Beats News

LP comes pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

On 29th March, Reclaimed Records are proud to present pianist and composer Taz Modi's elegant debut solo album 'Reclaimed Goods', which brings to light his love for contemporary composition – something which may come as a surprise to fans of soulful dance music heavyweights Submotion Orchestra, and jazz trumpeter Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Orchestra - for both of whom Modi plays keys/piano. Whilst also gaining further demand as a musician, including for A-list studio and live work for funk 'n' soul legends Dennis Coffey and Fred Wesley, plus beatmaker heroes DJ Shadow and Mr. Scruff, Modi has been discreetly pursuing an additional passion during down-time for years – and his prolonged, patient crafting shows in the record's tasteful and beautiful spirit.

Calling to mind the piano music of Cage, Frahm, Hauchska, Sakamoto and Aphex Twin, 'Reclaimed Goods' is a graceful affair, in which lush strings and gently pulsing rhythmic flutters sit alongside prepared and plaintive piano, with the tunes ranging from sparse beauty to weightier moments of electronic rhythms. This allows the music to appeal equally to fans of heavier electronic acts such as Cinematic Orchestra and Bonobo, to devotees of ambient and contemporary classical music, as well as those familiar with Modi's work with both Submotion Orchestra and Matthew Halsall.



Positive review by John Lewis for the Guardian's contemporary music album of the month section: 'An even more effective exploration of solo piano territory comes from British pianist Taz Modi; best known for his work in various jazz and funk ensembles, his solo debut Reclaimed Goods features a host of introspective instrumentals that are reminiscent, variously, of Ryuichi Sakamoto (Libra), Nils Frahm (Time to Practise, Crystalline) and Hauschka (Ethical Tourist).

Featured in Music Week's Tastemaker section, 15th April 2019 with Haydon Spenceley: 'Listen to it; it'll lift you high above our care-worn world to a place of safety and grace'.

First single 'Ethical Tourist' featured as a premiere on 18 Feb 2019

Second single 'Crystalline' premiered on Boiler Room's 4:3 video channel, 12 Mar 2019

'A kaleidoscopic album that seductively pulls you in and leaves you curious about the inspiration behind the songs' - AAA Music

Positive review on Magazine Sixty

Support on Soho Radio, Dom Servini

Played on Worldwide FM, April 3, Gondwana Records show

Featured on Bleep's Spotify playlist 'For Your Ears and For Your Head', April 2019

Played by Mischa Kreiskott, NDR Radio Germany, ndr.de

Worldwide FM's Gondwana Records show on May 1 featured an interview with Taz Modi, along with multiple tracks from the album.



Musicians:

Taz Modi – piano, keyboards/electronics, arrangement and production

Natalie Purton – violin + viola

Liz Hanks – cello

Margit van der Zwan – cello

Seb Hankins and Jon Scott – drums

PYRAMID TRANSMISSIONS presents the 2nd solo release on the label from PT creator ADJ.

STREET LIFE Part 2 continues the theme of Part 1 with another 4 tracks of bass driven future electro music from one of the longest standing members of the scene.

STREET LIFE Part 2 is more pure Future Bboy music with punching kick drums, Alien melodies and crunchy glitches for that unmistakable ADJ sound aimed at making you dance while getting in your head simultaneously. ADJ always looks to the future but with nods to his past of 808 electro music.

A BRUTALIST BLOW. A DARK EXERCISE IN PROGRESSION. A PUZZLE THAT OUTLIVES THE EXECUTION OF HARMONY.

Vanta is a construction for the savage. It reaches the profane along with the cryptical. The EP includes 5 tracks in which Zomby redetermines his access to techno by developing a language that is archaic. A language that is his own.

Compilation of Aardvarck mainly unreleased material from one of our favorite and dearest producers.
Limited Edition Of 300. Every sleeve is unique - achieved with a computer generated randomization process for each print.

New Fly-Lo.. First outing since 5 years!

Drawing the lines between the galaxies of hip-hop, funk, soul, jazz, global dance music, tribal poly-rhythms, IDM and the beat scene of his hometown L.A, Lotus creates a universe that is uniquely his own. Calling on an all-star cast from the cosmos, Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, David Lynch, Shabazz Palaces, Thundercat, Toro y Moi and Solange; Lotus takes these artists on an astral plane to explore his world of fire.

Airplay:
'Teleport' played on Tom Ravenscroft's show on BBC 6 MusicPrevious works played on Elizabeth Alker's 'Unclassified' on Radio 3 and 6 Music

DJ support
Elizabeth Alker (Radio 3/6 Music)

Good reviews:
"a truly special tune called 'Teleport'. A beatless melody – its arpeggios soar high on the air. You imagine the setting sun turns cloud to hues of pink and orange. The sky is awash with the remains of the day. Omori's weightless voice echoes into focus with the words 'teleporting, through the atmosphere'. Your body fades into the ether." - Timber Festival

Background of the release: a voyage through the universe.
"Voyage" sees the journey through outer space, soaring through the universe - "Teleport" following, depicting the other side, the unknown.
About the artist:
Hinako Omori is a musician and programmer based in London via Japan, with a love for synthesizers and anything that makes interesting sounds.Hinako initially learnt classical piano from the age of 5, but her fascination soon turned to analogue synthesizers after meeting her college Music Technology teacher who became a mentor. She went on to study the Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) course at the University of Surrey, where she met some of her closest friends and collaborators who she has been very fortunate to work with over the years in various studio and live projects.Aside from producing music for her solo project, Hinako has most recently been touring and playing synths with James Bay, Kate Tempest, KT Tunstall, Georgia, Ellie Goulding and Fionn Regan across Europe and the US, with festivals including Glastonbury, Primavera, Festival No.6 and support tours with The Flaming Lips, The Kills and Hot Chip.

On Otun, the breadth of Montoya’s influences and tastes is at its most striking; the dulcet techno hum of “La Pastora” is perforated by sprightly flutes and percussion, while lead single “Solo Quiero” deploys a languid reggaeton pattern beneath Bogota rising star Pedrina’s distorted, wilting croon anticipating a euphoric synthesiser-lead climax. The title track, featuring a sultry guest vocal from Nidia Gongora, is a fierce and vigorous club anthem, amplified by hissing synth pads and sordid breakbeats. Even a more straightforwardly techno track like “Tatacoa” is stylised with intoxicating Indian vocal samples, and more traditional folk selections like “Orun” still use an inobtrusive bassline drone. Montoya’s palette is simultaneously expansive and curious, yet coherent, with a steadily melodic electronic through-line running through Otun’s duration.
Montoya absolutely sustains ZZK’s pedigree of platforming the most exciting and inventive electronic artists from Latin America, joining the storied legacy already built by the likes of Nicola Cruz, Chancha Via Circuito, and King Coya. 

Stephane Severac's 1987 'Hold On' is one of those obscure slices of pop history whose memory was preserved by the deep diving Balearic heads of the world...

Tamburi Neri is an Italian music duo comprised of Brioski and Andrea Barbieri. Their debut single was 'Pelle Rossa' on JD Twitch's Optimo Music.

'Dolce Veleno' is Tamburi Neri's first release on Mad On The Moon, fusing techno drum lines with spoken word.

The second album from outfit Trauma Trauma contains a elevated blend of primitive electronic music. Humanized machine music that relates to the german label Sky's early 80's releases combined with lo-fi boogie/r'n'b excursions lost in the streets of Stockholm.

Bold, inventive, daring and electrifying, 'Vision Electrified' is Xhin's most personal work to date. An alchemy of IDM, jazz, techno and live instrumentation, the artist's latest polarizing EP breaks through the barriers, further carving his highly unique space out in the sonic universe.Full printed sleeve with coloured artwork on cardboardcreditsreleases June 14, 2019

Full printed sleeve with coloured artwork on cardboard. His last release was in 2017.

Synths, programming and guitars by Xhin
All tracks written and produced by Xhin
Recorded and mixed in Singapore
Vinyl mastering by Simon Davey at The Exchange, London
Artwork by Xhin

After a 5 year pause for breath, Rainer Veil return with their debut full length for Modern
Love; an immersive, kinematic tumble through electronic forms from hyper trance to
tape dub experiments and loose polyrhythms - a summoning of ‘ardcore spirits in flux.
A hypnotic soundworld tempered by weighty bass and angular construction, ‘Vanity’
marks a breaking away from the binds of overthinking, an embrace of imperfection. It’s
a brighter set of tracks then anything we’ve heard from Rainer Veil before, discarding the
foggy filters and guitar pedals that were the signature of their first two EP’s in pursuit of
a more loose-limbed and swung ideal.
Opening on the skeletal Trance vapour-trail ‘Sim Screen’ and the agitated ‘Repatterning’,
we head into a ferociously asymmetric warehouse swerve ‘In Gold Mills’ conjuring an
uncanny, nighttime vision of suburban bass riddled with tension and bliss. ‘Shallows’
retreats through isolation dub, echoing ‘Change Is Never Easy’, a re-worked House
template fractured to its bare percussive core, while ‘FM2’ entwines a double helix of DX7
patches with a heart wrench, and ‘Gauze’ dismantles a mosaic of Kwaito patterns, buried
under a haze of smoke.
Tracing rapidly mutating electronic forms, from ringtone hooks to latinate rhythms
and Razor synth edits, ‘Vanity’ explores an instinctive swell of ideas and influences in
perpetual and unstoppable forward motion, a sequence of flash frames captured and
distilled for posterity.

Overmono's Poly Kicks label returns with the next installment in it's '50 Locked Grooves' series. Joy O supplies 50 total killer vocal loops.

UK mastermind Phil Gamble aka Girl Unit makes a powerful return with Song Feel, his debut full-length album and first release since 2012’s acclaimed EP Club Rez, featuring Kelela, Taliwhoah, Ms Boogie and more.



An essential member of London’s eclectic Night Slugs camp, he’s back with a fully developed body of work featuring six key vocal collaborators. While still steeped in low-end pressure like his past work, Song Feel r eaches toward a classic timelessness: time-honoured elements of production sit seamlessly alongside the most contemporary sounds, as Girl Unit densely layers radio gloss and big melodies over beats that take influence from a variety of Club and Pop sources.



Since the start Girl Unit has always taken influence from pop, preferring to hear music with vocals both on and off the dancefloor. Here he has created a unique sonic environment for each of his collaborators to tell their story. The record opens with ‘WYWD’, featuring R&B iconoclast and long-time collaborator Kelela gliding over intimate street soul sonics and luminous funky leads. Next, a volatile West Coast bassline and stadium-size dancehall percussion guide British singer Taliwhoah through elegant synth washes on ‘Stuck’. On ‘Wreck’, Brooklyn rapper Ms Boogie spits hardcore verses that twist and turn along GU’s erratic lows, creepy atmospheres and drillin’ drums.



‘Pull Up’ featuring Tampa’s Thast delivering a menacing confrontational flow over gliding subs and eerie staccato. Los Angeleno Rush Davis sings metaphysical soul over a saccharine choir on the slow-burning ‘Evidence’. Lastly, London’s Brook Baili dances with big piano chords and jubilant basslines on the radio-ready swing of ’24 Hours’.



Though Girl Unit gave his features free reign vocally, clear themes of changing relationships in a modern era emerge across Song Feel, lending the record a curiously frothy yet intimate sensation. In-between, blissfully stripped-down instrumental interludes bind everything together, giving the album’s host and creator some much-deserved solo time.

-
1
Breach One
9' 36''
2
Interlude One
3' 26''
3
Breach Two
7' 05''
4
Breach Three
9' 32''
5
Interlude Two
2' 29''
6
Breach Four
7' 34''
Breach dives into chaotic systems and reflects on the recent events of protests and riots in the world, exploring the build up and release of tension and energy in a new form of pitch black metal electronics and polyrhythmic structures.

Zeno van den Broek is a Dutch-born, Copenhagen-based composer and artist. Van den Broek works in a multi-sensory way to research and express physical, social and acoustic notions. He utilises audiovisual means to create site and concept specific works. This trans-disciplinary method has a strong conceptual foundation, originating from a background in architecture, which enables Zeno to comprehend and reveal the richness and complexity of spatial, visceral and physical perception. He works with a characteristic artistic language based on minimalist and fundamental elements such as sine waves, lines, noise and grids.

Released on the occasion of Thomas Baldischwyler's booth in the collaboration section at ART COLOGNE 2019.Through a Soundcloud mix by London Crew Front Left Life, Baldischwyler was pointed to the mysterious Laton 12" VI AUX by the Austrian project FON (Formation ohne Namen) which was released in 1997. The project consisted of Johann Groiss und Manfred Söllner, but it was mainly Söllner who was responsible for the production. Baldischwyler got in contact with Söllner in 2018 when he stayed in Vienna and asked him if he could release some of his recent productions, for the second time - after 20 years - on vinyl. While reading a documentation about the SS division "Feldherrenhalle" burning some of the most important works of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (Especially "Schubert at the piano" from 1899) on the last day (May 8th, 1945) of the second world war in the Austrian manor house Immendorf, with this idea, Baldischwyler started to make the artwork and Söllner selected the tracks which are now in the "hidden" grooves beside the recording of a 1969 workshop for fire safety in California, USA.

ASA 808 delivers his debut mini album, merging his boundary-pushing club tracks with forward-thinking ambient & post-rock influences, dominating the space between the two.

Over the course of several EPs with the Berlin based TOYS label and an acclaimed three-tracker on George Fitzgerald's ManMakeMusic imprint, Asa has established himself as something far beyond a standard dance music producer. With every release, he hones his off-kilter approach to electronic music, continually adding new strokes of colour to his catalogue.

His debut mini-album is no exception: every track bleeds with melodic intricacy and brooding arrangements, showcasing Asa's unique capacity to flip the script.

DJ Support: Addison Groove, Alex Do, Avalon Emerson, Barker & Baumecker, Ben UFO, B. Traits, Breach, Charlotte de Witte, Damian Lazarus, Dark Sky, Erol Alkan, Etapp Kyle, Frits Wentink, George FitzGerald, James Zabiela, Leftfield, Maceo Plex, Marcel Dettmann, Marcel Fengler, Sasse, Skream, Tensnake, Tom Trago, Whitesquare

Repress available in early May.

Faitiche releases a new collaboration between the Japanese sound artist ASUNA and Jan Jelinek: the album Signals Bulletin brings together joint improvisations and compositions made over a period of three years in Berlin, Kyoto and Kanazawa. ASUNA’s meandering organ drones merge with Jelinek’s pulsating synthesizer and field recording loops to create dense superclusters that span broad harmonic arcs.

"Watching the Japanese sound artist ASUNA playing the organ, some people might be surprised. ASUNA is no virtuoso flying over the keyboard in a rage. Instead, with the calm gestures of an office worker, he cuts strips of adhesive tape to the correct length before sticking them onto the keys of his instrument. In this way, large clusters of keys are held down, creating a dense and sustained range of frequencies, while the sound artist continually prepares further sets of keys or removes tape again. I have rarely seen a more convincing performance concept, with such a power to fascinate.

I first met ASUNA when we both gave a concert at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, his home city. He performed the organ drones as described above and I immediately knew I wanted to collaborate with him. Six years and five meetings later, we completed Signals Bulletin. The album includes both joint improvisations and compositions, recorded in Berlin, Kanazawa and Kyoto.

Whether using prepared organ, Casio keyboards or mechanical plastic toys, ASUNA creates rich textures of sound that barely change over long stretches of time. It is a music without breaks. For a while, I was unsure how my loops made using modular synthesizers and live sampling fitted here – until I realized the role I had to take in this duet: I would provide the rhythmically pulsating foundation over which his dense continuums could unfold.

The result is harmonically drifting superclusters that put us into a meditation-like state. It can perhaps be compared to Automatic Writing – a mode of creative expression floating somewhere between concentration and distraction. Both the structure of our pieces and our approach to our instruments allow a similar “absence”: we let the machines play and repeat themselves – while we, in a mild form of trance, adopt the role of observers, intervening only occasionally.

It is no coincidence that ASUNA owns a collection of Doodle Art – drawings jotted down during conversations or while talking on the phone. It is said that works made like this point to the unconscious and reveal pet motifs – because a doodler always inadvertently returns to his or her favourite themes. The artwork for Signals Bulletin features pictures from the collection, in this case sheets of paper from the pads provided in stationery shops to test out pens. The special quality of such doodles is that the jumble of drawings is the work of a collective whose individual members do not know each other. Layer by layer is added, by someone different each time – until it becomes a dense cluster of lines and symbols ..."

Jan Jelinek, Berlin 2018

"Mannequin Records and Platform 23 come together to start a series of stand-alone reissues of the music of post-punk / industrialists Bourbonese Qualk, starting with their 1983 album Laughing Afternoon. Formed in Southport during the late-70s, the band came to prominence out of South London's squat scene via their own Recloose Organisation. Early releases including the band's first experiments put to tape and the now highly sought after Sudden Departure compilation featuring luminaries Colin Potter, Eg Oblique Graph (Bryan Jones) and Lol Coxhill, laid the foundations of their burgeoning sound.
Recorded and produced at the Recloose Studios in Camberwell in 1983, Simon Crab, Julian Gilbert and Steven Tanza infused their music with politically charged atmospherics, instrumental exploration, heavily laden reverb and dub, all projected by drum machine rhythms to assemble a musical collage which encapsulated strands beyond contemporary music.
Track titles decipher little, as with the music, a discourse not belonging to a set style or movement, but crossing boundaries of supposition, pushing distortion and outernational leanings towards something else, a primordial discant. While tape loops warp the ears and spoken vocals propel songs like Blood Orange Bargain Day and To Hell With The Consequences and contrasting guitar acoustics pierce the mood on Qualk Street and Spanner In The Works, the overall embrace is claustrophobic, embedding a foreboding for the times. This unique, indulgent, cross genre melting pot where pounding rhythms, wailing trumpets, mournful melodica and electronic pulses all spiral in a contagious dissonance that heralded Bourbonese Qualk to the wider world.

Sworn Virgins are back on Soulwax/2manydjs label, DEEWEE with two more hugely effective club tracks entitled ‘Lazer Beam / Take Your Lady.

From the green hills of Albania to the back rooms of New York City, Sworn Virgins bring the light. A strangers hand on your shoulder, bright red painted finger nails scratching your thigh, all those beautiful things that made you leave that small town you came from. Greased up and ready to go, close your eyes and take it in.

Alex Jann returns to Censor for the label’s second excursion into the unknown with three direct communications and a mix of the title track from Rotterdam’s Animistic Beliefs.

The EP’s title track Computoid.Transmission.X is a pulsating drum workout laced with dystopian pads, laser-cut leads, anxious bass lines and an evocative mutant vocal from an A.I. system gaining consciousness.

Animistic Beliefs create a darker texture in their Electric Eye Mix of the title track, sending the vocal and lead sound straight through the stratosphere via complex bass and arp phrases that filter and stalk around the lead bringing a deeper and more contrasting A2.

Firewall Culture comes as an intoxicating trip on the B1 with off-world FX, feral acid lines and a spacetime-defying style of vocal that haunt Alex’s work.

Jupiter Storms on the B2 ascends the EP to a higher plane with deep washes created from evolving pads adding space and movement to the final track of the release, all accented with glacial micro drops, syncopated beats and tight trickling synth sections. The release was mastered by Keith Tenniswood at Curve Pusher.

Japanese maverick ALTZ teams up with relative newcomer IGAXX for a wonderful debut on the new LADYBUG imprint...

Having released the superb 'Permanent Vacation' on ALTZMUZICA a few years back, the two made a musical connection that has come to fruition with their celebrated Star Child parties & this collection of mesmerising cuts.

Osaka born ALTZ has forged a genre-defying career both behind the decks and in the studio, always unconventional, he combines a wealth of influences into something genuinely fresh.

He capably takes the A side here, with 'Ottie' a loose, musical and low-end heavy Theo style jam, while 'Sly' is a gurgling synth-out.

Tokyo's IGAXX steps up for the flip, with the atmospheric and intricately realised 'Sonorama' leading the charge. 'Minotaur's Dish' presents us with another exquisitely layered number, with aquatic undertones and a hypnotic appeal. Finally 'Unnn' leaves us with another beatless synth exchange, ending what has to be one of the strongest debut 12's we've heard in a while !

Bybo Funk's interstellar and futuristic sound returns in the form of a brand new LP entitled "Black Eye Galaxy".

Cygnus aka Phillip Washington returns home to CPU with Deep Analysis. Six tracks of nebulous compositions all containing his signature emotional and melodic electro.

Sheffield Bleep is an ode to CPU Records complete with an old school vocoder rap over CR-78 rhythms. Deep Analysis is an answer to one of Washington's favourite tracks 'Sleep Paralysis' by Mikron. Ultraterrestrial, Her Majesty and Descent of Man are beautiful si-fi electronic music without comparison. The E.P. wraps things up with Hallucinate Data cementing Cygnus as a master of the genre.

“Le Lisse et le Strié is a new work by french composer François J. Bonnet, released under his project name Kassel Jaeger. Based in Paris, Bonnet is the Director of INA GRM. He is also a writer and theoretician (The Order of Sounds, a sonorous Archipelago and The Infra-World have been published in english by Urbanomic). As a musician, Bonnet has been collaborating with artists such as Stephen O’Malley, Oren Ambarchi or Jim O’Rourke and most of his recent work has been published by Editions Mego.

Le Lisse et le Strié has been conceived as an exploration of the two antagonist concepts of “smooth” and “striated”, applied to the realm of electroacoustic sounds. If the “smooth” is linked to “nomos” as an open space of organic distribution, the “striated”, on the contrary, is associated to “logos”, as an enclosed space defined by a grid.

Elaborating a dialogue between these aspects, Kassel Jaeger draws here an intermediary space where pulsations become textures and layers, and where rhythmic elements are found in the qualities and bodies of sounds instead of being functionnalised, pre-determined sound objects, abstracted and frozen onto a temporal grid. The concept of “striated” is made audible only through the sonic landscape it inhabits, like the stripes of the camouflage fur of wild animals only exist as such in the woods and long grass, disappearing into a potentially uselessness in a desert plain.”

Tallinn's Rando Arand joins up with LIITHELI to release four deep cuts entitled 'Alles' EP.

Rando Arand is an electronic music producer from Tallinn, Estonia with a background in sound design and experimentation. Arand released his first record on Asphalt Soliloquies back in 2017 and has since gone on to perform live at clubs and festivals around the Baltics sharing stages with likes of Dorian Concept, Gerry Read and King Midas Sound.

His 'Alles' EP sees him join Ali Asker's LIITHELI imprint who focus on supporting local artists from Estonia's capital following the likes of Mava & Nebukat, 1212a and the label boss himself, in addition to remixers from across the globe like Vakula and SH2000.

'Maandub' gets things rolling with dubbed-out aesthetics fusing hypnotic low end, meditative chords and eccentric synth stabs before 'Moondub' delivers soulful keys, deep riding bass grooves and fluid percussion.

'Joondub' maintains the breezy atmospherics as it delicately layers alleviating pads, organic pulsations and floaty modulations before 'Avardub' finishes things off with emotive melodies, fast-pitched, natural drums and melancholy tones throughout. Rando Arand 'Alles' EP drops on LIITHELI on 1st May 2019.

Banlieue Records presents LAKERDA, an LP by ALTKAT.

No stranger to records that side-step club conventions, Banlieue’s latest release truly stands out from the rest of its catalogue.

Altkat is a Turkish-Armenian musician born in the late 40s and active since the 60s when he first started experimenting with an Anatolian saz, a two track tape recorder, and a fluegelhorn. Today, the saz is still there, the bugle is gone and the tape recorder has turned into a computer. Altkat, who spends most of his time working as a percussionist for sephardic and balkanic bands, is above all interested in the transformation of noise into music and does not shy away from using synthesizers and drum machines, along with his saz, to create his music.

LAKERDA exists somewhere beyond the “traditional” and “non traditional” realms. It is marked by hybridity and the encounter of seemingly opposite notions, such as tradition and modernity, East and West, past and future, but also acoustic and electronic and more abstractly, here and there. This album takes the listener beyond these oppositions and invites him or her to approach Altkat’s music not on ultimately fallacious “either/or” terms, but simply to receive it as it is, a fourth world record, with each track on the album a palimpsest that encapsulates previously mentioned oppositions and transcends them in the process.

Full of morphing textures, metallic resonance, layered arrangements, plucked saz strings, pitch-sliding winds, shimmering melodies, bleeps and blops, peculiar samples and other disorienting sounds, this album seems indebted to the aesthetics of private press albums from the late 20th century. While some of these have recently been reissued by labels such as Music From Memory, Into The Light and Stroom to name but a few, Lakerda also feels more contemporary, and it is certainly not out of place in Banlieue’s catalogue.

It therefore seems apt to conclude this presentation of the record with a paragraph written by Joe Muggs after listening to LAKERDA and which has been printed on the LP’s labels.

'Causality moves differently in the fourth world. The flows of generational influence can be altered or even reversed. Exotic is normal and normal is just another shifting layer among many. Continents rediscover each other in new orders, distant stars loom close, and strange music like this comes not from far off but inside your mind.'
Joe Muggs

Marvellous synth rhythms are the key-player on ZEIT008, Roman Debnar’s Dark Matter EP.

Electronic Body Music, abbreviated as EBM, is a term whose origin stems from the Belgian group Front 242, chosen to describe their electronic music; cold and dancing, free of the dominant influences of the time. Powerful, cold and minimalist electronic rhythms were the hallmarks of this new genre.

The movement quickly garnered followers with the British group Nitzer Ebb but also in the rest of Europe, with the likes of Borghesia and The Neon Judgment, later signed to labels like PIAS, Antler- Subway, Wax Trax!, Mute, Off Beat, Zoth Ommog, Pendragon and Metropolis.

EBM’s popularity grew rapidly in the underground scene during the 1980s and early 1990s, especially in Europe, before breaking through in the rest of the world, also influencing the subsequent electro-industrial scene.
‘Dancing In Darkness: EBM, Black Synth & Dark Beats From The 80s’ - to give it its full title - is a compilation of some of these bands; bands that changed contemporary music in terms of ideology, politics and aesthetics.

CD version in digipack with poster booklet. 2LP version in gatefold sleeve.

Pedro Zopelar and Benjamim Sallum started jamming and performing live sets in São Paulo in 2016, when Ben was only 15 years old. At that time they where doing freaky improvised live perfomances in tribute to a popular youtube video called “My Girlfriend Is Programming The Roland TR-909, Making a House Beat”. Using that huge name the duo performed live before Theo Parrish at the RBMA festival in São Paulo 2017, and was the first that the track GIDI was played. In 2018 “My Girlfriend” releases their first record dropped by Subsubtropics, (a Brazilian label that previously released “Dreams”, “Design a Wave”, “Seixlack & Zopelar” and more).

The Apron EP is a compilation of My Girlfriend’s tracks there are more influenced by a Brazilian approach on neo-soul, house and funk. From the first raw jams to these particular vision from “what is Brazilian music from nowadays”, the duo represents a fresh sample about what is happening into the club music scene there. Benjamim Sallum is resident at the famous party “Mamba Negra” headed by Cashu and Laura Diaz (Teto Preto, Carneosso), and since his 15yo developed a fast progress on the art of making tracks and DJing. He runs his own label “OXI”, where he often drops some crazy cassettes EPs from himself and his friends. Zopelar is multi instrumentist, DJ and producer based in SP, responsible for the keyboards, synths and basslines of the record. He studied piano on his youth and made music college in rio with 18 yo. Based in SP after his studies till now, he runs another well known party named “ODD”, where Funkineven played in 2017 (both Rio and Sao Paulo editions) and knew all that crew.

The opening track “piercing”brings pads and strings recorded and manipulated on a MPC sampler with some dreamy lead synths on top. GIDI is a tribute to all the church keyboard players in the world. And there is also another tribute to a specific music school from late 70’s in Brazil called club da esquina (“B2 Corner Club”), headed by legendary singer and composer “Milton nascimento”, is a typical sound from Minas Gerais, State where Pedro was born and raised till his 17 years old.

Having previously collaborated with the likes of Shafiq Husayn, Chester Watson and Foreign Beggars, electronic space funk outfit Paper Tiger return from an explorative journey to the dark edges of the cosmos with their long-awaited third album ‘Rogue Planet’.

The Leeds and London-based outfit (whose collective playing credits include Yellow Days, Werkha, Nubiyan Twist, Cinematic Orchestra & more) once again seamlessly combine elements of live recording and improvisation, their emphasis on blending organic sounds with electronic production techniques. The result is music which is interesting and technically proficient, but remains vibrant, colourful and funky -captivating both in headphones and on the dancefloor.

Just like the journey from debut long-player ‘Laptop Suntan’ to sophomore album ‘Blast Off’, and in-keeping with the band’s space travel fascination, ‘Rogue Planet’ is a cosmic leap from its predecessor. Band leader Greg Surmacz explains: ‘There is still humour and a sense of playfulness hopefully -largely provided by our MC Raphael Attar -but the overall sound is much more lush, jazzy and soulful. We wanted to make something that fits into our universe but hits a deeper emotional nerve’.

With diverse guests ranging from the legendary Steve Spacek on lead single ‘The Cycle’ to Olivia Bhattacharjee (the vocalist of Gondwana Records-signed Noya Rao) on the shuffling, leftfield beats of ‘Bioluminescent’ and Chicago-born but LA-based MC Lando Chill’s quick-fire delivery on the ironically titled ‘Slow Motion’ the album is a rich and varied listen. It’s a record drenched in futuristic soul, brimming with textured samples and intriguing progressions demonstrating the enviable musicianship on show here. G-Funk-esque melodies run throughout, joined by reverberating celestial horns and scattered drum patterns.

For the 4th emission in the Sonar Base Transmissions series, Deeptrax Records turns back to the 2005 release on the now defunct UK label SCSI AV. Like all older Sonar Base releases, the original vinyl issue of 'Transmissions From Beyond Hoag's Object' is highly sought after, with matching high prices for a decent copy. Next to that, the original version had a few flaws: the labels had been flipped, and the mastering wasn't up to the current standards. The tracklisting remained the same, only the sequence of the 6 tracks has slightly changed. Those familair with the other Sonar Base releases know what to expect: pitch-dark, well crafted electro from outer space, some with a hint of melancholy. Pressed at their own pressing plant Deepgrooves on an 180gr heavy weight pressing.

sssIn January 2016 arts and music organisation Santuri East Africa invited guest producer Jan Schulte to join the Nile Project gathering in Aswan, Egypt - an intensive two week musical experiment featuring musicians drawn from all around the Nile Basin that functioned as both a creative cauldron for cross-border collaboration, and a forum for artists and cultural activists to discuss the issues affecting the Nile river.

Wolf Mu¨ller aka Jan Schulte has been a resident of Dusseldorf's era-defining Salon des Amateurs for many years, releasing wildly inventive and dance music under various monikers - from his birth name to Wolf Mu¨ller, Bufiman and his Young Wolf collaboration with Young Marco. Schulte's feel for off kilter sounds and rhythms and a playful approach to the sometimes po-faced world of dance music have resulted in some incredibly well received releases (Instrumental Musik Von Der Mitte Der World and the compilation Tropical Drums of Deutschland being prime examples).

Santuri East Africa is an organisation set up to connect musicians and producers from around the globe, a process of co-collaboration that has led to some highly well received releases on Soundway (Msafiri Zawose) Sofrito (Auntie Flo's Soniferous Garden) and On the Corner (Makadem and Mugwisa).

Clocking in at a shade over 15 minutes, A-side 'Mabomba Dance' gradually layers Kasiva Mutua's needle-sharp percussion over a deep analogue bass pulse, building into a hypnotic dancefloor workout.

The B-side sees erstwhile Owiny Sigoma Band collaborator Rapasa Nyatrapasa showcase his Nyatiti harp before delving into an almost Afrobeat-esque slice of afro-minimalism. The EP rounds off with Adel Mekha's stellar vocals over traditional Nubian percussion.

Musique Exotique’s Ayden Vice teams up with Czech upcoming star Andreas Rund and The Egyptian Lover to create a hypnotic fusion where West meets East, meets Middle-East. The Egyptian Lover leverages this hypnosis and casts some of his own with his signature 808 sound and enchanting vocals, a serenade if you will, which is guaranteed to seduce the freakiest of listeners.

Past, present, future. For those who know.

Reissue of this rave classic - Indians & Aliens and Great Spirit - 2 tracks packed with tribal rhythms, breaks and acid lines by West Coast pioneers DJ Trance & Darwin Chamber.
Straight from the DATS, remastered by Alden Tyrell and cut at The Exchange London, what else could you ask for 2 fire remixes by D. Tiffany & Roza Terenzi, you say

In this record you can find cosmic electro with more experimental and melodic electronica. Intelligent electronic music in its purest form.

62ND CELL (reads sixty-second-cell) is the latest alias of UK producer Dave Campbell aka Hi-RYZE but also Ubik, Timenet, Kibu, Autonation and other sought after electronic classics from the early 1990s. Dave is enjoying a renaissance this year, releasing fresh outstanding electronic music with a new double 12” LP The Wood for the Trees on his own label YozMaz. Fusing classic techno programming with high-end production techniques, there’s a track to suit all dance floors and hi-fi home listening.

From Isla label head, NAP. EP of emotive electro, tinged with Spanish vocals, sedative pads and fried rhythms. Featuring ZDBT (1800 Haight St) on "Transhumano". Made in Vancouver BC, at Deep Blue studios, Winter 2018.