on july 2012 singita miracle beach in rome celebrates its 10th anniversary with a special double compilation compiled once more by the worlds beloved balearic dj and producer jose padilla and singitas resident dj glass coffee. 2 cds featuring 25 tracks of contemporary electronica with the freshest sound, creating a compilation that perfectly accompanies the exotism of singita miracle beach. an eclectic mix of music that share the same denominator, a relaxed feeling!

with summer around the corner, hundreds of thousands of music lovers have begun preparing themselves for the start of the festival season. the continuously increasing presence of dance music in the charts means that this year, djs are filling more headline slots than ever and appealing to a more commercial, mainstream audience, festivals such as creamfields, global gathering, sw4, coachella, ultra music fesitval and tomorrowland are still going strong and are increasingly being seen as essential summer festivals.clubbers guide is one of ministry of sounds most iconic brands and clubbers guide to festivals 2012!

the debut album of these two young lads with baseball hats not only honours and delves into a sound that already peaked some fifteen years ago, it also hones and elevates it, without ever falling into the reynoldsmania trap (please see retromania for further reference) or being old gold retold. and this is all oh-so-clear from the very start: the fine flutes of >when its there< go straight to your heart and they do so without any self-mockery or hipster smiles as much as the gasping 303-sounds, chirping birds and healing dx-like bass sounds a few tracks later do. >salty days< - an allusion not to grim times, but to a certain members adoration for the crystalline mineral - is blessed with a coherence that isnt samey, with tradition that isnt leaden and a feeling that is pure.

bong-ras new album monolith is a new step in pure hybrid electronics. seamlessly mixing all styles with ease. be it metal, drum and bass, hip hop and dubstep. a musical characteristic he has gained international praise for. monolith is divided up into two segments: alpha and omega. alpha are four hiphop-esque colossals featuring the american rapper sole, who has proven himself over the years with his crew and label anticon. omega is the dancefloor orientated part of the album where bong-ra continues with his trademark metalbreaks style which made him remix the likes of bolt thrower and even screamo legends therapy? since 1996 bong-ra has released 5 full length albums, and has released on labels such as djax. planet mu, ad noiseam, kid 606s tigerbeat 6, jason forrests cock rock disco to name a few. the biggest success came with the 2003 album bikini bandits, kill! kill! kill! managing a full rotation with the videoclip 666mph on mtv. bbcs radio 1 dj, john peel, was also a big fan, inviting bong-ra to do a famous john peel session in 2001, and was asked to be part of the peel tribute cd kats karavan containing peels 125 favourite session artists. this cd contained the likes of bob marley, boomtown rats, the jam, pj harvey and bong-ra amongst others. in the last decade bong-ra has played all the big festivals: glastonbury, lowlands, fusion, dour, eurosonic, etc and has toured europe, the us and japan. bong-ra is further known for being one of the pioneers of the breakcore genre. together with artists like venetian snares, shitmat and jason forrest they developed this unique and energetic crossbreed in the early 2000s. with monolith bong-ra continues to pave the way into heavy electronics, always re-inventing and evolving himself with every album. he recently won the dutch 3voor12 award (the largest dutch music platform) for best musician, for his bong-ra and the kilimanjaro darkjazz ensemble projects.

for a short period in 1981 and with brand-new equipment such as roland 808, sh 101, gr 500, we made some 8-track just for fun jam tapes. mainly just to experiment for our own pleasure. from those sessions, only white horse made it to a final treatment. the rest of the material was left behind, as our record company at the time found it too different. after white horse being a track indeed defining our sound, we thought it would be interesting to dig out left-overs to fulfill a documentation of that period - crucial for us at the time. we were still innocent newcomers, without actually knowing to be creating a new sound! recently, that left-over material was transferred from analogue to digital and, to stay as true as possible to original intentions, we only added vocals, bass and drumbeats ahead of a final mix. we hope that you will enjoy listening to it. good vibes from laid back copenhagen 2012.

hospitals sublabel med school pr�sentiert blood pressure!

brainmath was the first of ramps three sub-labelsÑthe others being fourth wave and patterns.between 2008 and 2010 it released a string of eps by now-established bass artists, including works by zomby, sbtrkt and james blake, plus roskas only production as bakongo

following on from the debut artist album from marco bailey and the second album from guy j which have both been well received internationally amongst press and public alike as well as huge compilation releases from label owner john digweed himself in the form of the structures and bedrock 12 releases. following on from the second instalment of the structures series bedrock proudly present the debut artist album from rising star stelios vassiloudis titled -it is what it is-. a fantastic double cd release showcasing forward thinking music and once again showing why bedrock is one of the leading labels in the electronic scene. in addition to the many original pieces of work on this album, stelios has also teamed up with a vast array of talented vocalists and song writers. -the z- is a collaboration between himself and sasse who owns and releases music on his esteemed mood music label. based in berlin sasse has a long history of successful releases and support from some of the biggest names in the scene. john dalagelisinvolvement with the project (he co-engineered and co-produced the continuous mixes) resulted in him contributing his songwriting and studio finesse to -sunrise on the avenue-. john runs the very hip dieb audio imprint and has released music on a wide variety of labels over the years. the album is rich with the many vocal talents it hosts with notable contributions from the likes of astrid suryanto, tomomi ukomori, anna maria x and darren murray. astrid has an established history of working with some of the greatest names in electronic music such as todd terry, king britt, dj yellow and morgan page as well as a plethora of great labels like nervous, plastic city and armada amongst many others. based in japan, tomomi ukomori has also worked on stellar releases with key labels in that territory like avex, apt international and green parrot recordings working with the likes of mathias kaden, hernan cattaneo, omb and hideo kobyashi. anna maria x is a name synonymous with the music scene in greece whether it be as a dj or a producer/singer. anna has been one of the main names in the electronic scene being involved in clubs, radio and of course a whole host of releases with her studio partner, gpal.

the album has a very fragile, stripped down and haunting sound and is being roundly praised for it s beauty and simplicity drawing numerous comparisons to his early work with the beta band on the -3 eps- album. having previously recorded as both king biscuit time and black affair, both largely electronic based projects, steve mason enlisted the help of producer richard x and consciously made a decision to go back to basics: the album was written entirely on acoustic guitar with many of the finished tracks stripped back to reveal his undoubted songwriting talent. this special bonus edition includes a bonus disc of the album -ghosts outside- which sees the original album given a dub reworking by dennis bovell.

for the past decade or so, polish musician michal jacaszek has been exploring a new, resolutely modern chapter in eastern europes long, storied love affair with classical music. his creations are painstakingly crafted collages of electronic textures and baroque instrumentation, harpsichords being swarmed by woolly static one minute and pulled apart by billowing wind the next. ambient music - if we can generalize unnecessarily for a second - is rarely so sonically challenging.

fun, folky and charming oddball music from the short-lived, but often re-broadcast fingerbobs series for the bbc in the early 70s Ð starring hand puppets fingermouse, gulliver the seagull, scampi (who lives on a hand by the sand and the sea), flash the tortoise and canadian folk singer and narrator rick jones Ð whose songs and narration are the heart of this great soundtrack put together by the obscure sound library and soundtrack champion johnny trunk! the music is really sweet, with acoustic guitar, flute and bits of percussion Ð cheery and fun without being cut or cloying, with oddball, post hippie childrens show charm to spare! includes -fingerbobs theme-, -fingermouse theme-, -fingermouse incidental-, -scampis theme-, -seeds-, -enochs wheel 2-, -plasticine-, -shapes-, -little link-, -shiny thing-, -story of the wooden tower-, -fingermouse plays the organ- and more.

jazz cinema 2, a touching remembrance of poignant love, takes you swimming through the joy of music and serenity and entering into a time of majestic legends. the performers in this album includes jamie cullum, one the most popular jazz singers in the world, stacey kent, a grammy award nominee, peggy lee, who has a great reputation in both singing and film career, nat king cole, one of the most legendary jazz singers, louis armstrong, the swing star, billie holiday, and ella fitzgerald, two of the most honorable jazz queens. their renditions of songs are from inception, the english patient, un homme et une femme, cars, oceans 11, casablanca and the curious case of benjamin button, those romantic melodies which is to remind you of the classic stories and write you an most unforgettable and delicate note in life.

sander van doorns new artist album 2011. if theres one thing we can say about the evolution of the worldwide dance scene this year, is that its genres are being mashed up like never before. on his new artist album eleve11, sander van doorn once again does what he does best, mixing up styles, genres and artist-cooperations. along side his smash hits koko and love is darkness, eleve11 is packed with artist-cooperations such as believe with singer/songwriter tom helsen, eagles with adrian lux and sanders latest purle haze installment timezone. an emotional dancefloor-killer that brings shivers down your spine each time you hear us singer fredericks voice. more uplifting is sanders collab with fellow-dutchman laidback luke. whos wearing the cap is an idea born when their resemblance on a photo was so anstonishing that the songtitle was placed underneath it, making fans wonder if they might be brothers. those who have heard nadia ali on iios classic rapture have probably wondered when her voice was due for a svd treatment. well, that time has finally come and the result is called: rolling the dice together with sidney samson all in all, eleve11, with its neatly corresponding 11 tracks all recorded in 2011, shows the world exactly what sander van doorn has evolved into.. a worldwide dancemusic phenomena.

in keb darges own words: i ve done many a compilation in my day, mostly based around the tunes i played at my long running deep funk nights in madame jo jos. that night is no longer on the go, possibly due to a growing lack of interest on my part, (sorry). in the last few years the lost & found: nights at the club have been my real passion, and indeed little ediths and andy smiths passion too. what a marvelous era this is for good music. we may still have pure stuff like dub step: pulling in large numbers of sheep, but an equal number of youngsters are being attracted to retro, or at least retro sounding music. people tell me it is because the youth are fed up with computerized music, or men with drug problems angrily shouting at them over a dull repetitive beat, but i know lots of teenagers who have bypassed this muck all together. must be the internet that is helping kill off the demand for empty music. you no longer need to go to a retro club night, or indeed search out rare records to be exposed to good music, the internet is full of the stuff. my fifteen year old daughter is a marc bolan fan who while researching the poor fellows influences discovered chuck berry, sun records, etc, etc. i dont really know or understand why so many are at last getting into the good stuff, but they are, and it is wonderful for the likes of me.

being a product of the age it was written, slow clubs 2009 debut, yeah so, dealt with the all too familiar space between adolescence and the oncoming storm of adulthood. a boy-girl duo who played a flower-adorned chair live, they were the polar opposite of what was coming out of post-arctic monkeys sheffield. slow club were fun, cute, whimsical and all manner of other words just shy of twee - and they hate being called twee. paradise, however, is where the duo grows up. two years on, it stumbles out of a trivial, self-indulgent teenage malaise (where sexual adventure was priority for most) and carries itself with a sense of perspective that only adulthood can give - a darker, more thoughtful view of the world. for instance, on the poignant you, earth or ash, a song about rebecca taylor s granddad, her melancholic vocals (beautiful, as always) evoke an awareness of mortality for those around her: singing -and i know, soon you ll go,- her voice seemingly breaks under the weight of premature grief. whereas even love-wise (an inspiration every band draws from) slow club s lyrical output is glossed with a more mature and detached sense of sauce, with taylor crooning on where i m waking: -i can see you looking at me / you got the brains i ve got the body-.

whilst barlande may be difficlut to classify in genre it has been described as having its roots in flamenco and some ramifications of contemporary classical music. but any attempt to pigeon-hole this album should be ignored beyond deciding what shelf or floor to place it on in a record store. barlande is about creativity and discovery and its story is both fasciniating and inspiring a father, pedro soler, and his son, gaspar claus have created something entirely unique. the opening track insomnio mineral is a gentle begining with sparsely plucked cello before being joined by a gently sweeping flamenco guitar. what takes place from there on in is difficult to describe in words. the language between the cello and guitar become unlike anything i have heard before. the cello comes alive, a voice at times, leaping and striding in near freeform before coming back to join in mutual step and melodic interplay with guitar.

the ever on point citrus recordings is stepping up for its 5th artist lp. after having released the debut albums of mindscape & jade wich all went on for critical acclaim its time for citrus to get ready for its 3rd artist album. this time its time for the debut album of fourward! hailing straight from lower austria the four men collective fourward started out producing music in early 2007. the boys knew each other for quite a while and shared the love and passion for drumandbass music. for them it was always a main issue not to stick to any particular tiny subgenre only, but to develop a sound of their own. all members have different musical backgrounds which fit together perfectly and provide a great studio vibe. days went by and the boys finished a couple of tunes properly and it wasnt long until austrian drumandbass producer duo body&soul showed interest in their works. also international artists like bbcs very own crissy criss began to support their music giving them airplay on his radio show. as a result of their effort fourward has released quality tunes on labels like subsonik sound, planet funk and fokuz. the year 2010 they experienced the so called breakthrough with releases on nasca recordings and fokuz followed by an epic 12inch for the legendary label virus recordings! the guys definitely didnt stop there and being on the road now broadened their horizon even further. resulting in a series of tunes perfectly fitting together in this cd. diversity and musicallity are keywords for this album. listen from low blow to you and me, quality drum n bass!!

the cocoon compilation k, being the longplay flagship in the cocoon catalogue, adequately starts the second decade of the label with a musical imperative. but dont worry: even if the letter k has sometimes been misused as an indicator for the degree of hardness of some sonic noise in the past of the tech-house scene, >k< is definitely the deepest survey of contemporary electronic dance music that has ever seen the light of day on cocoon recordings

gil scott-heron is one of the most influential and important singer/songwriters to have come out of america in the second half of the last century. much can be said about why this gil s lyrics are so original and powerful but ,it is important not to overlook his utterly singular voice which is so distinctive and rough and tender. it is a voice of experience. a new record from gil scott-heron, forty years after his first solo album, is a cause for major celebration and something that the world needs now more than ever.

the beginning of a new era. founded in 2005 by thomas wendel aka don williams the beloved seminal imprint with cult status mojuba is facing the next level with the debut album kawasaki by stereociti from tokyo. when in 2005 the first sounds of mojuba were introduced to the world, people quickly realized that there is something very special going on different to the usual house or techno business É it was something more emotional, more personal, somewhat more deeply rooted! stereociti aka ken sumitani is truly one of japans finest when it comes to uncompromising underground dance music with heart & soul, whether it is the realm of deep house music or the darker moods of detroit techno. you can actually feel that his roots go far back into the early days of electronic club music but never lose sight of the history of soul, funk or dub. his debut kawasaki, named after his hometown, is delivering the quintessence of what is considered as the mojuba sound. being capable of such a musical sense, it was no wonder that the other mojuba family members nick sol�, sven weisemann and oracy welcomed stereociti very warm. so if you are new to the world of mojuba, please tune in and enjoy the journey! kawasaki is a timeless piece of music, equipped with everything you need for an outstanding album experience. it will take you by the hand from the very first moments and will be there for you second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day until you let it go

rench dj-producer tom pooks releases a very special mixed compilation, bringing to your ears the kazantip unique atmosphere. the kazantip republic invites tom pooks each year, so he decided to release a mixed compilation to share his experience. last year, tom pooks opened for carl cox performance and the idea of this compilation became really serious, with the support of mike spirit, the then minister of songs and dance of the kazantip republic. now, french techno expert reveals a deep and strong mix, with 13 underground tracks and nothing but good vibes. without any big names nor big hits, tom pooks delivers a brillant mix, evolutive and mental as he loves. this mix sounds like the freedom and magic of kazantip, which is a strong experience in tom pooksÕs life : Çmy first time at kazantip was something weird, arriving in the midlle of nowhere, kind of lost in south of ukraine, even a bit scared : not my language, not the same food, not the same cultureÉ but after being welcomed by mike and his team, i found out the real spirit of kazantip !È no doubt, this compilation is a real tribute to the kazantip way of clubbing

space invadas is a project of two well-known artists: katalyst and steve spacek. space invadaÕs album soul-fi is receiving rave reviews and airplay from tastemakers around the globe as well as having 4 singles smashed on national radio in australia where the record has been released earlier this year. the album is being championed abroad by likes of gilles peterson on bbc1, garth trinidad on kcrw in la, tyler askew in nyc, andrew jervis (ubiquity) in san fran to name just a few. getting much love in the us and throughout europe where the record is yet to be released via bbe records. looks like its going to be a big year ahead for space invadas.

the legendary dj maxxi disco energia and energia buia tapes, highly coveted by his obsessive fans and thought lost for several years, have been re-discovered, re-mastered and made commercially available for the first time ever. only previously the ownership of a select few enthusiasts these tapes held legendary status amongst certain individuals, only ever spoken of in hushed tones, these two volumes (this being volume one) serve as a quintessential guide to the italio disco phenomenon. once heard, never forgotten these are some of the finest dj mixes that youll ever have the privilege to hear. peppered with classics and underground gems, the composure and construction of spaghetti disco classics are truly outstanding. the mixes have been dusted off and cleaned up for new millennium heads to enjoy. so bathe your ears in their magnificence as you transported away to northern italy in the early 1980s enjoy disco energia Ð spaghetti disco classics volume one, volume two to follow shortlyÉ. please note this is a very limited release available for one time only

spinning nowadays regularly throughout legendary clubs in berlin, dave is also playing gigs all around the world. having released his first 12inches on raum musik in the late 90s, the long players sensory overload (2000 mueller records) and lights and colours (2007 moodmusic) were the highlights of his career which is now being crowned with retake one.

osunlade is an artist who personifies art. his music as well as his being creates unified melodies manifested with balance, life and wisdom. in 1999 he founded yoruba. recognised as one of the most important dance labels worldwide. in 2001 he released his debut artist album >paradigm< on soul jazz Ð one of the biggest house albums that year. in 2007 he released elements beyond on seminal house label strictly rhythm. he has remixed a broad array of artists including zero 7, jazzy jeff, incognito, 4 hero and maw amongst others. here osunlades finest moments as a respected producer and distinguished remixer are brought together in one dj friendly unmixed package. cd1 begins with arguably osunlade s most well known production, erro s glorious soulful anthem don t change before taking on many of his most respected house productions from many of his different alias , including the likes of nadirah shakoor, atelewo and kb. cd2 is a collection of osunlade s greatest remixers, from the genre busting mix of ben westbeech s so good today , soul central s time after time reel people s in the sun and and jazztronik s dentro mi alma .if anyone were truly deserved the title of house master, it is beyond doubt that osunlade is worthy

arne weinberg aka onmutu mechanicks pres. his first album on echocord. being known for producing deep melodic techno, arnes alias onmutu mechanicks serves as a project for all things abstract and dub-influenced. >nocturne< combines dubtechno and the deep melodic techno that arne is known for. the result is a slightly different take on the genre, ranging from ambientesque soundscapes to dark reverberated and delayed sonic dancefloor affairs and rhythmical experiments in dub. >nocturne< is a statement of pure deepness.

kode9s grasp on the throat of bass music in 2010 is almost unparalleled. his trend setting record label, hyperdub, is in its sixth year of viral contagion, hes become a published author on the theory of sound abuse and sonic frequencies being used as weaponry in his book >sonic warfare< and his production work has mutated from an almost simplistic marriage of beats and sine waves into a fusion of dancefloor ebonics and discordant synths!

auf >cosmogramma< weitet er das spektrum der integrierten stile in richtung space-jazz aus und l�dt ein zu einem kosmischen trip voller unendlicher liebe und begeisterung f�r musik in all ihren variationen. mit musikern wie rave coltrane, einem weiteren spr�ssling der coltrane-famile, dem bass-virtuosen thundercat und den gastvokalisten thom yorke (radiohead) und laura darlington gelingt ihm der aufstieg zu schwindelerregenden neuen kreativen hoehen. mit >cosmogramma< belegt flying lotus eindrucksvoll, weshalb ihn die matriarchin der globalen bass music, mary-anne hobbs, als den >hendrix seiner generation< bezeichnet!

house music is about big names and big personalities, and none come much bigger than kenny dope gonzalez. you dont last 25 years in the industry without being short of a bit of talent, and time and time again kenny has proved that he is the man to beat. whether its his pioneering work as one half of masters at work and nuyorican soul, or his more recent endeavours with mass destruction, kennys beats take some serious beating.

ashley, darren and this team of talented artists have steered this music of classic heritage into a contemporary context, the result being a modern and timeless musical adventure.

raw drivin chicago traxx! second compilation of mathematics releases, this time compiled by steve poindexter. thirteen tracks by the techno/house/acid/industrial roster, in digipak packaging. includes iamthatiam, late invitation, aeroplanes, hieroglyphic being, andreas gehm, marcello napoletano and many more.

a-free-ka: a kemetic term, from ancient egypt, meaning spirit. being in a-free-ka means no limitations. no boundaries. infinite. as the myth-scientist sun ra said: the only limit is your imagination.