Search:rhythm

- 2022 repress -

Following the vision of their substantial project entitled "Dysphoria I Euphoria" , the French duo Kas:st come back with a new Ep on Flyance Records. 4 tracks on their artistic universe fluctuates between hypnotic rhythms, dark and mind-blowing emotions, constantly looking to reach the "mental" aspect that they love in modern techno and in which they identify themselves with.

An elusive producer comes back with a new mantle: Ruff Cherry, last seen on the label in 2017, returns with an EP of shredded halftime drum & bass with jungle accents that etches out a dominating stance in the producer’s first foray outside the thresholds of techno. Hugely distant from a meager first stab at the genre, the Cork-based producer’s ‘Phantom Fortress’ EP proficiently demarcates a sparse battleground for conflicting and rhythmically harmonic drum flairs, enveloping bass, and taut sound design that is as compelling as it is exhilarating.

Chloé Robinson & DJ ADHD still aren’t short on fuel. In fact, they seem to only be boosted further by their own supply. With such a weighty momentum driving forward their newly established identities, only one big question sits adjacent in the saddle: what’s next? It seems that Chloé and Alex already have the answer for today’s daily summon, and for the next Pretty Weird release, it’s a 4-track techno record reiterating the trusted adage of less being more. With an emphasis on space and silence placed intuitively, the first single from the ‘Steamin’ EP finally gets its much anticipated drop - including a killer remix from close friend Four Tet stamped on in classic, inimitable style.

‘Steamin’ is all serrated kicks, 909 drums and tenacious vocals that yell without inhibition, invoking the looseness of a party spiralling unphased into its collective apex.. ‘Redbull’ scales up on the pyrotechnics and rowdy behaviour, taking the sensation of several shots of caffeine and packaging it into a mean, raucous pick-me-up.

For ‘Pax’, Chloé and Alex continue on the stripped back disorder with white-hot conviction through rhythm and textures that find their power through no-frills, unpretentious simplicity. Kieran Hebden steps up for the remix, nodding back in appreciation to the past through the nestling of a sharply redefined ‘Pulse X’ sample alongside his addictive, punchy production all too suited to those can’t-go-home-just-yet stints.

Early support from artists including Four Tet, Peggy Gou, Jamie XX, Floating Points, Ben UFO, Caribou, Skrillex, Mary Anne Hobbs, Bradley Zero, Bonobo, Saoirse, Zenker Brothers, TSHA, HAAi, I. Jordan, Logic1000 and Pearson Sound.

Force Placement's AEROBICIDE EP is a killer workout of afterhours acid and galaxian breakbeat.

Four hypnotic bangers from Los Angeles with remix support from DJ Manny, D.I.E., and Martyn Bootyspoon

Los Angeles – Following releases on 100% Silk, Clave House, BANK NYC and Lost Soul Enterprises, FORCE PLACEMENT arrives on EVAR Records with four tracks of naughty squelching acid and breakbeat techno hypnotically calling you to the afterhours, backed by a trio of remixes from Martyn Bootyspoon, Detroit In Effect, and DJ Manny, representing North American excellence in techno, electro, and footwork, respectively.

A longtime friend of the EVAR crew from renegade breakcore parties in Santa Barbara to underground experimental electronics happenings in Los Angeles, Into the Woods and The Black Lodge resident Jason "Force Placement" James taps into his love of weird trippy atmospherics, rhythmic complexity and DIY punk/noise aesthetics to create this quartet of mystic, mysterious bangers, crafted with the MPC1000, Elektron's Octatrack sampler, the Korg minilogue, and Ableton.

The AEROBICIDE EP begins its killer workout with "Yeeks," a cabalistic ass-mover driven by a haunted female vocal sample floating atop locomotive bass and shakers – a factory's worth of industrial sounds and eerie accents move in and out of the mix, adding intrigue and interest.

Moving to the main room of the rave, "Balloon Animal" shoots you through an inflatable tube of squelchy acid techno as knives cut the air around you, while "Upsetter" adds a shuffling breakbeat rave bounce into the acid mix. "Quartered" chops it up with Clone-style dark analog electro that gets increasingly deconstructed by dirty, stretched percussion and rivulets of synth reverb raining down the walls.

Rounding out this occult aerobics class, some of North America's most compelling forces in dance music are called in for remix duty. Unsung electro hero Detroit In Effect aka D.I.E. – the man behind such classics as "RU Married" and "Get Up" – leans deep into the classic Motor City palette, pairing lush, spacey pads with that hard-swung Detroit bounce to create a mellow groover that will keep you going all night. Montreal's world-class party starter M. Bootyspoon recalls Substance Abuse-era Hawtin and mid-'90s Midwest techno on his "Balloon Animals" remix, with nasty claps and concentric loops of hard acid bleeps and squelches. And who better to tackle "Upsetter" than Southside Chicago's footwork futurist DJ Manny? The Teklife king eschews the romantic R&B tones of his recent Planet Mu album for a tough-as-nails rework that ups the tension and the tempo to create an otherworldly saga for the dance circle.

The first release of the new label Surfaced Trax submerges into deep waters, delivering three sonically rich compositions aimed at late-night peak-times and early-morning sun rising hours.

The 'Liquid Terrain EP' was produced by Parallax Deep and remixed by Christopher Ledger. And while "Liquid" takes the listener through minimalized yet funky arrangements of precise drum programming and steady grooves, "Terrain", on the other hand, explores the in-between palettes of the electro & acid genres with plenty of rhythmic experimentation and wonky modulations.

On the remix duties, the Italian wizard Christopher Ledger works his magic on "Liquid", turning it into a highly textured, deeply atmospheric, slightly acidic breakbeat monster.

Stunning and tonally fitting collage artwork by Joagi.

The good thing about techno is that you can reach the most diverse states. The possibilities are almost endless, the machines multifaceted and the imagination knows no boundaries. Just this joy
of experimenting with melodies and equipment is one of the specialties of Berk Offset aka Echowolf, which he brings to bear again in his latest release on Snork Enterprises "Dreieinigkeit".

Weird rhythms and twisted sounds develop in the end to a harmonic overall state.

The three new tracks, which all run under the title "Zustand" (the German word for “state” or “condition”) only with different numbering, are complemented by a brilliant rework by Headless
Horsemann. In full honor of his name, he enhances the wonderfully weird techno tunes with a mysterious ambient style that not only sounds but also feels like a mighty acoustic shadow.

Mr Bongo are delighted to present an officially licensed re-issue of this underground Japanese rock rarity 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffaloes. This album has become highly sought-after amongst psych, prog and acid rock collectors and due to the rare nature of original copies they come at a hefty price tag.

The respected Japanese jazz drummer Akira Ishikawa was not messing around when he recorded the 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' album with his band the Count Buffaloes. For this offering, originally released in 1972 on Toshiba Records, Akira Ishikawa takes us on a deep tripped-out journey. 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' is a fusion of progressive and psych rock with African percussion workouts, dergy-wah wah blues-funk, and jazzy sensibilities; with different genres morphing and uniting as they progress.

A long way from his funk and afrobeat album 'Back To Rhythm’, re-issued on Mr Bongo in 2019, this record has a darker, deeper, abstract and experimental stoned tone with the listener being pulled into its vortex for the ride. This record doesn’t pull any punches.

For this album, Akira is joined by Hideaki Chihara on bass, guitarist Kimio Mizutani, sounding at times like an early 70s Peter Green, percussionist Larry Sunaga and composer Takeru Muraoka.

The album has become highly sought-after amongst psych, prog and acid rock collectors and due to the rare nature of original copies they come at a hefty price tag.

We are delighted to present an officially licensed re-issue of this underground Japanese rock rarity.

Available in 2 formats: Original LP in Box version & Tip-on Sleeve with OBI version.


• Highly sought-after underground Japanese rock rarity, originally released in 1972.

• Feat. Hideaki Chihara, Kimio Mizutani, Larry Sunaga and Takeru Muraoka.

• Available as the original LP in Box version & Tip-on Sleeve with OBI version.

Wooohaaa! The figure 8 always meant more to us than just a symbol on your screen. For this very reason on our eighth vinyl release from Minor Notes Recordings we’re featuring non other than the legendary producer BMB SpaceKid. Stemming from St. Petersburg and from an early age, BMB proved himself to be an extraordinary musician. Able produces top quality compositions with ease, and in any style, but all with his unique twist.

To date BMB is best known in hip-hop circles as he made album beats for many key underground rap artists. He also went international and produced joint tracks with Dj Premier, Anderson Paak, Raekwon, GoldLink and many others.
BMB has also performed at the Fabric Club in London, the Outlook Origins festival, live on Boiler Room and BBC Radio 1. He also participated in the Red Bull Bass Camp and the Hip-Hop Academy.

On the record "Taste Booster" BMB SpaceKid showcases his taste and skills in the production of house style dance music. A tribute to the traditions of African-American music, the virtuoso mastery of MPC and sampling techniques, and an outstanding approach to melodic rhythms.
We are convinced that this record will appeal to everyone who loves true house music, acting as a breath of fresh air. To enhance the overall effect we invited one of our favorite French producers Art Of Tones, who for a long time, and just like us, has been promoting the organic sound of electronic music 4x4.

Entspannte Grooves, zurückgelehnte Rhythmen von um und bei 80 bis 90 BPM sowie atmosphärische Klangflächen. Mit anderen Worten: der perfekte Chillout-Sound für jeden Tag.

Classic jazz-funk fusion from the late, great Japanese guitarist Ryo Kawasaki. Recorded in New York, and originally released in 1976, 'Juice' presents Ryo at the height of his powers.

Born in Japan in 1947, Ryo had a long and stellar career recording and releasing music up until his passing on 13 April 2020, in Tallinn, Estonia. Ryo is one of the pioneers of the jazz fusion genre, with the Japanese jazz fusion / funk sound becoming extremely influential within the 80s UK club scene and amongst its DJs. His track 'Trinkets & Things' became a bonafide underground classic. In the US he worked with some of the greats of jazz, such as Elvin Jones, Chico Hamilton and Bobbi Humphrey, to name but a few. A forward-thinking and ever-evolving musician, Ryo collaborated with the Roland Corporation and Korg on the 'guitar synthesizer' and later wrote music software for computers. Later in life he relocated to Estonia and worked there, as well as Finland, Sweden, and the Baltic states.

'Juice' has become a much-loved album for crate diggers and jazz-funk enthusiasts, with its tracks frequently being sampled and re-imagined in hip-hop. The smokey, beat-down, spiritual funk jam 'Bamboo Child' has been flipped by Diamond D, Puff Daddy, and Kool G Rap. The album was released in 1976 on RCA Records and features the musicians' drummer Jimmy Young, rhythm guitarist Hugh McCracken, and bassist Stu Woods amongst other luminaries. A solid album throughout that incorporates a heavy dose of tripped-out synths alongside the emerging disco sound of the time. Tracks such as the opener ‘Raisins’, with its drum beat intro and bubbling bass-line, rivals The Headhunters at their finest. A superb album from an underground legend.

The summer season is here and to celebrate this we present this year's brand new PIV Records Summer Sampler. 8 exclusive tracks perfectly crafted in the studio for all those special moments of sunshine with you and your friends.

Straight off the bat, it's the label's executive producer M-High - Void that kicks off some delightful pads and keys-oriented melodies, followed by German sound provider Djoko with another club anthem Fun With House. British producer Demarzo takes it on a smooth ride this time with Make it, while Litmus - Ribbon Bass takes it up a groovy notch from down under.

Next up is Kellie Allen - Like The Sun and it shows her elegant summer night vibes all around. The Ruze boys deliver us a cocktail of rhythm with their rendition of The Concorde Club, followed by the addictive Keep The Groove by Louden. Rounding up is the raw talent of Moglis making this groovy sampler the one to have by your side this summer.

The Tenets of Forgetting is the long-awaited follow-up to MSYLMA’s lauded 2019 debut, Dhil-un Taht Shajarat Al-Zaqum. This time he’s joined by fellow musician and producer ISMAEL for seven tracks, built around a lush palette of synths and MSYLMA’s singular voice.

Written and produced in Cairo between 2015 and 2020, The Tenets of Forgetting is the first collaboration between MSYLMA and ISMAEL. Like his first record, The Tenets of Forgetting finds MSYLMA singing in classical Arabic, and the musicians have enlisted Nariman Youssef to provide translations of the lyrics. This gesture of openness runs parallel to the themes of the record; romance and vulnerability; growth and change; pathos and passion. Listeners who aren’t familiar with pre-Islamic poetry or classical Arabic will find the lyrics just as rich and beautiful as the vocal melodies imply, telling a story of love, loss, self-doubt, and grave introspection.

Musically, the album moves in broad, painterly sweeps of 808 kicks, rich synthesizer chords, and MYSLMA’s soaring, plaintive voice. The English translations reveal a second world of mathematically sound rhythmic structures and poetry in the lyrics. The music pushes and pulls in both tempo and timbre, swirling both around and underneath MSYLMA’s voice but never losing a sense of self-contained narrative.

The album is rounded out by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier and Omar El-Sadek’s immersive, esoteric art, and features additional production on track 7 by Osborne-Lanthier, Pierre Guerineau, and Asaël Robitaille.

Limited run of 300. Includes insert + DL code.

Luca LTJ Trevisi (LTJ Xperience) began his dj/producer career in the 80s. As resident dj in two of the most famous Italian clubs of the
time, Kinky in Bologna and Cap Creus in Imola, he was one of the first Italian jocks to spin House and to re-propose those black music,
jazz and latin-bossa classics from the 70s that at the end of the same decade would have given birth to the Acid Jazz and Rare Groove
movements. His first single release in 1988, titled First Job, together with Kekkotronics, was also the first release ever on Bologna
based Irma Records. It was featured in a lot of compilations of the time and entered several playlists, rapidly reaching cult status for
many UK and US djs. During the early 90s LTJ delivered a couple of singles in a kind of pre-breakbeat style: Dont Stop The Sax, released all over Europe, and Funky Superfly. He also produced US singer Tameka Starrs single Going In Circles, always for Irma Records, still a classic in the downtempo/r&b field. In the second half of the nineties Luca began to produce acid jazz bands like Bossa
Nostra, still today one of Irma Records main acts. Their first album had Vicky Anderson as special guest and today is still considered
one of the most important European acid jazz albums. In the following years he concentrated on developing his activity as collector
and rare vinyl merchant, which gave him the chance to get in touch with djs from all over the World and to discover many forgotten
gems from the past years. Thanks to this experience he was able to create two extremely successful rarities series on Irma Records:
Groovy and Suono Libero. In the meanwhile LTJ started to dj outside Italy too, performing in important venues like the Blue Note and
Jazz Café in London, Giant Step in New York and Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In 1999 saw the release of his first solo
album under the LTJ Xperience moniker. The album was produced with the collaboration of fellow Irma artist and producer Ohm Guru
and had Taka Boom and Jackson Sloan among the guests. Two of the main tracks on the album are brazil house classic Sombre
Guitar and title track Moon Beat, which became a true hit of the Chill Out genre, featured in dozens of important compilations.
After making countless productions for Irma Records, including their second album When The Rain Begins To Fall (with the participation
of the historic Spanish-American singer Joe Bataan), and the recents singles as ORGAN MIND / I LOVE YOU (favorite track by Larry
Heard ) & ON THE FLOOR / SOUND MACHINE, LTJ is devoted almost exclusively to re-edit and reconstruct tracks from the past with
the addition of sounds and rhythms in post production for labels like SUPER VALUE, SMALL WORLD DISCO, HOT GROOVY RECORDS, OH CRISTO! increasing the production of this new musical genre that is currently defined as beatdown/slo-mo, working with
international labels such as Far Out Recordings, Sleazy Beats, Future Classics, E.A.R. Music For Dreams, Apersonal Music, Roam
Recordings, !K7.

The latest three CDs on the Irma label “I Don’t Want This Groove To Ever End” (2012), “Ain’t Nothing But A Groove” (2013), “Don’t Let
The System Get You Down” (2015) and “Beggar Groove” (2017) show the funkiest and grooviest side of LTJ !
In the last years LTJ has literally toured the world, some really important and popular Festivals have booked him for his reknown DJ
Set performances, Scottish Soul Weekender (Dumfries, Scotland), Mareh Festival (Boipeba Island, Brazil), Garden Festival (Tisno,
Croatia), Jazz Refound Festival (Vercelli, Italy)
And visiting Cities like: Tel Aviv, Skopje(Macedonia), Belfast e Derry (Ireland), London, New York, Berlin, Bucarest, Amsterdam, Paris,
Marsille, Barcelona, and Vilnius (Lithuania). just to name a few.
Deepening of a Groove is the new album, the fifth dedicated to the research of sounds Disco Funk from its origins revisited by today's
rhythms and the dancefloor feeling of 2000. For the first time on this album 4 sung songs appear. Bad Side (already released in single
version) and Infiltrator are sung by Anduze, soul singer from Los Angeles also known for his collaboration with Parov Stelar. I'm Gonna
Funk U and Stranger are sung by the Marche singer AdniL for the first time in collaboration with LTJ.

Vinyl Only

The first installment of the Sonder London imprint, are two local artists close to sonder london and the brand. With ADMNTi & Laidlaw, this 4 track EP looks to solidify the ethos of the brand and bond, with music that expresses rolling, frenetic rhythms with pockets of high noted grooves.

One year after its original release, the Placid Angles album Touch The Earth is being remixed by an impressive array of artists from the extended Figure family. With John Beltran being a distinct voice within the electronic music scene for over thirty years now, Figure is thrilled to reveal a whole LP’s worth of reinterpretations, including two works by the original artist himself.

Opening up is Marcel Dettmann, who seamlessly has integrated the lush soundscapes of the original album into a beat-driven but equally serene journey. Picking up on the LP’s underlying dark garage tropes, Planet Mu headmaster M-ziq infuses his rework with even more rolling drums and ethereal vocal chops. The also inherent IDM roots of Touch The Earth have been kept close by Warp-veterans Plaid who deliver a shuffling flurry full of horns, synths and syncopated rhythms. More straightforward interpretations include Dauwd’s dazzling piece of feathery, fast, atmospheric techno; a gorgeous melodic house remix by Baltra and Cassy who turns in a rigid UK stomper.

Amidst all the reworks, John Beltran himself makes two appearances across the record. As Placid Angles he adds another heads-down percussive/ambient swirl, which represents exactly what the producer has been hailed for since more than three decades now. His own remix finishes the record on an epic note, with an organic drum track that celebrates life and the necessity for communal gathering in order to dance.
Beltran’s own additions to this LP are like the essential glue that makes it all bind together, forging the old and the new into something equally exciting as already intimately familar.

Four years in the making, Duct Tape Project is the new brainchild of Tripmastaz in the realms of Trip-Hop and Downtempo. And it's a project that makes perfect sense to anyone familiar with Andrei's background (making Hip-Hop beats since his teenage years), musical capabilities and decades-long experience. Duct Tape Project joins Andrei with a troupe of stellar musicians not only from many different corners of the world but also from acutely distinct genres - Guti, Argenis Brito, Mad Dim, Denis Kaznacheev, Krussia, Damien Vandesande of DOP, Sarkis Ricci, Andrey Orenstein, and vocals by Inga.

Featuring all sorts of live instruments, drum machines, synthesizers and modular systems, Duct Tape Project brings forward a complex work brimming with musicality. Using Hip-Hop, not only its rhythmic structures but also its sampling techniques, as a foundation, Tripmastaz created a vibrant and fascinating ecosystem with enough sonic texture to leave one captivated, enraptured and lost at the edge of words. There are 13 musical compositions in total that explore all things Hip-Hop, Downtempo, Trip-Hop, Chill Pop and Lounge, forming a cohesive and deeply soulful album.

The debut full length album from Gloved Hands, entitled Empty Terminal, finds the musician straying from the dance floor in search of something amorphous and less tangible. Ambient in nature, the eight tracks that comprise the LP have a deep focus on texture, space, and human feelings rather than a need for constant propulsion and momentum.

The A-side, the more rhythmic and percussive of the two, is awash with vague echos and smudged, slow-moving chords. Subaqueous drums shift in and out of focus. Sound sources are at once distant and intimately close. The curtains part to reveal a glimpse of a crystalline melody or a fraction of a vocal phrase only for the room to fill with fragrant smoke and go dark. It is a place beyond the dance floor. Perhaps it's a place without any floor at all.

The B-side is even more fragile and diaphanous. The foreground and background are obscured, leaving a hazy mesh of delicate, interwoven forms and rhythms; glistening and brushing against one another in the warm, dimly-lit space in between. With a swirling mix of cavernous bass and sweet-but-never-saccharine melody, the details are stretched and abstracted into something new yet familiar. The compositions ripple in midair, appearing and vanishing, close but just out of reach.



b A2 The Hungry Army Arrived As the Beans Ripened Master

Much deserved, remastered reissue of ‘We Are I.E.’ by Lennie De Ice, arguably the first proto jungle tune, now coming correct with fresh remixes from Solo & Blades alongside Borai, as well as the sought-after Horsepower Productions remix.

Released in 1991 on I.E. Records, an imprint based out of De Underground Records, a store in London’s Forest Gate run by Mike De Underground alongside Uncle 22 and Randall, it famously featured elements that paved the way for the Jungle sound. Centered around the Amen break, ragga style basslines, vinyl spinbacks and gun shot samples, it stood out as something different back in ’91, A certified classic, rinsed on dancefloors everywhere and anywhere, from back in the day to the present.

Solo & Blades are the first of the new versions, hitting hard with a heavyweight jungle remix, as Borai steps up with a beefy bassline rework. Horsepower Productions killer and sought after remix rounds off the package.


DJ Feedback:

Foul Play
Moving Shadow
"All the remixes totally land, great package, respectfully done. gonna hear a lot of these over the summer I think."

Jerome Hill
Super Rhythm Trax, Don't, Kool FM
"Was a little sceptical seeing these were remixes as its such an iconic track - BUT fair play ! Borai and Ed Solo & Blades both knocked it out of the park and i'll be playing both these, plus replacing my personal (slightly. crusty) vinyl rip of the original ! Bigups !!"

Om Unit
"Untouchable until now tbh"

jd Twitch
optimo
"even though I have probably heard it ten thousand times you can't beat the original. remixes are cool though."

Louise Chen
"this hits so hard it's tough choosing a fave mix!"

Emerald
BBC 1xtra/ Rinse FM
"Yeeeeeh found the dubstep remix vinyl of this in barcelona recently"

Werdna (Circular Jaw)
"Classic, lovely to see Hooj bringing in the big guns for the remixes. These are going off!"

Cortese
"Sick breaks on this one"

Truss/ MPIA3/ Overmono
"wicked"

Oli Warwick
Crack/ RA/ International Orange/ JunoJuno Plus
"Absolutely seminal bomb drop here, and the remixes are no joke either!"

Chris Farrell
"Always good to see this come round again, original and borai mix for me"

Smolny
"CLASICK !"

Doc Martin
Sublevel USA/Fabric UK.
"Complete Rave Warehouse Flashbacks!!!!"

Lil Mofo
The Trilogy Tapes / Tokyo
"wow!"

Moody Boyz
all over the worldstudio rockers records
"classic tune feeling the Filter Dread Remix"

Ciel
Rinse FM / Refuge Worldwide
"really nice collection of tunes!"

dop
"love the original"

First striking us with his exhilarating ‘Yakka’ EP, Bambi OFS has continued to surprise us with his musical output ever since. (…) The Belgium-based producer is carving out an almost unique take on dance music with a heavy debt of gratitude to the endless rhythms and percussion-centric styles of Gamelan, and other styles of music native to Indonesia and further afield (…) the revised ‘Kwon-9’ EP goes for the jugular and ties together the percussion-heavy originals on vinyl alongside phenomenal remixes from Don’t DJ, Georgia, Icon Template and Broken English Club.” Inverted Audio Super excited to bring this killer release on vinyl with a brand new remaster and remixes by Broken English Club, Georgia, Don’t DJ and Icon Template! Meshing together industrial mirages and ethnofictional mindscapes, Bambi OFS provides Antibody with a new suite of polyrythmic spins. Extending on his first ep YAKKA, KWON-9 blurs the line between the synthetic and the organic while pushing the Brussels-based producer’s interest in uneven grooves and mixed meters into sharper detail. Mirrored by the puzzling archaic-futuristic alphabet featured on the cover, this new set of trax softly draws the listener in an elusive and multi-faceted experience. Bambi OFS is Cédric Dambrain, composer, electronic musician and virtual instruments designer based in Brussels, Belgium. Dambrain’s approach to music is motivated by an exploration of perception thresholds, psychoacoustics, and the physiological impact of sound. This diversity of themes is matched by a wide range of productions which include electroacoustic computer music, compositions for ensembles, noise, sound installations and, more recently, club- oriented polyrythmic explorations. Dambrain has also been composing extensively for performance artists and music theatre.

Following releases from label founder Palms Trax, a reissue of eighties Chicago House innovator Rog’e, and a pair of cassette mixtapes from Berlin-based selectors Enchanted Rhythm and Budino, CWPT looks to the North-East of England for its next release, live and direct from REES.

Hot on the heels of a twelve-inch on Bordello A Parigi and underscoring a slowly simmering reputation as one of the brightest stars of his community, REES’s debut on CWPT is a classy and globally informed perspective on house, disco and acid styles.

Undistilled rhythm is at the heart of Rees’s vision of club culture; on title track, Devils Club, it’s effect makes itself known immediately, driving a channel of lively percussion towards a series of tasteful breakdowns that are both propulsive and alluring. On ‘Magic’, a confidently raw, loose drum loop accelerates into a glossy, psychedelic speed-chase that’s pure Miami Vice reimagined in Middlesbrough.

On the flip, two versions of ‘The Spirit’ tastefully expand beyond REES’s musical borders and into warm, cinematic territory, blending tropically tinted instrumentation with (and then without) an entrancing vocal sample.

Clear Vinyl

The debut album from Samuel Coates, AKA Setaoc Mass, crystallises the expansive, left-field vision that's been brewing in his techno-focused discography. Now, downtempo, drum & bass and electro-influenced soundscapes come through strong, as the Manchester-born, Berlin-residing artist combines a decade of dance floor experience and a lifetime of wide-ranging music tastes. The album's 14 tracks transcend the dance with rhythmic and tonal adventure. The urgency of Coates' techno records remains, though now suspended in an unbound space that switches between unpredictable body music and eyes closed moments of escape. Timeless melodies recall the golden era of UK electronica, while ultra-modern production drives the record's microscopic details home. A lovingly crafted collection of the tracks that have been kept for when the time is right. It's the sound of Samuel Coates, then Setaoc Mass - vulnerable but visceral music that demands your full attention.

James Asher is known for his individual and and distinctive approach to creating tribal drum music. He has had multiple library album releases for Bruton Music, Dewolfe, Abaco, Southern, Girasound and this year KPM/EMI with the album Global Village Percussion. He combines a confident grasp of fusion and worldbeat with a crystal clear audio production style. For the first time since Asher`s best selling releases « Feet In the Soil » and « Shaman Drums », Sleepers Records are delighted to be the first purveyors of his work in vinyl form, with six dazzling tracks which are earthy, grounded and compelling.

Mastered by Gwyn Mathias @ GBdb

Emerging from the shadows, Hesperius Draco returns to Frigio with a solo release for the first time since his 2016 album Actus Tragicus.

Directive V conjures up the magic of giallo horror, silver screen slashers and smoky synthlines, while exploring something altogether new. Tempered percussion and low bass-lines introduce the 12” with “Lexploitation”. Cinematic influences percolate in the steady percussion and lonesome elation of “Memories of Sex Desire.” The mood changes on the flip with “Leaders In Space.” Guitar strings and breathy samples blend to create a leering late lounge track spiked with acid notes and vocoder bitterness. The finale brings something totally different. The gurgling acid line is amplified as Hesperius Draco unveils “Cyber Bondage.” Floor centric and machine steeped, stabbing synth-lines, rusted rhythms and an inchoate energy course through this finale to display yet another side of Alessandro Parisi’s sound.

EYA Records continue to bring up some of the most inventive and forward-thinking Techno and Electro jams, this time welcoming back Berlin-based live performer and producer Otis.

Danger At The Tendo Dojo EP is flawless, trippy and explorative. A unique journey into the artist's mind through the rhythms and sounds of analog machines and synthesizers.

180g vinyl pressing.

During the late 2010s, music lovers around the world began obsessively listening to increasingly esoteric albums on Youtube. More often than not, they’d leave the browser on autoplay. This was how Facundo Arena, the composer and producer behind The Kyoto Connection, discovered the technonaturalistic pleasures of Kankyō Ongaku (environmental music), a distinctly Japanese interpretation of European, British and American minimalist composition and ambient music. “It was a kind of algorithmic magic,” he says.

Upload by upload, the utopian music of Hiroshi Yoshimura and his 80s Japanese contemporaries transported Facundo back to his childhood. When he was five, his father placed him in karate lessons and began watching martial arts movies with him. From those early experiences, Facundo became fascinated Japanese history, tradition, and culture, particularly that of Kyoto - the cultural capital of Japan. Kankyō Ongaku reminded him of hearing the sounds of Japanese folkloric instruments as a young boy, and suddenly, the way the influence of Japan had manifested in his music made sense. “I had the sensation that for many years, I’d been doing something similar to the style,” he explains.

Inspired, Facundo used an iPad and an old Akai cassette deck to record Postcards, his homage to Japanese minimalism and Kankyō Ongaku. By this stage, he was twelve years deep with The Kyoto Connection, the musical project he launched in 2005 in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Over that late 2000s and 2010s, Facundo, later on joined by collaborators Rodrigo Trado (drums), Jesica Rubino (violin) and Marian Benitez (vocals, now his wife), released numerous D.I.Y albums. Project by project, they followed the threads between 80s synth-pop, ambient, new age, house, techno and acoustic composition.

Postcards introduced The Kyoto Connection to listeners around the world and brought Facundo into our orbit. During Argentina’s covid lockdown, Facundo received a set of soundscapes recorded in Kyoto by the Japanese musician and sound designer Masafumi Komatsu. Over several insular months, he decorated them with synthesisers, samples and subtle rhythms, creating The Kyoto Connection’s next album, The Flower, The Bird and the Mountain to be released via Isle Of Jura offshoot Temples Of Jura.

Ostensibly made up of twelve distinct tracks, listening to The Flower, The Bird and the Mountain feels more akin to spending calm, meditative time in twelve specific environments. Although the foundations they rest on are recordings made in geographic locations around Kyoto, Facundo has yet to visit Japan. As a result, the landscapes he paints sit somewhere between fiction and fact, richly pictorial sonic imagination juxtaposed with echoes of reality. Regardless, as his bubbling melodies and glistening synthesisers glide against Masafumi Komatsu's recordings, Facundo guides us into a blissful zone of tranquillity well worth spending time within.

Walking the solitary path of damp scent martinou brings forth the first deliverance from label sewer sender. SSNDR001 introduces martinou with A-side 'needless' focusing on melodic tendencies, breaking it down into
reverse madness. B-side 'procedure' is strictly rhythmic fit for both 45 and 33 rpm play. with function in mind this release of raw sewage is constructed for the sole purpose of club play.

"Another Italo Disco Pearl, Vega Synthauri! One the most spontaneous and genuine tracks of the first half of 80s. The song, written by composer Daniele Pace (co-author Corrado Conti), is a futuristic and galactic dance floor piece with a heavy rhythmic focus where the main melodic line has a classical music feel to it. A lovely combination! This track by Donna Laser is one of the most significant electronic tracks of the entire Italo-Disco scene even beyond the mid-80s, was arranged by the talented Mark Owen (aka Marco Colucci). His synthesizer skills are a true art! This release was mixed at the renowned Trafalgar Recording Studios of Rome by Gaetano Ria, one of the most accredited technicians of the country in that period. "Grace Kelly's Song" on the flip is a very beautiful quiet nostalgic piece, that could fit perfectly into an Italian dramatic film of the late 70s or early 80s, a cute and delicate track to unwind after the monster killer on side A! Masterpiece created by the young visionary DJ Marco Marati. Stunning release!"

"We Are Power", Galaxian's first album in over a decade, cuts a new path. On this Foul-Up and Shipwrec joint release, Kastner presents a rumination on the confrontation and power clash between humankind, nature, the spiritual and mechanistic industrial growth societies. What is authentic power? What is granted power? What is innate natural power? How is power accessed, wielded, utilised, felt? On this album the blistering beats and razor-edged rhythms that characterise the Glaswegian's productions have been softened, the menace melted, the angst soothed (well almost.) Across eleven tracks, distinct audio vistas are surveyed. The human form takes centre stage from the opening monologue of "Out of Balance" with the entire record searching for balance between humankind, nature, orthodox culture & the machine. At times the machine wins. "We Are Power" is a corruption of voice, samples chopped, sliced and fed into controllers and sequencers to produce a dense decibel wall. That wall grows ever higher in the terrifying drone of "Anatomy of a Modern Lie." At other points, a perfect symmetry between artist and tool is found. The racing interchanges and pulses of "Universal Truths" give rise to dawning reprises and warmth. For those after an electro fix, Galaxian abides. The speed snares of "Messianic Delusions" or dripping drums of "Fields of Meaning" are soaked in the history of machine music, yet they are grander in their delivery and more nuanced in their composition. Fresh territories are explored, the playful solar dreams of "Without Form" or the cinematic grandeur of "In Reverse". This album is unmistakable Galaxian, it marks a high-point and brings with it a culmination of intense expression.

The 5th anniversary of Bravers was marked by a vinyl release and the start of a distinctive label. These European artists have done a lot for the electronic scene and are gathered under the auspices of the Bravers in this debut. They have been welcome guests at their parties and have opened up boundaries to new sounds.

The A1 is the combined work of Kovyzain D and Alexander. In ‘Modularity’ they've united shades of Belgium new-beat and EBM and have added rhythmic and futuristic synths. The result - a perfect closing track for a journey through the industrial and cosmic layers of electronic music.

A2 ‘Proven Witch Psalm’ is done by British sound producer Antoni Maiovvi. The track was written upon his arrival to the US and was designed to be a relentless funk of machine abuse and futurist analog arpeggios.

B side starts with the track ‘Espace’ done by Marselle’s musician Millimetric. He decided to explore the theme of space conquest, the fears and difficulties of interstellar voyages. This is captured through the use of a futuristic mixture of sturdy bassline and electronic anxious sirens.

B2 track ‘Vardi’ by Moscow DJ and Bravers founder Anton Levdikov is a mixture of arpeggiator roaring bass and Industrial stabs. The sound is complemented by a new-beat and Italo’s sound legacy.

Three years after he released the incredible New Experience EP (picking up plaudits from Bill Brewster, Tim Sweeney, Laurent Garnier, Horse Meat Disco, Leo Mas & 6Music’s Tom Ravenscroft, among many more), Tokyo’s Kota Motomura returns to Hobbes Music for his debut LP, Pay It Forward. This is the first vinyl release on Hobbes Music since the much-loved ‘Aranath’ EP by Leonidas & Hobbes last Spring. While the label maintains the level of quality control for which it has become recognised, the artist continues to subvert electronic and dance music norms in his iconoclastic way on this extraordinary record.

He’s a mysterious character with an ear for idiosyncratic music that runs the gamut from ambient, exotica and jazz to disco, house and techno via post punk, new wave and funk. It’s highly original and all adds up to a confection perhaps best described as ‘Balearic’.

Album opener Paradise is a certified jazz-funk JAM. Destined for dance floors worldwide, this one’s been dropping well with DJs, Motomura demonstrating his piano chops alongside Mutsumi Takeuchi’s sax. Tropical pushes the boat in a more rhythmic direction, some pretty wild drum programming laced with more sounds of the, um, tropics, before mad vocal yelps suggest something yet more tribal. To Be Free initially resembles early 90s progressive house (pulsing bassline, synth-driven melodies), before the arrival of some new wave guitar licks a la classic Talking Heads/David Byrne and ooh ooh vocal chants take it to another dimension altogether.

B-side opener Emotion features Takeuchi again (on flute this time) and more vocal chants before things take a dramatic turn, threatening to open up into a full fanfare before calming and then bursting into wild life again with the exhortation that “C’mon, everybody dancing!” Rhythm flirts with an energy and pace more akin to a techno record: drums, drums, more drums plus a fair few yelps and chants - the kind of DJ tool that will send a simmering dance floor wild in the right hands. Flower closes things in a more melancholy style, familiar to fans of ‘Aboy’ from the New Experience EP, with plaintive acoustic guitar (performed by Akichi), birdsong and big piano chords.

Support from Bill Brewster, Leo Mas, Al Kent, Red Rack’em, Nick The Record, Phil Mison, Phat Phil Cooper, KZA, Sean Johnston (ALFOS), S/A/M, Dribbler, Joe Muggs, Monolith Cocktail and more…

‘Gonna review in MÜ mag... very fine stuff!’ JOE MUGGS
‘Will be reviewed on the blog’ MONOLITH COCKTAIL 
BILL BREWSTER played Flower on the DJ History podcast #641 (25.3.22)
'I really like this album, Flower and Paradise are my favourite' LEO MAS
‘I like Paradise’ AL KENT
‘Woo this is tasty. DEFO playing on my next radio show. The label’s A&R is defo getting better and better. HM has been putting out some dope stuff and this one seems really good quality’ RED RACK’EM
‘Paradise and Flower sounding good’ NICK THE RECORD
‘Tunes sound great!’ PHIL MISON
‘Going to include Paradise and Flower on my Sunday Ibiza global radio show PHAT PHIL COOPER (Nu Northern Soul)
‘Very nice album with influences from many different genres. I especially like To Be Free with nice synths and guitar cutting, and Flower, which is a chill vibe’ KZA (Mule Musiq, Endless Flight)　
'100% correct about the ALFOS potential of To Be Free!' SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
'Stunning, will fit perfectly with the vibe of my radio show’ S/A/M (Music For Dreams, DK; Playa Del Sol, Ibiza)
'Stellar work, i'll make a bet that Flowers is a Balaeric classic this summer' DRIBBLER (Breakfast Club, Ibiza)
‘It's cool in a nice smelling psycho sense, it was a very DEEP sound that I couldn't produce. Congrats!’ ALTZ (Altzmusica)
‘Paradise is my jam, it's deep, sunny and never boring. I'm interested to see how this will work on the dance floor. Overall a great album with solid composition and impressive use of live instruments!’ SOBRIETY (fka Chloé Juliette)
'Very tidy selection' ASTROJAZZ (Kelburn Garden Party, Wee Dub, Samedia Shebeen, Disco Makossa)
‘This is a lovely release. Follows on from New Experience in the best way possible. It's got lots of vibes going on but holds together as a cohesive piece of work. Love it’ JAMIE THOMSON (La Cheetah, Glasgow)
‘To Be Free is a track i could imagine Andy Weatherall playing in one of his sets at A Love From Outer Space’ KIRSTIE PATON aka She-Bang Rave Unit (Threads Radio, Radio Magnetic)