Buscar:the mystery

Presenting ‘Lotus Island EP' by Forest on Stasys, a record that seamlessly weaves through the tapestry of the deep techno landscape. We kick off with the title track, 'Lotus Island,' a hypnotic journey characterised by rolling percussion and menacing synths. Feral then adds his reconstruction, plunging the listener into a dark, swampy realm, reimagining the original with his unique signature sound.

Next up is 'Torre De Alquimia,' a spacious, haunting track that rolls through techno terrains with an enigmatic allure, evoking a sense of mystery and suspense throughout. Closing the EP is 'Prism of Nature,' a brighter, melodic workout that serves as a serene conclusion to this wonderfully deep record.

Pluto’s Plan is back with a full blast. Another four-track VA welcomes back label founders and introduces new names to the roster. The A side kicks off with Tourman, delivering a cosmic acid heat, followed by the label’s own Hatsvali with a heavy dancefloor groover. The B side is shared between Pluto's Plan co-founder Hudson with a hypnotic tech house and gents behind Fraise Records, Duowe, with a virtuously crafted tune.

Delving deep into the shadowy realms of filmic soundscapes, Pheeks latest EP is a masterful blend of darkness and texture. Drawing heavy inspiration from moody cinema and the raw, gritty undertones of lofi elements, this collection manages to capture and amplify fond sound textures, seamlessly integrating them within techno structures. At its core, there is an unmistakable cinematic ambiance, an aura that paints a picture of suspense and mystery. But don’t let the atmospheric subtleties fool you. Beneath the misty veneer lies a pulsating heart of energy, with layers that rhythmically surge and ebb. It is a sonic journey that is as intricate as it is evocative, showcasing Pheeks prowess in both craft and creativity. Prepare to immerse yourself in a world where each track tells its own enigmatic tale.

Rødhåd presents: CRIMSON RUBEUS - the first ever compilation on WSNWG - BACK TO ZERO will be released on April 3rd
Under the leitmotif "WE SEE NEW WORLDS GROWING", the release marks a progression for the imprint to open up for solo releases from new artists and and long term collaboraters.
The compilation features 8 tracks handpicked by Rødhåd, each characterized by a vigorous commitment to the dancefloor while staying true to the label's signature - hard-to-resist sound with a pinch of mystery.
While every contribution has its distinct magnetic pull, marking the way to a nascent world, the crimson red thread running through this compilation is perpetuating, swirling techno with an acute fit for the dancefloor. As with previous releases Rødhåd crafted the artwork for the compilation, this time drenched in crimson hues echoing the energy of the music.







g D1 Ø Phase - Exiting The Delusion

The scenic artist and multi-instrumentalist CLARAGUILAR moves from performing arts to cinema as a composer and live performer. Over the last few years he has created soundscapes that blend electronics and sampled elements with orchestral arrangements, becoming one of the main names of the Spanish theater scene when it comes to soundtrack and sound design creation.

After her acclaimed EP 'Mystery is All' Lapsus is proud to present 'Figura', CLARAGUILAR's debut album, a heartfelt tribute to her connection with the scenic world, and especially with the operatic universe. The starting point of this project was born with the concept of an "invisible orchestra", an imaginary that aesthetically becomes a reality on stage thanks to the collaboration with the Barcelona studio Oscila, as well as with the help of the stylist Joan Ros, who has been in charge of the costume design.

'Figure' is a space in which electronica, ambient, and chamber-pop coexist; all under an operatic halo full of drama. Once again, the producer locked herself down from late 2022 to the beginning of 2023 to compose all the tracks in a very intimate and closed composition process. The album dives into the melodic landscapes, merged with orchestral samples and chopped voices containing mysterious messages inside.

Each track is a pixelated lightshow and a live electronic instrumentation, presented onstage as an elegant performance with an expansive emotional range

The second ultra limited installment of Richard Norris' journeys into the outer reaches of dub has landed.

Mixing influences from roots reggae to On U Sound to Basic Channel and beyond, these six tracks offer warm and lush sonic landscapes to sink into.

2024 of New Interplanetary Melodies begins with a new album and an EP signed by ABYSSY. The historical producer from Bologna who returns to Simona Faraone’s label after a few years since the release of his previous works, Magnetic Archive (NIM001,2016) under his alias Soulomon, and TWO Scorpions EP (NIM002, 2017) under the name ABYSSY, which marked NIM’s adventure in the world of contemporary Italian independent record labels. “Extra Meta" was born from the passion for a certain electronic sound ecosystem of the 70s and 80s, a journey that embraces minimalism of the “Berlin school” and extends to the beating heart of the soul/funk of Detroit techno. A journey into the abyss of emotions and the unknown of the human spirit, as the deep darkness of the ocean intertwines with the unfathomable darkness of space. An invitation to explore new sound boundaries, to let yourself be lulled by waves that repeat without ever repeating themselves and to immerse yourself in the reflective mystery of discovery and of evolution, a dance in darkness and light, and where the abyss of emotion merges with the infinity of imagination: ABYSSY.

Rekab arrives on the shores of Analog Concept Records in a sense-satisfying, lush style with the Concept EP.

There's a lot packed into these 4 tracks, as the record spins full circle emitting sonic intricacy for both the mind and the floors.

Right away, vividly soothing and atmospheric hybrids of downtempo breakbeat electronica with a bit of ambient techno personality blissfully charm the experiences on Concept 1 and 2, while the B side extends the cosmic joyride with the soul permeating chords and therapeutic electro of Concept 3; and of course there is fun where there is mystery, hence a 909 and ambient house flavoured remix of the third Concept from the always impressive yet very elusive Convextion aka E.R.P.

Curated with purpose, mastered with love.

Treat your ears and electronic sets to the vision of Rekab's Concept, up next on vinyl for the exclusive Analog Concept Records.

The infamous "All Stars" series on End Of Dayz are back this 2024 with a selection of 4 of the most hard workers producers and djs the last times. Linear System deliveries "Dubbing" a hard and deep squizo party shaker, Not A Headliner comes with a funky percussive game as "Mystery Box", Anika Kunst arrives into the last sinapsis of your brain in her "Introspective Trip" and Decka will make the delights of the hard UK Techno lovers with "Vented. Lethal weapons as we like it in the End Of Dayz heardquarters.

Repress.

Mong Tong's latest album, "Tao Fire 道火", not only continues the idea behind their previous work, "Indies 印", but also incorporates more local elements such as gamelan music, phin guitar, tabla drums, and Taiwan sisomi.

While sampling more sounds from the street of Southeast Asia, including weddings, funerals, and traditional celebrations, Mong Tong again explores different folk sounds around Austronesia. Different to their last Guruguru Brain release "Mystery 秘神", "Tao Fire 道火" will take us to a land that is both familiar and fresh. Feel the hot, the crowd, humidity, and ecstasy. This time, welcome to Mong Tong's subtropical world.

Hanagasumi Records presents the fifth release, this time you will hear multi-genre electronic music in compilation format from wonderful artists who have their own unique and inimitable musical vision. Many of the artists previously released on labels such as Udacha, Rough House Rosie, Kimochi, Runout, Resonance, Faktura.

On the cover you see the numbered minerals of one large gem, the mineral number is also the track number. Minerals come together to create something beautiful, just like the tracks on this album.

The compilation opens with the instrumental track "Kamerton" by Shine Grooves, which combines classical piano playing with atmospheric synth sounds. The second track "Gods Gave" by Seal Bient & Jon'Smu is filled with mystery and melodic sequences that gently fall on electro rhythms. Continuing the journey, we come to the third track - "Caleidoscope" from the legendary band Bipolardepth, very fragile and thin sound matter, reminiscent of crystals, is connected with an ambient mood. The fourth track "The Sun Changed To Rain" is the work of two musicians - Michel and Shine Grooves, the composition is filled with house percussions and magical synth parts, but has a relaxing effect. The last track on side A is "Smelles" by Psor, you will hear house rhythms, lots of delay and vocals - first class dub! The second side is opened by the melodic IDM track "Muy Fragil" by Jon'Smu, atmospheric melodies are combined with broken rhythms and futuristic percussion. The second track "Fabrika" from the live improvisational band Ryabina is filled with crystal clear sounds, electro rhythm and cosmic chimes. The third track "Kwas" by Ronin combines a very slow and deep house groove that runs very smoothly through synth sequences. The fourth track "Lionwave" from the mysterious musician Phoboz, is an incredibly beautiful dub techno that slowly leads to hypnosis. The album closes with the ambient track "Runout 08.03" by X343 - a loop-shaped synth sequence that can run endlessly in your head.

Limited release.

After “The Legend of Kaspar Hauser” directed by Davide Manulli, Vitalic is once again putting his music to moving images with “Disco Boy” by Giacomo Abbruzzese (awarded a Silver Bear at the 2023 Berlinale). Electronic, intense and navigating between a variety of different atmospheres, the soundtrack - much like the film it accompanies - is full of promise and mystery. “The Swamps”, “La Guerre” and “Helicopter” are reminiscent of the intense, dark and foreboding productions of Thomas Bangalter for “Irreversible” by director Gaspar Noé. In contrast, “Winter is Coming” and “Lost Time” are places of melancholy and sweetness where all bass has completely disappeared. As for the eponymous theme for the film, “Disco Boy”, it pays true electronic homage to the sound of disco. The retro-futurist soundtrack to “Disco Boy” oscillates between devastating kick drums, moist ambient and dreamlike swathes. Vitalic has created uncharted sonic landscapes that invite us on a voyage of initiation and self-discovery.

A compilation of Hearn Gadbois' tracks, published here and there along the years (1983- 2020). Most of them are home recordings with very little or no diffusion, so this release tries to shed some light on these amazing compositions. A sound related to Hassell's 4th world, but developed in a very personal way (he even designs & makes some of his instruments) that feels different and goes far beyond. Using mostly acoustic instruments, Hearn combines a love of traditional trance/ecstatic rhythms with the sensibilities of an outsider artist, creating a music that is both archaic and post-modern. A really original and rare work, difficult to classify or explain... In Hearn's own words, included in the liner notes:
"The pieces compiled here tend to fall, with some overlap, into a few broad categories as near as I can tell: Mystery Psychedelic Crime Jazz (Tuba City, Flesh of the Spirit), Ayahuasca Hut Bachelor Pad Music (Night, Take the Waters, Wood), or Party Music that just fell from the sky or bubbled up through a crack in the earth (Flown Home, What the Goatherd Heard)"

As a percussionist, composer for dance and film, instrument designer/ builder, session musician and teacher, Gadbois worked with Meredith Monk, Sussan Deyhim, Gabrielle Roth, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega, The Master Musicians of Jajouka, and Wim Wenders, to name but a few.

Celebrating twenty-five years of Aficionado as a place to play away from suffocating mainstream club culture, DJs Jason Boardman and Moonboots have compiled a contemplative set of 16 tracks that holds a deep meaning to both themselves and attendees of their now legendary parties. The compilation includes two new tracks exclusive to the release: J Walk’s ‘Cool Bright Northern Morning’ and Begin’s remix of Canyons ‘Akasha’.
Reflecting on how it all started 25 years ago, Moon considers their no-plan-plan to be a makeshift plateau which evolved organically: “All we did was try to play good records one after the other without any consideration for fashion. And people wanted that”. Alternative approaches were not unknown at the time, but Aficionado, as Jason and Moon’s Sunday sessions became known, pressed the reset button with unique resolve.
Jason elaborates: “It was 1998 when we started. It was our own 'fuck you’ to the Super Club regime - almost everywhere then. The ‘anything goes’ Balearic ethos was in abeyance. It wasn’t cool at the time, but we both just wanted to keep that original spirit alive. ‘Keep it open’ had always been my approach to DJing - even from playing at Youth Clubs as a teenager. No rules or generic constrictions. Play anything that you like from any era, any style from any time. We always encouraged our guests to dig deep and play outside of their comfort zones, their usual styles”.
The lovingly crafted musical mystery tour of this compilation, considering its pleasantly hypnagogic intent, may not reflect the madness of these now distant memories. This is an older and considerably more responsible collection and this is what we need right now - a temporary respite from a world almost capsized. A mood, a meditation created by masters of their craft. Odd socks from disparate global locations making new sense side by side. An assemblage, if you like. A thread through many different kinds of thinking. A new picture pieced together from the lost pieces of many jigsaws.

Welcome back to sublabel Trix Trax, our series dedicated to sharing the Techno side of things.

After a little hiatus Trix Trax is back with a stacked four track VA, Technotations Vol. 1. Blending techno, IDM and breaks this releases showcases some of the many styles and energies the genre has to offer.

Starting off the VA, we have the track ‘Losing’ from Japanese producer MAGPOST. This loopy, hypnotic groover will add a layer of intrigue and mystery to your deep and moody sets!

Next up we have ‘Rise’ from JD Typo who’s debut EP, started off the Trix Trax series. This speedy techno cut will cause mayhem on the dance floors, nourishing souls in its wake with ethereal lush pads and vocal chops that creep in as the track progresses!

On the flip side we have a sobering track from Ukrainian producer Taras Vinnichenko called 24.02.22. Created the day Russia invaded Ukraine, t’s an auditory diary of Taras’ reaction to the unfolding of events. The crunch of the bass and breaks audate the panic and disarray on the ground.

Closing off the EP we have a unique groover from US producer Mr. Projectile who recently released an album on Wex sub label, La Luna. This crunchy and jittery cut takes you on a bass heavy, boom-filled journey of speedy techno and IDM!

On the sleeve, Sonia Malpeso delivers another whacky custom design on the front sleeve as well as a beautiful typographic showcase on the back and inner sleeve!

Pellegrino & Zodyaco, with their new single 'Malìa', continue the aesthetic and sonic journey of the project led by the Neapolitan producer, with a mixture of Neapolitan disco-funk and fusion steeped in Latin flavour that already explored the innermost corners of the soul with 'Quimere'. This new work captures the frenzy and vibrant character of Naples, with its rarefied atmospheres and infectious groove that evoke the beating heart of the city and take us on a journey through the wonder of life in search of the Mediterranean essence.

The 'Malìa' is enchanting, it’s that mysterious force that hides deep inside, transforming itself into a vortex of emotions through the fusion of involving rhythms and reflections on inner battles, on the importance of finding the 'light' to overcome conflicts and difficulties that hinder the ability to choose, a dreamlike mirage that opens a window on human vulnerability, a hymn to authenticity, to self-acceptance.

The celebration of dance in the Caribbean Escapade version is also an exhortation to escape from everyday life; it takes us into a sonic imagery that plays with the Neapolitan musical tradition and the freshness of Caribbean and Latin sounds. This summer single becomes an ode to the vital energy of dance music: there is no more time for hesitation, one must let oneself be carried away by the enthralling embrace of 'Malìa', like a call to awareness and the search for authenticity in life. Malìa becomes the guiding thread, the mystery that urges us to go beyond the confines of everyday life, to explore and celebrate the complexity of existence.

Greetings from TROPIKA! The Tikiyaki Orchestra’s fifth album is a soundtrack with many interpretations. Sometimes, an idyllic paradise. Sometimes, a place of danger and intrigue. The jetsetter, the beachbum, the lounge lizard, the international man of mystery, the alluring wahine, the soldier, and the suave - they all co-exist in Tropika, represented by their own musical escape. Enjoy your stay!

The decade of the 80s is revived through recordings like "Eyes" that allow you to travel through the music and trigger those old emotions of innocence, joy and adventure. It's possible you don't understand a word of what they're singing in the chorus, but the song is very catchy! Maybe not even Maria Chiara Perugini knows what she sings about, but she makes you hang on to every word of her like a nursery rhyme of synths, beach and bubblegum. "Eyes" is so amazing, so mesmerizing and more and more people are discovering this italo-disco masterpiece that usually satisfies and makes fun of you at the same time. If you try playing it at 75% speed gives a hypnotic vapor wave vibe! And even more, the song would have fit well in the dance club scenes from Scarface. Beyond the words - difficult to find a text that makes sense, sometimes out of context, unundestandable even for a French listener - the piece is so surprisingly likeable for the unique tone of Clio's voice, a strange cross between teenager and adult, and the part where she spoke another language, with some really cool synthesizers, are people's favorite parts. 0:31 "Je suis bien heureuse" , 0:47 "La nuit a ses merveilles", 0:57 "Il y a de quoi y perdre la tete, pour toi, sha, pour toi", 1:36 "Je n'ai plus de bulles", 1:52 "Je vous prie applaudissement". "Eyes" by Clio contains all the emotions that a dance-pop song should contain plus the essential element of mystery, a kind of magic that takes place between the chorus and the bass line, a shot in the dark drizzly night of the Italo-Disco. made by Roberto Ferrante, a guarantee for the perfect productions of the 80s, when he was only 20 years old.

A selection of unheard tracks by argentine cult proto-industrial band Quum, recorded between the years 2012/2014. Xtraqt Vol. 1 is the second release of Tecnologías Elementales, a record label founded by Djs Diamin and F.A.N.G.O.

Formed in 1978, Quum is an argentine group (currently consisting of brothers and founders members Gustavo and Daniel Gatti) that offers hypnotic and rhythmical improvisations in the language of experimental electronics, with a great participation of randomness, risk and uncertainty. Their music is inspired by science fiction, Zen Buddhism, chaos theory, ecology, the UFO phenomenon and the wabi-sabi concept.

Quum subscribes to the driving attitude of the Madí Movement ("invent and create"), coinciding in a conceptual vector that unites their teachers Jorge L. Borges, Gyula Kosice and Xul Solar.

Quum is a quiché-maya word extracted from the Popol Vuh that means "the secret", "that which is hidden behind the apparent", or "the mystery". The symbol that identifies them is a replica of the huge spider drawn mysteriously on the Nazca-Peru plateau.

Quum is, in addition to music, a living gesture of alternatives to conventional paradigms and pre-established archetypal behaviors.

Some kind of dirty ambient, cybernetik trance and organic industrial music.

Contact our cult!

a A1 Traslación Activada Intro

On this second delivery of Uruguayan Sound, Mephis presents us with two like-minded producers with a love for machines and their sound.

On the A side we have Elias Sternin, with his particular nostalgic, mysterious and trance-inducing sound. The EP opens up with Wah Wah y Phaser, evoking the feeling of a spaceship lifting off, into the big Other. Bass rolls into the stratosphere, whilst sharp and poignant synths push us past the space rubble that surrounds our planet. The second Track is a proper mood work, landing us in an uncharted yet familiar alien landscape. You can breathe the mystery in, whilst closing your eyes and embracing the unknown.


On the B side we continue travelling through a path of esoteric and questioning vibes. Artesano Titer delivers an ominous mind trip with Science to Music, an utterly mesmerising soundscape to question yourself and your Umwelt. Closing off the EP, we have White Rabbit, a profoundly narcotic trip to the centre of our own perception. Slides, breaks, smooth lines and an acidic bass that spiral down to the core of the self.

Detective of Perspective; Need to try and get a bigger eye, Open wide.

It was released on February 2, 1993 and is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. Lead MC Grand Puba left the group to pursue a solo career in 1991, following the release of their revered debut One for All. DJ Alamo also left to work with Puba, leaving MC's Sadat X and Lord Jamar, who enlisted DJ Sincere to join the group. It was a safe bet that In God We Trust wouldn't have attempted any new jack swing crossovers or tie-dyed imagery. Though the makeover is drastic, it is convincing, with Lord Jamar and Sadat X stepping up with some of the era's fiercest, most intense rhymes and lyrics that were extremely militant reflecting the group's identity adhering to the philosophy of the Nation of Gods and Earths. The album produced two singles, Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down and Love Me or Leave
Me Alone which both charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

An aura of mystery is hidden on this magnificent album released on EMI Nigeria in 1974 and today a collector’s cult object was the only one named Moonrakers Band.

Steve Black tells: “We were the original members of The Moonrakers and were based in Zaria, then in 1972 we left band management and started The Elcados. The original management of The Moonrakers sold the name to his elder brother who had a club in Kano and they brought Prince Bola Agbana to get other musicians to continue The Moonrakers while we moved in as The Elcados.”

Moonrakers Band and Elcados were the two bands that inflamed northern Nigeria in the early 70s with a more rocking and virtuoso sound, and especially with tons of rare grooves, then everything else around it.

Coming to the album content tracks like Wait For Me, Cut Your Coat According To You Size, Yara Manyan Gobe, but also Enia Sa Pele and Move on, will make floating camels appear on the dancefloor, or in your house.

Repress!

Mystery, hand-stamped, house heater business. No nonsense, peaktime power that’s already been doing the damage across the circuit.

Josh Burke is a guitarist/keyboardist/programmer from Chicago, USA, who specialises in a music that could, perhaps, best be described as an amalgamation of drone, kosmische and ambient, all with a distinctly euphoric flavour, as though these sounds were channelled rather than thoroughly composed.

He has over 30 solo releases to his name as well as splits with Jeffrey Astin (of Xiphiidae), Spirals and Body Morph, and also - like most of his peers - operates under several additional aliases - Ocean Diamond, Futuresport, The Masque, Silk Fountain, 56K, Sky Limousine and Nehal Shah - as well as ensemble and collaborative projects including Bermuda Link, Cartoon Drips, White Prism, Practical Applications Of The Chaossphere, Starfox, Camp Crystal Lake and Holographic Communications Of The Third Sky.

Born and raised in the heart of the French Alps, and now residing in Paris, DJ Physical’s sound is one of a harsh romance. Perhaps it was the beauty and serenity of the snow-covered mountain tops and the ferocious nature of French techno moulding together that spawned his ‘Raw Poetry’ aesthetic; an emotive blend of dark and light that feels like it could belong in concert halls and theatres as well as underground clubs. Now the Parisian local serves up five deadly cuts of brooding electro and techno for 1Ø PILLS MATE.

‘Not So Human’ delivers the influence of trance on the contemporary techno soundscape, but doesn’t over-do it. Trance-licked, not dominated, the uncompromising cut of wave-driven techno is the perfect accompaniment for when you want to take things up a notch. ‘Sex Club’ maintains DJ Physicals’ fascination with Raw Poetry - brimming with breaks-driven breakdowns, spine-tingling atmospherics and low-pressure basslines that highlight the variety of influence the emerging producer brings to the table.

Acid synth-lines and lively trance-inspo create an altogether lighter mood as we flip the record on ‘Mortal Dance’, before ‘Easy Dancer’ changes its tune altogether with a pounding cut of progressive, freaky electronica.

Closing the release is ‘Go Further’ - misty electro, Southern-trap samples and those distinctive, high-culture ambient interludes creating a sense of emotive mystery. A well-rounded release with plenty of left-turns, this is DJ Physical’s ‘Raw Poetry’ at its finest.

The illusive Impérieux ventures into the fantastical world of DJ Koze’s Pampa with three tracks of masterful, genre-bending electronica.

It’s little wonder that the Turkish/Bulgarian native finds himself coming into the orbit of the Hamburg-based label head. DJ Koze has been a long-time supporter of Impérieux’s music, his intrepid DJ sets often finding their most dramatic peaks or existential lows with one of the producer's audacious dancefloor soundscapes.

Now Berlin-based, Impérieux’s music draws deeply on the sounds of his heritage, taking inspirations from Bulgarian folklore, twisted and chopped Turkish dialect as well the gritty underground of his new surroundings.

With Fantasmagorii, Impérieux explores his sonic boundaries with techniques inspired by the label-head himself. As a producer he is becoming known for his ability to build fantasy worlds through aural experimentation, creating productions soaked with fragility and emotion. His music brings a full-body listening experience of it’s own, laden with intensity and mystery, and full of opposites. He has the ability to pluck their listeners out of reality, to bend the rules of time and space and defy genres in a way that is reminiscent of Koze’s various bodies of work, and it’s no surprise that this selection of tracks feels right at home in the Pampa fantasy.

"I am permanently seeking for Music that blows my mind. It’s like digging for gold. Impérieux delivers a psychedelic bullion" (DJ Koze)

OUT OF PLACE ARTEFACTS, the collaboration alchemizing the sounds of german producers Rødhåd and .VRIL, embarks on a new sonic exploration with “II” on Rødhåd’s label WSNWG.

This second longplayer ventures significantly deeper into the spheres of electronic music - exploring a wide range of abysmal drums and breaks as well as focusing on flickering sound sketches and elusive noises whose origin will have to remain a mystery for the listener. It aims to leave them in inexplicable realms between the dance floor and deep listening, unfolding its magnetism beyond genre definitions.

Throughout the listening experience, one is exposed to bewildering surprises such as traces of lightheartedness and stronger use of samples, vocals and strings. “Universian” invites a softer tone, revealing a more seductive, gloomier and poppier facette of the duo.

The closing track “Triskaideka” concludes the journey by featuring classical musicians Angelina Delgado (Violin) and Alexandra Ivanova (Viola).

OUT OF PLACE ARTEFACTS considerably developed the rapport between both artists' contributions for this LP- merging them into a more harmonious, yet very distinct expression. Each of the 13 tracks showcases layered, intricate arrangements so that they become their own microcosms, forming a radiant universe as a whole album.

Having crested the west coast modular-ambient wave in just a few releases - including 2018's Sharing Waves on the influential LA experimental imprint Leaving Records - Sean Hellfritsch has swapped the mossy analog synth improvisations of his prior output for refined melodic arrangements dressed in sprightly dawn-of-digital textures. Big Earth Energy plumbs the depths of Hellfritsch's multimedia mind and naturalist heart, spinning an impressionistic narrative world off of cultural touchstones like the PC game MYST, and the work of Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. Inspired by the aforementioned, and guided by Hellfritsch's experience as an animator and filmmaker, Big Earth Energy is the soundtrack to a hypothetical video game with a pointedly ecological premise, and a twist of psychedelic charm. In Hellfritsch's imagined virtual journey, the player assumes the perspective of a treefrog sixty-five-million years ago, hopping epochs with each new level, forming a comprehensive picture of the massive changes the planet has gone through over the eons. The ultimate goal of the game is not to amass resources, defeat enemies, or gain power, but to fully witness the unfolding of one of the biggest systems of energy imaginable - or as the album's creator puts it - "to explore the incomprehensibly vast energetic expression and mystery that is Earth." Big Earth Energy is steeped in exploratory RPG intrigue, possibility, and contemplation, lovingly overlaid with Miyazaki-an sentiments and aesthetics. The through-composed, organic, meandering synthesis heard on previous Cool Maritime albums has been fully replaced by meticulous polygonal arrangements that recall the computerized sheen of late 80s work by composers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Yoichiro Yoshikawa - using true-to-period gear no less. Even given its referentiality, Big Earth Energy comes off as forward-facing where so much reminiscent music remains fixed to a bygone moment in pop culture. Hellfritsch has created a musical world where the endless verdancy of the biosphere finds its parallel in the golden age of early 1990s video games, and late 80s Japanese environmental music, all while pointing to a hopeful planetary and artistic future that vindicates the motives of all of these muses.

Son of Chi returns to Astral Industries, alongside Spanish artist Clara Brea, for the collaborative release of AI-29. A product of fate, chance experiments, but most of all, sensitive artistry - ’The Wetland Remixes’ exists as a confluence of two kindred musical spirits, a wayfaring epic that draws together a rich archive of ecological field recordings, live instrumentation and higher inspirations.

Ahead of Hanyo’s concert at Calma (Madrid) at the end of 2019, the curators organised a special dinner and arranged the meeting of Clara and Hanyo. As Hanyo recalls,“It was like stereochemistry. There was an instant match and understanding, and basically we decided in a split second to exchange recordings and to collaborate on future live and studio experiments.”

The auspicious meeting of the two ignited a remote exchange of materials and ideas, as the world descended into a series of pandemic-related lockdowns. The first of said recordings included the stems of Clara’s ‘Wetland Project’ - a site-specific audiovisual project originally produced for Eufonic Festival (Spain), using field recordings from the Ebro Delta nature reserve (one of the most threatened regions of climate change on the Iberian peninsula).

From this initial impetus, Hanyo began working on the first sketches of the album back in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Just like their meeting in Madrid, the project developed naturally and spontaneously with extraordinary ease. Later, Hanyo started adding field recordings from the Magic Cave and Wetlands of the ‘Kallikatsou’ (Patmos, Greece) as well as organic and acoustic overdubs, featuring bass, drums, percussion, guitars, oud, piano, hammond organ, wurlitzer, flutes, bells, and mouth harp.

In the distance, the sound of birds peak through the effervescent wash of the wetland soundscapes. The pass of running water flows deeper into a land full of secrets never told. On the strike of dusk, the silhouettes of shapely trunks and foliage melt slowly into the impenetrable darkness. As darkness passes, light emerges, with exquisite moments of tranquility that seemingly emerge from nothingness.

Beneath the shimmering veneer of textures, wildlife and melodies, one may hear the deeper references of ’The Wetland Remixes’. With credit to Clara’s input, for Hanyo the album process became a kind of refuge, and ultimately inspired the return to the core of Abstract Sound - what the Sufis call“Saut-i Sarmad.”Such references allude to the spiritual quality embedded in the music - the autonomous process of self-expression, the great mystery. Hanyo: “An ambience like this cannot be created by routine. There is no blueprint. The music has to find you. It’s like a blessing if it happens. You should not interfere, just observe and be impressed...”

Deep, luscious mind trips as per the classic Chi sound, ‘The Wetland Remixes’ beautifully correlates the interconnecting dots of geography, ecology, and mythology’s forgotten lore.

Polish composer Olga Wojciechowska and veteran electronic producer Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner, combine on A Strangely Isolated Place to revisit a beloved Strie album - Olga's more electronic and experimental alias. With previous releases on Serein and Time Released Sound as Strie, Olga Wojciechowska's 'Struktura' was released in 2015 to a limited audience due to its physical-only format.

As Olga's work becomes increasingly more coveted, through her more recent releases on A Strangely Isolated Place (Unseen Traces & Infinite Distances), and with Struktura praised as one of her finest albums to date, the discussion to breathe new life into the album resulted in a unique pairing with Scanner, an electronic music producer and multimedia artist responsible for some of the most defining works of the genre since the early 1990s.

Blurring the line between harmony and dissonance, Struktura's original recordings paint an eerie, haunting and beautiful picture, conceptualized around abstract art, with intricacies and mystery abound. Here, Strie's original recordings remain untouched, albeit lovingly remastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, and it is left to Scanner to provide further interpretations of Olga's original recordings. Scanner productions can typically traverse a myriad of styles, but here, Robin took a primarily live-hardware approach to the remixes, allowing the rawness of his recordings to add story and depth. Recorded in one take, with no overdubs, the reinterpretations strip the melodies and textures to their original essence, bringing an entirely analog element to Olga's intrinsically detailed originals. Featuring artwork by Rep Ringel and mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, Struktura Revisited will be available on Gatefold 2LP in a black/grey half-and-half vinyl, with 6x6" soft-touch heavy art card.

A rare sought-after LP of French proto-disco from BERNARD ESTARDY (AKA ESTRAK LANCIOS) alongside JEAN-PIERRE BOURTAYRE. Composed during 1977, the time when space was the place and cosmic DJ DANIELE BALDELLI was rocking the world at Italian discotheques. Mystery colored vinyl! Pic sleeve.

Total oddball production that has left a terrifying wake of mystery throughout many online digger circles which eventually even led to a mini documentary explaining the origin of the crown jewel “Dirty Cowboy” sound which is featured in this release along with another one of Richard Plasko’s tripped out involuntary lo-fi excursions on the B-side. Ron Hardy and the Village People walk into a bedroom studio...Thoroughly remastered from master tapes and brought back to life on vinyl for the first time.

For the inaugural release on DSO, shrouded in mystery, two of the most revered female voices in recent memory get the rework treatment from the shadows, resulting in a double dose of low-slung, deftly sampled, house heaters.

Repress

Guy J returns home to Lost & Found with two absolute monster tracks! And for the first time in the labels history, these tracks will be available on vinyl as well digital download.

Let's get straight to business then and its Dizzy Moments kicking us off. A techno grooved workout with percussive layers meeting subtle yet ethereal pads, creating a warm atmospheric vibe. The track expands with the sounds growing as the elements ooze from within, creating an epic melodic masterpiece as delays interact creating a dreamy smile inducing gem of a track that we are positive will create a serious fuss and will send clubbers wild.

Diaspora grinds in to action from the off, with its slightly tribal tinged percussion, brooding bass stabs and cool fx setting the mood, swiftly followed by creeping pads that lighten the vibe while adding an air of mystery, dropping its fierceness, but only temporarily, before we pound back in to action. Gated chords meet cool keys as we meander around the ups and downs of this monster. Another serious slab of dance floor devastation from Guy.

Two outstanding tracks that will no doubt be flying straight in to many a DJ's playlist at rapid speed.