Search:double beat

Black Truffle’s documentation of the prolific recent work of legendary American composer Alvin Lucier continues with Works for the Ever Present Orchestra. This is a very special release for the composer, as it presents pieces written for the thirteen-member Ever Present Orchestra, formed in 2016 exclusively to perform Lucier’s works. At the heart of the ensemble are four electric guitars, an instrument Lucier began composing for in 2013 with Criss-Cross (recorded by two core members of the Ever Present Orchestra, Oren Ambarchi and Stephen O’Malley, for whom it was composed, on Black Truffle 033). Through the use of e-bows, the guitars take on a role akin to the slow sweep pure wave oscillators heard in many of Lucier’s works since the early 1980s, but with added harmonic richness. Like much of Lucier’s instrumental music, the pieces recorded here focus on acoustic phenomena, especially beating patterns, produced by the interference between closely tuned pitches. The work presented here is some of the richest and most inviting that Lucier has composed. Though all of the pieces clearly belong to the same continuing exploration of the behaviour of sound in physical space and make use of related compositional devices, each takes on a strikingly different character. Titled Arc, for the full ensemble of four guitars, four saxophones, four violins, piano and bowed glockenspiel inhabits a world of sliding, uneasy tones, punctuated by a single piano note. Where Double Helix, for four guitars, rests on a pillow of warm, low hum, EPO-5, for two guitars, saxophone, violin, and glockenspiel possess a limpid, crystalline quality. Accompanying the four new compositions are two adaptations of existing pieces for radically different instrumentation, demonstrating Lucier’s excitement about the new possibilities suggested by this dedicated ensemble. Works for the Ever Present Orchestra is an essential document of the current state of Lucier’s continuing exploration, as well as offering a seductive entry-point for anyone who might yet be unacquainted with his singular body of work.

Presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with cover artwork and liner notes from Alvin Lucier. Includes a download code featuring hi-res vesions of the LP material. The download code also includes the bonus Adaptions for the Ever Present Orchestra featuring two pieces (“Two Circles” and “Braid”) that are not included on the LP version. Mastered by Rashad Becker. Design by Lasse Marhaug.

On Sunset features ten classic yet modern Paul Weller songs. On Sunset is a soul album. At the same time it’s also an electronic album, an orchestral album, an album packed with masterly pop songs and heart-tugging ballads, and an album filled with touches of experimentalism. It’s also an album that sees Weller taking a rare glance into the rear-view mirror as he speeds into the 2020s. Most of the album sees Weller multi-tasking on various instruments with accompaniment from his regular band - Ben Gordelier appears on all tracks and Andy Crofts on most whilst Steve Cradock pops up with his guitar on 4 songs. An eclectic and sometimes surprising gathering of guests appear on On Sunset including Slade’s Jim Lea contributing violin to the Bonzos-esque “Equanimity”, and Paul’s old Style Council chum Mick Talbot adds his signature Hammond Organ sound to 3 tracks. The beautifully lush “More” features a verse sung by French singer Julie Gros, from the band Le Superhomard (whose album Meadow Lane Park was one of Weller’s favourites of 2019) as well as the return of The Strype’s guitarist Josh McClorey. English folk trio The Staves contribute backing vocals for 3 tracks. Once again Hannah Peel sprinkles her magic over the album with string arrangements and The Paraorchestra were invited to add their expertise to 4 tracks. Formats include Black double Gatefold Heavyweight LP, a CD Mintpack and a Deluxe Hardback CD version with additional tracks.

Two guitar legends - Eric Clapton and B.B. King - first performed together in NYC in 1967. Over 30 years later, in 1999, the two longtime friends joined forces to create a collection of all new studio recordings of blues classics and contemporary songs. The resulting album Riding with the King would be released in June 2000 and go onto sell over 4 million copies globally and win a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this classic album, two additional previously unreleased tracks have been added: The blues standard “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” and a cover of Willie Dixon’s “Let Me Love You Baby.” Both tracks were recorded during the original sessions and were produced and mixed especially for this release by Simon Climie, who produced the original album with Clapton. The original tapes have been remastered by Bob Ludwig for release on 26th June via Rhino Records.

The 14-track collection will be available on 180-gram black double vinyl package and was mastered (vinyl) by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles.

The album features four B.B. King originals, plus a selection of covers from writers as diverse as Isaac Hayes & David Porter (“Hold On I’m Coming”), Johnny Mercer & Harold Arlen (“Come Rain Or Come Shine”) and William Broonzy & Charles Seger (“Key To The Highway”). John Hiatt wrote the album’s title track.

Green Vinyl

The HEX series explores the more clean side of the spectrum with a common denominator called acid influenced elements in all it's possible forms.

BPM, structure, form, styles can and will all be switched up held together by that wobbly origin called acid :)

The HEX series (based on the hexagons as you can see in the design) comes in a clear plastic outer sleeve with a big double-sided printed thick inlay card where the information about the record can be viewed. The records itself are all clear/silver mixed so every record is unique in its own way.

The first release by Prime features 4 different approaches to the genre ranging from trance influenced acid techno to electro and anything in between with the most RAW of the 4 tracks on the B1 which is dark and unwelcoming. The perfect opening record to start with broken beats going into a raw 4/4 frenzy later on.

Delsin turns its attention to the archives of one of the great early pioneers of Dutch techno - Eevo Lute Muzique. The label was founded in 1991 by Wladimir Manshanden and Stefan Robbers (who was already recording seminal early techno records as Terrace for Djax-Up-Beats). Channeling the inspiration of the Detroit originators and mixing it up with their own synth pop and new wave influences, Manshanden and Robbers (adopting the Florence alias) forged a bold aesthetic with Eevo Lute, both musically and visually. This was an early iteration of techno as listening music, with an emphasis on expression and narrative over dancefloor functionality, helped in no small part by Manshanden's striking poetry. This double set of remastered, reissued tracks gathers together the earliest Florence and Wladimir M. material, largely recorded between 1991 and 1994, across five discs - the definitive document of a treasured piece of Dutch techno history. Comes with inlay and liner notes by Oliver Warwick.

Rising Manchester star FINN takes the helm for the next release on Ruf Kutz with two hyper-real contemporary raw bangers crafted for maximum emotional impact backed with remixes from RK big guns RUF DUG & GLOWING PALMS.

Even though he's a comparative youngun, this is by no means Finn's first time at the rodeo - he's a label boss, an NTS pioneer, a Boiler Room veteran, a Defected Records Old Boy and also holds down the coldest twitter account on the information superhighway. It's a big deal to us that we managed to snare him for a release on his ascent to whatever accelerated dimension he is headed for.

Purposely conceived as raw club tracks after a heavy Paul Johnson listening session, TRICK TRICK and BELLE THEME contain many of his beloved hallmarks while also showcasing new creative pathways - the title of the EP surely alluding to what Finn is about to pull from up his sleeve...

Opener TRICK TRICK is many things all at once - a raw turbo-jacker, a hugely emotive bassline roller, a super-fresh club banger that has few elements, yet uses them with such efficiency it's impossible not to be drawn up into its vapour trail.

BELLE THEME winds the pace & harmonic tension up with manic abandon as we find ourselves in Finn's familiar 130-plus territory but while the tempo is slamming he somehow manages to drape everything in a lacy coating, as if we were playing a bonus level from a lost Studio Ghibli PS1 beat-em-up.
Back in the real world we flip the record for 2 textbook Ruf Kutz remixes. First up label boss RUF DUG guts Trick Trick and serves up the fillet on an unashamedly tech-house bed, purpose-built for DC10 circa 2009 - meanwhile Ruffy's partner in crime GLOWING PALMS dips into his secret stash of double doves and takes Belle Theme for an unforgettable night out in a Burnley warehouse.

Of the release Ruf Dug says "It's been a big thrill to follow Finn"s development over the years since we first met. I've been hoping to collaborate with him for quite a while so for it to be finally happening especially at this stage in his career is a genuine mega buzz!"
Finn says: "Been a keen Ruf Kutz fan since Rachel's Team in 2016! So happy to contribute to the label with two rough (ruf) and ready club tracks - late night/early morning hymns"

Embarking on a journey from Italy to Anatolia and from Africa to the Americas, Nelson of the East soars over imagined landscapes in his debut, motion picture- inspired album, Kybele. Plug in your headphones, drown out the world, and set
out on a mystic voyage of Earth through the lens of Kybele, the Anatolian goddess of wild nature.

With the world in flux and isolation taking its toll, musical escapism has become a much needed pastime for today’s armchair adventurers. Treating recorded sound as a vehicle of time travel, Milanese artist Nelson of the East (N.O.T.E) takes listeners on a journey through kaleidoscopic soundscapes with his debut album Kybele released on Tartelet Records.

Skillfully weaving the sounds of East and West, the nine-track LP fuses Turkish and cosmic influences with a strong electronic backbone into an otherworldly soundtrack of our time.

“The feeling that passes through the record isn’t straight. It changes, it turns, it is never predictable. Never being able to predict which landscape you arrive at next or where the music is taking you is key to enjoying the sound journey,” says Nelson. “

Named Kybele after the Anatolian goddess of nature, fertility, mountains, and wild animals, the record is a continuous saga that takes from the Berlin-based artist’s own adventurous spirit. Following his previous EP releases Night Frames and Phase Alternating Lines, Nelson explores new territories on Kybele.

The album opener, “Explorer,” is an exhilarating build up to what could be a 80s sci-fi movie, showcasing Nelson’s knack for cinematic moods. “Draw Me,” speaks to the artist’s intention of making a “snare album,” with an irregular, dominating beat untethering it from time or boundaries. “What I realize while I was writing the rhythm part is that the more you keep a beat simple the more difficult it becomes to make it interesting. So I just put down some rules to follow. For example, using swing as smoothly as possible, or using lot of syncopated sequence over the straight 2-4 groove,” says Nicolas.

Another thing Nelson achieves in this album is ambience, or the “motion picture touch” as he calls it. Tracks like the wild and obscure Culto, with its Anatolian nuances and middle eastern-sounding scales are made by layering synths to achieve an orchestral effect.

Other tracks capture the musician’s penchant for African and Brazilian grooves, like the Saudade mix of Burning Palm. On the B side, the Italo-flavored Phase Lines comes through with shimmering synth and electronic drums complete with hazy vocals delivered by DJ Rayne and Nelson himself. Yahuda dives into dark, melancholic electro with a Detroit feel not far from the sounds of the great Drexciya.

The album closes with ZETA, a track that could easily double as an obscure cinematic composition. The nine-track LP is strictly limited to 300 copies, pressed on 180g vinyl with artwork by The Emperor of Antarctica. No repress.

Coastlines is the self-titled long player from the new Japanese production unit of DJ and producer Masanori Ikeda and solo artist, session musician and Cro-Magnon keyboard player Takumi Kaneko.

Masanori and Takumi have been part of the Japanese dance music scene for years and Coastlines was born out of their working together on soundtracks for video projects. The pair wanted to make laid-back listening music for now, laying Takumi’s playful keys over Masanori’s widescreen balearic jazz-fusion to conjure beautiful and breathtaking “coastlines”.

A couple of two-track 7"s put out in late 2018 and early 2019 on Japanese house music label Flower Records soon sold out. Those four tracks were expanded to a full album of music, “a joyous, relaxing, summery soundtrack for everyone’s after hours wind down” that was released just in time for summer. It soundtracked many a Be With BBQ in 2019.

The album opens in the horizontal with the sophisticated, cocktails-by-the-pool groove of “Sunset Reflection”. A lush, beatless wonder. Their re-imagining of Ralph MacDonald’s “East Dry River” removes all the original’s bells and whistles (quite literally) and re-gears it with a subtle balearic chug. The result is a percussive gem.

“Coastline” is a beach-jazz noodle. “Drifting Ice” is as chilled and glacial as its title would suggest, yet Masanori’s head-nod slo-mo house beats throb not far below the surface. “My Fire” is another soft killer, all swelling, swirling organ over muted kicks and snares. An elegant boom-bap.

A pair of insistent tunes of the deeply balearic variety raise the tempo, but not by too much of course. On “Woods And My Guitar” a half-heard vocal refrain breathes life into the synthetic xylophone and guitar. Deft piano-work turns “Half Moon Shadow” into lounge-house for the sophisticated beach bum. A classy duo.

The self-assured re-work of Azymuth’s “Last Summer In Rio” is arguably the album’s centrepiece. Ten minutes of casually propulsive slapped bass, steel pans and slick 80s soul beats. Cue the steel drum interlude of “Maracas Bay” before album closer “Down Town” transitions us one with a shuffling, string-hinted hit of ethereal, euphoric piano bliss. Gentle disco for the new decade.

As former Test Pressing scribe Dr. Rob observed on his ever-reliable Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, the Coastlines fusion is very much in conversation with their 80s counterparts, both at home and along the coastlines of different continents. So among the nods to revered Japanese artists like Hiroshi Sato, Sakamoto and Casiopea, there are also hints of Marcos Valle and Mtume, of the aforementioned Azymuth. “The production though is very much now, not then. Not retro, just proper”. We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

Coastlines was originally a CD release only available in Japan, with HMV putting out a super-limited vinyl version a few months later for Japanese Record Store Day. But this music is just too good, so when Be With was asked via Ken Hidaka to take care of a vinyl version for the rest of the world it wasn’t a tough decision.

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman, just 500 copies of this double LP have been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.

Parisian cinema composer Jean-Gabriel Becker is best known for idiosyncratic soundscapes, has worked alongside Massive Attack on acclaimed film soundtracks and recorded with John Foxx. Susumu Mukai, originally from Osaka, Japan, is one of London’s most sought after musicians, whose list of collaborators includes Floating Points, Vanishing Twin, Alexis Taylor and Fimber Bravo.

Together they’ve created fresh new music that floats effortlessly above traditional genre delineation, with a dubbed-out and experimental melange of modern acid house, post punk, global grooves and clattering beats. Still not complying to genres,’TimeVery Near’ is their tentacular new album, which gathers sounds and inspiration from an ever-expanding palette of influences, assembled into something amorphously intangible that’s simultaneously refreshing and sharp, meandering and cosmic, futuristic but timelessly vintage.

Deliberately breaking all the rules Mr. Hornby once famously outlined regarding the creation of homemade (tape) compilations, Saroos’ members indeed had the term “mixtape” on their minds while working on their latest full-length – albeit in the hip-hop sense: a sonic snack box, interconnected shots from the hip, something that just came together and immediately felt right.

Whereas hip-hop folks nowadays often use the vacuous term “project” in order to steer clear of the ontological debate caused by the almost synonymous use of album/mixtape, Florian Zimmer, Christoph Brandner, and Max Punktezahl, otherwise busy with The Notwist, Driftmachine & Lali Puna, stick to the classics: their new 16-track project “OLU” (Off Label Use) is, officially, still an album. But it’s wild and vibrant like a mixtape, interwoven like its cover: a seamless burst of ideas, impulsively combined to form a split-screen snapshot of recent moments and momentums.

Re-appropriating the term “Off Label Use” – which actually means: using prescription drugs in ways that aren’t mentioned on the instruction leaflet – in their own “off-label” way, Saroos never sounded more loose-limbed and elastic. Whereas the trio’s earlier releases were rather conceptual and homogenous, “OLU” indeed has a more loose, spur-of-the-moment feel, a spontaneous force at its core. Checking the weighty sci-fi inspirations at the door, they use that Bomb Shelter-type of freedom to reinvent themselves at every turn, chasing sounds that happened to emerge in the group’s triangular energy field.

Kicking it off “with a killer, to grab attention” (Hornby/Cusack, after all), the massive reverb-stumblin’ adjustment between beats and bass of opening track “Quarantaine” cross-fades smoothly into “Humdrum Rolloff,” an early hint at the group’s off-label practices: the underwater creepers floating around here were really voices (mostly). From majestically built oriental sound-pieces (“Looney Suite Serenade”), synth-based “End House Mario” and a triptych of speaker-boxxxing gas lamp experimentations entitled “Cord Burn 1-3,” Saroos have rarely sounded this playful and unrestricted: there’s a new energy at work that welds all the different sonic playing fields together to create one continuous 40 minute mix.

For the B-side descent, “Tatsu Jam,” at less than 4 minutes still the longest cut, billows over the kind of sizzling hi-hats you’d expect to hear on real trap tapes from Hotlanta. A prelude to a bunch of quicker-paced instrumentals (“Scratch Pets”, “24h Love Gumbo”) and ambient sun showers, until the next “Plateau” (Mo’Wax vibes!) brings the beats to the fore once again (“Tomorrow’s Kudos”), and the ultimate “Whirligig” sounds like a mix of Oktoberfest 2020 and Johnston’s “Casper The Friendly Ghost” coming apart at the seams.
Whatever you wanna call it – album, LP, mixtape, project, who cares? –, it’s definitely a double A-side tour-de-force.

Christophe Chassol is reshuffling the deck. After making his name worldwide with three magnificent ultrascore compositions (Nola Che?rie in 2011, Indiamore in 2013 and Big Sun in 2015), working with Solange and Frank Ocean, and playing the most prestigious halls, he's taking his quest to arrange reality even further with Ludi, his new project that includes an album, film and show. It's play - an all-important word in music - that underscores this impressive, masterful construction freely inspired by Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game. Everything is part of the melody: a playground or basketball players in the suburbs, an arcade in Tokyo, a roller coaster, singer Crystal Kay and rapper Kohh. Solo musicians were filmed in rehearsal, like flautist Jocelyn Mienniel and the composer's partner, drummer Mathieu Edward, who managed to reprise on stage

Chassol drew from the great German author's utopic book, where music, mathematics, aesthetics and spirituality intermingle, to create a passionate work produced by Bertrand Burgalat's label Tricatel that once again justifies his special place in the musical landscape.

With Ludi, Chassol directs his own round of Hermann Hesse's game, taking on the title of Magister Ludi, master of The Glass Bead Game. With this double album, Chassol realises his ambition: to compose unprecedented music that fills us with joy and prompts reflection.

Little known outside their native Sierra Leone where they were huge stars in the 1970s, Afro National played a brand of afro-pop that was a fusion of myriad styles, including Congolese music, highlife & Afrobeat and whose sound was characterized by up-tempo melodic guitar playing.

This double A side features two choice cuts from their 1972 debut album, the gloriously infectious and up-beat 'Temedi Oh' & 'Den Kick' which starts as a gentle rumba before launching into a joyous guitar workout.

Andy Ash has been quietly sneaking out seriously good analogue-driven electronic music on some of the best underground labels for over a decade.

The Liverpool-based producer, DJ and visual artist (the artwork for this re- lease is Andy’s own oil on canvas) has graced the likes of Chicago’s Stilove4music, NYC’s On The Prowl, Sydney’s People Must Jam and has remixed Fantastic Man for Detroit label Kolour LTD amongst many others.

The bottom line is that he’s definitely one of the UK’s unsung heroes when it comes to deep, raw, Chicago and Detroit-influenced house music and we’re proud to welcome him to Delusions Of Grandeur with an amazing three tracker entitled the Bottleneck EP.

The title track opens with snappy hats, flappy congas and sloppy baseline all sitting perfectly in the mix and with a looseness that is much harder to achieve that it may seem. A simple synth melody doubles up the bassline while an extra square wave lead adds that little extra hook without distracting us from the bouncing groove. With Bottleneck, less is definitely more.

Flipping over we have Hump, an altogether darker affair with a twisting acid line joining distorted 808 drums and tripped-out snippets of spoken word coming in and out of focus. The low-slung bumpy groove and spacey synth parts make this a compelling warehouse track which will draw everyone into it’s seductive confines.

Closing the release we have Actual Price, a shuffling, deep groover with rumbling low end and machine-like analogue synth part skipping around the crunchy beats. A cerebral yet punchy and dynamic closer to an excellent release!

The release of Marc‘s album „Voyage de la planète“ in 2017 marked a new era of his career. With ten rather beatless tracks where he combined his definition of electronica with classical instruments like violine, cello, double bass and piano Marc began to walk the path of fresh sounding music for the brain.

The title track has been the most successful one so that Marc called no one else than Erased Tape‘s poster boy Ben Lukas Boysen from Berlin to contribute his very own interpretation. Ben created a typical and unique version which comes along with a, believe it or not, 4/4 kick pattetn towards the end. But listen yourself, it totally makes sense. And Bordeaux‘s best Ocoeur made a short but epic ambient version you also should not miss.

As electronic musician Lorenz Brunner sketched his vision for the first Recondite full-length on Ghostly in five years he took a step back to assess who and where he was as an artist. 2013’s Hinterland accelerated a progression — he’s since been touring around the world and releasing music with labels such as Hotflush and his own Plangent Records — yet, for him, the album cast a shadow of pressure that widened over time. As with most art forms, perhaps especially music, there is an expectation to change, to creatively pivot elsewhere with each project. After careful consideration, Brunner rejects this notion with his new work, opting alternately to use the icy Hinterland as an aesthetic and tonal template for a like-minded map of evocative compositions aptly titled after the German word “stillstand,” now presented as Dwell.

“I am coherent with what I do, even if I’m not reinventing myself,” Brunner says contentedly. In regards to the album title, he adds, “It’s like when you’re on a hike and you stop and look at the scenery; you may know which path you want to go next but right now you are dwelling.” The title also doubles as a reference to everyday domestic life, a restorative haven for Brunner between tours. Like Hinterland, he incorporates a subtle range of field recordings to intensify the textural atmosphere. While he worked at home on “Mirror Games,” Brunner noticed the buzz coming from across the room, where his wife was using an electric toothbrush, naturally harmonized with the track. He decided to push that frequency further and record the device directly, syncing vibrations for added urgency across the propulsive piece as well as parts of the ambient “Interlude 2.”

Windswept, moody, and melodic, moments on Dwell linger with emotional resonance. The title track sends an eerie synth loop through a field of techno kicks. The beats recede for a breather four minutes in as if to survey the surroundings. If Brunner pivots anywhere — possibly just a new perspective afforded by being confidently stationary in his craft — it’s by leaning more into hip-hop structures. He’s an avid rap fan and his love for those production techniques is notably present on “Nobilia,” a queasy shuffler (titled in reference to the Super Nintendo game Secret of Evermore), “Interlude 1,” which skitters in lockstep with contemplative synth chords, and “Surface,” an isolatory, ruminative sequence. The closer “Moon Pearl” soothes and shimmers like its namesake, a cherished gem in The Legend of Zelda series that allows carriers of the gem to retain their shape and essence in the Dark World.

In an era where constant reinvention and highly self-reflexive brand awareness reigns supreme in the music industry, Brunner as Recondite does something many artists try to avoid, he dwells in his own established identity, one that has garnered him a devoted fanbase. His murky electronic productions, built around mirage-like pads and clipped drum programming, have proven to be highly functional and spectrally enveloping; Dwell is not a return to form, it is a further study of the shapes, it is the modes, and the structures Brunner has trademarked.

As electronic musician Lorenz Brunner sketched his vision for the first Recondite full-length on Ghostly in five years he took a step back to assess who and where he was as an artist. 2013’s Hinterland accelerated a progression — he’s since been touring around the world and releasing music with labels such as Hotflush and his own Plangent Records — yet, for him, the album cast a shadow of pressure that widened over time. As with most art forms, perhaps especially music, there is an expectation to change, to creatively pivot elsewhere with each project. After careful consideration, Brunner rejects this notion with his new work, opting alternately to use the icy Hinterland as an aesthetic and tonal template for a like-minded map of evocative compositions aptly titled after the German word “stillstand,” now presented as Dwell.

“I am coherent with what I do, even if I’m not reinventing myself,” Brunner says contentedly. In regards to the album title, he adds, “It’s like when you’re on a hike and you stop and look at the scenery; you may know which path you want to go next but right now you are dwelling.” The title also doubles as a reference to everyday domestic life, a restorative haven for Brunner between tours. Like Hinterland, he incorporates a subtle range of field recordings to intensify the textural atmosphere. While he worked at home on “Mirror Games,” Brunner noticed the buzz coming from across the room, where his wife was using an electric toothbrush, naturally harmonized with the track. He decided to push that frequency further and record the device directly, syncing vibrations for added urgency across the propulsive piece as well as parts of the ambient “Interlude 2.”

Windswept, moody, and melodic, moments on Dwell linger with emotional resonance. The title track sends an eerie synth loop through a field of techno kicks. The beats recede for a breather four minutes in as if to survey the surroundings. If Brunner pivots anywhere — possibly just a new perspective afforded by being confidently stationary in his craft — it’s by leaning more into hip-hop structures. He’s an avid rap fan and his love for those production techniques is notably present on “Nobilia,” a queasy shuffler (titled in reference to the Super Nintendo game Secret of Evermore), “Interlude 1,” which skitters in lockstep with contemplative synth chords, and “Surface,” an isolatory, ruminative sequence. The closer “Moon Pearl” soothes and shimmers like its namesake, a cherished gem in The Legend of Zelda series that allows carriers of the gem to retain their shape and essence in the Dark World.

In an era where constant reinvention and highly self-reflexive brand awareness reigns supreme in the music industry, Brunner as Recondite does something many artists try to avoid, he dwells in his own established identity, one that has garnered him a devoted fanbase. His murky electronic productions, built around mirage-like pads and clipped drum programming, have proven to be highly functional and spectrally enveloping; Dwell is not a return to form, it is a further study of the shapes, it is the modes, and the structures Brunner has trademarked.

The mostly anonymous producer FSS joins Veyl with ‘MMXX_FFS’, a collection of nine raw, mangled numbers that manage to make lo-fi sound hi-fi. Built in moments stolen from working with DIY punk bands and artists producing for Warp, UNO, True Panther, Lucky Me and Tri Angle.... Originally from New Mexico, now living in London, with NYC on the horizon, FSS is no newcomer, and this isn’t your usual debut.
Inspired by a need to release the rage and disillusionment brought on by the extreme shit show the world has become, the writing of ‘MMXX_FSS’ — “it’s nearly 2020, for fuck’s sake” — doubled as a cathartic process for the artist, providing much-needed relief from the constant struggle of living on this planet.
Urged to push into the wild and off the beaten path, the record’s sound is iltered through an ongoing battle with tinnitus, a heavy fascination with distortion, and a treasure of inspired electronics. Memories of clear, bright landscapes play like loops, bombarded with the shock and suffering of urban action. Based on the constantly vacillating reality between moments of familial bliss to existential terror in white hot flashes, ‘MMXX_FFS’ is a snapshot of this process. Generating more.
FSS’ debut is out this December on cassette and digital, as always featuring artwork by Tomaso Lisca.

• B Boy Records was a significant player in the development of hip-
hop in the 1980s, but a very short lived label shrouded in mystery.
• This double LP selects the best of the independent label, from the
beginning of the label to including past icons and future legends,
hard-hitting drum programming, synthesize and sampled beats
overlaid with fierce battle rap swagger. This is a snapshot of hip-hop
history.
• The label is best known for issuing the hugely influential Boogie
Down Productions LP Criminal Minded, which is included twice on
this release with ‘The Bridge Is Over’ and ‘South Brox’
• Other highlights include JVC Force’s enduring classic ‘Strong
Island’, DJ Scott La Rock (founding member of BDP) & D-Nic and all-
female rap Sparky D, 5 Star Moet.

The time of superficiality is over, we need another perspec- tive. The Tableau Vivant, that reenactment of painting by people, offers a new way of looking at things. A look into the depths, into the innermost of the artwork, a liveliness that jumps right out of the picture. Tableau, the project of the Kame House founder Infuso Giallo and Berlin musician Joshua Gottmanns, dedicates its debut »Double Dream Hands« to a new liveliness. While Infuso Giallo delivered a new interpretation of Moog-Exotica with his first release »Ode to Sansevieria«, Joshua Gottmanns is an »old hand« in the business and has proven his songwriting qualities in different projects for more than ten years, most recent- ly in his project Neuzeitliche Bodenbeläge together with Niklas Wandt. But it’s not about the merits of past records, but the here and now, about the moment. This may have passed in the next second and at the same time lasting an eternity. In four live sessions (the term »Jams« may also be applicable), quite independent entities have emerged that embrace life and come into contact with themselves: Within You, Without You. The congenial pairing of these two new masters of (almost) instrumental songwriting features excursions into New Beat and Percussive Exotica as well as Austro-Wave and Electronica and is promising a playful mix of travels at the edge of stasis with a peculiar musical drawl and abrupt, danceable explosions of ecstasy.

After a three year absence, Kasper Bjørke returns to hfn music with a sublime new double EP entitled
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”. Having followed a deeply personal ambient music path that last year led to
the release of “Kasper Bjørke Quartet: The Fifty Eleven Project” on Kompakt Records, (named 5th
Best Contemporary Album 2018 in The Guardian), Kasper has found his way back to producing some
of his signature leftfield danceable beats, which “the past decade has seen Bjørke steadily rising amongst the ranks of artful, eclectic electronic producers…” (XLR8R).The Double EP “Nothing Gold Can Stay” explores both the analogue and organic side of his production work on Side A - while Side B reflects on sounds that he would play today, in one of his nightclub DJ sets. Side A contains four collaborations with four friends from LA, New York and Copenhagen. “Water” feat. Toby Ernest, the slow mo opener to the EP, revives the partnership with Toby that was last seen on 2014’s After Forever album (on the single “Rush”). Toby also provides the vocals on the cover version of Alessi Brothers’ 1975 classic “Seabird” - a track that came about through Kasper’s friendship and musical synergy with DJ and vinyl digger Christian d’Or, who is lead crooning while Toby delivers his signature falsetto. The “Seabird” cover adds a distinct contemporary feeling to the original version while staying true and respectful to the delivery and mood of the songs core. The 2nd half of the release, Side B, is directly aimed at the floor. Having stepped away from releasing club jams for a few years, Kasper is clearly enjoying getting back to the business of making people move. Side B of Nothing Gold Can Stay is both a testament to Kasper’s versatility as a producer and an all-out dancefloor assault, made with precision and sensitivity.

Based in Munich, Germany, the producer, part-time DJ and Permanent Vacation label co-head Tom Bioly aka TB delivers new romantics, inspired by influences like The Cure’s „The Holy Hour“, Boards of Canada’s late 90s electronica, Miami Vice tropic percussion and Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks. Acid drops, string distortions, lushed melody bits, hushed robo vox and washed space guitars are being layered and sprinkled over machine beats and disco drums.

TB’s first release "Invitation To Love" made it on John Talabot's vinyl-only Hiverned 10" imprint and was voted amongst the best 10" releases by UK Fact magazine. GROOVE magazine wrote "..entirely superb..“, about the follow-up EP "City Girl" on Permanent Vacation, of which the title track has been licensed to the independent film „All These Sleepless Nights“ by director Michal Marczak.
In 2017 TB followed with “Heartbreak Hotel“, a double twelve-inch release with eight tracks of melancholic dance noir set in smoke-filled darkness. In 2018 he followed with the „Night Heat“ single, of which a RMXD EP with contributions by Gerd Janson, Sascha Funke, DJ Hotel and Bostro Pesopeo came out earlier this year.

Rooted in the São Paulo contemporary art scene, Laima Leyton’s credentials in the world of music are firmly established as one-half of Mixhell alongside her husband Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy) and for her work with Soulwax.
Now the producer, musician, activist, artist, mother and teacher unites her multifaceted talents with her ambitious double-vinyl debut album ‘Home’. It will be pressed and distributed by The Vinyl Factory and released by Deewee on November 8th. Featuring two records that are designed to be played simultaneously: Laima’s vocal and synth tracks on the ‘TONAL’ disc alongside Iggor’s beats on the ‘RHYTHMICAL’ record. Syncing two records offers an unconventional way to experience the music.
Rather than passively hearing the music, the listener’s need to ritualistically sync both records makes for an immersive experience. There are two key elements that make ‘Home’ such a distinctive project. Thematically it explores how the two core contrasts that inform Laima’s life can coexist. On one hand it’s about domesticity – her love for her family and her frustration with domestic routine. Yet on the other, it’s about her creativity – her desire to express herself artistically while still tending to her role as a mother and a housewife. “It’s almost like a family photo album in another format,” says Laima. “I needed to find the balance in this dichotomy, to feel good with myself in both roles, and be aware of things that really mattered to me. To be a woman, a mum and a female producer: all of these feelings were in the music.”

Soul Jazz Records’ Nigeria Soul Power 70 album showcases the influence of funk, rock and disco on Nigerian music during the 1970s. Originally released as a now-long-out-of-print collectors’ 7” RSD box, this fully expanded album release now also includes extra tracks from Sonny Okosuns, Wings, Chief Kollington Ayinla and more. While for many people the fusion of funk and jazz music with Nigerian rhythms and aesthetics began with Fela Kuti and his afro-beat sound, in fact this can be traced further back to the phenomena of the 1960s Nigerian artists and house bands in nightclubs and hotels who interpreted US soul and pop music with a local flavour and none more so than Geraldo Pino, the ‘African James Brown’ who features heavily in this collection. Other similarly inspired Nigerian funk and soul artists featured here included Tony Grey and his Ozimba Messengers and Don Bruce and The Angels. Nigeria Soul Power 70 includes a number of tracks from the group Wings originally known as BAF (Biafran
Air Force) Wings, an army band formed during the Biafran civil war in Nigeria. The groups’ heavy mixture of funk, rock and African styles was popular among many Nigerian groups at the time.
Beneath the shadow of the few Nigerian artists who signed international recording deals in the 1970s – Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Chief Ebenezer Obey – lies of vast wealth of largely undiscovered musical transmutation and cultural cross-pollination, and included here are heavy afro-funk/rock and disco tracks
from artists such as the legendary Sonny Okosuns as well as rare cuts from little-known outside of Nigeria - groups such as Colomach and MFB. Most of these obscure artists signed to major labels in Nigeria in the commercial slipstream that opened up as Philips, Decca and EMI tried to emulate the international
success of the big three international Nigerian artists. Finally featured here is Kollington Ayinla, one of the co-founders of Nigerian Fuji music, who gives us perhaps the heaviest of all tracks on this album. Ayinla is the great moderniser of the Fuji sound and in the late 1970s began adding Bata drums and synthesizers to his authentic music to create a powerful and heavy new fusion of traditional and modernist aesthetics, embracing both new technology and experimentation while rooted firmly in Nigerian historical lineage. Nigeria Soul Power 70 is released as a heavyweight gatefold double vinyl LP (+ free download code),
deluxe slipcase CD and digital album.

Hailing from Modena, the Northern Italian motor city, Strata-Gemma produce a music of beautiful symmetry, intense craft and surprising angles. Born as a club night, the trio grew out of jam sessions where musicians would play over the records DJ/producer Billy Bogus spun. Their name came about due to the core members finding shared inspiration in records they considered "hidden gems" (gemma means gem in Italian) while paying homage to the Detroit Jazz label Strata Records. Thus from a love of jazz and soul, soundtracks and library music, Strata-Gemma were born.

Where Strata-Gemma's 2018 debut album had a lush, late-night ambience about it, Autunno 1 is more intense and agitated, a reaction to extreme political and weather conditions. As with all things Italian, Autunno 1 is both beautifully sculptured and filled with wild passion while serving as an intense soundtrack to our fractured world.

Strata-Gemma are Billy Bogus (beats), Andrea Moretti (double bass, strings) and Luca Cacciatore (brass, wind). For Autunno 1 they are joined by heavy friends on drums, synth and Hammond.

After S3A's "Pages" double album earlier this year we asked some of our friends to re-interpret and re-construct their favorite original track off the album and deliver these fine remixes. We aimed to have a nice variety in styles on this record and hope you enjoy these tunes as much as we do!
Starting off with the live disco funk of "Lorenz Rhode" who sets the tone for a class dance floor EP and followed by the soulful deep house vibes of French master "Art Of Tones" aka "Llorca" who delivered 3 different mixes to this release. The main mix is on the vinyl and there are two bonus mixes added to the digital release, a "Beats" and a "Dub" version. Ending this brilliant first side is London's newcomer "Dampé" with that deep and jazzy electronica approach we got to love him for on his first debut Dirt Crew Recordings release.

On the flip we pick up the pace and present you the faster dancefloor tracks of Amsterdam's "Nachtbraker" with his freaky hallucinating sounds placed atop of one of these irresistible bass lines only he can come up with and leading towards an "end with a bang" in best Detroit ghetto house style by our own Icelandic fire "Felix Leifur".

Each artist perfectly transported his own unique styles into these tracks and we hope this release with its broad approach will serve any dance floor to its best!

TThe melodically adventurous soul of Leon Ware continues its expression in his final opus Rainbow Deux, released on double vinyl on September 13th. The album features new songs recorded and performed by Leon before his health turned, leading to his transition on February 23rd 2017. Co-produced by Taylor Graves, it has stellar musical contributions from the likes of Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Ronald Bruner Jr, Rob Bacon and Wayne Linsey.

Taylor Graves came into Leon’s musical family in 2002 when he, his brother Cameron and the Bruner brothers Ronald Jr and Stephen (Thundercat) were playing along with their schoolmate Kamasi at an L.A. jazz club. Taylor, Cameron, Ronald and Stephen became Leon’s band for his debut shows in Japan in 2002 and Taylor continued to work with Leon as his mentor and collaborator over the next 15 years.

“Leon was ALWAYS writing something or developing his musical palette” his wife Carol Ware tells us, so it’s impossible to pinpoint any single moment of Rainbow Deux’s genesis. Six of the songs go back to 2012/2013 and were released in 2014 as part of Sigh, a Japan-only CD collection heavy with Rob Bacon’s tasteful licks and Wayne Linsey’s piano vibes. The rest of the material comes from Leon’s sessions with Taylor.

Describing Leon’s and his process, here’s Taylor: “We’d start by having some great homemade food! Then a glass of wine ‘to slow down time’. After we’d have our fill and smoked our joints we’d go into his studio room to listen and create.”

The album was finished-up around August of 2016 in a back-and-forth between Leon and his go-to mastering engineer Toni Economides in the UK.

Leon worked on Rainbow Deux with life’s greatest challenge looming over him, yet it is one of his most focused and cohesive solo offerings since the 1980s. The entire record is a vibe: mellow, deep and smooth as silk. The lyrical themes are eternal, and the music is elegant, soulful and sensual.

The album opens with the hypnotic throb of “For The Rainbow”, coming on like a percussive, slow-mo house shuffle. Gilles Peterson is a fan. The exotic “Let Love In” follows, with its gradual-build Island Funk, intricate guitar picks and sassy female vocals. It explodes when it hits its stride. “Sigh” is the stylish slow jam close-out to side A. Serene guitars and polished drums create neck snapping funk, with a swaggering finger-snap strut.

Side B opens with the easy-burning broken-beaty “The Darkest Night”, the centrepiece of the album. Kamasi Washington’s lurking sax, restrained and beautiful, unfurls into the dank, sticky atmosphere of Thundercat’s signature creeping bass laid over his brother’s in-the-pocket drums. Leon’s vocals are perfect, a masterclass in seductive sax-soul.

“Surrender Now” conjures waves of vocals to swell and wash over the glossy piano, subtly bumping hip-hop drums and bubbling synth-bass stabs. It’s got the trademark Leon layers. “Summer Is Her Name” has Kamasi’s effortless, melancholic sunshine sax give way to rising tempos and propulsive rhythms.

“Are You Ready” is a total highlight (and we’ve been playing it out for ages). It’s a nimble groove of piano and synth rolling around Theo Croker’s sensual trumpet playing. Digi-soul at its finest. With lush G-Funk sensibilities “Streets (Keep Me Runnin’)” sounds like a lost Dam-Funk produced gem. All tough kicks and snares and street sounds. Leon’s hood pass will be forever intact.

“Samba Dreams” is the first of two tracks that bring a little Rio magic to Rainbow Deux. Leon created a whole body of work in partnership with Brazilian legend Marcos Valle that includes “Rockin’ You Eternally” - a hit for Leon - and “Estrelar” – a hit for Marcos. Leon channels his obvious love of Brazilian music here through more of Croker’s sumptuous trumpet, played over loose percussion. “Let’s Go Deep” is next up. A dreamy between-the-sheets quiet storm anthem and a real showcase for Leon’s vocals.

The dripping, honeyed harp-funk of “We Should Be Laughin’” marks the star turn of the brilliant Kimbra. Leon first met her on-stage to do an impromptu duet of “Inside My Love” during an open-air celebration of Minnie Riperton in July of 2014. Kimbra was working with Taylor on her music and he brought her to Leon’s house to do some writing. This was the result.

Warm synths radiate shuffling samba soul on “Wishful Thinking” as those Brazilian rhythms return to bring Rainbow Deux to a close.

During an apartment move Leon and Carol rediscovered some watercolours Leon had done years ago. One of these paintings had been dubbed “Deux Hearts” and Leon decided it should be on the cover of Rainbow Deux, getting as far as approving a draft concept for the artwork.

Carol has overseen developing that draft into the final gatefold sleeve. It brings together quotes, photographs and tributes in what is a reflection on the music, relationships and philosophy of the sensual minister.

Gerry “the gov” Brown, Leon’s long-time sound engineer, was by his side throughout the project, recording and mixing. The album was mastered by Toni Economides and Simon Francis’ additional sensitive work makes sure this double LP sounds like it should on vinyl.

Be With’s first ever release was Leon’s eponymous LP. Re-issuing that album planted the seed of a relationship that has grown to grant us the privilege of presenting his crowning achievement. We know that Leon’s fans all over the Earth will love Rainbow Deux. But we also hope that this album, the final entry in a phenomenal body of work, will reach new fans and find fresh conduits for the spirit of this oft-unsung hero of Soul.

Leon always said “they will get it when I'm gone.”

He also said that “the spirit never dies”…

Philippe Cam is the Thomas Pynchon of the electronic music world. Little is known about him and only a couple of pictures have been put online since he emerged on this planet to write his first and only album18 years ago. We know he worked as a sailor and that’s it. If you dig deeper you might find out that he worked as a DJ in the beginning of the 90ies in Brussels and began to study electronic music there and also began to write music for theaters and ballets.

The American distributor Forced Exposure once wrote that about him: „Philipe Cam is a star in his own field. He is among the few people who have succeeded to write hypnotic dance music without a conventional beat still conveying a thrilling, dramatic feel. Cam has developed an accurate, intense and complex formula of modulation-techno. Starting with music similar to Pan Sonic in 1996, his music turned towards a more elegant form of minimal music. Abstract soundtracks lead to an organic form of music, which was equally influenced by modern techno as Wolfgang Voigt's Studio 1/Gas or Basic Channel/Maurizio. Cam's music corresponds heavily to the Cologne scene, where his music is appreciated and played throughout the clubs by the likes of Michael Mayer, Tobias Thomas and various other DJs as well as experimental djs from the A-musik corner.“

So what’s new with his music? Basically the art of filtering is still his passion. Maybe he can be less associated with techno and the themes of his new tracks emerge in a more distinctive pattern? Well that’s hard to say, we would comment the energy of his early techno days in Brussels have returned here in a fierce way with some oft he tracks. The rhythmic movements are classy and stick with you. Whereas other tracks look for a distinctive relaxation of some kind.

We are releasing the album as a double clear vinyl with cover art by Yvette Klein who also designed the cover for his Philippe Cam’s album 18 years ago. Graphics for "Rotterdam" come from Cologne designer Daniela Thiel. We also would like to thank the cultural department of Cologne for supporting us to finance the album and to see the artistic value in this piece of minimalism.

The album kicks off with the mellow and soothing "Cocoa Beach". A Gentle beat that moves like bodies swaying in the hot summer sun. The clock moves a step forward and then a step backward as evolution takes a rest.

"Manga" feels like an acceleration to the moon, the contemplative moments come in spurts and hide in the intervals of the chords which are on the loose. Philippe Cam is the most energetic person in the world when it comes to core activity, this is head banging stuff for the ambient lounge.

"Short Summer" is a heavy and violent recognition. As intensive as it is it knows when to stop and disappear. In the ear and brain of the listeners it leaves an indisputable echo which lingers on for minutes. We suggest not to make a pause but jump directly into "Vermillions Sands".

What can be said about into "Vermillions Sands"? Be prepared some Terry Riley might lure around the corner to offer you some oranges on a silver plate, but don’t eat them. This is luring and beautiful at the same time. Maybe the best ambient track ever written and yet who can ever venture to say that without making a fool of himself. "Vermillions Sands" comes in waves and they could be longer we think.

"Rotterdam" the home of Philippe Cam for a long time but not anymore. He moved away. So that changes the perspective. But when was the track written? "Rotterdam" seems mechanical and rusty and spooky and divided. This arrangement is very different to all the other tracks so far and is almost dub in style but way more fractured. A steady stop and go emerges. But the longer it runs the better it gets. At minute 6 the brain resets itself and tries to grasp what has happened so far, reconstruction as a result of its own phantasmic imagination and hardly true at all, wonderful. Applause included!

Here comes "Bis", a short episode of a track and before we can comment on it, it is already over.

"The Game" is a mule of a track. It has a quiet stubborn sequence that bites and kicks you in the back without any change in near sight. We can hear a voice whispering, which sounds like a miniature vocoder featuring the voice of a child calling out - never stopping. This is treadmill to some extend but starts to breathe towards the middle of the track and slowly changes perspective. In fact there are some changes taking place here which go beyond a sound design that works heavily on the stereo image. Stick with it and the experience will be a great one.

"Ultimate Fly For Halloway" somehow orchestrates how you might feel after you climbed a 8000 meter high mountain and reached the top. A rejoicing off a special kind. Lava for the ears. No cheerleader murder plot sorry.

"Last Track" is a perfect example of a true minimalistic pice of music that manages to make contact with other genres and does this with elegance, determination and a lot of soul.

key selling points: The key selling point is the fact that Philippe Cam once was referred to as one of the main protagonists of the minimal music scene along with Wolfgang Voigt's Studio 1/Gas and Basic Channel/Maurizio. A true artist with a vision which is very rare.

Philippe Cam has picked up the sound he was famous for but has developed it further without selling out to any genre and expectation that rules our daily business.

Exactly this is the strength of the album to create a vivid world of impressions by using instruments in a whole different way than all software developers would suggest.

"Rotterdam" is a piece of art that can set off a firework when you listen to it and it owes nothing to anyone.

Konstruktivists is the Industrial project of Glenn Michael Wallis from Kent, England. In the late ’70s Wallis was a “control agent” for Throbbing Gristle and the Industrial Records crew. Influenced by Krautrock bands like Can, NEU!, Cluster/Harmonia as well as Tuxedomoon, Yello, Chrome, and SPK, Glenn began to record his own material. After several cassette releases, Konstruktivists’ first LP ‘A Dissembly’ was released in 1982 followed by ‘Psykho Genetika’ in 1983 and ‘Black December’ in 1984. That same year Wallis collaborated with his friend Chris Carter, of Throbbing Gristle and Chris and Cosey fame, on CTI’s ‘Conspiracy International One’.

In 1985, Glenn spent a week at Chris and Cosey’s studio recording 11 tracks that would become the ’Glennascaul’ album originally released on Nigel Ayers' Sterile Records. Produced and mixed by Chris Carter, it marked a complete change in style for the band towards a beat-orientated rhythmic sound. ‘Glennascaul’ is proto electro at its very best, with Glenn’s hallucinogenic vocals on top. A musical collage designed to invoke images in the mind. The back cover clearly states “No guitars. No Fairlights.” For this deluxe reissue we’ve added two bonus tracks recorded around the same time, now vinyl for the first time ever. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in an exact replica of the original jacket featuring cover art, which is a co-production of Trevor Brown, Nigel Ayers and an image Glenn Wallis supplied. Each copy includes a double-sided 8x11 insert with liner notes by Nigel Ayers, press clippings, and photos.

“True Lies” was originally released in 1999 on Daft Records and showed Dirk Ivens (The Klinik, Absolute Body Control) once again changing the game to create another refreshing and groundbreaking album. Suggestive industrial with distorted vocals, metallic rhythms and noises perfectly balanced with up tempo dance beats and technoid rhythms.

Production on this work is shared with the talent of Ivan Iusco (Minus Habens Records, Nightmare Lodge) and Eric Van Wonterghem (Insekt, Monolith).

"True Lies" is available for the first time on vinyl record with all original songs plus extra tracks from the singles "Two Faced Man" and "Broken Meat", some old compilations and a bunch of cover versions to classics by Suicide, The Normal and The Klinik. Limited edition of 550 copies on double blue colour vinyl with gatefold sleeve, printed inner sleeves and numbered card.

This year, First Word Records celebrates its fifteenth year in the game. The year commenced triumphantly with First Word being named "record label of the year" at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards 2019. Over the past six months, we've seen new music from 14KT, Souleance, Myele Manzanza, Teotima, Don Leisure, Children of Zeus and a range of artists across Europe, on the 'Music! Musik! Musique!' compilation.

To commemorate the 15th anniversary, First Word has a series of releases in the works for the second half of the year which see collaborations by artists from the label's current roster. To kick off, we have this special double-AA sided 7" single featuring Darkhouse Family, Kaidi Tatham & Tyler Daley.

Darkhouse Family consists of two Cardiff beatmakers & musicians, Earl Jeffers - founder of Melange Records and producer of 'A Library Excursion' from 2018, and Don Leisure, who recently provided us with 'Halal Cool J', the beat-tape sequel to 2017's 'Shaboo'. Over the years they've had releases, solo & individually, on Fat City, Metalheadz & Earnest Endeavors to name a few, bridging the gaps between various strains of dance music, beats and hip hop, with the organics of jazz and funk. Recently making noise across the UK with their new live band, and production work for the likes of Kamaal Williams, this is their first new release since their highly-acclaimed 2017 debut album 'The Offering' & subsequent remix project which also featured DJ Spinna, and one Kaidi Tatham.

Kaidi Tatham is one of the most revered multi-instrumentalists in the game. His endless contributions have included Bugz In The Attic, Amy Winehouse, Slum Village, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Moonchild, Leroy Burgess, Amp Fiddler and loads more. Dubbed by Benji B last year as "the UK's Herbie Hancock", his versatility as a musician is actually more akin to Prince. He can play most things, and play them well. Providing flute duties on this track, he also graces the flipside with a full "flutestrumental" version. Aside from numerous other projects, Kaidi released three EPs on First Word to date, 'Changing Times', 'Hard Times' and 'Serious Times', and an album last year, entitled 'It's A World Before You', which featured daddy of 2000 Black, Dego, son of Jazzy Jeff, Uhmeer and Children of Zeus, Konny Kon & Tyler Daley.

Tyler Daley hails from Manchester, alongside son of Zeus, MC / DJ / beatmaker, Konny Kon. Somewhat of a veteran in the game, Tyler is currently one of the most-recognisable talents in the British soul scene, also lending his talents to dance music royalty along the way, including the likes of Goldie, Zed Bias, DJ Marky & Lenzman. With Children of Zeus, the duo have had a whirlwind 12 months since the release of their debut album 'Travel Light', performing shows across the globe & gaining new fans daily. The record was named "album of the year" by Complex magazine and BBC 6 Music's Huey Morgan, amongst a number of other notable tastemakers & selectors. Hot on the heels of the 'Excess Baggage' EP, Tyler laces this one with his inimitable brand of bars and soul.

A veritable super-group amongst the First Word stable, this low-slung slinky joint sees the guys work up a unique blend of jazz, soul, beats and hip hop - guaranteed to go 'All The Way'…

'All The Way' is released on First Word Records on July 26th 2019, limited 7" vinyl & digital.

Produced & mixed by Darkhouse Family

Vocals by Tyler Daley (Children of Zeus)


b B1. All the Way (Flutestrumental) [feat. Tyler Daley & Kaidi Tatham]


[b] B1 | All the Way (Flutestrumental) [feat. Tyler Daley & Kaidi Tatham]


[b] B1 | All the Way (Flutestrumental) [feat. Tyler Daley & Kaidi Tatham]

Producers at the heart of the broken beat revival, EVM128 and James Rudie met through the CDR project, and soon after started to mess about collaborating with Gonzi. After coining the concept of INPUT, they found a home via Tony Thorpe at Studio Rockers and the seed was sewn. The concept is simple, make a beat, pass it on, and let someone else add to it. Its about letting go of self and letting the music go somewhere it wouldn't have gone otherwise. It was a labour of love until each track felt right. Talented musicians, producers, singers and rappers came on board to fulfill the brief, and the end product is a modern day broken masterpiece. It's about collaboration, whether in the mixing and arrangement, performance, keys, percussion, synth, bass, - everything was a joint effort.

INPUT is released on Studio Rockers on 19th July 2019 as a double vinyl release.

A LITTLE ON THE ARTISTS INVOLVED :

Written by curator EVM128, James Rudie and Gonzi are both killer producers who met me at CDR and also became part of Co-Op presents Selectors Assemble with IG Culture and Alex Phountzi. You can hear them both on Naughty Groove and Gonzi on Gut Level.

ISHFAQ is an elusive producer that has been making beats for time but is still under the radar. He's a force to be reckoned with. Watch him cos he's dangerous! Hear him all over Naughty Groove on Keys and on Complete Me ft Natalie May. He just knows where to fit into a tune... He has an acute ear!

TurboJazz met me after Djing together in Milan and working together on remix jobs, where I remixed Turbo's 'Please You' ft David Blank on Local talk Records. In return Turbojazz remixed the EVM Beyond ft Uk Soul legend, OMAR. It was only natural to get them involved with this project.

iLL Smith aka MR K is a heavyweight producer making serious waves in the new Dubstep 140 low end scene. He gave me a couple tracks that were broken beat he had been sitting on and said "You should do something with these". One of which is GOLD which I only really added a Clap to and worked the arrangement and first mix down. I called on Daz I Kue for a rapper I'd heard on one of his tracks which had the right energy. Daz hooked me up with Nesha Nycee, a fierce rapper from Atlanta Georgia. She smashed it straight away and the tune just worked. This was probably the easiest out of all of them!

Nesha Nycee is a REAL rapper.

Shy One is a friend of mine and has worked with me on music a few times in the past. I always love when she sends me a beat, she has that lo fi dirty grime kind of approach, then I add my style to it and it just seemed to bode well. We worked together on Mother Nature on the Nova LP and this track for INPUT (One Design) which we were sitting on for a while. Tony got Steve Edwards (All Seeing I, Sheffield) on the vocals. This was an unexpected turn on this track that we couldn't have imagined, but it worked! This track is the epitome of INPUT in that, it went somewhere completely different!

Steve Edwards is a singer songwriter from Sheffield who works on projects with All seeing I. He has a great energy and the lyrics made me cry! Really amazing heartfelt lyrics that speak of now and has a positive uplifting vibe to it that we can all relate to. It will stick in your head for ages believe me.

Natalie May met me through soundcloud. She's been releasing UK Funky tracks for a while and worked with Rudimental. She reached out to me after hearing the Nova LP and the stuff on CoOp presents. She went to the studio with me after already writing to some instrumentals. Very professional and on point in the studio. Her voice is sweet and the perfect juxtaposition to the rough bass and drums on 'Complete Me' and when ISHFAQ got his hands on it, well... Nuf said really !

Daiva from the Lithuanian band KeyMono has worked with me for a good few years. We met in Lithuania when I was teaching music production to young people through MTV, I met their manager Istvan. She was on my Naked Truth EP and the Nova LP. I Love working with Daiva she's great! Her voice is amazing as is her professionalism. She sounds somewhere between Erykah Badu, Little Dragon and Fatima. She's always my go to for any collaboration! Hear her on 'The Edge'. The lyrics were written by Kermit (Black Grape / Ruthless Rap Assassins).

Renato Paris.. wow ! I mean what!!? We sent the backing track and two days later he sent back the vocal and we fell over! He has a voice that echo's Stevie Wonder and Omar! Really professional work ethic too. Still cant get over how good he is. This guy can REALLY sing and play keys. Watch out for more from me and Renato... Bruk meets RnB / Jazz.

We have created something special and unique where you can hear each persons input in the

tracks. We love it and hope you will too.

Straight out of one of the UK’s most innovative bass music hotspots, Bristol, two of the scenes fastest rising stars Glume and Phossa join the Subaltern roster with their massive debut split EP.
A - Glume & Phossa - IMHK A collaborative effort from the two talented producers, the EP opener IMHK packs double the punch as well as showing a lot of love for the details. Setting the eerie vibe of the release straight off the bat, IMHK is a surprisingly refreshing track that will light up any dance. Waterfalls of melodies meet hard bass hits, all surrounded by a masterfully-composed, rich-in-details and continuously-evolving drum beat. Get ready to walk into a medieval world of wizards, spells, castles and dragons - Glume and Phossa will be your guides.
B1 - Glume - Shriek Time to enter the dungeon and follow our loyal conductors deep underground. Relentless is the term that comes to mind when indulging in this stone cold, yet somewhat uplifting banger. Glume’s solo piece on the EP delivers pulsating bass waves accentuated by tonal percussion lines, embedded into a horror-movie-like atmosphere.
B2 - Phossa - Deathly Stare It’s Phossa’s time to tell the tale on the third track of the vinyl, showcasing some of his signature style synth lines embedded in an ever-creeping atmosphere. Heavy standing bass walls accompany the trippy cascade of sound, ever enchanting and luring the listener deeper into the maze. Will we find our way out?

DJ Haram is a producer & DJ who distinctively ties her New Jersey musical history with more recent involvement in the Philadelphia DIY noise scene, whilst paying homage to her Middle Eastern roots. A close affiliate of New York's Discwoman collective, she is also one half of 700 Bliss with rapper & poet Moor Mother, who features on this EP. Haram’s non-traditional understanding of Islam, paired with a nuanced perspective on folk tradition and mythology, underpins the EP, bringing fantasy and colour to this in-between place. On opener ‘No Idol’, a darbuka rhythm pairs with offbeat claps around a dark synth and a contrasting airy flute melody, illustrating the theme of duality running through the music. The melodies of ‘No Idol’ are revisited in the final track remix, sped up with a classic Baltimore club beat and energetic bedsprings samples.‘Interlude’ is a combination of the sounds and patterns from each song. ‘Gemini Rising's synth is reminiscent of John Carpenter, paired with a darbuka rhythm and war drums that transmit a religious sci -fi horror aesthetic. ‘Body Count’ is propelled by Jersey Club kicks with a distorted drum crunch and ticking rim shot in triplets, and an ethereal melody. ‘Grace (K.O.D.)’ has menacing cinematic stabs that feel like acid raining on the scattered percussion. On the 700 Bliss track ‘Candle Light’, Moor Mother's distorted and doubled up vocal chorus evokes a frantic yet solemn energy as she speaks on themes of life and death.‘Grace’ is an EP constructed through deep feeling, transmitting vital dancefloor energy. It’s music is versatile, imbued with a strong will, personality, and colour.

Double A-side single off SAUCY LADY’s “SUPERNOVA” album with 2 cuts backed by J-ZONE. “ALIEN NATION” is a peak-hour, spaced out B-Boy disco cut. “ORBIT” on the flip is a downtempo breakbeat beat neck breaker. A straight up melodic space funk double sider. Doubles necessary. Pressed in random combination of black and/or colored vinyl.

Legs 11 collaborate with the infamous drag DJ duo Lisa & Lisa for a special, limited 10" vinyl release. They first met at a festival in a community garden, where they both performed, instantly bonding over a shared love for underground pop music and clubbing. While dancing the night away in a tiny, steamy community garden play house, the idea for a collaboration was conceived.

Lisa & Lisa joined Legs 11 for their concert at Oslo Pride in 2018, adding vocals, dancing and fabulousness. The combination of the Lisas' irresistible, rough glamour and Legs 11's catchy, club tinged synth pop brought so much joy, that the obvious next step was a studio collaboration along the lines of Eight Wonder/Pet Shop Boys. The choice of covering Bertine Zetlitz' Girl Like You was similarly obvious, being the only true Norwegian electro pop diva. Adding Edwyn Collins' similarly titled song, proved a perfect choice for a double A-side single.

All of the music featured here on this new Soul Jazz Records collection was created by Brazilian
artists in the USA in the 1970s.
In the early 1970s North American jazz musicians were eager to work with upcoming Brazilian
musicians. Miles Davis invited Airto Moreira to join his new ‘electric’ band, Dom Um Romao (part of
Sérgio Mendes’ legen
dary Brazil ‘66 in the 1960s) joined the fusion group Weather Report, Flora
Purim and Airto both became a part of Chick Corea’s new project Light As A Feather, Wayne Shorter
collaborated with Milton Nascimento, George Duke recorded Brazilian Love Affair, and so on.
With all the attention placed on them from these important jazz artists, North America became the
new musical playground for a large number of these Brazilian artists – Airto Moreira, Flora Purim,
Sérgio Mendes, Luiz Bonfá, Eumir Deodato, João Donato and many others.
Most of these musicians had already experienced success through the earlier popularity of bossa
nova in the 1960s, either at home in Brazil or in the USA. But by the end of the 1960s many
Brazilian artists had left their own country, as the military dictatorship became progressively more
authoritarian and repressive. In the USA, through their critically acclaimed work for Miles Davis,
Weather Report, Lightj As A Feather etc., all of these artists were now given reign to explore new
musical terrains away from the restrictions of both a musical genre and a state censor back in Brazil.
This collection brings together some of these finest works and comes complete with extensive notes
that explains the path these musicians took from Brazil to the USA and shows the political and
musical links between Brazil and the USA that created the conditions for this unique fusion of these
two distinct cultures, North American Jazz and Brazilian music, that occurred in the 1970s.
The album comes as a deluxe gatefold double vinyl LP, complete with download code, full sleeve
notes, exclusive photography, double inner sleeves.

Soul Jazz Records are releasing this stunning new collection, The World of Keith Haring, featuring
music influential to the artist Keith Haring.
The art of Keith Haring is today one of the most recognisable of any visual artists of his generation,
defining 1980s New York during an intense period when downtown artists and musicians collaborated
like never before. Haring’s musical inspiration took in the punk/dance downtown sounds of clubs like
The Mudd Club, underground disco at Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage, as well the early days of hip-hop
and electro.
The album is released to coincide with the opening of the first major exhibition in the UK of Keith
Haring’s work at Tate Liverpool and which runs for the next six months.
Haring’s many friends included Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Fab Five Freddy,
William Burroughs, Jenny Holzer, Yoko Ono, Grace Jones, Larry Levan, Futura 2000.
If you were looking for a person to guide you through the wide variety of nightclub scenes of
downtown New York in the 1980s, then Keith Haring would have been your man.
This album comes in deluxe artwork and three formats – Double CD + 48-page book, a deluxe 3xLP +
bonus 7” + download code vinyl version, and a standard 3xLP + download standard vinyl version. All
formats of the album feature stunning photography, extensive sleevenotes and interviews.
The music here includes the work of a number of Haring’s close friends, including Jean-Michel
Basquiat, Yoko Ono, Larry Levan, John Sex and George Condo (The Girls), as well as healthy dose of
rare disco, early electro and New York punk/dance tracks.

Over the last decade, we’ve come accustomed to Jason Letkiewicz releasing material under a dizzying array of aliases, each utilized to explore a different side of his multi-faceted musical persona. Now, some 14 years after he made his recording debut alongside Ari Goldman as Manhunter, Letkiewicz has joined forces with Into The Light Records to release his first album under his real name.

The Reflecting Pool sees Letkiewicz exploring the uncomplicated and uncluttered in the pursuit of pure aural beauty. While his recent album as Opposing Currents was dense, dark, urban and industrial, The Reflecting Pool is stripped back, quiet and melodious. The contrast between the two projects is marked, with The Reflecting Pool drawing more on Letkiewicz’s love of crystalline ambient, slow burn synthesizer soundscapes, early ’80s library music and the kind of obscure electronic new age music that has been a hallmark of Into The Light’s releases to date.

The set’s 12 tracks gently ebb and flow, with Letkiewicz making great use of dusty old drum machines, effects units and a range of vintage analogue and digital synthesizers. It’s a set-up that results in a range of complimentary mood pieces and interludes, from the delay-laden military drums and lilting lead lines of “Out of Body Experiences”, to the drowsy, sunrise bliss of “Sunspot”, the bubbling Tangerine Dream style shuffle of “Mind Awake Body Asleep” and the outer-space atmosphere of “The Kill Fee”.

Throughout, Letkiewicz showcases his seemingly intrinsic grasp of mood, atmosphere and melody. It can be heard within the glacial guitar motifs, occasional beats and elongated chords of “The Reflecting Pool”, the rhythmic bustle of “Numb Drums”, the glassy-eyed melancholia of “Arhythmia” and the cinematic paranoia of “Burning Off The Morning Fog”. It’s also evident amongst the classically beat-less ambient of closing cut “Weightless”, whose alien electronics, effects-laden pulses and opaque chords recall established masters of the genre.

With The Reflecting Pool, Letkiewicz has provided us with a much-needed dose of stress-free musical escapism, at the same time offering hope that in these troubling times, love may still save the day.

Berlin based trio Keller Crackers collective likes to shape haunting esoteric sounds, in which self-built instruments dance with ritualistic synthesised rhythms, field recordings, psychoacoustic drones and poetical spoken silhouettes.

After a self-released MC and a mesmerising tune called “Anem” out in February 2019 on the custom-made Kashual Plastik 007 double-vinyl compilation, now they give birth to their own debut record “KC”, a four track EP resulting from various improvisational studio sessions, a bag full of spontaneous visionary DIY sound fashion that melts meandering serialism, foggy ‘Chris & Cosey’-ness, exoticism and freely expressed emotions. Some pieces are given time to evolve, being dragged through long arrangements and slow transitions, while others are playful and short. To close up the magic circle, the release includes a tripping Tolouse Low Trax signature remix.

The opening tune “Specialised” swings on a trance-like hypnotic bass line, while a self-made kalimba played through a tape delay and overtones from a DIY circuit bended device inject dynamics and colour to the composition. Out of the sonic depth, the spoken words of Sylvana Wickman emerge enchanting and unreal, naming a series of technical terms, assembling a deep notion on the specialised society we live in.

“Cow Tongue” follows, a fleeting composition of crackling electronic clicks jumping off a micro-modular device. They got overdubbed again by Sylvana’s voice, delightfully reciting phrases from a recipe of regional delicacies.

The A side of KC`s first strike finishes with a spaced-out synth bass and the lo-fi beats of a Yamaha RX15 drum machine. They are the gripping foundation of “Aithouses Anamonis“, which means “Waiting Rooms”. It describes the scene of a man sitting in a waiting room observing the consumerist behaviour by the folks around him.

The B-side opens with a Tolouse Low Trax remix of “Specialised”, elevating the original with the bass line of “Aithouses Anamonis“, while melting the all into a dark nebulous Tolouse Low Trax signature stripped down funk for endless nights in neon lights.

For their final track “Colours”, Keller Crackers invited a steady free member of their live shows to record with them: free jazz musician Robert Würz. He tuned his flute enthralling over a suspenseful bass line formed in a whirlwind of synth-sounds. The whole frenzy gets divine through sliding chords that rise from a self-built guitar.

A musical bouquet for open spirits, that value charming minimal wave zones, undefinable post-industrial psychedelics and hallucinogenic poetry reflections on the current state of our mechanical times.

Mount Liberation Unlimited are Tom and Niklas, two Swedes from space who have spent the last 5 years

carving out a particularly vivid niche in contemporary electronic music. Their previous work has seen them

connect with an impressive list of global dance powerhouses: New York's Beats In Space, Melbourne's

Superconscious and Munich's Permanent Vacation have all released 12'' heat from the duo, while their

hometown buddies at Studio Barnhus provided an outlet for what has been perhaps their biggest and boldest

release yet, 2017's double smash single Double Dance Lover. Their live shows are fervent, fast-paced and very

multi-instrumental affairs, performed non-stop at an increasingly prestigious list of clubs and festivals, serving

as prime examples of the MLU boys' core obsession: the interaction of human rhythm and electronic pulse.

They have their own great little radio show on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM! Australia loves them! They

got their artist friend Tom-Hadar Elde to sculpt their heads for their debut album cover!

That self-titled debut, to be released May 31 on Studio Barnhus, has been in progress since the very formation

of the MLU project in 2014. It contains some of their earliest work and of course their very latest – all perfected

at the Neve desk of legendary Gothenburg studio Svenska Grammofonstudion, in cahoots with mix engineer

Christoffer Berg (Depeche Mode, Robyn, Fever Ray).

The result is a sonically fascinating, endlessly generous and straight up FUN record that takes the listener on a

joyride through bittersweet stoner disco, frenzied scando-kraut jams and some of the sweetest dance pop to

come out of Sweden this side of Super Trouper.

The record is preceded by a limited 10'' release of album track Climb Me Up, complete with an exclusive club

mix of the song.