quête:u ka

British musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ cktrl returns with the release of his new EP ‘Yield’. Born from a desire to change the narrative around contemporary Black British music, the boundary-pushing musician aims with this project to prioritise the art of bonafide musicianship. A stark departure from cktrl’s previous work, ‘Yield’ is a celestial and palpably more inward body of work that harkens back to the pre-electric age of modal jazz while simultaneously pulling in elements from the disciplines of classical and baroque music. Speaking on the project’s sonic identity, cktrl says: “I want to be able to show that you can make things from scratch again that have that feeling and beauty without having to sample an old record. Even though that’s an art-form within itself, I want to show raw orchestration and instrumentation can be the sole source” The origins of the title came from a period where cktrl was looking to find solace in himself after an introspective period of grief and heartbreak. As an intentionally instrumental project with minimal vocals, cktrl wants prospective listeners to see these new songs as guided meditations where they can wholly insert themselves in it. Eliciting and reaping whatever feelings come to the fore. Speaking on what ‘Yield’ means to him as a concept, cktrl explains: “Some people who I've asked to define the word ‘yield’ have looked at it from a harvest point of view, whereas others have seen it as something to submit to, to render, like you're giving up yourself. I see it as a barometer for how you feel - no matter if you're at your lowest or your highest vibration, you still need to show up for yourself. You still have to be present. It’s about getting the best from yourself no matter where you are in life” The new project is the follow up to last year’s ‘Zero’ which featured collaborations with esteemed contemporaries like the GRAMMY-nominated Mereba and anaiis. Upon the project’s release, it was met with a plethora of critical acclaim from highly regarded publications and platform such as British Vogue, Dazed, CRACK Magazine, Resident Advisor, NOTION, Harper's Bazaar and ES Magazine for its sprawling and experimental scope, spanning avant-garde jazz, classical music, alternative R&B and electronica. cktrl has a tune for every occasion: as content making beats by himself at home in Lewisham as he is amongst this generation’s fashion and cultural vanguards. Music has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember: from clarinet lessons throughout his school life to fond memories from his NTS days. Moulded by a unique blend of his West Indian heritage, years of classical training in both the clarinet and saxophone, cktrl strives to do what hasn’t been done before. His approach to creation is decidedly wide-ranging and broad. In fact, where sonic descriptions might fail to encompass the breadth of cktrl’s scope, three words surface when he unpacks his musical aims: freedom, range and feeling. Elsewhere, throughout his career, cktrl has been recognised and heralded by fashion and film VIPs as he firmly embeds himself within the black cultural renaissance emerging here in Britain. Acquiring a global network of creatives that include the late Virgil Abloh, Bianca Saunders, Tremaine Emory, Saul Nash, Maximilian Davis, Ahluwalia, Stephen Isaac Wilson, Sean Frank, Campbell Addy, Ib Kamara and Jenn Nkiru who secured him a cameo in Beyoncé’s ground-breaking film ‘Black Is King’.

Tod Dockstader's Aerial series, an electronic/drone masterpiece, is cherished among fans of the artist's work and this second volume is available in an audiophile quality double LP edition.

Tod Dockstader's Aerial series is sourced from his life long passion for shortwave radio. Dockstader collected over 90 hours of recordings, made at night, and comprised of cross signals and fragments plucked from the atmosphere.

Opening with airwave drones, Dockstader gradually allows elements to slowly come and go, summoning an ominous atmosphere of ethereal cloud clouds. Malignant placidity continues, giving the feeling of eavesdropping upon late-night audio activity not unlike discovering number stations while sweeping the dials. These sounds pull you in as their density and rhythms come and go.
Backward voices, deep echoing choruses of conversations flowing under the surface, ocean sounds, pulsing electro-rhythms, all seem to be created via the collaging of many hours of source recordings. A masterwork of collage and juxtaposition by an overlooked pioneer of American electronic music.

Artwork by John Brien (Imprec) is inspired by the propagation of shortwave radio signals throughout the earth's atmosphere.

"This return of Dockstader is something to cherish, not just because his output has been so limited and scarce but because what we do have is so intriguing, persuasive and cliche-free; the music of an inspired explorer who trails in nobody's slipstream." The Wire

"One of the great figures of musique concrete composition." Dusted

The Aerial project

I've written before of my interest in shortwave radio, in the notes to the Quatermass CD. Also, in the notes to the Omniphony CD (which has my first "Aerial" mix, "Past Prelude," in it), I mentioned "The Aerial Etudes," which was my working title for what became the three CDs you have. And, at the end of an interview with Chris Cutler (which can be found in the "Unofficial TD Website"), the piece I mentioned I was starting to work on at the time became Aerial.) When I was very young, people got most of their entertainment from radio. They called it "playing the radio," as if it were a musical instrument. That's what I've tried to do in this piece. About this time, a few people encouraged me to look into using a computer for this work.

I'd never used one, but I saw it would allow me to keep my mixes digital - no more transfer losses. So, at the end of 2001, I got a computer and an editing program for it, and spent what seemed a long time learning it. I began selecting mixes and loading them into the computer in late March, 2002. Out of the 580, I selected 90 "best" mixes - eventually reduced to 59, the ones on the CDs. Finally, in assembling the CDs, I followed David Myers' suggestion to allow each piece to flow into the next - making a continuous journey to the end. Tod Dockstader, 14 september 2003

About Tod Dockstader: Dockstader moved to New York in 1958 and became a self-taught sound engineer and sound effects specialist and apprenticed as a recording engineer at Gotham Recording Studios. It was around this time that he started to use his off-work hours to experiment with mixing and manipulating sounds on magnetic tape (musique concrète). By 1960 he had amassed enough material to assemble his first record Eight Electronic Pieces which was released on the Folkways label in 1961 (this would later be used in the soundtrack of Fellini’s Satyricon). The last of the eight pieces was later re-worked into his first stereo piece. In 1961 he applied to use the facilities at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center and was denied access by Vladimir Ussachevsky. Ussachevsky’s official reason was the “overstrained” scheduling of the studios, although many suspect that Dockstader’s lack of academic training was a factor in the decision. He continued to create music throughout the first half of the 60s, working principally with tape manipulation effects. His last piece at Gotham was Four Telemetry Tapes in 1965, after which he left to work as an audio-visual designer on the Air Canada Pavillion at Montreal’s Expo ‘67. It was around this time in 1966 that some of Dockstader’s pieces were released on three Owl L.P.s, and his work became known to a larger audience. He achieved modest recognition and radio play alongside the likes of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Edgard Varèse, and John Cage.

From a research work started in full lockdown three years ago, finally sees the light (or darkness) Echi Senza Fine, a remastered collection of sound material by Tasaday. Inspired by the controversial media story in 1971 of the discovery of a tribe in the Philippines that apparently had technology that had stood still in the Stone Age, the project officially borrows the name Tasaday in 1984 from the evolution of Nulla Perreale, in turn union of Die Form (musical part) & Orgasm Denied (performative part).

To put it in the words of Marcello Ambrosini, the Tasadays find in Die Form the controlled destruction of the form after its careful design and construction, while in Nulla Iperreale the spontaneity free from any possible superstructure. They declare themselves new primitives, not in the perspective of a nostalgic return to a pre-industrial or prehistoric external world, but in the exception of an inner experience in stark contrast to the leviathan of the single utilitarian thought that has dominated the West for centuries.

Their production-action does not allow itself to be tempted by the repetitiveness used by many industrial groups of those years, thus resulting seminal in the evolution of the scene. Their impulse to go further and not remain caged in the format of the new wave is witnessed by their particular sound vocabulary that sees, along with the use of conventional instruments, the use of DIY tools such as Chopper Vox and highly sui generis tools, like the Camolofono, cariole loaded with sheets, stones, tubes, chains and “garbage” of various shapes and sizes.

A discography dotted with primordial electronic experiments that reaches the new millennium through several vinyl records and an endless number of cassettes. From this undefined and mysterious number of tapes that is born Echi Senza Fine: 14 tracks (+ 2 digital bonuses) remastered, collected by Asymmetrical, who also edited the release insert, a collage of visual and textual material from their fanzines. A series of 300 transparent vinyl + Insert.

limited to 200 copies!

After we have been rolling out three singles and two remixes, it’s time to present to you the full album by the Belgium duo Pelace, titled ‘Echoes’. The digital version drops October 7 and to make it even better, the album will appear on vinyl too at end the of 2022, which will be the first ever vinyl release on Infinite Depth.

The album represents the energetic sound of Pelace (Jordy Cosemans & Janick Warnier), hailing from Hasselt. Besides being Pelace they are very good friends in life, which is playing big part in their tracks. They dug deep into their own experiences and emotions that have been influencing their lives and this resulted in the album. The careful composed collection of tracks forms a 10-track story of uncompromising breaks, deep and compelling melodies and beautiful repetitive vocals.

The album starts off with ‘Trapped Forever’. An ambient intro to immediately show their characteristic raw and uplifting synthwork. When it stops it makes sure you want to carry on listening. After the intro, ‘Deep Sea Dreaming’ follows, through which they bring forward their strong breakbeats and firm basslines. Where ‘Deep Sea Dreaming’ is pretty low-key, the next one titled ‘Patterns’ is one of the more compelling tracks on the album. Long-stretched bass lines are forming a solid base, on top of which uplifting arps and pads are making this track very lively.

The fourth track ‘Kali’ goes a bit deeper. The track was written and produced when there was the news that clubs were allowed to open in Belgium again. A hard 4×4 kick, raw percussion elements and a driven bass are the key elements. After this it goes through to ‘Forever Together’. This one is about always being Pelace together. It’s a break track with a suppressed, but also very special energy.

‘Break Ups’ represents the more calm and dreamy side of the album. The regular beat gets broken up by a breakbeat, after which it continues in its lo-fi focused four-the-floor pattern. Throughout the track harmonious pads are melting together with high pitched synths, giving you a hopeful and warm feeling. The main song ‘Echoes From The Past’ defines the signature sound of Pelace, a blend of all kinds of electronica. Broken beats, intertwining synths, an appealing repetitive vocal and a reese bass, combined to evoke intense moments on the dancefloor.

The eighth track is called ‘Floating’ and refers to old-school no-nonsense electronica. A pulsing and stabby synth, a powerful jungle kick and the up-tempo rhythm are providing a powerful energy. ‘Pushing You Away’ brings us back to the duo’s characteristic drum parts and vocal use, but with a deeper lower part and a somewhat trancey and ravey higher part. Then the cooling-down begins in the form of the outro ‘I Won’t Hesitate’. A very hopeful end to this story told by Pelace

In October 1974, the first number of “L'Indépendant du Jazz”, a small self-produced magazine DIY -before punk supposedly invented the concept- was launched by Jef Gilson, Gérard Terronès, Jean-Jacques Pussiau and a few other specialists of a different kind of jazz in France, it looked at the already long career of Jef Gilson and in detail at the album with saxophonist Philippe Maté:
“The ‘Workshop’ is, with Philippe Maté (alto-sax), an undeniable success. Maté is genuinely ‘the’ most inventive French saxophonist since Michel Portal burst onto the jazz scene (who has also worked with Jef Gilson on both “Enfin” and “Gaveau”).”

Even though the author of the article is a mysterious I.H. Dubiniou, and it is difficult to know if it is a real person or a pseudonym used by one of the merry bunch, it is also tempting to hear it as what Jef Gilson really thought about his new discovery. Even more so as the two men would work together over a long period, as Maté became one of the key figures of Gilson’s Europamerica orchestra up until the 1980s.

Philippe Maté had started to make a name for himself with the Acting Trio when they released an album on the BYG label in 1969, and he was also one of the regular sidemen for the Saravah studios (he can notably be heard on albums by Higelin, Fontaine or his cult duo album with Daniel Vallancien).

The album was recorded on 4 February 1972, at the Foyer de Montorgueuil, where Gilson had set up his studio, with more or less the same team found on “La Marche Dans Le Désert” by Sahib Shihab + Gilson Unit (recorded ten days later). This was drummer Jean-Claude Pourtier and pianist Pierre Moret (regular Gilson accomplices since “Le Massacre Du Printemps”), alongside Maurice Bouhana and Bruno Di Gioa on various percussions and/or wind instruments. On bass is Didier Levallet, of the now mythical Perception, (Jean-François Catoire would replace him with Shihab) and Philippe Maté who took top billing, rather than the American saxophonist afterwards. The two albums are however quite different. This “Workshop” is more abrasive, more free. Made up of two long improvisations each of over 22mn, “L'Œil” on side A and “Vision” on side B (Gilson specialists would recognise the nod to one of his albums from the 60s), the album plunges you into the depths, attempting to drown you in electronic waves, dragging you back to the surface by the collar, giving you a good shakedown, before showing you the light, leaving you breathless on the shore after 46mn of the most intense music French has to offer. “An undeniable success”, they said. (by Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau)

Andreas Koeper is a German contemporary/experimental composer and drummer with a background in Philosophy and Art history. “Niemand Tanzt” was originally released in 1989 and in the past years it has become a sought after obscurity amongst diggers ever since Chee Shimizu put it on the radar after unearthing it throughout inspection rounds in Berlin record stores. Although the A-side might have been the essence of the single at the time, it's the B-side's “Pink Rhythm” that puts this release on the map for DJs, the track's gradient from an empty half tempo to rich 4 on the floor patterns serves any well versed DJ as an on-ramp for new gears to be put into place as the track grows into various ramifications of Andreas' studio production techniques: playful percussive elements, provocative guitar riffs over a solid rhythm section. Freshly remastered by manmade in Berlin.

Ivor Cutler is loved by generations of fans - including Paul McCartney, Billy Connolly and Alex Kapranos - for his unique music and poetic humour. A phenomenal stage presence for 50 years, with a prolific output. Championed by legendary DJ John Peel for whom Cutler recorded 21 sessions. 'Privilege' was produced as a vinyl LP for Rough Trade Records in 1983 and has been unavailable for decades. The album is only one of two where Cutler collaborates with other artists. It is unique in that there is a second voice - singer Linda Hirst. Musicians Steve Beresford and David Toop play several instruments and produced the record.

Red Splatter Vinyl (feat. Rakaa Iriscience)


New Orleans and Cali unite on this onslaught of gris-gris funk from Connie Price & Keystones featuring legendary MC, Rakaa Iriscience, of Dilated Peoples. The Crescent City label, Superjock Records puts forth another gem in the ongoing NOLA Breaks series (V.12)...

This time around they’ve enlisted the multi-talented Jay "J-Zone” Mumford on the drums, Dan Ubick on guitar (Breakestra, Big Daddy Kane), Julius Augustus on bass (The Sandollars), Dan Hastie on organ (Orgone, Alicia Keys), Steve McCormick on dobro and Professor Shorthair on the cuts and edits. Mastered by Dave Cooley (J Dilla, Madlib).

“The soundtrack to keep the wicked in flames” in both words and sounds, this 45rpm will leave you equally angered by the wrongs of the past but with a dip in your hip as you saunter through Congo Square!

Produced, recorded and mixed by Dan Ubick for DanUbe Productions at Lions Den Studios, Topanga, CA.

Horsey’s critically acclaimed debut album Debonair arrives on vinyl via London label untitled (recs). Made up of Jacob Read, Theo McCabe, Jack Marshall and George Bass, Horsey have built a cult live following having toured with the likes of King Krule, Goat Girl and Hinds, as well as playing sold-out shows across their hometown venues with the likes of YOWL, Hotel Lux, Norman, Ugly, Lazarus Kane and more. Horsey refused to be pigeonholed at every turn. “Debonair” is propelled forwards from the opener with an incomparable wide-eyed intensity that blurs the lines between dark, glam inflected noise-rock, surreal jazz breakouts, wonky apocalyptic pop, emphatic rock opera-esque histrionics and melancholic lo-fi without abating. The juxtaposition between maturity and immaturity is central to the album’s themes, and this contrast is not only found in the album’s dynamic instrumentation but is also prominent in Horsey’s intoxicating and coltish lyrical prose, which is all at once deeply personal, tumultuous and utterly abstract. Though often delivered with overtones of sardonic humour the subject matter carries a sincere message, one that channels the spirit of when the band first met in nursery whilst tackling the tropes of modern living. The result is a gripping and exuberant reminder that there is great value in applying some childlike lateral mentality to the all too serious events of adult life. Tracklist: A1/Sippy Cup A2/Arms and Legs A3/Underground A4/Everyone’s Tongue A5/Wharf B1/Lagoon B2/1070 B3/Clown B4/Leaving Song B5/Seahorse (Feat. King Krule)

Two decades since they formed in New York City and over ten years since their last album, Tel Aviv based quartet Shotnez are back with Dose a Nova, an album of 10 exhilarating jazz filtered jams, with vibrations indebted to tuareg desert blues, Ethiopian-jazz, 1950's Afro Cuban recordings, surf- rock and folk from across the East Mediterranean basin.

Featuring the original Balkan Beat Box producers Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat alongside Uri Kinrot from Boom Pam and Itamar Ziegler from The Backyard, four musicians who are all producers and share love and deep connection to hip hop and jazz, Shotnez reunited in 2020 meeting up for improvised sessions and jams, once a week over a period of about four months at a carpentry turned music studio in suburban Tel Aviv.

Downing midi cards, triggers and synths, the day to day tools for these four producers and picking up and playing their respective traditional instruments - saxophone, clarinet, guitar, bass, percussion and drums – the group was immediately liberated by the moment. In the middle of a strict lockdown, they had no preconceptions, no deadlines, no labels or managers knocking on the door. This was an opportunity to rebuild the camaraderie that developed on the other side of the world two decades back, to reconnect as brothers and seek a higher spiritual plane, all the whilst fully encouraging each other to express their diverse musical backgrounds channelled within, during their time apart.

Magnificent Wolof drum music, performed by an extended griot family over seven consecutive days, in the mystical setting of Lac Rose, outside Dakar.

Doudou Ndiaye Rose — who died in 2015 — is a key drummer in the musical history of the world. He developed a system of five hundred original drumming patterns, ancient and new. Amongst the modern rhythms here is Bench Mi — ‘under the Baobab tree,’ a spot where problems get solved. Also Hibar Yi — ‘passing on information’ — the theme-tune of Senegalese TV national news for decades — and Les Rosettes, the signature rhythm of Senegal’s first ever all-female percussion group, convened by Doudou, and named after his grandmother.

These original compositions sit alongside important traditional rhythms, familiar to every Sabar player, such as Farwu Jar (a courtship game sometimes resulting in a wedding), Ceebu Jin (also the name of the national dish of fish and rice), and Gumbé, often played after a successful harvest.

Recorded in joyful single takes, with no overdubs, mastered by Rashad Becker, the music is deep and thrilling, polyrhythmic to the bone, with a complex, pointillistic intensity at times evoking Jeff Mills in full flight.

I’ve started to work on this album before I knew it.

During June 2018, I was in Japan for a month to release my previous album "Cairn" as well as my first solo exhibition of drawings in Tokyo.

Everyday on my way to the gallery I passed in front of the same building, its name kept haunting me : Rogue Hill.

Back then I was digging for cheap 80’s Japanese CD’s (Balearic, New Age, Ambient,...) in second hand stores. Most of them set the tone of this album and the direction I wanted to follow. I feel there’s a direct connection between these original sources and the sound I pursue by their meditative aspect.

Most of the demo songs were done before my daughter’s birth on August 2019 and were finalized since then. Many of the titles refer to this main event and relate to how it changed my position in life : being a link through time by becoming a father.

After debuting on Flippen Disks in 2018 and a follow-up track on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section, PTDD is back on Flippen Disks with this debut solo-EP called „Sizipin“.


Melting PTDD’s signature minimalist sound with a welcoming harmonic world in Hoe Je Het Snijdt, taking a wide array of influences from UK-bass and broken beat in Sizipin to HipHop in N Btj Blvn Dnsn or more progressive club sounds in Kajuit, this EP is a clear big step in PTDD’s development as a producer. 


„Sizipin“, a made-up term for an adaptor that you don’t know the use for anymore, it’s a rather fitting name considering the circumstances of the creation go this EP. A connector for quitting his day-job to focus fully on audio and music work, building his studio in deep pandemic lockdown-Utrecht and most importantly becoming a father. Also features a vocal performance of PTDD’s son Olivier. Can you find it?

Finnish Heavy Metal legends, Spiritus Mortis unveil a grand–scale epic of antique Doom on 16th of September via Svart Records.

Erecting a new monolith in the halls of Doom Metal history with their fifth album The Great Seal, Spiritus Mortis certify true classic status as one of the scene’s modern greats.

There are few modern-day bands that can be uttered under the same breath as the giants of Traditional Doom and Heavy Metal like Spiritus Mortis. Formed in 1987 as Rigor Mortis they can firmly attest to having been “the first Finnish Doom Metal band”, uncovering hallowed ground before the later imitators. Carrying the banner of powerful true Metal, the likes of which stands proudly next to the masters such as Dio era Sabbath, Solitude Aeturnus and Trouble, Spiritus Mortis have established a tradition of catchy song-writing and consummate knowledge of sacred riff-craft. The Great Seal is a collosal album which Spiritus Mortis describes as “a rite of collective suicide and an orgy of self-immolation” and plumbs the depths of epic sorrow with gargantuan slabs of igneous riffs and emotional vocals.

Synonymous with classic Finnish Doom bands like Reverend Bizarre, whose singer Albert Witchfinder intoned previous albums’ vocals, Spiritus Mortis continue to define and cement their formidable legacy. Albert’s replacement, Kimmo Perämäki is more than worthy of the consecrated robes he inherits, delivering a performance which is flawlessly dominating and instantly gratifying. Tracks like Martyrdom Operation and Visions Of Immortality see Perämäki boldly carving his own name in the stone tablets of future history, marrying the riffs of the Maijala brothers and guitarist Kari Lavila with the splendor of magnificent melancholy that Spiritus Mortis is so known and admired for.

Not only will true devotees of the Spiritus Mortis Doom church be raising their fists with full hearts, but those who seek knowledge of the faithful spirit of real Metal can surely look no further than within The Great Seal.

As a tribute to the 20th anniversary of the music label Twin Town Production (*11 Sept 2001), Nicolas Molina and Stachy.DJ presented "The Sound of Twin Town: Tribute Mix Pt. I", a personal selection of remastered music from the catalog of the first decade.

An eclectic mix of Soulful House, Chillout, D&B, Acid Jazz, IDM, Dubstep and Breaks takes the listener on a journey through time to the musical roots of the label until the dawn of the second era of digital mania.

Now this compilation package offers homelisteners and DJs all the
remastered tracks of the DJ-Mix in full length on vinyl.

CAUTION: THE PACKAGE TAPE IS PART OF THE ARTWORK. PLEASE READ THE TEXT FOR HANDLING!

The package can either be opened only on the outer edge to access the vinyls, or it can be sliced on all sides to flip through the entire story. Don’t handle with care!

*** The entire case study on the artwork will still be published in the fall of 2022 by Manuel Wesely himself.

Originally released in 1987, « Metropolitan Jungle » by German synth-pop band Cold End is reissued by Swiss label Proxima. Cold End is the second musical project of Katrin A. Kunze, Jürgen Grah and Markus Kammann. Musically, the sound of Cold End was something special back in the time, as a successful fusion of electronic and soul. Dynamic percussions, synth textures and enchanting vocals. Includes an aerial rework by Audrey Danza. All four tracks are freshly remastered!