quête:break it

As a self-described “sponge for club music”, London-based Bristol transplant Ian DPM has cut a singular figure in both the West Country and the capital in just a handful of years. Already situated as the tastemaker behind music curation platform Definite Party Material, co-owner of Scuffed Recordings, and Noods Radio and Rinse FM resident, Ian DPM’s emergence as a producer has marked him as an expansively curious, bass-forward figure at the bleeding edge of genre boundaries.

After retreating to his hometown of Portsmouth during lockdown to absorb the blueprints of ‘90s techno, Ian emerged with a new phase of experimentation: techno-inspired and indebted, yet eschewing loops and grids for a loose-limbed, open minded engagement of the form.

Taking inspiration from the iconic carnival rides that are inseparable from their high-octane happy hardcore soundtrack, “One For The Waltzers” begins with a distant rumble of muffled breakbeats that inch ever closer. But rather than dizzying lights and in-the-red maximalism, “One For The Waltzers” gradually reveals its knowingly deep shimmy and groove. It is a drum-heavy and rhythmic production, masterfully using negative space to showcase every contour of its slowed-down rave horns and acid house synth lines.

“KE01” inhabits the flipside of the same sonic world “One For The Waltzers”. Here, feverish percussive energy contrasts against pensive melodic synth chords. It’s a heady warehouse affair, familiar and complex, referential yet contemporary, and only adds to the momentum that Ian DPM is gathering.

Hotflush Recordings celebrates 20 years in the game this year, with a triple pack vinyl compilation featuring some of the key musical events in the label’s catalogue.

Born in 2003, Hotflush stands as one of electronic music’s most influential labels. A multi-dimensional imprint that helped define the development of bass music throughout the mid-2000s, in the last decade it would evolve towards the liminal spaces between house, techno, and beyond - a journey which has given the dancefloor some of its true underground classics.

This celebratory release covers every era and stylistic area of the Hotflush output. 2005’s proto-dubstep face melter ‘The Knowledge’ by Toasty kicks off Side A, with the key sides of bass music development all covered with tracks from James Blake, Loefah, Sepalcure, and Scuba.

UK techno legend Surgeon appears with his seminal remix of Scuba’s ‘Ruptured’ (2008), while the early Paul Woolford classic ‘MDMA’ reminds us of how ended up working with Diplo.

George FitzGerald and Recondite reprise some of their key formative material, while newer names Lawrence Hart, OR:LA and breakout Seoul artist Closet Yi also make appearances.

Canadian mastermind Jacques Greene rounds off the release with his slamming remix of Kiimi’s Breaking My Mind.

This is a compilation 20 years in the making, containing some of the key tracks from the electronic underground - curated and compiled by label boss Scuba.

It is with a singular pleasure that we welcome Marc Romboy to the ever growing stable of live artists at ASW!

Marc Romboy is an artist renowned within the electronic scene for his eclectic, boundary-pushing approach and decades worth of experience working both behind the scenes and behind the decks.

In recent years he has embraced performing live as another creative outlet and, indeed, creative challenge. As an artist and performer, Marc has always pushed the boundaries of his creativity and this, Marc’s first studio album in 6 years is a true masterwork of techno from one of the masters of the genre.

Growing up in the West of Germany close to the borders of both The Netherlands and Belgium, Marc was always instinctively drawn to music. He would attend the acid house parties prevalent in the area, with an epiphany of sorts on the dancefloor of Front club in Hamburg in 1987. An avid record collector, he would listen to Krautrock, breaks, Italo disco, Chicago house and more, and experienced some of the first all house and techno clubs in Europe; the legendary Roxy club in Amsterdam and Dorian Grey in Frankfurt. Learning to DJ, and later on produce, was a natural step.

He founded the ’Le Petit Prince’ imprint in 1993 as a platform for the music of friends he was playing out, which went on to be named Label Of The Year by various German electronic music publications the following year. Its reputation led Marc into collaborating with other DJs to manage their labels too.

Meanwhile, Marc went on to notch up an impressive discography of EPs, tracks and collaborations, carving his own sound; emotive, versatile, and featuring distinctive basslines.
2004 was a landmark year for the artist, with the beginning of his own, completely self-run label Systematic. Since It's birth, the label has provided a home for productions from the likes of Robert Hood, Kenny Larkin, Omar-S, Terrence Parker, Timo Maas, kINK and many more. It also provided the platform for Marc’s first album, ‘Gemini’ in 2005, followed by four further LPs; 2008’s ‘Contrast’, 2009’s ‘6 Monde’ with Stephan Bodzin (which birthed the pair’s now-legendary track ‘Atlas’), 2013’s ‘Taiyo’ with Ken Ishii, and 2014’s three-disc retrospective compilation ‘Shades’. And his collaborative orchestral LP ‘Voyage de la Planète’, Marc’s forward-thinking last album. Pushing the boundaries between classical and electronic music, it makes for a moving , atmospheric outing for the producer - “I feel like there are still a couple of beautiful sounds to create”.

Marc’s output has been exemplary and with his inspiration rising for performing live he now brings us the wonderful “Music Made for Aliens”. A work of true electronic inspiration. Marc will be performing live at ASW events coming up soon.

In 2021 Velocity Press published Who Say Reload: The Stories Behind the Classic Drum & Bass Records of the 90s, an oral history of the records that defined jungle/drum & bass straight from the original sources. The deluxe coffee table book has since sold thousands of copies and prompted many to comment that it should have an accompanying soundtrack.

Now author Paul Terzulli has compiled a Who Say Reload album. However, where the book focused solely on classics and anthems, the compilation takes a different route and offers up a selection of top-quality tunes from some of the scene’s most respected artists and labels.

Like the book, the album covers the genre’s nineties golden era, and the many styles of D&B are represented. Pioneering producers and crowd-pleasing favourites sit alongside a few sought-after obscurities by the unsung heroes of the scene. Most importantly, there are some absolute bangers!

The 16 tracks are spread over two volumes of 2 x 12"s, and there is also a 13-track digital version, taking you on a journey through music forged from raw breakbeats and basslines that soundtracked a culture of all-night raves, specialist record shops and pirate radio stations.

Jungle/drum & bass is approaching its 30th anniversary. Its sonic and cultural legacy is still being felt today. There’s still plenty of old music that might be “new” to some, and these tunes still pack as much of a punch as they did back in the day. That unique energy generated by a combination of breakbeats, bass and creativity never gets old.

Produced in conjunction with Above Board distribution. All tracks mastered from original sources and fully licensed. Mastering by Beau Thomas @ Ten Eight Seven Mastering. Liner notes from Who Say Reload author Paul Terzulli. Photography by Eddie Otchere. Artwork and design by Protean Productions.

Future Jazzers, notorious experimentalists and outfield eccentrics stumble onto the dancefloor. In the 90s. In the UK.

From an electronic music perspective, the period 1992 to 1996 in the UK that this compilation celebrates, was one of dizzying sonic diversification.

It was also a particularly turbulent time in the UK, not only politically and economically, but also culturally too. Economic catastrophe in ‘92 was followed by widespread poverty, a cost of living crisis and countless political scandals. Meanwhile, John Major’s Tory government pandered to its political base via unpleasant, authoritarian legislation that seemingly sought to crush rave culture, alternative lifestyles, and traveller communities. The UK was not so much a ‘Happy Land’ – to quote the name of this compilation – as an angry and divided one. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Throughout, the music created by producers based across these Isles remained uniquely British, speeding up a process begun in the late 1980s through the emergence of street soul, bleep & bass and breakbeat hardcore – musical styles whose roots in multicultural inner-city communities made them distinctly different from the Black American sounds that had inspired their creators. It was here, rather than in the indie pubs of Camden, that real musical revolutions were taking place.

This deep diving selection brings together some truly adventurous and original electronic music from this period, much of it very hard to find. Major label outings connect with white label oddities with ease. Perhaps it could even be argued that many of these unearthed gems fit more easily into DJ sets in 2023 than they ever did at the time. The off-kilter swing of Richard D James’ obscure and highly sought after Strider B outing, ‘Bradley’s Robot’ is joined by further rare cuts from Cabaret Voltaire and the Black Dog, and artists as diverse as Ultramarine, Herbert, Fretless AZM, and Radioactive Lamb, amongst others.

This collection has been lovingly selected, compiled and mastered for maximum sonic playback. This very special release boasts sublime pastoral themed artwork, as well as informative and passionate liner notes by celebrated music scribe Matt Anniss (‘Join The Future’).

Limited edition 7' VINYL COLLECTION
Label & cat no DYNAMTIE CUTS - DYNAM7023

A limited edition 7' release by FOXY, both tracks taken from the 'GET IT ON' LP. Again DYANMITE CUTS give you never been on 7' release. Including a wonderful re-production of the original sleeve x500

Track A1 - 'Mademoiselle' - RARE GROOVE Club classic, Sexy DANCE FLOOR vibes and long awaited 45 release, Djs favorite. !!!!
Track B2 - 'Tena's Song' Mid-tempo DISCO VIBE. Classic drum break. Great DJ tool
MUST HAVE 45 rpm 7'

Freestyle puts out another reissue 12" in their drive to unearth rare and classic UK funk, soul & boogie records - this time a much needed pressing of the late Candy McKenzie's heavy boogie-funk cover of Patrice Rushen's classic Remind Me. Produced by Candy's late cousin, and seasoned session bass player, John McKenzie (and licensed from the family estate) this was originally released in 1983 - and comes with an excellent dubbed-out 'Different Style' instrumental version on the flip.

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Candy McKenzie (1953-2003) was a North West London-based vocalist from a Guyanese family heavily steeped in musicianship . She began learning the piano at a young age, picking up vocal harmony from her father, a jazz bass player. Her brothers Bunny & Binky, were also celebrated bassists. Candy would marry young in 1970 at the age of 17, though just one year later her brother Binky (who played with the likes of Cream, Alexis Korner & John Mclaughlin in the late 60s) tragically killed her mother and father, along with Candy's husband in an attack at the family home to which Candy was present. Candy was also injured but escaped with her life.

In the years that followed the tragedy Candy, regularly accompanied by her brother Bunny, would find reggae vocal session work - often at the Chalk Farm Studios frequented by many key producers & acts. She found her way onto Aswad's first album and Keith Hudson's legendary Flesh Of My Skin Blood Of My Blood LP - and a little while later on a couple of sessions with Bob Marley for Island, under the supervision of Lee Perry.

The latter two parties took a keen interest in Candy, with Island wisking her away to Jamaica in 1977 to record an album at the legendary Black Ark. Her vocals found their way onto The Congos seminal Heart of the Congos LP, but the album she recorded with Perry was shelved - with just the Black Art holy grail 12" Disco Fits / Breakfast in Bed finding it's way to release at the time.

Back in London, Candy spent the early to mid 80s recording various lovers and funk/soul 12"s, including this fantastic cover of Patrice Rushen's Remind Me, produced by her cousin John. She went on to record singles for labels like Elite & Cooltempo throughout the '80s and early '90s, and appeared as backing vocalist with the likes of Leonard Cohen, Whitney Houston, Elton John and Diana Ross. She passed away in 2003, with her one and only album recorded at the Black Ark finally seeing release on Trojan in 2011.

Candy's cousin John McKenzie got his starts in the music industry in the mid 70s as part of prog group Man and communal festival rockers Global Village Trucking Co., as well as playing with the likes of Annette Peacock and Steve Hillage. His father Mike McKenzie was also a key Carribbean jazz figure in the UK throughout the early 1950s, through to the '60s and '70s. John would become a heavily in-demand session musician - playing with everyone from the Eurhythmics to Bob Dylan - while also finding time to produce this record, alongside a couple of excellent 12"s with Mel Gaynor as Finesse, between 1982 and '83. He would regularly tour the world as a live musician for a huge array of headline acts, appearing on multiple chart hits, and in his later years was a member of the excellent group Ibibio Sound Machine. He lost his battle with cancer in 2020.

This reissue is dedicated to the memory of both John & Candy McKenzie.

Close to five years on from their last transmission, Ulrika Spacek resurface from self-imposed exile with their third album, Compact Trauma, a collection of songs that function as a chance treatise of sorts for our current collective condition. With a title like that arriving at this point in time, it's tempting to interpret the record solely in the context of the global events of the past few years, but the roots of these ten songs arc back much further in time, charged with their own personalised internal damage. Trauma, in its myriad forms, is often hard to qualify, even harder to rationalise. When something begins to go wrong, how do you gain perspective? What is a temporary roadblock, and what is unmitigated disaster? In its first phase of life, Compact Trauma was a document of a band striving to perfect an idea while the universe around them seemed to want to shut down. And then, at an impasse of sorts and with a record halfway complete, it suddenly did. If Ulrika Spacek were a band in need of the breaks applying, it was the force of a global pandemic that made it happen. As the world stood still, Compact Trauma was filed away, unfinished and unheard by the wider world, possibly to remain that way forever. And yet, there was to be a second act. If mutability is our tragedy, it's also our hope, clearer days slowly began to emerge as the bad slipped away. The wound, as the saying goes, is the place where the light enters you. The prolonged break enforced by myriad lockdowns may have separated the group but it also afforded the five time to reflect on what had already been committed to tape.. As the lights came back on and the shutters up, they found themselves drawn back towards Compact Trauma. What they rediscovered was a record that seemed to preempt the shared grief of a global pandemic. Even if the specifics were different, the themes were uncannily similar. Addressing existential freak out, displacement, substance reliance and encroaching self-doubt, these highly personalised songs suddenly took on a wider significance, speaking in part to a bigger narrative. They could have left it alone, but in coming back to what they knew, Ulrika Spacek found their best work yet. RIYL: Mercury Rev, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead, Deerhunter, Atlas Sound, Stereolab.

180g virgin vinyl - audiophile pressing, celebrating 95 years of Burt Bacharach.

Considered one of the greatest composers in popular music, this superb LP contains 20 of his most essential and enduring songs, performed here by such celebrated stars as Dionne Warwick, Jerry Butler, The Shirelles, Chuck Jackson, The Drifters, Jack Jones, Timi Yuro, Del Shannon, Etta James, Gene Pitney, and others.

'The songs of Burt Bacharach occupy the same brain space as nursery rhymes and Beatles tracks: you don't remember not knowing them.' - The Guardian

'These songs played a big part in shaping my tastes in music.' - Elvis Costello

Daje Funk Records is back with Vol. 4 of the legendary ‘Slam Dunk’ series of EPs, this time featuring Souldynamic - Musta - Les Inferno - Groovemasta !!!

On the A-side, the supremely talented Souldynamic kicks things off with ‘Tales From Q.J.’ - a delicious chunk of late summer grooves bathing in sun-drenched keys and strings. The rolling bassline acts as the hook, and what follows is a gloriously constructed melodic masterpiece sprinkled with heavenly vocals. Fall in love with this, you will.

A2 sees Italian maestro Musta crack open the deep reggae vibes with ’Soup’. You’ll find it hard to resist this bubbling broth of twisted, rhythmic precision bass, ‘one drop’ beats and tight, short skanking guitar riffs. With ‘Soup’, Musta demonstrates his complete understanding of this genre. Darkened room or bar sun terrace - you decide.

On the B-side, label co-owner Les Inferno spices things up several notches with the aptly titled ‘Hot Burn’. And boy, does this track sizzle. A hustling rhythm that takes over your dance nodes from the get go, Les Inferno lovingly sprinkles Latino and Afro vibes all over this searingly hot dish. It’s furious, intense and relentless - and the brass breakdown acts as the tabasco sauce. Drink water. Plenty of water.

Closing Vol. 4 out on B2 is Groovemasta with ‘That Funk’. A track that treats its funky beats and chunky bass like royalty, this 118bpm monster wastes no time in demanding ‘Gimme that funk’. And you’re gonna hand it over. The swirling, gyrating sexiness of ‘That Funk’ can’t be understated - impossible not to lose yourself in this guaranteed dance floor time bomb.

Slam Dunk Vol. 4 seriously raises the bar for this already excellent series, and has to be in any self-respecting vinyl junky’s record box. Grab it while you can!

If there is a space in this place for a voice of this age, it’s still sealed in wax. Above the din of the noise a vocal appears, in calm
reflection, it delivers a message of hope in a time of despair. Ivan Ave is back. A lot has transpired since we last heard him on a
full-length project, there's a lot to ponder as we get into his latest LP, All Season Gear.
On his 4th solo album, Ivan offers a glimpse into the various seasons he and his friends went through in the last three years. All
Season Gear was recorded on highs and lows through a pandemic, through healing, falling in love and observing the chaos that
is the hyper-textual information age. Lyrically an all-weather-proof record, breaking even with with a joie de vivre, backed by
production from the likes of Sasac, Mndsgn, Like, DJ Harrison and Ivan Ave himself.
The Norwegian rapper’s sixth solo release percolates between desperation and buoyancy, through a tide of beats, as Ivan taps
into his signature observations. His lyrics are an astute surveillance that exploit the mundane in a pensive exploration, touching
on hedonistic heights, with a constant focus on the beauty of the everyday.
The Mutual Intentions mouthpiece breezes through a record of wistful sonorities brought together by the larger Mutual intentions
collaboration. Keys swell and bass undulates, as the production convene on vintage aesthetics, repurposed for air-pod traveling.
It extends the sonic palette of his last LP, Double Goodbyes, and plunges the sound deeper than ever before.
Ivan Ave reinforces our vision of him as a voice for our time. A philosopher’s touch-stone in a world where the incongruous prevails over the sincere.

Another classic hip hop banger, with the tune that sampled it on the flip - this time a rare library number!

Gondwana Records announces 'Goodbyes' the debut album from Estonian pianist and composer, Hanakiv, a deeply beautiful, meditative piano album featuring special guest Alabaster dePlume

"This is an album about healing. It is about saying your goodbyes to everything that doesn't serve you anymore. Each of these songs has a little goodbye in it. So, these are very beautiful and necessary goodbyes".

Hanakiv is a young composer and musician from Estonia (now based in London) who creates meditative piano-based ambient music with elements from classical and electronic music. 'Goodbyes' is her debut recording and draws on influences as diverse as Tim Hecker, Björk "Vespertine", Kara-Lis Coverdale, Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Aphex Twin as well as her own cultural heritage. Music has an important part in Estonian culture, especially choir music and its traditions, but Hanakiv also draws on her love of nature – the beautiful Estonian seaside and forests - and on her time in Iceland. However, it was moving to London that gave her the freedom to make her own music: "London gave me the freedom and courage to really be who I am (as a person and musically)" and her heritage and her new home both offer inspiration to Goodbyes, as Hanakiv moves between these two opposite places, a bustling metropolis and a small country full of nature, drawing inspiration from both as she sculpts her own voice.

Hanakiv had an unconventional music education – she started studying music at a school for handbells when she was nine and was part of a handbell ensemble for eight years. Starting on piano at the same time she went on to study composition at high school, and later at the Estonian Academy of Music. Eventually switching to electroacoustic composition, she studied in Reykjavik, and did internships in Malmö, and again Reykjavik before moving to London. She grew up in a musical family and her grandmother was a piano teacher and choir conductor.

"I would always ask her to take me to her choir rehearsals. I remember sitting under the grand piano, listening to the choir and just being mesmerised by the sounds. She also teaches in a local music school in the south of Estonia with about ten pianos, and I'd spend a lot of time there as well. I believe this was the starting point for me to get to where I am now. The last two pieces on the album (Home II and Home I) are composed in this same music school, so it feels like a full circle.

An early influence was Regina Spektor "the first artist who made me really want to play piano" alongside dream pop and Sigur Rós' as well as Estonian contemporary composers such as Erkki-Sven Tüür and Arvo Pärt. Later her studies took her to Reykjavík: "There is this amazing record shop called 12 Tónar in Reykjavik where you can drink espressos and listen to all their vinyls. I spent quite a lot of time there. There is something about Icelandic music that really excited me (the mixture of contemporary electronic sounds with melancholy, emotionality). This is when I started getting more into electronic music, and experimenting outside of classical music". Following a year long break from studying and inspired by making an electroacoustic soundtrack for a friend's abstract video, she was inspired to complete a masters in electroacoustic composition, diving fully into the worlds of sound recording and mixing and focusing on surround sound and how to position and move sounds in space, eventually doing an internship with composer Kent Olofson in Malmö, who works with multi-speaker systems for theatre productions. "I learnt a lot from him and he introduced me to some of my favourite plugins I've used a lot on this album as well."

Hanakiv moved to London just as the pandemic hit and found herself trapped, in a big new city, without any network or family and so just concentrated on making music. "I stayed in my room with my basic equipment - keyboard, Korg minilogue, SM 58 and Rode nt1-a microphones, laptop and speakers. I was reading about mixing, and trying out different things and listening to a lot of music to get the sense of the mixes and production and finishing a commission piece for 5.1 multi speaker system at that time so I set up four speakers for quadrophonic surround sound in my room!". She also found her way back to piano - my instrument – and started practicing again, playing the pieces she used to play, but also just improvising, and this was the beginning of what would become her debut album, 'Goodbyes'.

"I started appreciating everything about music again (even melody!), and everything just came together naturally, and I arrived to a point where I finally found my voice, and I had something that I wanted to say and share. I composed "Meditation I" first and started with "Goodbye", and all the other pieces are derived from that. Without "Meditation I" there wouldn't be this album. If you listen closely, "Meditation I" starts where "Goodbye" ends; "Meditation II" is born from "Meditation I".

But it was meeting Fi Roberts, a sound engineer based at the legendary Strongrom Studios in Shoreditch, London in December 2020 that really brought the album into focus. The pair bonded over an interest in prepared piano and a similar approach to production ideas (a balance of not overdoing it, and letting the songs speak for themselves, but being open to explore) and Fi became a friend but also a confidant and eventually co-producer

"Fi has a big impact on this record but I don't know how to really explain that properly. Of course, this album is sonically stunning thanks to her amazing mixes and recording skills, but she also believed in this music so much and it created something very special - that's difficult to measure with words. She just works with heart, and I really appreciate that"

This then is 'Goodbyes', the first offering from a major new voice, who offers us a meditative work full of space and tranquillity but also life and friendship and meaning. And we are very proud to welcome her to the Gondwana family.

In November 2022, GOLD PANDA released his long-awaited album "The Work". It includes the two singles "I've Felt Better (Than I Do Now)" & "Plastic Future". These were remixed by Gold Panda's friend and companion Daniel Avery and the one and only Skee Mask respectively.

On Side A, British techno producer Daniel Avery turned "I've Felt Better" on its head. With a perfect balance of light and shadow, it now races at top speed like a techno bullet train through a blizzard and a multitude of barren landscapes, while the listener sits in an empty wagon, safe from the threat of nature just inches away. On Side B, Skee Mask, the enigmatic versatile electronic producer gives 'Plastic Future' a totally new identity. Known for his rolling rhythms combined with electronic soundscapes, Skee Mask slams the breaks on this remix in a big way. It's a magic combination that begs the question how did it take these 2 producers so long to collaborate like this? A match made in heaven!

Brazilian psych soul wunderkind, producer and singer Tagua Tagua has joined the Wonderwheel Recordings family with a tender selection of cuts on his second album Tanto.

Recorded in the rural outskirts of Sao Paulo there is a sense of yearning that permeates throughout the set list of ten unapologetic love songs that fly between lush psychedelic pop to warm, beat-laden neo-soul with Brazilian flavor. The album maneuvers subtly between the different dynamics, and purposefully so, as it was 'a vibe' that Tagua Tagua AKA Felipe Puperi wanted to instill from start to finish - channeling soul heroes past and present like Bill Withers, Shuggie Otis & Sault.

The album title and first single Tanto translates to Portuguese as 'so much', and Felipe sees the track and entirety of the album as "a feeling of falling in love for the sake of falling in love". The track is a slice of horizontal soul music and possesses a sweet, almost drug induced fervor, simple on arrangements. Felipe sings in a melismatic tenor, at times tipping into falsetto, with subtle effects enriching his delivery.

Based in the city of São Paulo, Felipe previously fronted the group Wannabe Jalva and has an extensive musical resumé, having played at Lollapalooza Brazil, supported shows for Pearl Jam and Jack White, and created a name for himself as one of the most promising breakout acts in Brazil. Yet there was a break-out moment of self discovery, a re-connection with his language that led to a personal and musical revolution culminating in his debut solo album in 2020, Inteiro Metade.

Whereas his previous longplayer had changing musical personalities from tropical psychedelic to funk and soul, Tanto only flirts outside of the mellow psychedelic soul prism and whilst there are ebbs and flows, it delights in its sparse and sweet minimalism. "Pra Trás" opens proceedings, and aptly, as Tagua Tagua moves from one album to the next, it's about leaving things behind. There are strings and orchestrations, a killer guitar hook and Tagua Tagua's seductive delivery. "Colors" is full throttle future-soul, squelchy synths pulsed by a lazy, yet insistent shuffler of a beat. Further dreamlike timbres are found in "Barcelona", a journey of a song and Brisa, perhaps the body-mover of the collection, with silky synths and a chorus you're sure to repeat.

All songs were written and recorded by Felipe himself, mixed by fellow Wannabe Jalva band member Tiago Abrahão, and mastered by Brian Lucey (The Black Keys, Chet Faker). Recently, Tagua Tagua toured Europe and played several shows at SXSW and along the West coast in the US.

Harry’s House is the third solo studio album from Harry Styles and first music release since 2019’s record breaking sophomore album Fine Line. The new 13-track full-length album was recorded in multiple locations across the UK, Los Angeles and Tokyo from 2020 to 2021. It was written by Harry alongside frequent collaborators Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson, and Mitch Rowland.

Planet Mu welcomes back Meemo Comma for her third album 'Loverboy'. 'Loverboy' is a shift in gear from Meemo Comma’s previous works, speeding up the tempos and rhythms, it's set in the nineties with trance, breakbeat hardcore and jungle as some of the influences. After playing a club gig in Spain as lockdown rules were loosening, Rix-Martin was reminded of the power music and people coming together creates. ‘Loverboy’ is peppered with influences from friends past and new as well as artists that have transformed the sound of Meemo Comma over the years, including Autechre, Guy Called Gerald, Orbital and Shitmat as well as others. On this journey we follow ‘Loverboy’ through the club as the night builds and different characters are met, from dropping the first pill to a euphoric ‘Cloudscape’ whilst waiting in the queue, to meeting some shady sorts in ‘Loneheath’. The album changes pace throughout with different rooms of the club being explored which add to the brevity of Rix-Martin’s production style on tracks such as 'Kyle' and 'AK47'. What started as a personal joke about Rix-Martin’s background formed a narrative for some darker, cheeky breaks that echo back on title track ‘Loverboy’, a track that Rix-Martin describes as “working class gender euphoria”.Maybe the mask has come off, and the shackles of pseudo-intellectualism have been put to rest for an honest, fun and ‘propa cheeky’ rave album instead.

Rua Sound's new sub-label SPHERES is proud to introduce its first release from Rome-based producer Noroi. The Adrastea EP is a richly imaginative work of electronic music, showcasing Noroi's uniquely melancholic and futuristic sound.

Comprised of four tracks, the EP opens with "Stay," a powerful blending of emotive breakbeat and evocative vocals. "Untitled Jungle," a collaboration with VSC, is a genre-defying jungle track that builds to a genre-appropriate fist pumping crescendo. "Chrysalis" is on a more introspective tip, where delicate layers of reverb-drenched instrumentation and the transcendent vocal delivery of Tokyo Witch creates a restorative atmosphere. The EP concludes with "Transoceanic," an energetic piece that blends percussion and atmospherics for a sound that can't be defined.

The Adrastea EP shows off Noroi's flare for innovative sound design, offering a vision of the future of electronic music. Out on March 10th on the Rua Sound Bandcamp and in online and physical stores worldwide, it is a must-listen for fans of the deep, adventurous tracks that work in your headphones as well as on the emotional end of the club sets.

This is the first in a series of releases from the SPHERES label, which named after one of Jupiter's moons. Each one features original artwork by Josje Bijl aka Yorobi, inspired by the sketches of these moons by Galileo in 1610.

All music by Noroi

Drumcode’s beloved A-Sides compilation makes a welcome return after a two-year absence, with a mammoth 25-track feast covering every shade of the techno spectrum split across seven, 12 inch parts. The project was devised in 2012 as a way of showcasing the wealth of strong material Adam Beyer receives each year, which due to Drumcode’s busy release schedule, might not otherwise find a home on the label. Since then, it’s grown to become an essential fixture on the techno release schedule and a marker for where the genre stands in any given year.

Leading the A side on part 5, an immersive journey through the depths of techno, courtesy of Juliet Fox via ‘Evolution of Thinking’. Up next, Thomas Hoffknecht lets loose a captivating warper, ‘Break Free’. On the B side Timmo goes full throttle with ‘Community Tool’ as Andres Campo matches the pace with the unshakable beast ‘Cyclops’.

Jonas Kopp pumps the drums hard on opener 'Shibu'. It is pure peak-time material, fit with siren-like synths, heavy kicks and hi-hats to get the shoulders moving. Kopp's tracks are always masterfully tailored for the dancefloor, and this is no exception; the six-and-a-half-minute ride is richly detailed with ups, downs and subtle changes. Dadub take the record deeper with 'Force Continuum Abuse'. For the first three minutes of stretched soundscape, the percussion warms up with sparse and off-kilter hits. The track's second half sees fierce breakbeats cut through the walls of reverb, and with that can Daniele Antezza and Giovanni Conti really show-off their unique talent at sound design. They blend a gift for rhythm and titanic production to engaging effect. Eomac begins the B-side with 'I Am Starting To Believe'. The track's echoing synths hang free in a spacious mid-range, intermittently making way for long chords and elusive vocal snippets. Eomac draws on the light/dark contrast and unsettling motifs that made his Monad release special, and delivers a techno epic so rich it requires repeated listens. Last but not least, Chevel; his sound is distinctive amongst the SA roster, mostly due to his acute focus on the percussive elements and intriguing take on minimalism. On 'Alicia', he works a groove out of tripping drums and metallic perc, all with a UK-influenced flair that lends itself to a wide range of DJs. Chevel's track ends what may be the most varied collection of 'Chapter V' material yet, leaving a lasting reminder of the depth and quality of artists SA have accrued.

King of Town (KoT), originally from Johannesburg but now in the UK, is back after a nearly a decade hiatus from his mutant disco-inflected remixes.

Prior to his long break, King of Town remixed the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Slow Club, Alice Russell, the Detachments and the Phenomenal Handclap Band.
His remix of Desmond and the Tutus' 'Kiss You on the Cheek', released on Tigersushi in 2009, has become a regular feature of Spotify playlists and has racked up a few million listens across various streaming platforms.

For this release KoT serves up four exclusive re-edits.

Lord Have Mercy is a retouch of Willie West's slow-burn R&B lament of his own elegiac defiance, where KoT underpins West's groove with a 303 acid bassline and synth flourishes.
Swimming in Your Eyes is a beefing up of Pasteur Lappe's 1979 Rhodes-heavy space disco groove.
Troubles of this World takes OV Wrights ridiculously soulful take on a gospel classic and transforms it into a retro-futurist track aimed firmly at the dancefloor.
And with Khomo Tsaka Deile Kae KoT nods towards his roots and inserts drive and snap into fellow South African Marumo's 1982 kwela-touched stomper.

As always the artwork has been completed by the very talented Pedro Carvalho de Almeida.

Vinyl Only.

Gated kick off 2023 with a corker of a remix package, featuring an epic electro workout from Radioactive Man and lo-fi deep house from Max Wheeler of Anushka fame.

Marcela Dias Sindaco’s breathy Portuguese vocals always lent themselves to remixes and these five cuts use them to great effect.

Keith Tenniswood’s storming version of Missao Controle kicks off the EP, with a near-8-minute bass-heavy acid monster that retains the original’s funky elements but pushes them way into the future.

German upstarts not even noticed take Extincao nice and deep for those loved-up dancefloor moments, again bringing in melodic elements from the original, but twisting them just enough to flow into a dreamy acidic breakdown.

Flip to the B and Anushka’s Max Wheeler goes it alone, with a deep and crackly analogue house version of Dois Lados. Injected with just a smidgeon of jazz, this is definitely one for the heads.

Next up, longtime Gated collaborator Dip Shim, whose debut album only just dropped, brings a straight-up electro jam version of Pro Meu Bem, with haunting pads and insistent arpeggios.

Rounding off the EP is Perseus Traxx’s deeper than deep take on Missao Controle, a tripped out reverby journey laden with his signature hardware sound.

Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is a tasty collab from label founder, Mark Knight and dance music royalty, Armand van Helden, a fresh new edit of a revered club weapon from Julio Navas, Gustavo Bravetti and David Amo, Kiss FM regular, majestic and Sydney-native Alex Preston.

Up first label boss, Mark Knight enlists Grammy nominated Armand van Helden for their debut collaboration, 'The Music Began To Play'. Kicking off with a hard-hitting house groove and electrified bassline that drives the record, before dropping into the track's golden moment and sampling the 1979 classic disco cut 'I Don't Need No Music' by T.J.M; a gem of a record that encapsulates both Mark and Armand’s love for classic cuts.

Next up, a record that became a cult hit of the underground and one that defines the true sound of Toolroom's heritage, Julio Navas, Gustavo Bravetti and David Amo’s 'Raw'. Refreshed for 2022, we see one of France's hottest exports, Tony Romera, deliver a high energy, club focused remix of 'Raw', bringing the classic club record back to dancefloors and sound systems across the globe!

Up next is another heater from Majestic, who debuts on Toolroom with ‘Annie’. Recapping one of the hottest summers on record, Majestic embodies the Balearic, Ibizan heat, sampling Kid Creole & the Coconuts 1982 hit, 'Annie I’m Not Your Daddy', turning a slice of calypso / disco, into a club ready record for the dancefloor. From the brass melody to the hooky guitar riff, majestic lays down his signature style with a Groove Armada-esque vibe throughout.

Rounding things off is label favourite, Alex Preston with his unique blend of 4 to the floor dance music and live funk guitar riffs that have swept through clubs, moving feet, and bringing those feel-good vibes. Ticking all the right boxes on this one, 'Hunching' kicks off with its infectious groove and bassline, throwing in some lush strings, guitar flits and an 80's inspired saxophone break that adds some serious flavour to the record.

Fazerdaze, aka Auckland-based singer / producer / multi
nstrumentalist Amelia Murray, is back with new music after a
very intentional five year pause.
Fazerdaze returns with ‘Break!’, an air-punch purge in musical
form, marking an important reintroduction to an essential artist
of our times.

In a society where being strong and resilient is often held up like
a badge of honour, it’s much, much harder to acknowledge
when enough is enough - to accept when it’s time to let go. It’s
a truth that Murray has spent years wrangling with, but one
whose story thankfully comes with an empowering punchline of
personal reclamation. Rewind back half a decade and,
objectively, things for Fazerdaze were hitting their stride. Then
residing in Auckland, an early determination to graft hard and
“put herself in the right places” had led to working for and then
signing with legendary New Zealand label Flying Nun. A debut
LP - 2017’s ‘Morningside’ - followed, full of gauzy melodies and
nfluenced by Frankie Cosmos, Japanese Breakfast, and the
dream-pop landscape of the time.

Finishing up touring for the record at the end of 2018, Amelia
speaks of a deep sense of burn out and, more than that, of
feeling the “wheels starting to come off” in her general life. “No
longer being stoic and strong was the best thing I ever did for
myself. Giving up on the people and things that weren’t working
in my life was this big release where I could finally put down this
weight that I was carrying, and ever since then everything has
been better in my life overall,” she continues with an audible
sense of relief. “I can hear my intuition and write songs and be
creative; I signed a record deal, I moved into my own place. It’s
like the floodgates opened for good stuff coming into my life.”
Black vinyl in a single sleeve jacket and printed inner sleeve.
Design by Joey Clough.

Press - Reviews & features in The Guardian, The FADER, Brooklyn Vegan,
Complex, Consequence, DIY, Narc Magazine, Pigeons and Planes.
Radio - BBC 6 Music A-List.
Online - Support from both fans & fellow musicians, including posts shouting
out ‘Break!’ from King Krule & Lorde.

"Hello, my friends. It's a big honor for me to release this EP on YUKU because I sincerely love lots of releases of this label and follow them practically since the day they started. I've created 5 tracks specially for this release.

They turned out to be very diverse, quite different, but at the same time cohesive.
5 tracks - like 5 variations and 5 stairs of my life. The cover by my friend, Kyiv-based artist Bohdan Burenko, perfectly outlines the mood of this EP. It shows 5 faces, 5 characters, and 5 stories.

I should mention that some demos for these tracks I wrote back in 2018, when I lived in California. And the basis for 'The Wall' I wrote in the suburbs of Los Angeles in a small town Walnut. This explains the song title. Back then, I listened to a lot of old-school Metalheadz tracks, and I guess this music had a big impact on the atmosphere of this track. Same story with 'Runnin' Out' - I made the demo in US, then finished it when I was preparing the release for YUKU. 'Offset Range1' is my personal favorite. I wrote it in Kyiv, when I had Covid and was tweaking knobs on my sampler and automation on my synth. 99' is my nostalgia for good ol' breakbeat and 'Vezhlivy Otkaz' has the most unusual drop I have ever written. Of course, it's an honor for me to have a remix by Tim Reaper on board, because I'm his fan.

I'm writing this text now in Kyiv. Because of Russian invasion, I'm not sure what my future will be like, but I don't see any reason to postpone this release. All the profit from this EP I'd like to send for the charity & restoration of the infrastructure of Ukraine.

Big thanks to YUKU team for understanding, professionalism and support."
Igor (Hidden Element)

After a devastating opening salvo of 19 modernist rave mutations on a double tape pack for Sneaker Social Club, Minder lands on Hypercolour with another 19 cybernetic fever dreams still reeling from the open season NRG of hardcore.

If you need to understand where Minder wants to take you, strap in for the labyrinth narrative of ‘Knotted’, a smudged, 15-minute breakbeat suite barrelling through lurid dystopian street scenes with only a blown-out bass sprite as a guide. Throughout Sanctuary, bass is the constant when all else is chaos. It comes in thick, warped Reese tones on ‘Simulated Hunt’, gets twisted out through angry filters on ‘Popcorn Lover’, comes on wobbly in true 2-step style underneath grimey garage anti-anthem ‘Ard’.

There’s a lot to take in across the spread of Sanctuary. It’s the sound of every rave genre slowly digested over 30-plus years, until the lactic acid metabolises every snare rush, every searing lead line, every chipmunk vocal lick, and everything gets mashed up and spat back out into a gnarly signal chain at the flash point of inspiration. The time taken is key – this is the sound of a life in front of the speaker stack manifesting in something too wild and weird to be derivative. You’ll hear snatches of familiarity thrown into unfamiliar contexts, but for all the detectable lineage, Minder’s sound is unsettling in its originality.

Dislodged ragga jungle techno, muffled hardcore nightmares, hard n’ haggard acid trance, junked up jump up – you could write an essay on the sounds you can spot and the way they’ve been twisted. Aside from the omnipresent low-end, it’s the unflinching honesty of Korron’s repeat appearances on the mic throughout which bring Minder’s disturbing patchwork into focus. For all the futurism attached to these sounds, it’s also caked in a very human filth which can only come from this earth. The roots run deep, and the fruit is rotten, and isn’t that how it should be?

Clear Vinyl

Kate Fagan took the Chicago punk scene by storm in the early 80's with her self-released single "I Don't Wanna Be Too Cool", which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. Today, Captured Tracks is thrilled to present an expanded, re-mastered edition of I Don't Wanna Be Too Cool as a full-length vinyl album. Fagan wrote "I Don't Wanna Be Too Cool" after moving to Chicago from New York in the late 70's. The track is a critique of the emergent "hipster" attitude of the disco crowd and the posturing she was witnessing among her peers in New York. With its surf-inspired drum machine, irresistible melody, and defiant lyrics, "Too Cool" was immediately embraced by club DJs, radio stations, and independent record stores. Its b-side, "Waiting For The Crisis," also gained notice for its raw musical style and politically charged Reagan-era lyrics, which still resonate today. In the years that followed, Fagan continued to break new ground In 1980, she co-founded the enormously popular ska band Heavy Manners (whose dance parties are still legendary), and with them opened shows for The Clash, Grace Jones, Peter Tosh, The English Beat, and many more. The "Too Cool" single became a sought-after rarity among record collectors for decades after its initial release, until Manufactured Recordings gave it a proper reissue in 2016. Captured Tracks' expanded 2023 follow-up features four unreleased songs, which encapsulate the gutsy, new wave energy that pulses through the original single. The final track, the reggae-tinged "Say It", features production from the reggae legend Peter Tosh and Bob Marley's guitarist Donald Kinsey, who flew in from Jamaica to record with Heavy Manners after witnessing their impassioned live show. While the 2016 reissue re-established Fagan's cult-classic status for a new audience, this new expanded release solidifies her place in a tradition of trailblazing, powerhouse frontwomen.

Crystal Clear Vinyl
Unverwechselbar: dEUS sind nach zehn Jahren zurück!

Die legendäre belgische Rockband dEUS meldet sich mit 'How To Replace It', ihrem achten Studioalbum und dem ersten seit zehn Jahren zurück: Unverwechselbar und einfallsreich, melodisch und doch trotzig schräg. Einzigartig. Und vor allem unverkennbar dEUS. Lyrisch gibt sich 'How To Replace It' mysteriös und kreist um Themen wie Romantik, Altern und die Moderne, liefert Fragen und Antworten zugleich und lädt die Zuhörenden zur eigenen Interpretation ein.

Die belgische Band hatte noch nie wirklich eine Philosophie. Und wollte vielleicht auch nie eine haben. Dennoch sind sie bestimmten Grundsätzen treu geblieben: "You don't want to repeat yourself, but you have your style", erzählt Tom Barman, Frontmann der Band, der auf dem Album seine bisher persönlichsten und rauesten Texte präsentiert. "You want to try new stuff and just react to whatever feels fresh at the time."

Auch 28 Jahre nach ihrem Debütalbum bleiben dEUS weiterhin Alternative-Rock-Vordenker, die immer nach vorne drängen, endlos neugierig und kreativ rastlos sind.

Cluster was the pioneering German duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. Formed on the cusp of the 1970s, they were a part of West Germany's nascent Kosmische Musik scene. The group would use restrained improvisational techniques similar to Gruppo Nuova Consonanza, working with both electric and acoustic instruments (organ, guitar, tone generators, cello, etc.) to create a singular sound that Julian Cope called "a huge beating heart, planet-sized and awesome."

Originally released in 1972 on Brain, Cluster II features six pieces of atmospheric, proto-ambient drones – a step forward from Cluster's 1971 self-titled debut, which had all untitled songs. On "Im Suden," hypnotic bass pulsations and repetitive guitar patterns flow serenely, while side two opener "Live In Der Fabrik" dives deep into Roedelius and Moebius' foreboding industrial soundscapes and synergistic textural interplay.

As Roedelius told Uncut magazine in 2022, "This feels like a breakthrough? Well, we were just getting more into it, and getting more experienced at being able to elaborate it. Conny (Plank) was working with us again – as well as being a multi-talented artist, he was a very experienced sound master and great human being. He contributed as a fellow musician, adding sounds with his mixing table such as reverb, delay and other effects enriching the whole pieces so that they finally became somehow unique."

It's no surprise that when Neu! guitarist Michael Rother first heard Cluster II, he suggested a collaboration with the band – resulting in the supergroup Harmonia who would make their first album together the following year.

2023 REpress
A North American road trip of coming of age garage soul mapped by Ivan Liechti, Ghost Riders is Efficient Space’s latest narrative compilation, hovering in a liminal emotional ravine between moonlight melancholy, teenage heartache and unchecked, unrealised ambition. Across seventeen open hearted ballads recorded 1965-1974, the 2LP collects and connects dots between British Invasion fanatics, child prodigies, the loners and the luckless, in a kind of trans-continental survey of those swept up in rock’n’roll mania and buoyed by local newspaper ads promising fame and gold records.

From the tangerine dreams of 8th grade all-girl combo The Mod 4 to the tri-state jukebox aspiring echoes of The Tempters, The Yardley’s poetic Farfisa vamp and lilting folk pop, and The Landlords’ weepy break up b-side blues, these are mostly one shots by dreamers whose experience was brief before being checked back to the reality of suburban normality and realistic career options. Hailing from the regional backwaters of Illnois, Arkansas, Nevada, Massachussets, Ohio, Idaho, Texas and beyond, the licensed artists were scouted by way of local fire departments, spiritualist fellowships and animal welfare centres, often barely a stones throw from where their contributions were originally laid.

A barely teenage Dennis Harte's ‘Summer’s Over’ perhaps best taps the collection’s essence. A gut-wrenching lament of the passing of the season as if it was the last on earth. Flanked by players from The Left Banke, Harte, a now-piano tuner to the stars, is from the minor segment that found longevity in showbiz. Likewise with Michigan icon Lyn Nowicki who cast her ghostly voice over Beatles cover song chameleons The Common People and Jerry McGee, The Ventures member and conduit of Dr. John’s ‘Twilight Zone’.

Ghost Riders simmers with the scent of youthful summers, the pang of schoolyard romance, and the excitement (and disenchantment) of teenage naïveté, delivered via a deceptively simple and frequently wonky garage band set up. The vision of record collector and graphic designer Ivan Liechti, these eternal psych-folk howlers are further crystallised by Colin Young’s fastidious audio restoration, the original artwork of Elise Ganebin-de Bons and an aptly penned forward from Sonic Boom.

When the pandemic hit, Hannah van Loon adopted a dog named Gizmo, who became a much-needed companion while the Bay Area musician wrote her second album as Tanukichan. Aptly Named after her new four-legged friend, GIZMO is an exercise in release, whether from situational hindrances—a forced lockdown, for one—or from self-imposed hedonistic coping mechanisms.“ A theme I always had floating around was escape,” van Loon explains of her follow-up to 2018’s Sundays. “Escaping from myself, my problems, sadness and cycles.”

To channel the more uplifting spirit she wanted for GIZMO, van Loon turned to the radio pop-rock of her childhood: “I was struck by the in-your-face positivity of the lyrics,” she adds,referencing artists like 311, The Cranberries, and Tom Petty. “I wanted to bring that positivity while writing about the sad and helpless emotions I’d been grappling with.” But GIZMO’s lightheartedness doesn’t make it shallow: “I think that I could let it go, as beautiful as snow,” she murmurs on “Don’t Give Up,” a nu metal-meets-Cocteau Twins groove about the sudden awareness that all the relationships you depend on could vanish instantaneously. Van Loon’s main collaborator on GIZMO was Toro y Moi’s Chaz Bear, and the jangly pop earworm “Take Care” showcases the heavily distorted, in-your-face guitar work reminiscent of Bear’s own psych joints What For? And Mahal. On the hypnotic, wall-of-sound-rocker “Thin Air” featuring Enumclaw, van Loon channels the triumphant grit of The Smashing Pumpkins as she ponders the impermanence of even the most impactful relationships: “I’ll always have the memories/Of how you used to make me see/Until they fell in the ocean/They’re not swimming/They’re not floating.”

Existentialism aside, GIZMO also sees van Loon break out of her sonic comfort zone. “One ofthe main changes of how I’m approaching music now is that I want to have more fun in the process,” she says, and she walks the line between melodrama and whimsy gracefully: “I can learn something because I’ve been here before,” she sings on the soaring, bittersweet “Been Here Before.” Deftones-inspired thrash drums and screeching electric guitars are gracefully contrasted with van Loon’s hypnotic, almost deadpan vocal style and a crystal clear acoustic guitar she describes as “cute.” Gizmo the dog suddenly passed away right as van Loon finished the album, but he’s immortalised with his photo on the cover—a fitting emblem of this new era of Tanukichan.

With her hypnotizing voice and vivid lyricism, Jackie Mendoza makes fantastical, intimate electro-pop propelled by ukulele-based dance grooves. Having grown up between her birthplace of Chula Vista, California and Tijuana, Mexico, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist bridges these two worlds with dynamic soundscapes that pull from Latin pop, electronic music, and indie pop. She creates a musical universe that exists beyond strict borders of genre and geography, giving her the space to traverse the vast expanse of her interiority. Mendoza first started performing in 2014 as the vocalist for Brooklyn dream pop bands Gingerlys and Lunarette. She then broke out as a solo artist with her 2016 pop hits "Islands" and "La Luz," which showcased her imagery-packed, yet deeply introspective lyrics. On LuvHz, her 2019 adventurous debut EP that was initially inspired by a painful breakup, she turned her personal experiences into songs that observe greater truths about the world around her. As a result, the project became a broader reflection on varying forms of love, in relationships with your partner, your culture, and the natural environment. Mendoza expands this approach on her debut album, Galaxia de Emociones (Galaxy of Emotions), which sees her exploring a great range of feelings, from depression, celebration, outrage, numbness, hopelessness, and thrilling love. She uses each emotion as a portal to convey the intricacies of her experience as a queer, first-generation Mexican American woman, who actively defies and criticizes machismo and the Christian culture she was surrounded by. Brought up in the suburban border town of Chula Vista, she recalls being told by her parents to not mix English with Spanish, but speaking "spanglish" quickly became inevitable. It wasn't until high school, that learning to play ukulele and singing in school musicals allowed her to authentically express herself. "This album is about finding the courage to not only face my emotions, but also sharing them by singing them out loud." Mendoza says. The project was co-written and co-produced by Mendoza and Rusty Santos (Animal Collective, Panda Bear), with a contribution from Grammy winning producer and accordionist Ulises Lozano. As Galaxia de Emociones cruises from shimmering indie pop to accordion-laced electronic norteño, Mendoza proves there is both power and tenderness in embracing the fullness of your being and not doubting your instincts that might have been discouraged by society. She says it all in the opening song, "Natural," which blooms with spacey synths and twinkling ukulele plucks. "There is no use in controlling what comes natural to you," she sings in Spanish in a spellbinding loop. With her new album, she hopes that listeners can connect with her words and look within to explore their own galaxy of emotions.

Green Marbled Vinyl


Following up to his maiden transmission for the label, "Cosmic Silence", issued a year ago, Italian producer Alessandro Cozzolino AKA Cioz resurfaces on Stil vor Talent with his longed-for debut album "Supermassive Whole" - a ten-track cosmic odyssey in sound percolating staple elements of Cioz's palette of choice, from otherworldly techno to Latin-inflected house, via the obvious injection of kosmische and electronica soundscaping.

The lead single "Wachaka" - recorded in collaboration with Cape Town producer Ryan Murgatroyd, exemplifies Cozzolino's electrifying approach to a T. An inch-perfectly balanced mix of Afro-infused polyrhythmic bravura and seesawing synth moves, the track swells with a blazing fire at heart that keeps on sprawling infectiously with each and every bar. Trading the linear buildup for most sensuous levels of syncopation, "Me Monkey" serves up a warmer kind of funk, perfect for getting snug and cozy before an avalanche of seesawing chords up the ante towards space-opera-esque amplitude. All in elusive sinuosity and processed machine talk, "Harakat" dwells the confines of wonky house templates and polyamorous EBM, while "I Always Wanted To..." goes the slo-burning, counterclockwise route, primed for languid moments in the alcove.

"B1" is perhaps the most spitting avatar of the Italian whiz's hybrid rolling-and-pounding rhythmic style, nicely embodying both its quirky, hip-swaying and fanfare-like percussive aspects. The ecstatically bouncy "Do It The Way You Feel" showcases Cioz's more rousing, floor-friendly facet with a killer combo of hi-octane electro dynamics, pop-rock motif'd hooks and slashing breaks taking the controls. The mood also happens to be melancholic at times, such as on the beautifully understated "Is This Real", which bridges the gap betwixt piano-house déjà-vu - here tweaked to distinctively soul-wrenching effect, and a prog buildup glossed under a thick sauce of FX, similar to that of "Sudpol Birgit"'s inflating saturation in the post-prod treatment. Somewhat brushed with balearic shades in mind, "Pace e Amore" follows a more classic curve, slowly veering off onto ambient-laced territories, while "Lost in Space" evokes a certain idea of gravity-defying plenitude through that ever intuitive and subtly arranged collage of tender wistfulness and endless attraction towards the groove, which defines Cozzolino's phraseology so fittingly.

2023 repress / Golden Vinyl

In 2010, electronic composer Arandel quietly released his first album In D on the then young InFiné label. At the time, the artist was strictly anonymous, put in the forefront its strict methodology of composition, and unleashed to the world what was destined to eventually break ground as a classic debut. The original pressing of that record sold out more than 10 years ago, and at long last is finding new life on gold limited-edition vinyl (including an enamel pin of the doodle that adorns the album cover). The record covers immense ground despite the strict “sonic dogma” put in place (every song in the key of D, and no samples allowed beyond what Arandel played himself). With these limitations aside, the record traverses a wide sonic map that covers classic, pristine Leftfield house, ambient experimentalism, and even mind-expanding psychedelia. As stated by The Line of Best Fit in 2010, "In D is an exciting, occasionally intoxicating and spirited album that owes as much to the spirit of its influences as it does to the desired mystery of its creator."

A limited edition 7" release by MIAMI, both tracks taken from the "PARTY FREAKS" LP. Again DYNAMITE CUTS give you never been on 7" release. Including a wonderful re-production of the original sleeve.

Track A – "I CAN SEE THROUGH YOU" – Club classic in its own right, TOP CLASS CLUB track, massive rare-groove dancer. Super sexy vibes and feel. A long awaited 45 release, need I say more!!

Track B – "Chicken Yellow" Heavy Mid-tempo groove. Classic heavy drum break sample.

Another MUST HAVE 45 rpm 7"
Format: vinyl release with full colour sleeve VINYL

After three years of breakout touring at some of the biggest roots festivals in the United States and Canada, and another three years locked out of the live performance world they have so ambitiously cultivated, Doolin', France's premiere practitioners of Irish and Celtic music, return with a new album entitled CIRCUS BOY. Recorded in part in the US (Chicago, Kansas City and Pittsburgh) during their 2019 tour, the album was completed at the legendary Studio Ferber in Paris, France, under the direction of two legendary producers, Olivier Lude and Patrice Renson, both of whom have collaborated with some of the biggest names in French music. While their 2016 album drew its inspiration from the fusion of traditional Irish music, French chanson, and American roots music, CIRCUS BOY is resolutely more adventurous, as evidenced by their original compositions ("Circus Boy", "When I'm Gone", "A Place Where We Belong"), as well as by the added punch and sonic elements that were brought to the project by producers Lude and Renson. Powerful, full of emotion, and eminently appealing, Doolin' is poised to take their career to the next level with the release of CIRCUS BOY.

Second VA for ISSUES is a limited copy and special edition yellow vinyl and its big one as all the tracks included on the vinyl are the top selling tracks of the past few months.

First track on the A side is by Detlef. “Back2back” is simple but effective, with a strong kick, subby bassline, technical effects and a massive captivating vocal in the breakdown, creating tension using effects that leads to a massive drop. On the same side Just Jake’s “Sphinx” has a unique Ancient Egyptian vibe, with a funky Sitar and traditional Arabian singing driving the breakdowns, the track has a quick thumping, wobbly bass line groove with solid percussion.

On the B side there is Nicola d’Angella’s “Kill vibe” which is a dancefloor weapon with a quick bass that creates a unique groove and a massive breakdown with full vocals. On the same side there is also Chicks Luv Us with their popular track “Look so fun” which is extremely groovy and catchy with a big bassline and vocals that create a playful groove.

Ukrainian blackened death/doom metal offensive 1914 continue to reflect the gruesome tales of World War I, its soldiers’ fate, their death, fear and feats to be never forgotten, and unleash their new opus, Where Fear and Weapons Meet, on October 22nd, via Napalm Records. Its eleven tracks of pure historic harshness follow up to the band’s sophomore full-length, The Blind Leading the Blilnd (2018), and debut, Eschatology of War (2014), both highly acclaimed amongst critics, and create a sophisticated variety of massively brutal blackened death metal accented by dramatic and realistic audio soundscapes and disquieting melodies spiced with the approach of sludge and doom! Blurb IG#1: "After their highly acclaimed previous records, blackened death/doom metal unit 1914 again faces the cruelty of World War I on its third opus Where Fear and Weapons Meet . The first single “...And a Cross Now Marks His Place” already marks an absolute highlight, as this massive outburst features none other than Paradise Lost icon Nick Holmes, whose pervasive delivery matches with 1914 ’s mastermind Hptm. Ditmar Kumarberg’s (9. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 176) vocal harshness." Blurb IG#2: Blackened death/doom metal frontrunners 1914 return with their third inexorable opus, the new studio album Where Fear and Weapons Meet. On this masterpiece of pure harshness, 1914 again reflects the gruesome tales of World War I without making any compromises. Second single “Pillars of fire”, that deals with The Battle of Messines in 1917, starts with an atmospheric introduction that draws the listener deep into the album theme and erupts into a massive blackened death/doom outburst shortly after. Blurb IG#3:Since 2014, Ukrainian blackened death/doom metal visionaries 1914 have told the gruesome tales of World War I and are now ready to face the fiery depths again on their third attack, Where Fear and Weapons Meet. Third single “FN .380 ACP#19074” breaks in with heavy guitar lines and thunderous black metal drumming like a blaze of gunfire and reflects the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife 1914 in Sarejevo, an event that caused the outbreak of World War I.

If you find the time, please come and stay a while in abracadabra’s beautiful neighbourhood; a magically wonky wonderland where strangers leave as friends to a block party soundtrack as eclectic as it is infectious. The California duo’s album shapes & colors is a dazzling collage of psych-fuelled synthscapes and contemporary Baroque-pop of anti-capitalist movements and escapism, precisely pieced around their own working lives in a blue-collar town.
In the heart of Oakland’s industrial Jingletown above a former auto-repair shop in what was once a mechanics’ break room where poker rounds ensued, Hannah Skelton (Vocals, Synthesizers) and Chris Niles, (Bass, Synthesizers) constructed the angular 80s-tinged anthems (think John Hughes montages to Talking Heads) of their new album, to positively offset the pandemic’s amplification of dysfunctional society. “It reflects our current reality: a huge mess that is systematically broken but isn’t entirely lost,” Hannah tells. “We’re inviting listeners to conjure up every drop of hope and willpower left inside them, pour that into the giant vat of anger and frustration bubbling inside us all, and with this potion collectively enact the necessary change to bring love and light into this dark space.”
When Covid forced Hannah from her salon in San Francisco to become a backyard mobile hairdresser, what she saw inspired them both and the lyrical foundations for their new record. “I’d drive to mansions and people would complain about how hard the pandemic had been next to their swimming pool and tennis courts.” First meeting after the album’s co-producer Jason Kick (Mild High Club, Sonny and the Sunsets) recruited the pair for a Halloween band covering Eurythmics’ art-rock debut ‘In The Garden,’ the pair hit it off and shapes & colors is a product of the years that followed. It combines Chris’ own rhythmic demos following years on the road touring and opening for Amon Tobin, Matthew Dear and Generationals in Maus Haus with Hannah’s lyrical musings honed from project Cassiopeia, so even when topics are as heavy as the beats, they’re met with luminously positive arrangements of hope and warmth.
The by-product of a psychedelic New Year’s Eve escaping a monotonous 2020 reality, the title track itself captures fireworks over East Oakland as viewed from the pair’s couch whilst listening to Mort Garson’s Plantasia for 6 hours straight. The daydream collage of ‘inyo county’ is “a little souvenir taking me back into the bottled-up essence of a slow lazy morning, waking up in bed far from home,” Hannah tells recalling those enforced stay-at-home days. “It fell out of me because I was craving that blissful flavour.” Meanwhile ‘dawn of the age of aquarius’s new parallel reality evolved from a happy accident when their demos had reset to a drone which Jason reworked into a Laurie Anderson-esque breathy vocoder effect. Even bloops and beeps from a forgotten recording session at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Emeryville can be heard, where the pair used Mini Moog, Fairlight EMI and ARP 2600 to arrange their sound into shapes whilst distortion and dirt from mixing on 1979 Neve 5313 Console added to the recordings’ color.
Casting a brighter rainbow still, in all its pastel-hued glory, Hannah, also illustrated a self-portrait of the band for the album artwork. “It reflects our makeshift recording studio to encapsulate all aspects of that time and space,” she shares of their abode where, over an intense two-week period and fuelled by the aroma of fermenting vino from the winery below, their single chord, bass and drum-heavy, groove-first momentum took them on an unexpected journey whilst the next-door couple would fire pizzas in their yard and a grandfather across the road would sweep the street clean. “We’d drink coffee and start the day, consistently working, without interruption,” Chris tells of finding their flow. “The loft is a cool space with skylights, tall ceilings and no shared walls so we could be as loud as we wanted to be.”
Just as well. Diving into decades of electronica and crunchy sound effects, field recordings and animal sounds, blended with an infectious Latin influence, shapes & colors is bolstered by live percussionists Greg Poneris (drums), K. Dylan Edrich (Vocals, Percussion: congas, bongos, chimes, cow bells and wood blocks, tone drum and tri-tone whistle) and Tom Smith (Guitar, Synthesizers, Vocals).
NIMBY crews grab those earplugs now. abracadabra is your new noisy neighbour, and there’s no turning this party down.

If we want to look into the future, we have to start considering the implications more holistically. All too often, science fiction is a dystopian projection of the current era's grimmest realities spiked with pragmatic historical hindsight - but what if instead it was able to reflect our needs, hopes, and dreams? On "SPINE", award-winning Danish composer SØS Gunver Ryberg considers a sustainable alternative, buoyed by interconnectedness, empowerment, and understanding. Channeling her dextrous sound design into advanced, time-bending music that fluctuates through techno, experimental ambient, and soundsystem-vibrating bass music, she maps out an artistic landscape that's futuristic and complex, but never oppressive.

Ryberg is an accomplished producer who's developed her sound over many years, playing concerts and working tirelessly on video game soundtracks, film scores, dance, performance, and multichannel installation pieces. Her first solo album "Entangled" appeared in 2019 on Berlin's esteemed Avian imprint, and was praised for its sensitive approach to noise and abstracted techno, while its EP-length followup "WHYT 030" was nominated for the Nordic Council's prestigious music prize this year. "SPINE" is the inaugural release on Ryberg's own label Arterial, and stands as a thematically dense statement of intent. The label provides a platform to extend Ryberg's artistic goals and reflect not just her world but a world she wants to see develop in the future: somewhere connected and creative, where exploration and free expression is prioritized over genre division and petty compromise.

This philosophy is central to the sounds on "SPINE", which have been carefully sculpted to accurately lay out Ryberg's worldview. Opening track 'Unfolding' presents a sonic ecosystem that flourishes as it spreads itself out, and quivering kick drums vibrate alongside unstable atmospherics. There's the faint fingerprint of Chain Reaction's notional dub techno in there somewhere, but Ryberg interrupts the thought before it can coagulate, assuring the listener that her vision isn't ponderous but playful and optimistic. This mood flickers into view again on the title track 'Spine', as fragmented breaks rumble beneath disorienting synths, faint images of a life we once knew refracted into cosmic beams of light. 'Mirrored Madness' meanwhile is warm, assertive, and optimistic, contrasting skittering cybernetic percussion with dense, enveloping harmonies.

When she pushes rhythm into the background, like on the cinematic 'We tumble on the edges', Ryberg's compositional skill is placed under the microscope. We're presented with the opportunity to examine another dimension of her work, the mystery beneath the stone, hearing saturated, alluring pads infused with hidden harmonies. In these moments, Ryberg implores all of us to consider the environment, asking us to think about the earth's essential nutrients on the dreamy 'Phosphorus Cycle', and what we might do to save ourselves on the delirious 'Where do we go from here'. Ryberg's concern isn't chastising, it's laid out in a warm embrace. The future could still be bright - there's something beautiful in the complexity if you just take the time to look closely.