Suche:dreamscape

Director David Lynch once said "I long for a kind of quiet where I can just drift and dream. I always say getting inspiration is like fishing. If you're quiet and sitting there and you have the right bait, you're going to catch a fish eventually. Ideas are sort of like that. You never know when they're going to hit you." Inspired by this quote in both name and spirit, Hollie Kenniff's The Quiet Drift is an ambient gallery of cloudlike synths, seraphic strings, echoing guitars, and other celestial textures guided to cohesion by Hollie's own wordless singing. Though the album certainly creates (and originates from) the kind of space where Lynch's proverbial "fish" can be caught, The Quiet Drift is a fitting title for Hollie's own history, both recent and distant. During the course of the album's creation, Hollie and her family moved cross-country from an island in Washington state, to an island in Maine before ultimately relocating to Canada. "As a child I visited Ontario year-round," she explains in her own words. She continues "More than any other landscape, I think the lake, rivers, and woods there left the most enduring impression on me. The landscape and pace of life of these places will always stay with me." But the reverberant spaces Hollie crafts need no physical headquarters. Instead of conjuring views of nature at the ground level, her sound more readily evokes a top-down perspective, with the distinct features of the land shrinking underfoot as the listener becomes untethered from geography altogether. The Quiet Drift belongs more to the liminal spaces between life and afterlife, memory and fantasy, landscape and dreamscape, than any mappable locale. Describing her formative years, Hollie says "As a dual US/Canadian citizen who spent my childhood in a rural town-- one that I haven't returned to in many years - I have a sense of not entirely belonging anywhere. When I was a teenager my close friends were male musicians, so I was also an outsider to the degree that they were wild and anarchic in a way that I wasn't. I was a quiet book reader and avid music listener who enjoyed being around a creative group. I was also a radio DJ for alternative and punk music throughout high school." In this light, The Quiet Drift attests that creativity is placeless, and calls into question the stereotype of artists as scene-centric city dwellers. Having come of age in the absence of metropolitan sensory overload, Hollie learned to spot the muse in nature, and within herself, instead of the echo chamber of a frenzied peer group. On The Quiet Drift Hollie Kenniff wholly escapes from such pop-culture feedback loops into transcendent, shimmering realms, and she brings the listener along with her. In this age in which we have all been called to reevaluate our relationship to indoor spaces, and seek refuge in the great outdoors, The Quiet Drift provides an apt soundtrack for such rebalancing.

Aquaregia mainstays, Troma & PERS1, return for their fourth release on the label. Their Kaede EP exhibits the duo's signature exquisite acid lines though a tracklisting of five dripping dreamscapes.

"Kaede" introduces the release with a bubbling acid line and up-tempo groove. A euphoric journey through a new destination; a mental escapade moving from excitement and anticipation to pure bliss.

"Samara" takes over with a haunting acid line and eerie pads, venturing deeper into the unknown. Atmospheric fog intertwines between the rosy foliage of the Japanese maples; a cool breeze propels the ripened samara, helicoptering from their stems.

"Crimson Breath" relieves the tension with a chilled out and dubby trip. We're taken bankside of a babbling brook, sheltered by an enclosing leafy canopy; comforted in a safe haven.

Next, "Autumn Moon" gently guides us on a psychedelic excursion laced with intricate dribbling acid lines and breaky percussion. A walk through a shadowy limestone cave, water trickling down and plinking from the luminous stalactites.

Nervous Horizon is happy to present 'Sogno EP', the new project by label co-owner Guglielmo Barzacchini, aka TSVI. Embarking on a journey inside the mind's most deep and intricate illusions and hallucinations, 'Sogno EP' is an exploration into various different types of dream states and altered states of consciousness. Characterised by intricate rhythms, slower beats inspired by techno, dancehall and little to no melodies, the record features Italian ASMR and spoken word to enhance the hazy and hypnotic mood permeating throughout. Taking a close look at his own states of unconsciousness and channelling them into his musical creation, TSVI dives into the abstract and eerie worlds of the subconscious with a project inspired by surreal dreamscapes, trance states and the concept of shadow work, in which each track explores a different aspect of the depth of the human psyche.

For fans of AMON DÜÜL, CAN, FAUST, NEUBAUTEN, BRIAN ENO, CLUSTER, CULT OF LUNA, NINE INCH NAILS, MASSIVE ATTACK OR - Norwegian for "dizzy, confusing" - is the third album from Italian avant-rock trio OSLO TAPES, and the album keeps what the word promises: a dizzying ride through a feverish dreamscape of imaginary Norwegian highlands painted in cubistic shapes. Hypnotic basslines, repetitive drum patterns, new wave synths and psychedelic guitar textures covering the full width of the stereo room, all seamlessly woven into a gloomy Kraut - tapestry which sounds refreshingly_ modern, while paying tribute to the aged genre. Marco Campitelli, born and raised in Lanciano on the Southern Adriatic coast of Italy, founded OSLO TAPES in the early 2010s after a trip to the Norwegian Capital left him deeply impressed. Under the influence of this infatuation, he composed and produced OSLO TAPES' first record "OT (un cuore in pasto a pesci con teste di cane)" within a week in 2013. Supervised and supported by friend Amaury Cambuzat (faUSt / Ulan Bator), Campitelli's first attempt to capture the mystical vibe of Norway was released on DeAmbula Records (Ulan Bator, The Marigold, 7C). In 2015 he was joined by Mauro Spada and Federico Sergente (Zippo) and together they recorded OSLO TAPES' sophomore album "Tango Kalashnikov", also released on DeAmbula Records. "OR" is a much more collaborative effort for OSLO TAPES than the first two records. Next to Campitelli, the album was co-produced by Amaury Cambuzat (Ulan Bator) and James Aparicio (house engineer for Mute Records and mixing and mastering engineer for Depeche Mode, Mogwai, Nick Cave). During production, Campitelli became friends with Emil Nikolaisen of Serena Maneesh w h o guided him "through the Norwegian imagination". As a result, the record's title is also courtesy of Nikolaisen. During this journey spanning over eight songs, OSLO TAPES, completed by Mauro Spada (bass) and Davide Di Virgilio (drums and percussions) construct a dense and ever so dark atmosphere that is captivating, brooding and imaginative. After a spiraling takeoff with "Space is the place", we find ourselves floating weightlessly above the nocturnal Norwegian highlands through "Zenith" and "Kosmik Feels", an airy circulation of jazzy drums, pulsating bass lines and shimmering guitar clouds. We saddle up, gallop across the sky on "Bodo Dakar" and drift back into the night on "Cosmonaut". The trifecta of "Norwegian Dream", "Exotic Dreams" and "Obession Is The Mother of All" conclude this agitated fever dream journey. There is a sense of solitude in OSLO TAPES' compositions which makes it easy to imagine them as interstellar jam sessions between cosmonauts, each in their own isolated space capsule. Every spin of "OR" brings new discoveries: sometimes it is a noise that we did not notice before, sometimes a slight change in the drum groove, sometimes just a piece of the lyrics, meandering through our mental space. "OR" is a vertiginious journey to be remembered - and repeated. "The focus of Oslo Tapes is to harmonize the noise" says Marco Campitelli.

Slowly but surely, the Dom Trojga saga continues, and there could hardly be a more fitting way to start off its next chapter than with jamaszka FT's untitled extended play offering. Conceived and executed entirely during lockdown rule, the record is a pointed expression of the angst and confusion that we all fell prey to - aimed at a dancefloor that was not to be, yet delivered with a gripping honesty that in itself offers consolation. Difficult to pinpoint stylistically, the music shifts from dense to sparse, with hazy un-rave anthems, hints of fourth-world minimalism and hazy, dreamscape echoes - all in keeping with the protean genius of jamaszka FT himself, who remains one of the most spontaneous, and idiosyncratic, if somewhat cryptic, artists that populate our scene. In keeping with this very aura, we had Miko?aj Moskal take care of the cover art - a distinctive stylist if there ever was one, his work constitutes a language of its own, traceable across his incredible output. Play this record to your friends and family and keep hope alive.

Seven years and a handful of lifetimes ago, New Bums came
out of nowhere with their debut album, ‘Voices In a Rented
Room’ - a record the New York Times described as “feeling like
it’s falling apart.” New Bums took this as a compliment and,
thus emboldened, they toured relentlessly in support of the
release: criss-crossing the USA in the spring of 2014, with a
European run that summer. Then, silence descended, as the
Bums withdrew to the place from which they’d mysteriously
emerged.
Now, the Bums are back. 2021 finds them with a new album in
hand. Following a West Coast US tour in late 2019 it’s clear that
the duo of Donovan Quinn (Skygreen Leopards) and Ben
Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Rangda, etc) are fully
reanimated, as evidenced by the songs and sounds of ‘Last
Time I Saw Grace’.
Retaining the drunk-dog-locomotion of their debut, New Bums
sprinkle a bit of fresh fancy into their signature twin guitarsand-vocals sound, with cleaner recording techniques, further
developments in harmonies and a new appreciation for a song
with more than two parts, making ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’
nothing less than the perfect progression from the purposefully
murky mixes of their debut.
Continuing to embrace an acoustic rock ’n’ roll sound, inspired
by artists such as Jacobites, Robyn Hitchcock, Johnny
Thunders, Replacements and such, New Bums push the words
and the stories to the front of the line, crafting tales with satiric
glee on ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’. However, this world of empty
perfume bottles, bodies tied to masts and moving onward to
devastation (after the bottle on the table pulls out a gun) feels
much more Gombrowiczian dreamscape than drunken night on
the town. Yes, everything is wasted but this is an existential
wasteland rather than a substance-laden one. This combination
of arch Californian post-aristocratic melodrama with torn and
frayed acoustic guitars opens up a new genre entirely, one
those at Drag City are tempted to call Rent Control Romantic.

British artist Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) traverses the experimental terrain between sound and space connecting a bewilderingly diverse array of genres. Since 1991 he has been intensely active in sonic art, producing concerts, installations and recordings, the albums Mass Observation (1994), Delivery (1997), and The Garden is Full of Metal (1998) hailed by critics innovative and inspirational works of contemporary electronic music. Committed to working with cutting edge practitioners he has collaborated with Bryan Ferry, Wayne McGregor, Mike Kelley, Carsten Nicolai, Michael Nyman, Steve McQueen, Laurie Anderson and Hussein Chalayan, amongst many others.

Rimbaud first met Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck at Le Fresnoy Studio national des Arts Contemporains when they were both Visiting Professors in 2012. Op de Beeck lives and works in Brussels, Belgium and creates sculpture, installations, video, photography, animated films, drawing, painting, and writing. His various works show the viewer non-existent, but identifiable places, moments and characters that appear to have been taken from everyday life.

The artists found an immediate creative connection, and a year after meeting Staging Silence (2) was completed. In 2019, they returned to the theme and created Staging Silence (3).

Each of the films is realised through the same principles, as two pairs of anonymous hands construct and deconstruct fictional interiors and landscapes on a mini film set of just three-square metres in size. The films take the viewer on a visual journey through depopulated, enigmatic and often melancholic, but nonetheless playful, small-scaled places, which are built up and taken down before the eye of the camera.

Ranging from hyper-realistic fictional land and cityscapes to absurd, almost surreal, dreamscapes, the various locations are connected by the sense of mystery and melancholy that pervades them. And at every moment Rimbaud's score is amplifying and illustrating these moments, from tragedy to nostalgia, witty to optimistic.

Introspective and lyrical, Staging Silence offers us a world of mystery and intrigue, held together by nature and time. This is a very humane works experienced at a time when many of us feel disconnected from the world around us. The peculiar silence that permeates this hauntingly beautiful work is very much an illustration of our times, anticipating a future in the past. Staging Silence is an exquisite study in dreamlike abstract ambience, a kaleidoscope of sounds and tones that engage the head and the heart.

You could think of the collection of tracks here as a library record of sorts, and each track inhabits its own universe. Tropical fits various moods and situations, and it could soundtrack any number of activities at home or on a dancefloor - whether real, imaginary, or hallucinated. Strangely enough, it sounds like it could have been constructed from obscure Italian library breaks, when instead every instrument has been played and panned, several times over, across magnetic tape.

The genesis of many of these tracks began when CV Vision moved to Berlin in 2014. His flat had a small chamber where he could fit a drum set, so he treated the walls with foam, and in true DIY style, dived headfirst into recording these tracks. It was the natural next step on an audio adventure that first began when CV Vision picked up the guitar in his teens, and a couple years later started recording with friends in his home town of Bayreuth. Fast forward ten years and here is his debut - a culmination of practising chops and learning instruments, mastering recording techniques and fine-tuning the CV Vision sound.

It’s a sound that condenses elements of acid rock, psych soul, library funk and new wave oddities into a movie soundtrack for your mind. It’s a journey from ‘60s west coast LSD-drenched excursions to ‘80s synth and post-punk mutations. Tropical is a plunge into another time, another music you can simply swim around in and explore.

Side A opens up with Tropical Tune In, which rides in on a clave and a warm wind, blowing a distinctly herbal aroma and recalling exotica dons like Les Baxter and Martin Denny. Following on with the aural equivalent of a sea breeze through your mind, Spaziergang am Meer blows away the cobwebs and conjures some nice library moments like Stringtronics or F eelings . Next, Ba_c_k(Lava) bounces out of a cold wave post-punk melting pot and crashes through the speakers like a blazed Zebedee, with some sweet eastern synths for added flavour, before the rolling bass licks of Der Böse Schamane take us into another dimension, landing somewhere between a psych rock freak out and a Black Ark dub session. Mr Maze channels the arpeggiators of synth outsiders like Mort Garson and Bruce Haack, creating a glorious interlock of robotic electronics and freakbeat vocals. The side comes to a close with the guitars of Der Strand (außer Rand und Band) letting loose like syrupy springs, and setting a languid mood like the bedroom scene in Bedazzled (1967 version). Side B kicks off with Parallel Universum, which comes through like a woozy krautrock workout, all ducking synths with big chord shifts to create an epic deranged beehive of a soundtrack. Im Land der Ameisen evokes the spirit if not the sound of White Rabbit, when logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead, before waking up and wandering through the side alleys of Marrakech with the West Coast Pop Art Ensemble and the Electric Prunes, as Ritual (No. 4) blares out the speakers of passing tuk tuks. Ein Wasserfall plumbs the deep synth depths, like Raymond Scott in scuba gear, modular rack strapped to his back delivering oxygen as he swims between connector cables and seaweed forests through a watery underworld. Banana King sounds like a lost soundtrack to Donkey Kong or Mario Cart, if the cart radio was tuned into a synth

documentary hosted by James Pants, while Das Kloster am Berg takes the baton from Brenda Ray and her Naffi cohorts, all dubbed-out niceness and post punk swagger. The LP closes out with Tropical Drop Out, a dreamscape rather than a wake up call, coaxing you deeper into the trek across the desert of your mind.

And that’s Tropical in its essence: capsules from another time, snapshots of another sound, messages from another mind - all in the service of inducing the visions in your head.

written by Max Cole

Soul Intent delivers his second studio album, this time on Dope Plates, the 90s influenced sub-label for his Lossless Music imprint.

"Everything And Nothing" sees Soul Intent reach back 25 years to the sounds and vibes that soundtracked his teenage years in the mid 90s. It was this period when he first discovered rave and jungle through his brothers CD collection, MTV's Party Zone and Dreamscape tape packs, which were being passed around at school.

Some of the track names refer to memories from this era including "Standard Deluxe" (a long since defunct skate/surf clothing brand) and "Tribal Gathering" - the legendary 1993 rave put on by event organisers Universe.

In a time where everyone from Whitney Houston to Frank Zappa have been re-created in hologram form, where Grimes recently suggested in an interview that “we were at the end of human art”; there could scarcely be a better time for genre-shifting Leeds-based six-piece Team Picture to bring forth the thrillingly expansive synth-pop opus of their debut album The Menace of Mechanical Music.

Inspired by an early 20th century essay under the same name by American marching band leader John Philip Sousa, Team Picture take a look at the automation of creativity on this, their first record with a fully settled line up. Themes centre around the value of creative identity in an automated age, the increasingly disposable nature of art and where that leaves its creators. At twelve songs split into a three-part suite; The Menace of Mechanical Music is emphatically maximalist.

Tracks like the breathy, twinkling Flowerpots, Electric Beds and Handsome Machines’ Icarus-like striving for the sun are an antidote to a music world awash with digital production manipulation and songs written to algorithm. In debating the loosening of the human grip on creativity, Team Picture have poured every last drop of emotion into the recording process.

The group’s now trademark three-way vocal delivery and blurring of textures takes on new structure and purpose. They’ve always had a self-awareness to themselves, too. Initially grouped in with the guitar psych crowd, thanks to their fledgling repeato-rock, they were quick to disassociate themselves from that on 2018's mini-album Recital. With The Menace of Mechanical Music, they expand their sound further still, pirouetting from the likes of Sleeptype Auction – which glimmers like a late 80’s 4AD artefact – through various FX-laden dreamscapes, to the squelchy post-punk of closer Quit Reading. Yet the group were as much influenced by the work of the Early Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch, and his triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, as they were music touchstones ranging from Kate Bush, Cass McCombs and The Cure.

It’s Sousa words that resonate most deeply within the record however: “The fears of Sousa echo the fears of today's musician,” says Lewis of the late band leader’s 1907 text. “The re-appropriation of funds and support that the artist needs to survive, the gradual erosion of musicianship and self-improvement, that art will become disposable, and that our cultural identity will disappear.”

Recorded with producer Matt Peel (W.H Lung, Eagulls), half the group were unemployed during the session and a daily routine would see them undertake universal credit meetings and job interviews in the morning, before heading to the studio to work into the night. “It was an anxious process but an enjoyable one” says the band’s guitarist Josh Lewis. Indeed, beyond the increasingly golden gated idea of ‘making it’ as an artist, this new album is simply about surviving as one.
Sousa’s vision of a society that had deferred to automation, where babies were rocked to sleep by wheels and pulleys, and people no longer played piano with their own hands. Well over 100 years later and on the precipice of a technological shift never seen before, The Menace of Mechanical Music is the most human response that Team Picture could have given.

Hungarian “minimalist” instrumentalist/composer Tibor Szemző is considered a genius by many, although his accomplishments as an artist are sometimes overshadowed by the likes of superstars, Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Snapshot From The Island was originally released by Leo Records in 1987 and now 33 years later the album gets the proper reissue on his own label.

Snapshot From The Island is a wonderful excursion into ambient-electronic-acoustic dreamscapes which could also be considered an offshoot of what many call the “minimalist movement” The title track, “Snapshot From The Island” is a 24-minute tone poem featuring Szemző performing on computer drums and flutes of various pitch. Here, Szemző provides a soft rhythmic undercurrent to balance the somewhat ethereal and delightfully hypnotic motif as he also electronically emulates bird and animal sounds which magnifies the mood or imagery of a far away “Island” paradise.

Szemző is a true artist, a painter with a fertile imagination, as he invites the listener into his introspective world of thoughts and dreams. Szemző’s lush, yet subtle flute work evokes a surreal landscape on ”Water-Wonder”. On this piece, Szemző pursues circular passages while also intelligently utilizing a dash of echo to enhance the aura of a magical or mystical place, which for all intents and purposes seems timeless or otherworldly. “Let’s Go Out And Dance” is a dream-laden piece, featuring Szemző’s “cosmic” flute performances atop a soft pulse and László Hortobágyi’s synthesizer backwashes which conveys a sense of fulfillment or perhaps a scenario of – peaceful celebration. Again, Szemző offers up more visions of paradisen, which could very well have been a subtitle to this beautiful recording. The overall organic nature of Tibor Szemző’s music makes it all seem so real or something that our imaginations can easily grasp. There are no hidden clues or underlying mysteries behind all of this as Szemző’s artistry speaks for itself. A museum piece for the ears.

Tibor Szemző - flutes, voice, drum computer, sound installation
László Hortobágyi - synth. on "Let's go out and dance”
Mixed by László Hortobágyi and Tibor Szemző
Remastered by István Szelényi 2020

Good Company Records awakens from a deep slumber to present two new West Coast dreamscapes, proudly written and recorded on Noongar boodja (its local country). Up first is GCR009, the debut LP from Leaving (Rupert Thomas), featuring deep drones and gutsy ambience recorded between 2013 and 2017 - available digitally and as a limited edition 12” (release forthcoming). Thomas’ inimitable wavescaping is complemented by local photographer Duncan Wright’s aerial landscape on the cover, and speaks to the record’s special connection to its country – sound and image forming the perfect package for a cheeky meditation on your morning commute, first brew of the day in hand, or cuddled up somewhere comfy, resonating harmoniously with your beloved.

Black Truffle is very proud to present Peaks by Australian cellist Judith Hamann, her debut release of electro-acoustic music. Known mostly for her live performance work with composers including Sarah Hennies, Yvette Janine Jackson, Alvin Lucier, Tashi Wada, and La Monte Young, here she steps away from the cello, moving into an intimate dreamscape woven from recordings gathered over years of itinerant touring.

Peaks is a work in two distinct parts, crossfading between different landscapes and apertures; from rooftop to church, from stasis to flares of momentary romanticism. Peaks considers summits as being both above and below, reframing the idea of apex from a more intimate perspective. Hamann considers how our domestic and personal geographies might form their own apogees, meridians, or nadirs.

Assembled in 2019 while an artist in residence in Krems, Austria, Peaks begins with Hamann’s more familiar cello but soon unravels into resonant electronic interiors; Southern California nightscapes heard through windows, San Francisco bathroom fans, snatches of recordings of friends, hand organs, and engines. signal/centinela draws primarily on recordings from Hamann’s time living in San Diego, and carries with it a certain sense of nostalgia in the sense of homesickness, longing, and displacement of distance and time. Side B is composed from recordings gathered on a different continent, Europe, weaving piano with recordings of sleep, breath, church organ, and the act of climbing. under/over emerges as it recedes, overlapping moments of arrival to create another kind of ‘spire’ in the sense of spir (breath). Peaks, with its omission of any recordings from Hamann’s home of Australia, hints at how the very construction of home itself, might be restless, untethered, changeable, and malleable.

On Peaks, Hamann interrogates tropes of ambient concrète musics, intentionally pivoting formally around material which teeters on the edge of cliche. This exploration asks whether familiar frames of harmony, field recordings and narrative trajectories can excavate new territories, or be ruptured. Peaks untangles a very personal sense of tension between beauty and shame in experimental music: treating lushness and harmony as possessing potentially muscular musical properties that might wrestle with or construct senses of belonging and home.

This time, RØDHÅD tunes into a place of reflection and reformation on his most avant-garde project to date: WSNWG – BACK TO ZERO. Intended to provide a space for solo releases, the imprint comes at a crucial turning point, as society circles in on itself during the pandemic.

RØDHÅD christens the label with MOOD, his first ambient experimentalist release, comprised of his own solo archival material mostly from 2017/2018, working on a plane of spontaneity, devoid of set structures. The result is a life-giving, intimate and solipsistic work. Awash with field recordings, droning loops and subtle granulations, the sparse soundscapes on the 18- track album are deeply profound and satisfying.

Collating a myriad of emotions through this sonic venture, RØDHÅD demonstrates his kaleidoscopic nature as a producer of atmospheric and ambient soundscapes, as well as his legacy provider of dance floor energies. The album will have unique artwork contributed by DJ & producer Silent Servant.

Sincere, sarcastic and unassumingly seminal: Glasgow's answer to Basic Channel, Southside's answer to Pub and Sandy's answer to those endless afters. 2s on the balcony and runs to the shop. An ode to the skyline; a symphony for the local legends; a tapestry of downtempo dreamscapes - from Shawlands to Neukölln and the world beyond. A warm dose of future-proof emotion. Strap in, this is one for heads, the lovers and all those along the way. Welcome to the layer cake son. Forever yours, Dream_E.

Try Anything Once is the first solo album created by Alan Parsons following the split of The Alan Parsons Project. This album features vocals by Ambrosia's David Pack, Duran Duran backing singer Jacqui Copland, former Mindbender and 10cc guitarist Eric Stewart, and Manfred Mann's Earth Band frontman Chris Thompson.

The album takes a different turn from the previously ethereal Project albums, and seems to continue the directional development that started with Stereotomy and Gaudi (MOVLP631), combining rock elements ( Back Against The Wall' & Breakaway') and mood-oriented beats ( Turn It Up' & I'm Talking To You'), while still retaining certain elements of the classic Project albums that are unique ( Mr Time', Wine From The Water', the instrumentals).

With the Music On Vinyl edition of Try Anything Once, this awesome album is available on vinyl for the very first time!

Emerging this January with a duo of debut EPs, Black (Vegan Tinder Lord) and White (Hexxex) , Ϟᑢrəən ϟHAᗌ/W blends pummelling techno, industrial grit and experimental noise for a mood-spanning sound inspired by everything from Google Street View to visiting the dentist.

The Black EP gleans from the heavier end of the club music spectrum, plunging into a hardcore well of nosebleed kicks and synapse-frying synths that bang with raw dancefloor energy. The White EP pauses for reflection, transforming Screen Shadow's spiky reveries into tightly-woven technicolour dreamscapes.

Track highlights include the humour-spiced, pitch-shifted "Vegan Tinder Lord"—immortalised by its disembodied, Amnesia Scanner-esque voice—and the percussive, hardstyle-tinged assault course of "Scanna Hex".

On it's white counterpart ,"Hexxex" builds on a Drexciyan beat, while "Corridor" explores the sort of glitchy experimentalism that gets under your skin."Vaxuum" and "Time Orphans" mine deep ambient soundscapes, with the former constructed from a grainy loop and the latter built from rich orchestral tones.

Artwork and music go hand in hand, with logo designer Number III (Paul Nicholson, Aphex Twin logo designer ) cooking up the striking black and white imagery.

Emerging this January with a duo of debut EPs, Black (Vegan Tinder Lord) and White (Hexxex) , Ϟᑢrəən ϟHAᗌ/W blends pummelling techno, industrial grit and experimental noise for a mood-spanning sound inspired by everything from Google Street View to visiting the dentist.

The Black EP gleans from the heavier end of the club music spectrum, plunging into a hardcore well of nosebleed kicks and synapse-frying synths that bang with raw dancefloor energy. The White EP pauses for reflection, transforming Screen Shadow's spiky reveries into tightly-woven technicolour dreamscapes.

Track highlights include the humour-spiced, pitch-shifted "Vegan Tinder Lord"— immortalised by its disembodied, Amnesia Scanner-esque voice — and the percussive, hardstyle-tinged assault course of "Scanna Hex". Inspired by the unpleasant act of a dentist drilling a tooth cavity, "Bodies" burrows deep into your brain, while the glitchy experimentalism of "Corridor" gets under your skin.

Across the two EPs, vocals are processed and reshaped into other sounds using the sculpture-primed Nord modulars. These '90s instruments have since been discontinued, but remain a staple in the Screen Shadow studio and the upcoming live setup.

Artwork and music go hand in hand, with logo designer Number III (Paul Nicholson, Aphex Twin logo designer ) cooking up the striking black and white imagery.

'Pulse Code EP' by Amberflame - Andrei Zakharov's (aka An-2) side project aimed at finding the right balance between organic yet experimental sound - is a selection of top-notch electronica with the flair of old-school disco and everything inbetween. The crafty and meticulous use of a variety of custom analogue hardware give way to keeping an open mind with production and sound design, which varies greatly, but at the same time, shares a coherent quality throughout the EP.

The opening track "Hope" sets the mood with its melancholic airy strings and pulsating arpeggios developing effortlessly until the groovy guitar bass kicks in lighting things up and giving the mix a completely new perspective.

Taking a more experimental edge 'Pulse Code' is a PCM-inspired leftfield electronica piece which goes a new direction with its solid synthwork and fluent drum programming.

The title of the closing cut 'Dreamscape' speaks for itself: it is a meditative electro-focused affair

BLNK011 is the debut release by J Chrysalis. A Kind Robin and Latent Space are two club tracks which have been quietly making their mark over the past year since first being heard on Rinse via Ben UFO. Produced between London and France in 2017-18, these tracks explore grief and transformation. A beautifully arranged melancholic roller, A Kind Robin guides us through an Escherian wormhole with birdsong. On the flip, Latent space is a Gqom meets Robert Abel dreamscape - joyfully queer and luminous.
These carefully crafted tracks are defined by a bucolic sensibility and underlying intensity, yielding their own vivid self-contained worlds whilst remaining effective and club conscious. Its a bold introduction to a refreshing and singular producer.”

Especial is delighted to welcome Alphonse back to the label for a third EP to again show his deep knowledge of the past to make a future. After the debut dub-breaks-poem of Same For Me and success of his warrior afro-dance Smokey 12", Alphonse made new friends with acclaimed releases for Klasse Wrecks, Hypercolour and Black Orpheus, before here returning like a chosen one with four sun kissed blessings.

Before the fields of Letchlade, hills of Castlemorton or beaches of Skegness had witnessed Alphonse exploring the sounds of many a free party sunrise, summers were misspent travelling the "disco" buses of Europe, tripping the light fantastic from Spook to Amnesia, Disco Piu to Euritimia.

The music, shared experiences and inclusion all led to an acute understanding apparent in his production skills. Ambient dreamscapes, warm bass lines, 808 breaks, 909 kick, piano, flute and horn melodies atop all lift to the heavens. In Moan Up and White Pepper Alphonse takes, reshapes, rebuilds and rewrites to create anew, expanding minds and hearts like never before.

Long stories, short stores, a nod and wink, at its heart Stolen Sunrise is an EP of wonderful expression, a producer peaking, providing a soundtrack to share for those that look to the future horizons with love.

The infamous Kiwi returns to Needwant with his second EP on the London label (home to the likes of The Revenge, Ejeca, Maxxi Soundsystem and many more) On this cut Kiwi does what he does best by incorporating emotion and grit into dance music. The EP features 3 mixes of ‘Kiya’ as well as a remix from underground hero Brian Ring.

The record opens with the original version of ‘Kiya' which features warm bass tones, spaced out synth lines, shuffling percussion and a tribal-esq vocal. The Rave mix gives ‘Kiya’ dance floor authority, introducing driving acid synth lines and a weightier low end. On the B side Kiwi delivers a deconstructed ‘Dreamscape’ mix stripping ‘Kiya' back to it’s beautiful bare bones.

‘Kiya’ will be another addition to Kiwi’s already impressive physical discography which includes releases on imprints such as Disco Halal, Future Boogie & 17 Steps. His unique approach to remixing and producing over the years has meant that he has seen a wealth of support from names such as Andrew Weatherall, DJ Harvey, Gerd Janson, Daniel Avery, Erol Alkan, Optimo, Annie Mac and Skream.

KZN005 sees Silas & Snare return to the Kaizen fold with the three-track 'Pressure' EP. Lead track 'Pressure' is a continuation of Kaizen's recognisably weighty bass-inspired sound, carried by hefty kicks and screwed synths after a lengthy cosmic build-up. A downtempo influence runs through 'Dreamscape', the floaty synths countered with skittering drums, while EP closer 'Whistle Blower' is packed with industrial percussion and creepy bleeps made for those heads-down, screw-face moments on the dancefloor. This EP comes three years after Silas & Snare's Kaizen debut, 'Biometric'. Gear up and get ready for some 'Pressure'!

Long time underground innovator Illja Rudman returns with "Sagittarii", a fourth fantastic studio album and his second on Bearfunk.

As boss of both Red Music and Imogen Recordings, as well as being a skilled DJ and diverse producer, Rudman has been an integral part of dance music for years. The Croatian effortlessly veers from electro to disco to house with his own colourful sense of melody and club-ready grooves and has done so on more than 70 releases on labels like Classic, Rong, Electric Minds and Is It Balearic Recordings. This superb new album lands just a year after

his last, "Paradigma", and is another subtle evolution in his style but one that continues to deal in authentic analogue textures with flashes of throwback funk and disco gold and a slick sense of boogie.

Things open up with the glistening future-retro chords of "Dreamscape Planet" a quick,upbeat cut that is ready made for dancing in the sun with its majestic strings and nimble basslines. "Cosmia (Regal Mix)" is another bit of engagingly urgent disco funk with clipped drums racing along beneath heart melting chords. The stylish "If I Keep My Eyes Closed (Mezzanine Mix)" slows things down, with a snaking bassline and wallowing chords making for more cosy and intimate listening while "Synthia 2000" is a more playful cut with wiggling bass and withering chords that bend space and time as you get down and boogie.

The gorgeous glossiness continues with another tight bit of disco-funk lushness on "6th Floor Entrance (Guardians Gate Mix)" and "S.O.S. Flight Theme" serves up some rugged bass lines and mad xylophone patterns on top of corrugated drums that will get any club in a spin this summer. Closing things down in the tropical tinged exotica of "Techniques & Tactics (Nocturnal Mix)" with its long legged drums, blissful Balearic vibes and superb sunset stylings.

This is an album that brims with cosmic disco energy, emotion and excellence from start to finish.

Following on from their recent album on Italian imprint Just This, Hunter/Game present the Silence Remixes out June 7th, featuring contributions from Radio Slave, Inland and Jamaica Suk amongst others.

Silence is a spiralling voyage into the depths of blissful ambience and meditative techno from Milan-based duo Hunter/Game. Arriving after a series of acclaimed EPs on the same label, it is an aesthetic statement of intent, carving out serene spaces of melancholy and upliftment.

For the remixes EP, a carefully chosen selection of artists provide varying interpretations of stand-out tracks from the album. Radio Slave turns ‘Dead Soul’ into a marching ground of melodic techno, whilst Inland breathes robotic life into ‘Crashed Sounds’ and Wrong Assessment levitate ‘Fragments’ over murky waters. Closing off the vinyl is Jamaica Suk’s ominous restructuring of ‘Reaction’.

Owners of the digital release will receive three further remixes. Vessels turns ‘Evolution’ into a broken dreamscape of stepping percussion, whilst Just This affiliate Scissors forges a stripped back, tripped out version of ‘Memories’. Also featured digitally is a second version of Jamaica Suk’s ‘Reaction’ remix.

Hailing from the heartland of British techno, Sheffield’s John Shima is one of the leading lights of UK electronics. His beautifully crafted sounds have graced a host of imprints including Distant Worlds, Exalt Records and, of course, FireScope. It is to the latter that Shima returns with his long awaiting debut album, The Lonely Machine.

John Shima is a master melody weaver, with this first LP attesting to his deftness of touch. Celestial chords and star gazing synthwork permeate this ten track odyssey. The musical heritage of Shima’s hometown, the elegance, majesty and subtlety of British electronics, is invoked from the needle drop. A range of influences come to the fore in this 2LP. Skirting around the edges of astral ambience and tonal texture are nods to industrial history, the rasp and resonance of rhythms in “Empires”, with the inspiration of Detroit surfacing in the future funk of “Phase Distortion” and “Linear.” Dreamscapes are painted in delicate hues, the fragile movements of “Accepting”, with brooding works adopting thicker basslines and ruffled notes as with “Distrust.” Nevertheless, it is the incandescent brightness of Lonely Machine that truly shines. Radiant pieces of elating electronics, complex and joyful compositions that chime with unbridled hope and open-hearted optimism.

In 1986 iconic group The Future Sound of London released the UK Top 40 chart album 'Dead Cities', from which came a track 'Yage'. Such has been the interest in this masterpiece of electronica over the years that the guys have been back into the studio to revisit it.

Here, on this limited edition, individually numbered LP press exclusively for 2019's Record Store Day comes the results. 'Yage 2019' takes the core of the original and rebuilds it. All together there are eleven tracks reconstructions and interpretations, woven together (as FSOL do) into a 42 minute dreamscape journey across the 2 sides of vinyl. Only 1000 copies of this release will be pressed on vinyl.

Malfunctioning speakers, & digital dreamscapes, SQUIRRELS ON FILM's 4th release explores the outer reaches of techno with impolite, reckless abandon.
Psychedelic sound explorer Its Own infinite Flower, who was
responsible, along with head squirrels Solar & C.l.a.w.s., for San
Francisco underground punk rave/happening Hostile Ambient
Takeover, unleashes his first official release, The Plumes of Love (ARE BLACK!). After contributing a track to 2017's Spacetime Continuum/ Juju & Jordash curated Air Texture V compilation, this four track EP of abstract tech-noise brings the sounds Its Own Infinite Flower refined in the basements & warehouses of the Bay Area's underground music scene to the wider world, whether it's ready or not.
'Drone, Drugs 'n' Dissonance' creeps into life as a thunderstorm of
white noise, out of which a cold-rave pulse somehow metastasizes into something resembling techno, although this is a deformed, uncivilized, unwanted mutation, separated at birth & raised in a toxic wilderness. It builds slowly before turning up in a rage of digital distortion, a black metal dub party held at the edge of a melting glacier. 'Oh, Empire of Roses' is a Dada Phycho Jazz Electro number. Dissonant synth chords snake around each other in a playful ouroboros of manic future funk, never knowing if it's starting or stopping, coming or going. Relentless bass throbs through the track, which almost threatens to bubble into classic acid electro before fizzling out. On side two there is 'Devotion to a Peacock Angel,' an angular breakdance groove for the characters in the bar scene in Star Wars. Electro dub rhythms keep stay grounded as everything else rips apart in all directions over the course of the track. On 'Misfortunes of El Dorado' a soundsystem bangs in the next room, only the deepest bass escaping, shaking reality until it's torn apart in waves of distortion, a classic techno synth string wandering over the top of everything in a full blown Techno Jazz Odyssey.

SQUIRRELS ON FILM continues its adventure at the edges of techno
with the mind bending stylings of Its Own Infinite Flower's debut EP,
fitted with another beautiful hand-drawn, full color sleeve by New York artist Bert Bergen. The Plumes of Love (ARE BLACK!).

Dublin's Pear label return with the new EP Soma from Donabate legend Bryan Mooney (aka DJ
Moonbeam) under his New Members alias. 3 spaced out & illimitable club cuts make up this
latest dancefloor offering on the 6th release from the year-old imprint.

The title track has been a sought after, certified Pear party anthem; timeless dancefloor alchemy
rolled into 9 minutes of dub tech(no) club magic. Yep, 'tis a big one.

B Side swerves left and then some. Good Morning drifts along effortlessly, buoyant with minimal
garage swing and touched ever so slightly by late 90's french deep house-isms (surely destined
to soundtrack many sunrise sets for the next while). Eclipse then consummates this extended
affair with a nod to the hardcore continuum through a ruff'n'rugged jungle number, dashed with
Mooney's signature dreamscapes.

Lixo - The Production Alias Of Alex Hislop, Founder Of Influential London Party Collective, Getme! - Returns To The Crew's Label Arm With New Ep 'cicada'.

The Follow-up To 2016's 'writer's Block'single Feat Trim And 2017's "ida" Ep In Collaboration With Quays.the "cicada" Ep Sees Lixo Explore The Gamut Of Electronic Music With Washed Out Vocal Sampling, Warm, Tribal Bass Sounds And Fluttery, Dreamscape Melodies That Tug At The More Experimental, Exploratory Corners Of London's Club Music Landscape.

With A Back Catalogue Already Spanning 19 Records - Including Key Releases From The Likes Of Lil Jabba , Slime, Trim And Dam Mantle - The London Party-come-label Getme! Have Established Themselves As One Of The City's Key Electronic Hubs Over The Last 10 Years. Formed By Alex Hislop (lixo) In 2006, The Brand Now Spans Events, Radio And Their Aforementioned Label Arm.

New age music from West Africa. Lush and hypnotic dreamscapes combine traditional instrumentation with sweeping electronics and field recordings. Bamako based composer Luka Productions delves into avant-griot, transforming ancient music for the 21st century. The songs are meditative and sage, as voices guide the listener through ways of living, from the village life to the modern world. Inspired by early electronic music, library records, and new age, this is easily one of the most leftfield recordings to ever come out of Mali. Limited to 500.

In 2006 Salvador Breed and Stijn van Beek met while studying Sound Design and Music Technology at the Utrecht School of the Arts. Ever since then the pair have been beavering away behind an arsenal of blinking banks in Amsterdam. The musical fruit of this twelve year friendship Breek. A partnership that smears the boundaries of styles and sounds with festive flare. For their vinyl debut, a candy coloured cornucopia of elements are swirled and whirled. Braindance, electronica and neo-classical are festooned with dubby tones and underground grit in a unique sound of diverse textures and deep tones. Faster works, like the swooping joy of "Yokai", are countered by more contemplative "Ama." "Hang" is a whimsical dreamscape of squirming acid lines, crisp drums and angular notes that combine to produce a brilliantly bright piece. "Mu-Onna" and "Oiwa" are more abstract works that melt vocals with sweet strings before the final piano swells and ambient rains of "Burabura." A daring and dynamic vinyl debut from this eccentric duo with stunning artwork from Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones (Massive Attack, Bjork en UNCLE).

We are very excited to present the new collabo release between Cosmic Compostions and Jitwam's selftitled album " ".

Born in Assam, Gauhati, in Northeast India, but currently based in New York's storied borough of Brooklyn, Jitwam spent his formative years in New Zealand and Australia, before living in monasteries in Thailand, orphanages in South Africa, and washed out apartments in London. Of everywhere and nowhere, his music draws influence from a litany of iconoclasts including, but not limited to RD Burman, Moondog, The Velvet Underground, Yayoi Kusama, Jay Electronica, Jay Dilla, Moodymann, Leon Thomas, Madlib and Asha Bhosle.

Across " (selftitled)", he utilizes knowledge acquired through years spent digging through dusty crates, and talents honed as a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocalist. A series of stumbling, jazz/soul-rooted beat sculptures, each buried beneath a haze of fuzzy psychedelia, broken microphone blues, and articulated through a freestyled process he describes as "first thought, best thought", " (selftitled)" solidifies Jitwam's spot as a major emerging talent.

Recalling the fourth world dreamscapes explored by oddball songwriters like Connan Mockasin, Clarence Clarity, Jai Paul, Silicon, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, it represents a time of transition and remembrance for Jitwam, while still fulfilling the core qualities he looks for in song. In his words, "Music is a refuge. A shelter from the storm. A place you can go to close your eyes."

Since he first shared his music with IZWID Records boss Kutmah at a Brainfeeder afterparty in London, Jitwam has released through Leaving Records, Cosmic Compositions, and The Jazz Diaries (the label he co-runs with Casey Van Reyk and Nigel Mphisa). He's also written with Inkswel (BBE) and Paul White (R&S), featured on Moodymann's K7! "DJ-Kicks" compilation and been championed by Gilles Peterson, Alexander Nut, Andrew Jervis (Bandcamp), and Funkineven. Mainly mixed and mastered by Matthewdavid at Stones Throw studios in Los Angeles, " (selftitled)" will be available on vinyl and digital formats.

Kalakuta Soul Records joins forces with waf80music to proudly present Kai Niggemann's solo debut, an all original album of outrageous poetically abstract music created live and without overdubs on a Buchla 200e Electric Music Box, one of the rarest and most sought after electronic music instruments. Working on the platform since 2013, Kai Niggemann has become one of Germany's leading artists who perform live with a Buchla 200e. His style is an electro-acoustic storytelling, a clubby dreamscape and a poetically-abstract kraut-infused energetic mix of new Elektronische Musik with contemporary club culture. Nerds love the technology and clubbers love the throbbing drive of the basslines. It's all improvised and recorded live in Berlin — yet it sounds meticulously crafted in a dark basement studio throughout the entire last winters. Kai is a member of the 30-piece kraut-noise-jazz collective "The Dorf" and the electronics duo "The Last Books" (with Achim Zepezauer), performs and records with Mia Zabelka (Vienna) as "Redshift Orchestra", cofounded the internet-computermusic "European Bridges Ensemble" (EBE, e-b-e.eu) and the electroacoustic duo "Resonator". His most recent releases were the CD/vinyl "Lux" (feat. the noise drone artist N), "EviL/EvyL" and the cassette "Made in Österreich" with The Dorf (feat. Caspar Brötzmann & FM Einheit (Ex-Einstürzende Neubauten) or "Thinking Light" by Redshift Orchestra (duo with Mia Zabelka). He performed concerts with Mia Zabelka (Wien), Yoshio Machida (JP), Trap & Zoid (BE), Stian Westerhus or Shahzad Ismaily (with The Dorf) among many others.

Purveyors of enigmatic dreamscapes and organic, danceable electronica, Leeds-based, electronic-soul quartet Noya Rao are set to release their debut album, Icaros, this November. Founded by producer Tom Henry (Cosima, Yellow Days) Noya Rao was originally conceived as a solo production project with a separate live band representation. Alongside bassist Jim Wiltshire and drummer Matt Davies, whom Tom had met playing in other bands within the Leeds music scene, the project grew to become a collaborative effort mixing Tom's production ideas with the attributes of Jim's unique bass synth lines and Matt's polyrhythmic beats. Their compositions drew on the influences of jazz, hip-hop and electronic music whilst incorporating the sounds of the bass-heavy-dub music synonymous with the Leeds music scene. Their sound really came into focus when they met vocalist Olivia Bhattacharjee who brought her gospel style and complex choral harmony to the band. Developing from raw, psychedelic improvisations, their sound became more defined and minimal, underpinned by live instrumentation and more structured song writing. This co-existing electronic and organic thread gives the band a strong identity and their powerful live show sets them apart from other producer-led bands. Matthew Halsall from Gondwana Records saw the band perform at an intimate show in Manchester in 2016 and blown away, signed the band on the spot.

Icaros takes the listener on a journey through the band's unique sound-world amplified by Tom Henry's bold and inventive production techniques. Sometimes fragile, sometimes raw and visceral the album opens with the ethereal Azimuth. It's contrasting sections and mysterious chords offer echoes of the band's instrumental beginnings whilst the repeated vocal harmony layers at the end demonstrate a signature feature of the new Noya Rao sound. Moments is the first tune they wrote together and reflects upon taking joy in the everyday: the opening womb-like chords are another distinct sound of the band. The gritty Golden Claw describes the effects of a manipulative heartbreaker, it's darker, more driving and has a ruder '80s flavour. Midas demonstrates the band's use of linear structural forms and complex rhythms influenced from around the globe. It tells the story of someone who, led by greed, made some regrettable decisions. The atmospheric Dreaming Part 1 and Part 2 are sumptuous dreamy soundscapes. They were born from the same epic improv-based writing sessions as Fly, which has a trippy disco vibe, offset with wonky chords and crunching vocal harmony. The hook-led I Feel points to future ventures for the band: mixing their electronic textures with a more formal song-writing approach. A sublime slice of dreamy space-jazz, Same Sun Will Rise, finds Olivia contemplating mankind's utter selfishness and a desire for change, "Over borders we've assigned, same sun will rise'. Minimal and spacious, This Time demonstrates the merging of ethereal edginess and delicate songwriting. It is this combined with their electronic and live approach and more than a hint of Leeds attitude that gives Noya Rao their unique sound.

The original Environments album was conceived and written back in 1993. It became one of the great lost albums by The Future Sound Of London before the guys took in back to the studio to complete and issue in 2008. Since then has come the success of further instalments and following additional studio work during a period of extreme creativity comes two further volumes. Released separately but simultaneously, Environment 6 and accompanying Environment 6.5, when combined, create a two CDs of 46 tracks. Sweeping between luscious dreamscapes to delicately melodically compositions to intensely highly programmed electronics sculptures Environment 6 and Environment 6.5 continue the journey towards the boundaries of the future of sound. Silent Around Them' exclusive to LP vinyl (no CD/digital)

After closing the year with four tracks of wintery house from San Laurentino, Aficionado set their sights on the spring with their latest release, which comes courtesy of Glaswegian trio Imperfect Product.Opening with a drifting dreamscape, reminiscent but intangible (entirely fitting for a track reborn out of decade's old rehearsal tapes) 'Solina' blooms into colour and focus at the rattle and crash of a jazzy drum break. An irresistible rolling bassline carries the groove onwards and upwards, loosening your shoulders nicely before spiralling synthesisers, swaggering wah guitar and rippling piano take your breath away completely.
As the fuzzy organ stabs and shimmering drones flood the soundscape, you're overcome with memories of youthful mixtapes where Innerzone Orchestra and Eddie Henderson rubbed shoulders with 'Summer Madness'. Understated but overwhelming, 'Solina's' sweltering perfection works just as well as an end of night life changer as the soundtrack to a spliff and sangria in the back garden.

On the B-side, London's Les Crocodiles deconstruct the track inna dubwise style, turning up the heat for some far out Balearic beat. The head nodding rhythm holds things together perfectly while the acid-tinged rubber bassline, echo drenched middle eastern strings and psychedelic synth lines do their very best to totally blow your mind.
As you head deeper into the groove, the dreamy piano of the original leads us into a euphoric breakdown before pulling us back in for more ecstatic dancing.
A score of releases in and with no two records sounding the same, Aficionado continue to fly the flag for open minded music.
Officially Aficionado.