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J.E. Movement's groundbreaking ‘Ma Dea Luv’,

Toward the end of the 1980s South Africa's recording industry was booming. Searching for a sound that could cross over to all in the country's segregated society while also eyeing international success, a new duo emerged that quickly rendered its 'bubblegum' predecessors obsolete. Drawing on international trends and crafting lyrics for local ears, J.E. MOVEMENT — a duo made up of James Nyingwa and Elliot Faku — exploded onto the local scene with their debut album, 'Ma Dea Luv'. The future had arrived.

A talented bassist and composer, Nyingwa was at the time employed as an in-house producer at TRS Studios in Plein Street in downtown Johannesburg, run by two Greek immigrants, George Vardas and Chris Ghelakis. Together they formed a close bond as friends and musical partners at what would become CSR Records, recording original hits with acts like the NEW AGE KIDS and SIDNEY, while also cashing in on cover versions as BLACK BOX.

The six tracks on J.E. Movement’s 1988 debut give firm nods to UK Street Soul, New Jack Swing and Stock Aitken Waterman's 'Hit Factory' sound and infuse them with an African rhythmic flair and homegrown lyrical sentiment. Though not expressly political, the title track was received by many as a play on words referencing then-jailed and banned Nelson Mandela (coming after the similarly styled 'I'm Winning My Dear Love' by Yvonne Chaka Chaka in 1986 and 'We Miss You Manelow' by Chicco in 1987), giving it an added potency for those in the know. 'Jack I'm Sorry' was an underground hit in the townships, while 'Marco', 'Friends', 'Funkytown' and the eponymous closer are similarly bass and drum-driven, with hiphop-styled vocals.

Recent years have seen Berlin-based artist OST Fox carve out his own sound and steadily gain traction as a producer and live act through a number of self-released projects, including his debut ‘Seulement à Marseille’ album, among others.

Here the OST Fox story continues, once again seeing the artist returning to the album format with twelve new original cuts. Throughout the project OST Fox explores a variety of styles from cinematic old school leaning trance sounds, through to electro, early rave music and the foundational Detroit Techno sound, henceforth the project found its apt title, ‘Soul Techno’, and radiantly showcases the producer’s depth, variety and prolificity in the studio.

Voom Voom Records and Fred Spider presents, The Future Is Now, along with The Tune Recreation Committee. Mandla Mlangeni's project, co-produced and including some compositions from the virtuoso Afrika Mkhize, this masterwork transcends boundaries, weaving South African jazz heritage with global influences into a tapestry of sound that feels both timeless and revolutionary.

The formidable core ensemble expands its sonic palette with extraordinary guest collaborators including classical flautist Khanyi Mthethwa and 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist Sisonke Xonti, and Mark Fransman, Reza Khota, Yonela Mnana, Nick Williams, Haile Supreme...The album pays heartfelt tribute to giants who shaped their journey—Bra Hugh Masekela in the stirring “Wena Fela” and trumpet innovator Roy Hargrove in the soulful “RH”—while confidently establishing TRC’s distinctive musical identity.

These ten compositions represent the pinnacle of creative exploration and ensemble interplay. The Tune Recreation Committee continues to push boundaries and reimagine the possibilities of South African jazz with uncompromising vision and breathtaking artistry.

Remastered for the vinyl by Simbad.

2025 Repress

The gifts of our 10th anniversary last summer are still spinning on our decks and now we also celebrate catalognumber 10 with our vinyl label. As a reminder: we released a double-CD-box with exclusive tracks of our favourite artists. One of these releases is a special gem: Henrik Schwarz first house-track since ages. Our label insists on re-releasing this knightly accolade with a remix. "Take Words In Return" will be released as a "Return Version" end of february and will also contain a vocal remix from grandmaster Carl Craig! Schwarz original is a vocal-based house-anthem, which emerges from his musical finesse to gasp for air in form of a folk-inspired hookline. After a percussive break the record's to-the-floor efficiency is unleashed. This is where Carl Craig's remix begins. From dreamy to sawing synth-lines, he utilizes the original's massive potential - to 12 minutes. The first 500 copies will be pressed on 180g white vinyl! As a special gimmick, we release Carl Craig's instrumental mix on a seperate vinyl which will be limited to 500 copies.

Tartelet is pleased to welcome the tranquil acid delights of fast-rising Frankfurt-Leipzig duo not even noticed for a brightly melodic, rolling EP of positive party gear.

Since forming in 2020, the pair have won over a succession of well-established labels and dancefloors with their infectious, easy-going approach to acid and breakbeat. The mellow, soulful mood on their Aerial EP arrives as the perfect soundtrack to the brightening skies of Spring in the Northern hemisphere.

From the airy pads of 'Aerial' and the psychedelic chill-out breaks of 'Voidness' to the tough groove of 'Fidelity' and 'Affected's tightly wound electro framework, there's plenty of scope across the whole record without losing a grip on the warm and grounded mood that makes this duo such a resounding success wherever their music gets an airing.

Coming correct with an all-too-rare restorative quality to their tunes and a serious weight that comes to life over a big system, not even noticed are a perfect fit right here on Tartelet.

The 12-inch is limited to 300 copies and comes in a black sleeve with sticker.

For his second output on his own label, the Swiss electronic composer Robin Félix, takes this time the listener to West-Africa ; that said, Incantation is lightyears away from “world music”, but closer to the first “Fourth World” LP Jon Hassell recorded with Brian Eno. Moreover, Robin has teamed up with fellow Swiss sculptor, Christian Pauchon, who makes “woodoorina”, inspired by “bolis”, some rather objects used by the Bamanas in Mali and neighbouring countries, that ethnologists view as “fascinating mediators between man and his environment” ; a topic that led the Mauritanian Abderrahmane Sissako and Damon Albarn to compose the opera, The Theft of the Boli. Right from the outset of Goat Skin, one realises that Robin has applied his idiosyncratic way of (mis)treating field-recordings, to dissect and re-model an array of woodoorina calls (sometimes close to drones) entwined to a rhythmic pulse, conjuring up a starry night under which a shaman, adresses his incantations to the spirits of Nature. Robin Félix being who he is, as soon as Corten, his form of quiet electronics show that he is no stranger to Throbbing Gristle or Cosey Fanni Tutti, the self-explanatory Ritual Smoke taking it a little further. The spellbinding organic basses of Rains and Cauris, fused to textures that remind the experiments of David Toop and the electroacoustics of Pierre Henry, lead the listener even deeper into a contemporary avatar of a spiritual journey. In tune with the “call and response” mode, ubiquitous in African music, Pangi brings the EP even closer to the beating heart of the continent, the interactions of the sculptor and the composer blending to such a point that one may wonder if they have exchanged roles. As a meeting point of disciplines and art forms which are not supposed to meet, Incantation is also a convincing demonstration of what the word “inspiration” means, the superb visuals included ; of course, it requires a lot of finesse and respect on all sides

Tea Breaks comes through with the goods again here in the form of a killer hip-hop hit that comes from the legendary East Coast scene back in the mid-90s when, for our money, it was turning out its most vital artists and albums. 'CREAM (feat R & ID)' has familiar dark soul energy with strumming strings running across its face, dusty and deep beats and iconic vocals. On the flip of this tidy 7" is an instrumental version that strips things back to the core ingredients and lets your mind do the rest.

Getting You Back to the Game of Life Records’ opening release, ‘Comme des mots’ LP is a journey through diverse sonic textures and energies from label-founder Lil Ronin.

Getting you back to the game of life is the headline of a physical and mental health therapy center. Casually popped in your conscience from an advertising board and let you in a strange place. But what is the game of life?
This label could be that space to get you back, to forget and perhaps find a form of youthful innocence again.

As a first solo project Lil Ronin freely experimented between different influences and genres that present his intimate universes, juggling with abstract, ballad and more dancefloor music, mostly recorded in Parisian suburb Alfortville between 2022 and 2024.

‘Comme des mots’ means ‘like words’ and evokes the ambiguous presence of his voice in the album, hidden in different characters, sometimes raving other times being conscious. Finally becoming a schizophrenic presence guiding you for the trip.

The cover follows the same ambivalence showing a typography with a distinct message that loses its readability in abstraction. The record also includes an insert with a childhood photo of Lil Ronin.

The LP was mastered in Paris by artist and engineer Krikor KOUCHIAN,
(past works for Simo Cell, Maoupa Mazzocchetti, Tolouse Low Trax…);
The design was created by sculptor artist and designer Marie-Mam-Sai BELLIER,
(past works for Erwan Sene’s JUnQ LP - PAN record, Zulu’s Hear The Sound Of My Feet - Association fatale etc.); The handmade drawings are by Vincent BENTOLILA (associated with the ‘Isengard’ label and parties in Brussels) ; The cover was handmade through silk-screen printing by the Lyon-based printer Olivier BRAL (whose past projects include Brigade Cynophile, Ateliers Dénudés, and Megabasse).

The label's 14th release is here with a fierce combo of tracks. Proud to present four top quality techno cuts from Hector Oaks, Obscure Shape, Endlec and label head Jerm.

BPitch präsentiert die nächste Ausgabe ihrer WE ARE NOT ALONE Compilation-Reihe - ein vielfältiges Paket mit Sounds, die den Geist der WE ARE NOT ALONE-Partys widerspiegeln und einen Einblick in eine Szene von Künstlern geben, die sich dem Underground verschrieben haben. WE ARE NOT ALONE pt. 8 bietet zwölf unverzichtbare Tracks für DJs, Raver und Musikfans, die eine breite Palette an Genres abdecken und dabei nie den Dancefloor aus den Augen verlieren. Die neue Compilation spannt die Fäden zwischen den Genres und dokumentiert mit der gewohnten Qualität des Berliner Labels das nächste Kapitel in seinem stetig wachsenden Beitrag zur Kultur.

WE ARE NOT ALONE pt. 8 zeigt, dass das Label keine Pläne hat, die Hitze zu drosseln, mit einer weiteren Runde reinstem Hedonismus für die Ewigkeit.

BPitch present the next iteration of their WE ARE NOT ALONE compilation series - a diverse package of sounds reflecting the spirit of the WE ARE NOT ALONE parties, and offering a glimpse into a community of artists that have committed themselves to the underground.

Touching on a wide range of genres whilst never losing sight of the dancefloor, WE ARE NOT ALONE pt.8 offers twelve essential cuts for DJs, ravers, and music heads alike. Tying the threads between genres, and with the mark of quality expected from the Berlin label, this new compilation documents the next chapter in its ever-growing contribution to the culture.
Returning to the label appearances on both BPitch and its accompanying label UFO Inc. - Turin-based duo Boston 168 open the club doors with a masterful fusion of trance build-ups and stripped back pointillism on ‘Feeling You’. Another member of the BPitch roster having just released an EP on the label, Tigerhead steps up with heavy kickdrums and uncanny pads on the aptly-titled ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’. Stepping into more minimal territory, Sina XX - founding member of the Paris rave collective Subtyl - offers a warm, bouncing cut that teeters between the dark and euphoric with a masterful balance. Taking a swift 180 into the darkest industrial spaces, Endlec serves up a gritty percussive workout on the formidable ‘Panther’.

Theo Nasa - a South London-based purveyor of weird, melodramatic techno - moves into hazier spaces on ‘Sex and Acid Pleasure’, an eccentric dose of acid for the senses. Shaleen - a resident of the WE ARE NOT ALONE event series - continues into the warmth with a headspin of analogue sounds and modular experimentalism with ‘Vernalagnia’. Öspiel, the French-Korean producer and label head known for his cinematic sounds weaves together angular rhythms underpinned by a strong sense of minimalism. In hot pursuit, Puglia’s Raho comes through with a cyclone of bouncing kicks and harsh leads.

Diana May, a Berlin-staple and resident at KitKat offers us a welcoming spiral on ‘Just Shut The F*** Up’. Plunging into deep industrial caverns, KRTM ’s ‘Küss Mich Jetzt’ is a pounding glitch of hardcore techno for the biggest speakers. VUUDUU’s ‘SNAXX’ shifts the speed up a gear with an expansive gothic rave banger. Rounding things off is madwoman’s ‘Chaos Theory’, a sparse but unrelenting cut of atmospheric techno from deep inside a warehouse.

WE ARE NOT ALONE pt.8 shows the label have no plans on lowering the heat in 2024, with another round of pure hedonism for the ages.










j d1 | KRTM - Küss Mich Jetzt (04 05)

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Spilla, the second album from Nantes-based Ensemble Nist-Nah, 48 minutes of music for Gamelan, drum kits, wood and metal percussion instruments, and plucked strings that will surely count as one of the most electrifying records you hear this year. Founded by the Australian drummer/percussionist Will Guthrie in 2019, continuing the explorations begun in solo form on Nist-Nah (Black Truffle, 2020), the ensemble (eight or nine core members with occasional guests) has been consistently active in the half-decade since: composing, rehearsing, recording and touring Europe (with a mass of equipment in tow) to great acclaim. Spilla tracks the continuing evolution of the project since the recording of their first album, Elders (Black Truffle, 2022). The two sides of this record document two different iterations of the group, and the members' compositional input has increased: each side contains one piece by a member other than Guthrie. It has become clearer than ever that Ensemble Nist-Nah is not an attempt at a European Gamelan ensemble but rather a hybrid percussion ensemble that uses instruments from a Javanese Gamelan alongside other percussion to perform original music informed by a variety of South East Asian music but also by everything from free jazz to contemporary hip-hop: while Nist-Nah and Elders both featured traditional Javanese pieces, on Spilla the only tune not generated by a member of the group is by Guthrie’s long-time musical hero and occasional collaborator Roscoe Mitchell.

The two short pieces that open the record could almost be the two sides of a wild 7” selected to show off what the Ensemble can do. On opener ‘Gerak Maju’, intricately skittering open-snare patterns bounce over clanging metal, chiming bell-like tones and deep gong hits, adapting the rhythm-register connections heard in traditional Gamelan musics—where the lowest pitched sounds are heard least frequently—to a cut-up breakbeat straight off Feed Me Weird Things. ‘Strollabout’ then moves into an entirely different realm of meditative repeating patterns, performed entirely on Chinese, Javanese and Vietnamese gongs. The remaining seven pieces, ranging from three to twelve minutes, offer up a wealth of different percussive, compositional and arrangement possibilities. On ‘Ghostly Klang’, two drumkits mirror each other’s moves, bouncing hats and snares across the stereo field in a way that recalls On the Corner and the jittering hi hat patterns of trap, while slow moving melodies on the tuned instruments add a sense of majesty contrasted by scurrying details in resonant wood. The epic closing track presents a take on Roscoe Mitchell’s ‘Uncle’, performed by the Art Ensemble of Chicago on their classic Urban Bushmen live album. Where the Art Ensemble used Mitchell’s dirge-like melody as a jumping off point for virtuosic improvisational flights, Ensemble Nist-Nah rethink the piece as a near-static dialogue between the monumental, slow-moving sequence of unison tuned percussion notes and a textural cloud that grows in richness and intensity from whispering cymbal rolls into a mass of gong overtones and bowed metal.

Beautifully recorded and mixed, Spilla arrives in a sleeve decorated with core member Charles Dubois’ drawings of cymbals and gongs. Against the backdrop of a wider musical landscape dominated by over-produced electronic slop and bland harmonic wallpaper, Ensemble Nist-Nah stands out as a reminder, vital and unpretentious, of the joys and possibilities of human beings playing instruments together.

Hell Yeah have been busy making musical connections and reaching out to like-minded beatmakers once again. This time, it is Pier Paolo Polcari aka Polcari, a founding member of cult Italian band Almamegretta, who steps up with the magnificent new album I Will Try To Imitate The Birds. The eight-track record also features Adriano Viterbini, another Italian music icon and guitarist with the revered Bud Spencer Blues Explosion and I Hate My Village as well as Ubjk, San Ignacio and Sergio Dileo.

Label head Marco first got in touch with Polcari after he remixed Italian cultural hero Sergio Messina's cover of 'Fly Away' back in 2021. The pair began sharing music, discussing their favourite records and, eventually, the natural next step was to work towards the album now served up here.

The multi-talented Polcari is a master of downtempo sounds and as well as several solo projects that fuse trip hop, folk, dub and world music, he made a global mark as part of Almamegretta. The revered Naples band formed in the late 80s and has worked with greats like Massive Attack and Adrian Sherwood across more than 15 albums and are currently on a special 30th anniversary tour. Also playing on the album are Adriano Viterbini, a composer and member of blues-rock outfit Bud Spencer Blues Explosion, San Ignacio who is a downtempo and cumbia innovator behind the much sought-after albums like La Identidad Es Una Trampa and Sergio Dileo, sax player in the much-loved Naples band Nu Genea as well as being a busy jazz collaborator.

Opener 'Jardino' Feat. San Ignacio sets a laidback vibe from the off with gently breaking drums topped with whimsical melodies. 'Vita Nova' is cavernous dub with more lush instrumentals, xylophones and wispy synth motifs making for a world escape and 'Mundo' (Feat. Ubjk) has an air of Eastern melody with delicate pads and glowing keys floating above the pillowy drums. 'The Birds' (Feat. Adriano Viterbini) has fluttering harp strings that bring real beauty to a downtempo groove packed with vocoder vocals, synth smears and organic percussion.

'Orcos Ou Fadas' carries on with a rich blend of strings and percussion, shuffling rhythms and curious moods, 'Raifuki' lurches on moody drums and introverted melodies and 'Ligea' Feat. Sergio Dileo brings some romantic Latin rhythms and seductive clarinet while 'Superluna' completes the odyssey with more wavy dub and magnificent collages of melody and percussion.

I Will Try To Imitate The Birds will lift you off your feet and carry you away to a lush world of cathartic, sun-kissed musical pleasure.

K69 & Original ravers Dream Frequency are a formidable force once again as they deliver this limited edition 4 tracker. Hot on the heels of Raveology ; A meeting of minds, the guys throw in fierce breakbeats, Uplifting piano breaks, and a sprinkling of rave magic all on a limited edition translucent blue and red butterfly effect vinyl. If previous releases are anything to go by, get this in your basket as it will sell out with no repressing guaranteed. This is the 2nd release in the Raveology trilogy.
Our most ambitious vinyl release to date goes beyond the 4 floor fillers into amazing graphic design and one of the rarest vinyl colour designs out there. This will look as amazing on walls as on turntables.

Jens Brachvogel & Tilo Ciesla aka Studio 54, aka Dole & Kom is probably the most productive producer duo of German underground House Music. They did Disco House with heavy 808 & 909 beats in the mid 90s already – long before it stormed the German dance charts. They've remixed legends like Green Velvet, Black Box or Mateo & Matos or even pope heroes like Marc Almond. Their tunes came out on top tier labels like Nervous, Relief Records, Force Tracks and of course local Formaldehyd and BCC Music from Berlin.
Their Studio 54 project started in 1997 and quickly became their most popular moniker.
Due to copyright restrictions they had to rename it „Studio 45“, a name they're still using today. On their „Vol. 2“ record in 1997 they were inspired by Disco and Boogie tunes of the 70s and early 80s that indeed were popular at the famous New York night club.
What makes their tunes unique to this day is their hypnotizing, druggy approach to the original tunes. You never get a cheap, commercial copy, you'll get a mesmerizing mind trip back to the glory days of Disco, seasoned with the best classic drum machines got in them.

Rene Wise returns to Dustin Zahn's Enemy Records with a massive follow up to 2022's label debut, Jungle House. On "Deprivation," the Moving Pressure artist delivers 4 undeniable, heads-down Techno grooves in his signature style.

Minimalism is the theme on the A-side. Anxiety and Insomnia are both stripped down and tripped out. Both hold steady in arrangement, allowing for the smallest details to shine through. Each track is topped off with Rene's otherworldly synth washes and FX splashes atop of steady unwavering grooves.

A slight departure from his usual grooves, the B-side drifts off into uncharted territory while keeping in line with the moodiness of the A side. Sakar focuses on a pulsating tension-building synth line in constantflux. Meanwhile, staccato basslines and percussive splashes merge to form the record's funkiest moment on Cutting Thick.

Trip-hop royalty Morcheeba make a blistering return with a stunning 11th studio album Escape The Chaos.

“This whole record is a process of trying to reconnect with what really matters. whether it’s what in your heart or with the world, putting your feet on grass and feeling the earth beneath you” says Ross Godfrey.

“For me, ‘We Live and Die’ is about my duration in the band and the music world and life in general,” Skye says of the lead single. “The lines become blurred after all this time. In a way, it’s a homage to the thirty years of being in Morcheeba which is 60% of my existence.”

Formed in London in 1995 the legendary band have extensively toured the globe, sold over 10 million albums worldwide and left their mark as one of the most influential acts of recent times. Releasing their acclaimed debut album Who Can You Trust? in 1996, the band have gone on to release a string of successful studio albums, including 1998’s platinum selling Big Calm, produced an album for Talking Heads’ David Byrne and produced soundtracks for Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh.

In their 30th year Morcheeba are as relevant as ever and are set to mark the celebration in style.

Fashion Flesh tears the fabric of space and time. This is his first offering for the ESP Institute. With side A’s 'Atoms Revolt', ESP cordially introduces Fashion Flesh, AKA John Talaga, to the deepest corners of your mind. Using largely homemade electronics, circuit-bent gadgets, and tape manipulation, John manages to tap into the innate character of these otherwise introverted machines, eavesdropping and documenting their buried inner dialogue. His command of distortion is multi-tiered. On a micro level, he induces happy accidents and shepherds stray elements. Zooming out a bit, we begin to understand the sonic meat grinder that equalizes his bag of disparate ingredients. And from a macro vantage point, we fully recognize the greater tool that sculpts all of the above into form. Side B’s 'New Freedom' conjures a specific dystopian image—the byproduct of an artist involuntarily conditioned by the commute between up-river Bay County, Michigan and the Detroit metropolitan area. Like cutting away at flesh and muscle, breaking through the bone to suck the marrow, John depicts both the contrast and parallels between two post-industrial urban landscapes, the banal trek across The Thumb between them, and the gradual disintegration of agriculture as one nears the Techno city. Voice fragments begin to stutter in syncopation like radio frequencies interfering with our psyche, Geiger counters wail and moan, untamed oscillations mimic caged primates rioting at the zoo, and a steady-firing piston of drums struggles to break through a dense harmonic soot. The depth of personality John extracts through his manipulation process is remarkable— a point-of-view that foreshadows humanity’s looming technological singularity while hinting that it may have always been here, hiding in plain sight, waiting to be given a voice. These two songs will trip your circuit breakers.

Since launching in 2019, NuNorthern Soul’s Summer Selections series has become something of a must-check release for those seeking the sun-soaked pulse of the White Isle of Ibiza. It not only acts as a sampler for forthcoming digital-only EPs due for release over the summer season, but also a showcase for both established artists and label newcomers.

2025’s ‘selections’, the fifth in total, marks the popular series’ return after a three-year hiatus. Once again, it boasts six tracks, each taken from a forthcoming NuNorthern Soul EP, and touches on a variety of Ibiza-ready styles and sounds.

Up first are Manchester twosome Nightdubbing, who’s eponymous ‘Nightdubbing’ – first featured on their self-released 2023 debut album – is remixed by Archeo Recordings label boss Manu Archeo. He opts to brilliant blend slow motion electronic grooves and deep, warming bass with waves of ambient textures, eyes-closed melodic motifs and attractive lead lines.

George Koutalieries steps up next with the languid shuffle of ‘Seasons’, where imaginative vocalisation arrangements, mazy synth bass, calming acoustic guitars and cosmic electronics create a yearning afternoon delight, before label newcomer James E Burton combines pleasingly live-sounding drums and bass with picturesque electronics and the dreamiest of chords.

Next up is a teaser of what’s to come from recent signings Visions of Light, a fresh collaboration between Free Booter Lounge label founder Simon Sheldon and two of his artists, Muzka and Dan Dub Lounge. ‘The Mandela Vortex’ is a lightly dub-flecked Balearic shuffler rich in infectious hand percussion, meandering guitar solos, heady aural textures and echoing melodic motifs.

To draw the expansive collection to a close, we’re treated to two more yearning, picturesque and atmospheric treats. The first comes from another label debutant, Seafront International and Strictly Dub Records founder Saimon under the Roots Artefact alias. Deep, toasty and smothered in vintage effects, ‘The Big Calm Dubwise’ is a picture-perfect Balearic dub classic in the making.

Rounding things off is former Les Yeux Orange Contributor – and rising star of the French Balearic movement – Jilo, who gently takes us by the hand and leads us towards the dancefloor. Underpinned by a heavily electronic, nu-disco adjacent groove, ‘Shadow’s Tango’ is smile-inducing aural joy writ large – all huggable chords, Italo-house pianos, chugging bass and the most kaleidoscopic of chords. It provides a wonderfully uplifting conclusion to another fine collection of ‘Summer Selections’.

INDEPENDENT RECORD SHOP AND LABEL KLANG TONE RECORDS RE-ISSUE DEBUT ALBUM BY 8 PIECE INSTRUMENTAL EHTIOPIAN JAZZ/AFRO-BEAT/PROG COLLECTIVE;
TEZETA

“Absolutley gorgeous from start to finish…”
- Deb Grant, BBC 6 Music

“An instant obsession. Impeccable rhythms and hypnotic melodies—Tezeta crafts a spellbinding fusion of Addis and Avon that takes you on a journey."
- Don Leisure

“Gorgeous mood music with more than a nod to Addis. Lovely tapestries and textures”
- Matt Temple, Matsuli Music


'Formed in Bristol back in2014 Tezeta were an experimental 8 piece instrumental group effortlessly combining Ethiopian jazz, Afrobeat, prog and improvisation. The band spawned out of the much loved Bloom Collective - a collective of musicians and friends from an experimental corner of the city’s buzzing music scene.

Led by composer, pianist and bandleader Daniel Inzani (Spindle Ensemble, Cosmo Sheldrake) the band also featured tenor saxophonists Andrew Neil Hayes (Run Logan Run) and Lorenzo Prati (Count Bobo, the Evil Usses, Itchigo Evil), Harriet Riley (Spindle Ensemble, Paraorchestra) on Marimba, vibraphone and percussion, Pete Gibbs (Count Bobo) on bass, Conrad Singh (Alabaster dePlume, the Evil Usses) on electric guitar and finally two(!) drummers Matthew Jones (The Brackish, Slate Trio) and Daniel Truen (Yama Warashi, The Evil Usses, Rozi Plain, Count Bobo).

They initially got together to play music from ‘The Ethiopiques Volumes’, in particular, the work of Mulatu Astatke, hence the name Tezeta (Ethiopian for nostalgia) but quickly evolved into their own style with all original material, incorporating many other influences along the way. Their much loved, debut album 'Seventh Place' was released in Sept 2016.

“We at Klang Tone have been admirers of Daniel Inzani’s work with Spindle Ensemble and I was fortunate to catch Tezeta perform before they disbanded. I bought one of the last available copies of their home released cdr at their gig at local Stroud venue The Prince Albert. It became a firm favourite - a recording I keep playing and never got tired of. It’s such a beguiling mix of styles - always evolving and resolving in different ways to what you might expect - some thrilling ensemble playing rhythmically propelled by two drummers and a percussionist with Daniel’s evocative melodies at the centre. I was convinced this was a recording that deserved a bigger audience and felt it needed to be heard on vinyl so I started a conversation with Daniel about releasing it on Klang Tone as it perfectly encapsulated the raison d'être of the shop and label. We didn’t want this recording to languish online barely listened to - I felt it was in danger of becoming a lost classic. I hope that this vinyl release is a worthy testament to this great band and helps draw attention to the creative genius of composer Daniel Inzani and the talented ensemble of players featured on the recording.” - Sean Roe, Klang Tone Records

Tezeta had a cult following among other musicians and were known for their wild group solo wig outs, virtuoso musicianship and creative use of unusual rhythm, harmony and melody. They toured across the UK at various venues and festivals including Glastonbury, Shambala and Green Man, and subsequently released an EP named ‘Curious Bubble’ in 2020.

In 2023 Tezeta performed a sold out final show at Strange Brew, Bristol as Inzani decided to pursue solo releases, notably his critically acclaimed triple vinyl album ‘Selected Worlds’ released on Hidden Notes Records which landed in the Guardian Top 10 Contemporary Albums of the Year in 20204. The third disc ‘Play’ was a clear continuation and development of the music Inzani had developed with Tezeta and featured many of the same musicians.'

The cover image is from ‘Project Rewind’, a double exposure photography collaboration between Karen Dews and Paul Blakemore.
Graphic design by Adam Hinks.

Alias for the artist “Hiatt DB” (located in NYC, and formerly Austin, TX)

Art: Samuel Arrellano

Featuring: Coby Sey, Mica Levi and Mark Pell (Good Sad Happy Bad / Micachu & The Shapes)

‘Affectionately’ is the debut album by London based songwriter and musician Raisa K. With self produced instrumentals supporting Raisa’s signature vocal performance, the record delves into the intricate emotional cycles of relationships with heartfelt sincerity. Melodies appear simple and direct, while the themes explored present a great level of complexity. Whether about trust, kindness, doubt, frustration, annoyance, regret, honesty, insecurity, loneliness or friendship, each of the album’s twelve songs lie somewhere in between a diary and a letter.‘Affectionately’ is almost entirely produced on Raisa’s laptop and written in her home in London, as well as finding small pockets of time on trains and buses, during breaks at work, during the kids' nap-times, at the playground, in the park. The production's backbone is formed by a synthesiser sample, weaving together a range of recordings and sonic textures.

This creates a consistent expression where diverse electronic styles merge with Raisa's crisp, candid vocals in unique and personal songwriting. Some listeners might recognise Raisa’s voice and musical language from records by the band Good Sad Happy Bad, which she is a part of. While ‘Affectionately’ certainly moves in its own space, a kinship with fellow London artists is also present, as the record includes a feature with Coby Sey as well as instrumental contributions from long-time collaborators Marc Pell and Mica Levi.

Once upon a car park.
In the mid-90s, DJ Steve and Luca Lozano bonded over Mobb Deep, Droors, and the finer points of frontside flips. Soundtracked by skate videos and boombox freestyles, those formative years were more about asphalt than machines.
Time moved on. Steve found his way to stages from Sheffield to Sonar as half of an electro duo; Luca chased underground frequencies from London to Berlin. Life zigzagged. Contact faded.
Fast forward a couple of decades and a random reconnection just before lockdown sparked version 2.0 of their friendship—and a new chapter of collaboration. What started as nostalgia turned into studio marathons and shared sonic visions. The result: Closed Circuit.
This is the sound of two old friends channeling 20-year loops—where electro meets B-boy attitude, house nods to early Warp, and vocoders clash with vintage drum machines. Think sun-bleached jeans, fuzzed-out tape hiss, and that pre-internet rush of discovery.
To top it off, Running Back’s own Roman Flügel contributes a sharp remix flip, and the sleeve features archival photos taken by Lozano during his early London days (2002–2005)—moments frozen in grain and sweat from some of the city’s first DIY parties.
Friendship. Frequencies. Full circle.
Closed Circuit.

Glossy Mistakes Reissues Resonance 001, a Proto-House & Trance Milestone from Belgium from 1992
Glossy Mistakes is proud to announce the reissue of Resonance 001, the groundbreaking debut EP by Belgian producer Fabrice Lagrange, created in collaboration with Frank Beekman and originally released in 1992. Long overlooked, this forward-thinking record captures a pivotal moment in the early European evolution of house and trance-melding minimalism, emotion, and club-oriented experimentation into a sound that remains strikingly fresh over three decades later.
Resonance 001 stands among the earliest European records to explore the fertile intersection of hypnotic house rhythms and atmospheric trance. The A-side, featuring The Awakening Earth and Pure Self, channels a stripped-down yet euphoric energy-deeply inspired by the spirit of Detroit techno but undeniably forward-looking. As Frank Beekman recalls: "This record was recorded in a very simple studio, with minimal gear, inspired by the Detroit techno sound."
On the B-side, the EP ventures further into experimental territory. Paris By Night offers a dreamy, tech-tinged house excursion, leading into Redondanz, a meditative downtempo closer that perfectly encapsulates the release's subtle charm.
The enduring appeal of Resonance 001 lies in its restraint: crafted with minimal tools, it delivers maximum emotional depth. It seamlessly blends hazy trance atmospheres, early house grooves, and ambient-inflected textures, capturing the open-minded, exploratory ethos of early '90s electronic music.
Now remastered for vinyl by Wouter Brandenburg, Resonance 001 returns in pristine form-faithfully preserving its original character while bringing new clarity to its timeless sound.

Belgian label Music Man Records presents Boccaccio Life 1987-1993, a new compilation offering a fresh perspective on the legacy of the iconic Belgian club Boccaccio - often associated with the short-lived New Beat movement. The 40-track compilation highlights the raw and futuristic early house and techno sounds that were heard in the pioneering club.

Located in rural Destelbergen (Belgium), just a stone's throw from Ghent, Boccaccio has secured its place among legendary venues like Paradise Garage in New York and The Haçienda in Manchester. Its bold fusion of emerging electronic genres such as New Beat, Acid, House, and Techno was way ahead of its time, drawing music lovers and clubbers from across Belgium and beyond. Sundays at Boccaccio were unlike anywhere else-offering sounds you couldn't hear anywhere else.

Boccaccio Life 1987-1993 is carefully curated by resident DJ Olivier Pieters and club regular Stefaan Vandenberghe, standing as the ultimate testament to a club that was more than just a venue. For those who experienced it, it was a community - a way of life. Hence the club's full name: Boccaccio Life.

This compilation stands as a testament to an innovative time in electronic music, capturing the raw, futuristic sounds of early house and techno. It sheds light on another side of Boccaccio, one that goes far beyond the short-lived New Beat scene. A carefully curated selection of 40 tracks, resonating with those who were there by offering familiar classics, while also reaching a new generation-those who never experienced it firsthand.

With tracks from Blake Baxter, Virgo, Frankie Knuckles, Tyree, and A GuyCalled Gerald, the unmistakable influence of black American pioneers is clear-the originators of the first analog house and techno sounds. On the other hand, UK sound innovators such as The Orb and LFO bring both sharp textures and rough breakbeats to the table.

Club staple tracks include dreamy excursions from Roger Sanchez under his Egotrip moniker, the relentless basement house of Circus Bells by Robert Armani on Dance Mania, an uplifting take on a hip-house cut from The D.O.C. (Portrait of A Masterpiece in the CJ Ed-Did-It Mix), a timeless remix of UK Formation's Age of Chance from 1994, and an alternate take on The Tape by Boccaccio club regular and Belgian producer Frank De Wulf, taken from his B-Sides project.

While not always the obvious hits, these tracks have gracefully withstood the test of time, and were exclusive to Sundays at Boccaccio. Now, they are finally available to experience together in one collection,offering a timeless snapshot of a unique era.

Silver Tears is the new joint venture by Berlin-based gent Luca Venezia and Damian Shilman, respectively of Curses and Skelesys’ fame.

The duo first debuted in 2023 on Next Wave Acid Punx Deux (Chapter 2) compilation delivering one track rich with deep bass lines, crystal clear guitars and captivating mechanical drums. One somehow classic formula enriched by an universal allure that left you hoping for more. And here we are: these charming men have been working hard for the past two years and their first, self-titled full-length album is now ready.

Eight new cuts of elegant electronic beat-driven coldwave with baritone vocals, sharp arpeggios and no lack of slow passages, recalling 90’s shoegaze or moody grunge. A subtle play of juxtaposition of dancing moments and introspective retreats, dancefloor-oriented grooves and caustic precipices, sometimes crowned by the two dueting at vocals. One wide musical cape to cloak all the angles of the Goth subculture and prove how this can still be relevant some many years after it first bursted out.

limited to 500 copies

There is so much that we at Dirter could say about the legend that is Chris Connelly performing his takes on the music of the equally legendary TG, but this time we’re going to leave it in the words of the man himself. This record goes ahead with the blessing of the surviving members of Throbbing Gristle, Chris Carter & Cosey Fanni Tutti. “Having carved a twisted career with behemoths MINISTRY & REVOLTING COCKS over the past 40 years, starting life with the formidable FINI TRIBE and collaborating with disparate characters such as KILLING JOKE, CABARET VOLTAIRE, JIM O’ ROURKE, and too many others, I have returned to my first love, THROBBING GRISTLE, armed with a cassette recorder, a reel to reel, a razor blade and some tape, I want to invoke the spirit of mid to late 70’s live TG , random, tense, scary & compulsively fascinating…….WHITE PHOSPHORUS is for the TG connoisseur, for the morbidly curious, and the tragically dysfunctional amongst us”. This record is packaged in the spirit of the earliest Throbbing Gristle releases and is very much coming from a ‘70s Xerox angle. It’s pressed on 180gram heavy black vinyl.

Gladio Operations launches its twelfth release, where the Spanish label returns to the various artists format.
Opening the pack is producer and Distrito 91 label owner Fabio Vinuesa. Under his newly created alias Protocolo Sysex, he gives us “NottheFuture,” a powerful track with raw bass lines — a benchmark for the dancefloor.

On the same side, we encounter Sinitsin. The Russian artist, who debuts on the label, leaves his mark with “Thinking Machine”. A track that reveals his enthusiasm for charismatic and effective melodies, very well sequenced throughout the track.
The B-side opens up by an acquaintance of the label, Jauzas the Shining. This time he is accompanied by Foreign Sequence, and together they have created “Enter the Body”. A track of dark aesthetics, served with dramatic vocals, very characteristic of the Frenchman who, of course, never disappoints. Another artist making his debut is Italian producer Teslasonic.
This fast-paced track titled “Chubby Bee” reveals a minimalist bass line, with subtle and delicate touches of the 303.
The EP is brought to a close by another Gladio acquaintance. Igors Vorobjovs returns with this track titled “For One”.

Orientated towards IDM sounds, the Latvian producer once again envelops us with a passage of deep and mysterious harmonies, which undoubtedly makes it a timeless piece.

Unearthed in a storage facility in Jersey City, NJ these lost Joe Claussell instrumental takes of the Blaze produced classic Black Rascals ’So In Love’ are finally available. Produced during Claussell's formative years at Dancetracks, a time when he was always creating original jams under the ‘Instant House’ moniker, they still sound as fresh as they did in the early nineties. This is an EXTREMELY LIMITED pressing 7” on red vinyl. Comes in stamped white 7” cardboard sleeve.

»White Noise« is a cooperation project between raster-media and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. Artistic sound projects generated in the context of the scientific research institute will appear at irregular intervals. The themes and questions of empirical aesthetics research are taken up, questioned or challenged in very different ways. »White Noise« is conceived as an audio archive of the MPIEA artists in residence which records the artistic works on vinyl and documents the respective concepts and working methods in text form.

Victioria Keddie’s »Pshal P’shaw« (white noise #002) is a multimedia exploration delving into phonetic expression’s auditory and rhythmic nuances of phonetic expressions through an amalgamation of text, sound, video, data, and customized learning software. Drawing inspiration from the painter and architectural theorist Hermann Finsterlin who made speculative architectural renderings, the project originated during a residency at the Max Planck Institute of Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt in 2023.

The project’s engagement with the sonic landscape of the eight diphthongs in US English, documented through recorded sessions at EEG labs with participants of diverse international backgrounds, is not just a technical analyses. The applied script for the recording session, infused with a contemporary Western US dialect, ventures beyond, exploring the primal essence of phonetic expression and its impact on the oral landscape of mouth, throat, and tongue.

This work focuses on the spoken aspect of language: the art of oration, conversation, and mimicry. It reflects the beauty of our perpetual change, speaking directly to our humanity and the raw, tender moments of existence. It embraces the awkward, beautiful and vulnerable essence of our shared human experience.

Victoria Keddie is a multidisciplinary artist delving into sound, video, installation, and performance. Her work uncovers hidden narratives within ordinary artifacts and spaces, emphasizing their role in shaping our collective story. The examination of acoustic phenomena and language is a recurring theme in her artistic work. Keddie’s current projects navigate the acoustic complexity of language and dialects.

For over a decade, Keddie was co-director of E.S.P. TV, exploring the televisual medium for performance and sound. Keddie has performed and exhibited internationally. Recent fellowships include the NYSCA/NYFA for Music/Sound (2022), the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (2023), and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Sound Art and Experimental Music Fellowship (2024).

»White Noise«, 40 p. magazine English/German, vinyl LP, cardboard box

Tresor resident DJs LNS and DJ Sotofett have for some years been developing a style at the club‘s Globus floor, and their new EP is a die cut of exactly the classic techno, electro, and house music they play.
Here are no productions drenched in reverb, no hi-fi obsessions or generic algorithmic patterns – this is Globus Trax, the duo's third release on Tresor Records, four tracks consisting of real TR-909 workouts, rude and driving basslines, live runs through the mixing desk, and a Blake Baxter cover version with LNS on vocals.
LNS & DJ Sotofett programmed an EP to perfectly fit their warehouse style of DJing, bringing out colour and variation in a spectrum more similar to a club compilation than a dogmatically reduced concept. With a single repeated vocal sample, Globus Trax opens bombastically with ClickClickClick, a dub -infused UK garage house track anyone in the world can easily describe in the course of a second.
Following this comes Gearbox which is a hefty slab of big room electro featuring a centerpiece arpeggio and the warmest harmonic pads on the EP's four tracks, which not-so-subtly makes reference to the pioneering band that shares a name with Globus and Tresor's home, the Kraftwerk.
The house vibe returns on Destination 909, which is nothing but a manifesto for the TR-909, where the beloved drum machine's jacking beats meet galactic strings and synthetic bass, only to be ripped apart in a slamming break that sees the machine take centre stage as it cuts in-and-out of the mix, again a clear nod to the duo’s sets in the club.
LNS steps up on vocal duties and DJ Sotofett keeps the 909 running for their final cut, taking a deeper dive into the realms of classic techno and paying tribute to “The Prince of Techno” Blake Baxter by covering his Reach Out originally released on Tresor Records in 1995.
The 12” was cut by DJ Sotofett himself at Manmade Mastering, where he resurrects the lost art of late-90s loud cuts with sonic presence and punch, optimal for the club-focused 12” format, and is the first to come in the new Tresor Sleeve, boasting an embossed logo on either side.

Human Engineering LP started with a performance photograph, taken during the first stages of the global Coronavirus lockdown in a disused municipal building in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Taking the form of a proficient and emphatic high-jump, with a recording of its sound, and a spoken text, amplified through the strings of an abandoned piano occupying the same space. The resulting photographic and sound documents formed the basis of an audio correspondence between Rick Myers, Andy Votel and Sean Canty which was recorded and arranged between Easthampton Mass. and Manchester from 2018 to 2024.

The latest transmission on Samurai tunes into half-time intensity with a psychedelic edge courtesy of leading French practitioner Vardae. Applying techno hypnotism and cinematic atmospheres to his snaking beat constructions, the Lyon-based artist delivers a pitch-perfect exercise in mystical meditation that follows a natural path from the Ancestral Voices LP.

Since first emerging around 2017, Vardae has been determined to establish a sound unbound by genre restrictions. To date he's successfully moved between cult labels such as Non Series and Ooda while pivoting from linear 4/4 to crooked broken beat without disrupting his immersive, finely sculpted production style.
Alongside his releases, Vardae is also responsible for the ouroboros festival that takes place every year in central France. Last summer, after the dancefloor closed on the final night of the the event, fabled Dutch transcendental ambient group Son Of Chi made an acoustic concert around the campfire that cast a spell over everyone present. This experience formed the inspirational basis for Vardae's new EP, drawing on the instinctive power of insistent rhythm and the spiritual intrigue that lies behind subtly dissonant tones - shadows cast by refined, restrained synthesis flickering in the imagined light of the flames.

From the rattle of timbale on 'The Light Motion' to the laser-focused ripples that charge through 'Voices Of Dispossession', Vardae bends and shapes his drum work with exacting intention across this EP. Treading the line between 85 and 170BPM, he approaches fierce peaks in his tracks with an exacting patience, building to the arp-soaked climax of 'Flaming As A Cloud' and its ecstatic, melodic crescendo.
Proudly individual and drawing from the deepest of musical experiences, Vardae's latest statement promises similarly profound moments when these pieces come into contact with the right souls and the right sound in the right setting.

YIA, the emerging DJ duo, returns with a release that blends house, deep tech, and minimal influences, creating a refined yet impactful groove, designed to light up the most selective dancefloors.


The vinyl includes two exclusive remixes from two prominent international names:
• Argentine producer Guile, known for his organic and hypnotic sound, delivers a deep and immersive rework.
• From the UK, Duncan Thomas presents an elegant version, full of tension and groove, perfect for the more sophisticated nighttime sets.


Released by Yes I Am Recordings, a label active in both digital and vinyl formats, this EP is made for diggers and those seeking authentic, underground sounds.

LIMITED VINYL COMES IN CARDBOARD SLEEVE WITH BOOKLET!
OSTRANENIE is a collection of digitally manipulated, impressionistic piano miniatures — each named after blockbuster films and TV series. Improvised late at night as a reaction against passive media consumption, these pieces function as both homage and critique, navigating the space between classical impressionism and contemporary digital manipulation. They don’t just deconstruct traditional piano expression; they interrogate the emotional stakes of sound in an era where immersion culture flattens meaning and algorithmic logic erodes agency.

The album’s title references the Russian formalist Viktor Shklovsky’s concept of “ostranenie” (ɐstrɐˈnjenjɪj, estrangement/defamiliarization), a term he introduced in the early 1920s to describe art’s role in resisting the indifference of habitual perception.

“And so, held accountable for nothing, life fades into nothingness. Automation eats away at things, at clothes, at furniture, at our wives, and at our fear of war.”
—Viktor Shklovsky, Theory of Prose (1925)

Shklovsky saw art as a way to break through the anesthetizing effects of routine, stripping away the layers of habit that dull our senses. By making the familiar strange, art reclaims perception from the mechanical and the automatic. His argument wasn’t just a theoretical exercise — it was a response to a world rapidly consumed by industrialization, war machines, and the alienation of a technologically dominated modern life. In this context, he positioned artistic technique as something autonomous, distinct from mere social criticism or psychological reflection. Art seeks to remove “...the crust that the world of things deposits on our senses, with routine’s unending murder of the real.” Ben Ehrenreich on Serena Vitale’s Making Strange (The Nation, 2013)

This tension—between revolutionary/artistic and industrial technologies—defined the 20th century, and it continues to resonate today. The mechanization and automation that fueled the First World War’s devastation, alongside the social and economic turbulence of the 1920s, became central to the era’s self-conception. But just as technology was a source of alienation, it was also positioned as an agent of radical change. As the shock of modernity disrupted the human condition, it also became the driving force behind an ideological utopia — one that ultimately deformed into political totalitarianism — a paradox that remains unresolved.

OSTRANENIE plays within this contradiction. The music shifts seamlessly between an uncanny black MIDI dismantling of traditional piano virtuosity and moments of raw, fragile intimacy. The result is a work that resists automatic anonymity while questioning what it means to create in an era where the technological mediation of sound — and experience itself — is unavoidable: Art in the age of its technological constructedness.

An intersection of original dubs and outernational electronica, Ashtech’s Walkin’ Target, produced and co-written by Gaudi, was originally released in 2007 on cult Canadian label Interchill and is now presented for the first time on vinyl.

Tightly structured, Walkin’ Target revolves around Ashtech’s earth rattling basslines and Gaudi's solid production aesthetic, with three of the tracks featuring the inimitable vocal stylings of Cheshire Cat (Leftfield). A former bass player with Almamegretta, Ashtech’s intuitive style combined with Gaudi’s melodic flair to create a joyful collection of groove orientated roots and downtempo dubs that upon release found a home in the collection of music lovers worldwide.

Long deleted and not available on any mainstream download or streaming platforms, Ashtech dug out the original audio files, which were lovingly re-mastered for this pressing.

As most of us now live in a world saturated with information, this album feels like a reflection of how the modern world might sound if it were to process its own chaos through a unified scream. Hailing from the highlands of Bandung, West Java, a city where tradition and modernization intertwine in the rhythm of daily life, Xin Lie unpretentiously translates this cultural fusion into a sonically rich and rhythmically bold debut LP.

The artist’s roots in the hardcore and punk scenes reverberate throughout the album, though they’ve been reshaped and refined for the club. There’s an undeniable pleasure in experiencing the chaos Xin Lie channels—irregular beats, dynamic frequencies, and disjointed grooves collide and expand, each track laced with a sense of unpredictable energy. Yet even in its most chaotic moments, the music feels deliberate, its edges softened by a sense of compositional care.

The album reveals a strange duality: tracks that seem to beckon you to the dance floor but never quite let you settle there. Frequencies flicker and fluctuate in patterns that feel just slightly off-grid, as though resisting traditional structures. Yet, amidst the digital textures, Xin Lie weaves in organic sounds—snippets of native conversations or environmental noise—creating layers that feel both intimate and expansive.It’s fair to say this album extends far beyond the boundaries of today’s club music.

Picture this: you’re moving through your daily routines—mundane, repetitive—and suddenly, the music shifts your perspective. It reframes the ordinary as something surreal, as though it’s deconstructing itself in real-time, breaking into fragments or conjuring entirely new forms. Perhaps it’s best imagined as the soundtrack to a multi-sensory art installation or a performance staged not in a gallery but in an unassuming house down your street. Who’s to say where it might take you?

"Bassland Prophecy" was a collection of Southern California musicians, including Alex Xenophon (Deep Squared), Stuart Breidenstein (formerly of Skylab 2000), Alissa Kueker (vocals), and Maxx Vaxx (Euterpre, Butterfly Garden).

The act nourished and grew the emerging LA scene and was a renegade force in live electronic improvisation. Rather than composing full tracks, Breidenstein stated over email that they built musical "ingredients" on the fly, syncing DOS and hardware sequencers mid-performance. Their unpredictable sets, from illegal raves to makeshift desert parties, resulted in electrifying, unforgettable sonic trips.

Recalling 90s LA, Breidenstein said: “Before the internet, finding a rave was an adventure. You’d get a flyer with a phone number, call it the night of the event, then drive—sometimes 100 miles or more from a map point to the actual party. The scene was raw and underground, built by music obsessives hunting for the freshest sounds.”

Two standout tracks from 1996—“Nine / Deeper” and “Blue and Purple Starship of Trust”—perfectly represent their unique genre-bending concoctions. Against all odds, the recordings survived and have been given new life, remastered and reissued on Bristol-based *Sex Tapes From Mars*. To produce the wizardry, their setup included a Juno 106, Yamaha FB-01, a Roland S330 sampler, and a Sequential Circuits Pro-One mono synth with external MIDI, and some guitar effects pedals.

“Nine / Deeper,” born from one of their many spontaneous studio sessions, became eerily intertwined with recurring appearances of the number 9 and black cats. So much was the frequency of apophenia episodes that paranoia began to take over the artists. Recorded in a makeshift living room studio, the 14-minute excursion traverses genres and tempos, beginning quick and hypnotic, and climaxing chuggy and drenched in adlibbed acid lines, culminating in a surreal and legendary live performance in Hollywood. The piece captures the raw spontaneity of their sets, crafted with vintage gear, cassette tape recordings, and, as always, a DIY ethos. Breidenstein states, “While improvised sessions often failed, when it succeeded, it was definitely a kind of infectious magic the listener would recognize.”

“The Blue and Purple Starship of Trust” is a deeply personal piece, named after when Breidenstein saw a heavenly blue morning glory on a walk around his neighborhood, and emerged from heartbreak and the following deep depression entrenching his life at the time. Recorded in a single take onto cassette tape, blending piano, guitar, and heart-rending vocals into an emotional, dreamlike journey. The track starts with a lush, cascading synth sound, bolstered up by rolling, reverbing downtempo drums. Using Sequential Circuits Pro-One throughout, the rippling synths and off-key piano licks act like pipetted droplets of water, all elements bleeding into each other in some kind of hallucinogenic swelling, reflecting Breidenstein’s fading relationship. The guitar part is a nod to Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and Breidenstein recalls just “bawling as the guitar line was recorded.”

Created in a time of artistic struggle, living in an old school bus, surviving on instant noodles while hauling their gear from venue to venue, and scraping by on gig money, these recordings act as rare artifacts of a movement that thrived on passion and perseverance, standing as a poignant testament to resilience. Though they released a handful of tracks, ranging from deep house to ambient to techno, their true legacy lay in their high-energy, genre-blurring live shows, which are powerfully encapsulated within these recordings and leave a lasting impact on underground electronic music today.

LP vinyl only release + 4 page liner notes (comes with hype sticker)

The percussive new age soundtracks of '80s and early '90s Japanese TV, anime and manga built alternative worlds and pushed boundaries in the process.

When Japanese composer Yas-Kaz left Tokyo for Bali in the mid 1970s he had little idea of how influential his trip would become. In studying the storied art of gamelan, the jazz and avant-garde percussionist opened a door to a world of sound and rhythm left behind by the West. The music he and his contemporaries made would become known as new age. It also happened to soundtrack the golden era of anime.

Awash with money and with the prerogative to entertain the burgeoning middle classes, anime in the 1980s experienced a creative and commercial boom. Not constricted by generic expectations, production houses such as the now renowned Studio Ghibli were able to experiment liberally with both form and content. And with it came the space for composers to be similarly adventurous.

TV, Anime & Manga New Age Soundtracks 1984-1993 charts this moment across eight tracks spanning classics of the genre and previously unknown rarities. The collection brings together music that found kinship in electronic and acoustic instrumentation, often combining spiritual or environmental themes with percussive, varied and highly refined syncopations of non-Western musical traditions.

Among them is ‘Kaneda’ by Geinoh Yamashirogumi, the shape-shifting group of self-styled musicians, anthropologists and computer scientists that masterminded the soundtrack to game-changing dystopian anime Akira - and with whom the sound, tuning and breakneck speed of Balinese gamelan has become indelibly entwined.

Reflecting the desires of the era to reach beyond Japan’s borders, many of the soundtracks featured were commissioned for narratives set in distant lands or alternative worlds. There’s violinist and composer Norihiro Tsuru’s ‘Farsighted Person’, written for The Heroic Legend of Arslān, set in ancient Persia; Yas-Kaz’s own ‘Hei (Theme of Shikioni)’, for period sci-fi manga & anime series Peacock King - Spirit Warrior; and two tracks - Tassili N’Ajjer and Fiesta Del Fuego - from Yoichiro Yoshikawa’s soundtrack to NHK’s proto-Planet Earth series The Miracle Planet.

Such was the variety and quality of the music produced, if there is a guiding principle to the tracks collected here it is a sense of escapism and adventure that came with the confluence of modern electronic instruments and a fascination with percussive traditions.

Elsewhere, pioneering children’s TV composer Chumei Watanabe’s ‘Fushigi Song’ (performed by a vocal group Korogi ‘72) offers a trippy and infectious groove with sonic similarities to Don Cherry’s ‘Brown Rice’; little-known jazz-funk library group Columbia Orchestra showcase the best of Tokyo’s session musicians on ‘Hearts Beats - Theme for Andrew Glasgow’; before lawyer-turned-composer Kan Ogasawara closes out the compilation with a dramatic flourish on ‘Gishin Anki’.

Following on from Time Capsule’s acclaimed deep-dive into the world of manga & anime synth-pop in 2022, this vinyl only collection is set to broaden and diversify an understanding of how soundtracks shaped the sound of new age music in Japan for a generation.

Curators: Kay Suzuki, Rintaro Sekizuka (Vinyl Delivery Service)
Artwork: Tu-yang

On his second EP for Altered Circuits, "Signal Drift", Jacopo Latini further distills his sound. Taking a more minimalist approach, he unreservedly treats the groove as the focal point. Still relying on his staple talent for weaving melodies and hooks, he delivers four trippy club tracks that show more can be done with less. Opener "Sharp" delivers immediate proof. After starting with a sequence of eerie sci-fi atmospherics and recondite vocoded vocals, the adding and subtracting happens so ingeniously, the track switches to club velocity 303 squelches and enhanced drum programming seamlessly. Similar techniques in building and layering are deployed on "Impulse", but this time, the shifts seem a tad more dramatic. The track revolves around an FM bass melody that's equally effective as it is simple, and its return to this stripped theme, surrounded by characteristic jittery hats, squashed claps, and a little more frills, keeps the listener on his toes. A bass patch, its sustain knob turned wide open, somewhat buried in the mix, drives "Bright Sound" together with a heavily modulated formant mid lead. Deadpan vocals add icing, and slightly euphoric, phased chords bring in a touch of subtle contrast. Closer "Rave Harvey" is a rare diversion as it starts in medias res with chords that reconfigure nineties trance and a distinct bassline immediately going for the limelight. It also shows Latini switching up his palette, trading restraint for vigor, with a slab of direct, unfiltered hi-energy as a result.

Good things take time, and this time they bring us a true gift: Brett Johnson, a living house legend. From his base in Austin, he delivers a special mix of two classic tracks and two new ones, all with his unmistakable sound that has moved dance floors worldwide. His timeless beats return in the most beautiful format: vinyl. A unique release to enjoy!