Buscar:back 2 back

Pleasure Zone proudly presents Peter F. Spiess on the new Treasures - series! This minimal beauty came originally out on Alpha, produced at Cyclamat Studios Cologne 1999. We're happy to bring it back on black solid vinyl.

The aptly-titled ‘Sunrise’ sets the deep, confident tone and sound that runs through the release, mixing wholesome, contemplative house chords with a warm, generous acid line emerging organically. On the flip, ‘Sunset’ dives further into this sound, diving back beneath the horizon.Almost beatless, ‘Midnight’ produces more intense oscillations for a weightless trip that transcends mere machine manipulation. Gnork & 130eOa reinstall a subtle groove for their understated but irresistible remix contribution.

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1
Breach One
9' 36''
2
Interlude One
3' 26''
3
Breach Two
7' 05''
4
Breach Three
9' 32''
5
Interlude Two
2' 29''
6
Breach Four
7' 34''
Breach dives into chaotic systems and reflects on the recent events of protests and riots in the world, exploring the build up and release of tension and energy in a new form of pitch black metal electronics and polyrhythmic structures.

Zeno van den Broek is a Dutch-born, Copenhagen-based composer and artist. Van den Broek works in a multi-sensory way to research and express physical, social and acoustic notions. He utilises audiovisual means to create site and concept specific works. This trans-disciplinary method has a strong conceptual foundation, originating from a background in architecture, which enables Zeno to comprehend and reveal the richness and complexity of spatial, visceral and physical perception. He works with a characteristic artistic language based on minimalist and fundamental elements such as sine waves, lines, noise and grids.

Der Hip Hop Produzent Freddie Joachim wuchs als begeisterter Musiksammler auf, begann Mitte der 90er Jahre dem DJingund Produzieren an. Seitdem produzierte er für wie J. Coles, Joey Badass, Aloe Blacc, Blu, Grap Luva, LMNO, Kev Brown und anderen. In den letzten 15 Jahren hat Freddie viele Alben und Singles veröffentlicht, die meisten davon mit dem in San Francisco ansässigen Label Mellow Orange. Sein markanter, jazziger und gefühlvoller Sound ist bei allen Veröffentlichungen wie auch auf seinem ersten Album für Jakarta Records zu hören. Als Gäste sind FloFilz, Elijah Fox und Natalie Oliveri geladen.

From the artist:

"pootek" - Paul (Solpara) and I laid down the majority of this track one November night in Berlin. We lived in the same dorm in university nearly 10 years ago and bonded over weird electronic music. We hadn't seen each other in a while and had never made music together. We got so rowdy making this my neighbour who I had never seen before came up to complain we were being too loud.

"whendialupbecomeform" - I was thinking a lot about dial-up modems, especially after I heard a Lana Del Rey song that featured that sort of sound in the background, whether intentionally or not. I woke up in the middle of the night and laid down the main arrangement in a couple of hours. I later added some vocals, random sounds from freesound.org, and what might be described as "dreamy pads."

"dosheepdreamofandroidelectrics" - I don't think the song has much to do with Philip K. Dick. I wanted to make something that someone could introspectively zone out to, maybe under the influence of a plant, either at home or at the club.

Ry X Has Announced The Release Of His Much-anticipated New Album, Unfurl, Available 15th February 2019 Via Infectious And Is Available To Pre-order Here. Ry Has Shared A First Track Entitled 'untold', Which Is Streaming Here, And Announced News Of An Extensive International Tour To Follow The Release, Including 4 X Uk Shows In February. Ahead Of Those Dates Ry Will Be Visiting London This Friday (12th) For A Headline Barbican Performance Backed By The London Contemporary Orchestra Which Has Been Sold Out For Months. Upcoming Tour Info Below.

Hard Fist comes back stronger than ever with a sixth release, this time from Pletnev with a remix from Sascha Funke.

Extra prolific Russian born Alex Pletnev has been making music under various aliases and in a number of live bands. Now settled in Vilnius he explores stellar chugging rhythms, afro and oriental vibes for labels like Media Fury and Bahnsteig23 and more atmospheric, dark and industrial EPs on Le Temps Perdu records. This new one is “the tale of an imaginary world, a babel myth of when human beings were together as one because they spoke a single language. It is an allusion of No Border movement supporting freedom of mobility and fighting human immigration control.”

This fantastic release is the most club focussed music Pletnev has ever produced with instrumental, heady opener ‘Guest from Bangkok’ really locking you in a groove. Loose percussion and churning drums make for dark disco of the highest order. Then comes ‘Peep of Dawn,’ an almost frightening, long and slow ceremony of menacing electronic music. A voice resonates while powerful bass sends shivers down your spine and the whole atmospheric and absorbing affair really casts a spell.

Excellent punchy guitar riffs and shamanic rhythms on ‘Red Shoes’ reminds you of a run to catch the setting sun. It’s another spellbinding and rock-laced disco track that oozes grit and rawness. With the closing track, BPitch Control man Sascha Funke remixes ‘My Word Against Yours' into a cosmic and jerky affair that alludes to a journey into outer space. It’s sparse and creepy and brilliantly evocative.

Once again here, the Hard Fist label—which has its own residency at Paris’s mighty Rex Club—tells its unique story with forward thinking club music full of a wide array of influences.

Multi-instrumentalist/producer extraordinaire - Flevans has been on fire the last few months. With more plays across the BBC 6Music and Radio 2 than you can count on all your limbs combined, his recent singles have proved to be a huge success on the air-waves.

Following up this early enthusiasm with the stellar LP 'Part Time Millionaire' in March, the album was received very warmly by critics and fans alike.

With source material this good it was time to have some fun and at the end of March we released the undeniably brilliant Art of Tones Remix of Who's Got Me – featuring the brilliant Laura Vane on vocals. Deep delicious disco. That's how we'd describe it but don't take our word for it, listen to Todd Edwards, Bill Brewster, Kraak & Smaak, Hector Romero and Francois Kevorkian – all of whom are supporting it. Or listen to Diplo, Mistajam, Annie Nightingale, and Gilles Peterson who have all supported his past releases on the wireless..

Well good as that was, the fun doesn't stop there as the next instalment of remix magic has disco man of the moment Ray Mang giving the special treatment to It Just Goes (feat. Sarah Scott). He's always been a legend but his re-work of the phenomenal handclap band was THE remix of 2018 for the disco cognoscenti and he has turned in some of his very best work here.

Yes - we like to listen to music online and have the convenience of an endless collection always available but for the masochists who like to break their backs lugging heavy boxes of vinyl round to gigs – don't worry – we got your back (broke) by putting both of these killer remixes on one extremely desirable 12"





[a] A1. It Just Goes (Ray Mang Extended Remix) [feat. Sarah Scott]
[b] B1. Who's Got Me (Art Of Tones Extended Remix) [feat. Laura Vane]

[a] A1. It Just Goes (Ray Mang Extended Remix) [feat. Sarah Scott]
[b] B1. Who's Got Me (Art Of Tones Extended Remix) [feat. Laura Vane]

Back in 2007 Names You Can Trust was launched with an EP from Greenwood Rhythm Coalition. For NYCT's landmark 50th single release, the group returns, drawing on the same long-simmering stew of African, Caribbean and American funk and dancefloor vibes that flavored that first release, but with a sound more deeply infused and farseeing than anything they've done before. The spacey, arcing cut is woven through with guitar that blurs the lines between western twang and soukous popcorn and anchored by cabinet-rattling low end. Spread over two sides of a seven-inch single or available in unedited form digitally, "Jewels" is hypnotic and quite uncategorizable, except to say that sitting still will not be an option when it spins. Adventurous DJs, headphone journeyers, underground dancers, postmodern tropicalistas, and all those whose musical tastes dwell somewhere in the magical twilight of imaginary cities, take note.

Make Mistakes head honcho Roy England teams up with pianist AC Jones to deliver The Shadow Gallery, a sprawling, hypnotic love letter to the dance floor. Music for the modern dance floor, with classic flare, and its heart on its sleeve.

From High On You, to Wayfaring at the end, The Shadow Gallery delivers a cohesive, focused musical journey. But, We Can Make It delivers best on the albums promise. Classic house grooves and bass propel the track forward, with AC’s piano weaving a melodic counterpoint to the relentless dance floor hustle.

While the front half of The Shadow Gallery begs for the afterhours sweatbox, the back half delivers peak hour party cuts for lovers. Anchored in the middle by the title track, The Shadow Gallery, a tune that would sit comfortably in any epic house journey. By crafting such a smooth progression through the collaboration, Shadow Gallery works just as well as sit down, and listen to some true pros bringing their skills together in a way that feels evokes the ghostly spirit of dance music’s past, while creating a modern sound for discerning ears.

Get some.

“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not in the sense that our grandparents had a future, or thought they did. Fully imagined cultural futures were the luxury of another day, one in which 'now' was of some greater duration. For us, of course, things can change so abruptly, so violently, so profoundly, that futures like our grandparents' have insufficient 'now' to stand on. We have no future because our present is too volatile. ... We have only risk management. The spinning of the given moment's scenarios. Pattern recognition”

― William Gibson, Pattern Recognition

Schmer Schmer has been looking for the next Prototype 909 since 1995. While they may never be found, we have instead found a few artists that with the same spirit of adventure have taken electronic music to new frontiers of unimaginable creativity. Primary among them is Lena aka Galcid aka Lenacid.

Lena's electrifying live performances utilizing eurorack modular synths with vintage and modern machines follow three simple 3 rules:

NO PCs, NO Presets, NO Preparation!

She has been called Jeanne d'Arc of modular because her style her appearance and her fearlessness.

For Schmer, Lena has created an EP made for the melting of your mind, if it doesn't first melt your speakers.

Lena uses her electronics in the most effective way possible. The classic acid machines are deployed to establish the themes the modular synths bring in sounds that take these tracks to another level. The eponymous track will hypnotize you into the state of focus necessary to allow you to go deep inside. Then the Acid Police show up! A funky drum machine rocker sure wake you out of your trance. Steel Vein has the intensity to rewire your modular mind. bpmf provides an hard driving aggressive take on Melting to help us turn on the switch.
Legendary DJ and producer Hisashi Saito has been making acid and techno since the early 90s. Using his unique
skills this EP has a rare clarity of sound not often heard on such ambitious recordings. Lenacid “Melting EP” opens up a new frontier for acid, for Schmer and for Lena that you are invited to explore with us this spring.

As Galcid, she has played alongside world renowned artists such as Nina Kraviz, Daniel Miller, Oval, DJ Nobu, Isao Tomita, Takkyu Ishino, Ken Ishii, G-man (LFO) among others. In 2016, she was invited by the Japan Media Art Festival to play at the special exhibition, held at the Eyemyth Media Arts Festival in Mumbai, India. Her 1st album “Hertz" received a worldwide release in digital format on the Detroit Underground label. The release attracted the attention of Karl Hyde (Underworld), Chris Carter (Throbbing Gristle) among other well-known musicians the world over. Shortly thereafter, Galcid played at "Boiler Room Tokyo". In July 2017, she embarked on her first EU tour playing shows in Barcelona, London, and Madrid, after she came back, she participated in Iron Island Festival and Mutek Japan garnering high praise in the media. In December 2017, she was invited to headline Future Mix's 20th Anniversary event and workshop in Shenzhen where she performed and held a talk with techno pioneer Mijk Van Dijk.

Anadol is a psychedelic synth folk project by Gözen Atila, a Turkish sound artist and photographer based in Berlin. Her third album Uzun Havalar is based on collective improvisations of middle eastern folk songs called „uzun hava“. They turn out as rich, atmospheric synth ballads. A diverse roster of improvising musicians creates their fascinating complexity. Anadol recorded them during extensive sessions in Istanbul. You can hear drummers laughing and playing guitars, composers howling, announcements in French and screams in no language, record collectors playing oscillators, and trumpets through spacious echoes. Anadol represents Gözen Atila’s liberation from a rather academic approach to electronic composition which she pursued during her music technology studies in Istanbul. She calls her education the „darkness of serious music“ where she first tried to belong, then to break free with the help of lo-fi synth pop. As a producer of radio plays and an expert field recording artist she has developed a distinct sense of timing, editing and sound design. Her Anadol project walks in the footsteps of lone synth experimentalists like Bruce Haack and The Space Lady with their childlike curiosity for electronic sounds, pushing the boundaries of minimal equipment. On Uzun Havalar she translates her experimental background into these floating folk ballads. The album was originally released on tape via Kinship in 2018.

After a short hiatus Phonica Records revives its deep-house focused Karakul imprint for Harry Wolfman's new 12" 'The Ritual'!

Having produced a dozen 12's for labels such as Dirt Crew, Omena and Outplay, Harry has been honing his craft for the best part of a decade and you can hear how his sound has refined over the past few releases, reaching new heights with this latest record for Karakul.
'SMBC' kicks the 12" off in a laid-back style with its woodwind and brass samples complimenting bright pads and drums, reminiscent of MCDE, while the mellow and sultry 'Eva' is up next.

On the flip 'Obi 1' takes things up a notch both in tempo and energy, working around a lo-fi drum loop and cunningly filtered bassline.
Strings come to the fore halfway through making this a real uplifting gem, the mixture of instrumentation bringing to mind early Pepe Bradock.
Finally 'The Ritual' rounds out the record in a mesmerising way, slowly introducing more and more elements and stirring the pot before fading out again.
An original and fitting way to end the record.

Klas Isaksson is back with his second release on EVIGHETEN with a booming Techno EP

Special Remarks: 1 colored green LP in single sleeve with 3mm spine. Printed inner-sleeve. Collectors edition CD album included.

Vinyl (Limited Colored Edition)

Bananarama"s third album "True Confessions" features the smash hit "Venus" which hit the top spot in the US on Billboard Hot 100. The track was a huge dance floor hit across Europe, South American and Asia.
The album includes the singles: "A Trick Of The Night", "Venus", "Do Not Disturb", "More Than Physical".
Bananarama are often cited as the UK"s most successful ever girl group with 5 UK singles and 10 top 10's.
They were the girl group that defined the eighties with their run of pop hits which soundtracked the lives of fans around the world. The news of Bananarama"s reunion, after nearly 30 years, was met with universal approval and saw the band celebrated all over again. In 2017 the trio reassembled for a UK & USA Tour in a pop reunion only dreamt of in the wildest imaginations by many quarters. The band reunited in their original line up for the first time in years. For many Siobhan stepping back into her natural habitat once again is pop"s very own version of Morrissey and Marr re-uniting. The band play their final dates as a trio this summer in a run of gigs including Edinburgh Castle, British Summer Time and Smukfest.

Tallinn's Rando Arand joins up with LIITHELI to release four deep cuts entitled 'Alles' EP.

Rando Arand is an electronic music producer from Tallinn, Estonia with a background in sound design and experimentation. Arand released his first record on Asphalt Soliloquies back in 2017 and has since gone on to perform live at clubs and festivals around the Baltics sharing stages with likes of Dorian Concept, Gerry Read and King Midas Sound.

His 'Alles' EP sees him join Ali Asker's LIITHELI imprint who focus on supporting local artists from Estonia's capital following the likes of Mava & Nebukat, 1212a and the label boss himself, in addition to remixers from across the globe like Vakula and SH2000.

'Maandub' gets things rolling with dubbed-out aesthetics fusing hypnotic low end, meditative chords and eccentric synth stabs before 'Moondub' delivers soulful keys, deep riding bass grooves and fluid percussion.

'Joondub' maintains the breezy atmospherics as it delicately layers alleviating pads, organic pulsations and floaty modulations before 'Avardub' finishes things off with emotive melodies, fast-pitched, natural drums and melancholy tones throughout. Rando Arand 'Alles' EP drops on LIITHELI on 1st May 2019.

Five years after his track 'Mr. Croissant Taker' appeared on Soulwax's Grand Theft Auto V radio station, Belgian producer Transistorcake releases his official debut release, the 'Future Plans' EP on Eskimo Recordings. Featuring 4 tracks of hazy electronica that would sit neatly alongside early releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label or recent excursions by the likes of Palmbomen and Betonkust.

Opening tracks 'Future Plan I' and 'Future Plan II' sets out Transistorcake's stall nicely. Swirling synth melodies, an ever evolving bassline that leads you down a labyrinthine maze and diaphanous strings and pads all add up to create an ecstatic yet at the same time melancholic quality to the music that manages to sound both ancient and modern.

"Future Plans I and II are constantly changing routes of ideas, improvisations and coincidences," explains Transistorcake, "nothing is a constant in the two numbers, outside the pulse of the drums. You can see them as two possible versions of the future or as an old version of the future alongside its current variation."

Whilst cut from the same cloth as the previous tracks 'Ribbles' has more than a touch of the Nordics to it. Sparkling, playful melodies glitter like snowflakes caught in the flash of a strobe light before a pulsing disco beat rockets the track into the stratosphere. In his own words the track is "an ode to spontaneity and dancing without braking. I pictured it being played by a live band next to a pool at an LA cocktail party in the '80s."

Closing the EP we have 'Kluts', driven by a stuttering, head-nodding, rhythm that recalls that rapping sound of a woodpecker in the forest, the track is gently swaddled in a warm embrace of synthetic stings that gradually develops and asserts its dominance over the course of nine, all-too brief as it happens, minutes. For all its gauzy textures there's also an undeniable solidity to these tracks, an underlying organic quality and nostalgic warmth that permeates them.

Having previously studied jazz composition and played in several bands over the years, Transistorcake brings a sense of spontaneity to the often all-to-structured world of electronic music. This EP just capturing a snapshot in time of these songs that can be endlessly reworked and reimagined in his live set, where live bass and drums, are added to his collection of vintage synths to an endless back and forth between man and machine.

Spatial Cues releases split singles and solo EPs that sound out main(void)’s and Kon Janson’s shared musical space. Operating out of Berlin and London, the two artists join forces to showcase their mutual vision of techno music.

CUES005 aligns itself with the deep and hypnotic side of the series by inserting repetitive themes into flowing soundscapes and subtly shifting rhythms.

Spiralling deeper and deeper into a slowly evolving vortex of sound, CUES005 A emits gleaming signals into the expansive space emanating from its mesmerising bass line.

Held together by the gravitational pull of its sub-heavy kick drum, CUES005 B’s swirling drums orbit around a minimalistic synth pattern that echoes back in bleepy accents.

The Juan Maclean Returns To Dfa With A New 12" - Last June's Electrodisco "what Do You Feel Free About" Backed With "zone Non Linear,"
Which Evokes Early Pet Shop Boys. As Usual, Juan's Sunny Productions
And Nancy's Layered Vocals Come Together To Lend A Maximalist Warmth
To The Dancefloor. Man Power (esp Institute, Correspondant) Gives The Aside A Club Rework With A Dubbed Out Vocal Arrangement That Adds A
Touch More Drama To The Track, While Massimiliano Pagliara (ostgut Ton,
Robert Johnson) Revitalizes Tropes Of Old-school Piano House.

'Quasi' is Ariwo's second album, after the release of
their first self-titled album in 2017:
Despite Ariwo's diverse mix of musicians
(Cuba/Iran/Canada/UK) their music doesn't belong to any specific genre. In
''Quasi', Ariwo use the building blocks of deep bass, afro-Cuban polyrhythms,
carnival melody and immersive live electronics as a starting point to engage
with key players on London's jazz scene.

The result is a hypnotic journey for the listener from techno
to avant-garde jazz via West Africa and the Caribbean. 'Quasi' aims to mirror
the evolved direction of Ariwo's live set, which after extensive touring over
the past three years has gradually become more stripped back and club-oriented.
Many of the building blocks for this album started life as improvisations in
live sets and have been developed into full tracks on 'Quasi'.
The album features guest appearances from MOBO winning saxophonist
Binker Golding (Binker & Moses) and acclaimed UK keys player Joe Armon-Jones
(keys). Cuban trumpet players Thommy Lowry Garcia and Yelfris Valdes also
feature on the album, bringing carnival melodies that interweave through the
percussion and electronics.

Ariwo have used songs from 'Quasi' to create the music
for 'Portals' - a tour of Carlos Acosta's new contemporary dance company
'Acosta Danza' in Havana.

'The Loop' is the new LP by Los Angeles based polymath Shafiq Husayn, an epic project which saw its inception in 2012 through a series of studio sessions at Shafiq's home, including collaborations with the likes of Thundercat, Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, Bilal and Anderson Paak. Amongst a close knit circle of friends and family the golden tones of The Loop were created, deeply rooted in ideas of song, story, history, guidance and spirituality. The album bumps, jumps and jangles through progressions in jazz, hip hop, soul and funk, following on from his debut album 'Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka' and adding further to his rich history of timeless, unique music. On The Loop past, present and future are brought together through a psychedelic concoction of time traveling drum machines, celestial string sections and trails of synthesizer vapour. Inflections of Sly Stone, Pharaoh Sanders and Earth Wind And Fire traverse with Marley Marl and Dilla-esqe drums making for an organic yet LA-trifying experience.

Shafiq has brought together an impressive array of LA's musical royalty, enlisting the likes of Thundercat, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Kamasi Washington, Chris 'Daddy' Dave, Eric Rico, Coultrain, Computer Jay, Jimetta Rose, Om'Mas Keith, Kelsey Gonzalez, I-Ced and more to provide the backbone to his recording sessions. Drawing in features from an international cast of performers and artists like Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Hiatus Kaiyote, Fatima and Karen Be amongst others. Now complete and finally ready for release in 2019 The Loop is truly something to behold. The records is accompanied by a series of paintings by acclaimed Japanese visual artist Tokio Aoyama, who worked in tandem with Shafiq to create a painting for each song on the record.

Rock Sucks! is back with three mad boogie bangers made by three killer ladies. The Boogie Freakdown is real with this one.
Don’t sleep.

CTHI Records is back again after a little pause given by the development of the Jaxx Madicine project started initially by the label founder Parker Madicine and Turbojazz. Through out this time the label has productively been joined by Veezo, italian pianist and producer, for the making of their Distant Classic album and various EP’s and remixes published on many different international labels as Local Talk, Visions Rec, Dirt Crew and Eureka. CTHI is now ready , after the recent Japanese tour as Jaxx Madicine Trio, to be again the front stream for the debut EP of Veezo ‘Monolith’. An 8 tracks EP playing the essential “manifesto" and inspiring heritage of the artist. Raw and dirty grooves made in 12bit res, tape delays and acid Ms20 arps on top of which you’ll appreciate afro elements, warm rhodes and pad chords allowing you to perceive the whole Veezo musical ambient creativity. Two singing tracks - unique featurings by David Shorty and the Technoir Duo - are providing deep house/boogie atmospheres and jazzy spiritual moods. There are various musicians participating into this project leading through bass, flutes and drums that will surely provide you the feeling of an orchestral setting guided and directed by a solo person inducting all those elements through an Akai taperecorder. The result: close to a mid 90’s forbidden cartoon enriched by the cover of the Japanese artist Tokio Aoyama.

Written by Chris Franck and Davide Giovaninni, Oba Lata draws on traditional Yoruban chant blending it with a live afro-beat groove. Edgy, rhythmical analogue synths, vocals, guitars and percussion tied together by the clave and driving afro bassline make this a credible dance floor contender. The vocals honour "Obatala", one of the main Orishas in Yoruban culture. He is seen as the creator of earth and a lover of peace and harmony.



NameBrandSound are IG Culture and Alex Phountzi. The duo were part of the original West London broken beat scene and are known for their involvement with New Sector Movements and Bugz in the Attic. This remix draws on some of the modern African rhythms like Gqom (Durban - South Africa) and Coupé-Décalé (Ivory Coast via Paris) and combines them with their own "bruk" sound. Stripped back vocals and instrumentation make this a remix focused heavily on groove.



This instrumental track 'Dakar' is the result of a recent trip to Senegal during the period of Ramadan. It features an 8 piece woodwind/horn section recorded in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) which has been beautifully arranged by Rafael Martini. A mid tempo groove leaning heavily towards North Africa combining acoustic and electronic elements to create a deep modal feel and mood.

The new album by Juno Award and Polaris Music Prize-nominated Canadian soul star Tanika Charles.

Produced by a stable of some of Canada's finest musical minds including among the others Chin Injeti (DJ Khalil, Eminem, Drake, Aloe Blacc..), Record Kicks proudly presents "The Gumption" the awaited new album by Canadian soul star Tanika Charles that will hit the streets worldwide on May 10.

"What gave you the gumption?" Tanika Charles rhetorically asks during the introductory notes of her sophomore album appropriately titled The Gumption. While the apprehensive lover at the receiving end of that inquisition should feel slighted by the remark, it also alludes to the assuredness Tanika has gained since the release of her Juno Award and Polaris Music Prize-nominated debut Soul Run. The Gumption picks up where Soul Run left off, continuing her tradition of marrying classic soul with modern production styles. Across a dozen songs spanning 38 minutes, Tanika addresses moments of vulnerability, vindication, uncertain love, forbidden fruit and the state of the world today. "It's a little more mature. It's not feeling guilty about being up front, not being afraid to address situations that aren't comfortable for me. I'm comfortable in my skin now in a way I never was before. The overall theme is growth. I feel the music reflects that, and my words reflects that. Even the album cover tries to convey the feeling too. I'm not putting up with unnecessary nonsense anymore."

Predominately guitar-driven mid-tempo soul, with a handful of dance floor friendly tunes and some psychedelic leanings, The Gumption was indirectly influenced by the likes of Alabama Shakes, The Supremes, Khruangbin, D'Angelo, and Moses Sumney. It is sonically moody at times, but with consistent silver-lining arcs. "I've grown up and learned to deal with situations significantly better. We have a tendency to hold back our innermost feelings for fear of hurting others. Even when we're happy we worry about over-sharing, as if joy is a competition you don't want to gloat about."

The success of Soul Run propelled Tanika in front of new audiences far and wide, with extensive touring in North America and Europe. "I've been touring, experiencing new places and meeting new people. And in that time also worked on completing this album". While criss-crossing Canada with festival appearances on both the east and west coasts, Tanika also embarked upon four overseas tours for a combined 45 European shows within a one year period. This included performances at the prestigious Trans Musicales Festival in France, the Lärz, Germany Fusion Festival, Mostly Funk & Soul and Jazz Festival in UK, the Holy Groove Festival in Switzerland, and the Canarias Jazz Festival in Spain.

After a stunning debut on Sublunar last year with the “Meta”, Refracted is back on the label run by Sciahri and Dagdrom with “Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted”, a new EP of four mind-bending techno tracks.
Shuffle Transmit opens the EP and immediately start to build the tension giving to each sonic detail a distinctive personality while converging into a powerful impact.
Polar Creatures express solidity with razor shaped textures and keeping a propulsive attitude during his continuous development.
Deviant, the most introspective track of the 12″, bounces between vibrant pads and an immersive sense of depth, everything feels weightless.
Drone Ship, last track of the EP, builds it’s flow on a polyrhythmic hypnosis created between thick drums and a nervous rash of offbeat bleeps.

Alt-rock icon Josephine Wiggs is best known as bassist in The Breeders, rising to superstardom in the '90s and continuing to draw crowds and critical acclaim in the wake of their 2018 album All Nerve.
But over the years, Wiggs has released several of her own albums, all of which delightfully defy genre. Her new solo record, We Fall, is both a departure and a distillation of an enduring personal aesthetic: moody and spare but also melodic, at once contemporary and nostalgic.
Some influences are clear: We Fall is reminiscent of the experimentalism of Brian Eno's Another Green World and recalls the delicate, languid minimalism of Harold Budd. The album's classical inflections, sharpened by a dialog with electronic elements, evoke Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto. This is an album of juxtapositions: minimalist at moments, richly layered in others; ambient while also sharply focused; melancholy yet resolute.
There's something both dreamy and scientific about We Fall. Wiggs, an enthusiastic amateur mycologist, has an impressive collection of mushrooms she's photographed in her travels. We Fall could be the soundtrack to what can't be captured in a single photo—the growth and decay of miraculous creatures that a less astute and sensitive eye might overlook entirely.
Composed, performed and recorded by Wiggs, with drums and electronics by her longtime friend and collaborator Jon Mattock (Spacemen 3, Spirit , We Fall is a lyrical, bucolic album with an undercurrent of disquiet. Think of a wintertime walk in the woods as dusk falls too soon. True to the classic album form, the 10 almost entirely instrumental tracks on We Fall form a compelling whole: a crystalline meditation on paths not taken and words unspoken, an elegy for moments lost and last embraces.
JOSEPHINE WIGGS BIO
Josephine Wiggs grew up in an unconventional family north of London. Returning home from a summer holiday with a donkey riding in the back of the family's 1927 Rolls Royce was not considered at all bizarre. Wiggs studied cello as a child, segued from college in London to undertake a master's degree in Philosophy, and then, in a move few would have predicted, joined a rock band.
After making three albums with The Perfect Disaster (1987-1990), Wiggs left to join Kim Deal (Pixies), Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses), and Britt Walford (Slint) in forming indie supergroup The Breeders, whose debut album Pod came out in 1990. Following a shift in line-up—with Kelley Deal on guitar and new drummer Jim Macpherson—The Breeders released Last Splash in 1993; with its hit single 'Cannonball' and 'Divine Hammer,' they became alternative rock superstars.
During the same period, Wiggs released two lower-key albums with Jon Mattock (Spacemen 3, Spiritualized): Nude Nudes (1992) under the name Honey Tongue, and Bon Bon Lifestyle (1996) using the moniker The Josephine Wiggs Experience. She also recorded and produced Klassics with a K (1996), the beloved and only album by the Kostars (Luscious Jackson's Jill Cunniff and Vivian Trimble). During a brief run of shows, Wiggs joined the band on drums, showing her range of musical ability.
In the late '90s Wiggs collaborated with Vivian Trimble as Dusty Trails, whose eponymous 2000 album is an homage to neo-noir soundtracks, spaghetti westerns, and Gallic pop. Time Out described it as 'one of the most subtly suggestive, understatedly elegant...things likely to have caressed your cochlea in years.'
Allusions in Dusty Trails to film music foreshadowed the next stage of Wiggs's career, writing scores for feature and documentary films—from Happy Accidents by Brad Anderson in 1999 to Appropriate Behaviour by Desiree Akhavan in 2014. Her new album We Fall began as a suite of short pieces for the documentary film Built on Narrow Land. Wiggs has also composed and recorded music to accompany live performance and short films by the acclaimed Brazilian choreographers chameckilerner.
In 2013, following the 20th anniversary of Last Splash, the classic lineup of The Breeders reunited for a world tour. Five years later in 2018 they released All Nerve, with Wiggs co-writing two songs and singing lead on the standout track 'Metagoth.' We Fall, Josephine Wiggs' third album of her own design and ninth album in a career spanning three decades, will be released on vinyl and available for download and streaming on April 12, 2019 by Sound of Sinners.

oe Budden is one of the mainstays of rap. Originally hailing from New Jersey, Budden entered the game after heating up the streets via mixtapes that made the rounds, and eventually caught the attention of Def Jam recordings. After a successful stint there, and a Grammy Award for “Best Male Rap solo Performance” for “Pump It Up”, Budden parted ways and soon after formed the supergroup, “Slaughterhouse” alongside Royce Da 5’9”,Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, which were signed to Eminem’s, Shady Records. After a slew of releases and starring 2 successful shows on VH1; “Love & Hip-Hop: New York”, and “Couples Therapy”, Joe Budden’s brand has never been bigger. Throughout the summer he dominated headlines and timelines via an open and running dialogue with Drake, a dialogue that has resulted in millions of Soundcloud and Youtube streams. With momentum at its peak, Joe Budden returns with his highly anticipated new solo album Rage & The Machine.

Rage and the Machine, is produced entirely by super producer, AraabMuzik and features the likes of Tory Lanez, Fabulous, Joell Ortiz, and more. The music, as Joe describes it is for listeners who still appreciate lyricism with an updated twist. Backed by AraabMuzik’s sonic landscape, the album delves into Joe’s life, thoughts, and perspectives. Budden, never one to shy away from the spotlight announced the album via Complex by jumping out of a plane.

The latest Subaltern release comes from new signee and rising talent Mrshl. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, this powerful grime-influenced debut also brings British Grime star and Mike Skinner collaborator Grim Sickers along for the ride:

A - The Crown feat. Grim Sickers
EP opener ‘The Crown’ lines up to be nothing but a true anthem. Rough and tough bass-lines complement a barrage of razor-sharp bars, which Grim Sickers delivers in true UK style. Beware, strong stuff!

B1 - Death Dealer
Digging deeper on the second cut of the record, ‘Death Dealer’ fuses MRSHL’s grime influences with a meditative sound system vibe. The hypnotic riff gives space to waves of bass and detuned oneiric pads, alternating into a mind-twisting dance-floor weapon.

B2 - Endless Mirrors (Harp Riddim)
‘Endless Mirrors’, presents an intelligent and carefully constructed melodic piece. Bouncy kicks complement light harp lines and piano riffs, merging into a dreamy soundscape which takes us back to the times of Legend of Zelda.

We are delighted to present our fourth release on 12” format, a very special collaboration with legendary Jamaican trombone player Vin Gordon.
"Bowl go, packy come" is an old Jamaican proverb equivalent to “what goes around comes around”, or in a more positive form “one good turn deserves another”. In this EP it symbolises the migrations and cultural exchanges between Jamaica and UK and back from UK to Jamaica and the rest of the world, pretty similar to the life journey of Vin Gordon himself. The music and the artwork here try to represent that continuum of exchange between both shores.
The Ep contains two uptempo instrumental tracks that are a mix of classic Jamaican sounds with a UK influence, combining classic live instrumentation and modern programming. Each track comes with it’s own dub version mixed analog live by Ojah in traditional fashion.
Also available complementing this release is ALDBS7008 “What Goes Around Comes Around”, a 7” that contains an additional Hammond and melodica solo version and an additional dub of the “Packy” riddim.
Limited edition of 600 copies, 180g heavyweight 12” vinyl, hand-numbered, served in a spined sleeve with outstanding artwork by Victor Castro.

Hammond & melodica recorded by Nik Torp at Squat Sound Studio, London, UK, 2015
Percussion & keys recorded by Ojah at Rollover Studios, London, UK, 2015
Trombone recorded by Jamez at Black Lindy Studio, London, UK, 2015
Guitars recorded by Puppa Shan at Discoinferno, Madrid, Spain, 2018
All tracks produced, mixed and mastered by Oscar Pablos “Ojah” at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, UK, 2018
Graphic design by Victor Castro

“Introducing COSMIC RESIDENTS v. 1, the first in an ongoing compilation series from Cosmic Resonance Records. This series will showcase emerging talent from Toronto’s underground creative electronic music scene.

This first edition features local favourites and Cosmic Resonance residents Radiant Aura Faculty (aka Raf Reza), KOREA TOWN ACID and Hemingway along with (and making their vinyl and Cosmic Resonance debut) Body Butter, WeTurnToRed and Smoke & Shadows.

On the A-side, Hemingway kicks things off with Astralnauts, a deep, dubbed out boogie breakbeat burner dedicated to explorers of the astral plane featuring fellow label don Chris Evans on rhythm guitar. Radiant Aura Faculty (aka Raf Reza) takes us even deeper with the mystical 'Cid Pit Riddim', a slamming 707 acid bender sure to melt any dance floor. Things get slippery with Body Butter’s debut single ‘Lights In The Hallway’, a timeless operatic pop opus featuring Neil Rankin (aka Burt Sugar), Chris Evans (aka Mr. Bliss) and Hemingway behind the board.

On the flip side, things heat up with Shamanta Chandran’s project WeTurnToRed (recently releasing their debut EP on ORO Records), featuring the progressive modular techno odyssey 'Warm Winter', an escape from Toronto’s long and tumultuous blizzards. Emerging from the Mahogani Forest, Korea Town Acid reinterprets Hemingway’s emotional ode to the jazz aesthetic 'Blue Notes' with her trademark cerebral rhythms and a masterful bassline that elevates the original to new heights. Closing it off, we have an amazing collaboration between Curtis Clark (aka Smoke of Lab.our Music) & Em Zy (member of Nikki Fierce) called Smoke & Shadows with their stellar debut single Convincing Thoughts that features Em Zy’s hazy vocal emanations amidst a backdrop of mystical reverberations and a dark, powerful groove.”

‘Verdigris’ the new EP from Japanese artist Atsushi Izumi, is a deep dive into the crevice of the mind. It is an exploration of where fearful emotions lie and confronting them. It is only through this conflict that light can shine through in the end.

The Osaka native has a background in music and sound design and as such found his sound going through a metamorphosis from Drum n Bass to a more experimental sound. His EP ‘Snow’ was released under the subtract imprint last year and saw the initial phase of this transformation. It was followed up by ‘Lansing / Mistrust’ via The Collection Artaud, which continued his growth of using slowed out heavy percussions surrounded by frantic synths and modulations.

Atsushi Izumi’s use of long drawn out hallow synths is like an ominous cemetery at night before these powerful percussions detonate in. He uses heavy spaced out bass drums, either as a single or double beat, which simmer as they echo and roll. They are surrounded by these chaotic, textured synths, which can sound like a cicada, hovering and distorted to give a mechanical effect. It feels like being thrown into the woods late at night, eerie yet calm in the beginning, before extreme panic sets in and you feel like you’re being chased.

Japan witnessed the end of the world up close and it is still reflected in their art and music: it delves into the sadistic and explores deep themes of melancholy and the apocalypse. This is juxtaposed against pure joy and serenity, showing that life is there to be enjoyed and struggles have an end, which is translated quite coherently to this piece.

As an extra bonus to all this, there is a scintillating remix from ANFS. The Greek adds a bit of pace to the track Zeit. He is an artist who enjoys frantic distorted techno and it shows in this cut. He takes the basic elements but whereas the original slowly introduces the percussions, ANFS bangs straight in. It’s structured yet frantic and a massive sound.

‘Verdigris’ is due for release on 17th May 2019 under the mysterious Swiss label Thrènes, that is known for eye-catching signature artwork and a deep and dark techno sound.

It’s no secret that in recent years Brazil has become a breeding ground of sorts for Dirtybird talent, and two artists at the top, Bruno Furlan & DJ Glen, come together for the massive “Another Planet” EP.

Truly sounding like they were made in a studio from a different world, both the title tracks and the flip side, “Ducking”, will stop your feet in your tracks when you hear it, and then get them going full speed when it comes back end.

Colossal basslines, mammoth breakdowns and a bunch of extra terrestrial sounds and rhythms make this one of our most unique releases of the year, and will surely be on of the biggest.

Transparent Sound founder Orson Bramley and now solo artist delivers a powerful come back in 2019 with a strem of stong releases coming on Orson. Electrix and Pressure Traxx. Calling on Maltese producer ACIDULANT for remix. This is set to be another Transparent Sound Classic. stay tune for album release dates sets....

Dark Star Safari, a newly formed group featuring Samuel Rohrer, Jan Bang, Erik Honoré and Eivind Aarset, present its eponymous recording debut, an evocative song-driven album. These songs conjure shadows of memory, clouds of dreaming and silhouettes of foreboding through the album’s layered, many-textured fabrics and Jan Bang's silken delivery of Erik Honoré's acute lyrics. Dark Star Safari is the work of four kindred spirits, their open modus operandi, and a remarkably interconnected creative nerve system. Key to their collaboration is an organic freedom that enables the music “to fill itself in", to be self-actualizing via the musicians as medium. The music of the 10 songs resulted from a two-stage process: an initial phase of free flowing open improvi- sation, and a subsequent exploratory phase where hidden potenti- als were discovered and nurtured. The groundwork of the album’s music originates from a session initiated by Samuel Rohrer, who invited Jan Bang and Eivind Aarset to the renowned Candy Bomber studio in Berlin. The ses- sion was run under the imaginative craftsmanship of sound engi- neer Ingo Krauss, who worked in the famous Conny Plank stu- dio, and its recording and mixing employed sophisticated use of vintage analogue equipment alongside cutting edge digital pro- cesses. This meeting opened the door for something larger to emerge. The group did not settle for just the outcome of the initi- al open improvisation. They were driven to dig deeper, to atten- tively examine and manipulate the material, in order to discover what it had to offer. This caused a creational chain reaction, forcefully spreading across the group. During this second phase, Jan Bang, while meditating upon the possibilities and reach of the improvised material, felt a strong urge to give additional shape and colour to it by singing. Thus, he organically stepped into the role of vocalist, a role he had not pursued since the early days of his musical career. He sent the results to Erik Honoré, who immediately was inspired by its po- tential, quickly penning lyrics and providing the project with its name. Honoré composed two additional songs, Mordechai and Fault Line, and thus rounded the project out towards a fully reali- zed opus. The group continued this back and forth process, with Samuel Rohrer and Eivind Aarset bringing in fine-tuning and e nrichment to the song structures and textures.

French modern-classical quartet astrïd return on May 10th with the first part of a new release entitled A Porthole.

Conceptually the two records work in unison, focusing on portholes into the abyss, with part one delving into the depths of the deep sea. The tracks are named after various strains of seaweed, the artwork depicting dark waves and uncertainty. Part two will follow in a years time and will turn its attention to the night sky and constellations.

A Porthole continues astrïd’s signature style of billowing guitars, strings and woodwind. Each element intertwined with another, linked perfectly together through restrained jazz-tinged percussion. 2017’s highly-acclaimed release ‘Through the Sparkle’ with renowned pianist Rachel Grimes (of Rachels) set the bar extremely high for this release but astrïd have matched the depth, melody and quality of that record here.

Part one of this journey features some sublime compositions with Cyril Secq’s expressive and bold guitar playing carrying the pieces into chamber music territory, joined seamlessly by a variety of other instruments that swell and soar and fit perfectly into the story being told. Everything seems to have its place, nothing is overplayed or out of step here, there is an organic nature to the way this quartet plays and interacts with one another as melodies circle back and fade away in the same beautiful breath.

A Porthole is a deeply charming record, exercising glorious, nuanced refrain and offering a sort of hope rarely found in music these days.

• Aqua blue vinyl - limited to 300 copies w/ download code

• The album was mastered by Harris Newman (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tindersticks etc)

• The artwork is extracted from an original one of a kind monotype print by Gizeh overlord Richard Knox.

What to say about THE PRESENT MOMENT? they are just one of the best synthwave bands of XXI century, and everyone knows that, maybe that's why some of their previous releases are being sold at obscene prices. After 5 years of painful silence, they are coming back with their 4th studio album, probably their most professional studio project to date, a very mature production where they play with their usual raw synthpop and ebm style but as well with more italo synthesque and even progressive rock ambiences. A truly masterpiece from any point of view. All tracks have been specially mastered for LONG CUT vinyl by Eric Van Wonterghem at Prodam Berlin.