Buscar:under the surface

Hybris is Evan Vischi. After years of being a studio recluse, Evan surfaced in the DC scene and released collaborations and solo projects under the name Robot Death Squad. He then moved to the Czech Republic to focus on advancing his own sound and began releasing under the name Hybris. Towards the end of 2009 his tunes were spotted and picked up by Kasra, and his debut single was released on Critical: Modulations (The Cleaner/ Raindance) in June of 2010. With several forthcoming releases on C.I.A., Blackout Music, and Critical, and DJ support from some of the scene's heaviest hitters, Evan is now committed to pushing heavy and precise dancefloor beats to the next level. For INVISIBLE, Hybris collaberates succesfully with the mighty NOISIA and drops 3 new solo tracks on this very special double pack vinyl. Great new sounds on the always evolving Invisible imprint.

To be released on World Mental Health Day, part of the album's proceeds will be donated to a UK-based mental health charity. 'I often wonder how sadness moves through people,' Emika says, 'through time, through stories and history, and if it's something that becomes us rather than coming from us.'
% of album sales will be donated to charity Help Musicians UK
emikarecords. com Invites fans to anonymously share their experiences of depression and create a waterfall of comments inspired by the song Wash It All Away
Studio video promoting the album via Soundcloud, Autumn
Live / DJ video, promoting the album with Beatport, Autumn
Live streaming of the album from Emika's studio via FB, Insta, YT, September.
Bookings by Christopher at Melt Bookings. Team chose to give fans time to listen to the album first, shows starting early 2019, special album show with live band and dome visuals planned in the Berlin Planetarium Feb 2019. A few promo shows summer / fall 2018.
Boiler Room live show as part of Open Dance Floor series tbc
* Given its years of manifestation behind the scenes of other projects, Falling In Love With Sadness reflects a renewed understanding of Emika's own genealogy, kindred lineage and its connection to modernity. Marking a drastic departure from the menacing, stripped-down qualities of albums past, Dva and Drei, Emika has surfaced with a new upwelling of sound gracing the bittersweet, melancholic and sanguine.

* With the interplay of myriad genres both rhythmically and melodically intertwining between spacey, dub tinged Promises, lush synth pop hooks on Escape and the title track's soulful electro, a full spectrum of musicology remains primary to the ever-evolving chroma of Emika's umbrous sound.

* Further characterised by the breathy sibilance and sultry tones of Emika's noirish, vocal aesthetic, the album navigates through the morose and trappings of misanthropy by illuminating a narrative of emotional resilience and recovery.

* Co-produced with Robert Witschakowski of The Exaltics, and continuing her collaboration with guitarist Chris Lockington (as heard on Drei and Dva), Falling In Love With Sadness provides a fifth solo album for Emika, but moreover, defines itself as an overture for her future works.

"Uplifting boogie grooves to set your spirit free." (Paul Kane / Jordan Valley Records)

When The Unbelievable Two appeared on the scene in 2014, their pure underground, analogue boogie and disco sound mirrored what was going on in the vinyl infected bars and small cellar clubs in their hometown of Hamburg/Germany. "The Unbelievable Two" was inspired by the golden age of the genres, played live with skills and insight. Four years later, boogie and disco are all around us. So it is about time that these pioneers release their second album. Honest and authentic, "Power Plant" recalls late 1970s New York Disco and mid 1908s UK Boogie.

The Unbelievable Two still is Mzuzu and Mucka, who lead us through nine new songs of speedy disco, down low boogie and even some smokin' reggae. Recorded in late 2017 and through the spring of 2018, "Power Plant" tells stories beyond the surface level. "Even though our music is purely instrumental, it doesn't mean we haven't got anything to say," explains Mzuzu, a respected and well-travelled vinyl DJ on the Germany funk/disco scene. "Boogie and disco are a universal language. With the influence of Afro, Latin, Reggae, even European electronic music you do not need a lot of words to tell a story which gets everybody connected. These songs are about our friends, our everyday life, how we life and what we feel."

"Power Plant" is available as a limited edition vinyl LP (300 copies).

Steve Reich's Drumming is regarded as one of the most important musical works of the last century. Distilled through his studies of African percussion in Ghana during 1970 and Balinese gamelan music, Reich revolutionized our understanding of polyrhythms, sculpting a new sonic territory to illuminate the radical potential of Minimalism.Divided into four sections, performed without pause, Drumming is written for eight small tuned drums, three marimbas, three glockenspiels, piccolo and voice. The singers recite melodic patterns that mimic the sounds of the instruments, gradually rising to the surface and then fading out. The overall effect can be transfixing - pulling listeners into the rhythm and possessing a raw immediacy, directness and energy.The premier performances of Drumming took place in December 1971 in New York City - first at The Museum of Modern Art, then at Brooklyn Academy of Music and finally at Town Hall where this recording was made - and featured the composer along with a cast of longtime collaborators including Art Murphy, Steve Chambers, Russ Hartenberger, James Preiss, Jon Gibson, Joan La Barbara, Judy Sherman, Jay Clayton, Ben Harms, Gary Burke, Frank Maefsky and James Ogden.Originally released in 1972 by gallerist John Gibson in a small private edition, Drumming represents the culmination of Reich's investigation into rhythmic phase relationships and its early realization captures a remarkably organic feel, especially compared to the more widely known version on Deutsche Grammophon from 1974.This first-time vinyl reissue and first-time CD release has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes.

CHIWAX welcomes Andre Red Hand to the Family!

Dubbed by Igloo Magazine as the 'Romanian Detroit electro/techno pioneer' and by the late Aaron Carl as 'the Romanian Underground Resistance himself', Andrew Red Hand from Romania's spiritual capital of lasi stands up as an unwavering militant of the underground, a true Detroit spirit possessed as Romanian humanoid!

From his early gigs throwing parties as one of the first generation DJs in lasi since 1997, ARH continues to break boundaries as part of the Romanian resistance scene and numerous time portals as they open around Europe. His blistering, mind-bending sets such as at Berlin's Tresor and Griessmuehle see the DJ with the red hand fuse pure Detroit electro and techno with the sounds of techno-bass, raw Chicago acid house, classics and futuristic beats. His mixes for Radio UR (Underground Resistance) and The Grid (Detroit Techno Militia) remain some of the best frequency transmissions to surface to air.

Armed with a Soviet Union reel to reel Majak 203, his scorching raw analogue and searing acid productions have been picked up by foundational Detroit labels such as Twilight 76, Matrix, Detroit Underground, Databass, Detroit Techno Militia, Cratesavers Intl, Visillusion as well as around the world from Holland's iconic M>O>S Recordings to 1Ø Pills Mate (Lobster Theremin), Bass Agenda and Land Of Dance. On his remix list includes work for Scan 7, Santonio Echois, Thomas Barnett, Sean Deason, Niko Marks, Six Foe, T.Linder and more while support from Anthony Shake Shakir, DJ Bone, Dave Clarke, DJ Godfather has been garnered for our sonic warrior... Beware of the Red Hand!

Following two previous excursions into degraded tape loops, fuzzed-out ambience and bittersweet moments of tenderness, O$VMV$M return to Idle Hands to complete a trilogy of LPs with 12 vignettes from the underbelly of the Bristol scene.

Bound to Young Echo's ever-swelling cult of wayward sonics, individually Amos 'Jabu' Childs and Sam 'Neek' Barrett have plenty of irons in the fire. Childs deals in forlorn, vocal-led introspection alongside Alex Rendall and Jasmine Butt as Jabu, while Barrett can be found laying down punishing modern grime variations alongside Kahn, or delving into more traditional soundsystem sonics in Gorgon Sound. Meanwhile the pair were clearly heard laying down some of the tones that seep out of the uncredited Young Echo collective LP from earlier this year. Their production work behind Rider Shafique's killerLion7" on Lavalava was unmissable, and their blunted beats behind Manonmars' debut LP are awaited with anticipation.

As O$VMV$M, the pair enter a particular sound world that mixes cosy nostalgia with creeping dread. Even at its most mellow, a sense of unease hovers beneath the surface, and that's what makes their approach so compelling. The sound palette is broad, from pitch-shifted RnB vocal licks to foggy trumpets crawling at half speed, but over it all a dense blanket of dust gives the sensation of peering back through time.

Putting paid to the idea that immersive music needs to be long and drawn out, the dose response on these condensed mood capsules is quick and strong. In a little over 20 minutes O$VMV$M take you far and wide. The trip over the past three LPs has been an adventure for both label and artists - Sam and Amos have shaped out a style that now feels like a fully formed entity independent of their other ventures. We look forward to seeing where O$VMV$M heads from here.

Here We Are Releasing The Second Album Of Cologne Born Producer Thyladomid Who Is Familiar To Many Through His Work On Hamburg Label Diynamic Which Has Lead Him To Perform Around The World, Together With Artists Such As: Adriatique, Solomun, Kollektiv Turmstraße, Hosh, David August, Stimming, And Many More. More Then 30 Minutes Playing Time, 6 Tracks And Artwork By Florian Kramer Offer A Lot To Discover. Thyladomid Is Famous For His Forward Thinking Deep Melodic Dance Music Which Earned Him Respect And Support From Many People Of The Scene And Evolved Also In Cooperations With Adriatique And The Singer Mahfoud. You Can Find Two Tracks Featuring Mahfoud On The Album. With His First Album "interstellar Destiny" In 2015 Thyladomid Has Already Changed Towards More Introspective Music And You Will Hear He Has Taken That A Step Further Here. In Comparison To His First Album, "places" Refers To Different Places Which Inspired Him To Write The Album And Offers A Higher Level Of Complexity In The Making Of Music Which Has Helped Thyladomid To Enhance The Moody Quality In A Dazzling Way Sometimes Even Spine Tingling When You Let Yourself Go To Explore The Abundance Of The Trax. As He Said In His Own Words: - the Albums Intention Was That Of An Organic Produced Album With Different Moods. Instruments Such As Piano And And Violin As Well As Field Recording Bring Alive A Special Quality. The Bouncing Of Stones On A Frozen Pond Recorded With Multiple Microphones Suggest For Example An Authentic Spacious Quality. The Self Recorded Percussion, Sometimes Quite Exotic Were Included In All Of The Tracks. The Combination Of Synthetic Sounds With Traditionally Instruments Was One Of The Big Challenges For Me. The Piano And Prophet 6 Und The Moog Sub37 Were The Main Instruments Used For The Album'. Thyladomid Started Working On The Album 2 1/2 Years Ago. His Classical Training On The Piano Helped To Quickly Come Up With A Musical Theme Which Is Based On Different Tonalities Which Were Then Linked To Each Other And Which Actually Helped To Structure The Whole Release. The Good Weather In Summer Was A Good Inspiration And Finally Led To The Idea To Dedicate Tracks To A Certain Place, A Place Which Means A Lot For Him. From That Idea The Title Of The Whole Album Derived: "places ". "a Little Church In Amsterdam" As He Says "is Such A Track Encouraged By The City Of Amsterdam I Love And Respects So Much And Actually Have Spend So Much Time In. It Is A Track I Played Outside In My Garden To Friends And Which Works Perfectly For Me.' "a Little Church In Amsterdam" Is A Track Where Melodies Bloom And Flourish. It Feels Like Zooming In On Nature Grasping A Time Lapse Symphony. "blossoming Limburg Ft Mahfoud" Was Born In The Capital Of Limburg Which Is Located In The South Of The Netherlands And Reflects The Summer Of 2017 And Was Recorded In A Warehouse. It Reflects The Intimacy And Synergetic Level Between Mahfoud And Thyladomid. The Fantastic Deep Vocal Track Is Spiced Up With Lots Of Acoustic Details Which All Happen In The Background But Effectively Surface To Pull The Listener Into His World. "night Owl" Is A Lyrical Dreamy Piano Piece With A Melancholic Note And An Ear For Details. Acoustic Finesse Presented On An Episodic Scale. We Guess The Track Was Influenced By The Works Of Four Tet Or Pantha Du Prince. "kollwitzplatz" Is A Small Park In Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg Which Was Thyladomid's Home For 2 Years . - the Cafes And Restaurants Laced By The Alleys Of The Kollwitz District Resemble A Piece Of Home For Me And Represents The Time Of My Stay In Berlin'. Musically "kollwitzplatz" Is Full Of Life. You Can Hear Children Talking While The Piano Attracts Sounds Like Moths Are Attracted To Light. The Track Offers This Richness Of Percussive Elements And Sound Sources Creating A Stunning Complexity Which Does Not Limiting Itself But Rather Creates This Free Flow Of Acoustic Signals. You Instantly Will Feel: There Is A Lot To Discover At "kollwitzplatz". "underwater Rhapsody", The Title Says It All: It Has That Episodic, Free-flowing Structure, Featuring A Range Of Highly Contrasted Moods, Color And Tonality. What It Actually Means To The Listener Is That Grande Chords Meet Dissonances Of Sound That Fly In Like Drones Cross The Big Time Melodies That Gain A Centrifugal Force At Times... And All This Leaves You Dizzy And Creates Another Big Listening Experience As The Whole Album Is Directed To Entertain You In A Smart And Distinguished Way.






[E b2 | Places Ft. Mahfoud

Keshavara debuts on FILM.

Taking it's influence from downtempo Alt-Pop and Hip Hop, but with nods to blissed out Dub and World Music - the Indian producer arrives on the Berlin based label with Creators of The Rain. Danny Wolfers takes control on the flip - turning in a gorgeous, transcendental remix under his Legowelt alias.

Live instrumentation provides the backbone of the work - dusty drums drive the music forward, complemented by shifting dub-guitar leads, off kilter bassline licks and delayed drum machine breaks. Singer Gio's vocals sit com-fortably at the back of the mix, soft but inviting - present but realised with a distinctly otherworldly energy. There's a fine, organic feel to the recording - ambient surface noise shifts and warps between elements, and live FX pop and duck in and amongst instrument strikes giving the work a rolling, hypnotic feel. It's a deep and fully realised piece of music - wonderfully three dimensional in it's execution, and a striking homage to the artist's wide frame of refer-ence.

On his remix, legendary synthesiser enthusiast Legowelt draws for a characteristically Sci-Fi finish, in keeping with the best of celebrated output for Clone, L.I.E.S., Creme Organisation and more. Maintaining the tempo of the origi-nal piece, but augmenting the work with a growling Reece bassline and hazy lead synths, the Dutch producer care-fully shifts Keshvara's recording up a gear. Where Creators of The Rain began life as a grooving, Hip Hop indebted piece of World Music - immediate but markedly laid-back in it's execution - Danny Wolfers injects a more anthemic, uplifting sentiment, highlighting the dub elements with a delayed drum machine line and pushing the vocals back with a touch of reverb to give his glorious synth-work space to breathe. It's a wonderful take on an already accom-plished piece of music; respectful but inspired - and no doubt some of the Hardware Occultist's finest work.

The optimum effect of Music of the Five Elements will be achieved if each side of this recording is played through, from beginning to end without interruption. Music of the Five Elements, when used as a meditational or body work tool, rather than entertainment, will increase in effect over time. Overplaying or improper use, however, may eventually diminish its designed effect'
.
Music is the healing force of the universe. It's an ancient idea bandied about by Pythagoras and Plato. In the last century, music as medication has been explored by musicians as diverse as Albert Ayler, Spacemen 3 and Pauline Oliveros. Nowhere did this concept gain more traction than in the so-called realm of New Age Music, an entire movement of synth droners and echoey flautists recording home-baked healing mantras on 4-track. In recent years, thanks to cassette collecting devotees and open-minded music journalists, New Age has shed its flowing robes and is being mined for the truly incredible music that swells under its pastel surface. Musician/acupressurist Sam McClellan's 1982 Music of the Five Elements is one of those revelatory discoveries, an unrivalled work of intense research and focus, simultaneously a near perfect work of art and a scientifically sound elixir for body and mind.

After studying electronic composition at Hampshire College with Randall McClellan (no relation), Sam McClellan became intrigued with the possibilities of healing through music. He explored this idea by applying the ancient Chinese philosophy of medicine to the principles of musical composition. Using the pentatonic scale (the traditional scale of Chinese music), McClellan related each of the notes to one of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal Water), and created five variations for each. He experimented with tempo, beat, pitch, duration, and sound quality, studying the effect on people's energy levels. Using the results of his tests he developed a comprehensive theory of sonic healing and spent the next year composing an album designed to help people achieve inner balance, reducing anxiety and energy depletion.

Music of the Five Elements is not only the acoustic massage' that McClellan set out to make, but is a fully realized and peerless piece of music. Taking cues from Minimalism, American Primitive guitar (Fahey & Basho) and even psychedelia, the album is a continuous sound voyage for voice, synthesizer, guitar, bowed bass, piano, effects and ciao (Chinese flute) all played by McClellan himself. Although divided into sections, the journey is best undertaken as a whole, without distraction.

Intimate November tour also announced After their 2012 Mercury Prize nominated debut and 2015's Top 20 follow-up 'Born Under Saturn', musical adventurers Django Django are back for 2017, exploring new sounds with their brand new album 'Marble Skies' which will be released on January 26th on Because Music. Today the album launches with first single 'Tic Tac Toe', a rousing, trippy upbeat rock track with an enormous echoing hookline which will excite fans of the band's rockabilly-influenced elements. The accompanying video for 'Tic Tac Toe' was directed by John Maclean, brother of Django Django drummer/producer David Maclean and director of the critically acclaimed modernist western 'Slow West'. It depicts vocalist/guitarist Vincent Neff enjoying a rapid-fire day-trip to Hastings which takes a turn into the surreal and sinister when a ghost train puts him on a collision course with a grim reaper inspired by Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal. As John Maclean explains: The film could be about the fading era of the beach arcades, time moving too fast, love and games, horror and happiness but it is actually about a man who needs to go buy a pint of milk to make a cup of tea.' After the brilliant, rave-shaped grooves and expansive arrangements of its predecessor, 'Marble Skies' is a more concise and focused offering which recalls the dynamic, genre-blurring music of their debut. It's a return to form, an album which finds them returning to the handmade, cut-and-paste approach of the past. Upon finishing the 'Born To Saturn' tour, Dave ventured to LA to work on a production project, whilst the other band members went to India with the British Council. When they returned, the new album process began with a back-to-basics approach which recalled the DIY ethos of the band's early days, Django Django - minus an absent Maclean - assembled at Urchin Studios in Tottenham, London with Metronomy drummer Anna Prior to experiment with the idea of coming up with new tracks through loose jamming sessions. After ten days of recording, there was plenty of raw material to send up to Dave (then back in his hometown of Dundee) for him to edit, refine and evolve. As ever, all four band members (completed by Tommy Grace on synths and bassist Jimmy Dixon) contributed to the band's music, melodies and lyrics as the final album took shape. Parts of 'Marble Skies' find Django Django sailing into uncharted territories, not least the driving title track (propelled by Prior's drumming), with its echoes of Krautrock and Suicide. Meanwhile, the hazy Zombies-like summer pop of 'Champagne', which explores the joys and ills of alcohol, was inspired by the band's over-indulgence during a boat trip on the Seine that was hosted by their label. Those drawn to the more dance-orientated side of Django Django will find much to love in the twisted '80s electro pop of 'In Your Beat' and the dancehall-influenced 'Surface To Air', a dreamy-headed pop song fronted by Rebecca Taylor of Slow Club. The collaboration came as a result of the two bands meeting up at SXSW some years ago, where Rebecca and Dave in particular bonded over shared interests in R&B, hip-hop and dancehall. Another more surprising collaborator is Jan Hammer, the Czech-born, American-based jazz-fusion and electronic artist who shares writing credits with the band on the gorgeously floaty 'Sundials'. If there's a mood running through 'Marble Skies', it's one of reflection on things past and present, and finding some kind of peace with your place in the grand scheme of things.

(Disclaimer: release notes refer to the combined CD double-album release "Hot Flash: Best of The Voltags" on which all tracks appear together. "Electric Nightmare" and "Danger High Voltag" are released separately on vinyl format)

It does not happen that often any more that unreleased music from 40 years ago surfaces. Even more unlikely it is that the songs put on tape are such treasures. The Voltags were right at the forefront of the local Washington DC New Wave/Punk scene of the late 1970s. Influenced by Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, The Clash, and The B-52's, they have released only one 45rpm single during their existence. But during the time span of not even 18 months, they had recorded enough material for an entire album - but the songs remained in the can.

This is the story of The Voltags, a short-lived band which could have become famous and mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned music legends of that era - if their songs had been released back in the day. Dive in and enjoy the sound of The Voltags, it is truly special. We here at Perfect Toy are thrilled to be label to finally release their work and we sincerely hope that they are finally getting the appreciation they so richly deserve.

Detailed information:
Dave Bennett and Hangnail Phillips grew up in Brookside Park, Newark, Delaware, USA, a small suburban college town nestled midway between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Their first band project evolved into Pump Productions (Pump) under which they released their only 45rpm single in 1970 (one of the two songs, "Pappy's Rug", can be heard on "Down & Wired 3", Perfect Toy Rec.). Soon after the recording of the single the two graduated from High School and disbanded Pump. Both moved on to form two new Newark bands. Dave was a founding member of "Snake Grinder & The Shredded Fieldmice" and Hangnail co-founded "Rudy Baker & The Vegetables".

In early 1979, two friends of Dave's, Nick Norris and Mike Fisher, became partners in a music production company, White Clay Productions. One of White Clay's first artists was Dave Bennett who had just written two excellent songs: "Electric Jungle" and "Son Of Sam". White Clay set up a recording session and Dave assembled a group of friends to record the songs. Before the recordings were even mixed, Dave asked Hangnail if he would join in a band to support the single and other songs he had written. When James Keesey (drums) and Rick Reid (bass) were added the line-up was complete. For a while they didn't have a name and then one day Nick Norris was looking at a photo of Dave standing next to a "Danger High Voltage" sign. Dave's head was in front of the E in Voltage and Nick laughed "Danger High Voltag" and so it was soon suggested that the band should be called "The Voltags" (pronounced Vol'-togs). After months of preparing a repertoire they were ready to play out. Their first gig was (October 20, 1979) at a gay disco in nearby Wilmington called The Backstage. On December 30, 1979, White Clay decided to put on a big show at the State Theater to celebrate the end of the Seventies ("The End Of The Decade Bash").

For the next year, with the help of White Clay, they recorded 19 songs, both studio and live recordings with White Clay's mobile unit. If not for these "off the board" recordings, many of their songs would have never been recorded. There was always talk of a second Voltags single but the strains of working so closely together were taking their toll on them and Dave decided to leave the group in December of 1980. The Voltags couldn't be The Voltags without Dave, and by the end of 1981, Hangnail, James and Rick, too, were ready to disband.


- all songs previously unreleased
- mastered from the original reel-to-reel tapes
- limited vinyl release

'Y.O.U' is an emotive album of tripped out ambient hip hop instrumentals by FROM, written and recorded in the mid 90s under Trevor Jackson's infamous production persona The Underdog. Originally planned as a vocally-led, song-based project that should've surfaced between his production for The Brotherhood's legendary British hip hop album 'Elementalz' in 1996 and his acclaimed debut PLAYGROUP release in 2001, for multiple reasons it hasn't seen the light of day, until now.
Only Available as a ultra limited edition Vinyl and CD release, the LP consists of 11 tracks. Dream-like synth lines, ambient melodies, blissful guitars, raw beats and soft, fractured vocals draw you into a hallucinatory 12bit world. Drawing on Jackson's progressive and jazz rock influences as well as psychedelia and early electronics, the album closes with 'Belladonna'- a piano-sampled homage to the east coast golden age hip hop pioneers. NB: The CD features a longer version of 'Veratrum' not available on the vinyl version. All created on an Akai S950 mono sampler (limited to only 20 seconds sampling time), an Akai MG1212 12 channel mixer (which recorded on Betamax style tapes) and primitive outboard gear, Jackson honed his skills from his bedroom, where he produced the majority of his output at the time. With a huge collection of obscure vinyl, he dug deep into uncharted territories for samples and sound clips
- using material no one knew about (or would think about touching) in the mid 90s. The Underdog's initial releases were on Jackson's own Bite It! recordings label, which was started in 1991. A unique platform for UK hip hop with a visual aesthetic and ethos more akin to ECM and Factory
than other rap labels, its mission was to push artists beyond musical and cultural limitations prevalent at the time.
Home to artists like The Brotherhood, Scientists of Sound, Little Pauly Ryan and Lewis Parker (who later signed to Massive Attack's Melancholic label), Bite It! became a great success;
finally British rap had artists and releases that looked and sounded as good as their revered American counterparts. In 1993 Richard Russell (who had just started running XL recordings) asked Trevor to remix House of Pain, resulting in a top ten record, which helped launch Jackson's musical career via further remixes Massive Attack, Run DMC, U2, The Cure and countless others. Off the back of his remix success, The Brotherhood signed a deal in 1994 with Virgin Records. Their 'ELEMENTALZ' album was produced by Jackson and is still lauded by many as one of the finest British hip hop albums of all time.
Jackson continued to remix and produce as The Underdog until managerial issues forced him out of the project he'd been instrumental in instigating.
Soon after his close friend and manager tragically passed away - which when combined with the UK hip hop scene becoming increasingly volatile and the moral demise of rap culture in general - convinced Trevor to hang up his hip hop hat for good.
After leaving The Brotherhood he started Output Recordings. Internationally and sonically diverse, it gave Jackson a free reign to do as he pleased, with genre twisting releases from the likes of Fridge, Four Tet, Sonovac, Colder, his own PLAYGROUP project, The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem. With a non-compromising attitude, strong DIY aesthetic and consistently groundbreaking releases across its ten year life between 1996 and 2006, it became one of the most important and respected independent labels in the world.

From Philadelphia beatmaker Knxwledge has been bubbling beneath the surface in the virtual world. Making his name via Myspace, global mixes spinning around the world and with a Mary Anne Hobbs mix & plays from Benji B already under his belt hes ready to step up to the plate in 2010 with his first solo release. 15 tracks here of varying rhythmic structures, lengths and speeds which go way further than mere beats and snippets. Sloppy, on beat and off its all thrown in the beat blender. Tip!

"On Suicide's First Rehearsal Tapes, recorded in 1975, Alan Vega and Martin Rev create minimalist aural structures, traces of which would surface on their eponymous debut album, released on the Red Star label in late 1977.

These songs are not a sketchpad of semi-formed ideas. The First Rehearsal Tapes comprise an audio diary of two men out in the ether, measuring themselves as evolving individual artists and as a unit who would rely on inseparability to realize their unique and often confrontational mass in the decades to come. What the tapes also reveal is that Vega and Rev were compositionally ambitious, capable of melody and form, while resisting definition as they headed further into uncharted territory.

The First Rehearsal Tapes afford the listener a glimpse into the creative process of two groundbreaking, true art warriors with their swords and shields leaning against the practice room wall. To understand the absolute brilliance of Suicide's first album as well as their sonic adventures that followed, you have to start here with their earliest recordings."

- Henry Rollins (excerpt from the liner notes)

Released by Butter Sessions and Noise In My Head who are also known for their offshoot Efficient Space (Sky Girl, etc) - All Exclusive Tracks! Scratching the surface of Australia's independent electronic massive, Butter Sessions and Noise In My Head finally compile the second volume of Domestic Documents. Featuring all exclusive tracks, Perth godfather Ewan Jansen joins new WA blood Phil Stroud and Senate, respectively making hectic percussion tracks and hell bent techno, as Newcastle transplant Roman Nails emerges with his squelching one take tape experiments. Meanwhile in Melbourne, Fia Fiell's ambient mind maze and Butter Sessions alumni Booshank target the cerebral cortex, Hotrod goes full turbo and live/DJ wingmen Miris and Norachi share the same side of their vinyl debuts (alongside the freakishly underrated Colours of Infinity - aka Kloke). Kangaroo Skull and Cale Sexton fly the flag for Temporal Cast, the latter on a calming club collab with Sleep D. - Liner notes from Ivan Smagghe and artwork from Misha Hollenbach (Perks and Mini) - Features many rarities reissued for the first time ever (Karen Marks' most wanted Australian cold wave single last sold for 290€ while Once traded for 170€) - All tracks officially licensed, sourcing original masters when available - Includes digital download

Awake at an undefined hour. Floating between the realm of dreams and open awareness. Accept it — you're a headspace passenger. Talking to a machine is a thrill for a moment or two. You want to go out, need to get lost. It's still yet all under the surface ... but you know it's going to happen, eventually. What you need to do is: return to the same old place. What you think is:

I hope the roof flies off, and I get sucked up into space.

This is the debut album by Berlin-based musician and futurist Andre´ Uhl. Crackling noise, moody arpeggios, and haunting melodies tell tales of the hazy past, moving into the twilight of the future. Each of the 13 songs is a dark and cinematic piece on it's own - altogether combined a compelling story, here for the listener to explore.

The album is available digitally and on vinyl in a limited edition of 300 copies, including a booklet of 13 short stories by different writers like the Czech visual artist and poet Katarina Hruskova, Berlin-based subcultural magickian Daniel Jones, and the British novelist Chris Brownsword - each story inspired by one of the 13 songs. I hope the roof flies off, and I get sucked up into space is the first trueness presented by Neofakt, a new label for audio, text and visual art.

MICK HARRIS (SCORN, QUOIT, PAINKILLER) returns after several years of hiatus with ten tracks of blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms.I've been asked to write a press piece for the dark lord MICK HARRIS.Where does one even start Especially for someone with decades of releases over various solo projects, collaborations and pseudonyms, whether it's doing blast beats in the original NAPALM DEATH to crushing techno brutality as MONRELLA, or savage drum & bass as QUOIT. Then of course there's the mighty SCORN and his numerous collaborations with fellow luminaries such as JOHN ZORN and BILL LASWELL (in PAINKILLER).Rather than being tied to genres or scenes, MICK HARRIS is one of those producers who creates a whole sonic world uniquely of his own, in which varying tracks, styles and tempos take form, but yet in which everything sounds unmistakably characteristic of the creator. Needless to say his work has influenced legions of producers like SURGEON, REGIS, ONTAL, VATICAN SHADOW / PRURIENT, FAUSTEN, SHAPEDNOISE et al, and pretty much anyone in the world of powerfully dark, abrasive music you could name-drop. And yet after all this time, it is impressive that HARRIS still stands way above his successors and has never been surpassed in his own production/performance game.After a hiatus of several years, he is back with a new album under the guise of FRET.Working at a faster tempo than his SCORN material, the FRET project first surfaced years ago on the DOWNWARDS label, rooting it firmly in the dark, industrial and technoid world, and appeared more recently on Tresor (Kern mix by OBJEKT), maintaining the characteristic colossal bass-heaviness and textural depth.And now a full album on KARLRECORDS, Berlin. HARRIS fans will be delighted to know that despite the 130 bpm tempo, the newest FRET still resolutely avoids any straight four-on-the-floor kickdrums, every track lurches, stumbles, staggers and charges forth with beats in beautifully broken asymmetry.We get 10 tracks of crushing, percussive destroyers, each itself a storm of precision chaos, with colossal low-end frequencies that'll cause stampedes in the right circumstances. The classic HARRIS sound is there, searing waves of feedback distortion, intricate, interlocking rhythms and cold, abattoir atmospheres, especially track 6 "Stuck in the track at Salford Priors" which sounds like you're being continuously suspended in the air from multiple explosions all around, each kickdrum throwing you up in the air, the next one going off before you can fall completely back to the ground.The lazy-minded would probably lump it in with the term "techno", but the disciplined brutality, blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms are clearly HARRIS' own trademark style, sitting somewhere between SCORN and QUOIT.The tracks appear deceptively chaotic on the surface, yet each is meticulously and masterfully composed with great attention to layering and detail. MICK HARRIS fans rejoice, the dark lord still remains at the top of his game.

(Derek Szeto / Fausten / Combat Recordings)

lvin Toffler was overwhelmed. When in the morning of October 4th, 1988-it was his 60th birthday-he was starring with a still somewhat absent look into a bowl of cornflakes, he thought that in the surface structure of the yellowish shimmering milk which was making an emulsion with the maple syrup and slowly but irreversibly corroding the crunchy crystals on the flakes, he could see through a window into a timeless dimension. Toffler, who at that time had reached the peak of his fames as a future scientist, was sustainably disturbed from his peek into this extra temporary peephole. In none of his books-'Future Shock' had just been released with yet another edition featuring a proud printed note on the book cover stating 'more than 5 million copies in print'-did he ever mention this occurrence. Even after his death in June 2016, no note on this incident could ever be found in his estate. The 'flake dimension' as Toffler called it in notes which were later shredded remains a secret of opaque, hard-to-grasp radiant power.

Maybe it's too simple to describe 'Pneumatics' as a creation coming from this cornflake world Without doubt. Are there any more precise terms or instruments to determine the multifacetedness and beyond-timeliness of the 'Pneumatics' soundscape There are still unknown. 'Pneumatics' is, after releases at Innervisions, Die Orakel und his own label Sound Mirror, the debut album of Orson Wells (as long as you don't count in 'Jupiter' - Wells's first LP which was released in 2014 with 48 copies on cassette-have fun digging for rarities and bargains!).
Perhaps Wells, known in Frankfurt under his real name Lennard Poschmann and as an employee at the record store Tactile, is only a messenger. Or a psychic. The sound manifesto that he apparently transmits from Toffler's secret dimension tells of a city of upside down pyramids ('Tianon'), of passes into the land of the five elements ('Multipass') and dead straight four-to-the-floor lines which appear bended within the spherical dimension (''Geodesic'). These beats are right on the heels of the ones of Intersteller Fugitives; the strings sound like that at any moment a vocal sample edited by Moodyman could warp over through the Cornflake wormhole. Pneumatics is the science of all technological applications powered by condensed and often by quite heated air. It is a matter of mechanics, compression, jackhammer, ramblings, high pressure levels, valves for blowing of steam. On 'Pneumatics' it's all about this. And more. Orson Wells's album gets to the point of the post-retro futuristic state of the dancefloors of the house and techno clubs of this planet. It is like a peek into another dimension, right on the golden cut of spacetime geometry.

Musically and emotionally, Superpitcher's third full-length studio album, The Golden Ravedays is a one sound autobiography that exhibits the skill, feeling and style that the artist has honed over a period of twenty years, musically, and forty-plus-years, emotionally.

And full-length it is:

The Golden Ravedays is an epic album of 24 tracks that was released in January 2017 and is stretching over 12 respective chapter albums during a one-year period.
The sixth piece of The Golden Ravedays puzzle will be released on Hippie Dance in June 2017.

Number 6 of the series introduces two further tracks of the sound adventure that Superpitcher is taking us on this year.
Side A features Protest Song. If music is a way of transporting us to other places, Protest Song takes us to a desolate, scary and loveless environment, a burnt-down, burnt-out place where the flesh of its former inhabitants is smouldering, void of goodwill and kindness in a cloud of toxic and greedy smoke. It's all Kafka and Orwell and Suffering - the most twisted and eerie track so far in The Golden Ravedays saga. What is undeniably clear is an acute sense of regret and loss - a warning that it could have been avoided, had we only listened to our hearts and protested.
In the same vein on Side B we hear powerful Resistance. Produced after the Paris attacks of 2015 Superpitcher outdid himself with this strong message of Resistance. Where Protest Song paints a picture of under-worldly doom, Resistance's techno beat and insistent refrain sweeps us to the surface of the muck of hatred and intolerance we've politically been dumped in. A voice that seems like a trapped animal is calling out to us. What is it trying to say Is it crying out for help Is that animal all of us Resistance represents hope and encouragement and could be the perfect marching track to any demonstration against negative forces. Much needed in this age of bigotry where it seems like time has leaped backwards to a darker side of history. As for the dancefloor - Resistance is irresistible!

A FISTFUL OF WAX is an extension for some very special projects of our beloved deep house SKYLAX RECORDS' sub - label WAX CLASSIC. A Fistful of Wax is back with its fourth volume! This offshoot originally began as an avenue for showing off some of the overflowing great talent we have floating about the Wax Classic sub-label, but with the growing reception of our previous three releases, it has developed itself into its own uniquely successful imprint. In a time when a lot of the hot records of the moment are made by highly distinguished producers with years of success under their belts, it is easy to forget how much good house music can come out of the underground by relatively fresh names. With AFX4, we are only scratching the surface once again, yet we have 5 special tracks from a group of producers who, if not already, will stay on your radar for the foreseeable future.The A side features tracks from Erman & Abtomat (of Série Limitée Records fame) and Kid Mark (Head honcho of Killax Recordings). We start off deep with the aptly named 'How Deep Can You Go', easily the most soothing of the bunch. 'Fantasy '95' takes it up a notch for those who wish to, with classic 90s chords and accompanying bass and horns. Over on the flip side, we hear 'Won't Get To Heaven' by Californian newcomer, An Expresso. Being a self confessed New Jersey style house addict, this hits in all the right places for those familiar with the sounds of NJ legend George Lockett Jr, aka Jerzzey Boy. Shin continues things with 'Phara', a percussive stormer with one of the hardest hitting leads you will hear for a good while. This one is a sure fire hit! Last, but by no means least is Rosenhaft's 'Voyager'. Fans of early UK Garage, perk up your ears because this could have easily been a tune you would have heard on your favourite pirate radio station back in '97.If you are still on the fence about the record at this point, you are in the wrong place. This record has it all for lovers of the 90s house sound! Whether you are of the deeper persuasion or the more garagey persuasion, the US or the UK side of things, there is something here for almost everyone on A Fistful of Wax 4.

New comers Laughing Man and Noah Skelton release their 'Element EP', on Silencio.
The first track, 'Element', is a collaboration between the two artists. This combined effort rumbles into the clearing, dragging the dance floor and its occupants along with it for a riveting ride throughout its duration. A beguiling bass line, complimented by underlying ethereal sounds, seamlessly contrasts and connects to form a compelling rhythm. Riddled with space age laser samples that periodically bubble to the surface, this track consistently pulls listeners in by pushing out good vibrations.
On Side B Laughing Man goes solo with the second track '1939'. This dynamic offering is a model of contemplative creation that basks in its own thought provoking ambience. A series of scintillating samples, echoing in waves of varying intensity, are served up with satisfying drums and a clever assortment of claps. This release has a way of finding your mind and marinating in the sub-conscious because it's just that deep.

This highly anticipated release by Los Angeles based artist, AXKAN, delivers a powerful message to the techno underground, letting everyone know this record hasn't come to this point by mistake. With powerful remixes by Luis Flores, Pinion and RolandoHödar to support, AXKAN delivers a strong statement with 'Tension', a techno masterpiece with broken industrial rhythms that is bound to shake floors, and crack the surface. He masterfully creates some true and raw emotion, with his dark, sinister and gritty sounds that is guaranteed to grab attention from the beginning. Axkan's self-confident creativity, however didn't come alone. Techno heavyweight Luis Flores provided a remix that is nothing short of spectacular. He encapsulates Axkan's raw, dark noises, and completely manipulates them into a gnarled and twisted rendition. Pinion's remix perfectly complements the release in a cohesive way to get the dance floor moving. His unique characteristics include a deadly vicious groove with glitchy vocals combined with deep melodies. Aerotek founder, RolandoHödar, had to get his hands in there, with his industrial techno breaks remix to add to this ferocious ride. With all tracks united together, this EP is rooted with serious energy and will undoubtedly tear speakers apart. It exploits experimental to traditional 4X4 percussion workouts and is definitely worth listening.

REISSUE OF SUPER-RARE ALBUM WHICH SELLS FOR SILLY MONEY ON DISCOGS.
REISSUED FOR RSD AUSTRALIA 2017..NOW WE HAVE A FEW COPIES FOR EUROPE..LIMITED
For decades the mysterious Hiroshi & Claudia LP has been an elusive jewel amongst the curious world of Australian private press LPs. With nothing more than cryptic broken-English album sleeve notes to reference, the mythical Six To Six LP is a bewildering and intriguing jazz oddity. With prices of the rare original record hitting three figures, collectors began demanding to know who was 'Hiroshi', who was 'Claudia' and why did a group of unknown Japanese musicians record an album in Australia in the late 1970s only to issue it in micro-quantities, then seemingly disappear back into obscurity. For years no trace of whom they were nor any clue as to the origins of their peculiar yet entrancing music had surfaced. Until now....

Welcome to the brainchild of Gilles Germain and Carmen Fabro, a French/Italian husband and wife team of restaurateurs and film producers operating in Sydney during the 1970s. Establishing the custom record label 'Atom', the duo released a handful of highly obscure vanity jazz LPs and promotional horse racing 45s. (Yes it's all very strange...) The highlight undoubtedly being the album Six To Six, a session recorded in Sydney in 1979 by a group of touring Japanese jazz musicians led by guitarist Hiroshi Yasukawa, and a forgotten and still undocumented Mauritian cabaret singer performing under the alias 'Claudia'. Sitting somewhere between spacey Balearic disco, haunting soul and hectic funk reminiscent of electric Miles Davis, the Six To Six LP is a curious beast to say the least.

Released specially for Record Store Day 2017 Northside Records and The Roundtable present a limited edition exact reissue of this legendary Australian rare groove LP.  

Ricky L and Marcoradi have been friends for as long as they can remember. They frst met on the dancefoor of one of Italy's most iconic clubs, Red Zone in Perugia, where Ricky has been a resident DJ for the best part of 25 years. Now, they've joined forces in the studio for the frst time, uniting under the Hear &
Now alias for Claremont 56. Those with a keen knowledge of Italian dance music will know their impressive track records. Both have a history of producing fne deep house records and remixes for the likes of Ibadan, Uomo, Reincarnation, Top Tracks, Restricted Tracks and Vega Records. With Hear & Now, they've decided to step back from the dancefoor, instead producing hazy, emotion-rich music for after-hours listening, and mornings spent blinking into the sunshine. A-side 'Hirundo' is a thing of rare beauty: a gently fowering opus constructed from shuffing, mind-massaging drum rhythms, spacey pads, stretched-out
organ chords and Marcoradi's effortless guitar playing. Lilting, alien synthesizer refrains seemingly tumble from the heavens, intensifying the duo's blissful mood. Flip for an even deeper excursion, the softly spun wizardry of 'Sabbia Magica'.
Here, the duo's house infuences gently rise to the surface. This is slow, deep and dreamy house from the top drawer, with jazz-fecked guitar fourishes and undulating electronics combining effortlessly with hypnotic, metronomic drums,
cascading string lines and a wonderfully dexterous electronic bassline. You can dance if you wish, but you may just want a hug instead.

Music has always coursed through Roman Lindau's blood. Even if he weren't the accomplished producer and respected DJ he is today, the German audiophile would still be spending all his money on the stuff; giving over all his time to the art form. ''I'm a music junkie. I need music to live'' he states matter-of-factly. ''For me it's the elixir of life.''

Good job, then, that he gets to spend his ..

Roman Lindau is a German techno DJ, artists and producer, as well as being a core member of the infamous Fachwerk Records from Berlin.

Music has always coursed through Roman's veins ever since he was a young boy so it is no suprise that he became the accomplished producer and highly respected DJ that he is today.

In the late 2000´s Lindau became active in the Berlin electronic music scene, beginning to play music in clubs as well as producing his own music.
The first track he released in 2008 on his home label Fachwerk Records appeared in one the world famous Berghain Mix Compilations, mixed by Len Faki.
Following from this Berghain invited Roman to contribute an exclusive Track for Ben Klock´s Berghain Mix in 2009. After this success the gates opened for him to play regularly as a DJ at Berghain.

At the same time he continued to work on music for Fachwerk Records. He produced dance floor smashers like ´Crasse´ in 2011 and ´Rave on´ in 2014, which were charted by the likes of Ben Klock, Sven Väth & Chris Liebing, afirming his deserved place amongst the techno elite.

More recently in 2015 the well known Victor Calderone from NYC invited Roman to release on his label Matter+.

The reason why Roman is such a great DJ is because of the fact he knows what the people want! ''I love to dance and that's very important: as DJ you need to feel what the crowd want so you can help them to party and have fun.''
Combining a varied selection of raw house and techno in his sets, recent bookings have taken Roman across the world; from the hallowed techno Mecca that is Berghain to dark underground clubs as part of the recent Fachwerk label tour.
He has performed at every legendary Berlin venue, past and present from Tresor to Berghain, and it is this that gives Roman the edge above the rest. If you can do it there, you can do it anywhere!
From 2014 Till the closing he was a resident DJ at Stattbad, one of Berlins findest adress for Electronic Music.

After These Hidden Hands re-surfaced earlier this year with the collaborative single These Moments Dismantled featuring Lucrecia Dalt, Tommy Four Seven and Alain Paul a.k.a. Shards are set to release Vicarious Memories, their second full length LP, on August 8th 2016. Vicarious Memories builds substantially upon the sound forged with their debut album and brings a considerable new level of detail, complexity, and musicality, which ranges from flowing mellifluous grooves, somber drones, to the outright bizarre and unexpected. Although loosely an instrumental electronic album, the album makes extensive use of guitar and vocals and features prominent guest vocal contributions from underground Berlin based musicians Julia Kotowski and Ale Hop. The album's preceding single, SZ31X71, a track which features on the LP is out July 11th, featuring a remix by revered Tri Angle artist, Roly Porter. Vicarious Memories will be released via the group's own imprint, Hidden Hundred available both digitally and as a 12 vinyl LP featuring gatefold cover art by Norwegian illustrator Anders Røkkum. Vital Sales Points: - Upcoming press: The Quietus, Thump, I-D Magazine, XLR8R, Future Music, Boiler Room, Mixmag, Resident Advisor, Ransom Note, Tsugi, Rockerilla & more - These Hidden Hands play Berlin Atonal, August 2016

De Sluwe Vos (Dutch for 'The Sly Fox', a name derived from Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Crow) is the newest addition to the Dutch house and techno scene. His productions are supported by artists such as DJ Sneak, Joy Orbison, Boddika andBicep. Moreover, De Sluwe Vos has a packed tour schedule and travels many miles for all his national and international gigs.

With strong hooks and dirty kicks as his specialities, De Sluwe Vos has released multiple tracks on labels like 4Lux and Slapfunk. Lately, this cheerful producer from Dutch city of Deventer has even been gaining a foothold in the pop scene. His gig at Noorderslag did not go unnoticed: national music platform 3voor12 named him the best act of the festival.

De Sluwe Vos mixes various styles to create his own 'signature sound' with which he manages to constantly keep himself at the center of attention. His 'OG Anthem' is possibly one of the most notable tracks of the moment, this underground hit found its way to the surface and received airplay on both Dutch radio station 3FM and BBC Radio1.

With his discography, De Sluwe Vos is constructing a steady career. But he's not one to stay hidden away in the studio: he's at his best when dominating dance floors in clubs and at festivals. His ultimate goal is to bring the crowd to a higher state of mind, where worries simply disappear and the music takes over. Time and time again, De Sluwe Vosprovides proof for the big bang theory with his performances. Whether it's at Awakenings Festival in the Netherlands or at Together Festival in Cardiff: during his shows he is pure energy. His duet between his Roland TR- 909 drum computer and turntables is always a bold endeavor, just like his stage diving.

The fact that he is a fixture of the club scene is proven by his monthly international gigs, his own night The Core and his notorious live act. With the audiovisual show 'Kontra live', De Sluwe Vos is well underway to becoming 'one of the greats'. And that's no fable!

'Escape from Reality' as first track, goes down as a bleeping submarine, deep diving into underwater caves where a slow and hypnotic rhythm reverberates through ears and mind. Second cut 'Alchemy' continues the interdimensional explorations, and after long intro, it gradually detaches from the surface reaching a leaden sky. Drums and claps alternates on a soundscape of constant roars, holding the track in a steady mesmerizing jingle. The B-side opens with 'Found Myself', edgy broken beat with a stronger and more club-oriented dynamism which finds its best shot in the last cut 'Chain Reaction'. A ravishing synthline drives through tribalesque drums, snares and thunderclaps to close the record with a mystic vibe....

Drew McDowall's back story reads like a primer of psychedelic fiction woven into statements of the unbelievable, superhuman and outright insane. Somewhere in the chaotic madness, comes an artist such as McDowall with total control and absolute calm within his songs and artistic method.

Growing up in the gangs of 1970's Scotland, Drew McDowall started to shy away from the daily violence once punk took hold of the counterculture youth. Drew McDowall quickly scrambled to form his own punk band in 1978 with his then wife, Rose McDowall, called The Poems. Shortly lived, the Poems released a single and various tracks but more importantly, the band allowed McDowall to network with other local musicians in Glasgow, such as Orange Juice, and allowed him to travel down to London thus forming friendships with Genesis P-Orridge, David Tibet and countless others, bringing Drew into the fold of the experimental revolution happening in the UK brought upon by Throbbing Gristle and executed by bands such as Psychic TV and Current 93.

During the 1980's, McDowall found himself in the ranks of P-Orridge's Psychic TV and collaborating with the mysterious duo comprised of former Throbbing Gristle creator Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and the enigmatic John Balance who had been creating esoteric and progressive electronic music under the title of Coil. It was during his formative collaborations with Coil that McDowall saw himself shift from occasional contributor to austere full-time member of the arcane outfit. McDowall's impact on the band's sound was apparent as the releases transformed from their previous avant pop signature to a more complex and methodic electronic imprint accompanied by even more abstruse subject matter than previous years. McDowall would continue honing his compositional skills with Coil until the release of the band's two most broad-minded albums, Astral Disaster and Musick to Play in the Dark.

The past decade, Drew McDowall found himself living in New York City and re-appropriating himself within the local music scenes he found himself contributing to. In 2011, alongside his friend and collaborator, Tres Warren (Psychic Ills), McDowall found himself exploring his passion of meditative drone and abstract sound patterns in their project Compound Eye. In recent times, McDowall's production work has provided the music world with some of the most outstanding remixes for bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Azar Swan and Long Distance Poison as well as his well-received scores he composed alongside artist Tamaryn for the works of Bret Easton Ellis. Outside of his collaborative duties, McDowall formed an audience as a solo artist, playing countless performances and showcases around New York's electronic music haunts.

Dais Records approached Drew to solidify his standing as a leading electronic musician with the recording of new material neatly wrapped up in his debut album entitled 'Collapse'. Recorded in 2015 in Brooklyn, NY, McDowall's synonymous modular synthesizer compositions are augmented by obtuse sampling cut-ups and contributions from Nicky Mao (Hiro Kone / Effi Briest) rounding out the lumbering sequential knot work that has become synonymous with McDowall and craft.

"Aquatic System"" is the second installment of the series, written and composed in two remote geographical places - namely at waters in Finland and Fuerteventura. Inspired by the complexity of water, its movement, various forms, inhabitants and hidden energy, the album was assembled mainly using synthesizers and processed field recordings of the ponds, streams, lakes and oceans of the different locations. With a vibrant story and conceptualization the focus lies in taking the listener on a observing, thoughtful and reflective journey through the aquatic system of our waters. Aquatic System opens with an impression of a frozen surface imagining icy and calm underwater movements underneath. Soon a slow process of melting begins and while the water starts to move in tiny streams of sound, small lifeforms evolve, curiously sending out small pulses in their flowing and constantly moving habitat. The aquatic nature awakens. Zooming out to larger waters high frequencies arise and colliding forms become audible. Larger marine life forms can be faintly heard when entering a much wilder environment, sensing sound-swirls of wind, foaming water tops and impressive large waves crashing on dark rocks. Finally ending at the shore, where the great ocean appears on the horizon, the environment is surrounded with moisture. From the calm reflective landscape derives an inward moment, recalling the organic and atmospheric quality of the sound journey. ""Aquatic System"" has been developed into an audiovisual performance together with visual artist Emilia Kwiatkowska and was performed several times in Spain and Finland, before the music has been finalized for the tracks.

Droid Behavior's Luis Flores comes through with a 2-track ace for the label's 20th vinyl release, Static Forces. Negative Pressure (A1) starts off with a brewing undercurrent of bass and hypnotically builds into a dizzied cavern of competing sonic forces and reverberant whispered utterances. Surface Tension (B1) takes an alluring shaken groove and reveals its drive as its elements make their way to the front, slowly pushing the track's rhythmic intensity. Two tracks for long play and lost minds.

As one of contemporary alternative music's most elusive figures, Dean Blunt returns on Black Metal and delivers his most assured and ambitious record to date for Rough Trade. An album of two halves; the crestfallen baritone on Blow is juxtaposed by the inner-city sermonising of Grade, just as the melancholic strumming of 50 Cent gets rattled by the unrelenting stagger of Mersh. With ominous narratives of hunger and loneliness rumbling underneath the gloomy surface, Black Metal is a moonlit cruise through Blunt's cloudy metropolis. There's no telling where he'll go next, but this is one of his finest trips to date

Scuba Death is Ricardo Donoso's alter ego. With more of a focus on analog sound, percussion, sampling, and location recordings, there is an organic undercurrent on Scuba Death recordings that isn't as prevalent in his solo work. This music is rich in atmosphere while still tethered to the deeper ideas that Donoso often explores in his work. Treatises on fear and death­anxiety, the underlining thematic framework for the project, run rampant throughout these claustrophobic electronic passages, and teeter on the edge of being oppressive. Nitrogen Narcosis marks the first full length and strongest statement in the Scuba Death repertoire after the privately issued, ruthless 'Demon Seed' twelve inch back in 2011. The album alternates between surprising lethargic dance inflections all nestled between 75 & 100 bpm, the normal resting heart rate for adults, and the more conceptual, numbness­inducing pieces like '50­-70 Meters' and 'Nociception.' Sequencing plays an integral role on Nitrogen Narcosis as the listener is suddenly thrust into the darkest reaches of the ocean after dark alley grooves are sucked into an aquatic abyss. For a project named after Donoso's near­drowning experience in the South Atlantic when he was younger, there's an impressive amount of reflection & vulnerability present - the field recordings that permeate throughout the album were captured at the same location the undertow caught hold of him that bright Summer day 20 years prior. An inner battle between paranoia and euphoria is played out in well­conceived, precision sonics on Nitrogen Narcosis as Donoso reminds us to look back, break through the surface and go deeper.

Visibility Is A Trap is the new EP by Dalhous, comprised of four originals together with a masterfully understated Regis remix of 'He Was Human And Belonged With Humans'. The EP heralds the arrival of the Edinburgh-based project's sophomore album, Will To Be Well, due out on Blackest Ever Black in early Summer 2014. Dalhous first announced its existence in 2012 with the Mitchell Heisman 10', and last year released its debut full-length: An Ambassador For Laing. Both Visibility Is A Trap and the upcoming Will To Be Well LP reflect writer-producer Marc Dall's continued interest in the language and imagery of self-help, R.D. Laing and the anti-psychiatry movement. Though recorded after Will To Be Well, the tracks on Visibility Is A Trap at first appear to have more in common with the blue ethereal drift of Ambassador. While 'Information Is Forever' and 'A Change Of Attitude' are firmly in the ambient mode, 'Active Discovering' fizzes with arpeggiated energy, and a battery of percussion disrupts the calm surface of 'Sight Of Hirta'. Something is up. All is not as it seems. The Regis remix of Ambassador highlight 'He Was A Human And Belonged With Humans' finds Karl O'Connor in unusually pensive mood. In fact this near-beatless, dubwise version is unlike anything he has put his name to before. Discarding the rhythmic skeleton of Dalhous's original, he gives their weeping saxophone more space to roam and resonate, adding off-beat, sleep-deprived keys, murmured vocal fragments and swells of sub-bass pressure. It could be construed as a love letter to his former home in West Berlin; certainly it evokes and effortlessly updates the drugsick grandeur of later Neubauten or Low side 2.

So it seems that 2013 was the year Skudge team decided to camp by the pressing plant! The Skudge imprint is indeed growing along its artists as we're now ready to embrace longer formats, a testimony to the future and most than anything a continuous effort to grasp the present's relevancy.
After their wonderful EP from a year ago, the Fishermen are ready to take you on a diving trip with their very first album, an accomplishment in itself With 'Patterns and Paths', Thomas Jaldemark (YTA) and Martin Skoggehall (MRSK, Smell The Flesh) have crafted a rather mesmerizing story of abstract and figurative tropes altogether, and eerie is probably the best word to describe the general mood of this, but hard and raw eeriness! The affair starts with 'Green Horn', a gentle foreplay setting the tone for an imminent journey into the lightless abysses. 'Hope Is gone' further enhances the incoming grim turn of events in a coil-like fashion before 'Serpents' makes our feet and hips take over our fear of the unknown. The trance has indeed begun and we're soon entering a hidden warehouse rave cave of un-earthy shamanism, the unforgiving stomp of 'Get None'. 'Dyspnea' manages to find a path into deeper regions the groove shift towards a darker funk with 'Lost Teeth', a caribbean techno banger that'd wake any zombie in the making! 'The Four Skulls' suddenly hints of a safer journey with healing percs and melancholic pads, but 'Rise' soon shatters those false hopes with an evil lurking motoric groove. Then, you hit 'Scurvy' where the pace slows down a little only to introduce the seductive side of this gloomy adventure, a challenge to you feet inducing lascivious moves. Keeping you in trance, 'In Solitude' kind of combines both previous tracks strengths with an added Twin Peaks value. Now finally reaching the far bottom of the ocean, the mood gets even more claustrophobic with 'Sunken Mosque', the last stage of this trance before maybe getting back to the surface. Indeed, if 'Torments' might let you catch a breath of air, it is filled with minerals, the world above has changed, and you might very well feel safer back under the water, a reverse mirror to Mike Ink's old Gas project. While this tour guide concludes his narration, the Skudge camp proudly hopes to see you embark on it very soon!