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Red Pig Flower brings you her sensational debut album Practice Love, available on Sound Of Vast from 10th April. Her unique sound sits upon the apex of a three-sided pyramid. With Berlin, Tokyo and Seoul as the base, Red is a third culture kid, greater than the sum of her parts. The centre is filled with her incredible appreciation and knowledge of house and electronic music from every pin drop through history.

So taken with Red Pig Flower’s sound, Honey Dijon invited Red to her Southbank Centre show to play alongside her. Moxie loves her that much, that she invited Red to record a mix and to guest on her NTS show. Alan Fitzpatrick, and Just Her are amongst Red’s growing posse of followers.

Practice Love is a culmination of all of Red Pig Flower’s life experiences, brimming with her positive energy and an outlook on life of pure love. Red has collaborated with like-minded artists at every level: the music, the cover art and video all produced with talented friends, who get Red as the wonderful person she is and understand her vision. Her label partner and good friend, Knock in particular helped make Practice Love the incredible album it is. So intuitive is their musical symbiosis, they made 20 tracks and carefully curated and ordered nine of these, making an album of tracks that stand out on their own, yet flow perfectly as an album. Practice Love will make you feel joyous when you play it. By the end, you will feel like you know Red like a friend.

Practice Love kicks off with I don’t care, it makes you feel good: a dreamy, tribal mantra of a track that does exactly what it says on the tin. Next up is I Love To Dance. Red’s beautiful soft vocal is sweet yet poignant, leaving you in no doubt of her sincerity. Thirdly comes Feel Good Music. Are you getting a feel from the track names yet that this is an album of warmth and positivity? You can imagine this one at a Café Del Mar sunset, where those who get the spirituality of Ibiza come together, in the moment to appreciate the beauty of a sunset and understand that no matter how many you see, each is magical and unique.

The three tracks so far have taken you to twilight. The titular Practice Love takes you by the hand onto the dancefloor. There is a double meaning to ‘Practice Love’- The first is to make love your practice. The second is that you need to practice love to be able to become a practitioner of love. The video, shot by her friend Jelly, features Red Pig Flower in Brick Lane, London, wearing a little piggy mask and offering free hugs. The first passersby ignore her sign, but Red isn’t disheartened, spreading the right message, dancing with joy. Her optimism is rewarded, making peoples day better on a cold English afternoon.

Fifth track Sax and Drugs takes things a little sleazier, the beat is filthy and the synths are sexy. Your body starts to move to this one before your brain even realises. The incredible Declan McDermott joins on saxophone, the funkiest synths and Red’s sultry vocal washing your soul with Laurent Garnier inspired sunlight. On Thisiz House Music, again featuring Declan, Red takes you even further back. About Frankie Knuckles O’Clock, with a portal straight to 2025.

By now, you will agree with me that Practice Love flows so, so well. I Wanna Meet Somebody follows incredibly, continuing the feeling that if you close your eyes, you’re dancing with David Mancuso at the Loft. No Money completes this EP-within-an-album. Perfect vocal samples, valve synth riff and 808 drum patterns showing that producers as good as Red Pig Flower make it sound effortless. The best albums finish memorably and No Genre is one of those perfect finishers. Think Andrew Wetherall’s production on Screamadelica. The lights are up in the club, nobody wants to go home, arms in the air wanting more.

Red Pig Flower explains: Practice Love resonates deeply with me because house music has always been a sanctuary—a place for unity, joy, and self-expression. As a nomad and outsider, club culture and house music became my shelter. The cities I’ve lived in—Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin, and London and more—nurtured me and shaped who I am today. That’s why the cover, by the incredible Carlos Sulpizio features their skylines, and the album is multilingual, representing the diverse influences in my life.

Practice Love is like a meal that has been prepared lovingly. They always taste better. And there’s plenty more to come from Red Pig Flower. How was your appetizer?

Googling “paradise house”, the first results to pop up are an endless list of European b&b’s with whitewashed lime façades, all of them promising “…an unmatched travel experience a few steps from the sea”. Next, a little further down, are the institutional websites of a few select semi-luxury retirement homes (no photos shown, but lots of stock images of smiling nurses with reassuring looks). To find the “paradise house” we’re after, we have to scroll even further down. Much further down.

It feels like yesterday, and at the same time it seems like a million years ago. The Eighties had just ended, and it was still unclear what to expect from the Nineties. Mobile phones that were not the size of a briefcase and did not cost as much as a car? A frightening economic crisis? The guitar-rock revival?! Certainly, the best place to observe that moment of transition was the dancefloor. Truly epochal transformations were happening there. From America, within a short distance one from the other, two revolutionary new musical styles had arrived: the first one sounded a bit like an “on a budget” version of the best Seventies disco-music – Philly sound made with a set of piano-bar keyboards! – the other was even more sparse, futuristic and extraterrestrial. It was a music with a quite distinct “physical” component, which at the same time, to be fully grasped, seemed to call for the knotty theories of certain French post-modern philosophers: Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Paul Virilio... Both those genres – we would learn shortly after – were born in the black communities of Chicago and Detroit, although listening to those vinyl 12” (often wrapped in generic white covers, and with little indication in the label) you could not easily guess whether behind them there was a black boy from somewhere in the Usa, or a girl from Berlin, or a pale kid from a Cornish coastal town.

Quickly, similar sounds began to show up from all corners of Europe. A thousand variations of the same intuition: leaner, less lean, happier, slightly less intoxicated, more broken, slower, faster, much faster... Boom! From the dancefloors – the London ones at least, whose chronicles we eagerly read every month in the pages of The Face and i-D – came tales of a new generation of clubbers who had completely stopped “dressing up” to go dancing; of hot tempered hooligans bursting into tears and hugging everyone under the strobe lights as the notes of Strings of Life rose up through the fumes of dry ice (certain “smiling” pills were also involved, sure). At this point, however, we must move on to Switzerland.

In Switzerland, in the quiet and diligent town of Lugano, between the 1980s and 1990s there was a club called “Morandi”. Its hot night was on Wednesdays, when the audience also came from Milan, Como, Varese and Zurich. Legend goes that, one night, none less than Prince and Sheila E were spotted hiding among the sofas, on a day-off of the Italian dates of the Nude Tour… The Wednesday resident and superstar was an Italian dj with an exotic name: Don Carlos. The soundtrack he devised was a mixture of Chicago, Detroit, the most progressive R&B and certain forgotten classics of old disco music: practically, what the Paradise Garage in New York might have sounded like had it not closed in 1987. In between, Don Carlos also managed to squeeze in some tracks he had worked on in his studio on Lago Maggiore. One in particular: a track that was rather slow compared to the BPM in fashion at the time, but which was a perfect bridge between house and R&B. The title was Alone: Don Carlos would explain years later that it had to be intended both in the English meaning of “by itself” and like the Italian word meaning “halo”. That wasn’t the only double entendre about the song, anyway. Its own very deep nature was, indeed, double. On the one hand, Alone was built around an angelic keyboard pattern and a romantic piano riff that took you straight to heaven; on the other, it showcased enough electronic squelches (plus a sax part that sounded like it had been dissolved by acid rain) to pigeonhole the tune into the “junk modernity” section, aka the hallmark of all the most innovative sounds of the time: music that sounded like it was hand-crafted from the scraps of glittering overground pop.

No one knows who was the first to call it “paradise house”, nor when it happened. Alternative definitions on the same topic one happened to hear included “ambient house”, “dream house”, “Mediterranean progressive”… but of course none were as good (and alluring) as “paradise house”. What is certain is that such inclination for sounds that were in equal measure angelic and neurotic, romantic and unaffective, quickly became the trademark of the second generation of Italian house. Music that seemed shyly equidistant from all the rhythmic and electronic revolutions that had happened up to that moment (“Music perfectly adept at going nowhere slowly” as noted by English journalist Craig McLean in a legendary field report for Blah Blah Blah magazine). Music that to a inattentive ear might have sounded as anonymous as a snapshot of a random group of passers-by at 10AM in the centre of any major city, but perfectly described the (slow) awakening in the real world after the universal love binge of the so-called Second Summer of Love.

For a brief but unforgettable season, in Italy “paradise house” was the official soundtrack of interminable weekends spent inside the car, darting from one club to another, cutting the peninsula from North to centre, from East to West coast in pursuit of the latest after-hours disco, trading kilometres per hour with beats per minute: practically, a new New Year’s Eve every Friday and Saturday night. This too was no small transformation, as well as a shock for an adult Italy that was encountering for the first time – thanks to its sons and daughters – the wild side of industrial modernity. The clubbers of the so-called “fuoriorario” scene were the balls gone mad in the pinball machine most feared by newspapers, magazines and TV pundits. What they did each and every weekend, apart from going crazy to the sound of the current white labels, was linking distant geographical points and non-places (thank you Marc Augé!) – old dance halls, farmhouses and business centres – transformed for one night into house music heaven. As Marco D’Eramo wrote in his 1995 essay on Chicago, Il maiale e il grattacielo: “Four-wheeled capitalism distorts our age-old image of the city, it allows the suburbs to be connected to each other, whereas before they were connected only by the centre (…) It makes possible a metropolitan area without a metropolis, without a city centre, without downtown. The periphery is no longer a periphery of any centre, but is self-centred”.

“Paradise house” perfectly understood all of this and turned it into a sort of cyber-blues that didn’t even need words, and unexpectedly brought back a drop of melancholic (post?)-humanity within a world that by then – as we would wholly realise in the decades to come – was fully inhuman and heartless. A world where we were all alone, and surrounded by a sinister yellowish halo, like a neon at the end of its life cycle. But, for one night at least, happy."

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?

15 Years Of Dame-Music Vol.1 is an ode to the unmistakable sound of the TB-303, a core element of Bloody Mary’s widely respected sound and label. Above all, it celebrates fifteen years of quality dance music, set to continue across its three excellently curated volumes in 2025.
The first volume, releasing 28th March 2025, features a track from Bloody Mary and welcomes back Thomas P. Heckmann, E-Bony, and Hardfloor to the imprint.
15 Years Of Dame-Music Vol. 1 with label regular Thomas P. Heckmann’s ‘Days Of Buzz’ electrifying the dancefloor with waves of mind-melting acid over a resolute beat.
Label head Bloody Mary then drops ‘Fractal Waves’, playful, 303-licked, and comfortably switching between straight 4/4 and raw, crunched-up breaks; this is a raveready cut showing Mary at her best.
On the flip, artist E-Bony returns to Dame-Music after closing the label’s 2024 schedule with the ‘Machine Code’ EP. His ‘303 Elements’ builds from a low-slung groove to an intense climax as acid drips, oozes and rains over crisp drums while hoover sounds create an otherworldly atmosphere at its peak. Closing out the first volume is 90s Acid Techno duo Hardfloor with ‘I’ll Never Own A Helicopter’, providing a hands-in-the-air club track to work the dancefloor into a frenzy.
Mastered by Thomas P. Heckmann
Artwork by Philip Mercieca
(c) Dame-Music 2025, all right reserved

(marble organe, black coloured vinyl) This ep contains 5 dancefloor fillers, produced by Belgians finest; Dj Ghost, Jamie Dill, Jan Vervloet, Danny Corten & Bestien. From techno to hard trance, all productions are made with an old school twist, the signature from the new label Don Ghost Records.

Sebastian Sandmann, from Elsteraue in Germany, has been DJing and producing since 1999, honing his skills in clubs and gigs such as the ‘Endstation’ event series in the Leipzig Distillery which resulted in him being picked up by the renowned Leveltrauma booking agency where his obvious talent flourished leading to residencies at the Sky Club, Leipzig and the Tube Club, Merseburg. Sebastian’s music repertoire covers many genres inc. multiple forms of techno, house, hardcore and DnB which has culminated in releases on some insane German labels including “Rage & Error”, “Leveltrauma” and “PsychoDevils Records”.

Continuing with the ‘Limited As Fuck’ series of releases, on our fiercely independent techno label based in
Scotland, we’re getting more extreme than we’ve ever been before with an absolute ‘Onslaught’ of speaker
punishment grade screaming techno. This is Sebastian Sandmann’s first ever solo vinyl release and it‘s utterly lethal. Featuring four aggressive crushin’ tracks to get all them imprisoned clubbers marching
to its accelerated beat. This aint dance music, this is stomp music, and you best not pound on down in front of
anyone when it’s spinning or you’re gonna get trampled on, mark our RIOTous words.

The full digital release also features one bonus brain mashin’ track so you can dive even deeper into your own infernal techno psyche.

WARNING: ONCE THE RIOT SENTINEL APPEARS YOU MUST OBEY ……………. OR ELSE

Credits:

Written by Sebastian Sandmann
Mastered by Joe Farr
Artwork by Nomad

In this edition we welcome back Samuel Padden and XOTR, and also see first collaboration release on tone dropout from label head honcho Sween and good friend Alphonse , and of course save the best to last a absolute banger from firm dropout fave Kostas G.

That side kicks off with a melodic uplifting breakbeat smasher called Downfall(epic mix), from Sween and Alphonse , lots of stabs and synths and pianos a real gradual classic, then we welcome XOTR- with Oddessey , an absolute stonker of a warehouse banger , real big deep sounds with a real old warehouse and trance feel, sounds great on the dance floor , this side starts with Samuel padden and a great four four bleep bass track called teslas still alive, then finally kostas G tears it up with an absolute breakbeat classic , beats bass and bleeps all make a dance floor filler and round off this quality selection of dance floor trax from the tone dropout crew .

THE VINYLBOX COLLECTION IS BACK REDISCOVER ALL THE BEST SONGS FROM THE CULT MOVIES OF QUENTIN TARENTINO. STARRING : JOETEX, ISAAC HAYES, DICK DALE, ELVIN BISHOP, JOHNNY CASH, AL GREEN, RICKY NELSON, LINK WRAY, ...

Since the first releases of ECHT!, one question has been on everyone's lips: does this act belong on a live stage, or is their music best experienced through a set of powerful speakers in a packed, sweaty club? With their third album, 'Boilerism', the band finally settles the debate, diving headfirst into the heart of club culture and bringing the ecstatic energy of the dance floor to the live stage.



Since their debut with the EP DOUF (2019), followed by the full-length albums Inwane (2021) and Sink-Along (2023), ECHT! has consistently been building a reputation for redefining their musical standards, blending deep grooves and adding raw textures. With 'Boilerism', they pick up the pace, exploring genres like acid, drum & bass, footwork, and UK garage. all while retaining their signature love for the unexpected. The album features tracks filled with sudden shifts and twists that keep listeners on their toes. Known for transforming electronic, hip-hop, and jazz influences into live-performed compositions, ECHT! continues to deliver a fresh perspective on electronic music that feels both innovative and uncompromising.



The album's title, a nod to the underground club scene and its unifying energy, captures the album's spirit: music that challenges limits, encourages experimentation, and unites through its intensity.



Opening with tracks like Boilerbeek, Wacky Wave, and the single Highed, the band builds upon the foundations of their two previous albums. However, it's with Mtwk Parts 3 & 4, a direct continuation of earlier chapters, that the energy kicks into higher gear. Midway, the album ventures into harder, more intense territory, showcasing the band's confident evolution. A brief but intricate interlude, Black Sablon, offers a layered moment of respite before the intensity returns. From there, ECHT! fully embraces their club-oriented sound with acid-infused bangers like Klaas Rescue and the provocatively titled BK-hole. These tracks leave no doubt about their intent, delivering straight-up, relentless dancefloor energy that captures the essence of their live performances.



The album concludes with Penguin Alfred, a thoughtful and emotive finale that seamlessly transitions between ambient soundscapes and delicate breakbeats, highlighting the band's dynamic range and creative depth.



It's been three years since ECHT!'s debut album Inwane, followed by their second LP Sink-Along in 2023, both released on Sdban Ultra. Their music has garnered acclaimfrom notable outlets such as Mixmag, DJ Mag, and Tsugi while earning support from respected DJs including Lefto, Gilles Peterson, and Jamz Supernova on BBC Radio 6. ECHT! has performed at iconic venues such as the Jazz Café (London), AB (Brussels), Melkweg & Paradiso (Amsterdam), and Gretchen (Berlin). Their most recent tour spanned 14 countries, including Mexico and India.

Soulful hip hop instrumentals from Italy on Best Record-affiliated Quattro Bambole! "The "Moderna Sonorizzazioni" series by Quattro Bambole Music continues its investigation of the infinite expressive possibilities of instrumental hip-hop, recognizing it as the most contemporary form of library music. After the first two chapters - signed by Biga and JayBee Vibes - the third volume of the series, "Sport & Calcio", features the Roman producer Delphi for whom there was a lot of anticipation on the part of both Italian and scattered beatmakers everywhere in Europe and the United States. With the subtitle which is already a declaration of intent ''Tales of a boy from Rome....'' etc. etc., "Sport & Calcio" is an instrumental fresco in which football and sport become narrative pretexts to evoke images, memories and suggestions. The twelve tracks that make up the album are real cinematic sketches, in which Delphi (born Valerio Del Prete) combines raw beats, nostalgic loops, sample-delia and a narrative that evokes family Sundays, spent on the street as well as stadium, and the heat of the crowded stands. Therefore a work that is musically declined based on moments and emotions.. ''Sport & Calcio'' is therefore a deliberately introspective and not very ''danceable'' work. Sound photographs, short descriptions, themes, small fragments associated with television reports on sport... with which the artist touches chords that allow him to express a different compositional depth, a conceptual work, more descriptive and functional to the line of "Moderna Sonorizzazioni" series."

2026 Repress
Oscar Mulero keeps busy in his studio facilities as usual. His musical output keeps growing and always wandering into new directions and flavors while preserving his artistic integrity. For this Ep on his very own Pole Group imprint he showcases his combative side after some excursions into more profound and intricate territories.

Poisonality EP is about the wise use of distortion on techno, is about non conforming with the seasonal standards, about investigating new rhythms, new types of arrangements and new boundaries in sound design, always remembering the roots.

Aroma de Falso Amor is the first exercise, exploring the abrasive power of broken distorted beats, overdriven drones and textures and hyper dynamic song structures. The result is a non conventional techno workout, essential to give spice to any set.

Poisonality gives name to the EP and works with asymmetry combined with the right dose of crispiness, creating a super shuffled hi tech jam. Chaotic, hypnotic and mental.

Iris Malicioso opens the B side with an eye on the funkier Detroit tradition combined with the power of the best British influences from the nineties. Here drums and stabs are the main ingredients, interleaving, mutating and constantly evolving. Hi tech funk in its purest expression.

Dos Pequeños Zorros closes the tracklist, again focusing on the dancefloor and keeping the ingredients minimal, continuous and obsessive with a rugged, constantly twisted sequence running over a precise groove, keeping things busy through all the structure

Repress!

Just six months after her huge Rave On Time EP, Charlotte de Witte is back on her own KNTXT label with another standout release featuring three thrilling new tracks.

Despite the global pandemic, Charlotte did not let up in 2020. Her label continued to serve up techno from the cutting edge, she held down various high profile streams during lockdown and also got voted as the World's Number 1 DJ by DJ Mag's Alternative Top 100 poll. After picking up the Best Producer title at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards, her Selected EP picked up the silver medal in the Best EP category and she was awarded bronze in the Artist of the Year category. She ended the year with a spectacular set on the virtual Main Stage of Tomorrowland on New Year’s Eve and now races out of the blocks with yet another vital EP.

Says Charlotte, "I've always been fascinated by the high adrenaline racing world. Rapid movements, living in the moment, racing through life, eyes on the future. As far as concepts go for an EP, this is one of my favourite ones so far."

That plays out across the electrifying tracks, starting with ‘Doppler,' a heavyweight techno weapon with shuffling drums and urgent alarm like synths shooting over the bulky groove. It's one to keep you on edge as the strobes flash on a vast dance floor. 'RPM' ups the ante further with blistering acid lines flashing about the mix. Rooted drums roll on in unrelenting fashion and a lead synth takes you down a deep, dark rabbit hole. 'Formula' then rounds out in urgent fashion with the sound of revving engines, hammering hits and haunting melodic loops all making for a vast and vital wall of techno sound.

With this arresting and powerful new EP, Charlotte de Witte once again remains in techno's pole position.

Valerio Vaudano joins the roster of Cinthie’s 803 Crystal Grooves sub-label Collective Cuts with his ‘Lose My Mind’ EP.
Valerio Vaudano ‘: ’I'm a fan of Cinthie and feel honoured to release these tracks on 803 Crystal Grooves! This is the kind of sound I mostly love to play and produce at this time: house sound that blend energy, groove and 90s nostalgic melodies with Detroit, Chicago and Italo flavours. this new EP represents me best and explains better than words. The entire EP was produced using a 90s sampler without using a computer, I'm very proud of
the result! I hope you enjoy it!’’ Title-cut ‘Lose My Mind’ leads, laying down crisp saturated drums, crunchy stab sequences, choppy vocal hooks and bright strings all dynamically evolving throughout for ultimate dance floor impact. ‘Sunday Remedy’ follows with bumpy breaks, a weighty kick
and amalgamation of vocal samples in combination with gritty bass stabs and classic piano chords to perfectly encapsulate the essence of house.
Opening the flip-side is ‘Down The Street’, diving deeper with airy chords, breathy vocal chants and bouncy bass stabs intertwined with a more raw, reduced rhythm section. The aptly titled ‘Smooth As Butter’ then rounds out the release with a nod to the Detroit House sound, fusing shimmering keys with jazzy drums, twinkling chime melodies and lowpitched vocals across its near five minute duration.

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)

Light Touches Records is devoted to shed new lights on hot rarities, unknown grooves as well as forgotten classics.

While the older numbers are much sought after on Discogs, Andrea Passenger digs deeper into the best shades of disco, afro, boogie and funk to deliver the 10th release on the highly revered Light Touches Records.
On A side, “Roots” is a relentless disco tune for incendiary peak times, while “Psych Afro Roller” keeps faith to the name going into crazier territories. On the flipside, “New Dance” adds some boogie tones and quirky synth arrangements, while “Feel The Feeling” rounds things up with its moody and deeper vibe.

All tracks have been carefully edited by Andrea Passenger without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco manipulators to today’s dancefloors!

12” limited to 300 copies (no digital).

Two decades in, one of dance music’s most celebrated DJs, producers, label owners, A&Rs, broadcasters, and tastemakers has big plans for this anniversary. In June, Anja Schneider will unveil an expansive rework and remix package on her benchmark-setting imprint, Sous Music, some of her best-loved tracks are there in less familiar forms. Expect fresh takes from Anja herself on seven of her favorite tracks plus a wealth of heavyweight remixers: Paramida & E-Talking, Radio Slave, Scuba, JakoJako, Julian Muller, Cassy, Deetron, Leafar Legov, Erobique, Jaymie Silk and Ackermann all being part of the impressive collection.
“The project includes new versions of my favourite tracks from the last 20 years and remixers who have accompanied, influenced, and currently impress me. Each artist holds a special connection for me,” says Anja in anticipation of this milestone release.

Repress!

“Natale in tangenziale” (“Christmas on the highway”) – available in all digital stores and in 7” format – marks an extraordinary tribute to the timeless Italo Disco style and captures the charm of an Italian Christmas, almost like in a dystopian “cinepanettone” (the stereotypical Italian, Christmas-themed, comedy movie).

The record is a creation by Maurizio & Dandolo, and represents the debut of Mirella Records, a label founded by Cosimo Mandorino, already known for several projects in the italo and electronic styles on specialized labels such as Best Record, Slow Motion Records, Disco Segreta, Bordello A Parigi.

“Natale in tangenziale” will instantly transport you into an Italian Christmas atmosphere, with captivating synthesizers and engaging rhythms. The voices perfectly capture the warmth and joy of the holidays.

The original song is accompanied by a breathtaking remix curated by Whodamanny.The remixer’s unique touch on the special dub version present on the B side adds further rhythmic elements that make it perfect for the dancefloor.

A 45 rpm single from an alternative 1983, to be enjoyed during the holidays; a gift for music lovers and a celebration of Italianness. You can’t help but dance and sing to the rhythm of music, a characteristic that unites two such fundamental aspects of Italian culture.

Merry Christmas on the highway!

Spanish duo Los Suruba have done it all over the last 25 years, captivating dancers with their blend of House, Minimal, Electro, psychedelic, and deep vibes.

They have established their own network of record labels, with almost 250 releases, Nazca being the latest addition. They’ve also released music on labels like Crosstown Rebels, Diynamic, and Get Physical and have been remixed by international artists such as Solomun, Adriatique, Clarian, and Okain. They describe their music as "Memories of the Future," the motto of their brand Nazca.

As DJs, they’ve performed at the world’s best clubs and festivals, bringing their unique sound across the globe, holding residencies from Ibiza to London, and creating countless underground hits.

They are in top form once again with this latest journeying EP, where Los Suruba and their label Nazca return to vinyl releases, featuring two new remixers for this vinyl edition of the ‘+33 EP’.

Innovative opener 'Dial Banger' is a wonky house sound with wet claps and a gurgling bassline that gets ever more wild. It's a playful cut that teases and pleases in equal measure as the low-slung grooves, string stabs, and unhinged leads keep dancers locked.

'Elegancia La de Francia' is a more experimental house affair with eerie synth leads and freaky filtered vocals, making a dark and menacing atmosphere.
Warm melodies infuse the track with soul and make it perfect for the late-night hours.

First remixer Cristina Lazic launched her own label La Zic, earlier this year. It's a platform that looks to uplift and mentor exceptional female talents next to the Italian's own blend of minimal, deep and tech house sounds. Her fantastic take on 'Elegancia la de Francia' is stylish and stripped back with supple minimal drums and the muted synth sounds bubbling away over punchy kicks.

Romanian artist BRYZ has a refined minimal sound that has established him in the European scene over the last decade. He deals in intricate melodies, pulsating rhythms, and atmospheric textures on labels like Storytellers and Esente Records.

His version of 'Elegancia la de Francia' is silky and deft, with sustained pads locking you into a trance while gurgling bass and trippy melodic motifs add great detail to the rolling minimal house grooves.

”Dischi Spranti - vol. 2" is the second official release for the independent label Dischi Spranti. After the first volume with some of the best producers of electronic music in Salento, "vol. 2" continues its research into the local groove, by collecting six tracks mainly dedicated to the dancefloor. The watchword is 4/4, no matter if it is house, techno, acid, tribal or deep, with an ambient finale that appeases bodies and sweat. Marco Santoro, Buck, Giorgio Luceri, Mhadan aka Daniele Marzano and the two founders Max Nocco and Marco Erroi invite you to follow their disjointed dances and, as always, to get lost in Massimo Pasca’s amazing artwork. All you have to do is turn up the volume and argue with your neighbor.

”Dischi Spranti - vol. 2" is the second official release for the independent label Dischi Spranti. After the first volume with some of the best producers of electronic music in Salento, "vol. 2" continues its research into the local groove, by collecting six tracks mainly dedicated to the dancefloor. The watchword is 4/4, no matter if it is house, techno, acid, tribal or deep, with an ambient finale that appeases bodies and sweat. Marco Santoro, Buck, Giorgio Luceri, Mhadan aka Daniele Marzano and the two founders Max Nocco and Marco Erroi invite you to follow their disjointed dances and, as always, to get lost in Massimo Pasca’s amazing artwork. All you have to do is turn up the volume and argue with your neighbor.

QUAZAR are pioneers of the first house- and techno-generation of the early 90’s. Formed in Amsterdam by producer Gert van Veen, QUAZAR debuted in 1990 with the 12 inch ‘The Seven Stars/Day-glo’, which became an underground hit all over the world, from the UK and Germany to The USA, Goa and Australia. It’s still considered as one of the ultimate classics of the original rave-scene.
‘The Seven Stars’, a wild and exciting musical voyage, full of instrumental crescendoes and rushes, is a hard hitting techno-track that set dance floors on fire with its fierce energy.
The raw persuasive power of the a side and the acid tinged 'Moon Turns The Tide' is balanced by the gentle, melodic ‘Day-glo’ - a predecessor of the later minimal style and a favourite of Ricardo Villalobos, that unexpectedly became just as popular as ‘The Seven Stars’.
During the Amsterdam Dance Event 2024 ‘The Seven Stars EP'will be rereleased on vinyl, two weeks later followed by the rerelease of the first QUAZAR album ‘Seven Stars’.
‘The Seven Stars EP' 12" presents remastered versions of the three tracks on the original record plus a 2024 QUAZAR remake of ‘The Seven Stars’, mixed by Dutch house legend Olav Basoski.
To celebrate these releases, QUAZAR, still one of the best live-acts in the Netherlands, will do a special hardware-only live-gig at DOKA/The Volkshotel in Amsterdam on Wednesday October 16 2024.

TrioRox is a project born from the meeting of three protagonists of the Italian music scene (and not only): pianist Giovanni Guidi, bassist Joe
Rehmer and electronic musician DJ Rocca (Luca Roccatagliati). Three characters who boast an eclectic and consistent curriculum. Guidi, enfant prodige of Jazz piano, has published several albums for the prestigious ECM label, and has collaborated with the best jazz and electronic musicians, from Enrico Rava to Matthew Herbert, from Joe Lovano to Ricardo Villalobos. Joe Rehmer, an American transplanted to Italy, is one of the most sought-after bass players, sharing stages and recording studios together with authorities such as Bob Mintzer, James Moody and Danny Gottlieb.

DJ Rocca is a DJ and musician active since the nineties, and boasts numerous albums, singles and remixes with, and for key protagonists of the alternative dance scene (Andrew Weatherall, Dimitri From Paris and Howie B), as well as a militancy in the jazz scene with several albums together with Franco D’Andrea.

The music that the trio proposes is a mix of electronic, dance, Jazz and pop, with groove impulses in the field of house and techno music, without neglecting mixes between electro, classical and minimalism. A melting pot of styles between Keith Jarrett and Carl Craig.

Album to be released by IRMA Records in October 2024, with guests Luigi Di Nunzio, Gianluca Petrella, Dan Kinzelman and Jacopo Fagioli.
“Moods” is the debut album of Triorox that represents the photograph of the ‘Here and Now’. All the music was born from a studio session that lasted a few days, in which the mood of the three musicians gave the album its sound imprint. What came out of it became incandescent material to elaborate the musical flow of the entire work, which had three different phases.

The first, in which the tracks were born from the recordings, some developed as creations with a common denominator (the three moments of Mood), some as thematic suggestions (Angels, Corea and Next To Canada), and others as a stylistic challenge (the techno of Space Rain, or the drum and bass of Sax & The City).

The second phase, where the compositions were subjected to the test of live concerts, in which it was understood how the tracks could be better arranged, optimizing them and keeping the best ones. The last phase was the choice and insertion of the guests, reasoning according to the type of suggestion that we wanted to give to the specific song. So we gave free rein to Luigi Di Nunzio, who also participated in phase two, playing with us on stage on some occasions. In the same way, Gianluca Petrella chose the piece where he felt most at ease, also contributing to the arrangement.

Dan Kinzelman, a historic collaborator of both Guidi and Rehmer, was included because we wanted his bass clarinet in a specific suggestive situation. Finally, we wanted Jacopo Fagioli (the Tuscan reincarnation of Don Cherry), we wanted him in a specific episode of Mood, for his particular style, impeccable in determining the mood that the piece needed.

Purple Disco Machine's third studio album "Paradise" will be released on September 20th. On the album, Purple Disco Machine has collaborated with artists such as Metronomy, Jake Shears, Duke Dumont, Sophie and the Giants, Nothing But Thieves and many more.

With over 1.8 billion streams worldwide, a Grammy win for Best Remix for Lizzo's "About Damn Time" in 2023 and being named Beatport's #2 artist of all time, Purple Disco Machine continues to dominate the global dance music scene with each new release. His recent successes include collaborations with international superstars Nile Rodgers, Benjamin Ingrosso and Shenseea on 'Honey Boy'.

Purple Disco Machine grew up in Dresden and developed his passion for disco and house music, which has seen him become a worldwide radio and streaming sensation with hits such as "Hypnotized", "Fireworks", "Dopamine", "In The Dark" and "Substitution". Beyond radio, Purple Disco Machine is a respected force among DJs worldwide, while the tracks 'Body Funk', 'Dished (Male Stripper)', 'Playbox' and 'Devil In Me feat. Duane Harden & Joe Killington' continue to dominate dance floors. Purple Disco Machine has remixed tracks for Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, Sir Elton John & Britney Spears, Fatboy Slim, the Rolling Stones, Ryan Gosling's "I'm Just Ken" and many more

The maestro of nu disco is also a dedicated performer. His energizing festival appearances include Coachella, Tomorrowland, Lollapalooza, Ibiza and many more. Purple Disco Machine will embark on his own sold-out PARADISE tour of mainland Europe in the fall.

Purple Disco Machine's influence on the global dance scene is undeniable. His tireless commitment to inclusion and diversity in music ensures that his legacy will endure for generations to come.

The album PARADISE is another homage to the new age of disco and surprises with numerous top-class dance features, as well as of course the big hits of recent months.

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.

For the next edition under the number twenty-two we have Peruvian mastermind Rufo, coming up to steer the spaceship into the right direction as he always does. Currently based in Barcelona being the resident of the legendary project Mad Radio that is expanding rapidly with the clear vision of electronic underground music. Therefore, our artist has learnt and studied the ancient methods of best of the best. The extend play is called chronicles of past millennium and explores the sound of the past with a modern twist on it. It’s sounds splendidly fresh now and with full confidence could be said it will sound fresh in all the upcoming future millenniums. The record features a vast range of sounds which shows the maestro is very versatile at the executing stunning audio puzzle pieces that are ready to blast the dancefloors of big clubs, illegal raves or the afterparties all over the globe.

Dark Entries picks up Severed Heads yet again for Ear Bitten, a double LP reissue of some of the band’s earliest material. As originary Aussie industrial legends - although founder Tom Ellard would balk at being branded as such - Severed Heads shaped the continental subcultural sound with their kitchen electronics, chaotic tape loops, and quietly infectious nursery-rhyme-esque melodies. In 1979 Ellard, Richard Fielding, and Andrew Wright abandoned the moniker Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign and adopted the edgier name Severed Heads “to pretend to be an industrial band such as Surgical Penis Klinik & Throbbing Gristle.” Noise-rockers Rhythmx Chymx had placed an advertisement in a local shop looking for a band to share the costs of pressing an LP. The Heads set about recording a Dadaist racket on a pair of open reel dictaphones and a cassette deck using a TRS-80 computer, Kawai Synthesizer 100F and Korg Mini Pops drum machine. Ear Bitten was released in 1980; original copies now fetch obscene sums, in part due to most of Severed Heads’ copies perishing in a fire at Richard’s home. The band’s next endeavor was a cassette titled Side 2, a collection of free-form experiments fashioned as Ear Bitten’s second side. For this reissue, Dark Entries has collected both Ear Bitten and Side 2 on the first disc, presenting the album in its full form. Disc two includes the original first version of Ear Bitten, which was only unreleased because it was recorded in a format not suitable for pressing. The album comes in a gatefold sleeve designed by Eloise Leigh and includes photos, liner notes, and reproductions of the original Xerox inserts from the 1980 issue. Ear Bitten delivers 22 tracks of pain you can dance to!

Hello 24! Nice to have you here. 23 is so yesterday, so over the top, really. Well, we’ve been dancing the following dances recently. What about you?

What lasts a long time usually turns out well. Having admired TEE MANGO from afar for many years, our A&R Michael Mayer took heart and invited him to this year’s TOTAL. “So In Love” is in the best tradition of the KOMPAKT minimal funk of the early years. We are delighted to have this lovely Englishman on board!

REINHARD VOIGT has always placed great emphasis on loving animals. On the track with the unsurprising title “Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)”, he lets whole hordes of different four-legged friends and poultry on the microphone. Hopefully the stench will dissipate from the studio.

When Rhenish cheerfulness meets holiday anticipation, the result is something like this Hawaiian shirt turned music called “Chee-Caruso” by JÜRGEN PAAPE. No animals were tortured for this piece either, even if it sounds like it.

We stay in the realm of fauna and turn our attention to London’s award-winning pedigree dog REX THE DOG. “Laika” is a heart-warming ode to the mongrel dog of the same name, who was the first living creature to make it from the streets of Moscow into space. She would have loved that bleep.

A little-known fact about MICHAEL MAYER is that he is one of the fastest crossword puzzle foxes on the left bank of the Rhine, always in relentless rivalry with Wolfgang Voigt, who thinks he is even faster. The big battle is yet to come. Uninvited guest with five letters? “Urian”.

As an integral part of the family, JONATHAN KASPAR is of course not to be missed. “Are You” celebrates the kind of early morning rapture that is commonplace at his new DJ venue, the brand new Cologne superclub FI. Everything is so colourful here.

SASCHA FUNKE takes a bow to one of the greats of German showbiz with the trippy electro smasher “The Heck”. Born – like DJ Koze and Barnt – in Flensburg, died in Berlin in 2018 and wore glasses. More will not be revealed.

More emotion, more love, more sing-along factor? Si, claro! ARGIA’s “Love Keeps You Running” masterfully combines groove and pop – a blend that sounds very familiar to us. She may be at home in Madrid, but there’s Cologne DNA in her somewhere. We’re sure of it.

Let’s meet the legends, the veterans! JÖRG BURGER is still in a psychedelic mood in 2024. That suits him, that’s where he needs to be, that’s where we want him to be. A parallel universe is conceivable in which such music is affectionately called Goa.

Before going to bed, the WASSERMANN reads us a fairy tale from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, we focus on a point between everything, but really everything, and absolute, stark naked nothingness. 3, 2, 1… Let go.

Hallo 24! Schön, dass du da bist. 23 ist ja sowas von gestern, geht gar nicht, echt. Also, bei uns tanzt man neuerdings die folgenden Tänze. Und bei Euch?

Was lange währt, wird meist gut. Schon seit vielen Jahren aus der Ferne TEE MANGO bewundernd, hat sich unser A&R Michael Mayer ein Herz gefasst und ihn zur diesjährigen TOTAL eingeladen. “So In Love” steht in bester Tradition des kompaktschen Minimal Funk der frühen Jahre. Wir freuen uns, den quirligen Engländer an Bord zu haben!

Tierliebe wird im Hause REINHARD VOIGT schon immer groß geschrieben. Auf dem Stück mit dem nicht weiter verwunderlichen Titel “Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)” lässt er gleich ganze Horden verschiedenster Vierbeiner und Federvieh ans Mikro. Hoffentlich zieht der Gestank wieder aus dem Studio ab.

Wenn rheinischer Frohsinn auf Urlaubsvorfreude trifft, dann kommt so etwas wie dieses Musik gewordene Hawaiihemd namens “Chee-Caruso” von JÜRGEN PAAPE heraus. Auch für diesen Beitrag wurden garantiert keine Tiere gequält, auch wenn es allenthalben so klingt.

Wir bleiben im Reich der Fauna und wenden uns London’s preisgekröntem Rassehund REX THE DOG zu. “Laika” ist eine herzerwärmende Ode an die gleichnamige Mischlingshündin, die es von den Strassen Moskaus als erstes Lebewesen ins All geschafft hat. Den Bleep hätte sie bestimmt gemocht.

Eine wenig bekannte Tatsache über MICHAEL MAYER ist, dass er zu den schnellsten Kreuzworträtsel-Füchsen links des Rheins zählt, stets in unbarmherziger Rivalität zu Wolfgang Voigt, der sich für noch schneller hält. Der große Battle steht noch aus. Ungebetener Gast mit fünf Buchstaben? “Urian”.

Als fester Bestandteil der Familie darf natürlich auch JONATHAN KASPAR nicht fehlen. “Are You” zelebriert frühmorgendliche Entrückungszustände, wie sie in seiner neuen DJ-Wirkungsstätte, dem nigelnagelneuen Kölner Superclub FI Gang und Gäbe sind. Alles so schön bunt hier.

SASCHA FUNKE verneigt sich mit dem trippy Electrosmasher “The Heck” vor einem der ganz Großen des deutschen Showbiz. Geboren – wie DJ Koze und Barnt – in Flensburg, gestorben 2018 in Berlin, Brillenträger. Mehr wird nicht verraten.

Mehr Gefühl, mehr Liebe, mehr Mitsing-Faktor? Si, claro! ARGIA’s “Love Keeps You Running” vereint meisterlich Groove und Pop – eine Melange, die uns durchaus bekannt vorkommt. Sie mag zwar in Madrid zuhause sein, aber irgendwo steckt in ihr eine Kölsche. Da sind wir uns sicher.

Auf zu den Legenden, den Urgesteinen! JÖRG BURGER zeigt sich auch in 2024 in einem psychedelischen Mood. Das steht ihm, da muss er hin, da wollen wir ihn haben. Es ist ein Paralleluniversum denkbar, in dem solche Musik liebevoll Goa genannt wird.

Der WASSERMANN liest uns vor dem Schlafengehen noch ein Märchen aus Tausendundeine Nacht vor. Wir fokussieren uns gleichzeitig auf einen Punkt zwischen allem, aber auch wirklich allem und dem absoluten, splitterfasernackten Nichts. 3, 2, 1… Loslassen

Calm's superb Before album is the gift that keeps on giving as Hell Yeah serves up a collection of the best remixes from it. Willie Graff, Gallo and Aura Safari all step up on a fresh 12" that lands this summer.

Before arrived on double vinyl in 2022 after a CD-only release in Japan in 2021. Since then it has become a Balearic mainstay and go-to record for lovers of lavish downtempo sounds. Now, remixes of three tracks from it all appear on this one record with Ibirican-American Willie Graff going first. He is a deep house don who has held several key residencies around the world while dropping his sublime sounds on the likes of Leng, Music For Dreams and many more. His remix of 'I Love You' is a gloriously horizontal one with blissful piano keys rippling over the bubbly drums and bass. Yearning reed melodies add an emotional romantic edge to make this a standout in any setting. Then comes Gallo, the Balearic Gabba Sound System member and resident at Berlin Balearic nightspot Buena Onda. His 'Tropical Hinterhof' remix of 'I Love You' is expertly exotic and soothing as mellifluous keys rain down over a groove as smooth as silk. It's a heart-achingly beautiful sound that will make for truly special moments on the dance floor.

Italian collective Aura Safari then offers two different remixes. They are master musicians who have served up a superb double album Islands Dreams here in late 2023 where they showcased their escapist blend of dub, jazz, Afro-cosmic, Balearica and boogie. First up, 'Feel It' (Aura Safari Desert mix) is six minutes of oriental melody over loose drums. There's a playful feel to the dancing piano keys and richness in the percussion that makes this one a sophisticated sound for both early evening warm-ups or moments of late-night reflection. 'Kunpoo' (Aura Safari Daydream mix) has a nineties feel with its gentle breaks, hypnotic string loops, and sustained chords. They break over you in gentle rays of earth and euphoria to ensure utterly blissed-out results.

These four versions all bring sophisticated dance floor energy to the timeless originals.

Prolific visionary Yetsuby makes her debut on all my thoughts with a celestial concept LP that chimes into the deeper, inner emotions.

Yetsuby is the solo project of South Koren artist Yejin Jang. Since 2019 she has carved out a reputation as
something of a prolific visionary, with 6 albums, 7 EPsand a flurry of singles between her two projects to date. Her recent album “My Star, My Planet Earth” received the “best electronic album of 2023" award at the KoreanMusic Awards.

Beyond her solo work Jang is also one half of the critically acclaimed electronic duo Salamanda, which has been featured in Pitchfork, Crack Magazine, and Dj Mag. The duo also host a residency called “shadow dance” on NTS radio. Yetsuby’s debut release on Seb Wilblood’s all my thoughts label is a heartfelt and forward thinking mini LP.

Yetsuby’s debut release on Seb Wilblood’s all my thoughts label is a heartfelt and forward thinking mini LP.
The 6 track release effortlessly chimes into the deeper, inner emotions whilst providing a window into her
abundant breadth of skills through tantalising themes of sonic alchemy.

“I want to put comfort into the music and give some message to people who blame themselves” - Yetsuby

The resulting effect is a release that feels sincere and deeply personal but has a celestial magic about it that feels both kaleidoscopic and transcendent. It effectively creates a world for the listener to inhabit, whilst inviting them to connect with the album’s themes on a personal level.

Charles Levine is best known as one half of SoulClap, the love-fuelled production and DJ duo that brought all new emotions to the dance music scene when they first emerged in the mid-noughties. MartinButtrich is an acclaimed studio wizard and Grammy-nominated producer with an enviable discography that pairs meticulous synth craft with compelling grooves from across the house spectrum. Together, the two have formed a close friendship originally stemming from a 2016 collaboration where Buttrich mixed and added production to Soul Clap’s self-titled second album which was released on !K7 Records. Since then, Buttrich and Levine have worked their way through a variety of studio sessions, exciting moments of synthesis and deep philosophical wax-ings, ultimately culminating in this present moment in time on Stratasonic.

They open up their new EP with 'Festival Queen', a powerful and fulsome cut with angelic vocals working you into a frenzied state as the percussive grooves power on. After a pulsating, stripped-back Dub allows the colourful synth work to shine, 'Festival Queen Reprise' is stripped of the drums and becomes a more heavenly piece perfect for comedowns.'Charlie & The Moog' is a deep and playful trippy affair with languid synths bringing cheeky energy to the loose-limbed drums. It's a cosmic world of ever-shift-ing melody that warps space and time, and a dub gets even more wonderfully woozy.

DJ support: Folamour, Benny Rodrigues, Prunk, M-HIGH, Jamback, Dennis Quin

Aron Volta, one of the first in-house artists of PIV returns to the label with his long awaited 'Get On Down' EP. The track has been doing damage on dance floors around the world for almost two years already. Finally, the moment is here to show this future classic the light of day.

Stefano De Santis kicks off this Best Of Various with Murk, as the name suggests its a dark workout from one of Rome’s finest producers. Following that are Batavia Collective from Jakarta. When we first heard the live demo for this we were blown away and had to get it out on TLM. Batavia Collective are Elfa Zulham on drums, Doni Joesran on keys and Kenny Gabriel on synth bass. All mixed by Stefano De Santis. Rounding off the A side we have Cormac Fulton and his follow up to Perplexed on TLM025 with a new track called Loungeware. Based in Salford this is another atmospheric track from Cormac featuring Netherlands born but now Rio de Janeiro based flautist Floor Polder. Floor also appeared on Steve Conry’s rework of Guinu - Eletromadinga which featured on Colin Curtis Presents Jazz Dance Fusion 4 Part 2. Loungeware was mixed by Steve Conry and Matt Cox. Onto the AA side and we have Montreal resident Mike Perras with Soullous, a superb dancefloor track, live drums and amazing keys, in fact everything you want from house music. Next up is Future Jazz Ensemble from Vibo Valentia who follow on from their Rough Time EP TLM028 and appearance on TLM030 with another broken jazz monster of a track called Over The Rainbow. Finishing off side AA is Takahiro Fuchigami from Fukuoka with another fine track called Outer Heaven, a great follow up to Strange Acquaintance which was on TLM034.

2024 Repress
Alberto Pascual, also known as Ribe is a well seasoned veteran in the Spanish scene. An expert synthesist and modular weirdo, his sound palette is amazing. If you have been so fortunate to enjoy his live PA before these turbulent times, you've got the precision and hypnosis he always provides.

This release has a physical side and a digital one, with four and seven tracks respectively, including two Oscar Mulero remixes.

"Palette" opens the release, a lone kick drum squashed in reverb sets the pace on the first bars while abstract details appear randomly and a continuous sequence grows from below. The tension is kept all over the arrangement, not additional percussive elements, just the few principal elements going back and forth.

"Shapes" has a Basic Channel approach soundwise, texturized techno as its best, exploring the dark corners of sound design, and again all relaying on a linear and mental arrangement.

"Ad Infinitum" is remixed by Oscar Mulero in his first remake, transforming the formerly broken and abstract Ad Infinitum is a danceable intelligent weapon.

Original version of "Ad Infinitum" follows, providing the experimental slice of the EP. Broken rhythms, shuffled components and low rated tempos.

Standard version on 2LP black vinyl in gatefold sleeve. ‘Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent.



'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent coming out one of the smallest countries in Europe. Never change a winning team they say, so we're happy to have Belgian DJ and eclectic connoisseur Lefto on board again.

Although you expect thecompilation to be talking jazz, volume 3 explores a broader array of styles, genres, and sounds than ever before, arriving at a point where the 'young cats' of today don't bother no more. It may focus on the Belgian scene, but let's face it, seeing the influences, this one could be compiled from all over the world. From the empowering and bittersweet voices of Oriana Ikomo and Adja, over the more acoustic-electronic productions of Moodprint, Ciao Kennedy, Kassius and echofarmer. It's even expanding the Jazz Cats universe to dub and bass-heavy tracks with Kin Gajo and Le Ministère, Ethio-jazz from Azmari, while sending you back to earth with bodies' swirling sax and drums. That saxophone still rings in your ears when you end up in the orbit of the march-like drums of Bodem, Orson Claeys' piano testing your ability to follow him, slamming the breaks to go smooth cruisin' with HONEY (Morricone meets Khruangbin, anyone?), to crashing in a raging tempo on that last track of Bruno x Soet x Moene. And there you are, back with us.



2018's 'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' included tracks from some of Belgium's biggest hitters, including Black Flower, STUFF. De Beren Gieren and Glass Museum who have all gone on to receive global acclaim. The album was given the accolade of 'Album of the Week' on Worldwide FM and also received further radio support from Jazz FM in addition to numerous glowing reviews. The 2022 follow-up 'Jazz Cats volume 2' paved the way for a new generation inspired by its peers, entering another era of very talented individuals and collectives. Maybe even more so than 4 years before. It uncovered a beautiful balance of more established but also obscure musicians and artists. Opening up to electronics and dance, enter bands like ECHT!, Stellar Legions and TUKAN. Thrilling innovative soundscape grooves and jazz fusion with Bandler Ching and L?p?GangGang, not to forget about the weaving musical odyssey that is M.CHUZI. In addition, there's the balanced unease of One Frame Movement, the laidback 'acoustic electronica' of Boombox Experiments, the classic funky jazz stylings of Cargo Mas and cinematic The Brums, all of these have set volume 2 on the map as an essential release for any jazzhead with a passion for new sounds.

Tastemaker, selector, curator, DJ and producer, these words often get mentioned when Lefto's name pops up in discussions. And rightly so. If you've ever had the pleasure to listen to one of his incredible Boiler Room sets or one of his many radio shows, you'll know why. Famed for his gloriously eclectic taste on the decks, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk, breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, South-American influences, bruk riddims, some wild African rhythms and of course, jazz.

Growing up as a child, his father would have the sounds of jazz flowing through the speakers. Which led him to bars around town to hear the latest jazz ensembles. Falling in love with the genre, he would later refine his knack for record digging and fine ear for music working at Belgium's legendary Music Mania record store in his hometown Brussels. Which makes that Lefto is consistently a couple steps ahead. He doesn't wait for the next thing to land in his lap, but actively seeking it out.

Lefto on Jazz Cats volume 3:
"Another release in less than two years! I am very impressed by the amount of creative "jazz" talent we've managed to compile over the last couple of years. Thanks to the internet, young musicians find inspiration from around the globe and incorporate diverse influences into their work. Given the history and heritage of jazz in this country, it has managed to create a healthy jazz scene supported by festivals, venues, press, and labels. Therefore, I am very proud to present to you the thirdinstallment of Jazz Cats. This compilation is dedicated to the young and hardworking musicians who are the present and the future of Belgium's jazz scene."

For the second release of the Back to Back series of Stolen Goods goes for two stables of the scene: label manager and old school pillar of the Italian scene Lele Sacchi and Italo Spanish beat master Bawrut.
After B2B1 saw the funky deep sound of Rogue D feat Joe Le Groove and the raw house grooves of Ruff Stuff got played by Laurent Garnier on his show and by peeps like Jamie Jones and Oliver Dollar in their sets and chosen by Beatport in most of their weekend picks here we are ready for two bangers for clubbing prime time! Bawrut's fame goes a long way back to in the best of Europe's crossover of electronic dancefloor music and indie and urban flavours. An album on Ransome Note, hits for Life & Death, Correspondant and tracks supported by Dixon, Jennifer Cardini, Ricardo Villalobos Sven Bath and playing B2B with Kink and Skream in festival and clubs like Sonar, Nuits Sonores, Fabric, Sub Club, Nitsa, etc. and now this massive hands in the hair, goosebumps in the back monster of retro future rave piece of music!
Lele Sacchi is known to have an ear for bangers having been behind the decks all over the world for nearly 30 years, so whenever and with various aliases he turns into producer is quite normal to find his music out on labels like Snatch, Soul Clap, Nervous, Internasjonal, Crosstown Rebels, Pokerflat, Rebirth and more and more classic underground dance stables. This time he keeps his know funkier deep groove but adds a kille stab in the breakdown to represent a vein of peaktime monster attitude.
Again a message 'From Clubbers to Clubbers' as we love to say here at Stolen Goods records.

Joseph Capriati is firmly established as one of the greatest techno DJs in the world, but growing up in Naples his first connection with electronic dance music was actually in the House Music genre. “Peace And Blessings” feat. Arnold Jarvis is Joseph’s very personal tribute to this genre, where he produced a track that he felt encompassed the vibe and spirituality of House Music. He wanted a song and vocal performance that would equally represent all the best qualities of the genre, and joined with one of the industry’s most iconic and legendary vocal talents Arnold Jarvis to write lyrics and deliver a vocal performance that perfectly complements Joseph’s percussion and synth driven track. Bushwhacka! on board as Mix Engineer on The Groove Mix.

It’s True What They Say is the debut EP from Edinburgh-based, husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), aka Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced “McLochlin”).

“Sarah and I both have a love for nostalgia,” explains Shaun. “We watched that amazing old 80’s Sci-Fi, (John) Carpenter movie, Starman, a few months back. Myself and my brother David used to watch it all the time. We must have been, roughly, 5-7 at the time. I remember loving the movie but the end, you know, with the beautiful, atmospheric, synth ending, I love that particular moment the most - best part of the movie, you know, when he goes home… It’s heartbreaking but stunning, all the same. It’s the music that moves you most… It did when I was 5 and it still does to this day. It must have had some form of a (much deeper) impact on me.”

The duo narrates stories across themes of love, hope, family, friends, dreams and sadness - the good that comes with the bad in everyday life, not just on a personal scale but within a community as well.

“Starbed is the first song I have ever written and just came out of the blue really, with Shaun playing a melody and me singing along,” says Sarah. “It’s simple and just about two people in love. Love songs are always the best songs, after all… Music has been a big part of my life from a young age. I was unwillingly dragged to piano and violin lessons, which I’m thankful for now! I’d say the first band I really became obsessed with growing up were the Beatles, and on the back of that a lot of 60s music and fashion. From then on, I had a love for music.”

“Shaun definitely opened my ears to a lot of sounds and got me thinking about soundtracks and all the noises that can be made,” she goes on. “We love just spending time experimenting in the house with instruments, pedals etc and Ali is a real magician to work with, too…”

The recordings took place over the summers of 2022 and 2023, with fellow Delta Mainline member Ali Chisholm (aka Jaguar Eyes) plus long-term friend and collaborator Gavin King. Further collaboration then came via the ‘net from the (international) likes of Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty), Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz) and Daniel Land (The Modern Painters), among others (see a full list of credits below).

Both Sarah and Shaun have a love for uber-soundtrack producers such as Hanz Zimmer, Max Richter, Cliff Martinez plus live acts such as Beach House, Spiritualized, M83, Suicide, Moby and OMD (to name a few). Shaun also credits the work of Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (from Survive) on the Stranger Things score… “Even a moment in a movie, whether it be just 30 seconds during a particular scene, it grips you,” he says. But there’s something much deeper at play as well. “Music is a healer,” he goes on, “and I write from my own perspective but more so for others. Once I've done my bit, it doesn't belong to me any longer. It belongs to whoever wants it or needs it.”

The result is a cinematic, synth-wavey, dream poppy and downright beguilingly beautiful body of work. And they’re just getting started…

REVIEWS/RADIO/FEEDBACK:

“Starbed is folky, flavoured by pedal steel, cello, and brass. Dust Tears, in stark contrast, is a mini synth-pop rave epic. Part Bicep. Part Human League. Keep Your Eyes Closed summons a mood that’s romantic, but also dark and potentially doomed – like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks meets Cliff Martinez’s Drive score. My pick though is It’s True What They Say, whose interwoven jangle and picking recalls New Order’s more introspective moments (Love Vigilantes, Love Less… ). Drums crashing, cathartic. Guitar raising dramatic arcs. Its chorus a rush, like a reprise of Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart’s ‘Higher Than The Stars’.” BAN BAN TON TON
"Dust Tears sees them sharing vocal duties over a synth foundation reminiscent of Moby’s Go - Artist Of The Week” THE SCOTSMAN
"Woozy pop" NEMONE (Mary Anne Hobbs Morning Show, BBC 6Music)
"Nice one, very David Lynch meets Euro dream pop" YOUTH (Killing Joke, Paul McCartney, U2, The Orb, Spiritualized etc)
"Music sounds killer! Real emotion” DAVID HOLMES
"I’m enjoying it” TIM BRINKHURST aka LONDON (IKLAN, Young Fathers, Callum Easter)
“Oh, this is lovely!” SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"It’s totally my cup of tea with milk and biscuit" BRENT RADEMAKER (Beachwood Sparks/GospelBeach)
"Beautiful, ecstatic electronica! Short and to the point" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized, Julian Cope, Soulsavers, BE)
"Makes me wanna sit in the sun and sip an Arnold Palmer" CHRIS DIXIE DARLEY (Father John Misty)
“Really beautiful - Cocteau Twins / Spiritualized vibes but has its own thing going on, too - worth checking out!” JULIAN CORRIE (Franz Ferdinand, Miaoux Miaoux)
‘Sounded nice on a sunny day, makes me think of Twin Peaks, nice moods’ EAMON HAMILTON (Sea Power)
"Dealing in nostalgia, no bad thing at all, great to play that (Dust Tears) for you” RODDY HART (BBC Radio Scotland)
“I'll give the vocal tracks a spin before the release." VIC GALLOWAY (BBC Radio Scotland)
"Rather good!" IAIN ANDERSON (BBC Radio Scotland)

CREDITS:

Lyrics, Guitars, Keys, Synths, Drums, Drum Programming, Percussion, Mandolin, Glockenspiel: Shaun McLachlan
Lyrics, Vocals, Keys by Sarah McLachlan
Guitars, Synths, String Arrangements, Drum Programming, Engineering: Jaguar Eyes Percussion/Drums/Effects, Fire Extinguisher: Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz)
Guitars by Daniel Land
Slide Guitar by Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty)
Brass by Bruce Michie
Keys, pre-production & engineering on “It’s true what they say”: Gavin King
All produced by Jaguar Eyes and Shaun McLachlan and then mixed at Glasgow’s Chem19 Studios by David McCaulay (From Scotland With Love, Rick Redbeard, BBC TV’s Attenborough and The Mammoth Graveyard score).
Artwork: Jamie Walman (Fourteen Admirals)

MORE INFO:

Although Shaun released a pair of solo singles (When We Dance and Give Your Love To Me) during Lockdown, he will be better known to many via his work as the multi-instrumentalist in Edinburgh band Delta Mainline. With two albums released to date, Oh! Enlightened and Bel Avenir, both rapturously received by fans and critics alike, Delta Mainline have developed an international, cult following. Oh Enlightened (2013) achieved widespread critical acclaim on release, earning the band comparisons to Arcade Fire and Echo & The Bunnymen, while 2019’s Bel Avenir pulled in references to The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and krautrock. A third DM album is currently being mixed and due for release later this year…