Buscar:foundation sound

* Legend of the Brazilian scene, DJ Andy, has assembled some of the brightest lights, and hottest rising stars of the Brazilian Drum & Bass family and brought them all together on one huge compilation!
* “When we talk about Brazil we don't just mean Rio de Janeiro, samba, beaches and football. This compilation has music for all tastes. We are 100% connected.” - DJ Andy
* With a history stretching back to the very beginnings of rave music in the early nineties, DJ Andy is a foundational figure in Brazilian drum & bass. He's seen the trends and fashions, the sub-genres and evolutions, the mainstream hits and the underground anthems. He knows the music inside-out. And, with this compilation, he's offered us an insight into the kaleidoscope of styles and the surge of talent that his scene has to offer.
* Of course, the Chronic and V faithful will have already been introduced to many of these artists. We're talking the likes of L-Side, Alibi, BTK, Critycal Dub and more; names we all recognise from the top end of the download charts and the set lists of the biggest deejays in the business. But then there are also those making their debut for the V family. Producers like Phizical and No Scandal, who are about to find a whole new, highly appreciative, audience.
* With this strength in depth available to him in the community, DJ Andy's managed to draw together 20 tracks that reflect the full range of what this music has to offer. You'll hear influences from multiple genres, you'll hear the darkness and the light, the vibrancy and the viciousness. If you thought “Brazilian D&B” was confined to one particular sound, you'd better brace yourself for some powerful suprises.
* As DJ Andy says himself, “I wanted to show that our songs can be heard everywhere. At festivals, nightclubs, at parties with friends, while travelling and even as a dinner soundtrack.”

Following hot on the heels of his recent mini-album for Elephant Gait, Italian producer Joseph Tagliabue is back with a full-length album on Glasgow's Invisible, Inc.

With Un' Altra Forma Di Vibrazioni Tagliabue continues to expand on the cosmic foundations laid by such pioneering experimental forefathers as Franco Battiato and his ground-breaking abstract ambient work of the '70s and Klaus Schultze whose legendary Innovative Communications label birthed the “Berlin school” sound at the start of the '80s, then tracing a path toward later luminaries like Boards of Canada and Plaid. There's a personal, emotive and ethereal quality also present here conjuring feelings of 4AD's glory years and the likes of This Mortal Coil and Dead Can Dance. However, backwards-looking music this is not. It's fair to say the Milan-based producer is developing his very own distinct sound as he matures from one release to the next and regardless of his wide range of influences, it's Tagliabue's firm grasp of sound design and audio engineering that takes this album far beyond the realm of just “electronica” or “psychedelia” and plants it firmly into a distinctly forward-looking contemporary space of its very own that's as much music for the heart as it is music for the head.

Tagliabue provides some insight: “Un' Altra Forma Di Vibrazioni (meaning Another Form Of Vibration in Italian) is a concept album inspired by one of the most sensational scientific discoveries of recent years, namely evidence of the existence of the "Cosmic Web". The album is comprised of ten tracks, each linked to one another, much like the various forms of matter in the cosmic web, and whose meaning can only be understood by listening to them as a collective whole, rather than as separate pieces of music. The album therefore is a well constructed sonic experience fusing elements of ambient, psych, rock, experimental and trance and is designed to be listened to continuously from start to finish; the album's journey through the universal elements is reflected in each track, whose rhythms resonate in harmony with the phenomena they represent, whilst a backdrop of drones and mesmeric grooves contribute to an atmosphere of otherworldly mechanical oneirism."

7" Black Vinyl limited to 1000 copies.

Teenagehood, brotherhood and a genuine love for alternative music has united THE GOA EXPRESS from the off. Hailing from the industrial town of Burnley and adopted by the Manchester culture carriers, their teenage years can be viewed as something of a hedonistic pilgrimage into the underbelly of suburban rock and roll- their first gig having been 3 songs blasted out their mates garage, the next on top of a local vintage shop where the floor nearly caved in: “when there’s fuck all, you make do with what you got”. The intensity of this friendship has resulted in the occasional bust up along the way, yet it only adds to the burning chemistry that the band offer on record and on stage. Together, brothers James Douglas Clarke (Guitar + Vocals) and Joe Clarke (Keys), along with Joey Stein (Lead Guitar), Naham Muzaffar (Bass) and Sam Launder (Drums) all contribute to a fuzzy wall of diverse sound, becoming harder to pin down with their constantly evolving, psych-umbrella’d, rock and roll. What sets THE GOA EXPRESS apart from other musicians who sit comfortably within scenes is that their identity as a band has been growing organically long before the 5 of them decided to pick up instruments and teach themselves art of killing time. Their genuine joy in the everyday; their attitude and antics seem to hark back to the glory days of the NME- if they talk about a night out, you want to be there because these lads ooze charm and wreak havoc. This purist, old school approach to creating music through unified experiences and stimulated good times is married with the plain fact that they are very much young people of this generation, and while they see its flaws its hyperreality, its sheep-like tendencies, they still understand the importance in the immediacy of pop music: of a banging riff, or a glorious chorus and how effective this can truly be, and they want everyone along for the ride. With influences ranging from Spacemen 3 and The Brian Jonestown Massacre to French existentialism, from Beat Literature to long hours working at the Bookies to the journey into the sunrise on the night bus home, it is their ability to be all these things at once which makes THE GOA EXPRESS a guitar band for the 21st Century. Nothing is ever a compromise because they are so unapologetically themselves in everything they do- proud Northerners with a DIY foundation that aren’t afraid to look into the often dim future and see themselves shining brightly in it, unforgiving and unpretentious. So far, the band have released 3 singles with great success. The first: ‘Be My Friend’, produced by Ross Orton right next Sheffield’s famous ‘City Sauna’ brothel, presents itself to us as a cheeky, snarling pop song, holding undertones of raw cynicism laden with psychedelic sunshine. Ross Orton’s studio was also right next door to where the band recorded their last single ‘The Day’ with Nathan Saoudi of Fat White Family at ‘Champ Zone.’ Both these producers have been able to give these instant pop classics a grittier feel, capturing the essence of the unfettered lifestyle the band were living at the time that they were able to capture themselves in the music video for ‘Be My Friend’. After signing with Ra-Ra Rok, (WU-LU/Bingo Fury) the band released anthemic summer hit ‘Second Time’, that went straight to the 6 music B-List before quickly heading up to the A-List 2 for 2 weeks. This was followed by the release of its B-Side ‘Overpass’ that almost immediately caught the eyes and ears of BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, who had the band on his ‘Next Wave’ Segment. Closing the year that saw them play to 1000 strong crowds at festivals like Latitude & End of the Road, the band headlined their biggest headline show to date at Manchester’s Gorilla. Its fair to say that this really is only the beginning.

The Brkn Record is a new project led and produced by Jake Ferguson, the co-founder and bass player for the UK's foundational deep jazz outfit the Heliocentrics. With fellow Heliocentrics co-founder and legendary drummer Malcolm Catto, Ferguson has been a regular collaborator with globally recognised artists including Archie Shepp, Mulatu Astatke, Melvin Van Peebles, Orlando Julius and many others. The Architecture of Oppression Part 1 represents Ferguson's debut as a bandleader and orchestrator, and manifests as a committed and soulful response to ongoing and systemic anti-black racism, social oppression and state violence both at home in London and across the globe. Combining poetry, testimony and song with rich and cinematic backdrops, Ferguson has produced a sui generis sound that conjures flavours of Arthur Verocai, Ennio Morricone, classic library productions, Madlib-style deep-jazz beat science, and psychedelic soul. With bandmate Malcolm Catto on drums, Ferguson draws on their long years of collaborative experience in the Heliocentrics to build an album of striking texture and depth.

The Brkn Record is a new project led and produced by Jake Ferguson, the co-founder and bass player for the UK's foundational deep jazz outfit the Heliocentrics. With fellow Heliocentrics co-founder and legendary drummer Malcolm Catto, Ferguson has been a regular collaborator with globally recognised artists including Archie Shepp, Mulatu Astatke, Melvin Van Peebles, Orlando Julius and many others. The Architecture of Oppression Part 1 represents Ferguson's debut as a bandleader and orchestrator, and manifests as a committed and soulful response to ongoing and systemic anti-black racism, social oppression and state violence both at home in London and across the globe. Combining poetry, testimony and song with rich and cinematic backdrops, Ferguson has produced a sui generis sound that conjures flavours of Arthur Verocai, Ennio Morricone, classic library productions, Madlib-style deep-jazz beat science, and psychedelic soul. With bandmate Malcolm Catto on drums, Ferguson draws on their long years of collaborative experience in the Heliocentrics to build an album of striking texture and depth.

WELCOME to the third volume in our Wigan Casino mini-series exploring the diverse playlist of the world's No.1 Northern Soul venue. The 23rd September 2018 marks the 45th Anniversary of the super club and we have selected 18 tracks that we hope capture the unique atmosphere of the huge ballroom and the mesmerizing dance moves that held us spellbound all those years ago.
WIGAN CASINO finally closed its doors in December 1981 after eight long years of weekly All-Nighters, during which time it came to define Northern Soul. The term had, of course, been coined years earlier, but it was the Casino Soul Club that established the style of music and the scene to the wider public.
The Casino transformed the Northern Soul scene into a mass youth movement with its own sound track, uniform, cultural icons and a 100,000 strong membership. In reality, the stereotype of moustachioed young men in baggy trousers and vest tops, festooned with sew-on patches, was actually quite short lived. Northern Soul was ever evolving and as the Seventies progressed so did the music and the fashion, embracing soulful-disco and jazz-funk. Today, 45 years on, it is still evolving and attracts followers from all over the globe to its international Weekenders and Festivals. Right On!

First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist

First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist

First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist

Born from ten-hour jam sessions in peeling Brighton bedsits, the
technical parameters of a bootstrap recording process and the osmotic, multi-genre influence of internet music archives, quintet Ebi Soda have been steady-cultivating a unique sound amidst the exploding UK jazz scene.

Despite their steep rise – the Brighton outfit have preserved as much as possible of their unique recording process, originating from their very first sessions. With just a two- track recorder around, the band would lay down whole takes, one instrument at a time, then immediately transform the overdub, digitally reshaping the sound with the same mischievous, adderall energy as the musical performance.‘Honk If You’re Sad’, their sophomore full-length album, stays true to these foundations, while bringing more ambitious experimentation, technical mastery and a stellar lineup of guest players to the studio including Yazz Ahmed, Deji Ijishakin and Dan Gray.In typical Ebi style, while recalling jazz pioneers in playing style, ‘Honk If You’re Sad’ draws from a vast neural network of influences:
the Ebi Brain has been marinating in a digital soup of trap, drill, dub, post-punk and no wave to name but a few. The result is a mercurial record that beams in psychedelia, dissonance, serene ambient passages, tough, neck-snapping beats and lush textures, all underscored by the intersection of jazz, hip hop and electronic music.

Another new colour pressing we have 200 only white vinyl coming in Mrch. Single LPs w/ printed inner sleeve + lyric insert and Download card. The Armed return with their first new album in over three years and Sargent House debut, ULTRAPOP. The album reaches the same extremities of sonic expression as the furthest depths of metal, noise, and otherwise "heavy" counterculture music subgenres but finds its foundation firmly in pop music and pop culture. As is always The Armed's mission, it seeks only to create the most intense experience possible, a magnification of all culture, beauty, and things. The band goes on to explain, "crafting vital art means presenting the audience with new and intriguing tensions sonically, visually, conceptually. Over time and through use, those tensions become less novel and effective and they become expectations. The concept of "subgenre" becomes almost the antithesis of vitality in art itself a fetishization of expectation. ULTRAPOP seeks, in earnest, to create a truly new listener experience. It is an open rebellion against the culture of expectation in "heavy" music. It is a joyous, genderless, post-nihilist, anti-punk, razor-focused take on creating the most intense listener experience possible. It's the harshest, most beautiful, most hideous thing we could make." ULTRAPOP follows their recent contribution to the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack “Night City Aliens” and 2018’s critically acclaimed album Only Love, which landed on ‘Album of the Year’ lists from The Atlantic, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Vice, Stereogum, and many more. The album was co-produced by the band's own Dan Greene in collaboration with Ben Chisholm (Chelsea Wolfe) and features contributions from Mark Lanegan, Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle), Ben Koller (Converge, Killer Be Killed, Mutoid Man) and many more. Kurt Ballou (Converge, High on Fire, Russian Circles) remains at the helm as executive producer. An interactive ARG campaign with numerous stages of engagement is underway and will continue through release. A website, media mailings and various social media interactions are leading fans to find easter eggs including songs, album info, videos and much more. A livestream performance confirmed for same day. Videos for all three focus tracks (“All Futures”, “Average Death” + “An Iteration” are completed and will be released along with each song.

Noon Garden is an exotic psych-pop odyssey from one of the founding members of Flamingods. Drawing on worldly sounds from the likes of Francis Bebey and Dur Dur Band to Shintaro Sakamoto, tearing up the sonic rule book and conjuring up a distant land where you find yourself cutting loose to grooves that meander their way through a wide spectrum of African disco, funk, exotica and psychedelia. Noon Garden has received support from the likes of Clash and The Line Of Best Fit and recent single Decca Divine was playlisted on Amazing Radio. The track also picked up love at DSP playlists including Spotify’s ‘Fresh Finds: Indie’ and Apple’s ‘New in Alternative’. British born with Nigerian & Jamaican heritage, Prest spent his childhood living in Bahrain surrounded by people, like himself, who were all living on an island away from their homeland. Seeing the world from a young age and the experience of 10 years of globe-trotting touring with Flamingods are imprinted on his new project and have been a huge influence on shaping Noon Garden’s tropical adventurism. As a talented multi-instrumentalist Charles has written, self-produced and played all the parts on the single himself. Noon Garden says of the album: "This debut was an experiment to get to know myself better. Taken from the name of an area not too far from my family home in Norwood south London, the literal words ‘Beulah Spa’ conjured up imagery of being a place to contemplate in warmth and complete tranquility. Writing music is a therapeutic process for me and it’s taken about eight years on and off to finish this album by myself, to try understand what it was exactly that I wanted to say lyrically and explore sonically. The album’s lyrics have shape-shifted so much with time but they take a curious look at the human experience; in my case growing up and soaking up a lot of cultures from an early age in the Middle East, the UK and briefly in Singapore. It’s a reflection on what’s past and what’s yet to come, my connection with others over the years and how that inevitably shapes your outlook on what’s around you. All of this told through the lens of psychedelia which has always given me a sense of possibility. Beulah Spa is the first marker of where I’ve gotten to so far in my life, channeling it all into a musical odyssey that lays the foundation for a lot more to come.”

A homage to the wildlife and mountain people of Benedicte Maurseth’s home area in Hardanger. The acclaimed and innovative visionary musician Benedicte Maurseth is coming forth with the wonderful all-consuming album Hárr. The sound of her magic Hardanger fiddle is woven seamlessly together with that of birds and the other musicians’ musical impressions. Always moving forward with a steely calm disposition, the record draws you into a world where one feels to be one with nature, wandering over a mountain plateau. Benedicte was raised in Maurset in Eidfjord – near Hardangervidda National Park – and has hiked through the mountains her whole life, clearly laying the foundation for this musical expedition. As traditional folk musicians have always been, Maurseth is open to contemporary influences from interactive art and music styles. The work Hárr oscillates between Norwegian folk tunes, free improvised music, American minimalism, and extensive use of musique concrète. In the tracks you will also hear natural soundscapes via the shufflings of reindeer, reindeer herders, birds and insects all recorded in Hardangervidda. Benedicte Maurseth: Hardanger fiddle Mats Eilertsen: contrabass, electronics Håkon Stene: vibraphone, percussion, electronics Guests: Jørgen Træen: electronics Rolf-Erik Nystrøm: saxophone Stein Urheim: langeleik, harmonica, electronics, samples, percussion

In 2006, Jimmy Hunt (then a proverbial punk-troubadour usually found in bars) and Ysael Pepin (bassist for Demon's Claws) started to jam here and there in one of the rooms of an apartment located above the late Zoobizarre in Montreal. Brian, Martin, and Dale eventually joined and the quintet recorded their first garage EP in two winter afternoons. Going against the ebb and flow of indie-pop, receiving praise in both languages all over Canada (La Presse, Exclaim!, Voir), Chocolat participated in the Francofolies de Montréal in 2007 and, in 2008, they were one of the first bands signed on a new label named Grosse Boîte, the French section of Dare To Care Records. They went on to release their first album, Piano élégant, which was met with great acclaim. It featured Beatle- esque melodies, a clearer sound and an addictive chanson side. During the two years that followed, between disheveled yet jolly efficient performances, Chocolat strung together shows and insolence, and even performed at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Then, wanting to try something new, the band decided to take a break in the middle of 2010 and Jimmy Hunt eventually released his first solo album. Jimmy and Ysael kept contact and kept playing together, laying the foundations of an abstract project named Fantôme. Then, at the end of 2013, during the Holidays, while on a break from the tour promoting his second solo album, Maladie d'amour, Jimmy Hunt pitched some ideas on his tablet. The few demos he recorded consisted of linear sequences with drawling riffs interspersed with rhythmic breaks and rudimentary electronic effects. Realizing that Chocolat represented the ideal band to play these, Jimmy got the members together and invited his close friend Emmanuel Ethier (Jimmy Hunt, Cour de pirate) to replace Dale who had left for Europe. After only 3 practices, Jimmy booked the Victor studio in January 2014. For a few days, the guys recorded live and full band. In general, they stuck to the second or third take for each of the tracks. This allowed them to take advantage of the spontaneity of Ysael and Brian's garage games played on the mechanical tracks composed by Jimmy. As spring blossomed and schedules filled up, the guys managed to remotely mix what would become Tss tss, an album recorded between friends, a pop dump of white heat, a discharge of hypnotic rock, and, still under the Grosse Boîte label, an essential tool to hit the roads and travel across Quebec again.

‘Flashmob’ is the second studio album by French electronic music
artist Vitalic. 2022 sees a reissue of this seminal record on white
vinyl. While the electro foundations of his sound remain the same
after more than a decade, these tracks are sleek and innovative -
proving that Vitalic spent the years between his debut, ‘OK
Cowboy’, and this album uniting everything he’d learned from
making electrifying dance tracks since 2005. ‘Flashmob’ provides
cuts that are classic Vitalic, with massive synth lines and hardedged beats.

In 2020 double bassist and composer Lara Rosseel was thé revelation of the Belgian jazz scene. With her album 'De Grote Vrouw' she managed to conquer the hearts of jazz aficionados. Her compositions are firmly rooted in the jazz tradition but spiced up with exotic influences, balancing on that enviable border between mystery and recognisability. Music that didn't rely on boastful gymnastics, but a loud beating heart tailored to a wide audience.

Now Rosseel is continuing this journey of conquest with a young quintet and a new repertoire. Foundation and fantasy are key in her arrangements, intimate digressions and fine sound paintings.

The new album Hert is released on WERF Records on 18 March 2022.

How can one explain the lasting popularity of the bass clarinet in musical circles from Vienna to Brussels? Perhaps because its frequency range articulates an alternative to conventions of popular music, where "bass" is reserved primarily for rhythmic impulses and the very foundation of the music. Viennese bass clarinetist Susanna Gartmayer's playing can by no means be reduced to just this, rather, it scutinizes the entire sound universe: she can do rhythm and drone, not to mention melody and noise, often all at once. Who would be a more fitting collaborator than Stefan Schneider, with his minimalist rhythms and subtle cosmic exploration?

Together, Schneider and Gartmayer form the project So Sner, which owes its existence to a concert in 2015 at the Approximation Festival in Düsseldorf. Gartmayer's bass clarinet polyphonies so impressed Schneider that he quickly suggested a collaboration. That same year, they began recording the album "Reime" in Kraftwerk's former Kling Klang studio, which in 2015 became workspace and concert venue simply called Elektro Müller. The second part was recorded in the summer of 2020 in Düsseldorf-Kaiserswerth at Stammhaus church, whose interior wood paneling facilitated organic acoustics.

Susanna Gartmayer has been active as a musician and composer in various realms between experimental rock music, improvisation and multimedia sound performance since the early 2000s, releasing the album "Smaller Sad" with Christof Kurzmann and "Black Burst Sound Generator" with Brigitta Bödenauer in 2020. In addition to his solo project Mapstation, Düsseldorf-based musician and producer Stefan Schneider has been pursuing new avenues of experimental music in the here and now for over 20 years, in numerous collaborations with Sofia Jernberg, Krautrock pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius, or visual artist Katharina Grosse among others.

So Sner's sound is equally oriented towards experiment and tradition, whose roots can be traced back to the UK of the early 80s: an era in which soul and synth, jazz and industrial, avant-garde and polyrhythm were blended with the help of intellectualism and punk attitude in such a way that manifold sketches of possible music emerged which are only being colorized today. Like So Sner - from the very first stomp to the very last drop.

Olaf Karnik, Cologne, October 2021

Tape Hymns is a mesmerizing amalgam of sounds carefully crafted by frequent collaborators zake and City of Dawn. The warm hiss of analog tape as the foundational structure of these arrangements brings forth pastoral mediations with becalmed, atmospheric intent. Tape Hymns mix echoing sonic tones, slow-drifting sounds with immersive low-end frequencies.

"Social injustices are implanted into our society, and the powerful are not willing to make way for real change. Urgency is the force driving us both in musical improvisation and life. Our sounds are war sirens against an ongoing disaster."- Simon Grab & Francesco Giudici

Simon Grab & Francesco Giudici's 'No Surrender' is a strong and uncut manifest against social injustices, packed into screaming feedbacks and towering drones. Grab lures tender noises and pulsating frequencies from his fragile no-input-mixing-setup, while Giudici adds linear and visceral guitar drones, opening a dialogue between the two musicians, the room, and the surrounding context. Together, they create a uniquely soft but angry musical creature that feeds from emotions of loss and anger to become a haunting call for change.

The album's cover presents a portrait of 'Madame Rochat' by photographer and film maker Aline d'Auria. The seemingly indestructible concierge was stripped from her home of half a century on the day of her retirement. Still, she persistently continued to fight for the working class' rights. '

Focusing on reduction and the peculiarity of self-referential systems, Simon Grab plays fragile feedbacks, pulsating drones and opulent outbursts of noise on a no-input-mixing setup. His has previously released"Posthuman Species" and "Extinction" on -OUS, while "Diamonds", a collaboration with Togolese rapper Yao Bobby and Asian Dub Foundation's Dhangsha, came out via LavaLava.

Experimental musician and sociologist Francesco Giudici plays guitar in bands and creates music for films, installations and theatre pieces. He has released three albums with his band 'Black Fluo' on PulverUndAsche Records. His research as sociologist and demographer focuses on social and economic inequalities, social gradient in health, gender inequalities, occupational and familiar life trajectories.

After being out of print for years, we present the deluxe 10 year anniversary edition of Harm's Way - Isolation. Expanded over two LPs, packaged in a heavy weight tip-on gatefold LP jacket with UV spot varnish, printed inner sleeves and a gatefold insert. Disc one features a re-master of Isolation by Colin Jordan white Disc two features select tracks remixed & reimagined by Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu, JK Flesh), Andrew Nolan (Intensive Care, The Endless Blockade), Dylan Walker (Full of Hell, Sore Dream) and Petbrick (Igor Cavalera and Wayne Adams). Recorded in 2011 at Bricktop Studios by Andy Nelson and originally released the summer of that same year, Isolation acted as both a turning point in the sound of Harm’s Way and the foundation of their catalog to come. Elements of Industrial and Electronics expanded the vision of the group as they dove deeper into a metallic sound unheard on their prior releases. This gained the attention of many press outlets including Decibel Magazine, Revolver and Kerrang, as well as tour opportunities with acts such as Nails, Rise and Fall, The Acacia Strain, Terror, Foundation, and many more. After supporting the release of Isolation for two years, Harm’s Way signed to Deathwish Inc to release “Blinded” (2013) and “Rust” (2015) before moving forward to Metal Blade Records for the release of their most recent full length “Posthuman” (2018).

Fraxinus emerges from temporary suspension with a monolithic 6-track offering on his new self-release label Powerplant. This is his debut EP Position Displacement, carved from a solid block of Devonian granite. After a 4-year dormancy, the Amsterdam-based artist returns with a 30 minute transmission of earth-shaking kick drums, thunderous percussion and razor-sharp sound design. The label’s inaugural release simultaneously marks the first proper outing for the artist, following a run of compilation features & special edition vinyl excursions dating back to 2014. Position Displacement is a journey of divergent moods & cadences, from the wistful flutes of opener Overland to final track Laced’s uncompromising arpeggios. Billowing melodies & piercing stabs run in tandem with a pummelling & steppy rhythm section; Source Code builds steadily, paving the way for Pass One’s warehouse-ready assault. The blooming, fluorescent synths of 115 (Kondo) - named for the mythical Amsterdam club - create a mid-way moment of euphoria, before Larch marches on with its clattering drums. The tracks clearly contain DNA from Fraxinus' foundations with the Her Records cohort – lean, direct & forward-thinking. This time around the aesthetic is more focused, transferred to techno schematics but veering away from 4/4 fare. The sonics have been compacted into dense slabs of energy, primed for soundsystem dispatch. Wholly original, crafted with precision; the EP serves as a powerful statement of intent for both artist & label. Position Displacement will be released 05/11/2021 on 12” vinyl and digital download, presented with full sleeve artwork. The record is followed by a further 2 EPs on Powerplant as we enter 2022.

Bad Suns sound – dreamy '80s pastiche fanked by Stratocasters through
cranked Vox amps, pulsing synths, and palpable rhythmic energy – that
endeared listeners to the band in the frst place, and their fourth LP,
Apocalypse Whenever, uses that musical foundation as the jumping-off
point for their next evolution
Conceived as "the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't yet exist," the 13- track
album, helmed by longtime producer Eric Palmquist (MUTEMATH, Thrice) at his
Palmquist Studios and the band's North Hollywood rehearsal spot, is more
conceptually rigorous than anything they've ever attempted – but no less
compelling or accessible. "We also knew we wanted the album to have a throughline, a story from beginning to end,"frontman Christo Bowman explains, so the
band did what any good directors would: They assembled a mood board, fltering
their neo-noir version of Los Angeles through the dreamlike haziness of author
Haruki Murakami, the futuristic fair of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Blade
Runner, and the lifted cinematography of Spike Jonze's HER.
These disparate infuences don't just offer Apocalypse Whenever an expanded
palette of sonic choices to color Bad Suns' airtight hooks – they help give the
songs an emotional complexity that works on a multitude of levels depending on
how listeners choose to receive them.

The 18th offering from Instinct features four different acts, each with their own take on moving the dancefloor. Pinder P has a funky house/UK garage flavour to it but laced with wonderfully deep bass heavy and shaky enough to dislodge fillings. Papa Nugs' 'Super Beagle' delves even further into the raw aesthetics of early hardcore and especially the reggae-tinted futurism of Shut Up & Dance, Ragga Twins and Hype. DJ Crisps has arguably the least retro sound, relying on very steady and sturdy, more US garage-slanted beat foundations, before the EP is rounded off with the bubbling, skippy 'Only You' from Yosh, re-connected with a subtle reggae flavour to its UKG swagger.

Endlessly sampled, covered, quoted and requoted, this may well be one of the most influential hip-hop singles ever released. But, in many ways, its importance goes beyond its sheer classic status as a single in its own right.

In retrospect, it shows the duo of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith as pioneers in production, creating a funk-based sound that helped to provide a blueprint for artists on the other side of the country. In 1987/88, most West Coast rap still adhered to an East Coast audio blueprint. By 1989, they were leaning as heavily on Zapp and Roger Troutman samples as EPMD were on this single.

The foundations of the track are interesting, with a snatch of Juice’s much-plundered ‘Catch a Groove’ (which has popped up everywhere from The Beastie Boys to Kings of Pressure) overlaid with big chunks of Kool & The Gang’s ‘Jungle Boogie’ and Zapp’s irrepressible ‘More Bounce to the Ounce’. Vocodered funk was a rarity in New York hip-hop until this song, but it’s the West Coast G-Funk artists who really ran with it.

Its popularity spanned the country (and the globe, to be fair), with EPMD performing numerous shows in California on the basis of the sound, moving away from their James Brown-obsessed peers to display their own musical tastes. That said, the flipside – here presented on 7” and, indeed, on any single, for the first time – takes it back to that JB-era. ‘(It’s Not the Express), It’s the JB’s Monaurail by The JB’s is woven with Otis Redding and Beastie Boys to create a mid-tempo headnodder par excellence. It was always too good not to be a single.

With a little patience and a lot of finesse, Jakobin & Domino cooked up a fine new five track House EP for Luv Shack Records.

The eponymous opener "Lost Memories" effortlessly blends jazzy rhodes and emotive string samples with a funky percussive track and a stomping four to the floor beat.

"Hypnotica" delivers what the title suggests; haunting arpeggios go hand in hand with eerie 7 chords and hushed vocal samples, albeit with a jacking groove laying the foundation.

On "Molecules", Jakobin & Domino evoke classic Chicago house vibes with a shuffling beat, a funky synth bass and uplifting chord stabs to boot.

The arguably most classic J&D sounding track on the EP is "Needed", a hard hitting joint that blends a sombre piano chord progression with dreamy acid lines, evoking major dub house feelings.

"Unbogeba" is a laid back slice of deep house that nicely wraps up the EP, with a lingering afro vocal sample and super lush organ chords, it's the perfect track for hazy afterhours.

Hot on the heels of his preliminary EP on Stroboscopic Artefacts, Embryo, which paved the way to the present album, and two years after the landing of his 2016-released inaugural LP, Montagne Trasparenti, Mannequin helmsman Alessandro Adriani returns with his highly anticipated full-length debut for SA, Morphic Dreams. Throughout eleven cuts painstakingly executed but lacking not an iota of the fresh, spontaneous oomph that made his sound stand out of the crowd of techno producers to have emerged over the past decade, Adriani lays the foundations to a suspended sound imaginarium, governed by its own rules and principles of gravity. Revolving around the notions of sublimation and quest for inner balance, Morphic Dreams is comprised of four distinct sequences, conceived and designed as reflections of four mental states, each of them linked to the four alchemical elements i.e. Water, Earth, Air and Fire here represented by the A, B, C and D-sides. Fluid and enveloping, the A-side bathes the listener in some zero-G uterine vortex, pitching and rolling from the slo-burning exotic sensuality and tribal spell of The Tropical Year to the trunk-bending, arpeggiated fast-track pulse of Storm Trees, through Raindances feverish electro swing. Entering a further abrasive, minerally rich phase, the B-side unleashes Adrianis dark side with optimum conviction. Deeply anchored in earthly materiality, this new evolution stage starts off to the frantic Italo bass of Dissolving Images, rushing headlong into a kaleidoscopic maelstrom of fractured reflections and nasty Giallo-like ambience. The delirious body stretch sequence then rather abruptly swerves onto a calmer flux with Dust/Mist, a much enticingly hip-swaying collaboration with Simon Crab, ex-member of the seminal 80s UK industrial-experimental band Bourbonese Qualk, before Casting The Runes engulfs us into a tormented world of swollen eeriness and disquieting esoterism. Back to a widescreen showcase of droney distortions, nasty acid swashes and other quirky drum programming, Hors De Combat opens a new chapter, shortly followed by the playful bass intricacies and modular jeu-de-piste of Invisible Seekers, featuring Avian affiliate and longtime friend Shawn OSullivan. A further mind-expanding piece, C-side closer Crow deploys its blackened wings wide and high as a chaos of martial percussions and liquefying synths slivers crash past the red-hot skyline. A fluttering melodic interlude, Things About To Disappear blazes a clean trail for Make Words Split And Crack to flourish, slowly but surely blooming into a nonstop grandiose twelve minute-shy finale geared up with the stirring cacophonic force of a Ligetian symphony and something of an epic-scale Kubrickian soundtrack.

In 2020 Brooklyn's Holy Hive introduced us all to something we didn't know we needed. Homer Steinweiss' thickly pocketed drumming paired with Paul Spring's floaty falsetto vocal produces a sound that's like a salve. It's been dubbed Folk Soul and Holy Hive not only expertly overlay the more apparent musical aspects of folk and soul-but they also draw from the more profound: being able to pull traditions from the past and make them their own. When Homer wasn't playing drums for Lady Gaga or Adele or Bruno Mars, he'd produce Paul's solo folk records. Along with original bassist and frequent collaborator Joe Harrison, these sessions proved to be Holy Hive's foundation. And their fi rst record, Float Back to You, expertly combined what each musician does best: Paul's heady, reflective approach to folk with Homer's universal classic soul sound. With their new record released on Big Crown, Holy Hive's beautifully simple-and-sparse Folk Soul sound is back-but updated. With new influences and the challenge of creating and capturing music during a global pandemic, this new self-titled album, is more personal, more reflective. They describe three distinct phases when piecing together Holy Hive: this first stage was pre-pandemic in California while traveling as a group, then-like the rest of us-they were separated, creating together but apart, and lastly an explosion of output once they reunited in New York. There is a natural but subtle evolution for Holy Hive on this record. Homer and Paul drew from new and maybe more obscure-yet-honest influences. It's still very much Folk Soul-how could it not be. But, like all artists, they've taken in what they've made and how they've made it, only to push it into new places. We know of Holy Hive's ability to lyrically convey the abstract and complex in poetic and palatable ways. But where the first record was soulfully silver-tongued with chill songs about love and affection, Holy Hive widens the lens with these novel influences, reflecting the points both Homer and Paul are in their own lives.

LTD. CLEAR PINK & BLUE SPLATTER VINYL

In 2020 Brooklyn's Holy Hive introduced us all to something we didn't know we needed. Homer Steinweiss' thickly pocketed drumming paired with Paul Spring's floaty falsetto vocal produces a sound that's like a salve. It's been dubbed Folk Soul and Holy Hive not only expertly overlay the more apparent musical aspects of folk and soul-but they also draw from the more profound: being able to pull traditions from the past and make them their own. When Homer wasn't playing drums for Lady Gaga or Adele or Bruno Mars, he'd produce Paul's solo folk records. Along with original bassist and frequent collaborator Joe Harrison, these sessions proved to be Holy Hive's foundation. And their fi rst record, Float Back to You, expertly combined what each musician does best: Paul's heady, reflective approach to folk with Homer's universal classic soul sound. With their new record released on Big Crown, Holy Hive's beautifully simple-and-sparse Folk Soul sound is back-but updated. With new influences and the challenge of creating and capturing music during a global pandemic, this new self-titled album, is more personal, more reflective. They describe three distinct phases when piecing together Holy Hive: this first stage was pre-pandemic in California while traveling as a group, then-like the rest of us-they were separated, creating together but apart, and lastly an explosion of output once they reunited in New York. There is a natural but subtle evolution for Holy Hive on this record. Homer and Paul drew from new and maybe more obscure-yet-honest influences. It's still very much Folk Soul-how could it not be. But, like all artists, they've taken in what they've made and how they've made it, only to push it into new places. We know of Holy Hive's ability to lyrically convey the abstract and complex in poetic and palatable ways. But where the first record was soulfully silver-tongued with chill songs about love and affection, Holy Hive widens the lens with these novel influences, reflecting the points both Homer and Paul are in their own lives.

"The new album ""Canzoni segrete"" is about the power of music, the
consequences of prosperity, about a strange plague and changing
passions, about dreams, hopes, disappointments
The songs have their roots in recent decades, ""Leo""– adapted in 1994 from the
French original by Georges Moustaki – being one example. Predominantly,
however, they were written during the months between January 2019 and June
2020. Recorded in studios in Italy, France, Germany and Switzerland, the album
turned into a profound project that challenged Pippo Pollina as a composer and
poet, but also as a thinker, musician and arranger.
With a rough and at the same time sonorous voice, Pippo Pollina rejoices and
argues, chats and reflects. At times with a touch of the laconic, but never without
a fundamental reverence for the beauty of sound and the power of art, in the
knowledge that music is a gift. That is the foundation, despite all doubts, for an
ambitious, mature and coherent album, which Pippo Pollina will bring to the stage
from the beginning of 2022, culminating in a grand finale in the Verona Arena in
August 2023.

The sixth release on Phoq U Phonogrammen, the sordid and rash U-TRAX sublabel, may be from its least known artist, but it is our personal favorite Phoq U release. The style can perhaps best be described as acid funk. Though the drums and bass lines generally are rather tight, all tracks have these quirky synth lines that give them a rather funky, dark 'cyborg feel'.
Lynx is Reyer Caderius van Veen - and he didn't chose that name himself. Reyer is from Groningen, the mayor city in the most northern region of The Netherlands. It's a vibrant student town, with lots of music going on.

In the 90s, Reyer participated in a techno-foundation, together with Thee J. Johanz (Ballyhoo Records) and Johan Sagel, who released a 12" as Jo-I on U-TRAX in 1995. Together with Johan, Reyer also formed a band called L.A.P. 01 (Live Acid Performance), which released a 12", a 10" and a remix on Jan Liefhebber's Highland Beats and a track on Ballyhoo Records (BALL 100).
Harsh starts off with some terribly hard and high tones, that sound like a nuclear plant is going to melt down. The ferocious bassdrum and grunting acid bass line add to the uncomfortable mood.
What makes us really happy is Sex On Jupiter. It's a rushed track that completely opens up around the 1:20 mark with a desolate, yet funky sawtooth 303 bassline.

On the flipside, Changes brings a nice pumping rhythm combined with a rolling bassline with all sorts of disturbing sounds on top.
The EP closes off with another highlight of darkness: Dark Mission. The track has a lovely flow, but really starts to space you out as soon as a hoarse sounding pulsating synth spreads it wings across the deliciously bubbling 303.
To be short: this is an uncomfortable record, and we love it!

Original release date: August 1996.

With his first release as EBM outfit Voltage Control on Antler Subway in 1989, Utrecht-based Arno Peeters can easily be considered one of the Dutch Dance pioneers.
Influenced by hip hop, electro and acid house, and his uncontrollable urge to experiment, he moved on to produce techno. Disappointed by the genre s conventions, he rather suddenly stopped with dance music altogether around 1995, letting a wealth of DATs with unreleased material collect dust in his studio.
To our great pleasure, U-TRAX was allowed to pick some nuggets from these archives, resulting in this Titanic EP and an album later this year.

Arno started experimenting with sound at very young age, resulting in his first cassette releases with experimental soundscapes in 1983. In 1986 he joined the notable Centre for Electronic Music (CEM), where he was able to take his experiments to a new level in a professional studio-environment.
In his techno episode , he recorded several 12 -es and CDs as Sp@sms and The Implant, and as part of Random XS, Urban Electro, African Nightflight and The AWAX Foundation, with most of his records being released on the famous DJAX label.
After turning his back on techno, he applied himself to more experimental music again. In 1996, he created AeroSon, a 40-minute sound collage that won him the first prize in the category Composers Under 30 at a high-brow international contest for electro-acoustic music. This piece was later released on the prestigious Mille Plateaux label.

Since then, his focus has shifted away from releasing music, towards working more project-based: on remixes, compilations and interactive (installations, video, sound design), building himself a successful career as radio maker, teacher and engineer, contributing to several award-winning documentaries and podcasts.
This EP is a nice cross section of Arno s dance productions, serving you some acid, techno and electro.

Titanic V1 was originally created to be a Random XS track, the techno band he formed in 1991 with Sander Friedeman. It was performed during their live set at one of the G.U.R.U. parties, organized by U-TRAX label boss DJ White Delight and label artist P.A. Presents.
This acid track was remixed into a techno monster when Friedeman replaced the 303 with a 101 and added a ton of delay on the bass drums, resulting in the woofer destroying Titanic (Underwater Dub).
The flipside sees a rare post-1995 recording by Arno: CEM Traxx 1. As the title suggests, this melancholic electro gem was created using the intricate machinery of the CEM Studio. Originally created as one half of a two-part composition for some project in 2003, it was never released before.

The EP closes with a typical Arno brainchild, the tongue-in-cheek acid banger XD5 Acid Master, from 1994. Tracks like this happen if you leave Arno unattended with a rather un-hip machine like the Kawai XD-5: he turns it inside out and uses it for things it was never intended for. Buckle up!

All tracks have been produced by Arno Peeters and mastered by Ruud Lekx. Label art by Botterman Ontwerp.

white & blue marbled vinyl

With his first release as EBM outfit Voltage Control on Antler Subway in 1989, Utrecht-based Arno Peeters can easily be considered one of the Dutch Dance pioneers.
Influenced by hip hop, electro and acid house, and his uncontrollable urge to experiment, he moved on to produce techno. Disappointed by the genre s conventions, he rather suddenly stopped with dance music altogether around 1995, letting a wealth of DATs with unreleased material collect dust in his studio.
To our great pleasure, U-TRAX was allowed to pick some nuggets from these archives, resulting in this Titanic EP and an album later this year.
Arno started experimenting with sound at very young age, resulting in his first cassette releases with experimental soundscapes in 1983. In 1986 he joined the notable Centre for Electronic Music (CEM), where he was able to take his experiments to a new level in a professional studio-environment.
In his techno episode , he recorded several 12 -es and CDs as Sp@sms and The Implant, and as part of Random XS, Urban Electro, African Nightflight and The AWAX Foundation, with most of his records being released on the famous DJAX label.
After turning his back on techno, he applied himself to more experimental music again. In 1996, he created AeroSon, a 40-minute sound collage that won him the first prize in the category Composers Under 30 at a high-brow international contest for electro-acoustic music. This piece was later released on the prestigious Mille Plateaux label.
Since then, his focus has shifted away from releasing music, towards working more project-based: on remixes, compilations and interactive (installations, video, sound design), building himself a successful career as radio maker, teacher and engineer, contributing to several award-winning documentaries and podcasts.
This EP is a nice cross section of Arno s dance productions, serving you some acid, techno and electro.
Titanic V1 was originally created to be a Random XS track, the techno band he formed in 1991 with Sander Friedeman. It was performed during their live set at one of the G.U.R.U. parties, organized by U-TRAX label boss DJ White Delight and label artist P.A. Presents.
This acid track was remixed into a techno monster when Friedeman replaced the 303 with a 101 and added a ton of delay on the bass drums, resulting in the woofer destroying Titanic (Underwater Dub).
The flipside sees a rare post-1995 recording by Arno: CEM Traxx 1. As the title suggests, this melancholic electro gem was created using the intricate machinery of the CEM Studio. Originally created as one half of a two-part composition for some project in 2003, it was never released before.
The EP closes with a typical Arno brainchild, the tongue-in-cheek acid banger XD5 Acid Master, from 1994. Tracks like this happen if you leave Arno unattended with a rather un-hip machine like the Kawai XD-5: he turns it inside out and uses it for things it was never intended for. Buckle up!

All tracks have been produced by Arno Peeters and mastered by Ruud Lekx. Label art by Botterman Ontwerp.

Legendary Utrecht DJ and producer P.A. Presents (Peter Aarsman) returns with his first new release since 2000 with this vintage techno stunner, Swirling Gas. This EP also marks the first new music on U-TRAX in more than 21 years, kicking the label s comeback into a higher gear.
Peter ironically is the only artist on U-TRAX that actually is born and bred in the city of Utrecht. Even more irony lies in the fact that he hasn t lived in the city (or stadsie in Utregs, the local dialect) for the past 25 years.
Peter knew he wanted to be a DJ since he was ten years old, in a time when this was still a very unusual career to dream about. Long before house music had landed in Europe, Peter was fiddling around with disco and italo 12 -es and all those years of training is what made him the superior DJ that he still is today. In terms of skills, flair, energy and feel for the dance floor, there are probably not a lot of DJs that can rival with Peter.
While the era of house of techno of the late 80s and the 90s brought him countless DJ gigs, his reputation didn t cross the city borders much, until he bought his first gear and started producing techno music himself. Again, his DJ background proved helpful with producing his tracks, as most of his tracks are dancefloor orientated and usually have an impeccable timing.
Peter debuted with the mini-album Salicylic Acid on U-TRAX in 1993, followed by the Flight Stimulator EP a year later. Both are classics today, but neither brought him as much fame as his 12 Entangled did on Deviate, a record label that was started by a couple of our friends from Utrecht a year prior to U-TRAX. Entangled made it to many charts and compilation albums, including Carl Craig s mix CD as part of !K7 s DJ-Kicks series.
Besides two releases on U-TRAX and three 12 -es on Deviate, Peter recorded a full length album for the latter label. Unfortunately, before the album ever saw the light of day, Deviate closed their doors and the tracks remained on the shelves for the next 17 or so years. These tracks still sound surprisingly fresh and original today and we are super excited to be able to release some of them on this Swirling Gas EP!
The title track Swirling Gas obviously gets its name from the documentary sample that the track kicks off with. The almost heartbeat-like electro rhythms, layered choruses and dreamy synths will give you goose bumps all the way to the soles of your feet.
Raw is quite another thing, but way more complicated and sophisticated than the title suggests. An in-your-face electro bass drum pattern supports layer after layer of additional rhythms, some even touching on salsa, and then big fat layers of pulsating synths take you away into deep space. A unique track that will instantly reward the DJ that has the guts to play it for her/his audience.
Drum Magic on the flipside is exactly that: a magic techno trip built around complicated syncopated drum rhythms, which should serve the adventurous DJ well as a foundation for mixing all sorts of weird stuff on top of. We can t wait to see videos appear with creative mixing ideas.
Final track Freaky is opening with some heavy pounding, yet jumpy beats before it opens up into a bit of a space trip around the 3 minute mark. Though the track has a touch of the Basic Channel sound, its echoing synth tones are very distinct and will light up any venue, no matter how big.
All tracks have been revamped and edited into more current lengths by DJ Zero One, blessed by DJ White Delight and mastered by Thee J Johanz. Label art by Bonk Artwork.

Legendary Utrecht DJ and producer P.A. Presents (Peter Aarsman) returns with his first new release since 2000 with this vintage techno stunner, Swirling Gas. This EP also marks the first new music on U-TRAX in more than 21 years, kicking the label s comeback into a higher gear.
Peter ironically is the only artist on U-TRAX that actually is born and bred in the city of Utrecht. Even more irony lies in the fact that he hasn t lived in the city (or stadsie in Utregs, the local dialect) for the past 25 years.
Peter knew he wanted to be a DJ since he was ten years old, in a time when this was still a very unusual career to dream about. Long before house music had landed in Europe, Peter was fiddling around with disco and italo 12 -es and all those years of training is what made him the superior DJ that he still is today. In terms of skills, flair, energy and feel for the dance floor, there are probably not a lot of DJs that can rival with Peter.
While the era of house of techno of the late 80s and the 90s brought him countless DJ gigs, his reputation didn t cross the city borders much, until he bought his first gear and started producing techno music himself. Again, his DJ background proved helpful with producing his tracks, as most of his tracks are dancefloor orientated and usually have an impeccable timing.
Peter debuted with the mini-album Salicylic Acid on U-TRAX in 1993, followed by the Flight Stimulator EP a year later. Both are classics today, but neither brought him as much fame as his 12 Entangled did on Deviate, a record label that was started by a couple of our friends from Utrecht a year prior to U-TRAX. Entangled made it to many charts and compilation albums, including Carl Craig s mix CD as part of !K7 s DJ-Kicks series.
Besides two releases on U-TRAX and three 12 -es on Deviate, Peter recorded a full length album for the latter label. Unfortunately, before the album ever saw the light of day, Deviate closed their doors and the tracks remained on the shelves for the next 17 or so years. These tracks still sound surprisingly fresh and original today and we are super excited to be able to release some of them on this Swirling Gas EP!
The title track Swirling Gas obviously gets its name from the documentary sample that the track kicks off with. The almost heartbeat-like electro rhythms, layered choruses and dreamy synths will give you goose bumps all the way to the soles of your feet.
Raw is quite another thing, but way more complicated and sophisticated than the title suggests. An in-your-face electro bass drum pattern supports layer after layer of additional rhythms, some even touching on salsa, and then big fat layers of pulsating synths take you away into deep space. A unique track that will instantly reward the DJ that has the guts to play it for her/his audience.
Drum Magic on the flipside is exactly that: a magic techno trip built around complicated syncopated drum rhythms, which should serve the adventurous DJ well as a foundation for mixing all sorts of weird stuff on top of. We can t wait to see videos appear with creative mixing ideas.
Final track Freaky is opening with some heavy pounding, yet jumpy beats before it opens up into a bit of a space trip around the 3 minute mark. Though the track has a touch of the Basic Channel sound, its echoing synth tones are very distinct and will light up any venue, no matter how big.
All tracks have been revamped and edited into more current lengths by DJ Zero One, blessed by DJ White Delight and mastered by Thee J Johanz. Label art by Bonk Artwork.

King Tubby and Producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee are intertwined in the birth of Dub Music. After discovering a mistake that made a ‘serious joke’ they went on to release the first pressings of this new musical genre namely ‘Dub Music’. Tubby’s vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny’s vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the foundations of what today is taken as a standard...the Remix / Version cuts to an existing vocal tune. Sit back and enjoy this historic set of sounds. These releases were the first to carry the name of King Tubby and the first to credit the great musicians that contributed so much to the rhythms that made these albums possible.

‘Expressions of Interest’ is the debut album from Melbourne/Naarm post-punk group screensaver.

Sonically, the 10 track album is rich and detailed, and pays homage to its era of inspiration (late 70s-mid 80s post-punk and new wave) with gripping vocals, dissonant guitar, melodic basslines, washes of synths and motorik drumming. Engineered by Julian Cue alongside band member Chris Stephenson and recorded over multiple studio sessions between 2020-2021

The album opens with the ominously titled ‘Body Parts’, an immediately arresting song that showcases the bands penchant for blending classic post-punk elements, leaning into a sound somewhere between the Banshees and Protomartyr.

Maynard doubles down on these themes in the frenetic second track, ‘No Movement’. Guttural organ tones swim under overdriven guitar, jagged and intense. Additional textures and sound effects are used percussively to embellish the dynamics, creating a feverish atmosphere with some Martin Hannett like flourishes.

The album takes a surprising turn into electronic driven krautrock on track three with 'Buy, Sell, Trade' - a rollicking piece of danceable ephemera, dominated by swirling synth sounds and punctuated with electronics reminiscent of Sparks/Moroder collaborations. Chris Stephenson's masterful guitar work begins with Greg Sage-esque determination before a crescendo into a lush Frippertronics outro.

'MEDS' transports us back to the foundation established on 'Body Parts', a gothy piece, full of tribal toms and dirge-y synths. Industrial punk rock nearly swallowed whole by the keys in the middle and slowly building back to complimentary guitar and vocal hooks.

It's from this point in the album that the band let's their other influences rise to the surface, as they explore touches of EDM on 'Static State' - a brutal, death-disco style track, Krystal Maynard's lead synth and gloomy vocal complimenting the pounding drums and dub-esque bass line culminating in a track worthy of the dancefloor.


Opening side two we have 'Skin', beginning with a solid and simple backbeat, James Beck’s post-punk percussion provides a steady and minimal framework for the rest of the band to colour in with great depth and detail. Giles Fielke’s bass guitar wobbles brilliantly leading the verse melody, whilst Chris Stephenson’s guitar drives the chorus that folds neatly in on itself.

In ‘Attention Economy’, Krystal Maynard is flexible with her lyrical style, and knows how and when to lend her voice to the greater backdrop of the composition. ‘Attention Economy’ has an almost Kraftwerkian structure - repetitious, but engaging with its constant tom driven beat, lush synth lines and minimal bass tones.

Just when you thought things had slowed down, screensaver ramp things right back up again with ‘Overnight Low’ - a no holds barred thumper. Giles Fielke underpins the hard-edged sound with his bassline, keeping things smooth and tight. It brings to mind a hybrid of PiL’s ‘Annalisa’ and Wire’s ‘Two People In a Room.’

Before you can catch your breath, we have ‘Regular Hours’ - another industrial track, and perhaps the sister song to ‘Static State’ heard earlier on side one. Seething electronic drum samples cut through an abyss of growling synths, Giles Fielke hanging up the bass temporarily to accompany Krystal Maynard on synth duties.

The album closes with the fittingly titled ‘Soft Landing’, literally bringing the listener back down...softly. The song is heavy on atmos, and resembles the aesthetics previously encountered on ‘Attention Economy’ a few tracks earlier.

‘Expressions of Interest” was recorded at various locations across Melbourne, with a handful of songs being captured before the start of the Covid pandemic in January 2020. With the recording timeline being drastically altered, the band shifted focus to work on what would become their first single ‘Strange Anxiety’, throughout the first months of the Melbourne 2020 lockdown.

Following their recent solo releases Soniscope (Dauw) and Cells #5 (Important Records), Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist Midori Hirano and Tokyo based string experimentalist Atsuko Hatano have teamed up for their first collaborative full-length: Water Ladder. An intense, multilayered continuation of earlier collaborations (Atsuko was featured on Midori’s debut LP back in 2006), the foundation for this new collaborative album was laid when they shared stages in Berlin (Ausland) and Japan in 2019. Working remotely at first, they later recorded parts of the album in Nara’s snoihouse (using omnidirectional polyhedral speakers).

“As we rallied back and forth with our recordings in the process of creating this album, unanticipated fluctuations and irregularities emerged, coming together into a kind of music with a unique resilience and buoyancy that cannot be confined to existing molds. It was as though we had built a Water Ladder to bridge the gap between us,” explains prolific composer and viola player Atsuko Hatano, who’s been busy recording solo and with colleagues such as Jim O’Rourke, Eiko Ishibashi, Mocky, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Takeo Toyama, and Anzu Suhara (Asa-chang & Junrei).

Kyoto-born, Berlin-based Midori Hirano, who’s also been releasing music under her MimiCof moniker, adds multiple instruments to the ever-changing sonic landscapes of Water Ladder – an album defined by suspenseful and seemingly suspended compositions that often feel like floating in midair, a sensation the musicians compare to “that distinctive feeling you get from riding a high-speed elevator, where you can no longer tell whether you’re going up or down.”

Devoid of birdsong, the late summer air is nevertheless full of buzzing, whirring, hissing sounds on foreboding album opener “Summer Noise,” a cinematic intro with slow-moving piano chords and an ominous build-up over the course of its sprawling eight minutes. Elsewhere, sudden bursts of viola cut through nighttime peace (“Nocturnal Awakening”), followed by “Cotton Sphere” – which makes the sensation of floating in midair complete: harmonies and melodies rise and form to fall apart again, leaving only trails of previously defined space shimmering in their wake…

Whereas the title track truly explodes half-way in, the final “Cascade” brings closure to the electro-acoustic six-track collection: the floating continues, but the interlocking musical planes are no longer ruffled or rippling, no longer torn in many directions at once. Instead, the sonic streams merge and eventually disappear like ephemeral water falls after heavy rain or sudden snowmelt.

“Water cannot retain its form on its own, and can take any shape as effected by external forces. Its movements cannot be captured by eyesight alone: A body of water that appears to be crashing down into a deep, bottomless waterfall could actually be rising up very slowly into midair,” says Atsuko. “This is an invitation for you to cross the ever-transforming Water Ladder built between Midori and myself.”

Whoop whoop, it’s the sound of the inimitable KRS One’s ‘Sound of da Police’ and the mind bogglingly clever ‘Hip Hop vs Rap’, reissued here for the first time ever on 7 inch vinyl, housed in an original artwork picture sleeve this is a must have for anyone in the know.

First up ‘Sound of da Police’. A song that spoke out against the long running history of the Black community experiencing police brutality, violence and racism at the hands of those that were meant to be protecting them. The hard-hitting words from KRS touch on the history of slavery and it’s manifestation into systemic racism throughout the ages since.

“Change your attitude, change your plan
There could never really be justice on stolen land”

Couple that with a rough breakbeat, chopped through the MPC alongside choice funk samples and that legendary police siren ‘Whoop, Whoop’ and you had a certified golden era rap classic that ignited the fire in the belly of many across the globe.

On the flip, ‘Hip Hop Vs Rap’. A bumping hip hop loop lays the foundation for KRS to work his genius melding all manner of classic hip hop lines that are the perfect ammunition to cut up on the decks and results in a flow that certifies that hip hop is the culture that you live and breathe.

“Rap is something you do,
Hip-Hop is something you live!”

It’s a true, headsy b-boy gem which deserves a place in every collection.

Comes with 10'' booklet and download code. Limited 500. - "Those awaiting", the name chosen by the musicians of Sabreen, still rings true forty years after the foundation of this group in Jerusalem. Voice of the hopes as well as the anger of the Palestinian youth, this group has recorded four self-produced albums. With the weapons of poetry, they will embody the voices of resistance against the occupation but also the desire for emancipation from tradition.Emblematic of this state of mind, their second album Death Of The Prophet was released on cassette at the beginning of the first intifada. It will be the soundtrack, while providing the tuning fork of the future generations. Whether meditative beaches or collective outbursts, joyful outbursts or more serious moments, the band goes through the range of feelings, drawing its inspiration from the sources of classical Arabic music and popular folklore. The result is a unique style, irreducible to any category. All that makes that forty years later, this cult album, never released on vinyl, remains very current. Including booklet with extended liner notes by Jacques Denis and rare photos.