Beats News

A mind-bending blend of modular synth performance, Anthony Baldino’s dynamic Twelve Twenty Two LP is a treat for all ears. Baldino’s transcendent album is available both digitally and on vinyl on Thursday, October 24 via MethLab Recordings.

“The record focuses heavily on the modular synth as a composition tool and instrument. I originally approached this as a collection of tracks that were recorded straight out of the machine with little to no editing. The work flow of generating a complex patch and then figuring out the overall arch and performance of the piece was really exciting. The Tip Top Audio Circadian Rhythms was a key compositional tool in this process and was used to organize the overall structure of these pieces. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon a patch, the opening synths in ‘Fading Quickly Now,’ that I went back to how I used to write and shifted to harvesting sounds and rhythms from the modular and arranging and editing them in the box. That patch was originally created for a different track on the album, which I’ll let you find, but IH ad accidentally changed the clock rate before tearing the patch down. Hearing it in that new way triggered a whole new thought process and emotional reaction for me.” - Anthony Baldino

Originally approached as a collection of tracks recorded straight out of Baldino’s machine with little editing, Twelve Twenty Two is a complex piece of thoughtful modular work. A truly stunning display of masterful sound design, Baldino’s sound resonates with listeners from first note to last. Existing in a unique space where ambient sounds meet vivacious bass, Baldino seemingly exists in an impressive league of his own, with Twelve Twenty Two standing apart powerfully from the masses. With an already powerful arsenal of artists and releases, MethLab Recordings adds a brilliant 10-track addition to their already wild playbook.

“From the beginning, it was important for me to keep this record musical and emotional and not just an exercise in technicality, so using both the modular and the computer to arrange felt really good both emotionally and sonically and created a different balance to the record that I really liked. Switching the process up a bit halfway through kept things interesting and I think the body of work really benefits from it. This record is split in half with performance based/straight out of the machine tracks and the other half organized in the box. But when listening back, the two approaches overlap so much that it’s hard to tell where one approach ends and the other begins.” - Anthony Baldino


About Anthony Baldino:
Born and raised in New York, Anthony Baldino is an LA-based composer and sound designer whose work spans an enormous range of production avenues. The likelihood that you haven’t heard his world is nearly impossible, with music and sound design in too many trailer campaigns to list, including Prometheus, Interstellar, Ex-Machina, Star Wars: Rogue One, and Avengers: Infinity War and End Game just to name a few. From there, his work ventures to the opposite pole of production with custom sound design based compositions for Dolby Labs mixed in Atmos, beautifully glitched out remixes, and continues on to mind-bending modular synthesizer performances.

With his debut artist release, he delivers a devastatingly beautiful album grounded in IDM that focuses on modular synthesizers/ While a vast amount of modular synth music is currently being released, this album goes far beyond the typical beeps and boops that one may expect when they hear “modular IDM record.” This record is as technical as it is emotive. Tasteful and incredibly detailed, Twelve Twenty Two bridges the gap between sound-design laden beats and cinematic motifs and ambiences. This record does not disappoint and is sure to become a favorite of electronic music fans.

The album opens up with a slowly unfolding melody that seems to be within grasp, but never actually repeats itself. Incredibly tasteful glitchy sound design leads us into a build that one would only expect to be in a movie, and then drops into a full-on sonic assault of impeccable drums and rich synths. From there, the record traverses a wide array of texture, time and technique. Closing with a track that makes you feel like you could actually reach out and touch the sound and float in its space, the sonic landscape created in Twelve Twenty Two is a true treat for ears.

Citizen Records, run by the artist formerly known as Vitalic, link with unique vinyl pressing service Diggers Factory to present a new EP from Karabine, a fresh project from a seasoned French producer.

This new pseudonym is to allow the artist to make music free from any genre constraint and explore electronic, techno, IDM, industrial, breaks, ambient and whatever else, often with influences from British artists such as Aphex Twin, Luke Slater and Daniel Avery. There is a maturity to his music, which is made using hardware machines, and it comes with a real intensity and personality that mixes up restrained violence, industrial tones and raw melodies.

The opener on this latest EP is ‘Red October (MK-Delta Project)’, a seven-minute techno sizzler with frazzled synths and glitchy percussion stitched into a driving groove that rises ever higher. The perfectly raw ‘Riot Congas’ has heavy, hard hitting drums and more intense synths and sound designs that are constructed for maximum impact in the club, while ‘Boom’ is an edgy number with sirens and unsettling vocal samples all soundtracking a cosmic emergency. Dynamic closer ‘Prisoner’ has searching synths circling round the drums and building to intense peaks that will have the floor in a rapture.

Cathedral Pinesʼ is Joseph Lawerence Clarkʼs debut album under his maiden name.
After having quietly self released a handful of compositions in the past, The Rochester, NY native steps up on Vaknar with a compelling barrage of immersive and impactful soundscapes, created using tape looped guitars, violin and synths processed through various samplers and pedals (many of which were built through his own company, Adventure Audio).

Cathedral Pines is made up of two, 20 minute long pieces of densely interwoven ambient, synth and noise laden layers, resulting in an enthralling debut that feels compellingly versatile, cerebral and substantially in-depth.

In the beginning of the summer of 2019, AM returns with four exotic edits and reworks to dance to on grass. Solima is a pitched down lush and spatial Afro gem that will cause instant euphoria on any dance floor, followed by a faster and uplifting African jam called Ali Baba. Both have that late 80’s synthetic vibe we dig so much.On the flip there are two tracks which are constructed upon respectively an Egyptian and a Turkish sample. Badaouiah reminds of Carl Craig’s edit of Congo Man, builds up slowly and gets highly hypnotic and deep, while the second track Mustapha rolls out a quirky rhythm pattern with a hysteric Turkish clarinet sample.

Comes in a disco bag, hand stamped with a new drawing by Frank Koedood.

After showcasing his unique electronic output via the 'Surging Waves' compilation on Vaknar last year, Japanese native yolabmi steps up for his first solo release on the label.
Presented here is the A side of the cassette release, for which a selection of yolabmi's recent compositions have been chosen, complied and mixed by the label, resulting in a comprehensive glimpse into the artist's unconventional sonic spectrum that seems to be situated somewhere between tranquil field recordings, improvised analogue electronics and digital interference.

Starting off Otomatik Muziek in 2016 as a means to release music and working together with friends, S.U.V. aka Franz Joseph Kaputt went on a long journey since then. After the brutal no-input-noise of „New Dark Age“ and excursions in the realms of dark, psychedelic folk on 2018’s „Sterben/Shifting“, he began working with synthesizers, mostly because they…synthesize. With the pragmatic approach to replace a merzbau of pedals by using synths as multi-faceted tools for live shows, Kaputt started recording, and after some fondling around, these 5 new songs emerged from a convolute of over 30 recordings.

Musically, S.U.V. is centered around darker timbres, drones of different sources, distilling harsh aesthetics from genres folk to noise (for a beginner’s guide, check out the parallel release „Nullproblem. The Life And Struggles Of Franz Joseph Kaputt in His Pursuit Of Bread, Knowledge And Freedom“, a collection of unreleased songs 2013-2019 that will wash up parallel to this release as a self-released tape). And yet, there’s a commonality within all of S.U.V.‘s records – the approach to bring together disparate elements, working on a language of its own. One can hear the thread woven through his work especially on „F65.5“, a track first recorded around 2012, which was re-recorded for this release and which features no synths at all, but fits perfectly with the other songs.

Besides these technicalities, regarding the content, „Our Complex Pleasures“ has a clear main theme. All of the songs rotate around interpersonal relationships, sexuality, gender and the diversity within. It is as well a celebration of queerness, post-romanticism and widening hegemonial discourses, as it is a meditation on limitations, fatigue and letting go. „Warm Animals“ is based on an improvisational performance where two people face each other and try to hit the same note, over and over again – a practice involving a lot of laughter, passion and exhaustion. „Bull“ and „F65.5“ are clear allusions to kink culture, while „Emotional Yoga“ and the near side-long „Compersion“ deal with themes of polyamory – with struggling to live love in a non-toxic way. „A Drug That Never Works“? – read that one for yourself.

In comparison, „Our Complex Pleasures“ is a pop album with most of its harshness buried underneath the surface. But as it is also taking a clear political stand (look into the booklet!), there’s much more to discover. It’s a reckoning with masculinity, as well as coming to terms with the fact that there isn’t one way of living in a body and loving others. And it is a clear middlefinger to the toxic traditionalism of the alt right movement.

The tape is accompanied by a mini-book, yet again and of course designed by Dicey Studios, where the complex pleasures find a very physical transfer; in the fabric as well as in the lettering, there’s a sensitivity within that even amazed ourselves when it got back from copy factory.

Unless you live deep, deep inside some sort of cave and have never ventured outside it's unlikely that you'll be unexcited by the next offering from Touched Music.

Quench lighten our lives once again with 'Greyhound EP', Drawing on His vast experience (Cane, Funckarma, et. al) to bring you a lovely little collection of tracks.

Six pieces of expert creation, thoughtful in concept and masterful in execution, this is the complete opposite of run-of-the-mill. Rhythms are strong, highs are crisp and things which are distant sound like they are supposed to be.

'Marta Cosmone' emerges from a muddy horizon and quickly flips into a clear and concise track. Attention has clearly been given in equal amounts to all constituent parts and nothing has been left behind.

The theme continues right until the end, all the songs here leave you hanging from one phrase to the next as they continuously evolve and transform to keep your attention.

There's an intermittent sense of urgency, most apparent in 'Skavenger Orphan'. One has just about enough time to process what has happened until the next iteration of the phrase is in your face.

Everything is topped off nicely by 'Bowen Skylax' that manages to relax me after being on the edge of my seat for half an hour or so - no thanks to the penultimate 'Biva Vlance' which steps it up a notch with somewhat more hectic drum programming.

Cardinal & Nun from Marseille, France delivers his debut ep for L.I.E.S. with a four track no holds barred synth punk assault. Injecting energy into the dead, channeling chaos and turmoil into his music, he rips through four tracks with a rough yet somehow elegant approach...raw to the bone yet flawlessly arranged. Synths that sound like guitars, guitars that sound like synths, metallic drum machines with a human touch and deranged vocals fuel this record til the end. Think Screamers meet Chrome meet Liasions with a healthy dose of southern california gutter punks on meth and you're in the right place. Marseille is where it is all happening right now and this is a documented confirmation of it!

Electric sound-waves that pulse through our sleep …and our dreams”

Quieter Than Spiders release their long-awaited debut album Signs of Life. The Chinese-Anglo band was formed in Shanghai in 2012 and has been quietly rising to prominence among the electronic music community with what the group self-styles as ‘Shanghai Synthpop’. Online music magazine The Electricity Club included Quieter Than Spiders in a list of their favourite new artists and described them as “What OMD would sound like if they formed in the 21st Century”.

Signs of Life was self-produced by the group and combines their contrasting styles of uptempo synthpop and slow reflective melancholy. The album features 10 tracks including familiar songs such as Hibakusha, Shanghai Metro, The Land of Lost Content and No Illusion. There are also 10 remixes by artists such as Kevin Komoda from Rational Youth, Vile Electrodes and The Silicon Scientist. Signs of Life also includes 8 mini interludes which the group describes as ‘brief dream sequences’. Group member Leon Zhang said: “the album includes a slower and more experimental side to our music that people haven’t yet heard from us, especially songs such as The Signs of Life and The Statues which are more personal and introverted.”

The album was recorded in both Shanghai and the UK and was mastered in Germany by Stefan Bornhorst (aka The Silicon Scientist). The group did not use a formal recording space which gave them the opportunity to experiment. “We used minimal equipment which gave us the opportunity to record songs in a variety of places. We even recorded parts in an old deserted Shanghai building earmarked for demolition, and in an overgrown tunnel that we found deep in the English countryside”.

Under the tree - In The Cave - At The Water, there's where you'll find Eleventeen Eston, savouring the shade since his 2014 debut LP 'Delta Horizon' turned the spotlight his way. Taking shelter in the subterranean, the Perth musician has found a sound saturated with entheogenic splendour, growing something gorgeous from the grotesque. Finding a natural home on Hamburg's Growing Bin, Eston emerges into the daylight with a dreamy LP.
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The vision quest begins with 'C in Sympathy', a freefall into the perverse beauty of the Domus Aurea, brought to life with E2-E4 electronics, chorus pedal shimmer and muted bass. Leaving the grasslands we dip a toe in the water with the hypnotic ripples of '2 d'Or (Cab Chassis)', a Carl-Craig-goes-New-Age number which fuses the electronic and acoustic to perfection. Delicate piano, crystalline synth tones and tape-saturated emotion lend their cinematic charm to 'East Perth Stories (Closing Titles)' before the propulsive bass and soft focus groove of 'The Four Fountains' hits you with the heat haze. Eston takes another tapey diversion on the sci-fi synthscape 'I Remember', while the coastal cool of 'Thread & Truth' picks up the wavy white funk baton from Spike.

The B-side brings more beauty as the drifting and dreamy ambience of 'I Float, I Am Free' gives way to the Windham Hill guitar licks, snaking bass and billowing textures of 'A Squall, 1988', offering a welcome echo of the wonder of Wilson Tanner. 'Where There Is Rain' sees Eston tune the Ute radio to 96FM Perth, marrying cascading keys, evocative vocal samples and lush guitar with a solid 80s pop beat, before he slows the pace for 'Sand Man' a skewed and stoned bit of beach funk that's perfect for seduction. We part ways with the panoramic 'Dory On Swan', a serene soundtrack to lapping waves and magic caves. Always in season, Growing Bin do it again.

Words from the label:

Our imprint marks its five years anniversary this year and to celebrate it's offering up five special various artist packages across 2019 limited to 250 copies each, featuring material from the likes of Vid, The Mole, Cinthie, Shinichiro Yokota, San Proper, Akiko Kiyama, Com Sin aka Cosmin TRG, Subb-an and more..

Tokyo-based Far East Recording artist Shinichiro Yokota opens the '5 Years Anniversary Series 02' with 'I Know You Like' a harkening back to the days of soulful, musical house courtesy of jazzy synth lines, warm chords and choppy bass running alongside a swinging drum groove and vocal hooks uttering the track's title.

The Mole follows on the flip side with 'A Simple Day', turning in a typically raw and funkinfused workout via dusty drum sounds, looped guitar licks, warbling low-end tones and an underlying psychedelic feel that always makes The Mole's tracks unique. This project also sees a new design concept for the imprint from London's David Surman's painting installation project 'Paintings For The Cat Dimension' which ''explores the motif of the cat as emblematic of internet aesthetics, a place

The fourth various artists compilation album on Netherlands based 030303 Records... Splitradix has been given the honour to kick off with a wonderfully meandering acid epos, reminiscent of 808 State's more obscure output, with a euphoric element entering about halfway. Zaphyd takes the energy level up a bit further with a strange dry beat driving the tune which is full of melodies trying to elbow each other to the side in the friendliest possible way... Side B opens with Star Flip by Holovr where a series of classic throbbing acid basslines are accompanied by an unsettling melody, not for the faint hearted! The Exaltics' What If We Could is a haunting bubbly motherfucker of an acid track, not totally unlike Polygon Window's Untitled, pure dark bliss... The C side then starts with a brilliantly bouncing contribution containing a beautiful melancholic theme by Piepiep, one of 030303's co-founders. Argentina's Nacho M Meyer is the mastermind behind Planeta, yet another dreamy cut full of Detroit-like melancholy. Zelfkant, the first contribution on the D side, is by Betonkust and feels like a classic Warp Artificial Intelligence armchair track with a touch of wave/electro. One of the best tracks on the comp then, is by Dirty Data, who delivers a track full of twisted breaks, hectic bleeps and eerie synths, mind blowing this one... Kramphaft is behind the final contribution to the compilation, again a sinister and dark one with haunting melodies spun out over unusual hard hitting electro breaks. All in all, very warmly recommended, this compilation full of bouncy and screwed up acid from the sewer!

STANDING OVATION was a short lived project from Clacton on Sea, UK, created by the very young Paul Bramhall and Glen Redgen in 1982, while they were still at high school. Armed with a Casio MT40, a Korg Polysix, a Korg M500 and a Boss DR55 drum machine plus a guitar and a bass they booked a local studio on 22nd October 1983 and recorded two songs in one day. The two tracks were released on cassette by the also local Falling A label shortly after. They continued making electronic music for a further two years and seeking collaborators through the papers they managed to include a drummer and a lead guitarist, but the sound changed and was no longer the electronic sound that Paul desired. After a few local gigs they drifted apart with musical differences.

The WHAT MEANING / TIMES OF FUN cassette didn’t have much repercussion back then and being impossible to find nowadays we decided to give it another try on vinyl. WHAT MEANING is a true minimal synth masterpiece, with its pulsating bassline and overall dark feel. This genre just doesn’t get any better. TIMES OF FUN is a much brighter, poppy tune that puts a smile on your face.

The two songs have been transferred and remastered from the original ¼” reel tape and the also minimalistic but beautiful hand-drawn original artwork has been adapted and enhanced to fit this 7” release.

We are immensely proud to bring it to you as a limited, hand numbered edition of 275 copies, housed in an old-fashioned, matt finish card-sleeve including a download code.

Singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist, Desmond Coke's supremely rare, privately pressed, lo-fi, synth-soul fusion, Let's Chase The Sun is represented here in edited form. Painstakingly remastered from the original tapes, this self taught pianist, drummer and sax player condensed his musical experiences and dreams in to an opus on love and togetherness.

Desmond Coke alias 'Fatfingers' - named by fellow musicians due to improvisation and interpretation skills - began playing keyboards by ear at 15 and went on to a music career playing with the likes of Alton Ellis, Prince Fari, Barrington Levy, Dillinger, Don Cherry and Shara Nelson, as well as a gamut of the On-U Sound label's projects, including Creation Rebel, Dub Syndicate, Singers & Players and Mark Stewart + Maffia.

With an interest in reggae, dub, jazz, soul, meringue, gospel and garage, his sole album was a true fusion to create a brand new sound. Composed, arranged and produced by Coke, he worked with an array of seasoned musicians, including his own sisters Winifred (percussion / vocals) and Paulette Coke (percussion / DX-7 & M1 synthesisers).

Pressed on his own Saterlite Entertainments in 1989, Coke describes the album's purpose, "to get the message across to have focus, ambition, to dream and 'chase the sun'. That relationships are important, 'I need somebody' and naturally the chemistry is 'you and me'. Great relationships are about friendships and that it's ok to 'mesmerise a friend'. The most natural thing is to enjoy each other's company and to 'make a love child'. These good intentions and meanings, where love is the key." Some thirty years later Desmond's thoughts are as resonant today as then - Let's Chase The Sun.

Carlo Onda vinyl debut represents the Neue Deutsche Welle reinterpretation as it must. Truly vanguard and fresh minimal synth and perfect Germanic vocals that transport us to splendor days of Grauzone, DAF, Joachim Witt or Robert Görl. All tracks have been specially remastered for long cut vinyl by Eric Van Wonterghem at Prodam Berlin.

Harnessing the golden age of Italo where the synthesiser was king and the cosmos was key, Riot Records bring four, standout re-edits to the table.

Ziggy Phunk steps up first with 'Lost Treasures', chopping and re-stitching this chugging, cosmic masterpiece - heavy on the Juno bass, arpeggiated synth lines and weighty drum machine hits. Rayko then hits with 'Inchi', introducing a dreamy arp and reverberating snares to this celestial jam, where resonating guitar licks trade off with interplanetary synthwork from a distant dimension.

On the flip side Jaegerossa blasts off to Mars with 'Love To The Max', packed to the rafters with sublime brass synth sounds and that archetypal, punchy '80s snare hit that echo off into the ether. Couple this with absorbing, pitch bent chords and a dynamic bass and it's a galactic marvel ready to be unleashed. Closing out the E.P, sensuous vocals marry with sweet strings, dazzling keys and uplifting melodies in Camino's, 'Bela Solo' - the perfect round-off to this expertly done Italo homage.

DJ Support:

Dimitri From Paris, Soul Clap, Hifi Sean, A Love From Outta Space, Ron Basejam, Sophie Lloyd, Eli Escobar, Mousse T

Dean Zepherin is truly a producer who has managed to find his lane and appeal.
Born and raised in London - a suitably eclectic city for a man of his musical persuasion - he is renowned for his consistently genre-pushing productions.
In other words, a perfect match for Local Talk, a label not afraid to go beyond the classic 4/4 sound and explore different styles within house music.

Opening track Blue Moon is an organic, warm and enveloping chunk of deep house bliss and there's no doubt that Dean loves his house served with with plenty of horns.
Next up is Flying High, a jazzy uptempo house cut smothered in expansive percussions, trading organ and trumpet solos over elastic synth lines.

Music that speaks to the senses

Debuting on the freshly-minted Mad Habitat imprint, Greville’s EP is a bifurcated effort split between tranquil ambience, and hazy couch-locked house, with influences of each bleeding through and influencing each work in a stylistic osmosis. The sound palette blends crystalline synth patches, mimetic foley and field recordings in a playful spectrum of realism and synthesis; borne from the duality of always wanting to be in the studio while dreaming of the natural world outside it.

Originally self-released in 1985 for Sterile Records, 'SOLAR' is the Nocturnal Emission's most successful album ever. The release is marking the end of a period of more "conventional" songwriting and instrument use for Nocturnal Emissions.

The first couple of albums were brooding, bleak affairs that called to mind a more sedate version of SPK. Then came a few albums that were firmly song-dominated. 'SOLAR' was the last of the bunch, and was the most explicitly "message"-oriented and political.

"Songs of Love and Revolution" was a big step forward for the band, having a full colour cover and turning the NE sound further towards electronic pop music. Classics such as "No Sacrifice" and "Never give up" have made this an essential album for every fan of electronic music.

As Nigel himself reminds, they were buying lots of equipment at the time and seemed to have naturally acquired some skill over the years so they thought, ‘Let’s make some pop music.' He continues: "The Miners’ Strike was on and there were riots down our street in Brixton. I was convinced there was going to be a revolution. But it would probably have been quite unpleasant. All these old punks and hippies preaching revolution, I don’t think we were really prepared to live with the consequences. If we actually had a revolution in this country, it would be like Iraq or something, or Syria. But we were having horrible times with Thatcher. All we could do in that sort of milieu was imagine what the alternative would be like."

Originally a Library oriented Music label, Apollo Sound by the mid 70s commissioned contemporary musical pieces from new composers, aiming presumably to provide atmospheric backgrounds for film, television and advertising, and to feed the burgeoning demand for ‘New Age’ music. Therefore comes Following The Light.
While certainly melodic, Owen’s music makes no concessions to mid-afternoon mindfulness or commercial use and reuse. Instead, Following The Light - whose title is taken from the Tao. Number 27 - is a deep and immersive listening experience, clearly the work of a singular musical imagination following its own rules in its own way.
With the help of Katherine Sweeney on violin and Milada Polasek on electric piano and organ, Albert Alan Owen recorded Following The Light in “live” condition, taking profit of a strong use of the digital effects which were in its infancy at this time; the music was written to make the most of what technology was available, resulting a singular piece of music of sheer beauty
The record demands to be considered as a stand-alone unit, its three sections unfolding elegant and propulsive by turns, as reoccurring themes answer each other through the layers. There are echoes of Reich and Riley in the use of delay, that warm rolling repetition and those bass pulses. But this is not in the service of a system. There is something more lyrical, more humane at work in the music.
With Following the Light, Albert Alan Owen has given us a record that stands outside of time and place, it’s familiar elements made strange and new, all bathed in magic hour light.

Mitchell Street Records proudly presents its second release following the success of Jasper’s James ‘Crypto’ opening the labels account back in late 2018. The Dutchman has a Moroccan background but grew up in the Netherlands and is now a firm fixture on the capital’s club circuit, and takes over both sides of the latest MS record, with two off-kilter electro jams and a twisted remix delivered by Scandinavian upstart Samo DJ.

Jasper and Elias’ musical relationship stretches back a few years after a chance encounter at Amsterdam’s Claire nightclub. The two young DJs instantly hit it off after sharing a DJ booth and were playing b2b minutes after their initial meeting. Following a late-night trip and some home-grown hospitality around Amsterdam. Jasper returned the favour by inviting Elias to join him at Glasgow’s legendary Sub Club alongside another Dutch favourite, Tom Trago, and their friendship was firmly established.

For a number of years Elias has been a regular at Amsterdam’s most respected institutions including his residency at De School. His ‘Private Hearts’ show on Red Light Radio is a go to show on the world-famous radio station and shows his eclecticism as a selector. Elias openly admits to being passionate, emotional and sensitive, and it shows in his DJ sets which take inspiration for the music around which he grew up – Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder – as well as from more contemporary flames like Omar-S, Zip and Beautiful Swimmers. To date he has played venerated night spots like Concrete, Sub Club, Le Sucre, Institut für Zukunft, Nitsa, objekt klein a and many others.

“When I make music and I play out, I have to open up my heart and be able to spread the same love that I get when I’m on the dancefloor,” he admits. “That warm feeling that hits my soul is the thing I aim for when producing my tracks or when I play in the club. Music is a highly emotive way of expressing myself, and when people recognize that I’m the happiest person on the planet’’

The two original tracks demonstrate his ear for sounds that span genre and time. The EP’s lead track ‘The Right Key’ is rooted in electro but borrows from the electronic palette of Kid A or Aphex, whilst maintaining enough of a dancefloor feel to make it into one of Craig Richard’s DJ sets. Vocoders and a sense of melancholy make for a unique track that anchors around a musical bassline and melodic synth pads.

On the B side ‘Driving With No Purpose’ has a more Balearic feel, again taking lead from a melodic bassline. Synthetic strings rise with more of the melancholic introspection found on the A side, walking the line elegantly between dancefloors and lonely train journeys.

Samo DJ takes his remix into all together darker territory, sharp synths sit under Elias’s melodic arpeggiators whilst drilling down into the core elements of the original. Reverb washed cymbals and synthesisers fill the mid-range and the tracks notable lack of kick drum stops the track becoming predictable.

Private Lesson: Project from Los Angeles comprised of

Damon Palermo (Damon Eliza Palermo, Magic Touch)
Nick Malkin (Nick Malkin, Afterhours, Post Geography, La Vampires, Sun Araw)

Featuring contributions from

Vocals/Lyrics: Takako Minekawa
Production/Mix: Sam Eaton
Master: Gabriel Schuman

Burning Rose is proud to announce a repress of Buzz Kull’s 2017 LP, Chroma. The seminal album is a mass of jagged synth lines and pounding drum machines, a testament to Marc Dwyer's personal sonic exploration over time. Each song on Chroma transcends the traditional archetype of darkwave by pushing pop sensibilities, focusing on different emotional states and boundaries.

Since Chroma’s release, Dwyer has given the world a sophomore album, tackled multiple tours abroad, and continues to remain an elusive but omnipresent figurehead of darker electronics within his hometown of Sydney.

The second pressing of Chroma will be available on June 1st, to coincide with Buzz Kull’s European tour with Zanias.

After his first release on Soundtravels, the Aspiration EP ST003, Dircsen is back with another astonishing EP which you can easily call a sequel to Aspiration EP.

Four heavyweight dancefloor bombs with Dircsen's signature, well worked out, 303 basslines, accompanied by moody synths. Dircsens tracks are always built to perfection, distinguished and raw at the same time. Timeless tracks which will last a lifetime. Don't sleep on this one!

Pantene was a live performance art-pop group that existed in Berlin, Germany in 2015. Its four core band members; Marijn Degenaar, Molly Dyson, Olle Holmberg, and Rahel Tierbach took a DIY approach to instrumentation and arrangement, where intergenerational low-fidelity samples collide with subversive and pithy lyrics. Using laptops, MIDI, samplers and effects units to deliver re-contextualised pieces of music, Pantene explored issues surrounding cultural constructions of power, identity and sexuality with effortless aplomb.

After 10 years of vinyl pressings on Lapsus Records it's now time for our first ever "vocal" release!

Many of our Lapsus Radio (Radio 3) followers may already be aware of our fondness for synth-pop, however as a label we have never dabbled with this often unfairly maligned genre, until now...

From the moment we first heard the material from British artist Circa 2000 something magical transpired. William Wiffen's production blueprint signals a new twist in this forty-year old genre. ‘Thoughts In Vias’ –the album released in 2017 on Computer Club, the sub-label of influential Sheffield label Central Processing Unit– offered the first opportunity for us to witness the work of Circa 2000, the UK producer and composer residing in the costal city of Brighton. After his debut, in 2018 William released the ‘The Sun To The Waxing Moon’ EP on the multifaceted Chilean platform Infinito Audio, in which he delved into his more experimental production side.

Circa 2000 now joins Lapsus Records to present ‘Faith Healer’, his most personal work to date and a palpable tribute to the work of Scottish composer Alex Harvey, during his time leading The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. ‘Faith Healer’ is a seven-track album that revisits the nascent days of new wave and synth. It is an exercise in raw and analogue electronics that transports us back to the golden era of synthetic electronica, in which bands like Deux, Victrola and Monoton redefined minimalism and underground pop.

‘Faith Healer’ will be released in July and available on limited edition vinyl and all digital formats. As always, the Basora studio has once again provided us with stunning artwork for this release.

Africa Seven is taking its first trip to Germany... Well Germany via Cameroon. Charlie Kingue Soppo is better known as Charly Kingson, cousin of Manu Dibango and a Cameroonian emigrant in the 1970s. Charly first headed to Paris and then found his way to Munich in 1978. He recorded two albums in his career, "Born In Africa" in Munich in 1978 and "Dance To The Music" two years later in New York.

For this outing we focus on his debut "Born In Africa". It was recorded in Union Studios in Munich with some of the city's finest (and surprisingly funky) session musicians of the day.

The LP opens up with "Nimele Bolo" a trademark Africa Seven sound if ever there was one… early growling analog synths, big stabby brass and afro rhythms. Add in Charlys vocals and it is easy to see why this track was a highlight of our recent African Airways 04 Funk compilation. Next it is time for smooth ballad, "Makakane Masu" and its smooth jazz overtones. Next "Manyaka" the suspenseful string section, octaving keys and percussive horns drive the wah wah guitar and Charlys brooding song.

On the flip side we open up with the rolling bass and swinging brass of lead track "Born In Africa". This track was a single and it's the perfect microcosm of the album elements in one track. It even manages to name check all the big afro musicians of the time. "Nanga Boko" and its big smiles all around for the good time synth-boogie funk. We close off the LP with "Reviens-Moi" a pensive ballad about Charly's forlorn love. He wants her back of course.

After Charly moved on from recording in the 1980s he stayed in Germany, performing in a series of local jazz and funk bands. We tracked him down in 2016 and we really pleased to be re-releasing his debut long player at Africa Seven. It sounds just as relevant (if not more so) in 2018 as it did 40 years ago in 1978.

Sony Music Entertainment's Depeche Mode 12" vinyl singles project
continues with the release of Black Celebration | The 12" Singles and
Music For The Masses | The 12" Singles on 31st May 2019.
Each of these definitive box sets contains 12" vinyl singles
contemporaneous to either Black Celebration (1986) or Music For The
Masses (1987). Both pivotal releases in the Depeche Mode canon, these
albums advanced the band's musical mission, moving the DM sound from
industrial pop into darker atmospheric emotional territory.
Following its release in 1986, Black Celebration became the group's
then-highest charting album in both the UK and Germany, expanding
their influence across pop culture while inspiring myriad young
musicians to start bands of their own.
The next year, Music For The Masses furthered Depeche Mode's
international mass appeal, breaking open the United States and other
markets with the record-setting Music For The Masses Tour. An
electrifying and historic adventure for band and audiences worldwide,
the tour included Depeche Mode concerts in then-communist East
Berlin, Budapest, and Prague.
Both Black Celebration | The 12" Singles and Music For The Masses |
The 12" Singles extended Depeche Mode's increasingly mind-blowing run
of 12" singles and featured some of the band's most sublime artwork
to date. Each of the albums showcased some of the most enduring
singles in the DM catalog; Black Celebration featured "A Question of
Lust" and "Stripped" while Music For The Masses contained "Never Let
Me Down Again" and "Strangelove" (Depeche Mode's first #1 US Dance
chart hit).
Black Celebration | The 12" Singles contains the four original 12"
releases from the album plus a 12" vinyl version of the limited
edition "A Question of Lust" cassette release, available for the
first time internationally in this collection.
Music For The Masses | The 12" Singles includes the seven original
and special edition 12" vinyl singles from the album.

“Prove Your Love” by Misunami & First Touch returns to the Neon Finger catalogue in a brand new 12″, including the original versions (vocal and instrumental) plus two new mixes by the enormous Nick Wisdom (1/2 Potatohead People) and the huge Bamboozle aka Eli Soul Clap. After the big success of the track years ago, being played by some of the biggest selectors in the world… This future classic boogie disco track is available again with two new astonishing remixes that will burst into flames any dancefloor. Don’t miss it!

Electro, disco-chic, doused in gooey pop, sultry silk, and retro synth-boogie. Dekmantel welcomes the good time vibes of Canadian selector, and retrotastic, vibe-poppin’ producer Jex Opolis. Cult figure, obsessive Discog-er and Good Timin’ boss, the Brooklyn-based, Canadian has etched out a global reputation with his exotic taste of lo-fi, party productions, with this — his Dekmantel debut — not straying far from the formula. On Earth Boy, the hit making powerhouse turns up the synth furore to maximum, with electro and Italo all blending together, in a powerful melee of beachtime house, and crushing sunset disco. Leftfield soul that’s not just for the diggers, and the perfect introduction for his summertime debut at Dekmantel’s galant showcase festival in Amsterdam later on this summer.

Title track 'Earth Boy' pays homage to the classic electro of the early 80s, with its 123bpm rolling breaks, and throbbing synth basslines. It’s as if Drexciya has a disco-baby with Spacer Woman. With its cliquey stomps and robot pulses, and nods to the wave-style records that empties so many of Jex’s sets, 'Earth Boy' is classic future disco. 'Desolation' is bridled with greater depth and emotion, with Italo-pomp and a certain rhythms digitales flare. Braver souls may embrace the vocal mix when it comes to playing out, with its compassionate overtones and soft celled-bassline. Its time to brush aside the winter hue, and say hello to those good-time blues, and frolic along to the jetset, neo-Balaeric house stylings of Jex Opolis.

The illusive Nelson of the East reappears with his forthcoming EP Phase Alternating Lines – a first class two-tracker.

The Swiss-born, Milanese artist released his first EP Night Frames just last year, making a strong entrance on Tartelet Records. This time around, N.O.T.E explores 80s electro boogie with ‘Phase Alternating Lines’ on the A side, and delivers his very own take on obscure tribal house with “Burning Palm” on the B side.

N.O.T.E is young, thirsty, and dead serious about his music. His admirable work ethic shows off not only in his own releases but also in his collaborations with other artists. In the past year alone, he has produced for Wayne Snow and several others that are keeping their work under wraps – while simultaneously creating music as N.O.T.E and under his Verner moniker. All the hard work seems to be paying off on this new 12’, where he comes through with two outstanding dance-floor bombshells.

If you’re into the 80s, Beverly Hills Cop, or just sad that you missed out on Studio 54, you’re going to love EP opener, “Phase Alternating Lines”. It’s got it all: hot drum programming, an electric boogie bassline and a cheeky melody that sticks. “Burning Palm” takes us into obscure tribal-meets-afro-house territory, utilizing percussion, synth marimba and hypnotic melodies – all held together in a tight, driving groove. This track is exotic at its root and perfect for any late night outdoor activity. Both tracks come as extended edits for the vinyl release.

This is a limited-edition release of 400 copies, written and produced by N.O.T.E, arranged by N.O.T.E in close collaboration with Tartelet Records’ label head Dirk 81 and mixed at Panalama Studios in Copenhagen on the Neve 5088 Shelford console for good measure.

grey coloured vinyl

Mind Records and Spooky are proud to announce the official reissue of "Tapas", an indescribable and beautiful album by Sueño Sueño, a mysterious German duo from Mainz.

Little is known about this album, which was originally released on
cassette only in 1983 by Eduardo Van Kasteren (member of Van Kaye & Ignit) on his label Ding Dong Records.

What we do know is the arousing curiosity it triggers as it unfolds, it feels like a fantasy summer holiday in a dark metallic wintery world, as if somehow Mainz had become a Balearic island. Some comparisons can be made - Naffi Sandwich, Swamp Children, Maximum Joy, Young Marble Giants - but these, all lack the unique ice cold synthetic Latin sound of an imaginary German 80s tapas bar where "Sueno Sueno" all work.

Originally released in 1985, "Saunetic Fraction" finally gets a reissue (limited to 100 copies), and staying true to the original, once again on tape! A collaboration of France's M.NOMIZED (aka Michel Madrange of No Unauthorized) and Belgium's UNOVIDUAL (aka Henk Wallays of Micrart Group / co-founder of the 3rio tape label with Magisch theater and Dirk Ivens of Absolute Body control) . The 18-track album is a diverse beast, but affirms itself among the grandees of Minimal Synth and Electropunk, whilst maintaining a unique twist. At times coming across as the French / Belgian version of Chris & Cosey, there are also elements of the early cut-up Dadaist experimental oddness of Cabaret Voltaire. A much sort after tape, that was originally released in a ludicrously small edition, on Unovidual's own label.

*Please not that the tracks: "Aerial Waves" + "My Geisha", do not appear on the cassette, due to side length issues.

MORE INFO:

M.NOMIZED: Synthesizers, Tapes, Treatments, Loops. / UNOVIDUAL: Synthesizers, Vocal, Drum Box.

Music composed and played by: M.Nomized & Unovidual. Thanks to Peter De Middeleir (Belgium) and Fraction Studio (France) for recordings. All rights reserved. P. 1985.

E-Missions welcomes back Rush Plus with three forward thinking techno cuts and a remix from Enemy Records boss Dustin Zahn.

Comprised of Jackson Ryland and Jus Nowhere, Rush Plus are known for helming their Rush Plus Records and Metro Xpress imprints when not appearing on Ambivalent’s Valence and P.Leone and Caiazzo’s E-Missions, with the latter releasing their critically acclaimed ‘The Sweat’. Their refreshing take on techno has resulted in continual support from all corners of the scene including top tier names like Ben UFO, DVS1, Daniel Avery, and many more.

Opening at full pelt, ‘Staring At The Sun’ pertains to the duo’s ability to master rhythm, fusing manic syncopated patterns with clashing keys and ringing bells until Dustin Zahn’s rework takes a lighter approach with cosmic synths and dusty brushes. ‘Waverunner' is next, blending acid lines with an ambient soundscape reminiscent to a retro video game, making way for the galloping ‘Sh,Boom’ with its hypnotic vocals, rumbling low end and sonic zaps to conclude matters.

The Belgian duo San Soda and Red D entered the world of recorded music some 12 years ago with the inception of Red D’s label We Play House Recordings. A few years later their collaboration continued in the studio with the start of the FCL project, leading to original and remixed club hits.

In the meantime both have gained considerable mileage and reputation as adventurous DJ’s who are not afraid to take risks and with a ‘no boundaries’-approach to playing music. Being Belgian they continue to find inspiration in Belgium’s rich music and clubbing history, which led to the ‘Our Beat Is Still New’ compilation in 2013 on We Play House Recordings. Both San Soda and Red D contributed some tracks and thus the aliases Nick Berlin and Max Erotic were born.

Fast forward to today and Club Belgique, a concept Red D has been brooding on for quite some time. A true tribute to Belgium’s club (music) heritage which consists of club nights and also a new label for fresh material by himself and San Soda in his Nick Berlin guise. This release brings you that new material in the form of two tracks situated between new beat, synth pop and italo disco. Long live Belgium!

Rare sought-after future disco via Italy. Composed during the time when GIORGIO MORODER was creating DONNA SUMMER's "I FEEL LOVE" and FRANKIE KNUCKLES was making a name for himself at the WAREHOUSE. Limited import color vinyl. Don't sleep these will be gone fast.

LTD to 300 / SPLATTER VINYL. Planet Mu Recording artist, Gobstopper label boss, and Boxed club night founder Mr.Mitch provides the third PRESSURE release of 2019. This strictly limited, blue and yellow splattered vinyl platter is futurist dancehall at its most exhilaratingly demented. Random synth patterns, chaotic bleep emissions and all round oscillating madness ensures this furiously fresh track, flows freakily, like a bogle frenzied droid transmitting from Kingston, Jamaica, year 2049. Kevin Martin aka The Bug, nagged Mitch into submission, to release this Acid Ragga killer, after the PRESSURE label CEO, heard ‘Not Modular’ standing out clearly from Mitch’s gobsmacking one hour ‘Techno Dancehall Mix’ at the end of 2018. And as a tribute to South East London don dada Mitch, The Bug himself decided to slice, splice and dice ’Not Modular’ into two additional atomised remixes. The Bug’s ‘Straight’ remix, is sub aquatic bashment, pulsating deeply from the bottom of the ocean, buried in a blizzard of white noise and disembodied, hypnotic chimes, with panic sirens set to stun. Whilst the ‘Raw remix’ is no less disorientating and funky, sounding like Lenky’s classic ‘Diwali’ riddim rewritten by an 808 clap addict, with hips set to full rotation. Conclusively alien and ridiculously infectious.

it's a 2nd release of studio mule's new project with miyako koda aka dip in the pool.

following the cover version of ohnuki taeko's carnaval,we made the new version of japanese new wave classic 'shinzo no tibia by mariah' with a new lyrics in japanese(original is in armenian)which is written by miyako koda. yasuaki shimizu kindly gave us the permission to do this.

extended version on a side is full of the respect for the original version and dub version on b side is dark new wave dub version. kuniyuki said the idea of this version came from adrian sherwood's remix for depeche mode.

Oblique Russian sound strategist Natalia Salmina’s latest forking path portfolio as Atariame, Voiceless, arose in the wake of a dissociative relocation to Moscow, where she found herself adrift amidst a manic metropolis, alone in a skyscraper staring out at trees: “It made me lose faith in my ability to communicate, in my ideas about life.” Days without speaking turned to weeks. Even in private she felt estranged from her voice, and soon ceased singing.

For solace she turned to her Waldorf Blofeld, mining its panoramic frequencies to craft a shivering suite of futurist-noir nocturnes and rhythmic noise vignettes, equal parts exorcism and manifestation, desperation and delirium. Track titles hint at the headspace – “Outside At 5 AM,” “Same Thought All Day,” “Stay Late” – mirroring the music’s mood of hoods up, headphones on, wandering empty urban tunnels under flickering streetlights. Enigmatically, Salmina slips in a sliver of spectral voice on the intro and exit songs (“Breathe Exercise” and “Deconstruction”), framing them as induction into and escape from the cryptic isolationist condition of the rest of the collection. Mastered by P. Nikolsky, Powerhouse Moscow. Design by Britt Brown.