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Ezra Collective’s new era, a venture in discovered maturity and raised stakes, will be defined by the anticipated second album.

'Where I’m Meant To Be' is a thumping celebration of life, an affirming elevation in the Ezra Collective’s winding hybrid sound and refined collective character. The songs marry cool confidence with bright energy. Full of call-and-response conversations between their ensemble parts, a natural product of years improvising together on-stage, the album - which also features Sampa The Great, Kojey Radical, Emile Sandé, Steve McQueen, and Nao - will light up sweaty dance floors and soundtrack dinner parties in equal measure.

Where I'm Meant To Be is out on 4th November via Partisan Records.

Systema Naturae is the first compilation of 012. It is inspired by and takes the name of one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus, dating back to 1735, which broadly describes the hierarchical classification of the natural world. The series consists of three parts, each containing four tracks, where several artists are invited to recreate, with sounds, a deep reconnection with nature. Original artworks by Ciredz.

Edits by Mr. K-

High-powered disco intensity is what this new slice of long-form goodness from Mr. K is all about, in the form of two neglected cuts rescued and fully refurbished by the master.

For our exclusive edit, Danny has boiled the Dynamic Superiors’ “I Can’t Stay Away (From Someone I Love)” down to its most concentrated form, leaving us with a hard-charging, peak time, disco climax that leaves dancers no choice but to work up a serious sweat. Matching the intensity of the legendary breakdowns in “I’m Here Again,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” or even “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” “I Can’t Stay Away” is also an essential gay disco classic, with lead singer Tony Washington being a groundbreaking, proudly out lead singer whose voice surely influenced an up and coming Sylvester at the time. Check out his ad-libs, which Mr. K has made the focal point of his edit, and the similarities between Washington and Sylvester are inescapable. Released as a single in 1977, the song peaked at 27 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Disco chart. Krivit’s edit uses the longer album version, which is appearing here in 12-inch long form for the first time.

The intensity follows through on our flip, another patented Mr. K extension that jumps right into the juiciest parts of the cut and doesn’t let up. “Hit and Run” was first released on a single by the obscure Opus 7 in 1979 but didn’t make as much noise as the slower, funkier tune it was paired with, “Bussle.” This edit rescues and rejuvenates the cut by eliminating everything but the transcendent ride out, extended to a glorious eight minutes in order to fully enjoy its pumping bass and Philly-style group harmonies.

This exclusive 12-inch has been mastered and pressed to our usual exacting standards, another killer club weapon for the serious DJs and dancers

HAUKE FREER'S latest offering includes two warm and moody original cuts plus an intense, bass heavy MATTHIAS REILING Remix - is that really you, SESSION VICTIM? While the duo's records usually strike a chord with a somewhat broad audience, Freer's solo output never tries to cater to the House Music masses. In fact, it feels very much tailored to please an acquired taste. ONE TINY UNIVERSE is a case in point, built upon a steady but wonky drum groove and a brizzling, retro, sci- kind of pad, eventually leading the song into an array of synth melodies that will reward you with discovering new things when listening repeatedly - showing Hauke's ability to subtly combine little bits and pieces into something that effortlessly outgrows the sum of its parts. Moving on to the ip, Reiling stripps the title track off it's warmth and beauty and replaces them with a tougher
drumset and a pressure heavy UK style bassline. You'll be reintroduced to Freer's synth work eventually, but in a less
fairytalish and, well, slightly hostile environment. MMMMM is the closing cut of the EP, a composition just as bare and raw as it feels soothing and gentle - like.... let's say beans and rice over a campre on a cold night under the starry sky of a far away tiny universe in the ngernail of some other giant lifeform.

Sampled by Dr.Dre and Jay-Z, cult combo CALIBRO 35 release the new studio album "DECADE" and celebrate 10 years.

Italian super cult combo CALIBRO 35 release their 6th much awaited studio album "DECADE" on February the 9th 2018. "DECADE" marks 10 years of Calibro 35's releases and it's the very first album recorded by Calibro with an orchestral-inspired enlarged line-up that features horns, strings and percussions. Mixed and recorded by CALIBRO's usual suspect and Grammy Award winner Tommaso Colliva, on the album all the influences collected by the band during their last ten years' journey like music, collaborations, movies, gigs, books find their space. "DECADE" is CALIBRO 35's "time capsule" and is as rare and complex as a timeless work.

Musically CALIBRO 35's inner influences like Ennio Morricone, listen for instance to the epic journey of the album's end credits "Travelers", Luis Bacalov and David Axelrod are still there but are now mixed with elements from afrobeat or cosmic jazz. "Psycheground" sounds like Tony Allen involved in writing a score for a vintage Hollywood production while Sun Ra lurks on "Modo". Everything is mixed up with new influences from modern musical languages. References to Jaga Jazzist, Budos Band or Alternative Jazz and Alternative Hip Hop new acts such as Makaya McCraven, Yussef Kamaal, Oddisee can all be found on the album. In tracks such as "Modulor "you realize that Decade is certainly not a point of arrival and expresses the ambition of the band to look further and evolve. All classic Calibro's vintage instruments such as clavinet, eco, analog synths, fuzz guitars are now supported by new ones such as Dan Bau, Balafon and Waterphone ("Polymeri") in the band's new wall of sound. Thanks to the enlarged line-up and the orchestrated parts involved, which pushed the band to experiment new methods of composition, Calibro 35 on "DECADE" sound strong, full and tight as never before.

Active since 2008 CALIBRO 35 enjoys a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent band around. During their ten years career, they have been sampled by Dr. Dre on his Compton album, Jay-Z Love Child & Damon Albarn, they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat, Headhunters and as unique musicians they've collaborated with, amongst others PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet). Described by Rolling Stone magazine's as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing, that happened to Italy in the last years", Calibro 35 now count on a number of aficionados worldwide which includes VIP's fans such as Dj Food (Ninja Tune), Mr Scruff and Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) among others.

One of the most exciting names to emerge on the techno scene in recent times, Lilly Palmer makes her long-awaited Drumcode EP debut.

The German artist is a thrilling performer, who backs up her kinetic DJ sets with a quality body of production work. We got a taste of her talent when she contributed ‘Amnesie’ to A-Sides Vol.10 and elsewhere she’s dropped heat on labels including Octopus Records, Senso Sounds and her own Spannung Records imprint.

‘We Control’ is a satisfying label debut exhibiting her stealth-like ability to work a dancefloor with a variety of driving techno moods. The title track embodies a key-driven Motor City vibe, before thrilling waves of jagged synths and ravey effects take the cut into brain spangling bosh territory. ‘Resistance’ builds tension and anticipation in equal parts and is a vibe-heavy tool needed for every set. ‘Plasma’ is a full-force weapon that highlights why there’s so much excitement surrounding the rising artist. The EP closes with ‘Don’t Look Back’, as deep pulsating layers of bass cascade towards the finish line.

Perugia producer, synth collector and linchpin of the underground scene Feel Fly pokes his head above the trenches to deliver a consummate four track EP Mediterranean Dreams - Part 1.

Onironauta rolls up all the best bits of spaced-out disco and italo house into an expansive dancefloor soundtrack that would sound equally at home in a Den Haag squat as by an Ibizan hillside pool. Sounding in turns both futuristic and nostalgic, it sets the tone for the dream-like timezone in which this EP resides.

Meanwhile slowed-down 303 chugger Grace In Space sounds perfect for Room 2 - that is, if the room is on an orbiting space station and someone adjusted the gravity settings. The track concludes the side with timeless balearic drift and a dash of kosmiche afro percussion sprinkled on top.

Flip the 12” over and the title track Mediterranean Dreams seeps through, with more than a slight nod to the summer of ‘88, like a faded photograph. The revolving chord progression and melodic synth phrases that weave through the groove fit together sweeter than the cogs in a swiss watch.

EP closer Becalmed rounds proceedings out in fine cosmic disco style, firing more 16th note lasers through the dry ice than KITT, as melancholic pads float over the rhythm section like a négligée. It’s a stylish way to sign off a collection of tracks that are equal parts fond memory, hopeful optimism, and hazy dance-fuelled hedonism.

The Tel-Aviv centered Yotam Avni officially joined forces with Stroboscopic Artefacts last year, turning in a sensual an invigorating entry for the Monad series. Thanks to his personalized fusion of esoteric and worldly sound elements, Avni immediately made a case to deliver more work to the label, and now he has done so with 'Perlude to Dybbuk,' the second in a new series of S.A. releases to feature the Oblique Artefacts visual team's distinct, elegant portrayals of scanned foliage. As with Avni's previous Monad contribution, the new Perlude to Dybbuk makes references - both in title and in sonic content - to the ancient Hebrew folklore of his homeland (a 'dybbuk' being a kind of limbonic spirit attaching itself to the body of a living human until it has successfully reached its final destination). However, the atmospheric, rather than overt, use of these references gives this record a level of dignity and quality as well as a premonitory feeling that hovers over the proceedings.The opening 'Avka (New Life)' opens with the twin stimuli of chthonic, rolling percussion and ambience that has become a modern Stroboscopic tradition, but ever so gradually deviates from the realm of the easily anticipated. Some of the surprises to be found here are sharp, organic drum fills and sighing strings that have an uncanny vocal quality to them. By the time a surgically clipped acid synth sample comes into the mix, the track has reached a simmering level of excitement and the listener's imagination will have license to reside in a virtual world seamlessly combining elements both ancient and futuristic.Dybbuk' temporarily situates listeners back in brutal modernity, with the first sounds heard being something like insistently slicing helicopter blades. Avni merely uses this as the foundation, though, for a genuinely unique construction whose shamanic beats, throttled horn and undertow of frenzied electronics combine to give the feeling of being menaced and eventually overtaken by a spirit entity. This piece shows just what Avni is capable when operating in a more aggressive, 'post-industrial' mode, and the result stands up with some of the best exponents of that genre.The finale 'Modern Matters' is the most readily club-friendly selection from the disc. This potent, floor-shaking and perspiration-inducing number superimposes resonant vocals from traditional Middle Eastern folk song onto this alchemical mixture of machine oil and sweat, and provides a romantic flair without resorting to naïve, touristic 'ethno-techno.' Avni's skillful dedication to counterpoint, and determination to make a finished form is more than the sum of its parts, shines through here and throughout the duration of this record.

Multicast Dynamics returns to Astral Industries for AI-26, this time collaborating with Sid Hille, the German born, Finland based instrumentalist and composer. ‘Metamorphosis’ transmutes both artists’ unique styles into a synergistic blend of transportive storytelling, a delicate dance of light and dark.

Divided into two parts, ’Metamorphosis’ originates from a live performance recorded at Temppeliaukio church in Helsinki on March 2nd, 2019. The material was then edited, where Hille’s soothing keyboard work and haunting passages on the theremin, combine with processed textures and desolate sonic backdrops from Dijk. In this voyage beyond space and time, the subtle dialogue reveals new and perhaps unexpected dimensions in their creative arsenal, finding fresh new boundaries and enriching the palette of both performers. Encounters of sweet fleeting moments of lyricism emerge amidst the chilling outback, in which we're given some final consolation between the long lines of cavernous rifts and deep space tundra. 

Luke Slater presents "Sky Scraping", a new Planetary Assault Systems album. P.A.S. has become a byword for hypnotic, funk-heavy Techno in a purist tradition. Toeing the line between heady, psychedelic material and all out main room fare - Slater's work as PAS captures the very best facets of the genre, with economically selected parts exquisitely arranged and engineered with a shrewd and uncompromising ear for what really makes people move.

XX is the debut Ep from Tori Music, the new Label created in 2020 from the german producer Jacob Groening based in Berlin. All recordings and productions for this ep have been made in 2020. Some parts were recorded in Varanasi and some parts have been produced or recorded in Berlin.

GRVSTRT Records delivers their first release as a beautiful selection of minimal house with a touch of Romanian sound.

This 3-tracker unveils the talents of Jonas Lang & Krons on A1 with a groovy minimal track, the Canadian Paul Quzz on A2 with a more punchy minimal house tune and completed by the Romanian Dragomir on the B-side with a haunting bass-line and charming vocals and winds.

The release comes as a 180g and vinyl-only record.

The artwork, which in parts features mollusc shells illustrations generated mathematically combining nature and technology, sympathises to the music - simply minimalistic and dreamful.

The Shapeshifters’ studio mastery and dedication to his craft has resulted in singles that stand up alongside golden era disco records as much as they sound fresh on dancefloors today. His rich relationship with Glitterbox has yielded instant classics that epitomise the label’s ethos for preserving disco’s mission to uplift and empower, especially with his latest release and debut collaboration with the Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winning Billy Porter, ‘Finally Ready’. Now, another of the label’s nearest and dearest, Dimitri From Paris, steps up to remix The Shapeshifters’ latest on a special 7” vinyl package. Co-written with Billy as a declaration of Pride, Dimitri adds his signature stylish flare onto the suitably theatrical original. Split into two parts, Pt. I on the A-Side keeps Billy’s unmistakable vocal at centre stage, with funk-fuelled organ chords and rich keys bringing Dimitri’s Sound Of Paris. On the flip, Pt. II is a more stripped back version, allowing the classic disco instrumentals to really shine, as a previously unheard and powerful spoken-word vocal from Billy narrates along with improvised vocals taken from the studio recordings. Expertly crafted and brimming with emotion, the joyful message of ‘Finally Ready’ rings true through Billy’s lyrics on both mixes, as Dimitri From Paris brings a new dimension to this dancefloor essential.

Dopplereffekt present Athanatos, their forth release for Leisure System, including a stunning collaboration with Carsten Nicolai and Olaf Bender. Advancing the concepts of growth and decay considered in Cellular Automata, the duo of Rudolf Klorzeiger and To-Nhan explore the genetic conditions behind mortality in five sections, each offering a different interpretation of the subject matter. While conceived as a whole, the parts could be seen as functional devices in an iterative process. The release features artwork by Carsten Nicolai,

The Liverpool-based DJ and producer ASOK returns to DVS1's Mistress Recordings with his most diversified EP yet: "Mistress 14" unfolds ASOK's raw, analog-heavy sound aesthetic full of broken kick drum patterns, stepping basslines, and lush synths.



With 25 years of record collecting, DJing, and promoting parties around the UK, there is little of the dance music spectrum that Stu Robinson has not been involved with. The Liverpool-based artist has amassed a fine understanding of a wide array of scenes, styles and sounds from drum & bass to electro-funk, disco to house and techno – underpinned by a love of breakbeat. The music under his alias ASOK is an amalgamation of this diversity that has found favor with labels like M>O>S, Lobster Theremin, Crème Organization, and Mistress Recordings.



"Mistress 14" opens with "Space Rockets" which is a nod to his breakier love affairs without using actual breakbeats. While second track "Is Anyone" displays his take on classic Chicago House with a little Roland JD-800 euphoria thrown in. On the flip, "Last Refuge" explores driving, rhythmical techno with ASOK's typical ravey pad-like break in the middle until "The Alchemist" closes the 12-inch by laying more focus on melody and texture with a growing, always changing bassline and an ethereal synth that carries the track's energy. The digital bonus track "Apano Sin" concludes the package with a scruffy somewhere in between everything vibe.



ASOK about Mistress 14:



"Mistress 14 is probably the most important EP I have ever made in terms of showing all the different things I am into. I’m difficult to pin down because I’m not really a techno DJ, or a house DJ, or anything like that. I like all forms of electronic dance music. As a DJ, I mix up old and new, familiar with unfamiliar, playing everything from Italo disco to really dark high-bpm breakbeat. As a producer, it’s not easy to put an EP together that covers a little of everything, yet still sounds cohesive. Especially considering that all my tracks were recorded in long live takes, then edited down with no ability to change parts. Sometimes that requires some pretty heavy editing, but that’s one of the good things you get when making music this way. I’m in control of the creative process, rather than feeling like some kind of colored block administrator drawing blocks out on arrangement view of my computer."

The next Planet X invasion is underway! Four mutated and banging hybrids have joined forces for the ultimate techno takeover.
First up is Q-Cumb, a former vegetable farmer from the southern parts of Iceland known for excellent cucumbers. Since he fled his homeland he has gained a notorious reputation in the world of electronic music all over the world. He is known as Odinn, cucumb45, Bbbbbb, kid mistik, slurp gurken, icelandic lamb, orange juice man, gurk, q-cumb, holidayboy slurp and last but not least, Bjarki. His track, Dreamers, is considered the track of the year by those who have experienced it on the dancefloors of the united consciousness. Lafontaine was spawned on the Icelandic highlands and channels Icelands musical energy through his earthy connections. His tune, Ailenated, describes his existence where he fights on a daily basis to combine his music with his daily life. The result is a musical outbreak consisting of terrestrial techno with an experimental feel. ThizOne cooks up the electro-mixture Bolt which is a political anthem that describes his anger towards Icelandic politics. Recently the Icelandic government has been brainwashing the population using corrupted electronic waves. ThizOne's track is an attempt to counteract these terrible acts of treason to our people. Matrixxman, one of the team members of Planet X, throws forward an Acid banger called 'Flexxin On Hoes' that will most definitely tear up the dancefloors of the galaxy.
On the next Planet X release Matrixxman will twist and turn a remix from Lafontaine and mutate that bitch into a nuclear nugget for the future. In other news the Planet X master himself is conjouring his own ep, his first in a while that will see the light of dawn later this year. Don't miss out on this release Space Cowboys!

Back in stock!!


Reissue of this HEAVY Ghana disco / rap / boogie tune..., BIIG one!! Comes with a instrumental cover version by Welsh group Drymbago on the flip..

Soundway Records reissues Free Youth’s long sought-after 1985 single “We Can Move”, their only release - fully restored, remastered and available for the first time on digital and 12” vinyl. “We Can Move” is the first known iteration of Ghanaian hip hop, emerging at the dawn of ‘hip-life’ (hip hop meets highlife).

Free Youth comprised three main members: Terry “Sir Robot” Bright, Lenny “Nii Addy” Dimple, and Abednego “King Abed” Ayim Bright. In the early 80s they began performing in clubs and parties across Accra, with friends and other dancers occasionally joining them on stage – including Reggie Rockstone, who later went on to find commercial success.

In 1985, the band were approached by a producer and invited to record at a local studio. Without having written down any music, Terry, Lenny and Abed sang the parts and beatboxed the rhythms to the session musicians prior to recording. Out of this session came “We Can Move”, a blend of hip-hop and Afro-funk with a proto disco-boogie beat, punchy trumpet riffs and melodic rapping.
Included in the Soundway reissue is an exclusive instrumental cover version of “We Can Move” from Welsh ensemble Drymbago. This replaces the original B side track “Freedom Video Centre”, which was an advertising jingle for a business associated with their former producer.

Repress!

Wiggle celebrate 25 years and relaunch their iconic label with a releases including co-founders Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Eddie Richards, as well as artists like D’julz, Silverlining, Mihai Popoviciu, and more.

Wiggle, the brand that gave birth to tech house a sound that would power London’s club music community for over two decades, step out into their 25th year. To mark reaching this remarkable milestone, they plan a special series of international shows and a relaunch of their influential and ground-breaking label.

Taking their lead directly from the acid house movement, Nathan Coles and Terry Francis first brought Wiggle to life through their heady warehouse parties in the early 90s. Unpretentious to their core, these now infamous events were known for their purist values – community and a sound that booms. Finding a kindred spirit in another new face, Eddie Richards became resident from early sets and was a key figure from the off.

Through these now historic events, they embedded themselves deeply into London’s party landscape becoming familiar faces at cultural institution fabric. Heavily based around the core residents they also invited parts of the international and local world from Richie Hawtin, Jay Tripwire, Abe Duque and Colin Dale.

It’s about here we acknowledge Wiggle’s place in originating tech house - working the hard line swagger of techno together with the depth of feeling of house, matching rhythm with bass in a way perfectly aligned with endless hours of hedonism. This potent mix of musical elements is where it began and set down the foundation of London’s rich and active community of DJs, producers and ravers.

The label was founded close to the parties, sourcing tracks from the ever building network of producers who were fuelling this sound evolution. For their 25th birthday you can expect to see the Wiggle imprint coming back in strength - returning to cutting tracks to wax and continuing its legacy for bass fuelled party sounds and pioneering new talent.

2019 will see a series of international shows and a quarterly London party bringing the much loved Wiggle sensibilities and celebrate what they are and have achieved.

From playing chaotic house parties in their home city of Oxford to becoming major festival headliners across Europe, Foals' trajectory has been remarkable. They've earned critical acclaim (NME and Q Award wins, plus Mercury Prize, Ivor Novello and BRIT Award nominations) and fan devotion (1.7 million sales of their four Gold-certified albums) in equal measure. And while the majority of contemporaries have fallen by the wayside, Foals continue to hit new peaks.

After more than a decade in the game, Foals again embrace that love for the unconventional with the bravest and most ambitious project of their career: not one, but two astonishing new albums: 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost'. A pair of releases, separate but related, they share a title, themes and artwork. 'Part 1' will be released on March 8th, with 'Part 2' following later in the year.

'They're two halves of the same locket,' frontman Yannis Philippakis explains. 'They can be listened to and appreciated individually, but fundamentally, they are companion pieces.

Fundamentally tethered but possessing their own personalities, the two bodies capture the most compelling, ambitious and cohesive creations they've ever produced. Eager to break the traditional pop song structure which they felt they were becoming increasingly tapered to, the 20 tracks defy expectation. There are exploratory, progressive-tinged tracks alongside atmospheric segues which make the music an experience rather than a mere collection of songs. Yet the band's renowned ability to wield relentless grooves with striking power and skyscraper hooks also reaches new heights.

The album's lead single 'Exits' is a case in point, featuring Philippakis conjuring the image of a disorienting world via a contagious vocal melody. It's a fresh anthem for Foals' formidable arsenal, but also an ominous forecast.

'There's a definite idea about the world being no longer habitable in the way that it was,' says Yannis. 'A kind of perilousness lack of predictability and a feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitudes of the problems we face. What's the response And what's the purpose of any response that one individual can have'

'Exits' signposts what to expect thematically from both instalments of 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost'. The title is a warning that anything - from the tiniest fleeting moment of inspiration through to the planet's own biological diversity - can be under threat of being irrevocably erased.

It's a theme that permeates throughout the album's material, as Foal mirror the public neuroses that have been provoked by our current cultural climate. Paranoia of state surveillance Fear of environmental collapse Anxiety over Trump's next potentially cataclysmic move It's all there in these apocalyptic songs.

'Lyrically, there are resonances with what's going on in the world at the moment,' summarises Yannis. 'I just feel like, what's the utility of being a musician these days, if you can't engage with at least some of this stuff These songs are white flags, or they're SOSs, or they're cries for help... each in a different way.'

The new albums' journeys began as the 'What Went Down' era ended. Founding bassist Walter Gervers departed on amicable terms after playing the Festival Paredes de Coura in Portugal in August 2017. Foals felt that he couldn't be replaced - a decision that ushered in a period of recalibration, reorganisation and, ultimately, rejuvenation.

After taking a little time out, Foals - completed by Jimmy Smith (guitar), Jack Bevan (drums) and Edwin Congreave (keys) reconvened - with Yannis on production duties, who, together with Edwin, also covered the bass parts. They began by writing in a rehearsal space before exporting those sketches into the recording phase at 123 Studios, Peckham, with the assistance of engineer Brett Shaw. They'd repeat the cycle between the two spaces, effectively creating an ongoing feedback loop as they sought to push every new idea to the finish line.

1 x 12" black vinyl 180gsm
- label 4/c
- discobag on reverse board with matt varnish
- gatefold on reverse board with matt varnish
- shrinkwrap

Repress

Modularz Label owner Developer presents his first LP Sold in Three Parts A,B&C
The Title named "In Pure Form' is a real wealth of work that developer has been creating over the last year. Its a fairly large catalog of music focusing on raw rhythms, strong tools and powerful funk fueled techno.
We do advise that this is not your average concept album with ambient and break beat type pieces that the market is flooded with - but instead a more straight to the point no filler type of LP.
This is a massive selection of functional tracks direct from the Developer factory of techno. Already a huge amount of support and positive feedback received on this release from the global heavyweights currently playing a selected amount of tracks from this killer release.
First pressing CLEAR vinyl

Repress

Modularz Label owner Developer presents his first LP Sold in Three Parts A,B&C
The Title named "In Pure Form' is a real wealth of work that developer has been creating over the last year. Its a fairly large catalog of music focusing on raw rhythms, strong tools and powerful funk fueled techno.
We do advise that this is not your average concept album with ambient and break beat type pieces that the market is flooded with - but instead a more straight to the point no filler type of LP.
This is a massive selection of functional tracks direct from the Developer factory of techno. Already a huge amount of support and positive feedback received on this release from the global heavyweights currently playing a selected amount of tracks from this killer release.
First pressing CLEAR vinyl

Remastered for 2025

Drumcode has become a label synonymous with some of the most-cutting edge and forward-thinking techno over the last 20 years. Their artists include both emerging and established names, and one of those well recognised is Enrico Sangiuliano. Now announcing the very first concept album of his career.

iomorph is born. A very special concept album designed to take the listener on a journey of evolution. A musical adaptation describing how biological and technological advances over numerous generations of time have all started from the same first step in our own biological journey.

Divided into 4 parts, Organisms opens with atmospheric tones, gradually blending complex textures and timbres to begin the evolutional process. The beginning of this section combines full sounding arrangements before stripping it all back to basics. From here it dissolves into the atmosphere. Organisms then progresses into a break-beat influenced, down tempo track using synths to add complexity to the straight, broken rhythms.

Galactic, futuristic elements are found in both tracks in Cosmic Forces. Upbeat, groovy, electronic synths resonate, before 'Hidden T' brings the tension to get things pumped up with stratospheric swirls and twirls to lay down one of the most mind meltingly deep drops.

Metamorphosis is mysterious, its opening beat is a deep and piercing tone that sends the listener into a sensory awareness of their surroundings before breaking into a fully charged, techno track, with Enrico's trademark sounds and textures.

All evolution has an ending.

Two Probabilities shows the positive, starting out evocative and emotional, with a gentle harmony, gazing towards a 'New Dawn'. On the other side of the spectrum lies the negative. This is influenced with a rhythm that articulates the beat of death, mathematical, cold and metallic in texture, it shows the unsustainability of its nature, with a hectic, anxious break beat influenced ending.

Mannequin's 100th - a comp looking forward featuring an international and serious cast... BIG TIP!
The modern synthwave scene would be significantly poorer without the keen ear and tireless efforts of the Mannequin label run by Alessandro Adriani. Geographically situated within the nerve centers of Rome and Berlin, yet with a musical spirit that easily transcends these boundary lines, Mannequin's back catalog has been an important component in the modular assemblage that makes up electronics-based independent music in the 21st century, and an important reference point for those who need to defend against the lazy accusations that this such is purely retro' in its form and content. Recent accolades and accomplishments - being named Resident Advisor's label of the month' for May of this year, starting the 'Death of the Machines' 12' series, and being given the 'green light' for bi-monthly parties at the Säule room in Berghain - have been earned through Mannequin's unflagging commitment to sonic diversity and Adriani's own realization that the anxious and sharp-edged sounds associated with, say, the Cold War of the 1980s can convey a completely different message today. Adriani says it best when claiming that there is no such thing as 'old' or 'new' music...only the music of now'. With this cogent statement of intent, Mannequin continues to go on exploratory missions to find the best and most relevant aspects of genres like acid, industrial, EBM, post-punk, coldwave and still more.

Which brings us to Mannequin's newest project and 100th release overall: the Waves of the Future double LP compilation, which itself is not a conventional retrospective collection. Case in point - none of the artists appearing on this collection have put out their own releases on Mannequin yet, despite acting as Mannequin's unofficial ambassadors (via DJ sets and other means). This makes the set even more compelling rather than less so, since it shows how Mannequin fits into a larger picture that includes other scene leaders and label owners including Beau Wanzer, Willie Burns (WT Records), Silent Servant (Jealous God) and Ron Morelli (L.I.E.S.). Of equal importance is how Waves of the Future projects a sense of aesthetic resilience and continuity, showcasing just how well the current artists allied with Mannequin employ and re-interpret the sonic lexicon that appears on that label's reissues of 'classic' acts such as Nocturnal Emissions, Bourbonese Qualk, Din A Testbild and Doris Norton.

However, none of this would matter as much if the music itself didn't have strong potential for lighting a blaze in the dark corners of the human imagination, and of course for forcing bodies into motion. Each track here pivots around a couple of key sound elements that seem to set the stage for the next track to come: see the sputtering / chopped ghost voices on Morelli's Charges Won't Stick,' which easily informs the slicing drone and authoritarian beat of Shawn O' Sullivan's Ill Fit,' which then lays down the emotional foundation for the sequencer-powered With You' from An-I & Adriani or the glassy landscape of Illum Sphere's Exhaustion'. Elsewhere, the wired mischief of Not Waving intersects easily with the spherical electro-funk and coded commands of Beau Wanzer. When all the disparate parts of Waves of the Future are soldered together, it perfectly illustrates Mannequin's non-linear philosophy and Adriani's suggestion that Mannequin listeners directly engage with the music rather than trying too hard to analyze or dissect it.

repress

Pleasure Zone proudly welcomes Silat Beksi from Ukraine to the Family! Well - his demo convinced us from the very first listening, so we decided to release two parts. The Gravity EP will be out in November - watch out for more!

Eight releases in, Leonidas & Hobbes have honed a mutual love of soundtracks, disco, jazz, house, techno, acid, psychedelic, African and dub sounds.
Web Of Intrigue is one part tribute to lost 70s soundtracks, when music was created on the finest analogue hardware, featuring full bands, session players and lush orchestrations, one part tribute to 70s disco gods Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (Chic) and one part mid-tempo but nonetheless cosmic house. The three parts fuse to form an instrumental track sounding as fresh as a whole meadow of daisies in 2017 and one that's been going down extremely well with international DJs who have road-tested the material.
Heavy Weather flips the script for a deeper workout in a 3/4 time signature - more of a cosmic waltz. Taking its main cue from 70s jazz fusion heroes Weather Report and The Doors' Ray Manzarek, it incorporates rich African percussion, spaced-out flourishes exhibiting the duo's love for the dubs of Lee Perry, King Tubby et al, and a good old fashioned arpeggio of an acid line - definitely a more esoteric number, all told.
The 'Dawn' and 'Acid Rain' mixes push different buttons for the heads, as suits the mood. It all adds up to a very Balearic confection, fitting snugly in with the burgeoning revival for this somewhat ineffable sound - a trend that seems to be getting stronger/bigger every year, popping up every time the sun gets his hat on and we all remember how to party like the lucky residents of that infamous White Isle....
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London/Edinburgh analogue electronic duo Leonidas & Hobbes released debut EP "Machines, Tapes & Electronic Setups" via the Hobbes Music label back in May 2013, picking up plaudits and support from the likes of Resident Advisor, Mixmag, Erol Alkan, Ashley Beedle, Alan Braxe, Shadow Child, Jimpster, Nick Warren, M.A.N.D.Y., Leftside Wobble, Mr G, Auntie Flo, Sasha, John Digweed and many more... The duo were consequently commissioned to remix the Pet Shop Boys.
Second EP "Mo' Machines" came out on the label in April 2014 and received equally high praise, with i-D Magazine inviting the duo to record a DJ mix which has to date chalked up a whole lot of love on Soundcloud.
Leonidas has released two other collaborative EPs with London-based Japanese DJ/producer Kay Suzuki via his Round In Motion imprint, equally winning fans worldwide, with a track now forthcoming on new label YAM Records' You And Music Volume 1 EP plus much more in the pipeline for 2017. Leonidas also has his own lovetoparty label, releasing edits of much-loved disco tunes on limited edition 12" vinyl format and free download. Previously, Leonidas made a name for throwing word-of-mouth parties around east London on his audiophile 'lovetoparty' sound system (providing some of the inspiration for much-admired late-night watering hole Brilliant Corners).
Equally, Hobbes ran the widely acclaimed Trouble nights for ten years in Edinburgh/Scotland, working with the great and the good from across the soul/jazz/dance spectrum since '02, and championed up-and-coming live talent via his Limbo 'gig-in-a-club' nights at The Voodoo Rooms for nine years since '07. Hobbes has toured his DJing style to the various corners of the dancing planet, including gigs in the Far East, much of Europe and across the UK. The Hobbes Music label has otherwise featured artists as diverse as Auntie Flo, JD Twitch (Optimo), Neil Landstrumm, Craig Smith (6th Borough Project), Ali Renault, iO Sounds, Joe Howe, Debukas, Fudge Fingas, Marco Bernardi, Dimitri Veimar, Mick Wills and Nightwave, with further support from Ben UFO, Justin Robertson, Motor City Drum Ensemble, KiNK, The Revenge, T.E.E.D, Kiki, Groove Armada, Maceo Plex, OOFT!, Domenic Capello (Sub Club), XDB, Ben Mono, Masa Sutela, Bawrut/Scuola Furano, Numbers, John Heckle and many more...

Gidge is a production duo consisting of Jonatan Nilsson and Ludvig Stolterman. Based in the northern parts of Sweden, Gidge quickly built a solid fan base with releases of their albums Autumn Bells, LNLNN and Lulin. The music of Gidge seems to affect their audience in an emotional way, which eventually resulted in the duo taking the top spot as Best New Artist at XLR8R's readers poll, as well as having the 3LPs ending up on numerous end of year lists. Their main source of inspiration is the vast, snow-covered woodlands of the North. Gidge have for instance recorded all of their percussions in the forest, using only the sticks and rocks that can be found there. 'For Seoul' though came about after the duo went on a trip through Asia, and spent a number of days in the South Korean capital. They fell in love with Seoul, and later on created this two-part hymn for the giant city. Applescal created a remix for the track, which you can listen on the b side.

Curtea Veche are proud to present the Exclusive debut album from one of Romania's finest talents Herck.
The Vinyl Only LP will come over 2 parts, Part 1 showcasing Herck's Musical side, 6 beautifully produced tracks over 2 records.

Part 2 coming a little later with 4 huge club tracks on a single 12"
that will finish off the LP.
Already getting played by some of the biggest names in the industry like Raresh, Sepp, Cap, Nu Zau & Archie Hamilton amongst others. 300 limited press

limited repress!

Curtea Veche are proud to present the Exclusive debut album from one of Romania's finest talents Herck.
The Vinyl Only LP will come over 2 parts, Part 1 showcasing Herck's Musical side, 6 beautifully produced tracks over 2 records.

Part 2 coming a little later with 4 huge club tracks on a single 12" that will finish off the LP.
Already getting played by some of the biggest names in the industry like Raresh, Sepp, Cap, Nu Zau & Archie Hamilton amongst others. 300 limited press

Gatefold 1 LP Paris, 1954. Henri-François Rey wrote the thema of the piece « la bande à bonnot » and asked Boris Vian to write the songs in order it to become a musical comedy. « la bande a bonnot » was the name of a french illegal anarchist group... As soon as the piece was played at Théâtre du Quartier Latin, french authorities made it being stopped. Musical parts have been lost . 1971, Jacques Canetti has been told the original handwritten lyrics of the Boris Vian songs have been found again. Jacques Canetti asked Louis Bessières to re create music parts. 1975, Jacques Canetti released this record with songs being performed by Judith Magre, Yves Robert, Lucienne Vernay , Pierre Jamet, Kim Ibarra, Maurice Barrier & Cécile Vassort. + 2 bonus tracks whose lyrics were suppsoed to be too for the original spectacle : « la java des chaussettes à clous » by Jacques Higelin & « l »anguille » by Magali Noël.

Cellaa Music are very happy to welcome our great friend Marc Faenger and Label Head Sven Jaeger back to the fold. This one - obviously called B2B Volume 1 features two artists, two universes, two different ways to approach the music theory to form a B2B Cellaa relationship.

Young, skilled and supremely talented, Marc Faenger, is an artist set for great things on the international scene. Marc´s - Nip' contains an infectious groove an elegant labyrinth of percussive dub textures and sinusoidal tones and fast shuffling hats. Deep, fresh and seductively satisfying, this tune was designed for the discerning dancefloor.

Sven Jaeger returns to Cellaa Music with his second release for his label. - Get The Fuck' is a track that immediately commands attention with it's rolling, rich bassline surrounded by punchy, organic drums that delivers a soothing atmosphere. The track is really powerful and works really well on all dance-floors. People love it!'

The first of the remixes comes from the in form, Reelow. His releases have been huge hits, ruling the DJ charts. Here he strips the oringinal of Marc Faenger to it's essential parts. The super dry kickdrum and percussion in combination with the deep subs together create Reelow´s own techno vision.

Next we have Dan Noel providing a soulful tech house surrogate to the original of Mr. Jaeger. His remix has a deeper twist with glittering sounds and a concrete percussive arrangement to convey a fantastic Remix.

Vinyl edition of the Omar-S album, comes in two parts. Features 3 extra tracks!

We kick off 2013 in style with an Ep from Kiiroy. It´s always exciting for us to be introduced to a new artist. Especially when we are blown away by their Music. For his debut on Cellaa Music Kirroy brings a bouncing track which is perfect for all floors. Please help this new label get off to the best of starts by listening well and leaving considered and constructive feedback. Thank you.

30 years old Kiiroy is using freaky instruments and concrete sounds, our lovely boy, always keepin his distinctive funky´n´groovy attitude. Deep, fresh and seductively satisfying, this tune was designed for the discerning Dancer.

A bumper remix is lead by Stefano Libelle who bring a trademark deep house tune with a weighty, warped bassline and euphoric break. Here he strips the original to it´s essential parts. The super dry kickdrum and percussion in combination with the dark bassline together create Stefano´s own deep-house vision.

deutsch:
Wir starten mit einer EP von Kiiroy stylisch ins Jahr 2013. Für uns war es schon immer aufregend, neue Künstler vorzustellen, ganz besonders, wenn uns ihre Musik umhaut. Für sein Debüt auf Cellaa Music präsentiert Kiiroy einen bouncigen Track, den man auf jeden Floor einsetzen kann. Wir bitten euch, unser neues Label bei seinem Start zu unterstützen, indem ihr euch den Track genau anhört und uns Vorschläge und konstruktive Kritik zukommen lasst. Vielen Dank!

Der 30-jährige Kiiroy verwendet eine freaky Instrumentierung und harte Sounds. Unser Liebling, der stets bei seinem bezeichnenden, funkigen und groovigen Stil bleibt. Die Melodie ist deep, frisch und verführerisch und somit ideal für den anspruchsvollen Zuhörer.

Stefano Libelle liefert mit seinem Remix ein schönes Deephouse-Stück ab. Mit einer deepen, verschrobenen Bassline und euphorischen Breaks reduziert er das Original aufs Wesentliche. Die supertrockene Kickdrum und die Percussion in Verbindung mit der dunklen Bassline sind die Zutaten von Stefanos ganz eigener Deephouse-Vision.

“Black Jacket” is a love letter between two bands separated by continents but united by mutual admiration. Contriva, of Berlin, and Chessie of Washington, DC, first came together in 2001 when sharing a stage, sparking a deep connection over their respective takes on textural, emotive, and mostly instrumental music that merges post-rock, ambient, and experimental elements into unique visions. Fast forward two decades and many trips to their respective studios and we now have “Black Jacket”, a double LP of musical alchemy that builds upon the expressionistic, idiosyncratic sounds of these two groups. A new classic that proves far greater than the sum of its parts.

Begun in the mid 1990's, Washington DC's Chessie is Stephen Gardner (also of noisy shoegaze pioneers, Lorelei) and Ben Bailes, whose various LP's for Slumberland's Dropbeat imprint and Plug Research pair abstract electronics and melancholy post-rock in search of the sounds and feelings of railways and train travel.

Berlin's Contriva, (Monika Enterprises, Lok Musik, and Morr Music) features Masha Qrella (known for her solo works for Morr Music), Max Punktezahl (also of Munich indie legends the Notwist and Berlin's Jersey and Saroos), Hannes Lehmann and Rike Schuberty. For over a decade beginning in the mid-1990's, Contriva crafted compelling instrumentals, grafting experimental textures onto beautiful and complex indie songs.

Together, the six of them have created “Black Jacket.”

Like its cover, Nicolas Remondino's Hìeratico plays in the rich shades of crepuscular spaces. A night-tuned, percussion led album where prepared drums are accompanied by flickers of spoken word, acoustic instruments and muted electronics,

The title translates to 'hieratic', for Remondino a "black and gold" term laden with dualities and complex connotations. A sense of teetering between sparkling light and richly coloured darkness imbues the music, the compositions simulating a sense of heightened acuity as they convey us through a spooky elemental soundworld. The opening title track begins with a metallic shimmer, a drum skin activated in a way that sounds like it's being smelted. A cushioned rhythm enters, a smothered timbre akin to hearing something lurking around the garden. On "litho non-danse", percussion cracks like branches and dried foliage under foot.

Remondino recorded initial outlines for the pieces at Giuseppe Ielasi's studio in Milan, before fleshing out these ideas with his own additional instrumentation and contributions from a globe-spanning network of collaborators. On "blue hymne", chiming percussion equal parts jubilant and sinister heralds spoken word from Limpe Fuchs. "Tombal" opens with Massimo Silverio whispering in the Carnic dialect, a minority language from the Carnic Alps. Around, Marco Baldini, Pierre Bastien and Remondino construct a somber soundscape that cranks and sighs in the crevices.

Hìeratico is an album of hybrids. Diverse voices, accents and dialects deliver its lyrics, the instrumentation underpinning it crosses idioms. The drumkit at its core is modified to amplify its resonant tones and harmonics. Inspired by natural substances and phenomena: stone, wood, wind, earth, metal, grass, rain, clouds and bark, Remondino explores how percussion could evoke their materiality, treating drums as lucid textural instruments as much as rhythmic timekeepers. It gives the album a finely shaded depth and clarity as it conjures the vibrancies that reside in darkened corners. Hìeratico dwells in a sensation that crosses borders, the speckles of light in the oblique night sky. Listening is an aural equivalent to stepping into a pitch black forest and waiting for your eyes to adjust, a lightless void turning into a spectacular tableau of shadows and glows. Daryl Worthington

This release is an act of breaking out of conventional categories for Seismic records. Established boundaries of genres are completely dissolved into an unpredictable flow of sonic associations. It’s an unexpected collaboration, yet it makes perfect sense from the first kick. Two artists from seemingly opposite ends of the musical universe come together to create a project which fearlessly embarks on the synthesis of hypnotic trance-techno and utter sonic chaos. This project is anything but predictable.

The duality is noticeable from the very first moment. One side brings relentless movement forward in the project: a raw, hypnotic pulse based on rhythm and precision, locking the listener in the present moment and not letting go. Unpredictable textures and psychedelic ornaments are constantly weaving through the rhythmic framework.

A dedicated listener may recognize that the whole EP carries the legacy of David Lynch’s work. The sense of peculiar uneasiness and indecipherability, overridden by the desire to find out what comes next, are exactly what the artists manage to capture and what is so characteristic of Lynch himself. At one point, the EP even reveals a moment as if a red curtain parts in the depths of the track and the listener momentarily catches echoes from the town where owls are not what they seem. Hidden within is a playful nod to the iconic Twin Peaks soundtrack.

Blue Hour is Nick Schofield’s first foray into ambient jazz music. The album is an ambient ode to Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way, and opens up Schofield’s sonic palette to introduce his childhood instrument, drums, with his contemporary ambient-electronic practice. Blue Hour features the intuitive, and totally improvised, trumpet playing of Scott Bevins (No Cosmos, Busty and the Bass).

Schofield grew up playing drums, but turned to creating experimental-electronic music when studying Electroacoustics at Concordia University. Well-known for his signature ambient aesthetic, Schofield has been called a “dazzling electronic artist” by Aquarium Drunkard and a “synth maven” by Constellation Records. Blue Hour marks the first time that he has merged his percussion practice with his ambient electronic explorations, and it is all in the service of reinterpreting Miles Davis’ 1969 watershed recording In a Silent Way.

Schofield improvised all of the drumming and main synthesizer parts over the course of a single day, recording in a church in Ottawa. These foundational layers comprise tender Moog pulses and Roland Juno-6 pads, some of which would not be out of place on the back half of Another Green World or Music Has the Right to Children.

If this was to be a reflection of In a Silent Way, of course there would need to be trumpet. Schofield invited Bevins to record the missing piece of the album during a one day recording session, where Bevins improvised all his trumpet parts having never heard the songs before. Scott Bevins’ contribution gives the music a leading instrumental voice, and his intuitive approach shows a perfect understanding of how to both integrate and elevate the compositions.

Blue Hour is itself a profound reference, an ambient adaptation, a dream realized and an uncanny synthesis of sounds, styles, and personal history.

Blue Hour is Nick Schofield’s first foray into ambient jazz music. The album is an ambient ode to Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way, and opens up Schofield’s sonic palette to introduce his childhood instrument, drums, with his contemporary ambient-electronic practice. Blue Hour features the intuitive, and totally improvised, trumpet playing of Scott Bevins (No Cosmos, Busty and the Bass).

Schofield grew up playing drums, but turned to creating experimental-electronic music when studying Electroacoustics at Concordia University. Well-known for his signature ambient aesthetic, Schofield has been called a “dazzling electronic artist” by Aquarium Drunkard and a “synth maven” by Constellation Records. Blue Hour marks the first time that he has merged his percussion practice with his ambient electronic explorations, and it is all in the service of reinterpreting Miles Davis’ 1969 watershed recording In a Silent Way.

Schofield improvised all of the drumming and main synthesizer parts over the course of a single day, recording in a church in Ottawa. These foundational layers comprise tender Moog pulses and Roland Juno-6 pads, some of which would not be out of place on the back half of Another Green World or Music Has the Right to Children.

If this was to be a reflection of In a Silent Way, of course there would need to be trumpet. Schofield invited Bevins to record the missing piece of the album during a one day recording session, where Bevins improvised all his trumpet parts having never heard the songs before. Scott Bevins’ contribution gives the music a leading instrumental voice, and his intuitive approach shows a perfect understanding of how to both integrate and elevate the compositions.

Blue Hour is itself a profound reference, an ambient adaptation, a dream realized and an uncanny synthesis of sounds, styles, and personal history.

L. Jacobs releases his second album, Behind the Great Curve, on the Belgian label Blickwinkel. Featuring contributions from Milan W., Sarah Yu Zeebroek, and Joachim Badenhorst, the follow-up to the surprising debut Enthusiasm was initially composed and recorded in Jacobs’ small attic room and later refined at Milan W.’s Van den Nest Studio, where W. also handled production and mixing.

A line or outline which gradually deviates from being straight for some or all of its length.

Behind the Great Curve explores and celebrates the beauty and universality of the abstract notion above and what we commonly refer to as the curve. Its presence, allegedly, is everywhere. It is a form that appears visually, mathematically, and symbolically — a line that suggests motion, time, expectation, and impermanence.

This album aims to listen to all of this — the poetry, the irony, and the faint background hum of modern life — with quiet curiosity. Within a gently meandering, synthesized landscape, a collection of dreamlike compositions unfolds: delicate melodies, sparse percussion, warm buzzing synths, and fragments of field recordings coexist in carefully measured imperfection. Colorful yet minimal in aesthetic, the album does not seek to explain the curve, but to follow it.

Brighton four-piece Lime Garden return with their self-reckoning second album 'Maybe Not Tonight' So Young Records (the record label launched by So Young Magazine).

'Maybe Not Tonight' unfolds as a full night out, charting the pleasures and perils of partying and impulsive decisions.

Vocalist and guitarist Chloe Howard says: “The album is about a night out, from start to finish. As the night progresses, you’re having a great time, until your ex walks in with someone else. You hate the way you look but rather than going home, you press the big red button and get even more drunk. Eventually, you take yourself home full of melancholy, chaos and anger.”

Following their critically acclaimed 2024 debut 'One More Thing', which captured the raw live energy that earned them slots at festivals including Glastonbury and Green Man, Maybe Not Tonight sees Lime Garden expand their signature “wonk-pop” sound upwards and outwards. The result is their most intoxicating and luminous material to date.

First time reissue of JP / US free jazz rarity.

The 1970s were Marion Brown’s most searching decade, a period during which he sought to move beyond the free jazz of the previous era and find more personal approaches to structuring improvisation and composition. After leaving New York for Europe in 1967, Brown began reshaping his music into what he described as “a more deliberate kind of music that had more structure to it,” pacing it so that moods and modes could develop over time. Albums such as In Sommerhausen, Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, Geechee Recollections, and Sweet Earth Flying trace this evolution: rhythmic structures moved to the foreground, harmony receded, and composition became a matter of orchestrating interlocking rhythmic parts as one would polyphonic lines.

Released in 1976, Awofofora is an overlooked but crucial entry in that sequence. At the time, its use of funk and reggae beats, electric guitars, and grooves drawn from contemporary Black popular music led some to misread it as a jazz-rock detour. In retrospect, it is entirely consistent with Brown’s methodology. As he admired in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the stimulus comes from within the community. Here Brown filters Afro-Caribbean rhythms and funk through his own sensibility, abstracting their structural qualities rather than adopting surface style.

“La Placita,” making its first recorded appearance, layers distinct rhythmic phrases in a manner reminiscent of African drum ensembles, over which Brown and trumpeter Ambrose Jackson spin extended improvisations. The standard “Flamingo” is reshaped through diasporic rhythm and lyrical soloing, while “Pepi’s Tempo” and “Mangoes” harness crisp funk and reggae grooves to generate what Brown called a “manifestation of community” through collective improvisation. Even the overdubbed solo feature “And Then They Danced” reflects his structural thinking, ingeniously re-voicing a duet composition for two alto saxophones performed by one player.

This was the only recording by a short-lived band that briefly polarized audiences during festival appearances in 1976. Yet Brown consistently sought unity across change: different sounds, same principles — rhythm as structure, melody as architecture, collective improvisation, and above all, the primacy of tone. Awofofora stands not as a departure, but as a vivid synthesis of the elements he had been refining since the late 1960s, its grooves and golden alto lines conveying a sound drawn, in his words, “from life and from the world of experience.”