quête:point music

The 'industry' of dance music can be as soul-crushing as any other. Those thrills and spills of late, loud nights come with a best-before expiry date, after which even the most seasoned selector-producer-scenemaker begins to wrinkle their nose. To have experienced it all over 15+ years and seek to see it unfold again through fresh eyes, what sort of lunatic would willingly put themselves through that V would. So it's a new character, but who was the mysterious V in a past life Make your own conclusions. A little digging will lead you toward the origin story, but sometimes the pleasure comes from the unknowing. Opt to enjoy the Silence. Silence, however, is not the focal point for V. In fact, this new form is a way to discard baggage and revitalise the process of music making. Tremors had become to show up in recent years on record labels in Glasgow and London, flickers of subterranean volcanic activity. Yet what proved to be rising was no big bang, nor even a phoenix from the ashes - but closer perhaps to a Nautilus. A relic by some standards but a pretty point of curiosity to others, slowly bobbing to the surface. Something ever-present and familiar to thousands, yet with mysteries left to be revealed. But hey - what does V stand for anyhow For Vilnius By origin and by where the heart lies, yes, although V for Vedett is also an acceptable answer given the artist's transposed second home of Belgium; so too is V for Volkswagen, given the production work put in around Frankfurt as of late. For Vendetta Too strong, although V does bear a grudge match against hobbyists and dilettantes. If you're going to be a new name in town, you may as well be a new name in town with years of hidden history, right For Vishnu Perhaps this is the one. V's tangle of arms extend forward in many directions: some clutching 303s and LinnDrums; others pushing fingers i

Purveyors of enigmatic dreamscapes and organic, danceable electronica, Leeds-based, electronic-soul quartet Noya Rao are set to release their debut album, Icaros, this November. Founded by producer Tom Henry (Cosima, Yellow Days) Noya Rao was originally conceived as a solo production project with a separate live band representation. Alongside bassist Jim Wiltshire and drummer Matt Davies, whom Tom had met playing in other bands within the Leeds music scene, the project grew to become a collaborative effort mixing Tom's production ideas with the attributes of Jim's unique bass synth lines and Matt's polyrhythmic beats. Their compositions drew on the influences of jazz, hip-hop and electronic music whilst incorporating the sounds of the bass-heavy-dub music synonymous with the Leeds music scene. Their sound really came into focus when they met vocalist Olivia Bhattacharjee who brought her gospel style and complex choral harmony to the band. Developing from raw, psychedelic improvisations, their sound became more defined and minimal, underpinned by live instrumentation and more structured song writing. This co-existing electronic and organic thread gives the band a strong identity and their powerful live show sets them apart from other producer-led bands. Matthew Halsall from Gondwana Records saw the band perform at an intimate show in Manchester in 2016 and blown away, signed the band on the spot.

Icaros takes the listener on a journey through the band's unique sound-world amplified by Tom Henry's bold and inventive production techniques. Sometimes fragile, sometimes raw and visceral the album opens with the ethereal Azimuth. It's contrasting sections and mysterious chords offer echoes of the band's instrumental beginnings whilst the repeated vocal harmony layers at the end demonstrate a signature feature of the new Noya Rao sound. Moments is the first tune they wrote together and reflects upon taking joy in the everyday: the opening womb-like chords are another distinct sound of the band. The gritty Golden Claw describes the effects of a manipulative heartbreaker, it's darker, more driving and has a ruder '80s flavour. Midas demonstrates the band's use of linear structural forms and complex rhythms influenced from around the globe. It tells the story of someone who, led by greed, made some regrettable decisions. The atmospheric Dreaming Part 1 and Part 2 are sumptuous dreamy soundscapes. They were born from the same epic improv-based writing sessions as Fly, which has a trippy disco vibe, offset with wonky chords and crunching vocal harmony. The hook-led I Feel points to future ventures for the band: mixing their electronic textures with a more formal song-writing approach. A sublime slice of dreamy space-jazz, Same Sun Will Rise, finds Olivia contemplating mankind's utter selfishness and a desire for change, "Over borders we've assigned, same sun will rise'. Minimal and spacious, This Time demonstrates the merging of ethereal edginess and delicate songwriting. It is this combined with their electronic and live approach and more than a hint of Leeds attitude that gives Noya Rao their unique sound.

Melodies International proudly moves forward with an elusive piece of mid-tempo Chicago soul originally performed by Gloria J. Jennings in 1977.

Gloria was signed to Stage Productions as a gospel singer with pure and raw talent she had developed in the choir of her father's Southern Baptist Church. She was 16 years old at the time. To tutor her for R&B vocals, Willie C. Nance of Stage Productions spent 3 months taking the artist back and forth for vocal training 25 miles each way, 3 days per week.

At the time, Mr. Nance had made plans to work with singer and songwriter Theresa Eagins to record Know What You Want'. However, two days before the recording was set to begin, Ms. Eagins refused to move forward with the recording as she chose to take her religious faith more seriously and forgo the singing of secular music. Hence, Stage Productions turned to Gloria Jay to perform a song that would go on to move people thousands of miles away, many years later.

One of them was Patrick Forge: Back around 1990 I had a residency upstairs at the Wag Club on a Friday night alongside Paul Martin (he was Gilles P's A&R right hand man at Talkin Loud), the night was called Respect and we played mainly Soul, Boogie and Jazz-Funk. Many years later I bumped into Paul at a record shop and he quizzed me about a tune I used to play at the end of the night at Respect. Hhe described it as being an independent Soul seven inch on a red label, slow to mid tempo... and more to the point a bullet of a record. It piqued my curiosity so much I burrowed through my seven inches and even made Paul a compilation of likely contenders, his response was lovely selection, but it's not on there!'. Damn, a mystery! Many moons later whilst I was living in Japan, my tenant in my London flat said she'd found an old mixtape I'd done for her way back when and was desperate to know the identity of something she was calling the choo choo song'. Eventually when I was back in London she played the mixtape and I quickly identified her tune as Fabrica' by Cesar Mariano, however letting the tape play some time later a familiar descending chord sequence catapulted me back to those Friday nights at The Wag, and Gloria Jay's plaintive vocals reminded me of a record that had been absent from my life for far too long. I've no idea what happened to my original copy, I hunted another one down straight away, and I've kept it close ever since. Know What You Want' is a song that goes deep in such a simple, unaffected, almost naive way, Gloria's voice is both sweet and raw, it's built on simple chords and obvious instrumentation, but it's so much greater than the sum of its parts.

Know What You Want' is soul music, pure and unadulterated, there's nothing getting in the way of the feeling, it's straight from the heart.' Carefully re-mastered from the tapes, MEL008 comes forth in its original 7' format with a 14'x14' poster.

Idle Hands continues its quest to support new talent coming out of Bristol with a fresh 12" from local beatsmith Crump. Up to this point, he's been quietly slipping out razor sharp reduced house cuts on various artist releases for Extended Play and Banoffee Pies, but it's high time he had a 12" of his to truly showcase his sound.

The two tracks on this single tap into a consistent thread on Idle, fusing the minimal sensibilities of contemporary European house music with a swung, dub-weighted presence fit for soundsystem consumption in the fair city we call home. Much like previous releases from Leif, Christian Jay and Matt Karmil, this is a demonstration of stripped down music loaded with swagger.

"Ice & Spheres" pivots around an ear-snagging 2-step shuffle that cuts through any mix, but there's scores of subtlety woven in between the drums to reward the attentive listener. Snatches of vocal, distant field recordings, low-blowing synth licks and other unidentifiable sonic matter lurk quietly in the mix to cast a spell on the sleep-deprived twitcher and warm-up head-nodder alike.

Sporting a brighter disposition thanks to the sheen of its chords, "Mechanisms" provides a different vibe on the flip. The beat throws down with a rugged nod to West London broken styles while still tapping into that aforementioned continental 4/4 sensibility, injecting a refreshing variation into the densely populated minimal house landscape while maintaining the meditative qualities that keep the genre close to our hearts.

There is no end to composer Peter Broderick's creative output, and so we present to you his new album titled All Together Again — available worldwide on November 17th 2017 via Erased Tapes.They say music takes you on a journey, and this collection of commissioned work by Peter quite literally does that. From a ferry boat ride in Istanbul, to walking down the aisle at a wedding, these songs were created for particular situations, yet Peter found a way to work without any sort of limitations and on his own erms. The result is an assortment of works from the past ten years, coming together as one: Peter's new album. Words from Peter, October 2017: Ever since I started releasing records in 2007 (10 years ago now!), people have contacted me periodically to ask if I'd be interested in making music to accompany their projects. Most of these projects have been things like films, dance pieces and theatre plays . . . but every so often I get the odd request for something a little different. Peter, would you write a song for my wedding My one year anniversary A ferry boat ride
In early 2015 I was asked to perform 12 minutes of music during a runway show as part of New York Fashion Week. I agreed and began composing a 12-minute piece which I could perform on my own with a few different instruments and some looping pedals. I made a recording of the piece and sent it over to my contacts at the fashion show . . . but a few days before I was to fly out to New York, they wrote back and told me they actually just wanted me to play a few older songs that they were already familiar with. Feeling slightly disappointed, I shelved the other piece, giving it the title If I Were A Runway Model.It is with great pleasure that I now present this piece in a collection of commissioned works spanning the last decade . . . it's All Together Again. This group of oddball works does indeed include a couple pieces written for weddings (Our Future In Wedlock and The Walk), and a song someone asked me to write as a gift for his wife on their first year wedding anniversary (Emily). And indeed, there's a 17-minute piece written to accompany a ferry boat ride in Istanbul (A Ride On The Bosphorus). A few of the pieces were written for films (Robbie's Song, Atlantic and Seeing Things), and one for a kind of interactive installation (Unsung Heroes).In my early days of recording, I took pride in playing all the different instruments myself and doing the recording myself as well. And then at some point I started branching out, working with other musicians and recording engineers. But this record is very dear to me in that it's a return to that original approach . . . playing all the different instruments myself, working with my limits on each one, and my own limits in recording and mixing. I've always held a broad curiosity for all different instruments and all different styles of music, and if nothing else I hope this record will portray that curiosity, and my pure love for this thing we call music. Can you dig it The cover art was made by Peter himself in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, by cutting and sticking different coloured paper fragments to depict the individuality of each track.

Remastered vinyl with colour innersleeve + download code card. Originally issued by Crammed in 1987, this is one of the most sought-after releases in their legendary 'Made to Measure' series. Known for his numerous albums, soundtracks, and collaborations with the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Van Dyke Parks, Pierre Barouh, Bjork and Elvin Jones, composer and saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu wrote and recorded this brilliant and inventive collection of short pieces, initially conceived for Japanese TV commercials (and bearing sweet titles such as "Seiko", "Sharp", "Honda" etc). This album has achieved near-mythical status in the last few years, which have seen artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never sing its praise.

2023 Repress

This the first time this title has been available on vinyl . At the risk of further labouring a rather obvious point, with Thank God for Mental Illness, their third collection of absolutely stunning music in 1996, the Brian Jonestown Massacre parallels the prolific and effortless brilliance of the Rolling Stones at their fevered late-1960s peak, the sheer scope of their achievements is stunning — rarely are bands quite so productive, or quite so consistently amazing. Thank God is the BJM's down-and-dirty country-blues outing, all 12-odd tracks supposedly recorded on a single July day at a cost of just $17.36 .The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a psychedelic rock band originally from San Francisco, California, led by guitarist/singer Anton Newcombe. Since 1995 The Brian Jonestown Massacre has released numerous albums, first for Bomp! Records, the label which gave them their start, and later for TVT and Tee Pee. BJM has been essential in the development of the modern U.S. garage scene, and many LA and SF musicians got their start playing with Newcombe, including Peter Hayes of The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.Originally Newcombe was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones' psychedelic phase - the name comes from Stones guitarist Brian Jones combined with a reference to cult leader Jim Jones, but his work in the 2000s has expanded into aesthetic dimensions approximating the UK Shoegazing genre of the 1990s and incorporating influences from world music, especially Middle Eastern and Brazilian music.

It's already been 5 years since the last Zombie Zombie album 'Rituels d'un Nouveau Monde', after which the group explored other territories by signing 2 film scores, namely 'Loubia Hamra' by Narimane Mari and 'Irréprochable' by Sébastien Marnier, as well as creating the music accompanying a contemporary circus show called 'Slow Futur' created by Martin Palisse and Elsa Guérin. Wouldn't these beautiful parentheses make you want to return to the sources After 10 years at Versatile Records, 2017 also marks the decade anniversary of the release of their first album 'A Land for Renegades' in 2007, at the time considered to be one of the 10 best albums of the year according to Rough Trade.
'Livity' - Zombie Zombie's latest opus seems to plunge us deep into science fiction, with a cover designed by the mythic cartoonist Philippe Druillet, who is also the founder of the cult Métal Hurlant comic series. The title of the album is somewhat misleading, as one could mistakenly think of a certain dub record made at
the famous Island Records Compass Point studio in the Bahamas. For the uninitiated 'Livity' or 'Life force' is actually a Rastafarian spiritual concept based on the idea that an energy exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. The record was recorded last winter in Paris, in a very short time frame. 7 tracks played live in 7 days, by Etienne Jaumet (synthesizers / rhythm box / metallophone / sax), Cosmic Neman (drums / vocals / sound effects), and Dr. Schonberg (percussion / electronics / trumpet), recorded at the Red Bull Studios by Thibaut Javoy and Jerome Caron, 2 very competent engineers. To keep it in the family, the album was then mixed by another member of the Versatile stable, the mysterious and legendary DJ/producer I:Cube, done in the label's Victor Studio.
On this album the principles that are dear to the group rest being respected, still as far away as always from the standards of 'radio play', A living kind of music, composed of long instrumental moments recorded with analog synthesizers and drum machines, accompanied by drums and percussion. But I:Cube's touch may bring the unique energy that one may find at Zombie Zombie's concerts; on certain cuts like title track 'Livity' that the group recorded in Laos, a wild combination of 808 kick drums and bewitching jungle sounds that sound quite unlike anything else out there, and especially on 'Hippocampe', which gives the impression of hearing an old school hip hop rhythm with the power of a metal band who have replaced their guitars with an army of synthesizers: we recommend you listen to this particular track in a convertible while speeding down the highway.
As with all of Zombie Zombie's music the cinematic component is still strong, on titles like 'Ils existent..' 'Acera' which was originally composed for ciné-concerts accompanying the films of Jean Painlevé et Maurice Pialat. The energy of the beginning is still very present, as is - of course - the kraut inspiration. But it's also an album that takes new directions and sonic risks, like on 'Looose', which brings to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, or the groove of James Chance in New York in the early 1980's, featuring the free sax solos of Etienne Jaumet and Dr. Schonberg on the trumpet. The group also offers some slower and calmer titles, like 'Heavy Meditation' as well as exploring more experimental tracks in the line of French 70's groups such as Lard Free or Richard Pinhas, for example on the bonus track 'Black Moon'.
Please - Take your time, and enjoy listening!

SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION X 300 WITH BONUS 7 :
Limited special edition with the 7" containing the track "Lune noire", in 2 parts - one per side.
It's already been 5 years since the last Zombie Zombie album 'Rituels d'un Nouveau Monde', after which the group explored other territories by signing 2 film scores, namely 'Loubia Hamra' by Narimane Mari and 'Irréprochable' by Sébastien Marnier, as well as creating the music accompanying a contemporary circus show called 'Slow Futur' created by Martin Palisse and Elsa Guérin. Wouldn't these beautiful parentheses make you want to return to the sources After 10 years at Versatile Records, 2017 also marks the decade anniversary of the release of their first album 'A Land for Renegades' in 2007, at the time considered to be one of the 10 best albums of the year according to Rough Trade.
'Livity' - Zombie Zombie's latest opus seems to plunge us deep into science fiction, with a cover designed by the mythic cartoonist Philippe Druillet, who is also the founder of the cult Métal Hurlant comic series. The title of the album is somewhat misleading, as one could mistakenly think of a certain dub record made at
the famous Island Records Compass Point studio in the Bahamas. For the uninitiated 'Livity' or 'Life force' is actually a Rastafarian spiritual concept based on the idea that an energy exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. The record was recorded last winter in Paris, in a very short time frame. 7 tracks played live in 7 days, by Etienne Jaumet (synthesizers / rhythm box / metallophone / sax), Cosmic Neman (drums / vocals / sound effects), and Dr. Schonberg (percussion / electronics / trumpet), recorded at the Red Bull Studios by Thibaut Javoy and Jerome Caron, 2 very competent engineers. To keep it in the family, the album was then mixed by another member of the Versatile stable, the mysterious and legendary DJ/producer I:Cube, done in the label's Victor Studio.
On this album the principles that are dear to the group rest being respected, still as far away as always from the standards of 'radio play', A living kind of music, composed of long instrumental moments recorded with analog synthesizers and drum machines, accompanied by drums and percussion. But I:Cube's touch may bring the unique energy that one may find at Zombie Zombie's concerts; on certain cuts like title track 'Livity' that the group recorded in Laos, a wild combination of 808 kick drums and bewitching jungle sounds that sound quite unlike anything else out there, and especially on 'Hippocampe', which gives the impression of hearing an old school hip hop rhythm with the power of a metal band who have replaced their guitars with an army of synthesizers: we recommend you listen to this particular track in a convertible while speeding down the highway.
As with all of Zombie Zombie's music the cinematic component is still strong, on titles like 'Ils existent..' 'Acera' which was originally composed for ciné-concerts accompanying the films of Jean Painlevé et Maurice Pialat. The energy of the beginning is still very present, as is - of course - the kraut inspiration. But it's also an album that takes new directions and sonic risks, like on 'Looose', which brings to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, or the groove of James Chance in New York in the early 1980's, featuring the free sax solos of Etienne Jaumet and Dr. Schonberg on the trumpet. The group also offers some slower and calmer titles, like 'Heavy Meditation' as well as exploring more experimental tracks in the line of French 70's groups such as Lard Free or Richard Pinhas, for example on the bonus track 'Black Moon'.
Please - Take your time, and enjoy listening!

MICK HARRIS (SCORN, QUOIT, PAINKILLER) returns after several years of hiatus with ten tracks of blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms.I've been asked to write a press piece for the dark lord MICK HARRIS.Where does one even start Especially for someone with decades of releases over various solo projects, collaborations and pseudonyms, whether it's doing blast beats in the original NAPALM DEATH to crushing techno brutality as MONRELLA, or savage drum & bass as QUOIT. Then of course there's the mighty SCORN and his numerous collaborations with fellow luminaries such as JOHN ZORN and BILL LASWELL (in PAINKILLER).Rather than being tied to genres or scenes, MICK HARRIS is one of those producers who creates a whole sonic world uniquely of his own, in which varying tracks, styles and tempos take form, but yet in which everything sounds unmistakably characteristic of the creator. Needless to say his work has influenced legions of producers like SURGEON, REGIS, ONTAL, VATICAN SHADOW / PRURIENT, FAUSTEN, SHAPEDNOISE et al, and pretty much anyone in the world of powerfully dark, abrasive music you could name-drop. And yet after all this time, it is impressive that HARRIS still stands way above his successors and has never been surpassed in his own production/performance game.After a hiatus of several years, he is back with a new album under the guise of FRET.Working at a faster tempo than his SCORN material, the FRET project first surfaced years ago on the DOWNWARDS label, rooting it firmly in the dark, industrial and technoid world, and appeared more recently on Tresor (Kern mix by OBJEKT), maintaining the characteristic colossal bass-heaviness and textural depth.And now a full album on KARLRECORDS, Berlin. HARRIS fans will be delighted to know that despite the 130 bpm tempo, the newest FRET still resolutely avoids any straight four-on-the-floor kickdrums, every track lurches, stumbles, staggers and charges forth with beats in beautifully broken asymmetry.We get 10 tracks of crushing, percussive destroyers, each itself a storm of precision chaos, with colossal low-end frequencies that'll cause stampedes in the right circumstances. The classic HARRIS sound is there, searing waves of feedback distortion, intricate, interlocking rhythms and cold, abattoir atmospheres, especially track 6 "Stuck in the track at Salford Priors" which sounds like you're being continuously suspended in the air from multiple explosions all around, each kickdrum throwing you up in the air, the next one going off before you can fall completely back to the ground.The lazy-minded would probably lump it in with the term "techno", but the disciplined brutality, blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms are clearly HARRIS' own trademark style, sitting somewhere between SCORN and QUOIT.The tracks appear deceptively chaotic on the surface, yet each is meticulously and masterfully composed with great attention to layering and detail. MICK HARRIS fans rejoice, the dark lord still remains at the top of his game.

(Derek Szeto / Fausten / Combat Recordings)

Some songs comes along that you seem to know the moment you hear it, even though it's for the first time. In the case of Spark The Universe it had exactly that impact. A mixture of late-60s psychedelic homage, early 80s new wave, white boy soul, plus a good dose of dub, all wrapped around a killer hook and super tight production and a hit was surely made.
The fact there are many deserving records that don't become a hit doesn't mean some are better than others and in fact, the joy in collecting and reissuing is finding amazing songs and bringing them back.
Increasingly heard in the sets of the more discerning DJs, Spark The Universe has become a cult play and with second hand prices now in three figures, a reissue is timely. As the label oft says, no one owns this music other than the writers, musicians and producers and their craft deserves to be appreciated.
Before going on to carve a successful career in 'electronica' project, Euphoria, Toronto's Ken Ramm had shown his considerable writing and playing ability with the 1981 debut LP Dragon and this 1983 follow up, known simply as Ramm.

Coming together through a meeting with a then relatively unknown producer, Daniel Lanois, via a mutual interest in tape loops and dubbing, it was the suggestion to bring in local vocalist Lorraine Segato that Ramm formed.
Recording at Lanois' Grant Avenue Studios, his interest in mixing past and present technology, with multiple digital delay units, harmonizers and other effect processors allowed Ramm and Lanois to explore using the studio as an instrument alongside real musicianship.

Backwards guitars, tremolo bar dives and guitar harmonics are incorporated with the vocals and percussion to perfection. With a 'Dance' and alternative 'Dub', the song's hypnotic and dreamy feel superimposed over beats pin-pointed to the later Euphoria project and with the addition of a latter day 'Discomix', from the labels' own Chuggy, Spark The Universe deserves it's place on contemporary dancefloors.

Franco Battiato is often heralded as Italy's answer to Brian Eno. A quizzical composer/lyricist, Battiato turned pop music upside down in the early '70s with three classic LPs - Fetus, Pollution and Sulle Corde Di Aries - that formed a confluence of avant-folk sensibilities and analog electronics.

Pollution from 1972 is the captivating follow-up to Fetus. Like its predecessor, the album features Baroque textures, motorik rhythms, weird tape effects and Battiato's perfectly oblique vocals. Upon hearing Pollution, Frank Zappa joyfully proclaimed it "genius."

While Battiato's core group of collaborators remains largely the same as on his debut, this phenomenal band (joined by an eighteen-year-old Roberto Cacciapaglia on keys) appears even more in the foreground on Pollution. Out of the Ash Ra Tempel-like riffs and urgent guitar strumming emerge hypnotic grooves and cinematic flourishes, suggesting a futuristic meeting point between Stereolab and Ennio Morricone.

Dedicated to the Centro Internazionale Studi Magnetici, Pollution touches on themes of environmental catastrophe. Futurist allusions seep in through eccentric lyrics (at times sung backwards) about hydraulics, magnetic fields, etc., yet listeners don't need to speak the artist's language to grasp his melancholy vision. With Pollution, Battiato solidifies not only his cult figure status, but also many of his forward-thinking ideas on rock 'n' roll.

Superior Viaduct is honored to present the first-time domestic release of Pollution on vinyl. Reproducing the original gatefold jacket, this reissue is part of an archival series that chronicles Franco Battiato's masterful body of work from 1971 to 1978.

2022 Repress

HQ Gatefold, 3x12 140g Vinyl, black innersleeve, download code
EXTRAWELT are back! Although in fairness, they were never gone. On the contrary, since their first release on James Holden's Border Community Label dropped in 2005, Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe have been responsible for a plethora of classics including "Schöne Neue Extrawelt" and "In Aufruhr", their two seminal albums on Cocoon Recordings. The duo are one of the most booked live acts worldwide, commanding a huge fan base. Their performances are the stuff of legend, making them the absolute highlight at every club and festival they play. So it's with great pride and respect, that we can announce the release of Extrawelt's third album for Cocoon Recordings. "Fear Of An Extra Planet" completes the Cocoon trilogy and the excitement growing among their fans represents a new high in the history of EXTRAWELT!
Musically, of course, there's enormous pressure on EXTRAWELT to deliver, but this is dismissed with a playful disregard and they are clearly focused on the job in hand. The album title "Fear Of An Extra Planet" sounds cinematic, like some art-house science fiction film, without giving too much away.
However, from the first seconds of the opening track "Superposition", the album title makes 100% sense and sets the scene for the rest of the trip. We are immersed in wide open spaces and invited to explore dark and dusky worlds that transport us back to their Border Community years. Timeless and elegant, "Superposition" perfectly captures the epic, dream like quality that made James Holden's label so influential.
New Release Information Second up, "Gott ist Schrott" takes a much more minimalist approach with its retro 80s drum programming, monster bass lurking in the breaks and playful Rhodes/synth riffs that span the divide between early German techno and deep Detroit electro with a distinctive film soundtrack aesthetic. "Oddification" continues this theme, adding extra spice reminiscent of the techno-synth vibe of Detroit with a punchy, almost Prodigy-style breakbeat complete with shredded vocal samples that gives us a taste of what's in store. "Gentle Venom" then takes the breakbeat motif to the next stage. The main focus here is the classy sprinter of a bassline, peppered with a flurry of intricate and subtle effects and modulations, that immediately trigger an intense, movie-like 'in pursuit' feeling.
With - Das Grosse Flimmern" we cautiously approach the album's high point. It's still in keeping with the soundtrack aesthetics, but faster and with more urgency. Almost hypnotically, Extrawelt invade us with an energy and impetus that always radiates from their music. Next in line is "Silly Idol" and here Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe opt again for a more minimal tack, focusing even more intensely on the dance floor to reveal a pulsing, twisted heart to the album.
"Punch The Dragon" is the hidden gem of the collection, utilising and melting together the most bombastic and playful elements. This one is totally off the hook, a sensory overload in an acoustic widescreen format! Then we have the title track "Fear Of An Extra Planet" which perfectly sums up the album concept. It opens up like a film score, with minimal passages following dark sequences that morph into dreamy melodies, all grounded by cool, constantly alternating analogue drum patterns. If you're not listening closely, you might get the impression that three or four different titles are mixed together; such is the effortless flow of the album.
As we near our destination, "The Friendly Coroner" really does honour its name. The morbid charm of the title is captured by a fluid bassline and melodic arrangements that border on the absurd, until the funky drum beat finally drops. In our mind's eye we see a cheerful medical doctor removing his bloody gloves, hanging his smock in the closet and vibing out in his neon drenched workspace. And there we sit, glued to our cinema seat, submerged in the different textures EXTRAWELT have conjured up on "Fear Of An Extra Planet". Over the course of the last title, the strings usher in the final acknowledgments as the credits roll. The dramatic end of "2084" leaves us transfixed in front of a black screen in a large, dark room safe in the knowledge that we've just witnessed a science fiction epic.

Sparse and reflective, the Chicago native's work occupies a curious space on the periphery of the Techno genre. By stripping back the music to all but its most vital elements - most notably the Sequence, but at the same time maintaining a sense of urgency in its articulation, Litüus crafts exquisite, ghostly shadows of busier, more fleshed out material. Neither intro nor outro, but rather suspended in some middling point of formation - what remains is a remarkably pure examination of minimalist, experimental synthesis.

The enigmatic producer first appeared on the label with19805.-19905 - a collection of reduced hardware sequences released on cassette and 12" in 2015 and 2236 s Wentworth ave continues in much the same vein, though perhaps exploring a marginally more traditionally 'musical' sentiment. Nods to 1970's sound designer Irv Teibel's Environments series sit alongside more overtly contemporary structures, and the mood shifts gently across the recordings - from a low slung, pulsing anxiety to a gentler serenity via heavily ring modulated bells and spring reverbs, softly warping percussion and careful bandpass filtering.

Litüus creates music that is geared neither towards home listening nor the dance floor, but that exists somewhere in between - quite where exactly remains part of the the artist's undeniable allure.

On Arise , Zara McFarlane returns to a buoyant UK jazz scene with a head-turning third album. Exploring the musical possibilities of British-Jamaican identity, it's a cultural exchange that's born of London's current musical climate. Released on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings, it sees her working with much-feted drummer and producer Moses Boyd. Both rose through London's Tomorrow's Warriors programme, a finishing school for many young vanguards of the live, ascendant jazz scene springing up across the UK capital. Sharing Caribbean family heritages, it's a product of their joint exploration of the meeting points between jazz and the rhythms of Jamaica, reggae, Kumina, calypso and nyabinghi, shaded with hints of the psychedelic.

Zara's breakthrough 2012 track, a jazz cover of Junior Murvin's 'Police and Thieves', provided a jumping off point to further explore the blurred, colourful territory in between jazz and roots-reggae. Covering Nora Dean's 'Peace Begins Within', she breathes a syncopated groove into a soulful, reggae classic. A beautifully poised version of the Congos' Fisherman teases out the poignant lyrical content of the 1977 classic. Meanwhile new, original compositions from Zara, like 'Fussin' and Fightin'' and 'Freedom Chain', combine a deep, reverberating bass with a steady-stepping roots rhythm. Album opener 'Ode To Kumina' touches on the kumina tradition brought to Jamaica by indentured labourers from The Congo in the later part of the 19th Century. Part of Zara's deeper research into her Caribbean heritage, it alludes to a deep-rooted culture encompassing music, dance and religion.

Similarly, 'Silhouette' arose from that same research, in this case, however, it was about how records and documents often get lost in Jamaica. It kind of came out of the idea of black history and blackness and feeling like you're trying to find yourself,' she explains. Trying to be proud of your history and who you are. And never forgetting the things that brought you to where you are.' Alongside drummer Moses Boyd on production, the album features a stellar line up of some of the key players on the London scene Binker Golding on tenor sax, Peter Edwards on piano, Shirley Tetteh on guitar, Nathaniel Cross on Trombone and an unusually restrained turn on Clarinet from Shabaka Hutchings.
Shared between all of them is a tendency to find the common points between different musical ilks: from US hard bop jazz, to dub and London-rooted hybrids and permutations, the band on Arise reflect the musical diversity of their home. Boosted by new platforms, like East London showcase Church of Sound and a newly-refreshed Jazz Café, the record surfs the momentum currently propelling jazz-influenced music in the UK.

For Zara, Jamaica's musical legacy is deeply intertwined with her sense of the place itself. Spending whole summers in the hills of Jamaica, it's the sounds and smells which she most vividly associates with her stays there. In particular the local sound systems which were an everyday feature of the local area, be it in shops or bars, each of the small local shacks would have a sound system where they'd play music through the day and evening.

From where my nan used to live, in Cauldwell there's a sound system almost opposite her house,' she says. So you feel this boom of the bass, and then all the smells of the hills and the greenery of Hanover. When you land in Jamaica and you go to walk off of the plane, the heat and the smells hit you and it feels like home away from home for me. When I hear Jamaican music, these are the senses that come.'

After showcasing his knack for emotive productions via various EPs throughout his career, including chart-topping singles on Hot Since 82's Knee Deep in Sound and Dave Seaman's Selador, the Swiss artist Several Definitions now reveals his first full-length album. It should come as no surprise that the artist found familiarity in what he calls the Berlin style' of electronic music and notably, that of Oliver Koletzki's Stil vor Talent. Reborn After The Road is an intense and emotional affair, consisting of 14 tracks crafted using field and live recordings, switching between analogue and digital to mould a sonic atmosphere that emblazons the artist's core ethos. Although the personal experience that sparked the inspiration for the LP is far from pleasant, Several Definitions' style is audibly resolute. Reborn After The Road, the album's eponymous track, creates a fitting intro for the healing process that is to follow. Its airy pads and majestic strings sonically stand at the epicenter of the expressive album. Several Definitions continues to explore these sounds on vaporous slices like Pontceard 32 or the more acidical Last Breath. The mellifluous, feminine vocals of LaMeduza on Learn To Feel and Her, as well as Spanish singer Goldsun's crooner talents on the introspective Trust, on the other hand, showcase Several Definitions' ability to work the human voice into his musical explorations. Taking introspection one step further towards darker realms, Senelity then feels like a rite of passage into the deeper and more intense segment at the album's core. Over You briefly signals a turning point, with its alarm-like synths and grave leads, which is then followed by the glitchy resistance on Modular Spaces. The Escape

The second EP of Samuel Rohrer's Range of Regularity album presents two more striking reinterprations. These new remixes provide an intriguing parallax view of the original tracks, using the percussive eclecticism of the parent LP as a starting point from which to journey into sonically vibrant, feature-rich territories. The production specialists on hand for this project include Burnt Friedman and Ricardo Villalobos. Villalobos, has already formed a strong working relationship with Rohrer's AMBIQ trio, lends his talents to both of the EPs. (RoR REMIXES I - AMEL-EP716). Nonplace label boss Friedman, as well, has carved out a unique space for himself within the electronic world, logging several decades' worth of releases that with dub-wise production sensibility, skewed humor, and riots of tone color. Though each individual remix has its own character, they are all united in their ability to provide a quick cure for fatigue with the common 'loop': though not improvised, they are strung together from fleeting phrases that evolve as if they are taking on a life independent of their creators.
Burnt Friedman's own dramatic interpretation of 'Microcosmoism' pairs up his consciousness of deep bass and analog inventiveness with Rohrer's continually transforming sound objects, making for a flowing and wordless narrative that simply dares listeners to stop paying attention. Feeling more like a collaboration in 'real time' than a remix proper, Friedman brings his characteristic 'mad scientist' wit to the proceedings and delivers an energetic piece that simply glows in the dark.
This is complemented nicely by Villalobos' remix of 'Microcosmoism'. It carries the energy level of the 1st EP over to a new disk, while heavily experimenting with feelings of emotional ambiguity. At some points aggressive and at other points merely curious, this mischievous collage of attitudes feels as inspired by the questing jazz of Sun Ra as it is by continental techno. Contemplative keyboard runs, enthusiastic spring-like percussion and malfunctioning machine chatter all coalesce to make this a most fascinating piece of multi-purpose electronic music.

* Dom & Roland's Label has gone from strength to strength from its conception in 2006. Featuring collaborations by Dom with other Artists such as Noisia, Hive and Amon Tobin the label has continued to push sonic boundaries whilst staying true to it's ethos of 'not selling out'. It is currently in A 'Dubs from the Dungeons' Phase releasing sought after unreleased music from the 90's from various accomplished artists every month on limited edition gold vinyl.

* PHOENIX - DOM ft TECHNICAL ITCH

A straight dancefloor DJ smashout made from two of the featured artists most seminal tracks combined. Dom & Rolands Thunder and Technical Itch's Reborn. Nuf Said!

*TEARS IN RAIN - DOM & ROLAND

A futuristic roller from the 'Bladerunner' Era. It perfectly captures the mood of the film. A big hitter at the Metalheadz sessions in the 90's this was smashed by Doc Scott and Randall in many of their sets. Again featuring a reworked alternating clean and distorted "flow break" and big 808 bass this style of production pioneered the way for Dom's later work. This turning point in Dom's history is now finally mastered and seeing it's release on vinyl 20 years later.

* DJ PLAY: Randall, Fabio, Bryan G, DJ Die, Jumping Jack Frost, Grooverider, Peshay, Loxy, Andy C, Break, Fierce, Doc Scott, dBridge, Goldie, Ant TC1, Gridlok, Marcus Intalex, SB81, Ulterior Motive, Noisia.

* RADIO PLAY: Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra , NRG, Noisia Radio, Many other radio stations around the world.

* PRESS: Bandcamp Interview, MIxmag, DJ , Various blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram.

Assemble Music brings together four more producers at the forefront of today's fine minimal/house/electro scene. Eklo boss Seuil kicks things off with JAM, a slowly-unfolding confection of metallic percussion and rolling bass set against a meditative, minor backdrop. His fellow Half Baked resident Robin Ordell brings a tipsy-sounding vibe to MOBSIW, each element swaying its way around the others in an off-key dance. Les Points' Barbir adds Detroit hats to a no-shits-given breakbeat and suspends it in time, before finally a 4/4 kick comes to put feet back on the ground. Finally, Traffic founders Martyné and Jacob draw on more contemporary breaks and electro influences on ELECTRONETTO, with that laissez-faire swing with which their label has become synonymous.

Too many people sleep on Tougher Than Leather, Run-DMC's fourth album. But hear us out as we plead the case for this amazing LP. By 1988 there was a lot more competition in the rap game - Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice-T and many more had given Hollis, Queens' prodigal sons lots of competition. But Joe, Darryl and Jay were still at the top of their game, and hip-hop fans should never let this classic - chiefly produced by their Queens neighbor, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Davy D(MX) - get lost in their crates. For starters, the album's first single, Run's House' b/w Beats To The Rhyme' is arguably the most powerful one-two punch of the trio's career, showing contenders to the rap throne that they could still destroy a beat, tag-teaming with power at any speed. Not to be lost in the shuffle, fans were also reminded on both sides that Jam-Master Jay remained one of the world's best DJs, flexing the pinnacle of what would be called turntablism' a decade later. Both songs show a musical telepathy between all three that has rarely been equaled. The second single, Mary, Mary,' driven by an infectious Monkees sample, took a different approach, shrewdly ensuring that pop fans who jumped on the Raising Hell bandwagon had something to chew on. But, like Walk This Way,' the song wasn't just bubblegum - there was an edge to it, and the lyrical gymnastics were very real. It wasn't selling out, it was allowing fans to buy in. Papa Crazy,' driven in concept and by a sample from the Temptations' Papa Was A Rolling Stone,' followed a similar pop-leaning path. Overall, the lyrical content on the album was a step up from the group's first three LPs. It's easy to infer, looking back, that they were feeling the heat from their younger competitors in the rap game. The genre was changing fast, and they were up to the challenge. On cuts like Radio Station' they bring substance to the grooves, by attacking Black Radio for its continual denigration of rap. Tougher Than Leather' reminds the world that they were still the Kings of Rock, with hard guitars to drive the point home. And They Call Us Run-DMC' and Soul To Rock And Roll' both bring things back to their early days, with sure-fire park jam rhymes and killer cuts. Tougher Than Leather, which went platinum up against a lot of competition, perfectly bookends the '80s output of one of the decade's most important groups. It encompasses the full range of the trio's capabilities, and reminds us that Run-DMC should never be forgotten as both pioneers and party-rockers. And so, we say, long live Joe, Darryl and Jay!

Excise Records' 2nd vinyl release is a celebration of both Northern and Southern Californian techno. Oakland's Milkplant has been making heady dancefloor bombs for 2 decades, and Los Angeles icon Developer jumps in with a beautiful retro-hypnotic remix of Far Star. Milkplant's Dust Cloud is a 10 minute epic build with dreamy synth work shattered complex metallic percussion and anchored by a shockingly weighty bassline. The original Far Star is a wild romp with psyched out synth arps and relentless spit-fire hi hats.

Artist biography:

US based artist, Milkplant (real name Justin William Pennell) is originally from Milwaukee,Wisconsin; but has resided in Oakland, California since 2010. He relocated to the West Coast in 2004, lived in Seattle for six years, and started the internationally recognized Techno label and artist collective, From 0-1; with fellow artist, Sone. Schooled in the Midwest and developed on the West Coast, his work encompasses over 30 years of combined DJ/production experience, and 9 years of record label operations.

In autumn 2014 he released 'Time Dilation', a four track 12" EP on From 0-1. Charted by Gary Beck, Paul Mac, and Ben Sims at #2, #1, and #26 in their November 2014 Juno charts, this was a turning point for him. Since then he has released on Planet Rhythm, Wall Music, Dark Net, Etichetta Nera, From 0-1, and Excise. His productions have drawn critical acclaim from many notable artists; showing up in mixes and charts by Ben Sims, Jerome Sydenham, Bryan Zentz, Joachim Spieth, Tommy Four Seven, Submerge, Tadeo, Mattias Fridell, Mr. Jones, Electric Indigo, David Meiser, Samuli Kemppi, Arnaud Le Texier, Abstract Division, DJ T-1000, and many others.

As a DJ he can be found playing a combination of vinyl and CDJs. He has played in various cities across the US, most notably in Detroit at the Blank Code - Droid Interface/Scene party for Movement 2016. His mixes have been featured on Droid's D-Node podcast, the Warsaw Torture Boyz podcast, Blank Code podcast, Drone podcast, and Error Sessions. Regarding upcoming releases: 'The Distance' vinyl EP arrives autumn 2017 on San Francisco based label, Excise; his remix of Sone's 'Australis' arrives on vinyl late 2017 via From 0-1.

Dark Entries and Serendip Lab have teamed up to release 'Prototech', the first vinyl retrospective by German electronic trio Hypnobeat, recorded 1984-86. James Dean Brown and Pietro Insipido formed Hypnobeat in 1983, but it was the addition of Victor Sol only a few months later that found the project reaching, as Brown puts it, "the desired level of technical sophistication." In time, Tobias Freund also lent his talents (and equipment) to this loose-fit sonic scheme, where the protagonists sought a new, electronic manifestation of mankind's tribal music roots. Two cassette releases surfaced - 1985's "Huggables", and "Specials/Spatials" the following year. By this point the Frankfurt-based group had already explored fiercely mechanical creative expression through various configurations of hardware and personnel, revolving around core ingredients such as the TR-808, TB-303 and MC-202. The project lived on in spirit as Brown activated Narcotic Syntax in the 90s. While a more modern, digital concern, rooted in the Perlon label family, NS still channeled the Hypnobeat concept of a "new tribalism", not least on their "Provocative Percussion" double 12" released in 2006. For all the punky veneer, there are instances where these tracks reach staggering levels of sophistication, not least on "Slash! Buffalo Eats Brass" with its intricately programmed 303 lines and nimble beats that sound a far cry from most machine music made in 1986. Prescient "Can God Rewind" is also dazzling in the complexity of its percussion and the richness of its synth lines in C as they throb out a bastardised version of acidic Disco straight out of the rhythm collider. Elsewhere, some tracks are more primal in their execution. Visceral opening track "The Arumbaya Fetish" was a cathartic venting of Brown's least favourite sound on the 808, the iconic cowbell, while the astounding proto-Acid miniature "Moon Jump" places limber 303 lead lines in a hail of thunderstruck patterns. "Kilian" has a stripped down quality that speaks more to the industrial era that Hypnobeat was conceived in, and "Mission In Congo" is a raw, reverb-soaked drum workout that captures the percussive-obsessive nature of Hypnobeat perfectly. Six of the seven tracks selected on this collection were primarily powered by two 808s. "I am amazed that the release sounds like we really had a plan back then..." states Brown, but this accidental magic is in fact the raison d'etre of Hypnobeat. They weren't the only ones prefiguring the next big revolutions in electronic music in the mid 80s, but there certainly weren't many artists stumbling across modes of expression that sound so relevant today.

All songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Housed in a jacket featuring cave engravings by Pietro Insipido of an archer and animal printed in a wallpaper pattern style designed by Eloise Leigh. Each copy includes an transparent insert of an x-ray photograph from 1984 of Romulus Cœurque holding the circuit board of a BOSS DR-55 rhythm machine.

A new piece by Australian artist Tarquin Manek, devised in collaboration with poet Martina Quake of Canvey Island, UK and recorded at M.E.S.S. (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio), utilising EMS VCS3, Oberheim OB-Xa and ARP 2600 in combination with cheap, contemporary consumer electronics. It is, to all intents and purposes, a short, cautionary story about love. It is also a folk-tale, a science fiction, a suicide note. Unusually for a long-form spoken word piece, it is immediate in its impact, and lasting in its effect. Our narrator is damaged and unreliable: Quake's voice, digitally processed into a flat, AI affectlessness, conveys this all too well. Is this the vernacular poetry of the Uncanny Valley, or is it just that loss makes robots - numb and listless not-quite-humans - of us all Locks revels in the space between the spontaneous and the programmed (what is a poem if not a programme). It's part Tales Of The Unexpected, part Susan Howe, part Ruth Rendell, part HAL (or Holly). Manek's music is widescreen but understated...a becalmed landscape populated by distant drones, just-out-of-focus field recordings, and phased, minimalistic, Rhodes-style keys. A sort of sombre, lunar jazz. Space-age bachelor pad music, maybe, for a bachelor at the edge of space and the end of his tether. Just as Quake's words are cumulative in their tragedy, so the music grows more agitated and turbulent, at certain points harking back to the smoked-out psycho-acoustics of Manek's 2015 Blackest Ever Black LP, Tarquin Magnet, and his work in F ingers with Samuel Karmel and Carla dal Forno.

No musician embodies more the dramatic transformation in the British jazz scene over the past thirty years than Courtney Pine. His debut album, Journey To The Urge Within in 1987, was the first serious jazz album ever to make the British Top 40, notching up sales to qualify for a silver disc.

Aside from being the preeminent figure in the resurgence of British jazz, Courtney became a renowned presenter and broadcaster, best known for his long running radio show for BBC Radio 2, 'Jazz Crusade'. He was also awarded an O.B.E in the 2000 New Year's Honours, and was also made a C.B.E in 2009 for services to Music.

As an artist always looking to work outside of and across established musical genres, it is easier to list the musicians and artists he hasn't worked with, but now in 2017 Courtney releases brand new music featuring another British music legend of equal repute, his Freestyle Records label mate and an artist also honoured for his own creative endeavours, Omar Lyefook M.B.E.

Both tracks of this single are taken from Courtneys' forthcoming album Black Notes From The Deep - the 19th of his stellar career. The exciting and fresh interpretation of Herbie Hancocks' Butterfly demonstrates straight away that this is a dream team combination. With Alec Dankworth laying down the bass, Rod Youngs' drumming underpinning the groove, the song also gives the outstanding keyboards of Robert Mitchell space to stretch out - Omars fantastic vocal performance rides sweetly on top of the dreamy backing vocals of Charleen Hamilton - and of course Courtneys' flowing, imaginative and creative solo perfects this modern version of a much loved classic.

Rules is a brand new, collaborative composition by Courtney & Omar - the punchy drums and bass line patterns hints simultaneously at classic jazz and funkier club-centric sounds. Courtney cooks on tenor saxophone and also the organ - whilst Omar marinades the super catchy melody with that unmistakable voice.

As an introduction to the forthcoming album Black Notes From The Deep this single points the way to what 2 British legends, both exemplary in their own right - can come up with when joining forces.

Although not a band in a traditional sense of the word, this record was created by a rotating ensemble of players: for a brief moment, musicians from different backgrounds (in this iteration: Preslav, Kenny Peagler, Waajeed, Joe DeFazio and Phil Boyd) became a band and then went their separate ways.

Rhodes, funk basslines, neo-soul chords and tight drum programming are the lingua franca of the 24 Hour Band.
The title of each song represents the time of day that inspired it and collectively, they point to the goal to create records that can be enjoyed not just in a club, but throughout the day, at home, or in your car.

This is the 24HR Band.

The debut vinyl release from label Supervoid Records, out August 21st, 2017, has already made some waves, with two of its three tracks finding their way onto several prominent mixes, including Ben Sims' Run It Red' and Resident Advisor's 513th podcast, performed by Markus Suckut. The release has also been given the nod by other heavy-hitters, including members of the Droid Behavior crew and a Berghain resident. Label owner and artist Dustmite has been remixed by Audio Injection and long ago, Distance. His track Bare appeared on Photek's DJ Kicks.

The music of 7073 was largely inspired by the experience of an intimate, 6+ hour set by Jeff Mills in a US warehouse some years back. There is a feeling one can get in such a setting, with the right sound, the right DJ and the right people - a feeling that anyone who is reading this is probably familiar with - where at some point in the night, when people are in their own worlds, it feels as though at any moment the building could just lift into the sky. Simply put, the track entitled '7073' is Dustmite's attempt to capture some of that magic. Tracks 'Advanced Persistent Threat' and 'Lightwall' stand out as fast, sci-fi-inspired techno drivers, a modern take on early 2000's fast-paced, irreverent but melodic bangers.

Having worked in the video game industry for over a decade, Dustmite has taken a unique approach to pushing his vinyl-based label apart from the rest: each record has its own unique QR code, which, when scanned, will contribute to the unlocking of bonus content via a modern, interactive visual experience on the Supervoid website. Not only does this mean each record has its own distinct identity, which can be used in interesting ways, but those who purchase a future Supervoid release will have a singular narrative across their collection, which the label can use as a seed for generating content, experiences and rewards, unique to each individual.

Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player.

The Scene: The Welsh mountains, remote and harsh, a special place. A good place to produce a special album. The characters: Volker Bertelmann in his friend Adam Fuests' studio, equipped with only a piano and a laptop. The Project: To record a album of piano music. Title: Hauschka.

Piano music is highly personal music, which is the reason why piano solo albums occupy a particular place of importance in a musician's work - not that Volker Bertelmann wants to hype his first foray to that extent, hence the pseudonym. Nevertheless Hauschka is personal music, simply because it has accompanied him for so long, because it has always been there in some shape or form, because it has always been important. The title points to the fact that it is dealing with something of import, not just a few finger exercises or background ivory-tinkling.

Substantial' is a snapshot of a life spent with the black and white keys, and is simultaneously both moment and history, thought and feeling, yet without turning into a unduly meaningful concept album. Rather, Substantial' is based upon the least conceptual of all concepts: Improvisation. Each track is based upon an opening sequence, the theme of which is extended, modulated and varied with, as far as form or length is concerned, no specific objective in mind. What has come out is music of a differing, well, substance: Eleven atmospheric pieces in which a variety of different techniques overlap and rhythmical images with narrative depth unfold, in which further instruments, such as double bass or vibraphone make a fleeting appearance, at once lending a hint of pop, but at no time detracting from the piano as central instrument, in which experimental and electronic music is accessed without compromising the directness and ease of the improvisational approach.

The confluence of Bertelmann's multiple musical personality can be apprehended here: Whilst the pop-oriented musician plays the melody, the electronic producer gently experiments with sounds, leaving the pianist quite literally to manipulate the piano, - plucking the strings with a plectrum, dampening them or bowing them lengthways to achieve a variety of percussive effects. Following the recording, the tracks were adapted, supplemented and finalized. Using multi-tracking, up to four piano tracks were superimposed, electronic sounds from the laptop added, as well Stefan Schneider's bass (Mapstation, To Rococo Rot, Music A.M.) on three tracks.

children are laughing and playing in the back, a baby screams happily: handsome field recordings welcome the listener to the final chapter of fred p's fp-oner trilogy for mule musiq.
the opening tune is called smiles, so children's laughter fit the mode. the idea is that smiles and cries are natural for children and as they grow to adulthood the reality becomes more, therefore the duality of life itself is obvious in the mood of the song.
the new york city native that is working on his very own music for almost 20 years explains about the beginning of his new album that features eleven tunes for deep meditative club use and beyond.
it brings the listener house music full of cosmic realities, odd jazzing moments, japanese spoken word pop, synth spheres for ambient use and an overall outer-national atmosphere, that handsomely dances between roughness and subtle tuned in deepness.
i chose to base this project on numbers in order to impart a bit of depth and substance. 5, 6 and 7 have a meaning in both the literal and esoteric sense. we as a species are a combination of matter and energy, so it is a matter of relating the two in harmony.
my experience as an artist expresses this. it's like a testimony to the human condition and how we relate to treat and mistreat one another. this view is the base of a philosophy that is close to me, be-cause art imitates life.
so rather than doing a project that highlights ego posture, my intent is more about what can i give to the listener. as a human being, as an artist, what can i share it's a part of a philosophical tug of war that goes a lot deeper than the expectation of what one might think a dance album or rather an elec-tronic music album should be.
it's food for thought, not candy and a soft drink, but real substance that stays with you.he reveals about the profundity of his trilogy. at large it is a journey inward, compelling, mesmerising and en-chanting.
for the final chapter fred p mostly produced in his studio in berlin on various synths and with a bunch of mysterious samples, all later organized and programmed in ableton. this project has a beginning mid-dle and end. the record 5 was intended to introduce a meditative energy within a rhythmic construct as the number 5 represents the dynamic and unpredictable.
the whole album carries the energy of that ilk. the album 6 is of an earthly and more harmonious dis-cord. i attempt to bring the inner conflict in the form of natural unnaturalness. the raw energy of the search in this project i think is self explanatory, which is the point i believe to show how flawed one can be but express very specific themes honestly.
finally, with 7 my goal is to merge the two into balance, as one focused state of mind as 7 is the thinker beyond understanding or beyond the illusion. this is my hope people take away from this: a feeling of growth, optimism and positive energy. we are dealing with vibrations every person resonates with, so the idea is where do you want to take that
what do you want to do with that as an artist you can do some good or some harm. for me i choose to give the best that i can and i hope that the people that participate get a sense of that.' true words by a kind and gentle soul that loves to speak in music.
they explain much and then leave things in the dark too, as he basically says: let the music play. so listen deeply, open your doors of perception, dance the atomic mess around, stay small, be true and don't forget: fp oner's music is a traveling zone with a universal meaning. it can mean many things to different people. but thus is the purpose of art.

12 whitelabel, limited to 250 hand stamped and numbered copies

The 2nd drop on Through My Speakers comes straight from NGHT DRPS' dubby chambers. Showcasing his musical roots and influences, it blends earthy grooves and heavy drums with his signature deep and trippy vibes. From killing it on FACTMAGs 'Against the Clock' producer series - collecting almost half a million plays and making it into the all-time top ten of 'Against the Clock' - to remixing Moderat's 2016 'Eating Hooks", we are very happy to announce NGHT DRPS' debut EP on Through My Speakers. Vital Sales Points: - already played by dBrigde, Plastician, Toddla T, Sarah Farina, Kabuki, Scratcha DVA, Zed Bias, Moderat and more - Releases on tba - airplay on Rinse FM, NTS, BBC Radio 1 & 6,

Delakeyz is swiss producer Melodiesinfonie's moniker when taking a journey into more housey realms. On this voyage he explores his musical roots in three percussive-driven belters that still manage to maintain the subtle melodic textures that we all love from Melodiesinfonie's work. Manchester's own Contours (Rhythm Section Int./ Banoffee Pies) picks up the more gentle tone of the original in his remix of 'Walkingfree' while Moony Me's (Uncanny Valley/ Lagaffe Tales) interpretation of 'Our Roots' is a full-fledged club heater. Vital Sales Points: Early support by Marcel Vogel, Harvey Sutherland, S3A, Chaos in the CBD, Nachtbraker

ae Recordings the infamous sublabel of Thule Records was responsible for some of the finest techno releases from Iceland in the early 2000s. With the motherlabel on full throttle it was ideal to revive the enigmatic junior label as well. The label was known for bringing in fresh winds into the scene and this release doesn't stray away from the concept at all.The veteran Icelandic producer Cold has been missing from the scene since his legendary release Strobe Light Network in 1995 a track that kickstarted the Thule franchise and was at one point the closing track for the epic Love Parade festival in Berlin. After more than 20 years of hiatus, we are happy to announce that he is back and with a vengeance. Exiles EP is a hard-hitter & should be essential for DJs who aren't afraid to venture into the unknown. ae Recordings/Thule Records is considered by many to be a pioneers in the field of dub-influenced techno music and was a starting point for many of Iceland's most renowned electronic musicians"

William Caycedo delivering some wicked stuff! He is one of our latest members with a track on the Raw Joints # 5 compilation and now his very own solo release 'The FreshestKid EP'. This young talent from Amsterdam knows how to handle his music! Since day one we noticed his unique sound and followed him till this point. Now he's ready to smash the dance floor with this cracker of a release!

We are proud to present our second release by Beat Pharmacy AKA Brendon Moeller AKA Echologist, a singular voice in contemporary electronic, techno, and sound system musics in his various guises. Beat Pharmacy tunes begin life as live hardware jams where reverb, echo and delay rule the day, and rugged textures rub against digital processing.

In Density,' bass, kick and heavily reverbed piano skanks anchor an instantly enveloping soundworld of deepest dubwise ambience. From around hidden corners emerge the hiss of distant pistons and valves, sentient machinery working in complex relationships. Wobbles, wubs and sweeps communicate across cavernous spaces, as strange rhythmic elements sputter and spatter, tangling and massing in double-time to the point of rupture, only to resolve into crystalline moments of suspension into gorgeous, neck-snapping drops. Simply mesmerizing, and heavy in the dance. Everything to Gain' is spun from the same heavy metals, with a sparser feel, processed voice, and a buzzing, repeating alarm figure that sounds like a submarine warning that the dive is getting too deep, too dangerous...

Music that is moving, powerful, evocative and kinetic, slotting beautifully into 140 sets while defying easy categorization or description, always following vision over fashion. This is why we love Beat Pharmacy.

Mastered by Lewis at StarDelta

Repress

Great VA, vinyl only! New vinyl only imprint from FUSE London resident Rich NxT. The first VA kicks off with an incredibly funky and hypnotic groove from Tolga Top. Croatian scene player and FUSE extended family Mariano Mateljan lays down a heavy stripped back roller. Emerging UK artists Josh Baker and Moonlit Vision, both introduce their styles on the flip side with proper dancefloor direction. Music to get your rave on.

The Numero Group's dive into the deep end of America's private press continues. Having battled the witches and wizards of Darkscorch, the outlaws of Cosmic Americana, and traveled alongside Ladies From the Canyon and their Lonesome Heroes, it's time to take it easy.With pop music's volume knob adjusted for deflation in the early '70s, softness begat smoothness. Crewmen arrived from the worlds of jazz, folk, rock, and soul, all peddling a product that was sincere, leisurely, and lofty. A sound that was buoyant, crisp, defined. Sometimes classified as West Coast—and, later, Yacht Rock—the compass points of our Private Yacht expedition are the blue-eyed harmonies of Hall and Oates, the cocaine-dusted Fender Rhodes of Michael McDonald, and the combover strums of James Taylor. Here, at the glassy apex of rock's softer side, 20 strong swimmers are gathered together. An album for both relaxation and reflection, where listeners can enjoy the present, a cool breeze, and a taste of the good life.

First Word Records are very proud to present a heavyweight EP in collaboration with seminal groove collective, CoOp: 'Selectors Assemble'.

It's been almost two decades since a bunch of music makers, bored of the genre constraints of their time, began toying with time signature and syncopation to birth what is now known as broken beat. Summer 2017, the 'Selectors Assemble' EP is in our laps and we have a fitting reminder and long-overdue renaissance of one of London's most valuable musical movements.

IG Culture and Alex Phountzi were integral to this movement, the focal point being the CoOp club night, which ran predominantly on the famed floors of Plastic People, up until 2007. CoOp remerged late in 2015 as a Boiler Room session, in which the originators linked effortlessly with new school players such as K15 and Alex Nut. The following day, a session was inspired between an assortment of artists, and the seeds were planted for the 'Selectors Assemble'.

Here we have the first offering. The steady-paced roller of 'Gangz' (IG & Seiji), the dutty wine-ready getdown of Henry Wu's 'Substance', the heads-down low-end theory of '2nd Intention', the dominant soundclash call-out of the 'Spartan Riddim', riding out with the garage-flecked jam 'Can't Hold It', also featuring Sonar's Ghost (Domu). Five tracks deeply rooted in groove and as beautifully diverse as Bruk ever was.

Pressed up lovingly onto 140g vinyl, this release is accompanied with a fully-printed insert, featuring an extensive piece on the history of Bruk, written by Andwot (Touching Bass), classic photography by Sarah Ginn, and full-colour artwork by Mitchy Bwoy, a legendary artist to the original scene in his own right. This is an essential artefact for followers of the sound, new and old.

First Word prides itself on its ethos of musical diversity, and we're ecstatic to welcome aboard the CoOp foundation to the stable. A crew of British dance music pioneers, sound-system legends, and now-school heavyweights, this is but a taste of what's to come. Lead by the don IG Culture, the family spirit has quickly formed, the selectors have assembled.

The stage has been set for bruk's second wind. Be ready.

A A1 | Henry Wu - Substance (IG Culture & Alex Phountzi Remix)

'Great Many Arrows' is the 6th studio album from Damien Dubrovnik, the Danish duo of Loke Rahbek and Christian Stadsgaard. It is also the 200th release on their Posh Isolation label, marking 8 years for both the label and project. The label's inception came with Damien Dubrovnik's debut album, and since then the two have been inseparable. Without Damien Dubrovnik there would most likely have been no Posh Isolation, and vice versa.

'Great Many Arrows' is undoubtedly a high point in the varied discographies of both Rahbek and Stadsgaard. It is the most realized Damien Dubrovnik recording to date, and a standout in Posh Isolation's troves.

As a record, 'Great Many Arrows' manages to translate the intensity of the duo's often unrestrained live shows in to carefully crafted studio productions. Unlike the pair's earlier and largely electronic recordings, the compositions on 'Great Many Arrows' set organs, cellos, violas, wind and other acoustic instruments against the backdrop of an electronic landscape.

The new toolset is as apparent on the surface as it is in the enclosed detail, taking the project further from its noise roots than it has ever been. This is not to say that Rahbek and Stadsgaard have traded ferocity for formal constraint. It is rather the opposite. While 'Great Many Arrows' is certainly the pair's most 'musical' work to date, its veneer of accessibility might also make it their most terrifying.

The strength of the recording lies here in the interaction between the melodic, acoustic instrumentation and the bulldozing electronics. Moments of beauty and light are transfigured into utter chaos and rage, the mesmerising change an expression of the equal and opposite form's natural sway as it beckons and slips between its own passing.

'Great Many Arrows' takes its name from a historic archery competition in Kyoto, Japan, in which archers would shoot as many arrows as possible for a 24 hour period. On April 26, 1686, Wasa Daihachiro from Kishu successfully shot 8,133 out of 13,053 arrows, averaging 544 arrows an hour, or 9 arrows a minute, becoming the record holder.

A leopard can't change his spots and Magnus International earned his spots in the sequence hue of Oslo's disco scene. 'Disco is the single thread that runs through all electronic dance music.' After an inconsistent hiatus from recording, the Norwegian DJ had donned the producer cap resolutely for his debut LP, Echo to Echo with us last year in 2016 , the an additional much loved album bonus 12. that all, aside his many other projects for us in the last years. now 2017, Magnus´ 'Synths' are on again , like a breath of fresh air and sunlight, these 4 tracks roll on to the world from oslo´s shores... and as his usually best Magnus is very strong on seamingly endless grooving chords and timing, sweet harmonycentric bliss and tight, on the point drum programming that comes with this 'pull factor' wich makes you want to play or listen out loud over and over again. There´s a Chmmr remix as well so things look really good here!

Monosoul is back on Tieffrequent with 4 timeless and classical cuts focussed on the important elements of housemusic...with love for the dancefloors, clubs and basements of this universe...
On the A-side you have - Make 'Em Match', a rough and steady house-groove containing a constantly bouncing bassline, a deep chord-pattern, a complex percussion-cluster and a well infixed electric piano...all elements are perfectly balanced, finalized and formed to a completed floorfiller. Then there is - Monument Street' after which the EP was named. Starting really deep and minimalistic it developes to an impulsive und powerful song. Organic pads, pulsating deep chords, a rhythmic bassline and well arranged drums make - Monument Street' flowing impressively from start to finish.
The B-side starts up with - Hot Concrete', a blazing, drum-driven basement-groover. With a sharp deepchord which is wrapped-up in several padsound-patterns, Monosoul creates a very own athmosphere. In combination with an impulsive bassline and a distinct percussion- ensemble - Hot Concrete' beats time on the floor noticeably. Finally - Life On The Red Island' as the perfect final track brings the - Monument Street EP' to an end. It builds up by adding small bits and pieces very subtly to a point you recognize a pulsative deephouse beauty. The remarkable bassline and the concise and bouncing kickdrum are casted in a flowing deep sounded carpet full of hope. - Life On The Red Island' disappears to where it came from and leaves you with strong impressions.
The - Monument Street EP' gives an insight into Monosoul's impressive understanding and definition of house music which you can hear on 4 tracks loud and clear...Thank You!

Conrad Van Orton debuts on Attic Music for the 15th installment of label. 'Hypersomnia' is a collection of haunting techno tracks that sit on the darker side of the genre's spectrum without loosing it's dance floor appeal.

The 4 track spanning record opens up with the title track ''Hypersomnia'' though techno sounds that revolve around a train-like whistle that repeats throughout the track's poignantbuild. ''Green Eyes'' is an intrusive piece of work that closes down the A-side with it's intense synth works.
On the B side we find ''Iteration''. This growling piece of music has an almost live sounding quality to it. ''Ending Point'' is the toughest piece of work of the record which revolves around a fierce bass sound and a potent drum work.