Suche:dj pit

Barker's debutalbum Utility (on Berghain's Ostgut Ton label) was something of a sensation in the world of electronic music when it was released. Utility made numerous Best of 2019 year's end lists, including Pitchfork (8,2 review), The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor (Recommends) and others. It also earned title of Mixmag's Album of The Year 2019. Now its finally time for the follow-up Stochastic Drift on Smalltown Supersound. And where Barker on Utility was "using ambient materials to remake techno" as Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne wrote, he takes this approach even further here creating - as the title suggests - a dreamy stochastic drift and beautiful freeform float.

Barker's debutalbum Utility (on Berghain's Ostgut Ton label) was something of a sensation in the world of electronic music when it was released. Utility made numerous Best of 2019 year's end lists, including Pitchfork (8,2 review), The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor (Recommends) and others. It also earned title of Mixmag's Album of The Year 2019. Now its finally time for the follow-up Stochastic Drift on Smalltown Supersound. And where Barker on Utility was "using ambient materials to remake techno" as Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne wrote, he takes this approach even further here creating - as the title suggests - a dreamy stochastic drift and beautiful freeform float.

aya's incredibly inventive Hyperdub debut album im hole distilled the incisive sonic experimentation of her early run of releases, the tongue-in-cheek giggles of her DJ sets and radio show, and the identity-fluxing lyricism of her live shows into a delirious tug of war between pleasure and dysmorphia. The album was championed from all corners, 'Best New Music' in Pitchfork to Radio 6 DJ Maryanne Hobbs 'Album of the Year', followed by a run of incredible live shows which drew new listeners further into her world. hexed!, aya's second album, confronts the desperation and dysfunction of addiction. Internalised phobias and suppressed traumas haunt the corridors and golden hours once romanticised on 2021's im hole; daymares concealed by nocturnal afters-hopping and key bag circles. Opener `I am the pipe I hit myself with' exposes the gray portrait secreted somewhere between the 8th and 9th floors of her previous record. `I used to say some shit for sure', `I used to say it when I was me-less'. hexed! is about what happens when aya turns the lights on.

dreamcastmoe is the recording project of singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ Davon Bryant, a lifelong resident of Washington, DC. His music moves freely between moods and modes, hypnotic, romantic, traversing electronic, R&B, funk, soul, and hip-hop... Resident Advisor dubs it "soulful, cross-genre dance music." This ability to adapt and finesse, to twist in different directions while staying true and coherent in vision, can be traced to his home city and its complex cultural history. "Most Black kids in DC don't ever get to this point," he says. "This is what I am making this music for, in the DC tradition of soul and empathy and love that is rooted in this city. My music is for real people dealing with shit every day." A versatile, modern artist and collaborator, dreamcastmoe has thrived in the underground since his first uploads to Soundcloud and Bandcamp in 2017 and subsequent releases with labels like People's Potential Unlimited, Trading Places, and In Real Life Music. Bryant's laid-back personality, emotional honesty, and infectious energy shine through his work and how he talks about it, as Crack Magazine notes in their 2021 Rising feature: "a steady combination of confidence, creativity, and calmness." He grew up playing drums in church; he's worked dead-end jobs, had ups and downs, even sold off all his gear one time, but never stopped reinvesting in himself. He is quick to praise his co-producers, rattle off influences _ the visual feel of NBA 2K, the comedic timing of Bernie Mac, the savvy legacy of Duke Ellington, for starters _ and credit resourceful DC breakouts like Ankhlejohn that showed him the roadmap. His voice, a steady instrument, seemingly connects it all, capable of slow falsetto flow, swaggering talk-rap, and outright croon. His storytelling style is choppy yet fluid, like a mixtape, which is how Bryant sees Sound Is Like Water, his debut on Ghostly's International's freeform label, Spectral Sound. The two-part project culminates as a full-length LP release in November 2022. The first side, released as Part I, opens on the blurred beats of "El Dorado," which dreamcastmoe dedicates to his journey. It's a head-nodder, an off-kilter earworm co-produced by Max D (Future Times, RVNG Intl, etc.), with Bryant harmonizing hooks with synth jabs and a pitched-down presence. "Complicated" is the slow jam, delivered smoothly from a Saturday night crossroads. dreamcastmoe is contemplative and committed... gliding and locking ad-libs into skittering rhythms courtesy of co-producer Zackary Dawson _ but also willing to let something go, "acknowledging that everything in life IS NOT easy." "RU Ready" takes off from the jump as a tribute, challenge, and promise to his partner and his city ("The times you sat with me when I needed you the most / Told me the things that I needed to see / Young black man, really trying to be what I can be / And I'm really from DC). In its potent two-plus minutes, the sonics (co-produced by ZDBT) press the message, all cymbal crashes, breakbeats, and serrated synth lines. "Cloudy Weather, Wear Boots" is a blitzing dance-punk track made in collaboration with Jordan GCZ on Bryant's first trip to Amsterdam. The album's flipside opens on "Much More," the first of two synth-and-beat ballads co-produced by ZDBT. Later on "Long Songz," he claims, "I'm not writing love songs no more," prioritizing the vibe with "all my day ones." He calls it "a cry for more normal moments. Everything doesn't have to be a fantasy love story, more time spent getting to the money, growing, and making a way." He saves two of his most propulsive cuts for the finale, co-produced by Sami, co-founder of DC dance label 1432 R. As their titles suggest, "Take A Moment" and "Make Ya Mind" operate as anthems for movement, with Bryant free-flowing commands above wildly-styled percussion. Per Bryant, the latter is both "wake & bake jam" and a "dance floor bomb." His parting line: "Action / You got to show me action / Reaction." The world of dreamcastmoe straddles virtual reality and the realness of DC, images both imagined and lived-in. Bryant has a knack for unexpected melodies but what makes his music so exciting is his capacity to defy the expectations of genre and image. A fluid ingenuity and vulnerability bottled by Sound Is Like Water, and this is just the beginning.

Letters from the Atlantic displays a seamless blend of jazz, house, indie, funk, R&B, soul, bossa nova, and more. The band elevates to a new level of sophistication with their genre defying approach, while featuring numerous female guest artists: Yaya Bey, Melanie Charles, Leanor Wolf, Mia Gladstone, Victoria Victoria, along with Nicholas Payton and Neal Francis. With the new album, the band ventures closer to a indie vibe, rather than the hip-hop style displayed on Solar Music (2023). The Richmond, Virginia based collective consists of friends and bandmates Corey Fonville (drums), Andrew Randazzo (bass), Morgan Burrs (guitar), Marcus “Tennishu” Tenney (trumpet, saxophone, vocals) and Devonne “DJ Harrison” Harris (multi-instrumentalist), who make music that is as diverse as their own varied tastes and backgrounds.



Butcher Brown has a storied touring history having played many of the world biggest and most prestigious festivals including Afropunk, Pitchfork Festival, Monterey Jazz, and more have toured with the likes of Pink Siifu, Tom Misch, Galactic, Lettuce, and Kamasi Washington. In support of Letters From the Atlantic, Butcher Brown has plotted headline tour dates across North America in spring of 2025 followed by an extended European festival tour this summer.

BusCrates is a Producer / Synthesist / DJ hailing from the Steel City -Pittsburgh, PA
BusCrates blurs the lines between boogie funk and boom bap hip hop beats
Returning to Bastard Jazz following two well loved albumsBlasting Off(2020) andControl Center(2023)
BusCrates' increasingly popular Twitch channel streams live every Thursday and Friday night to over 13,500 followers
A noteworthy resume production credits including Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, and Phonte & Eric Roberson
He's toured throughout the US playing with artists like RJD2, DJ Epik, J Rawls, Tall Black Guy and more
BusCrates counts big names such as Jazzy Jeff, Francois K, Dâm Funk, Rich Medina and Spinna as fans

These two vinyl records showcase the legacy left by the boogaloo movement in Peru between 1966 and 1975. They comprise twenty-two songs by seventeen artists who recorded on the remarkable local label MAG more than five decades ago and now invite today’s new generations to dance body and soul to these re-releases. You will find outstanding tracks by the likes of Tito Chicoma, Melcochita, Los Kintos, Otto Rojas, Coco Lagos among many others. MAG was one of the most important and prolific labels in Peru and, though it also was involved in releasing a lot of other types of music, its specialty was the tropical variety, which coincidentally, DJs and collectors seem to crave most. Peru developed a major boogaloo scene in the mid-60s, far from the genre’s place of origin, New York, where iconic songs like 'Bang Bang' and 'El Pito', fused soul and funk with Latin sounds, conquering dance halls and winning extensive radio airplay. The music trend soon spread to Caribbean countries and from there made the geographical leap to the city of Lima. 'El Pito', the collective creation of the Joe Cuba Sextet, was particularly popular. Shorn of overelaborate arrangements, the improvisation and spontaneity of the song resonated with the young generation who were avid for new music after the U.S. placed an embargo on the distribution of Cuban music. In July 1966, Rebeca Llave´s label, Disperú, released the 45 RPM of 'El Pito' (and Joe Cuba's LP), promoting the single in the most prestigious newspaper in the country: El Comercio. The press information stated that the record had sold seventy thousand copies in New York and fifty thousand in Los Angeles. That same year local dance versions by the bands of Alfredo Linares (MAG) and Lucho Macedo (El Virrey) were released, followed by another by the band of the Argentinean musician Enrique Lynch who was based in Peru (Sono Radio). These records were a hit with a new generation that embraced Lucho Macedo's band and the garage rock of Los York's with equal enthusiasm. Although Joe Bataan claimed that boogaloo was killed off at the end of the sixties by the labels and their veteran musicians (who conspired against the new generation of singers), Pete Rodriguez, Richie Ray and the Lebrón Brothers continued to release boogaloo records in Peru, but salsa music soon took over.

Limited vinyl release for aya's 2021 Hyperdub-debut album, a one-time pressing on Ecomix random colour-mix recycled vinyl. Originally released in 2021 as a book and digital album, im hole is now presented on ecomix splatter-effect vinyl. A welcome reminder ahead of new aya music in 2025. On im hole, aya distilled the incisive sonic experimentation of her early run of releases, the tongue-in-cheek giggles of her DJ sets and edits, and the identity-fluxing lyricism of her live shows. The album was immediately championed from all corners, 'Best New Music' in Pitchfork to DJ Mary Anne Hobbs Album of the Year, followed by incredible live shows which drew new listeners further into the net. Contorting language, dialect, gender and sexuality between intermittently controlled bursts of rhythm, noise and aural goop, aya sculpted a set of autobiographical vignettes that challenge established norms, question supposed truths, and affirm a spectrum of interlocking experiences. But while it's wide open and personal, im hole also challenges queer art's tendency to veer towards repetitive solipsism. Even the title itself references the unwieldy mix of self-actualization and sexualization that bogs down cultural perceptions of the trans experience. It's neither one thing nor t'other, just as much a sly nod to dissociative afterparty sloppiness as it is any self-congratulatory pinkwashed grandstanding. The music follows suit, fragmenting familiar sounds, twinned with familiar words, assembled in unfamiliar ways, full of sharp humour, even in the middle of despair. Stories are muddled with phonetics just as dubstep is macrodosed with microtonal drone.










j B4. If [redacted] Thinks He's Having This As A Remix He Can Frankly Do One

Einige nannten Studio, das Projekt der schwedischen Musiker Dan Lissvik und Rasmus Hägg, "das fehlende Glied zwischen The Cure und Lindstrom", Pitchfork hörte Durutti Column und Can, als das Duo sich als Teil einer sich locker entwickelnden Szene entfaltete - zunächst neben dem Label Service (Jens Lekman, The Whitest Boy Alive) und später Sincerely Yours (The Tough Alliance, jj) - und den Boom der 2010er Jahre an der Schnittstelle von elektronischer und psychedelischer Musik, angeführt von Indie-Größen wie Caribou, Four Tet und Darkside, vorwegnahm. "West Coast, ihr bahnbrechendes Debüt aus dem Jahr 2006, fängt eine ferne Romantik der Balearen ein, die auf Krautrock, Disco, Dub und Afrobeat trifft, mit Pop-Lyrik aus dem New Wave, modernisiert von zwei Göteborger Kunsthochschulabsolventen. Sie zitieren DJ Screw, J Dilla und Joy Division sowie fühe 80s Live-DJ-Sets von Beppe Loda, DJ Mozart und Baldelli. Damals auf Vinyl gepresst in limitierter Auflage über ihr eigenes Information-Label und bis heute auf den meisten Streaming-Diensten nicht zu finden. Im Nachglühen des Albums im Jahr 2007 verschwanden Studio hinter einem Berg von Remix-Anfragen (darunter ein Remix für Kylie Minogue, der veröffentlicht wurde) und der Bürokratie des Labels. Eine erweiterte Version des Albums erschien unter dem Titel "Yearbook 1" auf CD und erreichte Platz 23 der Pitchfork-Jahresliste der Top-Alben des Jahres 2007. "West Coast" landete schließlich auf Platz 57 auf der "Best Albums of the Decade"-Liste von FACT Magazine.

f11 FLRNTN, Benjamin Duchenne - "Last Man Standing" (feat Sivan) (1:08)
f12 Nicholas Gunn & Harshil Kamdar - "Here I Am" (feat Alina Renae - Richard Durand remix) (1:08)
f13 DJ TH X TH3 ONE X Sue McLaren - "Everything To Me" (1:08)
f14 Matty Ralph - "Te Adoro" (1:08)
f15 Armin Van Buuren & Vini Vici - "Sarabande" (feat Anna Timofei) (1:08)
f16 Lilly Palmer - "Hare Ram" (1:08)
f17 David Forbes - "Techno Is My Only Drug" (1:08)
f18 Armin Van Buuren - "Blah Blah Blah" (Lilly Palmer remix) (1:08)
f19 Armin Van Buuren - "The Road To Your Destination" (A State Of Trance Year mix 2024 outro) (1:14)

Einige nannten Studio, das Projekt der schwedischen Musiker Dan Lissvik und Rasmus Hägg, "das fehlende Glied zwischen The Cure und Lindstrom", Pitchfork hörte Durutti Column und Can, als das Duo sich als Teil einer sich locker entwickelnden Szene entfaltete - zunächst neben dem Label Service (Jens Lekman, The Whitest Boy Alive) und später Sincerely Yours (The Tough Alliance, jj) - und den Boom der 2010er Jahre an der Schnittstelle von elektronischer und psychedelischer Musik, angeführt von Indie-Größen wie Caribou, Four Tet und Darkside, vorwegnahm. "West Coast, ihr bahnbrechendes Debüt aus dem Jahr 2006, fängt eine ferne Romantik der Balearen ein, die auf Krautrock, Disco, Dub und Afrobeat trifft, mit Pop-Lyrik aus dem New Wave, modernisiert von zwei Göteborger Kunsthochschulabsolventen. Sie zitieren DJ Screw, J Dilla und Joy Division sowie fühe 80s Live-DJ-Sets von Beppe Loda, DJ Mozart und Baldelli. Damals auf Vinyl gepresst in limitierter Auflage über ihr eigenes Information-Label und bis heute auf den meisten Streaming-Diensten nicht zu finden. Im Nachglühen des Albums im Jahr 2007 verschwanden Studio hinter einem Berg von Remix-Anfragen (darunter ein Remix für Kylie Minogue, der veröffentlicht wurde) und der Bürokratie des Labels. Eine erweiterte Version des Albums erschien unter dem Titel "Yearbook 1" auf CD und erreichte Platz 23 der Pitchfork-Jahresliste der Top-Alben des Jahres 2007. "West Coast" landete schließlich auf Platz 57 auf der "Best Albums of the Decade"-Liste von FACT Magazine.

Pittsburgh synth wonder and beatmaker BusCrates presses two brand new tracks onto translucent vinyl for this cutting 7". On the A side, Anda channels her inner Gwen Guthrie on "Drift," with an anthem for the uncompromising types who will never hide their bright burning light. Lifted from BusCrates upcoming EP Altitude, "Drift" finds Buscrates and DJ Epik combining their arsenal of vintage synthesizers to produce a sophisticated, yet lowrider-ready boogie jam that recalls Deodato's overlooked work with the aforementioned Guthrie. On the back side, vinyl-exclusive "Serenity" is an instrumental offering that picks up the pace without disturbing the Minimoog meditation session.

X-Coast unveils 9-track 2xLP The Riviera Collection on his label Riviera Records.

Hot on the heels from remixing instant dance hits such as Shygirl's '4eva' and DJ Gigola's 'La Batteria' and spotted in the studio with adored vocalists Eartheater and Miss Bashful, Serbian-born, NYC-based DJ/producer X-Coast returns with a collection of signature tracks that feel like the lost treasure chest of his dance island.

X-Coast is your favorite DJ's favorite producer, whose tracks you’ve undoubtedly danced to, whether on a massive festival stage or at an intimate, underground rave. Over the past decade, he has quietly but consistently shaped the pulse of dancefloors worldwide, with a distinctive style that traverses genres like house, techno, electro, drum and bass, and trance. This rare versatility has led X-Coast to release on the likes of Mall Grab’s Steel City Dance Discs, Diplo’s Higher Ground, Anetha’s Mama Told Ya and DJ Haus’s Unknown To The Unknown, to name a few.

What sets X-Coast apart is not just his ability to move fluidly between styles but the unique character embedded in every track. His productions have an undeniable warmth and authenticity, often evoking the raw, euphoric spirit of the 90s and 00s rave era. This nostalgic yet forward-thinking approach makes his music feel timeless, effortlessly blending old-school rave energy with modern production techniques. It's a quality that has made him a go-to for DJs across the board, whether they’re playing peak-time techno sets or deep, groovy house sessions.

On The Riviera Collection, released on his own label, Riviera Records, X-Coast opens the vault to reveal a diverse range of tracks that showcase his deep connection to multiple eras of electronic music. This collection reflects the breadth of his eclectic DJ sets, where various sounds and styles converge into a cohesive journey. Each track feels like a contemporary reimagining of a classic moment in dance music history.

From the early 2000s tribal influences layered with X-Coast’s signature chord work on ‘Neapolis,’ to the soaring, synthetic trance energy of ‘Desert Storm,’ and the infectious, camp vibe of the diva house ‘Hold Me Baby,’ the collection takes us on a nostalgic trip back to the origins of rave culture. It echoes a time when DJs crafted a journey through genres, playing everything from house to trance to techno in one seamless night.

The collection’s first hidden gems and long-awaited singles are “Da Boing Boing Trak” and "Put Your Hands Together". Both staples in his sets at iconic venues and festivals like Pitch Music & Arts, fabric, Circoloco, AVA Festival, Melt!, and Intercell, this track has been in high demand among fans, finally seeing its release. With The Riviera Collection, X-Coast continues to cement his status as a versatile producer capable of bridging the gap between past and present, while delivering music that moves crowds everywhere.

Studio, the influential project of Swedish musicians Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg, presents their legendary 2006 debut in remastered form, in partnership with Ghostly International. Available in limited edition "Fog Machine Vinyl", CD, and cassette. "One of the finest pieces of electronic music you'll hear this year.” - The Guardian (2006). Included in year-end best-of write-ups by Pitchfork, FACT Magazine, and Rough Trade. Physical copies have long been out of print for West Coast, and the album has also been notably absent from most streaming services until now.

“Somehow, I knew I wanted to make a conceptual record that, although only imaginary at that point, could represent or define how our city sounded,” says Lissvik of Gothenburg's influence on West Coast. Some called Studio, the project of Swedish musicians Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg, “the missing link between The Cure and Lindstrøm,” Pitchfork heard Durutti Column and Can, as the duo’s story became swept up in a loosely developing scene — adjacent first to the label Service (Jens Lekman, The Whitest Boy Alive) and later Sincerely Yours (The Tough Alliance, jj) — and a precursor to the 2010s boom at the axis of electronic and psychedelic music guided by indie greats like Caribou, Four Tet, and Darkside.

West Coast, their seminal 2006 debut, captured a faraway romanticism of Balearic brushed up against Krautrock, disco, dub, and afrobeat, with pop lyricism lifted from new wave, all made modern by two art school grads in Gothenburg. First pressed in a small vinyl-only run via their own Information label, the album has been notably absent from most streaming services, and the internet’s record of its initial impact is all but fossilized from a bygone blog era, while its sound is simply untraceable to any one moment in music.

Outside of three 7” releases, they’d keep the music to themselves for several more years. In 2005, Hägg remembers, “We got our degrees and were kicked out of our studio spaces so all these recordings were just piled up. A year later we dusted them off and started to deconstruct and assemble them in a more drawn-out fashion.” In the same breadth, they cite DJ Screw, J Dilla, and Joy Division, along with early ‘80s European live DJ sets from the likes of Beppe Loda, Dj Mozart, and Baldelli as reference points.

“The anything-goes mentality was very encouraging and was a big cornerstone to the Studio sound,” says Hägg. “But there’s so much more to the picture, we were not that young then and had lots of musical baggage in our suitcases, the new thing was that we finally let it all come through, not bound by any borders that was often the case with music identity in Sweden during the 90s.” In the afterglow of the record’s 2007 reception, Studio receded from view, clouded behind a mountain of remix requests (including one for Kylie Minogue that saw release) and label bureaucracy. “It’s easy to wish we would have done some proper recordings of our own instead,” Hägg reflects. But both artists, now well into respective careers beyond Studio, have come to peace with West Coast as their most enduring effort together. Lissvik adds, “It serves as a good reminder for me to keep to that decision and promise and to continue exploring and growing

Canadian DJ and producer Marie Davidson releases her latest single “Contrarian,” made in collaboration with Pierre Guerineau and Soulwax via their DEEWEE label. An all-out onslaught of raw circuitry and electronics, “Contrarian” might just be one of Davidson’s finest club cuts to date.

Earlier in the year, Davidson debuted on the legendary DEEWEE imprint with her single Y.A.A.M. (Your Asses Are Mine), reuniting the Belgium powerhouse Soulwax, who previously reworked Davidson’s acclaimed “Work It” anthem

her wittiest and most biting" - DJ Magazine
“raving under surveillance capitalism” - Pitchfork (8.1)
"funny and wonderfully weird." - Bandcamp (Album of the day)
"reaches new heights" - CLASH 8/10
“packed with party-ready bangers” - The Quietus (Album of the week)
“takes on the big room to take down big tech.” - Resident Advisor (RA Recommends)
“a rallying call for a more humane digital future.” - The Skinny ****

Marie Davidson’s album City Of Clowns, effortlessly weaves through crunching techno straight out of 90s Detroit, fired-up circuitboard breakbeats, and skewed club cuts - a body of work which continues the use of her music as a tool to navigate her place in the world, as an artist, as a woman, and as an entertainer. As high concept as it is open-hearted, she pushes the boundaries of electronic music to digest the most urgent questions of our time – and the result is disarmingly human.

“Contrarian" is an all-out onslaught of raw circuitry and electronics and might just be one of Davidson’s finest club cuts to date.

Limited to 500 copies

Einige nannten Studio, das Projekt der schwedischen Musiker Dan Lissvik und Rasmus Hägg, "das fehlende Glied zwischen The Cure und Lindstrom", Pitchfork hörte Durutti Column und Can, als das Duo sich als Teil einer sich locker entwickelnden Szene entfaltete - zunächst neben dem Label Service (Jens Lekman, The Whitest Boy Alive) und später Sincerely Yours (The Tough Alliance, jj) - und den Boom der 2010er Jahre an der Schnittstelle von elektronischer und psychedelischer Musik, angeführt von Indie-Größen wie Caribou, Four Tet und Darkside, vorwegnahm. "West Coast, ihr bahnbrechendes Debüt aus dem Jahr 2006, fängt eine ferne Romantik der Balearen ein, die auf Krautrock, Disco, Dub und Afrobeat trifft, mit Pop-Lyrik aus dem New Wave, modernisiert von zwei Göteborger Kunsthochschulabsolventen. Sie zitieren DJ Screw, J Dilla und Joy Division sowie fühe 80s Live-DJ-Sets von Beppe Loda, DJ Mozart und Baldelli. Damals auf Vinyl gepresst in limitierter Auflage über ihr eigenes Information-Label und bis heute auf den meisten Streaming-Diensten nicht zu finden. Im Nachglühen des Albums im Jahr 2007 verschwanden Studio hinter einem Berg von Remix-Anfragen (darunter ein Remix für Kylie Minogue, der veröffentlicht wurde) und der Bürokratie des Labels. Eine erweiterte Version des Albums erschien unter dem Titel "Yearbook 1" auf CD und erreichte Platz 23 der Pitchfork-Jahresliste der Top-Alben des Jahres 2007. "West Coast" landete schließlich auf Platz 57 auf der "Best Albums of the Decade"-Liste von FACT Magazine.

For the hotly anticipated third release on her critically acclaimed new record label Uppers and Downers, Dr. Rubinstein has tapped one of her favorite producers--Yerevan's Dave N.A.--to take the helm and deliver a smart and stunning rave EP pitched at the intersection of acid and jungle. A prolific producer, adventurous DJ, and co-founder of the ABC Community, Yerevan's collective hub for amplifying breakbeat,jungle, and drum & bass sounds in the Armenian rave community, Dave N.A. is no stranger to Uppers and Downers, just having contributed a vivacious, jungle influenced reinterpretation of Rubi's track "Extacid" to the label's second release, Rubi's Acid Spa Remixes. For the past decade, Dave N.A.'s productions have reliably offered a fresh, frenetic yet finely tuned take on classic rave genres and their acid-drenched antics while exploring the cutting edge of international experimental bass and hard rave idioms. 'XLSoundwaves' proves to be no exception, taking listeners on a boisterous yet atmospheric, tight yet sprawling sonic journey that combines acid, jungle, hard trance, breakbeat, and IDM influences amid a striking wash of captivating, high-definition ambient studio sound design.
'XL Soundwaves' kicks off with "BFLY," an expansive track that features tunneling hard trance 303 lines deftly weaving through bouncy jungle breaks at a sprightly 165, all emerging from and ultimately fading back into an ethereal plenitude of ambient pads punctuated by a soulful, resonant vocal refrain. Next up, "Radiance" offers an infectiously groovy, sidewinding jaunt through cheeky acid breaks that evolves into a crescendo of lush, eyes-to-the-sky ecstasy. "XL," the EP's third offering, brings the heat with fat basslines, frequent turntablist rave licks, and a freaky sense of humor, almost cinematically projected onto a vast horizon of sumptuous strings. The EP comes to closewith "A.I.R.," a thoughtful banger with a mischievous IDM sensibility that sets acid jungle adrift on an ocean of shimmering orchestral sampladelia and ambient synth radiance.
To some, Dave N.A.'s acid jungle opus might seem like an unexpected plot twist in thecuratorial trajectory of Uppers and Downers. Much to the contrary however, the 'XL Soundwaves EP' is a perfect early release, helping to establish the mission of Uppersand Downers as continuing the search across diverse international rave genres, traditions, and communities for producers and productions that resonate with Dr.Rubinstein's lifelong pursuit of soundtracking her ideal rave: one that offers ravers access to an ecstatic, joyful, affirmative, and inclusive sense of home, of feeling at homewith both oneself and one another through the music.

An Avrin returns to Scuffed Recordings with four new originals and a remix from Sonia Calico.

An Avrin has been a firm favourite of the UK label since his 2019 appearance on the Scuffed Presents Vol.3 compilation with the track ‘Cave People’, which saw heavy rotation from DJs like Ross From Friends and rRoxymore. Returning to Scuffed the following year with the ‘Clodhopper’ EP, the London-based producer further developed his wobbly, esoteric sound, which draws extensively from a range of electronic influences.

Since then, An Avrin’s catalogue has become a go-to for under-the-radar club heat, with a string of self-released EPs and an appearance on Bristol’s Slippery Sounds marking him out as a vital name to watch.

The ‘Parisian Pitstop’ EP is his second release on Scuffed, and sees An Avrin building on his previous work while also expanding his horizons into different tempos and styles.

The A-side opens with the one-two of the title track - which is as good a primer on An Avrin’s sound as it’s possible to have - and ‘Stumbler’, both high-impact tracks with raucous breaks bouncing off warped vocals and relentless bass.

On the B-side is ‘Plata’, which builds tension with more melodic elements, before crashing into thunderous kicks and glitchy grooves. An Avrin ups the ante on ‘Is It?’, the last of the four originals on the EP, and the highest tempo of the bunch.

Taiwan-based producer Sonia Calico rounds off the release with her remix of ‘Plata’, a rowdy rework that pits grimey bass up against intense, rolling percussion.

Early DJ support has come from Surgeon, Emerald, Naina, Ciel, and Louise Chen.

Rhythm Section International, the impossible-to-define label founded in South East London by Bradley Zero in 2014 has reached the ripe old age of 10 years.Spanning 6 discs and 30 tracks, the compilation begins by taking us on a walk down memory lane and presenting one track from each year of the labels output

Rhythm Section International, the impossible-to-define label founded in South East London by Bradley Zero in 2014 has reached the ripe old age of 10 years. Funny thing is, it feels like it could have been almost double that. It’s hard to imagine the Landscape of the London music scene without this foundational force whose influence is felt more than ever.

With this special anniversary release, the label takes stock at this milestone to present a compilation in 3 parts: PAST, RE-IMAGINED AND FUTURE: honouring the labels tradition of always paying homage to what has come before while setting sights firmly forwards.

With 100-odd releases in their extended back catalogue covering every imaginable style and boasting influence in every inhabited continent on earth, it’s been quite a decade for the independent label, which began on a shoestring budget with funds made via the now legendary Rhythm Section pool hall parties in Peckham.

From humble beginnings to an era defining output - few would have predicted the slow and steady rise of the imprint and the impact it has had on generations of Dj’s, musicians and listeners - at home and abroad.

Spanning 6 discs and 30 tracks, the compilation begins by taking us on a walk down memory lane and presenting one track from each year of the labels output - highlighting some forgotten classics from the archives over the first 2 discs. For discs 3 & 4, the label invited it’s stable of artists to pick a track from the back catalogue to re-imagine in their own style. This process resulted in some incredibly playful contributions from the likes of Ruf Dug, Session Victim and Private Joy - whose playful reinterpretations add new depth to old material.

Finally, the last 2 discs are entirely new material for 2024, carrying the torch of the previous SHOUTS compilations - whose sole aim is to shine light on new music from emerging artists

Following up on the Hayal EP in 2023, Dutch techno refractor Konduku makes a welcome return to Bitta with another four cuts of prismatic club fuel. Throughout his consistent output Ruben Uvez applies non-standard ideas to the techno formula, toying with rhythm and eliciting transcendental atmospheres from unusual patterns. This mode of exploration continues unabated on Gazoz, with the title track in particular leaning on a full-frequency, one-note synth pulse which dominates the mix and becomes truly hypnotic in its relentless presence. In the wrong hands it would come off garish, but ?vez knows how to weave subtlety around such forthright sonics to create a sublime sonic experience. 'Mikros' aligns with Konduku's more recognisable palette -- taut, bell-like rhythmic threads that balance delicacy and impact while tunnelling into mysterious, introspective zones. Aimed squarely at the heads-down section of the night, 'Luna' strides forth with a decisive dub techno palette and finds space for expression and progression in the most linear of arrangements. In true B2 style, 'Inici' rounds the EP out with a more fractured approach centred on reversed kicks and psychoactive arps riding wide and slow pitch bends for a mind-melting finish running at a formidable pace. As well as showcasing Konduku at his best, the sound on Gazoz serves as an extension of Bitta boss DJ Nobu's own particular tastes in techno -- brain-tweaking machine music crafted from supple parts, honed for the club without being limited by it.

Darwin Chamber and DJ Spun unite for a bold four-tracker here that draws on all their decades of experience to push the boundaries of trance and techno. This self-titled release is nostalgic without sacrificing innovation and opens with 'Find The Missing Letter,' a dub-tinged techno builder with hypnotic synths. 'Digits' follows with relentless beats and dark, robotic energy. The sultry 'Do It All Night' anchors the EP with a seductive groove, while 'Ants' closes with mid-tempo warmth and acidic undertones. Combining Darwin Chamber's engineering expertise and DJ Spun's club culture mastery, this one is perfectly pitched for dancefloor mayhem.

Lara Sarkissian’s long-awaited debut full-length, ‘Remnants’ is an ornate patchwork of ancient and modern sonic shapes that uses the vernacular of electronic music to reformulate Armenian traditions and memories. Taking digitally modeled instruments (such as the kanun, a large zither, and the duduk, an ancient double reed woodwind instrument), vocals, davul and dhol drums, tenor saxophone (from acclaimed Paris-based player Adrien Soleiman) and myriad electronic elements and techniques, Sarkissian tangles the old and the new, creating an immersive, narrative-driven experience that’s powered by history, mythology and her own familial connection to the West Asian landscape. It’s an album that’s best absorbed like a film; only multiple encounters can reveal its layered themes and references to industrial music, noise, various club styles, ambient and traditional folk.

Born and raised in San Francisco and currently based in Los Angeles, Sarkissian has developed her unique approach to composition over years of relentless experimentation across various disciplines. Her interest in music production initially stemmed from her filmmaking and video editing work, when she began to sculpt her own sound collages and scores to accompany the visuals. Since then, she’s constantly blurred the boundary between dance and experimental music, DJing around the world, producing AV installations and scoring film and video projects that have been exhibited in Berlin’s Gropius Bau, Montréal’s Musée d’art contemporain, the Music Center Los Angeles and other prestigious institutions, and releasing music with labels such as Tresor, Knekelhuis, All Centre, Silva Electronics and CLUB CHAI, the label and event series she co-founded. In recent years, she’s also been able to advance the theory behind her art, publishing a conversation with ethnomusicologist Sylvia Alajaji in the Journal of the Society of Armenian Studies in 2021, and unveiling her methodology in Norient’s ‘This Track Contains Politics – The Culture of Sampling in Experimental Electronica’ a year later.

‘Remnants’ is a new stage in Sarkissian’s evolution as an artist; not only is it her first proper album, but it’s the inaugural release on her new platform btwn Earth+Sky. She sees the label as a place to encourage collaborations between musicians and producers and prioritize sound in visual arts realms, and ‘Remnants’ is the ideal proof of concept. It opens with ‘Heaven, or Paradise; and Hell’, a track that’s inspired by the layout of the Armenian sharakan (or hymn) ‘Aravot Luso’. Sarkissian imagines the original piece’s harmonies and melodies as parts of a dreamy electronic opera, using digital kanun sounds to punctuate her woozy, evocative synths. Soleimen joins on tenor sax in the third act, while Sarkissian repeats the chant and Jace Akira adds ghostly traces of electric guitar and bass. And on the rousing ‘Our Dead Can’t Rest (Old Jugha Flute Dance)’, Sarkissian chops urgent davul and dhol drum rhythms with spine-chilling shvi woodwind sounds lifted from a documentary about Old Jugha. The title is a reference to the moving of graves by Armenian families; the area initially housed over 10,000 elaborately carved khachkars (cross stones), one of which is pictured on the album’s cover, provided by historian Argam Aivazian’s archive.

On ‘Miracle’, Sarkissian samples atmospheres from the post-Soviet Armenian comedy film ‘Կիսանդրի’ (Kisandri). She takes this opportunity to lighten the mood a little, powdering her smudged samples with tightly edited breaks and bass thumps. It’s not until the album’s middle section that the duduk, perhaps Armenia’s best-known instrument, makes its appearance. Its familiar reedy tones, popularized by Djivan Gasparyan on his many Hollywood soundtrack appearances, emerge on ‘Unraveling (Interlude)’, weaving through the acidic ‘Zephyr’ and ‘Far from the eye far from the Heart’, a post-punk inspired stomper. Sarkissian mutates the instrument almost beyond recognition, pitching and layering it into a voice-like wail that creeps between her woody, dancefloor-primed percussion on the former, and turning it into a gentle, ghostly moan on the latter. And she brings ‘Remnants’ to a close with two of her most cryptic tracks, marrying digital kanun strings with Soleiman’s resonant tenor hums on ‘What Solace Can I Give’, and looping the same saxophone sounds until they dissolve into the air on the beatless closer ‘…nothing matters more than touching you although i haven’t touched you yet’.

It’s an album that ties up Sarkissian’s various interests and experiences, finding a romantic, poetic glimmer of light in history’s darkness. But most of all, ‘Remnants’ is about the optimism of starting anew, and rebuilding a life from the pieces of everything that’s been left behind.

Coming off a successful transatlantic exchange, Brian Kage and his Michigander label keep the momentum, and the collaborative spirit, moving with an EP that hits closer to home. For any Detroit artist, working with Delano Smith would be on the bucket list, as one of the city's original, more influential DJs — before the D developed any of its "waves" — who would come into his own as a producer later to, once again, help mold the Techno City's sound. Make no mistakes about it, this tastemaker had a ripple effect back before techno even had a name, when it was just "progressive" music and mixing. The thing is, the feeling of admiration and respect here is mutual, from the moment Smith first stumbled across one of Kage's records and had to know who was making these sounds. This meeting of the minds happened organically and timely, with Keep 'em Movin’ as the result.

Opening the release is the title track, a driving number with pulsating synth tones and deep, call and response piano stabs. The ever so slightly pitched down vocals are modern and effortlessly cool, a style that resonates with today's dancefloors, but done tastefully, and with lyrical content that sets the record straight about what it really means to represent Detroit.

"D Spirit" takes an ancestral turn. This is spaced-out Detroit techno meets afro deep at its finest. Forward moving keys are bathed in deep, celestial pads as shuffling hats accented by light hand percussion beckon the body to move. Lively marimbas cut through the hypnotic undertones and awaken the senses with soulful appeal. A fluid bassline rumbles beneath while baroque pianos add tension and heighten the atmosphere.

The final track rounds the release out with an exclamation mark. For lovers of Delano Smith's infamous remix of "A

2024 Repress

“Live at Sound City” is an instrumental collaboration between bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Blake Mills, and LA-based saxophonist Sam Gendel. Recorded in one day at the legendary Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, the EP presents new versions of compositions from Palladino & Mills’ Grammy-nominated 2021 album “Notes with Attachments” in an intimate chamber trio setting. Across four tracks, the accomplished trio explores common musical vocabularies, then goes about the work of defamiliarizing them in search of something new, blending the sounds of West African and Cuban music, jazz, R&B, English folk, pop, and beyond.

Pino Palladino is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer and bassist who helped create the rhythm-section sound of D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Black Messiah, and over a four-decade career has worked with artists including Keith Richards, Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Nine Inch Nails, Questlove, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and Adele.

Blake Mills is a two-time Grammy Awards Producer of the Year nominee. He has released four solo albums and produced and recorded with artists such as Alabama Shakes, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, John Legend, Perfume Genius, Jim James, Moses Sumney, Laura Marling, Phoebe Bridgers, Cass McCombs, The Killers, Sara Bareilles, Weyes Blood and Randy Newman. His most recent album Mutable Set, released last year, was praised by Pitchfork as “a hushed collection that floats through the subconscious like a tender dream,” and earned their Best New Music title.

Sam Gendel is a musician living in Los Angeles, CA. He is most known for his work with the saxophone, though he is proficient on multiple instruments. His work is diverse and includes collaborations with a wide range of artists including Ry Cooder, Laurie Anderson, Mach-Hommy, Sam Amidon, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Knower, Vampire Weekend, and inc. no world.

Banoffee Pies Originals continue with the 26th release in the series. D. Tiffany returns to the imprint with another collab outing, this time partnering with Ciel as the duo combine under their Psychedelic Budz moniker. Two of Canadas finest deliver two dynamic, off kilter club hitters with a special appearance from Adam Pits under his Lil Mushroom alias. Heavy and versatile productions for dance floor rotation from artists who have carefully honed their craft.

Berlin based, D. Tiffany of Vancouver, is a DJ, Producer and label boss at Planet Euphorique. Now returning to the Banoffee imprint following their Plushmanagements inc insert with regularfantasy back in 2016. A welcomed entry from prog trance revivalist who’s essential output continues to blossom.

Toronto based multi disciplinary artist Ciel whose contributions to the music sphere remain committed to diversity, inclusivity & community with a prolific career as a producer, DJ, pianist & composer ++ They’ve found involvement across groundbreaking projects like Discwoman, co founded label Parallel Minds & released notable contributions to labels such as !K7, Peach Discs, Coastal Haze & UU, all while continuing their monthly position as a Rinse FM resident.

Gavin Vanaelst runs the space Aboli Bibelot in Antwerp where exhibitions and musical performances can happen side to side with dealings in centuries-old furniture and unique pieces of folk art or volkskunst. Gavin makes music under the aliases DJ Charme, Kassett and So Sorry. This is the first album under his birth name. Takeaway Loops cycles back to the days when Gavin was working as a courier for .

is a food delivery company. Their couriers - ehm, brand ambassadors, as the company prefers to call them - dressed in bright orange, they race their bikes around the city. They deliver meals and groceries for all sorts. Thanks to them, the privileged can stay tucked in their private spaces. Interaction between the two groups - the privileged and the brand ambassadors - is mostly kept to the bare minimum. And sparse communications are often driven by annoyances - “my Coke is warm because you kept it too close to the French Fries.” And on the streets the general public dis-approaches the brand ambassadors with pity. We tell our peers: “That’s not a good job,” and “stay away from the Sharing Economy.” Because, you know, in our capitalistic dollhouse we all stand our grounds and play our parts wholeheartedly.

During his shifts for , Gavin recorded location sounds on his phone at fast food restaurants while waiting on the orders he had to pick up and deliver. Later in his home studio Gavin added piano and electronics to this source material. The result: a gloomy soundtrack for a shadow world. Seven songs in evening blue with a bright orange glare.

A few years ago, our favorite Belgian publishing house Het Balanseer released Seizoenarbeid by Heike Geissler (available in English trough Semiotext(e)). Geissler writes about her job at Amazon in Leipzig. Because her writing and freelance work did not pay the bills any longer, she was forced towards this underprivileged shadow-world of unwanted jobs. Seizoenarbeid shed a light on freedom in an unfree world. A monument of ‘we are all in this, but not together’. Takeaway Loops gives us a similar peak in a world that is at the same time so visible, but then also very veiled for many. A world that we prefer to use, yet that most of us prefer not to see - a world that we don’t like to enter.

Last year at Harbourland subway station in Kobe i was mesmerized by its sound design, created by Hiroshi Yoshimura. For each part of the subway station he composed a short phrase. While walking trough the station, a full composition grows in your head. The looping melodies guide you trough a microworld. Trough a blue world of commuters, of the homeless, of the lonely, of the fast paced, of the tourist. Gavin creates a similar effect with Takeaway Loops. The tonality somehow corresponds to Yoshimura’s work. Yet instead of being guided trough a building, we are now taken to the after dark. You feel the concrete evening heat of the city. You hear the rain. Stiff fingers during cold winters’ nights. You are alone on the bike, cruising. Your maps app telling you where to go. You just left the fake leather bench of the well-lit pastiche interior of a fast food restaurant.

Next order, number ECN44! Please wait outside, sir?

third album, "Magic Seeds". The record represents his most personal and collaborative work and blends live recordings and analogue synths to create an organic, rhythmic sound reminiscent of trip-hop and hip-hop.

"Magic Seeds" explores themes of growth and reconnection, featuring unexpected musical moments and influences from 90s electronic music to neoclassical. Tracks like "Smoke in the Air" and "Inner Child" highlight his ability to balance emotional peaks with deep, moody atmospheres. The album’s dynamic range and authenticity reflect James's commitment to musical freedom and societal reflection, making it a compelling sonic collage of his recent experiences.

Over the past few years, Leifur James has steadily built a reputation as a vital new voice in electronic music on both sides of the Atlantic. He’s played prestigious London venues like the Barbican and Village Underground in London and toured Europe, as well as being named Pitchfork and KCRW’s ‘best new music’ in the US, and his music has been championed by the likes of tastemakers Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Bradley Zero and actor Cillian Murphy, and from BBC 6Music to NTS via KCRW and RMC Italia. James has also enjoyed further flagship press support from Consequence of Sound, Clash, CRACK, Passion of the Weiss, XLR8R, Complex, MixMag, DJ Mag, The Vinyl Factory, and more

‘Trust The Stars’ is the brilliant new album by Chicago-based The O’My’s that comes via HiyaSelf Recordings – the label founded by legendary DJ & producer Nightmares On Wax.

Comprising of Chicago natives Nick Hennessey and Maceo Vidal-Haymes – the duo channel their experiences into gritty, genre-bending music that grabs listeners with its sound & forms a rich palette of sonic influences through soul, hip-hop, lo-fi, alt-R&B, jazz & washed-out psychedelia.

Having worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Chance the Rapper, Noname, Saba, and Mick Jenkins, the new album is no different - featuring a host of esteemed collaborations including tracks with Children of Zeus’ Konny Kon; the incredible poet & singer Jamila Woods, fast becoming a leading light in the alt-R&B & neo-soul scenes; and the Pitchfork championed Southern rapper Pink Siifu.

Born out of a period of experimentation and endless creation, the forthcoming album explores themes of love, loss, and personal rediscovery, with a maturity and depth that reflects the duo's years of experience.

Die Wahl-New-Yorkerin Yaeji hat sich in den letzten Jahren als Produzentin, Sängerin und DJ mit ihren introspektiven Dance-Floor-Hymnen eine ganz eigene Nische geschaffen. Nach der Veröffentlichung ihrer Debüt-EPs, sowie den Singles "Raingurl" und "Drink I"m Sippin On" in 2017, war sie auf Charli XCXs 2019er Album "Charli" zu hören, remixte Songs für Dua Lipa oder Robyn, kollaborierte mit dem Seouler-Künstler OHHYUK, verkaufte weltweite Headline-Touren aus und eröffnete ihren eigenen Lifestyle Webstore JI-MART. Ihr Sound und ihre Einflüsse sind dabei so vielschichtig wie ihre Herkunft. Geboren im Jahr 1993 in New York reicht ihr Stammbaum von Seoul über Tokyo bis nach Atlanta - Einflüsse die sich in ihrer Musik in Form von koreanischem Indie-Rock und Electronica, 2000er Hip-Hop, sowie Leftfield Bass und Techno wiederfinden. Mit ihrem 2020er Mixtape "WHAT WE DREW“ schärfte Yaeji noch mal ihre Vision als Musikerin, die kreativ losgelöst von Sprachen Genre-Grenzen zu sprengen vermag - kein Wunder, dass sie daraufhin von Pitchfork 2022 zu einer der "25 Artists Shaping the Future of Music" ernannt wurde. Die nahe Zukunft wird sie ebenfalls prägen. Schließlich erscheint am 7. April nun endlich das Debütalbum "With A Hammer" bei XL Recordings. Entstanden innerhalb von zwei Jahren in New York, Seoul und London kurz nach der Veröffentlichung des Mixtapes und während den Lockdowns ist es eine Ode an die Erforschung ihrer selbst, setzte sie sich doch dabei mit ihren eigenen Emotionen auseinander - besonders mit ihrer eigenen, in ihr brodelnden Wut. Während sie textlich zwischen englisch und koreanisch springt, nutzt sie erstmals auch Live-Instrumente, sei es in Form von einem Ensemble an Musikern oder auch zum ersten Mal sie selbst an der Gitarre. "With A Hammer" beinhaltet darüber hinaus auch Features der Produzenten und engen Verbündeten K Wata und Enayet, sowie Gast-Vocals der Londonerin Loraine James und von Nourished by Time aus Baltimore.

REMASTERED AND REISSUED!!! GIRL TALK’s (aka GREGG GILLIS) third album on Illegal Art! Night Ripper is focused less on beat-fuckery and more on bringing heat to the party than previous outings. Hip hop hits, soft rock radio standards, party classics, grunge masterpieces, R&B singles, glossy club-shakers and rock anthems are all layered and placed together into one nonstop celebration of pop and excess. Night Ripper was awarded “Best New Music” by Pitchfork, and has made many proclaim Girl Talk the next Danger Mouse. “One endlessly entertaining mega mash-up”—Rolling Stone.

Xylitol is the alias of Catherine Backhouse, producer and DJ under the name DJ Bunnyhausen. She was a resident DJ at Kosmische, the now dormant Krautrock club and is a fan of jungle and hardcore. She currently co-hosts the radio show Slav To The Rhythm, which focuses on vintage central and eastern European pop and electronica and she's also co-writing a book on Yugoslavian pop culture. 'Anemones' is a total project from the cover to the music. Backhouse is fascinated by early botanical illustrations of anemones and other aquatic fauna, and how the act of taxonomy reveals as much about human psychology, desire and sublimation as it does about the organic specimen as a thing in itself. Each track is a microcosm of this 'other life', an allegory for the extraordinary potential latent within bodies that the dancefloor has the power to activate. Using early jungle and garage as starting points to connect dots and open up contrasts between dance music and vintage electronics, Backhouse finds a sweet spot which, in her words "feels like something that's simultaneously still and ancient yet propulsive and ecstatic." Not afraid of letting the the hiss and flutter of the music show, 'Anemones' holds attention with ancient bubbling synths and gracefully drifting arpeggiations, occasionally brought to heel by charming melodies, all accompanied by breakbeats that explode like fireworks. 'Anemones' has a lively and unpolished aesthetic that's a kindred spirit to Nondi_'s 2023 album of smeary, water-damaged footwork, 'Flood City Trax'. 'Moebius' pits the spaced out neon chords of the track's namesake against absolutely tearing breaks, allowing time for this almost overwhelming combination to become near enough transcendental, while the bleeping melody and sad slavic chorus motif in 'Okko' feels like an artifact from an alternative future. The Drexciya meets 2-step garage of 'Dobro Jutro' creates a welcome respite at the album's midpoint before the flow builds up again to 'Daša' with its glassy sounds from a lost radiophonic workshop miniature meeting bruising kicks and snares. Meanwhile 'Iskria' has purring synth chords and 8-bit melodies evoking the cosmonaut age. The subliminal influence of the Yugo era is felt in DIY synthesis and Mitteleuropean melody and seen in song titles such as 'Jelena', 'Miha', 'Daša' (named after novelist Daša Drndič) and 'Iskria' (taken from the fictitious Balkan region in Ottessa Moshfegh's bleak fable 'Lapvona'). 'Anemones' very effectively folds experimental genres from different times and places into a very enjoyable new sound.

Timeless soul, 'Cool Cool' is the standout title track from James Alexander Bright's recent album. It's an immediately enchanting gem, with tendermusicianship and a stripped back production highlighting James' voice, pitchedsomewhere between Eddie Chacon, Beck and Michael McDonald. Athens of theNorth's in-house band East Coast Love Affair add a delightfully psychedelic Balearicpiquancy with an beautiful dub version on the flip.

'Cool Cool' has been enjoying a plethora of worldwide support; seeing James insession for Gilles Peterson, suppling a Block Party mix for Huey Morgan, interviewedby Bandcamp Weekly, and played across tastemaker shows on stations includingBBC 6 Music, FIP, Jazz FM, KCRW, KEXP, Les Inrocks, NTS, Soho Radio, Triple R,WDET, WNXP.

The past six years has seen James release a veritable treasure trove of music:'Mallorca' and 'Strange Folk' EPs, debut album 'Headroom', joyous second 'Float', analbum of collaborations and reworks with cosmic Americana-disco DJ/producer duoFlying Mojito Bros, and a new project with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Bright &Findlay. 'Cool Cool', his third solo album since 2020, was released on 26th July 2024.

Warped and dragged through the murky underbelly of the Levantine underground comes 'Volume 1' the x-rated left-field debut from the pseudonymous DJ GAWAD.

Via pitched up vocals dripping with delay, DJ GAWAD takes us on a tour of the region's most urgent artists, his interjections oscillating between cocky boast and frustrated lament.

Through this new persona, DJ GAWAD pulls back the curtain to reveal himself as the protagonist of the mixtape-like album, as replete with features as it is with expletives, an enigmatic ghoul in the back of the studio with an endless supply of broken sample flips, giving the album its old school feel while still speaking to contemporary hip hop aesthetics.

A Jordanian/Palestinian Memphis gangster rap parody par excellence, the album is infused with satirical commentary on the state of the contemporary music scene, yet DJ GAWAD shows as much as he tells, expertly fashioning a sound that makes you wonder about the identity of the artist behind the braggadocious persona of the self-titled "best producer in the Middle East."

Drawing heavily from the Memphis rap mixtapes of the mid 1990s, DJ GAWAD has clearly identified the same brooding atmosphere in his own surroundings. On Mat3'anish (feat. Bleng & Fara7) DJ GAWAD makes his most explicit reference to the Memphis sound, twisting the hallmark cowbells that defined that movement to reflect the equally raw nature of his own setting.

Similarly, in Bandana (feat. Jurum), DJ GAWAD finds the perfect tension between his romantic sampling tendencies and the brutal sensibilities of his featured artist. As if liberated by DJ GAWAD's anonymity and irreverence, his menagerie of artists appear to have been emboldened, embracing the obscene free naturedness of the album, setting their lyrical prowess free to wander.

No expense was spared in the post production treatment of DJ GAWAD's debut, with Iraqi-American artist Mark Gergis incorporating the Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck in the mastering process, as is evidenced by the crisp saturation of the album's sonics.

Uptempo funk-soul ’Vou Morar No Teu Sorriso’ is a real favourite of ours and a regular spin in DJ sets. Tough drums, breaks and percussion, big vocals, horns and bass.
Taken from their self-titled LP from 1971.
Dancefloor Samba-funk-MPB business on ’Quem Vai Querer’,
originally released in 1977 on RCA.
A rolling samba groove, layered percussion and a lovely lead vocal from Eliana build into a big chorus and increased drum pressure!

Warehouse Find!

Swedish DJ/Producer Christian Nielsen debuts on Maceo Plex's Ellum imprint with the ‘Love Struck’ EP this May.

The four track EP continues a strong start to 2020 with releases from Raxon and Avision and, true to the label’s form, is all about weighty, characterful cuts from Nielsen, an artist who has previously chalked up releases for the likes of Kompakt, Of Unsound Mind and Play it Down.

The titular opener of ‘Love Struck’ is a swaggering, low slung affair with a growling bassline underpinning a pitch shifted vocal refrain and piercing rave stabs - a mutant beast which fuses techno, Garage and rave aesthetics in anthemic style. The skeletal rhythms and gritty acid flair of ‘For Myself’ follow in a track that, through some nifty builds, manages to pull off a big room energy as much as it does a basement vibe. ’Switch’ is next up and, with a rock solid groove, vocal sample and subaquatic tones, displays just how well Nielsen can create a monster with few elements. The heaviest track, ‘Pulse’, rounds off ‘Love Struck’ with a huge, padding kick drum and resonant percussive lead doing the heavy lifting while counterpointed by judiciously employed warm, cossetting jazz flute licks

Auf klassisch schwarzem Vinyl! DJ T-KUT und DJ PLAYER präsentieren hier mit stolz geschwellter Brust ein essentielles Tool für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene DJs. Hier lässt sich endlos das Scratchen üben. 24 geloopte Tracks mit zwei verschiedenen Schnelligkeiten - 99.99bpm und 133.33bpm für Ultra Pitch.

Auf klassisch schwarzem Vinyl! DJ T-KUT und DJ PLAYER präsentieren hier mit stolz geschwellter Brust ein essentielles Tool für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene DJs. Hier lässt sich endlos das Scratchen üben. 24 geloopte Tracks mit zwei verschiedenen Schnelligkeiten - 99.99bpm und 133.33bpm für Ultra Pitch.

Wer die Leoniden auch nur ein einziges Mal auf einer Bühne hat performen sehen, wird sich noch lange
erinnern: An surreal glückselige Gesichter auf und vor der Stage, an breite Sound-Kulissen, an solidarische
Circle Pits, Salto-Schläge, experimentelle Synth-Verrenkungen und zirkulierende Gitarren. Der überbordende, von Punk-Spirit getragene Live-Moment bildet seit Tag eins das Zentrum der Band-DNA. Lennart
und Felix Eicke, Jakob Amr, Marike Winkelmann und Djamin Izadi verbreitern die eigene Nische, erhalten
den subkulturellen Geist früher Tage, hieven das Indiepop-Postpunk-Synthgrunge-Ding auf’s nächste Level
und transformieren mit »Sophisticated Sad Songs« kollektives Unbehagen in Sekunden gemeinschaftlichen
Glücksgefühls.
Und damit wären wir beim Leoniden-Paradoxon. Die Lieder des Kieler Fünfgespanns sind maximal tanzbar
und für die größtmöglichen Bühnen prädestiniert. Im direkten Kontrast dazu transportieren dieselben Stücke
auf lyrischer Ebene fast immer negative, weltverschmerzte Gedanken, die nur darauf warten, im kollektiven
Tanzrausch ertränkt zu werden. Musikmachen war und ist für die Leoniden immer Selbsttherapie, Ausdruck und Ventil der eigenen Verkopftheit, kathartisches Dampf-Ablassen - das macht sie ja erst so stark,
so mitreißend. In der anstehenden Festivalsaison wird das Quintett einmal mehr über Bühnen klettern und
hunderte Individuen im Moshpit verknäulen lassen - mit seinem neuen, vierten Album »Sophisticated Sad
Songs«.

Following a string of releases on a who’s who of top labels such as Planet Euphorique, Salt Mines, Haws and Craigie Knowes, prog-trance pioneer Lisene drops a full-length LP on his On Rotation imprint. With 8 hyper-detailed tracks ranging from club-focused techno, progressive and electro to slo-mo downtempo, Lisene brings his A-game to an album sure to cement his place as one of the most exciting producers and DJs in the UK’s underground music scene.

Created over several years with a perfectionist’s attention to detail, “Science Friction” flits between moods and sonic environments with ease while retaining the cohesion of Lisene’s inimitable production style. Despite being an album, this is still very much a record for the DJs, featuring heads-down club tracks and bass-heavy electro crafted with precision and a cinematic sense of scale. For the home listeners, expansive slo-mo soundscapes and cerebral synth odysseys float high above the clouds, with widescreen details revealing themselves ever further with each re-play.

“This album has been 15 years in the making and represents a culmination of everything I’ve worked towards in defining my own sound and style without letting myself be pigeonholed. I’m immensely proud of each track - it really reflects where I was at musically while making this, while giving a glimpse into my future sound. This is a record that deserves to be played on the finest sound systems and hi-fis, and I couldn’t be more happy with how it’s turned out. Dive in and enjoy!”

Combining influences from across the spectrum of dance music with a cinematic sense of psychedelia and his own inimitable production skills, “Science Friction” is sure to see a lot of airtime across the festivals, after-parties and living rooms of the world this summer and beyond.

On Rotation is a Leeds based label, event & mix series run by Chris I’Anson, Lisene & Adam Pits. Artwork illustrated and designed by Patch D Keyes.

Co-Accused return for their second release of 2024 with a hand picked V/A sharing sounds from some of the label’s favourite electro and techno producers. Underground legends and fearsome up-and-comers come on board to the Glasgow based label with Luke’s Anger, SOD-90, Steve Allman, Mal_Hombre andParand delivering tracks. CR006 VA is selected for the dancefloor, tried and tested in Co- accused's own DJ sets.

Luke’s Anger launches the EP with some up for it wonky business in ‘Choplifter’. From one of the masters of the wonky techno sound Luke’s Anger continues in full form with his tight yet askew playful
beats. SOD-90 comes in next with ‘Saving Up For Botox’ with his fearless punk take on the electro sound - his own brand of high intensity atmospherics mixed with distorted synth lines, vocals and kicking breaks. Cultivated Electronics’ Steve Allman leads the B Side with ‘This Is Not A Dream’ calling on driving hoover bass and haunting synths in classic UK electro style. For the B2 Mal_Hombre takes the EP down a deeper and more spatial path with ‘Triangulation’ with delicately detailed and propulsive techno, a long time friend of the label whose debut album Andromeda Outpost released on Jeff Mill’s iconic Axis Records. Topping the whole thing off Berlin based producer and Avoidant alumni Parand delivers the final hit with Bloc - a powerful, pitch black, driving heads down moment.