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‘Pacific Kiss’ is the fourth album from Australian musician David West’s underground pop band, Rat Columns. It was engineered by Griffin Harrison and DW in New York City and Perth, and mixed by Mikey Young in Victoria. ‘Pacific Kiss’ sees Rat Columns plunging headfirst into an azure sea of power pop, rock’n’roll and indie. The tones are bright and optimistic, though fans of confusion and gloom will still find solace in the album’s darker moments, of which there are a few. Rat Columns emerged from San Francisco via Perth, Western Australia in the late 2000’s with the mope ’n’ jangle of their first self-titled cassette release, from which several tracks were drawn for their first vinyl release, a four-song 7” on the San Francisco based indie label, Smartguy Records. From that moment, DW and a constantly evolving troupe of friends and co-conspirators have forged a persistent trail of albums and EP’s on a number of interesting small labels such as RIP Society, Upset The Rhythm, Blackest Ever Black, Syncro-System, Adagio 830 and now the London-based Tough Love Records, who have also released many of David’s eponymous pop records. DW has also found time to play in a number of other interesting outfits, such as Rank/Xerox, Lace Curtain, Liberation, Scythe, Total Control and Burning Sensation over the years. ‘Pacific Kiss’ was primarily recorded in a dingy but comfortable practice space in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The core of the record is DW, bassist Max Schneider-Schumacher, drummer Dylan Stjepovic and keyboard wiz Joey Fishman. Additional fairy dust was sprinkled by Amber Gempton and Raven Mahon (vocals), Jef Brown (saxophone) and Mikey Young, who found time to contribute some off the wall guitar solos during the mixing process. ‘Pacific Kiss’ is a record for those astral voyages into the spheres conducted from bedrooms, kitchens, grassy fields and open car windows.

‘Pacific Kiss’ is the fourth album from Australian musician David West’s underground pop band, Rat Columns. It was engineered by Griffin Harrison and DW in New York City and Perth, and mixed by Mikey Young in Victoria. ‘Pacific Kiss’ sees Rat Columns plunging headfirst into an azure sea of power pop, rock’n’roll and indie. The tones are bright and optimistic, though fans of confusion and gloom will still find solace in the album’s darker moments, of which there are a few. Rat Columns emerged from San Francisco via Perth, Western Australia in the late 2000’s with the mope ’n’ jangle of their first self-titled cassette release, from which several tracks were drawn for their first vinyl release, a four-song 7” on the San Francisco based indie label, Smartguy Records. From that moment, DW and a constantly evolving troupe of friends and co-conspirators have forged a persistent trail of albums and EP’s on a number of interesting small labels such as RIP Society, Upset The Rhythm, Blackest Ever Black, Syncro-System, Adagio 830 and now the London-based Tough Love Records, who have also released many of David’s eponymous pop records. DW has also found time to play in a number of other interesting outfits, such as Rank/Xerox, Lace Curtain, Liberation, Scythe, Total Control and Burning Sensation over the years. ‘Pacific Kiss’ was primarily recorded in a dingy but comfortable practice space in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The core of the record is DW, bassist Max Schneider-Schumacher, drummer Dylan Stjepovic and keyboard wiz Joey Fishman. Additional fairy dust was sprinkled by Amber Gempton and Raven Mahon (vocals), Jef Brown (saxophone) and Mikey Young, who found time to contribute some off the wall guitar solos during the mixing process. ‘Pacific Kiss’ is a record for those astral voyages into the spheres conducted from bedrooms, kitchens, grassy fields and open car windows.

In the 2000’s Chee Shimizu helmed an untouchable Tokyo DJ collective called Discossession alongside Dr Nishimura (House music buyer for Cisco Records at the time). Balancing out this unit were a young Scotsman-abroad named Jonny Nash (who’d later form Sombrero Galaxy ESP001 and Gaussian Curve as well as the Melody As Truth imprint), and the late guitar virtuoso and tattoo artist Zecky. Formidable DJs and multi-talents on the Tokyo scene, Discossession released two EPs on Kenji Takimi’s Crue-L imprint and various mixes individually on lovefingers, all holding well-deserved eternal cult status. Chee’s Denshi Meisou 2006 and Follow My Dream 2007 for Lovefingers as well as his legendary “listening sessions” at HiFi lounge SHeLTeR in the Tokyo suburb of Hachioji, laid foundation for what would become known to his followers as “Organic Music” or “Obscure Sound”, the former extending as the name of his record shop and the latter as the title of his 2013 book.

Obscure Sound chronicled his tastes in detail and has since become a sort of diggers bible for peers and younger generations. At the ESP Institute’s inception in 2009, Shimizu contributed two tracks to Lovefingers’ Concentration Vol 1 compilation as apéritifs to a later release. “Later” eventually became “forever” and the mythical piano track (appearing only as a demo on Golden Age and Dekmantel 061) is still, to this day, not ready for formal release. Skip a dozen years, musical interests and major life changes, and Chee has now unveiled something quite special in accordance with his Obscure Sound—rather than making new out of old rope, he presents a collaboration with Tokyo guitarist miku-mari a.k.a. Takahiro Matsumura. The artists frequently collaborate at the experimental audio/visual event, Sacrifice, held irregularly at Tokyo’s ForestLimit, and in 2018 when Chee was invited to DJ at Japan’s only Ambient festival Camp Off-Tone, he and miku-mari endeavored to expand these works into a 2-hour improvised performance. Chee collaged various percussion samples and personal field recordings utilizing four CDJs, supplementing with live windchimes and Andean chajchas, while miku-mari coupled a guitar-controlled synthesizer, Sound Tube software (developed by Japanese Ambient composer Hiroshi Yoshimura) and more live elements such as Tibetan bells and pyramid crystals. Rehearsals for this performance were held prior to the festival at ForestLimit, recorded as multi-tracks and edited into these two cerebral Reconstructions.

“You’re trouble” is an avant-garde electronic pop album about questioning and locating a sense of self in a disorienting, breaking environment of dissolving certainity which grows increasingly chaotic, about dysmorphic dissatisfaction, becoming disillusioned and alienated. It seeks to juxtapose beauty, serenity and vigour with instability, ugliness, chaos and crisis, expressing itself fluidly without genre or otherwise boundaries. A kind of sinister, anxious but still forward-pushing and at times positive and hot-blooded empowering energy can be felt that wants to urge the listener not to give up but to try and take courage and take control of the troubles and fears in their life. The tone is sometimes reflective, sometimes confronting. The album navigates fairly abstract musical territory, cathartic abrasiveness, heavy and unrelenting sounds of post-club music and noise fused with stretches of pop music, never settling down or resting for long, constantly breaking up and re-assembling itself. Between chaos and form, it’s finding relief in imperfection and the in-between. As such the music is ambivalent and is equal parts some kind of crisis club music as well as introspective reflection.
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Two years after the release of 'Kreise' Selm have once again peered out from the torture racked enclave they call a studio. Originally conceived as two separate EP's and later stacked into an all-consuming album over 44 minutes 'TiiiER / Post-Adrenaline' pushes Selm's agenda of black dwarf techno and physically exhausting industrial churning to new levels. The opening salvo of tracks that form the 'TiiiER' disc (tracks 1-5) posit a techno minimalism coated in the incredible, almost edible crust of controlled distortion and flaking edges garnered through masterful gain staging. Opener 'Sin' accrues greater density with each iteration and pass. 'Kreise' is classic DBX style beep ran into manic filters and weight gain classes.'Moger' is a truly sinister and clinical piece of industrial sound design raising blood pressure with its stainless steel poise. 'Laus' is a real percy, syncopated just the right side of falling over and baked into the toughest compression throbs. It closes the first 'disc' and perhaps what could be considered the more straight forward tracks of the album. 'Post-Adrenaline' the second disc of the set is where Selm's love of intensely textural sound design work can be best felt. 'Nineteen Voices' opens with its disembodied conversations utterly smothered by the roiling mass of bass synth which surrounds on all sides. 'Irr' terrifies the young with it's truly OTT undulance of seismic tone, as reverential to death industrial as it is to guitar music, the riff laid bare. 'Brett' is a damp, warm environment of intelligent growth. Fermenting itself again in a stew of gnashing bass heaviness now crowned with glowing bowed metal and tuned feedback. 'Sommeil' closes the second disc with not a single positive note played, it's a dreary escalation of all the albums previous incarnations, flickering noise shaped rhythm, serpentine bass formations and no rush to please or to entertain. At just under 6 minutes, it and the album are over. Selm do not hold up on this follow up to Kreise. While the albums share ideas they are refined to a point of punishment here. 'TiiiER / Post-Adrenaline' is hyper-modern music that sounds like it's made from air, stone and rust.

“The Vale” is in immersive electronic album of dark soundtrack work. It’s the first of several Everyday Dust releases scheduled for Castles in Space in 2021.

Everyday Dust is RJ McConnell. Based in Scotland, RJ ditched piano lessons when he realised I had no interest in being an instrumentalist. Instead he wanted to create his own musical works from the ground up. He goes on, “I was much happier working my way through music theory books on my own and applying my learning to my own music. We had a little home studio when I was a child. My Dad was also a musician and was involved in local amateur theatre where he prepared and operated all the sound cues on reel to reel tape. So from an early age I was messing around with tape machines, making tape loops and recording music. For years I tried to make the most interesting tones I could from a Yamaha home keyboard by passing it through my Dad’s guitar pedals, or recording to tape and playing it back at different speeds etc. My first proper synth was the Roland SH101.” He went on to study music and sound for theatre and worked for many years as a theatre composer before branching into larger events and eventually film and documentary work.

The Vale story starts in 2018. RJ again, “I was brought in as composer for an independent horror short that was being filmed in Istanbul. The film was a vampire movie, very atmospheric and beautifully shot. I was aware of being a Scottish composer on a Turkish film and therefore didn’t want to attempt in any way to make anything that sounded traditionally Turkish. I wanted to represent the idea of these ancient beings who had existed in one of the oldest cities in the world for centuries. I wondered how I could imply this “ancient” world with the instruments I had to hand. I recorded various old metal whistles, which were slowed right down to become eerie arcane horn blasts that sounded like they had come from another time. I also recorded lots of melodica, which was again slowed down to sound like wheezing old harmonium drones. I spent another day recording inside an old piano, plucking individual strings and also hammering them percussively with wooden beaters. Using synthesizers and effects as the “glue” to bring these sounds together I started to work on the cues for the film. I had scored most of the film by the time I heard it was being cancelled. The concept and story had been taken over by a streaming site who wanted to make it into a series - with a drastically different tone and style.

“Later that same year I had worked on a project that incorporated the folklore of a celtic water sprite who kept the waterfalls and streams running smoothly so they could turn the mills of the local village. In return the villagers would bring the water sprite bannocks (Scottish flatbreads) each day. I started to daydream about a darker, Lovecraftian twist on this story. Some Ancient One dwelling in the forests and controlling the water - the very life essence of the village - in return for offerings of the soul. The concept was filed away in the back of my mind for some months.

“The following year I was on a flight to visit my friend in Bodrum. He had been the producer and editor on the original disbanded Vampire film, and I found myself thinking about the project again. I wondered if the sound cue files were still on my laptop, which they were. It had been a year since I’d even heard them. Hearing the eldritch folk-tinged sounds of the whistles and plucked strings my mind instantly returned to the idea of the Lovecraftian folk horror story. I started jotting down notes and musical ideas and by the time I landed in Bodrum I already had the album title - The Vale. Having the album concept and prototype ideas to work with was a huge head start in making the album. Although all of the original cues were so dramatically developed and transformed that they really just served as the initial clay on the wheel.

“I used a Doepfer A100 modular synth to create the animalistic yelps, conches and horns that were improvised over the original cues as a response to the arcane “folk” world of the acoustic instruments. This half-acoustic half-modular landscape was the sonic scene-setter I needed to move onto the composition and musical journey of the album. I composed and developed most of the musical parts on an Oberheim Matrix 6 synthesizer. However all the percussion, rhythmic sequences and ornamental synth sounds were created from improvised modular sessions multitrack recorded. A lot of editing later, the soundtrack to the movie in my mind was finally there.

Ending the season on a breezy note, our new VA 'Boogie Angst, Edition Three' delivers the ideal wares for a buoyant last stretch to an otherwise trying year. Spanning a brightly hued kaleidoscope of pop-infused house and mellifluous boogie, Edition Three pushes forth a selection of our choicest grooves from the past year as well as a batch of unheard and exclusive gems to keep you in the warmest, most positive mindset for the winter to come. Through fifteen cuts covering a wide but cohesive spectrum of balmy sonics, the compilation once again offers a much spitting image of what the label's been up to in recent times.

HIGH HØØPS playful revamp of Secret Rendezvous' fresher-than-fresh RnB joint 'Back In The Day' sets the tone right away, followed closely by Moods & Two Another's lush coastal disco number 'Control' and Snacks & Eric Biddines neo-big band style house treat 'All Night' - a singular chunk of ballroom bop tinged with soulful blues tropes and Caribbean melodic accents, sure to have the dancers jiving without further ado.

Here comes Inkswel's synth-splattered mix of 8-bit pixelation and Run DMC-esque hip-hop 'Too Late' (ft. Stan Smith) and Saux's dream folk excursion 'You're Not Wrong'. A highlight of the package and mesmerizing piece of wistful, kosmische-laced disco, Kraak & Smaak 'Centro De Placer' ushers us in a realm of velveteen ingenuousness and sun-streaked utopianism, steering us away from the tar-scented gloom of soulless metropolises into an all engulfing prism of hope, love and grace.

Utrecht-based vibist Feiertag punches the clock with 'Encino Boogie' - a four minute-odd slab of buoyant funk sprinkled with laid-back house tropes and brass-heavy, loungey dub tonalities, perfect for drawing out the pleasure of dreamlike summer boogie sessions. Clear your mind and shuffle your feet to that solar-powered mix of fevered drums, slap bass and sensually aqueous groove.

Next, Kraak & Smaak's add their easily identifiable, almost Beck-ian spin to Jean Tonique's lysergic pop hit-en-puissance 'Too Bad' whilst Bondax lo-slung remix of Moods' sense-awakening soul tune 'Slow Down' (ft. Damon Trueitt) eases you into a place of inviting suavity.

Inkswel's funky robot chugger 'The People' (ft. Dave Aju) picks up the torch next, followed by Flevans, your go-to man for proper electroid floor traction. The UK-based producer has you covered with 'Everything I See' - a surefire, bass-driven roller inbound for severe club impact with its infectious mix of fiery riffs, mangled female vox slivers and racing groove. Next, Secret Rendezvous' sun-beamy ballad 'Your Love' takes us on a gently bouncy, romantic ride.

Last but not least, Vhyce's smooth hybrid of synth-strewn RnB and lo-velocity funk 'Lose Our Minds' (ft. Yves Paquet), David Harks' metronomic disco-pop anthem 'Twice' and Saux's sleek-textured synthpop exponent 'Night Is All There Is' round off the package on a typically smooth and vibrant sentimental touch.

For the wax heads out there, a limited 9-track vinyl sampler will be issued alongside the digital compilation, featuring some of the tracks on the album + a few alternative versions, and furthermore a vinyl exclusive of Kraak & Smaak's remix of Izo FitzRoy's 'When The Wires are Down', initially released only digitally via Jalapeño Records.








h 08 | Inkswel The People (Cody Currie Remix) feat Dave Aju
feat Wolfgang Valbrun

Patrice Scott returns to the controls, offering up a fresh platter of high grade goodness for your listening pleasure. Featuring 3 cuts of his trademark, modern Detroit sounds, this EP sees Patrice continuing to keep the Sistrum standard high and utterly unadulterated. Depth, emotion and groove lead the way through chords, tones and rhythms that call to all who seek sonic salvation. As always, turn it up and enjoy - on the dancefloor, the home hi-fi or anywhere in between

Caught somewhere between environmental sound studies and surrealist sonic architecture, SUGAI KEN helps mark the 30th release of Field Records with an ambitious new album. Commissioned by the Dutch Embassy in Tokyo, Tone River is the product of a year’s intensive work between artist and label, created in part to examine the relationship between Japan and the Netherlands with regard to water management.

While its doors to the Western world were closed during the 17th and 18th centuries, Japan kept abreast of Western science via a Dutch trade post in the bay of Nagasaki. When the country changed from a feudal society to a modern democracy through the turn of the 19th century, Dutch engineers lent their expertise to large-scale water management projects. One of the most prestigious projects of the time was the Tone River, which stretches 322 kilometers across Honshu, Japan’s largest island.

For this project, SUGAI KEN travelled to three points across the Tone River and used regular, binaural and underwater microphones to record environmental sounds, seeking to express the change in landscape of the river in its flow into the Pacific Ocean. On Tone River, these varied recordings are interspersed and juxtaposed with Ken’s distinctive take on synthesis, where raw and precisely sculpted textures and tones interact in stark, neutral space.

On this conceptually rigorous, yet beguiling and free-flowing record, SUGAI KEN glides between the elemental and hyper-synthetic in a flexible exploration of sound and story

DOWNFALL is the first album under the name SAITO created by Lena Saito, aka Galcid, and produced by accomplished analog synthesizer guru, Hisashi Saito, aka Lena’s husband. Having descended from a long line of Japanese sword-smiths, the industrial sound of smashing steel is embedded in Lena’s DNA and reflected in her music, however there are also refined, hypnotic tones showing a side with more finesse. The music itself is not scored and is predominantly improvised. Words and vocals are ad libbed as well. Sometimes the machines respond as if through telekinesis, altogether emitting a sound which can be categorized somewhere in the range between modern experimental dance music and something possibly making more sense to enlightened minds a thousand years in the future.




There is a new addition to the forge of talents of Mille Plateaux, a Japanese musician by the name of Saito whose album has been released on the label under the title of Downfall. After a whole series of releases under the signature tag clicks & cuts, there comes out a work, much more suited for a dance hall, that is different in terms of the genre from everything that has been published so far.
Like a bucket of ice-cold water poured over the head, erratic agressive hardcore rhythms pour all over the audience in the first track, interrupted only by grinding noises and minimalistic technogenic clicks.
Downfall won't fail to infect even the most experienced music connaisseur with its out-of-control energy, while offering a wide range of techniques: at times, robotic voices, one second long fragments of looped melodies and many other audio gimmicks.
Lena Saito (that is the author's name) is not afraid of conducting experiments in her chemical laboratory, freely mixing sound reagents without taking any precautions. It feels like, this new chemical substance, that she has been working on so thoroughly, contains quite a long list of ingredients, although its main component is the various rhythm breaks.
The synthesizer part of Red Hammer sounds in the best traditions of the acid style, and the rhythm section is akin to African tribal dances of the future. Downfall is absolutely unrelenting in its concept.
The melody of the composition Nucleosome is a little bit like the melancholic IDM of the 00s, finding itself secondary to the dominating, yet again convoluted rhythmical web meticulously woven by Saito.
This album can be definitely named as a big contender aspiring to start a new golden era of Mille Plateaux, and Saito as the hidden treasure of the label that can challenge even the veterans for the right to be the headliner.

Re-Release

Black Truffle is honoured to present the premier recordings of two recent works by legendary American experimental composer Alvin Lucier. A friend and contemporary of pioneers like Robert Ashley, David Behrman, Gordon Mumma, and Christian Wolff, Lucier has been crafting elegant explorations of the behavior of sound in physical space since the 1960s. Lucier is perhaps best known for I Am Sitting in a Room (1970), in which he repeatedly re-recorded his own speaking voice being played back into a room until the room's resonant frequencies entirely obscure the spoken text. Beginning in the early 1970s, he has written a remarkable catalogue of instrumental works that focus on phenomena produced by the interference between closely tuned pitches, such as audible beating, often using pure electronic tones produced by oscillators in combination with single instruments.

Demonstrating the restless creative drive of an artist now in his 80s, the two recent works presented here both feature the electric guitar, an instrument Lucier has just recently begun to explore. In Criss-Cross, Lucier's first composition for electric guitars, two guitarists using e-bows sweep slowly up and down a single semitone, beginning at opposite ends of the pitch range. The piece is a model of simplicity, exemplifying Lucier's desire not to 'compose' in the conventional sense, but rather to eliminate everything that 'distracts from the acoustical unfolding of the idea'. In this immaculately controlled performance of Criss-Cross by Oren Ambarchi and Stephen O'Malley, (for whom the piece was written in 2013), a seemingly simple idea creates a rich array of sonic effects - not simply beating patterns, which gradually slow down as the two tones reach unison and accelerate as they move further apart, but also the remarkable phenomenon of sound waves spinning in elliptical patterns through space between the two guitar amps.

In the comparatively lush Hanover, Lucier draws inspiration from the beautiful photograph that provides the LP with its cover, an image of the Dartmouth Jazz Band taken in 1918 featuring Lucier's father on violin. Using the instrumentation present in the photograph, Lucier creates an unearthly sound world of sliding tones from violin, alto and tenor saxophones, piano, vibraphone (bowed) and three electric guitars (which take the place of the banjos present in the photograph). Waves of slow glissandi create thick, complex beating patterns, gently punctuated by repeated single notes from the piano. The result is a piece that, like much of Lucier's instrumental music, is simultaneously both unperturbably calm and constantly in motion.
Stunning LP design by Stephen O'Malley including an inner sleeve with a portrait of Alvin Lucier by Kris Serafin.
Criss-Cross' recorded at Studios Ina GRM, Paris by Francois Bonnet and mixed by Alvin Lucier. Hanover' recorded in Zurich and mixed by Alvin Lucier.
Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M Belin.
Criss-Cross' recorded at Studios Ina GRM, Paris by Francois Bonnet and mixed by Alvin Lucier. Hanover' recorded in Zurich and mixed by Alvin Lucier.
Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M Berlin.

► One half of duo Lumisokea and persistent sonic explorer ANDREA TAEGGI (Opal Tapes, SM-LL, Type, Präsens Editionen) debuts on OOH-sounds with a new solo album under-the-influence of mushrooms.

► Recorded at Willem-Twee synthesis studios in Holland, Mycorrhiza is a lucid excursion into a new form of 'ritual-computer-music' — gamelan from the future.

►Master + Cut by Helmut Erler, D&M Berlin. Limited Edition of 200, 12" black vinyl housed in gold cardboard sleeve with 'ad-hoc' fluo sticker.

Of course this is not the first album born under-the-influence of mushrooms, but apparentlyTaeggi doesn't take them here as he rather observes the cognitive and intelligent behavior of mycorrhizal fungal roots—one of the great mysteries inhabiting the forest soil, and from which a network of beneficial underground relationships with plants sprouts. Known as Mycelium, this fascinating wood-wide-web very much resembles the intricacy of the human neural system—transporting carbon, water and nutrients from one tree to another. A mutualistic symbiosis that Taeggi similarly establishes with the rather rare arsenal of sound machineries he had access to at Willem-Twee synthesis studios in Holland—a center for experimentation inspired by Berio and Maderna's Studio di Fonologia RAI in 1950s Milan.

In the process of tweaking and feeding electric impulses and sound signals into instruments of the likes of the iconic ARP 2500/2600 and a number of testing/measuring units from the 50/60s—originallynot conceived as musical instruments—Taeggi engages into an exchange of nutrients and information, while abruptly sabotaging un-welcome elements, hence accelerating the sound superhighway towards spectral psychedelic tension—a process he seems to be extremely in control of. Taking a step aside from his usual minimal approach to address more complex structures and augmented mind-sets, Mycorrhiza sounds at times like gamelan from the future: a lucid excursion into a form of "ritual-computer-music" with a conspicuous penchant for detail,alluding to a continuitybetween pseudo-cerimonial and laboratory-like computer music, steering clear from any reference to a specific creed or religion—imagine Stockhausen drinking the Amazonian sacred brew Ayahuasca..

The swarming micro-movements of "Cuttleburrs" multiply in a series of crescendos marked by sudden falls, saturated drums incursions and tense sonic clusters, introducing the more explicit gamelan percussive tones and compositional forms of "Kodama" and "Icaro". Recorded on the ARP 2500, "Mycorrhiza" uses white noise generators, resonant bass and spring reverb to conjure up a magical fungal diorama, which expands into the spooky shadows of skeletons and demons of "Phantasmagoria" and the spectral mystics of "Oculus Cordis"—the Eye of the Spirit — in which Taeggi grapples with the same sine-wave generators that Stockhausen used in his seminal "Studie I" and "Studie II".

'Banoffee Pies Records' drop their 12th release in the original series with a solo EP from New York based Tristan Arp. With a string of intricate music on the likes of Human Pitch and a recent LP entitled "Suggested Forms", which offers a wider exploration into his work, Tristan's passion for sound design echoes in this record.

All four tracks offer an environment somewhere between a feeling &
a dancefloor with obscure influences in polyrhythmic drum patterns and a clear combination of digital and analogue processing. "Swept Thru" opens proceedings with a spiral of rhythms and heavy percussion leaping in energy throughout, before the spooked out Vox takes control on "Oblique House" with deeper movements in a haunted club tune. The B side opens with the title track "Slip" in a powerful whirlwind arrangement of sub bending sounds before the final colour is added to the palette in "Circling Music'' with emotive jingles in a more retained and patient mood.

You can hear Tristan's other work within the Asa Tone project - a trio group well worth the trip, offering a deep variety of works exploring field recordings taken and formulated in Indonesia beneath a tree canopy deep in the jungle. This same energy and mood spills into this release. Music for feeling. Much love BP x

Mastered: Optimum, Pressed: MPO & Distributed by KUDOS.

The hyper talneted Stellar Om Source (NOT NOT FUN, RVNG, NO 'LABEL) blowing up new styles on this one!

"If there is one thing that leaps out from Stellar OM Source’s music, it is the sense of a highly active mind at work. There is an indivisible feeling that a real person is behind this dynamic flurry of tones, waves, vibrations and modulations. On I See Through You, the first full Stellar OM Source release in over four years, the spark that first LP piqued the interest of so many listeners is glowing stronger than ever.

In the 2010's, Christelle Gualdi carved a name as one of the most essential live electronic musicians around, dazzling dancers and home listeners in kind with her bombastic, acidic hardware jams. Circumstances outside her control forced a stop for the Stellar OM Source project. It was touring, including two shows in the summer of 2019 at Dekmantel Festival and Listen! that Gualdi credits as year highlights, which proved to be the integral jump-start to the engine.

Inspiration came rushing back thanks to the human connection of performing. Seeing a younger generation connect with her put fresh charge into the circuitry of her gear. All this accrued into new material on the road, and thus I See Through You was born.

The spirit of 2013’s cult favourite Joy One Mile is alive and well on I See Through You. There is once again immediacy, urgency and lust. But Stellar OM Source stepping into a comparatively more poppy and playful mode on these four tracks could also throw some. Fundamentally she says, it comes from a similar place, and ends with an enmeshed and positive outcome. Gualdi credits both “1995 rave” and “the clarity, bass and breath” of hi-def hip-hop productions as being twin northern stars for her to follow.

The artwork comes from friend and highly respected photographer & director Pierre Debusschere, whose work similarly flits between arresting close-ups and, well, the widescreen luxe of Beyoncé videos. “I’m definitely not a purist anymore,” Gualdi laughs – and with club-ready impact meeting human warmth, this shows in abundance.

“Night Alone” wastes no time in getting the listener up to speed. Is that an LFO sample running through “Night Alone”? Is this a lost Metro Area classic? Is that Stellar OM Source taking a diversion into searching Ibiza-rousing vocal for a moment, or did we imagine that in a heat haze? Where are the kicks? Oh there they are. How many elements are buried and revived within just over five minutes?
It’s hard to tell. Before we know it, “Lost Codes” is up and away, keeping pulses racing. A pitter-patter of baby kicks feel like a pre-tremor before a welting electro-Italo lead crashes into play. With fizzing energy, rasping synths and a frisson of danger, fans of Unit Moebius and The Hacker will be doing somersaults of joy.

“White Echoes” wastes kicks off the flip side with low gurgles descending briefly like a UFO reverse parking into the spot SOS had vacated. Soon, 303s are twisting like Chinese burns while warm chords offer a salve. The mood maintains on “Wild Palms”, the only song on this record not to feature additional mixing work from Peaking Lights’ dub-wise sensei Aaron Coyes.

True to form, the B2 is all Stellar: elements switching up and out, with all the fun and frenzy of capital-L Live action. Kick drums and bassline darting back and forth like a synchronised swimming routine, all elements in concert. The momentum of a runaway mine cart that you can’t help but strap yourself to. I See Through You is one for the dancers who have given Stellar OM Source the motive to move forward once again."

"The first series comprises six related movements, usually organised in pairs, electronic sounds with instrumental and more rarely, concrete sounds: Incidences/resonances brings into play controlled resonances akin to sounds of concrete origin in a process that helps to expand the variable electronic sound sources.

Here, 'incidents' are opposed to one-off 'accidents' in the second movement: Accidents/Harmoniques (Accidents/Harmonics). In the second movement, very short events of instrumental origin change the harmonic tone of the continuum they interrupt or overlap.

Moreover, the high notes are underplayed, which stimulates the attention given to other phenomena generally hidden by the melodic form applied to the instrumental play. Géologie sonore (Sound Geology) is similar to a flight over an area where different 'sound' layers come to the surface one after the other.

When seen from high above, instrumental and electronic sounds seem to fuse ... Dynamique de la resonance (Dynamics of Resonance) is a microphonic exploration of a single sound resonating through different forms of percussion. L'Etude élastique (Elastic Study) places together various sounds produced by 'touching' elastic or instrumental skins (baloons, doumbeks) or vibrating strings and a number of instrumental gestures close to this 'touch', using electronic processes to generate white noise.

Conjugaison du timbre (Conjugated Tone), the last movement in the series, uses the same substance to apply rhythmic forms onto a perpetually varying tone continuum. "The second series of movements draws its inspiration from concrete and electronic sources rather than instrumental ones. Incidences/battements (Incidences/Beatings) is a reminder of the first movement in the first series which then quickly moves into Natures éphémères (Ephemeral Natures): ephemeral play on instrumental and electronic sounds, singled out by their internal trajectory rather than by the material itself. Matières induites (Induced Matters): just as molecular effervescence triggers a changes of state, it seems that the different states of these sound materials can be generated by each other or through induction processes.

In Ondes croisées (Crossed Waves), the pizz vibrations interfere with somehow 'visible' water drops on the surface of a similar material. Pleins et déliés (Downstrokes and Upstrokes) can be listened to as the energies absorbed in the motion of bouncing bodies, while hollow 'bubbles' and points bring together some people's gravity and others' downwards movements. The work finishes with Points contre champs (Reverse Angle Points).

Here, the notion of perspective of the different sound threads weaving a kind of network, or field, traps the occasional iterative elements in the foreground and progressively absorbs them, giving more space for the angle - and the chanted sound - to grow." (B.P.).

We at Antinote are proud to make our first French-Russian connection. Olga is from Moscow. She came to us after Dominique Dumont's show in Paris, winter 2018. We checked her music and immediately fell in love with the song 'Mojno'. Step by step we built a nice collection of tracks that now make up the 1905 LP! Very active in the electronic music scene, she’s spent the last ten years releasing music, performing, recording & DJing as well as being busy with her tech-project Playtronica (with them she's created 3 controllers that you allow to play scales on people, objects and colors). Across the "1905" LP she utilises some DIY devices such as Yamaha sampler vss-33, voice glitcher from the Russian company “Naked Boards” and organelle synth that creates this synesthetic tone in “ready when you are”. Besides dreamy pads and dancy beats Olga is ironically singing on Russian about her daily routine, in a positive way. There's no sadness and melancholy in the dark snowy days, where even the full moon or retrograde-mercury don’t even bother you ...if you are in harmony with mother nature's 5 elements.

Adapted Vinyl was a UK based techno label active in the late 90’s that picked up regular DJ support from taste makers of the time ranging from Jeff Mills to Mr C.

This, the label’s 7th record disappeared before a public release when the Integrale Muzique distribution company went out of business in 2008, but now gets its first official release date after years of very limited availability

Label founder Suade is the artist behind this release and these days he is best known as a highly-sought-after mastering engineer working for artists like Dense & Pika, Paranoid London, Jamie Jones and Vitalic.

Focusing his energies into family life and the fine tuning of other peoples music it’s rare to see Suade’s own music on a new release, but this hasn’t stopped him from collaborating on original tracks with the likes of Magda and Radioactive Man in recent years.

The EP has four contrasting tracks all with different moods and tempos all blended with Techno’s classic motoric drive.

With it’s absence from the usual music marketplaces creating something of a mystery this record ended up receiving a new, unofficial name on Discogs - The Citadel EP which is a title taken from the broken-beat second track on the B side of the record.

The Citadel is just one of the highlights on this eclectic EP, as it’s a Latronic Notron sequencer workout that patiently deploys layered synths in ever-shifting cross-rhythms for a languid 5 minutes before its deep, underpinning bass arrives evoking desert travel and arrival.

Baikal, named after the huge freshwater lake in Russia, is another stretched out meditation on tone and harmony acting as a foil to the delicate and vibrant Latin American percussion that filters in and out through a massive stereo Moog Modular system creating an energetic yet static, ritualistic atmosphere.

Trajan - the most driving track on the EP, gives a nod to the Probe era Richie Hawtin sound with a touch of Drexciyan melodics with shuffled percussion and bleeps over a snaking TB303 shaped bassline where the classic Acid box is given the role of control sequencer only commanding the thick, dirty oscillators of the big Moog.

A1 track Felix is a contrast yet again. A big room melodic Techno piece with another massive bassline and an almost orchestral level of layering, building to nine counter-melodies in total before letting rip with a classic TB303 acid line that builds from the heart of the track.

"Re-Calibrate", the companion piece to Donoso's 2018 acclaimed album "Calibrate" continues to obfuscate any clear definition of genre or style and continues to push his music into stranger, more complex and extreme territories. Equal parts tender and twisted, cynical and honest, beautiful and obnoxious, ‘Re_Calibrate’ shines through as a major point in the composer’s discography – and provides a glimpse into the new directions being taken. ‘Re_Calibrate’ is a challenging listen; void of any trendy tropes or appeal for consumers of watered down, homogenized and dogmatic electronic music.

“Quicksilver frequencies, gravelly formants and shimmering, mirage-like washes of tone. Sometimes his sounds feel like signals picked up by a radio telescope, or pure electricity poured through a sieve” Pitchfork

'Junction' - a six track EP produced entirely by Samrai & Platt - features vocalists from Jamaica, Ireland & the UK and rounds off an excellent 12 months for the label & crew who've toured across North America, Mexico and Europe in 2017.

The set kicks off with ST favourite Alexx A-Game (originally voiced at his studio in Kingston in 2016) urging listeners to 'free up' their mind and souls and let the 'good times take control'. It sets the tone for upcoming Jamaican talent Blvk H3ro to step up on the soulful party number 'Can't Wait' (recorded at Equiknoxx's studios in Vineyard Town in 2016), which has been a staple in Swing Ting sets over the last 18 months.

Slowing the pace is 'Addiction', a link up with Irish artist and frequent Murlo collaborator Gemma Dunleavy who lays down an impressive vocal over the skittering drums, muted guitar and glistening keys. The listen is interrupted momentarily for an interlude from Gavsborg whose moving voicemail is accompanied by a poignant piano line from JP aka Without Understanding. One for the clubs - 'Turn it Up' features Equiknoxx's Shanique Marie riding a stripped funky-esque riddim with ease.

Fittingly the set closes with 'Contagious' which finds two of Manchester's finest vocalists - Fox & Tyler Daley searching for an escape from the reality of our turbulent times over a refined yet sparkling production. The 12' vinyl will be limited to 200 copies.

Support from: Murlo, Toddla T, Jamz Supernova, HDD & Equiknoxx across NTS Radio & BBC Radio 1 / 1xtra.

Black Truffle is honoured to announce the first ever vinyl reissue of David Rosenboom’s legendary Brainwave Music, originally released on A.R.C. Records in 1975 and here expanded to a double LP with the addition of over 40 minutes of contemporaneous material. Pioneer of live electronics, innovator in music education, collaborator with artists as diverse as Jon Hassell, Jacqueline Humbert, Terry Riley and Anthony Braxton, Rosenboom is renowned for his ground-breaking experiments with the use of brain biofeedback to control live electronic systems.

Each of the three pieces that make up the original Brainwave Music LP integrates biofeedback with musical technology in different ways. In the side-long opening piece “Portable Gold and Philosophers’ Stones”, four performers have electrodes and monitoring devices attached to their bodies to receive information about brainwaves, temperature, and galvanic skin response. This information is analysed and fed into a complex set of frequency dividers and filters, manned by Rosenboom, but essentially played by each of the performers through their psychophysiological responses to the situation. The result is a slowly unfolding web of filtered electronic tones over a tanpura-esque fundamental, possessing the unhurried, stately grandeur of an electronic raga. In “Chilean Drought”, three different variations of a text about a drought in Chile, each read by a different voice in a different style, are associated with the Beta, Alpha, and Theta brainwave bands. Alongside an insistent piano accompaniment, we hear a constantly shifting combination of the three vocal recordings controlled by the relative preponderance of each of the brainwave bands in the soloist whose brainwaves are being monitored. “Piano Etude I (Alpha)”, the earliest piece included here, is based on research into the link between Alpha brain wave production and the execution of repetitive motor tasks. As Rosenboom plays a very rapid, incessantly repeated pattern in both hands – deliberately designed to be difficult to execute without being in an alert, non-thinking state similar to that associated with strong Alpha brainwave production – two filters controlled by monitoring his brainwaves process the piano sound, moving gradually higher in frequency as the average Alpha amplitude increases, resulting in a hypnotic, constantly shifting blur of repeated notes reflected through the shimmering, watery lights of the filters. For this reissue, the original LP is supplemented with an additional LP containing an unreleased 1977 live recording of Rosenboom’s “On Being Invisible”, in which the composer himself performs on an array of electronics that are fed information from his brainwaves. Stretching out over 40 minutes, the piece begins in similar territory to “Portable Gold and Philosophers’ Stones” but eventually becomes far wilder, building up to pointillistic bleeps and dense layers of electronic fizz that unexpectedly cut to near-silence. As Rosenboom explains, the piece creates a situation in which the ‘performer’s active imaginative listening became one of the ways to play their instrument, as well as an active agent in how self-organizing musical forms might emerge.’ Enriched with archival images and new notes from the composer, this expanded reissue of Brainwave Music is essential listening for anyone interested in the history of live electronic music and alive to the possibilities it might still contain.

For the label to finally reach its 20th catalogue number is a seminal moment. To reach it with the original logo designer for Encrypted Audio and all round top gent is an even greater honour.

Mesck has a slew of releases on friends and family labels such as Chestplate & Crucial Recordings but with this release we wanted to create the feeling that no side was an A. Knowing Zach's style he did not let us down.

As we are referring to this release The Double Header..... 'Locust March' testament to the commanding way Mesck uses percussion and synth tones in a controlled fashion to create anticipation in the way they are used. In a track dominated and driven by a raw sub and mid punch combination that Mesck knows all so well. Joined by the equally amazing 'Fugazi'... There is no other way to describe this piece of art than EPIC.

Emotional Rescue and Mountains In The Sea are thrilled to team up to revive a lost rarity of American ambient music: Chris Spheeris and Paul Voudouris' 1982 album 'Passage'.

Living and recording in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Chris and Paul composed and released several albums of folk-rock and album-oriented synthpop before their attentions turned towards sound healing music in the early 1980s. The duo was approached by a company doing biofeedback therapy and asked to create an aural component for patients looking to regain control of nervous disorders. After extensive preparations and just one day of studio time, 'Passage' was the result, recorded live with no additional overdubs.

The LP consists of 3 long tracks which flow together as a single piece. Opener 'Prism' contains the album's most frenetic moments, glittering guitar and synth tones designed to draw the listener out of their distressed state. Next comes the soaring 'Mosaic', a renewing sunrise of warm chords that beckons slowly towards the album's summit, the over-20 minute title track which contains a sonic ecosystem of it's own. The album concludes in a state of pure serenity, in which the passage of time has seemed to slow to a halt, and the outside stresses of the world eradicated.

Over 3 decades since its initial conception, 'Passage' still retains all of its inestimable healing power, but remains incredibly difficult to find. It's an album that belongs in discussions of landmark early American ambient works, alongside names like Michael Stearns, Constance Demby, Kerry Leimer and Pauline Anna Strom. ER and MITS have worked with original cover artist Vinayak to render the album artwork as originally intended, in even greater detail than on its first release. We're overjoyed to be able to share this

This was Charles Tolliver's first album as a leader. The setting is unique only because his second Freedom-Black Lion album 'The Ringer' and all of his subsequent albums on Strata-East featured his quartet Music Inc. with pianist Stanley Cowell. Here he is surrounded in quartet and quintet formats with a truly stellar cast of the leading players on the New York jazz scene.

Charles plays the role of leader, composer and trumpeter. But it is surely that last role that deserves the most attention. The trumpet is a brass instrument that leans toward a hard sound and staccato phrasing. Yet Tolliver is the quintessence of fluidity. While it may be undeniable that he has learned from his musical heritage and past trumpet masters, a trumpeter of such flow, tone, control, lyricism and creativity is, by definition, a major musician.

Charles Tolliver first came to the professional jazz scene in the mid-sixties, when he first met Jackie McLean. Under McLean's leadership, he played on a number of Blue Note record sessions, some of which have yet to be released. He contributed original tunes to many of those sessions.

Within a couple of years, Tolliver was a well known figure in New York circles, playing and/or recording with Booker Ervin, Archie Shepp, Andrew Hill, Roy Ayers, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Willie Bobo, Gerald Wilson, McCoy Tyner, Hank Mobley, and many others. His compositions were getting recorded by many artists. He gained his greatest recognition during a two year stint with the Max Roach quintet that also included Gary Bartz and Stanley Cowell.

There is also a previously unreleased bonus track of the song, "Repetition", recorded by Charles for this LP which will be included on this new release of the album. This song was originally made famous by Charlie Parker's LP With Strings.

This album is certainly an important and lasting document in light of the musicians involved and in light of its unique context for Charles Tolliver. But basically, it is just a great album to listen to. Michael Cuscuna

So Here We Go, Album Number Three By Till Von Sein. Attentive
Observers Of Tilly's Record History Might Notice, Something
Different Is Going On With This Cycle Of Tunes. Other Than The
Constitution Of His Previous Two Full Lengths, ocean' Tends To
Elaborate An Idea, A Pallet Of Sounds, An Overall Aesthetic, That
Come From Just One Place. Appropriate To The Release On Von
Sein's Own Label Imprint Tilly Jam, These Cuts Indeed Feel Like
Proper Jams. Deriving From A Certain Mindset, Building Up A
¢ow, Drifting Into Various Spheres, Delving Into Moods, And
Meanwhile, Forgetting About Time And Principles Of Structure,
Most Of His Previous Efforts Complied With. Surprisingly, No Vox
On Here. But Evidently, The Arrangements, Textures And Sonic
Nuances On ocean' Create A Narrative On Their Own. It Is An
Album That Puts Musicality Over Functionality. An Album To
Immerse Into, A Piece Of Music That Claims Attention And
Rewards With An Embracing Listening Pleasure. aloha', As The
Introducing Track, Sets The Tone Of Ever Reoccurring Leanings
Towards Balearic- And Mellowed Down House- And Funk
In¢uences. neptune' Directly Picks Up, Leading The ¢ow Of
Soothing Harmonies Into Slightly More Dancey Vibes. It's
Meeting The Relaxed Tempo Of cruise Control', Introducing Its
Catchy Synthbass And That Heart Melting Piano Hook. We Couldgo On, How The Funk Bass, The Spaced Out Break, The Tender
Chimes And The Harmonica Solo Of mission Muizenberg' Kind
Of Form The Centre Piece Of This Record, How junjung' Refers To
The Inciting Verve Of A Marching Band And At The Same Time
Grounds The Tune On Warm And Longing Melodies. How la
Boum' Is Bringing A Saturated Kickdrum Into Its Organic ¢ow,
How level 61' Merges G-funk Hints With A Neo-disco Attitude
Or How ocean' Lands This Record On A Dreamlike Loop. Yet, It
Wouldn't Paint The Picture Colourful And Bright Enough. Only
ocean' Itself Can Do. Album (release 22.02.19):

Process Blue was formed in the fall of 1981, at Antioch College near Dayton, Ohio. The group essentially consists of Chel White (tapes, keyboards, percussion) and Dan Gediman (keyboards, vocals, bass). Additional members contributed at various points to both recorded works and live performance. Process Blue's original interest was in electronic music and the interfacing of electronic sounds with acoustic instruments, non-musical instruments, and tape-manipulated sounds. The group's primary objective has been to strive for creative experimentation within the format of contemporary pop music.

We are proud to release a 12-song LP featuring music recorded between 1981 and 1982. 7 of the tracks were originally self released on a cassette album in 1982. The only song in this batch to ever appear on vinyl is 'Control Panel' released on a French LP compilation called 'Folie Distinguee Alternative Funk.' The songs range from experimental dance music to quieter, more melodically-oriented pieces. They used an array of synthesizers used were Moog Sonic-Six, Casiotone MT-30, Korg MS10, Roland SH 101, Casio VL Tone. Analog instruments included electric guitar and bass, and drums. Guest musicians included Gil Belton (melodic rototoms percussion and synthesizer bird sounds) on Industrial Park, Eric Zimmerman (Korg synthesizer) on Up to $100 and Subterrania, Patricia Yarborough (vocals) on Pink Razor and Air, Mike Pummel (engineer) on Control Panel, and John Flansburgh (of They Might Be Giants) engineer on Up to $100. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each LP is housed in a jacket designed by Maycec featuring original drawings by Chel White and include a double-sided insert with photos and lyrics.

Fast-moving Times, In Which Popularity And Quality Are Often Equated Or Commonly Confused With One Another, Aids And Abets This Imitation Game Some Call Conformity, Others Professionalism. In The End, Both Paths Will End Up In Predictability. Here's Where Stathis Kalatzis, Aka Mr. Statik, Comes To Play. The Resident At Athens' Multi-purpose Cultural Space Six D.o.g.s Has Not Only Been One Of The Scene's Pivotal Figures, But Since He Started To Release His First Solo Releases In The Mid-00s, The Now Berlin-based Greek Dj Has Earned A Reputation For Being A Trend-ignoring, Unconventional Producer.

Whether His Output For Bpitch Control, Rotary Cocktail, Or Even Last Year's Debut Ep "rogue
Cherub" For Away - Mr. Statik Enjoys Thinking Outside The Box By Crossing His Diverse Pop-cultural Interests And Pulling In Expertise And Perspective From Beyond The Usual Functional Formulas. After A Decade Of Not Staying In One Comfort Zone Or Sticking To One Musical Direction, He Finds Himself More Comfortable In His Producer Shoes Presenting His Debut Album "metamorphose". Housing A Few Film References In This For Mr. Statik Typical Nebulous Fashion, The Ten Tracks Not Only Carrying The Narrative Potential Of An Imaginary Score, But Primarily Exploring A Versatile Array Of Influences, Themes, And Contradictions (which Mr. Statik As An Illustrator Also United On The Albums' Artwork). Ranging From The Sci-fi Infused Album Opener "insomnia", The First Non-dancefloor Piece He Ever Produced Around 7 Years Ago, Over "atastrophe", An Homage To Ancient Greek Theater, To Collaborate With Others Such As Beatrice Ballabile, Jan Niklas Jansen (locas In Love), And Rbma Alumnus Claude Speeed, Who Contributed Synth Work On "soulfur".

"metamorphose" Succeeds In Constantly Changing Its Tones, While Maintaining An Emotional
Frame, In Which Mr. Statik's Melancholic, Introvert, At Times Hopeful And Euphoric, Bottom End
Inclined Electronic Music Can Elaborate.

Mr. Statik On His Album Debut:

"i Have Always Tried To Approach Producing As Storytelling Exercises. This Allowed Me To
Experiment Finding Myself In Uncharted Territories, More Specifically In Music That Doesn't
Necessarily Fit To A Dance Floor - Unless It's A Very Adventurous One. 'metamorphose'' Is Loyal To That Mindset. I Usually Draw Inspiration From Cinema And Comic Books And Have Always Been Fascinated With Sci-fi, South Asian Culture, Surrealism And The Dreamworld. Initially The Album Was Supposed To Be A Collage Of The Various Influences That Had Shaped My Life, But Ended Up Being Something Very Different. During The Conceptualization And Recording Process A Lot Of Things Around Us Have Changed, Primarily For The Worse. I Became More And More Sensitive And Susceptible To Pessimism And Trendy Visions Of 'dystopian Futurism', So That The Lp Emerged Being An Exercise In Positivity: 'metamorphose' Is A Verb Describing The Act Of
Conversion, But In Greeklish It Is Describes The Urge Towards Others To Start Transforming Their
Environment, In This Case For The Better."

Standards & Practices is proud to present the inaugural release on its new sister imprint, Double Standards, from NYC-based producer Jake Reif (Device Control). His third release working under this alias, Reif manages to amalgamate his dance music obsessions (EBM, bleep techno, Chicago house) in a totally unique way that feels fresh and idiosyncratic, avoiding simple genre exercises or nostalgia for the sake of it.

Lead track 'Spirit Module' is perhaps the finest summation of Reif's aesthetic yet: a mixture of bleepy, raw techno that, with its wild vocal samples and wide, 808-driven groove, comes across like a tougher, more modern take on the classic Sheffield/Richard H. Kirk/Robert Gordon sound. Label partner Ken Meier's first outing here as a remixer is a smashing success his version strips things down, keeping most elements of the original intact, but adds a driving, almost double-time metronomic machine rhythm that's aimed squarely at the dancefloor. On the flip, 'Tension' and 'Symmetry Obsession' row the boat further out, with their synapse-frying tones and jagged, randomized sequences reminiscent of Freddy Fresh at his best. All in all, a future classic destined to find favor with adventurous house and techno DJs alike.

A long time ago, in a Norway far far away in time, keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft introduced his New Conception of Jazz to the world. We're talking about the late 90s, when Bugge's cosmopolitan blend of jazz, hiphop and techno beats was pretty much the coolest music coming out of Norway at that moment. That was a golden time for Norwegian music, in fact, when the rest of the world began to sit up and take notice that something was stirring up north, and realised the music was more than just glacial tones hurtled from icy mountaintops and frozen lakes. This was the sound of urban Scandinavia.

A few years later came the electronic dance genre 'space disco'. Along with Todd Terje, Bjørn Torske and Lindstrøm, Prins Thomas was at the epicentre of this next big wave to surge out of Norway. Now, the two generations have come together in this exclusive collaboration between Bugge and Prins Thomas on the Smalltown Supersound label. Jazz and electronics combine for that energising vitamin D shot of Nordic sunshine.

The Rainbow Studio in Oslo is a familiar name to anyone who follows the ECM label - many of its classic 1970s jazz albums were recorded there under the eye of resident producer Jan Erik Kongshaug. Bugge and Thomas booked a couple of sessions at the legendary space with Kongshaug at the controls, and improvised some tunes in the style and spirit of some of their favourite ECM moments, like the fresh, open sounds of Codona, Egberto Gismonti, Oregon and Kenny Wheeler. Bugge had previously done a remix of Thomas's 'Bobletekno' in 2015 but this is the first time they have worked together as active musicians. The results - also partly taped at Thomas's home studio - fuse programmed rhythms, live synths and percussion, all captured in a sumptuously spacious acoustic.

For an even more authentic touch they called up one of their all time local heroes and one of Norway's most famous jazz drummers, Jon Christensen, who's been the go-to guy for Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Keith Jarrett and many more. At 75 years he's still pretty spry behind the kit, as you'll hear on several tracks here.

Make no mistake, though, this is not retro pastiche but contemporary music, coasting on gently insistent programmed grooves and bubbling basslines. The whole thing feels not so much like a consciously hip fusion of DJ and jazz musician, more like two great musicians totally enjoying themselves. Which is exactly what it is.

Key facts:
Bugge Wesseltoft is one of Norway's leading jazz figures. He set up Jazzland Recordings in 1996. His solo Christmas LP It's Snowing On My Piano remains Norway's best selling jazz album!

Prins Thomas's real name is Thomas Hermansen. His label, Full Pupp, means 'full breast'. He's released several albums under his own name, as well as collaborations with Bjørn Torske and Lindström. Check out his amazing Paradise Goulash mixtapes.

Next up on the ever-eclectic XVI Records, a shadowy figure steps into the spotlight: enter the mysterious Captain Over, whose dark yet soulful bruk-infused tracks soundtrack the next stage of their voyage towards the sun. For his debut outing, Captain Over calls on the abstract vocal stylings of the legendary Trim (Roll Deep, 1800 Dinosaur) on opening track 'SICK'.

Showcasing why he's one of the most iconic and forward-thinking MC's to grace the mic, Trim's dulcet tones twist through a jungle of shuffled beats and subterranean sub-bass, an eerie child-like melody drifting overhead.

Clack Clack and No One Ever Really Flies inhabit a more dancefloor friendly space, their unique syncopation, fierce instrumentation and relentless energy open up the dancefloor for some real get loose moments.

On the remix, they hand the controls over to XVI homestay Books (following on from the success of his previous 'Feel It In My Bones' and 'High Praise Edits Vol 1' releases which won praise from the likes of The Black Madonna, Moodymann, Gilles Peterson and Seven Davis Jr) Books expertly crafts a cosmic footwork jam, full of his trademark soulful chords and eerie midnight saxophone licks.

As he prepares to launch his forthcoming EP 'No-One Every Really Flies' into the cosmos ; Captain Over is beginning to cement his place as one to watch in the UK underground - a sequel EP featuring grime upstart Nico Lindsay is scheduled for release later in the year, with several more collaborative works in progress.
+++

Teste returns with The Box Man, a five-track EP that marks their first release of original material in 25 years. Formed during the early nineties in Hamilton, Ontario, they put out only three official records between 1992-1993 on Probe Records, most notably 'The Wipe,' which is regarded as a genre defining classic, while the follow-up 'Regions' also served as a template for the ensuing sonics of contemporary techno. With only a handful of live actions, the final chaotic show (public disturbance) occurred for Pure in Glasgow 1994. Afterwards, the original Teste lineup of juvenile delinquents disbanded but unwittingly ended up defining the hypnotic and drugged out strains of today's afterhours techno parties. The project vanished for decades until reactivating the chaos in 2014, promoting a slew of remixes 'The Rewipes,' by artists such as Rrose and Terence Fixmer, on the Edit Select imprint.

Since then, original member David Foster, still at large as //HUREN//, has been slugging it out in the fringes with influential output on the seminal Zhark Recordings Berlin and has collaborated as O/H with Rich Oddie of Orphx. First meeting on Mayday 2017 in Berlin, a new alliance with Martin Maischein aka Goner formed. Goner is likewise a veteran with essential output under various monikers on imprints such as Force Inc., Editions Mego, and Hospital Productions. From that pairing, The Box Man came into being for the second release on BITE, the Berlin techno label run by Hayden Payne and Florian Engerling.

The Box Man picks up where Teste last left us with their revolutionary vision of techno and continues to further their interdimensional manifestation of insanity and formation. Pure techno serving as a method of psychic expulsion and self-reckoning. From the opening, the eponymous track approaches full panoramic throttle as metallic synths creep 360 degrees around the listener, setting the tone for panic and loss of cognitive control. Teste then moves into the stealthier outpatient techno rhythms of 'The Long Term Care Facility' and 'Thieves Are Operating In This Area'. The EP contrasts its propulsion with different interpretations of its blueprint. 'Foaming At The Mouth' delves into Cabaret Voltaire-alike rhythm box violence until all is closed with the comedown melodies of 'Lyubov'. Through highly adept methods of sound design and neural interpretation, Teste once again cuts apart reality with their music, expressing nightmares and visions via new rituals and mind control techno.

Miss Kittin & The Hacker are the Electro duo of Caroline Hervé and Michel Amato from Grenoble, France. The pair met during the early 90s at a rave and soon after bought turntables and began DJing. In 1996, they started writing music heavily influenced by 1980s synthpop and post-punk bands like Fad Gadget, DAF, Liaisons Dangeuresues, and Yazoo, as well as Italo Disco. Bored by the techno scene at the time, they set out out to lighten the serious tone and bring a campy sexiness to the dour musical landscape. Upon hearing their demos DJ Hell signed them to his Munich-based International DJ Gigolo label and released their first 2 EPs in 1998 and 1999. Their debut album 'First Album" was released in 2001 followed by . in .

Lost Tracks Vol. 2' contains 4 previously unreleased demos recorded between 1997 and 1999. The duo fused 80's European New Wave/Italo Disco with 90's Detroit Electro acts like Le Car and Dopplereffekt. By utilizing verse-chorus structures, they playfully shook up the loop based hard techno and electro that was popular at the time. Their studio set up at the time was a Korg MS-20, Roland SH-101, TR-606, TR-808, Siel DK80, and Boss DR-660 drum machine. The songs are direct, spontaneous, seemingly improvised in places. Miss Kittin sings about falling in love in the new millennium, snuff movies and controlling the unknown trip to death, all in her cheekily derisive French accent.

All songs have been transferred from the original DAT tapes by the band and remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The vinyl comes housed in a glossy jacket featuring a black and white photo of the duo taken in 1996. Each LP includes a postcard with liner notes from Miss Kittin and The Hacker designed by Eloise Leigh. As Miss Kittin says of these demos, We were naive, innocent, adventurous and we didn't expect anything in return'

Tint is the first new solo recording from Joe Talia in over a decade. Australian-born but now based in Tokyo, Talia is known to many listeners as a drummer (frequently collaborating both live and in the studio with artists such as Oren Ambarchi and Jim O'Rourke) and as a recording and mixing engineer responsible for dozens of releases across the fields of contemporary experimental music, wayward pop, and jazz. Alongside James Rushford, he is also responsible for one of the most legendary releases in the Kye records catalogue, the creaking electronic morass of Manhunter (2013).

Lovingly crafted over many months in his tiny Tokyo studio, Tint is an album-length electroacoustic suite that brings together Talia's expertise as percussionist, studio engineer, and performer on analogue electronic instruments (primarily modular synth and Revox tape machine). Ranging from minimalist austerity to kosmische lushness, Tint refreshingly refuses the dark and moody sonic palette of much contemporary electroacoustic music in favour of an airy, at times almost weightless sound-world of gliding tones, skittering percussion, and burbling field recordings. Drawing inspiration from Jean-Claude Eloy's epic concrète love letter to Tokyo, Gaku-No-Michi, Talia makes extensive use of his own recordings of his new home, but removes any sense of audio verite, abstracting them into transparent glosses of outdoor ambience or unidentifiable chimes and creaks. Flowing seamlessly between distinct episodes, Tint is compositionally controlled while retaining a sense of played spontaneity, eventually building to a maelstrom of analogue synth zaps and tape manipulated percussion that reflects Talia's deep engagement with the relentless yet constantly shifting dynamics of free jazz.

* 2017 year marks TEN YEARS OF INTEGRAL RECORDS and looking back upon the label's incredible back catalogue, what a decade it has been for drum & bass music that we hold so close.

* Initially set up as a passion project and a platform for showcasing future talent, the label has been consistently releasing cutting edge drum and bass since 2007. The ethos of the label has always been about quality control and finding those special vibes that no question capture heart and soul. Honing their unique musical language, selections are carefully handpicked by head honchos Artificial Intelligence and more recently in collaboration with label manager Emma G that fit with the forward thinking, original spirit we know as Integral.

* Now 40-odd releases deep and renowned for breaking some of the most exciting artists on the roster today, the label also boasts signature classics from some of the scenes most prolific residents. Names include the likes of Lenzman, Lomax (one half of Loadstar), Alix Perez, Calibre, System, Zero T, Technicolour & Komatic (Technimatic), LSB, Steo, Dawn Wall, Mohican Sun, Phil Tangent, Satl and just recently, A.I. themselves.

* Celebrating the seminal journey thus far, a double album will mark this very special occasion. Part One will showcase a selection of the finest from over the years in a chronological journey of the label's sound (for digitial release.) A second curation will simultaneously launch across all formats of entirely new and most exclusive material to date, reinforcing Integral's place at the round table of bass.

* A perfect teaser for what's to follow, the Album Sampler will drop this November featuring two stunning tracks. First up, '1000 Souls' comes courtesty of A.I. - tones of the deep, lush and soulful set the sultriest of grooves. Beautifully moody keys entice, chill and soothe. On the flip, 'Defiance' from Mohican Sun follows suit. With a gritty percussive edge, haunting melodies and a desperately emotional vocal to boot, this music will draw you all into the most mesmerising of dancefloor spells.

* Mark November 24 as the official release of the TEN YEARS OF INTEGRAL Album Sampler across all formats. Bag your limited vinyl copy now.

Bursting through the vapour trails of previous Solar Phenomena pilot Antonio Ruscito, London's Roberto is invited to the take the controls of the forward-thrusting new label's third adventure.

With turbine pads raising hairs at 20 paces, opening track 'Into The Blue' is an alluring statement. Adorned with breathing atmospherics and stately kicks, it builds perfectly on Roberto's previous work both on his own highly respected label Fossil Archives and other eminent imprints such as Emmanuel's Arts and Dehnert's Fachwerk as a fusion of contrasts and shades.

'DX Waves' takes us up a gear as it heads nose-first into a techno vortex. Relentless, driving and hypnotic, there's a pneumatic funk to the drums while the riff ripples and stimulates with a warmth and fluidity that instantly recalls the legacy of Motor City while remaining plotted to a path of its own.

This sense of unbridled drive and energy continues on Roberto's final original of the EP: 'Chord Recall'. Here the drums take more of a central position on the stage as the warped, melting tones and textures wrap themselves around the punctuated kicks and occasional deep-splash cymbals. Laced with a deep sense of space and a bewildering sensation of an unknown destination, it s another innovative voyage for Solar Phenomena that's brought home with an exciting revision conclusion from the one and only Peverelist.

A Bristol beat explorer who needs no introduction, Peverelist's take on 'Chord Recall' takes off where his recent album 'Tessellations' left us at the start of the summer. With his loose broken drum signature, Peverelist provides space for Roberto's original textured elements to take place at the centre of the stage and roam and evolve freely and hypnotically. A fitting end to another exceptional and innovative exploration, both Roberto's originals and Peverelist's remix set us up eagerly for the next Solar Phenomena chapter

Group Rhoda is the solo electronic music project of Mara Barenbaum, based out of Oakland, California. The project started around 2009 with a debut album 'Out of Time, Out of Touch' in 2012 on Night School Records and '12th House' in 2013 on Not Not Fun. She is also one half of Max and Mara who released the album 'Less Ness' in 2013 on Dark Entries Records. She is committed to live performance, situated within the analog synthesizer and drum machine medium.

'Wilderless' is Group Rhoda's third full length and first for Dark Entries Records. Each of the these 7 songs draw forth tones of tropical darkwave and soft industrial, while negating the sound of conformity and control. The album explore themes of societal and spiritual displacement, contemporary serfdom, the depths of empathy, regeneration through destruction, and the tyranny of claiming recognition and power. Lyrics are poetically expressed through allegory and explore archetypes rooted more in abstract observation rather than hard line experience. Through transgression and imagination, Group Rhoda explores the arc of songwriting interwoven into stark electronic environments, and creates a bridge between the corporeal and the dream worlds.

Each song was mixed by Mark Pistel at Room 5 in San Francisco and mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is packaged in a jacket featuring a colorful custom made collage by Hugo Barros and includes a full color sticker and digital download card.

Brian Kage returns on Michigander with the, 'Best Kept Secret EP.' Kage once again provides three deeply emotional dance tracks filled with his signature warmth that immediately draw connections between personal memories and Michigan's natural splendor. Best Kept Secret starts the record off with tones of hypnotic bells that cascade down from within minor chords that hypnotize the listener until they are met with swelling strings to tie the infectious grooves to intelligent vintage percussion. Lush vocals continue building into an atmosphere of nostalgia and eventually gives way to that moment of intimacy that can only be felt outdoors while exploring with a person they love. Lost on Old Free-soil Road features a detuned analog synth-line that winds up and down over a bed of spooky night-time forest field-recordings which are encompassed by a jackin' 909 beat . Suddenly, juno stabs straight from the 80's pierce through sending the syncopated grooves back the direction they came from taking dancers along for the joyful ride. Cruise Control on US-31 rounds out the record with an infectious blend of pitched wooden toms, warm mid-range bass, deep 303 lines, and a smoky pad straight from a vintage rhodes. All these elements help keep the composition positive & relaxing, while expertly conjuring the feeling of sun on your face. This tune is the perfect tool for any DJ interested in luring day-partiers to a space where they can't resist bobbing their heads and enjoying their summer outside.

Andy Meecham returns once more under his Emperor Machine guise with a freshly delivered 4 track vinyl Ep of experimental peak time & back room jams on his brand new label Vertical Tones.Side A1, We play Perfect & A2 Dry Down the Middle sees a return to the vintage analog sonics & dusty warped House sound of Emperor Machine made with love on the MPC.
Side B1, Back to the electronics and Modulars with Got to warm ride a mid 80s style re-edit of the original unreleased 15 min track B2 Leggwork an electronic disco funk cut thats sees Andy with his multi-instrumentalist head on locked in a solo jam session full of original Llama Farm flavour. "

Originally released in 2014, Luciano's 'The Great Amael' is an enchanting and endearing trip; a lo-fi bubbling groove and dusted Hammond organs that hustle along whilst live percussion cuts through the oceanic atmospherics. Two years on, and Cadenza Music call upon a brace of remixers to provide fresh and unique interpretations of this hidden gem in Luciano's catalogue. Having recently released his first album in over 10 years, Matthew Dear AKA Audion boldly steps up to the mantle and stamps his intelligent techno sound all over 'Amael' in the first of our remixes. Cutting a sprightly pace from the off, Audion melts stuttering sine waves and bulging tones over concrete beats, tweaking in the original organ riff and fathoms deep pads whilst adding additional vocal refrains as he playfully teases the arrangement before dropping a superb riff in his 'Backward Melody' Remix, which takes a most psychedelic and unexpected twist! Two other musical heavyweights collaborate on the second of the remixes; Phil Moffa and Seth Troxler are no studio strangers, having released a joint project on the British Hypercolour label last year, and remixed for Tiga a few months back. Their LSOS LOVE/GOD Remix builds from ambient beginnings, save for a rhythm carved out of spongy electronics, a sturdy beat kicking in and setting the controls destination unknown, as the duo steer through breathy vocal cuts and propelling bass, stripping the remix back before leaping back into hyperspace with some adventurous and dubbed out vibes, before coming back down for landing with those unmistakable pads from Luciano's original.

After making some massive claims regarding electronic music last year which caused a stir in the dance music community, Mat Zo had a lot to live up to with his long awaited second album "Self Assemble". What didn't help was the fact that his first album, "Damage Control" was critically acclaimed by many within dance music and is now considered a modern-day masterpiece with mesmerising tracks such as The Sky and the massive Easy with Porter Robinson.Blending genres and sounds in a way only Zo can achieve, this record flows incredibly well as the tracks move from one to the other almost telling a story of the different styles of electronic music. At times the album is reminiscent of Zo's incredible Essential Mix from back in 2013 in the way that it progresses and constantly surprises the listeners. A lot funkier than Damage Control, it's no less incredible.
Beginning with the beautifully atmospheric "Order out of Chaos" which starts with an absolute wall of sound that boggles the mind in how Zo even went about designing something so complex, this sets the tone for the rest of the record in a cracking way. The melody soon crescendos and we're introduced in to the meat of the album with "The Enemy". Bringing out all the good funky vibes on this track, again Zo exhibits his insane production talents which are a staple of the album. Featuring vocals from the wonderful Sinead Egan, this is a great uplifting tune that'll no doubt have you dancing in your chair or in the club.
'Sinful" acts to continue the funky good-time vibes and transports us to a cool summertime drive. It has us yearning for happier times and again the guest vocals from I SEE MONSTAS go a long way in getting across this happy vibe. Featuring an uplifting almost french house inspired bassline and squelch synths that wouldn't look out of place on a Daft Punk or Madeon record, this is another stunning track from the record. "Patterns Emerging" feels like a bridge into the next section of the album and is unfortunately short. The orchestral element really brings out the emotion on this track and we only wish it was longer. "Killing Time" has those classic chopped up vocals that Zo uses to great effect and some nicely programmed drums that could be a nod to the drum and bass he used to put out under MRSA.'Smacked up on Jack" features some cool middle eastern sounds and a wacky vocal sample that helps to progress the album and keep the listener interested, again though we feel like it's a bit too short and are left wanting more. The next tune "Ruffneck Bad Boy VIP" is an absolute mammoth and one of our favourites off the record. Opening with an immense rhodes melodic sequence and after some nice vocals, the track rips into the electro house and dubstep infused banger that it really is. Some dirty, dirty sound design and drum production will have the dance floors going wild and shows us again why Zo is so good, it's a far cry from the funkier elements of the earlier stuff on the album and shows how Zo can show off a range of electronic sounds. "Lights Out" is a straight up hard hitting electro banger with an infectious vocal sample that only needs to be heard to be understood. Not much more needs to be said about it! Coming into the last section of the record, "Soul Food" returns us to the groove with an astonishing house beat and bass line that have us questioning how Zo makes it so hard not to smile listening to this album."Stereo no Aware" starts sounding like it's taken straight from a space movie epic and soon transforms into a goose bump inducing melody with a driving growling bass line that bring back the epic dubstep we all used to love a couple of years ago. Skrillex eat your heart out. Finishing off this record on a more emotional note, "Too Late" starts off like a guitar ballad and then transforms into something totally different. Egan's melancholic vocals enhance this track to great effect and is all backed by Zo's lovely downbeat production until we're treated to a monster of a climax around half way through the track which will surely blow the cobwebs right off you. Zo says goodbye to us with the phenomenal "The Last Transmission" and what a way this is to close out an incredible sophmore album for the English producer. The melancholic piano chords are a subtle and pleasing way to close out this journey of a record. Mat Zo really has outdone himself here and we're really looking forward to hearing some of these bombs dropped live. Surely a contender for album of the year at such an early stage, yet again it's only the best delivered by Mat Zo.
Latest album, Damage Control was Grammy-nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album last year

The III Rivers juggernaut sets forth once again, release number 4 The Charivari EP, putting Voiceless in the cockpit and leading the charge.

Second Nature sets a dark, sultry and ominous tone as Voiceless deploys a plethora of sounds and moods that resonate with all the tense drama of the label's affiliated club night, Bohemian Grove.
Big laser beam synths dart through a thick pitch black haze while a factory line percussion section hammers on.

Always keeping a foot in the sonic warfare division, we get three locked grooves loaded and ready for battle, funky, electrified technoid wobblers that should fight off most opposition with ease.

Flip the disc and Opt-out opens with a controlled urgency as a barrage of kick drums sets the train in motion. Voiceless layers up rich, untreated piano chords against the backdrop of dark industrial chaos, percussion artefacts career around the mix and various elements are put through an aural meat grinder before the familiar and welcoming piano motif returns like a long lost friend, guiding us through the smoke hand-in-hand. A beautiful juxtaposition of soulful melancholy and cold, glacial machines.

Final track Charivari really hits the accelerator as a tough and mechanical rhythm jolts against blurred, radioactive pads and searing string lines before collapsing into a fractal breakdown introducing mystical, weaving high end leads. An eyes-down fist pumper of the highest order and one that commands excessive smoke & strobe light abuse late, late into the session.

One to close off one of their infamous soirees in style, hoards of mutant dancers leaving the industrial backdrop of the club's venue and crossing paths with the early morning dog walkers and Sunday strollers. Four releases in and we've lost none of the quality control, unique drive and free minded 'true spirit' (to quote Tresor's legendary catchphrase). The label goes from the strength to strength and with it, brings a whole new generation of techno shamans under their wing.