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* Five years have passed since the first release of Nowadays Records.Launched with Fakear's signature (seen on Ninja Tune), the label founded by oOgo and Chomsky from La Fine Equipe has seen the growth of many projects such as Clément Bazin, Everydayz, Phazz (who produced for Travis Porter, did remixes for Soulection, Interscope and Mad Decent), Leska, Jumo and many others, all of them carried by the irreplaceable quartet of La Fine Equipe.

Five years during which Nowadays Records released 75 EPs and LPs, toured in and outside of France, and generated several hundred millions stream plays.With its heart in the right place, its eyes on the emerging scene and its ears open on the world, Nowadays built itself a singular and racy identity through the time. Fed by inspirations like Stone Throw, Ninja Tune or Warp, the label places itself as an ambassador of a fast growing scene, defending it through its shows, releases, and events like the two Boiler Room shows in Paris and London.Without sticking itself to a musical gender, Nowadays keeps on widening its horizons by working with foreign artists and mixing the inspirations through its releases, driven by its sound and visual trademarks and aesthetics.

In order to celebrate those five years spent defending as many projects as musical crushes they had, and to thank its community made of more than 150 000 followers around the world, Nowadays unveils the 'Nowadays V', double album with a digital and physical release on November 30th.Through this compilation, Nowadays gathers on one side the tracks that marked its history and, on the other side, unreleased tracks that sometimes lead to collaborations such as the one between Clément Bazin and Leska, or the one between Fakear and La Fine Equipe.

Under the alias of Zanov we find the works of French electronic pioneer Pierre Salkazanov, who had started playing guitar in the 1960s in a Shadows styled band, Les Ambassadors. Instrumental rock was not enough for Salkazanov, he was always looking for evolution, so when a meeting with French synth player Serge Ramses (of "Secret" fame) got him into the world of synthesizers he just dived deep into the bourgeoning world of electronic music. He got himself his first syths and started producing works into a 4-track Teac tape machine. French music was at its best, it was the time of Jean Michel Jarre, Didier Bocquet, Richard Pinhas and Heldon, Alain Meunier... Even Gong's Tim Blake was living in France at that time. And so Zanov soon caught the attention of Polydor, who released Green Ray in 1976. It is a work made with minimal equipment if compared to other French sythetists, not to mention their German peers, he worked on the EMS VCS3 synth and used a 4-track Teac and a Revox A77 Mk IV reel to reel tape recorders obtaining huge sound results. You can appreciate an influence from the Berlin school, Green Ray walks the same path of what artists like Tangerine Dream and the likes were producing at the time, Zanov had felt under the spell of Ricochet, but his head was boiling with ideas which gave the recordings a very personal, unique touch.

Zanov's three albums met with unanimous critical acclaim for the sound quality as well as for the originality of this very personal universe.

Under the alias of Zanov we find the works of French electronic pioneer Pierre Salkazanov, who had started playing guitar in the 1960s in a Shadows styled band, Les Ambassadors. Instrumental rock was not enough for Salkazanov, he was always looking for evolution, so when a meeting with French synth player Serge Ramses (of "Secret" fame) got him into the world of synthesizers he just dived deep into the bourgeoning world of electronic music. He got himself an EMS VCS3 and started producing works into a 4-track Teac tape machine. French music was at its best, it was the time of Jean Michel Jarre, Didier Bocquet, Richard Pinhas and Heldon, Alain Meunier... Even Gong's Tim Blake was living in France at that time. By the time of his second LP, Moebius 256 301, issued also on Polydor in 1977, Zanov had already gathered a small collection of gear, including an ARP 2600 and an ARP sequencer, his old VCS3, an RMI Harmonic and a PS 3300. Again under the influence of both first and second generation of Berlin school musicians the LP will appeal to fans of Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream, but they will also find a big deal of Zanov's own personal sound on it, since as the musician himself reckons he had little contact with other peers of his generation, so besides a general love for the electronic gear used and the sounds you could make out of them the creative ideas behind his works were all his own. On his second album a richer sound is found, not only due to the use of the new gear, since some of its tracks where recorded using only his old EMS, but also due to his won experience after having taken his works to the life stages in the Golf Drouot boite, the Lase Olympia venue (on the basement of the famous Olympia), the Paris Planetarium or those for planned one month tour (of which in the end only four dates were accomplished).

Zanov's three albums met with unanimous critical acclaim for the sound quality as well as for the originality of this very personal universe.

Born in London, 1945, Labi Siffre's recording career has spanned over 30 years and produced a body of work that has attained anthemic status across the world. He has had two number one hits (directly and indirectly) and is considered by those in the know to be one of Britain's most important musicians of the past fifty years. So it's a strange modern quirk that his actual voice is rarely heard, as it is from covers and samples of his work that he is best known. You may recognise his genius being sampled by Eminen for 'My Name Is' or the Madness cover of his song 'It Must Be Love' that was a huge pop hit across the world.

For his release on Mr Bongo we have gone back to the original source - his classic 1975 release 'Remember My Song'. This is his fifth album and features 'The Vulture', 'Sadie and the Devil' and 'I Got The', sampled by Eminem, Jay-Z, Wu-tang Clan, Atmosphere, The Beatnuts and Frankenstein, amongst others. Co-produced by Derek Lawrence and Big Jim Sullivan - a prolific session musician, artist and producer - who also worked with artists such as David Bowie, Serge Gainsbourg (on 'Histoire De Melody Nelson') and Frank Zappa. Brian Bennett of The Shadows, Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock aka Chas 'n' Dave also feature on this funk masterpiece from 1975.

This LP is reissued in new and improved sleeves (made in Japan) and features label designs as per the original 1975 release.

Les Disques du Crepuscule present an extended double disc reissue of Shiver, the acclaimed debut album by seminal Swedish artist  Virna Lindt, originally released by The Compact Organization in 1983.

Written and produced by Virna Lindt and Tot Taylor, Shiver offers 12 slices of chic orchestrated pop informed by 'foreign film' soundtracks, movie composers John Barry and Ennio Morricone, Modernist musique concrete and Cold War spy thrillers. The album spawned three singles: Attention Stockholm, Intelligence and I Experienced Love. For the most part Lindt provides the voiceover for her own narratives, occasionally striking reflective poses amid orchestral swells and multi-layered atmospherics; a clear influence on later acts such as Pulp, St Etienne and Air.

This new edition of Shiver showcases acoustically-enhanced mixes prepared by Taylor and Lindt in 1997, augmented with non-album singles Model Agent and Young & Hip, and immaculate instrumental versions of key album tracks such as Underwater Boy and The Dossier on Virna Lindt. The extended tracklist also finds room for a leftfield cover of Windmills of Your Mind, originally written by Michel Legrand and Alan & Marilyn Bergman for The Thomas Crown Affair and recorded for the Crepuscule compilation album Moving Soundtracks.

Cover photography is by E.A. Janes. The 2xCD edition is housed in a 6 panel digipack with a 12 page booklet. The double vinyl set comes in a stylish gatefold sleeve and includes a free digital copy.

Praise for Shiver:  'Eurocentric Virna Lindt casts herself as a mysterious blonde in a loving pastiche of Continental movie music' (Sounds); 'I think of Shiver as Ingmar Bergman's All These Women cast as 50-odd minutes of musical dialogue. Tot Taylor's fantastic orchestrations cast a brilliant pale of modern love throughout' (Fond/Sound); 'Instead of mere cool styles, there's far more here than a restrictive stereotype' (All Music Guide);

French psych duo The Limiñanas today released their new single 'Istanbul Is Sleepy' through Because Music. Featuring Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) and produced at his Berlin studio, the single is taken from their 'Istanbul Is Sleepy' EP out 17th November. The band, who are set to release a new album early next year, will play their debut London show at Oslo on 5th October. Directed by Jean Luc Moly, the moody, Sixties-inspired video to 'Istanbul Is Sleepy' premiered on Brooklyn Vegan: link here

Reflecting on the single and their collaboration with Newcombe, Lionel explained, "'Istanbul Is Sleepy' is like the classic dream where you become the hero, the Captain Blood or Midnight Sultan(). The one who rescues and seduces Maureen O'Hara or Ava Gardner. Anton is singing and playing guitar on the track. He was inspired, in particular, by The Cult during their 'Rain' period. Last year, Mojo magazine asked us to record a cover for a special Kinks tribute. We chose 'Two Sisters'. Marie and I were thinking for the vocal part it would be great to approach Anton Newcombe, having opened for The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Le Trianon in Paris. The work began like that. We had an album to record and we decided to finish it with him. During the Christmas week we took our demos, flew to Berlin and recorded at Anton's studio. Six days later we had a finished album".

One of France's most beloved treasures, The Limiñanas are Marie (drums/vocals) and Lionel (guitar, bass, keyboards and vocals). Hailing from Perpignan, the duo straddles the boundary between psych, shoegaze, and yé-yé. With hazy, reverb-laden hooks, combined at times with noisy distortion, and fronted by effortlessly cool vocals, reminiscent of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, the band is at once timeless and quintessentially French.

Dalmata Daniel's next up is a collaboration with the Bristol-born - weirdo disco guy' Antoni Maiovvi and also a contribution of Heinrich Dressel who is an unavoidable column of Rome's electronic music scene.Maiovvi's Pleasure Model project is all about youth - replaced by Blade Runner-esque replicas. His first release under this moniker was - Kendo Dynamics' on 100% Silk in 2016. It aimed for presenting a persuasive world of fiber optic paranoia and technoid effacement.DD006 is the next level of the concept and the first time on vinyl. The tracks are driven by the characteristic haggard drum machine's sound on side A with a melancholic or dark synth themes what becomes a dreamy melody in the - Prism Riot' on side B. The remix by Heinrich Dressel is a turn back directly into the darkness, but it is faster and more like a film soundtrack with his own characteristics, of course. The whole EP has a strong vintage mood and sound.
It can be said that Update 1.1 is definitely dystopian, coming from the future of our past.

Acclaimed Russian producer, DJ and live musician Kito Jempere is back with a stunning second album, this time on Italian label Hell Yeah. Entitled Sea Monster and due for release in early 2017, the nine track album is a fantastic fusion of live instrumentation and electronic production.

Kito Jempere is a musical polymath. The Russian artist, producer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader has been involved in many projects over the last ten years plus. These range from rock to acid jazz to electronic bands and often call upon a rotating cast of other members who are all equally talented.

From playing in small bars to headlining big shows for thousands of people in Saint Petersburg, he has put out a number of albums and singles on labels like Freerange, Room With A View and Hell Yeah and DJs around Europe.

Jempere plays live as the Kito Jempere Band, and here he calls upon his bandmates for their many skills to lend the album a richly musical feel.

Mixed and co-produced by band member Roman Urazov, the album features Artemiy Gunbin aka Noteless, the voice of the Kito Jempere Band and front man of his own rock band Videatape, as well as Ruslan Gadzhimuradov, a long time drummer on many projects, plus Matvey Averin, the bassist but also co-producer for cult group Manizha and finally Sergey Lipsky who here plays guitar and is also half of Simple Symmetry as well as having played for Kito's other project Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club group.

Sea Monster kicks off with Lifetime Theme, a heavenly groove with loose drums and percussion and gorgeous keys. Form there, Artemiy Gunbin's ethereal and crystal clear vocals take centre stage amongst balearic guitars on album single 'Ampa', and then 'To Talk' is a deeper cut with bumpy drums, long tailed pads and shiny synths all making for a curious and whimsical atmosphere.

'Grid Cells' is a lush instrumental track with clever revel and echo adding a sense of grandeur to the freeform jazz drums and frazzled synths, 'Uohha' is as sunny and laid back as an afternoon on the beach and 'Puzzled' then layers up scuzzy basslines, popping hits and suspenseful synths into something smooth and seductive.

The final third of the album closes out with blissful guitar licks, lazy broken beats and brilliant drum playing that all have you wishing it was summer again.

This is an album with elements of jazz, house, disco, balearic and many more sounds all smoothly blended into one coherent and captivating album full of soul and musical skill.

Trani has been representing the Detroit sound in Italy for some years now, with releases on Minimal Soul Recordings, as well as his own Pushmaster Discs (a label that has also hosted the likes of Ilario Alicante, Myles Sergé and Percyl). His latest outing will be his first full-length, an album inspired space travel, that continues to push Detroit sounds, as well as venturing into some jungle rhythms.

DJ FEEDBACK
early support from
Jeff Mills: I like the Alien Pattern Track!
Robert Hood: nice tracks from Mattia.
Dimi Angelis: Like this! Thanks!
Marcel Dettmann: Thanks.
Thomas Hessler / IMF: Nice one! Thank you!
Darko Esser aka Tripeo: Excellent album, right up my alley!
John Heckle: Thanks, some stuff I really like on here.
Marco Zenker: Sounds really dope! Thank you.
Jonas Kopp: Great stuff, will check carefully! Thanks.
Ben Sims: Plenty of great moments here, nice to hear some Detroit/real techno flavours on an album. Thanks!
Milton Bradley: Very nice tracks, 'Traffic 2 Traffic' is my fav.
Truncate: Downloading, thanks.
Donor: Really looking forward to giving this a good listen after download. Thanks.
Marcelus: Wow that's pretty... Very nice one, great tracks and the all thing makes sense, congratz!
Ben Gibson: Looking forward to having a proper listen to this.
Zadig: Really into electro stuff here, and 'Alien Pattern' is also great. Thanks.
Radio Slave: Great sounds here.

In the years since the release of Adrian Younge's Something About April, he has been coined America's black genius: the evocation of analog vestige in a digital era. His majestic music has garnered him reverence, likened to Ennio Morricone's best work and the Beatles' tenacity to create new sounds. Fortuitously, Something About April has made an indelible impression on modern vinyl heads and producers alike, being sampled by DJ Premier, Jay-Z, Common, 50 Cent and more. The Something About April brand is an axiom to the modern 'Breakbeat' and Linear Labs is happy to announce its successor: Something About April II. Recorded with Younge's collection of rare instruments, Something About April II advances his musical paradigm with enterprising concepts and grander compositions — it synthesizes the boundaries between dark American soul and classic European cinema. With effervescent conviction, Younge executes with an array of entrancing vocalists: Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab) and Bilal perform duets on 'Step Beyond' and 'La Ballade,' reminiscent of Serge Gainsborg and Jane Birkin; Raphael Saadiq blends 'Black Jazz' vocals with psychedelic soul on 'Magic Music;' Israeli star, Karolina, delivers haunting chants over concertos like 'Hear my love' and 'Winter is Here;' Loren Oden croons as if the apparent ghost of Donnie Hathaway created one last love song, 'Sandrine.' Younge is the experimental spirit of the modernist vanguard, looking at the past to create the future. What this album extrapolates, from vinyl culture, will become further magnified by its sampling down the line. Something About April II will replace the former as a holy grail for producers and collectors alike.

Syberian is a new pattern by Sergey Yakovlev. As his first project called Gedevaan this another also focused and keep on the fine tune electronic music entering deeper to techno, house and experimental constructions among them. Syberian is pitched hypnotic, cosmogonic shade of melancholy which sincerely looks on the world background. It has an authentic perception imprint and a set of sedate witness. The first release by Syberian 'An Object by a Human Being' contains four basic tracks.

Opening with 'God Race Female' which gloomy drifts you with a distant fibrous structures. Industrial howl and clave push stream over dope endless barrel strokes. That is sound what reach out to a child inside a female womb.

Next one is 'Male of Human Race' with a resilient stained beat that works with onground greasy texture. Ambient flutter set you a synthetic tranquil mood.

On a flip side 'Secret Alien Video Tape' is a kind of hypnotic and scholastic spacewrap abyss. Drag inland thru distortions and imaginary vortexes your mind still contemplates.

Conclusive back to the home track 'Harmonic 343' is game way to keep junctions with a physical world. Body is only part of a human. Understanding the principles supply the workflow.

Second GOST instrument is made by Karelia's finest Sergey Suokas. The 'A" side titled "Reka Vremeni' (the River of Time in Russian) represents one deep repetitive techno story, carefully crafted with high attention to details. "B" side comes with a dubbed experimental groove. Limited 180g. 10'' coloured vinyl, hand stamped.

Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records have teamed up again to release another volume of gay porn soundtracks by San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary and influential people in the canon of disco music, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, ''The San Francisco Sound.'' Born in Buffalo, NY on October 19, 1950, Patrick moved to San Francisco at the age of 21. He studied at the City College of San Francisco where he founded the Electronic Music Lab. During this time, Patrick, along with his classmates Maurice Tani and Art Adcock, would create radio jingles and electronic pieces using the school's equipment: first a Putney, then an E-MU System, and finally a Serge synthesizer. He would make experimental soundtracks by blending various types of music and adapting them to the synthesizer.

Guillotine is an electronic music duo from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Saulo Pais (Dada Attack) and Zeno Mainardi. To create these tracks, they used a heavy setup of analog electronic equipment. This resulted in three raw eclectic techno tracks with a sharp edge. Equipment: Korg MS-20, Roland TR-808, Simmons Clap Trap, Serge Modular System, LinnDrum LM-2, Roland CR-8000, Roland TR-707, Star Instruments Inc Synare 2, Lell USD, Moog Voyager, Moog Opus-3