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Delroy Edwards keeps the old school fire burning, returning to L.I.E.S. with a new 8 track lp titled "Slap Happy". Once again this is back to basics, no punches pulled Chicago House worship, hitting all ends of the dance specturm. Sparse beat tracks, 80s synth stabs, 727 latin percussion...the elements are all there and put together in perfect form...many try but few can execute the vintage sound like this. What may even be Edward's most mature release, it comes in a time when the roots of dance music have been forgotten to the grotesque trends of the day. This is a reminder of why we were drawn to this music in the first place and what it can sound like.

Tommy McCook was not only a founding member of the legendary Jamaican Ska group The Skatalites, but also a brilliant musical arranger. His informed understanding of Jazz, R&B and in fact most music styles would always add another layer to any song put his way. This made him the go to guy for most of the Jamaican producers, who would use his arrangement skills to pepper up their latest tunes.

Tommy McCook, (b1927, Havana, Cuba) came to Jamaica with his mother from Cuba aged 11 and entered renowned Alpha Boys School for underprivileged children, a school that placed great emphasis on musical tuition. At the tender of 14, such was his talent he has left to join Eric Deans Orchestra and took on stints with other bands led by Don Hinchman and Roy Coburn. All the bands played in the Swing and Jazz style of the times. He relocated to the Bahamas in 1954 where he further developed his Jazz technique and upon his return to Jamaica in 1962 began working Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One and became involved in the development of Ska. His knowledge of Jazz, R& B and Jamaican musical forms helped set the tone for the group of musicians he was working with and would name the Skatalites. The group, consisting of Don Drummond (Trombone), Roland Alphonso (Tenor Saxophone), Jackie Mitoo (Piano), Lloyd Brevett (Bass), Lloyd Knibbs (Drums), alongside Tommy himself on Tenor Saxophone. The group would back all the major Ska vocalists pf the day and would also go on to cut a catalogue of instrumental music. The Skatalites split up in 1965 and Tommy McCook moved over to work with Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle Studios where he formed The Supersonics. A set of musicians under his guidance that consisted of Lynn Tait and Ernest Ranglin (Guitar), Neville Hinds and Winston Wright (Organ), Gladstone “Gladdy” Anderson (Piano), Hugh Malcolm and Arkland “Drumbago” Parks (Drums), Clifton “Jackie” Jackson (Bass), and Tommy and Hernon Marquis (Saxophone). The more laid back sounds from 1966-1968 would be given the name Rocksteady of which again McCook was at the forefront. The top producers like Bunny Lee would use the musicianship of Tommy McCook and his arrangement skills to enhance this new sound.

We have compiled a great selection of rhythms that featured McCook blowing over tracks stripped of their vocals and replaced with some fantastic lead lines played by Tommy and some of his fellow horns men.
We hope you agree like we do that they do this in fine style.

Bram De Looze is a Belgian pianist and composer whose distinct musical vision has found its way through both solo projects and collaborations. His unique technical skill and musical maturity have earned him considerable critical acclaim back home as his work spotlights his far-ranging interests - from traditional classical piano music, to solo improvisations that have often been compared to Keith Jarrett and Jason Moran. On the 21st February 2020, Sdban Ultra will release his highly anticipated new solo album, 'Colour Talk'.

De Looze made his entrance onto the national jazz scene with LABtrio, formed in 2007 with Anneleen Boehme and Lander Gyselinck, and he immediately impressed, flirting with urban jazz, electronics and hip hop.

After a period of studying abroad at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, where he studied with Uri Caine and Marc Copland, in 2014, De Looze launched the international septet, Septych, that once again stressed his affinity for jazz, classical music and improvisation. With diverse and astounding improvisors like Daniel Levin, Lester St-Louis, Robin Verheyen, Gebhard Ullman, Bo Van Der Werf and Flin Van Hemmen, it was the start of an explorative musical journey.

Over the past few years, De Looze could frequently be heard with kindred spirits like Stephane Galland, Dre Hocevar and Antoine Pierre but it was a visit to the historical collection of pianofortes of Chris Maene that inspired De Looze to release his first solo album 'Piano e Forte' (2017), and it received critical acclaim for its creativity, spontaneity and passion. He would later garner further acclaim working alongside fellow Belgian Robin Verheyen and American rhythm painter Joey Baron with whom he recorded 'MixMonk' (2019), a tribute to the legendary jazz pianist Thelonius Monk.

Bram De Looze's solo career took off in an unexpected way with 'Piano e Forte', a project for which he approached historical instruments from a contemporary perspective. The switch to the Chris Maene Straight Strung Grand Piano for 'Switch The Stream' (2018) indicated a renewed search for movement, evolution and introspection. His latest solo project 'Colour Talk', continues this trajectory with another revolutionary piano model, designed by lauded architect Rafael Vinoly, and a continued attempt to renew from within.

On 'Colour Talk', what you hear is a musician who has freed himself from stylistic constraints and limitations. While still rooted in jazz, classical music and free improvisation have found a new balance, a coexistence that enables the pianist to express himself with a new vigour. Switching between shorter pieces that feel like curious, unresolved puzzles and more extended explorations, 'Colour Talk' is once again an ode to (re)invention in the grey zone were the classical idiom and improvisatory urges meet, with the 13-minute tour-de-force of 'Hypnosis' as one of several undisputed highlights.

If you asked De Looze about his current position as an artist, he would probably tell you that it's all about forward movement and the need to keep evolving, about a trajectory as work-in-progress. However, if you consider 'Colour Talk' as a freeze frame of where De Looze is at, it is hard not to consider it a highlight in a career that should have some more surprises in store.

Succeeding last year’s collaborative single ‘Feel My Butterfly’ which saw Chicago house DJ/producer Parris Mitchell and Siberian producer-singer-songwriter Nina Kraviz go head to head via Riva Starr’s Snatch! Raw and Dance Mania, February 21st sees the two labels combine once more for a special, two-sided remix package of the stellar ghetto house track featuring reworks from the likes of Jamie Jones, Dance System, DJ Deeon, Radio Slave and DJ Slugo.

‘Feel My Butterfly’ stemmed from Nina Kraviz’s trip to Chicago where she met with Dance Mania’s label crew including their influential selector, Parris Mitchell. The track was birthed from a bout of rare collaborative studio sessions and is their first official release together - their only previous encounter being in 2014 when Kraviz remixed Mitchell’s ‘The Track Stars’, on Berlin-based label Deep Moves.

Assembling a handful of some of the most prominent names in modern dance music, Snatch! Raw teams up with Dance Mania once again to now present a comprehensive remix package of the duo’s acid-laden, dancefloor-ready masterpiece. Providing a touching tribute to the late influential American house artist and Wallshaker Music founder, Aaron Carl, the illustrious Welsh house DJ/producer Jamie Jones kicks things off by inflaming the track’s heavy bass and percussion by adding his own laser-style synths and atmospherics.

Reinforcing ‘Feel My Butterfly’ with helpings of meatier, old school house rhythm, the second remix sees London’s Dance System team up with Chicago house pioneer DJ Deeon to provide the track with some well-placed elevated pace and precision. On side B, the British-born Berlin-based DJ, Radio Slave takes more a of stripped back approach by opting to just few vocal snippets from the original and setting them to a tougher techno-infused aesthetic, whilst on the final rework, Chicago’s ghetto house spinner DJ Slugo redefines Kraviz’s hypnotic vocal lead.

Completing a red hot trio of remix EPs of Calm’s By Your Side album is this final part with Lucas Croon, Cantoma and Gallo and Yuri Shulgin all serving up expansive and mind altering new versions.

He doesn’t release often but when he does you need to listen to Lucas Croon. His unique take on ‘Before Landing’ is a proper dance floor heater to get you on your toes. Once you're there, a gentle rush of rave euphoria tases over you and sends shivers down your spine as old school breakbeats and glowing pads complete the trip.

Elsewhere, long time Balearic pin up, scene hero and all round blissed out boss man Phil Mison has a new album corn gin the spring. Before that, he becomes Cantoma for a timeless version of ‘You Can See The Sunrise Again’ that has bright blue skies and jaunty chords making you move.

Regular label artist homie Gallo is in the form of his life right now - he's resident DJ at Hell Yeah's weekly Balearic night Buena Onda in Berlin, has a growing reputation for being one of the best eclectic selectors in the game and is currently working on compiling the forthcoming BUENA ONDA comp with label head Marco. He gets long legged on his deep cut remix of ‘Sky Color Passing’ which is another killer that slowly but surely works you in a slow motion acid trance.

Completing this most exquisite outing is Yuri Shulgin, a multi-instrumentalist music producer from Tajikistan with credits on Cocktail d'Amore Music. His spellbinding take on 'Ending of Summer, Beginning of Autumn' is a fusion of jazz, leftfield and electronica will have you in a spin and your head lost in the clouds amongst the twinkling stars and cosmic pads.

Limited hand written label 7" is for Indie stores only. On the heels of his debut LP, "How Do I Talk To My Brother?", Ben ventured to the west coast and was welcomed with open arms by fans of his sweet and uplifting soul music. The A-side, a cover "That's The Way It Goes by the Harptones, was recorded on a handheld cassette while performing live at a radio station. The B-side was recorded in Brooklyn upon returning from the tour and thus christening their newly renovated recording studio. So enjoy this unique little 45!
Also Available From Ben Pirani: How Do I Talk To My Brother? LP/CD, Art School Girl 7”, Light Of My Life 7”.

Lyrical King is the debut 1987 album from one of rap’s pioneers and innovators who was said by some to be the first artist recorded by Def Jam Records. T La Rock recorded this album for Sleeping Bag Records as the labels first rap act and show cased him at the
height of his career. An old school legend, MC and dancer who was sampled by Public Enemy and Nas, heavily influential on artists such as LL Cool J and the Def Jam sound and would walk out on stage with Run –D.M.C . Highlights include ‘Back to Burn’ and ‘This Beat Kicks’ where T La Rock teamed up with visionary producer Kurtis Mantronik.

Die Cut Sleeve with download. It’s a strange betweenworld, bookended by sleep and the jolt of being wide awake in a place where you wonder how you got there. You know the feeling… It seems familiar but the colours are, well, unreal. In a high-ceilinged room, a grand piano plays lush melodies as, meanwhile, somewhere, an Alice In Wonderland clock ticks, cellos are bowed, a swarm of something vibrates and the hallucinatory crowd around Rosemary’s Baby babble. An echoey electronic hum builds and falls like a 50s refrigerator passed through and effects board, things run backwards, staccato strings are plucked… and that’s not the half of it. “I’ve never been happy staying in one particular school of musical thought. The fun has been turning things on their heads, to try something you were not supposed to do.” We’re on an immersive and adventurous travelogue with the former member of the legendary Tangerine Dream, Paul Haslinger - this is a man who knows how to build tension, hold moods, illustrate contempt, lies, passion and pleasure; He can create fear, loathing and love - he’s been unlocking the nuances of such emotions in a hugely successful career as a TV and film soundtrack composer (Halt And Catch Fire, Underworld and the Golden Globe-nominated Sleeper Cell). ‘Exit Ghost’ is his long thought out opus, a moment caught in time, flicking through reference points, taking an ethereal excursion that permeates musical genres as it becomes awash with intricate sounds and cross-pollinating rhythms. Built originally from the warmth of his grand piano ‘Exit Ghost’ resonates with purity and power, from an eerie and evocative betweenworld, that’s at once expansive and rolling, then intoxicating and suffocating in equal measures; modern composition at its most uplifting; cerebral, celebratory, intense and beautiful. “The soul searching in connection with this record was extensive. Finding places of resonance, giving a colour to your memories. It was more challenging because it’s not somebody else’s narrative. Finding the core of your own story can be the most difficult task of all.” Created over the span of eight years and filled with literal and personal references, the album itself is a testament to the search - a quest filled with hints, particles and suggestions.

The difference is there, in front of you : fantastic record.

Doom or Hardtechno users will love this melt of downtempo dark old school minimal Hardcore, doom-*like and the pinch of technoïde acidification... A imple story telling with a fabulous sound (Mastered by Martyn Haar in Berlin, Cut at The Exchange in London, this Toolbox Handled press is a PERFECT... Faor his first EP, CUIFTEN is very well served, and we all are ! NEEDED !!

Superb Demontage again! A Class - A Sound of a kind, for all Bangerz in a party moment. With newcommers and old school skillz at same level. Crazy shit refreshing the view on a style! Hope, you enjoy.

Five track EP of previously unreleased drum heavy Gallic hard-bop and risqué acidic folk.

The long-lost Parisian skin flick ‘Jeunes Filles Impudiques’ (AKA ‘Schoolgirl Hitchhikers’) marks a particularly vulnerable period in the career of one of the most underrated and misunderstood directors to emerge from the rising smoke of the 1968 Parisian social explosion.

From a director with early links with the Paris underground, the letterists, the surrealists, improv theatre and the free-press comes the reclaimed audio tracks from one of his rarest celluloid moments - but let’s not confuse this for high-art. Finders Keepers make no bones, this is Jean Rollin’s maiden voyage into adult entertainment, directed under the pseudonym of Miche Gentil with a flimsy plot, questionable acting skills and an awesome little schizophrenic soundtrack.

This long-lost movie has been buried for some 40 odd years, with a musical score bursting to jump out of the can and down your tone arm, now made possible by a recently renovated negative print and new source material. These original Pierre Raph (of ‘Requiem For A Vampire’ infamy) compositions from the publishing Library Of Paris’ Musicale Editions Dellamarre (of Acanthus / Unity fame) come straight from Rollin himself as an introduction to Finders Keepers’ new Rollinade series documenting some of the finest musical moments of the director’s career as an avant-gardener, counter-culture vulture and Gallic vamptramp, all housed in their original hand-painted promotional artwork.

Die Gruppe Automat - Jochen Arbeit (u.a. Einstürzende Neubauten, Die Haut), Achim Färber (Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub, Skip McDonald) und Georg Zeitblom (wittmann/zeitblom) - funktioniert wie eine gut geölte Maschine: Sie surrt, sie schnurrt, sie geht unbeirrt ihres Weges. Gemeinsam mit dem Modular-Magier Max Loderbauer sowie Paul St. Hilaire alias Tikiman, Lydia Lunch und Mika Bajinski am Mikrofon präsentieren sie nun mit »Modul« auf Compost Records ihr abwechslungsreichstes und konzeptionell stimmigstes Album.

Die Gruppe Automat funktioniert wie eine gut geölte Maschine: Sie surrt, sie schnurrt, sie geht unbeirrt ihres Weges. Auf seinem vierten Album allerdings schaltet das Trio einen Gang herunter, differenziert seinen musikalischen Ansatz weiter aus und geht fruchtbare Kollaborationen mit anderen Figuren aus der Musikwelt ein. Neben Max Loderbauer, dem Bandnachbarn aus den Candy-Bomber-Studios in Berlin-Tempelhof, mit dem Jochen Arbeit, Achim Färber und Georg Zeitblom bereits im Jahr 2015 für eine gemeinsame EP zusammenarbeiteten, sind das am Mikrofon die Dub-Legende Paul St. Hilaire alias Tikiman, die Königin der Gossenpoesie Lydia Lunch und die Newcomerin Mika Bajinski. Sie alle tragen ihren Teil nach dem Leitprinzip bei, welches »Modul« seinen Namen verleiht: Die acht Stücke entstanden gemeinschaftlich nach einem Baukastensystem, das den Kompositionsprozess dynamisch in Bewegung setzte und gleichmäßig auf alle Beteiligten verteilte. Das Resultat ist ein musikalisches Perpetuum Mobile - ein Album mit dem gemäßigten Ruhepuls einer Dub-Produktion, das unablässig in Bewegung bleiben.
»Modul« bildet als Album einen ständigen Veränderungsprozess ab, der erstmals im Jahr 2018 im Rahmen eines Auftragswerks für das Berliner Festival Pop-Kultur live erfahrbar gemacht wurde. Auf Einladung des kuratorischen Teams erarbeiteten Zeitblom, Färber und Arbeit gemeinsam mit ihren musikalischen Gästen St. Hilaire, Lunch und Gemma Ray ein Live-Set, das konsequent aus dem Studio auf Grundlage einzelner Passagen entstand, die nach dem Prinzip eines Resonanzmoduls miteinander (re-)kombiniert wurden: es geht zwischen den einzelnen Mitgliedern hin und her, die Strukturen morphen und der Sound nimmt immer andere Formen an. Eben dieser Ansatz bedingt auch die ständige Weiterentwicklung der Stücke, die gemeinsam mit dem Produzenten Ingo Krauss zu einem Album geschliffen wurden, das seinen nahbaren improvisatorischen Charakter keinesfalls verloren hat. Im Vergleich zu den drei thematisch ausgerichteten Vorgängeralben »Automat«, »Plusminus« und »Ostwest«, die sich jeweils explizit mit Berliner Flughäfen, dem Genre Dub und der europäischen Flüchtlingskrise befassten, setzt »Modul« auf eine inhaltliche Durchlässigkeit, welche die musikalische Offenheit der Platte widerspiegelt.
Nachdem »Modul 15« das Album mit satten Dub-Sounds und einer rollenden Bassline eröffnet, hebt »Easy Riding« passend zu St. Hilaires vor Fernweh triefenden Lyrics das Tempo mit dezenten Riddims an. Schon im nächsten Song, »Ghost«, debütiert Bajinski mit distanziertem Stimmeinsatz über einem melancholischen Stück, dessen Klangbild von den modularen Beigaben Loderbauers geprägt ist. So geht es weiter über die verzahnten Rhythmen von »Ankaten«, die von den verhallten Stimmen Lydia Lunchs und St. Hilaires begleitet werden, hin zum balladesken »Nothing Strange« mit St. Hilaire über das fiebrige Vocoder-Stück »Who For Eyes« schließlich zu den beiden abschließenden Stücken, »Pavo« und »Modul 11«, welche eine tiefenentspannte Coda zu den vorigen Tracks bilden. »Modul« durchläuft so eine Reihe von Stimmungen, ständig wechselnden Klangfarben und musikalischen Ideen, die sich in immer neuen Konstellationen zusammenfinden. Der erweiterte künstlerische Ansatz ebenso wie das vergrößerte Personal machen das Album nicht allein deshalb zur abwechslungsreichsten, sondern auch konzeptionell stimmigsten Platte Automats, die sich darauf in bester Form präsentieren: Als gut geölte Maschine, die surrt, schnurrt und unbeirrt auf dem Weg ist -
immer in Richtung neuer, unerhörter Sounds.

Unter Evolution versteht man gemeinhin die allmähliche Veränderung der vererbbaren
Merkmale einer Population von organischen Strukturen von Generation zu Generation.
Überträgt man diesen Gedanken aus der biologischen Welt in die musikalische von Northern
Lite, so trägt jedes neue Album die signifikanten Merkmale seiner Vorgänger in sich, aber erfindet
dennoch den typischen Northern Lite Sound auf spielerische Art neu.
Evolution, das 13. Studioalbum von Northern Lite, gibt ihrem unstillbaren Drang nach Härte und
Geschwindigkeit Raum, ohne jedoch die existenzielle Notwendigkeit von Liebe zu verleugnen.
Sich ihrer eigenen Vergänglichkeit bewusst geworden, gehen Kubat, Bohn und Rödel, nun jenseits
der vierzig, schonungslos mit sich ins Gericht. Weder textlich noch musikalisch werden
Gefangene gemacht. Von zärtlich quecksilbrigen Pop Balladen, bis hin zu neuen Hymnen, die die
Kraft haben, ganze Generationen im Herzen zu verbinden, nimmt jeder Song des neuen Albums
seine Hörer mit auf eine Reise zu sich selbst.
Im Ergebnis bilden hier Inhalt und Form eine rauschhafte Koexistenz, die nur durch die
meisterhafte Präzision der musikalischen Ausführung noch Steigerung erfährt.

Wah Wah 45's are proud to present "Cages", the third album from southern soul boys The Milk. Having released "Favourite Worry", their critically acclaimed sophomore album and first for independent label Wah Wah 45's, in 2015, the band are able to trace the seeds of the latest LP back to their recording sessions with producer Paul Butler (Andrew Bird, Michael Kiwanuka, Nick Waterhouse) almost five years ago, blending elements of soul, funk and rock together to create their own unique sound, inspired by some of their favourite artists such as Bill Withers, Traffic and the Isley Brothers.

"I can't wait to hear you write songs that look outward" - these words from Paul subconsciously had a lasting impression on the band. To atone for more inward-looking sentiments on "Favourite Worry", there had to be a shift in perspective. During the formative stages of the new album The Milk started pursuing a Nichiren Buddhist practice. The values and principles they discovered during this have informed every aspect of the record.

"We wanted to write an album that looked outside of the walls, to people, society and the environment - embracing real freedom in musical expression by utilising more complex rhythmic structures, extended harmony and dissonance to paint an original and authentic-sounding record" explains If their debut, "Tales from the Thames Delta", was inspired by hedonism and "Favourite Worry" by introspection, "Cages" is an impassioned conversation with the world. Racism and division are all on the rise. British society is being pulled apart by forces that seek to divide us and rip the compassion and empathy from our minds and hearts. We have become distracted from the more urgent challenges of boundless consumerism, climate change, and the mental health emergency reeking havoc on our streets.

We are the birds in the cage, tied by cheap thrills and fake news to a limited world vision that is no longer fit for purpose. The good news? We can all choose to challenge this view. "Cages" is equal parts the dark black shadow of how far we've fallen and the blazing sunlight whose rays of hope can still change the world. Four life-long friends, Ricky Nunn (vocals), Mitch Ayling (drums) Luke Ayling (bass) and Dan Le Gresley (guitar) formed their first band when they were still at school in Essex, playing countless working men's clubs, and finally became The Milk.

The band have built up a following of dedicated fans around the UK, which has resulted in them selling out venues such as Scala, Koko and Shepherds Bush Empire. Keen to get back on the road where they feel most at home and where the guys really shine, the band offer up a compelling set of diverse styles, matched with an ability to effortlessly intertwine songs together, gives their music a continuous feel to it. Since signing to Wah Wah 45's, the band released their second album "Favourite Worry", which became one of BBC 6 Music's albums of the year, sold out London's Union Chapel, toured with the Fun Lovin' Criminals and completed a sell-out UK tour climaxing at London's KOKO in Camden town. ... More live dates coming very soon!

German cult band Bohren & der Club of Gore release their eighth studio album via PIAS Recordings. The band have built a loyal international fanbase on the back of their trademark ‘Doom Jazz’ sound and count musical icons such as Mike Patton and Stephen O’Malley among their fans. Strictly instrumental, this band and their sound have the healing power to survive these hectic modern times.
For fans of Melanie de Biasio, Sunn O))) and the soundtracks of David Lynch. The band played two sold out shows in London’s Round Chapel recently and will tour the UK again in 2020.

Sam Goku's music showcases bonds of ambient, acic, house, techno and melodies. It's perfect for both club environments and home listening. The modern production style in combination with old-school elements/non-repetitive vocal sample work give Goku's music a unique, trippy twist that is topped off with Chinese percussive instrumentation.

Visible Spectrum is the newly launched creative playground of Yuri Boselie, also known as Cinnaman. Since donning the Cinnaman alias nearly two decades ago, he’s become a well known figure of the Amsterdam nightlife scene with long running residencies at the city's most lauded clubbing institutions like Club 11, Trouw and most recently De School. Next to his DJ sets, he's made early moves in label curation with A&R work for Rush Hour and Kindred Spirits offshoot Nod Navigators, and with his own Beat Dimensions compilations in the late 00s. With Visible Spectrum — defined as the electromagnetic frequencies visible by the human eye — a new chapter is born. It is an outlet for electronic music in the widest sense. Each sleeve will have its own unique screen printed artwork by Marilyn Sonneveld.

The first EP comes from Mor Elian, the Berlin based artist and owner of the Fever AM label. Here she offers the loose and hypnotic rhythms of 'Clairvoyant Frog' which is deep and atmospheric, like some sort of primordial techno soup. 'Shoshana's Roses' then picks up the pace with layers of rumbling drums, wooden hits and snaking synths taking you into a steamy, humid jungle before closer 'Planet Kismet' is a much quicker and more urgent bit of enchanting break-beat techno with pummeling minimal drums and warped synths and perc getting you under their sci-fi spell. A fascinating first outing that sets a high standard from the off.

21-year-old New Zealand musician Arjuna Oakes's debut EP,
The Watcher, is a showcase of his ability as a singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and producer, and a testament to his depth of engagement with music. The first two tracks on the EP fit neatly
within the jazz-infused soul music landscape he is quickly becoming part of, but the latter half of the EP is far harder to categorise.

Featuring instrumentation from some of New Zealand’s most exciting young jazz musicians, The Watcher explores a wide variety of themes and musical ideas, with Arjuna’s charismatic soul vocals and robust sonic palette serving as a connective thread. From big social issues to personal relationships and internal self-discoveries, across The Watcher, Arjuna takes his cue from the title track and exploration of mass surveillance, and it’s relevance within our everyday lives.

This watcher theme continues throughout the rest of the EP, with the stories told rendered as if being observed by an outside force. Decorated by cinematic soundscapes, hypnotic grooves, creative improvisation and catchy melodies, Arjuna's debut is a test palette for his future projects, one that makes his enthusiasm to develop and explore themes and style in song abundantly clear.

A survey of Moondog’s earliest recorded works - many of them unreleased until now - through a collaboration by Mississippi Records and Lucia Records. From 1954 - 1962 eld recordist Tony Schwartz frequently checked in with Moondog, his favorite street musician.

Tony Schwartz made recordings of Moondog’s earliest com- positions as they were coming into focus. Sometimes these recordings were made right on the street as Moondog busked, sometimes they were made in Schwartz’s studio, and sometimes they were made on NYC rooftops. The resulting recordings, many of which had never been released, were deposited at the Library Of Congress as part of the Tony Schwartz Collection in 2006 when Schwartz passed away, and this record was culled straight from these original tapes.

Side one kicks o with an unreleased version of Moondog’s classic composition “Why Spend The Dark Night With You?” fol- lowed by the rst ever complete recording of his “Nocturne Suite,” a beautiful piece of classical music performed with members of the Royal Philharmonic. The side ends with the complete “On The Streets Of New York” 7” EP, which was released on Mars records in 1955 and subsequently re-released by Honest Jon’s Records in 2004 on their excellent Moondog anthology. Side B features sketches of Moondog compositions never released, many with the man himself howling and chanting over his homemade percussion set.

Moondog’s music is as universal as it gets - part classical music, part Native American, part European folk, and part something completely unique. Moondog is one of the towering gures of 20th century music. This record comes with liner notes featuring never before released interviews with Moodog by Tony Schwartz and is housed in an old school “tip on” cover. All tracks fully licensed from the Library of Congress.

After their successful cooperation in the band Arbeit Adelt! Dani Klein and Willy Lambregt started Vaya Con Dios, together with contrabass player 'Dirk Schoufs'. All three musicians shared the same passion for jazz, opera & gypsy/Balkan music, a combination of music styles that was hardly known in Belgium at the time.

Vaya Con Dios (Spanish for Go with God!') stood out for its mixing of these styles, as well as the distinctive voice of lead singer Dani Klein. He's one of the most successful Belgian music acts ever, having sold more than 7 million albums and more than 3 million singles.

Night Owls is the second studio album by Vaya Con Dios, originally released in 1990. The album was certified platinum in several countries, including Germany, France, The Netherlands and Belgium.
The album spawned several international hit singles like Nah Neh
Nah', What's A Woman' and Night Owls'.

As part of the Brewed In Belgium campaign, Night Owls is available as a limited, numbered transparent vinyl edition.

Heinrich Dressel was an archaeologist, epigraphist and numismatist, creator of a table, still in use, for the cataloging of Roman amphorae. For over ten years, one of the founders of MinimalRome, Valerio Lombardozzi, has embraced the name of the German scholar, becoming both the guardian of a dense collection of sounds from the past and the creator of new brilliant electronic ones. “Completion Of The Amphoras Table”, originally released on cd by Legowelt's Strange Life Records, was the final chapter of the so-called 'Studium Amphorae Trilogy', a triptych of albums which tried to 'evoke' in notes not only the discoveries and the studies of Monte Testaccio's fragments made by the former pupil of Theodor Mommsen.
The first vinyl release of “Completion Of The Amphoras Table”, curated by Souterraine.org and Envlp_Imprint, fills not only a recording void, but also gives posterity a remarkable album to rediscover, worthy successor of “Mons Testaceum” (2007 ) and “Escape From The Hill” (2008),
which reconstructs one more time the ghostly atmosphere of a Rome at the dawn of the 20th century. Heinrich Dressel adopts the stylistic features of gloomy soundtracks and, above all, relies on a set of polyphonic synthesizers that, starting from the rare Elka Syntex, favor the composition of abstract textures, punctuated by some appropriate variations, and harmonies which, net of the
deep bass, make every single track even more magnetic.

repress

2LP 140G VINYL + 12 PAGE BOOKLET.

"Space Echo - The mystery behind the "Cosmic Sound" of Cabo Verde finally revealed!" is the 20th release by the fabulous Analog Africa Label.

In the spring of 1968 a cargo ship was preparing to leave the port of Baltimore with an important shipment of musical instruments. Its final destination was Rio De Janeiro, where the EMSE Exhibition (Exposição Mundial Do Son Eletrônico) was going to be held.

It was the first expo of its kind to take place in the Southern Hemisphere and many of the leading companies in were all eager to present their newest synthesisers and other gadgets to a growing and promising South American market, spearheaded by Brazil and Colombia.

The ship with the goods set sail on the 20th of March on a calm morning and mysteriously disappeared from the radar on the very same day.

One can only imagine the surprise of the villagers of Cachaço, on the Sao Nicolau island of Cabo Verde, when a few months later they woke up and found a ship stranded in their fields, in the middle of nowhere, 8 km from any coastline.

After consulting with the village elders, the locals had decided to open the containers to see what was inside - however gossip as scintillating as this travels fast and colonial police had already arrived and secured the area.

Portuguese scientists and physicians were ordered to the scene and after weeks of thorough studies and research, it was concluded that the ship had fallen from the sky. One of the less plausible theories was that it might have fallen from a Russian military air carrier. The locals joked that again the government had wasted their tax money on a useless exercise, as a simple look at the crater generated by the impact could explain the phenomena. "No need for Portuguese rocket scientists to explain this!" they laughed.

What the villagers didn't know, was that traces of cosmic particles were discovered on the boat. The bow of the ship showed traces of extreme heat, very similar to traces found on meteors, suggesting that the ship had penetrated the hemisphere at high speed. That theory also didn't make sense as such an impact would have reduced the ship to dust. Mystery permeated the event.

Finally, a team of welders arrived to open the containers and the whole village waited impatiently.

The atmosphere, which had been filled with joy and excitement, quickly gave way to astonishment. Hundreds of boxes conjured, all containing keyboards and other instruments which they had never seen before: and all useless in an area devoid of electricity. Disappointment was palpable. The goods were temporarily stored in the local church and the women of the village had insisted a solution be found before Sunday mass.

It is said that charismatic anti-colonial leader Amílcar Cabral had ordered for the instruments to be distributed equally in places that had access to electricity, which placed them mainly in schools.

This distribution was best thing that could have happened - keyboards found fertile grounds in the hands of curious children, born with an innate sense of rhythm who picked up the ready-to-use instruments. This in turn facilitated the modernisation of local rhythms such as Mornas, Coladeras and the highly danceable music style called Funaná, which had been banned by the Portuguese colonial rulers until 1975 due to its sensuality!

The observation was made that the children who came into contact with the instruments found on the ship inherited prodigious capabilities to understand music and learn instruments. One of them was the musical genius Paulino Vieira, who by the end of the 70s would become the country´s most important music arranger. 8 out of the 15 songs presented in this compilation had been recorded with the backing of the band Voz de Cabo Verde, lead by Paulino Vieira, the mastermind behind the creation and promulgation of what is known today as "The Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde".

The field of electronic music were involved. Rhodes, Moog, Farfisa, Hammond and Korg, just to name a few.

‘I Want You To Be Mine’ has all the hallmarks of classic 1960’s Rocksteady, an era which many refer too as the Golden Age of Jamaican music. Over the top of a live one-drop beat, cool & deadly sax and warm analog guitar & bass Deemas J rides the riddim in a ‘old time style & fashion’ whilst Rachel Wallace provides the perfect accompaniment with her gorgeous vocal. On the B-Side we have the deeper cut ‘Questions’, where Deemas delivers a poignant poem over Adam Prescott’s moody instrumental in the style of Linton Kwesi Johnson. Featuring live instrumentation from Harry ‘Papa B’ Bradford (Sax), Clifford Junior (Guitar) & Guillaume Metenier (Hammond Organ). As an integral part of the Reggae Roast Soundsystem team Adam has established himself as one of the finest selectors in the world. Initially with some early support and guidance from Mark Iration (from the Leeds based Iration Steppas), Adam was quickly recognised as one of the key players in the re-emergence of British Reggae, producing first class original songs featuring the likes of Cornel Campbell, Macka B, Sugar Minott, Ranking Joe, Rod Taylor, Johnny Osbourne & Earl 16 to name but a few. Add to that consistent play on BBC Radio One & Rinse FM plus huge support from Sir David Rodigan, featuring Adam on his ‘Best Of British’ show on 1Xtra, Adam has become one of the hottest prospects in the revival of soundsystem music. Deemas J has built a formidable reputation as a go-to MC & vocalist with equally genre-busting credentials; His background in Reggae & Jungle means that his lyrical skills and style holds no bounds. He currently works with 3 of the top London Reggae Soundsystems, Unit 137, Reggae Roast & Solution Soundsystem as well as running his own Sound Limey Banton Bass in Guernsey. He has released music on some very well known labels such as Irie Ites, Irish Moss & Tru Thoughts, which released the cult LP ‘Wrongtom Meets Deemas J in East London’. More recently his latest release ‘Muhammed Ali’ received fantastic support from Don Letts, Sir David Rodigan & Ras Kwame. His virtually endless CV boasts collaborations with everyone across the worlds of Drum & Bass, Old School, Garage, Reggae and Hip hop, including High Contrast, Andy C, DJ EZ and Nick Manasseh to name just a few as well as touring the world with Manudigital

Scott Boutin aka Blue Soul has been with us since the label was in it's infancy. This 3 song 12" properly showcases Bluesoul's otherworldly dub house acid disco sound that is uniquely his own.
Mastered by Dietrich Schoenemann at Complete.

Sly Stone is a songwriter and record producer, mostly famous for his role as front man for Sly and the Family Stone. The band played a critical role in the development of soul, funk, rock, and psychedelics in the 1960s and '70s.

Sly Stone was identified as a musical prodigy at a young age. By the time he was seven, Sylvester had already become proficient on the keyboards and by the age of eleven he had mastered the guitar, bass, and drums as well. While still in high school, Sylvester had settled primarily on the guitar and joined a number of high school bands.

In 1993 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the group.

High On You (1975) is the first solo album by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone. For the most part Stone performed a large part of the instrumentation for each song on his own by using multi-tracking. The album prominently features vocalist Rudy Love and includes the singles I Get High on You', Le Lo Li' and Crossword Puzzle'.

EBM, Electro, New Beat, Acid, Balearic Beat…
a perfect compilation for the lovers of the old-school darkside of the dancefloor!

Following January’s acclaimed vinyl debut from Exterior and summer’s much-loved Kota Motomura EP, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label ends 2019 with its first album release, also a debut, from GAMING, a fresh new braindance electronica project straight outta Glasgow.

GAMING is a new solo outing that brings together a lifelong love of music and technology and creating left field, rhythmic electronica. It’s the sound of IDM, nineties techno and mensch maschine computer music that is as spontaneous as it is programmed. It's a bit of a grower and may take time to get under your skin....

“Scenes From A Deserted City is a collection of tracks that started as a set of riffs, loops, rhythms and grooves and unfurled around a sense of growing unease about the future of the urban environment around me.

It’s an album that started out as sound…and ended up as a way of telling stories about the age of anxiety we live in, how our world is changing, and how we find a way through that.

This is DIY electronica from Glasgow – it was made on a growing collection of digital and analogue synths and FX units, including a bunch of modular racks, each with its own idiosyncrasies and character that belies the assumption of the binary.

The studio where it was recorded – an abandoned, and often very cold, school building reclaimed by the community some twenty years ago – offered up stories of resilience, even when all seems lost. (I’m not sure what the mice contributed but they definitely climbed in and out of some synths).

This album is ultimately about my changing relationship with Glasgow, a city I’ve lived in for more than 25 years. It’s about how I feel now about the increasing sense of urban decay and how the city can be a very isolating place. It’s about how I reflect on my younger creative self trying to find a direction but mainly feeling a sense of dislocation and not fitting in. And it’s about the questions I have about how that relationship is changing, how it will be forced to move forward.
The result is a soundtrack for walking home on your own, in that headphone bubble when it’s just you focusing on that music that makes sense to you alone. It’s for early in the morning, after the night before, or going to work with the memories of that slipping and sliding inside your head. It’s about how it feels to be both elated and lonely, to be lost in the familiar, despairingly hopeful.”

Fabio & Grooverider have been at the forefront of UK dance music for over 3 decades. This is the roots of their story told through music.

The 2 London DJ's are part of the DNA of the global Jungle / D&B movement and they have remained relevant, cutting edge, authoritative and essential to this truly underground art-form since it's inception. RAGE could arguably be the ground zero of Jungle. The party was started at London's cavernous Heaven club by Fabio & Grooverider in 1988, at the height of Acid House fever that was making it's way up and down the motorways, slip-roads, fields and warehouses of the M25 and further beyond every weekend, troubling the nation, the police, your parents and the press as it went. RAGE was a different beast, it certainly channelled some of that Acid energy but pitted it against the new and exciting sounds emanating from Belgium, Amsterdam, Detroit, Sheffield, Essex and Hackney and in turn created a new style, a new sonic attitude and energy in the process. Rumbling bass-lines, narcotic synth rushes and roughly chopped and sped-up breakbeats all merged into a style that we now know as Jungle. Nothing like this had been heard before, this was a brand new style and it was coming out of London's West End and Fabio & Grooverider were the people firmly behind it.

RAGE is approaching it's 30th anniversary. It's sonic and cultural legacy is still being felt today, Fabio & Groove are still shutting down raves and festivals every weekend all over the world with their superior DJ sets and musical knowledge guided by their pioneering spirit. This musical selection you hold in your hands, the first of 4 parts, sees them delve into their prodigious memories and record boxes to select a true musical representation of the very beginning of one of the UK's most unique and influential musical movements of the last 50 years. Across 4 x 2 x 12"s compilations we are taken on the journey through the sounds of RAGE, accompanied with track by track notes from Fabio & Groove themselves. This is the sound of the underground, from the inside out.

This is a masterclass in the old-school. The roots. There is no filler here, it's simply ALL killer. Lovingly selected and programmed by the masters - 'The Living Shock' & 'The Ladies Choice'. Produced in conjunction with Above Board distribution and Fabio & Grooverider. All tracks mastered from original sources and fully licensed. Mastering by Optimum, Bristol. Artwork and design by Atelier Superplus. 2019

Rich NxT heads to FUSE to deliver his ‘Suburban Skool’ EP this November, backed by fellow London favourite East End Dubs on remix duties.

An artist that has remained a central part of the London electronic music scene for over a decade, FUSE residentand NxT records boss Rich NxT is an artist that embodies the sound of the city’s evolution throughout the years, taking influences from all pockets of the scene - from drum’n‘bass and jungle through to the minimal and tech house sounds that later took hold of the blossoming after-hours circuit.

Having touched down on the label earlier this year alongside East End Dubs as the pairing released the impressive ‘The Four Slip’ EP, whilst also recently providing two collaborative cuts on label boss Siragusa’s latest ‘A Decade Of Rave’ LP project, November sees Rich return to home turf to deliver his second solo EP on the label of the year, with Eastenderz head East End Dubs also returning to provide an energy-fueled remix on the flip.

Opening proceedings, title track ‘Suburban Skool’ offers up a trademark slice of rolling house music as slick percussion arrangements meet bumping bass stabs and scintillating electronic melodies swirl around old school rave samples, whilst the slinking ‘Rex Press’ keeps the energy high as echoed vocals ebb and flow amongst bright lead lines, crisp drum licks, intriguing breakdowns and builds throughout. Shaping up the package, East End Dubs steps up to offer up a dynamic interpretation of ‘Rex Press’, utilising punchy kicks alongside soaring synth lines and driving snare rolls to impressive effect.

Two of Russias finest drum & bass producers have combined forces for an exciting new project. St Petersburgs Microfunk mastermind Bop, and Moscows minimalistic groove guru Subwave, unite for their debut collaborative release Love & Other Drugs. With their elegant approach to drum & bass, this four-track EP fuses futuristic indie-electronica, 2-step UK garage, glitchy beats and 80s inspired vocal stylings.

Progressive euphoria is the name of the game in Teardrops as Bop x Subwave pick apart the structure of D+B in this warm, delicate and hypnotic glitch number. Following suit is Space Warp - darker with eerie undertones, packaged as a sub-heavy stepper. The second half of Love & Other Drugs sees the duo branch out beyond the realms of traditional D+B. The bittersweet ballad Dont Wake Me Up is kitted out with a definitive 80s style. Seeing the EP home is The Touch with the syncopated beatwork of 2-step UK Garage, complete with skippy breaks and snappy vocal sampling. In the decade since the release of Hospital Records Future Sound Of Russia LP, Bop and Subwave have produced an impressive array of tracks across Hospital Records, Med School, Liquicity, Shogun Audio, Metalheadz and Microfunk, cementing their reputations for going beyond the boundaries of D+B.
Keep your eyes peeled for more collaborative musings from Bop x Subwave in 2020.

Belgian imprint Muzik & Friendz returns with the last release of 2019 featuring a 4 track various artist package with Joss Moog, Yusuke Yamamoto, Peletronic & Jakobin and Platzdasch & Dix.

With the forcus set on the deeper vibes this release kicks off with the A-side package of PlatzDasch & Dix’s ‘Pointillist’ a mellow workout sprinkled with melodies and deep vibes, followed by Peletronic & Jakobin ‘Etta Jamz’ a deep and soulful cut with a real dancefloor groove.
The B-side see’s Yusuke Yamamoto’s ‘Kick Ass’ combine an hypnotic pad, bumpy bass and punchy vocals with a wink to the old school, while Joss Moog ‘Oazar’ shows off his exquisite production skills with a grooving and bumping cut.

'Pulse Code EP' by Amberflame - Andrei Zakharov's (aka An-2) side project aimed at finding the right balance between organic yet experimental sound - is a selection of top-notch electronica with the flair of old-school disco and everything inbetween. The crafty and meticulous use of a variety of custom analogue hardware give way to keeping an open mind with production and sound design, which varies greatly, but at the same time, shares a coherent quality throughout the EP.

The opening track "Hope" sets the mood with its melancholic airy strings and pulsating arpeggios developing effortlessly until the groovy guitar bass kicks in lighting things up and giving the mix a completely new perspective.

Taking a more experimental edge 'Pulse Code' is a PCM-inspired leftfield electronica piece which goes a new direction with its solid synthwork and fluent drum programming.

The title of the closing cut 'Dreamscape' speaks for itself: it is a meditative electro-focused affair

I remember the first time I read W.E.B. DuBois eclectic masterpiece The Souls of Black Folk. The way in which this Weberian scholar flowed from personal account to prose to sociological analysis to music and even political intervention has had a lasting impact on my own work as a cultural anthropologist. It made me understand that as scholars we must use different means in order to give expression to the totality of the lived experience: There is only so much in an academic text.

The experience of alienation has always been at the heart of my scholarly and artistic practice. I have used academic writing, lecturing, theatre performance and electronic improvisation to understand and represent it as a theoretical concept, postcolonial condition and lived experience. I believe, some issues need to be told like a story, some analyzed in most abstract terms and others need to be sung like a gospel. The medium changes the message.

In this sense, I guess, I’m a singing cultural anthropologist.

For some time now I have been engaged in the use of dystopian themes and sounds to paint a sonic picture of structural racism and whiteness of our present. But recently I have grown weary of this Ballardian idea of Future Now and the resulting phantasmagorian aesthetics myself and others have been invested in. The widespread availability of Digital Audio Workstations, sequencers, loopers and delay pedals has lead us into a futuristic cul de sac best described by Mark Fisher as the very absence of future.

Likewise, I am most skeptical of the “naturalist” countermovement, the return of folk. Especially in Germany, I am convinced there is no such thing as an innocent or progressive folk musical expression as it is always connected to the idea of the homeland (“Heimat”) which in turn produces the colony. It seems to me, the current zeitgeist is stuck between a “museum of a dystopian future” and a “museum of an idealized past”, but I wanted to sing about the present.

So, I involuntarily returned to pop music in its two-folded meaning of something popular and addressing not an essentialist notion of “Volk” or its woke cousin “communities”, but society as a whole.

I entered the studio just with a few lo-fi sounding melodies and rhythms from my circuit bent CASIO synthesizer. I had no clue what the finished product would sound like. But as soon as Markus started drumming, in a way strangely reminding me of CAN’s Ethnographic Forgery Series, my uptight sounds were suddenly embedded within a warmer global sound spectrum. The alien at home and abroad and the strange overlapped: We were seeing one and the same sound differently but were gently held together by Tobias’ producing.

Making music is about building coalitions. It’s about suggesting an articulation of styles, sounds and people, that hasn’t materialized, yet, but may help us in the current crisis: I wanted Amon Düül II to send their drug induced archangel thunderbird to rescue the refugees, that had tried to escape the police by climbing up a tree in Munich in 2016. I wanted Sun Ra to taunt far-right protesters in Chemnitz in 2018. And I wanted to mourn the loss of a former kebab shop cum discotheque that served as proof that there is such a thing as a minoritarian universalism.

SCHLAND IS THE PLACE FOR ME is a pop album featuring songs of alienation, not only as a tragic experience, but as a pop-cultural promise. Maybe Bill Callahan sung it best, “I am Star Wars today, I am no longer English grey”. I want those who suffer from alienation to stand in alliance with those who seek alienation, and vice-versa. A coalition, that tolerates the possibility that we are moved by the same groove for contrary reasons.

Fehler Kuti
Munich, Autumn 2019

Music by Julian Warner, Markus Acher & Tobias Siegert
Saxophone on RINDERMARKT by Franz Brunner
Trombone on RINDERMARKT and IL by Matthias Götz
Recorded and mixed by Tobias Siegert in Munich.
SONTAGSFAVORIT mixed by Dario Albiez in Dusseldorf.
Mastered by Duphonic in Augsburg.
Artwork by Atelier Grande, Munich.

Available for the first time outside Japan, Phosphorescent Dreams is another epic album of symphonic schizophrenic avant-rock from Univers Zéro. Originally released in 2014 - only on CD - through the Japanese label Arcàngelo.

Phosphorescent Dreams presents at the same time, in the same track, even on a single moment, the complex musical schemes and ways of Univers Zéro, ranging from maximalism to minimalism, classical avant-garde with a 2020 vibe in a constant flux.

In a blend of tension constantly emerging from a subtle dialogue between avant-rock and contemporary influences, harmonies and dissonance, Phosphorescent Dreams is a balanced formula of old-school know-how reshaped almost 40 years after the released of the seminal LP Univers Zéro.

Univers Zero represents one of the longest-living bands in Belgium. It was established in 1974. Drummer Daniel Denis had the brilliant idea to gather together a team of professionals sharing the same taste for music. The band has adopted an instrumental progressive style. Over the last couple of decades, the band has also implemented a series of influences from chamber music - most commonly, chamber music from the 20th century. Even if the line-up changes a lot over the years, the overall sound of UZ remained fairly consistent.

The music of Chel White is celebrated in Automaton, a collection of mostly unreleased recordings from 1985 to 1991, by this innovative animator, film maker and visual artist.

Having studied music theory in grade school, White taught himself drumming and played in a new wave band until, in 1981, together with Dan Gediman, they formed the minimal wave duo Process Blue (Alternative Funk, 1985 / Dark Entries, 2018). Here their experimentation went way beyond playing drums.

His interest in industrial music, fostered in the late '70s and early '80s while working in factories as a way to put himself through college, informed his use of electronic instruments, tape manipulation, noise and unconventional percussion.

By 1985, as a now solo artist buoyed by newly affordable audio sampling technology, White tapped into his earlier teenage fascination with the art and films of both the Surrealist and Dada movements - in particular their disparate and fragmented imagery and sound - as a means to create striking new sonic palettes.

Science & Industry - a track largely influenced by Balinese monkey chanting and the consumer excess of American in the 1980's - is a clear example of "music collage". Photocopy Cha Cha, made for the short animation film Choreography for Copy Machine (Berlin International Film Festival, 1992 / Sundance Film Festival, 2001) moved his music into the realm of early multi-media.

Experimenting further, tracks like Liquid Shadows and Pensive provide minimalist moments, before the drone-like Dream #630 and Forest Song point to a future that included music video works (David Lynch/Thom Yorke).

TCB aka Chris Beißwenger, our boy on Jah bless road, goes a little something like: 1977, born cross-eyed, parents like Boney M; 1984, suburbia USA, DSNY, still cross-eyed; 1988, 98.7 Kiss FM New York on the school bus radio; 1989, Frankfurt Am Main, hyperactive, outsider, got lazered; 1991, drums and piano in cheesy school band; 1993, kicked out of Omen, kicked out of school band; 1994, kicked out of Omen again, got his own band; 1995, kicked out of band, finally in at Omen, The Box, Wild Pitch Club; 1996, got first car, Fasttracker, EMU ESI-32; 1999, no more car, no more Omen, Robert Johnson instead; 2002, first release, High Tide; 2003, Ableton 0.1 Beta, less MIDI, more gefrickel; 2004, exchange High Tide for CB Funk, kicked out of Cocoon; 2005, a silly move to Düsseldorf, Burkina Faso, more synthesizers; 2006, again silly in Düsseldorf, Brontosaurus, disco-house, love; 2007, Cologne and Frankfurt, back to piano, more love, still no car; 2008, with love to Frankfurt, Arto Mwambe on the road, storyteller; 2009, Mwambe still on the road, bored of work; 2010, Live At Robert Johnson, four-day week (thank God), four bike accidents; 2011, Europe, bored of piano, invention of The Citizen’s Band; 2012, modular cookery, thoughts of moving; 2013, Burkinian's death, Delphi's rise, almost made it, 2014, broke out of seven-year cycle too complicate

The soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino’s heavily anticipated music laden film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, personally curated by Tarantino himself, the soundtrack is a love letter to the music of 1960s era Hollywood. The Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood soundtrack features over 20 standout tracks from artists such as Paul Revere & The Raiders, Deep Purple, and Neil Diamond, as well as vintage radio advertisements, creating a true time capsule of a golden era of filmmaking.

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer/director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in atribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh and Quentin Tarantino. Georgia Kacandes, YU Dong and Jeffrey Chan serve as executive producers. The film also stars Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate plus Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Lena Dunham and more.

2x12"

A stunningly accomplished work, ‘Deep Rave Memory’ is an insight into Fearless’ worlds – both metaphysical and geographical. Pulsating in unison with the heartbeat of a modern metropolis, it was recorded at the Metal Box’ – his studio located on the peninsula of land where the River Lea meets the Thames.

The haunting and wistful blue ambient ‘Vision of You’ leads into the bracingly chilly ‘New Perspective’, which evokes a heavy rush where perceptions are blurred and vision is freeze framed, via elements of techno-soul, Sheffield Bleep and Mika Vainio.

A snarling beast of a track, the relentless machine funk of ‘Devil on Horseback’ perfects the pure cathartic release of dark ‘n’ hot body music, whilst ‘Acid Angels’ is a throbbing low-fi 303 requiem, which encapsulates that perfect dancefloor moment, when the first light breaks through the shutters.

A future classic and the album’s modus operandi, title track ‘Deep Rave Memory’’s discordant filter passes sweep across a hypnotic melody, communicating a deep sense of warm nostalgia and taking you on an epic journey – stretching out a single riff over 12 minutes – akin to the krautrock greats of which Fearless is so fond.

‘Atlas of Insanity’ is big room techno with pounding kicks, death-whip metallic snares and head spinning, spiralling synth lines that drill into your core. This is raw, impulsive and frantic music that sizzles with electric effervescence.

The Germanic kosmische idyll of ‘Driving with Roedelius’ is a homage to one of Richards’ heroes – Hans-Joachim Roedelius – and was inspired by his experience playing a set consisting solely of the electronic pioneer’s music, at a festival celebrating his life and career.

On the album's closer, Fearless recounts, “‘Broken Beauty’ is something I’ve always strived for in my art. It’s inspired by Robert Frank, William Eggleston and the way they could take the most inane object a turn it into something of beauty. It’s equally schooled by the aggressive simplicity of King Tubby’s dubbing and the transcendence of Joy Division’s ‘Decades’. The sparse allure of the best dub and techno is something I’m always striving for; being able to conjure emotion with the fewest possible elements; to not fix what’s broken, but to make it shine.

Limited to 500 copies.

20 years of Pop Ambient. Already? One didn’t notice. It’s an anniversary which comes quietly. An anniversary with quiet tones.
In the spirit of the special restraint of pop-elegance, it has no reason to drawn attention to itself with a big „Tam-Tam“. Or better: „Bum-Bum“. The bass drum stays outside. Nevertheless, in fast-paced, overstimulated times of moving forward, it’s a joyful occasion to look back.
What strikes most by putting or listening to 20 years of pop ambient in a row is the central theme that holds together the dense aesthetic concept like the pearls of a necklace.
Floral beauty for digital naturalists. Music like flowers, that don’t wilt. Timeless. Ageless. But with all of the conceptual unity and resolution, Pop Ambient would not be Kompakt without the break, the friction, the expansion of musical boundaries in between tradition and innovation, in between conspiracy and the openness of the discourse.
Aestheticism, escapism, acting in the spirit of „nevertheless“. Swans drifting by, clouds pass over, everything is floating and: „Boredom is a stylistic device“ (Andy Warhol).

Pop Ambient Music is medicine against illnesses, that you don’t even suffer from. It’s giving everything, demanding nothing.
Musical lotus leafs, off which the virtual wastewater of our time is rolling like the reality is dripping off the matrix.


In this sense, we’re happy about the pop-ambient anniversary greetings from new and old companions like Thore Pfeiffer, Max Würden, Yui Onodera, Jörg Burger, Thomas Fehlmann, Morgen Wurde, Leandro Fresco aswell as contributions from T.Raumschmiere, Andrew Thomas and, after a long break, from friends from early days like Joachim Spieth, Markus Guentner und Klimek.

Pop Ambient 2020 is released digital, as CD and of course as a chic double vinyl. Also included in the package: The whole distinctive cover-series as an art book of 44 pages. And for all of the old and young fans and collectors there is the Pop Ambient 2001 in a overhauled original version out on vinyl for the very first time.



Breath in. Breath out. Thank you.



Wolfgang Voigt, September 2019.

20 Jahre Pop Ambient. Schon? Hat man gar nicht gemerkt. Ein Jubiläum auf leisen Sohlen. Ein Jubiläum der leisen Töne. Und ganz im Sinne pop-eleganter Zurückhaltung, kein Grund, großes Tam-Tam zu machen. Oder besser gesagt: Bum-Bum. Denn die Bassdrum bleibt ja draußen. Dennoch freudiger Anlass genug, in reizüberfluteten, schnelllebigen Zeiten auf dem Weg nach vorne einen Blick zurück zu werfen. Wenn man 20 Jahre Pop Ambient Platten hintereinander legt / hört, sticht einem zunächst der sprichwörtliche rote Faden ins Auge und ins Ohr. Der Faden, der das dichte, ästhetische Konzept zusammenhält wie die Glieder einer Perlenkette. Florale Schönheit für digitale Naturalisten. Musik wie Blumen, die nicht welken. Zeitlos. Alterslos. Aber Pop Ambient wäre nicht Kompakt, wenn nicht bei aller konzeptionellen Ge- und Entschlossenheit, auch der Bruch, die Reibung, das Ausweiten musikalischer Genregrenzen zwischen Tradition und Innovation, zwischen Konspiration und Diskursoffenheit, inkludiert wäre. Ästhetizismus, Trotzdemismus, Eskapismus. Schwäne treiben, Wolken ziehen, alles fließt – und: »Langeweile ist ein Stilmittel« (Andy Warhol).

Pop Ambient Musik ist Medizin gegen Krankheiten, die man gar nicht hat. Gibt alles und verlangt nichts. Musikalische Lotusblätter, an denen das virtuelle Schmutzwasser der Zeit abperlt, wie die Realität an der Matrix.

In diesem Sinne freuen wir uns über pop-ambiente Jubiläumsgrüße von neuen und alten Weggefährten wie Thore Pfeiffer, Max Würden, Yui Onodera, Jörg Burger, Thomas Fehlmann, Morgen Wurde, Leandro Fresco sowie Beiträge von T.Raumschmiere, Andrew Thomas und nach langer Pause, von Freunden aus frühen Tagen wie Joachim Spieth, Markus Guentner und Klimek.

Pop Ambient 2020 erscheint Digital, als CD und natürlich als schickes Doppelvinyl. Mit im Paket: Die gesamte unverwechselbaren Cover-Serie als 20-seitiges Kunstbuch. Und für alle neuen und alten Fans und Sammler, erscheint zeitgleich Pop Ambient 2001 erstmalig auch auf Vinyl, in generalüberholter Originalversion. Das Ganze gibt es zudem im schicken Jubiläumsschuber in limitierter Auflage und farbigem Vinyl, exklusiv erhältlich nur auf kompakt.fm …

Einatmen. Ausatmen. Danke.

Wolfgang Voigt, September 2019

All Music Written & Recorded by David Drucker at The Skinny Apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, 2017
Featuring Mike Green (Mezzanine Swimmers) on guitars on "I Took Too Much Acid in 7th Grade," Cop Funeral on
electronics on "Seafood Special," Chris “Mr Transylvania” Shields on background vocals on "Massachusetts Is a Magical
Place," Eva “Nighttime” Goodman on violin & backing vocals on "The Ridgewood Ripper"
Painted Faces is the long (strange/trip) running voyage of weirdo David Drucker, began in Florida in 2009 and decamped
to NYC in 2011. It has sometimes been a loose band in the past with a revolving lineup of outsiders and interlopers
(known as The Freak Band), but is usually a solo endeavor, and the bulk of the recordings have been done as such. PF
has always been a home recording solo project, one-man-band style heavy on psychOdelic/outsider
folk/noise/experimental vibes. He started self releasing CD-Rs in the early days and quickly jumped to tapes on a variety
of labels including Already Dead, Lava Church, J&C, Null Zone, Tall Tapes. A "legendary" CD compilation on Gulcher
Records and an LP from Already Dead and Almost Halloween Time in Italy brings us to the here and now. Tales from the
Skinny Apartment is somewhere around the 20th or so Painted Faces release...he has long lost count.
Drucker runs/curates gigs (and records at) the Skinny Apartment, his dwelling place in Ridgewood Queens,
which some folks have called the "realest DIY zone in NYC." He also rips in Dead River Company, Big Hiatus, Shecky,
Canyon River Blues and countless other unknown subterranean improv zoner outfits. "Ripping" involves keeping it
freaky and weird and ripping sets wherever/whenever, i.e. always being down to perform whether in a kitchen or a
packed ballroom....no diva bullshit, just plugging in (or going sans electricity) and playing...always giving it your
all...Ridgewood Rippers are the crew of artists that populate Ridgewood and the loose "scene" around the Skinny
Apartment...much of it is in jest, a self-inflated mythology of nonsense which is pervasive in all rock and roll "scene"
histories. As a student of rock/pop history, Drucker is fascinated by the loose associations that connect folks from
various zones together...i.e. Miles Davis and The Grateful Dead...it's all the same though, the labels and genre
distinctions are completely arbitrary. We're all in this together, now more than ever...to be a "ripper" is simply to
"rip"...no nonsense!
Painted Faces has toured all over the USA and Canada numerous times, spreading the ripper gospels, and is
gearing up for their second European tour. He is known for falling apart on "stage," with performances heavy on humor,
horror, stoned digressions, and cathartic bouts of therapy, part performance art/part standup comedy, eradicating the
lines between performer, performance, and audience one show at a time