Cerca:lock

Awesome release from label partner Kuf, remeniscent of Birmingham techno in the late 90’s.

The Pendletons take a bold step with their first full length album, 2 Steps Away, releasing this spring on the Bastard Jazz imprint.

Recorded in San Francisco with a rock-solid band consisting of some of the best musicians in the Bay Area, including guitarist Carl Locket (Shalamar, Rick James) and Star Creature recording artist Elive, the duo taps into a classic soul/boogie sound that rides a wave of '70s and early '80s funk with ease but somehow remains true to the excitement of those classic recordings without being overly nostalgic. The music shines, as does the songwriting, which is honest, undiluted and spiritually inspired. Disco horns, heavy percussion and slap bass punctuate dance floor burners, which give way to sweet soul steppers, making for a blissful balance on the 9 song album.

The Pendletons is a long-standing boogie-funk and modern soul project of E da Boss (one half of Myron & E) and Trailer Limon. The group emerged with their very first release in 2010, a 7" inch of "Coming Down/Waiting On You" on the Slept On record label, which set the tone for the group to emerge... It instantly became a cult classic receiving constant play at nights like Sweater Funk and Funkmosphere, and fetching for serious sums among collectors.

In 2013, they followed up with another 7" featuring K-Maxx, Jacqueline Mari and Songbird Remos and later a very limited flexi-disc release title "Winning Ova You". In 2016, they released the EP "Gotta Get Out". The title track caught the ear of renowned global tastemaker Gilles Peterson, who liked it enough to release it on his Brownswood Bubblers' compilation. In 2018 the group released the Funk Forever EP on the Bastard Jazz label to critical acclaim.

Now armed with a live band with a full horn section, a vast array of accomplished jazz and funk contributors, and a knack for quality song-writing, the Pendletons' sound has shaped into something fresh and unique. The duo release their debut full length album, 2 Steps Away, on Bastard Jazz this spring.

Two dope Island Boogie tracks by Experience, an Afro Reggae group hailing from Germany. - Very nice steeldrumming in these tunes..

Experience’s “Share It With You” and “Happiness” can both be found on the private LP release “Oh! What A Feeling” from 1982. The group consisted of Anthony Flaverney from Trinidad, Curvin Murchant from Jamaica, Daniel Kofi Jefferson from Ghana and John Innies from Trinidad and was founded in Hamburg.

Anythony Flaverney, the lead singer on both songs, was active as songwriter and musician in Germany since the mid-1970s, most notably appearing on the Peter Herbolzheimer arranged “Caribbean Rock“ album by Malcolm's Locks (be sure to check their funk version of Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up”!). Curvin Merchant, a highly respected drummer from Jamaica, settled in Germany around the same time. Before forming Experience, he was a member in several groups, including highly successful pop acts like Boney M. Later he became known as "Germany’s Grandfather of Roots Rock Reggae", among other things buildung up the "Reggae Center" in Hamburg. Flaverney and Merchant are joined by Daniel Jefferson on bass and John Innies on steel pan. The band existed for about 2 years, touring in Germany and Europe, unfortunately recording only one album which features a unique mix of Reggae and Funk.

The first track “Share It With You”, should give any serious music lover goose bumps. It was written by Flaverney and features a deep groove, steel drum solos and fantastic soulful vocals. It’s that type of tune you will play in a DJ set and people will come up to you and ask what it is. The single version is slightly edited.
Side B continues with Happiness, an equally great track with positive vibe and attitude, written by Flaverney and Jefferson. Again, the steel pan sounds give it that special compelling “Island” vibe from Trinidad.

The single is limited to 300 copies and comes in a beautiful picture sleeve showing part of the original artwork from the “Oh! What A Feeling” album.

RAFF debuts with a solid assembly of made-to-measure club tracks. Be it new life dawning or physical pain, these productions drip character, finding their roots in personal moments that mark and scar RAFF's day to day life. As a linchpin of Rotterdam's deejay culture, one can hear technoid elements of his homebase fluctuate along an axis of Detroitesque electro. Naming afrofuturism as a major source of influence, this release locks you into RAFF's world through its emotional touch and technical precision. Designed for clubs and headphones alike, his works can be distinguished via their frequential layering and spatial design. Analogue warmth, a timeless feel - these are five cuts for jocks that seek the real deal. Comes in hand printed artwork by the BAKK Harbour City Service.

The always on-point and culturally significant Tuskegee Music is back with more essential music, this time from venerated American producer D’Marc Cantu. Over the course of a distinguished career, Cantu has contributed to everything from jackbeat to acid, house to techno on labels like Creme Organisation and Les Disques De La Mort. Always serving up raw-edged, uncompromising sounds, he does so again here on another standout EP. Opener ‘Beat The Move’ is an urgent, high tech piece of slick and supple acid house with 303 undulations, dark vocal loops and the sort of hammering drums that get the club locked right in.
The sublime ‘In The Forest’ is a tripped out bit of restless electro with skittish hits and rueful pads that gets right to your heart. Last of all is the militant, marching ‘A Narrow Connection’ which closes things out with crisp kicks and scintillating sheet metal drums that straighten your back and get you stomping.
These are utilitarian yet wonderfully unique club tracks from a real master of the form.

In early 2018, Jas Shaw, one half of Simian Mobile Disco was diagnosed with a rare health condition – AL amyloidosis – a disorder of bone marrow cells. Having just completed SMD’s 7th studio album Murmurations and with a special show at the Barbican scheduled for April, things were thrown into confusion. At the time, no one, including Shaw, knew how the prognosis would pan out. Jas had to start chemotherapy almost immediately, which meant cancelling the tour. The duo decided to go ahead with the Barbican show in spite of Shaw’s illness, which was especially poignant as all involved knew it could potentially be SMD’s last ever live performance – in the end it turned out to be a tour-de-force. If this was SMD’s swansong, so be it.

In the year that followed, Jas spent months receiving weekly chemotherapy, learning to live with his condition, and when he felt well enough, spending hours in his studio making music.

The result of this was twofold, firstly a collaborative album with Derwin Dicker (Gold Panda), released as Selling – On Reflection, on City Slang Records Secondly, a growing archive of solo work, which is now ready for release. Entitled “The Exquisite Cops”, this 20+ track growing body of work will see the light of day via SMD’s Delicacies label – with a 2-track single released every fortnight /month and a limited
edition double LP scheduled for 27th September.

At the end of 2018 a difficult year was capped with hopeful news. With his condition in remission, able to stop chemotherapy Jas is able to start DJing and playing live again.

Jas: “The Exquisite Cops tracks seem to have made their own system for creation. Normally I record electronic music like a band would, as a take. So, it’s kind of surprising to me that that this batch of tracks wasn’t made this way. Instead of a single take that gets edited and developed these tracks were all made in bits, usually months apart. Some days I’d make a drum track, often editing it down so that it’s some sort of semblance of a structure; on other days I’d end up just making a synth sound or texture. This wasn’t something that I gave into reluctantly, it’s nice to be able to give a feedback based pad your whole attention rather than just set it up and only attend to it if it gets really out of hand.

The process of matching these misfits together was originally born out of laziness, rather than break open the synths to make something to develop an idea, what if I could just use something that I already had; slack. The interesting thing was that in pulling two takes together that were done months apart, they cast each other in a different light and though sometimes making them fit together was a hatchet job, sometimes they locked up together in an improbable way, making the rough structures that I’d improvised make a different sort of sense; often a more interesting sort of sense.

The more I did this the more it felt like this was not just a slacker’s way to use up offcuts, this resulted in combinations that I’d probably not have chosen if I’d done the tracks in one go. Also, and I know this isn’t something that’s important to everyone, there was a level of fastidious detail that I’d never have got if I’d had the textural and rhythmic elements playing together. It’s a longwinded process but it’s changed how I record and how I think about recordings I’ve made; plus I enjoy all parts of it so why cut it short?”

Alexander Gentil is as polished at compiling his futuristic sounds and unique fresh vision into tracks that leave listeners yearning for more. The Journey starts with a field recording of children playing in a playground, as the laughs and joyfulness evolve, it is taken over by dark atmospheric textures & a haunting melody line that flies throughout the record. Continuing the experience minimalist Composer & part of the Soundwalk Collective Kamran Sadeghi gives the record a new twist and a more dancefloor-oriented approach, Following it The record Inertia, is a dark and groovy record with a 303 acid Motif all throughout and beautiful reverberated sax melodies that keep the listener locked in. Salvation keeps things mysterious and concludes the EP as a bonus track only available for the vinyl release.

Following his collaborative ‘Conscious’ EP alongside Rossko earlier this year, Per Hammar returns to FUSE sub-label Infuse with three more standout offerings this September.
Swedish don Per Hammar has been turning out quality dub, house and techno with a dusty sense of atmosphere for more than a decade. In that time, he has established a number of his own labels including Dirty Hands and 10YEARS, while most recently founding De Vloer with Mandar member Malin Genie. Now firmly established as a key protagonist in the underground scene, the Berlin-based talent reasserts that position once more here as he returns to Infuse with his slick three-track ‘Side Effects’ EP.
‘Side Effects’ is a sublime 10-minute excursion into warm depths. Sustained pads drift in the distance as subtle percussion rolls in the foreground keep you locked, whilst soft-edged chords bring colour and soul and ensure this is a warm and hypnotic cut. Next, ‘Document Save’ is a more edgy affair with subtle synth details, samples and trippy pads all weaving in and out of the busy, fluttering drum line that keeps you on your toes. Last of all, ‘Remote Dubb’ is the most visceral on the EP: employing coarse synth textures and bustling drums that are expertly designed to enliven the ‘floor.

We've reached a pivotal moment for Local Talk.
What better way to celebrate a centenary of forward thinking releases than to present one of the best kept secrets out there, MLiR aka Modern Life Is Rubbish this time joined by Arnau Obios.

After making a serious impact with their remarkable 'Swedish Lo-Life' and 'Trans-World Junktion' releases on fellow Swedish label Studio Barnhus, we're thrilled to have them onboard for our 100th release on Local Talk.

Yes, that is correct, we’re celebrating the big 100. Since the very beginning we've covered everything from the deeper shades of house to the jackin' and the gritty club jams, released some slower BPMs and also the uplifting, vocal and organic house.
As you probably noticed - we love it all.

The 100th release main track 'Lajbans' is one of those sublime tunes that is bridging the gap between all styles of dance music and got the MLiR trademark, it's epic and manages to offer plenty of subtle details to keep you locked for the full 9 minute experience.
Accompanied with the original is a masterclass in dub 'Lajbans (Bellaterra dub)'.
You got the versatility of the original carefully stripped back but also absorbing layers upon layers of seductive sonic moods, it's a trip for sure and you don't want it to end.
Once again MLiR proves why they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come...

Artwork by Leolyxxx
Mastered by Sasse at Blackhead Studios

After surpassing 100k plays on Soundcloud, it became clear
that Ren Riz's disco jam Marmalade deserved an official
release. Accompanying the laid-back, sun-kissed original mix
is the “Late Night” version – a chopped up disco house
reinterpretation with a higher tempo and dance floor appeal.
Jupiter Direct locks the house groove in with its dubby filtering,
rolling bass-line and funky guitar loop. Saving dessert for last -
Pudding is a summery nu-disco tune with a choppy disco
bass-line and Rhodes chords for days. This release is all about
summer sunsets & aperitifs! Ren Riz is a Melbourne based
producer with hip-hop production roots. He began dabbling
with house & electro in the mid 2000s, whilst maintaining
sampling as a backbone to his sound. Along with a string of
remixes and popular re-edits, Riz has released 4 EPs on
various labels, with 2014 seeing him establish his own imprint
Casual Sparks

FILE UNDER: jazz, modal jazz, spiritual jazz
- 2xLP gatefold- 180g pressing- free download card

With 20 years passing since his first foray into recorded jazz, Nat Birchall now ranks as one of the premier saxophonists of his generation. With several highly acclaimed albums in the locker, he now returns with his most ambitious project yet – a tribute to the legend that is Yusef Lateef.

"The Storyteller - A Musical Tribute to Yusef Lateef"

"When Jazzman Gerald first mentioned to me the idea of doing an album as a tribute to the jazz giant Dr Yusef A. Lateef, my first thought was "Where on earth do I start?" Lateef was such a colossus of music, and his scope so broad, that I couldn't hope to begin to cover his musical universe. He was a master of the tenor saxophone, a master of the flute, a master ballad player, a master blues player. Not to mention his skills as a composer and arranger and of course his exploration and use of musical methodology and instruments from all over the world."

"I've always been a great admirer of Lateef, and the challenge was intriguing, so I decided to give it go. We interpreted some of his own compositions (Brother John, Morning & Ching Miau) as well as some compositions by others that he made his own by careful arrangement and interpretation (Love Theme from Spartacus, Ringo Oiwake). I also wrote some original songs that, while certainly not written in his style, might be said to fall into his very broad approach to music making."

"I also wanted to utilise as many different instruments as possible, something I hadn't explored too much until this album. So it was a nice opportunity to finally get around to playing some of the many small instruments I've collected over the years; the Turkish zurna, the mbira from Zimbabwe, the balaphon from Mali and the arghul from Egypt. We have also tried to use varied time signatures in the music, so we have songs in 3/4, 5/4 and 7/4 time, as well as the standard 4/4."

"Ultimately the best music tells a story to the listener and takes them to places they might not have imagined themselves. Yusef Lateef certainly did that, and as such was a master storyteller."

Nat Birchall

Ever since their debut 7” landed on our doorstep unannounced, we have been captivated by the powerfully understated movements of the duo known as Undefined. Sahara (keys/bass/programming) and Ohkuma (drums) have deep roots in the Japanese dub and reggae scenes (Heavymanners, Soul Dimension) and operate their own experimental dub label, Newdubhall. Recent collaborations with Kazufumi Kodama (of dub elders Mute Beat), dBridge, and Kabuki are nudging the group further into a spotlight that they richly deserve.

Named for the 3-feel of its colossal groove, “Three” is a locked groove of pure downtempo dubwise, techno in its repetition, hip hop in its tempo and swagger, motorik in its muscularity, meditative in its clarity. Featuring the unmistakable voice of ZamFam Rider Shafique, showcased in a moment of profound introspection and vulnerability, “Three" banishes all thoughts of flash-in-the-pan “big tunes” for an incredibly deep and immersive dive.

“Three Dub,” a version in the classic sense, strips out the vocal entirely to focus on the rockstone riddim, crafted of one of the most captivatingly beautiful bass tones we’ve ever heard, combined with wicked drum turnarounds, lightning hi-hat work, and extremely subtle & sophisticated dubbing technique. A masterclass in dubwise essentialism and profound attention to detail, stripped down to the foundation yet incredibly lush and alive.

Strictly limited to 600 copies for the world. No digital, no repress. Design & screen print by Polygon Press. Mastered by Sam Precise.

Global tracks is a mystery; browsing the name online gives nothing associated with the artist. All we really know is that Gothenburg is home base. Most points toward that this is Global Tracks first release and Hoga Nord Rekords are more than proud to be first out giving his/her music out.

With albums like 'Selected Ambient Works' by the Aphex Twin and cities like London and Sheffield as a ground for the sound, Global Tracks displays how breakbeats should sound in 2019. The music is mostly influenced by Jungle, but also by Footwork and Dancehall. The roots lie shallow but the phantom behind this music don't give up with trying to recreate the nineties straight up, instead he/she develops the legacy from all the best and most drug marinated DJ:s from England circa 1995.

Breakbeat has a new vanguard in this mysterious shadow crawler that we know almost nothing about, but rumor has it Global Tracks is locked up with the machines under ground somewhere in Vastra Gotaland in Sweden working on new broke up beats, ready to surface when the time is right for more, deep and ganja oozing dance music!

Formed in Bradford in 1980, New Model Army's beginnings were inspired by Northern Soul, Punk Rock and the incendiary atmosphere of the times. Since then, they have had a long, creative and eventful journey. They have been massively influential in 'post-punk', 'folkrock', 'political-rock', 'goth', 'metal' and all kinds of musical sub-cultures but they have steadfastly refused to belong to any club or style. Members have changed over the years and musical styles have evolved but at the heart of the band Justin has remained, along with a distinct and sincere belief in the power of music to inspire and effect change on both a personal and political scale, locally and globally. 'From Here' was recorded earlier on the tiny Norwegian island of Giske at the beautiful Ocean Sound Recordings studio and reflects the spectacular isolation of that environment yet has profound messages for the world we all live in and the times we are experiencing. The album was mostly written in just two months and recorded in only nine days and is the follow up on the two hugely acclaimed albums Between Dog And Wolf (2013) and Winter (2016). New Model Army decided to work again with Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart, with whom they have developed a productive relationship over a few years and who persuaded them to leave a lot of the details of the music to spontaneity. “This album has a feel that is different to our other albums, but it still contains all the elements that characterise our peculiarly unidentifiable music – perhaps even more than ever. And “From Here” was an obvious title. The record belongs to a very special place and a particular time – what is happening in the world, where we are as a band and where we are as people.” Print ads:Vive Le Rock, Classic Rock, Record Collector, Classic Pop). Artist undertaking promotion/interviews/press (Classic Rock, Record Collector, Vive le Rock, Louder than War, Long Live Vinyl). Extensive UK live tour Oct 8th - Dec 21st.

Since completing his two-decade-long hip-hop trilogy as Dabrye in 2018, Ann Arbor-based artist and Bopside label head Tadd Mullinix has engaged his arsenal of aliases with renewed heat. First came the debut of X-Altera, a new project flexing a wildstyle hybrid of drum & bass and deep techno. Now, he returns to James T. Cotton, a moniker which dates back as far as Dabrye and helped define Spectral Sound, the dance imprint of Ghostly International. While historically tagged as Mullinix’s acid house alias, JTC has always expressed with a more pliable sense of genre, freely fusing an eclectic blend of classic electronic sounds; helpings of Chicago acid, Belgian New Beat, and the leftfield techno stylings popularized both in Berlin and Detroit. With Indigo, Flesh and Fire, Mullinix moves closer to the latter city, adopting a bright, optimistic tone informed by minimalism and futurism.

"I have been more withdrawn and introspective on a personal level, in a positive sense, and I think that fact has made my creativity reach toward feelings about peace, positivity, fantasy, wonder, and openness,” says Mullinix.

The EP is packed, but still playfully ambiguous; a club-ready set built to max out mixing boards with spacious and nuanced melodies and motorized percussion. Five tracks, each with roughly five-minute run-times, offering all but a few breaths in a quest for highly operative dancefloor hypnosis. The record wastes little time locking in; on the first track, “Innerloire Rendezvous,” a dense square kick plows through a brisk four-on-the-floor routine phasing over harmonious synth stacks of rubbery fifths and sevenths. The title track splatters a lenticular static spray between thumping kick, billowy melodic swells, and staticky clicks, snaps, and claps.

Mullinix’s distilled musical vocabulary, developed by his many years in the game, gives the set a misty-eyed quality without compromising its contemporary merit. This is music, inspired by history but fiercely forward-thinking, that feels both subterranean and airborne; in the grind on the ground and soaring above in an iridescent super-charged fog.

key selling points: - Debut release on Spectral Sound - Past releases on Firm Tracks, Nite Owl Diner, Sweat Equity, FCR, Clave - Limited to 300 copies worldwide.

Around the year, the sturdy red brick walls of an old Cable Factory stand there like a mountain, facing weathers of all kinds rising from the Gulf of Finland. It might be freezing winter winds whipping the whole shore line into submission, fog heavy as concrete, or the relentless sun of the summer months, softening the asphalt to a boiling point. Whatever the weather may be, the narrow courtyard of the old factory embraces those musicians, who are looking to get down. They gather from all directions, making their way towards a pair of doors that lead towards a flight of stairs, again through a few doors all the way to the last portal, where an open padlock and a loosely hangin crossbar signal that Cold Diamond & Mink are inside, locked in a groove.

Who could it be with them this time, perhaps the jazz prophet Jimi Tenor beaming out of his space ship, maybe it's the golden voiced knight of soul Tuomo "Pratt" Prättälä, the number one trumpet wielding dandy Jukka Eskola or the saxman Pope Puolitaival, who loses nothing in coolness compared to the former? The reel to reel is always there in the monitoring room, catching each analog layer of sound, even the silences and banter between takes. Seppo lays down the guitar and tries to catch the riff on organ instead, Jukka throws a rare tune on the turntable, hoping to guide their unit through that wobbly chorus, Sami waits there bass in hand, maybe already thinking about the next production.

After a whole lot of playing instruments, arranging and taking care of business, after the moon has travelled around the old industrial building for some rotations, Carlton Jumel Smith comes waltzing through those same doors. There's a handful of unnamed tracks waiting for him. He sits there listening and then starts writing, maybe echoes of soul classics from his own record collection in New York projecting inside his mind. Then the tape is rolling again. Starting with a short intro rap Carlton lets it out, singing on the edge of shouting "Woman you made me...". After the vocals are in the can, Carlton ascends out of the basement and heads out to entertain an audience somewhere. Some months later, after the mix is said and done, there's the question of the instrumentals. It seems they're pretty good as they are. And here they are.




d 4 Help Me (Save Me From Myself) [Instrumental]

In the early eighties, Edmond Mondésir, professor of philosophy and Léon Bertide, trade unionist, founded the Bèlènou group. They were actors of the great agricultural strike of 1974, which resulted in the death of two workers (Ilmany and Marie-Louise) and left many wounded. Activists of the patriotic movement Asé Pléré An Nou Lité (Stop crying, Fight), they were part of the identity and the cultural affirmation la revendication identitaire et culturelle of the time. Like the Guadeloupean musician Gérard Lockel and his work on the Gwo Ka, they put the Bèlè, in its traditional form, back in the spotlight during Swaré Bèlè (Bèlè nights).Minimalist and spiritual, a true rural ancestral art from Martinique, the Bèlè combines dance and music from responsorial monodies, which is a choir that responds to the lead singer (Respondè / La vwa dèyè), on codified drum rhythms and ti-bwa (2 sticks that hit the back of the drum or a piece of bamboo). It comes in a series of collective choreographies, working up into the trance. The texts are simple, short and tell the story of everyday life and struggle. While preserving the emotion and the drum’s central place, the fundamental contribution of Bèlènou is to keep the traditional form of Bèlè while adding a modern instrumentation: bass, guitar, saxophone, drums...
Emosyon Tambou-a (Emotion of the Drum) was released in 1990. This third opus of the band expands the musical spectrum in harmonies, arrangements and influences to create a contemporary music anchored in the Bèlè matrix, while keeping the beat, the energy and ancestral roots of music. Bèlènou adapts some classic rhythms: Bélya, Gran Bèlè, Bèlè Pitjé or Ting-Bang rewritten here for an orchestra.With the appearance of long couplets and a complex harmonization of the choruses, Bèlènou's music brings a form of modernity, it opens notably to jazz territory as well as to other forms of music and grooves. Also, Bèlènou leaves the musicians with space for improvisation: not only on the saxophone or the guitar, but also with the drums (cleverly adaptating traditional rhythms to the drums).

The texts sung in Creole are of a social nature, appealing to the solidarity and self-denial of the people (Bélya pou péyi-a, Tout pèp-la sanblé), to the struggle for political emancipation towards a new democracy (Wi ny ké rivé, Ni dé jou, Démokrasi); land protection (Sové tè-a); finally, to the vitality of the Bèlè culture ... (Emosyon Tambou-a, Dansé Ting-Bang)...Culture participates, according to the expression of Aimé Césaire, as "Miraculous Weapons". Bèlènou sings a project of a new and united society. A precursor group, experimental in the its early years, Bèlènou reconciles with talent tradition, modernity and cultural identity.

Lovely crafted tip-on sleeve. Remastered. 700 copies

Late-summer joy from two long-time Glaswegian party-makers, James “Harri” Harrison, a resident at the legendary Sub Club for over thirty years, now crossing the aisle from DJ to producer, and Max Raskin, together known as Manakinz.

The four tracks (five on the digital version) contained are saucy, sassy late-night bangers meant to keep you locked into a permanent groove hovering right around that 124-BPM sweet spot. Sharp, punchy house oiled with groovy disco grease.

“Stop here!” exclaimed Robert Oumaou as we passed a mango tree on the side of the road just outside of Point-a-Pitre, the balmy capital of Guadeloupe. He filled a plastic bag with ripe fruit, and we set off on our journey across the small Caribbean island in search of musicians he hadn’t seen in years. On the way, we shared stories in broken French and English, stopping at truck stops to eat delicious fried fish. Robert took me to his hometown, and placed a mango and a flower on the grave of his teacher and mentor, a local poet. The seeds of Vwayajé (Traveller) were sewn on this trip, but shortly after returning home, I heard that Robert was ill, and he sadly passed away in 2018. This compilation was originally intended as a way to share Robert’s brazen work with a wider global audience, but it now also serves to immortalize his indomitable spirit.

Gwakasonné is the ecstatic articulation of Robert Oumaou’s artistic and political vision, a unified expression of his interests in American jazz, pre-colonial rhythms, Guadeloupian independence, and Créole poetics. Over the course of three albums, all released in the 80s, Robert piloted a revolving cast of musicians, a venerable who’s-who of Point-a-Pitre avant-jazz pioneers, to deftly intone his creative communal concepts. The songs on Vwayajé are compiled from these three releases, Gwakasonné, Temwen, and Moun, along with an electronic mantra taken from his 2007 solo album Sang Comment Taire. Viewed from our current artistic and cultural landscape, Robert’s work is exceptionally enduring, grounded in its declarations of freedom and foundational use of the Ka (drum) and voice, and prescient in its borderless explorations of protest folk, electronics, ambient atmosphere, music from the African diaspora, and spiritual jazz. The long-form hive-mind expression of the group has parallels with similar explorations by The Grateful Dead, electric
Miles, Pharaoh Sanders, and even the Boredoms, but these are only oblique references for a truly peerless sound. Like other conceptual children of Gérard Lockel, the group was part of a progressive movement of like-minded musicians, such as Serge Fabriano, Dao, Erick Cosaque, and Gaoulé Mizik, who embraced Lockel’s modernist ideals, fusing Gwo Ka drumming and tuning systems with contemporary jazz and vanguard recording technologies. Robert’s ecstatic phrasings, embrace of electronic instruments, and daring lyrics set the group apart as the beatific expression of a sagacious soul.

Where Future Unfolds is a new work spirited by Chicago-based sound & visual artist Damon Locks. Starting as a solo sound collage piece (where Locks pulled samples from Civil Rights era speeches and recordings to create an improvisational pallet for performance on his drum machine), over 4 years the project has blossomed into his 15-piece Black Monument Ensemble - featuring musicians (including Angel Bat Dawid on clarinets and Dana Hall on drums), singers (alumni of the Chicago Children"s Choir), and dancers (members of Chicago youth dance company Move Me Soul). Where Future Unfolds is a live capture of the ensemble"s epic debut at the Garfield Park Botanical Conservatory on the West Side of Chicago. Recalling the spirits of Phil Cohran"s Artistic Heritage Ensemble, Eddie Gale"s Black Rhythm Happening, Archie Shepp"s Attica Blues, and Public Enemy"s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the album presents an inspired, innovative & immediate intersection of gospel, jazz, activism & 808 breaks.

“In October 2018 we took several recordings in and around Eddie Prévost’s home village of Matching Tye in Essex, where he has been living for the past fifty years. The majority of the pieces that made it to this LP took place in All Saints Church, High Laver, the burial site of John Locke. This fact was notable in the choice of title for this set of recordings, and it seemed necessary to put forward Eddie’s own take on Locke that he offered in our correspondences:

“Scholars of Locke’s philosophy will be familiar with the idea of mixing labour with materials as a fore-running notion of possessive individualism and basis for private property. Such ‘mixing’ is a persuasive description of a creative act. But the theory is more worthy of a social dimension.” As for the individual titles for each of the studies on the LP, each takes ideas and elements from music past. For example, MaxPlus makes a nod towards bebop pioneering drummer Max Roach who offered an earlier hit-hat study. Eddie utilises such examples, offering further creative insights which can then be woven back into the common wealth of sound. The final track, returning to the bowed cymbal method of the first, was recorded outdoors on a breezy green, and is pictured on the back cover of the sleeve. It was an attempt to capture the playing in its ‘metamusical’ relationship with the untempered sounds of the external environment.

Eddie has written about Metamusic in his book The First Concert (Copula, 2011): invoking childlike ‘protomusical’ behaviour, or the sense of music that a person might possess before the inevitable influences come to play any role in their productive, and appreciative, musical development.

Ross Lambert provided a few words along side his cover drawing entitled ‘The Metamusician’: “The eyes would symbolise for me things like searching, examining, closeness or friendship I think; engagement with the world. Decisions in making the image were completely intuitive, this is just me looking for the meaning, post-analysing, post rationalising.””

- Daniel Kordik & Edward Lucas, March 2019

As one of Jamaica’s leading record producers Arthur ‘Duke’ Reid embraced the new reggae sound. London based reggae giant Trojan Records brought together a dozen of his finest works under the title “Greater Jamaica Moonwalk Reggae”. If features many of the biggest Jamaican hits from 1969 to 1970. Tommy McCook & The Supersonics is one of the main artists to be found on this record. The 12 tracks bringing the best Jamaica had to offer during the heydays of their musical days.

Greater Jamaica Moonwalk Reggae is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange coloured vinyl.

Canadian John Varuhin serves up the second tasteful EP on Clyde Records , a sublime minimal techno affair across 4 standout tracks.

This Vancouver artist is a techno DJ and producer who has also played a purely digital live set in the past. He has a clean, crisp style that comes back from the future and is rich in hi fidelity details that make it truly cinematic.

Opener ‘ Bunker ’ is a spacious track with gooey kick drums rolling deep as slithers of synth and tiny metallic sounds glint and glisten up top. It’s perfectly transcendental, while the excellent ‘ Retribution ’ picks up the pace with a sense of silky techno urgency. The unsettl ing sound of distant automation and darkened synths recall the best of Motor City techno and ensure this one will have the floor locked in.

The expertly designed ‘ Rainy Day ’ is pure minimalism, with icy hi hats and scuttling little details sure to find favour with fans of Robert Hood. Hugely atmospheric and absorbing, it’s the sort of deep and late night track that’s designed for intimate club rooms. Last of all, ‘ Detached Screen ’ is another deep, rolling, perfectly elongated groove design to melt your mind and trap you in the beautiful repetition.

This is a classy and timeless EP of meticulously crafted minimal techno.

The tight knit groove specialists ESHU return with another excellent split EP featuring core members Jocelyn Abell and Ivano Tetelepta. They take one track each and collaborate on one other and again they lock you into their excellent drums from start to finish. First up the Dutch pair work together on Bury The Chains, a super deep and smoky dub cut that is cavernous, mystical and all consuming. The drums are buried way down below the surface as distant pads bring a feeling of automatic and icy hi hats ride up and own the mix. Abell then offers 1949 - 1952, a driven bit of spaced out techno that glides on rubbery drum programming and is fleshed out with gorgeous swirling pads. Last of all, It Was Not A Choice is a quick and slick deep techno affair with deft synths and wet hits all sinking you into the journeying groove. These are three devastatingly effective and atmospheric tracks of heady techno.

With 20 years passing since his first foray into recorded jazz, Nat Birchall now ranks as one of the premier saxophonists of his generation. With several highly acclaimed albums in the locker, he now returns to JAZZ45 for the second time to wrap his chops around the 45rpm 7" format. This is the format that takes no prisoners - there's no time for noodling - and the result is an intense yet sensitive message of deep jazz, modal jazz, esoteric jazz, spiritual jazz; refined and concentrated into 2 whirlwind sides. Watch out for a double long-player to come later in 2019!

Ready for an adventure running parallel to their lives in common units, the quartet boarded a starship
to set off on an astral expedition. The mission began perfectly, according to plan. From the very first
measures, the travellers were released from the Earth's gravity. Very quickly, their home planet
appeared tiny and distant, before disappearing completely. Comets and novae lit the way through the
fathomless depths of interstellar space. Their preliminary, in-depth studies of seventies jazz-funk
were a great source of inspiration. Very early on, they knew that this sonic esthetic would allow them
to travel even farther, navigating only with organic instruments and no digital backing or
enhancements.
Commander Virgile Raffaëlli's bass lines guided their journey, offering a calm, yet vibrant foundation
for the smoother phases and turning up the power to bring them through turbulence and meteor
showers safe and sound. Like a compass, the bass indicated the direction and traced a groove that
the loyal, valued crew could follow as their travels continued. Mathieu Edouard's drums solidly
locked down the rhythm to avoid any sudden jolts, working in tandem with Erwan Loeffel's jetpropelled percussion. On the keyboards, Florian Pellissier drew harmonies and riffs from the
synthesizers and electric pianos to oil the machinery and lighten the load when the ensemble needed
to rise a few feet. The crew's almost telepathic cohesion was key to their success, allowing them to
express interior emotions with just a few notes.
Here is the last transmission we received:
"We have landed on an unknown planet and are depressurizing the airlock with help from subtle
horns and ethereal choruses so we can discover the new horizon. It definitely meets our
expectations! The desert before us holds the promise of new life. The warm yet fresh air is easy to
breathe. A vague psychedelic scent floats through the atmosphere, as if ready to spring from the first
flower to bloom. Dreamlike, mysterious, enigmatic yet familiar, we will call it Aldorande."

Meda Fury welcomes Tom Wrankmore aka Eliphino to the imprint for a stunning EP of thunderous breaks, 303’s and serious sub-bass pressure. Hailing originally from the Leeds, but with wider travels to settle down in both London and Berlin, Wrankmore’s music embraces hip-hop, rave, and UK garage. He now serves up
a pungent confection pitched between the Hessle Audio crew, Joy O and Demdike
Stare’s most recent efforts. Having released heaters for Brownswood and Hoya Hoya over the years, Eliphino now debuts as part of the Meda Fury family with the Realistic Sex EP.

Wrankmore has been locked away in his studio for the last 1.5 years, abstaining from gigging and releasing records to knuckle down and produce, emerging with a new darker edge and a much more hardcore sound. Tom explains: “The theme of the EP
is trusting your intuition in an information flooded world. I’ve collaborated with visual
artists Tom Pounder & Jon Harris who have created two videos for the release, one for Disc Rhythm and one for Realistic Sex." Meda Fury boss Nick Williams; “Tom's new music epitomises to me what modern club tracks should sound like - wild, energetic, deadly. He’s discovered his own dark new world of sound fusing breakbeat, acid, speed garage and even industrial stylings”

Hard Fist comes back stronger than ever with a sixth release, this time from Pletnev with a remix from Sascha Funke.

Extra prolific Russian born Alex Pletnev has been making music under various aliases and in a number of live bands. Now settled in Vilnius he explores stellar chugging rhythms, afro and oriental vibes for labels like Media Fury and Bahnsteig23 and more atmospheric, dark and industrial EPs on Le Temps Perdu records. This new one is “the tale of an imaginary world, a babel myth of when human beings were together as one because they spoke a single language. It is an allusion of No Border movement supporting freedom of mobility and fighting human immigration control.”

This fantastic release is the most club focussed music Pletnev has ever produced with instrumental, heady opener ‘Guest from Bangkok’ really locking you in a groove. Loose percussion and churning drums make for dark disco of the highest order. Then comes ‘Peep of Dawn,’ an almost frightening, long and slow ceremony of menacing electronic music. A voice resonates while powerful bass sends shivers down your spine and the whole atmospheric and absorbing affair really casts a spell.

Excellent punchy guitar riffs and shamanic rhythms on ‘Red Shoes’ reminds you of a run to catch the setting sun. It’s another spellbinding and rock-laced disco track that oozes grit and rawness. With the closing track, BPitch Control man Sascha Funke remixes ‘My Word Against Yours' into a cosmic and jerky affair that alludes to a journey into outer space. It’s sparse and creepy and brilliantly evocative.

Once again here, the Hard Fist label—which has its own residency at Paris’s mighty Rex Club—tells its unique story with forward thinking club music full of a wide array of influences.

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.

Presenting 'Fire Zone'. Album written, produced & mixed by Zane Reynolds and pressed on 180g vinyl, by Ekster. Coming out May 2019, including poster 57x57cm artwork by the artist. Mastered & cut by Helmut Erler at Dubplates & Mastering.

The music of Zane Reynolds AKA SFV Acid celebrates lysergic life in small town America. His are urban hallucinations. Conceived in 'business parks, strip malls', in 'blue collar luxury'. On a diet of 'diner burgers'. From the self-released, hand-painted cassettes of his high school years, he has moved to work commissioned by locals 100% Silk, Japan`s Big Love, and Dutch imprint, BAKK. His latest long-player, Fire Zone, will be issued by Belgian label, Ekster.

The album continues to reference Zane's Los Angeles home, and in this case the devastation that rages there every Summer. The concept however, reaching away from the horror and flames, to offer an escape.

There are moments, interludes, that hint at, and hide, something darker. Where drone twists from tape hiss. Bends. Out of shape. Where chords distort. Their degraded edges disintegrating. Charred perhaps But Ai welcomes you to 'San Fernando Valley', and a low-riding 808 booms. Less L.A. More Overtown, or Liberty City. Its racing booty bass calmed by wind chimes. The rapid Electro-Funk clip countered by modal synths. Its sunny disposition reflecting the SFV climate.

Playful rhymes, fragmented dialogue, and answer phone messages, rub up against Rave sirens. Roland`s silver box squeezes out a Sci-Fi Jazz. Through ping-ponging percussion. Through a drum and bass battery. Punched by keys that wanna be horns. Rewinds that create a bin-blowing vacuum. Shore-line samples washing the more head-nodding tempos. Euphoria rising while a perfect beat pops and locks. (text: Robert Harris)

The Naturals' debut album is more than just an rediscovery of one of the great lost albums of the last decade, but of how things were always intended. When Eddie Ruscha (Secret Circuit) and Thomas Bullock (Rub'n'Tug/STD) appeared as The Laughing Light of Plenty, their journey offered untold troves. Now at last the pulse is set for outer orbit and all are welcome to join.

After a mind-melting debut EP sold again and again, an album expanding their unique psychebalearicfolk imaginings was prepared and even pressed before being lost somewhere between a lock up in New York and limited quantities reaching Asian shores and dealers
trading at dizzying Yen.

Lost, but never forgotten, years passed until a nagging memory that an earlier, rawer mix had always been superior. A return to the original band name seemed The Natural(s) choice and so a project idea started to be (re)born.

A sunny Spring afternoon in a grand English garden, pots of tea, talk of life's travails, deep yogani, love affairs, kids growing up, the power of now and music, always music led to two labels coming together to dust down the desk and not just resurrect, but seek and offer the original intentions.
Here at last is the double album as intended. Of two great friends jamming their deepest vibes and flowing with love to offer tales of higher consciousness. Travel inward, beyond meer chakras. Aim for the stars. The devil is in the details so see the trails and follow to some avail.

Begin your own journey.

Originally released on Illuminated Records in 1983, "Viral Shedding" is surely one of the most important references for the industrial/funk dance music.

Between pure noise and electronic beats, 'Viral Shedding' is creating a twisted and percussive rhythmic urge, a funky disco sound permeated by digital industrial beats. Nigel Ayers and Caroline K take their inaccessible best and thrown it into the melting pot with a set of pumping rhythms. The result is the frustrated son of mutant disco, swimming in the same waters of Cabaret Voltaire, 23 Skidoo, Tackhead, Meat Beat Manifesto and Hula.

As Nigel Ayers recalls, "Popular music picked up on what we were doing 1983-1984, which helps explain why records such as -Viral Shedding- sound clubbier today than they did at the time, but the technology of music making locked in a seat of aesthetics in those days that shaped pop as a whole more than industrial music itself did. Whether by synthesizer manufacturers' musical design or through engineering limitations, the more automated a band allowed their music to become, the dancer it was likely to be."

Features the classics 'Suffering Stinks', 'Going Under' and 'No Separation'.

2019 repress of this 1981 digi tune! Version on the flip...

In 1978, Seattle funk group Epicentre recorded the infectious boogie wonder: 'Get Off The Phone', written by the group's keyboardist, Stacy Christenson, with Bernadette on lead vocals. The song was featured on a compilation at the time, KYYX:FM Seattle Grown, but never got released on a 45.
Fast forward three years, there was another call to make! Bernadette met Stevie Wonder and formed a lifelong friendship, prospective recordings were made, including a re-recording of 'Get Off The Phone'. Until now it has been locked away, therefore we are thrilled to bring the two versions together on a 7'' single, authentically packaged in a picture sleeve.

Negentropy presents the first ever EP from Zweizig, hailing from the North of England he has crafted his sonic weaponry in secret, until today. It's a prime introduction into his wonky and minimalistic world and sets the tone for his forthcoming work. It's all about the depths and the layers. This record should appeal to the DJ's who like to take their time and bend the dancefloor gradually, locked into the groove. Keep your tabs on our boy Zweizig, this is only the beginning.

Mancunian Hidden Spheres has showcased himself as one of the most innovative producers out there, releasing across the likes of Lobster Theremin, Rhythm Section International and his own imprint Fruit Merchant, all of which have been the perfect outlets for his inspiring blend of house and jazz. Church now features as the latest addition, who continue their stellar discography with 'Words Can't Explain', a collaborative EP which sees Hidden Spheres alongside singer-songwriter and guitarist, Oscar Jerome.

The collection begins with the original mix, lowering you into slick jazz guitar licks and echoing vocals, before Hidden Spheres provides a tight groove to lock around the melodies in fine form. The hybrid creation of jazz meets house binds perfectly as warm keys hang effortlessly in the air and popping guitar lines carry you onwards, supporting the sublime vocal from Oscar.

The dub version opens up room for the guitar licks and synth top lines to take centre stage, a real opportunity to marvel at the arrangement here.

On the flip is Yu Su's rework who ups the tempo and dims the lights for a punchier rework.. The half way point welcomes a percussive led break before the hats return and pick up the groove once again, closing the 'Words Can't Explain' EP in style.

Time Horizon's second episode enlists another team of dancefloor snipers delivering 5 brain-dancing tunes crafted appositively for late night use.
After his appearance on the first XCPT record, Andrea is back on the label with his unmistakable shuffling drums and a heavy square bassline followed by Anybody Anytime covering the uptempo-zone with a rotative junglistic tool dressed with celestial pads, closing the A side TANS reveals his new robot alias The Sympathizer' providing a neurotic electro progression fully based on his modular system.
Flipping the records you will find two XCPT homies bringing the audience straight into Matera landscapes: Farron gets a 909 unceasing toms orchestra surrounded by his atmospheric leads while Kreggo illustrates clearly his hypnotic mid-low vision of breakbeat locked by a mystic bass for the whole track.

ltd 250 hand-numbered units (12' + insert)
mastered by Marco Pellegrino at Analogcut Mastering Studio, Berlin

The 15th release from Arsenik is a mini album by Dold. It consists of selected tracks made in a 2 year period that for various reasons never got released. Time and space is a common theme amongst techno producers. Is and always has been. Maybe there is a connection between the exploration of abstract sounds and the mystery concerning time and space. That which cannot be explained can only be understood through experience.

This release contains 8 techno and ambient to electro-leaning tracks and will be his first and last journey to space.

Claremont 56's latest release is very much a family affair. It sees Idjut Boy Conrad McDonnell - a regular remixer of Claremont 56 releases since the label's inception - serve up two spaced-out, dub-wise revisions of a little known cut by Bison, the imprint's very own 'super-group'. The 12' has extra emotional resonance for Bison's Paul 'Mudd' Murphy and Ben Smith, as it marks the band's first release since the passing of fellow founder members Holger Czukay and Ursula Kloss.
Clutching his cherished space echo and tape delay units, McDonnell has delivered two tasty new dubs of 'Salmon Spungcake', a spacey, gently throbbing Bison cut that he co-wrote, produced and mixed for Claremont 56's 10th Anniversary box-set in 2017.
While the original version shied away from the dancefloor in favour of creating a hazy, horizontal mood, McDonnell's 'Zip It Shrimpy Mix' re-invents the cut as a hypnotic dub disco shaker rich in weighty bass, layered hand percussion, locked-in kick drums and spaced-out vocal snippets. In true dub fashion, flashes of the band's original instrumentation - effects-laden guitars, hazy electronics and meandering, deep space chords - float in and out of the mix at irregular intervals. It's the kind of remix you want to get lost in while wearily shuffling at 5am in a dark, sweaty basement.
The glassy-eyed, head-in-the-clouds fun continues on the 'I Think I've Got Gout Mix', an even more spaced-out affair that recalls some of the other inspired dancefloor dubs McDonnell has produced alongside Idjut Boys partner Dan Tyler. Stripped back, heavy, percussive and driven forward by sturdy kick-drums and the track's rich, warm bassline, this is a deep space dub disco tailor-made for space cadets and intoxicated sunrise dancers.

Daniel Avery broadens the exquisite sonic universe established on last year's critically-acclaimed sophomore LP Song For Alpha, presenting the collected B-sides & Remixes. Showcasing cuts from the album's writing and recording process, as well, Avery also invites a number of his contemporaries and some of the most vital underground producers in the world to rework his original material, with transformative results.

The frosty melancholy of Citizen // Nowhere is reworked by London producer Manni Dee into something altogether monstrous. Introducing itself with a kick drum powerful enough to level a warehouse, and only getting more urgent from there forward, Dee's remix blends a knowing rave glint in the eye with a nonetheless uncompromising stance.

The Copenhagen-via-Moscow producer Anastasia Kristensen immediately justifies her status as a rapidly rising talent on the scene, locking into a delicate yet no less powerful groove for her sparkling remix of Glitter. Seamlessly heightening the almost meditative qualities of Avery's original, she weaves a blissful rhythmic trip, taking in razor-sharp percussions and spectral dub techno.

A longstanding fixture on the Midwest US rave scene, Patrick Russell applies his typical grit to 'Song For Alpha's firmly dancefloor focused centrepiece, Diminuendo. In subtly shifting the focus to the track's passages of overwhelming feedback, he sculpts a black hole of snarling electro and piston-like breaks, sure to prove an inviting wormhole to those willing to surrender further, deeper and darker.