quête:the fly

Cologne’s resident conjurer Hodini steps up for his second solo EP on WOLF Music Recordings. Bringing elements from his hip hop background into this unique five tracker, Hodini dusts off long forgotten cuts, sampled with that MPC chopped graininess, blending lo-fi vocal sound bites with deft jazz loops, all adding a distinct, textured edge to his work.

‘Velved Groove’ and ‘Special Shoutout’ kick things off, snapping in funk fills and skipping guitar riffs behind a concoction of hazy spirals that transfix from the off. The former is an uptempo, twisted, jazz club house jam and the latter a bubbling voyage through the afterhours, bourbons flowing and faces flying from every corner.

A master of misdirection, Hodini also moonlights as one of Germany’s leading underground hip hop producers HulkHodn, proving he can flip styles and meld genres with ease. Featuring his alter ego, ‘Doggo Content’ is his nod to this - a crackling slo-mo trip through the intoxicated mind, soundtracked by stretched vocal snippets, wading bass notes and a crunching snare.

Two of the harder-hitting club tracks close out the EP, both focused around hypnotic bassline carousels and looping layers. ‘Where’s The Wine’ interjects Rhodes flickers with bongo rhythms and unsettling laughes, as ‘One4Fries’ marries off-kilter, piano stabs alongside jazzy flourishes and fizzing percussion.

'Mantra Moderne' is a stunning, contemporary masterpiece that fuses Anatolian Psychedelia, Brazilian Tropicalia, 60’s European pop and American jazz. A must for fans of Khruangbin, Portishead, Arthur Verocai, Goat, Caetano Veloso, Tom Zé, Os Mutantes, Cortex and co.

The duo is formed of Kit Martin, who lives between London and France and plays all instruments on the album, and Merve Erdem, vocalist and multi-disciplinary artist from Istanbul, now based in London. This is their debut album.
The album explores universal themes such as love, loss, decay, language and ideology, mixing three different languages: English, Turkish and French. Written and recorded by the duo - Kit composed all the songs and Merve wrote the lyrics - in rural France during 2018, each song was completed within a 12-hour window, pawning contemplation for spontaneity.
Dubbed by Kit and Merve as ‘lo-fi-hi-fi’ in reference to the high-end tube equipment that helped it find its way to 8-track cassette tape. The style owes its sound to narrow tape width, valve distortion, spring reverb, the mixture of high end gear with lo-fi equipment as well as a disregard to the norms of hi-fi studio techniques. All instruments were analogue and no samples were used. The instruments that are used range from tablas to darbukas, balalaikas to ouds, MS20 synths to Farfisa organs and a lot of cuica. The mixing techniques were done on-the-fly, tracking immediately to tape: compression, EQ, delay and reverb; meaning mixing could not be revisited!

LIMITED GREEN AND RED VINYL WITH DIGITAL DOWNLOAD INCLUDED.

All-conquering Dutch heroes Kraak & Smaak have taken the electronic music scene by storm in recent years with a slew of killer collaborations with the like of Mayer Hawthorne, Romanthony (RIP), Eric Biddines (Golden Rules), Parcels, and many more. Their live show has seen them play every festival and club worth the mention from Glastonbury to Detroit Movement, Coachella to Space Ibiza.

After their debut album 'Boogie Angst' established them in the spotlight with heavy Radio 1 support from Pete Tong and Annie Nightingale, the band followed up with breakthrough albums – 'Plastic People' and 'Electric Hustle'. Launching them to another level, these albums featured the standout singles - 'Squeeze Me (feat. Ben Westbeech)', and 'Let's Go Back (feat. Romanthony)' which have both become ubiquitous through TV ads, funky dancefloors and tens of millions of streams.

Riding high they then released a seminal piece of work in the shape of their fourth studio album - 'Chrome Waves'. An album that is a joyous fusion of disco, funk, indie, electronica and pop all smooshed together with Kraaak & Smaak's unique sonic signature throughout. Teaming up with a crew of ultra-talented vocalists: Sam Duckworth (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly), John Turrell (Smoove & Turrell), Stee Downes, Capitol A, Joi Cardwell, Janne Schra and their very own live band singer - Berenice Van Leer , they created an album packed full of dancefloor-ready jams for all occasions…

It was received well by both fans and critics alike, picking up a coveted Mixmag tune of the month award, topping European club charts, becoming a staple on radio playlists everywhere, and of course selling out on the original vinyl pressing runs.

Well after much demand we are now reissuing this masterpiece on a 2xLP limited edition green and red vinyl and once again you can own it on wax. A present for both the fans of old who missed it the first time around, and those who have discovered Kraak & Smaak in more recent times.

Philippe Cam is the Thomas Pynchon of the electronic music world. Little is known about him and only a couple of pictures have been put online since he emerged on this planet to write his first and only album18 years ago. We know he worked as a sailor and that’s it. If you dig deeper you might find out that he worked as a DJ in the beginning of the 90ies in Brussels and began to study electronic music there and also began to write music for theaters and ballets.

The American distributor Forced Exposure once wrote that about him: „Philipe Cam is a star in his own field. He is among the few people who have succeeded to write hypnotic dance music without a conventional beat still conveying a thrilling, dramatic feel. Cam has developed an accurate, intense and complex formula of modulation-techno. Starting with music similar to Pan Sonic in 1996, his music turned towards a more elegant form of minimal music. Abstract soundtracks lead to an organic form of music, which was equally influenced by modern techno as Wolfgang Voigt's Studio 1/Gas or Basic Channel/Maurizio. Cam's music corresponds heavily to the Cologne scene, where his music is appreciated and played throughout the clubs by the likes of Michael Mayer, Tobias Thomas and various other DJs as well as experimental djs from the A-musik corner.“

So what’s new with his music? Basically the art of filtering is still his passion. Maybe he can be less associated with techno and the themes of his new tracks emerge in a more distinctive pattern? Well that’s hard to say, we would comment the energy of his early techno days in Brussels have returned here in a fierce way with some oft he tracks. The rhythmic movements are classy and stick with you. Whereas other tracks look for a distinctive relaxation of some kind.

We are releasing the album as a double clear vinyl with cover art by Yvette Klein who also designed the cover for his Philippe Cam’s album 18 years ago. Graphics for "Rotterdam" come from Cologne designer Daniela Thiel. We also would like to thank the cultural department of Cologne for supporting us to finance the album and to see the artistic value in this piece of minimalism.

The album kicks off with the mellow and soothing "Cocoa Beach". A Gentle beat that moves like bodies swaying in the hot summer sun. The clock moves a step forward and then a step backward as evolution takes a rest.

"Manga" feels like an acceleration to the moon, the contemplative moments come in spurts and hide in the intervals of the chords which are on the loose. Philippe Cam is the most energetic person in the world when it comes to core activity, this is head banging stuff for the ambient lounge.

"Short Summer" is a heavy and violent recognition. As intensive as it is it knows when to stop and disappear. In the ear and brain of the listeners it leaves an indisputable echo which lingers on for minutes. We suggest not to make a pause but jump directly into "Vermillions Sands".

What can be said about into "Vermillions Sands"? Be prepared some Terry Riley might lure around the corner to offer you some oranges on a silver plate, but don’t eat them. This is luring and beautiful at the same time. Maybe the best ambient track ever written and yet who can ever venture to say that without making a fool of himself. "Vermillions Sands" comes in waves and they could be longer we think.

"Rotterdam" the home of Philippe Cam for a long time but not anymore. He moved away. So that changes the perspective. But when was the track written? "Rotterdam" seems mechanical and rusty and spooky and divided. This arrangement is very different to all the other tracks so far and is almost dub in style but way more fractured. A steady stop and go emerges. But the longer it runs the better it gets. At minute 6 the brain resets itself and tries to grasp what has happened so far, reconstruction as a result of its own phantasmic imagination and hardly true at all, wonderful. Applause included!

Here comes "Bis", a short episode of a track and before we can comment on it, it is already over.

"The Game" is a mule of a track. It has a quiet stubborn sequence that bites and kicks you in the back without any change in near sight. We can hear a voice whispering, which sounds like a miniature vocoder featuring the voice of a child calling out - never stopping. This is treadmill to some extend but starts to breathe towards the middle of the track and slowly changes perspective. In fact there are some changes taking place here which go beyond a sound design that works heavily on the stereo image. Stick with it and the experience will be a great one.

"Ultimate Fly For Halloway" somehow orchestrates how you might feel after you climbed a 8000 meter high mountain and reached the top. A rejoicing off a special kind. Lava for the ears. No cheerleader murder plot sorry.

"Last Track" is a perfect example of a true minimalistic pice of music that manages to make contact with other genres and does this with elegance, determination and a lot of soul.

key selling points: The key selling point is the fact that Philippe Cam once was referred to as one of the main protagonists of the minimal music scene along with Wolfgang Voigt's Studio 1/Gas and Basic Channel/Maurizio. A true artist with a vision which is very rare.

Philippe Cam has picked up the sound he was famous for but has developed it further without selling out to any genre and expectation that rules our daily business.

Exactly this is the strength of the album to create a vivid world of impressions by using instruments in a whole different way than all software developers would suggest.

"Rotterdam" is a piece of art that can set off a firework when you listen to it and it owes nothing to anyone.

DSK was introduced to hip-hop and electro in the early ‘80s and immediately began B-boying, Graffiti and DJing before focusing on the music and turning to the tables.

After making a name for himself as a DJ, he began to produce tracks . DSK now lives in China working as a DJ , producer and promoter.

A Very limited edition DJ only 7" of two of DJ DSK's party rocking remixes.

Adrian Younge presents Jack Waterson is an ode to the mind-expanding albums of the psychedelic `60s. Both colorful and dark, the album forces listeners to get lost in the impressionistic worlds of prog, krautrock, mellotrons, and fuzzed soundscapes. Laced with hip hop breaks and acid rock, their intention is to subvert the designation of what is black vs. white music. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

Adrian Younge presents Jack Waterson is an ode to the mind-expanding albums of the psychedelic `60s. Both colorful and dark, the album forces listeners to get lost in the impressionistic worlds of prog, krautrock, mellotrons, and fuzzed soundscapes. Laced with hip hop breaks and acid rock, their intention is to subvert the designation of what is black vs. white music. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

Brous One is one of the best-known artists in the field of instrumental hip hop. So far his beats have been strongly inspired by the sound of the Boombap era, but on his latest release "Cityscapes" the producer from Saarbrücken goes in a more relaxed direction. Jazz is still the main inspiration, but the beats are much smoother. "Hasta Luego", for example, is carried by a dreamy piano melody and the soothing vinyl crackle is omnipresent. Thus the musician creates a perfect feel-good atmosphere for a nocturnal ride through the "Cityscapes".

Der österreichische Produzent und unglaublich begabte Keyboarder Dorian Concept (Oliver T. Johnson), der im vergangenen Jahr seinen zweiten Longplayer „The Nature Of Imitation“ auf Flying Lotus Brainfeeder-Label veröffentlichte, wird am 2. August 2019 eine streng limitierte, orange-durchsichtige 12" zweier bisher unveröffentlichter Klassiker veröffentlichen. Beide Tracks stammen aus den Jahren 2012-13. Ursprünglich zeigte er „Toothbrush“einer Handvoll DJ-Freunden, und über die Jahre wurde der Song von Rustie, Mark Pritchard und Modeselektor immer ein bisschen weiterentwickelt, während eine frühe unvollständige Demo von „Booth Thrust“ auf seinem Soundcloud-Profil veröffentlicht wurde – beide wurden noch nie offiziell veröffentlicht, sind jedoch nach wie vor die Grundausstattung in Dorian Concept Live-Sets.

The past few years, we've watched from afar as Tokyo based DJ Haruka has established himself as one of Japan's top DJs and a crucial figure in the dance music scene. Since inviting him to play a Butter Sessions party in Melbourne and catching him multiple times in Japan, our online curiosities were met in real life with his impeccable taste and personalised style of house and techno. Needless to say, when Haruka sent us his debut EP "Senko", we instantly heard something special in his approach to music creation.

The three original tracks, entitled by their respective BPMs, encapsulate everything we loved about his DJ sets - bold, acidic and relentless synth sequences that are as intense as the Shibuya crossing, paired with masterful live percussion and drumming from Izpon (of Japanese salsa band Banderas) and Shigekazu Otake (of cult group Cro-Magnon) to create a unique sonic space. The recordings snarling nature reflects the pure force of DJ Nobu's Future Terror crew, of which Haruka is a key member. Additional live dubbing and mixing work from Naoyuki Uchida of Dry & Heavy - "Flying Rhythms" glues this raging bull together while purveying it's raw energy.

On the flip side, label heads Sleep D offer an unflinching club-ready version of "120", while French royalty Zadig contributes a mesmerising 14+ minute dubbed out, psychedelic burner that brings a new focus to the soundscapes of the original.







d 4. 120 (Sleep D Remix) feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida
[e] 5. 106 (Zadig Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]

Dessert Island Discs returns from a hiatus on an unchartered dessert island somewhere in the south pacific with two new disco edits in keeping with the labels 11 previous releases. On the "Us" side is Herb Flavor with his new track "the Real Thing". Herb may be a newcomer to the label but he is certainly no stranger to dance floors world wide. On the flip "Them" side Ted Empleton makes a stunning return with "Dingo Jingo" which is every bit as good as his first outing on the label, his amazing edit of "fly Robin fly" titled simply "fly Robin". Expect to hear more releases in the coming months.

Legitimately available again on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1983, Outernational Sounds proudly presents a major statement from a crucial figure on the Los Angeles jazz underground – pianist Nate Morgan’s spiritualised deep jazz classic, Journey Into Nigritia.

How many 16 year olds would have the confidence to walk up to a revered bandleader at a gig, and inform him that one day they’d be playing together? As improbable as it sounds, this is how pianist Nate Morgan introduced himself to the great Horace Tapscott, founder of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. The teenage Morgan had heard Tapscott’s Flying Dutchman LP The Giant Is Awakened being played by Greg Kufahamu on local Los Angeles radio station KUSC, and Arthur Blythe’s wailing sax had gone ‘straight to the heart. It was a spiritual experience.’ Morgan showed up to all the Arkestra shows he could find. He was already studying with Joe Sample and Hampton Hawes and playing in local bands, but the draw of the Tapscott’s band was too much for the gifted young pianist:

‘I could only take about two or three more concerts before I had to run up on stage. When I first introduced myself to Horace, he tells everybody that I said, “Yeah, I’m Nate Morgan. I’m going to play with you all.” Not that I want to, but that I’m going to.’

Over the next decade and beyond, Morgan would become a central figure in Tapscott’s UGMAA (Union Of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension’), bringing new figures into the fold (it was Morgan who first hipped Jesse Sharps to Tapscott’s circle; they were lifelong friends), running jam sessions, and eventually being given the task of organising the Arkestra songbook. During the early 1970s he also worked commercially, doing a stint with Rufus and Chaka Khan and appearing on Willie Hutch’s Foxy Brown soundtrack. Into the 1980s and 1990s he remained active, keeping the UGMAA flame alive in late night jams and private sessions, and working tirelessly around LA, including collaborations with Bone Thugs N’ Harmony; he was also part of the early 2000s LA jazz collective Build An Ark. A true musician’s musician, Morgan died in 2013.

Journey Into Nigritia, featuring firebreathing reedsman Dadisi Komolafe, was the first of two LPs Morgan recorded for Tom Albach’s storied Nimbus West imprint. A committed, spiritualised work that showcases Morgan’s heavy composing as well as his McCoy Tyner- influenced and technically flawless playing, Journey features dedications to Coltrane (‘He Left Us A Song’) and Cecil Taylor (‘Study In C.T.’). Surging, modal jazz from the LA undergound, Journey Into Nigritia is a crucial recording by an unsung jazz legend.

A heavy new compilation from Brownswood shines a light on the independent underground in Melbourne, where a close-knit collection of artists have taken cues from soul, jazz and club culture to carve out a fresh Melbournian sound. Featuring nine different groups, many of them sharing members and studios, the record surveys the musical contours of this bubbling scene, nodding to house, broken beat, samba, p-funk and soul.



Recorded over a week at The Grove, a fabled house-cum-studio in the North Melbourne suburb of Coburg, it’s home to the record’s engineer, Nick Herrera, and two members of Hiatus Kaiyote, the city’s breakout gangster-soul dons with whom many of the record’s personnel have collaborated. Silentjay was musical director, the Rhythm Section-affiliated multi-instrumentalist and producer (who’s played with Joey Bada$$ and Flying Lotus) marshalling together the album’s different players, many of them part of influential collectives 30/70 and Mandarin Dreams.



Nurtured in the city’s collaborative, close-knit confines, the scene has been bubbling up under the radar of Australian music institutions, in the garages and makeshift studios of Melbourne’s suburban sprawl. Sunny Side Up is a colourful portrait of the scene’s potential, exploring the story behind this flourishing period and shining light on some of its most compelling figures.

LL1220 is here, an overdue first release in 2019. This year is also about celebrating the 5th anniversary of Lossless. For the occasion the label decided to return to the dancefloors with the 3rd installment of their Outbound series. Outbound.3 again is a collection of exclusives by the labels core artists, spiced up with some hot additional contributions from befriended artists. This 2x12“ beautifully showcases a bit of Lossless' musical universe.

The X Initiative is the follow-up to Adam X’s ten volume series project
“The Secret Initiative”. Now one year on since unveiling the secret,
Adam continues the spirit of the original project with four previously
unreleased songs recorded in the end of the aughts decade. New beat
grooves awash with icy atmospheres that were well ahead of their time
in their moment of creation.

After capturing audience awards festivals like SXSW and the Los Angeles Film Festival, the word is out that Kashmere was the greatest high school band - ever. Their story is tucked in between slabs of hard 70s funk, soul, and jazz: Conrad Johnson transformed a bunch of rough-hewn high schoolers into a band that could compete with any in the nation – professional, or otherwise. Forget high school bands, we’re talking about sixteen year old kids who would give the JBs a run for their money! The Kashmere Stage Band released a total of eight albums and three 45s on Johnson’s Kram label. The band’s best tracks are collected here. Producer Eothen “Egon” Alapatt features an expanded booklet with updated liner notes and essays, more rare photos and ephemera, and a download card which contains the B+/Flying Lotus produced Texas Jewels: The Making Of Texas Thunder Soul short, a recently unearthed 1973 documentary on the band, and a 1972 performance.

* Another brand-new hot-shot from the ever-active Partial Records label, arriving in the shape of a production from Dreadsquad aka Marek Bogdański, who has been active on the reggae / dub / digital / dancehall scene for almost 20 years, collaborating with the likes of Tenor Fly, U Brown, Ward 21, El Fata, YT, Radikal Guru and more.
* This `real instruments’ steppers riddim features Dub Princess on vocals who although a relative newcomer, has already made her mark over the last few years, with a number of collaborations.
* Mixed in fine style by Dougie Wardrop at Conscious Sounds studio, London.

Dub echo, hip-hop lyricism and heavy guitar fuzz are boiled down into a heady, characteristic musical brew.

On “Dreaming Is Dead Now”, multi-talented wonder Skinny Pelembe meditates on grief, heartache, stunted aspirations and fresh possibilities in post-recession Britain. For his debut album, the Johannesburg-born, Doncaster-raised artist weaves together a patchwork of personal and musical touchstones; memories and observations are dreamily laced together, sun-dazzled California folk diced with the murkier corners of the UK dance lineage.

Tipping a hat to West London broken beat as much as My Bloody Valentine, the album was co-produced by Malcolm Catto (of The Heliocentrics, who’s previously worked with Yussef Kamaal, DJ Shadow, and Madlib), who helped to distil down its bounty of ingredients into the record’s distinctive flavour. Tough, tight-programmed rhythms are washed over with fuzzy overtures, and the title track is the product of a studio session with a foundational drum & bass duo (credited under the covert alias of The Bleeding Edge). It’s the rare kind of record where the messy, in-between musical spaces are given a light to shine.

First discovered through the Gilles Peterson- and Brownswoodfounded Future Bubblers programme, Skinny has since made it onto Peterson’s iconic Brownswood Bubblers compilation series, performed and collaborated with fellow Future Bubbler Yazmin Lacey, and been tipped by the likes of Ghostpoet and James Lavelle. Praise has also come from The Observer, The Quietus and Huck, with previous singles “Spit / Swallow” and “I Just Wanna Be Your Prisoner” bumped up onto heavy rotation on BBC 6 Music’s A-List. He’s also been in demand for live sessions with The Vinyl Factory and Worldwide FM, and supported Nightmares on Wax and Maribou State.

Numbers 28, 29 & 30 in the Jazzman Holy Grail Series.

Fable is a small independent record label started in Austin, Texas in the early 1970s by a young trombone player named Michael Mordecai. In autumn 1975 he debuted a trio of albums on Fable by Austin bands 47 Times its Own Weight, Steam Heat and Starcrost. With only 1000 of each pressed, and each carrying a different emphasis on soul, funk or jazz, all 3 have gone on to become highly sought after by collectors and DJs around the world.

We meet with Michael at our UK offices and over several hours he tells us the highs and lows of running Fable Records, leaving no stone unturned and with success and tragedy in equal measure. We also speak with members of all 3 bands, and they share with us interesting stories and cool anecdotes of the wild times in the mid '70s when their records were made. We acquire informative press cuttings and some awesome posters & flyers, and all of this we publish in a booklet included with each LP which are housed in a US-style tip-on sleeve. Jazzman Records - We Dig Deeper.

New LP from French beat-makers La Fine Equipe featuring Illa J, T3, 20Syl, Mr J Medeiros, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Fakear ...

Let's be clear: La Fine Equipe is a band. The numerous hats wore by its four members are so various that it could mislead one's. Indeed, surrounding Blanka, oOgo, Chomsky and Mr. Gib, there are recording studios, collaborations, lives, side-projects... There is also and especially a whole universe built during the past ten years around their passion for beatmaking, embodied by the release of « 5th Season », new album.
So yes, La Fine Equipe is a band, but it's also much more than that.

Since their creation in 2006 and their first album « La Boulangerie » two years later, the four producers became inevitable when you think about a new scene breaking the barriers between musical genders. Hip Hop is at the heart of their craft, corner stone of their musical background and inspirations where the paths of J Dilla, Madlib, Flying Lotus, Kaytranada and the turntablists A-Trak, C2C and Birdy Nam Nam are crossing ways. Two things gather La Fine Equipe and those big names, the constant need of collaboration with other artists, and this thirst of discovery, main feature of the digger.

From 2008 to 2014, La Fine Equipe mastered its craft with the « Boulangerie », compilation gathering 34 beatmakers on 113 tracks. They also work on the creation of the label Nowadays Records (Fakear, Skence, Unno, Clément Bazin, Leska, Douchka...) and released more than 75 EPs and LPs in five years.
With an outrageous number of shows across the world, tour in Asia, South America, collaborations with several international artists... Their success changed the game: Whereas many producers coming from this environment where isolated, La Fine Equipe federated a growing scene and became its reference.
After years spent paving the way for other artists and creating a structure that could support the growth of a musical scene, they decided to go further and launch a new era with « 5th Season ».

Because the band works with eight hands and four brains, there's nothing surprising in the fact that the album sounds like a condensed of each and everyone inspirations and experiences, from hip hop and sampling, to electronica, jazz and Latinas inspirations. If homogeneity is the new trend, La Fine Equipe isn't ready to sacrifice its wishes to fit the mould.

« 5th Season » is also a glance at the world looking over our planet's current state, the cosmos, the vegetal and these things that are greater and stronger than us, and the things and behaviour that could led to our loss.
It's an almost apocalyptic vision of our future, but full of optimism at the same time. There is something solar and cinematographic in this album, a format that goes beyond the one chosen before, closer to playlist and compilations such as the three Boulangerie opuses remind us.

Loyal to their status of ambassadors, the four beatmakers keep on inviting other artists to complete their universe. Illa J and T3, respectively brother and partner (Slum Village) of the late J. Dilla, make the connection between a glorious past and the future embodied by La Fine Equipe on the track « The Source ». With « Aurora », it's the solemn and mystical voice of Madjo that take this electro-pop track to another level. The American rapper Mr. J. Medeiros on the boom bap anthem « What Eva », the Montrealer ZeFire on « Typical », each and every artists brings its stone to the edifice of « 5th Season », giving to the album a limitless and freed musical richness.

But to release an album isn't enough. In parallel, each member of La Fine Equipe continues to fulfil its multiples tasks and work on a new concept live show bringing a scenic and visual show in addition to their music. It is what the artists looking toward the future do, and La Fine Equipe is looking straight ahead.

_________________________________________________________________________

TRACK BY TRACK

AURORA (Ft. Madjo)
Already remixed by the quatuor on the beautiful track « Choose The Heart », it's Madjo's turn to be invited by La Fine Equipe for a collaboration. Her mystical voice, which fragility paradoxically seems to strengthen its power, turns the track into an epic pop anthem.

NOBU (Ft. Grems & 20syl)
The association of these three names seems obvious, like a family reunion. Grems did the visual of the anniversary box of La Boulangerie, 20syl (C2C, Hocus Pocus) was one of the beatmakers who took part in the project.
This time, the two big brothers are side by side behind the mic, for the first French speaking collaboration of La Fine Equipe.
On this trapy/footwork beat, the two rappers ring the alarm before it's too late to save our house, the earth.

THE SOURCE (Ft. T3 & Illa J)
In the family of Hip Hop jewels of 5th Season, here is one coming from the USA. Fans of J Dilla and Slum Village since the first hour, La Fine Equipe pays its respects to its influences by inviting T3 and Illa J. Respectively member of Slum Village and brother of the legendary Detroit producer, these two MCs build a bridge between the eras and let their sharpened flows confuse our perception of time.

5TH SEASON (Ft. Fakear)
A second collaboration with their little brother from the Nowadays Family, Fakear. Eponymous title, it represents the universe of both entities, true road trip through Fakearians melodies and La Fine Equipe's funk declined in five seasons.

TYPICAL BOY (Ft. ZeFire)
With « Typical Boy », La Fine Equipe express its love for House music with chopped rhythms and a heavy but swaying bass line. The freed track oscillate between power and lightness. A beat that quickly becomes ZeFire's playground. The Montreal singer, already heard on Her's tracks, brings a missing r'n'b touch to create the perfect chemistry.

‘Just rain! Tell that to the dolphins!’
The brand new first-time vinyl edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to
the Galaxy: Quandary Phase comes on heavyweight blue vinyl,
packaged in the lavish style of the preceding Primary Phase,
Secondary Phase and Tertiary Phase LP releases.
Here, for the first time ever on vinyl, are Episodes 19 to 22 of the
BBC radio series. First broadcast in 2005, the Quandary Phase is
based upon the Douglas Adams’s fourth novel So Long, and
Thanks for all the Fish. This is the first ever publication of the
original radio edits of the Quandary Phase, as heard on their
original Radio 4 broadcast.
Hitching a lift back to Earth after it miraculously reappeared, Arthur
Dent returns to his cottage and tries to resume normal life. But an
encounter with a striking woman named Fenchurch leads to a
series of unanswered questions. Why has the planet’s entire
population of dolphins vanished, leaving behind them some very
charming crystal bowls? Who is Wonko the Sane, and what is
God’s Last Message to His Creation? Meanwhile Ford Prefect is
Having revelations of his own, and as for Marvin the Paranoid
Android…well, just don’t ask. Suffice to say, things may never be
the same again.
Starring William Franklyn as The Book, with Simon Jones as
Arthur Dent, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect, Bill Paterson as
Rob McKenna, Jane Horrocks as Fenchurch, Sandra Dickinson as
Tricia McMillan and Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid
Android, with a guest cast including Arthur Smith, June Whitfield,
Stephen Fry, Jackie Mason, Rula Lenska, Patrick Moore and
Christian Slater, with music by Philip Pope and Paul ‘Wix’
Wickens. Adapted, Directed and Co-Produced by Dirk Maggs
Two 180g heavyweight coloured vinyl discs are presented in
illustrated wallets inside a rigid, bound 20 page book, including a
moving tribute to Douglas Adams written by Stephen Fry and
sleeve notes by Jem Roberts, Adams’s official biographer.
‘Whoooo…I’m flying…’

Having burst onto the scene with his stunning debut release on Influence back in July, and with Aaron Jay’s label continuing to fly the flag for this exciting producer, Easy returns and this time with partner in crime – Geeks. This Belgium duo are beginning to create a stir in the dnb scene with heavy support from Fabio, who played three of the forthcoming tracks from this ep on his Rinse FM Show in October 2018. Also getting support from LTJ Bukem and radio play/premiere of Steady from Skank and Bass plus Big Bud and Stunna were showcasing some of the tracks at this year’s Sun and Bass Festival in Sardinia. The future is looking bright for these two talented producers!

elected DJ feedback:

Fabio – ‘Wkd tunes’
LTJ Bukem – ‘Feelin Natural and Shadows’
Doc Scott – ‘Thanks for the beats’
Random Movement – ‘Wow these tracks are fire’
Ben Soundscape – ‘Nice EP, fav track is Shadows’

Sein letztes Werk "You're Dead" (2014) bescherte ihm eine Grammy-Nominierung, sein Brainfeeder-Label ist zu einem der innovativsten Klanglabors der Welt avanciert, er co-produzierte Kendrick Lamars mit fünf Grammies ausgezeichnetes Meisterwerk "To Pimp A Butterfly" (2015). Nun veröffentlicht Flying Lotus sein neues Album für Warp: "Flamagra" greift alle kreativen Quantensprünge und innovativen Elemente aus 12 Jahren FlyLo-Karriere auf und denkt sie weiter, größer, epischer und universeller: Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Electro, IDM, die Ansätze der befreundeten Beatmaker aus L.A., Tribal-Elemente, Polyrhythmen. Aber selbst diese Liste reicht nicht aus, um "Flamagra" auch nur ansatzweise zu verorten, weil es immer wieder ausbricht aus diesem Koordinatensystem. Die Gästeliste liest sich wie ein Traum: Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Solange, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, Ishmael Butler (Shabazz Palaces), Toro Y Moi, sein musikalischer Stammesbruder Thundercat, ja selbst David Lynch ist zu hören. Der legendäre Regisseur steuert ein paar schaurige Worte bei, eine düstere Erzählpassage, mit der er uns eindringlich warnt: "Fire is coming". "Flamagra" ist die Essenz des letzten Jahrhunderts im Bereich der afroamerikanischen Musik, vollkommen neu und weitergedacht, kollektiv gefiltert und feingeschliffen. Auch wenn Flying Lotus ein Nachkomme seiner ehrwürdigen Großtante Alice Coltrane ist, die mit John verheiratet war (wobei auch Miles und Madlib, Dilla und DOOM als seine Vorfahren gelten dürfen), hat er inzwischen seinen eigenen Kult geschaffen: Eine Gefolgschaft, die alles Geniale aus der Vergangenheit absorbiert und in Bereiche überführt, die sich die genannten Vorfahren nicht mal im Traum hätten ausmalen können. Flying Lotus ist zurück. Fire is coming.

Repress available in early May.

Faitiche releases a new collaboration between the Japanese sound artist ASUNA and Jan Jelinek: the album Signals Bulletin brings together joint improvisations and compositions made over a period of three years in Berlin, Kyoto and Kanazawa. ASUNA’s meandering organ drones merge with Jelinek’s pulsating synthesizer and field recording loops to create dense superclusters that span broad harmonic arcs.

"Watching the Japanese sound artist ASUNA playing the organ, some people might be surprised. ASUNA is no virtuoso flying over the keyboard in a rage. Instead, with the calm gestures of an office worker, he cuts strips of adhesive tape to the correct length before sticking them onto the keys of his instrument. In this way, large clusters of keys are held down, creating a dense and sustained range of frequencies, while the sound artist continually prepares further sets of keys or removes tape again. I have rarely seen a more convincing performance concept, with such a power to fascinate.

I first met ASUNA when we both gave a concert at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, his home city. He performed the organ drones as described above and I immediately knew I wanted to collaborate with him. Six years and five meetings later, we completed Signals Bulletin. The album includes both joint improvisations and compositions, recorded in Berlin, Kanazawa and Kyoto.

Whether using prepared organ, Casio keyboards or mechanical plastic toys, ASUNA creates rich textures of sound that barely change over long stretches of time. It is a music without breaks. For a while, I was unsure how my loops made using modular synthesizers and live sampling fitted here – until I realized the role I had to take in this duet: I would provide the rhythmically pulsating foundation over which his dense continuums could unfold.

The result is harmonically drifting superclusters that put us into a meditation-like state. It can perhaps be compared to Automatic Writing – a mode of creative expression floating somewhere between concentration and distraction. Both the structure of our pieces and our approach to our instruments allow a similar “absence”: we let the machines play and repeat themselves – while we, in a mild form of trance, adopt the role of observers, intervening only occasionally.

It is no coincidence that ASUNA owns a collection of Doodle Art – drawings jotted down during conversations or while talking on the phone. It is said that works made like this point to the unconscious and reveal pet motifs – because a doodler always inadvertently returns to his or her favourite themes. The artwork for Signals Bulletin features pictures from the collection, in this case sheets of paper from the pads provided in stationery shops to test out pens. The special quality of such doodles is that the jumble of drawings is the work of a collective whose individual members do not know each other. Layer by layer is added, by someone different each time – until it becomes a dense cluster of lines and symbols ..."

Jan Jelinek, Berlin 2018

New Fly-Lo.. First outing since 5 years!

Drawing the lines between the galaxies of hip-hop, funk, soul, jazz, global dance music, tribal poly-rhythms, IDM and the beat scene of his hometown L.A, Lotus creates a universe that is uniquely his own. Calling on an all-star cast from the cosmos, Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, David Lynch, Shabazz Palaces, Thundercat, Toro y Moi and Solange; Lotus takes these artists on an astral plane to explore his world of fire.

Kicking 2019 off in fine style, we present Boogizm co-founder Fym. Having previously presented tunes on Daniel Bell's 7th City, Circus Company, Telegraph, LMML, and Veniceberg. We have here 4 trax of hi-tech-lo-fi-funk. The works on this wax are devoid of cliche and full of quirky flavors; all whilst maintaining their dancefloor appeal.

Be With have raided the KPM archives to re-issue another of our favourites from the KPM 1000 series. They say: A comprehensive collection of descriptive contemporary scores. We say: Just look at the track titles of The Road Forward and swoon: Strangelands, A Man Alone, Sheer Elegance, Mystique Voyage, Cruising. Don’t you just want to hear those? The maestro Alan Hawkshaw really spoils us on this, one of the most sought after KPM greensleeves. This collection from 1977 is a brilliantly varied blend of silky smooth synths, funk-fuelled clavichord grooves and soft focus space beats. Essential. As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for The Road Forward comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We’ve taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity. And don’t worry! Those KPM stickers aren’t stuck directly on the sleeves!

JJ Cale's 'Live' album gets its very first vinyl edition. FIRST TIME ON VINYL incl.all influencial tracks.

To celebrate the release of the new album 'Stay Around', JJ Cale's 'Live' album gets its very first vinyl edition. Originally released in 1996, this live album features 14 classics including 'After Midnight', 'Cocaine' and 'Old Man'. All tracks were recorded across several different shows : Carnegie Hall (New York, 1996), The Philharmonic (Munich, 1994), Flynn Theater (Burlington, 1993), The Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, 1994), The Hammersmith Apollo (London, 1994), The Sommerville Theater (Sommerville, 1993) and Park West (Chicago, 1990). Double 180gr heavyweight vinyl with CD album included.

'The Loop' is the new LP by Los Angeles based polymath Shafiq Husayn, an epic project which saw its inception in 2012 through a series of studio sessions at Shafiq's home, including collaborations with the likes of Thundercat, Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, Bilal and Anderson Paak. Amongst a close knit circle of friends and family the golden tones of The Loop were created, deeply rooted in ideas of song, story, history, guidance and spirituality. The album bumps, jumps and jangles through progressions in jazz, hip hop, soul and funk, following on from his debut album 'Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka' and adding further to his rich history of timeless, unique music. On The Loop past, present and future are brought together through a psychedelic concoction of time traveling drum machines, celestial string sections and trails of synthesizer vapour. Inflections of Sly Stone, Pharaoh Sanders and Earth Wind And Fire traverse with Marley Marl and Dilla-esqe drums making for an organic yet LA-trifying experience.

Shafiq has brought together an impressive array of LA's musical royalty, enlisting the likes of Thundercat, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Kamasi Washington, Chris 'Daddy' Dave, Eric Rico, Coultrain, Computer Jay, Jimetta Rose, Om'Mas Keith, Kelsey Gonzalez, I-Ced and more to provide the backbone to his recording sessions. Drawing in features from an international cast of performers and artists like Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Hiatus Kaiyote, Fatima and Karen Be amongst others. Now complete and finally ready for release in 2019 The Loop is truly something to behold. The records is accompanied by a series of paintings by acclaimed Japanese visual artist Tokio Aoyama, who worked in tandem with Shafiq to create a painting for each song on the record.

Debut, 4 track 7" on KingUnderground by Flughand & Smuv. Flughand and and Smuv, 37 and 27 year old producers from Germany, collaborate on their debut EP "Fluo". They are both giants in the streaming game and known for their laid back, dreamy, lofi hip hop beats. They are two of the most well-known artists in the genre of lofi, with streams counting more than 100 million clicks. BeatPete, a fellow German and widely respected DJ, is the link here for the release on KingUnderground.


They each have their own distinctive style of cover art for all their solo projects and this time they worked with an Italian artist, "Heey Studio Design" for the "Fluo" EP illustration. It conveys the two of them, a cat (Smuv) sitting on a little island, chilling with a cocktail in the middle of an ocean and a dog (Flughand), flying an airplane up in the sky.

Part of the Atøms √ë¢tœrs Pix£ls Gh©sts™ series with The Designers Republic™.


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Info:
Valance Drakes and Kero team up for their first collaborative endeavor. The EP, Abstract Thought is an evident fusion of both artist’s unique styles, bringing together elements of glitch, Hip hop, Detroit techno, and a whole lot of space vibes.


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My hands float before my face, drifting in defiance of gravity, willfulness brought on by forces beyond my own. Things stop very abruptly with a crash the shakes my eyes in their very sockets, rattling reverberation pushing painfully through my skull.


One thousand days in space feels like nothing and everything all at once. Children grow, faces fill with wrinkles and I stay still.


Until my eyes begin to shake and everything turns to television static flashing somewhere inches behind vision. Is someone stepping on my throat?


I’ve crashed into something hard and barren. Is that electricity I see, clinging to my hands?


I spring across an earth or planet or meteorite that crumbles beneath my boots and sways in the air moving so swiftly about my body, dust flying up into the visor of the helmet that saves me, threatening cracks, ruckus.


I can hear my heartbeat in here. I wonder if this is what it sounds like in the womb. The rope connecting me to the ship is something like an umbilical cord. Is it not? Maybe it’s a vacuum. Maybe I’m not born yet after all.

In the early eighties Level 42 started out as a jazz-funk fusion band in the United Kingdom, formed by Mark King and the Gould brothers (Phil and Rowland). During the Brit Funk era, they met up with Mike Lindup and Wally Badarou (who would become a fifth member in all but name) and recorded their first single Love Meeting Love'. Their follow-up Love Games' cracked the UK Top 40 and had success in Europe. What followed was a string of minor hits with The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up), Hot Water' but the big breakthrough was with Something About You' in 1985. The single was Level 42's first American hit, and would do well on both sides of the Ocean. The band carried on delivering hits through their funky, jazzy songs with finger popping good grooves and infectious rhythms. During the following years up until today, Level
42 are recording records and continue to tour the world, although in a slightly different line-up.
The Collected double vinyl album contains a selection of their songs from the earlier years of Starchild' up until Tracie' and Take A Look'. These tracks, specially remastered for vinyl, are exciting, standing the test of time, delivered by a timeless band.

The french electronic wizards Jacques & Superpoze made music together. The result is simple: 1 track together and 2 original songs, one by Jacques, one by Superpoze. In their own words: Superpoze and I made music together. We gave birth to an instrumental track. There are no lyrics, but it speaks about time flying, About the feeling of evolving or moving backwards, About repetitive events that don't ever follow the same pattern, About the tragedies that sometimes happen and the fear they would happen again, About discovering enthusiasm, About knowing how to read the future in the past, About being knocked out after holding on to an assumption, About winning a chess game by mistake.

Gregorio Gomez aka Gladkazuka is a mythical figure from Medelli´n's underground nightlife, contributing since pre - smartphone ages with energetic live sets to the celebration of life in the convulsive surrounding of the Colombian city. After playing and touring alongside Matias Aguayo with 'The Desdemonas' and contributing with the club smash hits 'Ihr Euer' and 'Futuro Chaos' to the 'Solidarity Forever' series on Co´meme - Gladkazuka is back with a full EP in which highly emotive and sensual electro dance fantasies culminate to 'The Drop'. Gomez' creations are nocturnal and lush, utopian and melancholic - underground dance pop that would be mainstream in a better world.

However these songs were created in a place where an unseen destruction of nature is taking place, and - in mids of times of supposed peace agreements - social leaders are being assassinated under the eyes of a new right wing government. Meanwhile the societies are fragmented towards a growing individualism and competition, exchanging dignity for an ideal of consumerism.
In this chaos, music becomes the celebration of life.

'Naturalia', the first track of the EP reflects this with its lushness and its jungle - like humid warmth, 'Flancing' with its happy flying fishes and 'El Coral' with its jittering electric eels.

'The Drop' is decontextualized Electro and New Wave - echoes of The Cure and The Other People Place dissolving into utopian dreaming, longing for better times, like vampire bats, hanging in their caves, waiting for the night to come.

In the last few years London has become the centre of the Jazz Renaissance. A

new burst of energy and attitude brought by young musicians, equally inspired

by the likes of John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders or Sun Ra, as well as

Madvillain, J Dilla, Flying Lotus and Floating Points, has brought a welcomed

freshness to the London Scene. This exciting new environment brought a group

of young musicians together, all with a mutual desire to discover a new form of

expression. Together they created Cykada.

Serenace, a mysterious duo based in Chicago and Berlin joins the Shaw Cuts squad with 'The Flying Guillotine' - a weapon shaped like a hat with a blade rim and chain attached.
The weapon serves to brutally quash any defiance against the ironfisted Emperor Yung and his regime. The enforcers are twelve specially trained fighters, The Flying Guillotine squadron. 'Sheltered In Absence', its pushing drums and energetic synth elements, chimes to the cruel deeds of the squadron.
The guard Ma Teng flees when he witnesses the brutality unleashed by the men and the lethal weapon. The raging emperor commands his fighters to capture him, but Ma has disappeared into thin air. - Vitrine', a diverse groove combining swinging percussions and warm melodies circles over head, helping Ma to stay undercover.
The slaughter continues as the squadron relentlessly search for Ma. Ma turns back and confronts the army. Equipped with his own deadly weapon, he joins forces with Kreggo and his - 2in1' remix version, wiping out the squadron one by one.
- Spun Coral' sweeps in, drowning out the sound of guillotines gliding through the air until the last member falls. Silence reigns over the battlefield. But the myth of the fatal weapon remains.

Dean Zepherin is truly a producer who has managed to find his lane and appeal.
Born and raised in London - a suitably eclectic city for a man of his musical persuasion - he is renowned for his consistently genre-pushing productions.
In other words, a perfect match for Local Talk, a label not afraid to go beyond the classic 4/4 sound and explore different styles within house music.

Opening track Blue Moon is an organic, warm and enveloping chunk of deep house bliss and there's no doubt that Dean loves his house served with with plenty of horns.
Next up is Flying High, a jazzy uptempo house cut smothered in expansive percussions, trading organ and trumpet solos over elastic synth lines.

Music that speaks to the senses

Spiritual message from Kiddus I, the Original Rockers to each and every roots lovers across the board. Backed by one of Japanes most devout band Reggaelation IndependAnce, Kiddus is back again with a breathtaking remake of "Flying Knots".