Suche:concept of man

Laurin Rinder & W. Michael Lewis's Seven Deadly Sins is a hugely influential, synth-powered, atmospheric space-disco masterpiece. It's arguably the best American Disco LP ever made. It's certainly one of the most important albums in the history of dance music. And, like its innovative producers, it's absolute genius.

During the mid to late seventies the production team of Laurin Rinder and W. Michael Lewis helped to define the Disco sound that was coming out of Los Angeles with studio projects such as El Coco, Saint Tropez, Le Pamplemousse (with vocals from The Jones Girls), In Search Of Orchestra and many others.

Like all of their work, Seven Deadly Sins comprises beautifully arranged and incredibly well produced deep disco that is revered by aficionados. A seven track, largely instrumental concept album covering each of the sins, it was recorded for AVI in 1977. It's a brilliantly conceived, groove-fuelled album that layers moogy keys and druggy synths over club-ready rhythms. The idea that this record is celebrating rather than condemning the sins is said to be another factor that made the record a big one in the underground clubs.

Opening sin “Lust” is an intense, swelling, seven minute blockbuster synth journey. An ethereal Loft/Garage classic, it's a sprawling, brooding slice of epic dancefloor dynamite that remains a firm favourite of discerning disco heads like Harvey. So ahead of its time, it still sounds ridiculously fresh today, drifting through a multitude of melodies over a smooth, lightly percussive mid-tempo beat. A slow-mo sexy killer.

Up next, the sprightly-manic “Sloth” is nothing like its title. A driving, swaggering instrumental incorporating the same Euro-disco elements as our Daft Parisian friends did a few decades on, it's certainly not for the faint-hearted.

A clear highlight, the cosmic, throbbing proto-techno of “Gluttony” gets things firmly back on track. Pure industrial vibes with dark synth bass punctuated by uplifting melodic sequences that brilliantly utilise guitar and horns, is this the sound of Wax! Trax being born? You won't be able to get enough of this.

Opening up the B-Side, “Pride” is a breezy slice of classic late seventies jazz/funk with deft Hammond and clavinet grooves and expansive horn sections. It's absolutely fantastic. The wicked leftfield vocal cut “Envy” provides more disco pump with squelchy acid synth flourishes, funky guitar and neck-snapping percussive breaks.

The dark proto-techno/house cut “Anger” is a fully on top tour de force of drums. With heavy African percussion throughout and a short Afrobeat section towards the end, it was sampled by Carl Craig and Laurent Garnier for their Tres Demented project and was also a massive Ron Hardy / Music Box favourite. The album is rounded out by the hard-grooving “Covetousness”, another driving jazz-funk workout par excellence with liberal use of the syndrum.

As Laurin Rinder recalled in an interview with Dream Chimney, the duo essentially lived in the studio: “we really had cots, beds and the whole thing, we were just pumpin’ them out. 7 days a week, 3 different projects at the same time. I played drums on everything but had to play a little differently. I had to ask the engineer ‘What’s the name of this group?‘”.

Evidently, their prolific output was the result of a crazy cocaine-fuelled production schedule: “The amount of coke we did, to do all this, you can’t even imagine. $300 a day. I had to have plastic inserts in my nose so I could do more.” Looking at the frankly terrifying cover, you'd have never known!

Be With is beyond delighted to present the first ever legit vinyl reissue of Seven Deadly Sins, carefully remastered by Be With's engineer Simon Francisco to ensure it sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The unforgettable cover artwork has been reproduced here at Be With - dare you stare back at it for too long?

Because of their mix of hellified gangster shit and progressive compositions, I once jokingly called Clipping "Deathrow Tull." Well, it's not a joke anymore. While Clipping's last few projects have been record-long concepts like classic prog rock, their cyberpunk-infused new album Dead Channel Sky is mixtape-like, a carefully curated collection in which every track is a love letter to a possible present. It sounds crisp and classic at the same time. When something strikes us as retrospective and futuristic at the same time, it's a reminder of how slipshod our present moment truly is. Juxtaposing high-tech, corporate command-and-control systems (the "cyber") with the lo-fi, D.I.Y. underground (the "punk"), cyberpunk proper starts in 1982 and ends in 1999, from Blade Runner to The Matrix. Concurrently, hip-hop matured, went through its Golden Era, then melted into further forms: it went from from Fab 5 Freddy to Public Enemy to Missy Elliott. While other genres flirted with it, hip-hop was fickle and fey. Rap and rock birthed mutant offspring maligned by most, and hip-hop's relations with electronica rarely fared any better. What if someone explicitly merged hip-hop and cyberpunk - those twin suns of the '80s and '90s - into one set and sound? After all, both movements are the result of hacking the haunted leftovers of a war-torn culture that's long since moved on. On Dead Channel Sky, Clipping texture-map the twin histories of hip-hop and cyberpunk onto an alternate present where Rammellzee and Bambaataa are the superheroes of old; where Cybotron and Mantronix are the reigning legends; where Egyptian Lover and Freestyle are debated endlessly, and Ultramag and Public Enemy are the undeniable forefathers; where the lost movements of 1980s and the 1990s are still happening: rave, trip-hop, hip-house, acid house, drum & bass, big beat-the detritus of a different timeline, the survivors of armed audio warfare. Clipping are no strangers to sci-fi: two of their records were nominated for Hugo Awards (one of science fiction's top literary prizes), and a novella spun-off from their music was nominated for a third. On Dead Channel Sky, Clipping's co-conspirators include everyone from the guitarist Nels Cline, to their labelmates Cartel Madras, rapper/actor Tia Nomore, and wordsmith Aesop Rock. Diggs is known for intricate lyrics and rapid-fire rapping, and the tracks that Snipes and Hutson build in the background are no less complex. All of the above serves to give us a glimpse of an adjacent possible present, where hip-hop and cyberpunk are one culture. Binary stars are often perceived as one object when viewed with the naked eye. Like those twin sun systems, it'll take some special equipment and some discerning attention to pull the stars apart on this record. As Diggs barks on the fire-starting "Change the Channel": Everything is very important!

The album’s title deftly gestures to the sheer vastness of astronomical dimensions, while simultaneously capturing the musical breadth within, where the eight planets are imagined as the eight notes of an octave. The work draws inspiration not only from earlier compositions —most notably Gustav Holst’s The Planets—but also from the rich astronomical and cultural contexts surrounding these celestial bodies. Here, the focus transcends direct citation of melodic motifs, instead embracing an intriguing conceptual approach on a meta level, unfolding in a series of vividly contrasting soundscapes. These contrasts shape a sweeping sonic journey, one that fully embraces the album format with both arms, inviting the listener to venture into realms both strange and wondrous, feeling the immensity of the interstellar space that lies between them. Contrast, after all, is the brushstroke that enriches our world.

Embarking on an auditory voyage, "Astral Guide" establishes the sonic framework that propels us into the boundless expanses of the cosmos. Its ethereal tones evoke the vastness of space, crafting a mood ripe for exploration within the realms of sci-fi. The subsequent tracks unfold like constellations, weaving a rich tapestry of sound that seamlessly marries cinematic soundscapes with pulsating, club-oriented rhythms. This album invites listeners to traverse its immersive landscapes, whether nestled in the comfort of home or dancing under the starlit sky, each note a guide through the transcendent experience of a nocturnal journey.

"Solar Flares" draws its inspiration from the awe-inspiring expanse of solar phenomena, capturing the majestic power of the sun as it reaches into the cosmos. This track resonates with the idea that energy, while vital, can also be a force of destruction when unleashed with overwhelming intensity. The composition beautifully mirrors the sun’s duality, where brilliance and devastation coexist, inviting listeners to reflect on the delicate balance between creation and annihilation. Through its rich textures and dynamic shifts, "Solar Flares" serves as both a homage to the celestial and a poignant reminder of nature's formidable power.

"Mercury – The Winged Messenger" embodies a meticulously crafted soundscape where artistry meets astronomy. The tempo of 173.6 BPM, derived from precise astronomical data, propels the composition into a vibrant realm that resonates with cosmic energy. Synthwave sound design intertwines seamlessly with the fluid rhythms of Drum’n’Bass, imbuing the piece with an uplifting dynamism that evokes the ethereal grace of Mercury itself. In this sonic exploration, listeners are invited to ascend on wings of sound, navigating the celestial tapestry of the universe with each invigorating beat.

"Venus, The Bringer of Peace" strikes a decidedly cozy note, presenting a poignant contrast to the more tempestuous themes often found in cosmic narratives. This composition evokes a nostalgic vision of an optimistic era, one in which humanity transcended borders and embraced the infinite possibilities of space exploration, where no destination felt too distant. The dense, languid atmosphere envelops the listener, creating a tangible sense of serenity that unfolds gradually, allowing for a meditative journey through sound. Each note serves as an invitation to linger in this tranquil embrace, reflecting on the harmonious potential of our collective aspirations and the beauty of connection in a vast universe.

The central theme of „Gaia, The Bringer of Life“ —originally not part of the planetary cycle— is the profound enabler of life on Earth. The arrangement delicately mirrors the slow, tentative unfolding of this potential, marked by an initially sparse orchestration that gradually builds in momentum. This progression crescendos, embodying the explosive dynamism of the Cambrian burst of life, ultimately culminating in a euphoric fanfare—a triumphant, celebratory flourish echoing life’s victorious emergence.

"Blue Moon" unfolds as a contemplative reverie on the tranquil clarity of a night sky, now seldom glimpsed in its natural purity, unclouded by the relentless haze of urban light. The listener is drawn into the vast embrace of the star-strewn firmament, a journey that sways between euphoric awe at nature’s sublime beauty and a profound melancholy for its fragile and imperiled state. Musically, this duality finds expression in the delicate interplay of modal mixtures, while an ever-shifting triplet groove, poised at the intersection of Outrun and melodic house, lends a pulse that is both nostalgic and forward-looking—echoing the beauty and transience of a world on the brink.

Rather than replicating the original composition of „Mars, The Bringer of War“, this interpretation seeks to evoke its profound, foreboding atmosphere. Cyberpunk emerges here as an ideal genre, channeling the dark, relentless march synonymous with Mars, the ancient god of war. The piece reverberates with intensity, as distorted vocalizations rise, embodying the anguish and visceral torment that shadow war’s violent crescendo. This auditory descent into conflict captures the relentless pulse of warfare, where sound itself becomes an embodiment of suffering and fury.

Majestically, "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" emerges on the celestial stage, sweeping away the somber tones with its radiant vigor. Drawing inspiration from the triumphant strains of the original, and borrowing a melodic motif in the refrain, the piece expresses joy and buoyancy through a shift to a major key and the lilting sway of a danceable 12/8 meter. Spirited and exuberant, it leaps boldly from major to minor and back again, playfully shifting time signatures to capture a mood of unbridled festivity and jollity.

Here, a more conciliatory concept is chosen than in the original inspiration. „Saturn“ aligns with the number six, being the sixth planet from the Sun and bearing the iconic hexagonal pattern at its northern pole. What, then, could be more fitting than to render this piece in a 6/8 time signature? The arrangement unfolds with a multifaceted richness, mirroring the countless stones and ice fragments that form the foundations of Saturn’s majestic rings.

„Uranus“ adopts the theme of a light-footed, dancing instrumentation, giving the impression of perpetual motion, never quite settling. This musical choice harmonizes with the planet’s own orbit, as it spins with breathtaking velocity, teetering and swaying, seemingly unable to attain rest or stability.

The chill and vastness of the cosmos find expression in „Neptune, The Mystic“. At its core, an electronic soundscape envelops a classical arrangement, its unreachability intensified by an ethereal, otherworldly choir. Hovering at the outermost boundaries of the solar system, where warmth is but a distant memory, the composition lingers in a slow, contemplative tempo, evoking a realm where space for speculation stretches wide and silence reigns supreme.

Though Pluto may have lost its planetary status, and its companion Charon never achieved one, this shift in classification subtly aligns with the cosmic scale invoked here—one that mirrors the musical tradition of an eight-note sequence. Fittingly, the album closes with „Kuiper Belt“, a composition emblematic of the turbulence and vitality of countless smaller

celestial bodies that, though diminutive, find their rightful place within the vast architecture of the solar system.

They say nature is the greatest composer, shaping the universe with a symphony of chaos and order, beauty and danger. It is this duality that fuels the artistic vision of Edictum—a producer who, armed with a doctorate in chemistry, delves as deeply into the mysteries of molecules as he does into the depths of sound. In the tension between the vastness of the cosmos and the microscopic processes that dictate life’s rhythm, Edictum creates sonic landscapes that dissolve the boundaries between science and art.

His music is a story of contrasts—a sonic tale where the raw forces of nature clash with the intricate structures of human culture. Opposites intertwine to form a harmonious whole: the primal rhythms of the earth meet the celestial melodies of the cosmos, the rigid laws of physics blend with the boundless freedom of art. Edictum explores these polarities with meticulous devotion, each composition an expedition into uncharted soundscapes—a quest to give voice to the unfathomable.

With over 20 years immersed in the realms of electronic music, Edictum has honed a keen sense for rhythm and movement. His driving beats compel both body and mind into a hypnotic flow. Yet beyond the pulse of dance lies a complex framework of conceptual thought. Today, his creative focus revolves around holistic album projects—self-contained worlds with overarching narratives that embrace contrast and complexity. Each track stands alone as a fragment of the whole, but together, they weave a cohesive tapestry, much like the chapters of a novel that guide the listener on an emotional and sonic journey.

Edictum’s distinctive musical signature has earned him international recognition. With over 150 releases, many on prestigious platforms like the iconic *NewRetroWave* label, and collaborations with artists such as Jan Johnston, Azumi Inoue, Powernerd, and Turbo Knight, he has solidified his place in the global electronic music scene. His latest work, *A Cosmic Scale*, marks his seventh vinyl album and is released under his own label, *Echoes of Expanse*. The label’s name is no coincidence—it captures the essence of his art: echoes of infinity, the vibrations of the universe distilled into a singular sonic experience that carries the listener ever further into the boundless expanse of sound and space.

NEW LP PRESSING on Opaque Yellow Wax

Released in September 1978, a mere two months before YMO’s debut, Cochin Moon is a clear precursor to the groundbreaking synth and sequencer-dominated sounds that would come to define the iconic trio. Huge tip!

Credited to Hosono and Pop Art legend Tadanori Yokoo (who created the cover art), Cochin Moon is a fictional soundtrack to a journey into unknown worlds, inspired by Hosono and Yokoo’s trip to India.

The unbelievably prolific Haruomi Hosono is one of the major architects of modern Japanese pop music. With his encyclopedic knowledge of music and boundless curiosity for new sounds, Hosono is the auteur of his own idiosyncratic musical world, putting his unmistakable stamp on hundreds of recordings as an artist, session player, songwriter and producer. Born and raised in central Tokyo, his adolescent obsession with American pop culture informed his early forays into country music, which he would revisit later in his career. Hosono made his professional debut in 1969 as a member of Apryl Fool, whose heavy psychedelia was somewhat at odds with his influences, which leaned towards the rootsy sounds of Moby Grape and Buffalo Springfield. The latter was one of the main inspirations for his next group, Happy End, whose unique blend of West Coast sounds with Japanese lyrics proved to be highly influential over the course of three albums. After the band’s amicable break up in 1973, Hosono began his solo career with Hosono House, an intimate slice of Japanese Americana recorded inside a rented house with recording gear squeezed into its tiny bedroom. Hosono’s solo career would take many twists and turns from this point forward, with forays into exotica, electronic, ambient, and techno, culminating in the massive success of techno pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).

Released in September 1978, a mere two months before YMO’s debut, Cochin Moon is a clear precursor to the groundbreaking synth and sequencer-dominated sounds that would come to define the iconic trio. Credited to Hosono and Pop Art legend Tadanori Yokoo (who created the cover art), Cochin Moon is a fictional soundtrack to a journey into unknown worlds, inspired by Hosono and Yokoo’s trip to India. Initially the album was to be a kind of ethnographic musical document, using found sounds and field recordings made by Hosono himself. Instead, after Yokoo introduced Hosono to the sounds of Kraftwerk and krautrock during the trip, Cochin Moon became something much stranger. Created almost entirely on synthesizers and sequencers with the help of future YMO collaborators Ryuichi Sakamoto and Hideki Matsutake, the music on the album is the perfect encapsulation of Hosono’s concept of “sightseeing music,” transporting the listener to an exotic place that may or may not exist. This highly sought-after album sees its first-ever official release outside of Japan.

Restoring balance to our series of earthly compilations, one that has brought to you an array of different artists, all with the collective goal of sharing the joy of exploring musical wonders with no borders, we have Earthly Tapes 04.

In keeping with the series so far, nature and electronica intertwine in unison to share a space as befitting to hedonistic dancefloor groovers as it is to homebound explorations. With this release, we have 7 wonderful artists expressing their creativity across 6 carefully curated tracks, with native roots connected to 5 different countries across South America and Europe.

2 years in the making and chopping and changing as it’s passed through the motions, what has remained is the concept behind it. On this edition, we're shining a light on a small portion of female producers within a music scene that we’re fortunate to be a part of.

Each artist that has carefully created a track for this compilation, has also contributed their beautiful crafts within the Organica/Folkloric/Downtempo scene and we’re truly blessed to be able to share them with you. The countdown to the release of this next chapter finds us coinciding fittingly with International Women’s Day.

The album SATO was made by the Ukrainian Crimean Tatar pianist and composer Usein Bekirov.
SATO was created during the difficult wartime for Usein’s motherland Ukraine and for the author himself.
Despite circumstances, the compositions of SATO express the ideas of the beauty and revival of Ukrainian music, a part of which is Crimean Tatar folklore.
The uniqueness of the release is caused both by the concept of the album and by the performers' star crew.

The jazz sound of the compositions of SATO is directed to the stylistic course of ethno-jazz and world music.
Rhythms and melodies of colorful Crimean Tatar folk music became the main source of inspiration in the creation of the album.
We can find both Usein's original author's themes, skillfully stylized to the oriental sound,
and referenced to the classic jazz vocabulary in its juicy riffs and grooves with features of fusion and funk music.

The name of the album reflected the inheritance of generations through music.
Sato is not only a folk instrument but also the name of the first Crimean Tatar jazz band, which made the first jazz arrangements of Crimean Tatar songs.
The music of this band became the basic musical experience of Usein Bekirov, because one of the members of the group was his father Riza Bekirov, to whom the album is dedicated.

The author and producer of the album is Usein Bekirov - Ukrainian pianist, composer, arranger, sound producer, and author of music for a number of films and theater performances.
Usein Bekirov cooperates with both foreign and Ukrainian musicians of the highest rank.
This is evidenced by the participants of the album Sato: Dennis Chambers, Randy Brecker, James Genus, Mike Stern, Ada Rovatti (USA), Hadrien Feraud (France), and Cenk Erdogan (Turkey).
Each performer reinterprets the author's material of Usein Bekirov through the prism of his own experience, character, and manner of performance, which was expressed in the daring stylistic combinations within a jazz style.

A special role in the creation of the album was taken by the participants of the recordings, especially, legendary jazzmen Dennis Chambers, Randy Brecker, James Genus, Mike Stern.
Their ideological and creative support became an important part of the creativity process.
Musicians expressed their impressions in small addresses for the audience.
One of the reviews of the musicians:
"The process of recording compositions was really exciting! This music reflects Usein's national origin and sense of his native culture.
It is full of real emotions. Actually, this music is quite difficult, but it is very well written and produced!
I sincerely hope you will notice this album, which also took part in Dennis Chambers, James Genus, Mike Stern, Ada Rovatti, and others.
I think it's going to be a really special album, can't wait to hear the final version.
When you hear about the premiere, I highly recommend listening to this new album created by Usein Bekirov.
It will be great!" Randy Brecker

Scanning Backwards, Phase Fatale’s second full-length album originally released on Berghain’s in-house label Ostgut Ton in 2020 is now reissued via his label BITE on limited edition pink marble vinyl after being long sold out and sought after. Using the connection between weaponized sound and psychological manipulation as a conceptual foundation, Hayden Payne explores the ways in which music – and sub frequencies in particular – are used to influence thinking and to synchronize emotions and behavior: from military technology to sound systems and the physicality and sexuality of queer techno culture.

Known for his innovative post-punk takes of dance music as featured on EPs for unterton and Ostgut Ton, the Berghain resident draws on his background as both a guitarist and sound engineer to create a heady mix of broken rhythms, noise-, and shoegaze-inflected techno, often at slower tempos. The result is music with space and pace to expand, highlighting the intense rushes of frequencies found in both sonic warfare and functional dance music. Over eight tracks named after a combination of historical and fictional narratives from literature and science fiction, Payne’s rhythmic excursions explore different manifestations of sound as power – specifically within the context of seeing Berghain as an instrument itself. This is also reflected in the album artwork, taken from an early flyer for the SNAX party series and an obvious ode to the fetishization of power dynamics.

In his own words: “All tracks on the album, no matter the style, were tailored to sound a certain way in Berghain – something I figured out through years of dancing in the middle of the floor, DJing as a resident and investigating what frequencies really penetrate the body. This includes speech and high-frequency, brain-penetrating instrumentation and drilling textures that I had not utilized so often before, but which I think also have an effect on thought and memory. It’s especially true in a space where gay and fetish roots combine with music in unexpected ways, almost in a cultish manner. A musical and physical deprogramming and reprogramming, psychic driving and de-patterning, the erasing and replacing of memories.”

Ultimately, Scanning Backwards surveys not only the manipulative properties of electronic music (mantras, loops, subliminal messages) but also how rhythm facilitates both moving and thinking in synchrony; a pulse of coordinated sound- and brainwaves.

Ring the alarm - multi-instrumentalist Jimi Jules scheduled for the album „+“ in 2022, executive produced by Innervisions label boss Dixon. The album features the most sought after and requested tracks of the last month including „My City's On Fire“, revolutionary „Der Aufstand“, dancefloor romance „Burning“ and „Clinomania“ featuring Joy Tyson, and fabulous Lily Allen / Elton John drummer Nathan Curran. The artwork concept is developed and designed by iconic graphic artist Trevor Jackson, whose multi-disciplinary works formed the graphical identities of design, music, fashion, and art by the likes of Soulwax, HFD / Comme des Garcons or Apple Music. Jimi Jules’ second album signifies his return to future-focussed album concepts. A welcomed novelty and venture. Exploring themes such as free thoughts and togetherness after a period of interpersonal absence. Better Together Forever.

A unique character in the electronic music scene, Jimi Jules is a multi-instrumentalist and school-trained musician with much more to offer than the standard four-to-floor sound. Jimi plays nearly everything from drums to trumpet and sings almost all the vocals himself. The talent probably lies in his roots, as many of his family members are known for their playing in jazz bands and classical ensembles. Most recently awarded a silver disk marking 200,000 copies of the 2020 track “Pushin On” in the UK, Jimi Jules also commenced a new collaborative partnership with Berlin-based booking agency, Temporary Secretary, earlier this year.

As the new era is underway for Innervisions, Jimi Jules “+” takes center stage of the label’s fundamental core - artist first, label second. For Jimi Jules especially, this new project represents the beginning of a whole new platform and innovative space for collaborations and symbiosis of mixed media.

2025 Repress on clear orange Vinyl!

Zake's Drone Recordings label offers up this heartfelt collection in celebration of the label head's wife on a milestone birthday. Next to the man himself, awakened souls and Beno�t Pioulard also feature with the former offering 'Valleys and Peaks' from Julia's poem which blends Cynthia's ethereal vocals and James Bernard's bass with swirling synths and guitar. Beno�t Pioulard's lo-fi folk-pop 'A Heart Mirrored' and dreamy 'Our Era' reflect his signature style while Zake's cinematic pieces, including 'I Saw An Angel,' pay tribute to the inspiration of his wife. A lovely listen with a great concept

10, 9, 8, 7, 6… the countdown to blastoff has started! Paris-based band Setenta is preparing for their upcoming 20th anniversary by releasing their sixth album, Apollo Solar Drive. The record is poised to be their best yet and is the culmination of an odyssey of artistic discovery. Setenta has been constantly striving for illumination through the years, yet also exploring the dark side of the human condition along the way. As the band describes it, this record is an Afro-Latin retro-futurist tribute to the sun. If their previous album, Materia Negra, launched the Setenta space shuttle crew into the void of “dark” matter and black holes, they now change course and valiantly approach the sun at full warp speed, taking us from darkness into the light. Miraculously, Setenta manage to bring some of the rhythmic and harmonic material they’ve explored on Earth with them, yet boldly dare to go where no one has gone before, challenging themselves to take their music, and their audience, to uncharted dimensions and new realms of existence.

In keeping with the themes of Materia Negra, FIP (Radio France) selection in 2020, Setenta’s sixth mission to explore “the great beyond” of “inner space” is aptly titled Apollo Solar Drive, emphasizing the band’s turning to the life-giving light of the sun for inspiration while playfully echoing the title of Eddie Palmieri’s Latin funk and social commentary masterpiece, Harlem River Drive. The overall vibe is warm and positive, propelled by the dual energy thrusters of funky, fierce beats and deceptively complex arrangements, yet going down smooth in the best sense of the word, like your favorite tropical cocktail or classic jazz dance fusion record of the 1970s. Of course this delicious treat is served with a special Setenta flavor all its own.

This time around, Apollo Solar Drive celebrates the trajectory of the band’s unique interstellar journey by deploying a resolutely jazzy, “funkadelic” angle to their beloved Afro-Latin music. Setenta’s band members tell their truths as a collective, with an emphasis on instrumental sections, focusing on the interweaving of multiple keyboards and guitars, while condensing the vocals to group choruses, as opposed to the solo voices of the past. The overall approach is more futuristic in its conception and realization, from the arrangements to the sonic engineering, although the rhythmic base still remains rooted in Afro-Cuban traditions as well as those of other Caribbean nations.

Pablo E. Yglesias (DJ Bongohead) of Peace & Rhythm (USA)

Dub Shepherds met Echo Minott in 2016 through the Dub Master Clash project, a dub evening concept that saw several dub producers “battle it out”. A solid friendship was born between the Jamaican and the young Clermont-Ferrand producers.

From these reverb and echo clashes came a 12” maxi, ‘This World is inna Mess’, etching in wax the first collaboration between Dub Shepherds and Echo Minott.

In 2023, Dr Charty and I Fi travel to Jamaica with a bag full of riddims produced at the Bat Records studio, and are greeted on the spot by Echo Minott. Get the picture? We’ll spare you the photos of the trip here, and just select the fruit of this musical journey : five tracks and five dubs between roots and 80’s rub a dub that make up the Mango Tree showcase. Enjoy Music Lovers!

Join El Maquinista Hypnotica on a sonic voyage to the bygone era of electronic dance music with his latest release, "Chakra EP". This 4-track collection encapsulates the spirit of the late 80's and early 90's, drawing inspiration from New Beat, Techno, and Acid House.

Infused with the universal energies and the golden ratio concept, each track corresponds to the seven chakras, tapping into the ancient wisdom woven into the fabric of our being.

Utilizing genuine vintage hardware, El Maquinista Hypnotica brings four unadulterated techno sounds, embracing the origins of sonic creation with these timeless and potent machines, delivering a raw energy that echoes the purity of the original techno movement.

Chakra's EP visual approach serve as a testament to the fusion of technology and art. P2T has created an immersive experience that reflects the 'trippy', otherworldly artwork of the era using Bryce 3D (version 2.0), a program that was first commercially available in 1995. This antiquated tool was brought back to life via emulation technology, creating a universe that both musically and visually symbolizes the seven chakras and realigns the human body with it's ideal golden ratio.

El Maquinista Hypnotica is not only a producer, he's a magician, who hypnotically manipulates frequencies to light up dance floors. Every song combines the cosmic with the physical in an audio journey that is an alchemical fusion of the past, present, and future.

Get ready to be enthralled and invigorated by the mystical power of El Maquinista Hypnotica and his Chakra EP.

NOTON is pleased to announce the release of Xerrox Vol. 5, the final installment of Alva Noto’s Xerrox series.

For anyone who has been following the series since its inception in 2007, the concept of Xerrox no longer requires introduction. Originally, it aimed to create copies of images—both visual and acoustic—that are more memorable than the originals. The exploration of the relationship between the original and the copy, along with the invention of the copier, not only inspired the series name but also informed its underlying concept. In 2024, this series comes to an end, marking the culmination of a journey that began with the first recording in 2005/2006. Over nearly two decades, the five albums in this series have accompanied the artist's evolving perspective and conceptual approach.

Initially characterized by rawness and a conceptual focus on seeking resolution in white noise, the later works engage with themes of dissolution while shifting their emphasis toward acoustic particles. The copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition.

Nicolai describes this evolution as a journey encompassing buildup, exploration, and resolution, drawing parallels to the Odyssey and the stories of Jules Verne, particularly those featuring Captain Nemo.

The conclusion of this album holds a sense of finality for the artist. “I aimed to create a whole cycle of tracks that frame both the beginning and the end,” Nicolai explains. “The motif of the journey continues, but this time, the story reaches a dissolution through a conceptual object that embarks on its own journey into infinity. The word “dissolution” (“Auflösung” in German) is a wonderful concept. On one hand, you can solve a riddle, on the other hand, a pill can completely dissolve in water. Here, I am deliberately describing the process of dissolution.”
In crafting Volume 5, Nicolai has evolved his compositional process, eschewing samples in favor of original melodies. “This album probably took the longest to complete,” he reveals. “I first created melodic sketches, which became the foundation for the pieces. These recordings are created entirely from scratch. Based on these sketches, I constructed the process of copying, manipulating, and reshaping.”

Drawing from his recent experiences working with film and larger ensembles, Nicolai's approach to composition reflects a growing influence of classical instrumentation. “This experience of working with acoustic classical instruments has flowed into the compositional process for Xerrox Vol. 5. Certain instruments are designed with potential orchestral translation in mind.”

The sonic atmosphere of Xerrox Vol. 5 is one of profound dissolution. “I wasn’t initially interested in strong, emotional melodic aspects,” Nicolai shares, “but I realized that the fragment plays a central role.” This shift leads to an emotionally charged experience, imbued with melancholy and the bittersweet essence of farewell. The passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto, an admirer of the series, has further deepened the album’s emotional resonance.

“Xerrox Vol. 5 has a lot to do with farewell,” the artist explains. "Not only the farewell to the series itself, which I’ve nurtured for almost two decades, but also there have been many farewells to people who were close to me. I believe these people are recognizable in the music. It’s a very emotional, personal album.”

Listeners can expect a visual dimension to the music, though Nicolai intentionally leaves this open to interpretation. “I prefer to allow the music to evoke personal experiences and images rather than dictate a specific narrative,” he states. The result is a layered listening experience that invites tenderness and introspection.

The third chapter in CLIKNO's MAT (Music / Art / Text) EDITIONS series features four extended deep Minimal Techno tracks by Dr.Nojoke, titled wrongwrongrightright.

This release is accompanied by Dana Widawski's SelfMade 1-4, a series of four fayence-style plates created using traditional techniques to convey unconventional, socio-critical themes, and a text, solo moral judgement, by Marianne Klausen—a manual for a performance on moral judgment that explores the meanings and values of concepts like good, bad, wrong, and right—fusing auditory and visual art with writing into a unified experience.

At the core of Dr.Nojoke's wrongwrongrightright lies a deep, hypnotic quality, woven through layers of rhythm, melody, and noise, creating a transcendental pulse for the dancefloor. Notone on the A-side takes a more straightforward, acidic approach, while Cornips on the flipside is a deep minimal groover with a funky interplay of sounds. The second record dives even deeper with two more obscure tracks, Volasuri and Jilimuz, appealing to fans of Voices From The Lake and similar artists.

CLIKNO … art for dancing

An album by K15 feels long overdue. Having made music for over 20 years, consistently released for 1o, it’s a fair comment. If you ask him, he’ll tell you that most of his releases he sees and treats like albums; releases laden with coherent themes, concepts and a sense of identity.
Hope Is Perseverance is another example of this. From the dreamlike haze of ‘life interrupted’, to the textures of ‘hollowed’ and ‘new territories’, this album is rooted in cinematic hues with a touch of beat culture.
The title track is a 9min+ jaunt through soul-stirring string arrangements, whirling electric pianos and the kind of infectious drum programming that we’ve come to expect from K15.
While the album serves as an ode to the importance of hope, it’s also a reminder of the many facets of K15. Enjoy!

We’re teaming up with ELUCID and Fat Possum for a limited edition of 300 copies of a Rush Hour black ice coloured edition.

E L U C I D, one half of the illustrious duo Armand Hammer, is here with the full-length follow-up to 'I Told Bessie'. Further experiments in the sonic, expanding on the 'live' side of music paired with the embracing of chaos. Something you haven't heard, or not so for a very long time. E L U C I D is here to reveal the bleakness of reality.



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''There is never time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now.''
James Baldwin

A raw, crackling urgency runs through rapper-producer ELUCID’s new album REVELATOR like an underground power line. There is no space here for sepia-toned reminiscences or indulgent self-mythologizing. Intellectual rabbit holes have been filled in with concrete and rebar ; there is nowhere to hide and no off ramp from the audio Autobahn that ELUCID has fashioned—a renegade Robert Moses with gold fronts, bulldozing the homes of the powerful and the complicit. REVELATOR brims with the energy of now, with a refusal to look away. Carpe diem in a murder one mask.

Born in Jamaica, Queens, ELUCID has been on the cutting edge of New York’s underground scene since the mid-2000s. From the beginning, he has defied both convention and expectation. He ran with Okayplayer darlings Tanya Morgan, but his own music eschewed their throwback charm for glitchy noise experiments and bass-swamped culture jamming. His 2016 debut studio project Save Yourself (re-released in a deluxe edition last year) announced him in earnest. But in recent years, his Armand Hammer releases with partner-in-crime billy woods have received significant attention and acclaim. Serving as a followup to his last solo album—2022’s comparatively balmy I Told Bessie—ELUCID hoped to “re-distinguish” himself with REVELATOR, setting himself apart amidst the increasing attention around the music he and his friends are making together.

For ELUCID, this meant setting bold new challenges for himself. One of these was diving further into live instrumentation than ever before—”getting my Quincy Jones on,” as he puts it. The testing ground for this approach was Armand Hammer’s most recent project, 2023’s We Buy Diabetic Test Strips’ Möbius strip soundscapes, warmed with instrumental flourishes and skin-shedding beat progressions. With REVELATOR, though, ELUCID strove to create an atmosphere of chaos, embracing experimental electronics and atonal sample bursts. He worked on much of the album with co-producer Jon Nellen, who comes from a background in avant-garde and Indian classical music. “I wanted to get as freaky as I could at this moment. I wanted people to hear things, maybe for the first time, or in a way they haven’t for a long while,” the rapper explains.

ELUCID arrived at the studio with a collection of noise sources: non-referential samples, glitches and noises. Together he, Nellen, and others created forms out of them and, as ELUCID recalls, “just started playing drums with it.” Their fried, distorted sound was directly inspired by Miles Davis at his most uncompromising—specifically, the tone-clustering funk track “Rated X” from his 1974 double LP Get Up With It. At times, the pairing of rap with avant-fusion sounds also brings Emergency! from The Tony Williams Lifetime to mind, perhaps in an alternate timeline where the late drummer was listening to Ice Cube’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted.

“The World is Dog,” REVELATOR’s lead single, functions as the album’s aesthetic thesis statement. Like the Davis track, the textures are punishing, the tonality is in free-fall, and the driving breakbeat of a groove cuts in and out unceremoniously. Avant-jazz bassist Luke Stewart, who appears throughout the record, holds the whole thing together just long enough for ELUCID to tightwalk over the beat. This tension is exactly where REVELATOR sets itself apart; in a time of drumless loops, and safe soul samples, this is a high-wire act with no safety net. Similarly, the song announces the themes of the album within just a few phrases, evoking the way societies accept and adjust to new levels of debasement and brutality while suffocating under the weight of history: “Can’t clock the kill, all a mystery/Forced past will eating everyone eventually/The world is dog.”

Many of the songs on REVELATOR grapple obliquely with dissolution and disenfranchisement in America and across the world—the grim realities of our domestic sociopolitical climate and our involvement in foreign conflicts. “Much of my artistic and political sensibility comes from the Black arts movement here in New York,” ELUCID explains. “Recognizing the interconnected global struggles against oppression, artists and thinkers created works and actions in solidarity with freedom movements in South Africa and Palestine.” ELUCID cites intellectuals like Amiri Baraka, Kwame Nkrumah, Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez, and Nikki Giovanni among his heroes. (One track on the album is specifically inspired by Lorde’s work, “SKP,” citing the scholar’s paper “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic As Power.”) Songs like REVELATOR’s insistent closer “ZIGZAGZIG,” find ELUCID applying up-to-the-minute messaging, making explicit reference to the conflict in Gaza: “Feed a war machine…from river to sea, in lieu of peace.”

Despite ELUCID’s preference for cacophonous system overload here, the rapper also provides moments of respite. Recorded at The Alchemist’s Los Angeles studio, the laid-back, wheezing “INSTANT TRANSFER” is a collaboration with billy woods, which crystallizes their shared sense of creative determination. “With much momentum behind us and even more on the horizon, I knew a purpose, and that every step was ordered to that purpose,” ELUCID said of the experience. Meanwhile, the jittery “HUSHPUPPIES” is a playful anomaly on the track list, providing a snapshot of ELUCID watching his grandparents in the kitchen while preparing for Friday night fish fry dinners.

“Love still rules over on this side,” ELUCID says. ”I’m raising a family. We are making meaning and finding joy in the midst of all the fucked up-ness of everything around us because the alternative is cowardice and slow death. We remain rooted. We celebrate our people and our wins. Struggle is necessary.”

“IKEBANA” is one of ELUCID’s strongest statements of purpose on the record, blending the record’s heaviest themes with its most hopeful sentiments. supported by a shoutalong refrain and an urgent prog-funk groove. Breaking away from images of dissolution and crumbling societal systems that populate REVELATOR, ELUCID notes that the only way to navigate life’s bleakest landscapes is to cling to love and believe in those around you—to look forward toward something better that may or may not be possible. For the rapper, one of the album’s most trenchant lines comes during a centerpiece of a beat drop: “Being alive/I must look up.”

“The lyric ‘being alive I must look up’ is important especially in the context of this album. Much of the album imagery is harsh and reflects the actual doom some of us experience. But still I/we exist,” ELUCID explains.

Every artist is, in one way or another, the product of their time, bound by life’s leaden gravity to operate within the space of that which is already known. But there are some who are able to shake free of these ties, to shape the culture as it unfolds, to make the present their own.
Revelation, as a concept, points to the scales falling from people’s eyes—something that has been hiding in plain sight becoming clear. “The revelator relates to things that have been talked about, things that have been forecasted,” ELUCID adds. “And now they’re really here, and everyone sees it. And there’s no escaping.” REVELATOR plays out with the unmitigated power of those storms, laying waste to any genre conventions in pursuit of a certain physicality. Here, ELUCID develops a wholly distinctive musical language to explore our fractured modernity.

REVELATOR's packaging was designed by longtime Armand Hammer / Backwoodz art director, Alexander Richter.

Have you ever been to Miyazaki? It’s a prefecture on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, facing the Pacific. Palm trees. Humid subtropical climate. This is the home of Maple Fyshh, a musical artist whose late-80s/early-90s recordings have been collected and reissued here. Liberated by the advent of 4-track cassette home recording technology, inspired by a love of 60s pop oddball production mavens like Phil Spector and Joe Meek, as well as American hot rod and surf music, these Maple Fyssh songs glow with an outsider’s love of the transformative power of newly-available sound technology, allowing him to pull his inspirations across decades and oceans to his 1990s Miyazaki home studio. The tracks here are a d.i.y. dream-pop wonderland, compiling songs from his first LP “Mariko” and second LP “Dokitto Station!!”, both self-produced, both released in 1995. The A-side of this release features tracks from the concept album “Mariko”, a masterpiece of daydream pop introspection, recorded in 1994-95, inspired by a poem submitted to a manga magazine. The B-side features tracks from “Dokitto Station!!”, slightly earlier recordings that draw inspiration from a range of 60s pop including girl groups, surf music and acid folk. All the music here demonstrates Maple Fyshh’s deep understanding and appreciation 60s pop moves, and also his mastery of the limited technology at his disposal.

Remastered in 2024, the sound of Miyazaki has been reborn for a new audience. Available on Vinyl LP and download, with a DL card, English/Japanese lyrics and entertaining and informative English/Japanese liner notes by the artist.

The first in a new compilation series, "How We Walk on the Moon," was selected and supervised by the project "VINYL GOES AROUND," which operates under the concept of "redefining record culture" in the era of subscription services.

The album is themed on "quiet nights." It is not too close to healing/easy listening, but has a beautiful tension and a pure, mellow mood, and the fantastic soundscape that makes you want to listen to it under the moonlight blends into the environment.

The selection of beautiful pieces is a woven ensemble of various genres, including not only ambient and jazz, but also soul, library, and alternative, and will serve as an introduction to the pop side of ambient music, which many people find intimidating. It is a must-listen for all music fans.

In addition, the LP comes with a completely new type of obi called "ORIGAMI" supervised by "VINYL GOES AROUND". It is a special design that further deepens the worldview of the album.

The tracks included are "Harmonica and...", a 7-inch only track by Sven Wonder, an up-and-coming artist who was nominated for the Jazz category of the 2024 Swedish Grammy Awards; "Clouds" by Gigi Masin, which has been cited by Namedaruma, Nujabes, and Bjork; and "Morning Sunrise", a popular song by Weldon Irvin that has been sampled in countless songs since the 2000s. The lineup is set apart from conventional healing/ambient compilations, and will be useful for DJs as well.

This is a record that will make spending an evening with you feel incredibly luxurious, as if your mind is being freed to go on a free-spirited journey.

*****

It is an honor to be included in this compilation alongside so many other talented artists who have been an important part of my musical journey and hold a special place in my heart. - SVEN WUNDER

Expansion’s most successful and longest running compilation series returns with its 2020 collection. It’s the 20th Anniversary edition. The concept remains, the tracks better than ever, fifteen must-have modern soul room gems telling the story of the past 12 months. Tracks here have topped UK soul charts including many that have not been available in all formats. Participants this year include Charlie Wilson (biggest dancefloor spin before lockdown), Tower of Power, Will Downing, Randy Hall, JB Rose The Weather Girls, and Sam Wills all prolific on soul radio through the summer with other artists delivering signature songs of 2020. Then there’s the biggest revival track of the year from Johnny Baker, “It’s Your Night”, the 300 copy limited edition 7” pressing now exchanging hands upwards of £50 a copy.

Bogotá-based Colombian composer Eblis Álvarez, known as Meridian Brothers, has been concocting a unique blend of psychedelic sounds since 1998. With his latest project, "Mi Latinoamérica Sufre," Álvarez explores the untapped potential of the electric guitar in a tropical Latin context. Drawing inspiration from African highlife and soukous traditions, Álvarez crafts a fearless sonic experiment infused with invention, playfulness, and emotion. Unlike typical tropical guitar records, this album eschews distortion and clichés, opting for a pure, clean approach. Through intricate compositions blending cumbia, champeta, soukous, Brazilian tropicalia, and underground psychedelic rock, Álvarez pays homage to the golden era of Congolese rumba, Ghanaian highlife, and Nigerian afrobeat.

"Mi Latinoamérica Sufre" delves into the ego trip, presenting a humorous yet introspective journey of self-discovery and identity. The central character, Junior Maximiliano the Third, navigates through the complexities of self-discovery using psychedelic substances, political philosophy, and folklore. As he grapples with nostalgia, paranoia, and shared suffering, Álvarez showcases his vocal prowess, creating a sonic theater of the mind. Accompanied by visual narratives from Colombian artist Mateo Rivano, the album portrays various psychological states of disorientation, self-pity, enlightenment, and optimism. "Mi Latinoamérica Sufre" emerges as a worthy and innovative addition to the concept album tradition, offering a distinctive blend of bitter-sweet flavors inspired by Latinoamérica.

Exploration, collaboration and curiosity define the rhythm at the beating heart of Mehmet Aslan’s exemplary compositions. The Swiss-born producer of Turkish heritage has already forged a singular path through production, DJing and full-band performances, navigating the more esoteric corners of Berlin’s club culture without sacrificing his musical heritage or innate creativity.

A conceptual new LP ‘Auguri’ follows on from 2021’s gnomic, ornate ‘The Sun Is Parallel’, which saw Aslan musically associate with the likes of Valentina Magaletti and Niño De Elche. ‘Auguri’ also has its foundations in collaboration, born out of a musical lab at Lyon’s annual
Nuits Sonores, the forward-thinking festival with whom Aslan has maintained a lengthy creative relationship.

The resulting audio-visual performance, ‘Bird Signals For Earthly Survival’ introduced Aslan, to the Greek filmmaker Stratis Vogiatzis. Drawing on the philosophy of Donna Haraway and envisioning new ways of being, of living on earth, Aslan and Vogiatzis crane their necks to the sky to witness flocks of birds performing spectacular movements in unison. Fluid and ancient, their organic waltz provides inspiration for Aslan’s extension of the project, spanning sonic shades of electro, ambient and modern folk psychedelia.

On the coastline of Vogiatzis’s home country of Greece, as in many places across the world, climate change threatens to effect the ancient migration pattern of millions of birds, just as their fellow beings on terra firma become increasingly entangled in a man-made disaster of their own creation. In unison, ‘Auguri’ is adorned by artwork from designer Xavi Bou. Known for his ‘ornithographies’, this striking visual captures avian life not only as a force, but a wry observer.

“We need to transform our connections with other living beings to protect the Earth and live together harmoniously”, reflects Aslan. “Personally, this project has made me more sensitive to this issue. I wanted to give back in return for the inspiration I've received."

Perhaps upending expectations of a more traditional ‘ambient’ album, Aslan commits some of his finest compositional work and understated songwriting to this urgent imperative, creating original music that nonetheless, has nature flowing through it. ‘Critters’ presents a spectral sound collage on which Aslan himself speaks from the texts composed at the residency, conjuring visions of “the birds flying… shape of the future”. Meanwhile, the undulating, psychedelic ‘Pigeon Blinks’ takes inspiration from more domestic scenes, charting the unexpected roosting and hatching of an egg on a kitchen window, while ‘Auguri’ gives the album it’s title in connecting to a higher plain, demonstrating Aslan’s ability to lure melody and catharsis from looping hypnosis.

Opener ‘Spectra’ provides a forceful, almost industrial breakbeat that establishes the exigency of the album as well as its sense of wonder, while ‘Euphoria’ reaches the potency of its promise slowly, with Aslan’s modular melodies meeting the flourishing percussion of guest player and multi-instrumentalist, POPP. Finally, ‘Aura’ delivers a cinematic conclusion, mixing an elegiac organ motif, haunting guitar chords and the prophetic sense of a scorched earth. Here, with patience and soaring production, Aslan once more makes the abstract and the unthinkable somehow tangible, mixing in sampled birdsong.

Accordingly, ‘Auguri’ is being released in accordance with EarthPercent, the music industry’s climate foundation, co-founded by Brian Eno. A portion of the album’s publishing will be credited as part of ‘The Earth As Your Co-Writer’ initiative, allowing artists to directly credit The Earth in their new compositions. Here, streaming and publishing from Aslan’s recorded sounds are automatically paid back to a number of vital initiatives worldwide.

Leaning into some of the most vital questions and anxieties of our time, ‘Auguri’ is not a project without a sense of hope. From studio to sea, Mehmet Aslan continues to look to the skies and beyond.

Balmat began our journey in 2021 with the release of Luke Sanger’s Languid Gongue. Now, three years later, we turn an important corner as the Norfolk musician rejoins us with Dew Point Harmonics, the first repeat appearance on the label. Sanger’s new album feels like a natural extension of his inaugural record for Balmat: It’s a bewitching collection of esoteric synth sketches that slips unpredictably between consonant repetition, poignant melodies, and gnarled bursts of noise that catch in the ear like burrs in hiking socks.

That natural metaphor is perhaps not accidental. Despite having been composed on Sanger’s diverse array of hardware and self-written software, many of the tracks were first conceived while Sanger was hiking in a particularly wild and isolated section of the Norfolk coast. The field recording that opens the album, on “6am Beach Walk,” was taken on one of his many early-morning walks there, in which he and his dog might go for miles without seeing another soul. The album’s title was inspired by the overnight condensation covering the long marram grass in the dunes, glistening in the early light (and drenching everything coming in contact with it) before evaporating in the morning sun. Indeed, the concept of dew point—the temperature at which water vapor condenses into a liquid—feels like the perfect metaphor for Sanger’s music, in which foggy ambience is distilled into glistening quicksilver orbs, transient spheres of perfection eventually absorbed back into the atmosphere.

A shapeshifting collection of richly detailed and deeply expressive electronic miniatures, Dew Point Harmonics is both a testament to the mysteries of transformation and an invitation to get lost in the wilderness of your own imagination.

Theme: collaboration. Or how to remain creative in the modern world. Nanocluster started as a bespoke one off pop up gig that turned into an album series. Built around Colin Newman from acclaimed UK post-punk band Wire and his partner in life and sound Malka Spigel from Minimal Compact with various guests, they define collaboration. Colin met Malka when he produced her band in 1985.The collaboration started there. They became a couple and created their own projects like the instrumental electronic duo Immersion in 1994 and Githead in 2004 - spaces where they both 'feel really comfortable.' Growing out of Immersion, Nanocluster was birthed as a series of one-off gigs at the Rosehill in their new hometown of Brighton in 2017 with an added cast of influential and cutting edge musicians. These were not ad hoc jams. The songs had been written and rehearsed prior to each performance. This adventure led to a debut album, Nanocluster Vol 1, released in 2021 with Stereolab singer/guitarist Laetitia Sadier, German post-rock duo Tarwater, electronic musician Ulrich Schnauss and experimental artist Robin Rimbaud (Scanner). Released again as double 10 inch with each collaboration taking up each disc, the new album Nanocluster Vol 2 has further developed this idea with a stark beauty that sounds like a future pop with sleek lines and unexpected great melodies. Disc one is built around Thor Harris, the charismatic percussion player from Swans and many other projects, who they met and performed with at South By South West in Austin, Texas in 2023. Thor adds ideas, his tuned percussion instruments, clarinet and trumpet to the sessions. Disc two is built around Cubzoa (Jack Wolter from the band Penelope Isles) who brings his musical craft, beguiling voice, guitar and much more. Meanwhile Matt Schulz from Holy Fuck plays drums across both combinations helping the resulting music become a third entity. What results is a true collaboration that, enhanced via Immersion's production, merges its elements to develop a new harmony. Key to the process is Colin and Malka's radio show for Slack City radio, 'Swimming In Sound' with its entertainingly diverse playlist that has widened their horizons. It's also helped build relationships not only with these collaborators but also musicians like ambient country masters SUSS, with whom they plan an extended Nanocluster tour in the USA with in 2025 and Brighton via Falmouth's "jangly pop punk" Holiday Ghosts with whom they will perform the next Nanocluster event in their hometown, as well as many more in the pipeline. Malka: 'Nanocluster is collaboration but in a very specific form. We don't have rules. It's a series of creative snapshots. We start as the gig with our collaborators with tracks that we rehearse because this is not a jam and where it stops is an album.' Colin: 'It's chemistry & music. Malka & I operate as a team and now we've taken it to another level. Malka comes from a band where they would stand in a room together and work out the material. In Wire, I would present the songs, so when Malka and I first started working together, we had to find a third path, and that was the concept behind our collaboration.' Nanocluster Volume 2 is a 21st century collusion of shared ideas, creating a momentary extended musical family. It's about musical and personal relationships and the meeting place in the middle. A temporary band of house guests. The place where Immersion happens.

“Wild Boy …” is a reissue of the well-known 2016 release curated by Brian Chidester, renowned researcher and biographer of Eden Ahbez. Especially for this album, Brian wrote an interesting text about Abi’s life, which definitely became the decoration of the release.
With the new 2020 re-release, we went a little further and kept what is commonly referred to as studio cuts. It’s a few more minutes in the studio with ahbez himself, full of emotion and life. In addition, to the delight of fans, the edition includes an additional composition Nature Boy (Mantovani Orchestra).
Especially, it is worth noting the outstanding mastering prepared from practically decomposed tapes by the Grammy-nominated Jessica Thompson, which guarantees the deepest and warmth possible sound. Jessica a huge ahbez fan and we’re highly appreciated for what she has done to save his music for the future.
Eden Ahbez is definitely at the origin of psychedelic music and this release can be taken as further proof. Over the past twenty years, the iconic figure of the world’s first hippie Eden ahbez has become famous primarily for his 1948 song “Nature Boy”, praising universal love, and his amazingly solo album from the 1960s called “Eden’s Island” – one from the first concept albums in the history of music and probably the first psychedelic music album. “Wild Boy: The Lost Songs Of Eden Ahbez” deepens understanding of the origins of the psychedelic movement in the 1950s.
The disc contains a musical selection of works by Eden ahbez himself, written by him in the period after Nature Boy. The inclusion of songs such as “Palm Springs” – Ray Anthony Orchestra and “Hey Jacques” by Erta Kitt gives the listener the chance to discover for the first time the little-known recordings of world-famous artists composed by Eden ahbez. Through “Wild Boy” and “Surfer John” you can hear the author’s handling of absurd rock and exotic experimentation, as well as sweet psychedelic pop like Monterey (with Paul Horn on flute). Overall, Wild Boy: The Lost Songs Of Eden Ahbez offers an overview of the lost works of 1949-1971 with seven unpublished recordings and eight rare singles.
If in 2020 you are missing the hallucinogenic content in Eden Ahbez, it amazingly makes up for that deficiency with simple chords, expansive arrangements, and lyrics about travel, relaxation, free love, and spirituality. Thus creating the standard of psychedelic music. Eden Ahbez’s songs weren’t only fantasy and his personal philosophy was the real thing that he lived.

reviews:

“This carefully and extensively researched compilation culls covers by top notch mainstream artists juxtaposed with unreleased Eden recordings. What might sound like a mixed bag is actually more like a chronological, musical non-fiction novel about Eden Ahbez. While Eden was writing hundreds of songs and performing live and making recordings in various styles, his songs were also being picked up by popular artists like Nat King Cole and Eartha Kitt who recorded with a more polished mainstream style. There are also some early rock n roll style recordings here. Eden’s professionally recordings often end up as Novelty Pop records such as “Child of Nature” and “The Clam Man” but if you read between the lines and listen to the lyrics it is pretty eye-opening that he is singing about Eastern-religion-style and pre-hippie philosophies about being at one with the planet Earth.
All of this is explained in the lengthy liner notes inside the lp along with a few choice photos that establish Eden as a founding father of Southern California mystic/psychedelic music.” – Tiki_News
“Eden Ahbez’s life philosophy was summed up in the lyrics of his most famous song, “Nature Boy,” a 1948 hit for Nat King Cole: the song describes a “strange enchanted boy” who wanders the world in search of truth. “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn,” he concludes, “is to love and be loved in return.” Ahbez was a pre-cursor of California’s beatniks and hippies, and an exalted icon of ex-otica via his rare 1960 album Eden’s Island. Beyond “Nature Boy” and Eden’s Island, though, there were nu-merous lesser-known Ahbez record-ings. Ahbez biographer Brian Chidester has been doing an exemplary job of archiving and documenting that catalog of work. The Exotic World of Eden Ahbez (reviewed in UT#38) appeared a few years ago, gathering together 14 Ahbez-related rarities” – Ugly Things

Dear Friends,
Can you relax while maintaining a stable structure? The principle of “fang song” in Chinese martial art Taijiquan embodies this balance, where heaviness sinks downward and lightness rises through a vertical axis from heavy rooted feet to head.

As a dedicated Taijiquan practitioner, Littlelake applies this concept in his new EP, featuring four tracks rooted by a distinctive bass heaviness while giving a playful lightness to the overlying sound elements.

The opening track "Tonight's the night" immediately makes clear what is meant: a light-footed 2-step beat dances over weighty bass variations and playful vocal cuts set the tone.

“Passing by” is no more and no less than a true monster speed garage warper blending all the best elements of its genre.
Coming with funky tribal breaks, skillful sample manipulations, and a warm, soulful string foundation, “Watch Your Mouth” defies genre classification—it's in a class of its own.

With "Lost", Littlelake once again proves his ability to create extraordinary dancefloor moments. A jackin' 909 and shimmering dub sounds contrast with a dark Reese bassline, creating a captivatingly ambivalent mood. Don't miss this one.

P.S.: physical release comes with handcrafted, screen printed artwork by fabulous graphic artist Zatina Kessl.

CMDRPX and RPX16035 present the first various artists in collaboration and unite the two souls that were already traveling on the same vibrations, opening the v.a is an iconic figure from the underground world, @francescofarfaofficial who with his "Soul Engineering" drags you into his world hypnotic, a fusion track that combines his unique style that looks to the future with bleep and acid sounds with a non-invasive groove that encompasses everything and makes the track one of a kind.

Also on side A we find @niki_ilb with his "Acid lover" track which focuses on an IDM sound and which opens the doors to a conceptual acid and Deep style.

@gianluca.pellerano opens the B side with "Stanza di musica", a record projected onto the dancefloor with hypnotic voices, sounds and textures that will drag you towards new musical horizons.
The B2 side was entrusted to @giuseppe__angeloro with his track "Mentalism dance" with a raw sound reminiscent of the 90s, an acid texture and present percussions that make the track evolve in a more introspective direction.

Lastly we find the duo @gianluca.pellerano & @caciotechnology with their "Mango bet" the two combine their styles perfectly the track has an Electro base with a texture projected into the future experimentation in this track is the key word.

Happy listening everyone.

"Trauma and the shock effect of it - the leftover residue of harsh reality so impactful that it shapes the way you imagine, envision and calculate your position in regard to everything and everyone around you.
A new type of psychological radius evolves. Boundaries are reinforced. Relationships are recessed. A damaged brief system float aimlessly. Vulnerable to and for anything reminiscent of a worthy cause. The truth about facts became satirical monologue, dead end expressions that have no critical arrangement. We all know someone that either has been or will be"

- Jeff Mills


The Eyewitness reveals a habitual pattern in the way it symbolizes a mirror reflection of mankind in our most vulnerable moments. It is the forthcoming album of Jeff Mills and it is composed from the perspective of an unknowingly complicit bystander and it is at the very least, psychologically pathological in nature. What this release is essentially proposing is an admission to the diagnosis that no one is immune to shock and trauma. Not the accuser or the accused. And this abnormality s culturally and generally transmittable - handed down and passed over to one another disguised as righteous theatre.

As an artist, what Mills is notoriously known for is the perspectives and paths he chooses to approach hefty, complex, and sometimes, awkward subjects. The best way to recognize the narratives of his mostrecent album works such as "The Clairvoyant", an eerie transcending album that plays through like a Seance for creating a bridge to reach another dimension or "Mind Power Mind Control", a cautionary warning about the consequences of supporting deceit, mind control and mass mental persuasion is to start by first taking a moment to look at yourself in a mirror. He's suggesting sound as a reflection and what we might be able to see in ourselves. Proposing that we might be the problem and a solution. In the same vicinity of his recent solo albums, the direction, scope or target of The Eyewitness is first about us, then about it.

More than the few previous albums he's released lately, this one has a unique relationship in terms of imagery and visual treatments that represent the concept. The front cover shows Mills, neatly dressed in a black suit that appears to be caught in the act of doing something methodically as he cohorts to supportwith a bright white type of surgical light towards the viewer. Stark and in the act of.......something offensive - it could be some type of hypnotic machine at work. Other photos show him in darkened spaces. Remote and deep in thought.

Other clues are the titles of the tracks such as "Sacred Iridescent Mirror (The Pledge)": this refers to the act of installing value and credit to something ambiguous and "Menticide" which means the systematic effort to undermine and destroy a person's values and beliefs. In the opening track, "in A Traumatized World" we hear the narration spoken by Mills. In a language he specifically created for this album. It's a dialect that is designed to be undistinguishable, but spoken with a compassion that it could be sympathized with. In the latter part of the track, it reaches a climatic point. Meaning, "it" has happened. And the album is the evidence.

On extra note:

In this day and age,it's comforting to see a musician like Jeff Mills administer music conceptually without any conditions attached. The artistry and craft of using sound and rhythm to bring forth a concern, a warning or the result of a diagnosis to the listener.

Originally released in 1990, Same Place The Fly Got Smashed was Guided By Voices’ fourth album in as many years. Roughly a concept album about an alcoholic named Joker Bob who goes on a bender, someone dies, and Bob gets the chair (“the electrifying conclusion”). From the moment the needle drops, the listener is served notice that this isn’t going to be an easy listen, as an argument taped off of a TV cuts to a basement recording of a lone, blaring electric guitar with someone yelling over the top. But for those brave enough to pass the opening hazards, there are wonders within. This particular album has come to be held in higher and higher regard by fans, and they are correct to consider it a top-tier release. The story and sequence have a flow, and consideration for approachability is optional. Many of the crudest tracks reveal themselves as necessary stitches in the album’s tapestry. Yet it also contains all time greats like “Drinker’s Peace,” “Mammoth Cave,” the epic “Local Mix-Up/ Murder Charge,” and of course “Pendulum” with its immortal opening line: “Come on over tonight, we’ll put on some Cat Butt and do it up right!”—a rare break in the clouds on one of the band’s darkest albums. This reissue, like the previous ones in this series, is a mostly faithful reproduction of the original pressing of 500 on the band’s own Rocket #9 label. And like the others, the virgin RTI vinyl is housed in a thick tip-on jacket, and includes Robert Pollard’s original handwritten lyric insert.

Eccentric soundscapes, cryptic atmospheres, unexpected rhythms – with the second episode of the Intelliance series, the concept label Augmented Research once again holds up a mirror to the progressive present and provides various perspectives on the innovative electronic club sound of a new generation.

A1
Raär's music manages to draw the masses beneath the surface of common perception. The blend of deep, organic atmospheres, liquid sound design and supersonic drums awakens a deeply rooted but rarely accessible state of mind. "Riparian Zone" is a tool for transcendental experiences.
A2
There are only a handful of artists like Nebuchadnezzar who have made a name for themselves and demonstrate that rules in electronic music are meant to be broken. "Fidget" is a good example of the obsolescence of obsessive genre categorization. Unpredictable rhythms and glitchy, whipping drums feel like a race against time (extended to almost nine minutes).
B1
With "Sea And Bunkers", Sukkube proves her virtuoso and versatile handling of modular sound synthesis. The rapid, loopy beat, accompanied by a serious and simultaneously playful melody and hissing atmospheres, generates a mysterious, fresh mood. Influences from different eras form an interesting symbiosis of futuristic, uplifting techno and nuances of classic styles.
B2
If an artist were given the task of dealing with vintage drums in the most innovative way possible, while at the same time retaining a sense of nostalgia, "Pragma" would be the clear result. Edict has broken the rules of classic techno styles, pushing polyrhythm and distortion to their limits.

‘Diré’, Idrissa Soumaoro new album, comes as a surprise to Malian and international audiences. Composer, singer, guitarist and master of the kamalen n’goni Idrissa Soumaoro presents here a beautiful collection of songs on his third album, Diré, named in honor of the town where he met his wife and where his first daughter, who is no longer with us, was born.
In 1971, after his studies at the INA in Bamako, Idrissa was transferred to Diré to teach music at the lPEG (Pedagogical Institute of General Education). He was 22 years old when he arrived in Diré. Idrissa has always been nostalgic for this beautiful place in the 333 Saints of Timbuktu region. As Idrissa sings in ‘Diré taga’ (Going to Diré), the track that opens the album, the city evokes deep emotions for the artist, as if it were a long-lost friend or lover. Celebrating the memory of the city of Diré leads the artist to retrace stories and lived situations that marked and animated him in years gone by: ‘I really miss the people, the colleagues, the friends and that period. Despite the time that has flown by, I would ardently wish to see Diré again’. Today, at the difficult time Mali is experiencing, remembering the city of Diré in the 1970s also means for the artist not giving up hope for peace: ‘The memory of Diré, a beautiful town in northern Mali, strengthens my hope for peace, union and real independence for the happiness of my people’; as he sings in ‘Sababou’, ‘Without hope, there is no life. Together we will succeed’.
The ten highly original compositions of the album are strongly based upon traditional music of Mali, but Idrissa’s life experiences, travels, education, collaborations and personal musical career have led him to compose and perform music with other influences. As Idrissa quotes: ‘My inspiration generally comes from the donso n'goni, a Bambara instrument played by and for hunters throughout Mali. This is a pentatonic instrument, similar to the blues exported to the USA by black African slaves. I've also spent so much time playing a variety of music that my music also reflects rumba, salsa (as well as Bamanan blues and a few derivatives: jazz, country, soul, rhythm and blues) etc. I have looked for and hope to have found my own form of expression from these influences’.
Throughout the album, his strong, clear voice sings in French, Bambara and English. It rides seamlessly upon a complex rhythmic sea of distinctly West African stringed instrumentation and percussion with accents of flute and balafon. There are keyboards in a few songs, but these, happily, do not dominate the music as we hear so often in today’s music. This album presents the music of a mature artist who has ‘been there, done that’ and returned to celebrate his country, his roots and his dreams in a flawlessly produced collection of songs of love, reassurance, fatherly advice and hope.
The album already has a long history: it was initiated in 2012 by Marc-Antoine ‘Marko’ Moreau, former producer and manager of Amadou and Mariam. Moreau had plans to produce the album and invited Idrissa Soumaoro to start recording in Manjul's studio in Bamako. When Moreau suddenly passed away, work on the album was still missing. The pandemic still added time for the production to continue. With the help of Climax Orchestra, arrangements and orchestrations were finalized in France. At the artist's behest, 'Diré' will finally be presented to the public by Mieruba, the independent label based in Ségou, the home of the blues in Mali. 'Let's stand together so that Mali can flourish': from conception to production and distribution, this is the message that 'Diré' carries.

2023 was a breakthrough year for EABS in many ways. It was all thanks to the well received, fully self-produced album entitled In Search of a Better Tomorrow, recorded in collaboration with the Pakistani band Jaubi. EABS' forthcoming sixth album is a return to their roots – literally and figuratively. It is an in-depth study on rhythm, which materialised in the form of the album titled Reflections of Purple Sun.

The back to the roots part not only manifests itself in the lack of guest instrumentalists, but also in a renewed focus on the history of Polish jazz. The band's debut album Repetitions... was dedicated to Krzysztof Komeda. This time, the band picked up the entire Purple Sun album, which Tomasz Stańko recorded half a century ago. From the POV of Purple Sun fans, a hard-to-find and somewhat forgotten album, it may seem like a doomed undertaking. However, in order to pay tribute to one of the most iconic figures of Polish jazz, it was worth embarking on this mission and attempting to engage in a non-verbal conversation with the Slavic spirit that Master Tomasz Stańko undoubtedly was.

You can learn more about Reflections of Purple Sun through the comprehensive booklet accompanying the record. The cover art was created by the label's regular collaborator, Animisiewasz, whose design pays tribute to Pia Burri's original Purple Sun concept. Release date is 10 May 2024.

It’s approximately been a year since Antoine lost what would have been his debut album, ironically dubbed ‘Humour. Positivity & Affection’. In its wake, stemmed the idea for the producer to reform his conceptually based project (Mise En Place) into a vinyl only label.

The Land Down Dunder EP being the first, of hopefully, many releases throughout this new imprint. The label head feels there is no better way to start this campaign, than with a body of work, entirely inspired by the modern, timeless TV Sitcom - The Office (US).


The opener ‘Australian Reds’ looks to bridge the gap between Progressive House and Antoine interpretation of Minimal. Matched with Ghanian inherited grooves of course.

‘Colombian Whites’ as suggested by its title, widens the eyes and warms the soul with its textbook, 90’s House inspired Kicks, Hi’s and Baseline. Synthy melodies run throughout the mid(s) of the track to marry the ensemble together. Fitting for all terrains, but would be highly favoured in the Summer.

The B-Side flips the script in tone, tempo and texture - pulling on Antoine’s repertoire for groove laden Techno - ‘Cafe Disco (AK’s Rare Groove Dub)’ brings you to the after hours of any setting with it’s full bodied percussive rhythms, beautifully automated soundscapes and highly persuasive swing. Lastly, the EP is capped off by ‘Threat Level Midnight’. A nod to Antoine’s versatility within the realms of House and Techno. An incredibly versatile track, structurally inspired by the producers love of Hip-Hop. A cacophony of ethereal chord progressions run throughout the track alongside one moody baseline, as well as solemn drum patterns which progress in both body-feel and stature.

2024 Repress

2LP gatefold with liner notes, 180gr vinyl. 'Funky Chimes' is a two-hour collection of excellent and unique grooves. It contains 27 of the most interesting yet long forgotten Belgian dance tracks from the seventies.

'Funky Chimes' is a two-hour collection of excellent and unique grooves. It contains 27 of the most interesting yet long forgotten Belgian dance tracks from the seventies, when a generation of extremely gifted and versatile musicians experimented with funk, jazz, latin and other grooves.
'Funky Chimes' is in many ways the logical follow up to 2014's highly acclaimed compilation 'Funky Chicken'. Uncovering a blind spot in Belgium's musical heritage and unearthing a diverse collection of hidden treasures. 'Funky Chicken' has induced a renewed interest in Belgium's rare grooves from the seventies, which until then had never been regarded a genre worth mentioning. Having said that, this second instalment is much more than just a fast sequel or a batch of leftovers. The music's quality matches that of its predecessor, but the treasure hunt was even more adventurous, and the stories behind some of the nuggets even more gripping.

The discography of the phantom Gruppo Sound exceeds over thirty titles published in an undefined time frame between the Eighties and the Nineties. However, there is very little information about this curious pseudonym. it is possible to find a library music album by Gruppo Sound inside the Canopo, Deneb, Flower, Monosound Records and Teams catalogues, all managed by Flipper Music publishing group, but both the creators and the musicians have never been the same. Gruppo Sound is only a collective name, maybe to identify a certain number of 'new' productions characterized by an electronic background And, not by chance, the author of “New York City” is a single artist, the multi-instrumentalist Gabriele Ducros. Son of the prolific composer Remigio Ducros, he first followed his footsteps in the field of music libraries and soundtracks and then become the author of many tracks for television commercials of a certain relevance, winning some international awards.

“Some of these tracks may have been associated with a pornographic film. Others were, however, made as brief comments for a theatrical show, perhaps never made”, remembers Gabriele Ducros. What unites the thirteen pieces is the same musical language, which derives from a widespread funk and jazz matrix. Both genres are thus declined through a different approach and taste, in line with the fusion trends of the time, when the early synthesizers were used by few artists. A handful of electric guitar notes for a 'urban' mood, the acoustic ones from a dreamy morning awakening. Electronic keyboards to arouse a sense of nostalgia in the listener, while flute and saxophone always punctuate different atmospheres. A computer melody, a theme for children and a sophisticated ode to the fusion sound of the Big Apple, perhaps true source of ispiration of the work. “New York City” is not a concept album, but one of the best cross-sections of Gabriele Ducros' great creativity.

Phét is a Tibetan syllable that means to cut through. Through concepts & obscurations. Through anything in the mind that stands as an obstacle to our direct engagement of the present. Such tempting distractions! Phét says: RIGHT NOW. As Phét does: RIGHT NOW.

That Jarrett Gilgore named his project after this mantra—Phét Phét Phét—underscores his interest in music as a form of awakening. Music as presence, manifestation, & channeling, more than as ornamentation or description of experience. This is no vessel for preconceived notions, but a record of musicians opening themselves to discovery & encounter through play. Through each other’s company. Phét Phét Phét says: Say farewell to what you’ve known. Say hello to everything you feel now, & to all the things that feel through you.

10 Years Anniversary compilation LP.

Ten years ago, on 21 April 2014, Russian enclave of the Baltic Kaliningrad-based trio Blind Seagull started off its adventure in the soon to be known as Sovietwave aka Russian post-punk underground. Tean years later they have accomplished to release nine full-length albums on all sorts of limited edition formats such as LPs, CDs, tapes with most of them being sold out for years.

It was time to bring many of these tracks back to life, picking up the best among them and reissuing for the global post punk/darkwave niche.
Fifteen cuts previously released by labels like Detriti, Sierpien, Pine Hill through which the band led by Denis Zarubin has shaped its own brand of icy coldwave, one pretty classic and extremely fresh and contemporary at once. On top of these we have one more track exclusive to this release which is a eurodance-oriented remix for their minor hit Animals Die in the Scaffolding. Think of a bunch of goth kids screwing around at the local carnival and you’ll get the vibe!

Decade Of Effort is due on April 21, 2024 on white vinyl LP limited to 300 with fairy-tale artwork by the band enhanced by the magical lettering of young Spanish artist Sara Fornés.

«The almighty golden vhs tape has been stolen !!!"
An enigmatic lady contacts our heroes, claiming she saw the tape
At an illegal auction in istanbul. The adventure begins, and will lead them through Egypt, India, UK, to run against the evil ancestral cult before it uses the golden tape to summon dark forces... »

3 years ago, Videoclub concept album was released, using 70s movie soundtracks memories as an inspiration to create original compositions. It met warm reception all around the world. Beatsqueeze records is proud to announce Videoclub II this year, an ambitious sequel full of rich dusty theatrical arrangements. Take some pop-corn and enjoy the musical narration.

Yann Kornowicz, composer.
Starting from classical music by learning violin in his childhood, he began his film music obsession during the 90s, and used the piano as a tool to decompose the scores airing on tv. Many years later he continues his mono-maniac exploration through his albums and through works for tv, platforms, documentaries or advertising.

Dan Amozig, multi-instrumentalist.
After learning guitar in his teenage years , he graduated the cim jazz school in paris in the 2010s. He is touring with several projects since then, and focuses on live music. He recently added horns to his scope
To enrich his beloved musical territories : jazz and hip hop.

Group is a project with its own sound and a gradually expanding style, and Seedman perfectly reflects these attributes. With 160925_1145, the first cut on side A, the ritualism he has previously exhibited on other albums such as Esoteric Free Afrika, or more recently with Broken Faces, is somewhat apparent, due to the slow cadence, steady rhythm and tribal arguments. 160205_1066 is created from another perspective, however, it is not what it seems because from the first bars there is a syncopated and constant rhythmic pattern that places you in an industrial scenario, and gradually a simple two-tone melody appears that completely changes its initial musical context. 170218_1475 moves between an industrial and dark ambient concept, as it mixes gloomy atmospheres with deep breaks.

The sonic properties of 160131_0683, the cut that opens the B-side, connect with an unexplored environment, with a new, recently discovered and inhospitable scenario, since among other things we can appreciate sounds of machines, radio signals, filtered and choppy voices, combined with disturbing acoustic phenomena. 170213_1455 is a track that describes quite concisely the creative sense of Group, and for this we must take into account that it could be catalogued as a techno production, with groove and aimed at the dancefloor, however, he manages to minimise all these factors by giving it a volatile and atmospheric aspect. 170105_1398 closes the B-side of the vinyl, returning once again to the tribalism and ritualism that characterises many of Group’s productions, given that on this occasion his rhythm is not diluted, it has much more presence and manages to generate a hypnotic state.

In addition to these six tracks that make up the entire vinyl tracklist, Seedman also presents a couple of bonus tracks in digital format. And the first of them, The beast11, already arouses curiosity because its title is not due to a sequence of numbers, as is usual in this project. Musically, it once again shows Group’s ability to adapt any environment to a sonic degradation very much in keeping with his style. 150407_0166, the last track on the album, is an ode to chaos, a hodgepodge of frequencies devoid of rhythm that appropriately serves as an outro.