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La Freund Recordings presents a new EP from Amsterdam based producer and modular synth enthusiast Sjamsoedin. Three varied tracks and two heavy remixes by Simon Weiss (Rush Hour / Voyage Direct) and Claude (a.k.a. Fulgeance) form the new label's second release.Sjam Sjamsoedin has been around the electronic music scene for over fifteen years, releasing music under various aliases. Since 2011 Sjamsoedin has been experimenting with a deeper and warmer sound built around strong grooves, combined with his love for (modular) synths and effects. Orion is Sjamsoedin's first full length EP under his own name.While "The Drums" and "Pastel" find their inspiration in the Chicago house sound of the good old days, "Orion" has more of a lush electronica vibe to it. Both remixes add a heavier sound to complete the well rounded EP.

* Includes a DIN A2long poster inside the 12" sleeve with edition number and music download code

* Rogue Style 1 EP is an international homage to b-boy culture, where the worlds of breakbeat music and breakdance collide. Sinistarr (USA), Kiat (Singapore), Kabuki (Germany) and HomeSick (Canada) are connected in many ways, now they lay bare their hip-hop roots and give something back with a fresh take through the eyes of drum & bass and juke/footwork. Here is what they have to say:

Sinistarr: "As a teenager I grew up as a b-boy, dancing anywhere I could: schools, parks, festivals, you name it, my crew was there with cardboard and a speaker. I eventually got deeper into DJing and making music and learned to bring a sound that's not just for the crowds and the purists, but also for all the dancers!"

Kiat: "Hip Hop has taught me to keep evolving, to explore new forms in all my art. Progression is the key to evolution. -- I met Sinistarr online thru myspace and we had a musical connection which led to our first collaboration 'Black Diamonds' which is still one of my personal favourite tunes I've been fortunate to be part of it's creation. With Kabuki, i've always been a fan of his work since his 'Makai' alias on No U-Turn, despite meeting him only recently thru the label.I've always known him to be constantly progressing his ideas in his music which I respect alot."

Kabuki: "B-boy culture has always been a strong influence on how I pursued my art, mainly because of its DIY ethos and attitude of perfecting your craft. Incidentally these were also the aspects that drew me to Jungle when I first discovered it in the nineties. -- I'm happy to rub shoulders with Kiat, Sinistarr and HomeSick on this release, as I'm a fan of their music foremost, but also because we became friends through the music."

HomeSick: "I was only a child in the 90s and as a result I feel like my understanding of b-boy culture was experienced second hand thanks to 90s/early 2000s hip hop music. I appreciate the parallels I can see with footwork culture, particularly the similarities to the community mentality of break dancing. -- I know Sinistarr through booking him for our local party night in Alberta, Canada called Percolate. Our city must have left an impression on him because a year later he made the move here from Detroit. Had the pleasure of hosting him as a room mate for a little over half a year, the home was a very potent creative space during this time. Kabuki hit me up a few years ago and we very quickly got to sharing tracks and collaborating together. Mans a master of production and a super important part of the global scene."

The idea for a reminiscence of b-boy culture stem from label owner Booga:

"Why am I interested in this so much I grew up in East Germany and as the movie "Beat Street" premiered in 1985 over here I was age 13 and blown away by the energy, the music, the wit, the style - everything in this movie was better than everyday life in Leipzig. So I started saving for a cassette recorder and taped music shows from West German radio and prepared tapes for school disco gigs to the hope somebody would do the "robot" to Arthur Baker "Breaker's Revenge". Unfortunately that never worked out hahaha. But I was hooked since then and as the wall came down in 1989 I travelled to West Berlin just to buy the Beats, Breaks and Scratches 1-4 vinyl box by Simon Harris. The fascination for breakbeats never stopped and before I discovered Jungle around '94 I was down with the British cut up house thing from the likes of Marrs, Krush and Coldcut as another form of breakbeat music. The "do it yourself" spirit from hip hop culture inspired me to start a local website called breaks.org in 2000 to locally promote the drum and bass scene with emerging producers, djs and mcs for a wider audience and I threw in some interviews with Storm, Kabuki, Rob Playford, Klute and John B. That turnt into a multi author blog called itsyours.info in 2004 which still exists - that is where I had the pleasure to introduce Kiat and Ash in 2007. All these years I was listening and playing drum and bass tunes when the occasional "bboy tune" came up, some were obvious like Alex Reece "B-Boy Flavour", Lemon D "B Boyz", Commix "Change" and some were not so much self-explanatory like Digital & Spirits "Phantom Force" and the remixes by T-Power & Codeine or Fracture's Astrophonica Edit - but I felt the hidden force of breakdancing nevertheless. With the Rogue Style series I have the first class opportunity to ask established and new Defrostatica artists to present a current interpretation of b-boy culture. This is a dream coming true."

Here we go again! Puas Puas is back with 2 pumpin house tracks by Dj Soch! Dark Dub Techno Remix from Nick Antony Simoncino. Hot Stuff!

London/Lisbon label Release/Sustain start the year as they mean to go on. Presenting a 4 track various artists 12'' titled _Nightfall and Other Stories_. The record is comprised of 4 artists the Label regard as legends of that deeper dance floor sound. Opening proceedings on A1 is *Dekmantel* mainstay *Vakula*. A regular at the Release/Sustain 'Conclave' parties and part of the RS family His offering, _809,_ is a percussive drum tool trip of a track, with sporadic raw percussion shooting shining across a positively minimalist backing. For A2, we see Italian stalwart of underground dance music, *L.I.E.S* & *Crème Organization* regular, *Simoncino*. Obscure sample work, and a repeating line 'i can use a friend', twist and turn over rugged, thumping, functional drums and bass. Simoncino at his best! Furthering the quality of this standout 12'' is Chicago house music pioneer, and *Dance Mania* alumini *Vincent Floyd*. Rich in melody and familiar classic house sounds, Reggie's soft jacking house sound bring a silky smooth, North American touch to a previously rugged, European 12 slab of wax. Rounding things off we have *Clone*, *Prime Numbers* & *Deep Explorer* badman, *Reggie Dokes*. A cut riddled with percussive and quirky undertones Enjoy!

Stirred up from deep within, from an abstract spiral of sound and movement, from a sensation of time and space absolving and converging at once, the Black Flower musicians have molded a tangible matter: the album Artifacts. Their second full album sounds international and ageless. Eastern influences, Ethiodub and jazz effortlessly merge. Fantasy and reality seem to fuse. In a word: nourishment for body and soul.

"Psyche-delicious and accessible 20th century Ethiodubjazz. As if John Zorn put on Fela Kuti's shoes and imbibed Mulatu Astatke's whirls."

Piloted by saxophonist /flutist /composer Nathan Daems (Ragini Trio, Dijf Sanders, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra), this instrumental band aims for originality. Fellow musicians and 'brothers down the road' are Jon Birdsong (dEUS, Beck, Calexico) on cornet, Simon Segers (Absynthe Minded, De Beren Gieren, Stadt) at the drums, Filip Vandebril (Lady Linn, The Valerie Solanas, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra) at the bass and Wouter Haest (Los Callejeros, Voodoo Boogie) playing keys.

For many of us, the Ethiopian aspect once made known to the world by Mulatu Astatke will stand out. Still, Black Flower further adds oriental scales, Afrobeat à la Fela Kuti, jazz in a John Zorn way and varied western music traditions such as rock and dub. The resulting melting pot is undoubtedly inspired by Nathan's distant travels and the multifariously colorful city of Brussels.

...Pretty legit if you ask me - LeFto, Studio Brussel

After their well-received debut album Abyssinia Afterlife (2014, W.E.R.F. / Zephyrus Records) that created an atmosphere of mythical figures and psychedelia, Black Flower now reflects on ancient and modern cultures. The album title Artifacts refers to centuries-old fragile objects or tools that empowered the development of human culture. The world today would look entirely different without those artifacts. The seemingly brittle suddenly becomes a powerful welding cornerstone. Add the musicians' personal musical backgrounds and the result is an album with an ageless mystique. Artifacts is the synthesis of different cultures, of the past and present, and personal and collective memories. It is the soundtrack to modern reality, based on the elements that connect us.

Brilliant - Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 6

One of Belgium's Best Bands of these past years (...) Black Flower does not simply play a tune, they always groove! - Kurt Overbergh, Ancienne Belgique

Uncomplicated originality, plenty of space for fantasy and an organic tone: those are the ingredients for Black Flower to lay claim to an age-old human ritual: dancing! Still, Black Flower also stands out in various other settings. Their audience at a jazz club will have felt exalted, their audience at a late-night show will not have resisted dancing. The band wields influence over their surroundings in a way only heart-and-soul musicians can. This mastery has repeatedly taken them to United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Germany.

Bonobo veröffentlicht den lang erwarteten Longplayer-Nachfolger auf seine Erfolgalben Black Sands & The North Borders inklusive Vocal-Features von Chet Faker, Rhye & Hundred Waters!

Simon Green, alias Bonobo, kehrt mit seinem sechsten Album zurück, dem meisterlichen, gebieterischen "Migration" - ein Werk mit dem er sich ein für alle Mal an der Spitze der elektronischen Musik verortet. In abwechselnden Zügen opulent, manisch, wunderschön, melancholisch, freudig, voller Emotion und technischer Fertigkeit, ist dies womöglich sein bislang ehrgeizigster Versuch, die grundlegende Beschaffenheit menschlicher Existenz und deren ausgedehnte Dynamik zu erfassen. Neben Zeitgenossen wie Four Tet, Jon Hopkins oder Caribou, zählen Wiz Khalifa, Skrillex, Disclosure oder Warpaint zu Bonobos prominentesten Fans. Sein 2013er Album "The North Borders" erreichte im UK die Top 30 und katapultierte sich auf Platz #1 der elektronischen Charts, sowohl in den USA als auch im UK. Im Zuge dessen spielte sein 12-köpfiges Kollektiv weltweit über 175 Konzerte, darunter zwei ausverkaufte Shows im Sydney Opera House, ein ganztägiges Festival im Londoner Roundhouse, eine ausverkaufte Show im Londoner Alexandra Palace sowie einige renommierte Festival-Slots. Inzwischen verfügt Bonobo rund um den Globus über eine umfangreiche, loyale und engagierte Fanbase. Mehr als eine halbe Million verkaufte Alben und über 150 Millionen Spotify-Streams gehen auf sein Konto und verdeutlichen den Erfolg, den sich dieser ruhige, bescheidene Mann erarbeitet hat. Dank "Migration" wird seine wunderschön raffinierte und gefühlsgeladene Musik in Kürze ein noch größeres Publikum erreichen. Das zutiefst Persönliche kann schließlich ebenso gut allgemein gültig sein.

Blood Debts' is the compulsive debut album from Years Of Denial, the alter-face of London-based French musician/producer and DJ, Jerome Tcherneyan.

Though his formulative Marseille youth was spent exploring the darkest corners of post-punk, New Wave, not to mention Public Enemy and the inspirational Mille Plateaux and Basic Channel labels, Tcherneyan, already an extremely capable drummer, quickly extended his sonic palate toward and beyond the bass-heavy electronic isolationism, insistent beats and drone experimentation that's still very much prevalent in his work today.
One should not either pass over his integral contribution to the much-lauded, though stolidly underground "ghost-rock" unit, Piano Magic, which engineered sublime collaborations with Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance), Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil) and Alan Sparhawk (Low). Tcherneyan, always prolific, can also lay claim to impressive collusions with Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (African Head Charge), Damo Suzuki (Can), 70's psych folk legend, Mark Fry to name but a few.
In 2005, Jerome founded and promoted the infamous 'Flesh' parties; guests including Andy Stott /Claro Intelecto/Edit-Select/James Ruskin/Kirk Degiorgio/Mark Broom/Oliver Ho/Sigha/Steve Bicknell and many more. These nights served as an invaluable education in Techno and Dubmixology; marathon sets played deep into the sunrise.
Skip forward a decade and the DJ bug is even deeper embedded, with Tcherneyan sharing the booth with, amongst many others, Orphx/Phase Fatale/Joefarr and London Modular Alliance.

Tcherneyan's muse and foil on 'Blood Debts,' his first for Oliver Ho's splendid and already essential new Death & Leisure imprint, is Maya Petrovna, an entrancing London-based vocalist, film composer and performance/physical theatre artist, whose voice perfectly evokes Billie Holliday, Diamanda Galas and all stations between.
There's a black neon heart at the centre of 'Blood Debts,' a fetishtic ritual of contorted flesh and altered states; a feverish, infectious paradox of primitivism and modernity. Years of Denial is the ghost in the machine.

Correspondant can finally reveal the release of the remixes for Man Power's debut LP, which was released last year on Correspondant.
A year in the making, the remix package features artists and friends hand-picked by both Jennifer Cardini and Man Power himself.
Disco Halal's Moscoman remixes the baggy splendour of Beilsteiner, creating a rolling and belching extended opus more focused toward the peak time dance floor.
Hivern Disc's JMII takes Hunting Swan and turns it inside out, exploring space with a cerebral, schizophrenic quality.
Alternatively, Pale Blue (Mike Simonetti) takes Boys Beware and re-imagines it as an aggressive drum workout.
Completing the package, Suade, the artist who also mastered the original album, replaces TEN's balearic leanings with an IDM sensibility, yet still retains the optimism of the original track.
All 4 remixes manage to exist as distinct works in their own right, while paying homage to the "magpie" approach of the original long player.

Krishnanda is an album in the truest sense of the word - a spiritual, psychedelic Brazilian masterpiece from start to fnish - celebrated by everyone from Seu Jorge and Kassin to Floatng Points, Madlib and DJ Nuts. These days, originals change hands for thousands of dollars. Pedro dos Santos, born in Rio in 1919, was a percussionist virtuoso, composer and inventor of instru-
ments that apparently included oddites such as the 'Tamba' (electrifed bamboo drum) and the mouth berimbau whistle. Nicknamed Perdo 'Sorongo' afer the rhythm he invented, that features throughout 'Krishnanda'. A highly spiritual man who was regarded as a philosopher by many. He worked with greats including Baden Powell, Elis Regina, Maria Bethany, Elza Soares, Sebastão Tapajós, Roberto Ribeiro, Milton Nascimento, Clara Nunes, Paul Simon and Arthur Verocai, playing on
his legendary self-ttled LP. In the same vein as Verocai and his self-ttled LP, 'Krishnanda' was Pedro's chance to shine with his own, and only, solo recording. Krishnanda was produced by Hélcio Milito, the drummer of Tamba Trio, and arranged by conductor Joppa Lins, and originally released in 1968 on CBS (Brasil). Musically, the album touches folk, samba,
afro-brazilian and psychedelia plus added efects, with a lyrical depth and diversity to match; themes including morality, percepton, existence and ego. Despite the genius of the record and the infuence that it had on musicians at the tme of release, it
disappeared into obscurity. We frst discovered the record around 2003, through a friend Julio Dui. Around that tme Brazilian funk and bossa was the favour of the day, so didn't catch our ear immediately, however it contnued improve with age and now we consider it to be one of the best albums ever made, regardless of genre or origin.

As Claremont 56 speeds towards its' ten-year anniversary, label founder Paul Murphy continues to champion little known producers and previously unheard artists. Over the past 12 months, the label has showcased material from rising talents
such as Bella Figura, Simon Peter, Paraiso and Oma & Amberfame. Now, Claremont 56 is adding another new name to the roster: Statues. Essex-based trio Bradley Lucke (production/bass/percussion/keys), Mark Crooks (keys/production) and Grant Carruthers (vocals/guitar) has been making music on-and-off together since they were teenagers, and last year decided to come together under the Statues alias. They submitted a number of demos to Paul Murphy, who was so impressed by what he heard that he offered to help produce and write an album with them. As debut singles go, 'Alaula' is stunning. Reminiscent of many softly spun
moments from the Claremont 56 back catalogue, it builds slowly and breezily via subtle waves of organic and electronic instrumentation. Carruthers' impassioned vocals pop in and out of the mix at opportune moments, peeping above alluring acoustic guitar, bass, synthesizer and Rhodes parts. Throw in
tumbling, life-affrming piano lines and swelling cello parts - both provided by friend-of- the-family Robin Lee of Faze Action - and you've got another near- perfect chunk of sunset-friendly, horizontal brilliance. On the fip, Murphy dons his familiar Mudd alias to provide a superb Piano Dub. Building the action around a sparse, delay-laden percussion track, Murphy teases out the track's most potent moments, in the process creating something
that lingers even longer in the memory. Lee's superb piano and cello work naturally takes pride of place, as Murphy expertly emphasizes the track's impeccably atmospheric nature.

In the summer of 2014, producers Frankie Valentine and Thomas 'T-Ash' Sciurpa bumped into each other in a London shoe shop. Over a fine selection of brogues and loafers, the conversation drifted onto music. The duo quickly realized they had much in common, and a plan began to form: they would get together and make music as Vitruvians, using the alias as a vehicle for their collaborative work.
Some 18 months and numerous recording sessions in England and Italy later, the first Vitruvians record is ready for release. Dropping on Paul Murphy and Simon Purnell's Leng Records imprint, 'Spaghetti Saloon' is a banjo-pickin' hoedown at the last drinking hole in the Milky Way. Propelled forwards by a restless drum machine rhythm, the duo's original version expertly combines winding synthesizer melodies, wild honky-tonk piano solos, clanging 'closing time' bells, and the most loved-up banjo player in the galaxy. Ennio Morricone, eat your heart out.
The flipside of the 12' features a pair of tasty, DJ-friendly revisions. There's the chugging Banjo Dub, where delay-laden bells and undulating banjo lines rub shoulders with a throbbing, space disco groove, and the even more psychedelic and alluring Piano Dub. As the title suggests, this pushes the duo's distinctive keys work to the fore, stretching out the life affirming solos in a bid to incite even greater dancefloor abandon. Down a glass of bourbon, grab a partner, and get dancin

For his next release on Soundway Records,
Los Angeles-based Dexter Story hooks up with long time friend and compatriot of music, the saxophonist, jazz composer, producer and band-leader Kamasi Washington. A fierce, rumbling electro Ethio-Funk groove provides the platform for an intense and powerful interplay between Washington on tenor sax and Todd Simon on trumpet. An instrumental cover version of Tilahun Gessesse's 1970s cut of the same name, it's Story's homage to the oppressed Oromo people of Southern Ethiopia. Backed on the flip by the one cut from Story's 'Wondem' long-player that did not make it to vinyl when the LP version was cut, Nia Andrew's
sublime and atmospheric collaboration on Eastern Prayer
will keep all those happy who grumbled at it's exclusion
from wax first time around. This is a record that no lover
of Ethio-Jazz, Afro-Beat or Funk should be excused for not
owning.

Fuckthegovernment.Ltd, a.k.a. F.T.G (Alfredo Trastulli) and Music Box head honcho, Marco Riff, return to the Skylax fold in 2016 with a cache of house nuggets for our listening pleasure. Their last venture on Skylax saw F.T.G collaborate with a bunch of his friends, resulting in some of the best tracks we'd heard all year, including the unforgettable Fuckthegovernment theme. Their tracks have been celebrated and hailed by some of the best DJs in the game, names such as Derrick May, Ricardo Villalobos, Raresh, and DJ Harvey. The bar set by the first record remains sky high, and somehow, these two manage to raise the bar even higher. It may be the biggest cliche going when talking about an album, but the duo certainly do take us on a journey, through the past and present of house music. It's a record not too dissimilar in tone to Paranoid London's from a few years back, but F.T.G and Marco strip things back even further than those guys did, in our opinion; The sound is more raw with less frills, and no track names to predispose feelings in the listener either. This eight track project is cohesive and elaborate, with movements through sounds both acid and jazzy, minimal and maximal. It explores sounds that came to prominence in famous house locales such as Detroit and Chicago over in the U.S., but the underground European influence is definitely present, from Paris to Berlin, and of course F.T.G and Marco's home of Italy. With this album, these guys add to the underground sound that has cultivated in the city of Perugia for years now, a place that has seen the likes of Simoncino and Nicholas hone their craft.Don't miss out on a piece of Skylax history!

Anenon is Brian Allen Simon, an artist and the founder of
the Non Projects record label. Constantly shedding the non-essential in search of a deep and individualized core, Anenon's music feels potent and refined, yet still raw. His work reaches audiences through speakers and venues where music is given serious consideration. An experimental artist using contemporary tools, Brian mines the intersection of electronics, jazz, improvisation and spiritual atmospherics.Simon has performed internationally throughout Japan, Europe and North America, sharing the stage with the likes of Morton Subotnick, Julia Holter, Laurel Halo, Baths and many more. He is a distinguished entrant of the 2011 Red Bull Music Academy and has guest lectured at CalArts. Alongside multiple LP's and EP's released on Non Projects, Simon has also released songs on Ghostly International, Innovative Leisure and Brownswood. October saw Anenon's debut on Friends of Friends with the 'Camembert' EP, an effort that will be followed with the 'Petrol' LP in 2016. Born out of a series of improvisational sessions with friend and collaborator Jon-Kyle Mohr, Anenon's 'Petrol' is an album about his native city of Los Angeles, but not the Los Angeles you know. It's a city built as much upon the frenzied kinetic energy of its freeways as its moments of thoughtful, early morning solitude. In Anenon's mind, an Angeleno is 'one who understands the beauty of distance and the consistencies of irregularity' and those juxtapositions can be
found throughout 'Petrol', a spacious album that needs to be lived in to be believed. Those juxtapositions extend to the sonic makeup of 'Petrol', from the tactile bliss of opener 'Body' to the album closing title track's climactic bombast. Out March 4 on Friends of Friends, 'Petrol' is the culmination of years of work and a deeply refined sensibility,
a combination that seems to fit both label and artist like a glove.

'Sidetracking - Part 1: Prologue' is the first vinyl taste of Jona's de- but album project for Alex Niggemann's forward-thinking AEON la-bel. The musical puzzle will be completed in February 2016 with the release of a second vinyl instalment, featuring 6 more original tracks, and the full 10-track album on CD format. Created over the course of two highly creative years, the concept for 'Sidetracking' was for Jona to invite some of his musician and producer friends to collaborate with him in the studio and compli- ment his album's solo productions. This impressive coming together (to be fully revealed over the coming months) features Varoslav (Rue de Plaisance, Paris), Usio (Studio Barnhus), David K (Cocoon), Bo- livian percussionist Daniel Aguilar, Italian pianist Giovanni Verga, and Edinburgh-based producer The Reverse Engineer. Driven by his desire to explore new sound perspectives and ideas, Jona has carefully forged his career path by consistently creating exciting and forward-thinking music. His previous label outings: 'Traffic' on 'Lost Tapes Volume 1' (AEON010) and 'Gemini EP' (AE- ON016) have seen him fine-tune his own unique sound. By incor- porating a wide range of styles into his tracks, Jona strives to break down unnecessary boundaries and explores new ideas and ways to ignite that hallowed dancefloor flame. It is therefore no wonder that his collaborative creations for 'Sidetracking' have yielded such stimulating aural delights. Fittingly, the album prologue opens with a track whose style is heav- ily influenced by the jazz music that Jona was so in love with dur- ing his formative years. Calling on the somewhat mysterious Usio (whose 'Kuwa Huru' LP on Studio Barnhus should be checked by everyone) to join him in a studio jam, has resulted in 'The Chase', an utterly compelling afro-beat influenced percussive groove, topped with swirling funk-fuelled stabs and strings, mesmerising chiming piano, and a large helping of pure, hip-swinging goodness. Taking 'The Chase' on an entirely different and yet perfectly com- plimentary twisted trip, AEON family members Simone Sinatti and Marco Paladin (aka Speaking Minds) conjure up a futuristic technoid disco demon that is all about throbbing energy, sweat, darkness and hissing smoke machines - perfect ingredients for an unforget- table strobelight serenade. Changing the mood entirely and cutting the tempo to a dublicious skank, 'Transmission Breakdown' sees Jona's experimental creative juices in full flow, as he teams up with Edinburgh-based digital com- poser and sound artist Dave House (aka The Reverse Engineer) for a delightfully hazy downtempo jam. Both as an artist and a DJ, Manchester's Marcus Intalex has been at the forefront of soulful, musical drum & bass for what seems like forever. A passion for techno has always run deeply through his music and under his Trevino moniker he is also a powerful creative force (check his recent 'Front' album to get the full picture). Here, he takes 'Transmission Breakdown' on a magical excursion, filled with subtle, hypnotic, evolving energy, anchored with an irresistible pul- sating bassline throb - a perfectly synergetic interpretation to round off Jona's 'Sidetracking' album prologue in style.

Following a summer of fifth birthday celebrations, Tom Trago's Voyage Direct label returns to action with a brand new 12' from Amsterdam scene stalwart Simon Weiss.
Although a new member of the Voyage Direct family, Weiss is no newcomer to the scene. He's previously delivered high grade EPs for Rush Hour, Deepermotions and Home Taping Is Killing Music, and his contribution to First Mission, Voyage Direct's fifth anniversary compilation, was one of the undoubted highlights of that set.

It's that track - the gloriously positive 'Tele-Vision', and it's cyber-house fusion of darting synthesizer arpeggios, Detroit-influenced percussion, and thrusting acid bass - that heads up Weiss' first EP for Voyage Direct.

Dutch veteran and longtime friend of the family Dexter turns in a stunning remix, putting a well-placed boot up the backside of 'Tele-Vision' via speaker-shaking sub bass, kaleidoscopic electrofunk motifs and thumping techno rhythms. It's a stunning re-make, and one that takes Weiss' fine original to even greater heights.

Flip the record for two previously unheard Weiss productions. First up is 'Ghost', a supernatural house shuffler full of alien synths, wayward melodies, intergalactic electronics and crunchy drum machine hits. Weiss flips the script slightly on 'Super Sub', pairing his now trademark vintage synthesizer refrains and tumbling electronics with a heavyweight, bassline-driven groove. It's a sweet and evocative track, but critically also packs a punch.

Earlier this year, an email dropped into the Claremont 56 inbox. It was from a producer in the early stages of his musical career called Simon Peter, and contained a joyous slice of languid, organic Balearica entitled 'Arc of Lark'. Suitably impressed, Claremont 56 boss Paul Murphy had no hesitation in snapping up the track right away.It marks a new stage in Simon Peter's career. He made his debut in February 2014 with the Double Up EP on Silhouette Music, which contained the shimmering nu-Balearic disco of 'Espacio Temporal'. While that was laden with sun-kissed synthesizers, 'Arc of Lark' is a much more organic affair. Blissful electric piano keys, hazy guitars and fluttering flutes cascade over an undulating live bassline and shuffling, bongo-laden beats. Warm and humid, it's a slice of audible
sunshine to brighten up the grim winter months.Long-time friends of the family 40 Thieves handle remix duties, turning Simon Peter's picturesque original into an effects-laden chunk of slo-mo dub disco goodness. 40 Thieves member Layne Fox loved the track so much that he's also contributed an additional remix that focues the action around a loose, languid, dub reggae influenced groove, spiralling electronics and Peter's mesmerizing flute line. It's a fitting conclusion to a magical label debut.

Solimano returns to his Unlock Recordings imprint with two mellow house cuts, featuring a pair of imaginative reinterpretations from fellow Argentinean's Barem and Deep Mariano.

Originally established to promote Latin American productions in 2004, Unlock Recordings has since hosted the likes of Jorge Savoretti and Guti. Its founder, Gonzalo Solimano, has proven himself time again as a label owner, DJ and producer, working as a 'Mr. X' at Red Bull Academy for almost ten years when not performing at the likes of Creamfields Buenos Aires, South American Music Conference and Space World Tour.

'Learjet' is a low-slung groover complete with organic samples, bass guitar licks and a hypnotically looped vocal sample. Up first on remix duties, Minus regular Barem subdues the raw textures of the original to generate an understated rendition, whereas Get Slow founder Deep Mariano takes it down a percussive route where an infectious rhythm is accompanied by dub inspired synths. Finally, 'Calling Again' is a sensual deep house cut featuring the vocals of Sophie Taylor, known for her collaboration with Mathias Kaden, among many others.
Support by:
Hernan Cattaneo - Paco Osuna - Neil (Nail) - David Durango (David Durango, Poker Flat, Suara, Galaktika) - Stacey Pullen (Transmat (Detroit) - Rich Nxt (Fuse) - Hector Couto (Tribal Sessions) - Jorge Savoretti (Esperanza - Savor) - Alexi Delano (H Productions / Visionquest / M_Nus) - Rework (Visionquest / Items & Things / Loveyeah) - Martin Landsky (Poker Flat) - Leon (VIVa / Various) - Grant Dell (Giant Sound / Chicago Transit Authority) - NTFO (Diynamic) - Simone Giudici (Dirty Channels, Ovum, Hot Natured, Rebirth) Javi Bora (2020Vision / Hudd Traxx / Defected / Kehakuma) - Eddie Richards (Evil Eddie Richards)

There have been many different ways in describing the personal stories behind the protagonists of the electronical music scene in the 90ies. It´s in the nature of things that especially producers, whose place of work is the studio, remained rather in the background.
One of them is Ralf Hildenbeutel. He was the producer of Sven Väth´s most important releases such as "L'Esperanza" or "Fusion" and an essential creative part of the Eye Q label in the 90ies. His "Earth Nation" project was the first live act from that genre who was taking a drummer on the live stage, playing on international festivals and stages including the "Montreux Jazz Festival". The vita continues. While many other musicians kept on working on techno, Hildenbeutel composed for artists such as Laith Al-Deen or Phil´s son Simon Collins and wrote filmmusic for movies such as "Hommage á Noir" which won the Goldmedal for music on the New York Filmfestivals. The film adaption of Martion Suter's "Der Koch", "Ausgerechnet Sibirien", TV thriller such as "Kommissarin Lucas" or even the series of "Verbotene Liebe" have been scored by Ralf Hildenbeutel. His filmmusic for the international multi-awarded shortmovie "Momentum" was nominated at the Newport International Filmfestival. On "Moods" Hildenbeutel finds more back to electronical music. Fans of artists such as Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm or Jon Hopkins will enjoy this longplayer. Hildenbeutel mixes complex string-arrangements and piano pieces with clicks & cuts and invents his own coherent language which allows both directions to live in harmony. Elegiac compositions and vivacious, percussive breakouts as in "Spark" (for which an video by award-winning filmmaker Boris Seewald will be made) meet on this album.
An album which grows and gains depth with each hearing.

Composer, musician and producer Nils Frahm steers the new edition of Late Night Tales, set for release on 11th September. A hypnotic voyage through modern and classical composition, experimental electronics, jazz, dub techno, soundtracks and soul; Frahm's Late Night Tales haunts and beguiles. It's not mixing, so much as gently layering, like a particularly fluffy goose-down duvet folding in on itself, the folds part of the attraction, the layers part of the overall picture being painted. Many of the tracks have been edited, effected and re-made. The subtly overdubbed parts on Rhythm & Sound's 'Mango Drive' adding to the haunting hypnosis, while choral interruptions aid Miles Davis' 'Générique' on its journey towards the light. Meanwhile, on Boards Of Canada's 'In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country', the tempo is somewhat sluggish, the organs slurred, as Frahm slows it down to a funereal 33rpm that nevertheless fits perfectly. The purring of his girlfriend's cat Cleo transitions playfully between Nina Simone's definitive version of 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes' and unearthing the gentle electronics of Dub Tractor. Eddy Arnold's 'You're The Only Star', a country tune that sounds like its transmitting from a mid-west diner wireless circa 1947, is straight from the soundtrack to an imaginary David Lynch movie, comforting and dismaying all at once. This crackly reality abounds, as on Finnish band Gentleman Losers' 'Honey Bunch', that adds an unsettling texture, with a sound that is modern but as nostalgic. Frahm's own tracks bookend the mix, opening with an inspired "rework" of the infamous silent John Cage piece '4:33' ("I sat at the piano in silence and worked from


there. I listened and took in the atmosphere and this is what came out of it") and ending with a solo piano version of 'Them', taken from his recently released score of the film 'Victoria'. The traditional Late Night Tales spoken word epilogue is voiced by actor Cillian Murphy (Inception, Batman, 28 Days Later), reading a short story by Edna Walsh (Hunger, Disco Pigs).

For his first release on Common Dreams, Reedale Rise (Simon Keat) brings us two thoughtful tracks, both well-layered and very well produced. The A side "Pressure Box" is the more funkier, 'deep house' leaning tune, giving us juicy chords, a starry pad, and some very nice atmospheres in between. All the while, drums are pushing you forward, and in some parts just reach out and slap you in the face. The B side "Azikiwe" fuses sporadic arpeggiations with some very thoughtful chord melodies. Maybe it could be described as having a more psychedelic twist. But just when you get too far out, you're brought right back to the rhythm tracks wich are nothing short of solid, making for a good all around dance track.

Making waves on his own label, DEM Records and the Swedish Barnhus label, Stockholm based techno DJ & producer Simon Haydo delivers 4 trademark hypnotic little monsters for BALANS

We welcome Lebanese born, Stockholm based techno DJ & producer Simon Haydo in our midst. This exceptional talent has already made waves with his own label, DEM Records and the infamous Studio Barnhus label. He delivers 4 trademark hypnotic little monsters for BALANS. Classic & retro sounding tracks. An offering that is dynamic yet feels contemporary at the same time. It's Simon's strongpoint to be able to create a lot of tension, suspense and dynamics with only a few elements, very much like old masters such as Daniel Bell and Robert Hood.

Nick Anthony Simoncino AKA Ken Kojima returns on Chiwax with obscure Business Vol. 2 & we are very happy to have him back.....

The story of Bonobo is one that's become uncommon in contemporary music. There was no sudden, viral internet sensation, no one-off big hit, no abrupt, accidental alignment with the zeitgeist. Instead, over the course of four albums, myriad tours, singles, remixes and production work for other artists, he quietly but very definitely became one of the most important artists in electronic music. The hard work paid off, and culminated in 2010's 'Black Sands,' a masterful album that married Green's inimitable melodic genius and musicianship to bleeding edge electronics, bass and infectious drums.

After a year plus of touring the hypnotic, extended live versions of Black Sands, he finally found time last year to embed himself in his New York studio and write his fifth studio album. Now, in 2013, he stands ready to take things up yet another notch. 'The North Borders' is a long stride forward - both a natural evolution and a continuation of the electronic palette of Black Sands. Thematic, resonant, addictive and perfectly formed, it's a thrillingly coherent statement piece.

It's also an album that shows just how far electronic music has come. Its richness of texture, emotive force and all round depth are facets found more often within, dare we say it, classical music. If there's a renaissance taking place within this scene, Simon Green could make a strong claim to being one of its key driving forces.

As with previous albums, The North Borders features a careful balance between vocal tracks and instrumentals, ensuring that the productions themselves get room to breathe and shine. When Green discovered that he and Erykah Badu shared a mutual appreciation for each other's work, he leapt at the chance to collaborate. The resultant 'Heaven for the Sinner' is one of the album's triumphs, a transcendental, incanted vocal masterclass married to a brilliant two-step glitch and a yearning melody.

NYC folk underdog Grey Reverend appears on album opener 'First Fires,' providing a raw, emotion-laid-bare growl that sets the tone for an album that's joyously unselfconscious. Bonobo has a long history of unearthing new talent, Black Sands having launched the solo career of guest vocalist Andreya Triana. The North Borders sees him do so once again. The startling, ethereal vocals of new collaborator Szjerdene are sprinkled across the album, and Green has yet again found the perfect voice to express where he's at. 'Transits' sees her vocal weave around a garage beat that's somehow fragile and purposeful all at once, a gradually emerging hook rising from the depths of the song.

'Emkay' is a stunning example of the album's marriage of addictive, urban-inflected drums to rise-and-swell melody that never fails to move the listener. Opening single 'Cirrus' sees a clockwork-precise rhythm drive a chiming, insistent melody that builds to one of the record's great emotional climaxes. This is where Green excels, he knows how to invest electronic music with immense feeling.

The North Borders - like all great records - is an album that demands to be listened to as such, a body of work with its own internal logic, themes and narrative arc. Bonobo's abilities are at an all time high, and The North Borders everything his growing army of fans will have hoped for - a sheer delight.

With releases on Moon Harbour, Curl Curl, Railyard and his Poker Flat debut "The Whisper Had It" last year, Simon Flower is one of New Zealand's top exports. Now he's back with two more slabs of irrepressible dancefloor action, complete with a slow burning deep-techno remix by Berlin's own Efdemin. "Phosphenes" is a pacy, chemically induced affair into the darker eschews of Flower's production techniques.