Buscar:local dj

Durban gqom ambassador DJ Lag and London-based Okzharp combine over four club heavy tracks rooted in their long-term long-distance connection, the EP’s title originating from the Durban nickname for the local clubs where much early gqom-style music was played. Opener ‘Now What’ layers a wooden percussion scraper with a ticking cow bell and chants. Set at a slightly faster pace than most gqom, the track harbours a dark energy at its core generated by a low rumbling background synth and pitch shifting claps.

‘Steam One’ - inspired by DJ Lag’s set at Hyperdub’s club night Ø after he brought the heavy steam room vibe - has a slow and entrancing build up with a subtle melody layering on stabbing syncopated kicks, leading up to awoozy synth breakdown. “We were inspired by that moment in the club when things get hazy and bendy and glowy. It has South Durban via South London DNA, so inevitably there's a heavy kwai-gqom vibe with a grimey funky London twist running through it”. ‘Nyusa’ opens with a grinding acidicbass line overlaid with a metallic and gravelly melody with suppressed chants.

Sharp kicks drive the track leading up to a wobbly synth breakdown and back up synth stabs raising the energy. Finally, ‘Sambe’ pairs menacingstrings with a steel drum melody, displaying characteristics of both funky house and gqom in a subtle meeting of the two styles. ‘Steam Rooms’ is a collection of dancefloor heaters set to make the club sweat, the amalgamation of a London / Durban link up reflecting both producers environments and sound palettes for icey cold gqom tracks with funky house shadings.

It had taken him almost three years to record, but in 1985 Jake Hottell finally finished his debut solo album, Break The Chains. Inspired by his opposition to fracking, anger at government corruption and a series of profound spiritual experiences, a hundred copies of the album were pressed and given away to radio stations, friends and local business interests in Hottell’s home state of New Mexico.



The album would have remained an obscure footnote in musical history had it not been for the efforts of DJs Danny McLewin and Jeremy Spellacey. Between them, they tracked down Hottell to hear his story, offering the former electronics engineer and Nashville-based music producer the chance to get his music to a whole new audience. Now, some 34 years after the private press edition was produced, Spacetalk is giving Break The Chains a full release for the very first time. Hottell began recording the album in 1982 after reading Your Body’s Many Cries For Water, a best-selling book by Dr Fereydoon Batmanghelidj about the health benefits of clean, purified water. Remembering the poisonous, methane-laden water that came out of his mother’s taps in the 1970s – a by-product of extensive fracking activity in the area around the family farm – Hottell wanted to create a set of tracks that registered his concerns, reflected his recent spiritual experiences (many of which he still finds it difficult to discuss today) and offered a meditative listening experience.



The resultant set is suitably cosmic and emotive, with Hottell cannily fusing gentle drum machine rhythms and dreamy synthesizer motifs – influenced, he says, by a love of the contemporaneous new age output of former jazz label Windham Hill Records – with his own glistening guitar passages, which sit somewhere between the homespun riffs of country music and the classical guitar solos that have long been a sonic staple of Spanish styles such as Flamenco. Many of the tracks have stories attached. “Horizon” features a profound spoken word vocal from local man Darald McCabe – whose homemade purified water helped Hottell recover from serious illness – while “El Rio dos les Delores” was composed after discovering that fracking was taking place on a local Native American reservation. “The Truth Is All I Want”, meanwhile, reflects Hottell’s growing exasperation at the extent of corporate greed and government corruption in the United States.



This new edition of Break The Chains has been painstakingly re-mastered from the original master tapes, while extensive new liner notes shed light on the remarkable musical and personal experiences that inspired Hottell to create an obscure, overlooked classic.

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

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

A LITTLE ON THE ARTISTS INVOLVED :

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

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

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

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

Nesha Nycee is a REAL rapper.

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

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

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

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

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

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

tracks. We love it and hope you will too.

Repress!

Wiggle celebrate 25 years and relaunch their iconic label with a releases including co-founders Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Eddie Richards, as well as artists like D’julz, Silverlining, Mihai Popoviciu, and more.

Wiggle, the brand that gave birth to tech house a sound that would power London’s club music community for over two decades, step out into their 25th year. To mark reaching this remarkable milestone, they plan a special series of international shows and a relaunch of their influential and ground-breaking label.

Taking their lead directly from the acid house movement, Nathan Coles and Terry Francis first brought Wiggle to life through their heady warehouse parties in the early 90s. Unpretentious to their core, these now infamous events were known for their purist values – community and a sound that booms. Finding a kindred spirit in another new face, Eddie Richards became resident from early sets and was a key figure from the off.

Through these now historic events, they embedded themselves deeply into London’s party landscape becoming familiar faces at cultural institution fabric. Heavily based around the core residents they also invited parts of the international and local world from Richie Hawtin, Jay Tripwire, Abe Duque and Colin Dale.

It’s about here we acknowledge Wiggle’s place in originating tech house - working the hard line swagger of techno together with the depth of feeling of house, matching rhythm with bass in a way perfectly aligned with endless hours of hedonism. This potent mix of musical elements is where it began and set down the foundation of London’s rich and active community of DJs, producers and ravers.

The label was founded close to the parties, sourcing tracks from the ever building network of producers who were fuelling this sound evolution. For their 25th birthday you can expect to see the Wiggle imprint coming back in strength - returning to cutting tracks to wax and continuing its legacy for bass fuelled party sounds and pioneering new talent.

2019 will see a series of international shows and a quarterly London party bringing the much loved Wiggle sensibilities and celebrate what they are and have achieved.

The NMB Allstars have been part of the SKAM family for nearly twenty years. Initially as DJs then as producers, they beguiled us with their dub-informed rhythms and caustic beats. When they first put their Bug EP together at the back end of 2001, we discussed what might come next – a plan for five 12” EPs before an album, not realising it would take fifteen eighteen years to get to number five... but, here it is, the 5th of 5, NMB005 the GazOhmEater EP.
The pattern of releases has played with titles and logos of UK nationalised industries – Bolton8 (002) referenced Altern-8 and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, NWH20 (003) North West Water. and Mancweb (004) drew on Manweb, a local electricity provider. For this final EP Acid and Gas are the go-to aesthetic narcotics. Along the way the 12” series had guest appearances from Meam, Made and Pendle Coven, part of the NMB extended crew.
These days neither of the two founder members locate themselves in urban situations, preferring to retreat to the hills spending hours on the moors of the Pennines. Even these landscapes are punctuated by infrastructure,
be it pylons, reservoirs or tunnels, and the resonant hums, filtered through peat bog and horizontal rain can be sensed in these new tracks put together slowly over the last seven years. NMB stated from the beginning that their “output was not controlled by time” - how right they were.... They have said the album should be ready in 2028.

Last year, we got together with The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision’s RE:VIVE initiative for the second time, inviting four local artists to breathe new life into four archival films from the Sound and Vision and EYE Filmmuseum archives. Jordan GCZ, Suzanne Kraft, Parrish Smith and Upsammy were all assigned short animated films dating back to 1921. The films and their new scores debuted at EYE on August 2nd as part of Dekmantel Festival 2018. Unsurprisingly, each artist imparted their unique styles onto the films that they previously had no relation with. From Suzanne Kraft's sparse atmospherics that have become more apparent in his new SK U KNO project to Jordan GCZ’s free flowing hardware jams. Parrish Smith showed his contemplative side and sparse orchestrations that he demonstrated on his RE:VIVE release, Genesis Black, a sonic departure from his bombastic releases and DJ-sets while upsammy showed yet again her deft hand for melody and texture, a style that dominates all her releases to date.

These four scores can live apart from their films, fitting seamlessly into each artists' growing catalogs of work. But when combined, it’s as if the films and music were made simultaneously with the artist and filmmaker together in the same room. Dekmantel and RE:VIVE are proud to present these new works as the electronic music scene in The Netherlands continues to show its multifaceted talent that continues to expand far beyond the dance floor.

Greetings and welcome from Axces. We're a small local Copenhagen community of friends and curious souls. This is our very first record. Alfredo92 and Kasper Marrot run the label, and they've produced two tracks with help from our good friends Carl Emil and Lauge.

The record was created in 2017 at the professional facilities we've come to know as Nordvest Auto. On both tracks, you'll hear a lot of drums, some bass, effects, samples, vocals and sounds from beyond, we don't know how to describe. They've been tested on various sound systems during the past year, and we can ensure you that a flat EQ and max volume will suit the tracks almost anywhere.

We really hope you enjoy our effort. If you should ever find yourself in Copenhagen Axces will provide counselling and guidance at own risk.

Performing throughout the 1980s as Art Carnage to the gloomy hipsters of Portland, Attilio Panissidi III decided he needed a vacation. The result of his creative escape became Art Takes A Holiday, an album of fabricated FM synthscapes and MIDI environments that embrace elements of smooth jazz, new age, and pop.

Attilio had been playing in bands since he was thirteen, and had opened live shows for countless acts, from The Shangri-Las to Bruce Hornsby. The experience of producing, performing, as well as years spent writing for local music magazine The Downtowner, earned Attilio a gig to score a commercial film for a home security systems company. The opportunity allowed him to explore softer elements in his writing, and he created a suite of songs much deeper than the commission warranted. These instrumentals caught the attention of Marlon McClain (Gap Band, Shock), who invited Attilio to produce and release the music on his fledgling Nu-Vision label. Thus Art Takes A Holiday found its commercial release on cassette and CD in 1989. Although originally intended as soundtrack music, the album retains its own momentum, narrative and evocative imagery that betrays Attilio's years of crafting songs. Attilio found a perfect ambience on this mythic retreat, somewhere between William Aura's summer cottage on Half Moon Bay and DJ Alfredo's Balearic island getaway.

“Style” can be defined as that special ability to watermark every track with an instantly-recognizable identity. Local Suicide, aka Munich’s Brax Moody and Greek-born Vamparela, has it in spades. And following releases on labels such as Bordello, My Favorite Robot, Multi Culti, Roam, Duro and OMBRA, it only made sense that the duo would eventually find its way to Lumière Noire. After all, “black light” (as per the meaning of Chloé’s label’s name) could describe the way Local Suicide’s music flirts with the more troubling zones of the listener’s psyche, where danger roams and aural comfort is no longer a guarantee. The EP’s two tracks set a dark, shifty sonic tableau, in which German-American multidisciplinary artist - and a unique personality of the Berlin underground - Nicki Fehr comes to blend his voice with Vamparela’s. With its swerving bass slithering over a slow tempo, Leopard Gum is the perfect slow burner, a slice of comatose disco that will find its way to the darkest corners of nightlife - and haunt its DJ sets. The synths that come crashing across the track’s Smagghe & Cross remix add their saturated signature that provide a different kind of hook through its breathless nine-minute run. The same measured tempo is found once more on the more ethereal Already There, where Local Suicide affirm their adherence to the more captivating signatures of new wave and post disco. Permanent Vacation stalwarth Lauer adds a surprizing electro pop shimmer to the track. With Leopard Gum’s opaque and impenetrable atmosphere, Local Suicide have released one of their strongest efforts to date.

Under the alias Ciel, Xi'an-born/Toronto-based producer, pianist, DJ, and Discwoman affiliate Cindy Li embodies the social conscience of progressive electronic music. She is at once a local and global artist, having flourished at the fringe of cutting-edge club culture since 2015, firmly rooted in her adopted city while reaching increasingly outward, her sets echoing from Berlin’s Berghain to Chicago’s Smartbar to Lisbon’s Lux Fragil. Back in Toronto, she co-runs the label Parallel Minds and event initiative Work In Progress, an extension of her radio show in both name and M.O. to improve female representation in the scene. She’s helped write safe space policies, hosted DJ workshops, and applied activist pressure on promoters through varying methods with a single-minded resolve. Those efforts have evoked responses, which Li has spent time reckoning with over the past two years. Now, manifesting as a self-guided reaction to her experiences as an artist and activist is Ciel’s Spectral Sound debut, Why Me?, a deeply personal and physical work.

Ciel’s stylistic pocket as a producer remains that of “soft-touch slammers,” but fans will note the material on Why Me? hits harder. “I wanted to write something that was heavy,” she says of the title track, the result of processing the noise leveled at her specifically after she amassed a database of female and nonbinary talents to highlight the lack of bookings amongst a subset of clubs in the community. “I was dealing with a lot... anger, despair, paranoia, feeling unjustly targeted.” She channeled these antiphons into her art. The cut’s namesake is sourced from the foregrounded sample, a snippet of dialogue from an old film about a man who believes he’s been abducted by aliens. Pulsing metallic drum patterns steer through the hypnotic passage; permeating beneath the beats are lush pads, washing the rattled urgency with unease.

Hardware-built tracks “Go Fish” and “Uri’s Song” came together over studio time with friend and occasional collaborator Colin Sims aka Wiretapping. Ciel brought her sampler to the sessions, with Sims contributing additional drums, which she’d arrange further at home, adding synth parts and basslines and effects, distilling it all down to its most potent core. The latter track — an effervescent minimal techno exercise both tender and tough — expresses Li’s reflections on today’s cyclical conditions for activism, dissension, and, ultimately, optimism. “These are harsher sounds but they also have elements that are really beautiful about them. I wanted to communicate that nothing is permanent, that there’s always hope for understanding and resolution.”

After S3A's 'Deep Love' contribution last year we are stoked to present you this great collection of music! Coming from the French underground S3A aka Max Fader is absolutely no stranger to the scene. With releases on Local Talk, Quartet Series and his own 'Sampling As An Art records' he is deeply rooted in House, Hip Hop, Disco, Soul and Funk serving residencies at Paris clubs 'Concrete' and 'REX' he has become a local favourite as well with his DJ and Live sets. We are more than excited to release this special debut album that showcases some older and recent work, with live acoustic songs from early 2017 recorded at the Paris 'Red Bull Music' studios to new sample based House and Disco infused tracks in the signature 'S3A' style we got to love so much in recent years. 'Fever", 'Friends, 'Joint No. 5 and 'Greed' are all funk fuelled jams composed by Max, re-played and recorded again in several live jams with fellow musicians Nicolas Taite, Raphael Vallade and Pierre Vadon and edited in the studio by S3A afterwards, they breath this special Soul and Funk love Max got into by listening to 'Masters at Work' and old Disco jams. The latter 'Greed' has a special story, it is a cover of an early 'Laurent Garnier' track that got reworked by 'Avril' in the early 00's, here Max wanted to present his own Jazz and Funk perspective on that same track. The club stompers 'First Day With Lucien", 'Lockwood", 'Clarence J. Boddicker' and 'Leaving 19th' are the true party business on this album and range from Deep House to more classic edit style Disco tracks with live improvisations played on top of them.

3024 returns for another action packed V.A. EP with tracks from label head Martyn, UK Hard Drum master NKC, Washington DC local Djoser and an unreleased gem from Jacques Greene!

An exploration of traditional Chadian music with an electronic twist...

Chad is in many ways a blind spot on the map of today's global musical conversation. Overlooked, misunderstood and misrepresented, outside observers rarely concede the country an autonomous voice over its past, present and future. N'Djamena, the dusty capital of Chad with its well-kept stories of boundary-breaking musical collaborations and thirst for experimentation is a city that reflects the country's diversity: the arid North, bordering the Sahara, where nomadic tribes revere the endless desert with their handcrafted instruments. The lush tropical South, where the frenetic drumming of local initiation ceremonies blends with sounds of neighboring Congo and Cameroon. Right in the middle: N'Djamena, a forgotten melting pot of cultures and peoples bursting with unrecorded stories of life at the margins of the world's attention.

Tackling this view is precisely one of the aims of Pulo NDJ. In May 2018, Nickodemus accepted an invitation from Hape Collective to travel to N'Djamena to teach a group of young adults DJ'ing and electronic music production, which resulted in the encounter between and a group of talented artists from Cameroon, Chad, Congo and Togo. After a weeklong series of listening to original songs & demos, the recordings continued in a pop-up studio created by DJ Buosis & Nickodemus which culimated in Desert To Douala, an album featuring 11 songs, all originally written and recorded in N'Djamena.

The project found its inspiration in the city's un-narrated diversity and seeks to explore the possibilities offered by technology to demonstrate how the country's rich heritage connects with existing musical conversations. It strives to create bridges in a world of walls. It has been a yearlong creative process that built friendships and fostered understanding among people united by a passion for music and creation.

Run The Length Of Your Wildness is a weekly dance party held every Monday night at Underground SF in San Francisco, which initially launched on August 24th, 2015 in a small rave cave known as The Basement — formerly and infamously known as 222 Hyde — in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. Friends and 100% Silk labelmates Cherushii (Chelsea Faith) and Roche (Ben Winans) started the night as an opportunity to DJ more often, honing their skills in the process. But thanks to the intimate setting, The Basement's supportive owner and staff, and the wonderful crowd who attended on a regular basis, Run The Length Of Your Wildness became so much more than that: a community of music-obsessed weirdos, nerds, scene fixtures, first-time ravers, and eccentrics, leavened by the occasional random partygoer passing by, taking a chance, and finding themselves hooked on their new Monday night mainstay.

We book primarily local DJs and live acts, and make an effort to book artists and DJs who have never performed out before. We encourage experimentation, and we're proud to say Run The Length Of Your Wildness has become a place for electronic musicians and DJs to showcase their expressive freedom and GO WILD!

On December 2, 2016, Cherushii, Nackt (Johnny Igaz) and several other beautiful souls were lost in the Oakland Ghost Ship warehouse fire. The loss is beyond devastating — we miss our friends dearly. The San Francisco electronic music community has come together to do whatever we can to champion their legacy, and Run The Length Of Your Wildness is proud to be an enduring part of that legacy.

Hobo Camp is proud to be able to partner with Run The Length Of Your Wildness to produce a release containing music from Cherushii and Nackt, to preserve their legacy and contributions.

All profit from the sale of this record will be donated to the families of Chelsea Faith and Johnny Igaz.

Fresh of their most busy year actively djing in Milan and across Europe, Ayce Bio, Turenne and Borbo are ready to launch a new Ep: One track each + a Remix by Bologna's finest producer and vinyl collector DJ Rou.

Mixed and mastered by Reel Mastering, distributed by Rubadub Uk.

Funclab records runs a monthly show on Rocket Radio and a club night at Apollo club, inviting al- ways different dj's and producers to share the decks with them, among others they played with San Proper, Boo Williams, Eclair Fifi and Pangea.

After the first release 'House al dente', they spent one month during the summer touring with a van around Europe to promote the vinyl, going to their favourite radios and vinyl stores to bring it personally, ending at Barrakud festival in Croatia in front of two thousand people with a dj set and set design.

The collective is the real strength behind the newborn record label, collaborating with a lot of local producers they're always working on new things, in the next few months they are going to release also a various and other two eps.


A1 AYCE BIO - COME IN TO GET HER

909 patterns and jazz funk chops with crispy bass cuts, let your children know who play funk.

A2 AYCE BIO - COME IN TO GET HER (DJ ROU REMIX)

Bass infused remix from Bolo's finest producer and collector.

B1 BORBO - STUNTMAN MIKE

Deep atmosphere, '70s hypnotic rhodes with lofi-esque drums and vocal cuts from Grindhouse.

B2 TURENNE - REALLY COOL

Funk/Soul samples with groovy drums and a really cool vocal.

Oleg Buyanov also known as OL, DJ and electronic music producer from Moscow, Russia. Leading member of Gost Zvuk.

On a hot summer day, you enter the main hall of a well-known local Vietnamese restaurant. The noise of the visitors' voices merges with the national music playing in the background. All seats are occupied in the hall and the polite staff takes you to a separate room where the atmosphere of calm and comfort prevails. Beautiful interior, cool air and soft light conducive to relaxation. Exotic dishes and drinks allow you to fully enjoy the authenticity. Far away in the distance voices from the main hall are now barely audible, you are in anticipation of a great evening.

Following 1 or 2 small run / mailorder lathe cuts, Polytechnic Youth follow it's hugely successful 'Popcorn Lung' label compilation LP, with it's first full length of the new year, and man... this one is just wonderful! A mighty record to kick off what promises to be another hugely productive, constantly busy year for the Crouch End based synth label.

PY often likes to quote the artist directly in it's press releases, and this one is no exception. Gabe's own words, more than adequately explaining the path leading to this killer set for 2019; 'It feels a little ridiculous to pretend that the person introducing you to Gabe Knox is some kind of bigwig press agent and not just Gabe Knox himself, so let me, Gabe Knox, tell you a little about myself in that hopes that you'll give my music a listen.

In 2014, after years of moderate success as a local musician and club DJ in Toronto, Canada, I looked at my collection of barely functioning analogue synths and drum machines and said to myself 'Instead of trying to unsuccessfully make music you think other people will like, why don't you make something that you'd actually want to listen to for once' I wanted to make music that had the drive shaft of Neu!, the punishing low end of King Tubby, the interleaved melodic lines of Vince Clarke, the melancholic, otherworldly whimsy of Raymond Scott and Delia Derbyshire, the hypnotic drone of Spacemen 3, and the analogue intimacy of Le Car. I wanted to bring the euphoria and hypnosis of dance music to the rock kids, and the energy and excitement of rock music to the dance kids.

This was going to be a tough sell in the clique-y Toronto music scene, so I figured the best way to get the music out there would be by recording when I can and self-releasing a steady stream of EPs online. They would all be a series, a snapshot of the evolution of that initial idea. ABC represents a compilation of the best songs of the first three EPs, subtly remixed and remastered to best suit vinyl. I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it.'

This really is a remarkable record. Displaying all the PY traits of icy cool blasts of minimal synth, motorik grooves, melodic pop via passing nods to early mute and sky records. Never before did label head Dom think he'd get the chance to namecheck 2 musical heroes from wildly differing poles -Vince Clarke and Spacemen 3- into one LP PR sheet, so he's understandably excited for this one's release!

250 copies on yellow wax in hand numbered, reverse board sleeves. Sure to go real quick....

The Seeds of Fulfillment by David Drazin (November 2018)

Andrew Venson founded Seeds of Fulfillment (SOF) in early 1978. In the 1960s he had played electric bass with Arthur Conley, and later the original Peaches and Herb. On the same bill with Big Brother and the Holding Company, he hung out backstage with Janis Joplin. Yes! Vince was hoping SOF would get all of us to the top. He composed three tunes for the band, and we always had a ball playing them.

Roger Myers is a marvelous drummer. We co-composed Namaste. Roger would settle on a drum pattern of four measures at a time that he wanted to keep, and I'd put chords and melody right on top of his pattern. When he layered a second drum pattern on top of the first one, we'd get two melodies at the same time. We thought we were going to collaborate on more songs this way, but it didn't happen.

Lee Savory is a very inventive jazz man. He's musically literate, and wrote excellent transpositions. I remember Lee's asking for my input while he was composing Tight Squeeze, but it was clear he had it down. Once when I was visiting a DJ who played the album in a local radio station, the total of checks next to Tight Squeeze for number of plays was by far the highest!

Randy Mather's sax playing always knocked me out. I could hardly wait to hear him solo. When he left SOF to go with Woody Herman's orchestra it was amazing, but true.

Jeanette Williams had recorded 45s for the Duke and Peacock label when she was 17 years old. Her powerful singing was incredible to me. When we needed an original for Jeanette, Vince composed it, and Roger's wife Linda wrote the lyrics.

In 1978 I was in my senior year at Ohio State University when I met Vince. He came into a bar called My Brother's Place where I was playing with a trumpet player named Bobby Alston. When I was a freshman at OSU I'd played in an off campus band called Akadama. Before that I played in my home town of Cleveland, Ohio in the Brush High School Stage Band and a jobbing band called The Midnight Combo.

Everyone in the band contributed something to Egg Cartons in a composition jam session. We rehearsed in Vince's basement, and he had covered the walls with egg cartons to make the room sound more like a recording studio. The Provider was inspired by Country Preacher by Joe Zawinul. In those days I especially admired the way Zawinul would get his soulful feelings across, but also loved Herbie Hancock and to a lesser degree Chick Corea too. It took two years (with a break of several months) for the band to conquer Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. It shows you what consideration and dedication is, that ultimately they felt it was worth learning.

We recorded at Fifth Floor Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio. While we were there I got to shake hands with Bootsy Collins, who was recording in the rooms downstairs at the same time. Years later, Fifth Floor burned down and all the master tapes were destroyed.

Left Ear are issuing two previously unreleased Full-Length versions of Space Farm's mid 90's Egyptian inspired tracks. Both, 'The Dawn of Birds' and 'Camels in Desert Air' were initially cut short to allow for additional remixes on the original release. For their 2019 issue, Left Ear have decided to focus only on these downtempo original songs allowing the heavy percussion and synth workouts to shine through on a loud 45RPM press.

Space Farm is the story of three friends Darrin, Bill and Waleed their love for 80's NY culture, Egyptian music and a cross continental business plan that never materialised. Darrin and Bill grew up in North New Jersey only a few miles from NY city and met while studying in '90. Bill spent his formative years listening to the emerging sounds of 80's left-leaning New York radio stations, while Darrin immersed himself in the DJ and B-Boy culture. Fast-forward to '94 and the two found themselves living in Boulder, Colorado. By this time the tag-team had started producing music and would look to their NJ roots for a group name, deciding on the title 'Space Farm' after a kooky local petting farm they often cracked jokes about. Armed with an open mind and a bunch of old studio gear the duo began producing music inspired by 80's NY, however after a budding friendship began with Egyptian native Waleed they were inspired to start experimenting with Egyptian and Arabic sounds. After hearing their output Waleed pushed for the release of an Egyptian inspired record saying 'it would sell like crazy in Egypt', that 'he would bring it back to Egypt on his next visit and get it to all the right people that need to hear it'. The record got done but, due to circumstances beyond their control it never made it over to Egypt. The duo performed live a few times in Boulder before finally returning to NJ. Darrin recalls playing their final party in Boulder in which the Space Farm record was played from start to finish, 'Some joker ran up to us while we were playing and kept signalling to up the tempo we were like F Off! raver boy'.

Rich, Deep, Percussive Soulful Folk Album From Master Togolese Singer, Akofa Akoussah.

The Album Moves Through Uptempo Afro-folk-funk On 'tango' To Deep Ballads Of 'ramer Sans Rame' And 'i Tcho Tchass' And Lighter Moments On 'g Blem Di' And 'mitso Aseye'. Akofas Exceptional Songs And Soaring Vocals Are Decorated With Percussion, Guitar Lines, Subtle Backing Vocals And Horns To Create A Unique, Rich Sonic. The Album Was Recorded For Release By French Label Sonafric In 1976. Produced By Gérard Akueson; Founder & Owner Of African Record Label, 'akue', Based In Paris.

Music Was Truly In The Blood Of Julie Akofa Akoussah. She Began Singing At The Age Of Three, Inspired And Led By Her Mother And Older Sister And Became Principal Soloist In Her School Choir, St. Peter & Paul Choir Of Our Immaculate Conception Parish Of Nyékonakpoé, At The Age Of 8. From There Her Career Blossomed, And Singing Often Took Precedence Over Her Studies. In Order To Master Her Art She Spent Time Studying And Working Closely With Local Groups Including Mélo Togo, Rocka Mambo, Rio Romamcero, Ok Fiesta, Eryco Jazz, Afro Cubano, Los Muchacho, Elégance Jazz And Togo Star Amongst Others. In Her Own Words: 'luck Opened The Door In January 1966 Where I Had The Honour Of Being Selected To Share The Stage With Bella Below - One Of The Best Voices Of

Africa - At The 1st 'negro Arts Festival' In Dakar. On My Return, I Was Approached By Ambroise Ouyi, The Highly Respected Singer & Poet, And We Wrote 'tu Ne M'écris Plus', My Very First Opus.'

The Popularity Of Her Work Led To An Increased Exposure For Togolese Music Outside Of The Country, In Neighbouring Ghana And Benin Most Notably. During Her Career She Collaborated And Performed With Greats Including Manou Djibango, Queen Pelagie, Abeti Massikini, Aycha Koné And Myriam Makeba. Akoussah Was Also Dedicated To, And Widely Recognised For, Her Work For Social Causes, Championing And Nurturing Young Musical Talent, And The Fight Against Aids. She Was President Of The National Union Of Artists Musicians Of Togo (unam) Before Sadly Passing Away In April 2007 After A Long Illness, At The Age Of 57.

Born in the city of madness Berlin, the multimedia artist and DJ Black Lotus steps up from being a secret hint for extatic and rough DJ sets in the local scene and enters the world of recorded music.

After playing many Berlin underground clubs like Griessmühle, KitKat or Suicide Circus she finally makes her debut release on FLASH Recordings with three tripping, parahypnotic and clearly floor oriented Techno tracks as well as a hard hitting remix by the label-head Florian Meindl.

all tracks written and produced by black lotus in berlin 2018. Additional Remix work by Florian Meindl.

Sami Baha is a Turkish producer based in South East London. His music was introduced to the world via his 2016 EP 'Mavericks'. Sami got into producing through being a rapper himself, working with local rappers in Turkey and producing beats for them, before setting his sights outside the country. 'Free For All' features MCs from all corners of the globe: UK drill squad 67's Dimzy, Stockholm's Yung Lean and Chicago rapper and singer DJ Nate (aka Flexxbabii). The record also features Egyptian MCs Dawsha and Abanob. Sami's production is refined and elegant, familiar tropes are reassembled in original ways, the instrumentation reflecting his background and influences simultaneously. Everything Sami brings to the album sounds relaxed and minimal, but tough, built from thoughtful arrangements and instruments, shot through with emotion and a dreamy night-time feel.

Simple, effective and downright deadly. Mella Dee serves up the perfect sountrack built for basements, dimmed lights and late nights.

Mella Dee's solo sound has evolved from a true passion for all things garage, a perpetual dedication to Hip Hop, combined with a love for house music which was heavily influenced by the darkness of UK funky and Dubstep.

Together these influences have enabled Mella Dee to develop a unique approach to the fusion of these sounds, into one bumpy soundscape that is simultaneously house, garage and techno.

OMENA Omena is finnish for apple. It's also a record label set up by Tobias Lidstrom aka Tooli.
DJ & co-running Local Talk Records & OneOffs.

Bastard Jazz is proud to present the next installment of our long running Tempo Dreams compilation series. As with previous volumes of the compilation, we've tapped an established artist that we're big fans of to shine a light on their personal favorite producers, and compile an album up of all unreleased music from emerging & underrated young talent. And with Volume 5, we're happy to welcome in the Los Angeles based but globetrotting selection of Free The Robots.

Rooted in Santa Ana, CA, Chris Alfaro aka Free the Robots has spent over a decade taking his craft to audiences around the globe. Known as one of the pioneering artists to come out of LA's infamous beat movement, the energy and technical skill behind his live performances have landed him among the greats, sharing stages with Dj Shadow, Prefuse 73, Flying Lotus, to Afrika Bambaataa. Crafting stories to tell with his ever-evolving solo project Free the Robots, he has always had the ability to jump in and out of other worlds inspiring a unique signature sound that hints at jazz, psych, electronic, and hip hop, while remaining un-genre-fiable.

Staying almost permanently on the road, Chris has come across an array of artists and scenes around the world. Different tours and temporary living situations have landed him in the middle of both the DIY underground and more mainstream clubs and stages. Some artists he's connected with have either kept it proudly local or breached international borders. Underrated, unknown, or already on the brink; these are just a few of the people that have crossed paths with Free The Robots. He's chosen these songs as a representation of some of the vibes that inspire his music: Jazz, Psychedelia, Dirtwave, Beats, and a little bit of Future Funk make up Volume 5 of his Tempo Dreams series.

As with all previous volumes, the compiler has produced a track exclusively for the album, which Chris delivers in the bass heavy, South East Asian vibes of "Nasi Goreng" (also available on a limited edition 7" with another unreleased FTR track). Other producers included on the album include Mophono, Never Ending Echo, Kuromoji, RSI-MSK, The Breathing Effect, Cazal Organism, Lefto, Chubby Boss, Caliph8, TITLE, Nois IV, The Heavy Twelves, Mu. and Markey Funk.

Compiled by cratediggers Loud E & The Wild, Discophilia Beligica' is a collection of next-door-disco and local spacemusic from Belgium 1975-1987. The tracks on this delightfully obscure collection are from ordinary folk. Most have day jobs. Yet as musicians, they go as far out as possible in to the disco universe and back again.

Return of the UK producer Allen Saei aka Aubrey on the mighty Barba label is another bold statement in the discography of this well-versed artist. Building on the relationship with the Burek/Barba/Pomalo family established through remixes of Information Ghetto's "Inspiration" track (Burek 2013), DJ Stingray's "Communication System" (Barba 2015) and his solo "Clock Funk EP" (Barba 2017), for this record Aubrey presents us with a continuation of his previous Barba release, simplistically titled "Clock Funk 2" EP. As is to be expected from a guy who's been spending time in the studio for better part of the last three decades, this 12" is pure techno, in the best sense of the word. As mature and consistent as the previous record of the series, we have Aubrey building on that ground and expanding the range into more abrasive and rough on one side, and even more subtle and humane on the other. A1, titled "Clock Funk 2" is among the subtle ones. Beautiful cascading keys, glitchy synth bleeps and lead lines intertwine into a gorgeous composition grounded by a driving bassline and counterpinted with distorted ride cymbals. Uniquely sounding track which draws influences from many corners of the planet. A2, titled "Sel Moulo" sets a point for the other side of the spectrum. The heaviest and roughest, it locks the frame in which this EP works. Direct, abstract and firmly aimed towards the dancefloor, this cut is for the peak moment of the night when its combination of jacking beats and trippy leads will just push the craziness off the edge. B1, the most humane and gentle track on the EP, "Triads" is a perfect match for the A1 cut, although slower and calmer. Again, the similar approach is used, where the perfectly tuned combination of small synth and keys elements form a complex image which will stay ingrained into anyone's mind once you play it in the right moment. Again, it's hard not to reach for the word "beautiful" when describing this one. B2, Ghost Mist, is on the other hand a match for the heavy A2, but also not as intense. A repetitive affair, with abstract synth lines and disharmonic pads serving as an emotion injection just when they're needed. Common thread moving through all four cuts is an infectious groove intertwined with synth lines that would not be misplaced amongst the best examples of space-influenced techno music firmly grounded on the floor. All that, pressed onto a heavy duty 180 gram vinyl and beautifully packaged in an original artwork by local artist EmaEmaEma.

Our good Parisian friend Max Fader aka S3A is back on Local Talk with a diverse four track EP that delivers on all levels.
It all begins with 'Premiere Rexidence', disco infected big room track that comes with some heavy vocal and horn samples.
Next up is 'End Track For a DJ' which is exactly what the title suggest and comes with old school house beats, classic Chicago piano riffs and some lush strings. Massive!

On the b-side S3A goes back to what he is maybe most know for, 'Searching Force' is an uplifting disco-funk house jam with big samples and jacked up beats.
Last, and possibly our fave tune is 'Deep Mood Vol 4', a supa deep house cut with low end theory chords and a bassline to kill for...raww!
Oh, and those Michael Watford vocal samples just adds to the deepness.

Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.

One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Queen Constance was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. Wayne Forde's super heavyweight 'Dance To The Music Freakout' is the second reissue from the label for 2018!

Yet again, not much is known about Wayne Forde, or his band 'Stereo'. Could it be another Peter and Patrick studio project Another selection of local, neighbourhood players and singers Who knows What we do know, however, is that this record is a TOTAL disco bomb. All of what you want from a Queen Constance record is here, it's dripping in funk, raw and soulful. Essential stuff for anyone with even a passing interest in disco or anything funky. These jams are super long, percussive dance-floor melters that will do damage! Super rare, too. You won't find one of these nestled in the racks in your local chazzer, which is exactly why these (legit) represses should be in your cart. Essential.

This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.

Tallinn duo MAVA & NEBUKAT deliver four tranquil cuts on Estonia's LIITHELI, featuring remixes by Leleka founder VAKULA and 1212a alongside label boss ALI ASKER.
Mava and Nebukat have been an important part of the Estonian underground scene for some time, promoting parties and DJing in and around the capital. Their grafting has seen them join up with Green Village producer Ali Asker, who launched LIITHELI in 2016 to focus on local talent with early offerings from himself and fellow Estonian N1MA.
First up, 'Polymer' immediately grips us with rising tension - progressive synth-lines and fluttering percussion becomes the main focus here. 'Ambient Track' provides synthetic luscious melodies harmonising delightfully with the broken-beat drums.
1212a and Ali Asker's remix of 'Polymer' offers a captivating dubbed-out theme throughout, balancing delicate minimalism, with breezy atmospheres. Ukrainian producer Vakula presents a heavenly six-minute healer through precise, fluid pulsations and intriguing, melodic sound design.

The spiritual and uplifting music of Clifford White is highlighted with two of his most sought after songs, taken from his 1989 album The Lifespring, and presented here in a special extended 12" for the first time. Starting in music production at just 15, White could be described as a protegee, however his take is that they were part of a music journey that continues today. With a centre found in electronic music and spirituality, his progress, from simple home use 4-track stereo to working in professional 16-tracks studios was swift, but matched by a deeper appreciation, greater confidence and wider palette of music styles. Utilising his love of early samplers, his first use of the Akai S612 to accompany and expand his keyboard recordings saw continued development from his debut album at just 17 with Ascension (1985), to the follow up Spring Fantasy (1987) and on to The Lifespring (1989). A small review in the local paper literally led to a knock at the door and offer of a deal from the Start (State Of The Art ) label to record his next album. With a subsequent advance, professional studio equipment was hired and out of these sessions his sound expanded to include ambient, orchestral, synth pop and even ballads. From this both Lifestream and Rain Trek emerged. With a love of Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene in mind, Lifestream's smooth beginning soon gives way to the pulse of an arpeggio driven groove. Aiming for "relaxation with an edge", the track has become a secret play for the more Balearic minded DJ in the decades since and now sees the LP trade for dizzying sums. However, the original is achingly brief, gracefully fading as part of the album's journey. Here though, with DJs and collectors in mind, White returns to the song to craft a specially extended version that completes the song and will be appreciated at sunsets across the globe. Seeking to take the music and listener to another place, Rain Trek took White's interest in Sci-Fi and the mystic powers of water to a rightful conclusion. The healing nature of his music is apparent, the mystery, yearning and travelling, all emotions evident, but with a kick that will grace the more enlightened dance.

dj overdose is playing with matches at our local gas station. don't forget bring your cigarettes.

Daniel Terndrup Is A Los Angeles-based Dj And Producer. A Longtime Record Collector And
Digger, Daniel Has Become A Local Authority On Bygone Music. He Hosts Regular Radio Shows
On Dublab (crosseyed & Painless) And Nts (heat-wave) While Also Throwing A Weekly Party
For Heat-wave In Collaboration With Wyatt Potts At Former Hollywood Stripclub, Gold
Diggers. Daniel Started Making Music A Decade Ago As One Half Of Cosmic Kids. Alongside
Ron Poznansky, He Made A Name For Himself Producing Heady House And Astral Dance Tunes,
And Releasing Records With Cult Labels Throne Of Blood, Let's Play House And Dfa. In Addition
To Racking Up Plays On Original Cuts, The Duo Was Regularly Tapped To Deliver Remixes For
Heavyweights Like The Rapture, Holy Ghost!, Poolside And Superhumanoids.
After A Handful Of Releases With Cosmic Kids, Daniel Pivoted Toward His Own Project As Daniel
T. His Solo Output Is Inspired By Everything That You Might Find Leafing Through His Record
Collection: Funk, Post Punk, New Age And Pop Of Yesteryear (think: Compass Point All Stars To
Yellow Magic Orchestra). The Music He Releases As Daniel T. Is A Reflection Of His Global Taste,
But Indelibly Filtered Through His Southern California Surroundings

Blurb Attached
Following His 2015 Solo Debut Tetrachromat, Released On Friends Of Friends Sister Label
Young Adults, Daniel T. Returns With A New Album Called Heliotrope, Out This Summer On
Cascine. In Contrast To The Steady Dance-oriented Tempos Of Tetrachromat, Heliotrope
Moves Across More Dynamic Landscapes, All United Under Daniel's Sun-soaked Sensibility.
From The Breezy Bounce Of call,' To The Lithe Cover Of Tatsuro Yamashita's Classic windy
Lady,' He Effortlessly Wades Into Pop Territory. Elsewhere, On The Neon Glow Of moonlight
Bounce' (inspired By Dan's Near-religious Love Of Roller-skating) And The Ebullient First Single
'heat-wave', His Trademark Mid-tempo Swing Shines As Bright As His Synths. Heliotrope Is A
Reflection Of His Global Taste, But Indelibly Filtered Through His Southern California
Surroundings

AAlmost a decade after debuting the event series, audiotheque releases its first EP, including three tracks by various local artists.
The first one, Mike's Jam, comes by Bern's new power duo Frank Spirit. It is a puristic, full analogue house jam, finalized on Mike Huckaby's personal request.
RBMA graduate cclinic joins for A2. Talk Silver is a groovy house track which stands out for its prominent baseline and the inclusion of balearic and nordic elements.
Long-time audiotheque resident DJ Robel rounds out the record. Fasiga is straight and clear, yet impulsive and fun.

Originally released digitally on Luke Solomon & Derrick Carter's Classic Music Company last summer; Girls of the Internet's deep-house-dub-techno-afro ballad 'When U Go' is now being pressed up to vinyl on RAMP Recordings. Since it's release, 'When U Go' has been burning up some of the more discerning dancefloors worldwide, with club support from DJ's as diverse as Mark Farina, Stacey Pullen, Eli Escobar, Oliver $, François K, Soul Clap, Roger Sanchez, Carl Craig, Booker T, Serverino, Riva Star, Doc Martin, Karizma, Marco Carola, Tensnake & Mousse T. Peckham's finest pervayers of Deep House, Bradley Zero approved duo FYI Chris, turn in an exclusive dubby West Coast-vibed remix of the track available only on this vinyl.

The B side is a brand new track from Girls of the Internet - 'Running' featuring Nattlie Maddix, of the House Gospel Choir. Mixing live instruments with synths and drum machines, 'Running' is a soulful yet driving disco tinged deep house track. To finish off this massive package, Local Action's Finn delivers a genre-straddling remix of 'Running'.

The music on this EP was conceived in China, between 1989 and 1993. The original tracks were mixed to DAT in real time, in a small neighbour-proof studio inside my apartment in Macau, a 19th floor with a view to the hurricanes. There's a small, unexpected or improbable story behind each track, some little magic fused with the local atmosphere, certainly guaranteeing their lasting authenticity 25 years later.

TAIPEI DISCO
Late 80s Guangzhou was an exotic city where the traditional past coexisted in harmony with the present and even already with the future.
I'd rather spend my weekends in Guangzhou than diving into Hong Kong consumerism - as most ex-pats in Macau did. I took a cab at the border and travelled 150 Km through chaotic roads with family and friends until reaching the hot, humid, mega South China metropolis.
We ate on street joints in the evenings, went on to a karaoke bar and ended up at Taipei Disco, the only proper club in town. All the others were inside hotels and played generic music or they were seedy, sleazy, smoky cabarets.
Taipei Disco used to be a cinema and played cantonese pop music and anglo-saxon pop/rock (that was new). The spacious dance floor was generously lighted, the atmosphere was airy and modern. Boys and girls were in the habit of dancing in pairs, one in front of the other, observing a respectful yet sensual distance. When the girl took a few steps back, the boy went along and vice versa. With legs and feet (more than the upper bodies) synchronized with the music, they never exceeded in extroversion. Cool.
I always carried a MicroComposer and a portable DAT recorder in my travels through China and weekends in Canton. Any spontaneous musical idea was imediately recorded and memorized. The MicroComposer allowed multitrack recording, which was very handy on the road. Based on the emphatic choreography of Taipei Disco's dancers, i started to compose a rhythm track while sitting at a table, with headphones, listening to Cantopop in the background. As if by magic - not a rare occasion in music - everything began fitting together. Odd as it may seem, the track ended up sounding more germanic (Kraftwerkian) than Cantonese pop.

The story ends in a circle: the cantonese DJ at Taipei Disco, whom i used to ask to play certain records, wanted to play my music at the disco when it was basically only just a rhythm track and little else. From a cupboard under his set up he took out a battered keyboard (unrecognizable brand) and invited me to play over the track with the available sounds on the keyboard. The circle was complete, with Cantonese clubbers happily dancing forwards and backwards, as if it were another Cantopop hit.
I didn't get payed but the house offered us free ice cream cups in which little Portuguese flags were sticked.
The track would be finished later, in studio, with vocoder strings ensemble and synth solos.

TAIPEI DISCO (LIVE)
The live version of 'Taipei Disco' was recorded during a live set at the China Pop venue, in Macau, 1993. China Pop was a rock club built in the ample space of an old fishing warehouse, located in the labyrinthic Inner Harbour area. It was decorated with large Mao Zedong and Cultural Revolution posters and memorabilia and had a unique atmosphere, fusing Pop Art with film noir. We began our performance at 1AM, pretty early for Macau's nightlife standards. We were lucky. An audience showed up. And in Macau there were always several friends among the audience, which tranformed a musical performance into a relaxed party.
The atmosphere was particularly surreal on that night. The front row was dominated by French Crazy Horse dancers, a sort of Oriental Moulin Rouge. The girls had finished their last performance of the evening at the Crazy Horse and were still energized from their show. During our performance, right in front of us and perfectly synched, we could hear the famous irreverent screams of can-can dancers. You always had to expect the unexpected in Macau.

RED MAMBO (IMPROMPTU)
I was familiar with the Portuguese-speaking African countries well before having lived in China. I found myself returning several times to one in particular, always attracted by its magic and very distinct, identitary culture and music: Cape Verde.
During the early years of DWART a lot of the inspiration for drum machine rhythms (Roland's TR series) came from African music, especially from new musical trends that gained full autonomy with Cape Verde's independence from Portugal, as was the case with funaná.
I had the privilege of having known and befriended some of the greatest Capeverdian composers, musicians and singers during the 70s and 80s, such as Bana, Luís Morais, Cesária Évora, Paulino Vieira, Chico Serra, Tito Paris, and historical bands such as Bulimundo (ambassadors of funaná) and Os Tubarões (great innovators of morna, coladera and funaná, with the sonic impact of an afro-beat big band).
When Luís Filipe de Barros began playing Os Tubarões for the first time on Portuguese radio, that was the turning point for African music in Portugal. The 'Tabanca' album was so widely heard and talked about that it quickly got a Portuguese release through one of the big labels of the time.
The mystic of this band from the Santiago Island would reach the East. Os Tubarões played to a packed room in Macau in 1992, and after the bombastic gig we arranged a dinner and party at my place.
We ate and drank generously and the moment came for a jam session at the small studio on the 19th floor. Because Os Tubarões didn't all fit in the studio, we recorded an impromptu with only three of the musicians: Tótó Silva (electric guitar), Mário Russo Bettencourt (bass) and Zeca Couto (piano). And there we were improvising without barriers, suddenly detached from cultural roots, labels and constraints, a truly unique moment. The track is now being released exactly as it was recorded, imbued with the real communion between the musicians. And it could only be titled 'Red Mambo'. I wish to dedicate it to the memory of Ildo Lobo and Jaime do Rosário, founders of Os Tubarões, sadly and too soon departed from the land of music.

A long time ago, in a Norway far far away in time, keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft introduced his New Conception of Jazz to the world. We're talking about the late 90s, when Bugge's cosmopolitan blend of jazz, hiphop and techno beats was pretty much the coolest music coming out of Norway at that moment. That was a golden time for Norwegian music, in fact, when the rest of the world began to sit up and take notice that something was stirring up north, and realised the music was more than just glacial tones hurtled from icy mountaintops and frozen lakes. This was the sound of urban Scandinavia.

A few years later came the electronic dance genre 'space disco'. Along with Todd Terje, Bjørn Torske and Lindstrøm, Prins Thomas was at the epicentre of this next big wave to surge out of Norway. Now, the two generations have come together in this exclusive collaboration between Bugge and Prins Thomas on the Smalltown Supersound label. Jazz and electronics combine for that energising vitamin D shot of Nordic sunshine.

The Rainbow Studio in Oslo is a familiar name to anyone who follows the ECM label - many of its classic 1970s jazz albums were recorded there under the eye of resident producer Jan Erik Kongshaug. Bugge and Thomas booked a couple of sessions at the legendary space with Kongshaug at the controls, and improvised some tunes in the style and spirit of some of their favourite ECM moments, like the fresh, open sounds of Codona, Egberto Gismonti, Oregon and Kenny Wheeler. Bugge had previously done a remix of Thomas's 'Bobletekno' in 2015 but this is the first time they have worked together as active musicians. The results - also partly taped at Thomas's home studio - fuse programmed rhythms, live synths and percussion, all captured in a sumptuously spacious acoustic.

For an even more authentic touch they called up one of their all time local heroes and one of Norway's most famous jazz drummers, Jon Christensen, who's been the go-to guy for Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Keith Jarrett and many more. At 75 years he's still pretty spry behind the kit, as you'll hear on several tracks here.

Make no mistake, though, this is not retro pastiche but contemporary music, coasting on gently insistent programmed grooves and bubbling basslines. The whole thing feels not so much like a consciously hip fusion of DJ and jazz musician, more like two great musicians totally enjoying themselves. Which is exactly what it is.

Key facts:
Bugge Wesseltoft is one of Norway's leading jazz figures. He set up Jazzland Recordings in 1996. His solo Christmas LP It's Snowing On My Piano remains Norway's best selling jazz album!

Prins Thomas's real name is Thomas Hermansen. His label, Full Pupp, means 'full breast'. He's released several albums under his own name, as well as collaborations with Bjørn Torske and Lindström. Check out his amazing Paradise Goulash mixtapes.

Benjamin Vigneron, also known as Vronsky, was born in 1991 in Aix-en-Provence, France.
As a Teenager, drawn simultaneously to Visual Arts, Cinema and Musiproduction, he made his first contact with Techno by working for a local club as a graphic designer. During his 20s, while living between Montreal, Canada and Marseille, France, it was revealed to Benjamin he suffered from a heavy bipolar disorder. As a reaction, he started losing himself in free parties and increasingly dangerous habits.

Gradually learning to love himself despite his flaws, he kicked his risk-taking after he realized the love of music prevailed over anything else.
Equipped with a strong desire to share his vision despite not being able to perform as a DJ, Benjamin started a youtube channel and a collective named Listening Blue.

While notorious in the Chicago streets, RP Boo's music had been unfairly confined to a few white labels and self-released mixtapes until his two archival Planet Mu LPs Legacy and Fingers, Bank Pads & Shoe Prints introduced broader audiences to his sonic history, some of it fifteen years after it was first recorded. I'll Tell You What! is the next step in his mission, and the first time he's released an album of contemporary material. The title, a favorite maxim of his, welcomes listeners to sit down and let him narrate in the unforgettable abstract fashion he's known for. He explores familiar motifs such as the cosmos, movement, and opposition, using densely interwoven vocals, unpredictable percussion, and evil humming bass as his tools of choice. RP Boo's music doesn't follow the traditional rules that most compositions do. Layering decades of samples from yesteryear to the present over his commanding vocal cut-ups, he transports the listener to their own realm of the space-time continuum. The main difference between this record and his prior work is now we hear Boo tell new stories about preaching his gospel outside of Chicago, from his experiences frantically touring the globe over the last five years. The words 'things ain't been the same / since I hopped the plane' are repeated on top of engine sounds and rumbling bass on Flight 1235, a glorious paean to his new jet-setting adventures. The spirit of competition runs through RP's veins as much as blood does, something you can't unlearn when you've been making music for Chicago's footwork circuit as long as he has. The local culture has served as a shelter from the violence that has plagued the city, pitting kids against each other with their feet rather than weapons. On At War Boo reminds us 'we are at war in the streets', a double meaning to both the mayhem in this world and the sweetness of rivalry on the dance floor. Another battle-themed track Cloudy Back Yard, one of the spacier moments on this album, is an abstract on the state of footwork's home. Chicago remains the backyard of this artform even though it's left the porch and traveled to new neighborhoods worldwide. Back at home though, competition among the DJs and dancers continues, and as the man himself says, 'with all this hate, there's smoke, and it's cloudy'. I'll Tell You What! throws more than a few curveballs into the mix. Footwork has always borrowed from hip-hop, and many vocal tracks are almost condensed raps, dating back to the street chants pioneered on Dance Mania Records in the ghetto house days. On Bounty, Boo grabs the mic and brazenly lays down a full-on verse of terror over a thick atmosphere of his signature sweltering low-end and erratic Roland R-70 patterns. While he's most famous for his confrontational battle anthems, his melancholy moments are just as powerful. You get the best of both of those worlds on U-Don't No, with soulful samples finishing his own cocky sentences, one of the most elegant tracks RP has made to date. Deep Sole closes the record out, with the words 'It's always beautiful at the end' looping over waves of hypnotic synthesis, confidently looking death straight in the eyes.

2025 Repress

After a wildly successful collaboration on Thatmanmonkz's 'Turn It Out' from the LP, Columbus-ing, Dave Aju suggested they should continue their production streak for a new percussive tracks project. At the same time, Aju had finally kept his word to legendary Bay Area club/underground MC and personality, Foxxee aka Foxxee Brown aka Lawrence Petty, to work on a track together as well. Petty being a core part of the infamous Ya Mama's House radio show on 106 KMEL alongside Pete Avila and David Harness that introduced legions of young Bay Area DJs to real House Music, includ-ing Aju, in the early 90s. While Aju & Monkz had originally been working on more of a slick club romance narrative angle over some robust tumbling drums, some very tragic news had struck their hometown - at an under-ground event in Oakland California, more than 30 people including many dear friends and stalwarts of the local dance music community had been trapped inside a building and killed in a fire that broke out while doing what they love, in the now-infamous Ghost Ship. Lawrence and Aju immediately acknowledged and agreed that the track should serve as a tribute to the event and the loved ones affected by it. But decidedly, rather than it being a solemn requiem of sorts, it should reflect the communal power, strength and uplifting spirit of the underground scene they all helped build and knew so well. At first entitled They Sleep We Live, a representative reference to the iconic arm tattoo of the late Jonny Igaz aka Nacht, one of the more well-known and active DJs whose life was lost that tragic evening, and a lyrical direction idea for Lawrence for a direct tribute to the SF Bay Area scene,

The remarkable thing about BELP's new album is its two-dimensional function. It works both on a loud and a quiet volume. Some tracks would go down well as a club track, like opener 'Travelling Thru Galaxies'. This track brings back memories of the best work released on the Hyperdub label, with it's fine combination of synths and irresistible, dubby beats. Elsewhere, 'Off Ending' might start off as 'dancehall-but-not-quite dancehall' track but when half way the synths kick in they change the feeling of the track to a more cerebral level.

BELP is the artist name of Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer. Born in Munich, he partially grew up on the Seychelles islands off the coast of East Africa. Educated in classical piano, those two gravitational poles, European and African influences, form the basis for his musical development. Currently he has close ties to the (dub) Sausage Studio in Hackney, London. In his hometown Munich, the Bavarian capital, BELP took a central role in a series of discussions and events aiming to improve the image and possibilities of Munich, which to his regret is a predominantly posh and hedonistic city where optimistic and uplifting music take central role.

In different guises Schnitzenbaumer works as a much needed antidote. Since 2013 he runs the Schamoni label, focusing on supporting local artists like Leroy and Protein. Its sublabel Jahmoni is responsible for recent works by international artists like Aaron Spectre and DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess.

BELP's music is dark, serious and layered. His love for dub and dancehall shines through in his broken beats. At the same time the synth layered tracks give the album an atmospheric feeling.

This also is what makes this album essential: it's refusal to be pigeonholed. The last track on side A, 'By Beauteous Softness', is an a cappella rendition of a 17th century Henry Purcell piece, beautifully sung by Alexander Schneider. This track is preceded by 'Transmission', which is a brilliant abstract work, sounding like wind closing on you from all sides. And you can sip a cocktail whilst listening to the jazzy 'Time And Again' (BELP once worked as a jazz pianist).

It's clear to hear BELP took a long time recording this album. Every note, synth, drum beat, is carefully placed. But what the album might lack on spontaneity it more than compensates this with its sheer musical beauty. This also reflects on the abstract sleeve, like 'Elephants' designed by BELP himself.

Enjoy this album on big speakers, as background music or simply on headphones. There will always be new sounds and layers to be discovered!