unique xperimental electro / techno

freaky acid / techno

incl jay glass dubs

stunning dbl header

spaciger doubleheader on la based label

esp institute presents lemmi ash

juan ramos presents his debut album changing hands

ripperton teams up with an new lp on esp

incl. florian kupfer remix

ricardo tobar returns to the esp institute with 2 untimate tracks

ricardo tobar with his next step, big cinema

... outstanding 2 track ep

ricardo tobar returns to esp institute

acid house feel

hypnotic orient melodies

2018 reissue - the very best of joy division & new order on double vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve... incl blue monday & love will tear us apart

disco funk by nadie la fonde

new roman fluegel lp output on esp institute! tip!

nappy mayers bangs the disco floor with tis strong espacial discos output

disco influenced caribbean feeling

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

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.

reissue of balearic gem spanglish movement from little known band hot pepper! originally released as a private pressing in 1978 and featuring famous drummer jesus munoz tilico, a giant musician who appeared on countless recordings and accompanied famous figures like paul mauriat and carl tjader among many others. four superb long tracks including the cosmic underground club classic ritual song. hot pepper was a studio project created by mexican drummer / producer /arranger jesus munoz tilico who in the late 70s decided to record an album in a disco-funk vein, helped by some of his friends who were top session musicians. “spanglish movement” was the result, written and produced by “tilico”, released in 1978 as a tiny private edition housed in a fabulous afro cover. being tilico an enormous drummer, you can expect here lots of heavy drums, congas and percussion, surrounded by crazy space synths, male-female vocals, latin horns, afro touches and occasional fuzz guitar.

smooth & laid–back disco–funk–balearic sounds recorded at the famous conny plank studios. includes the underground club classic house at the sea. first ever vinyl reissue of this rare & sought after 1979 private 12inch from germany. check!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

first ever vinyl remastered reissue of this sought-after synth-pop /cosmic disco / funk / boogie album from 1983! lots of vocoder, analogue synths & keyboards, heavy drum machines, spacey vocals, bossa / brazilian touches, cosmic effects. the rah band was the brainchild of legendary english producer & arranger richard hewson. they debuted in 1977 with the cosmic glam hit the crunch, on which richard, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, played all the instruments himself. in 1983, he released going up the second rah band album, where he also played most of the instruments himself, helped by several drummers, a brass section and the sweet vocals of his wife liz hewson. including massive club classics like messages from the stars, perfumed garden and more.

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

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

with its heavy drum machines, funky bass line, female vocals and analogue synths, messages from the stars is an electro-pop / cosmic / boogie-synth club classic. remixed, sampled and played a million times by worldwide djs, heres the repress from the original 12inch from 1983!

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

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

1965 albert ayler classic back on vinyl - and it’s got a proper b-side, too.

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

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

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

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

susana estrada was one of the muses and main figures from the period known as ‘transition’ in spain. no other woman represented the freedom better then her and sexual revolution which the country experienced in the 70s after the end of the dictatorship.

die kult-platte von 1970: neupressung auf rotem vinyl.