powerplay from: iron curtis, quarion, dplay, jazzmina, oliver goldt, tristen …. and your mum! when leaves are falling down its always time for some heart-warming music. so we here at frank music decided to do another special 12inch this year. our good friend monosoul made this handsome house-track called >ignore the traffic lights< that we just love so much it gets a singlesided limited release. we are sure you know the feeling when riding your bike, cruisin your city at night: damn those traffic lights! well, be careful when crossing the street, though.... a real warehouse smash for sure and who needs b-sides anyways.

after his recent excursion remixing groove armada, morton sorenson returns to the fold with a stunning little release for tirk titled >the burn down ep.< for those that dont know, morten is in his early twenties and hails from a small fishing village in rural norway. his dad probably spent many years in new york and the records that he brought back encouraged a love of american house and disco on the impressionable morton. >burn down (original)’ is an exercise in uplifting, stripped back house music. less is more here, the vibe stays rich and never loosens its grip. the rhythms skip on top of the beat and the vocal interludes make for a real vivid experience. the lpz remix on the other hand sits back a bit, the rhythms are solidly swung and the vocal appears more affluently in the mix. it feels smooth and definitely cool. to top the package, were served up some chi-town flavours with <owe that 2 u.< sustained strings and a slo-mo shuffle builds, then peels away to a hollowed out organ breakdown. a hauntingly affected vocal and clever edits ensue then drop back into the beat, articulated now by the clack of a tough stacatto synth. in our eyes, a brilliant end to a fantastic package

the musical heavyweight matthias vogt is back on polytone. after the success of his first ep >together as one< - sold out vinyl edition, excellent feedback from top djs, first track on the big city beats compilation vol. 13 cd 3 - the second ep arrives on polytone. the polytone boys knew right away that >copying the future< has the potential to be a classic. a track with character and a high recognition value: hypnotic rave stabs and uplifting chords combined with a driving groove will send shivers down each true music lovers spine. >copying the future< is delivering deja vus without copying the past - a great track with a past and a future, deeply rooted in the here and now. >stillach< claps its way into every listeners ear. the b side of the ep named after a mountain stream in the allgäu is calm and also powerful with a slow, minimal and very tight groove. vogt is going deeper! matthias vogt once again demonstrates his great musical skill and versatility.

for this 11th release, we give you the opportunity to grab 3 fantastic trax done by todays hottest producers : massimiliano pagliara & rotciv. massimiliano p. has been responsible of delivering some of the best electronic tracks in those recent years on great labels such as balihu, rush hour, live at robert johnson & needwant. he teamed up for this special release with rotciv (from brazil) who made a name for himself with his special edits & has a very busy year with some upcoming 12 inches on d-edge, mister mistery & rebirth. their name is the rimshooters present >tha jackin theory< !!! heavily inspired by roland 909 chicago mythic drum machine, those guys deliver here 3 anthems, very close in spirit to tensnake & lee foss best work.. their sound is firmly rooted in proto-house and 80s r&b. with ingredients like ancient drum machines, arpeggiated melodies, and 80s pads, their connection boils over with a certain cheekiness that makes listeners grin from ear to ear. those 3 tracks have lots of groove and solid bouncy disco house beats and that piano (mmmhhh !!!). vocals arent the main event here but they do add another level showing some true disco production skills. this is surely going to be one of the biggest release this year & yep, you read right - this is only their first installment! stay tune

vault series is a cheeky little series where rush hour drops never before released tracks and mixes from its vaults as well as tracks which are in dire need of a re-release.
the series kicks off with an unreleased track by the mysterious duster valentine. an anthemic disco track that, with its catchy piano loop, pays homage to the golden days of new york house music. music that will make you sweat!
on the other side we find aardvarcks fun-loving-freestyle-disco-mash-up-party-jam. its original release a few years ago saw support by many djs around the world. it was only released as a limited once sided promo. here is a chance for those who missed it to own a copy. this version is remastered and extended!

terpsichore welcomes the florian muller project with the marvellous >jam with it<. the funky live bass and the amazing deepness of its chords and vocals make this track a must for any deep connoisseur. florian created something special here! the oliverwho factory blessed us with two splendid remixes: hear their vocals and scream! last but not least, what would be a terpsichore release without jefferson velazquezs touch? deep as always!

hailing from the usa, boston ma, kon has been djing internationally alongside some of the worlds best djs as well as releasing several comps/edits on londons bbe label (kings of series/ off track vols 1-3 along with his vinyl collecting friend amir ) you may have heard his 1/2 hour multi-track remix mix for gilles peterson world wide show on bbc radio 1 a few months back … well here kon makes his debut dance release on the hands of time gold imprint. handling the production and arrangement, kon gives us the original version as well as a dub, pairing of samples and original music he utilizes a very clever 1 bar vocal sample from multi track stems as well as live session players (his gang) to get his vision across. with its punchy drums & warm, feel good vibes ... its a perfect affair for winding down this summer.

the big idea! ahoy sarp yilmaz and sinan kaya. after several eps on various labels now release their debut on simple as that records. the two guys from the big metropolis of istanbul bring us here, two beads which make the sun rise. the two men schaeufler & zovsky (acker records, 3000°) and andre kronert (ostwind, night drive music) each control still in a wonderful remix. even more diversity on this record is thus ensured.

cco aka contra commumem opinionem has released 2 eps on the chicago based label mathematics that were played a lot at plak office. we have been even more amazed to meet him at zukunft club in zürich … the young talented producer is not from the windy city but from our lovely sweetzerland! soo here we go with 2 slices of raw chicago techno/house carefully crafted & extended for plak: the moody atmosphere of >structural constraints< will fly you far far away, on the flip side >structural drift< is a spiritual momentum with a liquid 303 lead and sensual pads for your chemical sunday therapy. this piece of wax is an analog affair, no software!

here we have the next instalment from the cut and run crew. this time they have sampled the classic 8 bit sounds from zelda which merge into a thumping break beat riddem. on the flip be prepared to be slapped in the face with heavy beats and glichy bass. this is a strong 12 so give it a listen!

heres the 4th round of liebe*details hand picked re-release series. this time we combined two very special tracks from outstanding artists lawrence and jichael mackson together on a strictly limited 12 inch. both tracks havent been available for more than 3 years on vinyl now. so here you are - get your copy as long as you can! strictly limited edition of 500 hand-stamped copies

paris is in the house! here you can taste the flavour of some kind of proper parisian house. the two guys from sucre sale offer two deep but punchy house tracks, wich reflect in a certain extent this citys state of mind, what looks superficial can also be cleverly structured - thats the case for this ep, something fresh, positive, well produced and executed. the perfect soundtrack for this spring!

repress is here!

the notorious guillaume & the coutu dumonts makes a triumphant return to circus company after last year’s critically acclaimed album, breaking the fourth wall, with 3 deeper than deep (s)explosions sure to become omnipresent fixtures in the sets of damn near any dj with even a shred of good sense in the months to come. >ubiquitous gaze< gets the ball rolling in classic coutu dumont style with a rollicking sea of percussion thankfully populated with a few desert islands of respite in the form of a gorgeously lush string and piano arrangement and the soft meandering monologue of a certain well known musician discussing his craft. b side leader >youre the one< comes on strong with a bouncing d-town bassline and soft stabbing chords that would make kenny larkin proud before rolling out a high stepping lead organ and swinging vocal chops before tying the whole funky mess together with one of his trademark charging conga lines. known for his unbound generosity and proving it here once again, a beatless stringapella of >ubiquitous gaze< closes out the flip in fine style for those inclined to ride this one into a full epic journey territory. yet more proof, as if any were needed, of guillaumes place at the very top of the mountain called house

some may have thought the trail was cold, but battant (chloe raunet and joel dever) have just been running as far as they can. not running away from something, just keeping on moving. from the headless wave of their first lp, towards the strange shores of their second album, as i ride with no horse that is produced by its a fine line (aka ivan smagghe & tim paris) and will be released worldwide in october 2011. first glimpse: shutter. this is one of the many places where they now stand. a dry, sparse yet catchy romp. on their own edge (between early cure and meth country if you need ready made tags), electronics still dance in the corner, reigned in by the sharp its a fine line (tim paris & ivan smagghe) production. the live take of clearcut is what it says. ghosts in the machines, spookiness never in vain, this is a real song. the idea of a cover of westbam and nenas classic old school, baby had been in the mind of the team for a while. this track is a part of our history. not an easy tackle but we like to think they have made the anthem theirs. going beyond the anecdote, here is a seriously rocking wink with early support from optimo, james holden, tiga, chloe and more.

returning to the kitchen after an over extended jaunt in the bathroom, the sound diggers grant us with another slap happy handful of flavor with their new piece entitled >dont flap just jack<. here at flapjack we do encourage everyone to wash their hands before returning from the bathroom to the decks. with the nasty low down n dirty grooves that are all over this ep, i am not so sure the sound diggers washed up very well, or at all. as we say in the business, when you get dirt in your salad, eh, its just a lil flava.

naughty stuff in here!

at last the albion vinyl sampler sees the light of day! we have waited far too long for this hotcake, but as they say >the best things come to those who wait<. we have pressed up four crazy disco gems here on the vinyl sampler. we start with >leslie< by the nevaboston team originally released in 1978 on a rare as rocking horse shit italian 7 inch albion gives it his subtle but effective treatment blending both parts together to create a new take on this killer piece of music (wait for the horns to drop for maximum dance floor devastation). oh and i nearly forgot to mention this is exclusive to the sampler never ever released norma jordans >feel me< also gets the albion snip and this delightful tracks begins with a quite a dark intro, mutating acid & disco until normas inviting voice comes to the front and absolutely smashes any dance floor into smithereens. once again it’s limited edition with no repress so buy now or cry later.

the sun is shining, the drinks are flowing and the music is bumping. summer is well and truly here and what better way to top off the best season of the year than with a 4 track summer sampler from the blockhead camp. as we have come to expect from team blockhead, they have provided us with another solid release with 4 tracks of pure bumpy tech house that would appeal across a far and wide ranging dancefloor. deep basslines, high top shuffles and infectious melody hooklines will keep the feet stomping and heads nodding. give it a spin and see the floor bounce!

the highly anticipated squeaky lobster ep has been worth every second of the wait. in terms of sample / synth selection, song structure and sound quality, no expense has been spared. hi-fi synthetic drums intertwine with lo-fi sampled kicks & snares whilst heavy stretched out synth bass lines are topped with bollywood-esque string samples, 80s guitar bridges & plenty of other orchestral mayhem. the lush, thick melodic layers mount up into a frequently spine-tingling whole whilst the rhythm section, although outside the box, does by no means neglect the headnod factor. the incredible feat here is that although no 8 bars are quite the same as the next, a sense of unity is preserved within each genre-defying track, making it the stuff of epic journeys. you may start your listening experience in front of your turntable, staring at the record spinning, but you will end up somewhere quite different, squeaky lobster has made sure of that. as man from phone number 770021 would say: >this is $50.000. good luck.<

released in 1999 produced by tedd patterson harry choo choo romero on remix duties here must have

we met fred ventura in 2006 over emails sent to italians do it better headquarters. he was one of the first people from europe to start writing the label prior to after darks release. it took us a few months to realize that this was fred ventura, the cult italo legend from milan. like a true gentleman, he had never bothered to mention it. since the early 1980s fred ventura has released numerous singles in europe & toured the world extensively as a solo artist. last year, johnny was in bologna on tour with desire & fred came out to the show to drink champagne & bring us some copies of the reissued tapes of fred’s early post punk group state of art. the lightbulb lit up & we asked him if he had any home recordings of his solo work. months later, he sent us 83 tracks of cassette recordings between 1982 & 1987. they had been sitting upstairs in a dusty box at his parents house in italy for the last 25 years. these tracks have only been heard by a handful of his closest friends. we were completely floored & honored! finding a beautiful treasure completely untouched & preserved is so rare. the songs are raw & honest written by a romantic with a love for an anthemic chorus & a drum machine running through his veins. think early minimal depeche mode with an italian heart. ornew order covering madonna produced moroder. yes, its that good. here we have the first official italians do it better release of these songs on a 4 song 12inch ep. this vinyl only release is a teaser for the >dont give up< 18 track lp out in a couple of months. so in the meantime, slip on those gucci loafers, rev up the alfa romeo and head down to the discotheque because life is too short

nice price deal !!! here today aka florian schirmacher & engin oeztuerk grace claqueurs records with their >down here ep<. including remixes by ian pooley and andreas baumecker & gökhan demiray.

3 tiga tracks from the ciao lp

mit dem wunderbar sommerlichen vocaltrack >right in the dark< erscheint nun die dritte single aus fritz kalkbrenners sensationellem debütalbum >here today gone tomorrow<, das jüngst für den kritikerpreis des echo nominiert war. auf >right in the dark< weiß der bruder von paul kalkbrenner mit seiner außergewöhnlichen stimme zu glänzen wie auf kaum einem anderen stück des albums. der song ist auch der favorit der beteiligten remixer. deren besetzung kann mit robag wruhme und henrik schwarz kaum hochkarätiger sein. robag wruhme ist zweifellos einer der männer der stunde. sein neues album auf dj kozes label pampa ist zu recht in aller munde. seine version von >right in the dark< weiß denn auch spielerisch die hohen erwartungen zu erfüllen. henrik schwarz ist seit langer zeit einer der lieblingsproduzenten von fritz kalkbrenner und der suol-crew. der berliner versteht es in seinen tracks wie kaum ein anderer, spannung aufzubauen. die gelingt ihm auch in seinem remix von >right in the dark<, der in dem moment, wenn die 4/4-kickdrum einsetzt, unter garantie jeden club der welt auseinandernimmt.

following on from the furious 601 release we revisit the aquasky single and ask some mates of ours to go in on the remix tip and try and add some of their own bass induced mayhem and here, ladies and gentlemen, is the end result. not for the faint hearted or those of an uneasy disposition.

new release alerts for jay lumen. following rise on nic and mark fanciullis saved records, 2000 and one label boss snapped jay lumen for a new single on his big room 100% pure records label ... you like lil louis - why fall ? here the techhouse version

the more perceptive among you will no doubt twig the musical direction of an ep entitled >the deepness< by 2deepsoul before the needle even hits the groove. if you hoped it was going to be brimming with ocean deep grooves and burning chords - deep house in the truest sense - then youd be right. malcolm moores altered moods recordings brings us the debut release from 2deepsoul, aka rai scott and brad peterson, who set their stall out with a title track dripping with moody synths and hypnotic drums n hats. >escaping insanity< meanwhile is underpinned by a delicious acid line - perhaps the most outright floor-friendly track on this here 12inch. the metronomic pulse of >harmony< is augmented by a majestic one note synth loop that gently soars above - a rasping hat soon joins the fray along with the gentlest of string flourishes. >continuance (theory of lazy clap)< is equally bewitching, with a title and arrangement that wouldnt sound out of place in the dj sprinkles catalogue<

the good the bad the ugly the evil is a full on and brandnew 4 track ep from our cologne artist roland m. dill. roland has worked here with a stronger live-set up resulting in tracks more organic. developing from within rather than being developed, the tracks seem to have a stronger hypnotic edge to them. according to the titels the track all show diffferents characteristic. starting with the evil this track is not very obvious but works very much by itself, whereas the good is a perfect intermezzo for djs who really build up their sets with a lot of skill. the ugly is a mental track... it has stunts, it screams, it sees no end... this is mandness on the highest level and also the bad is written in this veain.
played by: martin eyerer, umek, sian, stephan bodzin, patrick pulsinger, orde meikle/ slam, paco osuna, mihalis safras, dubfire, john digweed, deepchild, jens lissat, blind minded, sebastian russell, gow, zidan, scott byrne, danny tenaglia ...

here is some more disco ammo from mdd. >me for you for me< may be based on a classic, but the crowd reaction when it was played at a recent warehouse party shows theres certainly still life in the old dog yet. john luongo thought he d nailed it when he put the breakdown before the verses? pff.. what verses? then theres >think< – not the usual sound we have come to know from al kent possibly – no strings? no percussion?? ah, but theres a squelchy synth. finally theres waltered states. this is possibly what it would sound like if walter gibbons and ron hardy went on a bender then made some edits together.

summer anthem from mathias kaden, daniel stefanik & bornschein ... official sonne mond sterne festival track ... big summer feelin

so here we go again, dj mehdi and riton are carte blanche. cant stop, wont stop. the new ep is called white man on the moon, and includes smashing jack on the moon, and next single with you, featuring alexis taylor from hot chip on vocal duties. the new mixtape is called house party 2: the pyjama jam. and last but not least, the new tour is called carte blanche revue, its worldwide, its djing and tr-909ing, its rollerskate dancing, its popping, and its locking (for real)

for all the wonderfully subtle shell-breaking he did on his full-length, mark e falls back on old, slow habits for his new single, >the day<. and welcomely, we might add. pitching things down to a basement lounge floor crawl, the midlands dj/producer wraps his always chugging kicks and snares in serpentine synth-bass, jazzy, tripleted hi-hats, and moaning, wordless soul vocals. its grasp is tantric—hinting coyly at ecstatic release, but never fully delivering. for the vinyl junkies that bought stone breaker and missed out on it the first time around (it was absent from that version), this release should be a no brainer. but >the day< isnt carrying all the weight here. a new track called >special fx< will have sample hounds—particularly those with a thing for classic electro-pop—salivating. and the oft imitated, never replicated prins thomas shows up on the flip for a (naturally) eleven- minute revamp of >the day<, livening up the bass and drum patterns, adding in strings, piano, guitar, organ, and ending up with something that totally could have emanated from a camaro at some point in the early seventies. (albeit, one owned by someone with interest in eleven-minute instrumentals.) it even has a fade out!

from the far away sound to the one that explodes in your face, from chicago to berlin, from delay to mute, tube & berger vs. fank sonic create here a timeless dance tune! we are speaking about >the swarm<. put steve bug in a room with dj pierre and this is what you might get. small stunts... reductive rhythm... controlled cool drive... a winner.
played by: umek, paco osuna, yousef, orde meikle/ slam, laurent garnier, john digweed, joseph capriati, igor tchkotoua (pig & dan), steve parry, alex tepper, jens lissat, sebastian russell, zidan, beatamines ...

its needless to add many words to the big success of >the elephants< original release. we however could not resist to have it remixed by some of the worlds hottest producers. and here they are: great names, great music!! go for it

true to form, souvenir are back with a snappy summertime release perfectly hinged & ready for sweeping the dancefloors. souvenir 036 various artists features lewis boardman & maher daniel blending their sounds, and converging on this ep for some magnificent effects. the a side starts out with daniel - he is a new, but solid name amongst the techno-gambit, having released on labels such as get physical & bedrock, as well as on souvenir. while his remix workings of >rumblefish< earned him a 2 1/2 month long-spot as number one on the techno charts. with >here and now< with dark, driving techno that sounds like its been made inside of a blazing house-fire. burning & singed, the the layers fall heavy upon one another - with a penetrating dancefloor deep-ness to the bass. next up, >icaros< on the inside a track…spins a dark & deep nighttime soundscape, deep into the depths of a jungle somewhere. a distant & hollow vocal of a tribesman hums hauntingly in the distance, with a severe & driving bassline to make you run like a scared little raver deep into the jungle. on the b side, boardman takes over, one of the uks newest talents - recently remixing for nina kraviz & yousef - with >tranquilizer,< on b2 is quite a minimal retreat…with some intergalactic space-fight sounds thrown into the mix, alongside the rolling bass, and chug-chugging. b2 enters the title track, >the broken is beautiful.< a nice, chugging bass-line meets a ethereal chopped up vocal, carefully flowing in & out of the bass-line….to meet up strong midway thru the breakdown

as pete isaac from jelly jazz said, makala does tasty club rocking tunes that fuse old school rumba, salsa, reggae, swing and mambo with breakbeats and chugging 4 to tha floor beats. remix action here from our friends and heroes dusty and dubben. both delivering amazing takes on the originals. watch out for makalas new album, coming soon!

brand new label from the faith fanzine people focusing on quality house / edits kicking off with 2 superb edits kate bush & grace jones from fred palakon

deadboys own brand of garage flecked melancholia rocketed out of the stables on the single sided >if u want me<, our very first release in early 2010, and the brighton based producer hasnt let up since, remixing artists like cassie, jamie woon and romy xxs creep.

it really is a great pleasure for exclusive to welcome back jef ks wonderful silver network label with their latest single from, valentin feat. the morvans. valentins electronic musical heritage stretches back to the early days of rave. as a wide eyed and open minded 18 year old he became hooked and soon immersed himself in the ever evolving culture. in the early 90s he worked for bpm, the very first underground parisian record store and it was here that he built a vast knowledge of the exciting us labels and producers. by the end of the 90s valentin was a regular on the dj and after-hours circuit, but as the rapidly developing >french touch movement< began to make its mark, it was time to find new inspiration

5 years of leftroom are celebrated here with an ep from bristols waifs & strays / leeds laura jones & miamis lazaro casanova

here is the follow up of its ok. this ep has the the perfect ingredients for a banging bigroom groover for the later hours. produced by italys most wanted heads who know how to bake a cake made in italy

here comes the new echocord colour. after some big releases with luke hess, mike dehnert and sebastien san here comes the new one which is a split ep of the copenhagen heroes mikkel metal & resoe. after his latest 12 inch on echocord, mikkel metal again shows us his more techno-side of his universe, with this killer peaktime bomb, and still with his own unique deep sound. after his resent album on echocord, resoe here presents a more dancefloor-orientated track, for the fans of dettmann/klock, shed, sandwell district and pattern repeat.

italian techno heavyweights markantonio and rino cerrone finally name their collaborative ventures after ten years of gigs and productions together, and the name is junction hands. revolution is back is the first full release under the junction hands moniker, following a well received outing as part of the recent the napoli connection ep on adam beyers drumcode and it sees the two veterans deliver some of their strongest work yet. the title track is a pacey number with a reverb soaked yet warm atmosphere which underpins an aggressive, simple and incredibly effective bass/drum loop which gains intensity throughout. sharp sounds puncture the groove here there which keeps things interesting but its the discordant stabs in the break which push things into overdrive. the equally hypnotic and driving thing for hands follows but manages to do so with an increased feeling of woozy menace. synths feedback on themselves to shattering crescendos before subsiding into waves of noise while the groove relentlessly works its magic. with junction hands theres yet another must-check name coming out of the neapolitan scene.

outstanding explorative techno for the fearless, comes in killer gatefold sleeve - absolutely & highly recommended!

parisian label my love is underground calls on the service of kool vibe, a veteran dj & clubber from paris. although now in his 40s, this is his debut release, but to hijack a well worn phrase, its been worth the wait. mr vibe has clearly spent many a night on discerning dancefloors, and the three tracks on offer here are produced with the steady hand of someone who knows their way around a house tune.

with his latest and 8th artist album >tiefenschön< the timerwriter aka jean f. cochois convinced the critics once more after his latest mix compilation out of his compilation series >deeptrain< became compilation of the month in mixmag uk. here we have the new single >superschall< which is the final track of the album plus one non album track and a remix by m.in.

the x-man has been locked away in the detroit psychiatric hospital for the last 30 years. as his release date drew near ppu had a moment to sit down and talk with the man behind the mask. ppu - how did you end up here? xman - my music style, often described as aggressive funk, was deemed by the state of michigan too mental for the listening public. ppu - what does the x stand for? xman - x is an executioner. ppu - what do you plan to do after your release? xman - i am here to eliminate everyone in funk.