Techno / House

Modern Love with a new 7” series reserved for asymmetric bangers and pop diversions, opening with a double A-side from Andy Stott, his first single in 11 years. Inna bare, dancehall style ‘Out (Version)’ on the A side feels out skeletal drums and stabs for a pure adrenaline rush in the dance. On the AA, ’Love (Version)’ cranks martial drums for propulsion; a euphoric rhythm searching for a vocal. Aye it’s a special one. Some heat coming in this series, keep it locked.

Dancefloor fire bombs from Kolt, a DJ and producer thus far mostly operating under the crew name Blacksea Não Maya (with Perigoso and Noronha). This is his first Retirement record. No quotation marks here, Kolt is actually stepping down from a fruitful decade-long career as DJ and producer. Fat, techno-ish, idiosyncratic big room afro mind melt sounding like no other hyped or non-hyped dance cuts out there. Futuristic and decidedly non-European in structure, this set of 4 tracks carries a more synthetic DNA than previous material, if we exclude his quasi-gothic slow burners in BNM's "Máquina de Vénus" LP. But in "Verdadeiro" Kolt is all virtual open arms and bare chest, appearing to satirize this idea of the megastar DJ. But what comes across is distinctive and alive (consequently deadly on the club sound system), wiping out the floor of any zombie-preset-DJ vibes. Take "Bateste" as an example: an evil bassline, wtf beeps, a vocal snippet prodding the dancers and a final blissful 30 seconds to ease you out. "Shaman" is the final track, its title just maybe nailing the atmosphere felt by people on the dancefloor. Shamelessly epic and in your face, a simulation of a throwback to a more clichéd clubland but just so left of centre that one can't find a complete correlation to fit the picture. Yes, we all go OMG.

One of the most eccentric characters to emerge from Lisbon's musical underground, Teteu has operated under a variety of shadowy monikers including Qraqmaxter, CiclOFF, and Erre Mente. A gifted visual artist as well as a composer, he's known for developing a philosophical mythology with his drawings, mostly using a ballpoint pen to sketch out elaborate, anime-style projects. Normal Nada is Teteu's most enduring project, and a full eight years after the game-changing ep "Transmutação Cerebral" he has finally assembled his long-awaited debut album. "TRIBAL PROGRESSIVE HEAVY METAL" materializes into Nada's meta-kuduro multiverse, developed from his deep knowledge of African and Portuguese musical forms. Years ago, he was an established archivist and genre historian, sharing archival material, mixes and rips alongside his original tracks, and while his online presence has faded, his rate of production hasn't. His tracks are rooted in Angolan kuduro and tarraxinha structures, but Normal Nada uses this only as a starting point, poetically overlaying and superimposing elements from trap, bass music, heavy metal and ambient sources to tell a story that's personal and unique. Listening to the album is like channel hopping through an interplanetary animated matrix, blasting off from colorful opener 'Beautyful Caos' with its grinding syncopation, crash-landing on the subversive 'Batida Hard Trance 2' that dissolves awkward European dance tropes into industrial-strength Portuguese electronix, and scuttling towards the album's bizarre title track, that juxtaposes crunching, overdriven drones 'n tones with kinetic kuduro rhythms. 'Alive' is even more cacophonous, layering machine-strength orchestral hits over militaristic, rolling 4/4 beats and unsettled subs. Born and raised in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa, Normal Nada migrated to Portugal at 13 and was based for many years in Lisbon's San Antonio Dos Cavaleiros housing projects, after previously having lived in the Algarve. Teteu's compositions are a spiked expression of Lisbon's patchwork of batida styles, making a direct link to West Africa's vibrant musical legacy. Now he's returned to Guinea-Bissau and his music reflects this outstretched knowledge and energy, with a 360 degree view of the world's complex assemblage of cultures and conflicts. The album's somber finale is the best representation of his philosophy, a minor-key downtempo slow-burner that could sit comfortably alongside Actress or tarraxinha pioneer DJ Znobia. Called 'Dedicated to the Homeless', it shines flickering neon light on the world's unseen population, searching for hope where too many of us choose to look away.

Square Pusher, a prodigy who has always pursued all possibilities of music with a challenging stance, has released his latest album "Dostrotime" from "WARP RECORDS". Square Pusher, who handles not only the music but also everything from album artwork to T-shirt design, has completed this album with his own strong will and freedom, and it is a work of great satisfaction.

My Noise is Nothing’ is the collaborative LP between Lord of The Isles and Scottish poet Ellen Renton, set for release on the 29th September 2023. For the pair, both the poems and music came to them in a quick and concentrated period. Renton's poems were written during 2020 and capture something of that time- that feeling of having no obstacles between ourselves and our emotions. Especially the feeling of anger, which is expressed by Renton as a feeling that is not wholly negative but complicated, necessary, unifying and even joyful. Likewise, Lord Of The Isles’ dusky and unfurling production refuses obstacles- embracing experimental live recordings using pedals and vintage synths. It is warm and fuzzy, but most importantly organic, with all the imperfections and character of a living entity.

Originally released in 1992

Chicago OG, Specter unleashes four cuts of deep house psychedelia that have been marinading in the archive, dedicated to his pal Brutus, pictured on the cover. R.I.P. little one. One of Sound Signature’s MVP’s, Andres Ordonez first really broke thru circa 2009 with a killer EP on Downbeat and his debut for Theo Parrish’s label, ‘Pipe Bomb’ in 2010 that really put him on the map. This new/old suite hails the singular producer during that era, and up to a few years ago, across four tunes that play to his wonkiest and jazziest machine tekkerz, comparable to waviest gear by Theo, Jamal Moss, Detroit’s Howard Thomas or even Michael J. Blood in their loose and dare-to-differ steez. Running in ever increasing circles, the vibes get progressively looser from the stop/start sequencer fuckry of ‘The Birth’, with its mazy B-line and intricate arps, thru to fizzing deep techno like MJB meets Legofeet on ‘The Spirit’, to a pair of 10 minute+ jams where he really gets lost in his thing, from the clipped strut and midi jazz spritz of ‘The Death’ to an outstanding finishing move of slow-mo cubist jazz house calculations in ‘The Ascension’.

Downtempo, Experimental, IDM … Knopha steps out on Mood Hut Records with ‘Kwong’. Ranging in tone from downtempo drum and bass to Herbert-like cut up house tunes, from esoteric pop to digital abstractions.

Tthe main alias of René Pawlowitz (aka EQD, Hoover1, STP and many more) capping off a fruitful year on his own The Final Experiment imprint with a new 2xLP entitled The 030 Files. A heads-down trip through a handful of deep and dark techno techniques, Shed nonetheless keeps you engaged throughout with his clever sound design and chilly detours into downtempo and more headphone-oriented affairs. Early album highlight ‘Shot Rhythm’ forego the atypical jackhammer kicks for some hip-swinging drum breaks, and the simmering, skeletal ‘Let Yourself Go’ provides a nice respite, as well.

It is about time to revive the label with a new vinyl compilation named "Second Drop", following the tradition of a nice roundup across various bass music tearitorries. One side pumps at uplifting 160 BPM, while the flipside is shifting down to relaxing 135 and even 120 speeds. Nuphlo and Bukkha team up for the energetic modern halftime piece "Drip". Nuphlo might ring a bell as part of The Nasha Experience from London and Leeds, connecting asian roots with nowadays UK bass sounds. Bukkha is state-side born and has recently emigrated to Spain, from where this worldwide touring DJ machine is firing a plethora of bass music styles on renowned labels like Moonshine, System and Innamind. DjBadshape passes the breakbeat driven torch with handsome melodies and subby kickbass on "Drift" to reflect Leipzig's well various scenes. While checking her tracks on Defrostatica and Human, one may also find artworks for Bassmæssage and more. Sun People is closing the 160 side with the deep but dirty retro 90s jungle bit "Rise Up". Combining Techno, Footwork and UK Hardcore Breakbeats, the Graz based bass buab made it to releases on Exit, Rua and Alphacut. Flipping sides, Dub Across Borders redefines steppers dub into the dreamy yet rolling "Bass Tree Dream". The project was found by a Copenhagen dubber when living in Colombia, fusing the rural folklore with soundsystem energy into a world-bass music. This can be heard on labels like Basscomesaveme, Translation and 45Seven and is best to be experienced in its live dubbing appearance which premiered at a Bassmæssage in 2015. Paranoid One grabs these feelings and drops them a bit more sinister, "Glimp" manages to hide a playful 4 to the floor kick as well beyond its smooth soundscapes and percussions. As Paranoid Society these split personalities from Tallinn were delivering to Modern Urban Jazz and Alphacut already since a decade at least. bhed finishes with the slow far-away dubsteppish "Minerva". Make sure to not only check the releases on Row and Trusik but also the freshly baked Neuburg based liveact inbetween cosy ambient and lush bass music at the next Bassmæssage on 18th November in LeipZig!

Mix Mup & Kassem Mosse mark a decade since their rudely offbeat debut with a 19-track, 1hr+ payload of woodcut drums and groggy samples tessellated in beatdown mode for fans of Theo Parrish, STL, Actress Back in 2012, MM/KM’s s/t maiden voyage was a staple round our ways, beloved for its odd bag of skewed grooves. After leaving us with only a 3-track EP ‘Have You Seen Them’ in the interim, the German duo return with ‘Ich sehe Vasen’, or ‘I See Vases’, making up for the big pause in duo production with a heavy satisfying session of loping, peg-legged rhythms, off-the-cuff keyboard lines and hiccuping ambient wobbles that feel right back at home amid the screwballs on TTT. The expanded run time of ‘Ich sehe Vasan’ allows for a far mazier and demonstration of their intuitive, lo-fi style, peppered with numerous beatless nuts and bolts that join the up the club workouts like a game of snakes and ladders on K. Roll the dice and expect to encounter the haziest, Theo Parrish-like Detroit house one minute, then trip down wormholes of lush ambient, or whirling percussive derives the next, popping out along the line at wheezing Actress-like grog, all primed for slinging on at the afters to regular calls of “what the fuck is playing, man?” until the sun goes down again.

Kitchen sink Scuzz n’ Bass from 1998 Tokyo. Existing somewhere between Drum n Bass, Musique Concrète, Free Jazz and Noise,
Jigen (aka Taro Nijikama) ran the cult Shi-Ra-Nui imprint and was a lynchpin of Tokyo's underground music scene, working as much behind the scenes as in front of them.

There is an inherent grit to the work on display here. Jazz-inflected
drums, echoing bells, dissonant flutes, and haunting piano work coarsely interact with skipping breaks and industrial atmospherics, punctuated by tense gasps of silence. Samples disintegrate and reappear, creating a kind of elliptical narrative, and the 9 tracks here perhaps trigger a disorienting sense of dèjá vu.

Originally released on CD by Shi-Ra-Nui in 1998, Double Circumflex is
proud to present the first officially licensed reissue of Stone Drum Avantgardism by Jigen and introduces the prescient sound of Shi-Ra-Nui for deeper excavation into its shadowy fissures. Remastered and cut with maximum precision by Beau Thomas at Teneightseven.

This album starts the journey of Unruly Records by featuring some of the early tracks and artists who helped shape the sound of "Club Music". These songs were originally released between 1991 & 1995 and took dance-floors in Baltimore by storm. There is also a full color insert which paints a picture of that moment in time. In support of Baltimore City's Inaugural "Baltimore Club Music Day" on June 17th, we put together this anthology to kick off our "Anthology" collection/series which will initially start with 3 installments. Be on the lookout for "Anthology 1996 double album next year!

India Lo-Fi Abuse was recorded in 1998, some tracks are "pure" Muslimgauze and some are re-mixs of tracks from Systemwide's "Sirius" CD (see also Systemwide meets Muslimgauze "at the City of the Dead" 12"). Nearly all of the tracks have hand percussion in varying tempos and intensities and at least 1/2 make use of electronic noise surges. The sound is very crisp and clean, extremely well produced, recorded and nicely varied throughout the length of the disc. Some track by track comments: "Antalya" is obviously from the same sessions as "Fakir Sind" seeing as it shares the same hand percussion sound, whistles, vocal wailing, cut-ups and delays. "Valencia Flames" sounds like a Systemwide remix. A dub bass line, hi-hat and background vocal of some sort are all obliterated by numerous delays, starts, stops and re-starts with an unpredictable nature in these cut-up tracks. "Al Souk Dub" injects background voices, market sounds and drones into the cut-up mix of slow hand percussion playing. "Catacomb Dub" and the final two tracks make use of twinkling synth waves, presumably a Systemwide sound source. "Dust of Saqqara" has a heavy pulsating electronic sound wave over an old beat box rhythm. "Android Cleaver" is brutal (as is "Nommos' Afterburn") hand percussion, jabs of noise and an oft repeated, unintelligible vocal sample. Yes, India Lo-Fi Abuse is yet another great Muslimgauze release, grab it! - Brainwashed.com All tracks recorded by Muslimgauze 1998 Some tracks are re-mixes from Systemwide’s “Sirius” album Re-mastered by Višeslav Laboš Sleeve by Oleg Galay Originally released in 1999 via BSI Records (BSI 1999-3). An Other Voices Records / Kontakt Audio Co-operation Release

Oren Ambarchi’s recent Editions Mego release 'Hubris' gets the remix treatment courtesy of electronic music legend Ricardo Villalobos. Villalobos expertly tranforms Ambarchi’s layered web of countless sustained and pulsating palm-muted guitars into a funky, mesmerising and propulsive long-form piece.

What have we here? 16 pieces of hard-to-classify music, created during the period 1994-2008, a cornucopia of playful, intelligent, questing and eminently listenable electronic music from Osaka-born artist Hyu, who released two albums on Nobukazu Takemura’s Childisc label, in 1999 and 2002. Although a member of the turn-of-the-century generation of artists subsumed under the rather vague term “electronica”, his work stands apart in many ways, particularly in his unique exploration of microtonality, his ability to humanize music technology, and his distinctive trait of combining a light touch and sense of fun with conceptual rigor. This collection is an intriguing mix of previously unreleased tracks and re-edited versions of previously released pieces. There is a wide range of music here, many of the pieces truly unique: wiggy and wiggly robo-pop, fractured funk, swinging sample assemblages of subtle sensory overload, dynamo-drones, overtone explorations. All of it distinctive, much of it prescient, all of it rising above the strictures of genre. Hyu’s music is appealing and fun, but driven by a desire to not only create music, but to create ways of creating music. This desire, this quest, is clearly audible in all of these tracks, and in the overall excellence of his music. Available on CD or 2LP with DL. The 2LP features a bonus cover of “Kaze wo atsumete” by Happy End. A notable feature is the entertaining and enlightening notes, written by Hyu himself.

What have we here? 16 pieces of hard-to-classify music, created during the period 1994-2008, a cornucopia of playful, intelligent, questing and eminently listenable electronic music from Osaka-born artist Hyu, who released two albums on Nobukazu Takemura’s Childisc label, in 1999 and 2002. Although a member of the turn-of-the-century generation of artists subsumed under the rather vague term “electronica”, his work stands apart in many ways, particularly in his unique exploration of microtonality, his ability to humanize music technology, and his distinctive trait of combining a light touch and sense of fun with conceptual rigor. This collection is an intriguing mix of previously unreleased tracks and re-edited versions of previously released pieces. There is a wide range of music here, many of the pieces truly unique: wiggy and wiggly robo-pop, fractured funk, swinging sample assemblages of subtle sensory overload, dynamo-drones, overtone explorations. All of it distinctive, much of it prescient, all of it rising above the strictures of genre. Hyu’s music is appealing and fun, but driven by a desire to not only create music, but to create ways of creating music. This desire, this quest, is clearly audible in all of these tracks, and in the overall excellence of his music. Available on CD or 2LP with DL. The 2LP features a bonus cover of “Kaze wo atsumete” by Happy End. A notable feature is the entertaining and enlightening notes, written by Hyu himself.

In 2018, Rian Treanor left his home in Rotherham, UK, and headed to Kampala for a residency at Nyege Nyege's villa studio. The mind-expanding experience inspired his critically acclaimed 2020 full-length "File Under UK Metaplasm", but that wasn't the end of the story. Treanor also spent time working alongside Acholi fiddle player Ocen James, developing an improvisation-heavy collaboration that would push both musicians' idiosyncrasies into completely new places. Treanor wanted this collaboration to be as tactile and reactive as a live performance with traditional instruments, so he set about working on a digital process that would synchronize with James' approach. Using physical modelling techniques, Treanor created an instrument that explored the tunings and sounds of the a'dungu, an arched harp, and the nah or nag. With Ocen playing his rigi rigi, a single string violin, they intuitively experimented with the spectral properties of sound, using texture and acoustic contours as their structural framework. They were able to develop a sound together that was unconventionally rooted in traditional Ugandan culture, but shuttled into different dimensions of noise, computer music and radical UK rave. "Saccades" is the buffer between two vastly different sonic universes, united in respect and sprightly curiosity. Treanor's hyperactive computer-controlled rhythms are immediately identifiable on opening track 'Bunga Bule', but the sound palette is distinct: it's more flexible and less digital. James' expressionistic fiddle strokes are a revelation, contorted into hoarse squeals and rough vibrations that rub and flex off Treanor's tin can shuffle. The fertile back and forth continues through the ruff DSP tumble of 'As It Happens', before James cracks open the melodic core of his instrument on 'The Dead Centre', allowing Treanor to dispense with rhythm and meet his fiddle strokes with heavenly drones. Each track steps down a different avenue for the two artists, from the nightmarish microtonal twang of 'Memory Pressure' to the 4AM inverted sci-fi club pressure of 'Naasaccade' and the folky dancefloor swing of 'Rigi Rigi'. And when the album closes on a cacophonous remix from Vienna laptop noise pioneers Farmers Manual it's an unexpected gift that makes perfect sense. "Saccades" is a cross-cultural collaboration that swerves simplicity but refuses to over-complicate itself - it's about interaction, improvisation and passion.

Teno Afrika’s 2020 debut "Amapiano Selections" drew an international wave of support sparked by the producer’s deftly minimal take on the emergent style. Amapiano combines the South African predilection for deep house alongside a melange of endemic influences like kwaito, jazz and gqom. The 22-year-old’s new crop of songs "Where You Are" expands on his rhythmic subtlety hooded in warm bass adorned by amapiano’s telltale shakers, hi-hats and mid-tempo shuffle. Lutendo Raduvha hails from Pretoria, South Africa, where he produces music incessantly and DJ’s parties around Gauteng province. He hangs with a crowd of musical friends, many of whom join him on "Where You Are." For his second album Teno Afrika brings more vocalists into the sonic picture, unlocking an emotive and timbral escalation to his rapidly mushrooming catalog of work. Singers Leyla and KayCee feature on the title track and “Fall In Love,” respectively. Regular cohort Diego Don joins for two driving, pad-propelled works of significant vibrancy, “SK Love” and “AK Love.” The album's dramatic closer “Duma ICU” features another returning collaborator, Stylo MusiQ, who helps bring an icy, almost cinematic conclusion to a slice of the sound Teno Afrika is pushing at the moment. There’s a palpable feeling of not knowing where the young producer might go next.

The Keplar label presents the next instalment in a series of reissues from the catalogue of Sasu Ripatti’s seminal Vladislav Delay project. Originally released on Mille Plateaux, the vinyl edition of »Entain« from 2000 omitted two shorter tracks and included all others in an abridged form. With this reissue, the full album as it was pressed on CD is finally made available on vinyl. Besides a new remaster by Kassian Troyer, it was also given new cover artwork by Marc Hohmann that picks up on that of the »Whistleblower« reissue, released in early 2023 by Keplar. This serial visual approach highlights the conceptual continuity between those masterful explorations of the interplay between dub techniques, noise, and repetition.

Incorrectly perceived as simply an Autechre side-project, Gescom in fact exists as a platform for a number of aligned artists to work in various different combinations, whilst remaining otherwise-anonymous. Personnel in Gescom has varied from release to release and even track to track. Quote from the Autechre FAQ: "Actually the whole Gescom crew consists of almost 20 people. Sean Booth calls it an 'umbrella-project'."

When it first slipped out back in 2015, Manabu Nagayama’s ‘Light & Shadow’ passed most people by. Yet it’s a genuinely overlooked gem a musically expansive and uplifting Japanese deep house workout that first featured on a promo-only compilation back in 2015. A softly spun slab of slow-building brilliance full of fluid piano motifs, heady hand percussion, the track effortlessly sashays between heartfelt dancefloor melancholia and tactile deep house positivity. One DJ to see its potential was Rush Hour co-founder Antal Heitlager, who asked Masalo to remix it. Over ‘a few years’, Masalo worked on the revision in bursts, tweaking it and subtly altering the arrangement until he was happy. The results are undeniably impressive, elevating an already excellent track to whole new levels. DJs seem to agree, too, with Masalo’s fine remix becoming something of an underground anthem following the release of a limited number of white label test pressings earlier last year. Taking the spiritual end of deep house as his inspiration – and happy memories of attending events while visiting Japan – the Dutch-Japanese producer has delivered a slowly-building epic that subtly ratchets up energy and excitement throughout, while effortlessly eking out every last drop of emotion from Manabu’s piano-laden production. Extensively road-tested at the Brighter Days parties he runs with long-time DJ partner Kamma, Masalo’s remix settles into a chugging groove before introducing Manabu’s tactile hand percussion – a staple of spiritual deep house cuts – and melancholic piano refrains, as well as his own lilting chords and cascading synth sounds. By the time the original’s bouncy piano riff drops midway through, you’ll be lost in the music. Fittingly given the quality of Manabu’s original, it’s a revision that showcases the track’s best elements while gently lifting it to new heights.

Lipelis makes a welcome return to L.I.E.S. with his TMO project and lines up a huge release with this four track ep, housed in a killer picture sleeve. Massive anthem alerts here as Lipelis teams up with keyboardist Eugene Piankov with epic results. From the absolutely soaring and melodic 303+909 driven opener, to the pensive mid tempo "Bright Jam" Everything comes to a head with the B1. cut that is a huge piano house anthem, this will save the party or bring it to the next level... solos, chord progressions, 303's, phased claps....everything going exactly how it should be...clean as a whistle, rockin the floor like mad. Absolutely recommended for connoisseurs of real dance music.

Avalon Emerson & The Charm is an evolution. Created during an extended break from the hectic blur of her life as a touring DJ, the album is a personal statement of intent from an artist who’s long looked beyond the club for inspiration. It’s also the first time that Emerson has put herself, her emotions and, most notably, her voice fully into the spotlight. Having spent her entire career working more or less alone, Emerson purposely sought out a small cast of like-minded artists to help bring the album to life. Chief among them was UK avant-pop savant Bullion, who executive produced the record and, most importantly, shares both Emerson’s predilection for shimmering pop melodies and her boundaryless approach to music-making. Working together, they cracked open her head and heart alike, creating a space where she could intimately reflect on the people and places she’s loved and left behind. Set for release on Another Dove—a new label that Emerson has launched alongside AD 93 founder Nic Tasker—Avalon Emerson & The Charm places lyrics and emotion at the forefront of its identity.