this is how it started focuses heavily on the early days of the chicago sound, especially in the formative years at ron hardys music box

early in 2014, copenhagens kenneth bager asked electronic wizard and remix entrepreneur ruf dug if he would make an album for his acclaimed balearic imprint music for dreams. that summer, ruf dug headed off to spend three months on the island of guadeloupe in the french caribbean. seizing the opportunity to live out his own compass point fantasy, he put together a portable studio that would fit into a suitcase - two half-rack synthesizers, a couple of effects units, his laptop and a 4-track cassette recorder. he set up the studio in the spare bedroom in a rented villa and spent the next 12 weeks watching the sun set and making the album. all tracks were written and recorded in guadeloupe, with nev cottee beaming in vocals and guitar parts for a couple of the tracks direct from the heart of mancunia, hooking into the powerful and long-standing musical relationship between manchester and that most famous of sunset islands ibiza

berlin based label schakal’s first ep comes from antialias, one of its two founders and is called -somber clarity-. the title track makes us think of the return into the early morning light, but could just as easily be a reminder to those dark and delirious hours that came before.

with four original tracks from chris carrier, this new ep is based around the original detroit vibe, with a hint of acid. the tracks all take their titles from famous nuclear devices, giving the music a foreboding overtone. rds-1 was the first weapon developed by the russians during the arms race of the early 20th century. the track is deep, driving and morose yet full of life. trinity was the codename of the very first nuclear test in 1945, this track is a shivering acid beast, minimal and absorbing. bwr 3 takes its name from one of the reactors at the doomed fukushima plant, subtle elements of funk flow through this restrained number. lastly comes chicago pile 1, the worlds first ever nuclear reactor, and a track that embodies the ominous possibilities of such an invention.

another classic, out of print large release sees an exclusive repress in 2015. originally released in 1994, this is the 8th vinyl outing from the early catalog of one of house music s most celebrated labels. fans of early large and black ice know what to expect- tough, minimal chicago house grooves laced with tinges of jazz and soul. a terrific addition for collectors and fans of lables such as dance mania, gherkin, emotive and more.

arguably all but the most dedicated fans will have long forgotten most significant beat, a post industrial early 90s techno project from former clock dva man maurizio martinucci and esplendor geonetrico s saverio evangelista. this surprise vinyl compilation tells the story of their previously cd-only late 90s work, throwing in a previously unheard workout, the angular rhythms and sheffield bleeps of geometric state for good measure. for the most part, the material has aged remarkably well, and sits somewhere between the forthright madness of autechre, the spacey techno of detroit-via-frankfurt (see amy tekno) and the buzzing intensity of surgeon.

tengrams are brothers alessandro and davide piatto, who collectively have a deep and long understanding of dance music. davide runs the n.o.i.a. label and was one of italy s first touring electronic live acts, performing and recording with drum machines and synthesizers as early as 1978. he was also behind seminal italo outfit klein + m.b.o and proto house hit dirty talk. since then they have released under an array of aliases, have clocked up many hits and this new project brings them back to their electronic roots, with influences like sci-fi movies and old school techno looming large.

the people behind the amazing mareh festival in brasil (the southern hemisphere s answer to electric elephant), drop yet more top drawer music as their label journey continues to gain strength. set in the lush settings of bahia where day blends into night and sun into moon, mareh continues to attract some first class artists from around the world to release on their imprint. the second release kicks off with glasgow based production wizard the revenge letting loose a late night groove that takes a blissful string sample and then works it for the dance floor. it s top stuff from the man with the roaring grooves. and rumours have it that the revenge himself will be headlining at this year s legendary nye event in bahia alongside tim sweeney, pete herbert & dicky trisco. next up is berlin based disco and house aficionado eddie c who drops an uber cool, cut up disco chugger that is likely to work your sunset and early morning sets to the max. mareh favourite pete herbert then steps up to the controls and delivers an upbeat, balearic dance floor banger that hits all the right notes and then hits them again. you can almost smell the hierbas on this one! last but not least, tokyo based englishman max essa delivers an electronic ode to late night dancing and early morning dips as he joins the dots between the tokyo underground and the fresh bahian surf. wonderful stuff. so mareh really are out to pull in a truly global sound to their label outing with glasgow, berlin, london, ibiza and tokyo all represented as well as their spiritual homelands sao paulo, and of course the place where it all happens each new year... bahia.

more early support from amandra (ahrpe), antonio de angelis, arnaud le texier, blndr, dj sandrien, edanticonf, elle, nima khak, oscar mulero, refracted, retina.it, rraph, samuli kemppi, shaded explorer, subforms, the noisemaker, tommy four seven, unam zetinebm, victor martinez / error etica, vilix among others.

motor city. the home of hi-tek soul. or simply, the origin. just a few of the names with which to descibe a city in the heart of america that has the power to captivate ones imagination. in the early 20th century it revolutionized transport, ushered in an age of previously unknown mobility and became the automotive capital of the world. during the 60s it gave us motown, one of the most influential r&b and soul record labels to ever exist. and, before the turn of the millennium, it would bring forth another musical revolution: the one called techno music. to abstract division, the city of detroit and its artists are a major source of inspiration. as such, they decided their newest metropolis ep was to be an hommage, a means of giving back. this special package includes an original track that keeps close to the spirit of melodic, rhythmic, minimalism detroit is known for. it also features three very special remixes by close friends oscar mulero - under his trolley route alias (which he hasnt released music under since 2010) - function, who ups the darker ante and marcel fengler who infuses it with his trademark berlin funk.

rotating frames is the new ep for pole group by our very own duo exium. four tracks of modern and obscure techno, fuelled by heavy sub-bass action.

early suuport by rodhad, pfirter, norman nodge, etapp kyle, rolando, dj deep, inigo kennedy, kr!z and many more. odd / even boss andre kronert brings the fire to the third ep from fledgling underground label pure traxx. the artist behind last years hit stockholm ltd ep >exu< serves up two more deep cuts of the grittiest of analogue techno. label head stefan rein and dystopian artist ron albrecht deliver equally potent interpretations to round off the release. sinister sounds for dark spaces.

after the series of caribbean related releases, emotional rescue returns to the early 80s downtown nyc post punk / new wave scene with plus instruments collecting their best and rarest songs on one groove laden ep. 4 tracks of pure downtown punk-dub-funk, all with the nonchalant euro-style delivery of truus de groot. it doesnt get better than this. coming with extended unreleased versions, the originals were collected from sought after eps, an obscure compilation lp and fiishes with a never before released song, this is history. licensed and remastered for aural pleasure

wife is the first single from pete dafeet s forthcoming album the root, the soul. an exultant slab of piano-led house, wife screams summer and should prove a hit on europes dance-floors as festival season rolls in. nacho marcos remix adds steel to the originals splendour, with tr-303 and 909 joining forces to drive energy levels skywards - recalling nachos recent outings on ovum, classic, and we play house. early dj support from chez damier, ian pooley, charles webster, milton jackson, manuel tur, moodymanc, blakkat, danny howells, luke solomon, atjazz, radio support bbc radio 1 (monki) bbc radio 1xtra (monki) defected radio show traxsource radio show (x2) fish go deep radio anna wall (defected, future disco radio): these are some of the most beautifully crafted, well put together prouctions i ve heard in a long time.

good morning, commander. glad you could make it this early. please take a seat. as you know, your journey towards wasteland is a mission divided into four stages

if john daly returns to his own one track records it means business. his lush techno style (rooted in early 90 s detroit techno) meets balearic vibes resulting in a true deep house excursion that comes in 3 versions! recommended!

finally hydergine joins the knotweed records family! hydergine (aka roberto corizzo) is a techno producer from southern italy. he is best known for producing raw dub techno, and has come up with a string of fantastic releases in the last 3 years on labels such as separate skills and ranges.we have been talking to each other since the early days of knotweed records, trying to find the right tracks for the label. roberto approached us at the beginning of the year with some tracks that were a bit -different- than his usual productions: he was experimenting, and we liked it a lot. that s how the gamma experiments e.p. was born.the a side of the gamma experiments e.p. is a heavy atmospheric techno bomb. both tracks on the b side have more an acid feeling to them, incorporating weird arps, rawness and pad trips.enjoy the ride!

back in 2013, futureboogie released the fade ep by outboxx, a record that received critical acclaim from the who’s who of music press, helping to propel outboxx on the upward trajectory they’ve managed to maintain since those early releases. unsurprisingly, futureboogie are delighted to get the pair back for more.

following up his appearance on part 4 of our strength in numbers compilation, we are ecstatic to present some fresh material from no other than dj slip. a name that has been on the tongue of anyone entrenched in the us techno scene since the early 90’s, dj slip has entranced audiences for years with his brilliantly bizarre take on sonics. remix duties this time around come from berghain resident dj and all around musical powerhouse, answer code request.

phorma releases ion, a nine-minute dub techno piece by adam craft reminiscing rainy nights on stockholms sveavagen. on the flip side, dimi angelis and jeroen search transform this vibe into a stripped-down yet powerful tool to work the early hours.

presented in 5mm spine, ltd edition full-artwork colour sleeve which fits parts 1-3. having scored on mosiac, bodyparts and project london, kashawar returns to autoreply to complete his critically acclaimed moments & lost memories series. here the young german star steps up with time cures a hook driven weapon possibly paying a slower respect to mills purpose maker releases. mpc style swing infects the groove on rise and shine adding soothing vocals and subtle acid lines to side a. flip the disc for deep, funking atmospherics on knotting and spheres adds some of kashawars early morning dub magic to the package. look out for repressed parts 1 & 2 to complete your collection!

waypoints builds on those early successes, with that delicateness of touch plain to hear. a renewed warmth enters. tracks wash with a lush and textured sound. sheer class spills from speakers. porthole illustrates from the needle-drop what you are in for. a tapestry of tones reveals incredibly emotive electronics. tracks are sculpted with an awe-inspiring precision, from the wind-swept wonder of murmur to 303 echoed dreamscape of the searching. and it is a dreaminess that embodies this ep.

the fifth installment of the prrukblk series includes 3 buldging techno bits giorgio gigli and ness. leaning towards the more sinister side of techno this record contains everything from off beat rhythms to sinister early morning themes.

martyn dropping his second one on dollydubs. once more the dutchman is delivering a masterclass in contemporary dance music. on block the box you ll find 3 tracks with roots tracing back to the early nineties underground rave spirit, but with that special energy that will unite future dancefloors worldwide. subs, strings & breaks are all present, shifting back and forth between hedonistic ecstasy an moody melancholia. instant magic guaranteed!

this time, they have collaborated with british producer and songwriter brolin, who has written a heart melting vocal for this release. as the lyrics and melody swirl across an uplifting instrumental, it becomes obvious that lost n free is the soundtrack for those introspective, early morning moments. the b side, doin it takes the release underground with its pulsing synths and piano stabs that gradually build over contagious basslines and swung drum hits.

*this is how it started* focuses heavily on the early days of the chicago sound, especially in the formative years at ron hardys music box. vinyl sampler 3 of a comprehensive journey in the essence of chicago house music, features gene hunt, chicago blues orchestra, yam who? & gg.

pittsburgh track authority return with a new single-sided limited edition edits record on the imprint that bears only their own logo. “i always wanted to be in a band” kicks things off in an early 70s soul jazz style, with infectious vocals and catchy horns doing the damage. next, a flute driven cover of the dance classic “lowdown” keeps the disco-funk vibes of the original but with added springtime/summer vibes. both of these have done damage for pta at their gigs, and now they can do damage for you at yours. a fitting end to the magenta logo series!

the late nite stepper, the strut in the stuff that leaves you wanting more. that goodnight kiss, that early morning mist. mystery producer olmos steps to the plate for his debut 12inch on hot shot sounds, boogie funk vibes paired with modern nods to house stomping og mix backed with remixes from label boss inkswel and faces & mcde maestro pablo valentino

• the fourth and final re-release of the early rrose titles originally on sandwell district
• full colour printed jacket
original promotional text : yes, the rumours were true - a full lp here of the latest tête-à-tête between secret artist rrose and experimental maestro bob ostertag.

next up on obsession recordings is a new one from label co-founder primitive world (sam willis of walls/ecstatic) following up from his excellent previous release ‘worship / premonition . fast falling hands , has a relentless, almost abrasive groove, offset with a staggered insolent bassline and jagged percussion which see primitive world further developing his off kilter sensibility and sense of texture. on the flip, ‘rush’ twists proceedings up with its humid atmosphere, heavy breathing, and the unique sense of restraint seen demonstrated in his previous work.
early support from barnt, john osboure, laurent garnier ...

a powerfull mix of house & techhous sounds.. a paean to the universe, the ep brings a fresh, new sound while being rooted in the spirituality and intent of the early days of underground housemusic. long basslines and a straight experience with ups and downs, newly interpreted and played with every track, is what makes these two artists so catchy. perfect buildup tunes, deep and jackin housemusic.

one of the uks most enigmatic bootleg labels returns for its fourth installment of dancefloor bombs and feel good hits. following the trail blazed by early bootleg pioneers such as ron hardy and john morales, boogiefuturo presents two instant classics for the edits hall of fame. * give me some emotion* features an expertly amped-up sample of a particularly well-known female vocalist (we don’t want to give too much away now). jamie bull’s edit respectfully takes the track into the 21st century, with solid, punchy drums and big room snare reverbs to support the original boogie funk synth lines and staccato guitars. sing along vocals and catchy hooks make this a fine addition to any vinyl junkie’s record bag. ‘lovin’ spree’ continues the boogifuturo tradition of tasteful edits. neil diablo loops an infectious guitar hook with the addition of low growling synths and rhodes keys, to build the track into a crescendo timeless disco strings, chant-along vocals and killer sax solos. an underground classic on the disco scene but never reaching the heights of commercial success, diablo presents an edit to give this forgotten record new life. boogiefuturo is vinyl only and strictly underground, this won’t be played out by everyone – this one is for the purists, the vinyl addicts, the one’s that reminisce over the days when the white label ruled…

concept record alert! fairlights by fort romeau is a tribute to the - technically minded readers might raise an eyebrow - australian computer musical instrument that people like peter gabriel, herbie hancock or kate bush fell in love with during the late 1970s/early 1980s. anyways, if fort romeaus current album is like painting with oil, fairlights is like drawing with permanent marker- to quote the man himself. all based on the word saku, you will experience an epic journey evolving around heart-breaking dance-floor romanticism, jaw-breaking beat exercises, life-affirming ambient digressions, and a general feeling of spring fever.

u-star records has returned! after spearheading a dub-soaked and twisted disco revival in the early nineties, u-star quickly became a cult label, whose catalogue still manages to sound as fresh and dislocated as ever! they are kicking things off again with shrinkwraps incredible versions of the 1997 idjut boys and laj track karmakazi from the outhouse ep. shrinkwrap serve up two recreations that have captured the spirit of the original and taken it far far away

san francisco/paris-based label spring theory is back with its fourth release. called sweet bitter love, it s a four track ep of manic sample-driven house from keita sano, a japanese producer who s been on a roll lately with releases for like-minded imprints discos capablanca, mister saturday night, and strictly groove recordings. sweet bitter love kicks off with the tripped-out flair of -once i found a diamond.- it s an uplifiting bongo-led cut with dubby melodics that sound like the kind of thing sleeping bag records would have put out in the early 80s. jacques renault provides a leaner peak-time version — complete with hard-hitting snares and growling bass — via his -once i found a diamond (jacques renault trouble funk remix).- things take a turn for the delightfully weird on the ep s namesake -sweet bitter love.- starting like a straightforward house cut, it explodes into a psychedelic collage of spaghetti western guitars, tribal calls, displaced jazz fills, and other forms of cleverly sampled soundtrack exotica. the release wraps up with yet another curveball on -bouzouk.- here sano lays out a subwoofer-knocking ny garage house rhythm that takes a left turn with frenzied bouzouki playing charting arpeggios through a haze of echoing foreign voices. taken as a whole, sweet bitter love is that rare idiosyncratic bomb of an ep that will keep your dancers moving and your trainspotters guessing — in other words, it s spring theory through and through.

title track joyride kicks things off with a straight up 909 beat, complete with scifi sweeps and classic wood block percussion, quickly working its way into an very subtle groove with every element working effectively to keep it fully funk laden. sideways completes the a side of the release and gets going right from the beginning. pumping percussion takes hold and hits the ground running before a perfectly weighted synth hook lashes over the top with henning playing with the synths lfo to creative effect. dust takes things down a notch as swirling pads drape themselves over a serious 909 beat. henning lets this one loop out, letting the subtle variations in the synths do the work as the 909 holds the beat solid and reminiscent of early berlin/detroit dub techno crossovers. mars attacks closes of the ep and does so in particularly fine fashion. a more broken beat affair this time from henning and he really works his machines into a sonic warfare of bass tones and tweaked out synths that sear through the crashing percussion workout.

the next communication from butter sessions is here! label heads sleep d team up with dj fett burger & jayda g to wow you with a wide range of sonics recorded via the velvet vortex between vancouver and melbourne. something for the pure late night bliss, early morning ecstasy or sundays on the couch!

high:controla is a vinyl & digital label which has been founded in 2014. the label sounds fuses elements of underground & techno with more organic styles to bring it special.

tommy bones returns to strictly rhythm with the * love & war ep*, featuring get down and love & war, two original cuts that highlight once again that tommy is a man with a history that spans the many variants of house music. get down contrasts the classic house sound with contemporary beats, while his get down (remix) adds more horns to give the track an early 90s feel. the retro future vibe continues with ‘love & war’ which rolls on a heavier, darker and techier tip. rounding off proceedings is love & war (war dub) which is exclusively available on vinyl only.

momomo is morgan garralon, resident of bordeaux in south west france. the dard dart ep comes on like early audion, spectral sound, plastikman or jeff samuel but french and wilder. the detail is in the destruction. momomo began with an interest in classical music before discovering electronic music in particular ambient music. from then, he ventured into industrial techno. the music he now creates lies somewhere between these two intensities: ambient and industrial. in his own words momomo describes his sound as dark-waved deep techno

vinyl sampler 1 of a comprehensive journey in the essence of chicago house music, featuring forgotten gems, future classics, highly sort after originals and obscure edits...
this is how it started focuses heavily on the early days of the chicago sound, especially in the formative years at ron hardy s music box.
following chicago s disco demolition night in 1979 the genre s popularity fell dramatically, hence fewer disco records being released.in this era chicago s djs such as hot mix 5, hardy, knuckles & jesse saunders played a variety of styles mixing in italo, electronic pop music, electro-funk and older disco joints often playing their own edits which focusing on the portions of the songs which always rocked the dancefloor. at the end of 1982, when dj frankie knuckles left the warehouse to open the power plant, ron hardy started to dj at the warehouse s new location until owner robert williams renamed it the music box. in 1984, a local label released a 12-inch single called -on and on- by locals jesse saunders & vince lawrence who had simple made the song in order to replace a record which had been stolen from saunders collection, the -on & on- bootleg disco megamix by mach. hence chicago house music was born and a modern day phenomenon followed.

early may will see italian imprint amam offer up the modern sound of yesterday ep coming courtesy of germany based producer doubtingthomas.

active for over 25 years, max durante is a legendary figure in the italian techno scene. an early 90s innovator in combining the sounds of techno, acid and industrial with his old school project on the legendary italian label acv/hot trax. his project automatic sound unlimited with darchangelo of rephlex records fame was ahead of the game back then. so like glove fits hand. max fits perfectly on sonic groove with a cutting edge , menacing time bomb of an ep. sharp as a razor, hard as steel this is seriously powerful stuff for those that like there techno uncompromised.

quickly becoming one to watch in the techno circles, john shima is making waves with his fresh approach to that classic detroit sound. his contribution for boe is nothing short of a stunning representation of underground electronic music. prototype is a sonic ode to industry: blueprinted in the motor city and forged in sheffield. it s heads down for the dance floor with shimmering metallic overtones and a side order of robot jack. ancient skies points more towards chicago stylings capturing the melancholy party vibe of early cajual records with crystal clear production skills and neat arrangements. transducer is groovy experimental techno that could have easily sat on the much-revered objet d art. it s electronic music that will stand the test of time. rounding off the ep in fine style is true distance. a stunning ambient piece with deep pads and swirling melodies that complement and round of the ep perfectly.

s1 warsaw is back! after last years sampler including crooked disco debut from matat professionals it is time to get back to artists series with warsaw-based producers full lenght ep. dial b for fun time is a perfect soundtrack to memories of 90s teenager spending all day hanging around skate spots, driving car and listening to some noisy mixtapes, watching skateboarding movies and cheesy comedy flicks on vhs tapes or bombing downtown at night. sounds and styles blended in these four tracks vary from early dj shadows sublime beats, soundstreams disco-house pumpin, bjørn torskes nordic moods to mobb deeps lo-fi hardcore hip-hop instrumentals. all served with cheeky sense of humor and dose of irony.

as spring dawns, rhythm section international go from local artist to a pair of very * local* artists - peckham’s very own chris watson + chris coupe, otherwise known as fyi chris , who present the ‘back in the millennium’ ep as the labels 5th offering. the ep was born after a rather hazy late night listening session at rhythm section hq, where bossman bradley zero was instantly beguiled by the duos hypnotic and rhythmically complex arrangements. the record begins abrasively with the trance-inducing mechanical stutter of back in the millennium , before shuffling into downbeat number * jeru* and then picks things up with the peak time groove of * need i say more* before bringing us back down to earth with the melancholic acid bump of * dedication*. early support from osunlade, mr.g, ryan elliott & damiano von eckhert. ready for club use.

the crew are at it again, having caused a mini storm with their debut 12- ep they are back with a rsd limited edition, first up we have this 80 s drenched balearic monster - just how you feel-, fat drums and baseline with plenty of synths, acoustic and electric guitar and haunting vocals. next the crew take us up the nile with this majestic track full of eastern flavour, fused with jazz and a relentless rhythm. finally we have this little gem of a track, fool in line, delightful in every way, with some mean marimba playing and catchy vocals, what a great jam. early dj support from kenneth bager 12 inch purple vinyl with splatters of white & black, in a manilla sleeve

a true child of the rave generation, dj/producer warlocks mixtapes and radio show, on the now legendary london pirate station pulse fm, established his cult status as a stalwart of the early 90s uk dance scene.

phase insane is proud to present el carton, the first collaboration between the madrilenians gale talk andunkle fon. this massive work will not leave anybody indifferent, as it is really unusual having music as original as the one they bring us. gale talk and unkle fon bring us two huge dark techno tracks produced over really deep melodic and groovy elements. these songs generate a massive effect in the dance floor as they are based in very hypnotic sounds which make listeners get into the groove from the very first moment. if this looks great, it becomes better when you listen the fantastic remix of el carton produced by the brooklyn based duo loud neighbor.
support early supported by richie hawting, maceo plex, joseph capriaty, paco osuna, anderson noise, cicuendez, franco bianco and many more.