House News

The superb 'Forbidden Planet' is a shiny early electro cut with a great funk bass line, a real instrumental groove and fantastic melodies that shimmer like a hot sun. It's filled with joy and sounds as fresh today as ever, the way it ducks and dives and offers real warmth.The Francisco Remix keeps the funk vibe but changes the groove to be a more Chicago house style cut. As such it has a rasping bassline, big drums and coarse percussion that make you want to jack.The masterful Ali Renault—a go-to disco and synth specialist who runs Cyber Dance Records, Human Shield Record Company and most recently his own Vivod imprint—then turns out a hypnotic version that is more driven and direct for the dance floor, with robotic bass and epic reflective synth lines. It's a cinematic track with great analogue textures that goes back to the future.The last original is the excellent 'Stay With Me', a cosmic love song with breezy trumpets and dreamy disco vibes as well as soulful vocals. Italo melodies and infectious percussion finish it off and make it an instant crowd pleaser.

Optimo Music don't generally do limited edition releases but when The Golden Filter did these extra mixes of 'End Of Times',

the A1 track off their recent EP we thought they were too good to remain in the digital domain so have pressed up a small run of 12' singles aimed specifically at DJs.
The original single version is a future synth classic. These new dub versions take it to the dancefloor and have been tried and tested around the world over the last few months. They are considerably extended, dubbed out and add extra dynamics & ecstatic synth power with hints of the original vocal. There is a slo mo version at 103 bpm and a faster version at 118bpm which means the track should work any time from warm up to peak set. There is also a Drone-Apella version included too.

American DJ & producer Eric Estornel AKA Maceo Plex is set to relaunch his old moniker called Mariel Ito in 2018. The mysterious alias was active during the early 2000's and flourished from Estornel's experimentation on electro sounds before he would become known worldwide as Maceo Plex. He delivered a bunch of releases under this moniker during 2005 and 2006 including an EP on Modern Love and an album on SCSI-AV, to name a few.

Estornel will come back with a first Mariel Ito EP in 12 years. This new single titled '2e Komst' will land on January 26th on his fresh imprint Lone Romantic, that he launched with the recent Maceo Plex LP 'Solar' last summer. The EP brings two new tracks 'Sintex49' and 'Dmode90' that illustrates the electro edge of his sound with the recognizable obscure synths and electrifying samples of his productions.
All tracks written & produced by Eric Estornel

Artwork by Melkio
Cat. No. LR002 - all rights reserved
& © Lone Romantic 2018

qua" wurde im Jahr 2009 in Ohio von Tim Story aufgenommen. Das Album enthält 17 Miniaturwelten, manche eiskalt, manche warm, aber alle erfüllt von der für Cluster typischen spielerisch-irrlichternden Flüchtigkeit und Spontaneität. "Auf 'Qua' begegnen wir ständig dem charakteristischen Cluster-Pulsschlag, modern, aber zugleich durch und durch zeitlos", beschreibt der Produzent das Werk. Für die Aufnahmen hatte Moebius ein paar wunderbar schrullige Loops im Gepäck, alles andere entstand vor Ort aus den technischen Möglichkeiten und Spielereien, die die beiden im Studio aufstöberten. Dazu gehörten ein alter Drum-Computer, eine kitschige Farfisa, neueste Keyboards, digitales Equipment und ein billiges Yamaha Omnichord. Abgerundet wurde das Ganze durch Fundstücke wie eine quietschende Badezimmertür, die Moebius mit seinem Recorder, den er praktisch immer mit sich herumtrug, aufnahm und einer Zweitverwertung zuführte. Später gab Moebius den Songs noch verschmitzte Nonsenstitel, zum Beispiel"Putoil". Auch das fröhlich-dadaistische Plattencover stammt vo n ihm.

H.Takahashi, Tokyo based Architect and sound designer follows up his revered collection 'Where To Be' on Where To Now records with 'Raum', a full length LP suite of meditative Pulse Minimalism.

'Raum' draws it's cues from a melting pot of closely connected yet wholly individual strands of Minimalism - from the Japanese Minimalist works from the likes of Hiroshi Yoshimura and Satoshi Ashikawa, to masters such as Erik Satie and John Cage, and Ambient leaders Brian Eno and Roedelius, Takahashi soaks this historical influence and rings it out it through a modern filter to create a record of stillness, ethereal beauty, and transcendent energy.

Takahashi composes all of his music on his iPhone, and this is no gimmick, rather a conscious decision which allows Takahashi to constantly create 'on the go' without the constraints of space, and for Takahashi 'Raum' serves as a mediation on the relationship between sound and it's environment.

For Takahashi this creative process 'feels something like an invisible phenomenon taking over & mutating these constantly changing spaces into abstract sound, creating a brief pseudo space which expresses and highlights the features of the environment for a moment in time.' Although perhaps quite an abstract statement of intent, when deeply immersed into Takahashi's pieces this idea of slowly gliding through different architectural spaces is naturally conjured through the gentle repetitive pulse which runs through his work and the playful unstructured tonality of objects which weave around this forward (or upward) motion.

'Raum' was created across the city of Tokyo, be it a Café / Park / Office / Road / Platform / Subway these pieces explore the power sound holds to emotionally enhance and mutate the listeners environment.

the power of the music presented is in that which is barely there, embracing space, silence, and cyclical repetition. The music is to help us function - it's music to work to, to sleep to, to help us find a sense of space and oneness within a world that is increasingly wild and untameable.

Vintage Electronica aware smart leftfield House jams & Ambient interludes

Emotional Rescue returns with the third album in a series based around the music of Luis Delgado and Javier Bergia. After a collecton of Javier's best music, the reissue of their Ishinohana collaboration, here presented in 'Vathek' is Delgado's debut solo album. The second release on his El Cometa De Madrid label after Ishinohana, the LP is an avant-garde step forward from that collaboration, their work in Finas Africae and also, his previous Mecanica Popular project. In a sense, Delgado is the link that brings many of the country's music of that period together. A multi-instrumentalist he played his first concert at 14 before becoming an in-house engineer for RCA that led to Mecanica Popular with fellow engineer Eugenio MuNoz (Randomize) and the projects following. The colder electronics of that project belie Delgado's Andulusian Folk/Rock and Ethnic Fusion compulsion, as came to prominence with Luis Paniagua in their Babia releases and via the later success of Finas Africae. In Vathek, Delgado pushes beyond these projects to utilise the studio and explore his interest in Eastern music. Subtitled "Procesos Electronicos Para Instrumentos Acusticos," the premise was that even with all the machines, the knowledge to use them is not realised and therefore, the goal was to go deeper within these processes to create an new encompassing sound. The ten pieces should, therefore, be seen in this exploration, yielding a deepness not associated with this golden period of Spanish music. A truly experimental album that is meditative and mesmorising; a mastery of instrument, studio and thought. As with Javier Bergia's 'Eclipse' and Ishinohana before it, Vathek comes with wonderful hand-illustrated artwork by Finn Campbell-Notman, from his studio in the Andulusian foothills.

After a session together in a Bergen studio 20 years ago which sadly only resulted in a distorted tape, Bjørn Torske and Prins Thomas finally get back together to make music.

Bjørn Torske is a figurehead and grand old man of the electronic music scene in Norway, inspiring and laying the foundation for producers like Prins Thomas, Lindstrom and Todd Terje.

Bjørn and Thomas' relationship goes back to the mid 90's when they first bonded over a shared passion for oddball disco, dub and detroit techno. This album is in many ways full circle with Bjorn and Thomas making music together for the first time.

Square One is a collection of loose, abstract and freeform avant-disco jams, parallel world-disco maybe Whatever you call it, this album is a labour of love. A sound they both have traveled towards for all these years. And here they finally are, at square one.

The album was recorded live in Taakeheimen Studio, Oslo, in the spring of 2015 with both guys manning an instrument each in each overdub, piling the layers of sounds on top of each other. A year later they took the now edited tracks and mixed them down in live takes with all hands on the desk in Malabar, another Oslo studio. After a couple of rounds with some very blunt scissors the tracks became what are now included on this album.

Square One is a meeting of two minds. Probably as close to their musical soul as you can get.

Bocal 5 were a No Wave art group composed of Doc Pilot (synths, vocals), Zouka Dzaza (bass), Florian Guillou (synths), Mickey Lepron (electronic drums, bass) and Evy Tinguette (lead vocals). The project was born in November 1980 in Tours, France as the brain child of Doc Pilot. Between 1981 to 1986 Bocal 5 recorded one 7' single and a cassette-only album before taking a year off in 1984 to launch X-Ray Pop. Influenced by Erik Satie, Brigitte Bardot, Suicide and Young Marble Giants, they call their music "minimum naive new wave."

Musique Électronique' is a 19-track compilation of songs recorded across 1983, most of which have never been released on vinyl before. 16 tracks appeared on the From Bocal 5 To X-Ray Pop' album originally released on cassette by Sound of Pig in 1984. Both tracks from their debut 7' originally released in MB5 1984 are included and show a progression in sound as a result of newer recoding equipment and techniques. Also present is a song from the tape compilation Andreas N°3 L'Animal" released by Fraction Studio in 1984. Armed with a Korg 770, MS-10, Prophet Pro-One, Roland TR-707 and TB-808 they crafted their own brand of quirky synthesized electronic pop. Songs are short, concise and well structured, richly textured, moving at a quick speed with hardly a pause. Evy's pouting, tongue-in-cheek vocals (sung in French) come together for a catchy, sensuous, danceable, eccentric psychedelic ride. This collection shows the group's sense of humor, vitality and carefree playfulness.

All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each jacket displays a bright neon green collage of photos and ephemera from the band's archives designed by Eloise Leigh that exudes the project's DIY spirit. Each copy includes a 6-page xeroxed booklet with photos, original artwork and press clippings.

- hello asshole' comes with a crispy swinging groove, which is almost a breakbeat and the sounddesign sweeps splendidly. and then this compelling guitar riff appears and together with the voice and a bold synthi-line, it lifts us to new heights; right where you just drift away, big number, somehow stoned, but still kicking. jimi jules is a true musician, who prefers recording everything by hand, just like kalabrese, and sings himself, when he's in the right mood and has something to say. currently he's busy recording his debut album, trying to express himself and refining his style. jules is one of zurich's up-and-coming talent and already had a bunch of releases, no matter if techy, housy or some kind of dancepop, this boy rules.

The b-side's - kafi-lied' is an ode to the coffee drinking. taking time in the morning and starting the day with a relaxed mood. and the voice of sarah palin, singer of the rumpelorchester, gives the song the energy to gleam over everything to passionately throw oneself into the day and fall in love. Once again a strong performance by the zurich vocalist, the soul breathing just like fresh coffee flavor. The rumpelorchester guys join with a - rumply' choir and kalabrese adds the white milk froth with the right groove and his characteristic analogue synthi pads.

PREMIERES
Mixmag Premiering Original
Boiler Room Premiering Marcelus remix

REVIEWS
Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, Inverted Audio, Soundwall. FACT & Hyponik reviews confirmed

DJ FEEDBACK

Steffi - Legend!
Ryan Elliot - This is great stuff, will play this weekend.
Mano Le Tough - Both sides sound brilliant. Thanks for this!
Zario Zenker - both tracks sound great! will play!
Efdemin - awesome!
DVS1 - Thank you!!
Ben UFO - thanks guys
Michael Mayer - liking the original... nice music for sunrises!
Martyn - Cheers boss!!
Moomin - Nice release I really dig both versions ...
Christoper Rau - thank you very much, it's really nice
Basic Soul Unit- Thanks!
Sascha Dive - Like the Marcelus Remix! Great Stuff!!!
BREACH - Marcelus remix is a bit fuckin naughty!
Ethyl - holy smokes. both sides of this are stunning. best thing i've heard in a while
Oliver Bauer - Thanks so much, Wonderful release!
J.Tijn - all good, nice one for the EP!
Johannes Volk - Thank you, both tracks are very interesting. I will play it at Tresor next week.
Mr Beatnick - Nice one! Perfect timing for the show tonight
Sisterhood - Mate this is killer! Really into it
Arnaldo - Sounds nice.
Flori - Cracking release.

Barely has the dust settled on the first Cold Tonic, yet label boss Krystal Klear is back already with two more heavy hitters for TONIC002. Building on the foundations of the debut release, 'Dance 7FS' shows a darker shadow rarely seen in previous Krystal Klear music. Moving into lights out, eyes down territorywith the driving breaks of West End disco, this is KK stepping into his own. 'Fumer Tue' features 'Relics'-esque string laden melancholy but never ever goes fully PG. This is R-rated lovers music and, if the feedback is anywhere near the mark, could easily go straight into last-tune-of-the-night-classic territory for the next generation of dance music connoisseurs.


'Krystal Klear delivering the goods again, showing pure diversity across 2 dance floor slammers!'
SKREAM

'Yeah really like them tbh.another BEAST on Coldtonic, Keep it up please!'
JACKMASTER

Gliding onto Unthank via the Canadian Riviera and the shores of Orion comes Lnrdcroy's debut solo EP. 3 tracks of heaving, dense, rhythmic ambience culled from recent live gigs in and around Vancouver. This eighth release on Unthank further strengthens the bond between Lnrdcroy and parent label Firecracker Recordings, whose double LP re-edition of Much Less Normal is due imminently.

12" with printed deluxe sleeve by Designers Republic, 180g Vinyl, Remixes from DJ Marky and Isaac Tichauer

With a career that spans over two decades Manchester DJ Andy Carthy aka Mr. Scruff needs little introduction. He is regularly cited as a source of inspiration for many of the world's up and coming artists through his eclectic approach to both DJing and creating music. We are proud to say Andy has always been a keen supporter of the output on Gondwana Records, so when we re-issued one of his favourite records The Swimmer by Phil France it seemed an appropriate time to ask for a couple of remixes. The results of which are two wonderfully unique dance floor friendly takes on the track, Joy of Brass.

As one-third of Yellow Magic Orchestra and an Academy Award-winning composer for his work on the soundtrack for The Last Emperor, synth pop innovator Ryuichi Sakamoto is among the most groundbreaking artists to have emerged since the late 70s. A musician's musician, Ryuichi Sakamoto has created intriguing musical unions with artists such as David Sylvian, Iggy Pop, Tony Williams, Bootsy Collins, Jaques Morelenbaum and many others.

Following the massively successful release of the electronic masterpiece async in 2017, Ryuichi Sakamoto's first studio album in eight years, Milan is proud to announce the remix compilation async remodels: a dozen remixes of async's tracks by a who's-who of experimental giants - everyone from Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival, Sicario) to Oneohtrix Point Never (composer of Good Time) to Arca (producer of Björk's numerous releases) have gotten their hands dirty remixing Sakamoto's work. Even reworks by the Canadian synthpop duo Electric Youth and Austin-based synthwave legends S U R V I V E are included. With such a well of talent reinterpreting such a personal album, this is one release Sakamoto fans can't afford to miss.

International bobbers from Palmiarnia, Forli, Ness Ziona and of course the Knaresborough dream house HQ. Featuring the nippiness of Møzaika, RNR, Deep88 with L*J on dream sequence and art house vibes. Illustrations from Sebedražie with Peter Mokry.

"This release is individually 200 hand-numbered limited edition CASSETTE (100 PINK and 100 SMOKE TRANSPARENT) with a sort of 'greatest hits' of (almost) all Archeo releases (AR001-AR011) + an unreleased bonus track from Roberto Aglieri (Ticino parte 4 - Il merlo), celebrating 3 years of the label, from 2014 to 2017 - selected with love by Manu- Archeo (AR001C).

Archeo Recordings is a reissue record label that regenerates old, lost, obscure and forgotten rare gems of predominantly Italian music but also all over the world of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
All outputs are licensed by the artists and the vintage labels; audio tracks are remastered in their original form; the sleeves and center labels are graphically recreated for today but all based on the original images.
Archeo would like to make the music available to a wider audience of collectors, DJs, music lovers of a forgotten time.
All releases are hand-numbered limited edition vinyl. The first copies of each release are pressed in coloured vinyls."

Belgium's Yves De Mey strikes clean and sharp with four modular rave prongs for Entr'acte leading a jagged dance after his recent 2nd album, Drawn With Shadow Pens for Spectrum Spools.
In De Mey's own words: 'Late-Night Patching is the result of a short test phase with modular software, mimicking traditional synth modules. A very basic 8-step sequencer setup was patched
and used to its full extent for all these tracks. There's something nostalgic about this EP, and not only in its recreation of vintage instruments. All four tracks allude to a rave past, a history of
repetitive and nervous patterns brought together in simple structures. And for some of us, it's the sound of staying home while others roam the streets at night.'
It stalks a fine line down the alleys of your mind, extruding gritted monotone rhythms until they evaporate fizzing metallic contrails, or knotting sticky electro patterns into recursive calligraphy
on the A-side, and running the dancehall/living room red with hunched, bogling grooves in the B-side pair of atonal stings.

Long-time London based friends and regular collaborators Ethyl & Flori have been foraying between the blurred lines of house and techno with releases on labels like secretsundaze, Aim and Fear of Flying for the last 6 years - and with a glowing reputation under their belt, 2015 saw the duo launch their own imprint E&F Records. This time however, their most recent venture is a release with London label Mutual Friend Recordings and combines the duo's talent with enigmatic label owners and Friends Of Ours London party curators Our Mutual Friend, their solo EP on Brooklyn's Voodoo Down Records earlier this year was tipped by such luminaries as Levon Vincent and DJ October. Ethyl & Flori open the package with otherworldy cut 'Lacewing', driven by a rolling bass and delicately sprinkled with ethereal chime hits and lingering piano melodies. Up next, Our Mutual Friend deliver a hypnotic, layered remix of 'Lacewing', instead laying the focus on down-tempo percussion and glitched samples. Our Mutual Friend open up the flip with 'Burnside' which lays down chattering bass hits shuffling alongside soothing melodic chimes, then Ethyl & Flori deliver a toughened remix of 'Burnside', injecting some of their relentless techno style by deepening the cut with murky synth notes and dark atmospherics.

Time to welcome another newcomer to Freerange with a brilliant debut that has already been gaining a lot of interest from early spins. Stefano Ritteri should be a familiar name to many, having dropped several well- received releases on key labels such as Pets, Rockets & Ponies and Get Physical as well as his own monthly Rinse France radio show. A producer in the old school sense, he has the ability and desire to flip from deep, emotive and down tempo jams to the most impactful, high energy floor fillers, all with a deft touch and unique and experimental spin. The Italian producer, now relocated to London, has a studio chock full of vintage synths and hardware outboard which keep him inspired and ensure his output sounds fresher and fatter than most, as can be heard on this excellent two-tracker entitled A Different Happiness EP The title track is a spaced out, percussion-heavy jam which takes a minimal approach but wins hearts and minds with an ear-worm of a melody that gets gets you hooked in from the start. Snippets of spoken word add to the intense atmosphere making this one of those sure-fire, perennial tracks which can work in a variety of sets and still guaranteed to make an impact and stand out in the crowd. Flip over for Pocket Melody, another simple yet effective and inventive track which sees Stefano letting loose on his synths and coming up with some warped Zawinul-inspired vibes in the process. The playful melody snakes around in an improvised way whilst the dubby drums and classic analogue machine beats ensure everyone stays locked into it's hypnotic groove. Definitely a producer to watch for us and we're sure Stefano is on track to continue making some amazing music. We hope you love this as much as we do!

First Word kicks off 2018 with the welcome return of Quiet Dawn, and a new EP, 'Human Being: The Short Story of The Reed'. A suitably ice-thawing six-track opus to compliment the change of seasons, dedicated to the winter blooming plant's desire to be human.

Parisian Will Galland first appeared on the label in late 2014, releasing his debut album 'The First Day' the following year. Collaborations on that album and subsequent mixes since have included offerings from Oddisee, Miles Bonny, Eric Lau, Bastien Keb, Sauce81 (Eglo), Mayaka McCraven and Sarah Williams White.

Evolving his music from a palette accumulated over the years of Hip Hop, Broken Beat and House, he has expanded his talents for arranging and composing, and now drafted in a wealth of musicians for this sublime new EP, his most ambitious yet. Strings glide effervescently atop of Quiet Dawn's assorted analogue synths, and an array of percussive organics combine to build the tale of The Reed. In-places, the set transcends into the kind of grooves that saunter somewhere between the land of Bonobo and Quantic, and the cinematic library record craft of Alan Hawkshaw et al. Deep, organic and epic.

"The reed from the earth and waters,
Human by the flesh and bones,
Bring by the love and others,
Now, you're not alone."

Each track of the EP tells a different chapter of the story. In the words of Quiet Dawn, "This record is about human behaviour, relationships, happiness, sadness, peace, anger, sex, love, birth, death... But as viewed by The Reed. The Reed is a plant that wants to be human, after observing them all around her. Over the course of the record, The Reed evolves and desires to feel feelings, gradually learning that becoming human is not so simple... ."

Also with artwork by Sophie Bass and Grégoire Marty, this glorious six-track vinyl and digital EP is released February 2018 on First Word Records.

includes 10 classic reworks remastered and spread across the 5 pieces of vinyl, an exclusive interview and download code to the full digital album containing a further 10 reworks. Box is covered in linen with a red foil print.

DISC 1 (PH61)
DISC 2 (PH62)
DISC 3 (PH63)
DISC 4 (PH64)
DISC 5 (PH65)

Active Cultures proudly presents its first release, the Animate Objects EP by Tide Eman, a new recording project by Texan producer Bill Converse. 5 tracks in Converse's singular style meant to stimulate mind and body.

Inspired by the musical lineage of London, Chicago, New York and Detroit, elements of house music, techno music, bass culture and the rhythms of West Africa are all to be found here. Distinctive in its raw immediacy, DrumTalk's music belongs in the same dark corners of the dancefloor as Daphni, Midland and Eliphino.

His productions and remixes for More Music, Sofrito, Soundway, Huntleys & Palmers and now GETME! have been making an impact far and wide, getting attention of DJs such as James Holden, Jackmaster, Gilles Peterson and Skream. Forthcoming single SNB /Super Vega has received radio play on Rinse FM, Radio 1 and Radio 6.

Matt Edwards' Pyramids of Mars label is ready to unleash a fifth release, this time featuring three subtle but high impact slo-disco tracks from the boss himself under his Rekid moniker.
By now Edwards is rightly acclaimed for many different things: the stewardship of his tastemaking labels, his own elongated club cuts for the likes Classic & Rekids and his more experimental collaborations, not to mention his critically acclaimed LP on the legendary Soul Jazz label. Here he showcases his fun and functional side with a trio of tantalising tracks aimed squarely at the rump.
The title cut opens things up in playful, mid tempo fashion. It has heavyweight, fat bottomed drums trudging below, booty shaking hits in the middle and a subtly funky guitar riff rolling over and over up top: all the necessary parts to tease dance floors into raptures, then.
The brilliant 'Mars' is even slower, and has a mischievous feel to the low slung bass, the filtered vocal cries and jazzy hats. It's a cut that is full of Detroit beatdown vibes and will surely percolate through any crowd and leave them desperate for more.
Sublime last cut 'Wave' is a mechanical, grinding groove that slowly sweeps you up with its raw hits, slapping drums and cacophony of distant vocals. It's a fine bit of work that will liven up any DJ set.
Each of the three excellent cuts here provides more than amble weaponry for disco loving, crowd baiting DJs everywhere.

X-Press 2 have been dictating house trends for years now. Despite their heritage, though, they are still at the top of their game, still heading the finest clubs and festivals and still serving up high impact club tunes. Here they join London's Leo Zero, a long time remixer of acts like Bryan Ferry and Paul Weller as well as the owner of his own underground club label, Leo Trax. Known for his great skill as a cosmic and balearic DJ, this is a fine hook up with great results.

High impact opener 'Metrowave' is a full fat house track with firm drums, raved up synth stabs that fire across the groove like a machine gun and buffed metal percussion that really works you into a frenzy. It's sweaty, features some wild melodies and is sure to get floors moving as one.

Next original 'Um Bah Be' again sets a swift, physical pace with its bulky drums, train track like synth details and afro tinged, free flowing drums. The afro vibes continue when an ad libbed vocal joins the fray and some golden, luxurious chords add plenty of heat and colour to the track.

Remixing is Matt Karmil, who has released on Idle Hands and Studio Barnhus as well as having put out two great albums. His organic, fresh sound finds the Englishman flipping 'Metrowave' into a brilliantly sun fuelled house jam with lush smeared chords, bouncing rubber drums and lots of energetic dynamism, this is a massive mix that is certain to do damage.
Limited to 500 copies worldwide!

Fully epic, warm, percussive & melodic sunriser, with 12 min running time Side-A expands from padded climbing synths, guitar-steps, flutes and piano - before the percussion work out keeps going with dubs & drops all the way through. B-side with generously extracted mixes of the cosmic, percussive and beatless kind.

Summer has not officially kicked in yet but Antinote's new addition to its roster will sure soundtrack perfectly its upcoming warm nights: encapsulating the teenage dream of an endless summer, 18 RAYS is the moniker behind which some of the label's most steady fixtures gave a try at recording music together, somewhere straight in the heart of Paris' 18th arrondissement.
.
Nico Motte, Zaltan & Raphaël Top-Secret have been friends way before each of them occasionally played his part in the Parisian label and it is mainly out of this friendship that they conceived 18 RAYS, a vessel to finally give life to the band they dreamed of in their teenage years. It is safe to say that 18 RAYS has been in their mind for quite a while, but it was only last winter, after a couple of bottles of natural wine on a hazy evening, that they decided that it was time to give it a real go and to pick up the instrument each learned years ago: the guitar, the bass and
the drums.

Produced by Nico Motte - the man behind all the artworks of the label - the trio spent 5 weeks between Synth City (Motte's studio) and Red Bull Studio in Paris working on these 4 songs, each sitting somewhere between some sort of timeless and somehow aquatic dream pop and blurred visions of an eerie grunge sound, that probably
never was.

That being said, the genesis of 18 RAYS might explain why their debut EP turns out to be such an intimate affair: while it took its members down memory lane, the listener will embark on an ethereal trip, taking him to a parallel universe in which the sounds of Cocteau Twins,

Banoffee Pies Records continue their musical exploration with their latest sub label output OTAKU . As the title suggests, Otaku provides the Banoffee crew the opportunity to focus on another area of expression. 'Music For Home' will be the focus and tagline for this imprint which will showcase a range of expertly composed live drum elements while travelling through the spectrum of leftfield electronic music .
The first instalment comes from a new and blossoming artist Marenn Sukie, first featured on the parent labels Limited Series. This time he drops a six track delight spanning the moods of trip hop, beats, and chill out in a Bonobo esque fashion, intermittent head nodding included. With love Banoffee xx

Row row row your boat gently up the stream, Nyra back on the oars for Canoe 005, heave-ho.

Having made his debut on Throne of Blood as a contributor to Moon Rock Volume 4, Cass. returns to the label with a blissed out 12' that builds upon the low-slung atmospheres of his recent output on Emotional Response and International Feel (in collaboration with Jan Schulte) to create a heady and modern sound influenced by both Balearic and 80's pop sonics without every losing sight of the dance. The a-side 'Red Atlantic' pairs a steady 4/4 kick with circular melodies, dreamy pads, and melancholic vocals before Cass. injects a post-punk bassline to beautiful effect. Autarkic (Disco Halal, Golf Channel) emphasizes the disco punk elements, twisting 'Red Atlantic' into a dancefloor bomb with a looping take on the bassline, an insistent horn motif and a much more off-kilter atmosphere. On the flip, 'The Voynich Manuscript' feels much closer to the best moments on Youth Sessions, Cass.'s brilliant full length on Emotional Response, slowing the tempo and pairing another pulsing live bassline with a narcotic melodic line built from woozy, pitch-shifted tones. It's both glisteningly pretty and tripped-out. Longtime friend and label contributor Cosmo Vitelli drags 'The Voynich Manuscript' back into dancefloor territory, upping the tempo and toughening the lushness of the original into an insistent late night chugger that's been doing the business on dancefloors for a couple months now.

Flanger is back! After 10 years, Atom™ and Burnt Friedman have composed and produced their fifth long player:

Omena celebrates its 20th release by inviting Lance Gurisik, the artist most commonly known as Lancelot.
There are no fillers here, Transport consists of two tracks, both showcasing an impeccable sense of melodies and rhythm.

A solid label favourite that's been tried and tested to rapturous dancefloor response