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Leipzig's Salomo - who caught attention with his contribution to the labels previous compilation is now releasing his full solo LP via VARY. 12 tracker that provides an organic transition from house to ambient - suitable for club play, your next pool party or as a birthday gift to your mother in law. Conscious of it's inspirations, the record is a slight nod in the direction of contemporary electronic music from London, Vancouver and Detroit that still strikes with integrity & originality.

Limited edition of 300 copies on black vinyl.

“Morning Glow” is the first release by Natureboy Flako under the Palomo Wendel moniker, capturing positive energies with a gentle and bright attitude. Recorded during the breaking light of dawn, it embodies the pureness of the rising sun and invites for untroubled moments in time.

On his new record "Companionship", London-based Soft-Rock, Soul and Disco artist Joel Sarakula keeps the mood easy and the grooves deep. Ten new songs see Sarakula develop a deeper, more introspective lyrical style from his previous works as he celebrates and laments friendships, love and loneliness. Interspersed with a few standout up-tempo tracks to keep the ship sailing, "Companionship" is a chill-out album and listening experience of the highest order.

"Companionship" opens with "Midnight Driver", a driving soft-rock fantasy where the narrator laments his partner's nocturnal habits: 'When she's coming up, it gets me down'. The Californian sun-kissed guitars, vocal stylings and percussion all help to set a cinematic mood which unsurprisingly also makes it a great driving song. On the introspective "King Of Clowns", Sarakula creates a pop song that calls to mind the craftmanship of Hall & Oates and Elvis Costello. Both an admission of guilt and an unapologetic statement of intent, his low vocal careens in the dangerous divide between self-pity and self-parody: "My bad decisions worked out for a while, I'd do my dance tried to make you smile, I'll never wise up it's just the way I am". These confessions all occur over a down-tempo funk groove complete with some vintage synthesizer musings that makes the track ready to be sampled for a hip-hop record.

"Sunshine Makes Me" steps straight out of its mid-1970s swimming pool, heavily dripping in jazz fusion to dry off in the cold light of today's sunshine. The chorus is a mantra of desire, needs and reality that sees Sarakula sing 'Sunshine makes me lose my mind, thirty degrees and my eyes get so wide. Dreaming big and living slow, don't you know that time is on our side". On "Companionship", Joel Sarakula, prolific writer, producer, performer and multi-instrumentalist finally unleashes his chill-out pretensions. In this follow up to the critically acclaimed "Love Club" (2018) he develops a deeper and more mature compositions and production style. His love of all things vintage extends to a devotion to analog synthesizers and on "Companionship" you can hear a genuine love of synthesis that at moments is reminiscent of 70s synth production pioneers Todd Rundgren and George Duke.

Joel Sarakula will tour "Companionship" through Europe and the UK this Spring and Summer 2020 with his musical companions. Born in Sydney, based in London and a true internationalist, Sarakula tours with pickup bands sourced from each territory he plays in: a Barcelona band for Spain, a Berlin band for Germany and so forth. This cross-cultural exchange is a sly nod to the golden era of the 1960s and 1970s when travelling US pop, soul and blues artists would do the same.

Jon Tye and Pete Fowler have been making music as Seahawks for a decade now. Given the sounds they’ve been exploring over those ten years it was a cosmic inevitability that they would be asked to contribute to the catalogue of the legendary library label KPM.

They replied with Island Visions, an exploration of sound for vision where they construct “audio micro-worlds to explore and inhabit”. A way to transport the listener away from the everyday without the bother of getting on an aeroplane. Mind travel is space travel after all, and much better for the environment.

Mostly recorded at The Centre Of Sound in Cornwall, with additional recording at Studio 34 in London, Jon and Pete’s travelling companions on this particular trip were boogie wunderkind Sven Atterton on fretless bass and keys, Nick Mackrory on percussion and the Seahawks live team of Dan Hillman and Alik Peters-Deacon.

From the grooves of Brian Bennett to the moog vibrations of Mike Vickers, the lush textures of Les Baxter to the experimental sounds of Delia Deryshire and David Vorhaus, this new music channels sounds and moods from across the KPM universe.

The spacious “Hot Sand Shuffle” opens the record with some of Seahawks’ familiar “deck-shoegaze”. The slinky digi-dub of “Sky Blue Sky” follows, gently encouraging us to lay back and relax. “Mystic Beach” is a refreshing ocean spray of a synthetic groove that clears the head, priming a pathway to receive “Crystal Forest”, a new age house groove of birds and flutes.

Dense, deep and dreamlike, “Distant Shore” is ambient rainforest house with a 90s vibe, its dense foliage clearing to let us bask in the shimmer and shine of “River Run”. Hang drum, electric gamelan, flute and loon close side A.

Side B bounces into being with “Catch A Wave”, an upbeat beach groover of synthetic guitar, effervescent synth and snappy drums. Equatorial bubbler “Paradise Bird Bath” soon glides in with marimba, crisp beats and fat synth bass. Fender rhodes, space echo and fretless bass make “Smooth Runnings” a laid-back poolside groove.

“Spirits Have Flown” conjures a hazy vibe with marimba, sax, synth funk bass and chilled beats before “Rolling Deep” serves up a light cocktail of sultry rhythms, refreshing textures, cooling sax and fretless bass. Almost-title track “Island Blues” brings the horizontal poolside feels with melodic chimes, oboe and more fretless bass for maximum vibrations. The marina drone of modular electronics, celestial trumpet and jungle ambience pay the album’s final respects to the cosmos on “Sun Salute”.

Like many KPM suites, this is a record of two distinct sides. The sunrise of side A brings a deep meditation, a journey within to renew the jaded self. Side B refreshes with cocktails by the pool and a chance to groove away the evening at some sunset beach party before dancing under the stars in the house of dreams.

Pete’s front cover for the LP is part map, part postcard: “the record has five different sections and I wanted to reference those in the worlds they created, musically and physically. From beach campfire, to poolside hanging and nighttime dancing. A kind of portal to those places and the pictures they inspired in my mind. All places we’d like to be in this turbulent year”. The track descriptions on the back help guide the way.

2020 marks 10 years since Ocean Trippin’, the first Seahawks release, and Island Visions is the perfect distillation of the sounds, sights, textures and moods that Jon and Pete have been exploring over the last decade. Sunrise to sunset condensed to two sides of an LP. The normal rules of space and time don’t apply here.

This is the first time Be With has worked with Seahawks, but individually Jon and Pete have been members of the extended Be With family since forever (Pete did those posters for our Ned Doheny tour and we worked with Jon on the vinyl version of Hatchback’s Colors Of The Sun). Of course we were going to put this out on vinyl.

Mastered by balearic engineer of choice (and Be With’s regular audio co-pilot) Simon Francis, cut by the legendary Pete Norman and pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry, the sonic frequencies of these Island Visions have been precision tuned and encoded for optimum travelling conditions. Take the trip.

Coastlines is the self-titled long player from the new Japanese production unit of DJ and producer Masanori Ikeda and solo artist, session musician and Cro-Magnon keyboard player Takumi Kaneko.

Masanori and Takumi have been part of the Japanese dance music scene for years and Coastlines was born out of their working together on soundtracks for video projects. The pair wanted to make laid-back listening music for now, laying Takumi’s playful keys over Masanori’s widescreen balearic jazz-fusion to conjure beautiful and breathtaking “coastlines”.

A couple of two-track 7"s put out in late 2018 and early 2019 on Japanese house music label Flower Records soon sold out. Those four tracks were expanded to a full album of music, “a joyous, relaxing, summery soundtrack for everyone’s after hours wind down” that was released just in time for summer. It soundtracked many a Be With BBQ in 2019.

The album opens in the horizontal with the sophisticated, cocktails-by-the-pool groove of “Sunset Reflection”. A lush, beatless wonder. Their re-imagining of Ralph MacDonald’s “East Dry River” removes all the original’s bells and whistles (quite literally) and re-gears it with a subtle balearic chug. The result is a percussive gem.

“Coastline” is a beach-jazz noodle. “Drifting Ice” is as chilled and glacial as its title would suggest, yet Masanori’s head-nod slo-mo house beats throb not far below the surface. “My Fire” is another soft killer, all swelling, swirling organ over muted kicks and snares. An elegant boom-bap.

A pair of insistent tunes of the deeply balearic variety raise the tempo, but not by too much of course. On “Woods And My Guitar” a half-heard vocal refrain breathes life into the synthetic xylophone and guitar. Deft piano-work turns “Half Moon Shadow” into lounge-house for the sophisticated beach bum. A classy duo.

The self-assured re-work of Azymuth’s “Last Summer In Rio” is arguably the album’s centrepiece. Ten minutes of casually propulsive slapped bass, steel pans and slick 80s soul beats. Cue the steel drum interlude of “Maracas Bay” before album closer “Down Town” transitions us one with a shuffling, string-hinted hit of ethereal, euphoric piano bliss. Gentle disco for the new decade.

As former Test Pressing scribe Dr. Rob observed on his ever-reliable Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, the Coastlines fusion is very much in conversation with their 80s counterparts, both at home and along the coastlines of different continents. So among the nods to revered Japanese artists like Hiroshi Sato, Sakamoto and Casiopea, there are also hints of Marcos Valle and Mtume, of the aforementioned Azymuth. “The production though is very much now, not then. Not retro, just proper”. We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

Coastlines was originally a CD release only available in Japan, with HMV putting out a super-limited vinyl version a few months later for Japanese Record Store Day. But this music is just too good, so when Be With was asked via Ken Hidaka to take care of a vinyl version for the rest of the world it wasn’t a tough decision.

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman, just 500 copies of this double LP have been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.

The fourth solo album from Hüsker Dü and Sugar vocalist and guitarist, Bob Mould. Reissued on vinyl for the very first time. Housed in a reverse-board sleeve and pressed on two heavyweight 180g clear vinyl. On this release, Mould continued to develop the driving alternative rock sound he had become known for as well as experimenting with sample heavy electronica which feature heavily on his future solo albums. Includes the double A-side single ‘Classifieds’ / ‘Moving Truck’.

Max Essa completes a trio of terrific releases on Hell Yeah with The Great Adventure EP. It's packed with more grown up dance floor dynamite and later in the year will be collected together with the first two parts to make for a full album.

By now you will know that Essa is part of the UK's Balearic mafia. He's served up big tunes on Is It Balearic?, Aficionado, Music For Dreams, and his music always acts as a sonic raft that floats you out to sea and leaves you bobbing up and down in a state of pure bliss.

Opener 'Tombolo' starts as acoustic music and the sound of a muffled crowd but soon awakens into an uptempo affair littered with toms, guitar licks and claps that are driven by bumping drums. There are elements of old school, Italo and classic house but somehow it feels completely new and fresh as it takes you ever higher.

'The Great Adventure' is masterfully sun kissed disco with crisp 80s drums, love struck chords and a yacht rock feel that is pure joy, something like topless dancing with sand between your toes and umbrellas in your cocktails.

Closer 'Fool in the Pool' sinks into gentle tabla drums and unhurried chords. It's horizontal and thoughtful - the sound of a lazy afternoon somewhere on the Mediterranean coast, gazing at glistening seas through the romantic lens flare in your sunglasses.

This EP is already great feedback from the DJ dons who have been giving it early plays, so act now to snap up your first summer sounds of 2020.

'Control Voltage Project' is a long running project of Alper Maral & Mert Topel; Alper Maral is one of the most significant sound discoverers around Turkey through auditory and academical researches he has made about experimental electronic music.

Mert Topel is a versatile musician, one of the most important keyboardist for many artists in popular music in Turkey. He has released his first solo album “Serendipity” in 2017.

Control Voltage Project is named after the electric signals which are used for the interactions between various physical sound layers. Recordings of CVP -first album from the duo- was finished in 2005, and released in 2015 on “Müzik Hayvanı” as free download on web.

The album is making its roots through an endless sound pool that created by synthesizers, vocoders and tape recorders such as KORG MS 20, YAMAHA Motif 8, PROPHET 5 and TASCAM MS 16 which have characterized by different styles and times.

The duo’s 12 track album is a complete adventure from abstract
and fragile moments to groovy but spooky sounds.
Control Voltage Project is finally released on vinyl via Müstesna Records.

'IMB12001' shipping to You in a designed Uni Cover with a Sticker of the Label "The Inbeciles" on it!

This is the music for our times; our darkening times. The Imbeciles are making the soundtrack for the world we really live in, which is set to become increasingly angry, unhappy, unfair, and messed up. “The world is slowly imploding.” That’s the warning from The Imbeciles, and the message behind its first album. The idea of what to do emerged like a surprise attack.

“I don’t even know where it came from… it ambushed us,” says Butch Dante, of the band’s forthcoming self-titled debut album. “To us it looks like mankind will endgame itself in this millennium, and probably within the next 100 or 200 years. The Imbeciles as harbingers of that fall. We’re pointing out that the world is imploding, for many reasons — environmental, political, technological, and ultimately because human beings themselves forgot how to be humane, how to be kind.”

“Saying we are political would infer that we have some faith in the political system. We don’t. Or that we have answers, a solution to prevent this coming slow apocalypse. But we don’t. We are sitting at the side of an innocent-looking pool saying: hey, you’re drowning but you don’t even know it. And we’re giving you some music to listen to as you go down.”

Inspired by the likes of Wire, Devo, Gang Of Four, but utterly unique, a new form of avant-garde art punk, against greed and mendacity. The band’s forthcoming album was recorded deep down at Sonic Ranch on the Texas/Mexico border. All analogue, in seven days. Produced by Calvin Voltz.

Latest single “D.I.E.” is “a lament for the end of the world. With references to global endgames. They’re grim. All self-inflicted. The chorus is epic when played live. It’s incredibly passionate. People really get into it.” And now it’s been remixed.

Red Rack'em's take on is wonderfully curveball as one might expect; homing in on one unique part of the vocal and making it the fullcrum, from which his psychedelic, deep-house, hardcore jazzathon is then able to blossom and unravel before your very eyes. Atmospheric, experimental and hooky too - clever business from the Bergerac boss.

Next up we have the amazing Oliver Ho and his Broken English Club. Here we witness a more flagrant and faithful use of stems, and through layering both the band's parts, and instruments of his own design - he transforms 'D.I.E.' into a towering slab of dark and raw, industrial EBM.

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

The Imbeciles are on the case.

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

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

Now they’ve been remixed. By these people:

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

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

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

Comment to come ...

French duo Double Mixte bring their digital thunderstorm of neon lit noire to the Italians Do It Better family on their debut EP. Mixed and produced by label head Johnny Jewel, Romance Noire opens the door to a new wave of Italians Do It Better artists coming in 2019.

Fresh Blood. New Tears. The title track arpeggiates and boils as waves of bass flow beneath. Rhythms are carried to the ceiling by a searing cascade of disintegrating color. A heavy backbeat anchors Clara Apolit’s poetry, ready to wear for a night in the face of oblivion.

The cinematic “Arlette” is a call for discovery through a darkness lit only by the glare of headlights in digital rain. Through all of this, Thomas Maan’s incantations search for the lonely, lost in the void of electronic fog. “November” finds in Clara an Anglophonic chanteuse, meditating on the cycles of time.

A blend of suspended sound and an uncertain melody contracts and expands before dissolving. Romance Noire is art that both contemplates and tanscends time’s firm grip. It’s a filmic journey inducing a vague sense of future nostalgia. Happy Valentine’s Day. Double Mixte is Clara Apolit and Thomas Maan.

The duo met in Paris and there was an immediate pull to create music together. They pooled their combined interest in powerful narrative & dark 70’s French film music to write lyrically vivid songs. In 2017, Thomas reached out to Johnny Jewel for what soon became a collaboration that expanded their vision into a haunting debut EP, out today on Italians Do It Better.

SHAZZer Project created by Shazz and Jean-Marie K on their respective labels : Batignolles Square & Electronic Griot. These long-standing friends were left with an ambitious project to reissue Shazz's most outstanding titles over the past 25 years!

The SHAZZer Project was born out of the desire of these two enthusiasts to help discover or rediscover Shazz's emblematic titles from his albums or F Communications releases remixed by big players of the electronic music scene. The "A" EP is composed of remixes by French rising stars Folamour & Tour-Maubourg as long as established artists such as Ian Pooley & Oliver Dolar.

"SHAZZer Project" you're back from the future!

Yoshi Wada's Lament For The Rise And Fall Of The Elephantine Crocodile, originally released in 1982 on India Navigation, remains one of the most remarkable flowers to grow in the rarefied air of American minimalism – akin to Terry Riley's Reed Streams and Pauline Oliveros' Accordion & Voice, yet with a wild, liberated energy all of its own.

After graduating from Kyoto University of Fine Arts with a degree in sculpture, Wada moved to New York City in 1967 and quickly fell in with the community of artists known as Fluxus. In the early '70s, he began building his own instruments and writing musical compositions, studying with La Monte Young and Hindustani singer Pandit Pran Nath.

Recorded during an epic three-day session in an empty swimming pool in upstate New York, Wada's first album brings together two of the oldest drone instruments – the human voice and bagpipes – to simple and glorious effect. A visit to the Scottish Highlands spurred Wada's interest in bagpipes, which the composer integrated into these sparse, otherworldly sounds heard on Lament.

"That swimming pool was quite hallucinatory," recalls Wada. “It was another world. I felt it in terms of resonance. I slept in the pool, and whenever I moved, I woke up because of the reverberations.... The piece itself is an experiment with reeds and improvisational singing within the modal structure."

This first-time vinyl reissue is limited to 750 numbered copies. Comes with poster.

Influential Spanish artist Coyu is stepping out on his own Suara label with a long overdue debut album entitled ‘You Don’t Know’ that is going to shatter all conceptions about him. Due for release this September 23rd, the 16 track affair showcases his broad range and takes in collaborators like Moby, Lazarusman, The Horrorist, Thomas Gandey and many more.

Coyu quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the most prominent names in underground dance music. The Spanish man famous for his love of cats has established his Suara label as a go-to outlet for the most essential house and tech tracks, as well as releasing his own expressive grooves on Cocoon Recordings, Diynamic, Bedrock Records, Turbo Recordings and MORE. Now he really stretches his legs across a fantastic full length album that goes way beyond the dance floor and shows many new sides to his sound. The artist has been working on it since 2012 and aims to show people that whatever they think about him is wrong.

Says the artist himself, “the album is named ‘You Don't Know’ because many people have a preconceived idea of who I am. Until now, maybe I wasn't smart enough to show them my roots, what I love and what I can offer to the music. I'm not just a DJ or a producer who can play or make grooves – I love many different genres and many different kinds of music. With this album I want to change that preconception.”

The album kicks off with a dramatic spoken word from legendary vocalist Lazarusman before exploring low slung and sleazy grooves on ‘The Three Chimney’, floaty light melodic and dreamy house on ‘Out of The Pain’ and more club focussed but just as dreamy fair on ‘We All Try’ with Mike Leary.

Proving he can do everything from poolside gems to peak time techno, ‘Fear Is Gunna Be A Player In Your Life’ is one to get you in a trance with its sonar like synths and rolling deep space drums. Thomas Gandey aka Cagedbaby then steps up to guest on ‘1+1’ which is a hands in the air piano anthem to pump the party, and ‘Wanna Do Right, Wanna Do Wrong’ is a techno cut with brilliantly energetic drum programming and a big, perfectly placed vocal sample.

Switching up the vibe is ‘I May Be Dead, But One Day The World Will Be Beautiful Again’ with none other than dance legend Moby. It is a heavenly track with break beats, angelic melodies and a celestial feel that leaves you refreshed. The second half touches on raved-up drum & bass, gurgling minimal techno and harder techno with mind melting acid synths. The Horrorist contributes to the banging ‘My First Pill’, while the techno journey continues with ‘Unite’ featuring Gabriella Vergilov before the album finishes on the fluttering ambient track ‘Insania’, with mad church bells and manic percussion all bringing things to a close in style.

This is a broad, adventurous album that covers plenty of music ground and takes you on a true electronic trip from one of dance music’s most accomplished names.

We love pop music. You’ve probably noticed. Witness our vinyl love-ins with Kylie, Róisín and Cassie if this has somehow passed you by. So when Lou Hayter (London-based musician, style-DJ to the stars, one of our besties) asked us to put her sumptuous funk-lite hit “Cherry On Top” on vinyl it felt like a neat fit. But this isn’t just any old Be With record. We decided such a monumental track would make the perfect inaugural release on Be Pop, our new, most likely sporadically active, side-label.

For those not paying attention in 2005, Lou Hayter was the keyboardist in Mercury nominated electro-pop outfit New Young Pony Club (who were a really good band, beyond the hype, and arguably a little ahead of their time) and she is currently one half of electronic duo Tomorrow’s World, a project with Air’s Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Her comeback single “Cherry On Top” originally appeared in late October 2018, but as a digital only concern. Unsurprisingly it caused a blog stir (Gorilla vs Bear correctly gushed) and what seemed like 6 Music’s entire roster of DJs had it on repeat.

But it’s not a proper single unless you can buy it in a record shop. So accordingly we’ve issued it as a full picture sleeve 12", pressed on white vinyl. And just to make certain, the instrumental and a cappella are on the flip. This is our homage to the classic dance/pop 12" singles of the late 80s and early 90s.

Riding an infectious sample of Marc Jordan’s yacht-rock classic “Generalities”, it’s a glistening, sun-soaked daydreamy jam, perfect for convertibles, pool parties, and roller-discos. It’s quite delicious. Whilst it’s pop without question, it wouldn’t be a Lou Hayter track without ice-cool nods to other magical genres; with Italo flecks and dream-pop vocals, this is cherry coloured funk indeed.

“Cherry On Top” screams “Mighty Summer Pop Radio Anthem”. We might have just missed the end of Summer 2019, but this 12" comes out just in time for every summer from now until the end of time.

Celebrating the 50th release on the Nonplus label, Instra:mental return with their sophomore album Timelines. A long awaited record that finally uncovers the unreleased gems of the legendary Autonomic Podcast series. This eleven track album features five, previously vinyl only cuts, with another six unreleased tracks from the vault. This is an album that will feel nostalgic to some but new to others. Classics like Photograph and Pacific Heights transport the listener back to a time where Instra:mental started to blur the boundaries in a pool of multiple genres, allowing artists to dip their toes with creative freedom. This release is mainly rooted in 170bpm (with the exception of “More Than”) but effortlessly feels like its spanning multiple tempos. With the techno infused Encke Gap to the slow pulsings of Deep Night. Timelines represents the embodiment of the Autonomic “Drum & Bass” movement, a slice of time that sounds modern despite being more than a decade in existence. Timelines is a collectors piece that will sit happily in your physical or digital collection, an essential record that highlights the golden era of Instra:mental’s illustrious career.

Jean Claude Garvi returns for another three-track journey of beach-ready Balearic gold on his own EBO Records.

‘Nite Dubbin’ kicks off proceedings - a piano laden, rapturous slammer laced in acidic arps and bongo goodness. Take to the flip for a slo-mo boogie reinterpretation, ‘Interview By The Pool’ perfect for those beachside lounges and poolside shenanigans, with an unreleased 12 inch mix of atmospheric synth-pop swellings, ‘Last In The Bin’, to close out the EP.

King Of Kong Records, a new venture of Artur8, Anton Klint & Edvin E. presents it’s new release, the “World Museum” EP - a modern classic from Newborn Jr.

Warsaw-based producer Adam Brocki released a string of collaborative records - with Earth Trax (Bartosz Kruczynski) for Phonica, Dopeness Galore, Echovolt and Rhythm Section, or as Private Press for Rekids and Indigo Area. His mature, carefully crafted sound, stripped yet powerful, now finds its place on King Of Kong.

“What What What” starts the EP off on a right foot: broken rhythm, clever voice snippets, cosmic pads and heavy bassline reminds of some archetypal Shake productions, off-kilter yet somehow infectious. “World Museum” rolls out relentlessly on a steady kickdrum, and again the backbone is held firmly by bass. Swirling noises come and go, adding a dash of melancholy into this club-ready tool. “NJ Public Pool” again sounds like a long-lost timeless classic, with just right amount of melody and irresistible party vibe. It’s accompanied by a moodier and denser remix from Warehouse Preservation Society (aka TK Disco and Tavish (ESP Institute)), a druggy chugger for late night and dark corners. Rounding off the EP, Yourhighness of Rollerboys & Cocktail D'Amore Records fame straightens the beat and pushes up the tempo of “What What What” to deliver a proper party stomper. A classic sound of two decades of dance music underground updated for here and now.

Welcome to our 2nd EP of Original tracks from 12tree's new label, Hot Piroski. The label is a boisterous mix of Space Disco, Deep Funk edits and Balearic Beats. The Previous EPs saw support from Radio 1 Essential Mix, Pete Herbert, Ursula 1000, Phil Mison, Justin Rushmore, Dan McKie, DNS beats, Primavera sound and more ...

A side: 'In the Sun' - featuring soulful vocals from Katty Heath over a Deep disco re-edit that morphs into a deep house-tinged groover.
On the flip: 'Magic Dust' - poolside blissed out beats on a vapour wave tip. 'Guitar Solaar' - soul-tinged groover with a wiff of Marvin Gaye.
All tracks Produced and recorded by 12Tree at his studio in Barcelona.

Renate Schallplatten's eighth release comes from Michal Zietara with Olympia Europa. The four-track EP, the Polish-born, Bavaria-raised, Berlin-based Renate resident's solo debut features three originals plus a remix from Ian Pooley.

Opener "Mr. Joy" is a late-night uptempo jam with a punchy bassline and warm pads. Chopped vocal samples come to the fore around the breakdown, raising the tension for maximum euphoria upon the beats' return. Ian Pooley's flowing remix on the A2 is in the signature '90s filter house style. The vocals lead the way, adding some warmth to a rather stripped-back affair. It's another peak-time cut that makes you want to close your eyes and move to the music. The punchy beats and upbeat melodies return on "Euro Robot," this time paired with intricate drums, fluttering vocals, and high-pitched keys. Closer "Pink Seal" is more downtempo and pensive, centered around coherent vocals and smooth pads. The beats feature less prominently, even fading away after a brief midsection. It's a cerebral track; a moment of self-reflection in an otherwise upbeat, high-energy EP.

The EP is Renate Schallplatten's second of 2019, following Longhair's label debut. Earlier EPs have landed from Moscoman, Sebastian Voigt, Wareika, and more.

Label Quote "Turquoise Colored French Tourists are back with six pool-party essentials for your next lousy bathing event in your parents' backyard. Early support by everyone you know and your mama"

Short Info:
Turquoise Colored French Tourists release their Pöseldorf Poolparty EP, a 6 track extravaganza of high end production, House music know how mixed with Funk and a flair for live drum sounds which elevate this EP.

The artists behind this - Scharbatke and Bias joined forces having met years ago in their favourite bar Goldengrün and agreed after a few gin's to establish the live performing House music super group Turquoise Colored French Tourists. With their differing backgrounds both coming to play in this EP, adding a depth to the groove.

This record is essential for the most in the know Poolpartys, for the most exclusive parts of town - we begin the EP with the title track, motes of DamFunk and a truly groovy opener that should loosen things up nicely as the still hyper funky but more straight up and dance-able Altona im Sonnenschein carry's us onwards.

Crepes takes us deeper, Housier but still with a tweaked aesthetic that marks this out from others. A true adventure in jacked rhythm. The EP continues to turn gently into the more filtered House vibe with Spätfolgen, whilst not forgetting its funky roots with Jameson. The latter bringing a slight 80's touch to the vibe - if there is one thing this EP does well its keeping it fresh at each and every turn.

Closing the EP "Feels so good" lets the melody flow a little, warm and inviting with a little bit of everything that has come before it.

2023 Repress

2019 is mule musiq’s 15 years anniversary. we’re going to release twelve 12inchs with our friend artists and stefan marx make the collectable artwork.

10th release is our long time friend hippie dance’s superpitcher aka pachanga boys. “maki” on a side is a tribute song for legendary japanese folk singer maki asakawa, superpitcher wrote the lyrics and dip in the pool’s miyako koda translated in japanese and did the reading. “mishima” on b side is a trademark of superpitcher’s melancholic house tune. it sounds like updated percussive nyc house in early 90’s.

LL1220 is here, an overdue first release in 2019. This year is also about celebrating the 5th anniversary of Lossless. For the occasion the label decided to return to the dancefloors with the 3rd installment of their Outbound series. Outbound.3 again is a collection of exclusives by the labels core artists, spiced up with some hot additional contributions from befriended artists. This 2x12“ beautifully showcases a bit of Lossless' musical universe.

Fresh from the Tokyo studio of Balearic wizard Max Essa, comes Barkhan Dunes EP; a collection of exquisite, chilled-out loveliness.

Opening track The Price You Pay (For Loving That Way) warns of the dangers of careless love affairs. A veritable beach-disco classic in the making; warm, expressive synth rhythms and beautiful clean guitar lines provide an irresistible urge to climb on deck and let your body move. Next up, Kites at Nemoto Beach caresses your soul with blissful shimmering guitar and synths, before some David Axelrod-esque choral vocals carry you across the oceans to a new place.

Finally, Sundowning is a sublime slice of low-slung, poolside AOR. As the golden-red sun slides towards the horizon, a bittersweet dubby guitar refrain hints at past troubles, but also carries you forward to an optimistic future.

Getting strong support from Dicky Trisco, Marco Gallerani, Simon Lee, Beatbroker/Dream Chimney and more.

Corroded digital shrapnel amorphous metallic groove pool with an acidic core
Degraded and corrupted club tools for the adventurous DJ
All tracks recorded in Chicago, 2014-2016
Exael is Naemi, and all references to them should use they/them pronouns

L’Illustration Musicale, Sonimage, Técipress-In Editions (Timing), Musax, Freesound,
Montparnasse 2000 in France but also De Wolfe and Chappell in England, every of these
sound illustration labels have in common to bring out as a legendary spectre the name of Jacky
Giordano and his aliases. Widespread practice in the library music world, Joachim Sherylee,
chosen for the In Motion album, is one of his plentiful aliases (with José Pharos, Jacky
Nodaro, Gruppo Sounds, Rubba...) used by the french composer, that we regain as well for
Black Devil with Bernard Fèvre or even for the Shifters with Yan Tregger.
For his enthronement on the mythical English label De Wolfe, it's under the obscure name of
the Rubba collective that Jacky Giordano aka Joachim Sherylee sneaked in the londonian De
Wolfe studios with the companionship of British colleagues such as John Hyde (aka John
Saunders, James Harrington, Astral sounds or even Wozo) and his wife Monice Hyde (aka
Monica Beale), Alan Howe (aka John Collins), Robert Poole and Tim Broughton.
Published in 1980, the In Motion: Modern Progressive Group Sounds Played By Rubba LP
and its minimalistic and utilitarian red record cover which contains 13 tracks, mainly composed
by Joachim "Giordano" Sherylee and was never reissued since then. This record became cult
over time; it will have taken that the Hip-Hop world seizes it in order to dig out from the
disregarded and underestimated musical gems graveyard. First of all with beatmaker Madlib
and Freddie Gibbs in 2011 with the track “Thuggin'”, in which he sampled the track “Way Star”,
also used more recently by Mil and the rapper Westside Gunn on his track “Brains Flew” by
(1964 Version).
Nearly 40 years after, the Farfalla Records label, after publishing Timing Archives, presents
another aspect more progressive and psychedelic of the multi-faceted composer Jacky
Giordano by fully reissuing at last this coveted, mysterious and mesmerizing "Rubba". Very
desired by crate-diggers, In Motion appears in the want-list of plenty enthusiasts in this
enigmatic world of the library music. (Erwann Pacaud)

German producers Shuko and The Breed announce joint Westcoast Album "Dippin'"

The collaboration between producers Shuko and The Breed was love at first sight. Thanks to their preference for classic Westcoast sound, they immediately found a common denominator and harmonized excellently during the production. The result is the album "Dippin'", based on the song with the same name by Westcoast legend King Tee, who besides MC Eiht and Benny Sings is also the only rap feature on the instrumental hiphop album. After the song "Life in Los Angeles" with the Westcoast legends, the tune "Cali Sunshine" has officially announced the joint record of the producers, which is available on black gold in addition to the digital release at June 5.

The Breed and Shuko can already look back on a number of prominent productions in Germany and the world. The Breed was mainly responsible for the style-defining sound of Alles or Nix Records and is now mainly the house producer of Plusmacher, but has also built beats for famous German rappers like Olexesh, Haftbefehl or Marteria. Shuko is known in Germany as a producer for Casper, Cro, Farid Bang or Kollegah. Internationally he could already place beats on releases of Cypress Hill, Evidence, The Clipse, Lil Wayne or Nipsey Hussle. But besides their productions for rappers and singers they have always concentrated on their solo careers. Both are very successful in the field of instrumental HipHop and can boast impressive figures in the millions on Spotify. But what unites the two is their love for the Westcoast sound of the 90s. Therefore, they have now joined forces for a project on which they pay homage to classical G-funk, but also create a new modern version of this genre. This album is a tribute to the city of angels and its style-defining sound. The instrumental bangers fit perfectly into the summer and are the perfect soundtrack for sun, beer and BBQ.

Five years after his track 'Mr. Croissant Taker' appeared on Soulwax's Grand Theft Auto V radio station, Belgian producer Transistorcake releases his official debut release, the 'Future Plans' EP on Eskimo Recordings. Featuring 4 tracks of hazy electronica that would sit neatly alongside early releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label or recent excursions by the likes of Palmbomen and Betonkust.

Opening tracks 'Future Plan I' and 'Future Plan II' sets out Transistorcake's stall nicely. Swirling synth melodies, an ever evolving bassline that leads you down a labyrinthine maze and diaphanous strings and pads all add up to create an ecstatic yet at the same time melancholic quality to the music that manages to sound both ancient and modern.

"Future Plans I and II are constantly changing routes of ideas, improvisations and coincidences," explains Transistorcake, "nothing is a constant in the two numbers, outside the pulse of the drums. You can see them as two possible versions of the future or as an old version of the future alongside its current variation."

Whilst cut from the same cloth as the previous tracks 'Ribbles' has more than a touch of the Nordics to it. Sparkling, playful melodies glitter like snowflakes caught in the flash of a strobe light before a pulsing disco beat rockets the track into the stratosphere. In his own words the track is "an ode to spontaneity and dancing without braking. I pictured it being played by a live band next to a pool at an LA cocktail party in the '80s."

Closing the EP we have 'Kluts', driven by a stuttering, head-nodding, rhythm that recalls that rapping sound of a woodpecker in the forest, the track is gently swaddled in a warm embrace of synthetic stings that gradually develops and asserts its dominance over the course of nine, all-too brief as it happens, minutes. For all its gauzy textures there's also an undeniable solidity to these tracks, an underlying organic quality and nostalgic warmth that permeates them.

Having previously studied jazz composition and played in several bands over the years, Transistorcake brings a sense of spontaneity to the often all-to-structured world of electronic music. This EP just capturing a snapshot in time of these songs that can be endlessly reworked and reimagined in his live set, where live bass and drums, are added to his collection of vintage synths to an endless back and forth between man and machine.

mule musiq's sub label studio mule has formed a group of shifting members and are now releasing a debut album with 8 tracks of reworked obscure japanese gems.

the album contains the three singles the group released so far, featuring miyako koda of the ex-perimental pop band dip in the pool -- whose "on retinae" was reissued by music from memory to great acclaim -- on vocals and mule musiq staple kuniyuki on production with direction by label head toshiya kawasaki.

one of them, "carnaval," is a cover of the japanese dance classic by taeko ohnuki, produced by ymo. "shinzo no tobira" is a remake of the track by mariah, a band led by sax player yasuaki shi-mizu, from their album utakata no hibi -- which was one of the reissues that sparked the global interest in obscure japanese music in the last few years. studio mule's version features japanese lyrics rewritten by miyako koda. "face to face" is a cover of the ambient pop gem from the ultra rare album desire by yumi murata of mariah -- an album visible cloaks is a fan of.

also included is a rework of "kagami no naka no jugatsu," a song by tamao koike produced by ymo, turned into a dubby balearic pop track -- dubbier than the version included on the yen label compi-lation -- sang by nanako sato, one of the artists enjoying some newfound success following a string of reissues stemming from the "city pop" revival craze. the oriental ambient pop "yugao" by singer songwriter mioko yamaguchi is covered by vocalist saho terao, whom some describe as this gen-eration's taeko ohnuki.

"the april fools" is a rework of yukihiro takahashi's track, which itself was also a cover of the origi-nal song by burt bacharach. this new version boasts a more experimental arrangement with nanako sato handling the vocals. ymo's "ballet," originally with vocals by yukihiro takahashi, was reconstructed into a dance floor-ready instrumental by kuniyuki. many say yoshiyuki ohsawa's "soshite bokuwa toho ni kureru" is one of the greatest songs of the '80s. the 12" dance version is reshaped here into a melancholic balearic house track.

the album cover is by the increasingly popular hotshot photographer kota shouji.

As humans living on the planet today, we have become so removed from our original, natural habitat—the forest—that we forget our wild roots, our primal, animal origins. Music is one of the things that can bring us back to that place, that can put us in contact with a felt world of instinct, immediacy, and presence: a world where language and the problem-solving mind are not needed, where the music keeps your mind and body in the present moment, and the point of dancing becomes the dance of our inner wildness and animality itself. Hans Berg's Sounds of the Forest Forgotten affirms that music can bring us to a state of mind and body that can help us feel what we've forgotten from the forest. The overlaying project of the album is to conjure musical and conceptual resonances between mysticism and nature, summoning the incredible depth and force of nature that we usually miss, especially living in contemporary urban cities. Sounds of the Forest Forgotten channels the creativity, playfulness, and freedom of a life both before and beyond ours through the sounds of analog and digital synthesizers, a modular system, drum machines, and computers. Recorded between Hans's studios in Berlin and on the Swedish countryside, the album similarly shuttles between contemplative and ecstatic, between delicate and powerful, mixing sublime psychedelic techno compositions like 'Emerald Sea' with acidic dance-floor bangers like 'Storm' and 'Milk Thistle,' all nestled between contemplative and textural ambient compositions like 'Butterfly' and 'Glow Worm.' Berg is known for his enthralling productions and energetic livesets that capture dance floors with his particular brand of hypnotic techno, replete with angular lines, affecting melodies, pulsating basslines, and big drums. He also produces atmospheric scores and ambient soundscapes to accompany the video art and installations of long-term collaborator and celebrated artist Nathalie Djurberg. Berg's live sets have found a home in nightclubs around the world, with recent gigs in Berlin, Stockholm, New York, Tokyo, and Melbourne, to name a few. In addition to 2MR, he has released his solo work on record labels including Ian Pooley's imprint Montage, Klasse Recordings, and The Vinyl Factory. His ongoing collaboration with fellow Swede Johanna Knutsson - as Knutsson/Berg - has led them to start the label UFO Station Recordings, on which they release their own material. The duo also has released on labels such as Idle Hands, Default Position, Kann, and Random Island.

Special remarks : 12' Vinyl +Downloadcode Tracklist 12: A1 Take A Moment A2 Action And Reaction B1 Eye Contact Info text: Dub and acid are the words as Marlon Hoffstadt goes deep on 'Simple Communication' the sixth EP in his Midnight Themes series. The Berlin producer has maintained a busy release schedule in 2018 and is intent on carrying through into 2019, starting with three tracks that fly the flag for his current sound: deep, dubby and subtly euphoric. Opener 'Take A Moment' is a finely tuned piece of weighty dubbed out techno with whiffs of vintage pool parties and a lonely acid line creepin'n'bleepin on the horizon. 'Action and Reaction' harks back to the 90s, rolling out waves of pads and melodies that ascend and descend while a mean old bassline keeps proceedings on track. Clocking in at 11 minutes, the two act play of 'Eye Contact' closes the EP on a blissed out note.

Black Rain returns with Computer Soul: the final part of a sequence of Blackest Ever Black releases that began with 2011's Now I'm Just A Number: Soundtracks 1994-95, and a first glimpse of the project's richly imagined future. For this outing Stuart Argabright (Ike Yard, Dominatrix, Death Comet Crew) is joined by BR founder member Shinichi Shimokawa as well as more recent recruit Soren Roi and Zanias (vocalist on 2015's Dark Pool) - making for the most most group-oriented iteration of Black Rain since its earliest days. Sonically too, there is a sense of evolution but also of coming full circle: the cyberpunk techno of Argabright's celebrated William Gibson soundtracks (compiled on Now I'm Just A Number) and extrapolations of Dark Pool's neuromantic yearning cut with glimpses of the thrash and industrial rock energies that animated Black Rain's incendiary live shows - and sought-after tapes for Kombinat and TPOS - in the early 90s. More than ever, Black Rain is propelled by a powerful science fiction impulse, whether responding to the themes and characters of Gibson's Sprawl or the Blade Runner universe (particularly K.W. Jeter's spin-off/continuation novels which extended its mythology, and timeline, further). It's not news that many of these works' most powerful predictions and prophesies have come to pass - the replicants are already living among us - so Computer Soul projects further into several possible unforeseen futures, its events 'set' in the second half of the current century, fifty or so years after those of Dark Pool. The hyperpopulated metropolises of Dark Pool are no more; the apartments are empty, haunted by ghosts of AC current, devices and machines running lonely without their owners...a melancholy internet of things. Where has everyone got to Gone but perhaps not gone. Oblivion beckons - always does - but on the other side of that, something else... another time, another place, a river....and a new way of living.

South London's TROY TOWN once again draws from the local talent pool to follow the Wbeeza EP. This release opens up the detailed percussive and wide-eyed, rave-influenced productions of Copper Green Sedan.
The multi-instrumentalist was living a nomadic life through northern Europe formulating the key ideas of the EP from the back of a campervan before rounding them off back in the studio. The resulting three track EP that was delivered to us conveys a hectic melancholy.
'Pedestrian' is a driving, breaksy opener. It's sympathetic to the groovers on the dance floor and the thick chords balance the snappy percussion. 'Rolling in the Long Grass' is a glitchy trip through a meadow. Finally, 'Gene' is a dusty, hands-in-the-air banger destined to reignite a jaded dance floor as the sun comes up. Man of the moment Desert Sound Colony (Holding Hands/Touch From a Distance) lays down a beautifully bionic 'Pedestrian' edit to round off the EP.

SVET(Light in Russian) was established to release dubby-influenced music from a vast pool of artists, with whom MAYAK has connected during past four years. Our first release is a various artist compilation from unique musicians across the globe.

While the A-side(from veterans) is quite moody and not that straightforward, B-side (from newcomers) is ready to rock dancefloors without any concerns.

Available as either a 3CD/1 Blu-ray set or a 6LP/1 Blu-ray set, both packages include:

· The original album, now newly remastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes. For the LP set, Grundman prepared an all analog direct to disc vinyl transfer of the album, preserving the authenticity.

· Electric Ladyland: The Early Takes, which presents 20 never before heard demos and studio outtakes. Included are incredibly intimate demos for song ideas Hendrix recorded himself on a reel-to-reel tape at the Drake Hotel, as well as early recording session studio takes featuring guest appearances from Buddy Miles, Stephen Stills and Al Kooper. Full tracklist included below.

· Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At the Hollywood Bowl 9/14/68: Part of Experience Hendrix's Dagger Records official bootleg series, this live album documents their triumphant Los Angeles concert held a few weeks before Electric Ladyland was released. The recently discovered two-track soundboard recording captures the energy that had the audience in such a frenzy that many concert goers jumped into the reflecting pool that separated the bandstand from the seats. Full tracklist below. Experience Hendrix's Dagger Records releases are physical only so this will ONLY be available as part of the physical release with no digital.

· Blu-Ray: includes the acclaimed full-length documentary At Last... The Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland, the first ever 5.1 surround sound mix of the original album overseen by Hendrix's original engineer Eddie Kramer plus the original stereo mixes in uncompressed 24 bit/96 kz high resolution audio. NOTE: unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances the documentary will not have translated subtitles.

· Electric Ladyland 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes a full color, 48-page book containing Jimi's handwritten lyrics, poem and instructions to his record label, as well as never before published photos from the recording sessions that were shot by Eddie Kramer himself. Also included are essays by celebrated journalist David Fricke and Hendrix authority John McDermott

· All contained in a numbered luxe casemade book for CD+Blu-Ray release and casemade lifttop box for the LP+Blu-Ray release with new cover art which is true to Hendrix's original vision of the album's cover: a Linda (McCartney) Eastman photograph of the band and children at the statue of Alice In Wonderland in New York's Central Park.

Following a first vinyl appearance on You And Your Hippie Friends' 'A Very Nice Combinado Volume Dos' (YAYHF 03) earlier this year, Mexican producer PAULOR aka Paulo Rodriguez gets ready for his first solo outing with Hippie Dance's sister label.

Curated by Rebolledo, the imprint has established an impressive talent pool within only three releases, including both veteran and upcoming talent such as Sebastien Bouchet, El Güero, Zombies In Miami, Beyou, Roman Flügel and more. It's a testament to the label's chiselled vision that an idiosyncratic and diverse group such as this is able to sustain individual approaches to electronic music while weaving a coherent sonic tapestry from all its ingredients, the whole quite organically being more than the sum of its parts.

Now, it's up to PAULOR to flesh out his own sound cosmos on You And Your Hippie Dance's latest 12' drop, presenting a concoction of salt-caked beats, riffing guitars and flexing bass that evokes a sense for space and untouched, psychedelic landscapes not unlike Rebolledo's very own desert funk vignettes. After 'La Race' (his contribution to 'A Very Nice Combinado Volume Dos') and the 'Discótico Desértico' remix for Rebolledo's 'Mondo Re-Alterado' (HIPPIE DANCE 10 LP) started making the rounds in tastemaker DJ sets, PAULOR caught a major moment of inspiration while performing at Monterrey's TOPAZDeluxe - which lead to the husky, hypnotic cut PAULOR'S BLUES, pièce de résistance and headstone in one, as it set the scene and also birthed enough follow-up tracks to naturally grow into a cohesive, full-blown EP.

From echo-drenched, beatless opener NEBLINA to the percussion-infused intrigue of DELIRIO EN CARRETERA, the athletic pop minimalism of AMIGOS or the slow burn of brooding mystery shuffle LUCES CALLING, PAULOR creates a unique, atmospheric sound panorama that excites minds and bodies alike. Adorned with a starry night sky, the record's cover artwork couldn't be more fitting - it's a dominant musical vista in PAULOR's work, whose vantage point is not necessarily a specific place (although all tracks were recorded in Xalapa), but a feeling of exquisite duality: the feeling of being lost between the stars, lonely and connected at the same time, a speck of dust and the center of the universe.

Portland, Oregon resident Mary Sutton's solo debut materialized in the wake of a performance she gave at a clothing-optional soaking-pool sauna: 'I had never composed for synth before but wanted to make something people sitting motionless and naked in hot bubbly water would want to hear.'
It was while in this headspace that she reconnected with Satie's entrancing cyclical motifs, particularly the way 'he subtly spins melodic fragments, and pivots harmonies and phrases so the repetitions feel new and surprising yet soothingly familiar, as if casting a spell.'
The nine intuitive instrumentals comprising The Deep End accomplish exactly that, threading complementary shades of soft-hued hypnosis, dazed modal introspection, icy amusement park reverie, and lunar lullaby into a prismatic suite of contemplative melody and synthetic communion.
Sutton's songs are active rather than ambient yet their structure is more suggestive than scripted, full of lulls, asymmetries, and daydreams. Each track was written specifically to be played live on an analog synthesizer, with no overdubs or post-production wizardry. The sound of Saloli is one of warm-blooded wiring, turned on and tapped into, emotive and electric, storied machines speaking through all too human hands.

Terence Fixmer's path through the changing techno landscape of the past 20 years has been anything but direct. Indeed, the French born producer, musician and Planete Rouge label founder has long been influenced by the periphery of continental European dance music subgenres from electronic body music, new beat and acid, before combining them into his own pioneering hybrid of futuristic, EBM-inflected techno with classic releases such as 2001's Muscle Machine or the collaborative Between The Devil LP with Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy as Fixmer/McCarthy. While the sound in recent years has been rediscovered and recast in diverse contexts by a new generation of producers, Through The Cortex sees Fixmer gravitating toward a different kind of industrial-tinged electronics, led as much (or more) by analogue sequencers, melodies and ultra-saturated sounds of synthesizers than drums and percussion. Across eight tracks at a compact but varied 40 minutes, the LP touches on an aesthetic hinted at in recent Ostgut Ton releases (2016's Beneath The Skin EP and 2017's Force EP), revealing a sonic narrative through noisy, screaming synth/vocal riffs with a jagged, guitar- like post-punk sensibility. Through The Cortex is techno with a voice - or rather multiple voices - guiding listeners through hypnotic, space- and social-themed terrain as a kind of dark soundtrack to darker days. The result ranges from the slow John Carpenter-inspired Escape From Precinct 13 funk of 'Expedition' and the patient yet muscular stomp of 'Fury' to the mesmerizing Suicide-like pop of single 'Accelerate', where Fixmer, using his voice as an instrument, chants the track's ambiguous title in an invocation of systemic change/collapse. Elsewhere, the story is told with more abstract and wailing vocals like on 'Shout in A Black Hole', or in the warm, entrancing chords floating across the stereo image in ostensibly changing time-signatures on 'A Halo Somewhere' - the LP's uncharacteristically kosmische musik come-down. The track, and Through The Cortex as a whole, reflect what can be described as Fixmer's idiosyncratic take on both techno subgenres as well as the larger pool of electronic music in general. This broad approach translates into a sound that is not only difficult to pin down, but also one that lends itself to multiple listens.