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Repress.

Back in 2015, Japanese DIY house pioneer Soichi Terada stepped back into the limelight courtesy of Rush Hour's 'Sounds From The Far East', a Hunee curated retrospective of material first released on his own Far East Recording label in the 1990s and early 2000s. Buoyed by the positive response and renewed interest in his work, Terada went back into studio to record his first new album of house music for over 25 years, Asakusa Light.

Developed over 18 months, Terada tried to recreate the mental and physical processes that led to the creation of his acclaimed earlier work. Those familiar with Terada’s celebrated, dancefloor-focused sound of the 1990s – a vibrant, atmospheric, and emotive take on deep house powered by the twin attractions of groove and melody – will find much to enjoy on Asakusa Light.

“I tried to recall my feelings 30 years ago, but when I tried it, I found it super difficult,” he explains. “I didn’t even know what I thought about myself five years ago, and the mental metabolic cycle seems to be faster than I thought. I tried different methods, including digging up my old MIDI data and composing by remembering old experiences. With the help of Rush Hour, I found some of the light from my heart that I had 30 years ago. I nicknamed the light I found in my heart, ‘Asakusa Light’.”

Produced using the very same synthesizers and drum machines that powered his 1990s work, the album is a joyous, colourful and life-affirming collection of timeless house music that not only recalls Terada’s own impeccable back catalogue, but also that of similarly celebrated contemporaries such as the Burrell Brothers or Ben Cenac (Dream 2 Science, Sha-Lor).

Terada, who has spent much of the last two decades writing video game music, has always had a gift for combining warm, undulating synthesizer basslines and perfectly programmed machine drums with stirring chords, smile-inducing melodies and mellow musical flourishes. It’s this immersive, sun-kissed and tuneful trademark style that takes centre stage on Asakusa Light, an album for the ages.

The set begins with the alien-sounding chords, soft-touch percussion and dawn-friendly warmth of ‘Silent Chord’ and ends on a high via the bouncing string stabs, starlight chords and thickset grooves of ‘Blinker’; in between, you’ll find a deluge of effortlessly feelgood music that’s the aural equivalent of a dopamine rush at sunrise.

There are subtle variations aplenty throughout the album – see the 8-bit lead lines and pulsing electronic textures of ‘Takusambient’, the vintage Tony Humphries flex of ‘Diving Into Minds’ and the effortlessly funky ‘Marimbau’ – but it’s the uniquely atmospheric, vivid and tactile nature of Terada’s loved-up sound that resonates. After well over 30 years in house music, the light in his heart is shining brighter than ever.

Another vinyl and another electric debut as we introduce France's Casual Treatment to EarToGround. New to the label but an extremely well versed, well known prolific producer and DJ to our scene.

This powerful Extended Player effortfully delivers four bright cuts of razor sharp Techno. The two originals from Casual express a somewhat soulful experience of his production range with the use of immersive chords and shimmering female vocals backed by obsessive grooves and perfectly executed percussion.

To fully augment the experience exponentially two Portuguese leading lights of the movement deliver their own input to the release via two separate remixes. Vil enterers in with his unique rolling attitude to bring you a true peak time performance and completing the release Cravo lets rip with an intense, sharp, fast paced rework with his dark undertones.

A true essential 12".

Life has changed in the eight years since the release of II. In ours, yours and Gala Drop themselves. Most times without noticing it, partly due to those two years of a semi-existence that still resonates and with the ongoing predatory gentrification process changing the landscape and life of Lisbon, home to the band since ever. Close to a decade and a half of existence, with various mutations along the way enacting new perspectives and moments of stillness and reflection to a sound that's been mutating itself to its own internal rhythm and agency under the guiding light of the core duo of Afonso Simões and Nélson Gomes. Now a trio, with Rui Dâmaso transitioning from II after the departure of Jerry the Cat and Guilherme Canhão, Gala Drop sound even more focused as a working band, with their new album title Amizade – friendship in Portuguese – making perfect sense in a celebration of their, by now, patented soundworld of cosmic inspiration: krautrock's endless and hypnotic potential, dub's sense of transient space, the throb of house, balearic dreams, polyrhythms and a communal sense of belonging.

Again, this sprawling sphere of influence opens itself to new shapes and inspirations, but there's a deeper sense of accuracy and direction, with the band channeling those legacies into something we can only grasp as the Gala Drop sound. An organic outcome of working steadily as a trio, made possible by a residency promoted by gnration in Braga, Amizade dwells on the psychedelic nature of the group through seven tracks made up of dreamy synth washes, loads of percussion, echoes, chilled guitars under a radiant aura. Gala Drop have never sounded as openly dubby as on 'Dub da Meia Noite' and 'Areal Dub' or capable of converging different tropes of the hardcore continuum – rave stabs and cut up vocals – on a slow burner as memorable as 'Monte do Ouro'. Or given free reign to electricity as on the narcotic guitars of 'Guitarra Voadora' – excepting the one off with Ben Chasny on 2012's Broda. 'Amizade' points towards all of that with comforting escapism and wrapping things up 'Raio' turns dubstep's original bass weight meditations into a cosmic funk workout. One last hug before we leave. An album that feels like a collective moment of celebration, just when we most need it.

Afonso Simões - Drums, percussion and synthesizers
Nelson Gomes - Electric guitar and electronics
Rui Dâmaso - Electric bass & guitar and synthesizer

Recorded by Budda Guedes at Estúdio Mobydick, Braga
Mixed by Gala Drop and Hugo Valverde at Estúdio Cão Andaluz, Lisboa
Mastered by Anne Taegert at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlim
Cover photo by Sara Graça
Design by Nicolai Sarbib

Introducing CROWD002: Join us for an thrilling techno experience crafted by the talented Argentinian DJ and producer Sol Ortega, featuring a remix by FJAAK.

This EP delivers a carefully curated collection of effective dancefloor bangers that showcase the genre's timeless allure and the artist's exceptional artistry. Immerse yourself in the enchanting beats and harmonies of each track, igniting a desire for more.

Repress!

Steppin up, steppin in. Darius Syrossian’s Moxy Muzik lets loose another bomb, this time in the form of Eskuche ‘Feelings’. The NYC producer delivers a house cut drenched in deep flavours and deft disco touches all the while maintaining a peak time dance floor energy.

On the flip Andrew Kay’s remix is definitely the one that has been turning heads the most – not least because Darius unleashed it at Forbidden Forrest festival and a subsequent online video led to a flood of ID requests. It’s a 130bpm, slamming yet minimal track with monstrous breakdown and dark in your face baseline.

Closing out proceedings, James Dexter remix is a lovely minimal interpretation doused in glitching synthlines and hypnotic rhythms to lock in a dancefloor.

To Celebrate their 3rd anniversary Berlin’s Pure Hate Trax hand the
reigns to resident artist Slave To Society. Andrew Bowen aka Slave To
Society provided the debut EP on the label with his now infamous ‘Path Of Self Destruction EP’ which also featured a remix from UK Techno pioneer Perc. Since then Andrew has gone onto release on some key labels including PI Electronics, Scuderia, Natural Selection, PRSPCT & his own self titled Slave To Society imprint. This time on remix duty Birmingham born Berlin based Rebekah steps up to remix lead track
Thrown To The Wolves. As one of the most respected figures in the
world of hard-edged Techno, Rebekah has carved out an infallible
reputation as a consummate artist and has established herself as one
of the leading UK exponents of the sound currently operating on the
global circuit. With 3 Experimental, Industrial, Breakcore originals
packed full of Esoteric Noise, Distortion and Breaks with a straight up
Hard Techno/Hardcore floor focused remix, Pure Hate Trax stamp their
intent as they move into the next chapter. PH006 is available in stores
from 23rd August 2023, distributed by Ready Made Distribution, Berlin.
Mastered by Joe Farr. Artwork by Slave To Society.



c B1. Thrown To The Wolves Rebekah Remix

10th year anniversary reissue of Iggy Pop's Après cover album with a bonus track, Sacha Distel's La Belle Vie and new artwork, and an exclusive poster. Originally released only in France in 2012, Après is being reissued for the first time and is now finally available outside of France.

There are few people across the globe, who will have not been touched by the work of Frankie Knuckles. Forever regarded as ‘The Godfather of House’. A Grammy Award winner, Frankie had a street in Chicago named after him where the old Warehouse once stood to commemorate the first ever Frankie Knuckles Day on 25th August 2004. Five years ago, Frankie passed away in Chicago on 31st March 2014 leaving behind one of the greatest house music legacies spanning almost four decades.

Now he is commemorated once again by long time writing and production partner Eric Kupper who will release part II of the special commemorative album on vinyl around this date. Eric, himself a seasoned DJ producer and writer, working side by side with Frankie on many his seminal classics, as well as personally working on over 116 Billboard #1 Dance Records. Having both worked together for many years they established themselves at ‘Director’s Cut’ from 2011 and set about producing original releases and remixes based on the classic ‘Def Mix’ sound while sharing equal credits for their creations.

The album features some of Directors Cut’s best works with the Re-Directed version of the seminal classic ‘Baby Wants To Ride’ plus their re rubs of Inaya Day, Sybil, Hardsoul and Lou Rawls - You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (Kenny Summit, Frankie Knuckles & Eric Kupper Unreleased Anthem).

This album is to be released in collaboration with The Frankie Knuckles Foundation who work to continue Frankie’s legacy whilst focusing on music in schools, LGBTQ youth homelessness, AIDS research / prevention & diabetes research / education.

More than a decade after the release of ´Land Lines', the mythical Humboldt County, California based duo of Brian Pyle and Merrick McKinlay reappears seemingly out of nowhere with 'Atheistsaregods'. With past releases on such cult-like labels as Root Strata, Weird Forest, Blackest Rainbow or Digitalis, Starving Weirdos were an indelible part of a sprawling and loose network of artists in Northern America whose DIY work ethic and extreme activity revolved around shoestring-budget constant touring, numerous limited editions on CDR, tape and vinyl and a relentless drive to push the boundaries of genre.

Out of that cauldron, Starving Weirdos stood out as one of the most persistent and visionary acts, developing a mind altering body of work that went from warm soundscapes through droney digressions, freeform improvisation and raucous noise summoned from a myriad of instrumentation and low budget processing - vocals, keyboards, violin, flute, percussion and an assortment of less identifiable sound sources. 10 years on their legacy remains a timeless and wildly under-appreciated one, but hopefully this new album will shine a light on their idiosyncratic approach. As time itself was never a constraint. This is music suspended outside of it.

Right from the start with the echoing percussion, dissonant keys and processed vocals of 'Haiku Nagasaki', 'Atheistsaregods' draws a continuous flux of psychedelic elevation that goes from the gloomy electronic motifs not unlike the early Cluster vibes of 'Invocation' into the dank percussive maze of the appropriately titled 'Barulho do Samba'. The self titled track induces a sense of post-apocalyptic vertigo via hallucinatory scraps of voice, suspended synth tones and reverberating field recordings, connecting into the droney mystics of 'Dudukahar (Reed Prayer)'. Coming full circle, 'For Vinny' brings back the echoing percussion amidst hypnotic cello lines until it drifts off into the unknown. With the same palpable sense of urgency, Starving Weirdos feel as vital as ever. And even if we didn't realize it we were in need of them. Welcome back.

‘The Nature of Nature’ is the debut LP by Hanegi Koen, the Japan-based creative duo composed of British ¦lmmaker Sam King and Canadian label head Sean Mallion (ADSR Collective). Picking up where they left off with their 2021 EP ‘Well Worth A Visit’, this album continues the legacy of spaced-out ambient guitars and driving analog beats the band nicely cued up for us. It has continuity from their previous work, going even deeper this time, further de¦ning the contours of their sound. As the title suggests, Nature was a big influence on the record. Many of the track titles are from the season they were recorded in – for example, ‘Hanafubuki’, when the cherry blossoms fall, ‘Tsuyu’, the rainy season, or ‘Kaminari’ which was written during a crazy thunderstorm. The sights and sounds of those times are reflected in the tracks, with ¦eld recordings helping to supplement the atmosphere. Hanegi’s founding ethos of only using analog instruments and drum machines to compose and perform, minimizing the need for the computer as an interface, is alive and well in this album. The tracks got tested in front of an audience and improved on, based on feedback from playing them live, leading to a psychedelic, synth-rich, analog journey. “We like all things analog. We both use computers and digital screens a fair amount in our day job, so it’s nice to give our eyes a rest from that and allow the music to be created from everything we have on the table.
Similarly vinyl records, ¦lm photography, and simply walking around outside in the forest – all these things are a way of slowing down and escaping the digital world.”

Greatly influenced by the wild contrasting outdoors of their home in Japan, the mountains, forests, and ocean, ‘The Nature of Nature’ is an open invitation to unplug to reconnect, a feeling that Hanegi Koen want to share with you. Released on August 18th, on vinyl and digital via Subtempo. Credits: Written and composed by Sean Mallion and Sam King Mixed by Aoki Takamasa Mastering by Manmade Mastering Album art by Laine Butler Design by Rocco Tyndale

Carved out from between the cracks of life over a 2 year period, Low Flung presents his eighth full length album ‘The Wheel’. Together, the 11 tracks provide a space to process and sit with difficult change. This takes the form of microscopic minimalist landscapes. Presented in both audio and physical form as micro grooves on a 12” vinyl.

At times the sound wanders and walks, other times it remains still, clear and precise. The omni-present artifacts found in ‘The Wheel’ are left to breathe a different life during each listen. Drones act like familiar trails losing their path as space transforms like a breeze over a table of sand. Hyper focused spores evolve around blurred waves of time. Electronic tones are captured flowing to the rhythm of a decaying natural world.

‘The Wheel’ is a patchwork of sonic experiments made using modular synthesis, fixed architecture synthesis, Buchla Music Easel (replica), outboard effects, cassette manipulation techniques, samplers and field recordings taken along the texturally rich and historically questionable eastern coastline of Australia.

The tracks have been composed with a materiality that embraces the acoustics of different listening environments. Much like mood, this means each listening experience is unique due to the natural acoustics of your listening space. The sounds on this album embrace this phenomena, creating a rich, visceral listening experience that slowly scratches away at discrete moments of time

Rather than attempting to traverse new sonic fields of experimentation in ‘The Wheel’, the album touches on the various spaces Danny has explored over the past ten years as an Audio Visual artist. Although technically eighth, it would be more fitting to say this album draws a clear line from ‘Blow Waves (2018)’ to ‘Outside The Circle (2020)’ to become the third and final chapter in the expanded non linear, unintentional landscape series. Serendipitous that each was conceived over 2 year periods of time.

While the key focus is sitting with difficult change, this album is also a celebration of any moment you might find yourself in. Good, bad, easy or hard, this album is an attempt to help with feeling content wherever you are along your path. With each cycle a new context.

The EP FACE II is a continuation of the Faces EP series, of which the first EP was released in october 2022. The basis here is also a literary fixpoint with KAFKAS VER- WANDLUNG.

the examination of the urban modern man has its origin in the album JAHRE and is now explored in more detail here. What happens to us in a time of digital transparency as a glass human of the city and night.

It starts with THE VOID, which was originally intended as a poem about being lost. We go out into the night, some to search, some to forget and some to never come back as the same again. On our journey we often take substances that we expect to make this journey easier and faster. the escape from ourselves and from our relationships to the environment and humans can‘t just be skipped. a fast way is always a dangerous way and often leads to an even bigger EMPTINESS.

In THE GHOST something appears to us late at night, it is like a shadow of the previous hours, something that has followed us on the streets and accompanied us un- discovered until we reached our home. We wake up and at first it is unclear whether we are dreaming.

In half-sleep the dimensions blur together and the whole polyva- lence of the different existences gapes open. We blink into the DARKNESS and try to recognize something, the light remains far away and yet we hear this piercing sound, which in the end leaves us only with ourselves. we are the spirit of the night, trapped on an old tape in the chest of nothing.

The next section THE MOON shows us the light in the darkness. The shadows and ghosts give way for a moment and the light flows through our veins and molecules. The poem describes our unspoken longing to follow the light, in the light our fears disappear and everything blurs into an unknown familiarity. We stagger back and forget the encounters with our inner DAWN.

In the light the ghosts disappear like childhood memories left behind.
The last chapter is written by THE DAWN, a stanza from the poem of the same name as a spoken reconciliation with the world. In spite of everything, we seek harmony and connectedness. No one wants to become an exile, even if we can‘t always bring it about ourselves. We love LIFE and we hear and feel everything around us, if we let ourselves ...

ALL LOVE
AMAS_DHE / AMAS_PHI

The album opener, “Fainted Fog,” reintroduces this fuller, panoramic version of Helios. Woozy synths give way to a propulsive drum pattern as the track’s characteristics populate in the haze. A piano plays between the beat, and another synth solos overtop, ascending towards the peak with an exhale of live kicks and looping guitar. For every bold moment on Espera, there are more muted, counter-balancing stretches; “Intertwine” offers one of the most meditative. Strums mingle with keys in the front half before the beat returns to deliver a hypnotic nod.

Kenniff sees each song as integral to the whole — “if you took one out, it would be like tearing a page from a book,” he says — but still functional independently, like a series of self-contained epics. “All The While” best represents this intention; a song in three equal parts constructed on a resonant drum sequence. Shimmering synth notes surface first, then pastoral guitar and piano flutters, converging at the end to evaporate into the ether.

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim’s acclaimed 2010 album Here Lies Love receives its first-ever vinyl release to coincide with a new production opening on Broadway this summer. Here Lies Love is a double-disc song cycle – improbably poignant, decidedly surreal, surprisingly thought provoking – about the rise and fall of the Philippines' notorious Imelda Marcos. It was conceived by David Byrne; composed by Byrne and DJ/recording artist Fatboy Slim, AKA Norman Cook; and performed by a dream cast drawn from the worlds of indie rock, alt country, R&B and pop. Byrne's taste in collaborators is as imaginative as it is impeccable, including Cyndi Lauper (who recounts, to lighthearted disco beats, Imelda's courtship with Ferdinand Marcos), Steve Earle (as the power-hungry Ferdinand), Dap-Kings vocalist Sharon Jones (recalling Imelda's introduction into New York society) and Natalie Merchant (as spurned Imelda confidante Estrella, anticipating the onset of martial law). Along with vocals turns from such stars as Tori Amos and the B-52's Kate Pierson, Byrne works with rising indie rockers St. Vincent and My Brightest Diamond; New York chanteuses Nellie McKay and Martha Wainwright; and dance-music divas Róisín Murphy and Santigold. Byrne himself appears as the voice of imperialistic America on ‘American Troglodyte’, a send-up that wouldn't have seemed out of places in Talking Heads' True Stories.



Byrne originally envisioned this as a musical theatre piece, to be mounted in disco and nightclub settings, reflecting the globe-trotting Marcos' taste for such velvet-roped spots as Studio 54 and Regine's. In 2006, he performed work-in-progress versions to enthusiastic audiences at New York City's Carnegie Hall and the Adelaide Festival in Australia. While plans for a US theatrical production continued to evolve, he delivered this unique recording. The award-winning theatrical production eventually premiered at The Public Theater in New York in 2013, travelled to London’s National Theater for a sold-out run (2014–15), and was remounted at the Seattle Repertory Theater (2017).



Here Lies Love has an effervescent disco feel, redolent of Fatboy Slim's own dance-floor anthems, with warm undercurrents of the Latin rhythms that have percolated through Byrne's recent solo work. The sunny arrangements act in counterpoint to the reality of the Marcos' increasingly repressive regime, reflecting the imagined inner life of the glamour-obsessed Imelda. Explains Byrne, "For me, the darker side of the excesses are, for the most part, a matter of record. A lot of the audience is going to come with that knowledge already. What's more of a challenge is to get inside the head of the person who was behind all of that, and understand what made them tick." Byrne offers no judgment and avoids the obvious – there is no mention of Imelda's infamous shoe collection.



Many of Byrne's lyrics are, astonishingly enough, constructed from actual Imelda quotes, including the project's title, the words that Imelda, now returned to the Philippines from US-assisted exile in Hawaii, would like to have inscribed on her gravestone. In addition to his new liner note, Byrne illustrates the story with archival photos. In a detailed preface, he reveals what drew him to this subject and the bumpy route he took to launch the project and, ultimately, record this album. The booklet is indeed a page-turner, just as Here Lies Love is a wonderfully old-school album that rewards start-to-finish listening. Once again, Byrne – beloved as musician, thinker and bicyclist-about-town – reveals the breadth and singularity of his vision.



The new production of Here Lies Love will premiere at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. Performances begin June 17, ahead of an official opening night on July 20. Tony Award winner Alex Timbers (direction) and Olivier Award nominee Annie-B Parson (choreography) reunite with Byrne (concept, music, and lyrics) and Fatboy Slim (music) to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway, continuing a ten-plus year collaboration on the project. Tom Gandey and J Pardo contribute additional music. Here Lies Love is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna for Plate Spinner Productions, Clint Ramos, and Jose Antonio Vargas. The staging at the Broadway Theatre will transform the venue’s traditional proscenium floor space into a dance club environment, where audiences will stand and move with the actors. A wide variety of standing and seating options will be available throughout the theatre’s reconstructed space. The producers of Here Lies Love said, “As a team of binational American producers – Filipinos among us – we are thrilled to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway! We welcome everyone to experience this singularly exuberant piece of theatre. The history of the Philippines is inseparable from the history of the United States, and as both evolve, we cannot think of a more appropriate time to stage this show. See you on the dance floor!”



David Byrne’s recent works include the launch of Reasons to be Cheerful, an online magazine focused on solutions-oriented stories about problems being solved all over the world (2019); Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, a theatrical exploration of the historical heroine that premiered at the Public Theater in New York (2017); The Institute Presents: NEUROSOCIETY, a series of interactive environments created in conjunction with PACE Arts + Technology that question human perception and bias (2016); Contemporary Color, an event inspired by the American folk tradition of color guard and performed at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Toronto’s Air Canada Centre (2015); Here Lies Love; Love This Giant, a studio album and worldwide tour created with St. Vincent (2012); and How Music Works, a book about the history, experience, and social aspects of music (2012).



Byrne curated Southbank Centre’s annual Meltdown festival in London in 2015. A co-founder of the group Talking Heads (1976–88), he has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and worked on multiple other projects, including collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Jonathan Demme, among others. He also founded the highly respected record label Luaka Bop. Recognition of Byrne’s various works include Obies, Drama Desk, Lortel, and Evening Standard awards for Here Lies Love; an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor; and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads. Byrne’s work as a visual artist has been published and exhibited since his college days, including photography, filmmaking, and writing. He lives in New York City. In addition to 2019’s cast album for American Utopia on Broadway, Nonesuch has released eight other David Byrne records since 2003, including 2018’s American Utopia studio album and two versions of his musical Here Lies Love.



















q C6. Please Don't feat. Santi White Santigold

Because the 8th time is the charm.

For our 008 interpret teams up with with one of Montreal's finest jazz imprints “Ensoul records”.

This collaboration presents a four remixes record featuring songs from Dominique fils aime's album “Nameless”.

For the A1 interpret's founder Ohm Hourani revisits “Birds” with his own signature of walking bass and shuffle drums. Sharing this side, Ben Nevile inserts a healthy dose of funk to “Grow mama grow” with a remix that visits a past era with a flavour of modern twist.

The B side commences with a dance floor roller for the title song “Nameless” by Paris's Pepeno and shake expert Ben Vedren.

Closing this four tracker is Montreal's dynamic duo “Flabbergast”. Vincent Lemieux & Guillaume Coutu Dumonts work their own charm on “Birds” pairing the voice with a deep groove accompanied by warm keys.

Another banger release for the Spanish label Focus On Egoless. This journey begins among a four trippy tracks solo project by Moray, heading up the label into a electro-hypnotic surface of old school touches.

Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is another tasty collab from label founder, Mark Knight with legendary House DJ and producer Todd Terry and the Darryl James & David Anthony Project. Diving straight back into that classic 90’s House sound, Mark Knight delivers a taste of his finest production to date after unearthing Todd Terry’s edit of ‘Buddah’ by Darryl James & David Anthony Project, shaping up a seriously killer reworking of this gem fresh for the dance floor in 2023.

Next up, renowned German selector Eddie Thoneick makes a label debut with his club orientated big room weapon ‘Take It Back’. Taking it back straight through to the dance floor, Eddie Thoneick has become a name synonymous with high quality productions, providing remixes for Armand Van Helden, Steve Angello, Bob Sinclar and David Guetta. Eddie’s chunky production style shines through on ‘Take It Back’, offering up a slice of raw Tech House with deep, rumbling bass lines, metallic percussive elements and a resonating hook which will cause uproar in any club its played in.

Up next is another heater from DJ, producer and Toolroom Academy tutor Pete Griffiths who drops what can only be described as a House anthem in the making, with his brand-new track ‘Get Together’. A peak time record that sees Pete Griffiths dive deep into the sound of 90’s nostalgia, dropping a seriously well-produced and classy House banger. Also featuring on the record is American R&B, Gospel vocalist Ann Nesby, formerly the lead vocalist of the Sounds of Blackness ensemble who brings her powerful vocals to the forefront, elevating this release to anthemic status.

Last but not least, Hungarian duo Muzzaik return to the label with StadiumX on their collab track ‘Echoes’. Together, Muzzaik and StadiumX bring their signature sound to Toolroom with ‘Echoes’, a record that’ll command any dance floor it’s dropped on. Featuring a toughened-up groove, rolling bass line, and chopped vocal cuts mixed with just the right amount of edge.

Kharkiv born artists Komponente & Kurilo have been an integral part of the local scene in the past years both as DJs, Live-Act and Producers.

Now further apart since the beginning of the war they are still united in music and we are happy to finally share this EP with which was originally conceived when both artists were still Kharkiv based during the pandemic.

Kurilo has since made the journey to the New York via Berlin in recent months. While Komponente took refuge in Kyiv for some time after having sat out most of the fighting in and around Kharkiv while lending a helping hand to families and elders who couldn't manage or didn't have the means to leave the city when russia attacked.

At this point we are just happy and thankful to have both of them still with us and to be able to finally get this EP out which by now seems to have travelled from a past life to us in the here and now.

Pandemics or War this is Electronic Music charged with pure emotions produced during one crisis, released during the next and we will still dance to it during whatever comes next!

Samosa Records reaches its 30th release in style, and who better to mark the occasion than label boss De Gama with the superb ‘Tropical Gangster’ - a three tracker slice of vinyl heaven that’ll blow you face first into your summer paddling pool.

Opening this super-tropical affair on the A-side is afro beat stomper ‘Karibu Funk’ - and it wastes no time at all in introducing us to its tribal rhythmic awesomeness. The beats, the vocals, the outrageously funky bass and horns are a musical representation of an African sunset. A serious groove.

A2. brings us ‘Lucky Fellow’; a twisting, turning bouncy bass-bomb of a tune with a flute riff that would charm the clothes off you. De Gama is very much in Pied Piper mode here - you’re powerless to resist the sexy overtures of the drums, the haunting synth lead and solid bass line. Sizzling hot.

On the B-side De Gama offers a cool ‘Piña Colada’ after all the heat of the A-side. This Piña Colada, however, offers an oasis of many delights and flavours. What starts as a furious latino drum call breaks to a tropical bassline and hypnotic keys. The vocals are the cherry on the cake of an amazing arrangement of layered sound. Goosebumps.

The Tropical Gangster is an exceptionally special Samosa release befitting the occasion of reaching the 30 milestone, and another example of the consistently brilliant output from Samosa Records. Expect this one to sell out fast.

Debut full length vinyl from the UK/Italian duo of Ecka Mordecai and Valerio Tricoli, working together as Mordecoli. Individually these two travellers have carved out a path of ghostly musique concrete (Tricoli) and textural cello wandering (Mordecai). Alter is proud to present the album Château Mordécoly a result of two musicians (and friends) coming together to explore the middle ground of their individual investigations.

The results of a red wine induced residency at London’s Cafe Oto, Château Mordécoly is a panoramic audio field exploring both the physicality of sound, informed by the voice, cello and pictish harp of Mordecai, and the artificial manipulations of Tricoli’s revox tape machine. The delicate tension between the physical ‘real’ and the distortive ‘new’ leverages this release far beyond a tipsy residency and shifts it into a top tier electroacoustic take on the zeitgeist. Solo cello and voice appear rooted in the timbre of time. The magnetic tape is both a friend and covert manipulator.

The physical elements open themselves to disfigurement as a means of propagating the fantastical audio that unfolds from the initial enquiry. There’s no witchery or wizardry on part of either player but rather a symbiotic passing of the baton as the line between the real and the non-real flow in and out of themselves. The results are at once sedate, shocking and subversive.

Château Mordécoly is a disembodied sonic landscape; a phantasmagorical world of fantasy unfolds as the delicate beauty of Mordecai’s playing and singing is transformed into a playful and unusual landscape. Epoch’s are evoked as the visual stimuli resulting from these alchemical transformations conjure everything from a haunted house to the Middle Ages.

Seventh release for Undergroove Records with a very eclectic EP of Karaba in the color of electro funk with touches of garage and even a jungle track to close the vinyl!

THE PLAYGROUND drops a magical 4 tracker from Chicago original JORDAN FIELDS. This record is a vibe period. Featuring Chicago style deep jazzy vibes with a splash of Detroit-ish dub. These raw and nostalgic tracks that will stay in your record box time after time.

The dynamic duo of Komponente & Kurilo from the Ukrainian label Trance Pandemic are preparing for their next sold-out record. This “Defenders” EP is made from tracks, that were made before the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine and also it is the continuation of “For A Brave” EP.

The main track of the release, also called “Defenders” is a signature piece for their duo. Moderately slow and calm, that evolves into something bigger around the third minute. The mayhem of sounds with that hell’s bells also. And there’s a little Easter egg at 1:29. If you know the sample – you’ll smile for a bit.

The record starts with “Victory”. Bold, a bit broken at the beginning piece, that is also evolving. This time we’re talking about the structure. The straight one comes after that broken start. “Kharkiv Mnemonic” also has some bells inside, paired with a nice, bubbling acid and a heavenly melody a bit closer to the end. The calmest track on the release.

Last, but definitely not least (the choice for the pick was between these two from the B-side) is “Broken Dreams”. Still can’t get enough of that break that we know lately from Alec Falconer’s release on Art Of Dark (not that lately, to be honest) and a dozen of other tracks. Here it’s hidden a bit in the back, so we can hear another kinda trancey and melancholic melody in full.

Water Machine is an office romance between Hando Morice (they/them), Flore de Hoog (she/her), Jimmy Gage (he/him) and Goda Ilgauskaitė (she/her). An unassuming supergroup formed out of Glasgow institutions including Goth GF, Passion Pusher, Brenda and Soursob, their sound careens between punk, country and alt-rock underpinned by the unique quality they call “Raw Liquid Power”.
Following last year’s self-titled demo tape on Gold Mold Records, and fresh off of shows with the likes of Holiday Ghosts, The Cool Greenhouse and The Orielles, as well as a rollicking Viagra Boys afterparty, the four-piece will release their highly-anticipated first studio effort ‘Raw Liquid Power’ on Upset The Rhythm on August 4th.
The EP opens with a menacing, modulating synth melody. Gage’s guitar enters with a mighty bend before breaking into the chugging rhythm of ‘Water Machine Pt. 2’. This timely reminder to refill your water bottle - “don’t be late, hydrate!” less a wellness mantra than a threat - builds to a spacey outro with flashes of the art-punk weirdness of Suburban Lawns. ‘Stilettos’ marches on indignantly with a spiky riff punctuated by Ilgauskaitė’s cowbells. Staccato talk-singing tells a playful tale of stray cats following you home, but belies a darker subtext as the breakdown gives way to paranoid duelling guitars evoking The Fire Engines.


The anti-anthem ‘At the Drive In’ skewers joyless DIY crowds, reminiscent of much-missed Glasgow punks Breakfast Muff. Water Machine’s irrepressible sincerity can’t help but shine through in the final moments though, as jibes about “late night trade potential” give way to plaintive vocal harmonies. Morice tears public transport a new one on closer ‘Bussy’, a First Bus diss track bemoaning precarious employment amidst crumbling infrastructure. “That’s why I’m not on time!” they roar over de Hoog’s frantic, pounding bass, bringing the record to a skidding, screeching halt.

Sounds Of The Universe | The 12" Singles, a deluxe collector's
edition box set, contains seven 12" vinyl discs presenting
singles--including Wrong, Peace, the double A-side Fragile
Tension/Hole To Feed--alongside B-sides, remixes, dub
versions and other recordings contemporaneous to Depeche
Mode's 12th studio album, Sounds Of The Universe, originally
released by Mute Records in April 2009.
Sounds Of The Universe | The 12" Singles offers a full range of
ear-grabbing mixes--radio, club, dub and more--of Depeche
Mode originals with three discs (Discs Two, Four and Seven)
newly compiled for this collection, bringing together B-sides
and mixes first released across CD and maxi-singles
contemporaneous to the album's release.
When it came time to record the Sounds Of The Universe
album, DM's classic core (Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew
Fletcher) returned to the studio to make their second album
with producer Ben Hillier, whose intuitive contributions to
their previous studio album, 2005's Playing The Angel, had
created new sonic possibilities for the band expanding
Depeche Mode's vision and repertoire while continuing their
tradition of issuing monumental 12“ singles.

Labrish’ is one of jamaica’s great talkover tunes, producers bunny lee and lee perry discussing hard times and funny stories over a great rhythm. the flipside is another cut to the rhythm by cornell campbell & the original b-side to the single on it’s release ‘power pressure’.

The 31st installment on Gestalt Records comes from enterprising UK producer Utopian Streams who debuts with an ethereal 4-track EP, phasing through house, techno, breakbeat and electro

Italian DJ and producer Sourires (aka Andrea Antognoli) joins the Samosa stable for his debut with an explosive release that will take your breath away.

The EP kicks off with the title track, Pampasosa - a furiously groovy number which gets up right in your face from the get-go. Like an unstoppable train, Pampasosa hurtles along at 127bpm with its horns blaring and furnace blazing. De Gama is on the Re-Groove here, expertly applying the bells and whistles to this all powerful locomotive stomper.

A2 brings us ‘Liam’, which sounds like a track very close to Sourires heart. Think of glorious evening sunshine after the rain for this emotionally charged piece of music. The bass has you hypnotised, the strings make you soar and the vocal haunts your dreams. It bares its soul to you and you can’t help but love it for that.

On the B-side, ‘Keep Rolling’ (De Gama Re-Groove) gives no illusions as to what its intentions are. A rolling, bass-driven start builds to filtered vocals and punchy brass - we’re in house territory but it’s so much more than that. A prime-time fist pumper of a tune, this will have dance floors offering their souls to Sourires in exchange for good times.

Finishing off this four tracker is ‘Flavor’ (De Gama Re-Built). At 124bpm, it sneaks past you and taps you on the shoulder. Continuing the house vibe, Sourires brings us a swinging beat accompanied by dreamy vocals and subtle filtered keys. Strings and delicate guitar licks build to a glorious breakdown which reveals itself in full technicolour. Summery, sassy and sexy stuff.

Sourires has deliverdd a modern classic with the Pampasosa EP. This has to be in your record box for the summer - just watch the dance floor go!

Multi Culti return with an expansive 8-track mini-LP showcase timed for summer solstice celebrations.

The a-side kicks off with the musically-gifted Mytron’s genre-defining title ‘Shisha House’, Italian Ayala teams up with Abrao on ‘Magia,’ Jamie Paton slices up the low-slung, serpentine ‘Sub Ritual,’ and Xanga & Zebulon deliver a literal love letter to the ‘Coca Leaf’.

B-side action begins with Ecuadorian newcomer Kunturi, whose ‘Eclosión’ portends a new wave of Nicola Cruz inspired, folkloric techno, Italian duo Future Island (Oltrefuturo teamed up with treasure island) rock an impressive slow-mo trance dub on ‘Wide Music II,’ Aiku debut out of Germany’s Harz mountains with ‘Fried Acid,’ while Argentine wizard Balam finishes the journey off with the incense and sitar laden ‘Caravana.’

While they may dabble in orientalist tropes, these are not mere Tulum-chasers out for shamanic DJ duty. This is avant-garde folk-Tronica that tows the limbo line and once again asserts cult supremacy in the great Psychonautical odyssey.

Evelyn spreads her wings and prepares to fly. This is her first offering for the ESP Institute. On side A, 'Tremors' slams together a plethora of seemingly disparate rhythms, organic percussion, field samples, hypnotic chants and a relentless low end punch, that when in full-swing, works some seriously deep sorcery. Contrasting her pounding kick and rolling sub combo are a softer grouping of melodies, soft mallets and muted tones that lay subtly beneath the aggression, skillfully playing with a sense of spatial depth and room size. Its the kind of track that draws you in with meditative bars, concentric cycles that sit ever so slightly off-axis, inducing the mind and body to obsess and regulating its timing, and then drops you into a very intentionally arranged soundstage giving expansive space to explore. On the flip, 'Pregunta' continues this approach of natural versus industrial instrumentation. The consistent machine kick has a powerful but playful tone, the negative space between each stroke evoking a mighty gesture as its note bends in the decay. Set in 3/4, a community of live percussion successively adds and subtracts, each player’s imperfect attack accumulating into a mechanically smeared and addictive loop that toys with peaks a handful of times yet restrains any unnecessary climax for the betterment of a driving groove. Near the end, as the kick and various players mute and the base of the track is given a moment to breathe, its apparent just how layered the production was in the moments prior, as we’re suddenly at home, smitten with the wobbly and lopsided innocence of the foundational percussion. These two songs will push you headfirst into the light.