celebrating 15 years of one of dance music s most recognisable and truly international independent labels. avoiding a retrospective reflection of the label s classic tracks, achievements and catalogue, toolroom are proud to present an album of all new exclusive material written by some of house music s freshest talent alongside established genre favourites. this limited edition vinyl handpicks four of the highlight tracks from label boss mark knight, format:b, dj pp, danny howard and weiss, offering a seamless journey through the genres toolroom have become world famous for, house, tech house & techno.

the melting point ep is back on dame-music! following the well-acclaimed volume 1 last december, which included tracks from kink, thomas p. heckmann and bloody mary, dame- music is proud to present volume 2 of this acid project, this time with label boss bloody mary inviting three guests to share the record with her. the photo used in the artwork for this release was taken in sydney s king cross district in early 2018, and features street art by owmag. thanks to this amazing artist for allowing us to use his work. once again, the melting point concept sees bloody mary invite some of her favourite and most well-respected producers to the label with these 4 original tracks. the melting point ep vol. 2 marks the fusion of four renowned producers including hardfloor, josh wink and alien rain and mary herself. this release is sure to be heard on dancefloors this summer! 4 tracks made by and for acid lovers.

a1: the exceptional producer stenny has been a munich resident for a few years to be as close as possible to his musical home port of ilian tape. here he once again proves what a perfectly mixed supergroovy breakbeat board is.
a2: janis and fabian from the live duo aka trap10 do not hide their musical ideals. in “people zoo” it’s classic but classy, &#8203,,&#8203,,according to old detroit style and chicago tradition.
b1: jonas friedlich’s eps on molten moods and four triangles are a good example of what techno’s style is all about: tape delay is his weapon of choice, often with vocals and rarely straight beats. with “jazzersizzzze” he ties in masterfully to it.
b2: p-t2 has become an integral part of the red sun (club rote sonne) in just a few years, indulging her fondness for the harder pace of club music. accordingly, their rfr post is an acid board, as it is written in the book.

echocord’s colour sub-label returns early june with a four- track ep from eindhoven’s albert van abbe in the shape of ‘klangbilder’. dutch techno artist albert van abbe has nearly two decades of experience under his belt in various forms of musical and visual expression, releasing on his own vanabbe imprint, figure jams, semantica and no comment, as well as playing live and djing at hot spots across the globe such as berghain, tresor, dgtl and awakenings festival. ‘klangbilder 1’ leads with a robust rhythmic drive, employing bumpy toms, shuffled hats and lumpy kicks at its core as vacillating synths, tension building drones and menacing pizzicato strings develop throughout. ‘klangbilder 2’ takes things deeper next, retaining the dusty drums sound of the previous cut whilst stirring in airy ethereal pads and choppy, resonant stab sequences. ‘klangbilder 3’ kicks off the b-side with modulating synth whirrs, emotive organ tones and a muted drum tones throughout before ‘klangbilder 4’ closes the package, taking things beatless and cinematic via emotive synth leads, droning subs and expansive echoes.

ray kandinski embarks on the fifteenth expedition into the exotic lands of palm trees and blue skies with the moody and hazy ‘cressida’ ep for shall not fade sister-label lost palms. expedition fifteen features four jams packed full of dusty synth lines, spacey soundscapes and eerie vocals.

from behind a wall of public discourse, focus groups and corporate memos, strahinja arbutina moves out onto the streets, with four cuts of croatian electronics pulled from man hunt techno, hood funk and industrial waves.

botanic presents camo: a four-part new release from kuala lumpur-based adam kasturi. among adam’s most melodic and thematic work to date, the release comes to you as an introspective 12-minute voyage through tense urban landscapes, punctuated by relieving arpeggios, meticulous percussive details and inescapably laced with the enigmatic producer’s signature industrial undertones.

after the release on french label basse resolution and after a couple of years since his last ep on bosconi, having released with the -under the line- track one of the highlights of our latest 10 years compilation and as bss together with his mates fabio della torre and mass prod, rufus is back on bosconi with a new four tracker record which goes on a new direction compared to the past music he did. -ritual chants- was mainly recorded in the abandoned industrial area of milan called bovisa and probably for this reason the release sounds all around a bit sci fi, cinematic and especially gothic. all begins with the raw techno jam of -fast rituals- where structured mellow and dreamy synth lines combine with the dusty, aggressive and driving rhythmical transportation of its drum section. fast rituals is one of those electronic pieces which tells you a story from the beginning till the end, so please pay attention to it. -sapere sparare- looks calmer but actually has the more mental and psychotic feeling of the whole record, driven by an intoxicating and fat bass line, rough jazzy beats and a lot of twisted out fm synths goodness whose times are punctuated twice by the warning female vocal theme of the track. -last shot #5- instead is a jacked out, hypnotic and darker broken house track dense of pumping low ends and subtle but glorious synth riffs properly made for the late hours and totally in the vein of a baby ford - minimal man production.-tenebre- closes up the ep with its horror movie atmosphere, drilling drones here and there, big bouncy bass lines, reverberated snares, drama strings and a dominant sinister melody which slightly reminds of some old dbx track.

benin city are the london-based three-piece comprised of vocalist and poet joshua idehen, vocalist shanaz dorsett with multi-instrumentalist tom leaper.
clubbing is a source of euphoria: a weekly, often daily escape, a respite from the grind. that culture and its landmarks – some of london’s best venues and many countless pubs - are slowly disappearing for good. on last night, which was recorded in all four corners of london with marc pell (micachu and the shapes), lv, rob marfarlane and james anderson, benin city take an album-long look at the dual nature of london’s nightlife.

his sacred piece of vinyl will blow all your worries away! no introduction needed for the true new-wave/italo lovers, because what we have here are two of the most sought after holy grails: new life and grace. on top youll receive four extra unreleased three of you tracks retrieved from the italian 80s. diamonds for tears on the beloved bordello a parigi label.

tabla celebrates its fifth birthday with a very special vinyl release. the anniversary compilation features four dubby house and minimal techno jewels produced by alexkid, monsieur georget, sascha dive, as well as labelfounder micha klang and markus homm. vinyl only.

following the release of his projector ep earlier this month, daniel avery has enlisted revered london producer four tet aka kieran hebden for a remix of ‘quick eternity’, taken from the former’s long-awaited second album song for alpha. hebden flips the warm, undulating synths and crystalline percussion of avery’s original in his own inimitable style, building shimmering, skittering flourishes before a pneumatic final half.

house of discos vinyl only edits imprint hodstash is back with four cuts for the floor with tracks from label regulars fouk, snack & harry wolfman and a track from someone totally new sdwtrx.

the first release by the amsterdam based duo caim on there self-titled label. the duo s distillation of the everyday voices captivated on this mindset focused four-track ep. each track stands as an analysis of the deep, groovy and detail driven biota. soothing atmospheres and pulsating synths offer us a first glimpse into caim s state of mind.

* wislov might be a new signee to knitebreed, but he has been releasing material for years, and the spanish (not russian) maestro is already known around the world for his awesome breakbeat creations. it was only a matter of time before a label snapped him up, and he is a producer easily capable of dropping huge tunes in both dark and lighter stsyles. this ep showcases his talent, with four tracks specifically designed to compliment the knitebreed sound while carving his own niche into the label

during the recent years, terence fixmer kept on being prolific by producing and releasing his music output on well esteemed quality labels such as ostgut ton, novamute, jealous god and recently on aufnahme+wiedergabe. following a constant workflow, fixmer decided it is now time to restart his label planete rouge which he launched back in 1998 already but has always been irregular in terms of releases. the label will relaunch after a 4-year hiatus with his new 12-. terence fixmer s oppression ep is a great resume of his unique sound design signature, delivering a collection of four energetic tracks that speaks to the soul. on top of it, as an homage to one of his all time favourite tracks of the normal / warm leatherette from 1978, fixmer decided to rewrite this 40 year old tune from daniel miller as a a personal pleasure and fun. by using as well the mini korg 700 s terence fixmer recreated nearly the original sound, keeping a track that is loyal to his own sound as well as its original spirit.

we celebrate five years of freakadelle recordings with our 10th release “x”, consisting of four hand-picked tracks by our residents, which on the one hand represent the diversity of our artists and on the other hand also portray the strong musical development and the cohesion of our subcultural community over the past years.

four tracks of angular uplifting techno that are sure to invoke dancefloor liberation. -interlacing- is the second record from brooklyn artist dustmite, on his personal vinyl imprint, supervoid records.

four fresh jared wilson tracks on his own label 7777 in collaboration with glasgow s dixon avenue basement jams. 4 tracks influenced by acid, house, techno, roland, make noise, michigan and the great lakes.

ltd to 300 , gen ludd are glasgow-based rich mcmaster (golden teacher, modern institute) and tom marshallsay, both of whom are a big part of the extended rubadub family. their music perfectly embodies the rubadub ethos of music for heads and feet. after months of negotiations with our minister of finance hillington west snr, tafknagl (that artists formerly known as general ludd) return with four precise cuts of pure rhythm and motion. these tracks are a message to the ramona-toting, gymnasium-powered international dance deejay. please be bold enough to play them... you’ll make the world a better place. we’ll give you free wavs too

vinyl only. signatune is back on wax with a new vinyl only ep! starting off the a side is mr. djebali with deep and jazzy into the depth , followed by politics of dancing s house bomb lisa . the b side begin s with a more dubby delair by okain, while the collection of tracks ends smoothly with label boss reda dare s groovy tune le bien aimé . a solid ep from four great artists expected to hit

bass culture welcomes frenchman leo pol to the fold for this fresh new four-tracker full of analogue vibes. leo s penchant for synthesisers and the warmth of his beloved machines is evident throughout this new release, with a retro soul spliced with modern sensibilities and, of course, visions of the future. things get off to an energetic start with caliente , a track that combines a killer main riff, scintillating pads and steam-powered percussion to really get those feet moving. this is followed by fnc burning , which totally slips the script with its off-kilter rhythm and uk-influenced breakbeat-esque sound. get ready for a sublime breakdown, with more uk rave stylings in the second half... fresh!on the flip side we get dark outside, which harks back to the early days of post-electro detroit. those formative years when masters like juan atkins were the soundtrack of motor city... from the hushed, silky vocal to the cosmic bleeps, this is a homage to the ghosts of techno s past, with a contemporary sheen.finally, we finish up with techyes no! , a dark, marauding stomper with a menacing atmosphere and spinetingling strings to really amplify the eerie feeling that pervades throughout. a diverse, yet cohesive collection of killer cuts from the young master leo pol and another superb bass culture release. only the finest from d julz s excellent label...

number three of five eps surrounding the release of efdemins latest effort: the hybrid album/mix-cd naif on curle (released in april 2018) this ep is a collection of four contemporary techno-tracks by dutch techno-veteran jeroen search, tel avis pharaoh, berlins savas pascalidis and the mysterious pom pom on one vinyl. mastered and cut by kassian troyer, berlin curated by phillip sollmann a.k.a efdemin

the long awaited first release of stavroz on denature records has arrived! this 5-track ep starts with -zorrow-. this track sounds like an invitation to wander and get lost in the jungle. by the second track, perron 11 the tempo gets more vigorous opening the way to the main track kasambila and its enchanting ethnic vibes, on the other side of the ep, xs pls (pronounce it extra small please) has this unique instrumental groove that four-piece band masters so well. the ep ends with the title it was all a ruse , a melancholic ballad through mystical lands.

frits wentink s bobby donny label welcomes reykjavík producer felix leifur for more lush house explorations across four new cuts. the producer last released on this label in 2017 and his new one finds him again exploring deep and organic grooves, rough drums and jazzy pads. the tarleton appreciation club has real, live sounding drums making for a spaced out house cut coloured with dreamy pads and muffled vocal samples that have an aching beauty. parts is a brilliantly jazzy jam with bright chord vamps, wooden hits and clipped vocals making for a track somewhere between the styles of moodymann and max graef. robbi is another atmospheric track with pads and intimate melodies lingering in the air above choppy drum work that makes you want to wiggle. closing things down is juledreng, another perfectly roughed up bit of house with saturated chords and tons of reverb drawing you into its cosy little world.

traffic013 with etienne. clear view on technomusic with this four-tracker.

dj glow introduces his populist alter ego with his first release on trust since his 2007 pulsinger collab. four fiery, dense electro cuts to feed your paranoia.

7th storey projects are delighted to announce their latest classic re-issue, jungle buddha - seven chambers ep.
several years in the making, this limited edition 2 x 12” release features 7 tracks made back in 1993 by jungle buddha, including all four from the insanely rare and sought-after jungle buddha ep, originally released on poetic justice in 1993.
it also contains “the chamber”, which has never been released on vinyl before, as well as one previously unreleased track rescued from the original dats, and rounded off with the techno-stomper “purple gnome”.
the tracks have been remastered from the original dats, with restoration by simpatico mastering and mastered and cut by beau at ten eight seven, and pressed at optimal:media gmbh in germany.

we present you the third release in our very successful collaboration series with roar groove and the revenge. straight after his new brilliant album when the thrill comes that was release in may this year graeme clark is back on dirt crew with four new gems. the opening, funky and twisting, times get tough is a deep rolling down tempo disco/ house stomper that builds into this ecstatic groove we got to love so much from his previous outings. pure good times and hands in the air action promised on this one! subconcious is that darker and meaner side of house track with a slammin chicago beat he delivers this old school jackin feel. big bass lines and soulful vocal samples tied together by on the fly drum patterns. the b-side of this new ep opens with an hypnotic jam that builds and builds till those sweet synths start soaring in. all carried by this ultra phat bass line, we can only imagine how this one will sound on a massive sound system! searchlight is def a highlight of this release. can we go even deeper and darker? oh yes! with come down we get a proper come down to close this ep. deep sub basses with floating tops and again that classic jack house beat. certainly a late night track made for those sweaty and long dj sets. summer is here and the revenge has the perfect soundtrack for hot and steamy nights, inside or on the open field!

primitive art arrives on arcola with crab suite, a new ep that sets out to explore otherworldly territories through four apocalyptic-dub transmissions that share psychic space with the work of shackleton, basic channel, m.e.s.h. and raime.

chicago s justin aulis long and ken zawacki return to l.i.e.s. with their second ep under their circling vultures moniker. on this offering we get four tracks of tough yet psychedelic machine music. from slow bpm beaters to metal on metal floor cuts, these are executed with precision to do maximum damage whenever played. sinking their teeth in and never letting go, looming over and waiting for the right moment to strike...tense music for the end times! another killer from these seasoned club vets.

four cuts from gradient logic and native red for the 10th release on violette szabo!

the saver flex ep offers up no less than four seriously catchy house jams. blue shoe kicks off the proceedings with some funked up percussion, which immediately shows that kolja s background as a drummer has taught him a thing or two about groove. a looping organ lick, some little shouts in the background, big stabs and a massive kick drum push the track forward. cleverly arranged breakdowns allow for a couple of breathers to keep the party action going throughout. moving on to lax wax , we ease up a little with a lighter beat on top of which filtered piano chords, a live bass and just a touch of guitar set the perfect mood for an organ solo that simply oozes summer vibes. buggel runter rutschen keeps the mood nice and sunny while adding more punch with snappy kicks and snares – a hugely danceable foundation for these guys to show us what is so great about 70s and 80s disco and funk that these styles are amongst their biggest influences. you had better ask a german what kagghaufen means, we don t want to put you off your dinner. we hope it will be just as tasty as this track is with its pounding, straight beat, which is counterpointed by bouncy congas, funky vocal cuts, beautiful pads and healthy dose of squelchy acid for good measure. all of this is effortlessly combined to round off the ep in style.

vertical67 returns to his home label with a new ep of four emotional and melodic electro tracks.

the shortest connection between the past and the future leads through the music of boston 168. drawing inspiration from both classic and contemporary approaches to the acid techno sound, early nineties rave culture and the throbbing pulse of the now, sergio pace and vincenzo ferramosca have carved out a niche for themselves which over the past four years has become a musical microcosm of its own. having released a slew of records on such labels as involve, attic, odd even and dustin zahn s enemy, the italian duo now presents its most cohesive musical statement thus far on ellen allien s bpitch. on the three tracks of »drops in heaven«, boston 168 seamlessly mold together lysergic acid lines with elements of nineties ambient techno and a rhythmic groundwork that is as thrilling as it is intricate. »cosmic tribe« translates its idea of universal togetherness into a nerve-wrecking groove punctuated by complex percussion work and a subtly building acid line, while »drops in heaven« uses a booming kick drum as base for an emotionally driven exploration of sonic textures. the psychedelic »straight to light« nods to nineties pioneers like emmanuel top, showcasing ferramosca and pace s talent for creating musical depth by ingeniously bringing together a few select elements to greater effect. these are tracks that relentlessly head towards the unknown final frontier of what techno can sound like in 2018, while not in the least neglecting the rich tradition that they draw from.

the third release of weorus comes with four massive tracks perfectly delivered by talented maurice giovannini and remixed by cocoon’s rising star dana ruh. the ep enter with “orange”, a mystically track perfect matched with the label concept of timeless music. dana ruh on a2 gives the perfect energy for a fully crowded dance floor, maintaining the spiritual feeling in the background, just a perfect interpretation. “plasma” for maurice is the tune that truly can make you go on a higher level, the structure, the sound design and feeling are deeply matched together for a nice and warm b1 start. “bunka” ends the ep in a perfect way giving you the need to reloop the entire ep. maurice again hits with a perfect vinyl already supported by ricardo villalobos, rhadoo and many others.

following his ep for amazing stories, otis makes good on his long time friendship with the partisan crew via four dazzling cuts of future-minded machine funk. from swinging techno to breakbeat and electro, all glued together by that 909 house vibe, the playful side of otis’ unique sound masks an understated swagger that will rock the floor wherever it’s played.

for the 12th installment of jose cabrera’s self-titled imprint, mario castillo appears under his long running kastil moniker to deliver a four track ep of mechanical dance floor sounds. with anemic lust, the resident of vitoria-gasteiz, comes up with a worthy addition to his rapidly growing discography. after a period of diy work through his own label stale, castillo returns to the imprint where he last released his collaboration album with j.c. in 2017.

trux’ second ep on berlin based record label office is a bow to the many outstanding moments in the history of ambient music. allusions to brian eno are just as recognisable as to the charming concepts of pop ambient or clicks & cuts. it’s between these poles that the four tracks on the a-side oscillate and manage to capture the listener with vibrant and diverse soundscapes. the flip side sees trux drop a stunning melodic breakbeat tune besides remixes by workshops premier techno chef lowtec as well as a freestyle electronica version by o$vmv$m. the much loved super quiet tops the record artwork off with another remarkable example of his casual and airy black and white photography.

montreal’s minimal techno veteran pheek offers up a milestone vinyl release for the onset of this spring season. lumo ep offers four vibrant dance-floor compositions, each delving into its own labyrinthine mindscape, leaving no stones unturned in an ethereal garden of listening. lumo invites us into exotic, sprawling atmospheres- crafted with excessive care and the unmistakable studio-finesse that pheek has become known for. lovers of drums will be assured troves of bass-heavy, broken-beats and skittering, jazz-infused patterns which delicately tease and tantalize as they appear and flicker out. seasoned prowess in sound-design allows pheek to convey eerie, forgotten landscapes with periodic, lushly rising elements to bath the listener in unexpected lightness and thrilling serenity. lumo will surely tantalize even seasoned listeners as it melts heavily saturated layers of depth over unexpected arrangements. the result is a stunning interaction at the crossroads of minimal house and techno, nudging the listener toward sturdy grooves while simultaneously introducing new pathways on the way to ever-increasing depth.

winter thaw marks the return to furanum of uncto, the silesian dyad domink muller and rafal furst, with their first full release of collaborative material since 2013’s seminal fu009. like its predecessor, unctuous offers four cuts of viscerally engineered and rhythmically exacting dystopias, each ably situated within a striking synth-etic narrative. it is this latter aspect of each arrangement that perhaps most noticeably demonstrates the pair’s singular and evolving approach to composition, born out in the calculated emphasis on hardware-based expressionism.

following the success of joey negros produced with love album, four of the album cuts get the remix treatment from an all-star cast of producers each with their own particular flavor. kicking it off chicago legend ron trent takes the original funked out, arthur russell flavoured, distorting space time and turns it into a deep house groover complete with a strong walking bass alongside adding a soul & richness to the elements that only he knows how. crackazat step up next to take on lactican boogie crafting it into an uptempo piano driven, emotionally charged stomper sure to do some damage this summer. flip it over and lay-far delve into in search of the dream adding squelchy synth stabs and a deep bass to give a more hard hitting edge to the track whilst retaining that disco flavor with angela johnsons emotive vocals. closing out the ep fouk come full circle, bringing their hazy, jazz tinged style to distorting space time building the remix around those warm rhodes chords, shuffling rhythm and dynamic bassline. gold once again from the z records camp!

from his debut on tresor in 2012 with the super strength ep, all the way through to his vibrations long player in 2016, paris based artist marcelus has continuously provided some of the most intricate productions to come out on tresor records in recent years. marcelus instills unpredictable rhythms as the very eseence of his music. these di erent layered time signatures move together in spiraling forms designed in the french enchanter’s mind. the magnet ep o ers one long trip in four chapters. the title track, “magnet”, ushers in the ritual and strikes with its creole flavors, drawing careful listeners back to sound palettes and rhythms of some decisive ur references. from there on, the mind-bending begins. “parenthesis” is the second slow step in this brooding ceremony. “say it again” picks up the pace, driving the listener further down into the tunnel. the beads of “descent” finally brings the mind back to the surface of reality.

next up on creme organizaiton is lake haze. the hague based portuguese artist is a regular on this label having put out four eps in the last two years. hes also linked with unknown to the unknown and shall not fade so is an esteemed talent with a blistering sound that fuses futuristic techno and electro into storytelling dancefloor dynamite. space reservoirs kicks off this ep with slow but heavy drum work, acid twitches and spooky cosmic echoes. the observer picks up the pace with quick and slick kicks from the streets of detroit overlaid with ripping electro basslines and deep space atmospherics. unexplored oceanic territory is expansive electro with busted drums and echoing pads that add real scale before more acid finishes things off with real rawness. prototype is dark and heavy, with another searing baseline and crisp metallic hits, then into the unknown is a blissed out electro roller with dreamy pads and twinkling keys melt ing into the cosmos. it closes out another essential ep from this timeless producer.

conforce is back on his home label with four more of his richly detailed and hugely atmospheric techno tracks. its his first release on delsin since latest album autonomous back in 2017 and finds him in typical underwater techno territory. celestion kicks things off with smeared pads and rubbery, dubby drums instantly setting a hypnotic groove. the serene ambience makes it feel like youre deep down in the ocean and various deft sonic details drift by the keep things on the move. vessel is another fathom deep track with supple drums undulating on the sea bed as beams of synth light things up from above. theres melancholy in the pads that brings a rueful vibe, while zephyr is more troubled and turbulent thanks to the wet, gurgling synths and darker bass sounds. aerial rounds things out with heavyweight, rumbling kicks and ominous energy that keeps you on edge, despite the presence of beautifully celestial keys. as ever , it all makes for an absorbing trip.

next up on donato dozzy and neels spazio disponibile label is close friend and italian producer marco shuttle. the eerie label-boss is a regular on the label having put out his systema album here last year, as well as his flauto synthetico ep in 2016. his always meticulously crafted sound is rooted in dark, cavernous techno. he finds plenty of new ground in each new release, though, with some tracks being haunting ambient works and others more propulsive rhythms. this new ep features just that across four typically inventive and absorbing tracks that are as much for your head as they are for your heel.

no money, no honey goes the saying. so with that in mind, honey soundsystem returns to the aisles of your favorite (and least favorite) record stores with a money shot 12 inch, four tracks that bring all dance floors into states of full release. honey soundsystem has been on the road seemingly non-stop, visiting foreign cities and meeting delightful characters on the way. this ep is a tour diary of sorts, 4 tunes that we have been road tested to the 9th degree and now we want our friends, fans, and foes to have them too. a1 features a track by san franciscos sepehr - the most id requested track from our chapter 10 boiler room finally revealed. a2 is by stockholm&#700,,s henrik bergqvist, a tune jackie got his hands on after a crazy night of rolling and accidentally voguing on top of henrik&#700,,s computer bag. derrick carter approved the use of his voice as long as it said snatched from dc thanks derrick! b1 is by the twink-porn worthy bio-brothers from berlin: morven son - a horny moderne electro classic featuring a secret sample from one of the more fabulous 90s movies about a sex worker. b2 is a hidden gem demo from bogotas lunate. while visiting bogota to play a gig at the legendary video club, locals kept pointing fingers at one guy when referencing the man in town making the music we needed to hear. that guy was lunate and this one of those beautiful and simple tunes you can play at the beginning, middle, or end of any night. the best news about this release? everyone behind these tracks are genuine people with great hearts. the honestly comes through when listening and playing them out, youre gonna love the way you they sound, i guarantee it.

a producer, dj, nts radio host and label head, finn has come of age representing manchesters underground dance music scene over the last four years. showing up with a timely debut for defected that will stop you in your tracks, hes now turning heads way further afield from the north west. this 7inch features an exclusive instrumental. the formula for sometimes the going gets a little tough is beautifully simple, exposing an intuition beyond the producers years. at 135bpm its a straight pumper in theory, playing directly into the hands of festival sets over the summer, with its vocal loop and heartfelt lyrics it becomes so much more. gathering over 2m spotify streams on its initial release via tom leas london imprint local action, the track also received radio support from the likes of annie mac, skream and monki and support from djs as diverse as tqd, diplo and martin garrix. the appeal is universal and the execution is perfect, making this the kind of life affirming record that 2018 needs.

for his inaugural ep under new guise ‘yem gel, nts manchester resident and visual artist alecs pierce comes through with a four-track cacophony of sounds for dave maclean (django django) run label kick + clap. from previous experimental outings as obsidian pond, gristed petunia and, handi dogh he returns with this new project based solely on electronic compositions, giving the multi-instrumentalist artist a chance to further explore his electronic leanings. operating with a clear mission statement, yem gel moniker seeks to live up to its names reference to malleable ‘fictional future plastics by offering a set of genre-spanning compositions, drawing from multiple influences from ambient, drum ‘n bass or grime and leaving us wondering where he might take us next.