topia records uncovers the work of alex kassian the kyoto born berlin based producer and dj whose work as opal sunn and al kassian has been turning heads and shifting feet in recent times. over the last decade kassian hosted word of mouth dances in london and berlin where he gained a reputation as one of europe s most promising artists. kassian s recent output has been primarily composing scores for contemporary dance and theatre in berlin, an approach he brings here to this 6 track ep hidden tropics . kassian inspired by other utopia records artists such as lars bartkuhn and vangelis katsoulis delves deeper into his compositional scope for a sound that joins the dots between ambient, world music to spiritual house in parts inspired by his homeland of japan as heard on bells of ukyo and the 80 s sakamoto-esque olson waters . the title track is a breakthrough in contemporary house music, sure to be picked up on by the tastemakers from new york to johannesburg to berlin to amsterdam to tokyo and beyond. cover image of tsuwaono sagimai by makoto furukawa, shimane, japan.

after being absent for a while, glance is returning with a uncompromising authentic record on footjob. it recently has become quieter around the man who used to be a founding member of running back, but for this occasion he went and dug in his archives and came back with some beautiful old tracks, just to compile them in a classic, full of groove second footjob ep. as a bonus he finishes and ends the record with two downbeat sounding songs in reminiscence of his former genre crossing alter ego siro. so this goes out to all the realkeeper, oldschooler und newcats. glance is back on the map.

over the last 20 years, tara rodgers has had a wide-ranging and prolific career as a multi-instrumentalist composer and music scholar. shes studied with sonic experimentalists maggi payne, fred frith, and pauline oliveros, shes self-released 6 lps and 6 eps of electronic music, and shes got tracks on move ds source records and the le tigre remix 12inch. the new fundamentals ep is her first release under the analog tara moniker in 15 years, delivering funky techno from analog sources.

it is said that every generation casts its mind back to a previous era in times of crisis, the resources that will allow us to decode the questions of our moment may lie in the myths of another era. le renard bleu, the new musical and cinematic collaboration between lafawndah and composer midori takada, and filmmakers partel oliva, takes a cross- generational echo as ground zero for recovering a crucial myth for uncertain times: the blue fox. as transmitted by takada, the fox appears in both ancient senegalese and japanese folktales as the trickster archetype, belonging both to the heavens and to the earth, the fox is the agent of chaotic good, shaking the world up when its energy has become stagnant. above all else, the fox is famous for its cunning nature.

dâm-funk has left his la home for another dj tour across the european continent. what better way to celebrate this than to release a follow-up record to the infamous architecture release from 2016. architecture ii is an up-tempo, dreamlike journey through the sonic palette of the los angeles based producer. the 12” contains four tracks that are carefully crafted to co-exist on the same record.

time flies as the saying goes and indeed it has as quintessentials celebrates its 10 year anniversary. for a decade this mighty label has been getting some true love and support from all quarters. listening to the back catalogue now, most of the tunes still sound fresh and keep the label s famous deep, raw and real- motto alive. quintessentials has always been a platform for new talents as well as established artists, and with he likes of anton zap, vakula, baaz, the zohar, mcde, nicolas, ugly drums, toby tobias, borrowed identity, mat chiavaroli, 4004, soul of hex, s3a, los goddard, felipe gordon, javonntte……to name but a few, it s an enviable back catalogue. this -ten years quintessentials- compilation offers a wide range of styles: detroit inspired techno and house, a ruff chicago stomper, some proper deep house, a discoish tool, and crafty beats and basslines all over! we hope you enjoy this compilation as much as we do. we are ready for the next decade! are you?

fresh off the back of their debut label release with archie hamilton and venda, subsonic music has delivered another sterling stripped back, dubbed out and groove based release from australia’s dylan griffin & chad b including a catchy interpretation by the internationally celebrated master of minimal sounds alexkid and an exquisite (vinyl only) remix by the critically acclaimed monika ross featuring her trademark groove.

berlin-based american kevin mchugh aka ambivalent is definitely no stranger to the scene. with r u ok on richie hawtins minus label he landed one of clublands absolute hits of 2007 which can still be found lurking in discerning dj’s record cases today. since 2015 he has been providing high quality tracks on his delft label, and he celebrated his cocoon debut two years ago with the daylights ep. together with dutch clone-producer martijn hoogendijk aka alden tyrell, ambivalent has cooked up another serving of straightforward techno complete with rigorous hi-hats, which will no doubt summon up the uncompromising energy of his berghain sets wherever its played. with its powerful incantation of sequential rave signals, wallfall recalls the best days of jeff mills in the form of ultra-modern detroit-oriented premium techno, while detente lays disconcerting industrial distortion over expansive dubtechno for maximum acceleration. the perfect fix for hot nights of celebration.

dynamic dj and producer kölsch is set to release hal, his brand-new collaborative effort with canadian techno heavyweight tiga, on new label ipso. well known for his genre-defining cuts, danish producer kölsch has sold millions of records all over the world under his many different monikers, including seminal lp ‘1977’ and his widely acclaimed albums ‘1983’ & ‘1983’ & ‘1989’, with the latter including kölschs biggest track ‘grey’. a purveyor of deep and minimalist techno, tiga released his 3-track ‘stay cool’ ep earlier this year, with the game changing producer receiving a wealth of support from bbc radio 1 tastemaker pete tong on his last album, the 11-track ‘no fantasy required’ on counter records. made up of thunderous a-side ‘hal’ and a double b-side - containing the cosmic chord patterns of ‘first blood’ and the sinister build of grumbling ‘still so high’ - kölsch and tiga will also perform together b2b at offsonar this summer, with kölsch also scheduled to play a primetime headline set at belgian mega-festival, tomorrowland. “about a year ago i launched my label ipso”, said kölsch. “this summer ipso 002 is coming up, and it s a collab with none other than tiga. we spent a couple of great days in my copenhagen studio, and came up with 3 tracks i m really proud of. since the first release, i also started my ipso night in the legendary gewölbe club in cologne. i’ve had amazing nights there over the last 2 years and now it s time to expand.” having started his ipso residency in cologne, playing a mammoth 9 hour sets, kölsch has since expanded the brand to miami and watergate berlin, with further destinations in the pipeline. labelled as ‘the king of house” by annie mac, who added that kölsch, the ipso boss has garnered a reputation as one of dance music’s most talented producers, playing several ibiza dates over the summer, including ants, hi&#776,,,,,, ibiza’s ‘in the dark’ and circoloco. follow kompakt

for russian electronic music, mikhail chekalin is not only a major character, who has affected the scene’s establishment and development, but also a kind of symbolic figure. his music has been praised by many in the west - from journalists and critics of all kinds to frank zappa and karlheinz stockhausen, while in moscow chekalin’s name was excluded from the official cultural agenda for a long time: he was accused of propaganda of foreign pro-western aesthetics and up until the end of the 80’s wasn’t allowed to release his works or travel abroad. this, however, didn’t interfere with him recording dozens of innovative electronic compositions and contributing greatly to the development of unofficial soviet art in general - for example, providing sound design for the famous exhibitions of twenty moscow artists on malaya gruzinskaya or arranging the first audiovisual performances on a specially constructed light organ.
however, just like all great artists, mikhail himself prefers to focus not on personal achievements, but on creativity. i don’t have a biography - only a discography - this quote of the author may become an entry point of sorts into the compilation presented. this archival collection of works recorded within the period from 1978 to 1987 are chekalin’s multigenre experiments ranging from spatial music (in essence, ambient’s precursor) to more contemporary synthesizer and post-symphonic compositions.

shortly before the turn of the year 2017/18, my friend jan müller wrote me an e-mail: »dear martin, i ll send you the new album of my band ›dirty dishes‹ now. the album is titled ›kabinett von papen‹. it is a concept album, which has the third-last government cabinet of the weimar republic as a subject. so, please tell me how you see it – whatever your verdict, i ll use it as an incentive to put my mind and body in the service of global pop culture even more so in the future«.

there is some serious music coming out of nz right now and has been for a while and these tracks are of no exception. this ep has a very sonically pleasing sound about it all coated with an industrial vibe. from a main room club banger right through to the early morning dark twisted -i have had way too much of a good night- tracks this ep really does push the boundaries and brings something new and refreshing to the table.

on her unterton debut, their specters, borusiade offers four different takes on atmospheric, industrial electronics and chopped rhythms, composed around the themes of ecological and human self-destruction. 2018 has already been an active year for the romanian-born, berlin-based electronic musician, who released her debut lp a body on co&#769,meme in march and has since toured her live set throughout europe.

time for another adventure down the east . . . disco hamam is back with their 4th presentation of turkish & oriental killer disco edits. this time, tokyo matt tells you a tale of the oriental with a fist full of dollars, whilst afacan soundsystem has a thing or two to tell about the disco.. east is east but these are the real deal yeast free dance floor beasts.

from the age of fifteen, mark laird has been playing clubs and shows around ireland in venues like sandinos, the factory and a residency in voodoo venue. dropping his debut release on jelly red, laird continues to fly the flag for his country as a stellar producer and now joins fabrizio ulivieri’s hopera records, following up records by luksek & jun kamoda, classonix, last nubian, never dull, and hyas.

after the succesfull launch of larry de kat his eccentric katnip imprint he has returned to the scene with a fresh new release drenched in house, disco, soul, hiphop and funk. it s with no doubt that this album conveys an undeniable sexy funky vibe. with eight tracks this is a win/win situation for every music lover.

ltd one sided , numbered vinyl --- david morales’ legendary track ‘needin u’ is a landmark in house music culture all the way from its release in 1998 and remains a seminal classic in dance music history.
in celebration of the tracks 20th anniversary, french artist/producer dimitri from paris has created yet another thrilling remix of the face vs. mark brown s previous version of ‘needin u’,

saft is proud to present the official re-issue of the 1986 joan bibiloni band classic “the boogie”. the vocals by deborah carter still sound as relevant and uplifting as ever. the sought after guitar licks of bibiloni have appealed to a lot of generations ever since he started making name for himself in the early eighties. while in recent times some of the more experimental work has been re-issued and compiled through some respected labels, the dancefloor classic “the boogie” still remains the pinnacle of the guitarist more dancefloor oriented work.

earthboogie’s debut album, human call, rightly earned praise on its release earlier in the year, with listeners responding positively to its sticky and humid dancefloor fusions of african and south american rhythms, chunky dub disco, retro-futurist house, spacey analogue electronics and sun-kissed balearica. hot on the heels of that release, leng records has sourced new remixes of two album highlights – “high minded man” and “silken moon” – from running back label boss gerd janson and synthesizer-wielding balearic boogie stalwart pete herbert.

longevity is promised to no one. we literally live to die, and even great masters perish without saying what they needed to say while they’re among the breathing. most of us leave this earth too full, and the grim reality is artistic careers are usually short-lived. chicago footwork godfather rp boo has fought long and hard to evacuate his mind of all he can throughout his long career, spanning over 30 years since cutting his teeth djing for the legendary house-o-matics.

following the success of recent novamute releases by charlotte de witte and anna, nicolas has delivered a stellar techno ep. will appeal to fans of ricardo villalobos, len faki, ben sims, jay lumen, charlotte de witte, anna, chris liebing limited edition 12inch vinyl part 1 of a 2 ep series. bougaïeff returns to novamute with permutation djinn inspired by greg egans sci-fi novel permutation city. a follow up ep will be released later this year. following the success of recent novamute releases by charlotte de witte and anna, nicolas has delivered a stellar techno ep. bougaieffs interpretation on permutation djinn attempts to translate the stages of egans novel into music while respecting the constraints of making club friendly tracks. the opener woke up as a copy is an expansive track with blade runneresque metallic reverberations. panic time tryout is a peak time cut, fostering the futurist atmosphere with an unsettling melody. little djinn is the most frenetic of the tracks whilst no escape takes it back to peak time with resounding drums and drills.

planet mu are very happy to be releasing “vicious circles”, the debut ep by sinjin hawke and zora jones, who aside from producing music also run the audio-visual production unit “fractal fantasy”. zora released several collaborations on last year’s “visceral minds 2 including “dark matter” with planet mu’s jlin, while sinjin has collaborated with dj rashad, just blaze and mikeq, and also produced music for monoliths like kanye west and frank ocean. remarkably, given the breadth of their work, “vicious circles” is their first collaborative ep, and the first time either have released on vinyl.

girls of the internets deep-house-dub-techno-afro ballad: when u go is now being pressed up to vinyl on ramp recordings. since its release, when u go has been burning up some of the more discerning dancefloors worldwide, with club support from djs as diverse as mark farina, stacey pullen, eli escobar, oliver $, françois k, soul clap, roger sanchez, carl craig, booker t, serverino, riva star, doc martin, karizma, marco carola, tensnake & mousse t. peckhams finest pervayers of deep house, bradley zero approved duo fyi chris, turn in an exclusive dubby west coast-vibed remix of the track available only on this vinyl. the b side is a brand new track from girls of the internet - running featuring nattlie maddix, of the house gospel choir. mixing live instruments with synths and drum machines, running is a soulful yet driving disco tinged deep house track. to finish off this massive package, local actions finn delivers a genre-straddling remix of running.

laura jones has had a breakthrough 2012. fulfilling touring dreams and winning the hearts of the global scene with her sensual melodic house and seductive, driving dj sets, it may come as a surprise that let me in is lauras first, albeit highly anticipated, solo ep. dropping on visionquest, let me in develops lauras signature sound, painting a fuller picture of the artist through deeper techno shades, live vocals and trademark hypnotic style.

as we celebrate the 25th year of v recordings, it couldn’t be a better time for another release from dj patife & vangeliez. one of the og s of brazilian d&b patife teams up with fellow countryman vangeliez (formerly one half of human factor) once again. fresh from their last single, as well as features on last year’s very well received viva brazil compilation released in conjunction with sunandbass, this duo has definitely found their own lane!

echodroides is a collaboration between chicago natives frank de la mora & miguel martin. their sound can be described as a trip through space with analog synthesizers and drum machines. they came together in 2011 first working on remixes then shortly after decided to work on original material. their music has been featured in tv shows, movies, promotional videos from peugeot, fashion labels and the ubisoft video game, watch dogs. for this special and limited release they re-created a track from 80s us studio project, experimental products, - paying tribute to -glowing in the dark- original and an instrumental. (words from the artists) experimental products has always been a massive influence on us from the very 1st time we heard them back in the 80s. glowing in the dark, in particular changed everything for us. mark wilde and michael gross were way ahead of their time. we wanted to pay tribute to them by re-creating this song from scratch.

limited repress! for the third mouche release dutch artist ivano tetelepta has invited some of his closest friends to create not less than four fantastic dub infected and hypnotic grooves. his ep also marks the third edition of the so called -ivano tetelepta & friends--series. it all started with a record on highly acclaimed label fear of flying a few years ago and continued on rue de plaisance in 2016. now ivano brings out the third part on mouche. on the record he collaborates with the likes of ben buitendijk, tom liem, jocelyn abell and steven siwalette.

the debut ep from dj force & the evolution is a classic. not only was this ep the starting point to a run of huge releases by the group, including perfect dreams and high on life, it was also the beginning for darren styles as part of the evolution, and dj force, both of whom teamed up to bring the rave world numerous classics as years went by. but this ep was the beginning, and has long deserved a repress. the original pressing is changing hands for ridiculous amounts second hand, and this is the same three tracks, lovingly remastered and presented in their original format!

you’d think that following “melodies of love” would be an impossible task. not so, if you happen to be genius brit-funk pioneers john rocca and andy stennett. on their more understated - yet, pound for pound, stronger - second record, pink rhythm stretched out to create a 4 track ep of richly melodic, exquisite beauty. in the process, they trumped their most well-known release.
cruising on a funk-fuelled journey from the swaggering title track, via the blue-eyed soul of “trust me”, to the stabbing staccato synth heat of “more and more” and back again (“india” dub) this ep has essential seared onto its substantial grooves.

following his collaboration with nicolas jaar’s clown & sunset label, cruz has self-produced and self-recorded this landmark album. limited edition clear vinyl release plus cd, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

jickow releases his lead and debut single -pig tails- on the well known resopal label. the belgium based producer has been at the heart of the minimal techno movement and is also a revered producer and performer who creates amazing sounds. the original is a funky athmospheric track with wriggling synths executed in jickows darker, more stripped back and abstract edges of the dancefloor. add into the package are two outstanding remixes by matt sassari and timid boy. all in all an essential release for 2018.

in many ways, it s difficult to believe wehbba only dropped his first full-length ep on drumcode this year. released in february, the four-tracker eclipse was a monster statement piece of the brazilians talents and followed on superbly from fake, his contribution to last year s a-sides vol.6 inarguably one of the biggest tracks on the compilation. with the confirmation that wehbba will take part in drumcode s off week party in barcelona, followed by the brand s takeover of resistance in ibiza, its indisputable proof that his crisp, chord-driven take on techno has become a vital component to the expansive palette of sound adam beyer has drawn for the label in 2018 and beyond. catarse marks the rapid-fire follow-up from the prolific producer. opening with the eerie she lost control, wehbba says he took inspiration from the joy division track of almost the same name (‘she s lost control ), but instead of crafting the dense sonic atmosphere with vocals, he employs an analogue kick drum and stealth-like moog bass with dramatic results. process follows, a cut which begun as a cover jam of laurent garnier s crispy bacon and ends up incorporating the cut-up vocals of legendary minimal composer steve reich, who is one of wehbba s chief inspirators. the resulting track is an ice-cool percussive work that s rich in dancefloor functionalism. the title track will be familiar to many who follow drumcode radio, a goose-bump inducing highlight of beyers dcr392 at awakenings in eindhoven, catarse is driven by a memorable melodic riff resplendent in 90s techno euphoria. the ep concludes with the terrific mind awake, a powerful concoction of reverb heavy basslines and glitchy effects, that s been thoroughly road tested by both beyer and wehbba and kicks like a rodeo bull.

the rising london based label is quickly defining his own and unique sound laying down the law with another live jam recorded 4 tracks release by his own boss dothedu. following the success of the first release, senseverse records has came back with lost acids ep, a rough lost minded trip with an unusual sense of refinement. the producer lets the trip s curtain rise with lost acids which takes us to a gloomy hidden place on the edge of the house and techno roots with a banging 909 and crescendo 303 which dives smoothly into the background own producer s voice, colombine acids explores the happier stage of the trip and keeps the sound on the thin line in between the 2 genres with his fat kick and the flying and clashing crashes. the b1 throws us right back deep into the dark with a slowed down and mentally twisted remix by the very well known producer florian kupfer. finally early acids rings down the curtain s trip with some fine classic house music sonorities that lead us to a dreamy and dancy closing.

under cover for many years, this affie yusuf two tracker finally sees the light of day on the acclaimed mindyourhead imprint. comes on a generally deep green, mixed colour marbled 12’’ vinyl. affie yusuf paved the way uk acid house scene and so much more, releasing techno and acid throughout his career. mindyourhead records recognises that sometimes you need to look a little bit into the past to move ahead and has re-launched the label with this vinyl only release. ‘parrot soup’ is a fine example of just how a track title can have absolutely no relevance to the music whatsoever. this is a lovingly constructed example of how to convey images with sound, this music renders images brimming with joy and loss, icy cold chills and the warmth of the first rays of sun on a spring morning. tight, punchy drums with crisp 808 snares and driving toms lovingly complimented with dream-like pad sequences, soul searching strings and lush bassline form a quality crossover track that will appeal to lovers of many styles of techno and house. ‘something special’ is on a different tip, more driving and direct in style with the ‘everybody…’/ ‘something special’ vocal samples put to great use (need to be heard in context!) and that essential marching ‘affie acid’ bassline. the lead follows a similar pattern to the acid but pulls your head in a slightly different direction leaving the listener suitably twisted!! this proper ‘party acid’ has just the right level of balls to destroy a dancefloor without scaring off the faint of heart. lovely work affie!!

in search of the sublime, contemporary electronic musician steve hauschildt has designed grids and panoramas of sound across multiple releases through the rise and dissolution of his former band, emeralds, an american touchstone of 2000s home-recorded psychedelic noise music. consistent with his solo work is hauschildt’s ability to coil his craft in precise, varied, and distinctly physical forms. gently spinning arpeggios converse with post-industrial decay. sonic fibers sway like pendulums from static melancholy to motorik bliss. dissolvi, the artist’s first full-length with ghostly international, engages sublimation from an ontological perspective: by dissociating the self. hauschildt steps out from the singular path, for the first time in a traditional studio, to compose and arrange contributions from friends. as a result, his most collaborative work to date extends a vast, vibrating framework in which to consider the state of being. the vinyl release includes a download code.

after being one of the many standouts on the we are opilec…! vol. iii compilation back in 2016, i-robots glamouflage is now getting a full vinyl release with artwork by tomozo kevorkian, who was designer for nyc s body & soul, and remixes by a standout team of producers from japan to switzerland to south africa and the usa. opening up the ep is a fantastic new take ii version from label boss i-robots, who added exclusive chinese vocal samples recorded on the streets of huang jiang city many years ago. the track is inspired by ennio morricone and supermax and is a loose and infectious groove with brilliant drums and percussion and an elastic bassline that really gets you moving. it s a subtle update to the original—also included here as a bonus cut—which itself is a steamy and tropical sounding groove. swiss electronic pioneer schaltkreis wassermann then features on a version of the original that reaches for the cosmos with its rugged bass riffs, tumbling toms and busy, ever evolving groove. it has a big breakdown with exotic synths wandering through the night and oodles of effects and big guitar licks. the first of the remixes comes from kuniyuki takahashi who has been a big supporter of i-robots since 2000. he is a sound designer from japan who had a compilation of his works put out by music from memory back in february. his version is laden with cosmic synths and chants, grunting and organic drums and is sure to be massive this summer thanks to its open air vibes. detroit s underrated but vital gary martin is the boss of the teknotika label and his version featuring colten decker playing an unusual sax line shows another side to the motor city. it s a curious and mysterious tune that makes for an unsettling atmosphere that keeps you locked throughout as it snakes along.

los suruba proudly present the fifth release signed by their record label nazca called ‘el abuelo’ by rodrigo gallardo, accompanied by the pleasant voice of fernando milagros. los suruba are involved in many musical projects like signing a remix with the dj and designer marcelo burlon, one of the big names in the new generation fashion industry and owner of the brand county of milan amongst others. los suruba themselves, after signing tracks that will be out soon with sol selectas and tale & tone back this ep with a remix followed by dandara who has released with underyourskin, lump and slowsociety.

rÜfÜs chart topping debut album, atlas, gets a much-needed worldwide release, having only been available in australia up until now. featuring the much loved singles take me and desert night , atlas debut at #1 was a testament to the band s passion, work ethic and diy approach to music. a labour of love, the album was written, produced and recorded by the band between two studios they built themselves - one in a remote farmhouse on the nsw south coast, the second in a hollowed out water tank under one of their parents houses. “their sound cannot be likened to any other act- - ***** acidstag.com “australian indie-dance juggernaut rÜfÜs are poised for a worldwide breakout. the trio has already released four eps, put together a string of remixes and gone on multiple sold-out tours of australia… nobody can deny their infectious results.- - mtvhive.com

one of the most exciting young producers to emerge from japan in recent years is yunosuke senoo, aka lycoriscoris. with a knack for fusing organic melodies with futuristic electronic production, his distinctive output has been supported by the likes of dj koze and michael mayer. senoo now readies the launch of his latest album ‘flight’ on anjunadeep.

ltd 2018 repress , regraded, a sub label of midlands graded imprint focusing on more disco leaning 4/4 music. with just two releases to the labels name from newcomer hubie davison and midland himself, regraded has already enjoyed some substantial attention from the strength of the music. midlands double feature became an overnight summer anthem and hubie davidsons sanctified become a late contender for track of the year. for regrd003 midland is back in the fold with a double header certain to soundtrack all kinds of summer moments. on the a-side final credits takes centre stage with joyous samples and a vocal line that will melt dance floors. on the b-side, vigilante takes on a more reserved menacing persona. dreamy whirling synth lines accent rolling live percussion. both tracks continue the strong run of form the label has been on.

verdant recordings continues its quest to provide a space for lesser-known artists exploring the deepest pockets of electronic music, not least around the 4/4 axis. next up on the label is the first public appearance from interjection, a london-based artist who has been cooking up an immersive sound for some time. her blissful solitude is a smoky deep house cut that drifts through heavy clouds of pads, while common places drops some brittle electro rhythms into the mix without lifting the veil of ambience. radiating soul has an equally intricate set of rhythms at work, with extra notes of 303 sprinkled over the top, and her nocturnal note finishes the ep off with a shimmering trip out to complement the a1.

reissue of this early 90s czechoslovakian balearic style oddity. tip! jindrich parma originally created this record as a studio project on his own parma productions label in 91. the release was the debut of the musician karya , and although the singer has become fairly prolific, muz ze skla (the man of glass) remains an anomalous release in her catalogue. in fact, the song never actually featured the singer we know as karya today, and was solely the experiment of jind&#345,,ich and company. with a balearic house sound that never really had a parallel in the country, this remains a truly unique czechoslovakian record. reissued for the first time on a 12inch.

z records continues its commitment to unearthing the obscure and long forgotten tracks from the last 40 years with the much-anticipated follow up to backstreet brit funk. volume 2 has been eight years in the making and continues to showcase the best of the genre from the late 70s to early 80s, compiled once again by joey negro.

conforce returns under his silent harbour guise this august with the ‘noctiluca’ mini lp, a six track collection set for release via copenhagen’s echocord. dutch producer boris bunnik has been releasing material under various guises over the past two decades such as conforce, versalife, hexagon, vernon felicity and of course silent harbour which he revisits here following 2015’s ‘hinterland’ on deep sound channel and the self-tilted inauguration of the project in 2012 on echocord. the beatless drones of ‘riparian’ open the package, perfectly setting the tone with murky bell like chimes, rumbling subs and splashes of white noise before title-track ‘noctiluca’ picks up the pace, tipping the focus over to bubbling dub echoes, glitched out, minute percussion and a sturdy muted kick to keep things driving. ‘dwelling’ is up next, featuring expansive, washed out synth textures, cavernous bass tones and modulating percussion throughout. leading on the b-side of the release is ‘peridinum’, employing classic dub techno tropes with an amalgamation of choppy stab sequences dynamically evolving over off-beat hats and a thunderous kick. ‘fusiformis’ strips things rhythmically whilst keeping the bubbling delays and expansive reverbs at it’s core before closing track ‘pelagia’ brings bright, resonant synth lines, delayed percussive hits and tension building synth bass into the limelight.

echocord’s echo echo sub-label continues with its third releases this august, courtesy of german producer and credo founder alex bau with his ‘zenstory’ ep. germany’s alex bau has been a prominent name on the underground dj circuit on his home turf, and further afield, for three decaces as well as racking up an impressive back catalogue as a recording artists for labels like cocoon, clr, sleaze and of course his very own credo label which has been a platform predominantly for his own material whilst welcoming the likes of kyle geiger, takkyu ishino and electric rescue onto the imprint also. here though we see bau joining the roster of echocord’s fledgling sub-label echo echo with a new four-track ep and taking the lead on the package is ‘clouds’ with pulsating low-end tones, hissing analogue noise and dusty drums samples all flowing in unison with ethereal chords and sweeping pads. ‘contour’ follows, tipping the focus over to bubbling delayed stab hits, fluttering sub bass and evolving white noise bursts throughout. the ‘prelude’ of ‘zenstory’ opens the flip side and as the name would suggest it’s a cinematic build up to the title-track featuring tension-building, expansive atmospherics ahead of the original mix which features a thumping muted kick, stuttering atmospheric echoes and spoken word vocal tucked into the depths of the record.

nathan micay (formerly bwana) steps out under his own name for the first time with a pair of glistening panoramas well-primed for those exultant hours of the early morning. the 12inch opens with first casualty, aka that track played by avalon in her printworks set last year, before heading into deeper territories with beginning ballads on the flip. in nathans words: these are without a doubt the most personal tracks i have written to date. i made them as a sort of exercise in self-therapy during my first few months in berlin. as time has gone on, more meanings have unfolded with each listen. for me, these tracks are a rebuttal to the endless churn of negativity in the news and online. they have become my battle cry in the club, something to mobilize while also offering a chance to escape it all, even briefly.

bergsonist is the moniker of moroccon born and nyc based selwa abd. solyaris follows the self-released i and a prolific slew of releases for labels such as styles upon styles, borft, and angoisse amongst others. for selwa her uncompromising & otherworldly, hypno technoid creations aim to capture a given moment in time, contextualising her often direct, hugely affective, & unpolished approach to production.

some time around 20 years ago, the artist known as dub surgeon made an absorbing album of beautiful dub infused with ambiance, found sounds and horizontal rhythms. the lost future was recorded at the former amsterdam film academy where dub surgeon. the recording engineer for the project was ricardo villalobos. dub surgeon and ricardo villalobos then mastered it together, putting it through several vintage mixers and recording it to 2 inch tape. then, tragedy struck: a storm surged and ignited a fire that ravaged the studio. the master copy was thought to have been lost forever. dub surgeon stopped making music and disappeared into the shadows after just two eps on future dub in 2002/3. but one day 15 years later, totally out of the blue, he received a demo of the lost future. pay attention to this, it said. attached was a demo version of the long lost album and now, finally, it has a perfect and impossibly poetic home on dubais ark to ashes, which is named in homage to the story of lee scratch perry burning down his black ark studio to rid it of demons. sounding as fresh as ever, the lost future is an authentic dub experience with a story as special as the music itself.

for the first in a series of reinterpretations of material from linkwood s superb expressions album, firecracker recordings has turned to chicago deep house veterans ghosts of the sky (aka perpetual rhythms chicagodeep and taelue), and fast-rising machine abusers nummer. the latter dive into an aquatic techno tip, turning the becalmed and melancholic love lost into a techno-tempo stroll through vintage carl craig chords, sweaty machine percussion, and yearning melodies. theres a warmer and heavier, if surprisingly stripped back, feel to ghosts of the sky s version of object, with spluttering electronics and sumptuous chords stretching out over a rich synth bassline and hissing, cymbal-heavy groove.