highly effective, perfect big room / festival dj tool techno

raised on the best of popular and underground dance music of the 70s and 80s, partner has created an outlet to pay homage to the finest hooks and loops from around the world, seamlessly repurposing them for the dancefloor. first up, a-side track patu launches headfirst into an off-kilter bollywood infused dancefloor curveball punchy drums, melodic vocals and vintage instrumentation, save your weirdest shapes for this one. on the flip, my people gives an injection of latin heat triumphant, horns and an unrelenting rhythms section throw this into full carnival spirit. just in time for the summer. since relocating to london from brighton, things have been taking shape for partner music. last year saw a debut festival slot at dimensions festival, plus a handful of great support from the likes ofmount kimbie, dan shake and san proper. with some exciting releases lined up throughout 2018, its looking like a promising year for the budding producer. with this release high praise continue to build their status as a label to keep an eye on, with their party series and clothing line steadily growing in popularity.

**ltd yellow vinyl pressing** one of the underground drum & bass scene’s most promising young talents unglued, finally releases the most sought after dubplate on the drum & bass circuit, his remix of high contrast’s decade-long anthem ‘if we ever’, on hospital records.

you may remember the closing of space, ibiza with carl cox when he played a bootleg of total confusion. barry obzee hobbs (rising high a&r) spent a lot of time trying to locate the remixer and finally did a few months ago. we have now signed the remix which will be released on vinyl in may and on digital in july. the story goes like this: carl cox has been playing the version at most of his shows including tomorrow land, kappa future fest and timewarp ( see video clip below) but this is where the story becomes more interesting. the remixer, rod malmok from rotterdam aka benny rodriguez, who is a very established dj producer playing for loco dice in ibiza etc and releasing on ben klock s imprint klockwork, chris liebings imprint clr, adam beyers imprint drumcode and many more was inspired to remix the track through a conversation with dubfire, rod gave him a rough copy the following day. he played it to carl cox at space, ibiza and cox begged him for a copy - see video below if you ve been around the scene for a while you will know that rising high records was one of the first labels to shape techno, hardcore and breakbeat in the uk and was huge!

the masterful trio of timo mass, basti grub and eric volta showcase their combined musical muscle on the latest release forthcoming on supreme berlin imprint, mobilee. with an impressive remix package featuring rodriguez jr. and tiefschwarz. over two years in the making, ‚we were riding high‘ is a lucid after-hours track with an uplifting and catchy vocal hook that unfolds and develops fluidly. the alternative edit utilises dark synths and drums, retaining the positivity that make this track perfect for the last summer month. this record is the result of eric volta making the demo at an after-party at his studio. he then showed this to timo mass who in turn showed it to basti grub who loved the track so much, they were inspired to develop it. two time grammy nominated timo maas has an extensive musical background, spanning over thirty years. he’s worked with some of the world’s biggest stars including madonna, depeche mode and fatboy slim. basti grub heads up his own label, höhenregler, and is known for his exotic, african-influenced productions. he’s released on some premium labels including cocoon, get physical, desolate and cr2. born in london but very well traveled, eric volta shot into the spotlight with love your illusion and since releases on dirtybird, visionquest, four:twenty recordings among others.

superb, heartwarming and spirit lifting gospel disco modern soul 45 first released in 1978 on philadelphia united records. calvin carr & company are enriched with sensitivity and alive with the spirit. the kind of gospel that sweeps all over you and runs through your veins. there is always a sense of inadequacy when attempting to describe just how good something is. words like exciting, inspiring and original come to mind but as always you will have to decide for yourself

dynamic dj and producer kölsch is set to release hal, his brand-new collaborative effort with canadian techno heavyweight tiga, on new label ipso. well known for his genre-defining cuts, danish producer kölsch has sold millions of records all over the world under his many different monikers, including seminal lp ‘1977’ and his widely acclaimed albums ‘1983’ & ‘1983’ & ‘1989’, with the latter including kölschs biggest track ‘grey’. a purveyor of deep and minimalist techno, tiga released his 3-track ‘stay cool’ ep earlier this year, with the game changing producer receiving a wealth of support from bbc radio 1 tastemaker pete tong on his last album, the 11-track ‘no fantasy required’ on counter records. made up of thunderous a-side ‘hal’ and a double b-side - containing the cosmic chord patterns of ‘first blood’ and the sinister build of grumbling ‘still so high’ - kölsch and tiga will also perform together b2b at offsonar this summer, with kölsch also scheduled to play a primetime headline set at belgian mega-festival, tomorrowland. “about a year ago i launched my label ipso”, said kölsch. “this summer ipso 002 is coming up, and it s a collab with none other than tiga. we spent a couple of great days in my copenhagen studio, and came up with 3 tracks i m really proud of. since the first release, i also started my ipso night in the legendary gewölbe club in cologne. i’ve had amazing nights there over the last 2 years and now it s time to expand.” having started his ipso residency in cologne, playing a mammoth 9 hour sets, kölsch has since expanded the brand to miami and watergate berlin, with further destinations in the pipeline. labelled as ‘the king of house” by annie mac, who added that kölsch, the ipso boss has garnered a reputation as one of dance music’s most talented producers, playing several ibiza dates over the summer, including ants, hi&#776,,,,,, ibiza’s ‘in the dark’ and circoloco. follow kompakt

earthboogie’s debut album, human call, rightly earned praise on its release earlier in the year, with listeners responding positively to its sticky and humid dancefloor fusions of african and south american rhythms, chunky dub disco, retro-futurist house, spacey analogue electronics and sun-kissed balearica. hot on the heels of that release, leng records has sourced new remixes of two album highlights – “high minded man” and “silken moon” – from running back label boss gerd janson and synthesizer-wielding balearic boogie stalwart pete herbert.

harlem s legendary disco label queen constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades. one of many labels operating under the equally legendary p&p family of imprints queen constance was operated by one peter brown, a truly colossal figure in nyc s music scene, it s catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. covering a wide range of styles including gospel, early rap and disco the label s output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected dj s and selectors across the globe. high fidelity will be the first in a series of queen constance rarities to be reissued, an extremely rare and coveted record that can change hands on the second hand market for big big money, avoid those low rent bootlegs that are out there and cop this fully licensed repress. the group s self-titled sole long-player is a fantastic 6 track set of gritty, soulful and uplifting funky disco with a diy edge. not too much is known about the artists themselves, or even when the record was performed, recorded or released but it certainly sounds like a group who knew their craft inside out. the energy is high across the record and the group sound like they re on fire, just check the outrageously funkified magic carpet and you ll see what we mean. amazing. the whole project has that enchanting lo-fi, back-street feel to it in terms of production and the mind boggles as to how such a record would have come off had it been recorded at a motown or any other big studio, but no matter as this release is perfect the way it is, an essential piece of street-level nyc disco straight from the underground.

limited edition of 300 numbered copies on green vinyl, signed by fliptrix. comes with high focus rolling papers.

our good friend riccardo aka. black loops joined rough limited with his buddy innocent soul from italy. they made three classic house cuts for this vinyl only release. >the lady< is opening the ep - a classic homage to all old school chicago house tracks with a chopped vocal sample. listening to the b-side, there is >from the streets< a more disco influenced track with pianos and a moog baseline. with a raw & authentic house stomper there is >smoke signals< on b2 to round up the whole package. enjoy!

giant swan are debuting on mannequin records through the death of the machines serie, the dancefloor/experimental oriented side of the label, dedicated to new artists. robin stewart & harry wright team up to create an acerbic marriage of energised, aggressive dance music, quaking bass and hypnotic electronic noise. across a table of machines and pedals, incorporating abused guitar and liberal vocal manipulation, giant swan create a cross-breed of hypnotic bass, industrial percussion and disorientating energy delivered with telepathic intricacy.

limited edition repress of the four owls’ second album on golden & silver coloured double vinyl.

limited edition repress of the four owls’ second album on red & blue coloured double vinyl.

the 4th studio album from florence + the machine.

finally realized, here s one that was long on the dkr wish list. among the very finest moments from both artists, these brilliant interpolations of curtis classics have been unavailable too long. a mesmerizing rhythm adorned with the lovely sounds of hand drums, melodica and flute, mixed and dubbed to perfection by king tubby himself. this 12inch is a 6 track ep, with all four cuts as originally released on two separate 45s, plus two unreleased mixes straight off the original tapes. we like to think tubbs favored these cuts, as so many mixes were done! the dub titled super cool is, in our humble opinion, one of tubby s top 10 extant mixes. full disclosure, all tracks except super cool pt. 2 come from the original jamaican mastertapes. we suspect the pt. 2 mix was lost somewhere in nyc, but don t let that trouble you, this one should please all who have ears.

two of russian electronic music’s rising stars, phil gerus and alexander lay-far, invite you to join them at the solitary high social club. while table service is provided, they’d much rather you throw caution to the wind and head to the dancefloor.
before joining forces in the studio, both moscow-based musicians have delivered a string of memorable solo productions. lay-far has previously released a wealth of material on such labels as local talk, city fly, lazy days and 4lux black, while synthesizer fetishist gerus has showcased his electrofunk and disco-fired cuts on futureboogie recordings, sonar kollektiv, public release and superior elevation records.
the five tracks that make up solitary high social club deliver a perfect marriage of the two producers’ distinctive solo styles, combining the rich musicality of lay-far’s house productions with the spacey, intergalactic electronics of gerus’s discoid adventures. in many ways, it’s a marriage made in heaven – or in lay-far’s celebrated in-beat-ween studio, at least.

incl dl code, dam swindle present ‘high life, their second studio album due on the 28th may on the duos own heist recordings. the heart of the album was recorded over a three week period at their amsterdam studio in march 2017, and the release will coincide with the fifth anniversary of the label. since forming in 2011, the dutch duo have carved a unique place for themselves in the scene. their sound - which merges references from multiple decades into one smooth aesthetic - quickly rose to popularity for its careful blend of soul and rhythm, taking cues from their passion for obscure records, with influences ranging from house and funk to afrobeat and soul. dynamic live shows and dj sets afford them a packed touring schedule across the globe, whilst their label heist recordings is credited with consistently breaking new artists. the album explores the intersection of live and electronic music, with much of the improvised material left largely untouched to maintain its organic sensibilities. dam swindle describe the album as an electronic album with a live approach, combining our love for house, ambient and jazzy harmonics, making it a record interesting for the club, as well as a pleasant album to put on at home.

a new optimo music disco plate and the debut release from feon. when these tracks first came my way i instantly knew they were ripe for a release on the label. original, idiosyncratic, full of imagination and featuring a couple of dancefloor hits, how could i resist? ’also, “the sun is high” was surely destined to become a sun-blissed summer anthem.

ultra tight & rare soul / funk stylings from mississippis natural high outfit. originally released in 1979 on the chimneyville label, an obscure soul imprint operating as part of the miami malaco label family tree. this one has it all lush strings and orchestration, tight as rhythm section, amazing songwriting and everything else in-between. amazing that this group only cut one lp and a handful of singles. the talent on display here is truly of another level and one wonders how such an album came to be. either way, this is an amazing set of rarest of rare grooves and the lp has been a heavily coveted item by the rare record cognoscenti in the past. this is a 100% legit repress, made in conjunction with the rights holders and remastered to the highest possible standard, a truly essential record for fans of quality underground soul & funk. now s your chance to bag a copy for a decent price! quality all around

star creature continues to break new artists, this time debuting “love’s high” a collaborative european effort featuring israel’s soul supreme and the always fresh kids crew. a side is modern funk dancefloor primed with classic boogie formatted verses & hooks. b side is an uptempo instrumental.

milos arrives with his fifth release on his receptive visions label. two techno cuts with plenty of energy and emotion, aimed directly for the dance floor. contact high with it’s swirling sounds, moving in and out of this rather tasty techno groove. priming on the other side has solid drums with rave style stabs, that adds a different feel to this vinyl only release.

the moment every true rap fan has been waiting for! ocean wisdom’s second album, the highly anticipated wizville is on the horizon. showing true signs of progression, ocean wisdom has turned in something nothing short of incredible. with guest appearances from an all star cast, ocean has left no stone unturned, touching upon multiple genres and bringing together some of the biggest legends in the history of the industry. wizville boasts an unrivalled track list including collaborations with the record breaking, genre defining, phenom that is dizzee rascal! the legend himself and arguably one of the greatest rappers of all time, wu tang clan’s own method man! the mercury award winning scene smasher who defined a generation, roots manuva! the grime scene og who birthed a generation of mcs with unmatched skill, p money! the most poignant person with a pen in ukhh, jehst! the ukhh veteran and most respected wordsmith in the game, chester p! the original riddim killa and londons own originator rodney p and the grime scene’s dr dre aka rude kid. to top it off, ocean has also enlisted the musical talents of baquiat, leaf dog, mystry, illinformed, kidkanevil, chemo, pete cannon, muckanicks, pitch 92 & more to produce the album.

tokyo horoki (tokyo wanderings) is a collection of tracks from pleasure cruisers last two years living in ota-ku, tokyo. the first part features tracks recorded with shinichiro yokota featuring vocals from ayako higa, chara and wakana hrt. part two features collaborations with okayama upstart keita sano.

mild high club and king gizzard and the lizard wizard perform their own version of the song “rolling stoned”, which was first released (in shortened form) as a hidden track on mild high club’s album “timeline”.

lp in printed innersleeve + download code. new album solitude combines instrumental hip-hop and forward-thinking electronica. razor-sharp pieces of future soul, boppin from the deceptively light and skippy to whirlpool synthlines and hydraulic sub pressure.

kenny dope and and jose burgos under his soul creation alias come correct with this disco-filtering oldschool stomper baby gets high!

‘that jazz’ is coops first official offering since signing to high focus records back in october. by no means a debut, having already released two critically acclaimed albums ‘lost soul’ & ‘god complex’ under his own steam in 2014 and 2016, the london mc is putting his best foot forward - a no nonsense masterclass in smooth rhyming and soulful boom bap, produced by long time collaborator talos. the beginning in a long line of releases planned for coops this year, ‘that jazz’ serves as the perfect introduction. limited edition of 300 numbered copies on 7 inch vinyl.

ltd 7 inch

after releases by cez and ashac, high ends returns with an ep by thomas romain and his mother, famed free jazz pianist christine wodrascka. christine’s style is wholly unique: there are no barriers for her sonic exploration. sound matter, energy, forms, architecture and emotion all play a part in shaping the style of one the most unique musicians out there. with influences such as cecile taylor, terry riley or thelonious monk, no two wodrascka performances are the same. in his own irregular style, thomas adds a sense of swing to his mother’s improvisations. this fusion of acoustic and electronic creates wholly original experimental journeys which will delight the auditory senses of those listening.

high focus records is proud to present “laminated cakes” - a brand new lp from jam baxter & ed scissor, produced in its entirety by the formidable ghosttown. shaped over the last five years and with features from chester p & dirty dike, this flash release does not disappoint.

detroit newcomer bale defoe debuets with 5 club ready traxx. waddupdoe!

this one is for people who like the real disco tools. for dudes who love the style of dj harvey, prins thomas or todd terje. for djs that want the girls to dance. toy tonics lead honcho black loops teamed up with italo-spanish dj innocent soul in his berlin studio. do we have to introduce black loops? not really: he started his career on toy tonics three years ago. meanwhile did 5 eps on the label - including his main club hit sex (that was one of the 50 most sold house tracks on beatport in 2016). innocent soul is a young italian living in barcelona where he is a quite established kid in the nightlife scene. vittorio rinaldi his name. he is resident dj at space music garden project and resident for the modular project at city hall. like black loops he is not really innocent. at least if it comes to music. he is a huge lover and collector of disco, afro, black, raw and house music vinyl. you can hear the influences in this ep for sure. rollin. this ep is a bomb.

featuring gary wertman and billy zaboy.

record kicks proudly presents james browns original funky diva martha high with japans funk ambassadors osaka monaurail. the 45 vinyl is limited to 500 copies worldwide and anticipates martha highs forthcoming album tribute to my soul sisters out onn record kicks on november 17.

killer private modern soul / disco funk lp from san diego released in 1980 on aidqueen records.

high focus records regular and member of uk rap super group the four owls, verb t has joined forces with production wizard pitch 92 for the new album ‘good evening’.
pitch, who has spent the past few years as the musical mastermind behind the award winning mouse outfit collective has excelled himself on this release bringing to the table a delectable selection of funk & soul infused bangers serving as the perfect backdrop for verb t to unleash his smooth brand of thoughtful lyrics and hooks.
having spent 3 years writing for ‘good evening’ verb t has put forward some of his most personal rhymes to date, delivered with a new found passion that sees the veteran build on a body of work that stretches back to the days of low life records and now sees him as a major part of the ever expanding high focus records movement. the album features guest vocals from uk giants ocean wisdom, jehst, drs, fliptrix, bva, king kashmere of strange u, sparkz, black josh, rye shabby, confucious mc and moreone.
‘good evening’ on limited edition vinyl will be officially released with a digital dropcard containing a digital copy of the album plus bonus instrumentals!

eye contact’, ocean wisdom’s latest single after 18 months since the release of his debut smash lp ‘chaos 93’ which left a massive dent in the scene. ‘eye contact’, showcases his talents like never before, as he seems to even surpass the levels demonstrated in his 2015 breakthrough debut single ‘walkin’. this is the first single from his highly anticipated follow up album wizville set to drop early 2018!
this limited edition hand numbered 7” single comes with eye contact produced by kidkanevil on the a side and an exclusive vinyl only remix of ‘eye contact’ by strange u’s dr. zygote. this record is limited to 500 copies, once they are gone, they are gone!

not safe for wax slides into its first release with head honcho miagma’s “her palms” ep, which delivers four cuts of emotive, warehouse ready tunes, thawed out and prepped for these winter months!
the title track sets us off, combining rattling hats, blurry pads and one tough cookie of a kick to make a banger beato would be proud of. on remix duties is everyone’s favorite uk based spaniard pépe, bringing us back to those early days of ibiza with his soaring balearic vibes.
the b side flips the script on genres entirely, rumbling through with “untitled #3” a breakbeat-to-broken foot of a floor stomper. finishing out our journey is “anguish lagoon”, a proper tribute to junglists and jungles alike!

strut present the first in a series of essential original lp reissues exploring rare and under-rated african, latin and caribbean music classics, curated by duncan brooker. in january 2017, the series kicks off with ‘sugar daddy’, an experimental highlife / disco outing by nigerian highlife guitarist joe king kologbo.

a-ha’s stunning debut album from 1985 back on wax. mastered by ron mcmaster at capitol studios, pressed on 180 gram.incl world no.1 take on my, the sun always shines on tv & hunting high & low !

following on from his massive feel it in my bones release (which gained support from the likes of moodymann, the black madonna, gilles peterson, sassy j, seven davis jr) and a killer remix for afrobeat legend dele sosimi north london producer books returns to xvi records with two storming edits, kicking off their new high praise series in fine style. in the groove hits the ground running, immediately throwing the listener into the middle of peak-hour, loft party hysteria, its soulful vocals swirling overhead whilst the driving, unrelenting rhythms create a sweaty, electrically charged delirium. on the flip, ‘passage of time takes a slightly more introspective approach, its shuffled hats and hazy keys giving way to majestic, uplifting horns guiding the way down a psychedelic black hole, its laid back groove providing a perfect soundtrack to the voyage, as planets spin by in the darkness.

experimental/electronic scapes

it does not happen that often any more that unreleased music from 40 years ago surfaces. even more unlikely it is that the songs put on tape are such treasures. the voltags were right at the forefront of the local washington dc new wave/punk scene of the late 1970s. influenced by kraftwerk, gary numan, the clash, and the b-52 s, they have released only one 45rpm single during their existence. but during the time span of not even 18 months, they had recorded enough material for an entire album - but the songs remained in the can. this is the story of the voltags, a short-lived band which could have become famous and mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned music legends of that era if their songs had been released back in the day. dive in and enjoy the sound of the voltags, it is truly special. we here at perfect toy are thrilled to be label to finally release their work and we sincerely hope that they are finally getting the appreciation they so richly deserve.

vinyl only!
echoes_ is welcoming the young and talented akatana for their second release. the berlin-based french artist his taking us on a tripping 14min long journey of extended pad textures and strings with just the right amount of grooving basslines.
on the b-side we hear hubble decomposing and re-arranging the original track in a way only he could do it. changing it into a dramatic adventure through acoustic drums and percussions.

no cover, b-ware! vinyl only!
echoes_ is welcoming the young and talented akatana for their second release. the berlin-based french artist his taking us on a tripping 14min long journey of extended pad textures and strings with just the right amount of grooving basslines.
on the b-side we hear hubble decomposing and re-arranging the original track in a way only he could do it. changing it into a dramatic adventure through acoustic drums and percussions.