Pop & Rock News

Whodamanny presents "The Dance Sucker"

THROUGH GODS OWN EYES
MusicForSunrises&SunsetsDarkCornersOfTheDanceFloorDarkCornersOfTheMind.
FastDeepSlowRaveInspiringInspirtational&CosmicUpliftingWildPitchedHeartMelting&HeartPoundingSexMusic

Conceived in Bali as a club event to allow Phil Cooper and Indonesian DJ, Dea Barandana a chance to flex their rave potential and dig out those obscure, heavy dance floor cuts it has been hosting sporadic parties for the last 3 years, with no specific musical boundaries, it is about the late night, early morning dance floor experiences, heads down and lost in music!

A label was also planned, but when that would happen was always unclear, however a chance meeting in Croatia at Love International Festival 2018 between Phil and Carlo Bragagnini AKA La Mano has led to the inaugural release, TGOE001 La Mano 'Tana del Lupo' EP

Side A - Sirena, inspired by the classic Italo stable, a deep and driving intro that builds with a rolling, solid bass line, shimmering effects, gun fire handclaps and siren sounds before the piano line eases in to take it to a euphoric crescendo of soaring synths for maximum hands in the air vibes...

To add weight to the release, remixer options were discussed and both agreed on Man Power, and his rework has taken it to a much different place, adding a solid breakbeat to it, dirtying up the piano and extending the mix to 9+ minutes, this is HEAVY for the floor...

Side B - La Mano, the ying to the yang of Sirena, this is a much more progressive track, subtle in the arpeggio build up and layered to create a big sound culminating in a swirling series of dreamy chords and synth lines.
The Ambiente mix takes away the kick and percussion to allow the full dream like state to take effect, one for sunrises and sunsets across the globe...

Raised in the multicultural and mind-broadening London borough of Enfield, Loraine James grew up hearing everything from steel pan music to Metallica, from jazz and electronica to drill and grime, and the results of this exposure can be heard on ‘For You And I’. In part the album explores the complexities of being in a queer relationship in London - “I’m in love and wanted to share that in some way … to make songs that reflect layers of my relationship.” – and as a whole ‘For You and I’ is rhythmically free flowing and sprawling, with melodies that evolve into rippling keys, feeling like a live jam session with a jazz mentality, contrasting the delicate and abrasive. Opener ‘Glitch Bitch’ is a warm ear-worm, brandishing swirling textures with undulating keys and compressed percussion, with an introspective theme revisited soon after on third track ‘So Scared’, whose glitched percussion and syncopated dub bassline build to a frantic meltdown melody. On ‘London Ting // Dark As Fuck’, inspired by Dizzee Rascals's ‘Boy In Da Corner', James explores the darker side of her production with her frequent collaborator Le3 BLACK laying verses over the skeletal track. ‘Hand Drops’ is an instrumental, about public displays of affection in a queer relationship. ‘Sensual’ reflects on intimacy with vocals by UK singer Theo, who's lyrics capture love and gentleness over a soft, minimal production of ethereal keys and scattered glitches. The albums’ title track is also the most colourful, it’s ecstatic and effusive chaos driven by fervent synths expressing elation and the joyful side of her relationship, while ‘My Future’ is a more reflective moment, where warping synths wash in and out with compressed kicks, as the artist considers the dangers that may come with her relationship : “I wanna tie the knot / But the rope is dangerous”. ‘For You And I’ is a deeply intimate and personal offering, expressing happiness, anxiety, joy, sensuality and fear through a vivid sound palette and an experimental sense of rhythm.

“After assisting other artists like Poolside, Toro Y Moi, and U.S. Girls as a pop percussionist, Brijean Murphy is ready to show the world what she's been working on. The end result is her first album Walkie Talkie.” -The Fader

NATIVE CAT RECORDINGS is a home for genre-defying artists of the West Coast and beyond. Our mission is to nurture acts who have just entered or continue to remain in the musical vanguard. Founded by Jenny Gillespie Mason in 2010 as Narooma Records, the possibility for both ruggedly established and freshly embarked musicians to release new music in an overwhelmingly vast and ephemeral music landscape, led to rebrand and relaunch the label as Native Cat in 2018.

-LP Includes limited art print by Brijean.
-Comes with download code.

“The songs borrow from Brijean’s childhood influences of Latin soul and jazz, combining delectably danceable rhythms with pop melodicism; the sound is both vintage and modern, Brijean’s conga rhythms shining.” - Bandcamp Daily

Brijean Murphy was born to make you move. Stepping out in 2018 as one of indie’s most in-demand pop percussionists, Murphy spends much of her time on back-to-back runs with a dozen different acts including Poolside, Toro Y Moi, and U.S. Girls. It’s a marvel that, somewhere in the whirlwind of the past year, she found time to collaborate with producer Doug Stuart to record their first communiqué to the world: the dreamy, back-room disco of Walkie Talkie.

Combining Murphy’s upbringing heavily steeped in latin jazz and soul, Brijean is a hypnotic and danceable new direction for Murphy, and a fine complement to her contemporaries on the 2019 indie circuit. Equal parts dance production, organic percussion and melodic mantra, Walkie Talkie transmits Murphy’s essence perfectly.

Walkie Talkie is Murphy’s collaboration with producer Doug Stuart, who shares a background as a jazz, pop, and session musician (Bells Atlas, Meernaa, Luke Temple, Jay Stone). In marathon sessions at their intimate home-studio, wedged between touring schedules that rarely-overlapped, Brijean formed. Murphy’s layered percussion and hypnotic, expressive vocals coupled with Stuart’s harmonic palette and intuitive production evokes 70s disco, 90s house, and sly pop sensibilities.

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.

The 12th Downbeat release comes from the south east of Ireland.
Alan Smith is a producer from Waterford with tracks released on D1 Recordings and Elusive Recordings who loves the analogue sound of 90´s and the sound of Detroit.
"Bump together ep" is one super complete release halfway between House music and Techno, Detroit and Sheffield, and between dancefloors and futuristic chillout which owns all the aesthetic parameters that a Downbeat release should be.
Alan delivers a 4 track Ep with hidden, delicate and subtle melodies, minimalist structures and an excellent job with percussion and mixdown.
But if there is one word to describe this release it is "Deep". Layers of synthetic pads, creative basslines and hi-hats in motion provide deepness to this solid release.

PROPER PIC SLEEVE REISSUE OF THIS EARLY LCD 12" FROM 2004. ‘Yeah’ was the follow up to LCD's breakout track "Losing My Edge," and was kind of a sleeper that has definitely stood the test of time and is worth a revisit. LCD records seem to speak to those kids sick of the scene, who want their 12" to retain interest longer than the next trend, but without sacrificing up to the minute relevance. An impossible feat, but listening to tracks like "Yeah (Crass Version)" will make you a believer. The song writing and composition are the foundations that the track is built on, with enough rock pretentiousness and sleazy analog to keep you interested. It takes a little more to keep our jaded ears interested these days, and this is might be it. "Yeah (Pretentious Version)" is a completely alternate version, offering a cleaner instrumental take on the track. Also includes the "Clap-a-Pella." Recommended.

The English-Irish electronic/dance duo Moloko released their first album Do You Like My Tight Sweater? in 1995.

It’s one of their most experimental records, before moving on to a more mainstream approach. Roisin Murphy is carrying the album with her versatile vocals, both in range and style, while Mark Brydon created the breakbeats, sound effects and groovy disco lines.
This is electronica at its best, danceable and funky.

The album includes their hits ““Fun for Me” and “Dominoid”, besides fan favourites like “Day for Night” and “Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?”. They never slow down in their exiting music and absurd lyrics, but that’s exactly what makes this record unforgettable.

Pure joy to be danced on all night.

Do You Like My Tight Sweater? is available as a limited edition of 3000 numbered copies on turquoise vinyl.

Kicking off the VA is Magna Pia, one half of the power-duo Cassegrain. Combining a stomping kick with atmospheric sound design and an industrial-influenced lead, ‘Ina’ is a thoughtful peak-time weapon. Following on is one of Sweden’s underground mainstays, Sandra Mosh. ‘Paimon’ is a highly effective groove-led track that is synonymous with Mosh’s sound: hypnotic and driving.

Next up is Miller & Keane, consisting of Abstract Division’s Dave Miller and Damian Keane. ‘Foundation’ is a twisted warehouse tool that combines a frenetic, sticky analog lead with stomping percussion and an industrial snare. Closing the release is Brothers Black’s ’Childish’. Combining driving percussion with audio samples from one of the 00’s famous horror films, Childish is an unpredictable, memorable cut.

With MEL011, it is Melodies International's immense pleasure to direct their focus towards both Soul and House royalty, selecting and reissuing two of Frankie Knuckles' scarcer remixes of an all-time classic: Womack & Womack - MPB (Missin' Persons Bureau). Now known as Zekkariyas and Zeriiya, partners Cecil and Linda Womack, two eminent members in an extensive lineage of music artistry (i.e. Bobby Womack was Zekkariyas' brother, Zeriiya is Sam Cooke's daughter) engaged in one of music history's most successful and exciting singing and song writing partnerships in the early 1980s. Zeriiya says her process with Zekkariyas flowed like water, their shared complicity and talent led them to write and produce strings of chart topping hits and classic albums as Womack & Womack but also for other renowned artists of the time such as Patti Labelle, Teddy Pendergrass and the O'Jays to only name a few. The original version of Missin' Persons Bureau was first released in 1988 on 'Conscience' (Island Records), a classic album with impeccable instrumentation and thoughtful and relatable narratives that reflect on the nature of life, true friendship, love or in the case of MPB, it's subsequent loss. Following the release of the LP, Island records founder Chris Blackwell introduced the idea of getting Missin' Persons Bureau reworked by House legend Frankie Knuckles and whilst the Womacks weren't originally set on the idea of having their songs remixed by other artists, Blackwell, who Zeriiya describes as a 'record label manager seriously involved in making sure the project is what the creators really want it to be", had earned their trust. With these remixes, Frankie managed to turn a radio hit into underground club classics. The Paradise Ballroom mix conserves the essence of the original, reinterpreting the rhythm section whilst drawing it out over 8 minutes, with expert tension building and release clearly aimed at the dance floor.

Msymiakos (Miss-a-me-akos) droppin some serious heat for PPJ 002. Proper Jungle at its finest!

Back with that low-end pressure, PAWSA delivers another tech house slammer with this single sided, 180g funked-up riot on his own PAWZ imprint. A humongous, hypnotic bassline, shuffling percussive hits and a thundering kick lay the foundations for that renowned and charismatic vocal to take centre stage on ‘Funky Brother’.

Another sure-fire winning roller destined to tear up dancefloors across the circuit, further validating PAWSA’s meteoric rise to the top.

This EP is based on 5 different structures of sequencer manipulations, as the cover art suggested. I made some prototype of sequencer module in Max/MSP, then organise them and forming interesting results, finally record them into the computer. Each of the sequencer are not only sending out pulses, but also changing control signals.

Global Skywatch founder Furious Frank known best after a handful of releases on Vector Works, Ken Oath, Rhythm Works and most significantly on Melbourne's own signature Butter Sessions Records with a split EP alongside DJ Dogg (aka DJ Fettburger) in 2017 turns a new leaf this year with 3 more upcoming label debuts in 2019.

This year we see the Adelaide-turned-Melbourne resident further develop his signature moody, acid-laced soundscapes into a more considered, aged-like transcendence - Welcoming Furious Frank as our latest addition to Paper-Cuts with 5 hand selected works from 2017-2019 produced, recorded and arranged in bedroom studios across Adelaide & Melbourne, complete with full sleeve design from label curator Dylan Batelic, the two's collaboration sees the final product's full physical encompassment for this limited 12" release.

Sweat Equity is thrilled to present its first entry into the world of wax with XP, a powerful drop from Philadelphia’s DJ Delish. Spanning six tracks, the record is a striking introduction to a singular talent.

DJ Delish lives at the epicenter of East Coast club culture, having cut her teeth on the ballroom circuit as both a DJ and performer. Over the past few years, she’s also unleashed a string of self-released EPs and albums on her SoundCloud, as well as a split single with Sweat Equity’s Macy Rodman. XP marks her first outing on vinyl, and she pulls no punches.

The record is a rich landscape, flawlessly weaving between ballroom, hip-hop, ballads and house. Her command of multiple musical forms speaks to her time both in the booth and on the dancefloor. The vital energy of each track is matched only by the wit and incisiveness of her lyrics, with songs about everything from shady promoters to sexual intrigue. Her wealth of experience and abundant narrative ingenuity bring personal stories and intricate histories to life.

This is Erlon Chaves e Orquestra Saint Moritz - "Procura-se uma Virgem" OST (1971), , supposed to be one of the most sought after Erlon Chaves LP. This OST was recorded to a Brazilian soft porn movie with killer organ funk instrumental tracks and several funky, erotic & modal tracks, arranged and directed by maestro Erlon Chaves.

Remastered 6 song mini LP​ originally produced in the
mid-80s *very in-demand with funk record collectors and
DJs worldwide. Featuring ​6 upbeat synth-driven, boogie
funk dance tracks​ *first officially licensed vinyl reissue*
Colours of the Rainbow contains the best 6 tracks from two rare South African LPs by recording artist Bibi
the Kid Msomi: 4 tracks from the ​1985 album Searching​, and 2 tracks from the ​1986 LP What Kind of Love
is This?
South African funk music from the 80s​ has recently gained recognition as ​some of the best funk
productions in the world​; yet so many titles remain virtually unknown outside of South Africa, especially
due to the scarcity of the original pressings (due in part to the destruction of any music perceived as
subversive by South African government censors at the time).
The level of musicianship on these recordings is simply world-class. Even ​Paul Simon​ ​was trying to work
with Bibi Msomi​ while recording his Graceland album in South Africa (read more about it in this ​exclusive
interview​).
Combining American and South African funk influences, these 6 upbeat dance tracks feature ​popular
synths and drum machines of the day​. The subversive lyrics and infectious grooves on these recordings
address the political turmoil during the peak Apartheid years in a way that was just subtle enough to slip
under the radar of stringent government music censors. ​Deep messages of freedom and universal
brotherhood are backed by​ some of South Africa's greatest musical talent​, including:
Mac Mathunjwa (​Street Kids, Neville Nash​), Sello Mphatsoane (​Bayete​), ​The Hot Soul Singers​, Cisco the
Champ Mokoena, Blackie Sibisi (​Step Ahead, Brenda & The Big Dudes​), Alistair Coakley (​Hotline, Stimela​),
Ladysmith Black Mambazo​, Jantshi Mayo (​Sipho Mabuse​), Peter Mokoena (​Pure Magic​), Solly Ledwaba
(​Juluka​), Joey Mabe (​Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens​), Deborah Fraser (​Brenda Fassie​), Zamo
Mbutho, Banzi Kubheka (​Banjo, CJB​), Cyril Mnculwane (​CJB​), and ​Stimela​ ​vocalists​: Marilyn Nokwe, Tu
Nokwe, Hlengiwe Maphumulo, Beaulah Hashe.
Meticulously ​re-mastered with love for maximum impact on the dancefloor​; we hope you enjoy the
songs contained on this spiritual boogie masterpiece.

Producer and DJ O’Flynn has announced his new 12” single, ‘Sunspear’, to be released on 3rd May 2019 alongside previous single ‘Tru Dancing’ on Silver Bear Recordings.

His latest outing follows a self-released 12” on his newly incepted imprint Hundred Flowers earlier this year, as well as singles on Blip Discs and Ninja Tune.

With his new single he continues to evolve his signature style: the breezy Sunspear swirls with a euphoric world music sample and heated percussive energy, whilst peaktime weapon B side Tru Dancing is a horn-infused disco-house gem.

O’Flynn says "I wanted to make something for the summer dancefloor that people could have fun to. It was about taking the sample and recontextualising it to make something more modern whilst keeping the original feel, adding additional percussion to up the energy.”

More Edit Action Aimed Straight At Late Nite Disco Dancefloors!

Disco Bits Return To The 12" Format With Another Collection Of Varied Cut N Paste Edits.

Side A
1. Funk Freak
Disco Bits Are Suckers For A Bit Of Hip House And Here They Take A Slept On 80's Rap Classic And Polish It Up For Modern Dancefloors.
The Addition Of Beefed Up Drums And Percussion Turn This Into A Guaranteed Floor Filler. We've Already Lost Count Of How Many People Have Asked Us What This Is When We Tested It Out On The Floor.

2. What You Want
Here The Crew Take A Nu-yorican Disco Classic And Put The Break Where It Was Always Meant To Be, Right At The Centre Of The Track. Drums, Drums, Drums To Make The Dancefloor Rock, Rock, Rock!

Side B
1. Dance On
An Edit Of A Timeless Afro-tinged Disco Underground Classic. An Unstoppable Percussion-heavy Groove Teases A Build-up To A Heady Mix Of Horn Stabs And Vocal Chants.

2. A Thousand Megatons
A Rework Of A 1980's Slept On Jazz Fusion Album Track Puts The Groove Front And Centre, Building Around An Up-front Bass And Brass Workout That Underpins An Irresistible Vocal Hook. Destined To Detonate Any Party-time Dance Floor.

The ever-charming UK based pop power trio – Patawawa released their funky indie dance jam on Kraak & Smaak's label Boogie Angst'. Stepping up on remix duties is Hot Toddy, a name synonymous with quality in the UK disco, house and dance scenes. One of the founding members of Crazy P, both his work with that project and his releases under his solo moniker have never been short of excellent. There is no denying his pedigree in the genre and has once again assembled two absolute fire-starting reworks.

Maintaining the catchiness and instant glittery likability of the original, his mixes instead focus firmly on the club dancefloor with the 'Hot Toddy Disco Dub' clocking in at eight minutes and boasting more grooves than your local car-tyre dealership. It's still a bass led fiesta with disco vibes aplenty for your dancing pleasure. And for those that like their mixes a bit deeper fear not! There's the self-explanatory - 'Hot Toddy Deeper Dub' which is everything you'd want and more all neatly packaged in a dub mix.

This third release on City Volts Records from the international producer and DJ collective sees West Loop Chicago channelling their inner Herbie Hancock and The Headhunters for this heavily jazz-fusion influenced record. The A-Side features 'The Serpent', a frantic analogue synth dance floor gem with its Mini Moog and Oberheim OB-6 parts leading the charge, a track very much inspired by Herbie's 'Chameleon' and Barry Miles' 'Magic Theater' from 1975, a Gilles Peterson/Dingwalls standard. The B-side includes 'Divinity', a more soulful affair with its delicious Fender Rhodes chords and atmospheric piano solos, which furthermore highlights the high level of musicianship contained within the 12". Both tracks also feature their respective bonus beats versions with 'Serpentine Bonus Beats' and 'Divine Bonus Beats' providing the rhythm tracks for both.

In 2017, Lagartijeando (Mati Zundel), released his second full length album 'El Gran Poder,' via Wonderwheel and subsequently hypnotized the masses with the way he laced the traditional Charango playing that he picked up traveling the Andes with the pulsing, digital-cumbia electronica that'd been popularized in the region by the likes of Chancha Via Circuito, Nicola Cruz, and beyond. El Gran Poder plucked Zundel from his small town of Dolores in Argentina and catapulted his sound onto a global stage. He was revered by the likes of The Fader and Bandcamp, who referred to him as an electro-folk alchemist - and that he is.

On June 7, Lagartijeando casts a new spell with Jallalla, an ambitious new full length being released on Wonderwheel Recordings. Jallalla is a word used in Bolivia to celebrate something- and it's a word that strengthens in meaning when more people say it together. Jallalla is an entire life in an album - beginning with what would be the sonic representation of pulling back reeds to discover a new path with the song Villazon-Potosi and its sparse electronic percussion gradually filled in with curiosity-giving winds. Following is joyful charango riff that becomes the base for the track La Frontera, which features the sweet, wispy voice of Minük, the Colombian artist Alejandra Ortiz, known as half of the duo Lulacruza. As the album progresses, it becomes more experimental with electronic elements, sneaking in bits of deep house and dub. The fourth track is called Caña, and is a collaboration with none other than Chancha Via Circuito. It's minimal and haunting, playing with repetitive bass, chimes, and what sounds like owl sounds. Zundel's beloved charango sneaks back in via the next track, Adios Potosi, continuing the trek with a sweet melodic mid-album break. On the track A Todo Pai, one that celebrates Latin American identity (a todo pai, un solo maiz, repeats the song), Zundel collaborates with Javier Arce - lead singer of the Costa Rican indie-funk band Cocofunka, whose peculiar and infectious voice adds new layers onto the album. The last few songs are a mix of meditative electronic tracks and life-giving dance-floor ready numbers, all lending to Jallalla being a celebration of life and the various adventures it contains.

Jallalla is out on June 7 via Wonderwheel Recordings.

IND 003 is the 2nd Vinyl release on INDUSTRIA. Robi Insinna’s new project label. Industria is not just about music, but also products, art and more. This record one can say was planned a while back when Robi had a DJ gig together with Vox Low. The next day while meeting in the lobby for a late coffee and a croissant in a quiet Bordeaux Hotel, the idea came for a swap Remix on Vinyl. When Robi started Industria, he still had in mind that the second Vinyl release could be that swap. Guess both Artist coming from a similar background and working in a similar analog organic style liked the idea and knew what they would get sound wise would be something both have plenty to play with.

On the A side Vox Low remixed Robi’s HARD WORK, which was already released in 2018 including a remix by Die Wilde Jagd. Vox Low turned the track into a dark more dancefloor orientated version. Still with the trademark Vox Low sounds and Guitars.

On the B side Robi remixed You Are A Slave. He liked all the sounds so much that he thought it is better to keep as much from the original as possible, still trying to make it his own version. He added percussion to create a more funky/dark sound and extended the track. The dub was done in an old school kind of way. All the parts where laid out on a mixer and assigned to various tape delays and reverbs and would be dubbed real time, in the school of Mad Professor or Lee Perry. Not an easy approach and it needed several takes till it started making sense. All mistakes and organic things where important to this Dub.

Eno Williams, frontwoman of Ibibio Sound Machine, uses both English and the Nigerian language from which her band's name is derived for the dazzling new album Doko Mien. Long lauded for jubilant, explosive live shows, Ibibio Sound Machine fully capture that energy on Doko Mien, the followup to their Merge debut Uyai.
In a glowing piece in the New York Times, those songs were praised for following 'in the tradition of much African music, [making] themselves the conscience of a community.' By pulsing the mystic shapes of Williams' lines through further inventive, glittering collages of genre, Ibibio Sound Machine crack apart the horizon separating cultures, between nature and technology, between joy and pain, between tradition and future. That propensity for duality and paradox seems common in people whose lives span continents.

Williams was born in the UK, but grew up in Nigeria, always steeped in her family heritage. She obsessed over West African electronic music, highlife, and the like, but was equally empowered by Western genres such as post-punk, disco, and funk. The London octet have enveloped themselves in that maximalist quilt proudly since their 2013 formation. Though it can often bring with it news of stress and uncertainty, the modern world further brings all these disparate traditions into connection.
'Everyone has everything now,' says multi-instrumentalist Max Grunhard. 'Everyone has immediate access to every genre, picking things up from everywhere—like magpies.' And while they haven't suddenly left their African roots behind, Doko Mien does find increased representation of English lyrics in the ratio. By sharing more directly with more universal lyrics, the record feels more anthemic, reaching for grander heights.
'We wanted to give people a reason to sing along, to find their soundtrack every day,' Williams says. 'We wanted everyone to feel as if they're part of the music as well.'

Late album highlight 'Guess We Found a Way' addresses the change with a coy smile. 'Guess we found a way to speak to you/ Guess we found a way to say what's true/ To say what's real,' Williams coos over glistening chains of reverberant synth and diamond dust percussion, before returning to Ibibio in the chorus. Perhaps the best example of the group's ability to convey meaning across language and tradition, to blend past and future into a singular present comes on 'She Work Very Hard'. The traditional Ibibio folk tale bobs over the waves of tuned percussion, chunky synth, and pinprick highlife-esque guitar, while Jose Joyette's drums and Derrick McIntyre's bass funk groove bring everyone to the dance floor. 'These stories won't be forgotten. Feel the music: it speaks to everybody,' Williams says. 'We can travel back in time together, while convening on a futuristic, present tense. We hope that we can give people that reason to wake up, that one song to sing and dance and be happy.'

Doko Mien: Tell me everything. On their new album, Ibibio Sound Machine provide the perfect companion, ready to digest as much as possible and then further unfurl beauty and hope. They remember and honor the past and charge forward toward the future, all while intensely expanding the present.

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

Third Space was inspired by a digital painting of a house by Marilyne Blais. A printout of the untitled work was pinned to the wall in Casa de Haikustudio, becoming an unexpected influence on the record. The duo realized early on they had started to imagine the soundscape inside the dream-like dwelling. The depth of field is fuzzy, angles are confused, and the structural integrity is unclear. On Third Space, People Plus wander freely between real and psychedelic territories, dipping into trip-hop, downtempo, and jazz. They find their sonic context in a hybrid space - neither the bedroom nor the dance floor.

Third Space is the second release from People Plus, a collaboration between Joli B and Mood Hut's CZW.

Repress!

Contemporary house merged with space-age jazz & broken beat from Copenhagen newcomer Nejrup on debut release MANDA backed by a uniquely off-kilter remix from London soul stalwart K15 (Eglo / Wild Oats)

MANDA is a selection of intricate compositions for the dancefloor with a jazz centered approach to combining dance grooves with modular soundscapes & live instrumentation.

For Nejrup, a self-learned synthhacker, pianist and producer from Copenhagen, his debut MANDA is a result of years of experimentation and never-ending practice and noodling on his Fender Rhodes & homebuilt synth collection. Delivering a compositional complexity influenced by Radiohead and Floating Points, while letting his tunes simmer with airy synths and improvised live instrumentation combined with a love for depthful harmonies.

K15 backs the release with a soothing, heavily syncopated remix, as only he could do it. The Londoner, whose soulful touch and ear for melody has earned him high status in the jazz encompassing house- and broken beat circuit, through Kyle Hall's 'Wild Oats' and Alexander Nut's 'Eglo Records' and as center of the Culross Close outfit.

*NOTE: On big hole white vinyl*

The Pendletons take a bold step with their first full forthcoming length album, 2 Steps Away, releasing this spring on the Bastard Jazz imprint. Recorded in San Francisco with a rock-solid band consisting of some of the best musicians in the Bay Area, including guitarist Carl Locket (Shalamar, Rick James) and Star Creature recording artist Elive, the duo taps into a classic soul/boogie sound that rides a wave of '70s and early '80s funk with ease but somehow remains true to the excitement of those classic recordings without being overly nostalgic

On this preview 7" the band showcases the uptempo disco/boogie slapper "You Do You" featuring legendary Soul singer Howard Johnson (Nightflyte / Kashif) while on the flip is the sweet soul of "Life To Me" over an irresistible groove.

Four 1986 in demand dancefloor bangers from Trinidad & Tobago’s father of Rapso. Incl a unreleased dub version of ''Rapso Space'' and the BIG tune ''Crucial Descosion''..

Out of the social unrest and revolutionary times of the early 1970s a new musical art form emerged on the streets of Port of Spain,
Trinidad & Tobago. A group of young guys started to combine poetry with drumming and created the musical art form that is known
today as Rapso.

Poets known as much for their fiery verses as they were for leading protests were at the vanguard of the 1970s Black Power
revolution. There was a new consciousness building in the Trinidad and Tobago arts scene. The two most influential characters were
Cheryl Byron and Lancelot Layne.

Lutalo ‘Brother Resistance’ Masimba and others would play basketball during the day and come back out at night, ‘liming’ and playing
drums. Other people from the block would join with instruments and Brother Resistance would perform his poetry on the rhythms. The
prestigious boys school that Resistance attended refused to acknowledge his attempts at creating verses that reflected the rhythm of
the Trinidad and Tobago creole. ''They said it wasn't poetry. They didn't want to put it in the school magazine.''
Resistance and his friends toyed with other words to describe their style. They came up with 'rapsody' but one night during a show in
Santa Cruz somebody in the audience shouted out ''How you could rap so!'' And the rest is history.

They recorded their first album ‘Bustin Out’ in 1980. More albums followed and they started to work as producers. In 1986 the band
performed at ‘Caribbean Focus’ festival in London and toured the U.K. which helped to lift their reputation internationally. The same
year Brother Resistance decided to produce his first solo album and went to England to record ‘Rapso Take Over’. This album
contains the highly acclaimed tracks Ring De Bell, Dancing Shoes Rapso and Star Wars Rapso. An unreleased take of Wars In
Rapso is featured on this Cree Records 12''.

The band wasn’t too impressed with the ‘English’ production and they decided to record a new version of the song. Junior Wharwood
recorded the guitar tracks. Resistance came up with the idea of Tonight Is De Night. The more or less improvised song became a big
carnival hit in Trinidad and he went to perform it live with bands like Sound Revolution, Shandileer and Charlie’s Roots.

Disco Segreta releases on 12 two true obscure italo-disco gems!

For the first time ever on a 12' release, Patrizia Saronni's 'E poi' and 'Perché Dovrei', only previously released as a 45 for the tiny Pongo label back in 1984.

'E poi' is a female-voiced tearjerker sung over a heart-melting italo-electro-synth line, while 'Perché Dovrei' is a power synth-pop-talo teenage rebellion anthem.

But the most wonderful discovery on the actual master, has been a *previously unreleased* alternate version of 'E Poi', that didn't make the original release, which sounds crafted for today's dancefloors. Release will also feature a remixTBA. As common with our quality standards, repress is officially licensed and taken from the actual analog masters !

Limited edition !

Soul Clap launch their new club music imprint with the duo's first EP of 2019. Two party tested instrumentals filled with that signature electronic funk ready to work any freaky dancefloor.

'Jupiter Crush' takes us on a ride around the moons of the gas planet, sound tracked by the sounds of Roland's Jupiter 8 over a broken-beat house groove. While 'Natural Bliss' brings us back to earth, with warm percussion setting a gentle mood, before evolving into a feel-good, disco influenced house joint.

Everybody's Freaky Under Nature's Kingdom.

DJ Support:

Soul Clap, Lee Curtiss, Luke Solomon

From the legendary producers, mixed by the Pharmacist, with hornsman Patrick Aba Original.

The second release on O'Flynn's Hundred Flowers label comes from up and coming artist Soundbwoy Killah - and follows on from his sold-out releases on Sneaker Social Club and Warehouse Rave.

The A-side 'Burning' was a highlight of Mall Grab's most recent Boiler Room and is a straight up breaks banger destined for dancefloors. Whilst the B side 'Moving On' takes on the same formula, in that it too is a stone cold banger.

Amsterdam-based producer and DJ William Djoko has announced his new EP 'Whiplash', on his brand new imprint, DJOKO.

His latest release follows the critically acclaimed reception of his stomping single 'OMG' on seminal New York house label Strictly Rhythm in 2017, a feature on the lead release from Loco Dice's Love Letters LP and a remix of Cassius on Ed Banger last year. Whiplash EP is self-released on his newly incepted label, Djoko, an independent platform for William to showcase his fluid, eclectic and continually evolving style as a producer.

The four-track selection varies in style and tempo, from the motoric, muscular groove of dancefloor weapon Whiplash, to the funk-inflected disco house jam Bernice, whilst rooted within his distinctive synthesizer and drum-heavy blueprint. Whiplash features vocals recorded by William himself, in his own words: "Everytime you feel down and out WHIPLASH/ Everytime you wanna go out WHIPLASH/ Everytime the money's out WHIPLASH".

Esencia is proud to present Forgotten Ones, the new album from London based quintet Culross Close. The album opens with 'Fractured', a cosmic musing carried delicately by electric piano and decorated with a synthesized dalliance. The album then cruises into 'Forgotten Ones', a spiritual made potent by their choral-esque vocals by far their most accomplished piece to date.

'Acceptance' finds the quintet in familiar hip-hop territory, carving out a top tier groove with a recurring piano motif of the highest order. Their vocals, this time more chant than choral makes for a brilliant 5-minute mantra.

'Mood' is a stark contrast to anything else on the album, an acidic and rugged illustration of the group's present state. 'The Tiniest Lights Still Shine' is a syncopated excursion in 5/4 time. With an electrifying percussion solo, this will be the song that finds its way onto the dance-floor. 'Healing' is a percussion heavy journey, draped in synthesizers and style, embodying elements of 70's fusion and bossa-nova, a perfect closer to the album.

1 x LP Full Colour Sleeve, shrinkwrapped

If 2018's WOLFEP046 touched on the burgeoning talent of rising Portuguese star Pedro, this 2019 follow-up delves deep into the accomplished head that rests on those youthful shoulders.

Opening the EP, 'She is' gives a taste of the path Pedro takes with this record. A ten-minute twisting trip, that moves and melds modern jazz leanings with a rugged aesthetic. Off kilter sax flurries, at times gleaming, at others melting, open up the distorted dreams of Pedro's world, as a metronomic double bass attempts to steady the ship. Metallic rides and abrupt percussive hits contrast with the sustained piano chords, further foraging down his surrealist sidewalk.

Take to the flip to find the waltzing 'Faces sob o sol'. A beatless contemporary jazz piece in 3/4 time, where deft piano melodies dance around a looped up, muted guitar phrase and twanging riffs. A simplicity born from only a handful of layers, that in turn creates a free-flowing fluidity through this jazz rabbit hole.

The most club ready of the cuts, 'Alef' rolls around next, where a funked out bass and psychedelic strummings, marry with crisp cymbals and polished piano playing. Pedro's dream inducing trip still takes its hold though, with distorted, panning, hallucinogenic vocal cries swelling across the airwaves.

Stepping up to close out the EP, Moomin flips 'Faces sob o sol' on its head, laying a rough and ready, liquid DnB rhythm as the basis alongside adding delicate arps and sweeping, atmospheric pads that follow Pedro's original. As hypnotising as its forebearer, but with an ethereal dancefloor orientated radiance.

With hundreds of new producers cropping up, week by week, it's rare to be challenged by something of such high quality from an up-and-coming artist. And with jazz finding a new lease of life across the UK, Pedro's latest output will be sure to find a home on these shores.

"Incarcerated deejay touts Sikka Rymes as next big thing in dancehall" say the Jamaica Star headlines; referencing Vybz Kartel and Sikka's cousin Shawn Storm, all of Portmore's Gaza Nation dancehall royalty...........

So then we have Love Di People EP: Sikka's first solid gold release after strings of strictly Vevo hits ('Life of the Party', 'Nuh Change') lie between his previous hook up with producer Genesis Hull (on Duppy's 2016 Fresh Clipp'd). Genesis' prods are pure widescreeen sub-tension and speed - now of Mexico City, he carries Sikka's flow into gleaming new future chrome jobs of the dancehall chassie, the madness of 00s dancehall returns for global review. In This Time Of Many Dancehall Think-pieces: Live Long And Grow Strong.

The weight of two year's of Drive demos caused Miro Tape to spontaneously burst into the world on Bokeh last year, we told you it was just a mixtape - Love Di People is the first wax seal on the Bokeh x Duppy Gun relationship, and not the last one of 2019. Founded by Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras, Duppy Gun pairs under-cover West Coast producers with Jamaican vocalists like G Sudden, Early One & others from their island HQs in Portmore & Spanish Town.

Klein Zage is a woman with some really nice friends. OR.003 is a swift explosion of pepper spray house and feminine energy UKG with remixes by Orphan. party alumni. 'Womanhood' is a nihilistic declaration of menstruation. 'Absolutely' a UKG masterclass in orgasm.

'She's Out There' a self-help book made by the patriarchal system.

DJ Python's remix is a meditation on retaliation. KZ and Python bonded over a mutual respect of lonely dance floors and late night pizza.

Ariel Zetina brings her love of UK bass to the floor. The two bonded over Silk Road and Pulse X.

Local Artist's cult mix, an instant Balearic hit! The two bonded over broken sinks and Overcooked.

Womanhood is an EP for the pleasure revolution, enjoy at your own risk.

Orphan./KZ Bio

Klein Zage is the newly revealed moniker of DJ/Producer and co-founder of Orphan., Sage Redman. She founded Orphan. in 2015 with her friends Joe Gillick and Billy Meddleton. The three began throwing bi-monthly parties in Deptford; their aim was to feature the unsung heroes, the seminal artists that weren't often regulars in the crowded London club circuit. Come 2017 the trio found themselves divided by an ocean - Joe and Sage forced to relocate in Seattle after her visa expiration, and Billy to Berlin. Despite the distance, Orphan. carried on with events in each location (hosting the likes of DJ Python, Equiknoxx, DEBIT, Lapalux, Sylvere and many more) and launched Orphan.

Continuing the series of 12" dancefloor singles, Soundway Records presents "Hinde" by African Vibration (BIG TUNE!) with a rework on the flip by Julian Dyne. Hinde is re-mastered from the original master tapes for this 12''. Check!