crackazat returns to local talk with a second single from his album rainbow fantasia. this time two of the stand out tracks sundial and holding you close get the remix treatment by groove assassin and waajeed ! first up is nick moss aka groove assassin, his take on sundial is a rousing rhythm of soulful house that comes bumping in. he kept the essence of the original track but also added some lovely keys, it sure hits that sweet spot and you re hooked for the full seven and a half minutes. on the flip former slum village and platinum pied piper beat maker and producer-extraordinaire waajeed turns holding you close into something imaginative with its layered percussion, jammed keys and vocal arrangement. its every bit as clever as you d expect from a producer that always approaches music with a fresh perspective. to complete the package is also the original of holding you close.

wonderful 70s work from tom ze! the record’s a bit more straightforward than some of his other records from the decade, and has a number of tracks with a samba sound at the base – but there’s more than enough fantastic material to keep the record fresh, and tom’s writing is as great as ever. there’s a vocal group that sings with ze on many of the tracks on the record – but they also seem to sometimes act as a greek chorus, in response to breakaway vocal passages that are dominated by ze. includes the excellent baroque funky number “dor e dor”, plus the tracks “sonho colorido de um pintor”, “a baba”, “o sandalo”, “a briga do edificio italia com o hilton hotel”, and “happy end”. pressing on 180 gram vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

framework recordings continues to establish itself as a key new label, with a fourth great ep, this time with swiss artist o’hana delivering the beats.
this house music lover - real name adrien o’hana - hails from lausanne in switzerland and is a well-established dj in his home country playing regularly at clubs like folklor next to djs such as san proper. he’s also released on grand cru paris and has an accessible, heartfelt house sound perfectly exemplified here.
he opens his account here with the lovely ‘i tried’, a tieless bit of classically informed house music. it has rolling kicks and choppy percussion all run through with warm, streaming chords and a joyful feeling. ‘just 4 her (vox)’ is another lovely jam, with boom bap kick clap combos, dusty hi hats and feel good pianos fleshing out the beats with real soul.
on the flip, ‘dream on’ is another mid-tempo gem with roughhewn drums laying down a heavy groove as soulful male vocal samples and big strings burst through and bring the whole thing to life. it’s house music for cosy, happy dance floors and the final track is a dub version of ‘just 4 her’ with no vocals and more emphasis on the breezy grooves and summery flutes. this is authentic house music that brims with charm.

a proper various from howl italian artists, 4 different tracks to move the dance floor in 4 different mood. a1 from howl ensemble i’ts a warm heavy, late night house groovers with an incredible happy bassline that will spread love and smile to the dancers. a2 from nudge deep broken beats with a rolling bassline and crazy atmospheric voice that will stay in your mind forever. b1 from 616 very classy track driving mid 1990s. with fresh oldschool – not – oldschool, fresh and mind blowing in the same time. b2 from enrico mantini that found this rare pearl in a old tape on his studio, stunning bombs back in the early 90s, very elegant vibe consistently deep, refined and just a little bit trippy for a perfect after party

the second release in no bad days’ sister imprint no bad edits comes from montréal upstart unknown mobile, who first caught our ear with a lovely debut on asl singles club. here, he looks to the 1980s for inspiration, channeling that decade’s confidence and colour with three shimmering reworks. the a-side’s “dream state” matches its namesake, evoking a busy fourth world market scene, with pipes, bells and flutes chiming away in happy harmony.
on the flip, “programmer” is a slab of excitable and effects-slathered fusion funk, as if a computer has sprung to life and begun to dance. the 12” wraps with “valerian slip”, where unknown mobile folds the strands of silk from a free-form windham hill deep cut into a new shape, every bit as smooth as the original but with a nagging groove to underpin it.

this wonderful, balearic tinged disco rarity is getting the official reissue treatment finally! nicolette larsons lotta love has long been a sought after jam, with the promo only 12inch version changing hands for big dough! mixed by the legendary florida born and nyc dwelling mixer and dj extraordinaire jim burgess, this one straddles that gorgeous line of being a bit rock (neil young wrote the track) and totally disco in all the right ways. a truly sweet slice of music here backed with a nice cover of sam cooke s classic standard you send me . often bootlegged, there s been some shoddy facsimiles kicking around over the years this high quality, official, 100% legit reissue has been lovingly remastered by above board distribution in conjunction with warner brothers from the master tapes. what more can you ask for? this 2018 repress is a reproduction of the 1978 wb promo only 12inch complete with warner brothers artwork. essential business.

andreas tilliander released his first album as mokira at the very turn of the millennium on almighty raster noton. 11 years later, the latest mokira album time axis manipulation was issued on ulf erikssons kontra-musik and now it s time to pick up where we left off with chill out . there s an air of happy retrospect and light solemnity surrounding the new album - enhanced by the fact that it marks kontra-musik s 50th release. with chill out , mokira attempts to bring back the dreamlike state from those magical late nights of his youth spent in front of mtv s chill out zone, to go back to his ambient roots using contemporary techniques and perspectives. the result? well, imagine lee scratch perry and klf enjoying an episode of stranger things on a crappy vintage tv after being hard at work burying old tape recordings in perry s tropical garden. imagine them sitting together totally at peace in a big, cosy sofa while a heavy haze is building up in the room, pleasantly affecting the eerie images on the screen. we always knew kontra-musik s 50th release had to be something quite out of the ordinary. as expected, mokira didn t disappoint us one bit. the vinyl lp is accompanied with a download code for a mixed version of the album, containing almost double the amount of tracks. the mixed version makes it easy for the chill out listener to just sit back and let go of reality for a while, just like mokira did 25 years ago in front of his old tv.

part 1 of this eargasmic acid house comp jumps off with bishops latin influenced acid drums. the b-side sees jamal moss (aka hieroglyphic being) and eargasmic label boss daryl cura team up on the dirty deep confused transportation a stomping spaced out acid bit. isoke follows & captures serene early morning vibes on albion beach.

favorite recordings proudly presents combattant, first ep by pat kalla produced by bruno patchworks hovart. pat kalla is a musician, singer and storyteller. patrice of his birth name, in tribute to the great lumumba! lover of words, french language, and music of course. born in lyon, from a cameroonian father, musician and political activist, and a french and literary mother, he explores from his childhood the soul, the slam, the funk and the art of telling stories, life being a great one. after years of touring alongside many bands (conte & soul, legend of eboa king, mento cloub, voilaaa sound system), and several acclaimed titles on the two albums by voilaaa, he comes back with this project to put a bit of primordial lightness in a rainy world: a tribute to the african culture in honor of a father with sawa origins, the tribe from the people of makossa. jojo ngallé, moni bilé, pain, manu dibango, franco, rochereau, kabasele, fela, françois nkotti & the black style, all these legends vinyls have turned on the family turntable and the collection has whetted the child s appetite. through this new trip, he revisits styles that are sometimes little known to western audiences, such as high-life, makossa, angolan music, afrobeat, afro-disco and others. we could talk about franc cfa, we could talk about jacques foccart, but we will rather dance, because -the dancer seems naive, but his feet must be connected with earth to understand history backed by the super mojo disco, a hyperactive band from lyon with deep groove and positive energy, pat kalla offers us an anti-crisis project, where swaying and feel-good humor is mandatory! an album soon in the crates, beware cest medicament

macaulay is ricardo medina, a mexico city based dj producer deeply ingrained in the mexican underground techno scene (xxxtra picante, disque discos). he presents an ep full of acid drenched techno joined by tad bit of cheekiness he is known for, with rolling basslines and jacking drums making these cuts perfect for peak time weirdness. on remix duty is fellow mexico city based alejandro paz (comeme, rbma) who ups the wonkiness on techmoreno with a percussion filled heater

session victims new label adventure pen & paper sets its sails with the boys first original track since their 2017 album listen to your heart. puzzle builds an intense groove from an array of mechanical and organic percussion and chunky 12 bit chordstabs over a haunted pad and noise backdrop. closing the a side, vril takes the tune far out into deserted wasteland, steering his drumloops over chilly soundscapes towards a lynchesque string horizon. with not one but two versions, iron curtis claims the flip all for himself and, well, excels, excels twice. b1 hits with everything a breakbeat can hit you with and it brings that exact kind of bassline along. euphoric retro arps flush everything into enigmatic breakdowns to bring it back out and further. mr curtis finally brings the record into classy house territory with his passagen mix, embedding the original in between a heavily bouncing rhythm and an irresistible string section. vital sales points: - new label by the infamous session victim - smashing remixes by vril (dystopian, giegling) and iron curtis (hudd traxx, frank music) extensive global promo + tour - vinyl only

its the big 5! berlin, frankfurt based label house is ok is celebrating its five-year long presence and has decided to mark that period with something special labels story started with a sticker homeboy printed in his former hometown, zagreb, saying house is ok. catchy, right? it became an underground slogan of the local scene. it didnt take long for people to embrace the idea stating that its ok to be into melodic, fresh, groovy yet, at times, a bit awkward dance music.

nanni and francois le roy are both accomplished producers and djs in their own right. together as ruff stuff they make extremely well produced tracks that always have one thing in common – making dancefloors go crazy. after starting their own vinyl-only imprint (ruff stuff music) with four fully sold out releases, we are excited to get four banging disco house heaters that work equally well as dj tools and at a house party.
implementing their knowledge gained as hard-core clubbers throughout the 90s, nanny and francois make tracks that they know will evoke strong reactions from the dance floor. this release is equal parts thumping, driving, peak-time house and bright and beautiful disco bangers with a bit of italo flare! with its beautifully worked afro samples mixed perfectly with techno-infused house drums and hats, “kiss of death” is set to be huge on dancefloors from the clubs in berlin and london to the open fields of dekmantel and dimensions.

funken wavetropi busted onto the scene last year with his debut release on his then brand new imprint, perfect straight. the first record was a cute little 7” entitled pizza dealer which ended up garnering quite a bit of success with plays from tastemakers across the globe. since then, the aguascalientes, me&#769,xico-based producer has put out a single on a va for whyte numbers (recently played by move d in his boiler room berlin 6th anniversary session) and a digital download as well via his own label.

the first full artist ep of 2018 is one by a new artist for heist, but a familiar name for any modern day house aficionado: adryiano. after taking 2016 off, he came back guns blazing in 2017, releasing 5 solo eps in 1 year on labels like shall not fade and baka gaijin. his me and you and her ep for heist showcases his contemporary view on classic house and acid, and is an experiment into how much distortion a track can actually handle when youve got a killer sample hook. me and you and her is about as classic as a house track can be and moves in similar fashion as his post-2013 hit ‘on my side. its got a sweet and repetitive vocal loop, some semi-grainy but definitely groovy percussion and a deceptively simple piano hook. add some filtering and youve got a lovely warm house song that can go on forever. the a2 move it, move it moves straight into old-school chicago territory, with a raw af acid bassline. chicago bred jamie 3:26, now residing in its dutch counterpart rotterdam, gives the track a nice old school twist. hes going full 707 on the percussion and has casually added an amazing synth hook to give the remix a true vibe of its own. the ep closes off with fashion country girl: adryianos dystopian view of a world where dolly parton gets mangled through an overdrive, then gets distorted, crushed, mangled, deleted, re-added in 8 bit and then crushed some more. the result is an uptempo roller with more than enough grit, and just enough tongue-in-cheek to make everyone smile a little bit more. yours sincerely, maarten & lars.

copenhagen s tartelet is returning to their roots with a dancefloor-focused ep, pizza trance, from dirk 81—a.k.a label head emil m. nyholm. having previously dropped a slew of tracks as muff deep and ctepeo 57 (with max graef), the dj and producer is blessing the universe with three cuts of dancefloor heaven under a new moniker lifted from his days tagging concrete walls in the 90s. influences draw everywhere from disco, to african hi-life, dub, underworld, a few old trance records, and timeless house music.

recorded over a year in berlin and copenhagen, the record kicks off with -m.f.c-, a disco-afro-house hybrid oozing with roland jupiter 6 keys and some funky drums processed on old equipment from the former ussr. the b-side spreads things deep and delicious with -pizza trance (main mix),- a euphoric serving of sounds that substitutes pepperonis and pineapples for glittering sequencers and a bangin bass drum.

the ep s closer tastes like a bit of both, mixing up some more acid sounds into the recipe for a retro-sounding house track. it s another tasty delight from the label that will fulfil any and all late-night cravings, especially if you fiend for neapolitan pizza.. leave room for seconds.

plastik people call on west country deep house veteran andy compton, who took a leaf through his box of dats to dig out some previously unreleased jams from the vaults that should get all lovers of classic feel good jams popping with glee. sawfunk is an infectious uptempo jam with a funky edge in the cheeky bassline coursing throughout. dark disc has a moodier flavour to it, with a bit of that us soul heat rubbed into its loins. will you wait for me gets into a twitchy garage swing and holds it down for the duration, organ stabs, dx7 bass and all.

repress black vinyl - rnt label co-head jkriv is in slicing and dicing mode on this special 10inch rsd package, bringing the loving touch to a trio of 70s jams that run the gamut from funk, disco and soul. on the razor side, so true is a bit of disco cheek given the dancefloor tweak, put your money down breathes life into the break from a ubiquitous funk classic, and the tape side is a single slow-rolling burner of instrumental soul that builds to a hands-in-the-air peak!

when it comes to dedication to drum and bass, industry heavyweight audio is just about as committed as it gets. from his long-standing reign in the scene to his drum and bass tattooed knuckles, audio has always been held in high regard in the genre - and for good reason. now returning to blackout for his new ep, audio gives us a taste of the rat race as he brings us one of his most hard-hitting works yet.
hailing from the uk, audio has immersed himself in the world of drum and bass for the past 15 years, releasing four albums, racking up countless 12 inches and gracing the very best labels in the business (virus, blackout, ram records). his production is clean, sharp, powerful and every bit as impressive as the producer’s own passion when it comes to going the extra mile.
the rat race ep is a slice of explosive, unadulterated drum and bass that packs a punch. in other words, it’s exactly what you can expect when two powerhouses such as blackout and audio re-align.

i cant love you anymore is the first single by hard working soul performer carlton jumel smith recorded with cold diamond & mink, and the man has revealed his middle name just for the occasion. otherwise known simply as carlton j. smith, theres no doubt he has swallowed a large pill of soul since seeing james brown live at the apollo theatre as an 8-year old. smiths timmion debut single sinks him into drum heavy southern flavored deep soul, a style that comes out of him naturally as water from a mountain spring. backing him up on the falsetto parts is pratt, who recently turned some heads with his pratt & moody release lost lost lost on stylart records, and together the two basically nail it. when looking for artists, who just seem to move through time effortlessly with a steady air of confidence, passion and precision, one might pick up the phone and give cjs a call. even though his discography of couple of late 2000s albums and some guest spots in early 90s soulful house 12inches is a bit mysterious, there seems to be not one bit of difficulty to his craft or personality. as a recording artist, i cant love you anymore is a new opening into raw soul territory, and it is just what the world needs today. he laid down an album worth of tracks on his last helsinki visit, and this might be something to look forward to.

having been steadily absorbing the flowery humidity in steamy spa towns of central florida since his debut outing chillax, floridian $1 house music purveyor blair sound design aka kyle lyon emerges into the lobster forest with all 16-bit brass and duvet filters blazing. taking inspiration from late 80’s and early 90’s bargain bin finds, as well as a lifetime spent strapped to game boy classic kirby’s dream land, “console humidity” finds lyon on classically chipper yet introspective form, carving a path well trodden but that is unmistakeable his own.

its the big 5! berlin frankfurt based label house is ok is celebrating its five-year long presence and has decided to mark that period with something special labels story started with a sticker homeboy printed in his former hometown, zagreb, saying house is ok. catchy, right? it became an underground slogan of the local scene. it didnt take long for people to embrace the idea stating that its ok to be into melodic, fresh, groovy yet, at times, a bit awkward dance music. just around the same time homeboys frankfurt based bros oliver achatz and janis played with the idea of starting a record label. guess what the logical choice for the name was? ten records, dozens of original songs and remixes later house is ok continues to grow. literally. what was once a platform for the original three founders is now an international family affair supporting the talented artists from frankfurt, stockholm, alexandria and orlando. nurturing the friendly approach this musical family continues to grow. looking back at the first five years, not only at the music that connected them all but at the bonds that deepened through the production process, house is ok crew wanted to take create a proper reminder and thank the ones supporting them throughout the years. a double 12 pack titled gemišt seemed like a proper way to do that. „gemišt will be released as two separate eps featuring the original music from kornél kovacs, roman flügel, gavri & mcqueen, tcb, house of life and the label makers themselves. oliver and janis deliver tracks under their known names, while homeboy introduces his new project with fellow wilde renate resident the swift, called longhair. croatian artist ugruv smek marks his yearlong collaboration with the label delivering yet another smashing artwork.

once again we are sending a new release of acoustic signals from the collectively-run kindergarten at berlins east cross. after a techno focus on the last release, this one is a bit more melodic and housey. with “hot lies,” egon elliut contributes a well-crafted house track, newly revised in the “zkb taking the bus version” by one of our current favorite producers, zk bucket. with lots of love for detail, it’s a real pleasure. perel is no stranger to ://about blank. for years she has convinced us with her fantastic live sets, as a dj, she is just as grounded. “opal” sounds exactly like that — a shimmering, contemporary version of disco, an album on dfa is coming soon! our resident jessamine is releasing his first track ever on this mini compilation— rough and warm, with a touch of the 80’s in sound design, “more love later” has become a beautiful, harmonious and melodic love slider—suitable more for the later club hours. more love later!

mega hypnotic minimalism. nara records comes with the very first release by sonnen blumen kerne - live oriented trio from the hood. 4 tracker with a bit of raw analog flavour is ideal secret weapon for every part of the night. vinyl only.

limited 100 vinyl pressure on this one from an undisclosed european producer who has been responsible for more than a few choice cuts over his 25 years of releasing records. burning up lights the dance floor by squeezing every last drop of energy out of just a few key elements, a modulating pulsing cross-rhythm bass snakes around driving disco beats with choice vocal samples adding the final bit of ear candy. minimal, a bit twisted, but hooky as hell. on the flip we have becoming cyclonic, a far deeper excursion where 808 toms dance around a repeating fretless bass melody. an immersive and euphoric melding of drum machines, synths and 12bit jazz-fusion samples, all being put through the sonic mincer and coming out like the proverbial gourmet sausage. yum!

12 track album he wrote in prison - check these gritty lo-bit productions!

very limited repress. you re forgiven if you ve never heard of discret popescu, neither did we, until we started digging a bit deeper. mr. popescu comes from palinka-land, a quiet place where nothing out of the ordinary happens very often. perhaps that s why he s developed such an interesting and groovy approach to his music. digging a bit deeper into his background, it came as no surprise that discret popescu is in fact, the ying to alin crihans yang, the lighter more playful side of his sonic universe.

rat life records presents serial error a project by credit 00, jacob korn & sneaker. this outfit was brought to life in 2013 when red d called for some new beat style tracks for his -our beat is still new- compilation. flying a bit too low under the radar ever since rat life decided to reissue drum abuse on a super sound maxi single. the track was made in jacob korn s headquarter studio / synthesizer museum. the task distribution was hit quickly: jacob squeezing the acid out of his huge formant modular system, credit 00 beating the drums on the boss dr 660 and sneaker throwing his unique vocals on top!

joran van pol is back on minus with edge, a fantastic four track ep that is his first on the label since 2013. in the years since, the amsterdam based artist has set up his own fade label and has continued to evolve his cinematic techno sound. previously, van pol has also released on labels like rejected, sci+tec and ideal audio, and has the support of all the big techno players who often reach for his tunes in their sets. as a dj he is just as in demand, with headline slots everywhere from space ibiza to time warp all behind him. having recently set up a new studio, he is still coming on strong with fresh inspiration and ever more essential grooves. ‘illos opens things with seven spooky minutes of icy techno. rolling rubbery drums pump away below, and the details up top make for an evocative soundscape with distant industrial sounds, groaning bass and razor sharp hi hats all filling your mind with imagery. next comes title track ‘edge, another brilliant sonic landscape with tense chords repeating over ticking percussion. its a track that builds tension throughout, and keeps you looking over your shoulder into the eerie blackness. the perfectly high pressure ‘return is one that locks you in and never lets up, with warped synths snaking above traintrack like drums and hits. a dark, rumbling bassline and the sounds of pistons releasing air all add to the intensity of this brainmelting bit of futuristic techno. last but not least, ‘frostbite is then the most spacious and spooky offering of the lot. it has freaky alien sound designs scattered around the track with supple kicks driving the whole thing forwards. its an absorbing cut that hurries along and takes you for a thrilling ride. these are four more inventive techno tracks from one of the contemporary scenes brightest stars.

max 1 per customer - no backorder possible - sold out by supplier ... 4 archive tracks (produced early 2000s) of strange and melancholic pop from crammed discs singer, sonoko. the latest from ghent s stroom! the label say japanese/french, girlish, mysterious, sensual, always longing, a bit out of this world, but in a way also open and frank.

irenic is back with the first release of it’s ‘special’-series, done by alex jansen. known for his releases and remixes on labels such as u-gold, stardub, rue de plaisance and more, this ep shows two different sides of alex. on the a-side, both tracks share a very emotional deep feeling, while the b-side is a bit brighter and more suitable for dancefloors.

180 gram brazilian polysom re-issue of the polydor original.
the third album from the legendary os mutantes – part of the essential trio of sides released during the tropicalia years! the record’s got a sound that’s tighter and a bit more straightforward than their previous efforts – stricter song formats, and styles that lean heavily on rockish guitars and organ. but as the odd cover images on the front and back will attest, the band is still in a very creatively arty mode here – still working strongly with arranger rogerio duprat, in a wash of sounds and moods that fold contemporary music back upon itself with plenty of odd twists, turns, and surprises! titles include -desculpe babe-, -oh mulher infiel-, -quem tem medo de brincar de amor-, -hey boy-, -haleluia-, -ave, lucifer-, and -meu refrigerador nao funciona-.

180 gram brazilian polysom re-issue of the polydor original.
quite possibly the last truly sublime album ever recorded by os mutantes – a set that’s a bit more rock-oriented then their first few, but still pretty revolutionary overall! the group have expanded to a quintet at this point, but haven’t yet falling into the guitar-heavy groove of later years – and rogerio duprat is working with the group on arrangements, although mutantes member arnaldo baptista is handling production chores himself. odd styles still slide into the mix as the tunes roll on – creating that great sense of surprise that makes their best work so great, and keeping things fresh even when a bit more straight ahead! titles include a reprise of -baby-, one of the group’s early classics – plus -portugal de navio-, -virginia-, -tecnicolor-, -el justicero-, -lady, lady-, -sarava-, -it’s very nice pra xuxu-, and -top top-.

a legendary album! this previously unreleased album by os mutantes was supposed to be their breakthrough album to an english speaking market – but for years it’s only been talked about in hushed whispers, and has only been heard by a lucky few! the record was recorded in paris in 1970 – and it’s all in english! (not that we’re biased against portuguese, mind you – but since we’re english speakers, it’s kind of a nice thing to have a record that we can understand!) the record features a number of tunes from the mutantes first two albums – redone here with translated lyrics, and in a compressed pop style that’s a bit smoother than the original albums, but still very nice! in fact, the record’s a sophisticated pop statement that would have stood well in the company of many of the best of 1970s rock elite – had the boneheads at philips actually decided to release the record! no use crying over spilled milk, though – because the album’s out now, and it’s filled with loads of nice tracks like -panis et circensis-, -batmacumba-, -tecnicolor-, -el justiciero-, -i’m sorry baby-, -saravah-, and a sublime reading of -baby-, a track that was virtually the manifesto for tropicalia!

repressed on audiophile quality, 180 gram double vinyl. this second helping from the sessions that produced the preceding kid a will probably strike close listeners as a bit more structured, though it ll be difficult to determine whether thats simply because the peregrinations of the last album have prepared them for the trips to the outer limits taken here. those expecting a u2 like return to tuneful, anthemic guitar rock will have their hopes dashed upon a rock of colourful electronic experimentation and moody, studio enhanced madness.

audiophile re-mastering by ray staff at air mastering, lyndhurst hall, london. pressing on 180 gram vinyl.
the best r&b songwriter and soul singer that most people have never heard of, sam dees has written songs for countless artists, including gladys knight, aretha franklin, whitney houston, george benson, the temptations, teddy pendergrass, millie jackson, jackie wilson, the manhattans, regina belle, kc & the sunshine band, willie clayton, and many others. he’s also a pretty fine singer, having recorded for the chess, atlantic, polydor, and sss labels, and he had a nice string of his own hits in the 1970s.
his 1975 atlantic album “the show must go on” has long been regarded by southern soul aficionados as one of the best of the genre. sounding a bit like a deeper-voiced curtis mayfield (in both style and theme), dees sings with assurance, wisdom, passion, and a whole lot of soul here. songs like “child of the streets”, “troubled child”, & “what’s it gonna be”, share mayfield’s commitment to social commentary, and dees knows his way around a love song, too.

the man behind church records and half the force propelling coastal haze, seb wildblood, jumps over to let s play house for a laid back, suave four tracker that ll smooth out that transition we re all going through as summer fades and the embers of autumn begin to burn brighter. necessary happiness, the first track, a improvisatory, noodly deep house ambler, sets the pace and tone. from there, the british producer ups the tempo a bit and explores the darker contours of red light-lit basement caves and after- hours haunts with the ep s title track. the flip is briefer: necessary happiness (mad sax mix) is an embellished and brighter reprise of the a1, and“pass the pen is a loose instrumental that has the bones of a break beat interlude built atop a jazzy hip-hop beat. is that a dewy sea mist on the horizon at dawn or a heavy cloud of smoke machine fog veiling a strobe in the middle of the night?

pretty great sounds from the legendary antonio carlos jobim – an album cut a bit later than his bossa years, but with a darkly sophisticated sound that’s pretty darn compelling! the album features larger orchestrations by claus ogerman, and in a way, it’s similar to the jobim album on decca from 1973 (aka maita pere) – in that it’s got all the simple elements of jobim’s earlier bossa scoring, flushed out into moodier orchestral forms that we’d rank right up there with the modernist work of gil evans or duke ellington. a few cuts have a breezier sparer sound, and you’ll hear english versions of some older bossa tunes. titles include -dreamer-, -canta mais-, -olha maria-, -wave-, -two kites-, -this happy madness-, -song of the sabia-, -estrada do sol-, -voce vai ver-, -off key-, and -triste-.

***
our grief falls flat and hollow
upon the billion-blooded sea.
these mad dogs of glory
moving this little bit of light toward us.
it was a shameful waste of
madhouse time.
***

with jungle, grime (forthcoming), 90s rnb (forthcoming) and even red snapper’s ‘96 classic prince blimey all getting the skrs redux recently, runcometest ep is a time-capsule. 8-bit basslines echo from distant battles with space invaders while sure-footed dub samples glare at sound system history through vaseline smeared lenses. returning to more grounded dubwise sensibilities (by their standards), runcometest builds a bridge between the collective’s 2014 nocorner cassette (rootprinciple) and the recently re-surfaced sci-fi/western clash dancehallshowdown (self-released on ics library recordings last year).

180 gram brazilian polysom re-issue of the polydor original.
one of the hardest rocking albums ever cut by os mutantes – a record that’s got a slightly ironic take on rock and roll styles of the time – still performed with the sense of drama and humor that always made the band so great! rita lee and arnaldo baptista are still in the group at this point, and they’re working amidst a heavy wave of guitars that echo out with a bit of keyboards and some rhythms that are chunky enough to almost be called funky at times, but sweet and dreamy at others – all produced with a flanged-out finish that makes the whole thing sound great!

an incredible album from lo borges one of the best singer/songwriters on the brazilian scene of the 70s! borges first burst into the spotlight for his work on the club da esquina album by milton nascimento and his work as part of miltons corner club really helped shape the style of the more famous singer. yet borges is almost an equally great talent on his own with a soaring, soulful approach that’s every bit as great as the best nascimento material from the period and recorded in a wonderfully similar spirit! the sound here is completely sublime right from the start music that moves us, even if we can t understand the language of the lyrics like some of the best work by caetano veloso and gilberto gil. there’s maybe a bit more guitar than on some of the milton nascimento work of the period but used in a fuzzy way that slides in nicely with some of the jazzy phrasing of the instrumentation which is delivered with help from key contemporaries who include beto guedes, nelson angelo, toninho horta, and tenorio jr. the songwriting is amazing and titles include cancao postal, voce fica melhor assim, nao foi nada, calibre, faca seu jogo, toda essa agua,pensa voce, como o machando, and aos baroes.

does this need an explanation? my two favourite dj sides from stark reality catalog, for say brother i fixed the eq and made it a bit more club friendly also editing the crazy tripped out ending out which maybe controversial but always freaked the dance floor out so i cut that out to gain some extra volume and bass. on the flip we got bustin out of doors which has always been a favourite warm-up record again without the random ending. to make it extra cute i used the o.g hoagy carmichael’s music shop illustration. 500 only, no repress.

reginald omas mamode iv has a terrific track record thus far. since delivering his debut 12inch back in 2013, hes barely put a foot wrong, with last years intimate friends released mini-album, all together, being a particular highlight. this debut full-length is every bit as impressive as youd expect, with the peckham producer relying a little less on dusty samples, and rather more on loose, live drums, rubbery bass guitar, dreamy rhodes keys, and other luscious instrumentation. as usual, the assembled tracks effortlessly join the dots between jazzy instrumental hip-hop, neo-soul, mauritian drum workouts, broken beat and humid, tropical-tinged grooves.

finally the long-awaited second series of invisible family outings has arrived.label boss and compiler gk machine has this to say beyond ecstatic to get these tracks out. the gazeebo track i ve been playing in my sets for years. digital only but so great it definitely needed to get pressed onto wax! i would dj with it using ableton and speed it up a lot so for the vinyl i asked jon (nedza) who ive been a huge fan of since his community recordings releases on grayhound and imperial dub, whether he could speed it up a little bit before we pressed it up. now its 100% perfect: a moroder-esque cosmic stomper thats sure to set any dancefloor alight. the apiento track is another one that s been gestating for a long time first appearing around the time the original e.s.p. 12inch appeared on the wonderful golf channel recordings in 2014. secret circuit gave it a complete overhaul, in fact several complete overhauls, plus some of his signature guitar and has turned the already blissful track into an afro-esque, trippy, beautiful, beautiful piece of music that (imo) is one of his best yet. utterly gorgeous! then there s the boy-girl retro-future duo der kundalini coming from the wonderful lectric sands stable in ny who gave us zoovox. this one s also been hiding on my hard drive way too long! finally relative newcomers konzel (of junto club/optimo music fame) & natural sugars (pardon my french) round off the package just perfectly. the former so distinct that i felt it was a perfect opener for the a side. so, i hope you dig it and keep an eye out for the super limited 12-track cassette too! limited to 300 hand-numbered copies.

not waving’s computer-acid-pop magnum opus after acclaimed animals lp in 2016
• featuring a vocal contribution from marie davidson on where are we (watch the video here - http://bit.ly/2jhrpxe)
• mastered and cut by matt colton. artwork by guy featherstone
• riyl fad gadget, john bender, smersh, lcd soundsystem

nice price deal !!! don t stop is yet another step further - and a nod from recognition, poland s premiere modern techno imprint, towards dirtier, funkier and a bit unpredictable side of contemporary club music. proper oldschool warehouse vibe meets modern digital manipulations, raw hip hop feel clashes with unstoppable tech-house mayhem courtesy of one of the most underrated producers of today. enigmatic etiop is one shadowy figure. quiet and modest, he s been around for at least last ten years, running his diy label palma records, producing local gangsta hip hop acts and always struggling with a harsh reality in his industrial hometown of plock. there are some dark stories surrounding him that probably will never be confirmed... but his passion for music and ability to hear far beyond ordinary cannot be denied. etiop is a synthetist

after putting out kito jempere s stunning sea monster album earlier in the year, hell yeah now serve up a bunch of remixes from it that have been secret weapons for the last few months. behind them are black spuma, lipelis and bell towers and they all serve up real heaters. first up with possibly their best ever remix are black spuma—a collaboration between phillip lauer (tuff city kids, arto mwambe) and fabrizio mammarella (telespazio)—who flip ampa into a bootylicious house cut with fat bass stabs and sci-fi synths. it s retro in flavour and riddled with melodies that are brightly coloured and emotive, and when the vocal is layered in it helps carry you away on a wave of bliss. for djs who prefer to keep things raw, a dub version without the vocals is also included and bangs that bit harder.

let your brain slowly melt to the delightful sounds of dima disk. having first heard their music via the palace x bronze skate video a year or so ago, we did a bit of digging and it turned out to be by a duo called dima disk, one half of whom was an old glasgow pal called ragnar and robert nikolajev from tallinn s legendary club lekker. you may have heard their recent ripper on porridge bullet. having been fans of the shit coming out of estonia for a good few years and also having a thing for releasing music from our glasgow connections we felt that this needed to come out as a rad 12-.