esp welcomes jdotbalance on their label!

esp institute welcomes low end activist on their label

electronic album

electronic and experimental ep

phat percussive house / techno monster

experimental electronik

electronic masterpiece

electronica

from tokyuo with love

second release of patrick conway on esp institute

from experimental to alternative rock, leftfield, nu disco

experimental electronics

phat deep electronic / jazzy influenced

incl jay glass dubs

spaciger doubleheader on la based label

juan ramos presents his debut album changing hands

robotron is the machine formerly known as xinner. this is its first offering for the esp institute. side as dream resonator is an idiosyncratic network dexterous machine drum/percussion programming, an ebb and flow of floating arpeggios, syncopated counter-melodies and a hail of stabbing stringscontinually diffusing into ethereal vapor all stacked into an (aptly-named) orchestral anthem. side bs ice takes a similar approach with arrangement, each instrument carving out its place in the tracks mechanics for a glorious convergence of patterns, but, where side a proves optimistic, here we sense a more menacing undercurrent, an austerity powerfully articulated through towering kicks and claps so compressed they fill up every dark corner of negative space. indeed, robotron has an innate command for building and calibrating robust systems, but beneath this calculated veil we find the remnant human behavior of xinner. these two songs will whisper loudly but scream quietly.

ground is an osaka native, but his soul is truly that of a nomad, traversing the planet, befriending kindred spirits found in humans, animals and plants. he is exceptionally receptive to the beauty in everything that surrounds him the incidental music of a city street, the orchestral chaos of a scrambling radio, the syncopated grace of migrating birds, the simplicity of an isolated hand clap—and as his roadmap continuously unfolds, he accumulates a vast catalogue of visceral tools to musically recount his experiences. sunizm is a cross section of the artist’s process—an array of complex microcosms overlapping to comprise a thematic whole—gathering field recordings, found instruments, jagged electronics, synthesized chanting, and weaving all into a dense narrative that appears obsessively constructed yet divinely improvised. logos is the first of two singles surrounding the album and is complimented with a monster remix by bartellow (a fellow esp artist, collaborator and good friend of ground) as well as a secret weapon b-side entitled discopazzle, which is exclusive to this single release. attention all humans, animals and plants, ground and the esp institute present, sunizm.

greenvision is the collaborative brainchild of two esp institute artists, juan ramos and luca trentini aka trent, both longtime fixtures of berlin’s infamous playground known as cocktail d’amore. separately, these two explore their own very personal avenues of expression, putting their time in the trenches and endlessly polishing their works (this makes juan’s third release with the label), but when their efforts overlap we’re gifted a view into their uncanny synergy. juan and trent channel an exorbitant amount of smoke-fueled creativity, building layers upon layers into music so dense that the bulk of their studio time might then be spent navigating and formalizing their output into tangible tracks. greenvison’s collective debut with the esp institute showcases three intense cerebral workouts, banana paradiso, rambutan and the color of maracuja, an array of experiments pulling from all the corners of the duo’s imagination—it is disorienting, cacophonous, introverted and psychedelic, but at the same time playful, melodic, euphoric and undoubtably arresting—guaranteed to induce hallucinations under proper circumstances. we welcome the induction of greenvision to the esp institute, and with us as your guide, we welcome you to accompany on our descent into their abyss. try not to get lost.

toby tobias has a lengthy history of disturbing the peace. this is his second offering for the esp institute. on side a, second stimulus stirs shimmering staccato chords, roaming pipes and detuned robotic sighs into quite the disorienting stew—the loose arrangement remaining fragmented over 9 minutes of touch-and-go 808 programming, picking up a pseudo bassline assembled from sub toms, introducing a gritty break loop and eventually blissing out into oblivion. with side bs synchro surfer, toby plays with the notion of suspense by gently teasing a muted kick and percussion rhythm under washes of white noise, bleeps and sirens that are tape-dubbed and which, over time, begin a dialogue with each other, as if the machines have declared mutiny on the garage. toby continues to stretch his limits with his output for the esp institute, possibly headed toward a full-fledged devolution of conventional dance music. these two songs may have you arrested for public nuisance.

five hundred and seventy-three moons ago (give or take), thunder tillman and his personal shaman emerged from the esp institute with an epic debut ep of baked psychedelics entitled jaguar mirror. we now bare witness to the duo’s glorious follow-up as they initiate us into the night school of universal wisdom. these two cosmic jokers possess a vibrant and fearless sense of exploration that knows no boundaries, as if their dreams translate directly into song and their bodies exist merely to channel music they’ve tapped into from another world, one where influences are uncharted and any instrument imaginable is available at their fingertips. as with jaguar mirror, their grasp of all things analogue begins with guitar laying the slightly imperfect foundation for four harmonious narratives, a journey that begins with a fast paced gallop across vast landscapes in search of the incan god of thunder, catequil, and gently concludes with us lying horizontally to absorb sporadic beams of healing light. the discourse throughout night school of universal wisdom is as charming as it is exquisite, orienting the listener with a bouquet of warm tones whilst layering plies of musical dialogue so subtle they require repeated study. thunder tillman manage to weave the past into future without diverting to pastiche, successfully merging their characterized production with melodic mastery and a sense of humor, a creative achievement that accredits them as two of our most esteemed scholars.

whilst on a balinese surf safari searching for a secret spot where pink dolphins populate the line-up, the hands would be my guide. i’d been warned he had recently been busted trying to purchase human flesh on the black market. bombing through the jungle, the hands hit play and the truck was bathed in gothic berlin toilet techno. holy shit, said i,what is this? the hands said, the hands. but what else was i to expect from an austrian/balinese techno cannibal? —dj harvey

toby tobias can be found in the shadows of south london. this is his first offering for the esp institute. on side a, gravitator evolves slowly over ten minutes from a somber intro of supernatural sighs, pulsing machine feedback and techno squelches into an ethereal landscape peppered with dissonant fragments of synth. with side b’s right turn to nowhere , toby stretches out even further, flexing a tasteful programming of the 808 while taking the long road to a reverb-drenched crescendo of distortions and expansive string swells. after a prolific output of material for other quality labels around the world, toby tobias has undoubtedly re-focused his point-of-view upon his induction to the esp institute. these two songs will have you locking up your children at night.

bartellow has long been associated with the esp institute though tambien, a trio formed alongside bavarian cohorts marvin and valentino, who have released seminal dancefloor material over recent years. with his debut album panokorama, we are invited into a completely different world of bartellow s creation a place where influences become a melting pot of mood, nuance and texture, and where instrumentation is abstracted from a variety of cultures, including those that exist solely within his imagination. bartellow has found a way to merge primitivism with retrofuturism, identifying their point of intersection and reveling in their union across ten songs. while his academic background as a jazz musician certainly informs both his progressive approach to composition and non-linear production, it is his obsession with electronics and synthesis that shape his current musical climate. the title panokorama stems from bartellows visualization of the album, a surreal landscape with a foreign presence centrally embedded, a panorama punctuated by a ko, although a hybrid word that reads as nonsense, it somehow feels and sounds just right.

juan ramos lives on planet earth but channels voices from the aether. this is his first offering for the esp institute. on side a, last of the natives shows us just what we’re dealing with, a master manipulator of sound and consciousness. juan culls the toughest kick drums and thickest latex bass slaps from a deep burial in our psyche and peppers them with alien chants and fleeting electronic flutes—a combustible sense of spontaneity that may at first appear chaotic but after fully immersed in juan’s demented world, we find ourselves willfully under his control. on side b, enemy of enemy is friend also sets off from a disorienting place where a slow progression of acid, shakers and toms takes a good minute to allow us some footing around the groove. once settled into his sophisticated rhythm, juan opens the door to a glorious combination of chords, clanking guitars, shakers that scrub back and forth and the occasional smear of paranormal synth. we at the esp institute are enamored by juan’s seemingly infinite skill for crafting mood and extracting optimism from darkness, but seriously, what color speedotm should she wear this summer?

mister ho and heap are ambassadors of the river danube. this is their first offering for the esp institute. on side a, collision resistance throws us into the bowels of an underground sex lair with an adrenaline-laden heartbeat for a kick drum, a rough dose of fisting illustrated by the combination of bassline with low-tom and an unrelenting snare that whips us raw into submission. somewhere in between the waves of punishment we can start to audibly pick up tortured moans of endurance and pleasure, but maybe its time we pull our minds from the gutter, wipe the sweat from our brow and flip the record for a reward. with side b’s veils of the beloved, mister ho & heap deliver us via speedboat to the white isle, coasting along to bouncy staccato bass notes and machine bleeps as a euphoric chord progression puts us in an 808 state of mind. the percussion arrangement and phasing string flourishes are introduced through a filter, opening slowly as if coming up for air from a beautiful blue abyss. these two songs are neither too salty nor too sweat

mark e has a vivid imagination and everybody knows it. this is his first offering for the esp institute.

uh oh! here we have last years ridiculously massive backwoods tracks remixed by esp institutes bad boys. the stallions (lovefingers and lee douglas) take dj kents hit cloud nine to the church of rave to meet a dirty belfast gospel that will turn your trout-pout upside down and leave your feet bleeding. just try to find a room big enough to hold this 12 minute monster! on the flip, cos/mes tropify the backwoods album opener awakening in a stylee that has become their signature, lush and loopy. this is a special collaboration between tokyos ene records and esp... dont slee

last year s acclaimed sea power & change ep, a melancholic project from the mind of celebrated portuguese powerhouse tiago, is now revisited through the lens of three essential esp institute artists. side a gives us a take on strange fruit by our heroes soft rocks — a smacked up dub/boogie rendition leaving the beautifully dark mood intact whilst twisting the the rhythms toward the tough side. on side b, secret circuit (eddie ruscha of laughing light of plenty, and soon to release his solo release for esp) stuffs wild combination in his saddle and takes us for a ride through a futuristic version of the wild west with a funky bassline and distant whistles, only to be rounded out by a blissed-out epic re-rendering of yesterday is gone by somberero galaxys jonny nash. its a family affair.

witness the second coming of this mysterious italian producer with shocks ii, totally abandoning the conventions of dance music with three more astonishing tracks comprised of heavily layered sounds, tape loops, loose percussion and meandering guitars. in his post-modern approach, shocks orchestrates a melding of sounds musical and non, beautiful in their a-tonal harmony, obliterating any linkage to original context and leading us on a road to nowhere.

hot off the heals of their debut >we hunt buffalo now<, the soft rocks gang dishes out >magic milk<, and utterly sleazy weekend dancefloor monster serving as the second single in the series surrounding their imminent debut album, >the curse of soft rocks<. guest vocals are once again provided by san francisco post-punk hero jorge socarras (vocalist of indoor life and songwriter for patrick cowley). remix duties on side-b are provided this time by washington dcs rising stars the beautiful swimmers. their mid-tempo coconut dub takes the percussive nuances that are deep in the original and made them centerpiece, surrounding it all with loose house instrumentation that oddly achieves a tropical vibe.

2020 repress in black sleeve

cool country / downbeat / krautrock infected electronics

electronic/ambient album

dance floor anthem

cool soundclash !

experimental techno from tokyo

incl brill remixes

synth laden

incl. nuno canavarro, hotlegs, lovefingers and more... ltd repress

great dbl header

great ambient album by raymond richards

ambientisch electronica album

esp institute welcomes xinner

ambient, deep house, experimental vibes by thunder tillman

straight outta japan

late 80s sample styled inspired disco / house

album by tcb

unique xperimental electro / techno

freaky acid / techno

stunning dbl header

esp institute presents lemmi ash

ripperton teams up with an new lp on esp

incl. florian kupfer remix

ricardo tobar returns to the esp institute with 2 untimate tracks

ricardo tobar with his next step, big cinema

... outstanding 2 track ep

ricardo tobar returns to esp institute

acid house feel

hypnotic orient melodies

new roman fluegel lp output on esp institute! tip!

autre fell asleep in a gondola and awoke in the krankenhaus. this is his first offering for the esp institute. side as everybody in the past is sharp techno aimed for the alleys of your mind gritty, driving, and melodic combinations of blown-out drums and classic electro riffs that relentlessly sprint for a good 4 minutes before a squelching arpeggio and angelic solo kick in tugging the heartstrings and lighting a beacon for those noble morning dancers lost at the front left speaker, channeling from the deep. on side b, frigo completely dismantles any expectations you might have after listening to its predecessor. an undoubtedly seductive samba rhythm comprised of distant snares, rim shots and cowbells holds together an aggressively active bassline, a steel drum harmony and synth solo that crawl all over like a funky worm. this track is truly something special, a gift for the prodigious selector when dropped in the deserved context, it has the potential to unlock unprecedented levels of euphoria. these two songs are as fluid as a paintbrush yet precise as a scalpel.

in 2017, benedikt frey released his breathtaking debut album with the esp institute, artificial, and now as we finally come up for air, we’re more than proud to offer an eclectic collection of remixes that’s nothing short of essential. side a leads with h for hysteria remixed by a beloved hero, nicolas chaix a.k.a. i:cube, one of the most prolific and respected electronic artists paris has to offer. his touch is considered and elegant, imbuing the track with a tasteful 303+808 backbone to support an array of patiently floating melodies and angelic vocal samples. following this, tolouse low trax of du&#776,,,,,sseldorf’s infamous salon des amateurs remixes the same track, stripping instrumentation down to a skeletal palette of bass guitar and stabbing percussive punctuations, chopped up inna minimalist stylee that has become his beat-making signature. side b leads with a remix by another du&#776,,,,,sseldorfer, dj normal 4, whose re-imagination of private crimes takes us for an even more menacing ride, half-timing the tempo and skillfully rolling out a barrage of jungle snares from rave days of yore. closing the release is the most aggressive remix of them all, a bonafide techno beatdown of the same track by dalo, the co-producing artist to whose haunting vocals lace the original version. her dark vision opens with sparse industrial drums that blossom into a driving assault of raw machinery, definitely not for the faint-of-heart. an all-around solid release here, fun for all the family... more than just the tip!

ground is an osaka native, but his soul is truly that of a nomad, traversing the planet, befriending the kindred spirits found in humans, animals and plants. he is exceptionally receptive to the beauty in all that surrounds him—the incidental music of a busy city street, the orchestrated chaos of a scrambling radio, the syncopated grace of a migrating flock of birds, the simplicity of an isolated hand clap—and as his map continuously unfolds, he accumulates a vast catalogue of visceral tools to complex musically recount his experiences. sunizm is a cross section of the artist’s process—an array of complex microcosms overlapping to comprise a thematic whole—gathering field recordings, found instrumentation, jagged electronics, and synthesized chanting, to be woven into a dense narrative that appears both obsessively constructed and divinely improvised. with each consecutive track, the artist gradually constructs hypnotic patterns that 1-up the mind as it struggles to break free from a seduction of loops, steadily intensifying until reaching an apex of sound collage so cerebral that the listener might consider a post-album shower. but alas, the fourth quarter releases a bit of pressure, our gobs still lay smacked but there is a warm confidence as the psychedelic trial delivers us home to nod out. dear humans, animals and plants, ground and the esp institute present, sunizm.

sharif laffrey can charm the snake out of any basket. this is his first offering for the esp institute. side as tangier is a long drawn-out exercise, an endurance test of the highest order. over the span of some thirteen minutes, elements bob and weave intermittently and layers overlap haphazardly the type of exciting dynamic that s born out of restrictio as if putting down a live jam without enough hands to work the console, yet sharif perseveres. as touch and go as this arrangement may be, there is something that undoubtedly glues it all in place the combination of his massive rolling 16th-note bassline and his tough-as-nails drumkit is so good that, upon first listen, we spat out our tea and insisted on its release. on side b, everything is nice carries on with loose arrangement, dirty production and layers of inexplicable spoken word samples (a sharif calling card by now) but this time we re lead to a melancholy place, the blue comedown to side as antagonistic trial. with his esp institute debut, sharif leaves you mentally unhinged, as if youve smoked something interesting and arrived bewildered in some saharan labyrinth. these two songs will guide you through the medina to score the black meat.

cleveland is forever in search of the brown note. this is his second offering for the esp institute. side a’s tusk is a beautiful paradox—rhythm programs that churn like the inner workings of a grandfather clock, unmistakably mechanical, yet fashioned through muted analogue instrumentation that paints a deceptively organic picture. the crystallized jangle of fm synth voices toy with the softened drum patterns and vibrant animal-like chord gestures over nearly seven minutes of splendor. on side b, aku digs further into mysticism, manifesting digital jungle themes, cleverly abstracted through erratic bleeps, distant tribal drums, atonal flutters and synthetic bird calls. the cinematic quality of clevelands production shines through both tracks, but its aku that sweeps us from reality to embark on a moonlit expedition in search long lost treasures, proving cleveland a virtuoso skilled in building complex narratives with sound. these two songs will modulate your frequencies.

its a pleasure to get behind your friends from around world, in fact that’s the motive behind the breadth of the esp institute catalogue, but its truly a special feeling to represent your friends and your neighborhood at the same time. producers sonns (alexandre mouracade) and the mysterious venice beach native tavish graham are both long time friends of the esp institute family, we break bread, we take care of each other, and we cherish our collaborations more than anything, but we’re also neighbors. that said, esp is proud to announce a homegrown endeavor, the debut of sonns & tavish. the two have long been stewards of the los angeles underground, but after loads of early morning banter and the camaraderie that comes with this smoke’n’strobe life, they’ve now committed their singular vision to print—two epic cuts that make us proud. side a’s title track trycksaker is a thumper, a mid-tempo big-drum-laden beast that chugs the whole way through carrying an array of eerie bleeps and fleeting sighs. side b’s roguish days pulls together influences from various corners of the pair’s dj repertoire, gelling a wicked breakbeat with a wormy acid bassline and even more exotic sighs, something that might possibly grow into a signature of sorts. this release is ready just in time for the spring/summer exploits, and we couldn’t be more proud to finally enjoy hearing these heavy-hitters in the club. tip!

swiss artist and veteran producer ripperton contacted the esp institute out of the blue mid-2017 to share a gorgeous mix of self-produced material, a collection of pieces made without any agenda outside of representing the self, not geared toward the dancefloor or a specific environment but simply a bi-product of introspective exploration. we were floored, the mix was on constant repeat in our world for weeks, then was subsequently pulled apart into separate titles to form this beautiful double lp, ripperton’s debut with the label. the title sight seeing speaks of someone stepping outside their current reality to look in the mirror, as if to ground themselves and keep sight of who they are in a world of extreme highs and lows. inspired greatly by expansive landscapes and views from airplane windows (imagine your commute flying over the alps every weekend), ripperton describes this collection as postcards to himself, messages from his subconscious recorded on tape (both conceptually and literally), melancholy soundtracks to the mondays that follow weekend journeys. while musical genres tend to cycle through bandwagon moments, the esp institute strives to operate independently of these, and while sight seeing is undoubtably an ambient album, we’re simply proud to revel in the chance moment where an esteemed artist such as ripperton spreads his wings in a beautifully unexpected mode of expression.

what attracts us to chilean-born artist ricardo tobar is the notion of intersection, and although fusion is nothing new, as a concept it will always pull our heartstrings. applying influence is amateur, we see this over and over again as we endure trend-driven appropriation of cultures the world over, but the epiphany when an artist finds true synergy between heritage and influence is a pivotal moment that the inspired will seek, even though it may take the length of one’s career to behold. as pretentious as that may sound, it is precisely the hybrid born from that place of intersection that excites us at the esp institute, the a plus b that equals 3. we hear this in ricardos music the latin american instinct in his drums and percussion, sometimes tightly aligned with body movements and other times hauntingly mis-aligned and chaotic, intersects with his rock influence of ethereal (micro) melodies that slowly layer and layer until were climbing a glorious (macro) wall of sound but most importantly we hear where these different parts of his life come together to further create one unique voice. on both sides of his esp institute debut liturgia, tobar couples one pulsing dance-driven track with another atmospheric and immersive track, requiring we educate ourselves in the polarity of this language he’s building, one that will expand to tell a broader story later this year with his debut album. we welcome ricardo tobar, another forward-thinking artist, to the esp institute, and are proud to support any direction his compass points from here, as we believe hell never follow but will always lead.

man power returned to his northern home for one last waltz. this is their joint offering for the esp institute. on side a, man power welcomes us with tistish, stepping slightly out of his comfort zone and employing a boxy breakbeat to create a dose movement. this contrasts his signature fatty bassline and together they establish a ground on which to stack layers of atonal square and sawtooth waves. about halfway through he introduces a massively seductive string lead and for the remainder of the ride this palette of sounds coalesce in dark orchestral beauty. on side b, man power’s cohorts last waltz deliver nee shitteru, a true stomper of a track complete with in-your-face toms and off-time percussion patterns, an intense driving acid line, and aggressive shamanic chanting. throw in some crash cymbals, sci-fi sound effects and a smattering of gamelan and it amounts to an overwhelmingly chaotic and psychedelic trip. these two songs will have you speaking in tongues.

recorded on september 10, 1964, prior to his well-known association with john coltrane, this eponymous album (later renamed pharoahs first) is the debut release of the iconic tenor saxophonist. (yes, there are some spelling oddities here: the artist birth name ferrell only later changed the spelling from the standard pharaoh to the more personalized pharoah.) with one foot in mainstream jazz – pianist jane getz had played with charles mingus and the other, tentatively at times, in the avant-garde, this is a fascinating glimpse of sanders’ style before he wielded the unremitting fierceness of his playing with coltrane and the modal mysticism of his later solo albums on impulse. interestingly, in recent years he has deployed a more polished version of this sort of vant-flavored bop, bringing his career full circle and strongly suggesting that the hybrid heard here was not due to any failure of nerve on his debut but rather was the cornerstone of his conception. esp-disk has issued this album under three different covers, for its 21st-century reissue on vinyl, we have chosen to use the second and most beautiful. it is augmented with liner notes by a current esp-disk’ artist, tenor saxophonist ras moshe burnett of the red microphone, who can be heard accompanying amina baraka on their eponymous 2017 release.

there is a sense of urgency increasingly infecting the human condition, fragmenting our attention span, accelerating our needs and often influencing our motives when making creative decisions. the result is a lack of dynamics, there is no ebb or flow, its “go” time, all the time. electronic music is one of the clearest examples of a widening division between great art created in a deeply imaginative vaccum and the soulessly formulaic and branded product that serves the impatient masses. what draws the esp institute to benedikt frey is his ability to operate on the fringe, outside the constructs artists constantly channel themselves into - his art speaks a pure language that is realized by any means necessary, a process devised solely to articulate his own message, one delivered with patience, never rushed nor dictated by the outside world. artificial was written and produced over two years, tirelessly sculpted into a sequence abstract pieces that are fiercely independent but accumulate layers of meaning when collaged. it is electronic and rhythm-based, but never reliant on any prescribed instrumentation, arrangement or expecatation. this is our idea of well conceived and executed album, not simply a collection of tracks but a complex narrative that unfolds over peaks and valleys, pulling the listener into emotional corners before leaving a residual impression. some may describe music very well in words, but there is always something lost in translation - a story only the music itself can tell.

lovefingers heard the atmospherian years ago on milk beach settlers, a promo-only mix cd comprised solely of australian artists, mixed and released by seminal melbourne dj duo and good friends hey convict! (tamas jones & jason evans). tamas explained that warp factor 9 was a one-off project by john and russell kilby of esoteric post-rock bands the crystal set and bhagavad guitars respectively, and who are brothers of steve kilby (frontman of the church, a prolific australian band we’ve adored since adolescence). we had an immediate epiphany and this project was set into motion

from brussels comes cleveland, born in luxembourg from an italian family, andrea mancini, a 28 years old music producer has been behind releases on john talabot’s hivern discs, oskar offermann’s white, munich’s permanent vacation (and others). cleveland is able to enthral and captivate his audience, putting influences from various genres into one smooth hypnotic, adventurous and personal journey. built around warm tones of analog synths, esoteric atmospheres and percussive drums, cleveland s productions have an overall dreamy feel without losing its dance floor focus. he arranges every sound and movement to work in fluid harmony, gently lifting dance floors off the ground before they realise they re floating. he will release two new eps in summer 2017.

juan ramos speaks twelve languages and loiters at the zoo. this is his second offering for the esp institute. last year his debut dropped us at the edge of oblivion and this follow-up release picks up right where he left us—atkm pumps right from the start with a collision of elastic percussion, tubular clinks and cranks under what sounds like fragments of our androgynous tour guide’s speech though a malfunctioning pa. halfway through the chaos she makes a left turn toward belgium where the drum programming fattens up and we acquire an optimistic shimmering of chords. on side b, globalizacio&#769,n a&#769,cido conjures imagery of a moonlit expedition on the hunt for lord-knows-what. many producers rely on jungle sounds, loosely appropriating some misguided sense of mysticism, but juan rules his own kingdom where he creates an ecosystem through synthesis and digital manipulation. the narrative quality of his production knows no limits and his ability to twist machines into this chorus of cyber-creatures puts him at the top of the food chain, however, no animals were harmed in the making of these two songs

nancy azzurro comes out of nowhere. well, that’s not entirely true—lovefingers met her about 10 years ago on the beach near her home on the island of sardinia—but in terms of our musical orbit, she is a very private artist, creating only the purest music, straight from the heart. these three gorgeous songs were produced during her young adulthood and would become secret weapons for a handful of djs she’d meet over the following years. still standing the test of time today, they’re now finally seeing a proper release. side-a’s grace invites us into nancy’s world where disco and house collide—the live drums, percussion and bassline hold down a blanket of synth strings and wah-wahs. halfway through this epic enters a piano hook of the highest order, an emotional rush that brings together everything we love on the dancefloor, guaranteed to induce goosebumps. on side-b, she rounds out the release with the dreamlike, percussive and yugo-tinged illustrations & the large, and closes with the title track teen bee, a loopy cowbell-driven dive into the deep, filled with luscious sweeping chords and meandering keys. the esp institute is honoured to close out 2016 (one seriously heavy year) with such a beautiful and cohesive release. thank you and goodnight.

lord of the isles, a.k.a. neil mcdonald, has spent the better part of a decade steadily producing and releasing beautiful music. the esp institute has always wholeheartedly believed in neil’s work ethic and his journey as an artist who constantly refines his vision, and when we inevitably approached in hopes of working together, we were enamoured by the sheer breadth and depth of work he had in progress’. there are two types of artists. one internalises their process, endlessly perfecting their work while finding the endpoint a massive hurdle, in turn they produce immaculate yet very little art. the other is continuously inspired, so full of ideas they can barely work fast enough to articulate them all. the art becomes by-product of their larger trajectory and not just a collection of endpoints. lord of the isles seems to be both, always in an evolving state of process where the work is constantly shed to make way for the new layer growing beneath, yet he holds his cards closely, cherry picking when and with whom he releases his art into the world. neil is simply prolific. he shared with us a vast catalog of unheard beauty, which over a long span of time was collaboratively shaped into his debut album “in waves”. the title speaks to neil’s process both intimately and from afar, it speaks to the emotional ebb and flow of the music itself, and ultimately it speaks to the listener. ahead of the album’s release, we are proud to share with you the single ‘weh-in’, a mesmerizing arpeggio melody that opens and closes, purrs and barks, and plays nicely with its percussive accompaniment over more than 10 minutes. this lengthy single version of the track is joined by a dark and stormy, exclusive non-album cut entitled ‘pik’, as well as a big room rave remix by esp institute resident ian blevins, which take us to a slightly more frantic place while retaining the euphoric essence of the original.

moscoman arrived at the esp institute last year with a fistful of killer tracks and an imitable recipe for hummous, since then we’ve seen his debut with the dancefloor bomb ‘akachi’ and a collaborative follow-up release with long-time cohorts red axes. we’re now excited to enter a new chapter with moscoman’s debut full-length album ‘a shot in the light’. this creative outpouring spans years of musical trials and tribulations, finally coming full circle to tell the story of an artist leaving his home in tel aviv to pursue his passions in the electronic mecca of berlin and beyond. moscoman’s unique approach evolves and devolves over the course of eight songs, enduring highs and lows yet never resting for too long in one place—thus illustrating his personal metamorphosis as well as his acute skill of giving many voices to one wild imagination. this music is deliberate, almost cheeky with a youthful sense of optimism running throughout, and even in its most aggressive moment there is always an element of hope.

moscoman arrived at the esp institute last year with a fistful of killer tracks and an imitable recipe for hummous, since then we’ve seen his debut with the dancefloor bomb akachi and a collaborative follow-up release with long-time cohorts red axes. we’re now excited to enter a new chapter with moscoman’s debut full-length album a shot in the light. this creative outpouring spans years of musical trials and tribulations, finally coming full circle to tell the story of an artist leaving his home in tel aviv to pursue his passions in the electronic mecca of berlin and beyond. moscomans unique approach evolves and devolves over the course of eight songs, enduring highs and lows yet never resting for too long in one place, thus illustrating his personal metamorphosis as well as his acute skill of giving many voices to one wild imagination. mexican cola bottle baby is our lead single, an optimistic dancefloor-filler that rides a disco rhythm, full of odd-ball percussion, over a swollen house bassline as we’re lead through clusters of synthesized mating calls via infectious melodic whistling. if there is a tune that sums up our idea of summer, bright as a cloudless day yet thick as a tropical heat, and is as wacky as we are here, then this is it.

damien lynch enjoys countryside a drive in the twilight hour. this is his second offering for the esp institute. on side a, brunette opens with a straight-ahead techno thump of hi-hats and a pulsating 16th-note bassline—a subtle playing field composed solely with a rare 1970’s italian machine, the godwin drummaker 32, unearthed from the secret back room of a music shop in rural ireland where it hid among wonderful vintage russian synths and oddball electronics. this elegant track drips with warm and phasing pads, gentle staccato keys and beautifully simple arpeggios that blur every now and then—all affirming damien’s less-is-more ideology. with side b’s forced relax, damien continues to exercise his restraint, arranging his instruments in a band-like fashion, affording each player the sonic space to project their individual qualities whilst supporting an overall dialogue. there is a soft ebb and flow to every machine’s role, whether the swelling of bass or the interplay of percussive keys, but when these characters arrive in one place, the result is a tranquil euphoria. these two songs will accept you for who you truly are.

thunder tillman is a cosmic vagabond who travels through space and time accompanied by his personal shaman. together, as if having fallen to earth, their mission is to recreate the music of their estranged home, reuniting with their brothers and sisters through an exquisite form of storytelling. while western music may have degenerated over the past 65 years, troopers such as thunder tillman continue to drill down toward an elusive core, searching for something holy while never bastardizing their art with insincere advents of technology or convenience—as is apparent throughout their immaculate analogue production on this esp institute debut, jaguar mirror. comparisons to genres like krautrock are predictable, however we feel these four songs are so heavily narrative and wildly visceral that attempting to categorize the music would be a disservice to your imagination. we implore you to lay back in a nice stereo environment and absorb the purity of thunder tillmans endeavor—appreciate their command of melody, composition, spectrum, magic and try to recall the last time you chanced upon something truly different

man power left his northern home and ran south of the border. this is his first offering for the esp institute. on side a, he proves that he truly is the tourist, delivering what we’re already toting as our summer anthem—a relentless hurricane drum pattern full of toms, timbales and splashes that lays the rhythmic foundation for his pacific chords and euphoric melodies–an undeniable floor-filler that invites all to dance unencumbered by the constraints of “functional” club music. with side b’s oye, man power rolls out a similarly vibrant combination of drums and rhythm, however he toughens up the aesthetic with a massive rolling acid bassline, only briefly letting up for a spot of layered marimbas and spriteful pads before culminating in an emotional finale. after spending a couple years churning out tracks for various labels around the world, man power has undoubtably shifted his narrative point-of-view and updated his sense of craft upon his induction to the esp institute. these two songs will throw a wrench in your holiday.

mister ho & heap close their eyes and float downstream. this is their second offering for the esp institute. on side a, feeling hopeful is a straight-ahead burner comprised of minimal thuds, bumps, honks, blips, bleeps and bloops—a harmonious arrangement of percussive elements and soaring synth chords that feels both slow and fast paced, sunset and sunrise hour, island back roads and traffic in metropolis. on side b, gis gis explores a similar notion of contrast, setting a the scene with a driving mechanical hi-hat that never dips below the selection of luscious melodies—a cha-cha bassline, breezy chords and a slippery lead hook that collectively invite us all for poolside pin&#771,,a coladas at the ho & heap villa. these two songs were conceived in the year of the monkey.

vactrol park, the collaborative endeavor between kyle martin (land of light) and guido zen (brain machine), returns to the esp institute with ii, rounding out the second half of their ep series. for this installment, a sojourn was made to stockholm to record at the computer music mecca, ems (elektronmusikstudion), where the artists had the opportunity to experiment extensively with the legendary buchla 200 modular and serge modular, two of the rarest and most pornographic modular synthesizers in existence. while both instruments originate from california (buchla in berkeley as a commission from pioneer morton subotnik, and serge at the california institute of the arts), the music vactrol park draws from these machines is far from warm and sunny. akin to their predecessors on the 2015 debut i, these works materialize a level of taste and measure of craft that’s unattainable by most, each retaining an individual cinematic approach yet working collectively toward one consummate goal—paralysis.

good things come to those who wait. the long-anticipated land of light debut, a masterpiece of an album and pillar of the esp institute, was unveiled in late 2012, slowly followed by the gorgeous remixed ii. since then, many have longed for the missing first half of this two-part package, the universe is kind and has finally delivered remixed i. on side a, kuniyuki takahashi (mastering engineer behind seminal esp releases, and legend in his own right) took the bull by the horns remixing flares—a piece of music so entrenched in melancholy, with such fluid performance and production, its hard to imagine anyone taking it deeper—he has unarguably triumphed. on side b, esp institute veterans tambien rose to the same challenge with flares, the bavarians taking a refreshing uptempo approach, a contrast to the swells of guitar and synth. closing the release is the seahawks blissful re-imagination of bell rock outpost, slowly and steadily setting sail into a dusky vision of the scottish lighthouse after which the song was named.

benedikt frey crafts a musical aesthetic that (much like the esp institute) might only be seen in its true form from a birds-eye view—a whole greater than the sum of its parts. his playful indifference to genre specifics and pre-prescribed instrumentation or production techniques makes for a loose and refreshing collection of work, and this debut for the esp institute, the lobbyist, serves up an incongruous three tracks so bewildering and narcotic we’re already impatiently fiending for more. on side a, the title track is no less than a medieval assault. led by a stomping war drum and a blasting bass synth that might literally have caught the studio on fire, an erratic array of clanking percussion, hi-hats and cymbals push us into a sinister corner where his whispering chant grants us the smallest bit of humanity before continuing with the beating. on side b, cupids delight (ft tcb) and gravel both explore variations on beauty—the former in a blur of ghost-like vocals smeared in harmony across a low-slung machine drums, and the latter evoking a tropical affair gone psychedelic, complete with drawn-out disorienting marimba and ritual clave/tom arrangements. welcome home brother benedikt, what took you so long?

ian blevins is the keeper of the jewel in the crown. this is his second offering for the esp institute. picking up right where we left off, side a unleashes another explosive big room belter with resume a driving rhythmic monster that takes advantage of the whips and cracks in ian’s drum machine arsenal, while warm chords lay a foundation for a quirky lead melody and rubbery pulse to dance upon. akin to hannibal, blevins esp institute debut in 2015, the arrangement here toys with us before revealing the true guts of the track—this time characterized halfway through by a punctuating gangster piano hook. on side b, poor old head utilizes ian’s signature drum styling we’ve come to adore, but here he establishes swells of melancholy via bending notes that meow and purr, beautifully ebbing and flowing though an array of incongruous dial tones and bells—shakey and barely out of sync, yet cradling a loosely drawn chord progression. these two songs will smack you up before they rub you down.

damien lynch is a gentleman youve met in a past life. emerging with this debut, he steps nicely into a home at the esp institute. on side a, we‘re invited to the heights, a transcendent state where the negative space between the notes is equally as important as his lush instrumentation. damiens build-up of warm analogue machines twinkle and stab, leading way to a memorable hook, a squelching chord melody full of live nuance and energy. on side b, safe house plays out a similar theme in terms of arrangement, however, the ethereal space damien creates with the kalimba and driving arpeggios elevates us to an even higher plane, where his lead floats gracefully across the stereo spectrum, blanketing the fast-paced rhythms with a calming sense of purity. were serious when we say that these two songs will guide you toward enlightenment.

mosco fell asleep and awoke days later with red axes. this is their joint offering for the esp institute. dikembe manutu, the fictional character whos name gives title to our thumping a side, establishes a lush theme based on meandering steel drums and reverberating toms while a slew of rich percussion leads us through the jungle on a melodic galloping bassline. once this deep groove gets us rolling, were treated to a variety of twinklling melodies that float high above. on side b, rage in the cage is a true live drum machine jam, full of bleeps, detuned toms, abrasive cymbals, and plenty of left turns. we can only imagine the mood in the studio as these three old friends frantically smacked buttons and tweaked knobs, creating happy accidents and loving every menacing moment of chaos as they stirred this cauldron. these two songs will make you thirst for exotic nectars.

ian blevins is from england but hes quite the dude. this is his first offering for the esp institute. on side a, meet the happy beast named hannibal, a big room tune that ticks every box your heart may desire bone dry drum production, atmospheric arpeggios, soaring strings and pads, a beautifully sweeping bass progression and an overall sense of euphoria goosebumps guaranteed. on side b, welcome aunt poly cools us down a little bit stripping back the instrumentation, minimizing any superfluous effects, and layering a sparse bassline and droning synths over a laidback 808 all to a relaxed tempo. blevins debut proves that from the right point of view, familiar elements and motifs can take on a new life whilst reminding us just how the rave can feel. these two songs will increase your serotonin levels.

powder is a young producer raised in rural japan, now living in tokyo. she wakes daily at 6am, squeezes onto a packed subway and commutes to a bland office building where her day is consumed by the electronics industry — a banal world of blank stares, uniforms, data entry and soliciting phone calls. she cherishes her lunch break, a solitary hour of astral projection where her daydreams cull inspiration for another life, her nocturnal routine. at 9pm the day closes, as her co-workers flock to the izakaya for beers, powder rushes to her micro home-studio to exorcize her daily demons, constructing a tropical temple to house her immaculate vision. she slaves away, unabashed until sunrise, when her routine begins again, however, todays lunch break is an escape into her headphones where she will revisit her soundtrack inspired by lights, colors, hometown memories, and the imaginary worlds where the fruits of her labour will live.