after more than a decade of deep, expansive productions on labels such as detroit underground and cpu, annie hall arrives on musar for a record typically rich in texture and understated grooves. indebted to vintage electro and idm, halls music is no throwback, always looking forward and moving dancefloors in the most unexpected ways.

ruben montesco s new ep comes loaded with the purest, full-effect nineties sounds.
this throbbing 12inch is the artist s tribute, as well as a complete review, of some of the musical icons of this golden decade in electronic music.
ebm, new wave, techno and electro are the main styles blended in the four tracks included in this release.
a further listening reveals a clearly dancefloor-oriented ep that caches the essence of these styles and subtly brings them back to the present with elegance and savoir-faire.

te records presents on this beautiful 12” picture disc collection six tracks of electro-pop music, yet all songs sound different from the other. smea, who has produced the music, has invited six vocalists from gothenburg (including himself) to put lyrics on top of each track. the result is synth, dark wave, techno, break beat, electro boogie sounding coolness!

le matin, always rare and uncategorised, following the reissue of his early synthwavepop tunes on poussiere depoque and a track on the good lena wilikens dekmantel selectors 005 comp, this new ep on lost dogs ent. let you hear some of his last works. expect an ultra-cold-minimal-electro riddim, a less-mental-nearly-good-for-the-dancefloor tune with depitched haunted r&b vocals, an analog and bassy arpeggio ride on the flip side, oh my god! this is the peak-time-for-weirdo-nearly-techno tune, a blast, only for craziest djs that like broken-frustrated-uncomfortable dandefloors and to finish this well balanced 5 trackers: the are you depressed that much? its the 10th time youre listening to this ost of a dying world, this wont get any better but at least this is good music! tune. le matin is a good kept secret that prefer to take care of his kids than to travel the world of nightclubbing with drunk teens (ok thats how it is in france, that looks better in some other countries), but sometime you can hear his music on decks of some wise people and djs like call super, lena wilikens, house of traps, charles drakeford, jon k, bergsonist, body motion

30th anniversary edition of 1.500 individually numbered copies on blue 180 gram vinyl.
bomb the bass is the alias from the english electronic music producer tim simenon. he released his debut album into the dragon in 1988. it s an intriguing trip through electro, acid-house and hip-hop music. on the album you ll find his breakthrough hit -beat dis-, which became popular in the underground and club circuit. it feels like you re listening to a radio broadcast show, including intro skits in a melting pot of styles. a true classic in the history of using samples in music. bomb the bass were one of the first acts to bring sample-based music and scratching to a mainstream audience.

three hot new tracks and a handy reprise tool feature on this new outing from london’s mysterious hardworking families. machine funk electro, deep acid flecked bombs, and a gentle nod to the old skool on sunshine.

music is feeling, music is meetings. in 2015, the s3a records 04 was released with collaborations of good friends of s3amet in the world by the music (tito wun, mannmademusic). this sampler continue the story with tracks from people s3a met during gigs and travels in the past year: sweely delivers here great speedy long jazz banger with a great voice sample as a theme. the columbian felipe gordon gives a great stompy funk bass track! on the b side, the french g2s drops a beautiful house sample based -graef like- song. for the last track need a little bit of story. in 2016 s3a released an ep called 3711 on soundofspeed records in japan. the track -bush- taken from this ep has been remixed during a contest in early 2018. 42 remixes were done and the winner has is remix edited here. pnom pen gives us here his 80 s electro version of the track adding great pads and a complete different rhythm and grooves!

quadratschulz is famed for his unmistakable blend of smooth electro grooves and playful melodies.

manchester s ourtime music return with something of a electronic masterpiece ! after a 14 year hiatus, salford s elusive cosmic composer returns to his sonic insomniac guise with a debut lp of the finest underwater electro & crisply rendered electronica as always, super limited !!

computer controlled delves back into deep space with norwell’s interkosmos ep. five tracks of russian space race era influenced electro/techno. hotly tipped last year by helena hauff and with a string of releases under his belt from the likes of umwelt’s new flesh, dalmata daniel, pinkman and his own label with imre kiss, crisis, norwell is definitely one to keep an eye on.

goldbrick records third release comes from irish duo ringolevio. made over the course of a few months in various rooms around dublin, the record sways from playful electro to straight up jams with a few emotions in between. as more and more young people can’t afford to live in dublin city, ringolevio has some advice: eat your landlord, stone the dáil, defecate in the banks, moon the dup, hammer neo-liberalism, repeal the fuck out of the eighth, vandalise the donut shops.

jedi mind tricks is currently one of the hottest underground hip-hop groups in the united states. their sophomore album, violent by design, has sold over 85.000 copies and is regarded by many as one of the best independent hip-hop albums ever recorded. babygrande records is proud to present “the psycho-social, chemical, biological, and electro-magnetic manipulation of human consciousness” lp which is the cult classic prequel to violent by design. described by the source magazine as “ahead of its time” and by cmj as “a must own for anyone who cares about hip-hop culture,” the psycho-social was originally released only in limited pressings on vinyl 1997. the vinyl edition sells frequently on ebay for upwards of $100. that is until now... in 2002, prior to obtaining national distribution, babygrande released the cd version to independent retailers nationwide and scanned over 40.000 copies. now, babygrande has opened its vaults to re-release the the vinyl edition of the psycho- social in its entirety on collectible edition red vinyl (and for the first time ever in limited quantities on clear vinyl). thanks to digital remastering, listeners can obtain the album jedi mind tricks originally released in 1997, exactly as the artist intended. same barcode on black and clear vinyl, random fill, no guarantee.

this is already our seventh deep love compilation and we dare to say our most complete yet in sound and flow. the ten pieces on this sampler blend in perfectly with that laid back late summer mood. we are very pleased to welcome yet again some new acts to dirt crew with the likes of jaxx madicine, ouer, times are ruff and s3a. we cross many borders not only in genres but also country wise. from the heavy disco sampled jam by french producer s3a to the jazz and funk laden epos of the italian 3 piece jaxx madicine over to the dutch deep house boys times are ruff who are well known from their, same named, label and finally to the berlin duo ouer who also run an own label and released with our good friends at heist recordings, delivering an ecstatic electronic floating tune here. this is all completed by some excellence from long time dirt crew artists. 25 places have been with us for many years now and their two eps have gotten so much love from the deeper deep house community. here they drop an epic almost idm techno like tune that closes this great album in the best possible way. our icelandic stall wart felix leifur drops a heavy hitter named buster. after his recent bobby donny ep earlier this year we are thrilled to have him back on dirt crew! harry wolfman and ponty mython need no introduction really, they are adding electro/ disco/ electronica fuelled cuts that form a great middle part to this mix of tunes. harry going in very smooth and relaxed, something else than his usual house workout which we really loved to present to you

croatia s hot new electro imprint innerspace returns with their second release after a successful start with morphology and silicon scally! this time presenting a various selection with mesmerising tracks by maroje t, lithium flux, kan3da and datawave!

klorex 55 has moved his base to hawaiian latitudes where he hangs out with the king himself. they have been seen in a brand new cadillac each other day crusin around. these songs where made in-between filling up gasoline. pure electro car love songs.

the binary operator is coming to you via central electronics. 5 tracks full of electro power for mind, body and soul.

st. petersburg resident kuzma palkin is a busy guy, having recorded music in the past as audiocad, cylindro, plattformer and many more. under his own name hes contributed to russia s respected gost zvuk label, and now he signs up to the excellent ukranian outpost wicked bass to drop some hypnotic and delightfully dusky club tracks to inject a little spice into a minimal scenario. the release kicks off with windy bass, which shares a little rugged spirit with stls sonic style and love of loose swing, before diving down into the misty waters of fordism 0205. exalted flow has a more detailed arrangement that pushes extra detail, sequence wobbles and fx tweaks onto the drums to make for a dynamic rhythm workout. krisis ekktro completes the set with a blown out electro throwdown that will be gold dust to any self-respecting machine funk deviant.

spice 1 is an undisputed west coast legend, who first hit the scene after the n.w.a. and closer to home too $hort explosion of the late 80s. as history showed, he continued that bloodline with finesse and authority. his nasal flow is menacing and strong, and fans have been consistently captivated by his hood tales since his self-titled debut in 1992. if you want thematic range with your mcs, spice isn’t that dude he is all about crime tales and the perils of ghetto life. and he attacks that storytelling sweet spot with each new cut. spice 1 boasted four singles by the time it was all said and done, and breezed to gold status on the strength of cuts like the catchy east bay gangster, the heartfelt tales and truths of welcome to the ghetto, and the thick, grooving in my neighborhood. he even produced the alcohol-themed 187 proof, another of the albums singles, and the hands-down cleverest vocal outing on the lp. sonically, the backdrops on spice 1 range from plunky, keyboard-bassline funk to deeper, fuzzy 70s samples and he sounds strong on top of both. break yourself is fueled with an electro-funk drive, 1-800 spice brings reggae flavor, and peace to my nine gets chunkier, with a well-placed p-funk one nation under a groove sample. presented here on official retail vinyl for the first time since its initial release 26 years ago, spice 1s debut holds the test of time and carries the california gangsta flag with pride. some colors just don’t fade.

(incl. hifi sean remix) jonny soso - true girl is a nice mellow discoish tune recorded with michael tomlinson. keep it hotfoot!

the dutch electro specialist on board the lunar orbiter program for a new mission: time compensation.

jack roland pulls apart the control mechanisms of the club environment and the way this living and breathing installation can be a tool of elevation or suppression. using club sounds as instruments for this idea, control / applications is a split release born out of amsterdam s warehouse scene, fusing together electro matrix rhythms, idm, with warped hums and breaks used by dancers and performers heading up the rave. with a track on our future works iii comp last year, this is his debut record on the label: a release challenging superstructures buried among the sweat particles of the floor.

rough and ready machine tracks from brazilian producer/december collaborator innsyter (la club resource). cyn002 picks up where coletivo vandalismo left off, channeling that same wild, diy bedroom studio spirit across nine individual recordings. opening with sprawling synth motifs fighting against a steady rhythm track, desintegrado sounds like an industrial dub punk trying to channel early cluster or moebius and strangely succeeding. the rest of the lp treats us to vaguely drexciyan, subaquatic electro (bries) and twisted lo-fi minimalism with bonus eerie monologue samples (superficial love). the one recurring theme on magnetic healing is innsyter s clear love for mournful, post-punk inspired melodies. it comes across loud and clear on almost every track yet never sounds tired. things eventually draw to a close with the hopelessly romantic new wave instrumental forest shaman - a short ballad for all those weary-eyed party-goers who stuck around til the sun came up!

the man, the myth, the legend, back in the 80s jesse rae, along with roger troutman and bernie worrell, was part of the p-funk movement that was hugely influential to detroit’s early electronic experiments. lesser known is that the enigmatic scot-funk warrior later produced underground electronic tracks in the 90s. the inaugural release on glasgow label southside shufflers presents two of jesses shufflers on vinyl for the first time on the global 95 ep- a sampler from his pioneering 1995 album compression. ever the innovator, jesse recorded the album collaboratively using live isdn technology spanning three continents, with the resultant tracks fusing african, us electro-funk and old scots influences. 23 years later, jesse’s under the radar shufflers sound more relevant than ever. southside shufflers are a record label and sports collective based in glasgow with outposts in london and amsterdam. sss aint no half steppin!

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.

an introduction to zru vogue’s world. a percussive no wave, minimal and funky electro. oscillating between psychdelic rock and modern postpunk. “assembly for body movements” regroups tracks composed in 1981, 1984 and 2011. m.e.a tends to develop an interest to music that never seen light, through the most large electronica spectrum. here’s mea-0002.

rawax proudly welcomes alexkid to the family! we couldn t be happier with alexis debut. the bedroom ep is a great trippy techno journey from minimal to electro.

from the on_ series where unconventional, hard edged, experimental and archival club cuts get s re-presented, remixed and highlighted. laton outs russian newcomer ectro usic with a slamming, gritty & heavy duty electro/techno full side. flip carries dj sotofett s broken but strobicly steady club mix of – austrian inventor & synth specialist – a.burger s -device c- which in original suit has been released by craft records (1996) and laton (1999). a proper zone out.

an absolute neck twister that majestically blends acid house, uk bleeps & west coast style hip-hop with refined, delicate & grimey production techniques. it s a smile & groove attracting cross-over fit for house/techno as well as r n b/hip-hop floors. b-side takes the tempo up, electro-fying & advancing beat programming, while portioning dark, well harmonizing & climaxing sections of melodies. simply an ace & elegant sex tags mania power move.

for the inaugural release on tilt, faerber presents 070717, a four-track package of spiralling techno due 03.09.2018. as a joint venture from hamburgs renowned pal nightclub and berlin-based dj/producer faerber, tilt will serve as a platform for a range of experimental artists to present their work without restraint. 070717 is a disorienting trip through four swirling cuts, brandishing references to electro, industrial and ambient whilst permeating warmth through vast concrete structures. the title of this first release - a reference to the date of the g20 summit in hamburg last year - represents a period of instability for both the nightclub and faerber, who is a booker and resident dj there. ongoing heavy police presence outside its front doors resulted in a lack of visitors, so much so that the future of the venue became uncertain. despite a series of obstacles linked to the highly controversial political summit, pal continued to throw parties, eventually reaching a point of stability through sheer dedication and a focus on experimental bookings. now, after a slight delay, they are ready to launch their own imprint. 070717 is the soundtrack to resistance against all odds. vital sales points: - first single from faerber (pal) - releases on tilt - extensive global promo by tailored communications - releaseparty at pal on september first.

sugardaddy are a uk electronic music duo formed in 2006 and is the musical brainchild of tom findlay (one half of groove armada) and singer song writer tim hutton (hybrid, groove armada, way out west) “hypnotise- has an altogether late 80 s heavy, low slung, boogie vibe, caressed with beautifully haunting yet soulful vocals. greg wilson remixes an extended rework, holding the vibe of the original and effortlessly extending certain aspects of the groove, creating a 9 minute dancefloor monster! situation are next up with a late night, deep house dub interpretation which builds to a discoesque guitar licked, infectious, yet hypnotic bombshell bittersuite finish the release with a chunky funk fuelled version, full of slap bass and a bucketful of soaring, atmospheric synths, cleverly weaving those wonderful vocals and building to an electro jazz funk masterpiece.

of paradise join forces with rising russian talent, low tape, for an ep of deftly crafted and explorative electro. comprising of four slices of soaring electronic music that collectively showcase a new and hybrid sound, “walking the streets” firmly marks out this rising talent as a one to watch. “walking the streets” comes packaged in a matte black sleeve complete with sticker and a6 insert.

the pulse projects is the moniker of albert van abbes electro-focused venture. his forthcoming release on patron records leans heavily on the gritty and murky sound that we know from the versed producer/dj, who has been around for quite some time now. soon to be is a forceful four-track ep that includes a lot of weighty patterns, compelling soundscapes and some wobbly acid-flecked grooves. but most of all, the ep demonstrates how effective, yet meaningful distorted kicks and breakbeats can be.

bittersweet brings three hard hitting electro works and one lush electro-tech track from silicon. in a time of world chaos and disorder the strap, noise, and worms reflect this with double meaning lyrics and sonic push reminiscent of old silicon productions. wish brings the feeling of sweet hope and that all will be well with a crisp and clean sonic push

david vunk is on the roll as a dj but also he lives the true spirt studio life in his atomic bunker downtown rotterdam city. his newest work is a 12 inch on his own imprint sublabel moustache techno series called omega strap ep. the a1 track shadow police is a pumping tr-808 distorted beat with oldskool 90-ies acid and with a dark obscure men voice in it, underground feel. a2 pillensmoel is a pumping electro techno track with acidfunk, crashing snare drums and a dutch porn female voice live recording. b1 track is titled come to the house a funky acid track with paranoid girl shout, some classic house samples and flanged hi hats. the last track is called no winners no losers techno with a rolling bassline, a machine kickdrum topped with deep synths. picture sleeve design by meinhard, mastered by rude 66, cutted by uncle lex. dont play this if you are under 18.

vinyl only! 2nd release on blkmarket music comes from vagara, one of the new breed of djs and producers coming out from nyc. vagara delivers a diverse 5 tracks ep entitled river of strange faces that crosses between the minimal and electro spectrums. he currently works as one of the buyers at brooklyns top vinyl emporium halcyon the shop and is part of the future funktion djs crew. label run by taimur. catalogue number blkmusic_001. hand stamped limited vinyl only 12inch

mirror box is the solo analog synth project of dallas musician sean kirkpatrick. with an extensive resume that includes keyboard duties for kill rock stars 00s noise rock band the paper chase as well as his concurrent projects, dark post-punk-synth-rockers nervous curtains and darkwave duo little beards, mirror box is kirkpatricks first foray into the purely electronic realm. blending together elements of giallo moodiness, dub texture, techno propulsion, a passing nod to your favorite wave music, and a flare for the kosmiche, mirror box debut release, minimal compliance ep, is a tour de force of the veteran musicians exploration of a wide range of influences and experience. released by dallas-based gavin guthrie (tx connect)’s tru (texas recordings underground), the 5-track ep kicks off with the immediately-gripping title track. a huge mid-tempo 808 beat drives the menacing moog bass while cosmic synths explore the skies over gritty, urban terrain. the body, grounded by its stuttering and singular bass line, is an expansive reworking of a track from little beards debut album which features nan kirkpatrick on the release’s only vocal appearance. side a closes with destabilized agent, a retro-futurist dream that effortlessly voyages from sagans cosmos to a melodic minimal wave refrain. while the first sides lush synthesizers and sophisticated syncopation are somewhat of a departure for tru, a label that has so far defined itself by bringing the electronic sounds of texas underground warehouse scene to dance floors across the sea, the flip side of the record is where the four hits the floor. grifter react opens with a hard kick and electro zaps, letting the rhythm take the lead until a distorted bass finally enters to provide the hook. minimal compliance ep finale, critical blitz, weaves together all of mirror box finer elements into a concise mission statement

"texas-based electronic music producer phillip washington aka cygnus was on bit of a hiatus since his phenomenal -cosmos- long play on fundamental records, released near the end of 2016. with this ep, titled -ne0 ge0-, he s breaking the silence and we re extremely happy to see it happening through barba imprint. the record consists of 4 cuts; -zone shifting-, -vertexing-, -ne0-ge0- and -astronoot- which all share common qualities of his previous work - deep, spacey, richly textured and really well crafted. -zone shifting- is what electro in 2018 should sound like. deep, emotional and futuristic but well grounded in the human condition through the vocal line which seems to haunt from the distance. -vertexing- is a slightly more paced, moodier affair with slow enveloping vangelis-esque synth lines bleeding all over traditional electro sounding beat. however, in this case that s exactly what s needed. title track, -ne0-ge0- is the first one on the flip side and the busiest one. creasing of multiple synth lines and pads is done in such an expertly elegant manner that you just can t resist but play it loud on a big soundsystem and see what it does to the dancefloor. and finally, record closes with -astronoot-, and as b2 tracks usually are - it s the deepest of them all, reserved for those heady moments when you need something to bring the magic to the next level."

in the latest release from public system recordings we are allowed a look further into the syrupy synth dripping slowed beatdown. kluentah delivers a chalky electro smash with elongated snares and eerie chords passing from one end of the brain to the other, and to the floor. there is smooth vocal play as well as allowing for incoherent out of context speech samples that stab through minimal jumpy drum work. as diabolical and heavy as the hits and bass is, this enters the swath of dance floor records with a distinct flavor that sets itself above others execution. full of sludgy breaks, there is a constant reduction even as sounds and samples are introduced, they enter the roving mulch in a stylish slide.

jazz mit einflüssen aus dem nahen osten: drei fantasievolle electro-remixe und ein neues stück.

iceland’s volruptus returns to bjarkis bbbbbb with five esoteric cuts titled alien agenda. releasing on bbbbbb at the end of last year, volruptus has emerged swiftly on the european party scene, with the icelandic artist popping up on line-ups all over the continent. following releases by norways eod and fellow icelandic talent, lord pusswhip, alien agenda is bbbbbbs third record of the year continuing bjarkis progressive tastes for innovative electronic scandinavian artists. first up, svi,nasti,a 3000 deploys a synthetic, fast-pitched techno revolver fused with space- induced, twisted modulations. a scratch tool titled itchy and scratchy show follows before launching into su,rmatur a celestial 303 synth line layered over scattered electro drums, together providing a magical transcendental experience. alien agenda is suitably an eccentric, idm tinged number – with shades of acid and powerful bass shrills becoming the focus here. last up, misanthropgy (dark stoff) provides an energetic rolling percussive loop, intensifying naturally through cryptic, high-pitched melodies.

more disco reggae verions of classic hits!

modular synthesis wizard eddie symons, aka nullptr null pointer, lands on cpu with some of the finest laid back analogue electro you will hear post other people place. fans of cygnus and dmx krew take note. after his debut lp optical on detroit underground, symons has firmly established himself as a class act to follow. expect spacey wavetable pads, step sequencer conversations and killer modular bass.

following on from 2017s experimentally-focused ep, nucleus axon finds phantasy regular ghost culture return with an urgent, pristine slice of club euphoria, backed by a standout remix from legowelt. the original version of axon powers ahead with a supremely physical bassline and a ghostly atmosphere that s slathered with atmospheric choral touches, contrasted by punching, powerful drums. each perfectly tuned element weaves a seriously impressive spell of charismatic, contemporary electro. axons original form is then driven underground and transformed into something truly psychedelic at the hands of legendary producer and synth legend, legowelt. coaxing out one of his distinctive acid lines, the hague resident unravels a heady, hazy atmosphere of creeping euphoria amid a spectral, twilight groove.

when i first stumbled across mix tapes out of hamburgs seminal front club (with klaus stockhausen and boris dlugosch at the helm) during the glorious and carefree early days of the popularized internet, there were certain tracks on them that struck a chord. in fact there was one specifically, i couldnt stop listening to. the mixture of an infectious bass line, a super sharp snare, music and harmony vocal snippets, happy claps and synths lines that evoked pictures of a convertible going down a coastline, and - to top it all off - a tribal chant, was irresistible. after some intensive track-id-hunting pre-shazam, i found out that the heaven-sent hymn was music by an act called syncbeat. originally released in 1984 during the craze that was called uk electro via street sounds resp. streetwave and later licensed to german omnivore zyx records. a joint venture between the electro-funk mastermind,dj pioneer and edit maestro greg wilson as well as manchester musicians martin jackson & andy connell, it is exactly that type of dance track that eludes any classification - as you can see from my description above. or to cite greg wilson himself from one of his essays on the subject of uk electro: the track that received the best response was music by syncbeat, which was full of good vibes and could have easily been re-vamped down the line as a house track.

200 copies worldwide, hand numbered, no repress, vinyl only! detroit and ur influenced electro made by a completely unknown source out of nowhere. die gestalten! no promotion, no digital, no social media, no faces, no games! includes sticker and artprint. die gestalten!

he sings! he dances! the fabulous new album! says the original sticker on dmx krews nu romantix lp and nothing changed 20 years later for ed upton aka ed dmx. permanent vacation marks the anniversary of this influential album with a special re-release. the album is available for the first time on a loud and sharp 45rpm double 12inch (including the instrumental of come to me as bonus track). carefully remastered by lopazz for maximum pleasure. the music is now as relevant as it was 20 years ago, when the king of electro power ballades sings about the essential things in life and takes you to the place called love, that is more needed than ever before.

fans of electro’s big hitter djs such as helena hauff, dave clarke, umek, maceo plex, and umwelt won’t have escaped the sonic assaults of dutch artist rxmode and his fellow transhumanism collective members, w1b0, slaves of sinus, tfhats.
rxmode’s last ep cerberus was very much the ep he’d been building up to since his debut on bass agenda recordings back in 2015, dark, sinister, heavy, and distinctive.
one of the tracks from that ep, degraded, gets the remix treatment from the other transhumanism members on this, the third vinyl release the collective have put out.

fresh release from oussama k, a new talented artist made in lyon for his very 1st ep! dope house and electro tracks with a mpc touch.

re-release alert! remastered version of a valuable electro must have!