House News

Analog Acid music from Gothenburg, Sweden
Limited Handnumberd Edition to 303 copies world wide.
Vinyl only.

Two tracks each from Delft label boss LA-4A and comrade Matrixxman with a featured appearance by Vin Sol.

White Vinyl Pressing!

3 Shit hot tracks on MB's debut for Bio Rhythm... What can we say 'The Miracle Sign' hit us by surprise... Title track is a beautiful and epic journey in techno soul quite rare to hear these days, reminding a bit of early nineties Detroit/UK techno and even some of the early Speedy J works, all with nowadays production skills. Stunning contemporary techno the classic way. Then from heaven to hell with '60606', an evil distorted acidic drum track guaranteed to damage kids brains worldwide... But no time to think long anyway cause there's 'We Only Have', an autistic out-of-the-box jack track providing a sneaky tool for the more adventurous dj. This will separate the gurners from the dancers. Top-notch showcase by the unstoppable man-machine that is Marco Bernardi..!

Back at it again, taking the true essence of the "jacking" sound of Chicago house and putting it's own stamp on it is what Obsolete Music Technology has done with their new 12" entitled, "Volatile." Warbling, wobbling, distorting, sinisterly acidic basslines abound is the best way to describe this release! For dance floors only! You have been warned!

"Volatile" starts off with some 707 drums intro and then fading in, is this tripped out, bubbling bass sound that sends you off a cliff! Just when you think that's all to the track; dark, melancholic pads comes in for added atmos-FEAR! Rounding out the A-side is "Killin," with it's 2 acid style basslines, one sounding at a high octave and the other at a lower octave. Riffs playing separately sounding great, but when played together, there is something slightly, mentally off.

On the B-side, "Broken Siren" is high energy! 808 tom drums bringing the funky low end while a short, electronic piano lick drenched in warm, fuzzy, flange effect. Setting it off is a decayed sine wave, mimicking an actual alarm sound. Lastly, "Electric Current" best describe this distorted acid bassline and its tweaking filter and resonance controls over jacking 808 drums.

Pitched somewhere between the molasses gloop of 'Acid Tracks' and his more gospel moments, Pierre's Phantasy Club was a vocal project that, without reaching the heights of some of his more momentous Wild Pitch productions and remixes, still showed his versatility.
"I'll put the bug in you it'll make you stay, I'll plant it it'll never go away". We believe you, Pierre.
Repressed & remastered for 2015 & featuring all original label artwork, with permission from Trax records.

New Ortloff family member PorkFour with his incredible 5-track debut.

Banging DXR tracks from the vaults!!!

Considering the combined talents of Detroit veteran Terrence Dixon and Black Jazz Consortium man Fred P, you'd expect this split EP for Finale Sessions to be a lesson in warm, soul-flecked depth. Pleasingly, that's exactly what it delivers. Dixon excels with the sub-sporting alien futurism of "To The Bridge" - the aural equivalent of staring into space while dancing to electronic jazz - and the sumptuous, minor key bliss of the casual deep house jam "Starting Over". Fred P, meanwhile, delivers two contrasting cuts. There's some acid-fuelled deep house futurism in the shape of "Circuit", and a chunk of bongo-laden dancefloor humidity in "The Road", whose rising strings and sweet melodies are arguably the highlight of a superb EP.

Finally Repressed!
Todd Osborn ftw again. This time with music to go with the beats: acid, house, idm and lots of fun. Starts with two mixes of 'Put Your Weight On It". One for lazy DJs from Frankfurt and a shorter one for hard working Windy City selectors - in any case heavy stuff. Flip features the softer side of the Michigan maestro with the downtempo love poem 'Medium' and the contemplative 'Markert". Todd is g(o)od.

After dancing with HNNY under the disco ball and staying up late listening to Mella Dee's warehouse tracks it's time to go visit Detroit with Esa.

Have a listen to Umatic 3000 and you'll understand why Tooli started sweating while listening to the demo the first time.
Futuristic and deep dance music from a space ship that crashed somewhere in Detroit. 8/8 (Son Op) on the flip is a dramatic interlude that leads straight into Big Snoek, a track that both sounds and smells like a modern Global Communication tribute.

Stunning debut from Mikhail Bogomolov on Pro-Tez Records. Straight forward and multi-layered, analogue machine funk with a Motor City flare out of Moscow. "Northern Route" EP is an intriguing piece of music that sounds futuristic and vintage at the same time.
Heavyweight 180 gramm vinyl only release. Mastered at "Dublates and Mastering" and cut at 'Scape' in Berlin.

Limited to 250 units.

Techno powers from Ireland. Our favourite pirate John Daly shifts up one or two gears into the fifth. Tracks and tools of diverse adaptabilities for different DJ tastes. If this is too fast, you are too slow.

Inspired by the success of last summer's retrospective on Poker Flat, Steve Bug takes up his Traffic Signs moniker once more for a fabulous jam that more than merits the 10-year wait. The uncredited tunes that first came out under this name were classic jack tracks that devastated dancefloors - and 'Cookie Jar' is a more than worthy successor. This is stripped-down house, Chicago-esque, direct and determined to make you move. Berlin legend Jake The Rapper adds downright dirty humour with a spoken vocal fit for an age of internet sextapes and celebrity photo hacking. 'I like what you're cookin. Those cookies smell goooood,' he rascalously declares. Three mixes sprinkle the musical equivalent of chocolate chips, pecans and Brazilian stardust over the original. Steve Bug makes fine adjustments for the club, bouncing around the kick drums and doubling the synth riff with strings, while Joyce Muniz's dark, strobing treatment adds a dirty bass line for sexy, sweat-drenched dancefloors everywhere. Stripping away the vocal on the dub, Muniz's production talents are all the more scintillating, irresistibly kinetic from beginning to end. The brilliant video for 'Cookie Jar' has been created by swiss-french duo Ben & Julia, who let us take part in their playful, colorful and surreal world that suits the song so well.

This compilation is the second release for vinyl-exclusive label Volt Music. The tracks were hand picked for their subtle strokes of emotion, and smooth movements. Although the music varies in genre, from deep house, dub techno, trip hop and atmospheric acid, the compilation comes together much like an artwork of different colors with one underlining theme.

Volt 002 Various Ideas features VAKULA, Siamak Amidi, Animous, Miruga and Nasrawi. The compilation comes as a double-sided release, and can be found Wax-cut only!

DJ Pierre classic from Chicago's Hot Mix 5... 1988 was a vintage year!

4 solid cuts... 2 mixes of piano house classic 'String Free' and 2 mixes of the heavier and darker 'Can You Feel The Bass'.

Acidland. That´s the name of the game on RRRC-023.

"Acid In Wonderland" by Dj Wank is driven by a hypnotic acidline on top of a groovy techhouse beat, leading you across the magic tunnel.

Dominik Vogel & Kinky T demonstrate with "Alice In Acidlant Pt.2" what they call "Nu Acid":
A massive analog techno track with a wild evolving, sick 303 performance.

Welcome to Acidland!

Prime Direct Distribution welcome New London imprint Fancy Human to their ever expanding label roster, the label collective consists of Leigh Morgan, Rob King and Tom Coulling. Their first release, 'Made in Jupiter' is a fusion of deep hypnotic and discofied house grooves, and is set for release in late April on vinyl.

Leigh has been involved in the deep house scene for over 15 years, having A&R'd and run the widely respected Urban Torque imprint since it's inception in 2001, and also compiling the popular Urban Torque Transmissions Radio Show, now in to it's ninth year. Rob and Tom, life long friends since training as musicians in their teens, have been working together as Lucatwana for the past two years with some initial output on Bad Life and Numerology Records.

With Urban Torque on hiatus for the time being, Fancy Human now provides an outlet for both Leigh's solo material and Lucatwana's brand of funk.

kicking off the A side 'Jupiter Calls' is a Deep melodic, space filled groove, pushing beats, and atmospheric textures with a trippy vocal line underlined by a chicago-esq bassline.

Second track on the A side 'What Made You' is a Lo fi dance floor bomb, with a beast of a bassline with a large dose of funk.

The B side kicks off with 'Planet Five' a Delicious Detroit fuelled lushness with a Infectious bass lines and melodies.

Rounding off the release is 'Garleens Attic' Dirty funk vibes and slinky guitar chops drives this summer soundtrack.

first part of this ibiza classic series on 12" vinyl !!!

Following the colossal success of the Terry Farley compiled 'Acid Rain', we're proud to announce the incredible follow-up and worthy companion, 'Acid Thunder'. Once again compiled by House expert Terry Farley, 'Acid Thunder' continues the journey of its predecessor with another collection of 58 incredibly influential House Music releases from the Vintage era of the sound, namely, 1985-1991. In addition, we are delighted to have finally managed to unearth 25 key tracks from one of House Music's most influential labels, D.J. International. As with 'Acid Rain', all tracks have been immaculately re-mastered and have never sounded better. This collection also contains numerous tracks which have never been on compilations or available since their original release. Sleeve- notes this time are courtesy of Jacob Arnold, founder and curator of the hugely influential House Music website, Gridface. Once again, we have included a 32 page booklet containing all scans plus photos, flyers and other memorabilia from the archives of Terry Farley and Jacob Arnold. All 5 CDs and the booklet are within a hard- wearing clamshell box which will sit perfectly with 'Acid Rain' for the collectors out there. As usual Harmless will be co-ordinating a huge Press and Radio campaign and we'll be rolling the PR throughout the summer and into autumn 2014. This is must-buy purchase for all serious House Music aficionados.

Boston house music ace John Barera with his absolutely brilliant first EP on Ortloff Records.

Anopolis are a collective of four Thessaloniki based producers coming together for their first release on Lower Parts. More specifically they are based in the Ano Poli area of the city, hence the name. From warm analog pads to screaming acid lines combined with raw beats, Anopolis provides a 90s mix tape vibe with a wide mixture of styles and sounds. Included is a storming remix from Elec PT.1 aka Andreas Gehm, The Minister, Manager 111.

The EP starts with Anopolis 2, a long, disco flavored track, built up gradually with phasing pads , lead melodies and an arpeggiated square bass line. The hypnotic feeling of Anopolis 5 is up next taking things deeper and textural while Anopolis 11 stands strong with it's relentless acid loop juxtaposed with sharp drums washed in reverb. The final track of the EP arrives in the form of a remix of Anopolis 2 by Elec pt.1 creating a mysterious and sinister atmosphere. Anopolis are an example of the fresh wave of sound coming from Northern Greece. Be quick.

New Shags! Typically retarded but strangely enticing Chi-Haya house that swings like a tit. Produced by an auxiliary member of the New Kids Turbo and his socially challenged compadre from the Coastal region

finally repressed!
Surprise release by a mysterious UK producer. Sweet and dripping wet Chicago House beats that are as timeless as they are fitting with current trends

The latest chapter in the electronic evolution of guitarist John Frusciante features a new project under his Trickfinger guise and has him utilizing the classic hardware that spawned the eternal acid template. Frusciante's desire to cede control to machines has paradoxically allowed him to present a singular take on elemental dance music, a brilliant and unexpected entry into Acid Test's growing canon of modern, 303-focused dance music.

Words from the Artist
I started being serious about following my dream to make electronic music, and to be my own engineer, five years ago. For the 10 years prior to that, I had been playing guitar along with a wide range of different types of programmed synthesizer and sample based music, emulating as best as I could, what I heard. I found that the languages machines forced programmers to think in had caused them to discover a new musical vocabulary. The various forms of electronically generated music, particularly in the last 22 years, have introduced many new principles of rhythm, melody, and harmony. I would learn what someone had programmed but their thought process eluded me. Programmers, particularly ones fluent on machines from the early 80s and/or tracker programs from the 90s, clearly had a theoretical foundation in their employ but it was not the theory I knew from pop/rock, jazz or classical. The hands relationship to the instrument accounts for so much of why musicians do what they do, and I had come to feel that in pop/rock my mind was often being overpowered by my hand, which I had a strong desire to correct. I was obsessed with music where machine intelligence and human intelligence seemed to be bouncing off one another, each expanding with the incorporation of what it received from the other.

In 2007 I started to learn how to program all the instruments we associate with Acid House music and some other hardware. For about 7 months I didn't record anything. Then I started recording, playing 10 or so synced machines through a small mixer into a CD burner. This was all experimental Acid House, my skills at making rock music playing no part in it whatsoever. I had lost interest in traditional songwriting and I was excited about finding new methods for creating music. I'd surround myself with machines, program one and then another and enjoy what was a fascinating process from beginning to end. I was so excited by the method of using numbers much in the same way I'd used my muscles all my life. Skills that had previously been applied by my subconscious were gradually becoming conscious, by virtue of having numerical theoretical means of thinking about rhythm, melody and sound.

In summary, Acid served as a good starting point for me, very gradually leading me to be able to combine whatever styles of music I want, as a one man band.' - John

In our corner of leftfield dance music, there are not many of our heroes that we haven't had the pleasure of hosting on Circus Company. From the early days of Ark and Akufen to Robag Wruhme, Deetron and Franck Roger, we are privileged to have welcomed some genuine legends onto our label, and now we are honoured to add another all-time great to the list; SoulPhiction. Michel Baumann has long been a steadfast measure of everything 4/4 electronic music should be, both as SoulPhiction and Jackmate and as a curator of Philpot Records. Coming up from the same hip hop roots that inspired Circus Co. in the beginning, he channels a sample-fuelled, jazz-inflected sound that would buckle under the weight of the soul contained within were it not for the strength and presence of his rhythm section. With the pair of cuts he shares with us, all aspects of his lifetime's service are represented in fine style. The Aside swinger 'Glitz' comes rocking in on the kind of kinky groove that tickles our limbs just right, taking time for the beat to settle before unfurling a sumptuous funk lick and a bittersweet vocal hook that tugs at the hips and the heart strings. Meanwhile on the flip 'Jinx' provides a futuristic acid treatment, laying out a rigid drum machine mantra and bubbling 303 as a backbone. Meanwhile starlit techno synths dart around the mix with a highly-evolved purpose that eschews any concerns about throwback house music - this is strictly the sound of tomorrow, as techno was always meant to be.

"Again" is a rolling 10 minute trip, with twists and turns along the way. "Blocks" with it's tougher, blockier beats.
Maeve is the record label run by three close friends, Mano Le Tough, The Drifter and Baikal. Maeve 04 is The Drifter's debut on the label, and his first original music since late 2012 for Permanent Vacation. "Again" showcases a tougher side to his productions.
The Again EP consists of 2 tracks, both aimed firmly at the dancefloor. "Again" is a rolling 10 minute trip, with some twists and turns along the way. "Blocks" with it's tougher, ahem, blockier beats and soaring synths is a more upfront affair.

Glasgow's Mia Dora are responsible for the last Optimo Trax EP of 2014. This release came about after they sent the track Un.sub to Twitch earlier in the year. He went nuts over its cowbell delirium bump n' grind and it has been a constant secret weapon in his sets all year. When he found out it wasn't scheduled for release a notion formed for Optimo Trax to put it out and a few months later the Mia Dora guys delivered three other tracks to form an EP, including a track in collaboration with long time Glasgow doyen MASH.

We live in a time of hyperbole overdose. We are told everything is "amazing", "essential", "massive", "killing it", "smashing it" etc. etc. to the point where we no longer given credit to make up our own minds. Optimo Trax attempts to cut through the bullshit by releasing records that hopefully speak for themselves. The label only releases tracks that we would play ourselves in a dj set and that we think will stand the test of time. We pride ourselves in having 27 years experience in this field and are happy if it takes time for people to catch on to our releases. If someone discovers our records in 2019 we believe they will still be as eminently playable in clubs as the day they were made. This is why our releases are all AA sides as we have 100% confidence in every track we release. With regards to the Un.sub EP, it was very difficult to decide which track should sit where on the EP as all four tracks could have been the A1. Think of this release a quadruple A side. If any of these fail to work on a dancefloor we will offer a full refund (and also offer tips on where you might be going wrong).

Mia Dora and Optimo Trax thus give you four tracks of dancefloor delight, from Glasgow, with love. To celebrate our first year of releases, for this release, the usual Optimo Trax trademark red and black sleeve will be modified to be a blue and white one, representing the Scottish flag. As internationalists, we are generally opposed to flags but 2014 is a momentous year in our country's history and also, in our opinion the best year ever for music being produced here, so we felt like celebrating these things.

Strictly one per customer only.
Fourth release on Balkan's buy-on-sight sub-label "I Love Acid". This one sees three new cuts from the mighty Jerome Hill, channeling late 80's analogue Chicago jacking vibes, featuring a remix from Mark Archer (Altern 8 / Nexus 21). Fierce as it gets, this is the proper deal. Vinyl only, 303 hand-numbered & stamped copies on heavyweight vinyl. No digital. no represses. All previous ILA releases have sold out quicksmart, so don't sleep on this.

For their next release Crème Organisation turn to an emerging producer in the form of young Belgian Innershades. With but one previous release on Ukraine's Wicked Bass label, little is known of the man other than the fact that he produces heavyweight techno with a purposeful and dubbed out menace. The first cut here, 'Nina At The Boiler Room' is a mid tempo stomper with grainy textures and musky ambiance run through with a wild acid line and classic pinging cowbells. It's potent and feverish and forever builds to a peak, at which point a searching horn sound surveys the desolate landscapes. 'No Stoppin' is more like dub house, shrouded as it is in plenty of echo, delay and rueful and romantic pads. Last cut 'The Future' is the most up beat and peak time of the lot. It's a bouncy, nimble bit of analogue house with sombre pads, busy melodies and a healthy scattering of percussion that brings plenty of kineticism to the mix. Three fine tracks that will surely have the world keeping an eye on Innershades from here on in.

The one and only Disco Nihilist is 'Moving Forward". Mike Taylor's second EP for Running Back is turning the curve ball of the first into a wild pitch (if Baseball metaphors are your thing). 4 tracks across the Disco Nihilist spectrum: The rare cheerfulness of 'House Rent Boogie' is backed up with a classic and no-nonsense RZ-1 beat symphony that is aptly titled 'Beatdown Drums", while the flip presents the masked mania of 'Film Grain' and some grumpy grittiness with 'Operator Select". Mastered and cut in the US of A by legendary engineer Mark Richardson at Prairie Cat.

This various artist vinyl compilation features tracks from DJ Spider, Dakini9, Hakim Murphy and Phil Moffa. This combines all of the elements that Plan B is famous for: deep, dark, dance floor alchemy. Originally released on CD, these tracks are now available on vinyl.

We all remember 2000 and One's Heritage album from 2009 quite well, it was a hommage to his first and foremost love, house music; and above all, a tribute to his West-African roots. This time he returns on Bangbang!, his own Amsterdam House imprint runned together with Sandy Huner.
What can you expect.. this time it's an ode to two of House's alltime legends, two banging house-tracks to jack the dancefloors and move every crowd!
To make things even more special this baby will be on white vinyl and VINYL ONLY!

Sound System Autoproduction. Old school minimal progressive Tribe sounds, hypnotic acid pumpin LSDF style... Sober. The record comes in a Printed sleeve.

Collecting Orders For A Repress!
The return of Matthew Styles for Running Back (check his Sample & Hold EP for his psychic powers) sees the Berliner-by-choice immersing in his very own world of h-music, where Tony Humphries thrones next to Ricardo Villalobos and with enough room for all the wonderful chums in between. Not embellished by any ideologies, nostalgic coryza or a lack of ideas, Styles serves three prime cuts with gravy sauce: 'Montana' is a floating piece of break-beat science fiction house that gets backed up by ferocious bonus beats; 'Hot!' is exactly that with a twist on a historical bass line, infectious vocal snippets (check the loop in the run-out grooves if you cannot get enough of them) and perfect timing; while 'Sixty Ways' makes use of Dinky's vocal skills and the everlasting question about the nature of love. The essence of taste!