Search:dial m

Pressed On Limited Edition Black And White Vinyl! Available on 2LP, with the look of a silk-screened jacket we are excited to bring to you these Liquid Swords Instrumentals. There are many reasons why Wu-Tang Clan rapper GZA's second solo album Liquid Swords is considered one of the greatest hip-hop records of all time. Critics and historians point to GZA's raw, and starkly poetic lyrics which featured references to chess, crime and philosophy, as well as superb guest performances from his Wu-Tang Clan contemporaries. One can't comment on Liquid Swords' brilliance however without touching upon the production, courtesy of Wu-Tang's own mastermind RZA. Behind a hazy and murky backdrop of rare samples and classic boom-bap beats, RZA crafted a bleak atmosphere of urban dystopia for GZA's esoteric rhymes to flourish in,cribbing from a wide panoply of sources ranging from the dusty soul of The Bar-Kays and Ohio Players, the nostalgic jazz of Cannonball Adderley and Willie Mitchell, and even the experimental weirdness of Mothers Of Invention. In a retrospective 5-star AllMusic review of Liquid Swords, writer Steve Huey said of RZA’s production: “The Genius' eerie calm is a great match for RZA's atmospheric production, which is tremendously effective in this context; the kung fu dialogue here is among the creepiest he's put on record, and he experiments quite a bit with stranger sounds and more layered tracks.” These instrumentals, peppered with frequent interludes of dialogue from the classic samurai flick Shogun Assassin, became the core of the GZA’s acclaimed sophomore LP. The full Liquid Swords instrumentals are now available in a white and black vinyl pressing, a nod to the chessboard art synonymous with the album’s cover art. All tracks have been restored, with re-mastered audio from the original source tapes.

Back with his third EP for Dave Harvey’s forward thinking Futureboogie label, Kiwi serves up three pulsating jams on ‘Charlie’s New Vision’, backed with a remix from Johnny Aux.

Drawing upon his many influences across the house/disco/funk spectrum, South London based Kiwi has been illuminating the more discerning dancefloors of late with a strong of releases for Cin Cin, Needwant and his own new label venture, Crossbreed.

A low-slung groove is explored on ‘Charlie’s New Vision’, incorporating tripped out film dialogue, bleeps and dubby tones, and a serpentine bass riff, all forging an off kilter yet infectious & hedonistic chugger. Johnny Aux follows up recent appearances on Man Power’s Me Me Me, Party Central, and Multi Culti with his own take on the lead track. Churning over a bleepy and epically transcendental remix of the highest order, this is the stuff of sunrises and enlightening moments!

The sprightly ‘Ghiaccio’ draws together a kaleidoscopic array of opulent synth melodies with an compelling rhythm, whilst ‘Italian Heat’ doffs its cap heartily to the Italo disco choons of yore that always strikes a potent chord to this day.

Music From Memory are happy to finally announce MFM045 - VA ‘Music For Theatre And Dance’ (EP).

This will be the first in a small series of EPs which will focus on music which was initially created for or inspired by dance and performance. Created as a dialogue with the avant-garde and highly experimental work in dance, theatre and art evolving at the time, the music was in turn at times greatly innovative.

That it was created for a dance or performance though means that such music was also often highly rhythmic and a number of pieces from this time stand out and seem greatly deserving of a new context.

Whether it’s more ambient or atmospheric works or whether it’s in the more rhythmic or percussive pieces, Music From Memory brings together a selection of tracks which aim to highlight this highly innovative direction in music.

Key Clef launches her own imprint Ipnotica Erotica with 'Mental Groove' EP

Key Clef is a Berlin based, italian dj and producer with strong passion for analogue instruments.

After experiencing the last years of the flourishing rave scene in Rome and accomplishing a degree in sound engineering her creative process evolved into different directions from club music, to performance art and electro acoustics.

In 2013 she released her first digital EP followed by releases on Love Blast, KKY, MinimalRome, BlackWater, DelirioRec e Mitten.

In her own world music is a continuous dialogue between styles and hybridation. Her music productions as well her live performances include synth, drum machines and analogue effects reflecting her ethereal trajectory while her dj sets show the full prism of her music taste and knowledge of the dance floor.

Key Clef sound doesn’t hit on surface instead aims to channel emotions and contact between her music and the listener. After maturing her sound over the years she is finally ready to launch her own imprint Ipnotica Erotica rec where she will soon release a new EP.

To coincide with the announcement, the pair have shared a video for the album’s title track directed by Sam Davis and Tom Andrew, who has previously received two UK Music Video Awards nominations for his work with Avery. Speaking about the video, Andrew explains, “We were keen to capture a visual representation of the tempo and atmospheric emotion of the track and make a video exploring the notion of collaboration. A super-motion approach allowed us to explore details of motion shared between two people, in tactile actions of aiding and supporting.” Cortini adds, “The video embodies the volatility and hidden nature of the music’s subject and meaning. A meaning that is ultimately personal and unique the listener/spectator.” Watch the clip .



Beginning as a collaborative experiment before the pair had even met, Avery and Cortini then worked remotely and free of concept or deadline over several years. The result, finally completed when both artists were touring with Nine Inch Nails in 2018, is a quietly powerful album rooted in trust, process and experimentation. The first fruits of their labour were unveiled last year when ‘Water’ and ‘Sun’ appeared online, subsequently released as a very limited 7” run that was sold at FYF Festival and Mount Analog in Los Angeles, and Phonica Records in London. Both tracks are included on the album.



“It was very much a shared process”, notes Avery. “I would like to credit Alessandro with his belief that music has a life of its own, as well as the importance he places on the first take... That even something that may be considered out-of-step by some should be respected. Some of the tracks were borne simply out of a tiny synth part, or a bit of tape hiss that we had recorded. And that approach taught me a lot. It’s a record that’s been worked on hard, but not laboured over.”



“I was a big fan of Daniel’s, and his work always spoke to me in a certain way,’’ explains Cortini. “Then, when we started working together, it just clicked. It’s very hard to explain, but I can always hear the love in his work, and that is true on this record. After our first collaboration, we just kept sending each other music and maintaining that dialogue. Next thing you know, we’re sitting in a hotel room in New York and had finished the record in three hours.”



The collaborative album follows Avery’s second record Song For Alpha, released in early 2018, and last year’s expanded edition B-sides & Remixes. Mixmag called the sophomore LP “A beautiful maturation of Avery’s work as a producer,” while The Guardian hailed its “Majestic, cavernous techno” and Loud & Quiet praised Avery as “A producer fast approaching the peak of his powers,” “This album cements Daniel Avery as one of the best,” wrote DIY. The London-based producer will perform at BBC Radio 3’s Unclassified Live on April 3rd, a new series of concerts in the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall presented by Unclassified host and presenter Elizabeth Alker and conducted by André de Ridder – tickets are available here. Avery has also just been announced in the first wave of acts for London festivals Re-Textured and the inaugural Wide Awake, taking place in April and June respectively.



Cortini released his most recent solo album Volume Massimo on Mute in July 2019, following Fine, the Italian artist’s final album under his SONOIO alias, which came out the previous year. The Quietus called the former “an album that showcases just how much Cortini‘s aesthetic has developed since his early days,” while Exclaim! hailed it “a melodic exploration of textures and layers … an instrumental masterpiece that adds to an already incredible body of work by the gifted and skilled composer.”

The latest album in the series of "Beats and Knowledge" from Marc Mac. This episode focusing on the thousands of Black soldiers who fought in the Second World War, their efforts and stories hidden and forgotten for a lifetime. Marc's style of soulful Hip Hop beats are woven through the dialogue setting the scene for this mixtape style long player. Part six in the series of albums and limited to 400 vinyl copies worldwide.

Wildflower (Leon Brichard, Tom Skinner, Idris Rahman) continue to explore areas of groove-based improvised jazz on their 2nd album. Taking a slightly freer approach to the writing process, simple but effective melodies and bass motifs are explored to to create fully realised pieces with dynamic extremes that bring a full range of emotion. Recorded over a two day session at Fishmarket Studios in London, the band sounds relaxed and at ease, giving space to explore intricate improvised interplay and dialogue fully whilst at the same time building to fiery powerful climaxes and emotional peaks. Skinner is on fire here whilst Rahman and Brichard trade riffs and push the harmonic and rhythmic boundaries. Rahman’s use of clarinet and bamboo flute plus additional layers of woodwinds, Skinner’s unique approach to stripped-down use of his very personalised kit, and Brichard’s use of both acoustic and electric basses make for a sonic landscape that is both unique and highly approachable. Touching on heavy spiritual vibes whilst taking in dark alternative grooves and delicate folk-like tunes, the overall sound remains instantly accessible



Sax, Flutes and Clarinet: Idris Rahman
Electric and Double Bass: Leon Brichard
Drums: Tom Skinner

"Tracey's 'Microdancer' is the follow up to last years critically acclaimed 'Metamorphosis' EP. 2019 saw Tracey release his debut LP on Dial plus spin at Amsterdam's finest club De School for the first time, The 'Microdancer' EP shows Tracey's contemporary take on IDM + Electro, a timeless sound that's helped shape him as an artist."

Venus Volcanism is the musician and electronic artist Rena Rasouli. She presents her first solo mini-album “Rizitiko’ on Optimo’s sub-label, Weaponise Your Sound, using traditional folk songs of her native island Crete as a basis for this work.

‘Rizitiko’ evolved from Rasouli’s thesis titled “the music performances based in traditional dialect focuses on the healing ability of sound”. The songs were created and sung by folk troubadours. Expanding on these oeuvres, Rasouli seized on the idea that the melodic use of voice is the oldest form of therapy in human culture. This primary and ritualistic material was intertwined with electronic and natural ambient soundscapes. The resulting compositions express the omnipresent sensations and emotions that play a key role in the healing process whilst communicating an intense connection to the collective unconscious. Traditionally sung by men there are numerous reasons to believe that many of the songs were initially created by women. To sing them in a female voice projects a different approach to the traditional rendition – one closer to that of a lullaby.

From the moment of its release, Iñigo Vontier’s El Hijo del Maiz has become one of the most gripping albums of the moment. With South American and Middle Eastern sounds and his conception of music as ritual, the Mexican DJ keeps electronica in check as a valid mix of influences. The EP El Hijo Del Maiz (Remixes) marks the end of an episode which started, in good company, last autumn on the Lumière Noire label. The second track of his album, Bo Ni Ke, is distinguished by its original - almost implausible - universe, with a Japanese-inflected vocal filter and oriental flutes taking the beats into a crazy trance. Leaning on the 4/4 rhythm, Simple Symmetry’s remix of the track is also very playful (Iñigo Vontier recently remixed Nar for Simple Symmetry). The Moscow duo, noted in particular for the brilliant EP Plane Goes East released on Disco Halal (the Moscoman label which makes the link between east and west), pulls the track over to another - less terrestrial more psychedelic - universe, in their well identified ethno-underground style.

The remix of Bo Ni Ke by Nicola Cruz, French-born Ecuadorian producer, enlivens the track by playing on the sounds of voices and South American percussion. Also present in his fascinating album Siku released a year ago on the ZZK Records label, they overlap with the demonological whims of Iñigo Vontier but also those of Nicolas Jaar, who was revealed to him as he was starting out.

The inaugural track of the album Xu Xu (subject of the previous EP, only released as a digital version) has been remixed by Roman Flügel, allowing a vinyl release of this incredible track. You could pick out the science of this headliner in a million. Flügel has been on the electronic scene since the early days, learning the ropes under the aegis of prestigious labels Playhouse, Dial and Klang.
He has recently enhanced some emblematic tracks signed Daniel Avery, Koze, Âme, Radio Slave and C.A.R. and here once again the pioneer of techno is working miracles to create a more cerebral version of this track.

Concluding the EP with Thomass Jackson, his co-founder of the label Calypso Records, who we will soon be able to find on the compilation / family portrait of the label Lumière Noire From Above Vol. 2, Iñigo Vontier offers up a genre-busting version of the title Marijuana, like an ataxic play time, deliberately smoky for an explicitly licentious title.

"The two Portuguese-speaking African islands of Sao Tomé & Principe, located in the Gulf of Guinea, created an unique music called Puxa : a refined mixture of various musical components from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. A blend of Semba, Merengue, Kompas, Soukouss, Coladeira patterns, often pushing forward with a voodoo-like energy, solid bass lines, delicate melodies and backing harmonies of the rich Sao Tomean melodic traditions. Very first compilation focusing on the golden age of these island’s sounds, the 16 tracks selected will surely set fire on all dance floors !

Léve-Léve is the first ever compilation devoted to music from São Tome and Principe, two small islands situated off the coast of Gabon in central Africa. The album unravels a story of liberation where the music of Africa, Europe and the Americas unify with a carefree spirit personified by a phrase the islanders use all the time: “léve, léve” (“take it easy”). With echoes of Angolan semba and merengue, of Brazilian afoxê, of coladeira from Cape Verde and dance music from the Caribbean, it is a sound fiercely proud of its island heritage, sung in local dialects and using distinctive local rhythms.

On this record you can hear the cultural and social history of São Tome and Principe, and how live music represented its beating heart. Once known as the “Chocolate Islands” (remarkably, these two tiny islands were the largest cocoa producers in the world, though now this title acts as a reminder of its colonial past), through the years leading up to independence from Portugal, music would be a fundamental voice of liberation and conviviality. Os Úntués were one of the first groups to make an impression, releasing a couple of 7 inches in Angola – the litmus test of success for any of the islands’ groups. They united unique rhythms and dances like socopé, puita and dança-congo – borne from the islands’ largely slave-descendant population – with the sound of pop music beamed in on the radio from Europe, even adding in a little bit of soukous and Brazilian instrumentation. Their main rivals were Conjunto Mindelo, who fused São Toméan rhythms with rebita, an Angolan style, to create high energy puxa, a truly original island rhythm.

From the mid-1970s, coinciding with independence from Portugal in 1975, the islands’ groups featured an even stronger African influence and nowhere was that more apparent than with Africa Negra. They would listen to the latest records from Gabon, Zaire and Cameroon, taking inspiration and trying out phrasing from the greats of Central African guitar playing, developing a devoted fan base off the islands, as well as on. A score of other bands would follow a similar musical path, with a few getting their dues overseas in Angola, Cape Verde, Portugal and across Africa.

Os Leonenses (led by the iconic Pedro Lima), Conjunto Sangazuza, Sum Alvarinho and Conjunto Ecuador were just some of the other bands that formed a lively home-grown music scene that lit up the islands’ bars and open-air shows from the 1950s through to the mid-90s. Regardless of class or age, they were responsible for keeping the population entertained come the weekend, with Sunday matinee shows the highlight of the week, the music not stopping from midday until midnight.

As a Portuguese island colony that was for many years populated with slaves brought from Africa, São Tome and Principe has much in common with other Lusophone countries and boasts a richly complex and idiosyncratic musical DNA. Whilst the musical tapestries of Angola and Cape Verde are well known, São Tome and Principe’s secrets were assigned to the islanders themselves. Until now."

M!R!M is the solo project of Jack Milwaukee, italian multi-instrumentalist based in London since 2011. Inspired by early 80's synth pop, cold and dark wave, M!R!M has been releasing on labels as Fabrika and Manic Depression. Since his debut album, he’s been touring and playing shows all around Europe building an important following and a significant name within the scene.

On January 31st, 2020, Avant! Records will release his third full-length, The Visionary. Still featuring Milwaukee at the helm along with selected collaborators as supplementation, The Visionary is a further evolution in M!R!M sound, which showcases how the musician’s vision has evolved throughout the years.

Holding firmly to the vibes that recall the most dreaming 80’s, Jack Milwaukee this time blends together that typical FM synth timbre, which has always characterized the artist, with deeper and sumptuous sounds found within the notes of Mellotron and sax; overcoming previous Lo-Fi approaches to undertake a solid, prominent and more mature path.

The Visionary is a collection of songs pieced together in a meaningful and harmonious way where the storytelling is very vivid and fundamental. Trapped between hope and melancholy each track evolves smoothly into another one until it gets to a mystical end, a point of no return. From syncopated punchy bass lines drove by solid drum beats to elegant violin quartets accompanied by almost religious choirs, The Visionary is an engaging work that doesn’t remain only inside the robes of shimmering synth-pop tunes but also explores more intimate and private territories as an ode to the most deep feelings.

Pulling from the ‘pop’ approach of mid 80’s synth-pop pioneers like New Order, The Wake, Tears For Fears to most iconic figures of the Italian 80’s era, M!R!M dialed in on a clear understanding of it's own specific sound, which has since evolved. The Visionary is the ultimate unified vision of M!R!M’s work, it’s the sweetest transition of the most nostalgic daydream.

Greek artist June makes his debut on Mannequin Records with the 'Silver Demon' LP. The album explores a futuristic dystopian world where transcendence and oppression coexist, where claustrophobia and infinite openness coincide. A world of contrasts that is the product of the artist‘s active imagination and conscious effort to confront the subconscious.

The album was recorded using original techniques from the golden era of electronic music (late 70s to mid 80s) with an arsenal of vintage analog synthesizers, drum machines and effect processors (originating) from the same time period. While the aesthetics of the classic precursors emerge through the minimal, deep, dark architecture of June's music, Silver Demon prevails with the artist's characteristic originality.

Mastered by Rude 66.
Graphic design by Lee Douglas.

Samuel Rohrer CONTINUAL DECENTERING
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of categorydefying releases, Samuel Rohrer continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique Gigure within the European electronic music realm. In the current era, talk of blurring boundaries between musical genres and attitudes is more the rule than the exception, but not always something done with any degree of success. Rohrer is one of those rare alchemical explorers to have truly created a hybrid which is all his own, one that does not just exist to melt distinctions for its own sake, but is a natural result of years of experimentation with both the determination of electronic music and the ludic spirit of ‘free improvisation.’ On his newest offering, Continual Decentering, this vision is applied to a set of mostly in real time (live) performed explorations. 
In keeping with his many years’ worth of fruitful collaborations, the tonal palette on this new record is one that is expectedly rich for those familiar with his work, yet still surprising in terms of how exactly the differing tonal colors come together. Representative tracks like Spondee and The Fringe are brimming with dub pulses, noir shivers and blooming timbral variations that are in many places carefully isolated / focused and in other places blended together in vivid fusions. In terms of the emotional atmosphere created here, the pensive and questioning tone hearkens back to the ‘wide open’ state of electronic music in the mid-late 1990s, yet with a greater clarity and maturity of vision that makes this music feel like a possible answer to aesthetic questions being raised at that time. As with Rohrer’s most recent solo work, like the Range of Regularity LP, Continual Decentering showcases the artist’s skill in turning the drum kit into a lead instrument. While the term “lead instrument” denotes a kind of exuberant “Glash,” or a clear separation from the rest of the voices in an ensemble, we can take the term to mean something different throughout this listening program of 13 short vignettes: that is to say, everything else within the audible environment exists to complement the character of the percussive playing rather than to stand apart from it. It helps that Rohrer has, in fact, developed a unique and complex hybrid system in which drum hits trigger modular synthesizer processes, the use of which makes for an incredibly fluid response time between distinct sonic events. In contrast to the previous Range... LP, this new offering is propelled less by interlacing threads of intensity and more by a shared sense of deep listening. As displayed on pieces like All Too Human, there is a profound sense of attention to silences or thoughtful pauses that maybe hints at another crucial aspect of Rohrer’s style: over the course of this program, we tend to hear the player not only playing but listening, an activity which makes perfect sense given the sense of instrumental dialogue already mentioned. All of the above come together to give Continual Decentering a “live”-ness that will easily translate from recorded document to dynamic performance.

"21" is the well-crafted, sharp and original first album by the duo HILA, composed by American cellist Artyom Manukyan (who already worked with Kamasi Washington, Daedalus, Flying Lotus, Run DMC, Gretchen Parlato, Raphael Saadiq, Clive Lowe Mark...) and french producer Dawatile.

The combination of jazz, Los Angeles beat-scene and the vibrations of 80s and 90s Soviet Armenia make it a striking and unprecedented fusion. These kind of nostalgic and unconventional references forcefully shake the codes of mainstream culture to create a sincere, raw and intimate expression.

"HILA" was born from a spontaneous and intense creative impulse between Artyom Manukyan, a Los Angeles-based Armenian celloist and his partner in crime, David Kiledjian aka Dawatile, a French multi-instrumentist of Armenian descent. This project is proving to be a true master stroke given that it only took 21 days for the duo to make it a reality.

"HILA" was made in less a moon cycle but captivates and electrifies audiences upon its first outings. "H.I.L.A" colors the warmth of the Californian "High" with Armenian vibes. The artists chose this name for their creation since both have a close and valuable connection to these locales. This journey began in 2007, on the day Dawatile went to Yerevan, the capital of this small country in the Caucasus mountain to realize a first fusion project centered around local folkloric music genres.

There he was introduced to local musicians including the Armenian Navy Band, one of the country's foremost groups in which Artyom played the bass and cello. In this context, he also met many musicians such as Tigran Hamasyan and Norayr Kartashyan. This will be the beginning of connections between Lyon, Yerevan and Los Angeles. The following year, the two artists will be be seen performing next to Taylor Mc Ferrin at the Jazz à Vienne festival. More recently, they partnered up again when the cellist, who had freshly relocated in California, invited Dawatile to produce his album. As soon as the studio’s threshold was crossed, they decided to postpone this record and create a joint project: Hay (as the Armenians call themselves) / High In Los Angeles. HILA was born at the end of these 21 days of intense creation. The association of Artyom Manukyan and Dawatile is the combination of two visions, two versions of Armenia, two personalities, the reunion of the Eastern and Western blocs.

One grew up nurtured by the sounds of hip-hop and jazz in Europe and the other by art music and Russian-influenced 1980s Armenian folkloric music before moving to L. A., Ca. The cornerstone of it all, the glue that unites everything : Armenia and music. They generate a new identity synthesizing two perceptions, their complicity transcending these cultural discrepencies. To achieve this, they will scour through images of Artyom’s childhood, within the popular culture of Soviet Armenia. Together, they revisit this decidedly retro vibe, based on the work of Caucasian groups inspired by African American music. This background is rehashed and fused with ancestral Armenian sounds. The DNA of the album "21" is molded by these dear influences.

We can also hear the ancestral sounds of Armenia, a country at the edges of both Europe and Asia. The presence on two tracks of Armenian music Master Norayr Kartashyan, infuses the languor of past melodies and traditions. These purposeful anachronistic sounds offer a fantastic depth to this powerful opus. Listening to the album, one can appreciate the successful fusion of styles and influences. Those combinations, however, manage to preserve individual identities only to enhance the art through an adamant musical dialogue.

Being driven by the urge to transpose Armenian musical traditions into a unique universe, the daring artists, offer an innovative combination by blending, for the first time, these ancestral sounds with the world of Los Angeles beat-scene and jazz. An invention largely fueled by the magic strings of Artyom and maestro Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, a pillar of the genre in Los Angeles combined. These associations resonate with a triumphant equilibrium. HILA is musical uncharted territory in which Artyom's cello strings intertwine to ignite the harmonies of keyboards, the machines, the vocals and electronic layers Dawatile pieced together. HILA plays the soundtrack of an adventure set between Armenia around the end of the Soviet era and a mysterious near future.

Artyom Manukyan grew up in Armenia in the 90s. At the time, he studied Russian classical music while learning jazz with assistance by his father, a music journalist. Being an unconditional music lover, he went on to sharpen his skills at the prestigious Berkelee College of Music. Subsequently, he’s been lucky enough to travel the world touring with numerous acts and mainly with the Armenian Navy Band. The group has fostered alacritous success honored by a BBC Award as a crowning achievement. He moved on 10 years ago and made his way to L.A. with his cello on his back. In the City of Angels, he quickly became a popular figure of the jazz and hip-hop scenes thanks to his first album "Citizen". He’s accompanied prestigious musicians such as Kamasi Washington, Melody Gardot, Daedalus, Flying Lotus, Run DMC, Gretchen Parlato, Raphael Saadiq, Clive Lowe Mark, or Vulfpeck. He released his solo album on the cello, "Alone" in October 2019.

Dawatile is a bold producer and multi-instrumentist as well as a passionate and resolute musician molded by jazz. As a versatile artist, he handles and juggles the saxophone, the keys, the bass and composition. Simultaneously, Dawatile produces cross-over projects and soundtracks for the movie industry. He, as well, has had the opportunity to be a part of many tours, including with his electro hip-hop band, Fowatile and more recently with the "Future Kreyol" trio, Dowdelin. Being the ever workaholic, he has under his belt a string of prestigious collaborations with the likes of Talib Kweli, Foreign Beggars, Roy Ayers, Tigran Hamasyan, Mathieu Boogaerts, Voodoo Game and Piers Faccini. His taste for developing new musical recipes and his know-how in production make him a much sought-after album producer. In concert, the HILA duo offers a sober, precise and rhythmic performance. "21" is an aerial and lively album taking the audience on an at times joyous and sometimes melancholic dreamlike journey. The magic of "HILA" operates at the speed of light and positions it already as an avoidable group.

Another great release on the mexican label this time by Brandub to be out late November. Vinyl only!

It’s that time of the year again: we’re finishing our 6th year of Heist Recordings with our annual potpourri of remixes with this
year’s artists on ‘The Round up part VI’. This year, we’ve got a few really cool newcomers on the label like Demuir, Perdu and
Makèz, as well as label mainstays Fouk and yours truly delivering a great collection of remixes.

The EP starts off with label heads Detroit Swindle giving their high-energy take on Fouk’s ‘Need my Space’. They’ve chosen for
a stabby club version of the more introverted original, with different layers of synths building up alongside a pumping drum track
and a punchy Moog bassline. Check the break for a nice dreamy broken beat section before the track comes back into full
dancefloor madness.

Makèz have only just released their well-received debut EP and now they’re flanking Detroit Swindle on the A-side with their
remix of Perdu’s hit ‘Sacramento’. They replace the broken beat vibe of the original and instead go for a 4x4 track with a driving
bassline, warm pads and subtle placement of Perdu’s original elements.

On the B-side, we have Fouk reinterpreting Demuir’s take on Detroit Techno with their remix of ‘3nity returneth’. Their version is
a tom-heavy high-energy club track with a strong nod to the past, whilst still keeping that strong Fouk signature intact. They
mangle the vocal sample in a drunk and twisted break before setting the track back on fire with an extra acid line for good
measure.

The B2 goes to Perdu’s dreamy slow burning remix of Detroit Swindle’s classic house bomb ‘Music for clubs’. His version takes
the tempo down and dials the dreamy level up a notch. A mellow but punchy acid line and worldly synth hits give this remix it’s
cool twist and it’s a great showcase of Perdu’s view on the broad world of house music.

This year’s Round up finishes with Demuir’s trippy ‘playboy edit’ of ‘Random Visits’ by Makèz. He takes the vocal sample and
layers it behind a haunting string, dreamy keys and a steady groove. It’s got a funky vibe where Demuir’s knack for a good
groove fits perfectly with the fresh original.

The Round up is a special moment for us each year and we’re excited to share these reinterpretations of another year’s worth of
house from the world of Heist Recordings with you.

Yours Sincerely, Lars & Maarten.

TERANGA BEAT proudly presents MAR SECK, a delicate singer and songwriter who marked the history of Senegalese music. TIP!A cross over between Cuban compositions and Senegalese Folklore, his songs gave birth to Salsa-Mbalax, the popular dance music of '70s Senegal that went onto influence a new generation of Senegalese musicians including a young Youssou N'Dour. Featuring 12 tracks recorded over three different sessions, ‘Vagabonde’ focuses on the best of MAR SECK’s career. The first recordings are taken from a raw and unreleased 1969 session at the Dakar National Radio. Recorded with his first group SUPER CAP-VERT from Rufisque, it captures an 18-year old MAR singing the first version of his now famous composition “Vagabonde”. The remaining six tracks from the session includes a beautiful cover of Fonseca’s “Sibouten”. A 1973 live recording is also featured here, made with the STAR BAND de DAKAR in Saint Louis. Previously unreleased, it comes from a time when MAR was establishing his name playing at the legendary Miami Club in Dakar, the “École de Passage” for all great Senegalese musicians. The final two tracks (one of them unreleased) finds MAR accompanied by the most complete band of Senegal, the NUMBER ONE de DAKAR. The 2LP & CD booklet includes photos and liner notes outlining MAR’s career. LP version comes with silk screen print, European 60s style, gatefold sleeve. All tracks are mastered & mixed from the original recording tapes.

Sir James and King Johnny are the leading figures of the mysterious crew: L'ENTOURLOOP.

These elders, fed on the sound of sound systems, vinyl culture and lulled by the epic dialogues of the cinema of yesteryear, concoct a fine fusion of Reggae and Hip Hop.

These beatmakers like to use scratches and samples, all blended with a vintage french touch that makes us travel from France to Kingston, London and New York! The two unstoppable seniors come back this fall to hit ever stronger with a new EP called "Golden Nuggets" in collaboration with the Jamaican Skarra Mucci aka the "Dancehall President".

"Golden Nuggets" is a 6-piece-EP in which we find all the ingredients that make the magic of the sound of Entourloop and Skarra Mucci.

2024 Backstock

After having released several solo works of both artists, Dauw announce the first collaborative full album by The Humble Bee & Benoît Pioulard; 'I suppose I'm your future'.

Both artists hold a very special place in the history of the label. The Humble Bee was already present from the very beginning and, in hindsight, definitely has put an important mark on the musical aesthetics we've been developing throughout the years. On the other hand, we crossed paths with Benoît Pioulard several years ago through our ongoing Living Room Concert Series in which he offered one of the most magical evenings to date. Given their mutual love for the tape medium and melancholic compositions, we only had to connect the dots as we were pretty sure that some magic was up in the air.

It goes without saying that we were uttermost happy when they both accepted our invitation to work on a collab album. Even though we didn't know where their efforts would end, it already felt like a victory that we, as a label, were able to link these artists. Above all, the art of curating can be considered as an essential feature of running a label but for us it is also the most wonderful part about it. Linking artists to each other, like we also did in our Dialog Tapes or Illuminine Reworks series, even goes a step further as it makes new connections, pushes boundaries and ultimately can result in an unexpected enrichment of the musical field.

"I always look forward to the Dauw collaboration releases. Most of the creativity for these lays within their curation: it brings together artists that, although arc in the same orbit but somehow never cross paths. The beauty of collaborating is that we learn from having to give space to another creative force, working alone we fall back on what we know and what we have already done. Although I wasn't paired with Tom for earlier projects, the guys at Dauw thought (and rightly so) that it was about time we crossed our musical paths for an lp." (The Humble Bee)

London based producer Christian Piers has a decade of production experience and a discography that spans house, techno and drum and bass. He is a long-term friend of 17 Steps, and became the second artist to release on the label after label heads Dusky back in 2015. Acclaimed releases on Curle and with Leon Vynehall as Laszlo Dancehall have sustained Christians' reputation as a truly versatile producer.

With ‘Virus’, his debut LP under this alias, Christian puts himself forward an exceptional and compelling voice in UK techno, drawing on his experience in drum and bass and breaks, a sample heavy hip-hop inspired approach to production and a dubbed out, industrial techno aesthetic.

Opener ‘Extrinsic’ lays the foundations, combining cavernous drones and rattling breaks over submerged kicks, conjuring up images of chasmal warehouses, dusty basements and rattling window frames. Elsewhere delay soaked stabs bounce off combative breaks. A dialogue between Christians’ influences ensues that’s as captivating as it is individual.

Christian creates passages of intense energy without breaking a sweat. Cold atmospheres are navigated with an unhurried authority and confidence that prevents them from becoming desolate. Behind the gritty haze and forceful bassweight Christian hides the playful, agile rhythms that have become his signature – percussive sounds stumble and roll in the background, whip like snares slice through the fog.

‘Virus’ is an exhilarating ride; right up to the final bars of the teasing, anti-climactic dancefloor weapon ‘Resource Depletion’. The infinite rising tones of the closer are a bold and forward looking statement of intent from an artist whose evolution continues to unfold.

Wun Two remains one of the most envied lo-fi hip-hop producers on the planet. Consistently pumping out thematic releases from last summer’s Pirata to his ever-consistent Snow series, his first vinyl release through Fat Beats since his 2016 Baker’s Dozen was spawned by a horror movie binge watch. “Nosferatu represents the atmosphere of Halloween and cold and darker days. I plugged the SP into my TV and recorded movie dialogs and sound samples while watching. At the end I had a lot of material/sound sources...I liked the outcome of it and decided to release it for Halloween.” Wun Two said.

Inspired in part by composers Maurice Jarre and Bernard Herrmann, Wun Two wanted to create a project that didn’t emote the somewhat-depressive feelings of certain scores, but an atmosphere of tension and suspense so often associated with Hitchcock and Stephen King novels. This deluxe picture disc LP not only includes 2 bonus beats not included on the original digital release, but an additional track featuring vocals from CRIMEAPPLE. “My feature list is very short as I prefer to release instrumental tracks.

But CRIMEAPPLE is definitely one of the most interesting MC´s now and it´s really great that we could win him for a contribution,” added Wun Two on the rare appearance from an MC over his beats. Releasing this Halloween in a strict one-time vinyl pressing, Nosferatu is a perfect accompaniment as the weather gets colder and the nights darker.

When acclaimed South African musician Guy Buttery first sought out Dr. Kanada Narahari in late 2016, it was as his patient.

“It was a dark time.” Buttery recalls, “I had been bedridden for months and had been suffering from debilitating bouts of fatigue which no diagnosis or medication could help me get to the bottom of. When I first met Kanada, I was at the stage where even picking up my guitar to make music had become a joyless and taxing exercise.”

As Buttery’s searched for a cure, a family member recommended he see Kanada an Ayurvedic doctor who had relocated to South Africa from India and set up a practice in Durban. It was during this consultation, that the musician first experienced how Narahari infused the healing properties of Indian Classical music into his practice. Rather than treating him with a smorgasbord of pharmaceuticals, Narahari played his sitar and set Buttery on a strict daily diet of Raga’s to fast track his recovery.

Buttery was not only struck by his doctor’s musical talents but by the powerful healing properties inherent in his sitar compositions. When he left Narahari’s doctors room that afternoon, he asserts he was feeling decidedly clearer, lighter and stronger.

“Diving into Kanada’s music was definitely one of the reasons I'm still here today.” he admits. “The consistent tonal centre at the heart of Indian Classical Music, literally became my support pillar over this period. A central core of sorts in which to fall back on, strengthen and discover.”

Narahari as it turned out, was not only a prominent music therapist (and one of the only Ayurvedic doctors practicing in South Africa) but like Buttery, a highly accomplished musician with a devoted following back in his homeland.

Born in a small village along the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India, Narahari, at the age of nine, had enrolled to study Carnatic classical vocal and developed an interest in Hindustani Classical music with a particular passion for the sitar. While Buttery had secured his reputation as one of South Africa’s musical treasures, a multi-instrumentalist who commands sold-out performances both locally and internationally and more recently had been awarded the prestigious 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music.
From this consultation, a friendship developed between the two musicians with Buttery soon inviting Narahari to join him in his studio. But it wasn’t all plain sailing in the beginning. While Buttery and Narahari’s sensibilities were very much aligned, there were a range of cultural and musical influences, nuances and inflections that first needed to be navigated and understood.
“I suppose we had to find a common ground.” Buttery says, before adding, “Which in the end turned out to be pretty "uncommon ground" for the both of us.”
It was after a few intensive sessions together that something exhilarating began to emerge. What began as a few idle improvisations soon evolved into feverish and lengthier jams. Whenever time permitted, the musicians would meet, descending deeper into the emerging sounds, while reimagining the realms that existed between their African and Indian heritages.
Over the next few months, the duo would rack up over fifteen hours of recordings in studio, and it was up to Buttery to shape the material into an album which they collectively titled Nāḍī, which Narahari translates from the Sanskrit as "The Channel" or "An Internal River".

During this period, Narahari bestowed upon Buttery, the moniker Guruji while Guy would refer to him, in affectionate return, as Panditji. Each time the musicians would meet, the studio space would be cleared by an impromptu ritual, with Guruji burning African Imphepho while Panditji would chant a Sanskrit mantra dusting Indian Agarbatti clouds over their instruments.

Once the room had been made hazy with this aromatic alchemy (with the ancestors welcomed in) the musicians would pick up their instruments and plunge into shimmering tides of sound. Reflecting on these sessions, Narahari recalls the immense creative freedom he felt throughout: “Guy and I tried to wander as much as possible, without any speculative, preoccupied ideologies or limitations. Love remained at the forefront of our journey together.”

“Those evenings we spent together in the studio” adds Buttery, “felt incredibly rich with purpose and a profound sense of freedom. While improvising, anything could happen and mostly did.”

On a first listen, the tracks on Nāḍī emerge as salty, humid invocations to the inscrutable depths and misty myths of the Indian ocean-- that vast body of water that stretches between, and laps the shorelines, of the artists’ respective homelands.

When asked to describe the sound him and Narahari refined, Buttery prefers to relay a series of evocative images.

“For me” he explains, “Nāḍī is a lighthouse, a beacon that resides at the bottom of the ocean.” As Buttery envisions it, “what once offered light to guide ships to safety, has been submerged and re-purposed by marine life as a coral-reef temple. Similarly, this sunken lighthouse exists as a concealed cenotaph, memorializing the ancient sea-routes and passages that once connected the two distant lands.”

On paper this may sound obscure but listening to the songs, it serves as an apt metaphor.

Across each meditative movement, listeners are able to relive the journey, immersing themselves in a series of incantations, replete with high dynamics, delicate African-Indian inflections and virtuoso string playing of an entirely new order. Further complimenting the fusion of musical dialects are a range of guest artists including Shane Cooper on bass, Thandi Ntuli on vocals, Chris Letcher on organ, Ronan Skillen on tabla and percussion and Julian Redpath on guitar, synth and backing vocals.

Now like the submerged lighthouse, the recordings stand as a monument, a marker and snapshot of this fortuitous meeting, a tribute to the healing gifts of Guruji and Panditji in performance. It’s a process that already, both musicians look back on with reverence and nostalgia.

Buttery ruminates in closing, that when he first met Kanada his illness correlated with the biggest drought South Africa had experienced in many years “…for whatever reason, whenever we would connect and make music together, the sky would tend to open. Even if it was just a few drops. This went on for months, until finally the drought dissipated and my health had been restored.”

By the time the heavens did open across the East Coast, a deep friendship had been forged and with it abundant musical offerings poured down. A treasured sample of which we able to share in every time we press play and immerse ourselves in the sacrosanct musical universe that is Nāḍī.

Available for the first time outside Japan, Phosphorescent Dreams is another epic album of symphonic schizophrenic avant-rock from Univers Zéro. Originally released in 2014 - only on CD - through the Japanese label Arcàngelo.

Phosphorescent Dreams presents at the same time, in the same track, even on a single moment, the complex musical schemes and ways of Univers Zéro, ranging from maximalism to minimalism, classical avant-garde with a 2020 vibe in a constant flux.

In a blend of tension constantly emerging from a subtle dialogue between avant-rock and contemporary influences, harmonies and dissonance, Phosphorescent Dreams is a balanced formula of old-school know-how reshaped almost 40 years after the released of the seminal LP Univers Zéro.

Univers Zero represents one of the longest-living bands in Belgium. It was established in 1974. Drummer Daniel Denis had the brilliant idea to gather together a team of professionals sharing the same taste for music. The band has adopted an instrumental progressive style. Over the last couple of decades, the band has also implemented a series of influences from chamber music - most commonly, chamber music from the 20th century. Even if the line-up changes a lot over the years, the overall sound of UZ remained fairly consistent.

In her most personally narrative work to date, A Fossil Begins To Bray is the follow up on Dais Records for NYC producer Hiro Kone, furthering the dialogue set forth on her 2018 release, Pure Expenditure. While the statements on Pure Expenditure rallied behind a point of dangerous excess and injustice, the material on A Fossil Begins To Bray embark upon a journey of discovery and selfanalysis, proposing a potential reorientation towards absence in hopes of illuminating potential futures.

In Mao’s own words, “This album considers the power of absence as neither a lack or deficit, but as a quiet, indeterminable force to cultivate in this time of looming and unrelenting techno-fascism. It asks that we take pause to consider our learned languages and actualities and to better consider how desire shapes our recollections and interpretations of this ‘existence.’” This allegory is expertly applied to every song on A Fossil Begins To Bray. Mao has established a long history of employing absence in her productions to maximum effect. With a vast assortment of diverse elements at play, no single track ever feels overly convoluted and further illustrates Hiro Kone’s skillful attention to dynamic tension and flow. Tracks such as “Fabrication of Silence” and “Submerged Dragon” perfectly represent the power of absence, utilized in a matter to create unique amalgams of decisive, cinematic techno rhythms from the electronic void. As the melodic elements contained within A Fossil Begins To Bray begin to unravel and slowly take form, the unaware are rewarded with a driving yet tangible refrain that offers resolve in contrast to the dense, textureladen backdrop that forms the album’s foundation. The first single, “Feed My Ancestors”, expands upon Hiro Kone’s signature take on electronic music structures. Seemingly free from the predictable contracts imposed by any one genre’s stereotypes, Hiro Kone throttles the foreboding bassline in favor of more calculated, abstract cut-ups that gracefully hold the track in place between hopeful utopia and something more ominous.

‘Green & Gold’ is the second collaborative release from Mr Key & Greenwood Sharps, the long awaited follow up to their
critically acclaimed 2015 album ‘Yesterday’s Futures’. The record was written and recorded between Greenwood Sharps’
cottage in the verdant English countryside and the off grid Finca in the foothills of the Andalusian Sierra Nevada, Spain where
Key is based.
The title has multiple meanings none of which are anything to do with weed or money. First and foremost, green and gold are
the colours which synesthete (a person who sees sound) Greenwood Sharps, composed the record in. It also alludes to the
dialogue between the green of the UK and the dusty gold of Andalucia which created the project. Finally green and gold speaks
of the dynamic between the sun and photosynthesising organisms, the driving force of life on earth.
‘Yesterday’s Futures’ took the listener on a meandering journey through a vast landscape of moods, sounds and ideas,
leading ultimately to redemption and the possibility of resolution. Thematically, ‘Green & Gold’ picks up where ‘Yesterday’s
Futures’ left off, but structurally it takes the opposite tack; an extended exploration of a single ubiquitous idea: universal love for
all things and all people and the challenge of maintaining these shiny ideals in day to day life, as our cynical side reasserts itself.
Key’s first output after an extended hiatus from releasing music makes it obvious that during this time he continued honing his
craft. The unique perspectives and disarming honesty which set him apart from his peers remain, but his technical prowess and
capacity to convey sentiment are notably enhanced. The same applies to Greenwood Sharps, who’s masterful production has
risen to new heights yet still maintains the rich and subtle sonic palette he has become known for.
Dropping alongside the EP is a short film featuring the works of long time collaborator Jamie Johnson, the man behind the
artwork for both ‘Green & Gold’ & ‘Yesterday’s Futures’. The short film is the visual counterpart to the EP and serves as the
perfect introduction to the world of ‘Green & Gold’ as it visually explores all the themes present in the music & provides a snap
shot of the incredible tracks on offer.
In a troubled and busy world, marred with anxieties and uncertainties, ‘Green & Gold’ comes as a breath of fresh air and offers some valuable food for thought for those searching for real heart felt substance rather than the sanitised, individualised &
commodified norm we have all become accustomed to.

After their brilliant label debut with "Grow Yes Yes" in 2017, Professor Wouassa now returns with their brand new third album on Matasuna Records.

The Swiss band's career spans more than 15 years, where they have played at many major festivals in Switzerland and abroad. The 11 members of the band have perfected their musical qualities over the years and captivate as a well-rehearsed live band with their energetic and rousing shows. So it isn't surprising that they supported concerts of Afrobeat legends like Ebo Taylor or Seun 'Anikulapo' Kuti.

Their still exuberant creativity can also be heard on their new work entitled Yobale Ma!, which in Wolof's language can be translated as "take me" or "get me". With their new album they take the listener to their musical island to explore the borders of Afrobeat and beyond.

The song Fallou Fall opens the album in a jazzy & big band way, and quickly switches to an afrobeat theme and solo. In the middle the song breaks into an Afro-style pattern, which is performed by Thaïs Diarra in Bambara (Malian dialect) in a traditional Mandingo way of singing. The track ends with a Sabar percussion part - a traditional Senegalese drum.

Yobale Ma is the single of the album, which is inspired by the funky guitars of a Nile Rodger and some typical fast Ghanaian highlife of Ebo Taylor.

The track Thiaroye Gare is about the Tirailleurs sénégalais, a unit of the French army who fought for France in WWII. After returning from captivity they were taken in Camp Thiaroye northeast of Dakar. Corrupt and racist colonial officials led to a revolt, which was bloodily suppressed by French troops.
From the musical point of view the song shows a link between afrobeat and funky James Brown rhythms, which ends in a fast afrobeat style with baritone saxophone and trombone solos.

Beguente Len in the middle of the album is a kind of interlude that represents Wouassa's own way of interpreting traditional afro beats and rhythms.

With the two songs Djongoma and Sama Yone Professor Wouassa leaves his usual afrobeat path to explore the "sound of the islands" (Mauritius, La Réunion, Cape Verde or Cuba) and blend it with their personal and unmistakable style.

With Iba Niawoulo the professors investigate a kind of Ghanaian highlife medium tempo with a chord progression from Serge Gainsbourg's song "Initial BB". The tracks change in the middle to a fast Rhythm'n'Blues beat, which is accompanied by afro guitars. The singer "Mamadou Diagne" talks about his alter ego in Dakar.

In Djougoudja typical afro rhythms are mixed with pure Ethiopian 70's brass sounds and funk guitars. As heard several times in other songs, the track breaks into a very personal and hard to describe Wouassa beat in it's middle. At this time, Mamadou Diagne recites a big slam about the spiritual ideas and the history of the famous senegalese theologian and poet Serigne Touba (Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba). Under his flow some sabar percussions (typical senegalese percussions) build a strong and intense musical rug.

The re-launched Secretsundaze label continues to spread it's wings with the signing of Lisbon born, London based Silvestre.The push and pull of influences from his own and adopted countries have combined to find him a unique sound that embraces rap, R&B, reggaeton as well as breaks and woozy pads from UK hardcore and house. Mixing samples, his own voice and continuing the fusion of reggaeton and breakbeat/techno from previous releases, the Silvestre Is Boss EP aims for a hazy vibe.AAAs Silvestre explains: The pad and synth choices on this EP are picked specifically to sound dreamy, a dream where you arrive at the club but the party is already finished, which sucks." Silvestre began making his name in 2015 with his first release on the Diskotopia label from Tokyo and followed that up with appearances on Creme Organization and Paraiso. He then dropped the killer 'All The Things' EP of mid-tempo party bangers on his own Padre Himalaya label which reached the top 30 of Phonica's illustrious Singles of the Year list. The Silvestre Is Boss EP is his strongest work to date with 5 tracks of quality floor and headphone directed material that perfectly balances the need for playful melody and harmony with tough grooves and synthetic ambience. Drafted in on remix duty is Secretsundaze fave D.K. (Antinote records) who takes EP heater 'Fuego', dialling down the breakbeats for a smoother trip.

Very few albums manage to unveil their roots so honestly and at the same time succeed in creating something utterly distinct. "Of All The Things" from Jazzanova is one of these albums.
Originally released in 2008 on Universal, it now gets a luxurious reissue on Sonar Kollektiv as a 3LP with pop-up gatefold cover including previously unreleased instrumentals.
This format corresponds perfectly with the elegant opulence of the music that shines even brighter eleven years after its initial release. At no time is it unclear that this album is a deep bow to soul from the 1960s and 70s as well as genres like jazz, brazil and pop music in the vein of the early Beatles.
Along these lines, "Of All The Things" is meant to be perceived as a tribute to the music that Jazzanova has been honoring affectionately in their DJ sets and which has always had a decisive influence on their own productions.
At the same time, the Jazzanova guys have been successful in casually creating elaborate musical pieces which convey a deeply contemporary vibe - not least because of the multifarious references to electronic productions.
The path to this sophomore long player, which features the contribution of over 50 studio musicians, had been laid out beginning with Jazzanova's first album "In Between" from 2002.

‘Synth Expressionism/Rhythmic Cubism’ LP from Chicago’s Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being is a collection of idioms that have no past and no future, his jarring use of polyrhythmic polyphony imbues a sense of timelessness.

The prolific catalog of Moss’ covers many musical dialects from his hometown and beyond. Never standing in one artistic sphere for too long, this adventure for On the Corner Records sees Hieroglyphic Being exploring a multitude of expressions of the American Avant-garde.

Abstractions Of The Future Past — Afro-Cubism: The Designation, conceived by an African With A Mainframe — An Etude Of Effigy — A Hieroglyphic Being.

Rhythmic Cubism: In this ‘Dissertation Of Disorientation’ Neal Andrew Emil Gustafson temporal considerations are put aside as polyrhythmic propulsion is the current flowing through the work. As prelude the fastidious ‘Rhythmic Cubism’, Moss enacts a flurry of white noise and musical coda as it phases in-and-out of synchronicity.

The disjointed dance of an alternative Black Music, ‘The Spiritual Or ‘Electromagnetic Worlds’ takes the meter down a fraction to exonerate a granular groove of visceral refracted complexity. Sonorus static sits alongside spastic shards of synthesis to reveal a melancholic medley before its conclusion.

‘Apocrypha’ collages distinct rhythmic source materials in an entrancing abstraction of ‘Hypersonic Hemiola’. An assertion of Art Blakey proportions. Perpetually pushed forward through the building of distorted percussion, Moss precludes into syncopated synapsis before and end of reductive symmetry.

Evolving into a studdered off-kilter groove, ‘The Redemption Project’ flows as a dissipating organ medley dissolves into a deluge of layered sonic textures, creating an indiscernible metric center before fading to a distant vanishing point.

Departing with a common-time ‘Timbuk2’ takes off like a classic Chicago Acid track, then makes a left turn towards the center as it drives the rhythmic motion into a dystopian dreamland, as the sax line surges forcing the track to break free from it’s charted course.

The Fragmented Fantasy of The Synth Expressionism/Rhythmic Cubism LP is a conclusive work that has no end, a conundrum of conceptual calculated improvisation. Drifting through time, this fragmented abstraction of Afro-Cubism leaves room for posterity, as each listen summons a new perspective on the suite. Something ever so common in the work of Jamal Moss. Charting new sonic directions, the very nature of its precedent makes it a truly Hieroglyphic affair.

Words By Neal Andrew Emil Gustafson

Destiny is made. Realised. Driven by the acts of vision. Hireroglyphic Being is a seer. Atomic resonance echoing from the big bang defies the conceptual reality of purity. The nuclear static of ‘white noise’ is HBs canvas. Channeling poly rhythms into the universe. Experience, repetition and eternal decay. From purity back to the absolute by way of a deluge of slurry across time. Infinite layers of distortion and refracted complexity. This is HBs canvas. Sound of eternity channelled through a bass bin, represented by its own impure reflection and fragments. Always more than it's whole but never as was before.

This album seeks to reach beyond ideas and emotions, beyond the comprehension of a human archetype. Beyond ultimate history, forwards and back. To ends and a singular beginnings. Timbuk2 is the frenetic intersection where the call and response of these ideas lock and dissipate back into the void.

DJ Richard's first release of 2019 sees him drop four invigorating electro tracks on Flexxseal titled "Eraser".

Emerging from the Providence noise scene, DJ Richard forges a path of disciplined selectiveness as a producer and DJ with his idiosyncratic style allowing him to make impressive, self-assured connections between 80s EBM, new beat and Italo disco, electro, techno and "post-minimalist" house. DJ Richard's feral approach evolved from the roots of his White Material imprint which quickly achieved cult status after early releases from himself and co-founders Galcher Lustwerk and Young Male.

As a solo artist, DJ Richard continues to push the boundaries of his talent and influences reflected in his two utterly distinctive and bewitching albums released in alliance with influential German electronic label, Dial. "Eraser" sees him join up with fellow American Christopher Joseph and his Flexxseal imprint as DJ Richard masterfully maintains his skill in propagating ephemeral and raw sounds with his aptitude for electronic body control.

"Critical Damage" kicks things off with resilient oscillations fused beautifully with angelic leads and thudding percussion reflecting a post-punk aesthetic while "Eraser" delivers tough, acidic swirls undulating beneath sharp, broken grooves and growling undertones.

On the flip, a slow, chugging drum sequence balanced with haunting modulations and machine-like vibrations that echo throughout take the focus in "His Threshing Floor" before "Casca's Theme" concludes the EP with meandering, robotic synth flutters and distorted bass resonations driven by hypnotic rhythms and world-ending atmospheres in this powerful electro cut.

Rolf Hansen, who as a guitarist is originally rooted in jazz, has been one of the most in-demand studio and session musician in the Danish rock, pop, and folk scene. Between 2010 and 2017, he toured under the name Il Tempo Gigante as a solo artist and released two albums: »Lost Something Good« (Speed of Sound, 2010) and »Watch It Watch« (Resonans, 2014). With subsequent tours throughout Europe, he made a name for himself in the alternative folk scene.

After a phase of reorientation, he now releases his first purely instrumental record under his real name through the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk label in September. On his third album »Elektrisk Guitar«, the many different influences Hansen has gathered as a composer, solo performer, session musician and producer shine through.

The concept of limitation - an album composed for and played with solo guitar - is being mirrored in the conception of the album itself. Not only does Hansen resolutely constrain himself to a sole instrument, he also eschews traditional composition techniques and follows an experimental approach.

»Elektrisk Guitar« is an album that enters into a dialogue with its conscious and attentive listener. Pieces whose melancholy is carefully weighed meet complex musical structures that again and again provide new challenges. In just 43 minutes, »Elektrisk Guitar« offers a plethora of ideas, impressions, details, and inspiration. And even more so, it opens up a room for its listeners to explore, precisely because its minimalistic compositions create a lot of space in which to get accommodated in.

Apart from his solo projects, Rolf Hansen has for several years been connected to Donna Regina as well as Anders Mathiasen (formerly Murder, now Vessel, DK) and Henriette Sennenvaldt (formerly Under Byen, DK) through close collaborations.

Out September 6th on Dischord Records, Anthropocosmic Nest is the second full-length by Washington, D.C.’s The Messthetics, who are Anthony Pirog, Joe Lally, and Brendan Canty.
Formed in 2016 the Messthetics are Anthony Pirog, Joe Lally, and Brendan Canty. Pirog is a jazz and experimental guitarist based in Washington, D.C. One half of the duo Janel & Anthony, he also performs regularly with Low Ways Quartet and James Brandon Lewis. Canty and Lally were the rhythm section of the band Fugazi from its inception in 1987 to its period of hiatus in 2002.
Since then, Canty has remained active as a documen- tary filmmaker, producer, and composer, and released a music as a member of the band Deathfix. Lally has re- leased three solo albums and toured extensively with a frequently-rotating cast of musicians.
Recorded at the band’s practice space throughout 2019, it’s an album that more perfectly captures the trio’s current live dynamic, complete with improvisational tangents, playful experimentation, and cathartic sprawl.
When The Messthetics recorded their debut album in 2017, the trio had only done a handful of shows and had yet to fully find its footing on stage. In a way, those compositions were a template for the band that Pirog, Lally, and Canty hoped would come into being through subsequent work on the road.
Since then, The Messthetics have played upwards of 200 shows across the US, Europe and Asia. Their dialog as a performing unit has necessarily focused and intensified. As a result, Anthropocosmic Nest offers a more var- ied vision of the band. It’s the loudest the trio has ever been and also the quietest.

Enigmatic multi-instrumentalist Clive Tanaka returns after nearly a decade since his cult-classic Jet Set Siempre was released into the world with a collection of indie gems entitled ‘Pre-Sunrise Authority.’ This is an album experience ready for
summer road trips, shifting FM dials as the terrain changes and signals fade. In his words: What started as a rejection of loneliness with lyrics grew into a rejection of the ephemeral with the final musical composition. The dissonance between the mission
of the lyrics and the music is what finally satisfied me. The album, Pre-sunrise Authority, took 10 years to finish. This record is a tribute to scheduled, communal listening to music; to driving up to the bluff to get a clear signal of America’s Top 40 with Casey Kasem; to the friend that gave you Beck’s Mellow Gold on CD and said, “You have to listen to this;” and to my friend Carroll, who played all over this record, but passed away before he could every hear it… Music is not disposable.

TALKING OF POST-TECH DIALECTICS,
THIS IS A TRIBUTE TO THE CYBERPUNK.

The mother of technology collapses. Ten fragments of her soul are spread in cyberspace. The last encoder composes the pieces to a manifest. A poem that is a call for the distortion of the artificial.

Manifest is an album, in which CORIN synthesizes the reconciliation of the dystopian and utopian. It is a story of manipulated time that exists out of instrumental and vocal proportions.

CORIN's debut on Bedouin Records will be released in late June. The LP includes 10 tracks.

30th anniversary pressing limited to 1000 copies. With the 2016 Roots

mini-series such a success, there is new interest in Quincy Jones’ original

soundtrack to the ground-breaking 1977 mini-series.

Highlights include the “Roots Mural Theme,” composed by Gerald Fried, and

the 28 minute, ‘Roots Suite,’ with Letta Mbulu as the featured vocalist. Plus

the stunning “Main Title: Mama Aifambeni” as sampled by Moodymann and Andrés.



Also included are snippets of dialogue from Roots actor Lou Gossett. Featured

players include: Shelly Manne, Victor Feldman, Ernie Watts and Lee Ritenour.

Birthed from Arizona’s regaled Ascetic House collective, Body of Light is a dark synth-pop outfit comprised of young brothers Andrew and Alexander Jarson. What began as a vehicle for their exploration of noise and sound during their early teens has evolved into an established production over the last decade, as Body of Light continues to carve out their own style of complex, structured, and moving dancefloor electronics.

Their music is not only individually personal, but drawn from experiences shared between the two brothers – and calls on elements of new wave, freestyle, goth, and techno to create timeless and singular tracks without fear of trend or passing fashion.

On their third album Time to Kill, Body of Light refines their brand of cold and driving synth pop with a bold pallet of sounds and a focus on uncharted technique and purpose. Like the pale digital stare of the modern devices surrounding our daily lives, the album weaves stories of love and obsession in an era of technical bondage and fleeting exhilaration. Written over a period of intense and profound change, Time to Kill stands as a startling reminder of how important our existence truly is. Haunting keys, swelling pads, and punching rhythms score their work as Alex Jarson presents an alluring and romantic dialogue with confident projection. The title single “Time to Kill” kicks off the album with a merciless signature beat, complimented by distorted sample patterns against an infectious, moving bass groove

Black Truffle is pleased to announce the release of this genuine head-scratcher, the first collaboration between DJ/mixtape-compiler Kayo Makino and underground legend Tori Kudo. Originally created to be played between acts at the launch of Eiko Ishibashi’s acclaimed The Dreams My Bones Dream and then reworked and refined for LP release, the two side-long pieces are sonic environments constructed by Makino for Kudo’s piano to inhabit, or, as the LP’s credits suggest, a cinéma pour l’oreille in which Kudo’s piano plays the starring role. Beginning with a soothing field recording of crickets dramatically punctuated by smashing glass, the first side finds Kudo playing his way repeatedly through one of Satie’s 1897 Pièces froides. Best known to many listeners for his role as leader of the ecstatically shambolic rock unit Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Kudo’s performance of Satie’s whimsical yet haunting melody is alternately halting and fluid, delighting in the hesitations of unstudied technique and the subtle variations between repeated attempts. While the combination of Kudo’s piano and the background of crickets initially suggests a documentary approach to recording – as if the we are simply hearing incidental sounds creeping through an open window – things take an unexpected turn a few minutes in when Kudo’s piano is suddenly doubled. Layering two separate attempts at the same piece of top of each other, Makino’s unorthodox mixing blurs Satie’s original into a fog of stumbling echoes that becomes increasingly dreamlike as the chirping crickets are overtaken by pattering rain, German dialogue and traffic sounds. The second side begins in a similarly inscrutable vein, with snatches of birds and film music providing a gentle backdrop for Kudo’s improvisational variations on a chord progression that, as his performance builds over its twenty-minute duration, somehow begins to suggest the sadly swaggering grandeur of Mick Taylor-era Rolling Stones. Makino accompanies and eventually overwhelms Kudo’s piano with a bizarre layer of digitally processed voice and drums, stretched out into a disorienting haze before suddenly retreating to leave Kudo’s piano accompanied only by a barking dog. Seemingly unrelated to anything else being produced in the world of contemporary music, this is a striking collaboration between two unique musical personalities that bridges the mundane and the surreal, opening up a dream-space both haunted and hospitable.

Yeketelale is the third album from Franco-Ethiopian group uKanDanz, combining a heady brew of rock energy, saxophone zigzags and Ethiopian melodies, all fronted by veteran singer Asnake Gebreyes grooving harder than ever.

In Ethiopia, sons follow fathers and, together, their names tell a story. Some discographies are the same way. After Yechelal (''It's Possible''), Awo (''Yes!''),here's Yeketelale (''It Continues''), the third album from Ukandanz.
The adventure that links Damien Cluzel (guitars) and Lionel Martin (tenor sax), the two founders of the group, with the Ethiopian singer Asnake Guebreyes continues and, with this album, takes on new colors and a new dimension. It is a polished synthesis that keeps the rock energy of their first recordings and gives even more space to the subtle vocal ornamentations that mark great Ethiopian singers. Add to that a groove that is more danceable than ever, carried by Adrien Spirti's synth bass and Yann Lemeunier's drums, and you have the magic formula of Yeketelale.

This came about slowly over the course of a dialogue that began in the early 2000s when Damien Cluzel, arriving with a circus in Ethiopia, met up with the occupant of the next room in their hotel. A stroke of luck: this was Francis Falceto, high priest of the Ethiopiques collection (Buda, 30 volumes to date) which had introduced to the West the treasures of swinging Addis, the capital that vibrates to the sound of big brass orchestras. With him, he dives into the capital's nightlife and meets a galaxy of musicians. The singer Asnake Guebreyes is among them.

Recruited by the famous Police Orchestra at the tender age of 16, he already had all the power, energy and class of his role model, Tlahoun Guessessé ''the Ethiopian James Brown''. He began his solo career at the beginning of the 1990s with several major successes, most famously an explosive duo with the singer Fekker Addis.

This experience made a big impact on the French guitarist. Having learned how to blend in with a uniquely Ethiopian groove, he was now ready to take it to other places and in other directions. In his old friend Lionel Martin, he found an ideal partner to engage in such experiences. But they needed a singer. The idea of Asnake Guebreyes was mentioned. Then Francis Falceto called and suggested going to see him at the Addis Music Festival. Ukandanz, a rock version of Ethiopian groove, was born.

Some pieces, like the disturbing Yene Hassab, call to mind Herbie Hancock's experiments in the seventies, as well as the Juju guitars of the Gulf of Guinea. Others, like the dark Fetsum Deng Ledj Nesh, allow Asnake's voice to soar above the synthetic waves, like a siren song for a freighter in distress. Dance and trance are not left out, with inspiration from the inexhaustible Ethiopian traditional repertoire. In a nod towards Asnaké's first album (Ahadu, also reissued by Buda) Ukandanz returns to its track Ajiré, transfigured by the guitar, claps and synthetic bass and takes us back to the glory days of breakdancing. Listening to the two versions gives the key to understanding the unique touch of Ukandanz and of the rich musical colours of Yeketelale (''It Goes On''), a fusion musical journey that brings the electric spark of the Frendj (Westerners) to Ethiopian lyricism.