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"Across 2LPs come 32 of the finest and purest slices of 1980s pop nostalgia.

Featuring the likes of Wham!, Culture Club, Duran Duran, The Human League and many more, this collection showcases the very best from a decade where pop purity reigned supreme.
"

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® inductees, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees, and GRAMMY® Award-winning music legends The Isley Brothers proudly present their anxiously awaited new album, Make Me Say It Again, Girl. It marks the duo’s first full-length LP since 2006 and thirty-first original album overall. They originally set the stage for the record with a recreation of The Isley Brothers classic 1975 love ballad, “Make Me Say It Again, Girl,” joined by none other than Beyoncé. It recently catapulted to #1 on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay Chart, standing out as their first #1 since “Contagious.” It incited a flurry of critical applause from the likes of The FADER and Vulture who proclaimed, “For this one, Bey is out of Club Renaissance, trading lines with Isley over a smooth, polished track.” Make Me Say It Again, Girl THE ALBUM places the pair’s classic sound in the spotlight for a whole new era. Whether it be the cinematic scope of “Long Voyage Home” or R&B escapism of “Disappear,” they lean into the hallmarks of their signature style with undeniable energy. They’ve also brought a few friends—both old and new—along for the ride. El Debarge and Earth, Wind & Fire team up with The Isley Brothers for the generational banger “There’ll Never Be,” while Rick Ross flexes with pure lyrical fire during “Biggest Bosses.” Elsewhere, Quavo and Takeoff ignite the irresistible and infectious “Keys To My Mind.” After more than 60 years of creating massive hits, The Isley Brothers continue to produce timeless and impactful music showing why they are international treasures who are firmly woven into the fabric of our culture.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® inductees, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees, and GRAMMY® Award-winning music legends The Isley Brothers proudly present their anxiously awaited new album, Make Me Say It Again, Girl. It marks the duo’s first full-length LP since 2006 and thirty-first original album overall. They originally set the stage for the record with a recreation of The Isley Brothers classic 1975 love ballad, “Make Me Say It Again, Girl,” joined by none other than Beyoncé. It recently catapulted to #1 on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay Chart, standing out as their first #1 since “Contagious.” It incited a flurry of critical applause from the likes of The FADER and Vulture who proclaimed, “For this one, Bey is out of Club Renaissance, trading lines with Isley over a smooth, polished track.” Make Me Say It Again, Girl THE ALBUM places the pair’s classic sound in the spotlight for a whole new era. Whether it be the cinematic scope of “Long Voyage Home” or R&B escapism of “Disappear,” they lean into the hallmarks of their signature style with undeniable energy. They’ve also brought a few friends—both old and new—along for the ride. El Debarge and Earth, Wind & Fire team up with The Isley Brothers for the generational banger “There’ll Never Be,” while Rick Ross flexes with pure lyrical fire during “Biggest Bosses.” Elsewhere, Quavo and Takeoff ignite the irresistible and infectious “Keys To My Mind.” After more than 60 years of creating massive hits, The Isley Brothers continue to produce timeless and impactful music showing why they are international treasures who are firmly woven into the fabric of our culture.

Richie Culver had been waiting his whole life to record I was born by the sea. His debut album immediately and messily inscribed the artist into the canon of outsider music and experimental electronics, serving both as an arresting statement of intent and a painful reckoning with the difficult path that lead up to it, stealing one last glance back at a place he always knew he had to escape. Between grim lamentations, faded memories and anxiety attacks, all told with searing honesty and disarming openness, I was born by the sea excavates a space for hope, finding Culver digging through Humberside silt to find a world weary optimism, the raw material from which his visual and sound art is shaped. For this collection of expansions and inversions, Culver invites a collection of kindred spirits, contemporary inspirations and old heroes to wade into the salt water of his formative years spent living for impromptu raves and afterparties, connecting vivid memories of his birth place of Withernsea to artists hailing from as nearby as Preston and Bridlington, further afield, from Manchester and London, Berlin and Paris, before returning back to Hull, to where it all began.

For some, responding to I was born by the sea means diving even deeper into the record’s furthest reaches. Space Afrika clear away the pummelling loops of noise from ‘It’s hard to get to know you,’ revealing a cool and cavernous expanse in its wake. Distant chatter, previously heard as though through thin, plasterboard walls, now echoes from outside the maddening claustrophobia of the original’s Sisyphean sonics, illuminated as a dense storm cloud suspended amidst a more open scene, washed clean by a lighter rain, allowing the tender heart of the track to beat clear. London producer MOBBS stretches out ‘Pigeon Flesh’ into an epic, 10-minute, cold-sweat spiral, strung-out tension wrung from disconnected phone tones twisted in unexpected directions, snatches of Culver’s voice turned inside-out and deep fried bass threatening to tip the track over into oblivion, the build-and-release of a nervous breakdown experienced in real time. In an act of subversive self-reflection, Morgane Polanski switches one kind of ennui for another in her adaption of ‘I was born by the sea,’ swapping the sea for the city, English seaside towns in January for summer evenings in Paris and flashing lighthouses and sparkling oil rigs for the Eiffel Tower and the traffic around L’Arc de Triomphe. Even Culver finds time to revisit ‘Dream About Yourself,’ a track taken from his EP Post Traumatic Fantasy, breathing new words into its glacial drift, the half-remembered testimony of a shut-in: Woke up in the evening / Pray for me / Don’t trust anyone / Pray for algorithm. Reframed in a more melancholy light, the track’s reverberant keys even more clearly evoke a mournful nostalgia, fresh pain felt in old wounds.

Others find a parallel universe in Culver’s visceral world building. Rainy Miller flips the script with a scorched, avant-drill rework of ‘Daytime TV’, threading puncturing hi-hats and queasy low-end surge through the track’s steady ambient cascade, invoking the irresistible Preston beat magic of Miller’s own essential debut album, Desquamation. Aho Ssan melts away the crystalline textures of ‘Love Like an Abscess’ with the ominous crackle of a nascent fire, building through swathes of organic Max/MSP squelch and brittle, nails-down-chalkboard scrape, swelling and metastasising the original to spill over Culver’s desperate hymn to corporeal desire, at once flesh and not. Teresa Winter transports us an hour up the coast from Withernsea to her native Bridlington, replacing the sea wall of synthesis on ‘Nervous Energy’ with muffled ASMR murk and fever dream whispers, transforming Culver’s unflinching observations into a haunting call-and-response, filling in the blanks with her own eerie utterances, a fleeting conversation with a ghost. In a touching victory lap, Fila Brazillia, eccentric stalwarts of beloved ‘90s trip hop imprint Pork Recordings, whose performances at Hull institution The Lamp convinced a young Culver of the necessity to make his mark on club culture, resurface for their first remix in 20 years. Steve Cobby and David McSherry lead a low-slung, heartfelt stroll back through a suite of tracks from I was born by the sea, tracing a full circle saunter from Culver’s origins to his current musical practice, the sounds of his present repurposed by the sound of his youth. In a gesture that reflects the emotional complexity of the project, Fila Brazillia find joy at the end of Culver’s troubled reflection, picking out an undeniable groove in the stasis of feeling trapped in your hometown. Underlining Hull’s vital musical legacy, from Baby Mammoth to Throbbing Gristle, Cobby and McSherry demonstrate that, though there are certainly storms, by the sea there is also sun and through the fog, if you listen, you can hear a singular sound, a sound now carried by Richie Culver.

Participant is a record label and creative studio run by William Markarian-Martin and Richie Culver

Cécille has a long-standing history with Leon dating back to 2009 when he released his second career track. His mesmerizing production 'Rain in Rio' claimed the Nr.1 spot on Beatport in 2009 and earned esteemed recognition from Mixmag as one of the best tracks of the season.

Since then Leon has held prestigious residencies at iconic venues like Marco Carola's Music On Ibiza a residency he has maintained since its inception in 2012. Additionally he has captivated audiences at Cocoricò renowned as the most awarded club in Italy. Leon's talent and presence have left an enduring impact on the global music
scene.
Now, he returns to Cécille with some fabolus new club-cuts, accompanied by a remix from the highly acclaimed Manchester trio, Mason Collective. Known for their deep connection to the city's club culture, Mason Collective has been touring the globe with tremendous success, solidifying their position as one of the most dynamic acts
to emerge from Manchester in recent years turn in their interpretation of ‘Sissy’s Track’, extracting the core groove and soul of the original while stamping their own mark on things via intricately intertwined synth work, a murky bass groove and an overall bumpy house feel.

FullTime Production is honored to present the new vinyl of "Kano - Turn It Up/Unconditional Lover" featuring remixes by Danny Krivit, Les Inferno, FrescoEdits and Dr Packer! Pages and pages of music culture and clubbing packed into one vinyl! Danny Krivit the living history of a world that no longer exists and thanks to him we listen to its vibes and imagine dancefloors on the edge of the underground.

Dr Packer Australian artist who boasts major collaborations, has
released singles and albums for international labels and is also already featured in FullTime Production's catalog.

Les Inferno established Italian DJ and producer, mine of knowledge of
Italian clubbing and vinyl connoisseur of the afrobeat, funk and disco
genres.

FrescoEdits is an artistic project that has based its success from the
love and art of sampling big hits as well as a label and a community.

The third Mollono.Bass Album is dedicated to what we need most. We as inhabitants of the same planet, we as members of a free society, and we as a culture. We have to stick together more than ever, rather than drifting further and further apart. At the same time, Together brings together everything Mollono.Bass stands for since more than 20 years: Ritualist Afro-influences and acid loops, the sensual physicality of House, the laid-back boost of Dub Techno, analogue depth and digital highs, hope transcribed into groove and utopia set into rhythmic motion. It’s the dynamic novelty and pioneering spirit of the arrangements that reflect the unmistakable signature style of this producer. True to the traditional idea of an album, complete with previously unreleased tracks and special versions, Together is a highly immersive listening experience from start to end and works beautifully on the dancefloor and far beyond it.

‘Anomie’ draws on Latin, Classical and Middle Eastern cultural influences to create a beguiling collection of meticulously crafted deep house club cuts whose seductive power is impossible to resist. A bewitching sonic encounter that clarifies exactly why NOCUI is fast becoming one of Berlin’s most talked about rising producers in 2023.

Following the partnership between Altrimenti and Quindi for a suite of remixes of Cabaret du Ciel, the two Italian labels collaborate once again to explore three vivid versions of tracks from Woo's exquisite album Paradise In Pimlico. The verdant, delicate musicality of Woo's original material offers an abundance of riches for remixers, and the results are true to Altrimenti's stated purpose to explore and experiment in the fusion of different approaches to electronic music.

On the A side, Joseph Tagliabue offers up a snaking, psychedelically charged dancefloor vision of 'Cadenza d'Innocenza'. Milan-based Tagliabue has developed a potent sonic signature across releases for labels like Invisible Inc. and Sound Metaphors before starting his own Blue Sea Studio as an outlet for his expanding work into the field of contemporary soundtracks. That cinematic sensibility comes through in waves on this subtly trance-licked epic - a soaring set piece for the most dramatic of party situations.

On the B side, Leeway opens proceedings with his remix of 'Even More Notes'. As the founder of Wain Records and the Scram club night, the London-based producer is fostering a culture of leftfield dance music with an organic sensibility. On his interpretation of Woo, he offers up a more experimental, dub-informed strain of 4/4 club rhythms.

Completing the set, Other Lands & Linkwood join forces for their approach to 'Gold Star'. Other Lands is also known as Fudge Fingas, and alongside Linkwood he helped shape the warm, deeply rooted house sound of seminal label Firecracker Recordings. The duo's affinity for soulful musicianship and the disco roots of house music comes through in this spiralling, hazy rendition perfectly pitched at moments when a softer, more spiritual approach is needed without losing the guidance of an insistent groove.

Once again the overarching theme on this collection of remixes remains quality - a pursuit of meaningful expression, originality and open-hearted musicality. From the source material to the resulting remixes, the pursuit was a successful one.

Flower Storm is a new multi-disciplinary project from the minds of Sepehr and Kasra V -- recontextualizing classic Iranian sounds and folklore, with the modernity of each artists aural palettes to create a sharp-edged musical sword. Birthed from the desire to combine contemporary club culture with the deep roots of their nationalities and motherland, Flower Storm is a simultaneous deep dive into the history of their ancestors as well as a nod to underground electronic soundscapes. Their debut EP entitled 'Yek' (translates to the number 1 in Farsi) is a fierce, four track collection of music alluding and akin to the mythical journeys of ancient stories like Shahnameh. New and classic sounds interlay and converse with each other in an explosive yet intimate manner, like flowers raining from the sky.

Jean-Luc Mocard met Jean Ronde in September of 2009, while working at the CASIO Palaiseau factory, near Paris. Before, they were both active musicians with a particular taste for synthesized music, touring extensively through European and Asian underground venues and clubs. Eventually, their furious passion for collecting 80’s keyboards brought them together to become the fabulous duo Vive Les Cônes.

Presently based in Porto, Portugal, by a matter of pure chance, Vive Les Cônes is a CASIO explosion, the fuel of a dancing machine that never stops and cherry picks moments from dance and pop music culture along the way. Their live concerts are non-stop hit parades featuring their very own local cult classics, such as “Bonaparty” or “Brocoli-Rave”, and medleys of pop-culture classics ranging from video-game soundtracks, to dance hits, to classical music.

“De France”, their debut album, is the product of years of playing live, training and mastering the perfect CASIO technique. Every track in this album is played live using only pure unmodded Casio PT-380 and Yamaha PSR-37 keyboards, thrift store fx pedals, bringing to the recorded form the meticulously crafted tracks that set dancefloors on fire all throughout the world.

The album is an eclectic journey through electronic and dance music on cheap keyboards, from traces of House Music in “Maillon” and the instant hit “Je Ne Sais Pas”, fumes of vaporwave in “Machine à Vapeur”, and, of course, baguettes of French electro in “Brocoli-Rave”, the track that usually andeuphorically ends Vive Les Cônes’ set.

The Quietus has referred to the duo as a “weird John Shuttleworth take on house music”, but them being French, a better comparison would be something like “Daft Punk lost all their gear on tour and had to play a gig using some old keyboards”. But could they even do it? Maybe a “Pascal Comelade on molly live set for Boiler Room” could make thembetter Justice. We’re not really sure what to compare them to though, and probably there’s no need to compare them to anything, as the best thing you can do is to give them a go and check them out for yourself.

Jean-Luc Mocard met Jean Ronde in September of 2009, while working at the CASIO Palaiseau factory, near Paris. Before, they were both active musicians with a particular taste for synthesized music, touring extensively through European and Asian underground venues and clubs. Eventually, their furious passion for collecting 80’s keyboards brought them together to become the fabulous duo Vive Les Cônes.

Presently based in Porto, Portugal, by a matter of pure chance, Vive Les Cônes is a CASIO explosion, the fuel of a dancing machine that never stops and cherry picks moments from dance and pop music culture along the way. Their live concerts are non-stop hit parades featuring their very own local cult classics, such as “Bonaparty” or “Brocoli-Rave”, and medleys of pop-culture classics ranging from video-game soundtracks, to dance hits, to classical music.

“De France”, their debut album, is the product of years of playing live, training and mastering the perfect CASIO technique. Every track in this album is played live using only pure unmodded Casio PT-380 and Yamaha PSR-37 keyboards, thrift store fx pedals, bringing to the recorded form the meticulously crafted tracks that set dancefloors on fire all throughout the world.

The album is an eclectic journey through electronic and dance music on cheap keyboards, from traces of House Music in “Maillon” and the instant hit “Je Ne Sais Pas”, fumes of vaporwave in “Machine à Vapeur”, and, of course, baguettes of French electro in “Brocoli-Rave”, the track that usually andeuphorically ends Vive Les Cônes’ set.

The Quietus has referred to the duo as a “weird John Shuttleworth take on house music”, but them being French, a better comparison would be something like “Daft Punk lost all their gear on tour and had to play a gig using some old keyboards”. But could they even do it? Maybe a “Pascal Comelade on molly live set for Boiler Room” could make thembetter Justice. We’re not really sure what to compare them to though, and probably there’s no need to compare them to anything, as the best thing you can do is to give them a go and check them out for yourself.

Irish-born, Manchester-based Kerrie is a multi-disciplinary artist, incorporating live sets, DJing, producing and running her label Dark Machine Funk across her repertoire of work. Now, Kerrie follows up last year's 'Raw Regimen' (BP063) with a second EP for James Ruskin's seminal Blueprint Records.

Having garnered a rich musical education through working at and holding a DJ residency for one of the UK's most respected record shops Eastern Bloc, Kerrie's in-depth knowledge and unwavering dedication to music shines through her notable back catalogue and bolshy, unforgiving DJ and Live sets. Honing her craft for over a decade, Kerrie has played worldwide in celebrated venues such as Tresor, Berghain, fabric, FOLD, Elsewhere NYC and festivals including Freedom Medellin, Freerotation, Drift and Basilar.

First learning to mix via her brother's turntables in the early 2000s, it wasn't until 2009 that Kerrie invested in her own set-up and built an extensive record collection, covering everything from ambient, electronic, house, EBM, acid, electro, and her go-to genre, techno. Kerrie delivers tough moods from the turntables, as conveyed in her mixes for Reclaim Your City, Bassiani, SLAM and Crack, where she carefully blended high-energy styles of UK, Detroit, and European techno, many of which stem from the 90s and the 00s. It's frequent to hear Kerrie weave broken elements into her mixes too, chopping up the 4/4 groove at just the right moment to keep things propulsive. Kerrie's Live sets are fast becoming renowned for their trippy motifs and high impact on the dancefloor, applauded by Berlin's long-running club Tresor, where she made several appearances with her Elektron machines. Kerrie's Live set at Freerotation in 2019 was one of the festival's most talked-about debuts, and this year, Kerrie will return to and debut at multiple festivals and clubs across Europe and the Americas.

Following well-received releases on labels such as Don't Be Afraid, Cultivated Electronics, I Love Acid and Symbolism, Kerrie launched her imprint Dark Machine Funk DMF in 2020. The label homes her distinctly raw aesthetic and honours her love for dark, gritty, metallic and industrial sounds melded with elements of funk, heavily influenced by second-wave Detroit artists, UK techno and music by some of her favourite artists; James Ruskin, Blawan and Surgeon. Kerrie's first release on DMF, 'Inner Space PT1', was praised by Resident Advisor, who credited her ability to make "lean, fierce techno that knows how to groove."

2022 was a watershed year for Kerrie's productions. She debuted on the monumental UK techno label Blueprint with her EP 'Raw Regimen', which landed acclaimed reviews. Truly welcomed to the Blueprint family, Kerrie shares her second EP on the label in May and joins the crew at Blueprint showcases around the globe. This year marks the release of Kerrie's 10th EP on vinyl, and considering her consistent output on DMF, Blueprint and many more labels, the producer shows no sign of slowing down.

Coming to international prominence in more recent years, regardless of her decade-long tenure in Manchester's vibrant scene, Kerrie is deeply invested in the culture of electronic music, starting from her teenage era as a raver in Ireland up to her innovative projects today. In 2017, she founded Eastern Bloc's in-house event space to nurture local talent, which remains at the heart of Manchester's music community. Having ended her 11-year stint at the shop in 2023 to fully commit to the studio and accommodate her increasingly busy tour schedule, Kerrie is forging a long-lasting path fuelled by drive, passion, authenticity and a community-first way of thinking.

Today sees Belgian-Caribbean provocateur Charlotte Adigéry and her long-term musical partner, Bolis Pupul announce their debut album Topical Dancer, due for release on March 4 2022 via Soulwax’s iconic label DEEWEE.
Cultural appropriation. Misogyny and racism. Social media vanity. Post-colonialism and political correctness. These are not talking points that you’d ordinarily hear on the dancefloor but Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul are ripping up the rulebook with their debut album Topical Dancer. The Ghent-based duo, who broke out with their 2019 Zandoli EP, are rare storytellers in electronic music: they take the temperature of the time and funnel them into their playful synth concoctions – never didactic and always with a knowing wink.

Their debut studio record – which cements them as a duo under both their names for the first time and is co-written and co-produced by Soulwax – is both a triumph of kaleidoscopic electro-pop and “a snapshot of how we think about pop culture in the 2020s.” It captures Charlotte and Bolis’s essence as musical collaborators and the conversations they’ve had over the past two years on tour, as well as their perspectives as Belgians with an immigrant background, Charlotte with Guadeloupean and French-Martinique ancestry and Bolis being of Chinese descent.

Beyond the album’s thematic heft, Topical Dancer reflects Charlotte and Bolis’s idiosyncratic sound: it’s thoughtful but it bangs. Their take on familiar genres is always off-kilter; songs sound undone or a little wonky; but these are nocturnal heaters to make the club throb. “We like to fuck things up a bit,” laughs Bolis. “We cringe when we feel like we're making something that already exists, so we're always looking for things to combine to make it sound not like a pop song, not like an R&B song, not a techno song. We’re always putting different worlds together. Charlotte and I get bored when things get too predictable.”

Topical Dancer is fizzing with ideas – there’s certainly no filler among its 13 tracks. But above all, perhaps, it has a restlessness, a desire not to be boxed in and to escape others’ narrow perceptions of who they are. It’s summarised by the refrain of their new single, ‘Blenda’: “Don’t sound like what I look like / Don’t look like what I sound like.” “One thing that always comes up,” says Bolis, “is that people perceive me as the producer, and Charlotte as just a singer. Or that being a Black artist means you should be making ‘urban’ music. Those kinds of boxes don’t feel good to us.”

‘Blenda’ in particular references how “I am a product of colonialism,” says Charlotte, “and I feel guilty for taking up space in a white country.” The song was inspired in part by Reni Eddo-Lodge’s book Why I’m Not Longer Talking To White People About Race. “It talks about the colonial past and post-colonial present in the UK,” Charlotte continues, “but that isn’t merely a British or American problem, Belgium is part of that as well.” She says that her home country is likewise “oblivious to a big part of its history” which “results in general ignorance and a lack of understanding and empathy towards Belgian inhabitants of immigrant descent.”

On Topical Dancer, it’s less about finger pointing or being dogmatic about all the things they speak about. It’s about emancipation through humour. “I don’t want to feel this heaviness on me,” says Charlotte. “These aren’t my crosses to bear. Topical Dancer is my way of freeing myself of these issues. And of having fun.”

Every Aspect of the Production Personally Supervised by Barbra Streisand
Mixed by Jochem van der Saag from the Original Analogue Session Tapes & Mastered in 24 bit/96 kHz by Paul Blakemore
Lacquer Pressing Master Created by Bernie Grundman
Pressed at RTI
Tip-On Gatefold Jacket
Deluxe 12-Page Booklet Featuring Barbra's Recollections, the Recording's History & Production, and Performance Photos

The Premiere New York City Nightclub Event of 1962! The Most Anticipated Live Album of 2022!


In the fall of 1960, New York City wasn't the same urban mecca it is today. Neither was eighteen-year old Barbra Streisand, who emerged on the Greenwich Village club scene at a small, cozy venue on West 8th Street called the Bon Soir, where she received rave reviews and wooed the crowd with her incredible performances. Within two years Streisand, whose magnificent interpretations of both standards and quirky, obscure cabaret tunes was a nationwide sensation, was knocking audiences dead with her nightly performance as Miss Marmelstein in David Merrick's I Can Get It For You Wholesale on Broadway.

Sixty years, multiple Grammy, Emmy, Oscar, Tony and Golden Globe awards and nearly two hundred million record sales later, Barbra has for the first time authorized the release of a major portion of her Bon Soir performances, as captured in 1962 by Columbia Records. IMPEX Records - in conjunction with Sony Music Entertainment - is proud to present the audiophile 180-gram vinyl LP and SACD editions of the most sought-after recordings in Barbra's legendary career: Live at the Bon Soir: Greenwich Village, NY - November 1962. This gorgeous album features twenty-four brilliant performances personally selected by Barbra Streisand from the original Bon Soir master tapes and expertly mixed and mastered by Paul Blakemore and Jochem van der Saag, under the supervision of producers Barbra Streisand, Martin Erlichman and Jay Landers.

IMPEX RECORDS has created two versions of this noteworthy release: a two-LP vinyl edition and a 24 bit / 96 kHz SACD. To achieve the best fidelity possible, engineer Paul Blakemore transferred the original three-track session tapes to high-resolution 96/24-bit digital files, which were then mixed by Jochem van der Saag. For mastering, Blakemore used an all-analog signal-processing chain in order to maintain the warmth of the original analogue recordings. To master the vinyl LP edition, IMPEX engaged Bernie Grundman, who has mastered many of Barbra's albums over the last sixty years, to create the lacquer pressing master.

Rich with the club's atmosphere, these historic, essential recordings present a warm, charming portrait of a truly important moment in New York City history and American pop culture. Several years removed from Manhattan's flourishing jazz nightclub scene, tiny clubs such as the Bon Soir began popping up, and served as both a forum and launching pad for some of the finest vocalists and musicians the east coast had to offer.

Because of Barbra's success there, Columbia Records A&R rep David Kapralik decided that the first album from his newly-signed artist would emanate from a setting in which she had become most comfortable: the small stage at the Bon Soir. Producer Mike Berniker and recording engineers Roy Halee and Adjutor "Pappy" Theroux set up the mics and recorders, and for three nights harnessed the electrifying show that Barbra had crafted.

"The recordings we did at the Bon Soir were so authentically 'Barbra.' I produced her first three albums at Columbia, and while they were wonderful accomplishments, I thought that what she did each night at the Bon Soir transcended anything we ever did in the studio." - Mike Berniker

Columbia ultimately decided to bring Barbra into the studio to record her first album, and except for the inclusion of several tracks on compilations through the years, the Bon Soir tapes laid dormant in the vault. Now, through this extraordinary release, everyone can at last enjoy the early sound and style of an icon in-the-making: the same brilliant artist whose performances at the Bon Soir were lauded by everyone from actress Helen Hayes to lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman. We invite you to join us for an evening at the fabled Bon Soir. Take a seat, order a drink and revel in the magic that is Barbra. You will not be disappointed!

Since many years now the house music culture and more widely the electronic music scene have gone down the route of money making, focusing more on high cache bookings, paying little to none attention to local artists, records collectors and djs.

This EP works as I remainder to all, including myself, that cultures are created by the people that live them every day, from those who buy records, to those who play them, producers, PRs, club owners. We all play a role in the prolification of the electronic music culture.

So, wherever you live, go out and support your local artists, djs, local clubs, bars and PRs, buy records from your local shop, support upcoming artists and local heros alike. Only this will save the heart and soul of the club culture.

WE ARE THE COMMUNITY.

Elkka’s deep intuition is the unifying thread throughout Cardiff-born DJ and producer’s illustrious career. Vibrant releases for Local Action, Ninja Tune and her own label and party, femme culture, have marked her as an unstoppable force within the London underground.

This recognition metabolised when she was awarded BBC’s prestigious Essential Mix of the Year in 2021, spotlighting her radiant blend of classic house, breakbeat and experimental electronica to the world over.

As the next curator of DJ-Kicks, Elkka is voyaging through rave euphoria. “This is a really special moment for me because DJ-Kicks has been a formative part of my musical education,” she says.

An intoxicating journey through Chicago house and disco, leftfield techno, UK bass and electro-punk, Elkka conjures up an atmosphere that is as primed for the club as it is the listener’s interior world.

Eliott Litrowski and Voiski’s could have done so 15 years ago, after a first meeting in Paris on the Island of Swans, during a ‘Free Party’ event shut down by the police. But it didn’t. Each one followed his own way, and if their paths crossed many times, they only began collaborating in 2021.

Cracki Records’s 10th anniversary Compilation was the trigger: the two artists locked themselves in the studio to create what has become since their signature sound: The Friendship Spacecake, a perfect alliance, driven by their common love for analogic synthesizers, between Eliott Litrowski’s hybrid electro and Voiski’s post-trance.

Neither of them wanted to stop at this stage. One is living in Copenhagen, the other in Paris, yetcreating an album together quickly became the next obvious step.
This common desire led to the beginning of the suitably called Superski duo: a great name that encapsulates both artists’ committed live performances, their unusual musical language, between electro, trance and Italo, and their vision of an uncompromising, colorful and positive club culture.

Oberheim 6, Jupiter 8, TR808, Roland JX8P, Microwave XT and FutureRetro XS, all synthesizers are limitlessly pushed to their last breath, creating an almost retro-futuristic decor for the artiststo evolve in.

Their debut album “Mondo Moderno” will be out March 31st

T4T LUV NRG present the first vinyl release by Gynoid 74, the beloved Glaswegian DJ known also as Miss Cosmix. Label heads Eris Drew & Maya Bouldry-Morrison (Octo Octa) met Gynoid 74 through their work with the queer Shoot Your Shoot event series in Scotland. Gynoid 74 has been DJing for 20 years and has shared her knowledge of DJing and sound with so many artists in Glasgow that she’s truly beloved there for her contributions to the scene. She’s as likely to be DJing as she is to be working sound at a local club or huddled off in her home studio. The three artists all formed an immediate connection because of their mutual love for old school electronics, tape culture, and proper house music. When the label finally heard Gynoid 74’s original music they were blown away. Gynoid 74 tracks are a truly refreshing mix of 12-bit sampling and raw breaks alongside “tracky” house music that could have come from Chicago in the 80s, but didn’t. The songs on the “Shroom E.P.” are elemental and elegant, each one recorded on a limited kit of gear by a special artist who makes timeless music for herself, creating little worlds of her own to exist in.

The vinyl release includes the incredible original artwork of ocypode_quadrata, which beautifully illustrates Gynoid 74 in communication with her snails and mushrooms.

French techno titan Madben unveils his much anticipated ‘Troisième Sens’ LP on Maceo Plex’s Ellum Audio.

Madben started absorbing the techno of Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke and Speedy J in the 90s, growing up in Lille in northern France. He retains a passion for DIY culture and warehouse parties thanks to youthful raving at Brussels' Fuse, Gent's Kozzmozz or in abandoned factories in Courtrai. All this has shone through in his music, including a debut album on Astropolis in 2018 that featured a collaboration with Laurent Garnier and a recent EP for Garnier and Scan X’s label.

Over the last decade, he has become a European club and festival favourite playing places like Berghain and Awakenings. His studio boasts a fine array of machines utilised to full effect on this latest opus. ‘Troisième Sens’ perfectly reflects what the artist has always loved, listened to and played, keeping one eye on the dance floor but never at the expense of musical narrative. It’s a genuinely progressive, multi-genre body of work that allows listeners to fully immerse themselves in the seemingly limitless depths of the Frenchman’s sonic capabilities.

He says, “Over the years, I learned to have more fun with the gear in my studio, and this has been the result. The album took three years to finish; I started in an underground basement studio in Paris before moving to Nantes. Therefore, it may surprise listeners with such a diverse selection of moods. It's dark in places but happy in others.”

'Departure' kicks off with uplifting synth work and broken techno beats that have a celebratory feel. 'Addicted' is a lithe cut with steamy vocals and a more fulsome combo of drums and bass, while 'Circuit Breaker' cuts loose in the cosmos. Acid wobbles, smeared synths and metallic percussion all make for a bouncy cut before 'Fade In Fade Out' continues the cosmic trip with vastly oversized synth patterns that will light up a dark space with overwhelming euphoria.

The brilliant 'It's 1 am In A Rave' is a dark, heads-down banger with 'Lost Memories' then layering up melancholic synths and Plastikman-style drum loops into something full of deep thought. There is no let up with the superb acid techno gymnastics of 'No fear', and 'The March' is a turbulent mix of sheet metal synths that whip about over steel-plated drums. 'You Dance Like A Robot' is end-of-the-world electro with a menacing robot vocal, and the electro tip continues with expert drum programming and menacing leads on 'Deep In The Jungle'. 'Meta' is a flailing rhythmic workout that sounds like the machines are in meltdown, and 'I Made A Dream During This Nightmare' is a serene techno soundscape for ruminating about the future of the human race.

Intelligent yet immediate, impactful but emotional, ‘Troisième Sens’ is another standout techno record from Madben.

With the verve of the early onset of a love affair, Julian Muller’s and MRD’s first release on NALI isn’t shy of evoking deep feelings on the backdrop scattered bass lines. The four-track EP draws from transcendental soundscapes and blends them with well-crafted solid techno. Hopeful, revolutionary and yet club driven, the vocals are pop-leaning with a hint of the aesthetics of popularized club culture that came up in the late 90ies. A promising kick-start for the freshly conceived label and its musical agenda.

Five years since his last solo outing, Pev makes a very welcome return on his own label for Livity Sound's 60th release.

Having focused on expanding the innovative scope of Livity through a prolific release schedule, frequent label nights and the 10th anniversary Molten Mirrors compilation, on the 'Pulse E.P.', Pev delivers on his reputation for inventive, sharply-focused club music with four lean, focused club tracks across the tempo range.

From the crooked formation and pointillist bleeps of ‘Pulse I’ through the light-footed percussion and airy melodies of ‘Pulse II’ to ‘Pulse III’s strafing techno synths and ‘Pulse IV’s surefooted, bass-loaded house jack, it’s an EP of variation and consistency in equal measure. From the infectious, alien melodic lines to the elegant angles of the drums, not to mention the weighty subs, it’s all strikingly fresh and unmistakably Pev.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

‘’Ace Todmorden label makes a significant discovery on its own doorstep: a superb cache of ‘loner folk’ songs recorded in the early-70s by Hebden Bridge’s answer to Nick Drake’’ UNCUT PLAYLIST

"This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.” Benjamin Myers
"Defiantly Northern and out of this world" Folk Radio

Anti-counter culture loner folk from a teenage attic in the heart of rural Northern hippiedom.
Today the valley town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is world-renowned as something of a bohemian backwater. It wasn’t like this back in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when a disparate selection of radicals, drop-outs, heads, musicians, artists and writers started to be attracted to the Calder Valley. Local lad and future poet laureate Ted Hughes called the area “the fouled nest of industrialisation”.
Over time, those seeds of radicalism and collectivism ensured Hebden Bridge evolved into a place where people could be themselves and all shades of individual oddness not only tolerated but actively encouraged. But back at the turn of the dreary 1970s it remained a monochrome world defined by its unforgiving surrounding landscapes, where the old gritstone over-dwellings were stained with soot and rain lashed down for weeks.
It was here that Trevor Beales, who was born in 1953, grew up, and from where he drew musical and lyrical inspiration.
Perhaps it was this dual nationality heritage, unusual in the valley’s largely white working class population at the time, that gave the teenager Trevor Beale’s music an outsider’s perspective. The discovery of Bob Dylan, Django Reinhardt, The Byrds and James Taylor at a young age, lead to him picking up a guitar at the age of ten, and he was soon writing his own originals and performing them at local (though often remote) folk clubs and pubs.
Recorded in the attic of the family home at Ivy Bank in Charlestown on the verdant wooded slopes at the edge of Hebden Bridge between 1971 and 1974, these early recordings are collected here for the first time and mark Trevor Beales long-overdue solo debut.
In these songs is a suffer-no-fools sense of realism that is defiantly Northern, yet also expresses a worldliness that belies Beales’ young years, whilst also showcasing an inherent storyteller’s ear for narrative. Here is a postcard from the past at that crucial musical period of transition, when the idealistic exponents of the 1960s emerged into an austere new decade that was to be shaped by strikes, rising unemployment and economic upheaval.
Two aspects of this music make it remarkable: Beales’ natural ability showcases a sophisticated guitar-picking style that was leagues ahead of many of his (older, more recognised) contemporaries. This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Dave Evans, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.
Secondly, his lyrics are a far cry from either the naïve bedroom scribblings of a teenager who has barely left his upland home, nor do they fall foul of the type of lazy cliches and sub-Tolkien imagery that was still in abundance in the early 1970s. Most remarkably the earliest songs here were laid down less than a year after he left school (an unearthed report written by his headteacher on July 3rd 1970 noted he had “a considerable ability and interest in music”, though his education ended abruptly when he simply walked out of a science lesson one sunny day while at sixth form, never to return).
Trevor’s music is grounded in reality – his reality. ‘Then I’ll Take You Home’, for example, considers the Guru Marajai, who encouraged his acolytes to give over their worldly possessions, yet who drove a Rolls Royce and lived like a playboy. Unsurprisingly, this latest in a long line of spiritual charlatans found several followers in Hebden Bridge, and Beales casts a disdainful eye over the growing popularity for such false prophets.
With its ancient narratives and propensity for myth-making, folk has certainly produced it’s fair share of cult figures who have enjoyed rediscovery or career resurgence and with this debut compilation of home recordings, rescued from cassette tapes, Trevor Beales might just be the latest addition. Certainly he was the real deal.
Crucially, Beales' music is never jaded or cynical, but instead possesses a poet’s ear, a strong sense of self and some sound critical faculties. And much of it recorded at an age when he could neither vote nor order a pint of heavy.
Trevor Beales died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 29th 1987, aged 33. He left behind Christine and their young child Lydia.

The latest on Warehouse Music comes courtesy of Joshua James: ‘Love To Do It’ which samples the iconic, pleasure-seeking vocals of American drag vocalist Roxy and The Ride Committee.

For the original mix, the London DJ gives Roxy’s ‘90s house lyrics an electro makeover, twisting around mangled samples, vibrant snares and bubbling slapback delays. Keeping true to the artist's wild vocal stylings and referencing the queer underground sound James has called home.

On the flip, label boss Mella Dee takes us back into four-four territory on the first of two remixes. The ‘Law & Disorder’ mix works James’ dialled-up modern sass into a hypnotic loop, rolling into the heart of the club via a deep house bassline.

Meanwhile, the 'Split Your Wig’ mix strips the track down to body-poppin’ 909s and swirling percussion, paying tribute to NYC club culture via drum machine.

Club culture in France would have been different if not for Micky Milan (real name Milan Zdravkovic). He is one of the true trailblazers of what is known today as French Boogie.
It all started when he was the in-house DJ of the highly popular club L'échappatoire in the Parisian suburb of Clichy sous Bois. In those days, he was well connected with Champs Disques, back then, the hippest record shop located on the Champs Élysées and had privileged access to the best imported U.S. 12" thus making his club the undisputed stronghold of disco funk.
A significant fact is that he is one of the very few French artists signed on the legendary U.S. Salsoul record label with the song "Quand tu danses". Teaming up with funkateer and close friend François Feldman, the track was recorded with Feldman on keyboards along with the Gibson Brothers on percussions, drums and keyboards, a French group, originally hailing from Martinique and Kamil Rustam who later went on to work to the who&who of soul and funk music adding his powerful licks of funky guitar. The influence of Lamont Dozier of "Going back to my roots", fame is that of a tutelary god all over these tracks. The goal behind this EP is to highlight Micky Milan’s multifaceted musical talents, from disco funk to jazz and synth pop. The record contains two tracks never previously released on vinyl, the groovesque “Paris amour” built on guitar riffs carrying the sexy voice of Alexandra and the instrumental version of "Quand tu danses"; epitomizing the essence of funk and the power of a sound on par with the American productions of the time. Hail to the pioneer.

Following up from their smash collaboration with live band Cotonete, Dimitri From Paris and Heartbeat records shop boss Melik Bencheikh, team up once again to launch their new label, Le HeartBeat.
In an ongoing mission to champion the live side of dance music, they locked themselves up in a studio, with the ace players of new Parisian combo, Chatobaron. The first outing on Le HeartBeat draws from the cheekiness of London’s Punk Funk, meeting with New York’s Disco Not Disco. The all acoustic performance invokes the spirits of Ian Dury, Arthur Russell, bouncing on the walls of the Paradise Garage, to enter the soul of Chatobaron’s expert players, each at the top of their game.
Dimitri gets on mixing duties and makes sure the rhythm section keeps the dancefloor busy. In his signature roller coaster style, he provides vocal and dub versions, chock full of breaks and drops.
Working with seasoned players, using the best of vintage and modern recording techniques, Le HeartBeat Records aims to bring decades of record digging culture onto todays dance floors.

New year, new energy, new music...

We’re all waiting for that tune to land in our lap, reach up and slap us simultaneously in the ears, feels, souls and feet. That big sonic blast of emotion and inspiration that sets the tone and gets us excited about a new season of shows.

Hard Times Records present ‘All I Need’, a powerful, slab of house music positivity that smacks of ‘first anthem of the year’ vibes and comes courtesy of one of house music’s biggest pioneers AND a certified UK House music institution that permanently changed the face of global club culture over 30 years ago... Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley and Hard Times.

Neither Hurley or Hard Times need any introductions, but both have histories that deserve so much more than this hype-fuelled promo blurb. Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley is a certified legend. As one of the pioneering House music artists to emerge from Chicago’s primordial 80s phenomenon and the first ever to score a UK number one Hit with ‘Jack Your Body’, the multiple Grammy nominated artist has been a powerful source of energy and inspiration ever since as one of the most consistent forefathers of this scene.

Hard Times have played an equally influential role and are arguably responsible for some of the most defining moments in uk House Music. One of the first club nights to import the US titans to UK dancefloors, the Yorkshire brand were instrumental in creating a blueprint in international DJ culture as they invited the biggest pioneers and legends to their events that began in the sleepy town of Mirfield, but eventually sprawled across the UK with line-ups that ranged from Todd Terry to Masters at Work to Deep Dish and every titan in between. A dominant force throughout the 90s, Hard Times wound down in the 2000s as its founder Steve Raine took a break from the industry to become a sheep farmer, which he still does to this day... Safe in the knowledge that he helped to create an ethos for uncompromising underground House Music that remains steadfast to this Day.

The Hard Times label originated back in 1994 And ran alongside the club night, boasting a small but elite catalogue. It’s about to thrive on a whole new level as Hard Times returns as a label with its first new material for over 20 years with ‘All I Need’.

Timeless yet forward-thinking, loaded to the brim with precision groovemanship, glazed with a strong Latin twist and sprinkled with the gorgeous vocals of Sara Garvey, who many will instantly recognise from her Nightmares On Wax collaborations, ‘All I Need’ is a pedigree house anthem-in-waiting. Universal in vibe and spirit, fully transcending trend or flavour-of-the-month fickleness, this taps into the source and has full potential to be the first big boundary-breaking house hit of 2023... 36 years after Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley topped the charts with ‘Jack Your Body’!

It comes complete with a rainbow of remixes from some equally eye-opening heavyweights: Alex Arnout, Eddie Leader, Terry Farley & Kevin Swain and DJ Skip (who runs S&S Records with ‘Hurley) all provide different perspectives on ‘All I Need’, giving it even more scope and depth to slap us simultaneously.

Relentless raver and emerging artist from the Rinse France roster of captivating talent, RONI launches her imprint Nehza Records with a five-track EP titled ‘Slowing’ by Bordeaux-based Neida . Marking the debut release on the label, Neida is the first producer to bring RONI’s fantasy-led vision to life.

‘Slowing’ is a cross-pollination of breaks, acid, jungle and bass which nods to the sound of the underground UK rave scene circa 1990. An era that RONI closely aligns with in terms of sound, art and the sense of liberation synonymous with 90s club culture, Neida nails this aesthetic throughout the EP. ‘Bull’ sets a powerful tone as the opening track, packed with punchy drums layered below an orchestral-like vocal before ‘DSO’ burbles through with squelchy synthwork over a 4/4 beat — a clear hint of that UK rave sound simmering under the surface. Garnering his appreciation for reggae and Rasta dialect, Neida’s rework of a vocal derived from reggae artist Don Carlos is masterfully blended into this 6-minute churner.

Over on the B-side, ‘Guess Who’ burns slowly with downtempo breaks and mesmerising chords; you can almost smell an imaginary forest as the track unravels, creating an image of tripping in nature. ‘WHT’ rumbles through with a mellow introduction before going full-whack into barreling drums and clap-heavy percussion, illustrating Neida’s ability to dip into experimental textures that nod to complex rhythm patterns rather than club-cut melodies. ‘For All The Time Sake’ closes the EP with an acid bassline and bright, crisp percussion ending the EP on a significantly vibrant note to mark the first stepping stone of RONI’s record label. ‘Slowing’ is a spiralling myriad of bright atmospheres and escapism, likely to be one of many sonic trademarks on Nehza Records.

Released by Lisbon’s Welt Discos, Rafiki’s debut EP release The Source takes three decades of UK rave heritage — hardcore, breaks, house, garage and bass music — and throws it into the pot with the producer’s own Indian heritage, then gives it a healthy stir. Rafiki is the alter ego of Sohail Arora — a pioneering figure in the Indian music industry, who significantly shapes club culture as the founder of Krunk and Krunk Kulture.

In the mid-70s, Bob Shad’s cult New York Jazz label Mainstream Records turned to the burgeoning underground Disco scene and released a handful of great singles produced by the likes of Tommy Stewart, Jimmy Roach or Bert DeCoteaux. Featuring artists from the early Disco hotbed including South Side Coalition, Chocolate Syrup and Three Ounces of Love, these singles, proving Shad's great flair, accompanied the rise of the New York club and block party culture that was going to revolutionise the musical landscape a few years later. Most of the singles are officially reissued here on vinyl for the first time, with Three Ounces of Love's "Disco Man" full mix previously unissued on vinyl. Remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris, with liner notes by Charles Waring and artwork by Thomas C. Bradley

Funk and Soul in the early 70s were mutating to a new sound spearheaded by such labels as Philadelphia International Records (PIR), Scepter and Salsoul: Early Disco was taking off and Its sound was earthier and more urban, mixing the nascent Disco beat with strong funk and soul elements. New York was at the epicentre of the phenomenon, thanks to its thriving club scene and also to a new wave of DJs from the Bronx who started playing the music at block parties along with James Brown and Mandrill. bubbling under was a cohort of small independent labels that released some great music on 7" singles to meet the growing demand. Industry veteran Bob Shad and his label Mainstream Records started investigating this new scene and asked his circle of independent producers to bring him their latest production for release. For the occasion, he set up two sub labels, IX Chains and Brown Dog.

Among the producers who'd heard Shad's call were Tommy Stewart who came up with The South Side Coalition's funky '(Don't You Wanna) Get Down Get Down' in 1975 and Prophecy's 'What Ever's Your Sign' a year later. Seasoned arranger/producer Bert DeCoteaux (Patti Austin, Maxine Brown, The Main Ingredient) brought Lenny Welch's soulful 'A Hundred Pounds of Pain' and the superb mid-tempo instrumental 'Nothing Between Us' by The Electric Ladies. Arranger Jimmy Roach came with his latest single with The Dramatics ('No Rebate on Love') whom he'd worked with at Volt and with Three Ounces of Love on their aptly titled single 'Disco Man,' whose unissued long version merging Side 1 and 2 is released here on vinyl for the first time. The sister group would go on to sign with Motown in 1978 and release their sole album self-titled 'Three Ounces of Love.'

​Other highlights on 'Mainstream Disco Funk' include The Grand Jury's 'Music is Fun To Me' with its languid funky rhythm arranged by Ted Bodnar, a producer and studio engineer who'd work with Sir Joe Quarterman, Blair and Al Johnson. Also featured on the set is Crystal Image's superb 'Gonna Have a Good Time (part 1 & 2) which typifies the blend of urban funk, glitzy strings and metronomic beat that were signature elements of early Disco.

​The style would keep getting more commercial over the years and reach overkill in the late 70s but the block party scene which more than embraced this breakbeat-filled genre would soon morph into hip hop in the second half of the 70s with the help of a few key industry figures such as Sylvia Robinson (Sugar Hill Records). By that time, Bob Shad had ceased releasing records and relocated in Los Angeles but he left behind a small treasure trove of superb obscure singles which are now making their LP debut on 'Mainstream Disco Funk' for the delight of all funk and disco lovers.

A year and a half ago, THE MFA returned to the fore once more, when we released their "Oranges and Lemons EP".

Their new album, “Lights Out”, which could be described as a long time coming, is definitely THE MFA’s most ambitious work to date.

As they put it in their own words: “The album is very special to us. It’s a long ambition brought to fruition. It’s an album that is at home on the dancefloor or at home. We’ve always been influenced by 90s rave culture and the club scene of that era and the explosion of creative freedom through electronic music that happened back then.”

The album sums up what THE MFA stands for; their love of electronic music intertwined their love of songs and melody, sometimes banging, sometimes pensive, sometimes longing, occasionally up-beat and happy. Melodic techno-pop-rave then.

The album opener "My Desire" pins down the essence of the album, showing some pop sensibility and a healthy dose of that early 90s spirit with longing vocals by Rhys Evans. The track shows from many angles of the intensity of what club culture was about. The track has, for sure, that pop quality which sets it apart - it is a very complete and rounded and in the true sense, a hit.

"Identify This" kicks off with blissed-out sci-fi sounds but commences with 90s rave chords that gets under your skin and creates a fantastic kaleidoscopic picture of moody UK rave with these spurts of emotional uplifting moments which are worth every penny.

"Bear Likes To Rave" takes us back to the warehouse days and reminds us of the acid warehouse parties with fanned stroboscope beams and dry ice cannons. It’s like looking down on a rave party happening from above, from a bird's eye view, which is in full swing where the euphoria spills over into the audience. "Girl Ahead" is a vocal track exclusively on the digital version of the album, again with Rhys Evans on vocal duties. Here they ponder all the possibilities of the future and the mistakes of the past. Features space toms and grand piano rave chords to evoke a housy feel within.

With "Freedom24" a Hi-NRG melody meets nightcrawler sounds ala "Klang De Familie". This is a soundtrack for the night.

"Lammas Day" has the chilling exotic quality of 808 State "Pacific State" if you grant us this comparison, paired with some phantastic Dr Who sensibilities! This track is quite a voyage!

"Warehouse"... Make Some F-...ing Noise... A TV presenter speaks about Acid house...... This is a wild mash up of impressions which nicely go together due to the melodic string composition and the 303 sequences.

"The Snapping Branch" starts with a mash up of sounds and then dives into an episodic snapshot of "happiness" when the serotonin shoots in (just before it drops). Experiencing a perfect flow that does not want to end. Every clubber knows that feeling.

"You Make Me Smile" is the third vocal track on the album featuring Rhys Evans on vocals. It has fantastic radical stark mood changes and blatant shifts, therefore throws the listener from one corner to the other. Just like the contrast of day and night. Bits here and there might conjure a Radiohead spirit, but really this is all MFA.

"Lights Out” certainly puts across the feeling you get at the end of the night - the club has closed; you are walking home. These are the sounds and feelings in your memories as you chase the vibe that is dwindling as the club becomes ever further away.

Ground Groove, the third full-length release from the LA-based, Iranian-American producer and DJ, Maral, begins with an invocation: the sprawling, achingly heavy Feedback Jam opens the floodgates of history. Conventional (linear) spacetime collapses, crushed beneath the track’s lumbering 4/4 heartbeat and successive waves of distortion. As each wave recedes, samples trickle forward in the mix — seeking, perhaps, to fill the void. Voices and instruments rise and fall in uncanny reverse. Overlapping, implied melodies flicker into focus, then flit away. Feedback Jam is at once an initiation ritual, and a thesis statement for the record that follows.

Drawing upon a vast personal archive of Iranian folk, classical, and pop recordings (some sourced from mixtapes made by her parents in the eighties/nineties), Maral presents, on Ground Groove, a further refinement of the signature “folk club” sound she developed as a live DJ— a sound she would later codify on Mahur Club (2019) and Push (2020). By collecting, dissecting, and re/presenting sonic fragments from Iran, Maral practices a kind of dance-floor ethnomusicology. The subject of her inquiry: Iranian


culture and contexts, throughout history and in the present. But, crucially, this inquiry is instantiated within and throughout the body of the listener, whether this listener is dancing in the club, or riding the train, nodding along with headphones on.

Maral speaks of being in collaboration with her samples, treating each as a distinct bandmate, often consulting with an artist’s catalog (or even a single recording) as one would a trusted creative partner. In so-doing, Maral claims to seek to transcend the self. In this regard, her output neatly triangulates contemporary dance and heavy music with much of the traditional religious music that she samples. Broadly speaking, each of these idioms addresses a desire —shared by audience and performer alike—to transcend the self through volume, repetition, and movement.

Having, in her youth, studied the Setar under Nader Majd (the founder of Virginia’s Center for Persian Classical Music), Maral cycled through various genres (ex: punk, emo, dub) in her adolescence and early twenties, all the while expanding her knowledge of, and appreciation for, Iran’s diverse musical traditions during regular summer trips to Tehran. In college, Maral taught herself to make beats with a ripped copy of Ableton (which remains her DAW of choice), eventually transitioning to playing and hosting various club nights. Forever abiding by an autodidactic, DIY impulse to create art and foster community, Maral relocated to Los Angeles in 2013, where she quickly immersed herself in the city’s numerous overlapping music scenes.

Collaboration (beyond sampling) has proven an important component of her process, with notable spoken word contributions from the likes of Lee Scratch Perry and Penny Rimbaud, as well as a 2021 Panda Bear collab track (On Your Way), which the Animal Collective founder co-produced. Maral is equally attentive to the visual components of her records (album art, music videos, etc.), drawing upon the work of peers and friends for inspiration.

Indeed, the genesis of Ground Groove can be traced back to an audio-visual collaboration between Maral and the artist Brenna Murphy, originally commissioned for the 2021 Rewire Festival — a project that would eventually serve as the album’s foundation. Tracks eight through eleven on Ground Groove comprise Maral’s half of this installation, with tracks one through seven composed afterwards, inspired by the fruits of Maral and Murphy’s collaboration. Murphy’s visuals will be released alongside Ground Groove as a visual accompaniment. Additionally, Murphy designed the album’s art, directed the video for the lead single (the aforementioned Feedback Jam), and is featured on track six, Shy Night.

Composed largely on Ableton, Ground Groove features more frequent and more prominent live recordings from Maral (guitar, bass, and vocals) than either Push or Mahar Club. The cult favorite Roland MC-909 groovebox rears its head on Mari’s Groove. Mixed by Trayer Tryon (Hundred Waters) and mastered by Daddy Kev, the attention to sonic quality on Ground Groove constitutes another significant step in Maral’s development as a studio artist.

Ground Groove’s eleven tracks are “grooves” in the obvious sense, in that they are each driven by a persistent, propulsive rhythm, but the album’s title may just as well suggest the glacial passage of time—the scope of human history, in which individual voices, like streams, carve paths (impossibly) through earth and stone, winding their way to the vast sea of the present.

Tartelet Records is thrilled to present the debut album from Doc Sleep – 10 tracks of exquisitely rendered melodies and rhythms shaped with grit and beauty in equal measure. Birds (in my mind anyway) is a widescreen vision of electronica as a medium to express your personal situation and respond to your environment – a rave adjacent art form free from the perceived rules of the dancefloor. To date, Melissa Maristuen known as Doc Sleep has established herself in the context of the club – first engaging with the culture in San Francisco before moving to Berlin. She helps run the Room 4 Resistance party, DJs on Refuge Worldwide, co- owns the Jacktone label and has released on Detour, Dark Entries and her own label. But in making Birds (in my mind anyway) she set herself an ultimatum.

“At the time of recording this album, my life, all my routines and priorities had to change – music was no exception. I decided if I couldn't be happy making an album free of the dancefloor, I was finally going to be done with music. Instead, I found a musical voice free of tempo and textural restriction. Eventually, I had a sound, and once I had the sound, the album came pretty quickly. It was a very different process writing music for no one...except myself.”

If the impression given is one of a consistent style across the album, think again. Doc Sleep moves freely between tempos and themes, even if there are some recurring qualities binding the music together. She weaves fluttering arps with poise, lending them an almost choral quality which gives the album a very human touch. But they’re equally emotionally ambiguous or pockmarked with sonic interference – reflections of the collisions and conflicts
that typify the human experience.

Every inch of the album is a personal touch – the title was pulled from Doc Sleep’s mother’s response to hearing the album, while her friend Kiernan Laveaux offered a beautiful text which appears on the back. Those closest to her all fed into the artwork process, which captures the curious dichotomy between urban brutalism and botanical finery often found in the parks of Berlin – a vital place of respite when she was making the album.

This 80's 12 Inch Remixes Collected edition is from the decade when the extended remix was an artform. A remix is usually an alternative, and sometimes longer, version of a previous recorded song.

NYC's Disco powerhouse West End Records should need no intro. The home of too-numerous-to-list club classics for over 30+ years is still impacting today on what we know to be club culture. The label started by one Mel Cheren (RIP) with assistance from Larry Levan and more way back in 1976 is still held in such high regard today with it's catalogue constantly being played, rediscovered, reinterpreted and loved by waves and waves of new fans and admirers. One such admirer is one of the UK's longest serving DJ's and editors, a truly legendary Northern selector who's unique reel to reel DJ sets and reworks has gained him fans worldwide and continues to do so. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Greg Wilson's West End versions, 4 tracks of unparalleled funk touched by the man himself who has also kindly supplied some choice words about this special release:

"West End has a particular place in my heart. Along with Prelude, it was my main go-to label during the early '80s, an underground New York powerhouse issuing a relentless run of now classic and cult-classic club cuts during the time I was DJing at Legend in Manchester. For me personally, the label is forever connected with this then futuristic venue, West End's progressive approach to dance music, incorporating electronic elements to play a key role in ushering in the Electro-Funk era, finding its perfect environment at Legend, with tracks by Stone, and especially the Peech Boys' hugely influential 'Don't Make Me Wait', providing major stepping stones. This is a project that holds a deeper resonance for me, given my personal relationship with the label, and I'm so happy to contribute the series; the 4 favourites tracks I selected for this release illustrating West End's best qualities - serious grooves and soulful vocals.

The edit of 'You Can't Take Your Cake And Eat It Too' by B.T. (Brenda Taylor) was originally featured on my first Credit To The Edit compilation, back in 2005, whilst Raw Silk's 'Do It To The Music' was also edited around the same period, but has never been made available until now. 'Keep On Dubbin'' by Forrrce, although not as big as the other inclusions at the time, was an ahead of its time hybrid, mixed by Francois Kevorkian, whose dub awakening had taken place the previous year, and Shirley Lites 'Heat You Up (Melt You Down)', which draws from the instrumental 'Melt Down Mix', the version of choice at Legend, where dub and instrumental mixes often trumped the main vocal versions"

A truly golden era of dance music history, all killer - no filler! All tracks featured re-edited by Greg Wilson and re-mastered, re-pressed and re-released with the permission of and in conjunction with West End Records, New York City / BMG. '

On Al Hadr, Sabrina Bellaouel taps into myriad influences: from spirituality, astrology to club culture, romance, the body and self-love. Creating a balance between places, identities and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she’s finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future.

Following two solo EPs, also on InFiné — 2020’s We Don’t Need To Be Enemies and 2021’s Libra — the French-Algerian producer and vocalist’s unique style of electronic R&B blossoms with Al Hadr, a 13-track album featuring collaborations with dance producer Basile3, experimental club DJ and writer Crystallmess, jazz musician Monomite and pop singer Bonnie Banane, among others.

Born, raised and based in Bagneux, outside the southern périphérique of Paris, Bellaouel lives between worlds. At home, her Algerian heritage and Muslim faith have fused tight familial bonds and a keen sense of history and culture; as “Berbers”, she speaks French and Arabic. In her headphones, she finds comfort in the sparse experimentalism of Radiohead and romantic tales of Jill Scott. On the hot club dance floors of Paris, driving house beats connect her to her body.

In swirling these private and public passions together on Al Hadr — which translates from Arabic as “the present time” — Bellaouel is the most vulnerable she’s ever been on record. Classic neo-soul and silken R&B blend with club electronics. Tender harmonies are sung and rhymes are spoken in English, French and Arabic, exploring love, faith and identity. Samples of drum machines are the backbone for wisps of woodwind, strings, keys and environmental ‘found sounds’, including Bellaouel’s own live recordings.

Creating a balance between places, identities and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she’s finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future.

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome the legendary New Sector Movements to the label, and the first new release from this moniker in 15 years! A 5-track EP for 'These Times', comprised of street soul, hip hop, jazz and bruk-tinged vibes.

Founded, headed and produced by DJ & musician IG Culture (CoOp Presents / LCSM), this all-new quasi-group project also features the vocal talents of Allysha Joy, Mike City and Natalie May with additional accompaniment from Wonky Logic, Wayne Francis, Alex Phountzi and the NSM Fusion Starship!

New Sector Movements (aka NSM) were the first out the gate at the dawn of the original broken beat movement, releasing their first single 'Groove Now / New Goya' on the People label in 1997, then releasing several singles and EPs through to the late noughties, and dropping a classic album on Virgin entitled 'Download This'. The previous incarnation featured several other artists from the bruk foundation era, including Kaidi Tatham, Izzy Dunn, Julie Dexter and Eska Mtungwazi amongst others.

Awarded a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 2019 Worldwide Awards, NSM's IG Culture is a hugely pioneering prolific artist in the UK music scene. His catalogue of releases over the years has seen numerous aliases, collaborations, remixes and productions. Appearing on the scene in 1990 as part of Dodge City Productions, to producing several solo albums throughout the noughties, to recent years with his hugely-acclaimed cosmic jazz outfit LCSM (Likwid Continual Space Motion), additionally to co-running the CoOp Presents label, continuing the legacy of the award-winning club night whilst showcasing new artists, IG Culture has been omnipresent at every corner of British black music for three decades deep, influencing many a sound.

This is all additionally to projects like NameBrandSound, Likwid Biskit, Da One Away and Son of Scientist to name just a few. His work has appeared on releases by Roots Manuva, Young Disciples, Les Nubians and Monday Michiru, while remix work over the years has included Gang Starr, Femi Kuti, José James, Miraa May, Slum Village, Digital Underground, Luniz, Naughty By Nature, Airto Moreira & Flora Purim.

As a DJ, he's shut down dances all over the world, recently at places like Fabric, We Out Here festival and Summer Dance Forever in Amsterdam, as well as regularly rocking the airwaves on Worldwide FM and combining the two at BBC 6 Music's All Points East stage in the Summer. IG Culture also founded Selectors Assemble; a collective of forward thinking DJs and producers.

So, as we head towards Winter 2022, New Sector Movements has returned (but don't call it a comeback!). After a turbulent few years in the world, it seemed a poignant moment to reinvigorate the soul, and reflect upon 'These Times'. Here we have five brand new tracks, each illustrating a pertinent mood and attitude representing the current climate. Allysha Joy leads the vocal on EP opener 'These Times', a sumptuous slice of street soul with a deeply infectious horn hook. 'Stand' is next - uptempo boom bap for the dancers, this one featuring the soulful pipes of Mike City. 'Hope' is a midtempo jazz-funk dub again feature vocal licks from Allysha, and introducing the mysterious NSM Fusion Starship into the fold. 'H.E.A.T.' picks up the pace with some infectious jazz-bruk business, this one lead by Natalie May on the vocals, who explains "heat = movement, motion". And finally 'Bless' with closes the set on a four-four riddim with bruk sensibilites, inviting Mike City back with an uplifting vocal requesting we "bless the people just trying to make it".

An essential EP of cross-genre vibes to resonate cross-generations, New Sector Movements do not ramp. IG Culture and crew proceed to give you what you need for 'These Times'.

'These Times' is released on vinyl and digital worldwide via First Word Records late February 2023.

Tape

The next issue in the on-going Mastermix series features a centerpiece of Frankfurt’s club history: Wild Pitch Club.

A predecessor to the esteemed Robert Johnson and a stepping stone for Panorama Bar’s very own nd_baumecker.

Founded by Playhouse masterminds Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O it was a Thursday club night that heavily featured house music as a prescription to the ongoing techno fever. Enamored with the US-American roots of it and all things deep, it not only presented the right records, but also their creators and protagonists. With a string of guest DJs from Robert Hood and Claude Young to Kerri Chandler and Theo Parrish as well as talent from the UK and Europe, it was one of the culture’s hubs at the time.

Here you have its testimony. Selected and mixed by Ata and nd_baumecker, it’s an authentic snapshot of the club’s vibe and spirit, spread over a collectable tape (download included) and a pleasant streaming version, it’s the full dosage. Like Roach Motel confessed: Wild Pitch, I love you.