Beats News

A collection of brand new studio recordings, recorded by Davey Jewell (Peaking Lights/Flaming Lips) and mixed by Carlos Niño (Leaving Records). A magical mixtape of tracks that run the full gamut of 'Laraaji music', from blissed-out percussive jams to reflective vocal hymnals to trance-inducing drones. A perfect Laraaji entry-point on his never-ending creative journey through inner light.

Available as an 8-track double vinyl LP, and 10-track double CD with Bring On The Sun on the first disc, and a bonus disc of Sun Gong, the previously limited run vinyl-only pre-cursor to the main album.

Laraaji is a musician, mystic and laughter meditation practitioner based in New York City. He began playing music on the streets in the 1970s, improvising experimental jams on a modified autoharp processed through various electronic effects. Brian Eno saw him playing one night in Washington Square Park and invited him to record an album for his seminal Ambient series (Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance, released 1980). Laraaji went on to release a prolific series of albums for a wide variety of labels, many of which he recorded himself at home and sold as cassettes during his street performances.

In recent years he has had his career celebrated extensively, with two All Saints retrospectives Celestial Music 1970-2011 and Two Sides of Laraaji - as well as reissues on Glitterbeat and Leaving Records/Stones Throw. He has also collaborated with a new generation of underground musicians such as Sun Araw - their recent LP Professional Sunflow (Superior Viaduct) being the fruit of the live shows they played together in 2014.

Scanning Backwards, das zweite Soloalbum von Phase Fatale nach seinem 2017er-Debüt auf Hospital Productions, ist Musik über Kontrolle. Mittels der Verbindung von Klang als Waffe und psychologischer Manipulation als konzeptuelles Fundament, erforscht Hayden Payne Wege, auf denen Musik – und besonders Subbassfrequenzen – benutzt werden, das Denken zu beeinflussen als auch Emotionen und Verhalten zu synchronisieren: von Militärtechnologie zu Sound Systems zur Körperlichkeit und Sexualität queerer Technokultur.

Ausgehend von seinem innovativen Post-Punk-Ansatz zu Dance Music – nachzuhören auf seinen EPs für unterton und Ostgut Ton – bezieht sich der Berghain-Resident auf seinen Hintergrund als Gitarrist und Toningenieur. Daraus entstand auf Scanning Backwards eine berauschende Mischung aus gebrochener Rhythmik, Noise- und Shoegaze-beeinflussten Technos, oft mit langsamerer Gangart. Am Ende steht Musik mit Platz und Tempo zur weiteren Ausdehnung, das intensive Brausen von Frequenzen hervorhebend, die sowohl in der sonischen Kriegsführung und funktionaler Dance Music vorherrschen. Im Verlauf der acht Stücke, die eine Kombination aus historischen und fiktionalen Narrativen aus Literatur und Science Fiction im Titel tragen, ergründen Paynes rhythmische Exkursionen unterschiedliche Manifestationen von Klang als Macht – spezifisch im Sinne des Berghains als musikalisches Instrument. Dies reflektiert auch das Artwork des Albums: einem frühen Flyer der Partyreihe SNAX entnommen und offensichtliche Hommage an die Fetischisierung von Machtdynamiken.

In seinen eigenen Worten: „Alle Stücke dieses Albums, gleich welcher Stil, habe ich zugeschnitten, um auf ganz bestimmte Weise im Berghain zu klingen. Im Laufe der vielen Jahre als Tänzer inmitten des Dancefloors und auch während meiner DJ-Sets als Resident bemerkte ich, welche Frequenzen den Körper so richtig penetrieren. Das beinhaltet Sprache, Hochfrequenz- und Hirn-penetrierende Instrumentierung, Sägezahn- und Schlagbohrhammerästhetiken – die hatte ich bis dahin noch nicht so oft benutzt, denke aber, dass sie Einfluss auf das Denken und Gedächtnis haben. Das trifft besonders zu auf einen Ort, der schwule und Fetisch-Geschichte auf unerwartete Weise mit Musik kombiniert, auf fast kultische Art. Eine musikalische und physische Deinstallation und Neuprogrammierung, Psychic Driving und De-patterning, das Löschen und Ersetzen von Erinnerungen.“

Scanning Backwards wacht über die manipulativen Eigenschaften elektronischer Musik (Mantras, Loops, unterschwellige Botschaften) und wie Rhythmus sowohl Bewegung als auch das Denken in Einklang bringt. Ein Puls koordinierter Klang- und Hirnwellen.

Scanning Backwards, Phase Fatale’s second full-length album following his 2017 debut album for Hospital Productions, is music about control. Using the connection between weaponized sound and psychological manipulation as a conceptual foundation, Hayden Payne explores the ways in which music – and sub frequencies in particular – are used to influence thinking and to synchronize emotions and behavior: from military technology to sound systems and the physicality and sexuality of queer techno culture.

Known for his innovative post-punk takes of dance music as featured on EPs for unterton and Ostgut Ton, the Berghain resident draws on his background as both a guitarist and sound engineer to create a heady mix of broken rhythms, noise-, and shoegaze-inflected techno, often at slower tempos. The result is music with space and pace to expand, highlighting the intense rushes of frequencies found in both sonic warfare and functional dance music. Over eight tracks named after a combination of historical and fictional narratives from literature and science fiction, Payne’s rhythmic excursions explore different manifestations of sound as power – specifically within the context of seeing Berghain as an instrument itself. This is also reflected in the album artwork, taken from an early flyer for the SNAX party series and an obvious ode to the fetishization of power dynamics.

In his own words: “All tracks on the album, no matter the style, were tailored to sound a certain way in Berghain – something I figured out through years of dancing in the middle of the floor, DJing as a resident and investigating what frequencies really penetrate the body. This includes speech and high-frequency, brain-penetrating instrumentation and drilling textures that I had not utilized so often before, but which I think also have an effect on thought and memory. It's especially true in a space where gay and fetish roots combine with music in unexpected ways, almost in a cultish manner. A musical and physical deprogramming and reprogramming, psychic driving and de-patterning, the erasing and replacing of memories.”

Ultimately, Scanning Backwards surveys not only the manipulative properties of electronic music (mantras, loops, subliminal messages) but also how rhythm facilitates both moving and thinking in synchrony; a pulse of coordinated sound- and brainwaves.

Repress

Properly head-melting debut album from Beatrice Dillon featuring/including contributions from Kuljit Bhamra, Laurel Halo, Batu, Untold, Kadialy Kouyate, Jonny Lam, Verity Susman, Kenichi Iwasa, Lucy Railton, Petter Eldh, James Rand and Morgan Buckley...bit early to call aoty 2020?

"‘Workaround’ is the lucidly playful and ambitious solo debut album by rhythmobsessive musician and DJ, Beatrice Dillon for PAN. It combines her love of UK club music’s syncopated suss and Afro- Caribbean influences with a gamely experimental approach to modern composition and stylistic fusion, using inventive sampling and luminous mixing techniques adapted from modern pop to express fresh ideas about groove-driven music and perpetuate its form with timeless, future-proofed clarity. Recorded over 2017-2019 between studios in London, Berlin and New York, ‘Workaround’ renders a hypnotic series of polymetric permutations at a fixed 150bpm tempo.

Mixing meticulous FM synthesis and harmonics with crisply edited acoustic samples from a wide range of guests including UK Bhangra pioneer Kuljit Bhamra (tabla); Pharoah Sanders Band’s Jonny Lam (pedal steel guitar); techno innovators Laurel Halo (synth/vocal) and Batu (samples); Senegalese Griot Kadialy Kouyaté (Kora), Hemlock’s Untold and new music specialist Lucy Railton (cello); amongst others, Dillon deftly absorbs their distinct instrumental colours and melody into 14 bright and spacious computerised frameworks that suggest immersive, nuanced options for dancers, DJs and domestic play. ‘Workaround’ evolves Dillon’s notions in a coolly unfolding manner that speaks directly to the album’s literary and visual inspirations, ranging from James P. Carse’s book ‘Finite And Infinite Games’ to the abstract drawings of Tomma Abts or Jorinde Voigt as well as painter Bridget Riley’s essays on grids and colour. Operating inside this rooted but mutable theoretical wireframe, Dillon’s ideas come to life as interrelated, efficient patterns in a self-sufficient system. With a naturally fractal-not-fractional logic, Dillon’s rhythms unfold between unresolved 5/4 tresillo patterns, complex tabla strokes and spark-jumping tics in a fluid, tactile dance of dynamic contrasts between strong/light, sudden/restrained, and bound/free made in reference to the notational instructions of choreographer Rudolf Laban. Working in and around the beat and philosophy, the album’s freehand physics contract and expand between the lissom rolls of Bhamra’s tabla in the first, to a harmonious balance of hard drum angles and swooping FM synth cadence featuring additional synth and vocal from Laurel Halo in ‘Workaround Two’, while the extruded strings of Lucy Railton create a sublime tension at the album’s palatecleansing denouement, triggering a scintillating run of technoid pieces that riff on the kind of swung physics found in Artwork’s seminal ‘Basic G’, or Rian Treanor’s disruptive flux with a singularly tight yet loose motion and infectious joy. Crucially, the album sees Dillon focus on dub music’s pliable emptiness, rather than the moody dematerialisation of reverb and echo.

The substance of her music is rematerialised in supple, concise emotional curves and soberly freed to enact its ideas in balletic plies, rugged parries and sweeping, capoeira-like floor action. Applying deeply canny insight drawn from her years of practice as sound designer, musician and hugely knowledgable/intuitive DJ, ‘Workaround’ can be heard as Dillon’s ingenious solution or key to unlocking to perceptions of stiffness, darkness or grid-locked rigidity in electronic music. And as such it speaks to an ideal of rhythm-based and experimental music ranging from the hypnotic senegalese mbalax of Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force, through SND and, more currently, the hard drum torque of DJ Plead; to adroitly exert the sensation of weightlessness and freedom in the dance and personal headspace."

De:tuned continue to celebrate their 10th anniversary with this second EP of the series and dive deep down into the ambient techno world. The A side makes you drift away on a rare Sun Electric get together, followed by a Higher Intelligence Agency piece of beauty. DeepChord's dubbed lushness completes this highly intense journey.
Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Pressed on 180 gr vinyl and a separate digital version will be available from the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!

LIMITED EDITION COLOURED VINYL!

As witnessed in the preceding decades of electronic music fragmentation, it is a bit of a phenomenon that entire threads of sound exist elusively between the tempos and syncopation of rhythm and percussion of each respective genre. just as dubstep was evolved into & somewhat stumbled upon it is somewhat certain that many more areas of illumination lurk in the echoes & shadows of sound.

As has been hinted on sonically with Surface Tension I, Clubroot's previous release & first foray into the second decade of the new millennium, the elusive aforementioned producer from St. Albans has managed to alloy a new sound with the swing and BPM of uk garage, space, air and atmosphere of true dubstep, and with all the unparalleled virtuosity and unmistakable aural DNA of Clubroot, which we dare say is rarely equaled. in doing so, clubroot illuminates the realm of uk garage and electronic music in general towards a currently unforeseen future.

Surface Tension: II further explores these discoveries and further reinvents them in the process. starting with the expansive 'Infatuated'; with its gradual, intensifying movements towards the ultimate reveal, and supported by the equally singular 'Explorer' and 'For You', Surface Tension: II is as much an additional high watermark in clubroot's overall discography as it is a companion piece to Surface Tension: I in both its genre-straddling style and overall ethos, with the vinyl release being pressed on one-time 'solar flare' color vinyl featuring moving original art which stylistically continues the narrative through the as of yet not fully revealed tetraptych.

This is the first single taken from Remute's new album 'Play The Game' and you can sing a long to it in the shower. Get Lucky meets Bubblegum Crisis meets YMO meets 16bit videogames meets.........
Specials: Includes Remute-Sticker and signed autograph collector card!

Versalife's second release for 20/20 Vision sees Dutch producer Boris Bunnik aka Conforce return with another slab of signature electro. 'Clandestine Development' serves up dark tones and melodies layered within insistent electro beats and growling bass, that sounds huge on big room systems. 'Aegis' delivers a double dose of mechanical funk, played over atmospheric strings and auditory acid delights. On the B side 'Lamba' continues to impress with a moody laidback bass line holding the groove down over a solid rhythm & dystopian keys. Wrapping things up the title track 'Asimov's Code' plays out like war drums from space pounding away after a blissful intro of building synths.

- the Picture You See Is No Portrait Of Me (true Faith 1989) With innere Tueren', Ergin Erteber Publishes His Artistic Approach To Sound And Vision. It Is A Journey In Which Sound And Images
Unite Compellingly And Form Multidimensional Spaces.
After A 5-year Period Of Experimentation, innere Tueren' Is His Decampment And, At The Same Time, His Liberation From The Dogma Of The Often Functionality-reduced Claim In Electronic Music. With Him Sound Formations Arise Exclusively Through Images, Already In Existence. He Sets These Images To Music And Fills Them With An Emotionality That Was Hardly Heard Before.
Born And Raised In Heidelberg, Ergin Erteber Has Always Been A Prisoner Of His Very Own World Of Images, Which Later Led To His Intense Involvement In Design And Photography. Constant Companion In These Times Was The Music With The Result That He Had To Merge Both Worlds For Himself.
In The Course Of This His Way Led Him To Darmstadt Where He Discovered Music-production In Addition To His Studies. At The Same Time, He Was Both Creatively And Musically Involved In The Art And Club Project galerie Kuzweil'. In This Environment, He Was Able To Gain Many Experiences That Were Certainly Also Formative For His Approach To Music.
His Previous Projects Such As things From The Basement' Also Show Stages Of This Development. In This Particular Collaboration With Steffen Neuert (bergheim 34) It Was Already Apparent That He Was Less Concerned With Functionality, But Rather With Aesthetics And Charisma - In A Figurative Sense, A Rapprochement With The concept Of Beauty' By Umberto Ecos, Whereby Here Rather The Ear As The Eye Is The Center Of Perception. This Approach Is Now Even More Delicate In innere Tueren'.
With The Help Of Jan Barich (map.ache) Ergin Erteber Has Now Been Able To Translate His Own Fragile-poignant Soul Language Into Wonderful Music. The Album, Which By The Way Was Mastered By Josh Bonati In New York, Appears On March 22nd In 2019 On Kann. On 21.03.2019 An Exhibition For The Album Will Take Place In The Gallery Ortloff In Leipzig.

At bleedin' last, The Boats' gorgeous debut album Songs By The Sea (2004) turns up on vinyl! Along with first-ever vinyl issues of We Made It For You (2005) and Tomorrow Time (2006), plus a very special side of unreleased, unheard outtakes, Static Clings (2017) - which are all collected in the The Boats Archive boxset, you should snap these limited runs while you can as they're unlikely to appear on wax again.

Scrolling thru the mists of time to 2004, a very different world indeed, and The Boats formed as an outlet for Kraftwerk-addicted composer Andrew Hargreaves and his pal, Craig Tattersall, fresh from a decade spent with cult post-rock group Hood and as half of The Remote Viewer, to pursue the ideas of post-rock, modern classical and lo-fi electronica along more intimate, personalised ginnels of folk and ambient music, with the cherry on their home-baked treats provided by vocals from another close friend, Elaine Reynolds.

Songs By The Sea was their wistful and charmingly humble introduction to the world; ten tracks balancing exquisitely pop-wise songwriting with gently pulsing, elusive electronics and a patina of crackle that became a real signature of their sound long before everyone else cottoned on and starting putting out pale imitations.

At the time, it received heavy rotation in our record shop, Pelicanneck, and was something of a shared secret between fans from Manchester to Japan via their home-town of Burnley, and still owns a certain section of our memory banks to this day that's often triggered by the smell of coffee, waffles and toasted rye bread in the morning just as much as smudged Hulme sunsets in summertime.

We don't want to gush about it too much but, listening to it now, and on a format the album always quietly yearned for, it's just chokingly nostalgic in its own, low-key and endearing style and leaves little doubt in our minds that Songs By The Sea is one of the finest ambient-pop records to emerge from this region.

Italy, Germany, and France come together for Ombra INTL 009. Wishing you well in the 6th dimension ocean we call life. Parisian darkwave duo ORDER89 join Berlin's Local Suicide and Curses and Psychedelic guitar trip of Italy's Amarcord and Parma's Dark disco champion Dog.ma.

Sixth release on Danish label Petrola 80 is the blissful debut album by ambient/experimental artist Merdh Laleh. Featuring saxophones, choir, drums and much more, Merdh Laleh explores ambient emotions through a Lynchian dreamscape packed with emotion on a total of 10 tracks, showcasing his characteristic playfulness and experimentation in sound. Emotional electro-acoustic music anno 2019.

(Please note these are handpaintesd sleeves that have been handled and aren't always perfect - part of their charm - but please be aware)

One of 2020’s most distinctive new dance and electronic soul LPs, ‘Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes’ sees Kuduro auteur Nídia come into her own with a strikingly fresh, deep and original showcase of Afro-Portuguese dance music.
Five years on from Nídia’s debut 12”, and notable recent production and remix work for Fever Ray, Kelela and Yaeji, the Lisbon/Bordeaux-based wunderkind’s 2nd album lays out a supremely supple and crisply defined sound placing a critical, dare-to-be-different spin on elements of the African Zouk, Kuduro, Tarraxho and US R&B sounds she grew up with. Now after becoming something of a cult one-to-watch, and still only barely in her 20’s, Nídia’s sound has patently matured in terms of its emotional levity and pacing, but at no expense to the thrilling, rude angularity of her early 12” and 2017 debut LP ‘Nídia É Má, Nídia É Fudida’. Nídia’s music is now just cooler, concentrated and on-point stylish in a remarkable way that uncannily matches the mood of the times.
Showing off sharply honed melodic sensibilities and nudging her drums into singular syncopations, Ndia’s subtle but radical alteration to her sound now calls to mind beats by Timbaland, Lenky, The Neptunes or Equiknoxx (even LL Cool J) as much as her label mates on Príncipe. By stripping her sound down to its essence, rather than cluttering with FX or bait sounds, she’s arrived at a raw dancefloor blueprint that’s tough playing but sensitive, unafraid to go slow, heavy and heads-down in the club while also packing combustible peaks of excitement.
With effortless suss, Nídia shifts from an ‘Intro’ of experimental rave minimalism comparable to Rian Treanor,
to a mix of Arabic wind motifs and clipped Deep South bounce recalling Virginia Beach’s best on ‘Popo’, while a trio of ‘Rap’ instrumentals tilt the game from mutant drill to 3-step sickness and a super strong nod to LL Cool J’s ‘I Need Love’. Zipped in with the a bubbling 8-bit slow banger ’Tarraxo do Guetto’ and grimy shockout eruption of ‘Capacidades’, Nídia’s cool hand on the pressure gauge keeps interest rapt until the finalé fanfare of ‘Emotions’, which surely matches the likes of Lex Luger or The Dream’s brassy mini-symphonies for emotive grip, but in a less muscular, more sensitively ambiguous way that Nídia coolly owns.

Exceptional, humid tarraxho beatdown pressure from Lisbon/Bordeaux-based wunderkind Nídia, accompanying her killer 2nd album.
Spinning off from the slower highlights of her album, ‘Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes’, Nídia’s 7” perfectly displays the subtly radical advances in her productions style on two achingly squashed and rude swivels that set her sound head and shoulders apart from the crowd.
Initially soft and tentative, but ultimately hard and freaky, ’Tarraxoz Academy’ plays out a heavy, druggy tension between its burning, biting point electro-leads, wavey organ refrain and dragging drums that recalls a screwed take on an imaginary DJ Stingray & Nkisi joint.
The modern rare groove of ’Cheirinho’ on the other hand comes marks a leap forward, or even sideways, from what you may expect from her early work, draping velvet chords on a natty swing beat like Omar-S gone broken beat or Dego doing Angolan R&B.

Italian producer and musician DJ Rocca (AKA Luca Roccatagliati) is back on Nang. Rocca has been around the dance music block a few times; having collaborated with the likes of Howie B, Zed Bias, Daniele Baldelli and Jazzanova. He has also remixed a whole host of artists such as Oliver Koletzki, Luke Solomon, Blaze and even Flock of Seagulls.

Now our friend gets his own spotlight to shine with his debut solo artist album, Isole.

'Isole' consists of eight eclectic songs; the steady, deep beats of 'Alcatraz','Taquile' and 'Hong Kong' juxtapose the euphoric 'Tokyo', a warm sunset of a track. 'Nassau', written with fellow Rome-based Rodion showcases sensual and percussive waves of synth, whereas 'Favignana', written with Kool Water (aptly named after an Island off the southern coast of Italy) takes you deep underwater through its distorted build-up. 'Stone Town', written with Dimitri from Paris who is influenced by 1970s funk and disco, encompasses the marimba in keeping with the beachy feel of the record. Finally, the jazzy track 'London' written with Jukka Reverberi could have been inspired by DJ Rocca's work with the critically acclaimed jazz musician Franco D'Andrea, with whom DJ Rocca created the 'Electric Tree Project' which fuses jazz and electronics.

DJ Rocca has been touring his energetic sets globally over the last few years in clubs in Berlin, Paris, London, Oslo, Bruxelles, Vienna, Zurich, Bern, Helsinki, Brazil, Turkey and Croatia. Stay tuned for more solo and collaborative venture on Nang too.

Maenad Veyl returns with his sophomore album, ‘Reassessment’, a collection of 13 tracks inspired by inner turmoil and change. Expanding on the sound palette established with last year’s critically-acclaimed ‘Body Count’, Feriero ventures into heavier, more abstract territories and collaborations with Years of Denial.
I wrote a new album as Maenad Veyl at the end of last year, in part inspired by events surrounding some personal health issues and a (minor) surgery. I wanted the music, title and artwork (shot over a year ago) to reflect what I experienced then, as I saw them as a metaphor to other changes I was going through at the time.?
Needless to say, as we geared up for release as we usually do, the world ground to a halt. All the images , words printed or spoken on the album have changed meaning since and, compared to what many people are going through now, my “inspiring changes” feel distant and unimportant.?
We’re not blind to the fact this could be seen as inappropriate or in bad taste, and we’ve contemplated every alternative, but in the end we’ve decided to keep things as “business as usual” as possible, so ‘Reassessment’ is now up for pre-order. - Maenad Veyl

If you dig electro, you should be well aware of the work of Transparent Sound. The Bognor Regis-based label has been serving up killer cuts and must-have EPs since the mid 1990s, though it's been rather quiet in recent years. In fact, "Gently Evil" is founder Orson Brambley's first album length excursion for almost a decade, making it a real event release. Kicking off with the bubbly intergalactic ambient of "Pretend Like You Care", the nine track album sees the veteran production partnership alternate between snappy electro club cuts, deeper electronic excursions, heady sci-fi soundscapes, punchy Motor City techno workouts and the kind of dark, unearthly dancefloor fare once associated with Drexciya. It is, then, a well thought out and executed album where the quality threshold remains impressively high throughout.

Yellow Vinyl

Parallel zu seinem Mini-Album "Night Melody" veröffentlicht der Londoner Elektronik-Songwriter Ryan Lee West aka Rival Consoles eine limitierte Neuauflage seiner EP "Sonne" auf gelbem Vinyl.

Die 12'' war erstmals 2014 in die Läden gekommen. Der Titelsong beginnt mit einem "sehr subtilen Set von Melodien, welches sich fast gänzlich ohne Überzeugung wiederholt, um dann schrittweise einer riesigen Collage an Farbe und Kraft Platz zu machen", um es mit Wests Worten auszudrücken. Indem es sich nicht auf einen konventionellen Beat verlässt, ist dieses Stück ein erstklassiges Beispiel dafür, wie ein analoger Synthesizer die Kraft und das Moment einer ganzen Rhythmusgruppe erschaffen kann.

Von den verzerrten Wellen in "3 Chords", gleichermaßen wachsend und schrumpfend, bis hin zu den sich kontinuierlich beschleunigenden und verlangsamenden, rhythmischen Wellen in "Recovery", bilden der Moog Voyager, Prophet und ein altes Bandverzögerungsgerät den Kernsound der EP. In Songs wie "Helios", "Haunt' und "Think Tank" ist West wiederum live an der Akustik-Gitarre oder dem Schlagzeug zu hören

New label from Belgium bringing together some uncompromised electro by a selection of very talented producers, curated by label-boss DerDieDas (aLOSTaSOULS). Featuring Cleromancer (Unic) with a peak-hour anthem from the 'Unic' free-space parties, Innershades, who transposes his trademark sound to a classic sounding night-driving companion. The B-side goes into heavier territory with both DerDieDas and AR delivering some ruthless robotic grooveriders. ZwaarteKracht 1 is the first installment in what will be a series of 4 releases this year.

Early support from Goldfox (StuBru), Dj Kronic, Chao Xin, Tonlistina, Electrodos, Innershades, Intergalactic FM, We Are Various

Vesa-Matti Kivioja has been making waves as an integral part of the multi-faceted Ljudverket & Meltdown Deejays crews in his native Finland for many years. His productions merge 80's ambient & library stylings with John Hassell-esque soundscaping, live percussions and vintage drum-computer programming drenched in fathoms deep kaleidoscopic dubbing and mixing. This particular EP is all of the above, the sound of rural Western Finland thawing after the hard-bitten winter months, each track inspired by Kivioja's fascination with various species of lizard, hence the EP & track titles.

Two celebrated collaborative recordings by Croatian Amor & Varg2TM available on limited vinyl for the very first time! “Body of Water” from 2018 was the first collaboration between Croatian Amor & Varg- 5 tracks of aquatic ambient celebrating the myth of brilliant summers. It was followed in late 2019 by the lean and quick, beatdriven “Body of Carbon”. Now available together on limited vinyl presented in black disco sleeve with printed labels. "Hazmat bouquets drenched in rain, A tiny piece of coral on a chain around neck, An invitation to see the miracle in the things around us. Croatian Amor & Varg2TM together. Contemporary electronic music.

For all you Potatoheads out there. C'est l'invasion francaise! Grinding NEO-EBM by the Dauphinois Amato with a remix by the Lyonnais Umwelt. Brought to you by 'eine Kartoffel'!

Some bots run automatically, while others only execute commands when they receive specific input. MATRIX EP!

2x12"

Finn’s 2 B Real bootyque drop his killer 82 min vinyl edit of Tom Boogizm’s prized live introduction to mysterious G, Michael J Blood, originally broadcast on NTS, issued on sold-out tape, and now newly cut on 2LP with track markers for DJ navigation and primed for smoky lockdown bopping - think Manny’s answer to Moodyman, Urban Tribe or Theo Parrish!
Meticulously distilled by Finn from the original cult NTS show and its sought-after tape edition, it’s as much a showcase for Michael J. Blood’s rudely soulful production and his circle as the deadly DJ tekkers of Tom Boogizm and Finn’s edit chops. Since the origi9nal 2017 broadcast the mix has been coveted for its bounty of unreleased cuts - a mixture of rude ghettotech and smoky soul-sampling jams - and the way it was stitched together, on-the-fly by Wigan’s funkiest son Boogizm - whose recent Shotta Tapes editions have sold out in minutes.
Now prepped by Demdike’s Miles Whittaker and cut to vinyl at D&M, the project enters a rare sub-subgenre of mixtapes on vinyl, packing 20 mins per side, with track marks highlighting Blood’s most in demand numbers, and all juggled in a classic Chicago and Detroit-via-Manchester style ideal for settee slomping or lockdown house-party function.
Trimmed to 80 mins of lean, it toggles the vibe back ’n forth between red-eyed studio abstraction, slompy Dilla-esque beats, synth-funk vamps and mutant ghetto-tech/Jit/juke with a charming, CDJazz loucheness, and keeps the gauge ticking up with a ruder feminine pressure recalling Finn’s own productions, and crucially includes some proper nifty, hands-on the 2000s chops by the Boogizm that sound like RP Boo, Slackk or DJ Rashad’s footwork flips of classic funk or even Actress’ classic Thriller edits, crisply framed and hewn for DJ use.
Trust it’s the lick. Do not sleep on this!

"This is the story about a love affair with once modern technologies. It's told by Sowiet drummachines and Sci-Fi synthlines arranged in playful minimalism and mixed with Detroit futuristics. A Leipzig label collaboration between YUYAY, PossblThings and R.A.N.D. presents this multifaceted music by Kirill Junolainen. Download-Code for whole 20-track album included."

‘One of our favourites’ iD Magazine

‘Mesmerizing’ The Guardian

‘Keep an eye on this guy!’ - Gilles Peterson


Catching Flies’ music draws from a wide-ranging palette of influences including jazz, soul, hip-hop, house and electronica and has previously seen him handpicked by Bonobo to provide support on his World Tour. Over the past few years, his music has gathered the support of Gilles Peterson, Annie Mac, Lauren Laverne, Julie Adenuga & Huw Stephens, critical acclaim from the likes of iD Magazine, The Guardian, Dazed & Confused, and Nowness, and a growing fanbase which has seen him perform both Live and DJ sets across the UK, Europe, the USA and Asia. This has culminated in over 60,000,000 streams to date.

Catching Flies is set to release debut album ‘Silver Linings’ on 5th July 2019. Containing shades of house and jazz, to hip-hop and electronica, ‘Silver Linings’ is a melodic mesh of bright electronics and intricate rhythms. It’s a beautiful, moving record, with sounds that unmistakably come straight from the heart.

Producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ George King began Catching Flies in late 2012, when he recorded and self released his first two EPs. With huge radio and press support around the world - including multiple #1’s on Hype Machine, BBC Radio support from Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone, Annie Mac, Huw Stephens; praise from i-D, Dazed, The Guardian, Complex, Notion, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Dummy and more - he’s since attracted millions of listeners.

Against his instincts he signed with a big management agency and got talking to a label: it almost derailed his career. He explains “What I'd found so inspiring originally was the total freedom to make a tune on my own terms and just decide to put it out the next week. There was a hunger that came with that, and a sense of achievement from being the driving force, but as soon as I tampered with that ecosystem, it wasn't as exciting anymore”.

Touring with electronic music giant Bonobo - who also included him on his BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix - allowed him to watch up close someone who had taken a slow and steady path from tiny clubs in Brighton to arenas worldwide, and see it was possible to do without any compromise. After being teased through a succession of warmly received singles this past year, and seven years on from that first EP recorded and released from his bedroom, his debut album ‘Silver Linings’ is now ready to be revealed.

“It's taken me a while because I didn't want to speak until I had something to say. I wanted to make something positive, hopeful and colourful...The world isn't in the best place at the moment, and the last thing it needs is another dark and moody electronic record. I wanted ‘Silver Linings’ to be a scrapbook of the last three years. It’s definitely eclectic, and it’s supposed to be. Over three years a lot changes, your perspectives change, your tastes change; and I wanted to celebrate that by picking tracks that meant the most to me. One of my favourite things about making music is that it takes me right back to where I made it - the keyboard I used, the chair I was sitting on, the room I was in. It kind of teleports you back to a certain point in your life. A bit like a diary entry.”

Recalling those moments brings back a range of memories: ‘Satisfied’ began by being tapped out on a £15 keyboard bought from Kentish Town Cash Converters, ‘Yǔ’ was made in the mountains of China during a few days off from touring, while an evening on Hampstead Heath inspired ‘Kite Hill Theme’. Also featuring on the album is ‘New Gods,’ a collaboration with London’s bright stars Jay Prince and Oscar Jerome and the beautiful and meditative ‘Opals,’ inspired by the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto.

Catching Flies is already looking to the future, closing the first chapter in an exciting and inspiring story, ‘Silver Linings’ is only the beginning.

“A few weeks after I finished the album, I moved out of my house I made all the music in, so it feels like the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. I can’t wait to make the next one now.”

‘One of our favourites’ iD Magazine

‘Mesmerizing’ The Guardian

‘Keep an eye on this guy!’ - Gilles Peterson


Catching Flies’ music draws from a wide-ranging palette of influences including jazz, soul, hip-hop, house and electronica and has previously seen him handpicked by Bonobo to provide support on his World Tour. Over the past few years, his music has gathered the support of Gilles Peterson, Annie Mac, Lauren Laverne, Julie Adenuga & Huw Stephens, critical acclaim from the likes of iD Magazine, The Guardian, Dazed & Confused, and Nowness, and a growing fanbase which has seen him perform both Live and DJ sets across the UK, Europe, the USA and Asia. This has culminated in over 60,000,000 streams to date.

Catching Flies is set to release debut album ‘Silver Linings’ on 5th July 2019. Containing shades of house and jazz, to hip-hop and electronica, ‘Silver Linings’ is a melodic mesh of bright electronics and intricate rhythms. It’s a beautiful, moving record, with sounds that unmistakably come straight from the heart.

Producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ George King began Catching Flies in late 2012, when he recorded and self released his first two EPs. With huge radio and press support around the world - including multiple #1’s on Hype Machine, BBC Radio support from Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone, Annie Mac, Huw Stephens; praise from i-D, Dazed, The Guardian, Complex, Notion, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Dummy and more - he’s since attracted millions of listeners.

Against his instincts he signed with a big management agency and got talking to a label: it almost derailed his career. He explains “What I'd found so inspiring originally was the total freedom to make a tune on my own terms and just decide to put it out the next week. There was a hunger that came with that, and a sense of achievement from being the driving force, but as soon as I tampered with that ecosystem, it wasn't as exciting anymore”.

Touring with electronic music giant Bonobo - who also included him on his BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix - allowed him to watch up close someone who had taken a slow and steady path from tiny clubs in Brighton to arenas worldwide, and see it was possible to do without any compromise. After being teased through a succession of warmly received singles this past year, and seven years on from that first EP recorded and released from his bedroom, his debut album ‘Silver Linings’ is now ready to be revealed.

“It's taken me a while because I didn't want to speak until I had something to say. I wanted to make something positive, hopeful and colourful...The world isn't in the best place at the moment, and the last thing it needs is another dark and moody electronic record. I wanted ‘Silver Linings’ to be a scrapbook of the last three years. It’s definitely eclectic, and it’s supposed to be. Over three years a lot changes, your perspectives change, your tastes change; and I wanted to celebrate that by picking tracks that meant the most to me. One of my favourite things about making music is that it takes me right back to where I made it - the keyboard I used, the chair I was sitting on, the room I was in. It kind of teleports you back to a certain point in your life. A bit like a diary entry.”

Recalling those moments brings back a range of memories: ‘Satisfied’ began by being tapped out on a £15 keyboard bought from Kentish Town Cash Converters, ‘Yǔ’ was made in the mountains of China during a few days off from touring, while an evening on Hampstead Heath inspired ‘Kite Hill Theme’. Also featuring on the album is ‘New Gods,’ a collaboration with London’s bright stars Jay Prince and Oscar Jerome and the beautiful and meditative ‘Opals,’ inspired by the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto.

Catching Flies is already looking to the future, closing the first chapter in an exciting and inspiring story, ‘Silver Linings’ is only the beginning.

“A few weeks after I finished the album, I moved out of my house I made all the music in, so it feels like the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. I can’t wait to make the next one now.”

You might know Peter Matson as the founder, frontman, and guitarist of NYC-based breakout band Underground System, who recently released a debut album of otherworldly global-dance anthems (on Soul Clap's self titled imprint) and have been touring their live show at venues around the US. Matson's roots, while nestled in worldly live sounds, also firmly grip deeper dance music styles, though they manage to still pack a refreshingly eclectic energy.

His debut EP 'Short Trips' for Brooklyn's Bastard Jazz connects the dots between his time moving bodies in the club as a DJ, as well as in his group as a guitarist and producer, though this record is better suited for a woozy club floor. "Roma Norte" kicks off the wax with its soulful cocktail of latin-house styles and hypnotic basslines that would elevate the opening hours of any club night. Deep house legend and Freerange Records boss Jimpster provides an ethereal, creative remix that delves into afro-house territory. "3AM to Sete" is a warm and bubbly deep house tune that sounds like something you might hear late-night in a South London nightclub—it's all warm bass vibrations and subtle synth explorations. Matson's seasoned instrumental skills shine on "126," another breezy synth jam with just enough punch to make you move, eyes closed, of course. 'Short Trips' sounds like the work of someone not interested in where one scene ends and the other begins, but instead, where they connect.

Independent labels have always been risky ventures, marred by uncertainty; you never know how long they'll last for.

Yet, for more than 15 years, Cosmo Vitelli has kept I'm a Cliché going. During this time, his label, its releases, and the artists behind them have found their place in the musical landscape, standing proudly and defiantly in the margins, a place where music is always more interesting and fluid than right in the middle of the spotlight.

After countless EPs, several albums and a compilation, a new chapter in I’m a Cliché’s story begins, one with a greatly reduced release schedule. To mark this turning point, the label releases Bongo Beats & Bankruptcy, its second compilation ever.

Aesthetically coherent and simultaneously diverse in its expressions, Bongo Beats & Bankruptcy is a celebration of the label (and the label manager’s) quirks and eccentricities and a tongue-in-cheek snapshot that brilliantly captures the label’s DNA, featuring friends and allies along with newer faces on 13 exclusive tracks scattered over 3 LPs.

Whether they are downtempo, uptempo or ambient like Orestt's contribution, each tune on this compilation distills in its own idiosyncratic way I’m a Cliché’s essence: electronic music influenced by club culture but in no way constrained to the dancefloor. Ivan Smagghe & Marc Collin’s analog synth track by their acclaimed Volga Select project, June’s dreamy tune at the crossroads between wave and kraut influences, Coy’s mutant synth arpeggios, and an old-school wave cut by Oliver Decrow mixed by Dunkeltier are all tracks boldly standing on the dancefloor's margins.

For those looking for club-ready tracks that with I’m a Cliché’s one-of-a-kind atmosphere will surely find what they are after in an downtempo edit of Awkward Corners, a bouncy and melodic IDM not IDM number by Rouge Mécanique, a bleeps & pan-pipes affair by Benoît B, an esoteric dance-rock number with stated Lynch influences by Fantastic Twins, a freaky electro cut by Linja, a melancholic 707 driven banger by Krikor and finally an anxious and forward-thinking half-stepper by label head Cosmo Vitelli.

En Transito is a document of the evolution of the Ambien Baby collaboration between D Tiffany and NAP. An ode to friendship and creative symbiosis. The tracks on this record showcase the project from its beginnings in 2015 to present day.

Following a series of standout releases on stateside imprint, Astral Plane, E.M.M.A returns to Coyote Records for the first time proper with new 12', 'Mindmaze / Pumpkin Emoji'. Having first provided a remix on Spokes' inaugural EP ('Green Eyes') for the label back in 2015, E.M.M.A has since kick-started her Angel Food radio show on NTS alongside Aimee Cliff, and also established Producer Girls — a nationwide workshop initiative aimed at helping aspiring women get into music production. On 'Mindmaze', described by E.M.M.A. herself as 'medieval funky' and originally made as a special for Mumdance on Rinse FM, she pokes fun at the club, going in sample-heavy and re-fixing anthemic Windows 95-era melodies over a stampeding, heavyset 4x4 beat. This tune is a homage to the Encarta 95 CD ROM', she explains. On the flip meanwhile, 'Pumpkin Emoji' references the glossy, crystalline textures and lo-slung 808 bass of early E.M.M.A. gems like 2014's 'Light Years', a potent reminder of why she remains one of the UK's most innovative and quietly rebellious club producers.

Ikonika's third album 'Distractions' builds on 2013's 'Aerotropolis', and the title answers the question Why has the album taken so long' In the last few years she's been building up a strong CV of remixes, from Chvurches to Dawn Richard, Austra and Junior Boys, as well as DJing and working on this album. 'Distractions' distils the character of Ikonika's music productions across a wider set of styles than previous albums, and she subtly fuses and switches elements from contrasting genres, giving the whole set a uniqueness and consistency that puts it in its own lane. Furthermore what sits at the centre of 'Distractions' more than ever is her love of R&B and hip hop, in all its forms, which has opened the door to bring in a selection of guests in a way she's not fully explored before. From the full throttle blend of grime and 80s synth soul 'Noblest' with Andrea Galaxy, to the reflective 'Sacrifice' with up and coming MC Jammz, a slowjam that merges dubstep with hip house drums. The final vocal track is the languid 'Hazefield' co-produced with Sweyn J and featuring Jessy Lanza on vocals. Its mix of mechanic clunk and minimalist, lulling funk could only happen in 2017. The LP artwork takes its inspiration from West London's Golden Mile, a stretch of the Great West Road where the A4 meets the M4, and the road takes on the character of the arcade game Poll Position, with art deco factories and illuminated, hi-tech signage selling lifestyle products. It's this kind of mix of futuristic and industrious with a touch of gentle glamour that the album exudes.

About The Word Collected Works

The Word is one of the better-kept secrets of 1980s Austrian disco music. Yet once you put the needle on this record, you notice that it sounds oddly familiar. The awe-inspiring signature piece “Lobster” has the same analogue, slow-moving aesthetic as Zenit’s timeless “Waiting” that was featured on Edition Hawara’s first release. The same goes for the three other wonderfully unconventional, proto-electronic songs: “Easy”, “All my life” and the eponymous “the word”. And there are even more commonalities with Zenit’s LP: The vocals are Linda Sharrock’s, who here teamed up with Karl “Charly” Ratzer and Peter Ponger, the twin brother of legendary Falco producer Robert Ponger. The result of this collaboration is, well, also quite legendary. How this kind of sound emerged in Vienna in 1984 is still a bit of a mystery, but clearly all the stars were aligned when Sharrock, Ratzer and Ponger were jamming in the studio. We at Edition Hawara are very proud to share this secret with you. Just as there are very few lobsters in landlocked Vienna, there are very few records like this

out there.

Dutch studio wizard Billy Ray de la Haye drops a timeless and spaced out Mini-LP on eudemonia with six tracks made between the 90’s and 2019.

Gary Gritness presents The Legend Of Cherenkov Blue, the soundtrack to a cyber-funk tale of assassination, double-crossing, espionage and street hustling that will have your imagination running wild for the true narrative.

Gary takes you on an aural ride through bad-ass electro-funk; gnarly Roland 606 drum rhythms and soaring riffs glide over these 10 pieces, as the listener experiences every good deal gone wrong, every bad deal gone right, back-stabbing, stolen kisses and dirty scrapes that our hero goes through.

A concept album of the highest order, The Legend Of Cherenkov seamlessly blends its various musical chapters and unbridled variety, and takes you on a ride that'll have you picking the bits of seat out of your fingernails.

Having formerly appeared on Hypercolour, Clone and Nyami Nyami Records, this is Gary Gritness's debut full-length album. Live shows have enthralled the crowds at Glastonbury Festival, Dimensions, Unibeat Festival and many more.

Nathan rouses his Cambria Instruments label for his first album since 2017s ‘Providence’. ‘Blizzards’ is a returns to a clubbier sound, whilst keeping the melodic depth and rewarding narratives that have entranced his fans worldwide since his early records on Border Community and his seminal track ‘The Sky Was Pink’. Using a similar setup to his slamming live show, the album’s track were mostly recorded in one take with a deliberately limited hardware selection.

Working Men's Club announce a small run of remix 12”s, comprising of the brand new Anthony Naples remix and instrumental which will be released on November 15th' and placed in a limited Heavenly house bag. This comes after a previous reworking of the track by Factory Floor’s Gabe Gurnsey.

Heavenly’s Jeff Barrett says:
“We fancied one more remix, one with both feet on the dance floor - and it had to be Anthony Naples, the New York house/techno DJ and producer, whose recent album 'Fog FM' is considered sth. of a classic round our house.”

Anthony’s debut album Body Pill was released on Four Tet’s label in 2015 and his remix CV includes. 4 Tet & more recently Cinematic Orchestra. He's a cool dude, with a killer remix ...