciousness. The Michigan-born artist since has spanned a career of nearly four decades, remaining relevant all the while, by playing the music he found himself most drawn to express. By working with artists like Detroit veteran Carl Craig, labels such as R&S or more recently his LPs for Delsin or his joint work with Four Tet. Whether it be his more Techno-leaning or New Wave-inspired works, his takes on Ambient, or the more Latin-influenced productions - he has always stayed active and re-invented himself while painting his records with a clearly own palette that is full of beautiful melodies and a timeless sound-design. The album Touch The Earth itself comes as diverse as the artist’s own legacy, ranging from skittish, colorful UKG to proper pulsing sub-basslines as it progresses deeper into intelligent drum programming and further into the melodic ventures of what’s at the core of Beltran’s work.

Repress!

A MAJOR EXPLORATION OF TOKYO'S CUTTING EDGE 80S SOUND THROUGH THE MUSIC OF CULT JAPANESE LABEL NIPPON COLUMBIA AND ITS BETTER DAYS IMPRINT, SELECTED BY BRITISH RADIO PRESENTER AND DJ NICK LUSCOMBE.

‘Tokyo Dreaming’ is a superb selection picked from the highly collectible Nippon Columbia label and its Better Days sub-label. For the occasion, we’ve teamed up with journalist and Japanese music expert Nick Luscombe who was granted rare access to the much-guarded Nippon Columbia's vaults for a masterful selection encapsulating the fascinating sound of Tokyo in the late 70s and 80s. The selection mixes electro, synth-pop, funk and ambient and features such artists as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mariah, Shigeo Sekito, Juicy Fruits, Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama and Yumi Murata. The tracklist includes many sought-after rarities and hidden gems which have never been released outside of Japan and the set has been newly remastered by Nippon Columbia. The album has been designed by famed London-based designer Optigram and is annotated by Nick.

Nippon Columbia, one of Japan's oldest music labels is also one of its most collectible thanks to its sub-label Better Days which, in the late 70s, became a hotbed for Tokyo's new generation of pop artists eager to experiment with ambient, electro and funk. Armed with a string of new Japanese-made synthesizers and drum machines that would soon take the world by storm, they made cutting-edge music, which has since become highly sought-after by a new generation of Japanese music lovers. Nick Luscombe, who has long been a leading advocate of Japanese music from this era, has handpicked a selection of some of the sharpest music released on these labels at the time.
According to Nick, “Tokyo Dreaming is a look back to an incredible era of Japanese music, that still sounds and feels like the future. It was a moment when brand-new music tech from Japan helped forge new ideas and experiments that permeated pop, soul and jazz and helped create new forms of music including electro and techno. The perfect meeting point that would help create a new soundtrack for modern living.“
?The selection starts with "The End of Asia" by Ryuichi Sakamoto from his 1978 ground-breaking debut "Thousand Knives Of" (reissued last year by Wewantsounds). The track became a staple of Sakamoto's and YMO's live shows and was even re-recorded by the group for their 1980 album 'X Multiplies'. The track is followed by Mariah's cult Armenian folk flavoured synth pop classic "Shinzo No Tobira" (1983), which first spread outside of Japan when the Scottish DJ duo Optimo started playing the track regularly at their shows.
?Chika Asamoto's "Self Control" (1988) and Jun Fukamachi's "Treasure Hunter" (1985) are perfect songs in the synth-pop canon, while Yumi Murata's rendition of Akiko Yano's "Watashi No Bus" and Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama's "Rainy Driver" both from 1981, move closer towards the slicker, funkier sound of City Pop.
?'Tokyo Dreaming' superbly showcases the breadth of 80s Japanese music and the way electro pop was a playing ground for musicians to experiment with many styles, as showcased by Akira Sakata's dub-enfused "Room" from 1980, Kazumi Watanabe's discoid "Tokyo Joe" (1980) and Juicy Fruits' "kawai" robotic Techno pop song "Jenie Gets Angry".
?The selection flows effortlessly between many shades of synth and ends with two cult classics in the form of Yasuaki Shimizu's "Semi Tori No Hi" and Shigeo Sekito's ambient-jazz masterpiece "The Word II" from his highly sought-after album "Kareinaru Electone (The Word) Vol.2" which, although recorded in 1975, perfectly announces the synth revolution to come. Tokyo Dreaming showcases the groundbreaking sounds of a city turned giant sonic lab which was restlessly inventing the music of the future.
Nick Luscombe is a highly respected and in-demand music influencer who discovers great music from all over the world and shares it internationally through his many radio shows and DJ sets. He has been in charge of music selection for various radio programs since 1999, and from 2010 - 2019, was the DJ for the popular BBC Radio music program "Late Junction”. He has also curated and presented music shows for Monocle and British Airways radio stations. He has worked as both Chief Music Editor at iTunes and Director of Music at London’s Institute of Contemporary Art, and is the founder of MSCTY.

DJ Traytex showcases in his debut release with the Back Then EP on Loser Records, his skill with ambient breaks, with light, glittering melodies that trip over deep basslines and punchy rhythms. Soft, meandering cadences and flowing landscapes combine with a thumping, sometimes brittle drive in the breaks, making this EP as cerebral and emotive as it is atmospheric and danceable: just as much for the private listener, as for a dancefloor vibrating at 5am.