Cerca:old year

For over twenty years on the turntables, I.G.N.A has imposed his sound in the best clubs in Europe. Born in Sicily and raised in Emilia, I.G.N.A’s music is appreciated by many important artists with whom he shares the main stages. As a producer he has released successful EPs on labels such as Deeperfect, Moan and Greatstuff.

This new single is inspired by old school sounds and synths combined with house in a future perspective.


The remix was entrusted to two masters of house music: Ricky L and MarcoRadi. With the intention of spreading new emotions everywhere, looking where no one else lingers, surprising oneself as the music moves in new directions.

As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bill Withers' Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying "keeping it real" did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music's approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion.

These characteristics – along with Withers' strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.

After rising into the Top 5 of the Billboard Album charts and attaining gold status within a year of release, Still Bill has long been evaluated not by sales – but according to its merit, spirit, and agelessness. Included by The Guardian on its "1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list (2007) as well as in Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book (2008), its contemporary standing as one of history's most venerated soul efforts eclipses the positive reception it enjoyed in the early ‘70s.

Still Bill walks the same hallowed ground as What's Going On, Call Me, Night Beat, and Genius + Soul = Jazz. Like those landmarks, Still Bill plays with a mix of consistency, effortlessness, and complexity that rewards repeat listening and transcends categorization.

In combining four of the era's predominant styles – Philly soul, sweaty funk, Southern-reared blues, acoustic-based folk – and melding them with standout production borrowed from both minimalist affairs and sophisticated singer-songwriter albums, Still Bill occupies a distinct universe.

Its rhythmic fare is equally laidback and invigorating; relaxing and rollicking; eloquent and muscular; soft and tough. Withers' calm, self-assured voice hovers above it all, doubling as a warm blanket that adds comfort and grace to lyrics steeped in maturity, perspective, and compassion.

Withers' balanced outlook on human desires, needs, and situations stem from his own existence as a former blue-collar employee who believed his time as a musician would soon end. That grounding forever separates Withers from other contemporary soul greats – and stamps Still Bill with a conversational nature and egoless approachability.

"I mean look, I'm really a factory worker," said Withers in 1972. "That's a real job." There's that word again: real. The songs on Still Bill are tethered to modesty and actuality, wedded to a belief in simplicity, and connected to universal truths that link us all – independent of our economic or social standing. No track better exemplifies those principles than "Lean on Me," a feel-good paean to brotherhood and community that hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts en route to becoming a mainstream staple.

Withers approaches the plainspoken insight on "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" and heartbreaking vulnerability of "I Don't Want You on My Mind" with similar sincerity and straightforwardness. His proclivity for authenticity extends to the record's other big hit: the sexual, funk-laden "Use Me," which reached No. 2 and reflects the singer's everyman persona. It's an identity couched in keeping it real, the very inclination that ultimately led Withers to retire in the mid-'80s rather than bend to industry pressures or risk credibility.

That commitment to truthfulness and realism helps make Still Bill feel as unaffected as the air we breathe. Looking back on "Lean on Me" years later, Withers said it seemed like "something that was there before I got here" – the kind of song that could be 100 or 10 years old, or one we encounter anew 10 years into the future. The same can be said for every note on Still Bill.

Two mavericks, out on the weekend, trying to make it pay...

"Maverick was the word that came to mind when I listened to this music. A slightly wayward independence of spirit and outlook. The word originally referred to an unbranded male calf that had become separated from the herd (because Texan rancher Sam Maverick was so negligent in his branding - ‘if it ain’t branded, it’s a Maverick’). But Sam’s grandson Maury Maverick gave it a different twist in his short but stormy Congressional career as the only liberal member of the Southern Democratic caucus. Maury was so out of step with his own folks that he not only voted in 1937 to make lynching a federal crime, he even addressed the House to condemn the practice as barbaric. His attempt to ban racist mob murder sadly failed, but it’s that refusal to march in step which distinguishes the two ‘mavericks’ who made this record.

Who would attempt to combine cunning ethnological forgery, Scottish folk songs, claw-hammer guitar, untutored horn-tootling, elastically relaxed drumming and garage electronic fuckery? Only Greg and Stefan, high on sea, sunshine and mis-judged micro-dosing – that’s who. ‘Don’t drown’ was offered as practical advice during the self-described ‘Yellow Submarine’ phase of making this record. And while they managed to avoid literally doing so (phew), they sound here like they got pretty ‘deep in’ to an Octopus’s sound world all their own. This surprisingly clear analogue recording has just enough Bikini Bottom grit to ensure traction. The tunes are inviting, and the sonic disruptions are too good-natured and goofy to upset even the most delicate digestion.

The sessions have had a couple of years to marinate, courtesy of some pandemic, and are here offered in that most Archducal of vinyl formats, the double ten inch. What are you waiting for, a side of Crabby Patties? Get your water-wings and dive in (unless you’re tripping)!" - Bruce Russell (The Dead C)


Pumice is the long-running, endlessly inventive project of New Zealand native Stefan Neville (1974), whose shambolic music is equally reminiscent of Kiwi pop groups such as The Clean and Tall Dwarfs as well as the country's experimental noise-rock bands like the Dead C. Largely recorded solo by himself on junky equipment, his songs typically feature blown-out guitars, wheezing chord organs, and vocals disguised by tape hiss and static.

Greg Malcolm (1965) is a guitarist from New Zealand who has played everywhere on the globe and with all most everyone, including Rosy Parlane, Toshimaru Nakamura, Tetuzi Akiyama and Bruce Russell, as well as solo releases on his own label, Corpus Hermeticum, Kraak and Celebrate Psi Phenomenon.

Finally the wait is over. Played for years as an unreleased weapon – not only by Priku - Ave is this kind of track where you just can’t forget the synths. You will still hum them while walking the streets months after. The mighty melody can catch the whole crowd creating memorial moments on the dancefloor.

B1 with „For your love“ is an older track but old is gold, right? It fits perfectly with its house beat and sexy vocals on the B-Side. The track gets even more love on top from Bärtaub with an excellent sounding remix – as usual for their work - completing the Ep as the B2. Thank you guys.

Paul Walter, who definitly defined producing as his lifestyle, runs also Meduka Records and has released music on labels such as Do Easy Records and Neostrictly.

Over three years after the release of his latest record, Belgian singer-songwriter Bram Vanparys finally returns with breathtaking new music. His songwriting has often drawn comparisons to the music of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, but the new record 'Silent Days' reveals that Vanparys has been on a journey into new musical territory.

After 'Wild Flowers' (2015), which he recorded in Los Angeles with Ray LaMontagne's former live band, Bram Vanparys kept his guitars locked away in their cases for months. Too many questions had been bothering him and soon he found himself struggling with his musical direction and his artistic integrity. Partly so because he felt that his almost archaic approach on songwriting was pushing him down a dead end street and partly because his interest in rich and complex arrangements started to grow stronger. In 2016 he bought an old trailer and went living in the countryside to work on his new sound. A harsh winter and a tragic breakup with his wife set the mood for a new set of songs and soon Vanparys started recording again.

'Silent Days' comprises both classic songwriting reminiscent of the old masters such as Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan and on the other hand dark, complex arrangements that refer to late Talk Talk and even Radiohead. Guitars were played with kitchen knives and the heavily manipulated acoustic sounds reveal that Vanparys might have been listening to Kurt Vile. Bram's lyrics are deeply honest, touching, but never sentimental and his once so angelic voice now sounds hoarse and mature.

The Bony King of Nowhere is the pseudonym of Belgian singer-songwriter Bram Vanparys. He released his debut album 'Alas my love' to critical acclaim in 2009, which was followed by his second and most celebrated album 'Eleonore' in 2011. In the aftermath of 'Eleonore' he was asked to write the film score for the movie 'Les Géants', for which he was awarded by Les Magritte du Cinéma for best original soundtrack.










L

A moment in time. A casual afterhours jam with friends. Out of which something special comes together.

The story behind Hudd Traxx label head Eddie Leader’s new single is one that begins with a rescue mission. Driving from his base in Manchester to London, to collect a stranded Chez Damier, due to a cancelled flight, and deliver him to his gig in Manchester that same night. Old friends, on a mission and putting the world to rights on their way.

Post gig, deep in merriment, and having given way to the lure of the machines, both Eddie, Chez & Tomson spent time jamming in the studio, recording vocals from which came the classic track 'I Am With You'. Until very recently the remaining stems and ideas were locked, but never forgotten, in the Hudd Traxx archives. Late last year Leader dusted them off and set to work on crafting a new single…. Pressure.

Pressure was born from a distinct lack of. A factor that radiates from the speakers as Leader crafts an unhurried and simple groove, built upon a warm bassline and glistening Ivory chords, all garnished by Chez, featuring under his Kids In The Streets alias, with his soulful vocal delivery.

Hudd Traxx present Eddie Leader ft. Kids In The Streets ’Pressure’, complete with Dub, Instrumental and Dubstrumental mixes.

Hatıralar was Anadol's second album, originally composed between Berlin and Istanbul around 2012 and released years later only in digital form on the Istanbul based label Inverted Spectrum. The title Hatıralar ("Memories") turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anadol recalled and revisited the music in 2023, gently editing and mixing the compositions for the newly mastered LP format in which they now see the light of day. Hatıralar represents an early version of the melodic, instrumental synth-pop that Anadol refined on her album Uzun Havalar (2019) before exploring the more free, krautrock-inspired musique concrète of her last album Felicita (2021). Here is the text that accompanied the original 2017 release:

Anadol, named after an old-fashioned Turkish automobile brand, is an instrumental synth-pop project by Gözen Atila, an artist, dj and keyboard player. She records with mini organs manufactured during the 70s and 80s, the built-in rhythms and arpeggios of these machines provide the backbone of her sound, and her melodies are influenced by pop music and soundtracks from France, Italy and Turkey from the same period. The music is awash with allusions to the moods of old Turkish and European cinema, from the erotic to the melodramatic, and with a reminiscence of the sound and spirit of so-called "tavern music" popular in Turkey's urban nightlife in the 1980s, a flexible pop style usually performed by a solo keyboardist-singer. Anadol is a continuation of the tradition of lone synth experimentalists like Bruce Haack and The Space Lady with their childlike curiosity for electronic sounds, and of the keyboardists pushing the boundaries of minimal equipment to entertain middle aged drunk couples in pubs and wedding parties of Istanbul.

The decade of the 80s is revived through recordings like "Eyes" that allow you to travel through the music and trigger those old emotions of innocence, joy and adventure. It's possible you don't understand a word of what they're singing in the chorus, but the song is very catchy! Maybe not even Maria Chiara Perugini knows what she sings about, but she makes you hang on to every word of her like a nursery rhyme of synths, beach and bubblegum. "Eyes" is so amazing, so mesmerizing and more and more people are discovering this italo-disco masterpiece that usually satisfies and makes fun of you at the same time. If you try playing it at 75% speed gives a hypnotic vapor wave vibe! And even more, the song would have fit well in the dance club scenes from Scarface. Beyond the words - difficult to find a text that makes sense, sometimes out of context, unundestandable even for a French listener - the piece is so surprisingly likeable for the unique tone of Clio's voice, a strange cross between teenager and adult, and the part where she spoke another language, with some really cool synthesizers, are people's favorite parts. 0:31 "Je suis bien heureuse" , 0:47 "La nuit a ses merveilles", 0:57 "Il y a de quoi y perdre la tete, pour toi, sha, pour toi", 1:36 "Je n'ai plus de bulles", 1:52 "Je vous prie applaudissement". "Eyes" by Clio contains all the emotions that a dance-pop song should contain plus the essential element of mystery, a kind of magic that takes place between the chorus and the bass line, a shot in the dark drizzly night of the Italo-Disco. made by Roberto Ferrante, a guarantee for the perfect productions of the 80s, when he was only 20 years old.

Repress!

Let the celebrations begin, 10 Years of a vision Anané created and called Nulu, her independent label letting the world know about a genre we now know as Afro House, today after many years of dedicated work you'll find it as main stream.

Nulu means 'Nothing Ultimately Leaves Us' and just in time for Winter Music Conference in Miami Nulu presents a special vinyl sampler including 4 tracks representing 'Past, Present & Future' of the labels sound.

Side A includes an elegant and melodic remix of 'Ubatuba (Roots Mix)' by Grammy Award winner Louie Vega & Agev Mungsen feat. Anane, originally produced by Brazilian Soul Crew, where the fusion of Afro House and Soul help to soothe the spirit, followed by the African duo AMRoots aka Filipe Narciso and Fresh Nunas who deliver a fantastic combination of melodies and sounds ready to make dreamers dream with a fresh remix of their original release back in 2009 'Old Times At Barracuda (Cielo Roots 09 Remix)' and was also the first release for Nulu.

Side B includes a superb beat and unmistakable touch of Dj Angelo, bringing you straight to dance floor on a journey you'll wish to never leave and finish this 4 track sampler is the incredible talent of Manoo always setting the contemporary route of Afro House music with his modern style, creativity and authentic sound. The special vinyl sampler will be available exclusively at Winter Music Conference 2019 in Miami, and later for all Nulu followers. Take your time to know the Past, experience the Present and understand the Future of Nulu, a pioneering label of Afro House Music.tti

Upcoming album ‘Zwaluwe' to be released in May 2023.

Myrddin De Cauter, the youngest son of multi-instrumentalist musician Koen De Cauter, is a phenomenon in the world of contemporary music. As a teenager, he discovered the richness and originality of the flamenco guitar. To further develop the subtleties in his already masterful playing, he went to Spain to take lessons with some of the masters of flamenco guitar: Gerardo Nuñez, Manolo Sanlucar, …

His technical virtuosity, taste for experimentation and deep lyrical sensibility merge into a unique musical world. It turns out that Myrddin is not just a flamenco guitarist, but an exceptional multifaceted talent.
This talent, passed down through many generations, now expresses itself again in Myrddin's daughter Imre. At only four years old, she received her first cello. In 2018, she made her debut together with her father at the Gent Jazz Festival.

Now five years later, on their debut album Zwaluwe, together they take us on a journey that finds its origin in Myrddin's written compositions. Imre knows and feels the music of her virtuoso father like no other. She complements him in a sensitive, cutting and unctuous way. Making a perfect blend of sharp and soft. The album was recorded in a small chapel in remote Valouse, a village in the Drome region of southern France.

“While Myrddin tells mysterious stories and fairy tales with endless intervals of notes on his guitar, Imre hypnotises your soul with the sound waves of her cello.”

Santa Cata Records was conceived in the record store, Santa Cata in Palma de Mallorca.

Founded 3 years ago it has become a hub for local artists, an essential digging spot for visiting DJs, as well as being open to all music lovers.

With the vibrant local scene producing so actively, setting up a label was a natural step for us, providing a platform for the artists living on our beloved island.


The first E.P. is from various artists living in Mallorca.

International artists Dani Casarano and Hamid now spreading their roots on the island, and local talent in the form of Planetary Instincts own Dojo Zone and Halbert.

The EP focuses heavily on the dancefloor, innovative modern music laced with old school influence.

The record boasts a dancefloor cut with a jacking touch, another breaky acid lines under modulated chords. Flipping it over a 90’s bassline accompanies trance pads, and finally a catchy melody that will be following you around for weeks.

Brains is the first full length by Anton Pieete in 5 years, and the first release under his given name since 2016. A gentle gorgeous journey of an LP on Wake Dream (ran by Orpheu The Wizard). TIP!

Born into a family of sound designers and making his own initial steps into a life of music in the late nineties in trash and hardcore metal bands and via an inherited drumcomputer into techno and minimal in the early 2000’s, Anton switched to the Darling moniker in 2016 with a series of kaleidoscopic retro-futurist releases on Voyage Direct and Safe Trip.

With Brains, Anton Pieete comes full circle and takes the next step, putting a lifetime of musicality, recording experience into a highly musical album, having given himself room for exploration, not being fixed on an end goa. The 11 songs on Brains are filled with emotion, some sweet and hopeful, some gloomy and restless.

Cover illustration by Jorge Velez

“Preparing Singularity” is the debut album by Berlin-based EBM act Transhuman Rebirth, currently a one-man side project of renowned German synth-punk artist Ben Bloodygrave.

Already instantly recognizable on the European synth/wave scene and touring circuit with his high octane aggressive minimal synth, Bloodygrave started this new project over the past few years focusing more on classic, first-wave EBM, moulding the nine tracks on “Preparing Singularity” into a sound that’s recognizable to fans of the starting foundations of the genre. While retaining a sound that’s unique and solely its own, elements of minimal wave and synth-punk are fused in these propulsive tracks, with nods to old idols such as Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Front 242 and Absolute Body Control.

Transhuman Rebirth is subjectually futuristic to dystopian, interspersed with political statements. The lyrics focus on topics that are current and modern, including science, technology, surveillance and artificial intelligence — all delivered through Bloodygrave’s well-known vocal style with a sound that is much rougher and with compositions and sound designs that are more complex than his main Ben Bloodygrave persona.

No doubt, Komakino´s „Outface“ has co-written the history of rave, trance and techno in the early 90s. Originally released in 1993 and produced by Detleff Hastik and Ralph Fritsch this tune was played by any DJ at any festival like Mayday, Love Parade and Tribal Gathering big time.


After 30 years it´s for sure time for a re-release and this package comes along with the remastered original G60-Mix plus next versions by the "creme de la creme" of techno universe, saying Egbert (Cocoon), Petar Dundov (Music Man) and Robert Babicz (Systematic Recordings). Enter the time machine and enjoy the good old days and futuristic sounds at the same time.

Frankfurt's celebrated producer, Philip Lauer returns to Especial, this time teaming up with Berlin based vocalist Dena for a special collaboration, covering Julie Stapleton's soulful House classic with a modern interpretation across a number of versions (vinyl and digital).

After the success of the Hotel Lauer EP on Especial way back in 2016, Lauer has continued his ascendency with albums for Permanent Vacation and Running Back, as well as releasing a string of sure-fire, dancefloor friendly EPs for the likes of Cin Cin, Futureboogie and Skatebard's Digitalo Enterprises.

Born and raised in Bulgaria, before making the move the music mecca of Berlin, Denitza Todorova has a carved a path with her electronic, dance pop stylings across releases for the likes of K7 and Kitsune Music. First appearing on Make It Stay from Lauer's last album, it jumped out as the perfect partnership to bring the raw, soulful and uplifting sounds of the cult V4 Visions label up to date. Founded by Alex Palmer, the label was part of the UK's early 90s club sound, releasing street soul, deep house and more, in Where's Your Love Gone, Palmer and 18-year-old writer/vocalist Julie Stapleton hit on the perfect marriage of Lovers Rock and Street Soul yearning with the haunting sounds of US House. Presented as a new take on the classic, but with utmost respect, the EP starts with the Club Mix, a Larry Heard bassline joins a marimba melody, lifting Dena's vocals of youth's lost love and pain. This is followed by the Demo Mix, a warm, beautiful string laden original take that Lauer and the label felt had to be included.

DJ Slyngshot is welcomed to provide a deep, tech remix. A name to watch via his releases on his YAPPIN label and recent EP for Workshop, his remix is an analogue twist of hypnotic, raw dub techno percussion and counter breaks builds as string and piano join. The EP ends in the Synthapella, as bongos, cowbell and whistle are added to create a drifting Balearic version for late summer nights and dawn that highlight Dena's vocals in a 'sunrise' light.

E-control and Electrodefender , two mates and fans of the old arcade classics gamemachines decided to produce a vinyl split ep together.

For this, e-control provided two of his unreleased electro tracks from 2001 and electrodefender 3 of his recent tracks that he arranged and recorded in the years 2021-2022.

The EP is strictly limited to 150 copies in black vinyl and has a playing time of 30 minutes. Rootsy oldschoolelectro in the style of the early 80s into the early 90s.

The A side of the label is numbered with a stamp and there are two stickers of the two music makers on the cover.

Hot on the heels of their sophomore release with DJ Rocca, Cyphon Recordings welcome Tijuana’s Cyborg Nerve to the family for the third installment in their busy label schedule.

A new project helmed by the Cedillo brothers - also known for their work under the monikers Soul of Hex and Mano De Fuego - Cyborg Nerve’s sound tips the hat to the roots of Detroit electro and techno.

The Vicario Musique Recordings bosses have already made a mark under their Soul of Hex alias, pushing their cosmic, vibrant take on deep house. It’s caught the ear of labels and artists across the world; the likes of Delusions of Grandeur, Freerange Records and Quintessentials have shared their music and they’ve even earned the Larry Heard seal of approval, with the legendary Chicago producer stepping up to remix their 2014 track ‘Lip Reading’. As Mano De Fuego they’re also getting their music into the hands of pioneering figures in the American dance music scene - summer of this year saw them release a shamanistic debut via the inimitable Underground Resistance.

For their debut outing as Cyborg Nerve, the pair deliver four tracks of old school electro grooves. Title track ‘Cristalizacion’ kicks things off. A slice of intergalactic electro; celestial pads soar above warm bass and staccato drum rhythms. Their eponymous track follows and takes the energy levels up a notch: a warbling bass line drives the track forward, whirring and revving while crisp hats fizz overhead.

‘Tijuana 3000’ is another cut that's custom-made for the dance floor. As with the title track, the duo call to mind the interstellar jazz-tinged electronics of Detroit outfit Galaxy 2 Galaxy, as they pair cosmic twinkling melodies with a hypnotic acid line that takes centre stage. ‘Machine Effect’ brings the EP to a close. Like its name suggests the track is powered by a raw, machine funk groove and precise drum programming - no bells and whistles, just pure cosmic vibrations to move your body.

Alvars Orkester was formed in 1987 in Johannishus, a small village in the south-east of Sweden by a group of young boys interested in the mysteries of psychic sickness, mental institutions, industrial music culture and the power of sound. For the first very creative years, Alvars was very active within the independent cassette culture scene releasing their stuff (that quite soon drifted from the industrialism inspired by Test Dept, TG, SPK and z'ev to an atmospheric, psychedelic and quite ambient version of noise) on small labels in Italy, Portugal, USA etc.

Joachim Nordwall writes: "1990-1991. In the middle of all teen confusion going on, me and Zwarre had a long creative time together. Recording every weekend, connecting with like-minded (or at least we thought so) people around the world and trading tapes with whoever. Our world was analogue synths, Party Zone late Friday nights on MTV, zines and out-there experimental music. By then, we had a few tapes out and had "Nobody Finds Nothing" being released on the Italian super-label (in our opinion) Biotope Art Organization. We were in the midst of something and recorded "Nuthull" for another Italian top level label called Old Europa Café. However, they did not like it and the tape was abandoned and forgotten. Then years and years later, close to present time, Zwarre was in touch with OEC for some reason and had the master returned." - Joachim Nordwall, Gothenburg, 21 February 2023

We've been writing new material as a trio since the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. 
An organic and electro-acoustic impulse that translates both mine and Eliete's need of self-archiving, 
re-inventing and auto-cannibalising Tetine's past, present and

future in order to explore other aural 
landscapes and modes of composing intuitively, while at the same time, re-experiencing moments of our 
trajectory as a hybrid organism. 



Music For Breathing was born as a respiratory, meditative, and improvisatory piece of DIY 
tropical-mutant-punk "chamber music" written for cello, voice, piano, organ and electronics. 
The work responds to the suspended acts of breathing and vertigos experienced in contemporary polluted
 environments in political, social and philosophical transitions, whilst investigating the 
secret ontologies of inanimate objects and architectures, as well 
as the echoes and ethics of modes of operating things. 



Recorded during the intense period of heatwaves that hit London between July and August 2022, in 
a small studio set up in our flat's kitchen - so that we could capture the acoustic instrumentation 
(in particular, for the recording of cellos) without much

noise interference from the street - 
this vinyl version of the album comprises of 5 distinct yet complementary reflective movements. 


Musically and lyrically, it explores the atmospherics and syntaxes of time and space, voice, rhythm, 
as well as themes such as hearing loss, menopause, pollution and respiration. It builds an expanded suite of unexpected 
electro-acoustic textures through repetition, minimalistic motives, simple melodies, chromatic 
developments, free counterpoint and atonalism. Conceived as an ode to the poetics of slowness, 
the sounds you hear give continuity to the music we composed for the performance-film 
The Ether - Prelude No.1 over the first lockdown in 2020 as it simultaneously explores the warmth, 
melodiousness and power of the cello in conjunction with electronics. 
Music For Breathing evokes this transitory moment: a place and time where language runs out, 
communication and information lose their functions, sound and meaning do not correspond. Facts do not correspond to contexts. Spaced Out in Paradise. The last degree of the structure, the 
loss of memory. The lost voice.


The album also features our 12-year-old daughter Yoko Afi on cello and vocals. It reflects 
a period of free sound experimentation influenced both by romantic composers of the late
 19th / early 20th centuries and contemporary electronic music. The pieces you hear were composed, arranged, and recorded 
with the joy and melancholy of "those who do not know". In other words, "with the arrogance 
of a second childhood" as Derek Jarman once put it. 'Agile and candid as a child'(1).

1) Manifesto da Poesia Pau-Brasil, Oswald de Andrade, Correio da Manhã, 18 de Março de 1924.

Lifted from a lost CD with old premasters some 20 years ago. Newley remastered and sounding heavy, this is Great Ezcape at their ferocious best. Ahead of the curve back then, and still sounding fresher than ever.

For this uniquely personal retrospective spread over twelve vinyl discs, Sven Väth takes us back to the early days of his DJ career. On What I Used To Play we meet great pioneers of electronic music, gifted percussionists, obscure wave bands, and innovative producers of a bygone 'new electronic' era. Rough beats and irresistible grooves from the identification stage of house, techno, and acid remind us not just how far electronic music has evolved over the past four decades, but how great it was to dance to EBM, techno, and house for the very first time.

If there is one protagonist of the electronic music scene who has remained curious, innovative and at the very cutting edge of music for over four decades, it's Sven Väth. His multi-layered artist albums and Sound of the Season mix compilations have been defining the genre for over two decades, and even today, he is constantly on the lookout for the next top tune to add to the highlights of his next set. At least, that's the case when he's not producing them himself as an artist or remixer. "Actually, it's always been part of my DNA to think ahead," and nothing had been further from his mind than looking back at his past, but when in spring of 2020 the international DJ circuit had to be scaled down to virtually zero, the 'restless traveler' suddenly had time. Time to stop and reflect on "how it actually was back then, at the very beginning of my career..."

"It was a great trip and with every track, beautiful memories came flooding back".
In the London apartment, he had just moved into, Sven has set up a "little music room", where he cocooned himself for several days, "to look way back for the first time and review my musical journey through the eighties, so to speak."

The interim result was six thematically oriented playlists with a grand total of 120 tracks from 'early 80s' to 'Balearic late 80s', together with excursions into afrobeat, European new wave, and EBM sounds and a few epochal techno/house tracks from the USA in between. From these 'Best of Sven Väth's favorites', the project What I Used To Play crystallized. Sven remembers how the Cocoon team reacted to his proposal: "They found the idea of making a compilation out of it MEGA from the beginning and everyone said 'Sven, go for it', but then, of course, the work really started, namely, to clear the rights and to get clean sounding masters of the up to 40-year-old tracks. There was also disappointment, of course. We couldn't clear certain titles because the rights holders in the USA had fallen out with each other or simply disappeared from the scene. In short, it wasn't easy, but now I can safely say we got the most important tracks."

Finally, after two years of research, curation, design, and administrative fine-tuning, the "little retrospective" from 1981 to 1990 is available. The exquisitely packaged, and three-kilo heavy box set is not only physically impressive, WIUTP is also the definitive record of Sven Väth's musical development. On each of the twenty-four sides of vinyl, you can trace track by track, what influenced him during which phase, and how he took off as a DJ from his parents' Queen's Pub straight into the spotlight at Dorian Gray. There and at Vogue (later OMEN), Sven became the style-defining player in the DJ booth that he still is today.




1981 - 1990: Future Sounds of Now

In the early eighties, the crowd in clubs like Vogue and Dorian Gray danced to what nowadays we call 'dance classics' - mainly disco, funk, soul, and chart pop. It was up to a new generation of DJs, including Sven Väth, the youngest protagonist in the Rhine-Main area at the time, to create their own club-ready music mix. Good new tracks and potential floor-fillers were rarities that had to be sought out and found, in order to prove oneself worthy.
Without MP3s, internet streaming, or other digital download possibilities, music didn't just gravitate to the DJ, instead, it had to be tracked down. In well-stocked record stores in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden or even in Amsterdam, London, or New York, Sven and friends sourced the material for countless magical nights. On WIUTP we can follow Sven's very personal journey through this wild, innovative era in which synth-pop, funk, hip-hop, and disco were successively replaced as 'club music' by house, techno, acid, and breakbeat. By the end of the decade, it was clear to see that these once exotic 'fringe' phenomena would soon become 'mass' phenomena.



Early 80s

Dirty Talk by the Italian-American duo Klein & M.B.O. represents the most innovative phase of the Italo-disco genre in the early eighties like no other track. Mario Boncaldo (I) and Tony Carrasco relied entirely on the original synthetic drum and percussion sounds of the Roland TR-808, coupled with the raunchy vocals of Rossana Casale and guitar accents of Davide Piatto. Of course, other tracks from this period were also influential in style, most notably Unit by Logic System, which worked as the perfect soundtrack to the laser lighting system at the legendary Dorian Gray club. With stomping beats and robotic rap interludes, Bostich by Yello also belongs on Sven's eternal playlist - after all, it caught the attention of Afrikaa Bambaataa, who invited the Swiss duo to perform at the Roxy in New York in 1983.



EBM Wave - Mid 80s

From today's point of view, the almost ten-minute-long, downtempo track Giant by Matt Johnson's band project The The, would probably not be considered an obvious club classic. However, a closer (re)listen reveals the rhythmic intricacies of the percussion overdubs by JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus) on Johnson's composition, and it becomes clear why this exceptional piece of music is one of Sven's absolute favorites. Other classics from this phase include Kaw-Liga by the mysterious The Residents, the hypnotic-synthetic Our Darkness by Anne Clark (and David Harrow), and last but not least, the somber, monotonous anthem Where Are You? by 16Bit, one of Sven Väth's projects together with Michael Münzing, Luca Anzilotti from 1986.



US House - Late 80s

You certainly can't talk about Chicago house without mentioning Frankie Knuckles. The resident DJ at the Warehouse not only gave the name to an entire genre, but also produced epochal floor fillers on the Trax label like the timeless Your Love, sung (and moaned) by Jamie Principle. Acid house protagonists Phuture also hail from Chicago, and on We Are Phuture (also released on Trax) we hear the chirping acid sounds of the legendary Roland TB-303 in full effect. Another featured classic is No UFO's by Detroit's Model 500 aka Juan Atkins, who is rightly considered the 'Godfather of Techno' even if the genre-defining track from 1985 still breathes with the spirit of hip-hop and electro from the first breakdance era.





Afrobeat

Le Serpent, by Algerian-born Abdelmadjid Guemguem, is a track that sounds completely different from everything else on WIUTP. Made in 1978, it's a monumental, rousing groove created without bass or synths, just with five congas! Even though Guem sadly passed away in 2021, his immortal, acoustic beats are understood all over the world and will continue to enrich many thousands of DJ sets for years to come. Another classic that not only Sven appreciates beyond measure is Hugh Masekela's Don't Go Lose it, Baby. In addition to being one of the most important jazz pioneers, the trumpeter and freedom fighter from Johannesburg was very experimental, integrating electronic sounds into his music in later years, in a similar vein to Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. Dutch jazz pianist Jasper van't Hof's afrobeat project Pili Pili has also aged well. The trance-like, almost sixteen-minute-long track of the same name, manages to fill a whole side on the seventh of twelve vinyl discs in the WIUTP box.



UK-US-Euro - Late 80s

Time for a change of scene, in the truest sense of the word, and from a musical perspective, this section is like landing on another planet. First up is Andrew Weatherall's classic remix of Primal Scream's Loaded, featuring the iconic Peter Fonda sample (lifted from the 1966 biker film Wild Angels) that came to personify the mood triggered by the British Second Summer of Love in the late eighties: "We wanna be free to do what we wanna do, and we wanna get loaded...". This period also saw the emergence of M/A/R/R/S whose only single, 1987's Pump Up The Volume, became a club classic with support from DJ legend CJ Mackintosh. In this most eclectic of sections, we also encounter New York house and reggae producer Bobby Konders and his seminal Nervous Acid.



Balearic - Late 80s

Those who know him, know that Sven had already lost his heart to the 'magic island' of Ibiza as a teenager, so with that in mind, the WIUTP project couldn't end without a Balearic chapter. Inspired by Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4, the immortal, eponymously titled Sueño Latino belongs in there without question. Equally popular on the island was, and still is Break 4 Love by Raze, which thinking about it, would also fit perfectly into the house chapter. Last, but not least, there's an overdue reunion with Sven Väth himself, in his role as frontman of the successful Frankfurt trio OFF. Together with Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (later of Snap!) this 'Organization For Fun' created the off-the-wall club hit Electric Salsa in 1986 which incidentally turned into an international chart smash, putting Sven in the enviable position of having to decide between pop stardom and a DJ career. Well, we all know how that decision turned out and the rest, as they say, is history. A not insignificant part of his story is What I Used To Play. Enjoy!

Recut & Repressed

With ´Future Romance´ a new chapter of storytelling house & techno music is opened. After running the mighty Parquet Recordings label for 15 years, german DJ and producer ´Solee´ is starting an additional vinyl & digital imprint with focus on quality deep & expressive sounds.

Future Romance starts off with „Reboot“ a new single by the labelboss himself showcasing once again his ability to build up a track like no other and combine extensive melodies with big basslines & clever invented synth-work. As remixers for this promising debut release we could win no less than one of the greatest icons of melodic techno worldwide ´Recondite´ (wellknown for his releases on labels like Afterlife or Innervisions) and italian master of organic deep and emotional house sound ´Lehar´, member of the Diynamic family and owner of the ´Multinotes´record label together with Musumeci and Olderic.

Early DJ support by DJ Hell, Innellea, Kevin De Vries, Fur Coat, Pig & Dan, Timo Maas, Quivver, Musumeci, Oliver Huntemann, Dave Seaman, Mira, Rinzen, Markus Kavka, Nick Warren, Eelke Kleijn, Nhar, Martin Roth and more.

SAISEI founder Junki Inoue continues his vital archival work uncovering the riches of Japan’s distinctive electronic music scene and bringing them to new audiences around the world.
The PMA EP compiles four dynamic tracks recorded around 30 years ago by the duo of Shigeru Nakamura (drums/vocals) and Mikio Kato (synths) aka B-2DEP’T.

Nakamura and Kato’s first album as B-2DEP’T, Products Plus, appeared on cassette in 1993 on Trigger Records, the predecessor label to Transonic (given a retrospective on SAIS004). Its bright yellow and blue retro-futurist artwork – which is echoed in the design for this reissue on SAISEI – matched the sounds held within: inventive, out-of-the-box dance music blending overseas influences with an idiosyncratic Japanese sensibility.
Two tracks from Products Plus appear on this EP, All tracks re-edited by Junki Inoue and regular collaborator Yuzo Iwata for vinyl extended play and available now for the first time on vinyl. ‘Clockwork Giant Panda’ appearing in a version co-produced with Yoshinori Sunahara (ex - Denki Groove), merges a breezy US house groove and bassline with twinkling, almost parodic Japanese keys that act as a kind of meta commentary on Western perceptions of Japan (a concept pioneered by Yellow Magic Orchestra). The two parts of ‘BSMH’, or Body Sonic Mental Health from ‘Products Plus’, were originally remixed by Daishi Hisakawa of Tanzmuzik, who draws on darker sounds from Europe and the UK: restless Depeche Mode synth harmonies spiral above a pacy EBM pulse, with robot vocals intoning the titular slogan. The package is completed by the unreleased track ‘PMA’, whose driving, bass-heavy mood falls somewhere between Sheffield bleep and the ambient techno of early Biosphere.

SAISEI is a Japanese word which translates to ‘reproduction’ and ‘to play’ (as in playing records). Japanese culture is widely known for its traditional nature just as much as it is for being forward into the future and this label’s concept does justice to exactly that. Having started digging for records as early as 16 years old, Inoue delved into productions from 1990s Japan to uncover these native gems. SAISEI’s core concept is to recapture and reintroduce unique pieces of Japanese electronic music onto vinyl, to an audience it never reached before as most of this music was only released in Japan.

Black Vinyl Repress!


For the first time, these exclusive extended versions of NJOI's seminal tracks are available as a 3 coloured disc vinyl-only release. Carefully lifted from their original early 90's live sets, these tracks have been re-crafted, extended and mastered to todays sonic standards and we're very proud to present 'Collected' on Food Music.

This project is much more than simply re-issuing the cream of NJOI's catalogue. As we enter 2022, we begin a year long journey with the duo, eventually unveiling 30 year old unreleased sought-after material for the first time ever, together with remixes from some of the todays finest electronic artists. It’s a privilege to complete the circle with NJOI and their timeless music.

From an aspiring b-boy to working with luminaries Billy Porter, Joss Stone, Kimberly Davis and Teni Tinks, The Shapeshifters, Simon Marlin announces the release of his brand-new studio album “Let Loose”.

Wrapped in a defining optimistic mood and colourful palette, “Let Loose” plays with the friction between musical persona and influence, delivering a masterclass in Simon’s flourishing depth of integrity as a producer and admiration to those that exert their enduring influence upon him.

“I'm a facilitator of talent. I'm blessed that over the years I've managed to put a team of people together - as a producer, that's what I do, very much in the old school sense like a Quincy Jones or Gamble & Huff, they’re the guys I try to emulate - and make something magic out of nothing, but do it in a contemporary way. That’s what really floats my boat, and that's what this whole project is about.” Simon Marlin – The Shapeshifters

Across the latest and long-awaited studio album “Let Loose” The Shapeshifters pledge rhythmic allegiance to the golden era disco records and their spellbinding qualities; embracing the tension often found between tradition and future to craft a euphoric, certifiable body of work presented to the devoted audience he deserves. The Shapeshifters exemplify a scene in rude health one that is now switching on an ever-younger fan base, and with Marlin being the beating heart of it it’s easy to see why The Shapeshifters are more in demand in the clubs than ever.

The twelve-track album is illuminated with vocal collaborations including the recently released and debut collaboration with the Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winning Billy Porter.

Layers of rushing strings, flares of brass and hedonistic grooves provide refreshing dancefloor power dynamics and deliver a liberating, triumphant and inherently uplifting record.

Taking an impeccably smooth course through disco-infused house, The Shapeshifters continue the rich relationship with Glitterbox and its record label; one that has yielded instant classics that epitomise the label’s ethos for preserving disco’s mission to uplift and empower.

'A Winged Victory For The Sullen' is the first installment of the new collaboration between Stars Of The Lid member Adam Wiltzie and L.A. composer Dustin O'Halloran. The duo agreed to leave the comfort zone of their home studios and develop the recordings with the help of large acoustic spaces, hunting down a selection of 9ft grand pianos that had the ability to deliver extreme sonic low end.

Other traditional instrumentation was used including string quartet, French horn, and bassoon, but always juxtaposed is the sound of drifting guitar washed melodies. The recordings began with one late night session in the famed Grunewald Church in Berlin on a 1950's imperial B?sendorfer piano and strings were added in the historic East Berlin DDR radio studios along the River Spree. One last session on a handmade Fazioli piano in a private studio on the Northern cusp of Italy, before the final mixes took place in a 17th century villa near Ferrara with the assistance of Francesco Donadello. All songs were then processed completely analogue straight to magnetic tape.

Their secret to harvesting new melodic structures from the thin air of existence was for the duo to push themselves to dangerous territory, realising that clear thinking at the wrong moment could stifle the compositions. The final result is seven landscapes of harmonic ingemination. In 'Requiem For The Static King Part One' ? created in memory of the untimely passing of Mark Linkous ? they have taken the age-old idea of a string quartet and then shot it out of a cannon to reveal exquisite new levels of sonic bliss.

Of the 13 minute track 'Symphony Path?tique', Wiltzie says 'after almost 20 years of struggling to create interesting ambient drone music, I feel like I have finally figured out what I am doing'. Notable guest musicians include Icelandic cellist Hildur Gudnadottir, as well as Erased Tapes label comrade Peter Broderick on violin. A Winged Victory For The Sullen is not a side project ? it is the future of the late night record you have always dreamed of. A Major release for Forte, Non exportable.