Techno / House
618 products
DJ Haram's debut album Beside Myself is testament to the survival of the spirit as an artist reckoning with the present global hellscape. A reference for rage/grief and also the alienation of feeling out of step with the world, the album title functions as a double entendre. With a decade spanning career, the “multidisciplinary propagandist” insists on evolving in times of war and weaponized entertainment, challenging herself and her peers, she asks - “how can this be, how can we live with ourselves, how can we find each other and the truth, how can we get free?” The answer is never so explicit but the out-loud musing places her firmly “beside herself”, travelling a “lonely road”, building her space, sharpening her technical production and lyricism to new focus and intention.
On Beside Myself she is joined by a swarm of collaborators, finding her ‘lonely road’ full of peers, collectively navigating pain and purpose, and in occasional moments of joyful respite, mocking the strife. Haram describes herself as a “god fearing atheist” who makes “anti-format audio propaganda/anti-lifestyle immersive sonics”. Her music attests to this, as she brings in friends and collaborators some of whom she’s previously produced with, from MC's Armand Hammer (billy woods + ELUCID), Bbymutha, SHA RAY, her 700 Bliss partner Moor Mother, Dakn, through to co-producers like Underground rap god August Fanon, Egyptian producer El Kontessa, Jersey Club producer Kay Drizz, musicians like trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, and guitarist Abdul Hakim Bilal.
It's immediately identifiable as her work, but simultaneously unclassifiable; a syncretic ensemble built on middle eastern music, that finds equal space in its tormented live production for Jersey Club, punk, noise, electro-acoustic instrumentation and sampling, tambourines, shakers, darbuka drums and violin, matched with trancelike rave synths, walls of 808's and lurking, rumbling bass. Often at the centre is her own performance of unflinching, heartbroken poetic verse, in conversation with inspiring thinkers like Audre Lorde or Nawal El Saadawi (who’s words are featured on the album) and Kim Gordon in context, examining the material and the abstract in equal measure.
It is a human and artistic adventure made up of craftsmanship, passion, and continuous exchanges between high culture and pop tensions, that of Italo-House. A story of laboratories, sound workshops where the fascination for new technologies and the infinite possibilities they offered, is often mixed with the rigour for classical scores, the result of academic studies at the Conservatory. A story that is then intertwined with that of the balere, the places for dancing and socialising, where dance was not only an opportunity to stage a whirlwind pursuit of hedonism, but was born out of the desire to make a community, to meet, to discover a new family, that of the night, often more welcoming than the original one. It is also the concretisation of a dream, that of being able to ‘reconstruct’ an identity that did not taste of belonging, but of exoticism, of gazes turned towards the Afro-American culture, the one that derived from funk, soul, r'n'b, lived at times with the Salgarian spirit of ‘travelling without moving’.
Italian house was the first, anticipating the irruption of the digital scenarios that have forever changed ‘making art’, to redefine, to redraw a map that did not exist, that of the ‘young’ sound that shifted its creative trajectories from the megalopolises overseas (with all their urban poetics) to the Italian province, inside recording studios where a group of young maniacs of machines, mixers, synths, appropriated a language that was not their own and declined it by opening their minds, demonstrating, that indeed, anything is possible. They studied patterns that came from afar, they applied to those patterns the natural force of moving with sensuality, they showed that they knew perfectly how to build what rappers, a few years later, would call ‘The Perfect Rhythm’. They sought it out in the endless nights of discotheques, of dance halls, from the glitziest ones that would set the standard for Ibizan nightlife to the after-hours clubs on the outskirts of small towns. They succeeded in defining a syntax that, shortly afterwards, would mark, with its influence, the advent of what would become ‘club culture’. So many theme songs, often created for the occasion, rhythmic and melodic sequences packaged with the awareness that there are codified rules that can enhance ‘body language’. Sequences that, often, with their authors, would then fly to New York in search of the splendid voice to hire for a turn in the recording studio, to give the song that definitive and planetary dimension that has, with great ease, spanned the decades.
Authentic musicians, for the most part, those of the Italian house wave, often masters of the orchestra, other times electronic experimenters who were more familiar with the obscure and very, very underground rock clubs of new wave, with the distortions of post-punk, which had opened the ‘doors of perception’ in sound, rather than with the glittering clubs of the ‘original’ disco.
Music of mixture, in short, the representation of an aspiration, as one would say a few decades later, ‘glocal’, the maximum of localisation meets the maximum of globalisation. The airy crystalline openings, the national romanticism, the song that is tinged with black atmospheres, that wanders through the unfrequented streets of the ghetto and comes out with the strength of sentimentality that, in its best expressions, succeeds in making the liberating joy of dance a tactile experience.
Jim Coles’s fifth instalment of his best-selling ‘Acid Dub Studies’ series arrives in the form of the third set of original works exploring the infectious sound of the 303 bass-line in a dubwise setting. The album takes in traditional dub mixing approaches in a digital and roots/digi-dub style whilst also making space for more electronic and ambient processes to close the project.
‘Acid Dub Studies III’ arrives after 2 years of touring the material in a live setting at festivals and clubs including CTM at Berghain, Les Nuits Sonores, and Andrew Weatherall's Convenanza festival and is the culmination of some 5 years of experimenting with a style that has been met with critical acclaim, reaching far and wide into many a DJ’s box having been noted by some as a truly ground-breaking approach to working with the 303.
Geniuses at work. Composers and multi-instrumentalists Valentina Magaletti Susumu Zongamin Mukai shielding the rain with giant sonic umbrella made of radio waves. Impromptu recordings, proto postpunk from the mist of East London basements for a trip to Maryland that is yet to happen. "It's Cold in Baltimore" is an invitation from V/Z to dream of flying without taking off, elevating the spirit until the clouds start screaming of joy.
After five years spent largely confined to the United States, Ron Trent is set to return to global touring in 2025. To mark the occasion, he’s partnered with Rush Hour to release Lift Off, a brand-new album of music recorded at different points over the last decade.
Arriving almost 35 years since he wowed the world with his game-changing debut, the Afterlife EP, Lift Off was inspired by Trent’s desire to ‘let the imagination speak for itself’ while exploring the diverse influences that have shaped his unique musical perspective. A departure from his previous album, 2022’s downtempo masterpiece as Warm, What Do The Stars Say To You, the 10-track set features a mixture of epic instrumentals, inspired collaborations and vocal cuts whose music was written with certain singers in mind.
While Lift Off features music that ripples with Trent’s familiar aural trademarks –rich rhythms, warm chords, impeccable instrumentation, inspired arrangements, and lashings of heady hand percussion – it sees the long-serving producer explore a variety of sounds and tempos, in the process blurring the lines between dance music’s past, present and future. In his words, it’s a vision of what dance music can become, where nods to new wave, alternative and slow jams sit side by side with up-tempo dancefloor workouts rooted in R&B, jazz-funk, house and sunset-dance.
Presented on two double vinyl albums and a single digital download release, Lift Off contains some of Trent’s most magical and sonically detailed music to date. For proof, check the lilting synth-strings, enveloping chords, samba-soaked percussion, vibrant electronics, elongated organ solos and starry synths sounds of ‘Woman of Color’, the Wally Badarou-inspired ‘Hot Ice’, the alternative Balearic love song ‘And Fly Away’, and the alternative 80s/New Order-influenced ‘Just Another Love Song’, where his own hazy vocals catch the ear.
From the start of the project, Trent wanted to create music with musical collaborators and hand-picked vocalists in mind. Two regular collaborators make an appearance, with fellow Chicagoan (and Jungle Wonz member) Harry Dennis delivering a delightfully poetic spoken word vocal on the incredible ‘Her’ – a subtly Latin-tinged epic that’s amongst Trent’s most picture-perfect concoctions to date – and fellow Rush Hour artist Lars Bartkuhn adding virtuoso jazz guitar solos to the equally inspired ‘Street Wave’.
Perhaps more headline-grabbing is the inclusion of legendary disco-boogie vocalist, producer and arranger Leroy Burgess, who accepted Trent’s invitation to write and perform vocals on an instrumental he’d written with him in mind, ‘Let Me See You Shining’. Combining Trent’s usual spacey synths, rolling grooves and ultra-deep musical sensibilities with nods to his guest singer’s synth-heavy boogie and proto-house works of the early to mid 1980s, the track features a typically expressive and soulful lead vocal from the New York great – a genuine musical meeting of minds that’s worth the admission price on its own.
Effortlessly soulful, atmospheric, musically on-point and bursting with vivid aural colours, it offers a neat summary of the sonic delights littered throughout Lift Off – a killer collection of sophisticated and forward-thinking music for the head, heart and feet.
Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald's dream project Rhythm & Sound, which brought legendary reggae singers into the modern era, released the See Mi Ya remix series in 2006. The highly anticipated 2025 reissue of this masterpiece, remixed by Carl Craig and Basic Channel, is finally here!
Originally released in 1996 as the M series, Vainqueur's outstanding and universal masterpiece of minimal techno has been repressed in 2025 and includes a remix by Maurizio.
Originally released in 1993 as the M series, Vainqueur's outstanding and universal masterpiece of minimal techno has been repressed in 2025 and includes a remix by Maurizio.
unification of techno and dub reggae. An outstanding universal masterpiece of sound dub/minimal techno released in 1994 by German Mark Ernestus & Moritz von Oswald's Basic Channel, repressed in 2025.
In the vibrant streets of Tembisa, South Africa, amidst the sprawling urbanity connecting Johannesburg and Pretoria, the story of Moskito began. Formed in 2001 by Mahlubi “Shadow” Radebe and the late Zwelakhe “Malemon” Mtshali, the group first emerged as a powerhouse of pantsula dancers. However, their undeniable passion for music soon led them down a new path—one that would cement their place in kwaito history. Spending countless hours on the street corners of their township, where they were born and raised, Shadow and Malemon danced and sang with an infectious energy that attracted crowds. It wasn’t long before the duo decided to channel their talents into a kwaito group, and after adding friends Patrick Lwane and Menzi Dlodlo, Moskito was born.
(Pantsula dancing emerged in the 1950s among Black South Africans in townships and continually evolved until it became intertwined with kwaito music culture. The stylized, rapid foot movements and characteristic low-dancing became associated with kwaito as it took over South African urban culture into the early 2000s.)
With limited resources, the group displayed immense creativity, recording demos using two cassette decks and instrumental tracks from other artists. They would rap and sing over an instrumental playing on one deck while the second deck records their performance. Their determination paid off when they submitted their demo to Tammy Music Publishers, who were captivated by Moskito’s style.
“Kwaito was the thing ‘in’ at the time. If you did music you did kwaito. We wanted to fit in and actually it was easy,” says Radebe. “We didn’t have engineers in the group, so the first time in a real studio was with Percy and Thami to record Idolar.”
That same year, the group released their debut album, Idolar, under Tammy Music. The album was an undeniable success reaching gold status selling over 25,000 units and earning them a devoted fan base across South Africa and neighboring countries like Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Moskito collaborated with industry legends such as Chilly Mthiya Tshabalala, who was known for his work with Thiza and Spoke ”H.” They drew inspiration from Thami Mdluli a.k.a Professor Rhythm, who had dominated the disco scene back in the 80s and 90s. Mdluli helped with musical arrangements and executive produced the album and signed on producer-engineer Percy Mudau, while Shadow and Malemon took pride in composing most of their songs. Like many of the rising kwaito artists of the time, they didn’t have music production or engineering backgrounds so they required support from engineers together their ideas down on tape.
They were inspired by South African kwaito icons like Trompies, Mdu, Mandoza, and Arthur Mafokate, alongside international heavyweights like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre, 2Pac, and R. Kelly, Moskito created a sound that was uniquely theirs—a perfect blend of local flavor and global influence.
Salamanda is the collaborative alias of South Korean producer/DJ duo, and close friends, Uman Therma (Sala) and Yetsuby (Manda). Together they create avant-garde electronic music inspired by minimalist concepts, harmonious rhythms and the work of American composer Steve Reich.
Across the eight tracks of Sphere, their debut for Small Méasures, the pair conjure spherical worlds inspired by bubbles, refracting light and planet earth. Soundscapes laden with percussive elements ebb and flow as arpeggiated stanzas cede to misty synths and shimmering plates, conjuring images of solitary temples sat in vast open plateaus.
“For Sphere, we came up with an abstract concept and image to explore more diversity and encourage imagination. Each track is related to different kinds of sphere we found or imagined. From the big round planet embracing every creature to dancing little bubbles underwater, fragments of ideas floating around, exploding tomatoes, and movement of lights flashing and tickling the eyes…
Or the tracks can be about completely different types of spheres in other people's perspective. We hope Sphere can unleash the imagination and take you on a delightful journey of music.’’
Bastard Science EP is a modular synthesizer-based work by Richard Scott, who is also known as a member of the band Twinkle³ and teaches at the Catalyst Institute, a creative arts and technology school in Berlin.
Richard began his musical journey in the early 1980s and released his first modular synthesizer piece in 1992. Since then, he has continued to release works both as a solo artist and in collaborative projects, while also contributing to the design and development of modular systems.
His work spans not only solo electronic projects but also improvisational sessions with acoustic instruments. He regularly performs concerts across Europe. In this EP, Richard explores new rhythmic possibilities, reflecting his belief that “Although music has expanded enormously over the past hundred years in terms of timbre, melody, and harmony—through contemporary music, jazz, and experimental electronic music—I feel rhythm is still relatively underdeveloped.”
An insert included with the record features an interview with Richard, in which he shares his thoughts on engaging with experimental music and the experience of generating sound through the modular interface.
The incessant brain bogglers zig-zag back to Diagonal with the nerve-gnawing acid pointillism of Right Frankfurt after a series of purple-themed 12”s with iDEAL and Hypermedium and the zinging Do These sessions with F.C.O.U. and Presto!?
Equivalent to an intravenous dose of acidic synthesis, Right Frankfurt nods to one of techno’s most efficient power centres with a PCP-on-Modafinil-strength reduction and concentration of early industrial techno tropes shorn of their skull-cracking beats and left to babble in an utterly alien coda.
It does so for 25 unrelenting minutes, which, if you asked my mum, all sounds the same. But, if you’ve ever appreciated the lissom fluidity of a strong acid or synth lead in the dance, you will notice and no doubt relish the piece’s tumultuous, microtonal variation, see-sawing up/down and around the frequency scale in highly visual knots that are perhaps best experienced in synch with the strobes of their live show.
We recently witnessed EVOL scare the bejesus into Berghain with this stuff, to the extent that there’s now a small cargo cult like gathering on the wastelands next door to the club who can do nowt but worship a discarded acid smiley keyring and speak in 303 tongues whilst cowering at the sight of Easyjets overhead.
God save the ravers.
