quête:back 2 back

Enigmatic producer Waxwood has a genuinely global outlook. Born in Russia, resident in Brooklyn and a regular visitor to Los Angeles, he can often be found jetting off to far-fung parts of the World in order to make feld recordings and immerse himself in different musical cultures.
You can hear these disparate global infuences and inspirations in
Waxwood's frst single for Claremont 56, which comes on the back of a near legendary 2015 cassette for NYC's Styles
Upon Styles, Sahasraha, which magically fused tropical hand
percussion and densely layered feld recordings with lilting ambient chords, hypnotic electronic rhythms and all manner of intoxicating
aural fourishes. 'Kama' is a slightly different beast from its' predecessor, with a sunny disposition and laidback breeziness throughout. Although underpinned
by a sturdy kick-drum pattern, its chiming melodies and metallic
percussion fourishes - reminiscent of indigenous music from far-
fung nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia - combine with gentle acoustic guitar motifs and waves of acid-esque electronics to create a beguiling and life-affrming mood. It offers more proof that Waxwood is a producer with a unique musical vision. The track's inherent gentle breeziness is explored in greater detail on the accompanying remix, which has been provided by Phantom Island regulars Fuga Ronto (AKA Swiss musicians/producers Ron Shiller and Tobi Schweizer). Riffng on Waxwood's original, they've added superb new vocals and instrumentation - think dreamy harmonies, tumbling synthesizer melodies and mesmerizing guitar parts - to create a sunset-friendly Balearic revision that's both stunningly beautiful and dazzlingly sun-kissed.

The remarkable thing about BELP's new album is its two-dimensional function. It works both on a loud and a quiet volume. Some tracks would go down well as a club track, like opener 'Travelling Thru Galaxies'. This track brings back memories of the best work released on the Hyperdub label, with it's fine combination of synths and irresistible, dubby beats. Elsewhere, 'Off Ending' might start off as 'dancehall-but-not-quite dancehall' track but when half way the synths kick in they change the feeling of the track to a more cerebral level.

BELP is the artist name of Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer. Born in Munich, he partially grew up on the Seychelles islands off the coast of East Africa. Educated in classical piano, those two gravitational poles, European and African influences, form the basis for his musical development. Currently he has close ties to the (dub) Sausage Studio in Hackney, London. In his hometown Munich, the Bavarian capital, BELP took a central role in a series of discussions and events aiming to improve the image and possibilities of Munich, which to his regret is a predominantly posh and hedonistic city where optimistic and uplifting music take central role.

In different guises Schnitzenbaumer works as a much needed antidote. Since 2013 he runs the Schamoni label, focusing on supporting local artists like Leroy and Protein. Its sublabel Jahmoni is responsible for recent works by international artists like Aaron Spectre and DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess.

BELP's music is dark, serious and layered. His love for dub and dancehall shines through in his broken beats. At the same time the synth layered tracks give the album an atmospheric feeling.

This also is what makes this album essential: it's refusal to be pigeonholed. The last track on side A, 'By Beauteous Softness', is an a cappella rendition of a 17th century Henry Purcell piece, beautifully sung by Alexander Schneider. This track is preceded by 'Transmission', which is a brilliant abstract work, sounding like wind closing on you from all sides. And you can sip a cocktail whilst listening to the jazzy 'Time And Again' (BELP once worked as a jazz pianist).

It's clear to hear BELP took a long time recording this album. Every note, synth, drum beat, is carefully placed. But what the album might lack on spontaneity it more than compensates this with its sheer musical beauty. This also reflects on the abstract sleeve, like 'Elephants' designed by BELP himself.

Enjoy this album on big speakers, as background music or simply on headphones. There will always be new sounds and layers to be discovered!

Crosstown Rebels celebrate their fifteenth year with their monumental 200th release. American DJ and producer Arthur Baker reunites with Rockers Revenge for the first time in thirty years. To complete the package, dance music heavyweights Francois K and Michael Mayer take on remix duties.

On A Mission is exactly that, 'a mission of love, a mission of peace'. The positive vocals hark back to those of early 90s house tracks, which created unity through music and clubbing. The rhythmic beat of the drum is determined, as percussive layers build and the vocals bleed into the synths. Francois K provides two variations of the track. His remix features more prominent drumbeats driven by a growling bassline. On his rockers dub version, Francois goes all out and dubs us into the stratosphere. Up next is the Michael Mayer remix, with a more electronic take on the original with driving synths and a whirring, throbbing bass-line.

Created in 1982, Rockers Revenge was the brainchild of Arthur Baker and Donnie Calvin. Donnie provided lead vocals with Baker's wife, Tina B, Dwight Hawkes and Adrienne Dupree Johnson on backing vocals. Their most prominent track, Walking On Sunshine, was a post-disco hit reaching #1 in the US dance charts and #4 in the UK charts.

Three years ago Baker and Hawkes reconnected through social media with Baker sending through his original Mission idea. Baker is known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, and New Order whilst also remixing the Pet Shop Boys' 1986 hit In The Night. Fast forward to 2018 and the group performed a monumental live show at Get Lost Miami, and are currently in the studio working on new material. This Summer they will shoot a new documentary and perform live at various events.

Greensleeves classic dancehall re-issue on vinyl 12 inch backed with "Trench Town School"

Lowfish is back! The electro veteran, who's been programming 808s since the early '90s, returns to Suction Records, the label he co-founded and debuted on in 1997, for his first release since 2011. This is suction046 - the 'Hypersensitivity' EP. It's been a while, but as the sprinkling of Lowfish compilation appearances - on labels like Analogical Force and Fundamental Records - over the intervening years have shown, Lowfish isn't interested in radical changes; it's all about quality and consistency. Flawlessly produced 808 drums, meticulously processed for maximum slam, combine with Lowfish's trademark synthesizer melodies and heavily-manipulated dialogue samples... best heard on standout cuts 'Apr294ms' - a melodic techno/electro dancefloor killer - and 'Favourable Reports' - a slice of 808 synthpop with melodic nods to vintage OMD and Gary Numan.

Fresh on Francis Harris' Kingdoms imprint comes Rasmus Juncker's 'Ophold' - six tracks of sublime atmospheres and textures. The Danish musician, sound composer and DJ fits perfectly with the label's aesthetic, joining the dots between ambient, leftfield electronica and modern classical.

Juncker has a background in studying jazz drumming and has been playing improvised music within the jazz domain for many years. He also started to DJ at the age of 14 and was introduced to the world of electronic music production at the same time.

When Rasmus started to think about his debut album he spent several months trying to find his own way to combine his favourite musical influences, improvisation, electronics and classical music. 'Almost a year later', Juncker says, "I went to a sensory deprivation floating tank in Copenhagen while researching for another performance and while I was lying there, floating in the water, deprived from most of my senses, I got the idea to do something drastic in my musical process. Philosophers like Immanuel Kant describe this deprived state as a mental 'Cesura', which became some sort of guideline for the album."

So Juncker decided to start working on the album by leaving the process as well as the final result completely open. 'I wanted to create sounds and music that I had no idea what they would sound like, but would feel like a mental 'Cesura', an 'Ophold' (in Danish)' he states.

He invited musicians, one after the other, to his studio. "I had an electronic musician to improvise patterns and new interesting sounds based on my experience in the deprivation tank. I chose some of the takes and some weeks later I invited a jazz guitarist to listen and improvise on top of what he heard. Then a classical string quartet and a double bass player came to my studio months later, and finally I recorded myself on percussion and drums.

Throughout the recording process I've been experimenting with special microphones in various setups, used noises from the recordings and the room became absolutely essential for the pieces." Juncker states.

"The material I used was all first take improvision which I arranged, layered and edited into compositions. The final pieces were mixed by Andreas Pallisgaard with the same improvised and experimental approach of the recording and the production. None of the musician met each other, but their sounds developed into something completely fantastic I think. The presence of the acoustic instruments and the depth and complexity of the synthesized layers gave some kind of an indescribable sounding music from another galaxy.

Track by track:

'Norddrum' starts proceedings - ethereal, grainy sounds merge and disassociate, as a distant rhythm gradually finds its way to the fore.

The second track, 'Sora' , clocking in at under 2 minutes, is an interlude full of strings, pads, and percussive hits, rich in feeling. This strong sense of sound design and seemingly disparate sounds woven together into a whole carries through into 'Eksotisk Tirsdag' - the strings, plucked instruments and electronics harking back to 4th world adventurers like Jon Hassel and Brian Eno.

'Cyklus' dives into drone textures, pulsing and modulating to create an unearthly soundtrack.

'Havekunst' is another 2 minutes interlude, this time bringing a fully charged rhythmic barrage to the front.

'Cesura', the final track is in essence the EP's centerpiece - a sprawling 8 minute journey that traverses tense, fibrous sections and on into pulsing modular passages, before opening up into glorious moments of wonder and brightness. It's a hugely bold yet fragile endeavour, in line with the whole release.

'Your mind makes it real.' - Ahwlee Vital Sales Points: Extensive Global Sticker Promo Campaign Special Bonus Tracks Release Full-Life April 2018 (digital only) Life2 Quotes : 'Once you press play you want to listen to it from front to back.' - Danny Veekens (The Find Mag) 'Life2 embodies the essence of the ancestors. The marriage of his kicks, snares and hi hats with those lush soul chops reminds me of the first time I fell in love with hip hop.

'Madrid Fue Una Ciudad Mundial' compiles four of the most important Spanish electronic projects from the 80's. A compilation released in cooperation with a show organised in Madrid last May, 18th where Aviador Dro, Flash Cero, Azul y Negro and Esplendor Geométrico played together for the very first time.Aviador Dro offers two unpublished early recordings from 1981. Flash Cero includes an unreleased song recorded back in 1987. Azul y Negro collaborates with a demo version of their cult classic 'La Torre de Madrid' from 1981. And Esplendor Geométrico give us a couple of live tracks recorded in 1989 for the first time available on vinyl

Twenty-eight Years Ago, Pissed-off Twelve-year-olds Around The Universe Discovered A New Planet, A Black Planet. Public Enemy's Aggressive, Benihana Beats And Incendiary Lyrics Instilled Fear Among Parents And Teachers Everywhere, Even In The Border Town Of Laredo, Texas, Home Of The Future Founders Of The Latin-funk-soul-breaks Super Group, Brownout. The Band's Sixth Full-length Album (out May 25th) Fear Of A Brown Planet Is A Musical Manifesto Inspired By Public Enemy's Music And Revolutionary Spirit.

Chuck D., The Bomb Squad, Flava Flav And The Rest Of The P.e. Posse Couldn't Possibly Have Expected That Their Golden-era Hip Hop Albums Would Sow The Seeds For Countless Public Enemy Sleeper Cells, One That Would Emerge Nearly Three Decades Later In Austin, Texas. Greg Gonzalez (bass) Remembers A Kid Back In Junior High Hipped Him To The Fact That Public Enemy's bring The Noise' Is Built On James Brown Samples, While A Teenaged Beto Martinez (guitar) Alternated Between Metal And Hip-hop In His Walk-man, And Adrian Quesada (guitar/keys) Remembers Falling In Love With Public Enemy's Sound At An Early Age. when I Got Into Hip Hop, I Was Looking For This Aggressive Outlet . . . And I Didn't Even Understand What They Were Pissed Off About, Because I Was Twelve And Lived In Laredo . . . But I Loved It And I Felt Angry Along With Them.'

Joseph Abajian (fat Beats' Owner) Must Have Sensed The Deep Hip-hop Well Lying Beneath The Versatile Band's Latin-funk Veneer. i Thought Their Sound Would Work Covering Public Enemy Songs,' Abajian Says, And, it Was Good To Know They Were P.e. Fans . . . We Came Up With A Track Listing And They Went To Work.' Despite The Band's Eagerness To Work On New Original Material (an Album Of Original Songs Is Slated For Next Year), They Couldn't Pass Up The Opportunity To Pay Homage To This Iconic And Influential Posse.

Translating Sample-based Music To A Live Band Turned Out To Be More Of A Challenge Than They Anticipated. Adrian Tried To Get Inside The Bomb Squad's (public Enemy's Producers/beat-making Team) Head In Order To Find The Inspiration To Reinterpret P.e.'s Songs: imagine The Bomb Squad Going Back In Time And Getting The J.b.s (james Brown's Funky Backing Band) In The Studio And Setting Up A Couple Analog Synths And Then Playing Those Songs.' While Some Songs Closely Follow The Original Musical Blueprint, Others Use The Source Breakbeats As Jumping-off Points Later Sweetened By Trombonist Mark speedy' Gonzales' Horn Arrangements, Synth Wizardry Courtesy Of Friend-of-the-band Peter Stopschinski, And Dj Trackstar's Turntable Scratches. But Don't Listen Expecting To Hear Paint-by-numbers Recreations Of Classic Public Enemy Jams. our Approach Is Never In The Tribute Sense,' Adrian Explains. we've Always Taken It And Made It Our Own, Whether It's The Brown Sabbath Thing Or This Public Enemy Thing.' Coming Off Numerous Tours As Brown Sabbath And Even A Stint Backing The Late Legend Prince, Brownout Is Arguably The Tightest And Funkiest Band On The Road Today And They're Psyched To Bring This Revolutionary Music To The People. For A Band Without An Overt Political Agenda, They Collectively Couldn't Resist The Opportunity To Play This Music Live, Especially Now. if There's Any Way That We Can Use The Already Political And Protest Nature (of P.e.'s Music), We Would Like To Try,' Beto Says. the Album's Title, Fear Of Brown Planet Is Definitely A Relevant Idea Today And We're Not Afraid To Put It Out There, Because We Want To Speak Out.' By Reinterpreting These Hip Hop Classics In Their Unique Style And Channeling The Spirit Of Public Enemy That First Echoed Around The World And Captured Their Imaginations All Those Years Ago, Brownout Is Doing Exactly That.

Melancholic, wistful Rhodes chords float beneath Sarah Williams White's trademark vocal harmonics before delving into a deeply moving bass led melody that gets right under the skin. Something very special to get us excited about the new Jonny Drop LP.
Backed with an exceptional, bumping remix from the ever extraordinary Julien Dyne.

Moral Fiber sub-label Souzou is back with it's second release. 'Freedom (SZ002)' is an exclusive EP by Sander Ellerman (Jelly Beast Recordings). As a regular on Souzou's counterpart Moral Fiber, Sander Ellerman is known for his delicate tunes, subtle changes and well thought-out transitions. With three brand new original tracks he perfectly displays the label's bass-driven, minimalistic techno sound. Nima Gorji delivers a penetrating remix for title track Freedom.

Max Loderbauer, who has so far made consistently engaging contributions to the Arjunamusic family, is back to lend his unique interpretive skills to the master recordings for the Brightbird album by João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Mário Franco and Samuel Rohrer. Loderbauer has set himself up for a chal- lenge, since the original album's completely improvised flow of small-ensemble, conversational jazz feels complete enough without outside intervention. However, Loderbauer's role as electronics operator in the similarly attuned Ambiq trio has already shown that, through his mastery of tone color, he has a talent for teasing out the additional hidden details within an apparently 'complete' sonic environment. It's a task he mana- ges to accomplish without ever overriding or contradicting the cohesive message provided by his collaborators.

Adding to the challenge here, Loderbauer chooses to re- mix using only sounds from the original recordings. By doing so, it might seem he is willfully denying himself the chance to use his own signature tools and turn Brightbird's source materi- al into stunningly new electro-acoustic hybrid blooms. Yet Loderbauer succeeds here by becoming something more like a translator than an augmenter - he finds a way to make mea- ningful syntactical changes to the trio's rich and versatile vo- cabulary, and once again unveils a verdant world of hidden details in the process.

The A-side 'Trusting Heart/Cosmos' has an anxious tone introduced by a set of Doppler-effected piano notes that seem to melt in the sun, and is soon complemented by a va- riegated, chattering rhythm line. Here Loderbauer builds up a tactile tension between rhythmic certainty and sharp-angled, de-tuned, and occasionally scrambled instrumentation, framing a disorienting (yet engaging) virtual space where ob- jects' bright hues rapidly change as they contract and expand along multiple dimensions. For the b-side 'Noontide', Lo- derbauer switches to a more focused and streamlined idiom with an uncanny ease, riding along steady waves of sequencer patterning and silvery, resonant shiverings. Reverberating, ho- lographic piano again provides the tonal center here, and the notes ring with a forward-thinking optimism not far removed from classics of the 'Krautrock' era.

Current supporters of all the artists involved will find this to be an invigorating synopsis of their work to date, while newcomers will be treated to a soundworld where skillful fu- sion (the act itself, rather than the music genre with the same name) is constantly on display.

White Vinyl

Our dear friend Nick Anthony Simoncino is back on RAWAX!
We are very happy to present you the "Last Train to Tokyo EP".
In our opinion the best release so far

Brother And Sister Eric And Arrontette Mcclinton Had Been Recording For Many Years. Around 1976 They Did A 45 Release Together On Honey Records Called "where You Are" Under The Their Christian Names, Although Eric Was Spelled Eryke! The Single Didn't Have Much Success But Both Brother And Sister Still Went On To Be Amazing Backing Singers Working For Legendary Producers Mike Theodore And Dennis Coffey. Whilst They Were Under The Watchful Eye Of The Production Team They Recorded Some Material Again And A Duo For Theo/coff In A Bid To Get Them Another Record Deal And Show Their Capabilities. These Songs Never Got Releases. Eric Became And Prolific Song Writer And Also Joined The Group High Fashion .
We Are Super Pleased To Finally Release The Shelved Songs From 1978.
This In One Of Two Releases By The Duo.

The third release on the sister label, NEW YORK TRAX Imports, comes from the legendary Dutch producer and founder of one of the most eclectic underground record labels, Vincent Koreman aka Drvg Cvltvre of New York Haunted. Since 2009, Drvg Cvltvre has been working on his own blend of dystopian acid, no wave, and experimental house. Respected in the international underground for his groundbreaking work in experimental techno as RA-X in the 90's on labels like Bunker and KK Records, Drvg Cvltvre comes from a DIY punk background and opts for hard work rather than hollow pose. The 4-track EP for NEW YORK TRAX Imports is an accurate representation of his style: dark and melancholic, but also uncompromisingly intense.

After a first EP, Chasse is coming back with a new release on Javi Frias label 'Night Shift Records' including 4 groovy tracks. Influenced by the old school sounds of Chicago, the duo offer us a powerful and disco EP, where sampling is at its peak. Their efficient beats mixed with samples from disco to funk make us remember the old times of House music. Once again, the belgian boys got the job done!

Presenting 'Envelope'. Album written, produced & mixed by Milan W. and pressed on 180g vinyl, by Ekster. Coming out on the 6th of June 2018, with foil-stamped cover-drawing by Gerard Herman. Mastered & cut by Helmut Erler at Dubplates & Mastering.
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Milan W (AKA Milan Warmoeskerken) is an Antwerp-based musician. In 2015 he released the Slo Mo cassette, on local label JJ Funhouse. The Intact LP a year later. Compositions constructed from gentle, yet persistent, rhythms. Intricately textured downtempo echoes. Brain-dancing, rather than four-to-the-floor raving. 2017`s split with Ekolalis, for The Hague`s BAKK, made clear the direction Milan`s headed in. His contribution being a seventeen minute float. The kick largely removed. The textures cut-up, expanded and magnified. Envelope, for Ekster, builds on this work.

The harlequin turns the handle. The contraption sucks in air, and breathes. Blows out tone poems. Wordless ballads that soundtrack enchanted scenarios. Issues forth magic. A sorcerer`s apprentice casting its spell. Animating the inanimate. To everything a life. Sets the frozen fluttering. Pirouetting in red shoes. Illuminates what was dark. Astma sings a Gamelan lullaby. Summons comforting angels to a post-Industrial landscape. Glaasjes has Jazz ghosts inhabit an empty bar room. Spirits stealing excuse-me`s under its deserted spot. In Limbo amplifies their whispers. Lead soldiers court jewellery-box ballerinas behind shuttered shop fronts. On Heraldic Snippets, a tin infantry marches. Ten thousand men up to the top, and back down again. Keys make-believing that they are massed brass and fife.

The bellows pump, and the pipes all the while wheezing. An automaton philharmonic at the bidding of a steam-punk master. Analogue and digital. Clockwork and glitch. Malady finds sounds isolated, extrapolated, mutated. Orchestral`s organ-grinder moves with urgency, and alchemy. Spinning straw into gold. Snare rolls become bubbling mercury. Metallic, yet fluid. Racing at the speed of flight and escape. Slope is the music of water chasing through crystal caves. Slow Runner, a funeral crawl. Shoved into motion by a drama of strings remembered.
Like the charismatic Rat-Catcher of Hamelin, the harlequin turns the handle, and we bang the cup.

Surface are back after a 5 year break with the first 65d Mavericks ep in over ten years ! With many struggles, false dawns and respectfully one man down, the long-awaited return of the 65d Mavericks shocks and awes with output as bizarre as ever!
Included are 4 deviations of the techno template, ranging from the spoken word rage of False Prophets on 'Notions of Progress' to the insane techno jazz workout of A2's 'Cosmic Drift'. 'You Lost Your Mind' goes abstract with live bass guitar and vocals while B2's 'Immovable (Dub)' throws down the angry man dub vibe.
Rebelling against the safety of the current scene and pushing the sound once more, expect more far out Surface releases from friends like Claude Young, Rich Oddie and new project 'The Downfall of Society' (Simon Shreeve + Nick Dunton) amongst others in the coming months.

Face Time is the second release from the trio of Oren Ambarchi, Kassel Jaeger, and James Rushford, following on from their 2016 debut Pale Calling. Recorded at the GRM studios in Paris in June 2017, the record immediately returns to the idiosyncratic sound-world of the trio's first release, a simmering stew of electronic smears, pitched-down animal moans, and mysteriously emotive microtonal organ chords. But before long the record takes an unexpected turn, as sounds that initially enter as occasional percussive pitter-patter build to a halting rhythm. Equally reminiscent of Basic Channel-style dub techno and the sound of a microphone loose in a pocket, these stumbling rhythmic figures provide the framework for the remainder of the record's two sides, occasionally receding into the background to allow squelching electronics, chiming bells, distorted autoharp, inchoate grunts and the sound of a Cristal Baschet to take centre stage, but each time returning with the inevitability of a an idée fixe.

Eschewing any clear sense of form, the two side-long pieces move seamlessly through episodes with the organic flow of improvisation, embracing the happy accidents of events conjoined by chance and lingering on liminal moments. Gradually washing out into a cavernous roar, the record's final moments are suddenly enlivened by shimmering metallic percussion and a sequence of woozy synth chords, combining with the muted rhythms and a distant thunderstorm to become a sort of oneiric tribute to the work of Wally Badarou. Bringing together three of contemporary experimental music's most individual voices, Face Time is an essential slice of outsider electro-acoustics. Cover design by Stephen O'Malley. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin.

Back in stock!

Kornél Kovács Debuts On Unknown To The Unknown With Three Original Cuts - Reportedly Named After Legendary Nightlife Spots Remembered From The Studio Barnhus Man's Years Spent As An Underage Clubber In Stockholm, Sweden. Loud, Proud And Slightly Subversive Club Music For All The Daredevil Djs Out There.

Recorded in the Autumn of 2017 at their studio in Vancouver's Deep Blue, MVX / U41A' is the first new music from Minimal Violence to be released on Ninja Tune's Technicolor imprint and the first to be recorded outside their usual home production space. The result is a record that intends to reduce pop music to its emotive qualities and apply that abstract nostalgia back into dance tracks. Their penchant for the heavier and more aggressive side of dance music is most evident in its infiltration of the duo's often raw and disorientating live set. Formed in 2015 the duo, consisting of Ashlee Luk and Lida P, have a string of releases to date with labels such as Lobster Theremin, 1080p and Jungle Gym Records. Drawing on Luk's years of experience playing in punk bands, they combine hardware sequencers, drum machines and synths, to weave together acid tinged compositions that derive inspiration from early electronic and minimal synth through to heavier UK rave and hardcore.

* Following on from last year's debut release on Cold Recordings, Cocktail Party Effect makes a welcome return to the imprint with 4 new genre-melting rhythmical workouts, charged and ready for the dancefloor.

* 'Lemons', the eponymous EP title track, kicks things off, opening with dubbed-out chords and a fidgety, rattling percussive loop which eventually disappears into the background as the breakdown primes itself for the drop. Suddenly, in comes a hyperactive rhythmical workout, rolling at 128bpm but turbo charged with double time percussive flicks. Soon the dub elements return to fill out the sonic, keeping the pace lively and engaging. Quality, effective dancefloor music.

* Following straight on is 'Bangers' which almost sounds like an imagined collaboration between JA rhythms stars of the moment, Equiknoxx and Walton or Batu. Squelchy drums and a t'umping bassline roll things out in fine style.

* Flip the plate then for 'Quite' which brings things back into slightly more familiar territories, utilising a swooping bassline as pitched, deranged vocal stabs swirl about and tight drum programming keeps the pace moving. Last up is 'Flat Football' which returns to a similar form as the title track, 'Lemons'. Manic drum programming is used to create the impression of being in fast forward without moving the tempo over 130bpm! Not for the faint hearted.

African Scream Contest 2

A great compilation can open the gate to another world. Who knew that some of the most exciting Afro-funk records of all time were actually made in the small West African country of Benin Once Analog Africa released the first African Scream Contest in 2008, the proof was there for all to hear, gut-busting yelps, lethally well- drilled horn sections and irresistibly insistent rhythms added up to a record that took you into its own space with the same electrifying sureness as any favourite blues or soul or funk or punk sampler you might care to mention.

Ten years on, intrepid crate-digger Samy Ben Redjeb unveils a new treasure- trove of Vodoun-inspired Afrobeat heavy funk crossover greatness. Right from the laceratingly raw guitar fanfare which kicks o Les Sympathics' pile-driving opener, it's clear that African Scream Contest II is going to be every bit as joyous a voyage of discovery as its predecessor. And just as you're trying to get o the canvas after this one-punch knock out, an irresistible Afro-ska romp with a more than subliminal echo of the Batman theme puts you right back there. Ignace De Souza and the Melody Aces' Asaw Fofor" would've been a killer instrumental but once you've factored in the improbably-rich-to-the-point-of-being-Nat-King-Cole-influenced lead vocal, it's a total revelation.

The screaming does not stop there, in fact it's only just beginning. But the

strange thing about African Scream Contest II's celebration of unfettered Beninese creativity is that it would not have been possible without the assistance of a musician who had been trained by the Russian secret services to "search and destroy" enemies of the country's (then) Marxist-Leninist president Mathieu Kerekou.

Already familiar to fans of the first African Scream Contest as a mainstay of ruthlessly disciplined military band Les Volcans de la Capitale, Lokonon André vanished in a cloud of dust at Ben Redjeb's behest with a list of names and some petrol money, only to return a few days later having miraculously tracked down every single name he'd been given. The source of this Afrobeat bounty-hunter's impressive people-finding skills - his training with the KGB - highlights the tension between encroaching authoritarian politics and fearless expressions of personal creative freedom which is the back-story of so much great African music of the 60s and 70s. Happily, in this instance, Lokonon was tracking the artists down to oer them licensing deals, rather than to arrest them.

Where some purveyors of vintage African sounds seem to be strip-mining the

continent's musical heritage with no less rapacious intent than the mining companies and colonial authorities who previously extracted its mineral wealth, Samy Ben Redjeb's determination to track this amazing music to its human sources pays huge karmic dividends.

Like every other Analog Africa release, African Scream Contest II is illuminated by meticulously researched text and eortlessly fashion-forward photography supplied by the artists themselves. Looming large - alongside Lokonon André - in the cast of biopic-worthy characters to emerge from this seductive tropical miasma is visionary space-nerd Bernard Dohounso, who laid the foundations for Benin's vinyl predominance by importing and assembling the turntables that would play the products of his Bond villain-acronymed pressing plant SATEL, a factory that would revolutionise the music industry in the whole region.

The scene documented here couldn't have been born anywhere else but in the Benin Republic , and the prime reason for that is Vodoun. It's one of the world's most complex religions, involving the worship of some 250 divinities, where each divinity has its own specific set of rhythms, and the bands introduced on the African Scream Contest series and other compilations from that country were no less diverse than that army of dierent Gods. At once restless pioneers and masters of the art of modernising their own folklore, the mystic sound of Vodoun was their prime source of inspiration.

One especially irascible Vodoun-adept was Antoine Dougbe, who styled himself The devil's prime minister' while turning ancestral rhythms into satanically alluring modern beats. As Orchestre Poly-Rythmo songwriter Pynasco has observed sagely, Evil is not elsewhere, evil extends into the house'. And African Scream Contest II is a gloriously cinematic road-trip through an undiscovered realm of music lore whose familiarity is every bit as thrilling as its otherness.

Written by Ben Thomson, March 2018

Mgun, Or Manuel Gonzales To His Friends, Has Long Been A Fixture Artist For Dba. Since Making His Uk Debut On The Label In 2012, Having Already Featured On Detroit's Celebrated Wild Oats Imprint, He Has Smoothly Yet Slowly Progressed Through The Presses Of Fellow Dance Music Tastemakers Third Ear Recordings And Kiev's Wicked Bass. Following 2016's Warmly Received 'gentium', 'axiom' Finds Manuel Gonzales Back On Dba With An Index Of Offbeat Jams That Couldn't Have Emerged From The Mind Or Studio Of Any Other Producer.

Once More Envisioned And Engineered In His Native City Of Detroit, The Record Finds Mgun In More Auspicious And Domestic Circumstances. Now Firmly A Father And A Homeowner, 'axiom' Allows Gonzales To Flex His Party Muscle, While Further Pushing The Elastic Boundaries Of His Notoriously Unpredictable And Brilliantly Raw Production Style. Across Twelve Tracks, Listeners Are Offered An Unpredictable Trip Into The Restlessly Experimental Snatches Of Studio Time Gonzales Is Afforded Away From His Day Job At The Legendary People's Records Store. It's Here That Gonzales Absorbs Endless Releases And Rediscoveries Passing Through The Stock, Trading The Occasional Tip With Some Of Detroit's Best Known Producers.

Beginning With The Off-kilter Funk Of 'you Inside Me', 'axiom' Expertly Toes The Line Between Full-bodied, Soulful Club Weapons ('you're Never Home', 'nichrome'), And The Sort Of Lo-fi Tinged Jams That Enable Gonzales's Unusual Weirder Hooks And Rhythms To Extend Into Something Altogether More Hypnotic And Psychedelic ('kartwheel', 'sil').

There Are New Sounds And Approaches Throughout. Centrepiece Track 'see It For Myself' Finds Gonzales On Vocal Duties For The First Time, And The Dystopian Tinted 'vap' Finds His Sound Expanding Into Weightless, Dreamlike Electro. And While Certain Tracks Date Back Years, Having Slowly Matured To Full Funk, Others, Such As The Gloriously Unhinged '359' Were Rapidly Produced To Capture The Inspiring Energy Of A Late-night Glaswegian Rave.

Simply Put, 'axiom' Does The Work Of Representing Mgun At His Musical Best, An Analogue Celebration Of Pure Party Potential.

Prairie is the project of multi-instrumentalist and producer Marc Jacobs, hailing from Brussels with roots in The Netherlands. He previously released an EP (I'm so in love I almost forgot I survived a Disaster - 2013) and an LP (Like a Pack of Hounds - 2015) on the Berlin imprint Shitkatapult. On stage, Prairie plays with two or three musicians and together they re-create a free association of musical ideas and atmospheres. Prairie has played in selected venues and festivals across Europe and toured with Apparat in 2016.If the apocalypse was painted in several layers of pastel gouache, its soundtrack might be PRAIRIE's Flash Flood. Listening to the album, we drift through a series of frozen landscapes that gesture at a post-apocalyptic ambience. This is a kind of blackened music that has been left to sediment, excavated from traces in ice core samples. Flash Flood showcases a deep sensitivity to narrative and rich cinematic textures as Marc Jacobs returns with palimpsestic sonic layers. It has been three years since PRAIRIE's last release—the 2015 Cormac McCarthy-inspired Like a Pack of Hounds—and it is clear that it has been several years of pensive reflection. Now, PRAIRIE takes the sentiment of his 2012 debut, I'm So In Love I Almost Forgot I Survived A Disaster, several steps further: it is after the apocalypse, and no one has survived. And yet with Flash Flood, we can hear the hum of this impossible future.

'After the Flash Flood' introduces the sonic ruins of distorted guitars, field recordings, drum programming and synths that create the textures of the entire album. The melancholic and subdued black metal churn of 'Raindeath' becomes the cold backdrop for unnerving, paranoiac speech. The third track, 'Sisters', foregrounds this coldness while slowly moving away toward alternate vistas where the acoustic timbres of the saz-driven 'A Permanent War Economy' take over. 'Underwater Body Hunting' and 'Rabid Ibrahim' are hard hitting beat-oriented tracks that insist on burning slow. There is a patience with PRAIRIE's FLASH FLOOD that is difficult to deny. The lamentation of 'Elephants Will Rise Again' perhaps signals that it is not only the human that is lost after catastrophe. The album closes with 'Hard Water: Cracked Ice' and 'Hayashi Clock'. The former is a beautiful coalescence of clean harmonious tones and softly overdriven drums, while the latter brings us back to a meditative state, drifting through the final pastel tapestry.

"... his cosmos is located somewhere between Bohren & der Club of Gore and Sunn O))), ambient is as familiar to him as brachial sounds, and he is as much acquainted with guitars as with synths and modern technology" (GROOVE)

"... Like Ben Frost, (Prairie) exudes a certain harshness while tempering his work with moments of sublime beauty. This isn't club material, it's music for the hammer in one's hand, the confrontation of the demon, the soul-shattering revelation." (A Closer Listen)

Raga Abhogi
1) Alap
2) Jod
3) Jhala

Raga Vardhani
4) Alap
5) Jod
6) Jhala

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar : rudra veena
Annie Penta : tanpura

Concert recorded at the home of Shantha and Niranjan B. Benegal, Seattle, Washington 9 March 1986.
Recorded by Niranjan Benegal. Files obtained from Jeff Lewis.
Mastered & Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering 1117 & 0318.

Liner notes by Renaud Brizard, edited by Stephen O'Malley & Ian Christe.
Front and back cover photos by unknown.
Interior photography by Niranjan B. Benegal, Dan Neuman & unknown, Seattle 1978-1980. .

Around ten years ago, deep into a cozy and hazy night following a concert with my sound brothers Daniel O'Sullivan and Kristoffer Rygg in London (as Æthenor), they graciously introduced me to a recording of rudra veena (a kind of noble deeper bass relative to the sitar, in a way) as performed by dhrupad master Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.

Dhrupad, for those who do not know, is a branch of Hindustani classical music said to "show the raga in its clearest and purest form". It's pacing concentrates heavily on the slow, contemplative alap section and works with specific microtonal gestures and deep characteristics of resonance ... in short I was hooked on this new (to me) and ancient form of music from the first listen, and feel that a more or less continual listening & reviewing of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's recordings in the years that followed have influenced my own approach to music quite heavily (if, albeit, indirectly).

In early 2015 I was able to make contact with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's son Bahauddin and some of his American students/disciples, primarily Jeff Lewis. Over time we developed a friendly and educational exchange, access a massive archive of recordings and developed these two paired titles for my label. It's been a long path to arrive at actually releasing them but also probably in many ways one of the most significant releases I've worked on. And I'm proud to be able to reveal these to date unreleased archival recordings of one of the masters of dhrupad, Z. M. Dagar, to the public for the first time.

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar was the nineteenth generation in a family tradition known as Dagar gharana, a rich lineage which continued and performed the musical form of dhrupad (Bahauddin Dagar continues the lineage as a master rudra veena dhrupad player of note today). Initially, dhrupad was a rigorous, austere, devotional genre that was sung in Hindu temples. But between the 16th and the 18th centuries, it became the preeminent genre in royal courts in North and Central India, and the Dagar gharana developed and continued publicly following the eventual loss of court patronage for dhrupad in the 19th century. The French ethnomusicologist Renaud Brizard covers the story of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's life and teaching (a long story also in Seattle, my hometown!), the Dagar family and gharana, the rudra veena and more topics in an extensive set of liner notes in this release.

Ragas Abhogi & Vardhani were recorded in a private house concert in Seattle at the home of the Benegals in March 1986 (the week before the accompanying release SOMA029 Raga Yaman was recorded). The Benegals were friends (& Shantha Benegal was also a student) of Dagarsahib who sometimes hosted Hindustani music concerts in their home. It's a rare glimpse of a more intimate, personal and perhaps different kind of performance considering the form of dhrupad.

-Stephen O'Malley, March 2018, Paris, France

Stephen O'Malley would like to especially thank Bahauddin Dagar, Jeff Lewis & Jody Stecher for their enthusiasm, cooperation, patience, insight & advice toward developing these editions. Thank you also to Laurel Sercombe & John Vallier from the University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives, Shantha Benegal, Philippe Bruguière, Dan Neuman, Ira Landgarten, Renaud Brizard, Ian Christe, Peter Rehberg, Rashad Becker, Daniel O'Sullivan & Kristoffer Rygg, all for their direct or indirect cooperation, assistance & patience.

Raga Yaman
1) Alap
2) Jod
3) Jhala
4) Gat (Composition in Chautal)

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar : rudra veena
Manik Munde : pakhawaj
Gayathri Rajapur & Annie Penta : tanpuras

Recorded by unknown at the University of Washington, HUB Auditorium, Seattle, Washington 15 March 1986 , concert co-sponsored by the UW Ethnomusicology Division and Ragamala.
Original digitally processed audio recording made with Panasonic PV-9000 VCR, Sony PCM-F1, PZM mics. Mastered & Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering 1117 & 0318.

Liner notes by Renaud Brizard, Stephen O'Malley & Ian Christe.
Front and back cover photos by Niranjan B. Benegal, Seattle Center Folklife Festival 1979. Elizabeth Reeke & Annie Penta on tanpuras.
Inner gatefold photography by Niranjan B. Benegal & Ira Landgarten.

Around ten years ago, deep into a cozy and hazy night following a concert with my sound brothers Daniel O'Sullivan and Kristoffer Rygg in London (as Æthenor), they graciously introduced me to a recording of rudra veena (a kind of noble deeper bass relative to the sitar, in a way) as performed by dhrupad master Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.

Dhrupad, for those who do not know, is a branch of Hindustani classical music said to "show the raga in its clearest and purest form". It's pacing concentrates heavily on the slow, contemplative alap section and works with specific microtonal gestures and deep characteristics of resonance ... in short I was hooked on this new (to me) and ancient form of music from the first listen, and feel that a more or less continual listening & reviewing of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's recordings in the years that followed have influenced my own approach to music quite heavily (if, albeit, indirectly).

In early 2015 I was able to make contact with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's son Bahauddin and some of his American students/disciples, primarily Jeff Lewis. Over time we developed a friendly and educational exchange, access a massive archive of recordings and developed these two paired titles for my label. It's been a long path to arrive at actually releasing them but also probably in many ways one of the most significant releases I've worked on. And I'm proud to be able to reveal these to date unreleased archival recordings of one of the masters of dhrupad, Z. M. Dagar, to the public for the first time.

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar was the nineteenth generation in a family tradition known as Dagar gharana, a rich lineage which continued and performed the musical form of dhrupad (Bahauddin Dagar continues the lineage as a master rudra veena dhrupad player of note today). Initially, dhrupad was a rigorous, austere, devotional genre that was sung in Hindu temples. But between the 16th and the 18th centuries, it became the preeminent genre in royal courts in North and Central India, and the Dagar gharana developed and continued publicly following the eventual loss of court patronage for dhrupad in the 19th century. The French ethnomusicologist Renaud Brizard covers the story of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's life and teaching (a long story also in Seattle, my hometown!), the Dagar family and gharana, the rudra veena and more topics in an extensive set of liner notes in this release.

Raga Yaman was recorded at a public concert in Seattle at the HUB Ballroom at the University of Washington in March 1986 (the week after the accompanying release SOMA028 Ragas Abhogi & Vardhani was recorded) at the end of his last tour of the United States. Yaman was a special raga for Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, one of his signature raags. For centuries, Yaman has been considered as one of the most fundamental ragas in Hindustani music and is one of the first ragas which is taught to students. A deep knowledge of Yaman gives a key for understanding many other ragas. It's filled with tranquility, contemplation, pathos and spiritual yearning. .

-Stephen O'Malley, March 2018, Paris, France

Bell Towers is finally back with a new record for Public Possession. IKEA HACK origi-nally produced for the runway, was too good not to explore further.
Once again perfectly showcasing BT`s abillity to transform emotions into melodies, bridging gaps between various musical influences - the revisited and extendend ver-sions presented here, will leave you with two choices: CHILLOUT & DANCE MIX. In ad-dition the material was handed over to Baba Stiltz, who delivered his very own more minimalistic, extremly hypnotic take on the IKEA HACK.

FINA Records welcome Jad & The for a new EP that shows off the Australian-born, Berlin-based producer's majestically melodic house sound. A special dub from 6th Borough Project makes this another essential release.

Before now Jad & The has served up tracks of the year ('Strings That Never Win' - Mixmag 2017), fronted four piece live act Mitzi—who played alongside the likes of Nile Rodgers—and also produced as Jad & The Ladyboy, all the while picking up fans like Moxie and Bradley Zero. Sonar Kollektiv and Toy Tonics have put out his charming sounds before and this new one is another joyous offering.

The feel good '2 Getha (4 Eva Mix)' kicks things of with old school drum breaks and loved-up vocals. Big smeared pads, a new age melody and classic bassline line finish it off and carry you away to summery house heaven. 'Twist Club' then drops into lush deep house with a long legged bassline tumbling beneath organic drums. It's a dreamy and romantic cut before 'Disco Hold Down' has live sounding jazz drums, choppy vocals and rough edges that take you to the heart of a vibe-fulled basement party. Delusions Of Grandeur's 6th Borough Project serve up a Dub that's more stripped back and built on a big rubber bassline. Jacking drums and a more rapturous vocal make it a truly steamy jam.

Buy the EP digitally and you get a bonus track, '2 Getha (Neva Mix)' which is another blissed out and rave tinged house cut which oozes pure euphoria. It closes out a brilliantly heartfelt EP of varied and vital house sounds.

Smoove & Turrell return with the first new single from their forthcoming album 'Mount Pleasant' - a storming double-A side with disco cut - 'You're Gone' and the gorgeous and ironic 'A Deckham Love Song'.

From the moment John Turrell heard label mate Izo FitzRoy's debut album "Skyline" he knew they had to work together and started adapting a song he was working on "You're Gone" with her in mind.

The result is an absolute ear worm of uplifting chic style instrumentation combined with haunting lyrics - disco dynamite delivered with feeling as John & Izo's vocals perfectly encapsulate the balance of frustration, pride and vulnerability present in a lovers argument.

The flipside is the undeniably pretty 'A Deckham Love Song' - a smooth slice of sublime songwriting with a Richard Hawley-esque tongue-in-cheek look back at a childhood spent in Deckham. The beautiful and sentimental imagery conjured up in the lyrics and tasteful musical arrangement inspired by Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka, ironically offsets the subject matter of a childhood growing up on an estate in the North East of England.

Following two previous excursions into degraded tape loops, fuzzed-out ambience and bittersweet moments of tenderness, O$VMV$M return to Idle Hands to complete a trilogy of LPs with 12 vignettes from the underbelly of the Bristol scene.

Bound to Young Echo's ever-swelling cult of wayward sonics, individually Amos 'Jabu' Childs and Sam 'Neek' Barrett have plenty of irons in the fire. Childs deals in forlorn, vocal-led introspection alongside Alex Rendall and Jasmine Butt as Jabu, while Barrett can be found laying down punishing modern grime variations alongside Kahn, or delving into more traditional soundsystem sonics in Gorgon Sound. Meanwhile the pair were clearly heard laying down some of the tones that seep out of the uncredited Young Echo collective LP from earlier this year. Their production work behind Rider Shafique's killerLion7" on Lavalava was unmissable, and their blunted beats behind Manonmars' debut LP are awaited with anticipation.

As O$VMV$M, the pair enter a particular sound world that mixes cosy nostalgia with creeping dread. Even at its most mellow, a sense of unease hovers beneath the surface, and that's what makes their approach so compelling. The sound palette is broad, from pitch-shifted RnB vocal licks to foggy trumpets crawling at half speed, but over it all a dense blanket of dust gives the sensation of peering back through time.

Putting paid to the idea that immersive music needs to be long and drawn out, the dose response on these condensed mood capsules is quick and strong. In a little over 20 minutes O$VMV$M take you far and wide. The trip over the past three LPs has been an adventure for both label and artists - Sam and Amos have shaped out a style that now feels like a fully formed entity independent of their other ventures. We look forward to seeing where O$VMV$M heads from here.

Acid Jazz is pleased to announce that it has teamed up with the legendary Fania Records for our latest 7 inch release.

June 1st will see us release Ray Barretto's Mercy Mercy Baby lifted from his classic album Acid produced by Harvey Averne.

It is backed by an astounding and previously unreleased instrumental version,which is longer than the released version and has a stunning trumpet solo making it a summer dance-floor cooker.

Released on a specially designed label, which pays tribute to the first Gold Fania labels, this will be limited to a run of a 1000.

A near-perfect record, White Magic was the lauded CD-only debut album by Sorcerer (Californian native Dan Judd, one half of Windsurf with Hatchback). Just in time for Spring/Summer, we present the first ever vinyl issue, released as a deluxe double LP.

Back in summer 2007, this majestic set gently nestled itself into the Balearic soundtrack-to-summer slot for many, making him a household name for Cosmic Disco heads alongside the likes of Lindstrom, Metro Area, Todd Terje, Mudd, Studio and Quiet Village. In the intervening years, exceptional producers have created vibrant variations on the dreamy, dubby, melodic nu-disco theme. Happily, the emergence of such luminaries as Jex Opolis, Harvey Sutherland, Suzanne Kraft, Tornado Wallace et al has only served to make the master - Sorcerer - sound ever more brilliant and vital.

Utilising his array of guitars, drum machines, synths, and trusty MPC, the loved-up Sorcerer sound inspires halcyon memories of warm days, endless sunsets and pure youthful abandon. Influenced by surf, 80s dance pop, acid-R&B, space jazz, krautrock, disco, dub, and am radio gold, his music maps a tour through a uniquely Californian lifestyle. Yet when music so vividly captures a vibe and a feeling, it can make writing about it appear almost redundant. Instead, to glean the full colour of what your turntable will soon gratefully radiate, we prescribe the generous soundclips presented here.

And, for a unique insight into the process behind the wonderful sounds conjured up, here's Sorcerer himself:

"White Magic is a reflection of personal freedom and discovery. Having been in bands for years, this was a chance to develop music that stood alone and for me to be in full control.

I was living alone and worked on jams whenever I could. I was highly inspired by a new openness to music as a pure inspiration, not being part of any scene. I tapped into the mixes I was hearing coming out the UK where deejays were playing "cosmic" sounds that were so strangely familiar.

I was picking up all kinds of $1 vinyl and throwing bits of it into my sampler almost randomly to see what would come out.

In my mind, I was making music to be played at my friend's Broker/Dealer Pop nights where they fused golden German techno sounds with the new disco emerging at the time. Also, I took vacations and reconnected with the Pacific Ocean where I spent so much time as a kid: it spilled out into the sounds.

Lastly, I forged a partnership with Hatchback (Sam Grawe) who was working on music in the same way. I learned so much about arrangement and the colors of music. We began recording together as Windsurf and released our own stuff. It all seems like a small glorious moment in time, so I am so excited to keep the legacy alive and I continue to work on my music with these spirits inside of me."

Lovingly remastered by the esteemed Simon Francis, cut reassuringly loud on to heavyweight double vinyl and presented in a deluxe gatefold jacket with freshly commissioned artwork throughout from original designer Rich Robinson, this limited edition of 500 copies is sure to fly.

A continuation of his kaleidoscopic sun-dappled cosmic-disco, Neon Leon was the much-loved CD-only sophomore album by Sorcerer. Just in time for Spring/Summer, we present the first ever vinyl issue, released as a deluxe double LP.

A perfectly formed suite of ten tracks featuring soft guitars, subtle synths and lightly grooving percussion, Neon Leon magically evokes that elusive summer feeling throughout. The guitar-driven "Algorhythm" serves as the album opener, blasting bold, sun-drenched jazz chords atop bright synths and groove-based drum programming. "Ride The Serpent" and "Distort Yourself" are guided by a more sultry, slo-mo disco impulse whilst the staggering "Chemise" and strident "Face It" merge 80s West Coast production sheen with Sorcerer's trademark laid back, gentle disco. "Raydio"'s undeniable head-nod groove adds a rare vocal to the proceedings, joyously combining with the bubbling cosmic funk.

Since its initial release in 2009, exceptional producers have created vibrant variations on the dreamy, dubby, melodic nu-disco theme. Happily, the emergence of such luminaries as Jex Opolis, Harvey Sutherland, Suzanne Kraft, Tornado Wallace et al has only served to make the master - Sorcerer - sound ever more brilliant and vital.

Utilising his array of guitars, drum machines, synths, and trusty MPC, the loved-up Sorcerer sound inspires halcyon memories of warm days, endless sunsets and pure youthful abandon. Influenced by surf, 80s dance pop, acid-R&B, space jazz, krautrock, disco, dub, and am radio gold, his music maps a tour through a uniquely Californian lifestyle. Yet when music so vividly captures a vibe and a feeling, it can make writing about it appear almost redundant. Instead, to glean the full colour of what your turntable will soon gratefully radiate, we prescribe the generous soundclips presented here.

And, for a unique insight into the process behind the wonderful sounds conjured up, here's Sorcerer himself:

"Neon Leon's is the name of a bar in a Elmore Leonard book I was reading on a vacation to Belize with my future wife. I was soaking up his brand of noir during the making of the songs on this record, along with another favorite Ross Macdonald. We were living in a small apartment in the Mission District of San Francisco where i had my own room to jam. It was painted Orange and Turquoise and was a very inspiring place to create and focus. I could walk out of my house to any number of hole in the wall bars where people were deejaying, hanging-out, and knew about me and my music.

After White Magic I developed more confidence in my style and process so I stuck with it and I believe it shows in the tunes I selected for the record. The sounds are rich and I dug deeper into sampling from obscure dollar records and getting looser musically. I made a handful of collage videos for the tracks at this time as well, which represent where my mind was at visually. In my mind it's Cosmic Funk that rules the day and I am thankful to have the opportunity to share it with the world again."

Lovingly remastered by the esteemed Simon Francis, cut reassuringly loud on to heavyweight double vinyl and presented in a deluxe gatefold jacket with freshly commissioned artwork throughout from original designer Rich Robinson, this limited edition of 500 copies is sure to fly.

WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND THE WEBSITE, YOU CAN FIND US ON THESE SOCIAL CHANNELS

Nubian Quadrant EP sees Dutch producer Philou reaching for that sweet spot between Afro and Electro to produce three pulsing new tracks for Byrd Out. As Philou says, "All good music ultimately comes from Africa", and true to his African roots, the EP was part recorded in Malawi. With his tracks being picked up by the likes of Erol Alkan and Eats Everything, this EP is sure to provide the rhythmic backdrop to the summer. If you imagine the driving force of Fela Kuti matched with the acid sqwelch of Phuture, you're part of the way there. It's dancefloor sunshine on vinyl. Mastered by the legendary Noel Summerville, artwork by G.S-L Studio.



Biog: Philou Louzolo, a vibrant human being showcasing a diverse sound: born and raised in between the forests and the salty ocean breeze of Southern Zeeland (The Netherlands). Blessed with deeply rooted ties to the townships of Sierra Leone, the jungle surrounding the Congo river and Nigeria - where the birth of Fela Kuti's Afrobeat took place - his music sounds like Pan-African propaganda packed with sounds from urbanized cities, the Sahara and Africa's many jungles. He's been making waves with a Mixtape for the Feel My Bicep guys (it's #84), and getting airtime on BBC Radio 6 with Erol Alkan, and on BBC Radio 1 with Eats Everything, and playing Resident Advisor's GAIN stage at DGTL in Amsterdam in March, and playing at Morocco's boundary-pushing Altas Electronic festival later this year.

As we enter the Summer months, Excursions welcomes back The Showfa, with A Gospel Excursion Volume Two. Four more dishes of hot spiritual gumbo for your mind, body & soul.

Once again The Showfa has expertly cut together a concoction of gospel, soul, disco, latin, jazz, funk, and spiritual rhythm & blues. The glorious disco rework of a track called 'Amazing' sets the tone with an infectious piano riff and powerfully uplifting vocal. 'Surely Surely' follows, with a more vigorous strut, a short, sweet slice of disco funk, no messing about. 'Praising' keeps the groove and tempo solidly in a delicious eighties boogie formation, slap bass and sax in tow. The set closes out with beautiful latin-jazz tinged vibrations sauntering through 'I'll Show You The Way', before switching to the sweetest sweet soul you ever did hear. Soul food of the highest calibre.

The previous volume was shown love last year by an assortment of selectors and tastemakers, including Tony Humphries, Horse Meat Disco, Gilles Peterson, Craig Charles, BBC 6Music, Mi-Soul, Rinse FM and Mixmag, and also saw The Showfa spinning on the airwaves on NTS with Charlie Bones, and for Wax Poetics.

Another joyously ethereal platter, and another one that will never leave the box.

South African Mbaqanga And Bubblegum Instrumentals For The Dance-floor. First Time Available Outside South Africa. Cult Favorite Among Collectors. Follows The Successful Reissue Of bafana Bafana' Last Year. Professor Rhythm's 1991 Recording Professor 3 Is A Vivid Reflection Of Urban South Africa As Apartheid Was Ending. Thami Mdluli's Production Project Had Young And Old Dancing To A Sound That Sought To Unite Blacks Within Southern Africa. our Music Gave Hope To The Hopeless,' He Says. Mdluli's Third Instrumental Album (which Contains Some Background Vocals, To Be Exact), Portrays The Moment When The Dominant Mbaqanga And American R&b-based Bubblegum Sounds Being Produced In Johannesburg And Other Urban Centers Were Transforming Into House And Hip-hop-inspired Kwaito. The Pop Of The 80's And All That Went With It—from The Models Of Synths And Drum Machines To The Lyrical Style—gave Way To A Changing Melodic Emphasis And New, Much Slower Tempi Using A Completely Different Rhythmic Skeleton. Upbeat, Chipper Bubblegum, Often With Double-time Breakdowns And Upstroke Syncopations, Faded And The Sounds Began To More Closely Resemble Those Of Contemporary Black America—where Hip-hop Was Slowing Down And The Bass-lines And Melodies Were Getting Moodier, Darker In General. At The Same Time House Music Had Briefly Reached Mainstream Acceptance In The States And That Popularity Continued To Feed Into Awareness Overseas. These Two Influences Blended With The Burgeoning House Music Scenes In Johannesburg And Pretoria As Professor Rhythm 3 Was Being Produced In March 1991 (the Same Year Apartheid Ended). Mdluli Explains, we Were Influenced By Foreign Bands And So People Updated Their Sound.' According To Mdluli, The Evolving Sound Was Bolstered By Widening Availability Of House And Rap Records From Abroad While, Most Importantly, An Increasing Sense That Apartheid Might Soon Be Finished Was Met With A New Positivity Vibe Society. 1991, '92, '93... Mandela Was Released. People Were Upbeat, They Were Happy, The Music Was Good.' Professor 3 Came Out On Vinyl As The Lp Business Was Dying In South Africa And Sold Around 20,000 Copies. It Was Mainly Distributed On Tape, Which Sold Closer To 100,000. With The Help Of Engineer Fab Rosso, The Recording Features Backing Vocalists From Mango Groove. After Making A Half-dozen Records As Professor Rhythm, Mdluli Once Again Shifted His Focus Musically. By The Mid-90's He Had Veered Off Gospel Music— And Left Playing In Bands And Started Making His Own Solo Recordings. His Enormous Success In The Gospel Realm In The Years Since Is A Remarkable Story In Its Own Right, But For Now We Are Only Dancing.

This Is First Full Length Offering From The Brian Jonestown Massacre For 2018 , A Second, Self Titled, Album Will Be Coming Out In September. This Is The 17th Full Length Release From The Band & The Style Is Less Experimental & More Of A Retracing Back To The Traditional Sound Of The Band .recorded Between 2017 & 2018 , This 9 Track Album Will Please Old & New Fans Alike . The Band Have Announced Tours Of The Usa , Canada , Australasia & Will Be Announcing Tours Through Europe Later This Year.