Cerca:no made

British DJ and producer Inland (Ed Davenport) has compiled and mixed 'Stream State', his biggest project to date, bringing together over 20 artists in a DJ-ready compilation of colourful, diverse modern techno on his label Counterchange.

Complete with a 90 minute continuous mix by Inland himself, the project celebrates over 15 years behind the decks and cements Davenport's reputation not only as a tireless force in the studio, but as a trusted selector and curator of contemporary club music. Spanning deep idm-rooted studies, lush chord-driven euphoria, powerful modernist workouts and tough house-groove jackers, Davenport weaves an addictive mix full of character and his precision mixing style.

From veterans and heroes like DJ Skull, Efdemin, Joel Mull, Boddika, Peter Van Hoesen, and Mark Broom (alongside Discrete Circuit), to a new echelon of up-and-coming talent like Rhyw, Sophia Saze, Jamaica Suk, Johanna Knutsson, Aiken, DJ Sodeyama, Perm and Felix Fleer, there's an underlying thread of shimmering production values and close attention to detail in every track. Inland also selected debuts from Berlin based artists Fred Mann and Arbitrage, and welcomes back BNJMN, P. Lopez and Distant Echoes to the label, now in its 7th year of operation.

'Stream State' is Inland's celebration of the DJ mix / compilation format. Enamoured with UK dance music culture in the mid 90s, the burning, illicit energy of early rave mixtapes left a huge impression. Mystical bootlegs recorded at mass gatherings in fields or late night Radio One transmissions captured on cassette - their eternal spirit was absorbed and cherished. Now more than 2 decades later, Davenport has channeled that fascination into this weighty collector's item and a captivating continuous mix.

All 22 tracks included are new and original productions made by some of Inland's favourite artists and colleagues. A network and a community - complied and presented by an artist who continues to demonstrate his longevity and unique voice in the scene.

XXX starts 2020 fresh with catalog number XXX008. A diverse EP with four original tracks by Stijn Sadée, who had a killer release on Kitjen in 2018. It’s not the first time we see Stijn Sadée releasing on XXX, but this time he delivered a proper EP. Manfredas is on remix duty on the b-side. When Stijn was playing his live set on a festival in Amsterdam Manfredas saw him play. They clicked soundwise and a remix idea was born. Artwork was made by artist Thomas Sadée in collaboration with Stijn himself. Already played and supported by massimiliano pagliara, il est vilaine, nuno dos santos, dave harvey, curses and many others.

Having made a huge impact amid Carl Craig’s celebrated 2019 entry in Planet E's Detroit Love mix compilation series, Ataxia's anthemic ‘Oblivion’ arrives on vinyl for the first time alongside a new cut, ‘Michaelangelos’. Each track takes Ataxia’s notoriously detailed production techniques and applies them to a widescreen, enveloping template.

Constructed from rubbery basslines, wormholes of rave power and a structure that applies tension and release to killer effect, ‘Oblivion’ has continued to engross dancers since it’s digital release, transmitting an increasingly rare blend of minimal yet maximal rave pleasures.

On ‘Michaelangelos’, Ataxia further demonstrates a fluid ability to keep listeners on their toes, shuffling the deck but applying the same irresistible tricks to a rhythmic, tripping cut and the unexpected sample at its core.

Consisting of Eric Ricker and Ted Krisko, Ataxia have previously released on labels including Visionquest, 2020 Vision, Leftroom and Kevin Saunderson's KMS Recordings. They currently hold down long term residencies at the legendary Marble Bar and TV Lounge in their hometown of Detroit.

“Media Burn” is the debut EP by TOTEM – 4 succinct slabs of industrial electronics and rhythmic noise forged in the spirit of hardcore punk. The project is loosely based on themes of media consumption, symbolism, illusions, and control. The artist embraces an austere process born of limited means: samples mangled beyond recognition and rearranged according to some obscure logic.

The results are self-described as “industrial skronk” – sculptures made entirely from audio debris that had another life, now twisted and repurposed by an unseen hand into something new and unfamiliar.

Tommy McCook was not only a founding member of the legendary Jamaican Ska group The Skatalites, but also a brilliant musical arranger. His informed understanding of Jazz, R&B and in fact most music styles would always add another layer to any song put his way. This made him the go to guy for most of the Jamaican producers, who would use his arrangement skills to pepper up their latest tunes.

Tommy McCook, (b1927, Havana, Cuba) came to Jamaica with his mother from Cuba aged 11 and entered renowned Alpha Boys School for underprivileged children, a school that placed great emphasis on musical tuition. At the tender of 14, such was his talent he has left to join Eric Deans Orchestra and took on stints with other bands led by Don Hinchman and Roy Coburn. All the bands played in the Swing and Jazz style of the times. He relocated to the Bahamas in 1954 where he further developed his Jazz technique and upon his return to Jamaica in 1962 began working Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One and became involved in the development of Ska. His knowledge of Jazz, R& B and Jamaican musical forms helped set the tone for the group of musicians he was working with and would name the Skatalites. The group, consisting of Don Drummond (Trombone), Roland Alphonso (Tenor Saxophone), Jackie Mitoo (Piano), Lloyd Brevett (Bass), Lloyd Knibbs (Drums), alongside Tommy himself on Tenor Saxophone. The group would back all the major Ska vocalists pf the day and would also go on to cut a catalogue of instrumental music. The Skatalites split up in 1965 and Tommy McCook moved over to work with Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle Studios where he formed The Supersonics. A set of musicians under his guidance that consisted of Lynn Tait and Ernest Ranglin (Guitar), Neville Hinds and Winston Wright (Organ), Gladstone “Gladdy” Anderson (Piano), Hugh Malcolm and Arkland “Drumbago” Parks (Drums), Clifton “Jackie” Jackson (Bass), and Tommy and Hernon Marquis (Saxophone). The more laid back sounds from 1966-1968 would be given the name Rocksteady of which again McCook was at the forefront. The top producers like Bunny Lee would use the musicianship of Tommy McCook and his arrangement skills to enhance this new sound.

We have compiled a great selection of rhythms that featured McCook blowing over tracks stripped of their vocals and replaced with some fantastic lead lines played by Tommy and some of his fellow horns men.
We hope you agree like we do that they do this in fine style.

Bram De Looze is a Belgian pianist and composer whose distinct musical vision has found its way through both solo projects and collaborations. His unique technical skill and musical maturity have earned him considerable critical acclaim back home as his work spotlights his far-ranging interests - from traditional classical piano music, to solo improvisations that have often been compared to Keith Jarrett and Jason Moran. On the 21st February 2020, Sdban Ultra will release his highly anticipated new solo album, 'Colour Talk'.

De Looze made his entrance onto the national jazz scene with LABtrio, formed in 2007 with Anneleen Boehme and Lander Gyselinck, and he immediately impressed, flirting with urban jazz, electronics and hip hop.

After a period of studying abroad at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, where he studied with Uri Caine and Marc Copland, in 2014, De Looze launched the international septet, Septych, that once again stressed his affinity for jazz, classical music and improvisation. With diverse and astounding improvisors like Daniel Levin, Lester St-Louis, Robin Verheyen, Gebhard Ullman, Bo Van Der Werf and Flin Van Hemmen, it was the start of an explorative musical journey.

Over the past few years, De Looze could frequently be heard with kindred spirits like Stephane Galland, Dre Hocevar and Antoine Pierre but it was a visit to the historical collection of pianofortes of Chris Maene that inspired De Looze to release his first solo album 'Piano e Forte' (2017), and it received critical acclaim for its creativity, spontaneity and passion. He would later garner further acclaim working alongside fellow Belgian Robin Verheyen and American rhythm painter Joey Baron with whom he recorded 'MixMonk' (2019), a tribute to the legendary jazz pianist Thelonius Monk.

Bram De Looze's solo career took off in an unexpected way with 'Piano e Forte', a project for which he approached historical instruments from a contemporary perspective. The switch to the Chris Maene Straight Strung Grand Piano for 'Switch The Stream' (2018) indicated a renewed search for movement, evolution and introspection. His latest solo project 'Colour Talk', continues this trajectory with another revolutionary piano model, designed by lauded architect Rafael Vinoly, and a continued attempt to renew from within.

On 'Colour Talk', what you hear is a musician who has freed himself from stylistic constraints and limitations. While still rooted in jazz, classical music and free improvisation have found a new balance, a coexistence that enables the pianist to express himself with a new vigour. Switching between shorter pieces that feel like curious, unresolved puzzles and more extended explorations, 'Colour Talk' is once again an ode to (re)invention in the grey zone were the classical idiom and improvisatory urges meet, with the 13-minute tour-de-force of 'Hypnosis' as one of several undisputed highlights.

If you asked De Looze about his current position as an artist, he would probably tell you that it's all about forward movement and the need to keep evolving, about a trajectory as work-in-progress. However, if you consider 'Colour Talk' as a freeze frame of where De Looze is at, it is hard not to consider it a highlight in a career that should have some more surprises in store.

The first release in Ernesto Chahoud’s ‘Middle Eastern Heavens’ reissue series for BBE Music, we are delighted to present Lebanese maestro Ihsan Al-Munzer’s 1979 album ‘Belly Dance Disco’.

In late 70's and early 80's Beirut, Lebanese organist, composer and arranger Ihsan Al-Munzer made a series of pioneering synth-driven fusion albums that reimagined Middle Eastern music. The records came at a pivotal time in Lebanon’s musical history of avant garde experimentation that was blossoming, just as the country’s 15-year civil war took hold.

Ihsan Al-Munzer’s first release as a solo artist, ‘Belly Dance Disco’ aimed to fuse ‘Western’ modern music and bellydance to make it more accessible to the local audience in the late 1970s. “I wanted to put a mixture of European beat with Arabic percussion, but I made the European rhythm and harmony very easy to listen to for the Arabic ear – soft and understandable” says Al- Munzer.

Today, the composer’s music has made the return journey back to the West; with tracks on the album featured by hip hop artists such as Mos Def, who sampled Al-Munzer’s composition ‘Joy of Lina’ on his 2009 song ‘The Embassy’.

The 10-track album was released in 1979 on the legendary Voix De L’Orient label, which was also home to pioneering Lebanese composers The Rahbani Brothers. One of the earliest artists to introduce the synthesizer to Middle Eastern music, Al-Munzer leads the band, playing the main melody lines on the Kawai Organ and Solina String Synthesizer. Three of his original compositions feature on the album, alongside creative re-imaginings of Turkish and Arabic folklore and modern classics, pushing the boundaries of bellydance music to chime with the international scene.

Al-Munzer’s five titles from the 1970's and 1980's are part of BBE’s ‘Middle Eastern Heavens’ reissue series, a collection of groundbreaking productions from Lebanon, curated by Lebanese DJ, compiler and music researcher Ernesto Chahoud.

Notes by Natalie Shooter, a music journalist and researcher based in Beirut, edited by Will Sumsuch.

Tim Digby-Bell, Peter Kriek and Ariaan Olieroock are Cubicolor. In 2016 they released their debut album ‘Brainsugar’ via acclaimed independent label Anjunadeep. Accumulating over 40 million streams, the album won praise from Mixmag, Resident Advisor, Consequence of Sound and DJ Mag, who described it as “a startlingly accomplished debut” in their 9/10 review.

Originally an electronic duo comprised of Dutch producers Ariaan and Peter, Cubicolor became a three-piece band with the arrival of British singer-songwriter Tim in 2015, after collaborating on breakthrough single ‘Falling’.

A published poet and playwright, Tim’s musical upbringing was rooted in playing guitar and listening to Nick Drake. Combined with Ariaan’s encyclopedic knowledge of electronic music and Peter’s love of late romantic classical, created what Clash described as “a beautiful, haunting fusion of ideas.” In 2018 the band delivered, and then shelved, their second album…

“It had twelve tracks, a different name, all the artwork was done and a date was set for it to be released. We got home and listened to it, then called each other and decided to drop the whole thing. The next week we went back into the studio and started again.

We loved the record we made but for some reason, it didn't feel right, so we didn't keep anything, we shut ourselves on the boat in Amsterdam where we work and didn't stop until we'd written a new album.” A year after going back to the drawing board, the trio now presents ‘Hardly A Day, Hardly A Night’.

Inspired by the cycles of time, and the cyclical movements of the planets, the new 12 track record weaves together themes of loss, hope, and acceptance. “There were a lot of moments when we weren't sure we'd ever find what it was we were looking for. On the way, we lost friends, lost loves, battled health issues, lost an album, lost each other and came back together again.

It feels like a lifetime has passed but the world keeps spinning and I guess we knew we would eventually find our strength and make the album we wanted to make.” Showcasing their remarkable production techniques and textured sound design throughout the album, Cubicolor continues their unconventional rise to the upper ranks of the electronic music world.

The band will celebrate the album release with a listening event in London in February 2020, before taking their live show to festivals around the world in the summer.

Their 2016 debut album ‘Brainsugar’ picked up wide spread support including backing from BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Phil Taggart, BBC 6 Music's Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft, Joris Voorn, and Kölsch and accumulated over 40M streams. 'Brainsugar' - Press pickup included Mixmag, RA, Thump, Consequence of Sound and the album was given a 9/10 review in DJ Mag.

Cubicolor are Amsterdam based producers Ariaan Olieroock and Peter Kriek, and British singer-songwriter Tim Digby-Bell. They made the album on Peter’s studio boat in Amsterdam. Ariaan built the custom modular synths, mixing desks and speakers that the band use in their studio - every Cubicolor sound is created from scratch.
They also DJ and release music as 16BL on Anjunadeep. one of the labels most loved and legendary acts, responsible for some of the biggest releases in the label's back catalogue.

LORNA SHORE’s new album, “Immortal”, is nothing short of a shock of blackened, symphonic ambitions and epic intents. It is a milestone for LORNA SHORE, who have built a sizable reputation touring the world alongside the likes of The Black Dahlia Murder, Carnifex and Chelsea Grin. Formed in 2010, LORNA SHORE were quick to surpass “local band” expectations with 2012’s “Bone Kingdom”-EP and it’s follow-up, 2013’s “Malificium”-EP. Through each release, LORNA SHORE continues to prove themselves to be an increasingly formidable force and a ferocious live proposition. 2017’s sophomore LP, “Flesh Coffin” showed a band that had moved beyond mere “deathcore” trappings and had evolved into a modern metal band, as uncompromising and accomplished as any of their contemporaries or influences. “We became the band we wanted to be, rather than just the product of our early influences,” says guitarist Adam De Micco. “’Immortal’ is the latest chapter of that story of us as a band, as players and as people.” Armed with new vocalist C.J. McCreery (ex-Signs of the Swarm), LORNA SHORE has made a record that stands apart from their earlier works. The earliest hints of that have come with the release of album tracks, “This Is Hell” and “Darkest Spawn”, twin deathly salvos released from LORNA SHORE’s early album sessions with producer Josh Schroeder (Battlecross, King 810, For Today) at Random Awesome Studios in Midland, MI. Recording for the album. “Immortal” is the beginning of another chapter for LORNA SHORE and is available in the following formats: CD Jewelcase, LP+CD, Digital Album

After a few other successful projects, Franck Biyong, French-Cameroonian Afrobeat composer, guitar player and singer is back on Hot Casa with a hot futuristic Afro-Brazilian club anthem. The similarities and filiations between traditional West-African drumming and Afro-Brazilian religious musical rites are many: under colonial rule African people and African slaves outwardly practiced
Christianity but secretly prayed to their own God, Gods, or Ancestor spirits. So we aimed at keeping the gritty urban menacing sound and poetry of Afrobeat with the percussive mass rumble of Batucada and poignant beauty of Carioca. We then got in touch with Cristina Violle, the first lady of “Samba de Roda” in Paris who graced us with a startling inspired and heartfelt melody. The first completed version of the song then briefly went on alternative radio, we also made plans to release a vinyl version, but for one way or another we shelved the project, without thinking we would get back to it again…until a few months ago. We went back to the studio last summer and started ironing the song again from scratch. That same initial spirit and energy caught hold of us again from the day we started and we worked relentlessly to create a balanced but experimental track, showcasing rootsy sound, pop instrumentation, tight world beat drumming, song structure, jazzy horns, spacey synthesizers, choral-like vocal harmonies with call and response figurative vocals.
We now proudly present this brand new record; Like our predecessors years ago, we subconsciously did our best to keep alive a longtime tradition of cultural tradition of African Artistic
Renaissance, pushing further musical themes of contemporary African sound. To be continued…

At home, in the islands of Cabo Verde, there was grog, or grogu, a strong sugarcane moonshine not dissimilar to Colombian aguardiente, copiously consumed at Funaná parties. In the diaspora, in Europe, there was leite quente (hot milk). "I can still remember the taste of the first leite quente I drank in Lisbon," says Antonino Furtado Gomes, Pilon's drummer and current band leader.

Synthesize the Soul, Ostinato Records' second compilation, revealed chapter one of the Cabo Verde cultural story in Europe, zooming in on visionaries like Paulino Vieira who made Lisbon the headquarters spearheading the musical revolution taking place within Cape Verdean emigre communities across Europe in the 1980's. Musicians from across the diaspora would eagerly travel to the Portuguese capital to record.

Grupo Pilon represents the second chapter of the Krioulu diaspora story. In smaller pockets, second generation musicians were independently contributing to one of the most lush periods of cultural innovation by immigrants in Europe. In Luxembourg, in 1986, a group of teenagers formed the largely unknown (outside of Cape Verdean circles) but consistently brilliant band named after the blunt instrument used in the islands to pound corn for Cabo Verde's national dish, cachupa.

With only five members, Pilon combined searing estilo Krioulu drumming and the hybrid ColaZouk style with blissful synth work and rugged guitar licks, creating a stripped-down, addictive sound that masterfully straddled two worlds, a seductive electro-Funaná carnival born from the first few sips of hot milk.
The band drew from the inspiring political changes of the day: the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The right to democracy became a constant theme in Pilon's songs.

With access to better opportunities than their parents' generation, Pilon's roster were part time musicians. Music was not part of their academic upbringing nor a full-time gig. Their rhythm and style were wonderfully imperfect, made out of rawer skills and inexperience. Pilon did not follow the templates established by revered Cabo Verde bands. Keyboard player Emilio Borges played off beat and the band preferred arranging their songs to start from the beat normally heard in the middle of a composition rather than the beginning.

These two elements made Pilon's music simple, unique, and inimitable. From 1997-2015, a lack of concerts and professional musicians proved near fatal. Today, Antonino and what remain of the original quintet are slowly piecing back together the puzzle of their once mighty outfit from an unlikely pocket of Europe. In it's heyday in the 90's, Pilon serenaded audiences in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lisbon, Rotterdam and Frankfurt, securing their reputation as a respected and unifying cultural force.

This LP, drawing from the six most powerful songs from Pilon's three-album catalog, is the serving of still fresh leite quente to spice the summer and maybe even fuel the next generation of musicians in the Krioulu corners of Europe.

Maceo Plex hasn't dropped an original on Drumcode since 2014 when the hugely popular 'Conjure Infinity' EP was released. Despite this, he's been a significant feature at DC events over the last year.
Sharing a tight relationship with Adam Beyer, the pair have laid down memorable B2B sets at Warehouse Project, Ultra Music Festival, and the Resistance opening party in Ibiza this summer, thus cementing their tight musical bond.

Produced in the early part of 2019, 'Destination Mars' marks his terrific return to Beyer's iconic label. The track is trademark Maceo, a master class in tension and release, characterized by a slick low-end bass hum that gathers steam as crunchy drum lines and breathy vocal accents combine effectively with the main vocal lead, a contribution from Josh Wink, no less.

... No surprise, it went down a storm when debuted at Time Warp's mammoth 25th-anniversary party in April and has been highlighting the Ellum boss' sets ever since.

The ever-reliable Raxon is charged with remix duties, stripping back the track's engine to focus on a central melody, chugging bassline, and hypnotizing vocal effects. Shall Ocin's re-rub is made for misty-eyed mornings as celestial pads result in a transcendental finale to bring it home.

Soul Jazz Records new ‘Apala: Apala Groups in Nigeria 1964-69’ is the first ever collection of Apala music ever to be released outside of Nigeria. The album focusses on a wide selection of recordings made in Nigeria in the 1960's, a time when Apala music was at the height of its popularity. Apala is a deeply rhythmical, hypnotic and powerful
musical style that combines the striking nasal-style vocals and traditions of Islamic music, the Agidigbo (thumb piano), and the equally powerful drumming and percussion rhythms and
techniques of the Yoruba of Nigeria.

The most significant figure in Apala music is undoubtedly Haruna Ishola who features throughout this album. Ishola holds an almost mythological status in his role as populariser of Apala music in
Nigeria. Ishola’s singing was believed to be so powerful that, without proper restraint, it could kill the recipient of his music.

Apala is a popular music that also functioned as a form of cultural resistance – Apala music involved no western instrumentation and is sung in the Yoruba language, its aesthetic an implicit cultural
rejection of the British Empire’s colonial rule over Nigeria which lasted from 1901 until independence in 1960. Apala music was popular and widely accepted in Nigeria due to its philosophical and profound
lyrical content alongside the complex rhythmic patterns of this heavily percussive style, which highlighted many of the percussion instruments of south-west Nigeria.

He's one of a number of popular urban styles of music that came out of Nigeria in the 20th century and sits alongside the more well-known (in the West) styles of Fuji, Highlife, Juju and Afrobeat. Of these modern forms Apala remains perhaps the most ‘roots’ style (sometimes described as ‘neo-traditional’) due to the authenticity of its sound. It has similar Islamic roots to other neo-traditional styles of Nigeria – including Waka and Sakara – examples of which are also
included on this collection contextualising the music of Apala.

These recordings were originally made and released locally by Decca and EMI Records as well as a variety of independent labels in Nigeria and have never been released outside of the country before. Soul Jazz Records are releasing this album as a deluxe double gatefold vinyl (download code), CD, slipcase and booklet, both containing full text and photography.

White Vinyl 10"

A new release this winter marks a landmark moment in an important musical story. Way back in little 2009, the label hfn music was born in Hamburg, and made its introduction to the world with the release of the Trentemøller compilation Harbour Boat Trips: 01 Copenhagen.
Founder Tobias Lampe wanted to start a label that was more broad in scope than his previous, more electronic-focused projects, and the compilation provided the perfect opportunity to launch one. In the 10 years since then, the label has survived the whirlpool waters of the early 21st century’s constantly changing music industry, and released everything from pop to art-punk, with artists ranging from New York to the Faroe Islands.
Now, they’re about to put out their 100th release. Fittingly, given the label’s focus on new and innovative music, and the historic aspect of the release, hfn100 sees one of hfn’s best songs of 2019 put into the hands of the man it all started with, Anders Trentemøller. His Danish compatriots Blaue Blume’s new album Bell Of Wool is one of hfn’s standout releases this year, and so hfn100 sees Trentemøller remix one of that record’s standout tracks, the fragile, but soaring “Lovable”.
In Blaue Blume’s original, “Lovable” is an airy, tormented song, a gossamer-delicate composition that carefully stitches together layers and layers of shining synths that gradually build up and up into a peak, before crashing into a subtle beat, a musical journey that mirrors vocalist Jonas Smith’s trip from anguish to numbness. Whereas the original’s music sounds woven together from light, Trentemøller takes it into darker territory. He hooks the song to a harsh, sparse beat leaving Smith’s vocals bare and isolated in the burnt-out, dystopic musical landscape he creates.
Trentemøller mirrors the original’s careful building up, adding new elements to fill in the song’s sound, before it collapses into a tough, noir disco groove. It’s a perfectly realised remix – Trentemøller keeps the original song’s skeleton and soul, but fills in the space with sonic touches that could be no one else’s but his.Ultimately, it’s a fitting song for hfn’s hundredth release. For a label that’s always been a platform for its boundary-pushing artists, a collaboration between two of them, that sees an already innovative song pushed into a bold new shape is the perfect way for hfn to step into the next 100 releases..

When Elena Colombi launched the Osàre! Editions label in the autumn of 2019, she explained that the label would become home to bold, daring, future-facing music rooted in experimentation and free-spirited musical abandon. These are all descriptions that could apply to the label’s latest release, a retrospective album of little-known works by Greek musician and producer Thanasis Zlatanos.

Many will not have heard of Zlatanos, or Nekropolis, the band he fronted alongside dear friend and regular collaborator Trygve Mathiesen, yet the music he made during the 1980s was otherworldly, intergalactic and undoubtedly alluring. These songs and instrumentals made extensive use of analogue synthesizers and lo-fi drum machines, as well as Zlatanos’s trusted Gibson Les Paul guitar and his own distinctive voice.

Stylistically, the musician and producer refused to settle on a specific sound, preferring instead to create inspired, often mind-altering pieces that join the dots between wave music, skewed leftfield pop, ambient, prototype electronic and Madedonian folk music. Operating for much of the period from a crumbling house earmarked for demolition, Zlatanos kept up a daily music-making vigil that resulted in a vast vault of music, most of which has remained unissued since the 1980s.

The breadth of and width of Zlatanos’s distinctive approach is laid bare on Retrospective, a compilation album prepared by Colombi and the artist himself that draws on tracks from his numerous albums, those by Nekropolis – whose sophomore set “The New Europeans” was banned in Norway – and his epic archive of previously unheard material.

The artist’s singular but wide-ranging musical vision is free for all to see across the 13 tracks stretched across the vinyl version of the album (digital buyers also get a further four superb cuts). It veers attractively from the ghostly, traditional-meets-futuristic new age electronica of “The Crystal Sight (Excerpt)” and the doom-laden coldwave throb of “Master Chameleon”, to the undulating, soft-touch creepiness of “Surreal Moment”, the Vocoder-laden operatic poignancy of “The New Barbarians” and the squally guitar solos and effects-laden electronics of “The Light”.

Words from the artist___:
"I live in the Internet. Visits from outer space make me compose. I breathe here. I am the master chameleon, the psychedelic clown. I am not here anymore, neither in the picture, nor the reflection. Our bed is a boat that takes us tomorrow without us.

Here is an album of dreams and digital emotions. Analogue recordings made with a Prophet, a Moog Rogue, a tape recorder and a Gibson Les Paul guitar.

As far as I can remember I have always been in a recording studio. I listen to, understand and live my life through songs and music. I have worked alone and with friends such as Trygve Mathiesen. Although I am a guitarist, I continue to work with synthesizers on music that blends elements of Macedonian folk music, recordings from the streets and embryonic electronic sounds.

Some of my albums have been critically acclaimed, others banned by radio stations. For years I worked on endless recording sessions in a crumbling house that should have been torn down. The music on this retrospective compilation was recorded at various points between 1982 and the present day. Some of the compositions first appeared on previous albums, while others have never been released before. They were sat on tapes waiting for a saviour. Now that saviour has arrived and they can be free.

For further proof of Zlatanos’s unique sonic approach, check the startling contrast between the bass-laden slacker pop headiness of “No Expectations” and the spacey ambience of “The Dead Don’t Remember”. Considered together, the selected pieces and those elsewhere on Retrospective forms a snapshot of a genuinely unique and visionary musician, composer and producer. It’s a celebration of someone whose work has previously been overlooked."

The 36 track 2CD album comes with 50-page book featuring text, biographies and photography. It also comes in a limited run two volume double-vinyl super-loud super-heavy gatefold sleeve editions. Compiled by Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) and sleevenotes biographies by Jonny Trunk (Trunk Records).

TV Sound and Image features British composers who worked in television, film and music libraries the second half of the 20th century.

Aside from John Barry, whose work on the James Bond films made him a household name, or Tony Hatch and Laurie Johnson, the majority of composers featured here - Simon Park, Keith Mansfield, Reg Tilsley, Syd Dale, Keith Papworth – remain relatively unknown. And yet ironically they have created some of the most recognisable songs in British popular culture, their music widely disseminated on television.

A quick role call of these would include Neil Richardson (who composed the theme tune to Mastermind) and Barry Stoller (who wrote Match of the Day). The Simon Park Orchestra’s Eye Level, theme song to the BBC series Van der Valk, reached number one in 1973. CCS’s cover of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love was the theme tune to Top of the Pops. And so on.

This album is not however a stroll through the TV memories of the mind, but an exploration of the serious contribution that these creative musicians have on the landscape of popular music in Britain.

Here then is a guide to the amazing music of many of the composers (both well-known and obscure) responsible for some of the most widely known music ever to come out of Britain in the second-half of the 20th century.

Reviews:

Quietus

Der Spiegel: "spannende Klänge ... die oft funky und immer lässig klingen"

"thrilling sounds.... often funky and always chilled"

New Zealand Herald: ***** "Every track is a killer... This is more than just music to mooch too."

Irish Times: **** "downright funky"

Volkskrant: "Ze leverden spanning op maat, die onbekende makers van fenomenale Britse film en tv-muziek. Door de cd TV Sound and Image opnieuw in de aandacht"

Evening Standard: "deeply funky"

Uncut Magazine "excellent 36 track set ... welcome additions to your collection"

Q Magazine: ****

Five track EP of previously unreleased drum heavy Gallic hard-bop and risqué acidic folk.

The long-lost Parisian skin flick ‘Jeunes Filles Impudiques’ (AKA ‘Schoolgirl Hitchhikers’) marks a particularly vulnerable period in the career of one of the most underrated and misunderstood directors to emerge from the rising smoke of the 1968 Parisian social explosion.

From a director with early links with the Paris underground, the letterists, the surrealists, improv theatre and the free-press comes the reclaimed audio tracks from one of his rarest celluloid moments - but let’s not confuse this for high-art. Finders Keepers make no bones, this is Jean Rollin’s maiden voyage into adult entertainment, directed under the pseudonym of Miche Gentil with a flimsy plot, questionable acting skills and an awesome little schizophrenic soundtrack.

This long-lost movie has been buried for some 40 odd years, with a musical score bursting to jump out of the can and down your tone arm, now made possible by a recently renovated negative print and new source material. These original Pierre Raph (of ‘Requiem For A Vampire’ infamy) compositions from the publishing Library Of Paris’ Musicale Editions Dellamarre (of Acanthus / Unity fame) come straight from Rollin himself as an introduction to Finders Keepers’ new Rollinade series documenting some of the finest musical moments of the director’s career as an avant-gardener, counter-culture vulture and Gallic vamptramp, all housed in their original hand-painted promotional artwork.

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches was Happy Mondays commercial peak, both a No. 4 victory and a benchmark album in history. That year the Mondays made a generation feel like the freaks were winning again, the dreamers and schemers hurtling in from the shadows to park themselves, like grin-faced goblins, in the daylight glare of the mainstream. Artwork lovingly replicated by original Manchester designers Central Station Design. Featured the singles "Step On", "Kinky Afro" and "Loose Fit".

From the cosmic creative musical mind of Swiss/Catalan studio whizz, Zeleste Nightclub engineer, video nasty film composer, occasional Jaume Sisa (Muìsica Dispersa) collaborator and future electronic music therapy pioneer J. M. Pagaìn comes the synth-ridden, vocoder-loaded 1984 sci-funk soundtrack to Barcelona’s daytime TV response to the universal E.T. phenomena. Get ready to meet your new alieniìgena amic and the unidentified flying object of thousands of Catalonian kids’ affections through the 1980's as Finders Keepers present Pagaìn’s lost lunar modular synth score to ‘Kiu I Els Seus Amics’ (Kiu And Friends aka Kiu Is Your Friend).

From the same intergalactic phenomenon that brought such delights as Turkey’s exploito cash-in ‘Badi’ or South Africa’s lo-rent homage ‘Nukie’ to our unregulated small screens and the same craze which filled international airwaves with the likes of Extra T’S electro smash single ‘E.T. Boogie’ or the million selling Columbian ‘Cumbia De E.T. El Extraterrestre’ smash hit... not to mention a wide range of unofficial theme-tune cover versions from Holland, Austria, France and Germany (lest we forget an inspired late period Lee Scratch Perry Album).

In 1982 the diaspora from Steven Spielberg’s small fictional mid-American neighbourhood that played host to everyone’s favourite torch fingered, three toed, Skittle-scoffing space goblin touched virtually every family home in every major city resulting in one of the biggest cinematic merchandise phenomenas of the 21 st Century, resulting in an unexpected high-demand / short-supply play-off in which bootleggers, copyists and counterfeiters rose to the challenge like never before.

When Spielberg regrettably told interviewers that he had no intention of making a sequel to ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestria’ it instantly became open-season for the imitators... but way before somebody squeezed-out ‘Mac & Me’, ‘ALF’ and ‘The Purple People Eater’, a team of kid’s TV executives in Catalunya were ready to fill the widening gap in the market without haste. Created in 1983 by Luna Films and Televisioì de Catalunya (TV3) and screened exclusively in Catalunya, ‘Kiu I Els Seus Amics’ was one of the first E.T. ‘tributes’ to make it out of the gate and with a crew of five individual directors and writers to ensure that the five episode, one-off series hit the wave of phone-home-fever, Kiu has since remained a short but sweet micro- memory in the hearts of an entire generation of Catalonian cosmonauts.

This special Finders Keepers edition comes complete with all of Pagaìn’s cosmic synthesiser soundscapes fully intact (barring striking comparisons with the likes of Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter, Vangelis and the soundtrack music of Suzanne Ciani), as well as some rare, unreleased, incidental TV edits. The bulk of this LP is made up of tracks taken from the rare full-length album, which was released after the TV programme had already been aired and coincided with sales of jigsaws and rubberised play figures in an attempt to catch-up with the unexpected mega-success of the show, needless to say, with a short promotional window, the LP (and cassette edition) did not benefit a re-press and with most copies sold to children, few vinyl pressings have escaped repeat needle scratches and decorated sleeves.

"21" is the well-crafted, sharp and original first album by the duo HILA, composed by American cellist Artyom Manukyan (who already worked with Kamasi Washington, Daedalus, Flying Lotus, Run DMC, Gretchen Parlato, Raphael Saadiq, Clive Lowe Mark...) and french producer Dawatile.

The combination of jazz, Los Angeles beat-scene and the vibrations of 80s and 90s Soviet Armenia make it a striking and unprecedented fusion. These kind of nostalgic and unconventional references forcefully shake the codes of mainstream culture to create a sincere, raw and intimate expression.

"HILA" was born from a spontaneous and intense creative impulse between Artyom Manukyan, a Los Angeles-based Armenian celloist and his partner in crime, David Kiledjian aka Dawatile, a French multi-instrumentist of Armenian descent. This project is proving to be a true master stroke given that it only took 21 days for the duo to make it a reality.

"HILA" was made in less a moon cycle but captivates and electrifies audiences upon its first outings. "H.I.L.A" colors the warmth of the Californian "High" with Armenian vibes. The artists chose this name for their creation since both have a close and valuable connection to these locales. This journey began in 2007, on the day Dawatile went to Yerevan, the capital of this small country in the Caucasus mountain to realize a first fusion project centered around local folkloric music genres.

There he was introduced to local musicians including the Armenian Navy Band, one of the country's foremost groups in which Artyom played the bass and cello. In this context, he also met many musicians such as Tigran Hamasyan and Norayr Kartashyan. This will be the beginning of connections between Lyon, Yerevan and Los Angeles. The following year, the two artists will be be seen performing next to Taylor Mc Ferrin at the Jazz à Vienne festival. More recently, they partnered up again when the cellist, who had freshly relocated in California, invited Dawatile to produce his album. As soon as the studio’s threshold was crossed, they decided to postpone this record and create a joint project: Hay (as the Armenians call themselves) / High In Los Angeles. HILA was born at the end of these 21 days of intense creation. The association of Artyom Manukyan and Dawatile is the combination of two visions, two versions of Armenia, two personalities, the reunion of the Eastern and Western blocs.

One grew up nurtured by the sounds of hip-hop and jazz in Europe and the other by art music and Russian-influenced 1980s Armenian folkloric music before moving to L. A., Ca. The cornerstone of it all, the glue that unites everything : Armenia and music. They generate a new identity synthesizing two perceptions, their complicity transcending these cultural discrepencies. To achieve this, they will scour through images of Artyom’s childhood, within the popular culture of Soviet Armenia. Together, they revisit this decidedly retro vibe, based on the work of Caucasian groups inspired by African American music. This background is rehashed and fused with ancestral Armenian sounds. The DNA of the album "21" is molded by these dear influences.

We can also hear the ancestral sounds of Armenia, a country at the edges of both Europe and Asia. The presence on two tracks of Armenian music Master Norayr Kartashyan, infuses the languor of past melodies and traditions. These purposeful anachronistic sounds offer a fantastic depth to this powerful opus. Listening to the album, one can appreciate the successful fusion of styles and influences. Those combinations, however, manage to preserve individual identities only to enhance the art through an adamant musical dialogue.

Being driven by the urge to transpose Armenian musical traditions into a unique universe, the daring artists, offer an innovative combination by blending, for the first time, these ancestral sounds with the world of Los Angeles beat-scene and jazz. An invention largely fueled by the magic strings of Artyom and maestro Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, a pillar of the genre in Los Angeles combined. These associations resonate with a triumphant equilibrium. HILA is musical uncharted territory in which Artyom's cello strings intertwine to ignite the harmonies of keyboards, the machines, the vocals and electronic layers Dawatile pieced together. HILA plays the soundtrack of an adventure set between Armenia around the end of the Soviet era and a mysterious near future.

Artyom Manukyan grew up in Armenia in the 90s. At the time, he studied Russian classical music while learning jazz with assistance by his father, a music journalist. Being an unconditional music lover, he went on to sharpen his skills at the prestigious Berkelee College of Music. Subsequently, he’s been lucky enough to travel the world touring with numerous acts and mainly with the Armenian Navy Band. The group has fostered alacritous success honored by a BBC Award as a crowning achievement. He moved on 10 years ago and made his way to L.A. with his cello on his back. In the City of Angels, he quickly became a popular figure of the jazz and hip-hop scenes thanks to his first album "Citizen". He’s accompanied prestigious musicians such as Kamasi Washington, Melody Gardot, Daedalus, Flying Lotus, Run DMC, Gretchen Parlato, Raphael Saadiq, Clive Lowe Mark, or Vulfpeck. He released his solo album on the cello, "Alone" in October 2019.

Dawatile is a bold producer and multi-instrumentist as well as a passionate and resolute musician molded by jazz. As a versatile artist, he handles and juggles the saxophone, the keys, the bass and composition. Simultaneously, Dawatile produces cross-over projects and soundtracks for the movie industry. He, as well, has had the opportunity to be a part of many tours, including with his electro hip-hop band, Fowatile and more recently with the "Future Kreyol" trio, Dowdelin. Being the ever workaholic, he has under his belt a string of prestigious collaborations with the likes of Talib Kweli, Foreign Beggars, Roy Ayers, Tigran Hamasyan, Mathieu Boogaerts, Voodoo Game and Piers Faccini. His taste for developing new musical recipes and his know-how in production make him a much sought-after album producer. In concert, the HILA duo offers a sober, precise and rhythmic performance. "21" is an aerial and lively album taking the audience on an at times joyous and sometimes melancholic dreamlike journey. The magic of "HILA" operates at the speed of light and positions it already as an avoidable group.

For The Geek and VRV, everything is a matter of time. Since they first met six years ago, the two beatmakers have been broadcasting their music to the four corners of the world, and their collaboration is as strong as ever after the years. Vanguards of the French instrumental hip-hop scene, they’re coming out today with their first album, Time Machine, a synthesis of the sounds and the ideas they’ve been working on from the very beginning of their careers. A trip back through time, as its name suggests, demonstrating the range of sound possibilities that they created in previous projects and on their international tours.

The release of their hit “It’s Because” in 2013 launched them on the scene as French producers who managed to break into the United States, with sampling as their musical base. Closer to home, the Coachella, Osheaga, and Solidays music festivals were won over by the pair’s complementarity, which made the success of their BTOS beat tapes and their EPs, Electric City and Origami.

But since everything is a matter of time, it was sometimes necessary to just let things go, take a break and think things over before coming back even stronger. A year and a half ago, The Geek and VRV started to slow things down, in order to take a step back and concentrate on this new album. With one overriding idea: to explore different eras and time periods, and transpose them into our modernity. Each track is associated with a pivotal year in music. With “Paris Jazz Club 1920”, the first single on the album, we're plunged into the cozy atmosphere of the cabarets, featuring the virtuoso Montreal pianist Anomalie. A meeting made possible thanks to the famous beatmaker Gramatik, who was a fundamental inspiration for their music, and who is also present on the album, as well as the flagship producers Fakear and Møme.

On Time Machine, The Geek and VRV have turned on their time machine to bring us to the year of James Brown’s birth, and find the unstoppable groove of “Get Funky 1933”. Always with hip hop in sight. The explosion of disco inspired them to record “Roller Disco Party 1980”, and the film Back to the Future was behind “Time Machine 1985”. The mixing of different time periods means that the styles, genres and atmospheres are channeled to perfection. The Geek and VRV have been preparing for this trip for five years now. With Time Machine, the time has come for them to begin their exploration, and to take us along for the ride.

"When we played live, we would bring out lawnmowers, pots and pans and pipes we would smash rhythmically with a mallet. Anything that made noise. And then there was also the
kraut-influenced, more ambient Dark Arts. I loved percussion, I loved beautiful things, but then, I could also whip out a chainsaw, you know."

Edinburgh born Chris Braun, otherwise known as Duellist, is set to drop a hard-hitting new release on the immersive Wunderblock’s sub label Folgsamkeitfaktor, in partnership with Berlin-based Ready Made Distribution. Duellist has already surpassed a dedicated following with his forward-thinking industrial sound.

Known for breaking boundaries within the techno sphere, the primarily industrial and EBM influenced Folgsamkeitfaktor choose wisely with Duellist as the deliverer on their third release, a swarming industrial 7" EP titled Hereditary.

The Original Mix ‘Hereditary’ is energetic from the start, real industrial techno to sink your teeth into, the producer clearly pulling some unique textures from his love of grunge and metal. Truly powerful, the track takes you into another dimension from it's smoky beginning until locking you into a frenzy of kick drums and pounding bass.

The track is given an atmospheric remix by fellow friend and producer Swarm Intelligence, lowering the BPM and increasing the distortion on this dark and tense banger of a remix.

Not to be missed among the industrial underworld, the handle-with-care EP will be delivered on 27th of January; via Folgsamkeitfaktor.

Medicine used to be, we expected, good for us. Albeit with added sugar. Now medicine is a huge problem in itself, with vast companies caught mis-selling dangerous drugs. It’s one of the biggest scandals ever. How on earth did we get here? Who did this?

The Imbeciles are on the case.

“It’s about the dark side of prescription ‘medicines’. Oxy, Xanax, Ambien, all that. Big pharma is pushing these addictive ‘medicines’ that we don’t actually need, to desensitise / numb / kill. All for profit,” says Butch Dante.

A new classic from The Imbeciles. They know. And they made a video. Watch it here.

Now they’ve been remixed. By these people:

C.A.R.:
Impossible to categorise, and all the better for it - London based, Franco-Canadian, C.A.R., flirts with elements of new wave, cold wave, synth-pop, post punk and off-kilter disco; and without doubt wields some of the most satisfyingly other-worldly melodies and synth lines around.

Ryan James Ford:
One of the most exciting underground techno producers on the block - Ryan doesn’t constrain himself to any one rhythm, aesthetic and motif, but can always be found to be hitting the listener with thick atmosphere, dark melodies and an upfront, experimental attitude.

Legowelt:
A true pioneer of left field house and disco, this Dutch master draws from disco, italo, dub, dancehall, techno and many more sonic pools to create his wonderfully engaging, but always envelope pushing sound.

Chicago-born pianist/composer Herbie Hancock had already
made his mark when, in 1962, he recorded ‘Takin’ Off’ for the
Blue Note label; it was his first under his own name. At only
twenty-two years of age, the company offered him a solo contract
which would allow him to record a number of rightly revered
albums throughout the Sixties. The release of ‘Takin’ Off’ almost
immediately singled out Hancock as one to watch, the hard-bop
message delivered in striking fashion by the leader and his
sidemen. Incidentally, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, only a couple
of years Hancock’s senior, already had a couple of albums under
his belt for Blue Note, and these were as well received as the
pianist’s own debut disc would be.

SOL DISCOS is extremely happy to introduce the second volume of their Message In Our Music compilation series, selected by WAXIST. This album is the result of more than two years of work in researching the original recordings, the artists involved & licensing the different songs. Focusing once again on the Modern-Soul genre, the album brings back to light eight extremely rare songs from the mid-70's to the mid-80's, all officially licensed. From the heavy synth Gospel Boogie of Sharnell Morton's "You Are My Shining Star", to
the magnificent Network & Co private Disco "Spirit Of The Boogie", most of these songs are highly difficult to find on their original format, not to mention at a decent price. Direct Connect Shun’s "He's No Good" records have been destroyed in a flood, and the few
copies which have sold on the Internet reach the 3 figures price tags for example. Also, the album is proud to introduce to a wider audience some lesser known but exceptional recordings such as Janice "Nikki" Harrison's "Magic of Love", which is taken from a Broadway musical produced & composed by Ted Wortham - who also composed for
Philadelphia International Recordings artists such as Teddy Pendergrass, Anthony White or Jean Carn. Message In Our Music Vol.2 has been fully remastered, and features interview based liner
notes, along with never seen before pictures of the artists selected

Repress

Be With Records present the hugely anticipated first ever vinyl release of r'n'b star Cassie's seductive debut. A late-night classic of chilly electro-soul, the self-titled album has influenced many in the dance music fraternity since its original CD-only appearance back in 2006. Particularly revered by Jamie xx, Four Tet, Hot Chip and Tri Angle Records, the r'n'b cognoscenti went into overdrive when rumours of this release first leaked.

Perhaps most famously, it features the slick summer smash "Me&U" which reached No.6 in the UK charts and topped the US equivalent. Yet the remaining 10 tracks serve to create a "minimalist r'n'b" masterpiece; the intricate and space-filled arrangements are laced with sinister synth bleeps that wouldn't have been out of place on an early 90s Warp record. The dark, hypnotic high ends coupled with Cassie's ice-queen delivery made this stand out from the tired crowd of mainstream r'n'b at the time. It still sounds wholly and eerily unique.

Like all Be With releases, this record is officially licensed and has been cut by Frank Arkwright at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Pressed on audiophile 180gram vinyl - befitting the heaviness of the music contained within - it also features the original artwork set elegantly within its 12"x12" borders.

The release of Marc‘s album „Voyage de la planète“ in 2017 marked a new era of his career. With ten rather beatless tracks where he combined his definition of electronica with classical instruments like violine, cello, double bass and piano Marc began to walk the path of fresh sounding music for the brain.

The title track has been the most successful one so that Marc called no one else than Erased Tape‘s poster boy Ben Lukas Boysen from Berlin to contribute his very own interpretation. Ben created a typical and unique version which comes along with a, believe it or not, 4/4 kick pattetn towards the end. But listen yourself, it totally makes sense. And Bordeaux‘s best Ocoeur made a short but epic ambient version you also should not miss.

Alex Bradley's new reissue division at Utopia Records recovers the early works of Gianni Gebbia, a saxophonist and composer from Palermo, Sicily whose highly sought-after debut LP from 1987 is remastered with added unreleased material and updated art work by Gebbia himself.
A minimal and contemporary jazz album of the highest order, its beautiful sound, sentimental electronics and use of synthesisers - that were a precursor to the house and dance music scene of the early 90's - has made the album endure the years that have passed.

It will be sure to be a valuable addition to your home listening collection with stand out tracks like Cud evoking visions of a Sicilian beach stroll and the intense and brooding 'Vedersi Passare le Cose Attorno' with its Juno chords transports you to a Detroit night club in 1992 counterbalanced by Gebbia's soft saxophonic embrace...

The self taught Gebbia's works touches on the avant-garde whilst maintaining a musicality and fluidity with his technique of circular breathing adding an extra element to his playing, the ability to create Reichian like minimalism with a single breath whilst maintaining melodic structure.
The multi solo album artist is noted recently for working on the music score of Heiner Goebbels' music performance piece 'Everything that happened and would happen' at the Manchester international festival and for his curating of the "Anassimandro Festival of Music and Philosophy" in his home city of Palermo of which Bradley hosted last years after party.

Since relocating from Amsterdam to Bergen on the Netherlands’ north west coast, Tom Trago has gone back to basics. Every day he jams out tracks in his home studio using a small selection of electronic instruments, drum computers and effects units, a process that allows him to quickly capture ideas, emotions and the intense moments he experiences while making music.

It’s these diverse and sometimes surprising musical moments that will be showcased on Trago’s new DIY record label, Jong Nederland. The imprint is named after the building where he now lives and works, an historic and storied place that has been home to artists of all descriptions since the 1960s. Each vinyl release will feature tracks made by Trago using his improvised, straight-to-tape technique, packaged in handcrafted sleeves illustrated by internationally renowned Dutch artist – and fellow Bergen resident – Pieter Bijwaard.

The Jong Nederland story begins with two tracks of undulating, slowly shifting dancefloor voodoo rich in crunchy drum machine hits, lilting electronic melodies and instinctive dancefloor warmth. On the A-side you’ll find “Whisper”, a hypnotic but fluid affair where hushed melodies tumble down over off-kilter polyrhythmic machine drums, spaced out effects and bubbly, ever-changing analogue electronics.

B-side “Belltower” sees Trago up the tempo a little and bounce us towards the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Utilizing a rubbery rhythm track full of sturdy but supple kick-drums and hissing cymbals, Trago layers up fizzing synthesizer lines, poignant minor key chords, wiggling acid-style motifs and starburst electronics to fire the synapses and stir the senses. Like its’ A-side companion, “Belltower” gently twists and turns throughout, reflecting the real time, hands-on changes made by its creator during the spontaneous sessions that led to its creation.

Visible Spectrum is the newly launched creative playground of Yuri Boselie, also known as Cinnaman. Since donning the Cinnaman alias nearly two decades ago, he’s become a well known figure of the Amsterdam nightlife scene with long running residencies at the city's most lauded clubbing institutions like Club 11, Trouw and most recently De School. Next to his DJ sets, he's made early moves in label curation with A&R work for Rush Hour and Kindred Spirits offshoot Nod Navigators, and with his own Beat Dimensions compilations in the late 00s. With Visible Spectrum — defined as the electromagnetic frequencies visible by the human eye — a new chapter is born. It is an outlet for electronic music in the widest sense. Each sleeve will have its own unique screen printed artwork by Marilyn Sonneveld.

The first EP comes from Mor Elian, the Berlin based artist and owner of the Fever AM label. Here she offers the loose and hypnotic rhythms of 'Clairvoyant Frog' which is deep and atmospheric, like some sort of primordial techno soup. 'Shoshana's Roses' then picks up the pace with layers of rumbling drums, wooden hits and snaking synths taking you into a steamy, humid jungle before closer 'Planet Kismet' is a much quicker and more urgent bit of enchanting break-beat techno with pummeling minimal drums and warped synths and perc getting you under their sci-fi spell. A fascinating first outing that sets a high standard from the off.

Borneo Records welcomes Swedish made, Berlin based DJ City to the family!

As a fairly fresh face to the European dance music scene, involved with renowned musical outlets like Cocktail d’Amore and Born Free, DJ City has been turning heads with his playful and energetic style.

For Borneo’s ninth release DJ City delivers two deep dance floor cuts, referencing and paying hommage to his childhood idols, craftily combining well known building blocks into future classics.

”Sierra Madre” is a warm and deep dive into the aesthetics of the late 90s electronic music scene, balancing between lush pads and low bit rates. Steadily it progresses as the loops unfold and evolve into an ambient landscape of clear peaks and valleys. Dreamy and suggestive without becoming too literal or camp, it invites its listener to let the mind wander during the course of the dance.

On the flip side, “5426261” is a more playful feature as its percussion and somewhat off tune melodies roll out. The texture is light and invites its listener to venture in thought to an imaginary Mediterranean location right before dawn. The enigmatic title is repeated in a sample towards the end, implicating it is a phone number. Who are you trying to reach?

Written & produced by J. Norling, 2016-2018, Örebro/Berlin. Artwork by Nicole Martens. Borneo Records Rotterdam 2020.

"I'm always looking for ways to be surprised," says composer and multi instrumentalist Jeff Parker as he explains the process, and the thinking, behind his new album Suite for Max Brown, released via a new partnership between International Anthem and Nonesuch Records.

"If I sit down at the piano or with my guitar, with staff paper and a pencil, I'm eventually going to fall into writing patterns, into things I already know. So, when I make music, that's what I'm trying to get away from-the things that I know." Despite its musical departures, in presentation Suite for Max Brown is an informal companion piece to The New Breed, Parker's debut release on International Anthem, which was honored as one of the "Best Albums of 2016" by New York Times, Observer, and Los Angeles Times.

"I made The New Breed based off these old sample-based compositions and mixed them with improvising," Parker says. "That's in a nutshell how I make a lot of my music; it's a combination of sampling, editing, retriggering audio, and recording it, moving it around and trying to make it into something cohesive... With Max Brown, it's evolved." Though Parker collaborates with a coterie of musicians under the group name The New Breed, theirs is by no means a conventional "band" relationship.

Parker is very much a solo artist on Suite for Max Brown. His accompanists are often working alone with Parker, reacting to what Parker has provided them, and then Parker uses those individual parts to layer and assemble into his final tracks. The process may be relatively solitary and cerebral, but the results feel like in-the-moment jams-warm-hearted, human, alive. Suite for Max Brown brims with personality, boasting the rhythmic flow of hip hop and the soulful swing of jazz.

Pacific Express emerged from Cape Town, South Africa in the 1970s. The band were from the so called "Coloured" community and were ground breakers in both musical and political arenas. The founder members Paul Abrahams (Bass), Jack Momple (Drums) and Issy Ariefdien (Guitar) were joined by Chris Schilder (Piano), Vic Higgins (Pecussion), Barney Rachabane (Alto Sax), Stompie Manana (Trumpet) and Zayn Adams & Kitty Tshikana on vocals for their second album "On Time" in 1978.

On several occasions the group fell foul of Apartheid laws and discrimination by the state broadcaster, SABC. On one occasion they were asked to leave the stage of an international tour by Australian act John Paul Young, because the law forbade racially mixed performers on the same stage. The promoter, management and band members all resisted and once he incident made the Australian newspapers the authorities had little choice and turned a blind eye.

And so to the music. The most important thing. The LP opens up with the slick jazz-boogie funk of "We Got A Good Thing Going On", a perfect vehicle for the vocals of Zayn and the statement-of-intent, on-point musicianship of the band.

"I Hear Music" is the first of three smooth sweet string-laden ballads to feature on the LP. The majority of the songs on the LP were written by keyboard player Chris Schilder. As well as high-craft songwriting Chris also contributes layers of effortless musicality with his Rhodes and piano. "Good Old Days" (the only cover on the LP) is next and its smooth-rock grooves swing effortlessly to the fore. The A-Side of the vinyl closes with the instrumental jazz funk of "Saturday Night".

The flip side of the album opens with the bands biggest commercial success. A sweet soul ballad penned "Give a Little Love". Stepping outside their usual sound. This hit however was not without controversy as the video was removed from the TV airways after the South Africa Broadcasting Corp realised that the group were of mixed race, which was against rules for so called local artists in public performance at the time.

"Dream" follows on with the driving jazz rock and travelling keyboard solos. "Reaching Out For Love" is a power-pop boogie groover powered by guest vocalists Erica Lundy and Kitty.

"Say The Last Goodbye" is the last of the trio of ballads. A smooth style moment sounding all the bit like a 70's US TV drama closing theme. The LP features with a funky workout where the band show off their chops and slick level of musicianship.

Besides the success in southern Africa this album became a regional hit as a pirated music cassette in Nigeria. It was also released in France and Japan.

The band would go on to record one further LP in 1979 and a single in 1981. They carried on performing however well pass that. Throughout their years together the band acted as central hub for Jazz musicians within the Cape Town area. Players as Tony Cedras, Jonathan Butler and Alvin Dyers gaining experience alongside established names such as trumpeter Stompie Manana and alto saxman Barney Rachabane.

Here at World Seven we are ever so pleased to be re-releasing what we consider the bands finest album moment.

Award-winning bassist Daniel Casimir and vocalist Tess Hirst release their debut album via pioneering London-based record labe Jazz re:freshed. Following the success of Daniel Casimir's critically acclaimed debut EP 'Escapee' which featured Hirst on vocals and fellow rising stars on the scene Moses Boyd, Joe Armon-Jones and Shirley Tetteh, this album - 'These Days' is inspired by the duo's London surroundings, delivering thought-provoking lyricism, neo-soul and modern jazz

Casimir, a former Birmingham Conservatoire student, has collaborated with Julian Joseph, Jason Rebello, Benet McLean, Lonnie Liston Smith, Nathan Facey, Shane Forbes, Chihiro Yamanaka, Ashley Henry, David Lyttle, Nubya Garcia, The Tracey Quintet (Meantime Jubilation), Tom Harrison (Unfolding In Tempo), Jasmine Power (Stories And Rhymes), Camilla George and Art Blakey Jazz Messenger saxophonist, Jean Toussaint.

Named Young Jazz Musician of the Year by the Musicians' Company in 2016, Casimir has received plaudits for his arrangements and recital, while Hirst has made a name for herself with her vocals on the jazz circuit having moved between London, Leeds and LA to hone her craft. What sets Hirst apart as a musician is not only the originality of her music but her perspective of herself as an artist. She is an Ethnomusicology Graduate of SOAS and her writing style walks us through her upbringing in West London and down the halls of academia

Casimir and Hirst fuse traditional jazz sounds into beautiful compositions, narrating their way through a political and cultural landscape across these twelve tracks. The frenzied groove heavy'Security' addresses the need to trust one another and how we protect ourselves personally, while the rich atmospherics of 'Freedom' combined with Hirst's vocals, explore liberation and the rejection of duty - from a female perspective.

At the heart of 'These Days', Casimir plays with a passion and power that resonates throughout each composition. His knack for complex chord changes are highlighted in 'What Did I Do', bringing an energy and enthusiasm to the track while Hirst decries our changing capital. Elsewhere, references to John Agard's poem 'Listen Mr. Oxford Don' in 'The Magic Money Tree', explore the past and its relevance to now while a re-imagining of Charles Mingus' 'Fables Of Faubus' further ensures this theme remains central to the essence of the album.

Daniel Casimir and Tess Hirst have already received radio support from BBC Radio 3, BBC Music Introducing and Jazz FM, along with coverage in the London Evening Standard and Jazzwise Magazine

'Don't Let Them' interpolates elements of 'Fables Of Faubus' written by Charles Mingus (c) 1959. Published by Jazz Workshop Inc. Administered by BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dick Verdult, a.k.a Dick el Demasiado is the Philip K. Dick of multi-disciplinary art, the Moby Dick of “cumbia lunática”, and the Charles Dickens of literature and experimental cinema. He first fell in love with cumbia when he heard his nursemaid singing the classic “La pollera colorá”. From this moment on, he adopted the genre and reinvented it, in a perpetual degeneration called Cumbia Lunática, twisting up the elements of traditional cumbia, the “cumbia of the mucamas”, to create an anarchotropical vertebral rhythm, one which supports every moving part.

Celulitis Illuminati is the powerful debut of the anarchotropical gentleman knight of the abstract, Dick el Demasiado, eight dangerous tracks recorded for the first time on vinyl, songs that, upon listening, will liposuck all that grotesque accumulation of adipose tissue out of buttocks and brain. They interweave an amalgam of South American folklore and the cables of electronic music, the plugged-in Ranqueles indians, as in “Asi Que Los Que Sí” (“So That Those Who Yes”) on Side A, surrealist and lugubrious beats, poetry made song and “the dead man’s drool is good for painting watercolors”, as he sings in “Búho Sin Un Ratón” (“Owl With No Mouse”).Euphony that will abduct you away to a viscous street party with “Son Cosas De Hoy” (“They’re Things For Today”) and to an eclectic and excessive dimension with “pero bien bweno” (“but very proper”).

Side B is pure dynamite: “Mecha flan” (“Pudding Fuse”), “Sábado cultural” (“Cultural Saturday”) and “En la jeta” (“In the face”) represent the perfect blend of Lucho Argain (La Sonora Dinamita) and Muslimgauze (Bryn Jones). On top of this, the album includes an as-yet unheard gem, “Llama Mi Abogado” (“Call My Lawyer”), produced by Dick himself and Manuel Schaller, the telepathic mage of the Theremin. When the Dutchman stepped off the boat and onto the block, as well as offering us the TV set, the sculpture of a deranged English woman who devours islands like they were sandwiches, the synthesizer, the sound effect, the African drum, the maraca, the indigenous whistle, he obtained for us the song and the stanza, he provided us with the language and the poetry, the truthful, the epic of the ugly. Cellulite for mortals, cumbia lunática for the enlightened ones! Alfredo Padilla (Trans. Komurki)

Still Loving You, by Twilight, was originally released in 1981. Housed in a low-fi generic album cover, this very polished, professionally produced record sounds like it was made by a super talented band. Strains of Earth Wind and Fire, George Duke and Roy Ayers, flow through a collection of tunes that effortlessly blend soul, disco, funk, Latin and Brazilian vibes.

But looks, as evident with the LP cover, can be deceptive. Twilight was not a band. In fact, with the exception of a guest horn section and one guest vocal, Twilight was, and still is, Lawrence Ross; one man with a clear vision of what his music should sound like, and how he would make it on his own. Working the nightshift at General Mills, Ross was a Head shift packer at a flour mill where, in the twilight hours, there was enough quiet time to create songs.

He estimates it took him about a year to write the album, but recording only took a week. Able to get by with only 3 hours sleep he recorded Still Loving You in a seven-day stretch between 10 am and 11 am every morning, just a few hours after finishing work. Ross showed-up to the studio with a master plan to make a record as he heard it in his head, by playing everything himself. “I laid out a tick track from begin to end on the first day,” he explains. “Then I went in and laid down the bass on the next day, and then drums, and then keyboards etc, with each process taking one hour of studio time each day.”

Frank Hatchett was a legendary dance instructor and originator of VOP. VOP is not an abbreviation but, as he himself puts it: "VOP is a style". It's used to flavour the choreography and to communicate and translate emotions to the audience. The record produced by Don Alan Tipton is a wonderful complement of said VOP style. It features 11 tracks made for dancing that are produced and arranged in a moving and funky fashion.

- non-gatefold sleeve without 7"

Rush Hour announces their second artist compilation Patchwork, curated by one of the label’s most loved family members, Sassy J. The Swiss DJ is the very embodiment of passion and long-standing dedication to the craft of the DJing, but also to the community surrounding the music that she lives and breathes. For the past fourteen years Sassy J has run the Patchwork night in her native Bern and in London, with guests ranging from Theo Parrish and Little Dragon to Floating Points and MF Doom invited to share their respective musical visions. Her collaborative approach stands out in a DJ world that is too often weighted in favour of promoting the individual. This compilation grows out that unique sensitivity, foregrounding a theory of curation that centres on long-term bonds, articulated through Sassy J’s personal relationships with the contributing artists.

Patchwork speaks to the grass roots values that Sassy J espouses, showcasing music by many of the artists that have joined her throughout the years in clubs, on the radio, and at home. It is an expression of Sassy J’s individual musical path that casts its gaze firmly in the future: Patchwork is made up almost entirely of new and unreleased songs that are exclusive to this collection. Patchwork captures a sound that has continued to evolve in its restless search for new musical directions. Across thirteen tracks we find forward thinking electronic music rubbing elbows with cosmic jazz and deep percussion workouts from Brazil and beyond.

There are irresistible calls to the dancefloor: 2000 Black’s UK boogie and the syncopated rhythms of WaH-chU-kU nod to the West London sound, whilst the early rave of Nu Era and Aardvarck’s sub-rattling techno channel the grittier edges of the club experience. We find machine music imbued with humanity in Larry Heard’s deep house classic “Survivor” and in Ron Trent’s WARM project, whose gentle breeze points to a different side of the legendary producer. Patchwork also opens a more immersive listening space in which the radical indie soul of Georgia Anne Muldrow, the ambient spiritual jazz of bandleader Carlos Niño & Friends, and the lament for the Amazon rainforest by Azymuth’s drummer Ivan Conti can channel the overall spirit of group interplay and solidarity. Patchwork also includes Sassy J’s collaboration with veteran producer Alex Attias, marking her own place in a universe that is held together by her singular thread.

"This is the compilation of the year!" - DJ Spinna

TERANGA BEAT proudly presents MAR SECK, a delicate singer and songwriter who marked the history of Senegalese music. TIP!A cross over between Cuban compositions and Senegalese Folklore, his songs gave birth to Salsa-Mbalax, the popular dance music of '70s Senegal that went onto influence a new generation of Senegalese musicians including a young Youssou N'Dour. Featuring 12 tracks recorded over three different sessions, ‘Vagabonde’ focuses on the best of MAR SECK’s career. The first recordings are taken from a raw and unreleased 1969 session at the Dakar National Radio. Recorded with his first group SUPER CAP-VERT from Rufisque, it captures an 18-year old MAR singing the first version of his now famous composition “Vagabonde”. The remaining six tracks from the session includes a beautiful cover of Fonseca’s “Sibouten”. A 1973 live recording is also featured here, made with the STAR BAND de DAKAR in Saint Louis. Previously unreleased, it comes from a time when MAR was establishing his name playing at the legendary Miami Club in Dakar, the “École de Passage” for all great Senegalese musicians. The final two tracks (one of them unreleased) finds MAR accompanied by the most complete band of Senegal, the NUMBER ONE de DAKAR. The 2LP & CD booklet includes photos and liner notes outlining MAR’s career. LP version comes with silk screen print, European 60s style, gatefold sleeve. All tracks are mastered & mixed from the original recording tapes.