“we hope you enjoy listening to our music as much as we enjoy performing it for you!” that’s how tommy mccook used to greet to the audience by at every performance of the skatalites that he hosted. since reforming after an almost 20 year hiatus in 1983, and beginning regular touring as a unit in 1989, they have not stopped thrilling audiences in every corner of the globe. even after 48 years, and various lineup changes as members leave one stage for another, the band continues to perform and record new music in the inimitable jamaican style, like only they can.

das komplex or marcin to his parents has been steadily putting out incredible music for the last few years, building on an extremely well tailored collection of tracks they have started hitting all sorts of people s radar, no one more so than dj harvey who has been supporting his releases at some of his big shows. a1. under feet - whilst the people of australia are dancing, the people of poland are sleeping. or vice versa...starting off with some lcd fuelled vibes before a psychedelic phasing disco loop appears out of the smoke before twisting the track out in a slightly different direction. a2. w podwodnym pasniku - funky bass, filtered chords and a familiar vocal sample combine for this almost early french house sounding track circa 96. b1. bearded dwarf - very much sounding like prins thomas has been at work here, a big room scandinavian sounding house track (via poland!). big atmospherics, other-worldly vocal samples, lovely guitar snatches and driving piano with the addition of some tribal flute! b2. when - our favourite cut from the ep, cleverly using a herbie hancock sample and layering with disco sounds, vocals and a deep driving bass line to produce his trademark atmospheric, moody house sound. as always pressed on 180gm vinyl. please hunt down and destroy dance floors accordingly. keep sydney open

1994 - chicago producer rick lenoir has already released a slew of legendary records under many well known aliases and his house jam label has been in business since 87. the sanctuary project is the nom de plume utilised by rick for this particular killer disco infected 4 track ep from that period. the keen eared among you will no doubt recognise some of the sample sources used throughout these tracks, lenoir flips jazzy loops, chopped up vocals and lays it all out over some kicking drum programming, this is that style of sample based house that has the hardened dance heads and hip-hoppers unified, gritty, raw and brimming over with soul! the cuts featured on this ep will sit nicely with most contemporary sounds and shows how on the money rick was in the mid 90 s! the record has long been out of print and has been forever popular with the diggers out there, commanding a healthy price when available in the second hand stores and online. this reissue has been realised with the full involvement of rick lenoir / house jam records, chicago and is 100% legit! don t snooze, this one deserves a spot in any self respecting house heads record bag or dj set, classic material made available again for 2017 - running it’!

its a pleasure to introduce tony rainwater, undoubtedly the most productive and creative savage weve come across recently. see usually we dont do this, lehult is a crew affair, but this guy left us no choice. being a music enthusiast, dj and dancer for a long time, tony has only most recently picked up producing his own music, yet at a stunning rate: when we first asked him for a demo, three months after he started producing, he swiftly dropped us a set of twenty-five tracks, another set of fifty more soon followed. his productions are straight rough edged, no-prisoners-taken jams, combining samples from the most far-flung corners of his eclectic music collection. his magical patchwork wild style is on full display on his debut rockberry jam ep for lehult. the a-side takes us through the lighter side of his repertoire with the title tracks slow building house groove, some dizzy medieval monk grooves on to all the world and seductive r&b on lay it on the line. on the flip operalight irresistible groove and black dream flowers provide some darker moments, before alone closes on a soft note. the vinyl version includes an extra goodie after the runouts. tony is now a fixed member of the crew already and were proud to have him and his crazy energy on the team. this wont be the last youll hear of him.

now, if there was ever a record title that could make you look twice its gotta be this seminal slab of jacking chicago mayhem from maurice joshua & hot hands hula. released in the golden year of 1988 on the legendary trax label which was already in full flight and on a major roll at the time. it could have been easy to overlook i gotta big dick because of its (mildly) humorous, tongue in cheek title, but don t be fooled, this is one sleek, charged acid weapon, an early blueprint for the incoming ghetto house scene out of the chi perhaps? if you re somewhat prudish or easily offended by the lyrical content the guys were kind enough to include an instrumental version that jacks in all the right places! also included on this ep is the stone cold classic this is acid which was co-produced by lidell townsell that became an acid house anthem all the way from illinois to ilford. a true school chicago jam indeed! finishing out the ep is the almost apocalyptic acid of -feel the mood- that features a rap from kool rock steady, the combination of twisting 303 s, church-like organs and synths and kool s razor sharp rhymes make for a pretty heavy concoction, use this one wisely damage will occur on the dance-floor! remastered in conjunction with trax records, fully legit, now is the time to revisit a cornerstone of classic chicago house music, often imitated, never bettered!

hicago, 1991. the house jam records go from strength to strength, having already released a slew of influential and classic records from 1987 onwards, the duo of larry thompson and rick lenoir are making their impression felt on the dance music scene not only in their own city, but on a worldwide scale. enter tikkle, another undercover pseudonym used by the pair for their own special brand of deep house tracks. -outer limits- was the first release using this name and is an essential ep of midwestern machine grooves. the tracks have that rough, basement vibe with a healthy dose of deep, melodic qualities thrown in, the track -outer limits- for example, has a sophisticated almost jazz like vibe that wouldn t sound out of place on an early ur release! the second track on the ep -in the beginning...- is a driving cut based around mach s legendary -on & on- (often cited as one of the -first- house tracks!) with thompson and lenoir adding some dope keys, strings and extra drum machines all with that trademark lnr swing. -holding on- is a stripped back, percussion led, heads down kinda jam... the kind of track to make dance-floors sweat, solid stuff indeed! the whole ep has been reissued as it was originally released in 1991, with all original house jam label artwork intact. for this special 2016 pressing rick lenoir dug in his vault of reel to reel tapes and excavated a long lost tikkle track that has never been released..... until now - -my mood (rick s cosmic mix edit)- is the closing track of the ep and is a fresh, 24 year old acid track with ocean deep pads - what a discovery, and one that will undoubtedly excite house heads! this track is exclusive to this repress! all audio has been lifted from rick lenoir s private collection of reel to reel tapes from his basement and remastered accordingly. this reissue has been realised with the full involvement of thompson & lenoir and is 100% legit

right after the release of their nineth ep, the slam jam neroli series is back once again. as usual, expect a wild mix of disco jazz funk gospel and fusion with the classic sjnrl edge. djs as theo parrish and sadar bahar drop regularly sjnrl numbers, so you know its the real thing! will be the 10th release the very last one????

it is jam citys turn to deliver a batch of sweaty, streamlined dancefloor weapons on the 6th installment of the club constructions series. the minimalism and intensity of jersey club music remains a huge influence on the whole night slugs camp, and while jerseys impact can be felt across the cc series, jam city channels those devastating ghostly kick drums like none other. continuing on from where he left off with club favourites *the courts* the *how we relate to the body*, jam drops 5 lean and intense drum workouts build from scrap metal and primed for warehouse use. they move between thudding midrange persistence and just-sub-and-air minimalism, framed by jammed drum machine rhythms and splashes of re-sampled colour. jam decorates these sturdy and well-deployed undercarriages with silvery detail, percussion fragments, broken talkboxes, whispered vox and simple, beautiful chords.

litd white label series, with hypnotic floorshakin stuff, support from usual suspects

luv jam - better known as andy cole - made his name through outings on we play house and lany recordings, and >mature oak< finds him in fine form, an epic, atmospheric track poised on a bed of analog synths and warm pads, driven by galloping drum mechanics that gradually give way to its climax, an irresistibly squelchy acid bassline that marks it as one of coles most memorable productions to date. on the flipside we get treated to cottams first ever remix. cottam has made an impeccable name for himself, with his signature colourful series of untitled 12s and a contribution to the story imprint. true to his roots, cottams re-rub of >mature oak< is a slo-mo, motorik chugger that makes excellent use of the originals acid line while taking the whole track a step further. its a proper heads down affair that begs for a soundsystem loud enough to do it justice. limited vinyl pressing of 444 copies – hand stamped and numbered. special artwork by pedro carvalho de almeida.

support from popof, umek, king unique, paco osuna, timo maas, dr motte, electric rescue, john acquaviva, a. mochi, d ramirez, eric entrena, jens lissat, d-nox & beckers and many others!debut vinyl by federico milani on frequenza! this young, talented producer, who became last year one of the youngest yet most popular stars on the techno and minimal panorama, delivers two fully effective and bouncing tracks as usual. the pack is rich with a huge loco & jam remix (early plays by umek, king unique...) and another crazy rework by alex d elia & nihil young!

be is from manchester. his music has no equals. here is how be describes his superb disco sound. each day brings inspiration. people, words, skies and sounds form the solid foundations of the personal experience that be uses to express the abstract ideas drawn from these interactions. a deep love for soul music, jazz, funk, disco and electronic, combined with a respect for those who have gone before and created allows be to embrace performance and production with an open mind. experimenting with recording techniques, sampling, direction and writing, be works with music as a dj and artist to express a universal message that can be felt by anyone who listens.

"elio riso makes his come back following up the much acclaimed &#147;to be or not to be&#148; on the paradise label.the south american producer delivers a daft inspired robotic electro with human spoken vocals under a solid electro groove & a cool synth ibiza based producer pat the cat remix uses also this catchy synth line but with a more british approach think 20/20 vision or nrk.original mix sounds like the original with a cool sunny vibe in it"

a real soul gem from 1970 on the james brown affiliated deluxe label, the first and only album by this mysterious singer: marie queenie lyons.

limited price action for limited time - exclusive 12x12inch vinyl box set with silver hot foil embossing. twelve individual colored disco sleeves with distinct full-size portraits of sven from the 80s

the origins double vinyl collection focusses on one the greatest guitarist of all time - jimi hendrix.

third part of colemine’s highly acclaimed soul slab series.

remastered 25th anniversary edition on yellow double vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

limited edition - remastered vinyl reissue with tote bag included.

excellent rnb best of 4x vinyl collection with huge all time hits!

yet more fresh heat from the soundscape versions camp and this time round with a special tentrack compilation by different artists across the globe with wide scope of electronic music produced and performed using all analog hardware gear.

wilfy d returns for another solo release on the vitamin d imprint. after the success of his debut release vitd001 wilfy d returns to showcase a different side to his production. as usual expect no nonsense vocal driven uk garage cuts, this time on a strong club ready housey tip. this release leans more to the 4 to the floor sound with a slinky smooth 2 step belter on the b. essential cop!

special limited 7inch vinyl that was specially edited and overdubbed by joaquin joe claussell. we will not go into the music this time. however, what we will share with you is that, as usual, the jams chosen for this project have either been overlooked or forgotten.

for the tenth instalment of undersound recordings we present a split ep from dominic dammer, under his mnvr and omni causa aliases. dominic runs mindcolormusic, a collective active from 2010 releasing idm and electro tinged music in tape and vinyl format and has been djing since the mid 90’s. the a side from mnvr presents a deeper approach with two emotional techno tracks whereas b side from omni causa takes a moodier turn with broken electro jams.

before there was klf, there was the jams (justified ancients of mu mu) . limited vinyl pressing of jamms first album, > 1987 what the f*ck is going on<, a brilliant sonic collage of cut and paste sampling, beatbox rhythms, and kingboy d s scottish raps. includes the hit single -all you need is love- that started it all along with “hey hey we are not the monkees” which features verses later used in the single “justified and ancient” by the klf.

ministry of sound presents the origins of house on double vinyl.

ministry of sound presents the origins of techno on double vinyl.

the shanklin sessions came out of the shanklin road studio that andy sims shared with one of his partners from soft rocks, bobby coulman. acid jan started its life as a jan hammer edit that andy was doing for one of soft rocks disco powerplay releases. there were a few parts that never made the final cut, but were too good to leave, so andy got friend jaime read in to jam with the left over bits, and from that acid jan was born (none of the jans original parts made it to this finished re-incarnation). acid jan found it s way onto cynic label boss felixs usb and subsequently was played at every festival/club that felix played for about a year. when andy heard felix playing it at alfresco festival in 2016, they decided to release it on cynic. in search of a b side for the release, andy dug out the other dat s from the session acid jan was recorded at, and found sitars over shanklin, a suitably oddball track to grace the other side. a little piece of chicago via india recorded in brighton.

** 2019 reissue ** lcd + pcp is a massive collaboration for this release: carl craigs label planet e is set and ready to rerelease one of the tunes produced as paperclip people, throw. the a-side on this 12 vinyl features a cover of the song by james murphy and his merry band of music makers, better known as lcd soundsystem. lcd soundsystem has been using its cover of throw in live sets for some time. guest of the 2005 lcd live performance at the el rey theater received a shocking surprise. while the band was closing out the night with an extended version of yeah. somewhere around the eight or nine minute mark, bassist tyler pope began jammin on the famous groove from throw. the crowd watched in shock and awe as the band slowly, one-by-one, joined in, morphing yeah into throw seamlessly. by the time james murphy grabbed the mic and declared in full falsetto i wanna see your haaaaaaaaaaand! everyone basically unloaded on themselves. truly a classic act for a classic track! this release will be the first time the lcd studio rendition has ever been made available on wax

after metropolitan jazz affair, the dynamics and mr president, master of musical ubiquity bruno ?patchworks? hovart proudly presents uptown funk empire, a burning tribute to one of his all time greatest loves: funk. bruno ?patchworks? hovart, as a self-taught musician and typical teenager, started playling guitar, bass and keyboards at age 15, covering james brown, jimi hendrix and cream in his bedroom and, later in college bands. his first releases are in the mid 90s, with deep house and disco live bands and various electronic projects. he quickly develops and shows very special skills for vintage disco/funk productions with a contemporary flavor. this gifted boy?s been working with artists such as amp fiddler, archie shepp, mr day, paul randolph... and for many recording labels such as i still music (usa), favorite recordings (france), infracom (germany), further out (uk)... uptown funk empire is an exciting and ambitious project, worthy of its name. while the first album is simply called ?the empire strikes back?, it?s no joke... forget the whole revival thing, this sounds like an actual rebirth of the real funky stuff. it?s like being back to the better days of funk without a travel machine... the vibe is vintage but the sound is fresh...that?s not funky music, that?s funky music !
this album is huge and it covers all the golden age groove styles : boogaloo, soul, disco, boogie, funk... but the music flows in the hands of a gifted modern producer. bruno ? patchworks? hovart plays bass, keyboards, computers... handling with love all composition, programming, arrangements, vocals... with brilliant vocal featurings by silky juan rozoff, brit-soul legend noel mc koy at his best, high-voltage divas ange & janice... and the funkysoul brother bruno ?patchworks? hovart himself on the mic... it?s pure funkiness ! beware, ?the empire strikes back? and is kicking... so get up & dance !

club of jacks have been previously spotted on labels like plastik people and blockhead, which should give you an idea of where their sound is pitched. this is classic house with a distinctive uk slant - the beats are up front and the bass is mighty strong. the subs on -alright- just can t be beaten, not least when peppered with other sound system garnishes that keep things ruff and tuff. -raw like 94- makes great use of a lisa stansfield sample for lyrical input, but once again the emphasis is on the weighty production. it s a sound that carries through the b side too, providing you with four highly workable jams for the peak of the night

ltd repress! classic dance mania sound right here! jammin gerald nailing that original 1994 chi-town ghetto style, if you know then you know! unapologetic, raw, jackin booty trax for the clubs. its all here. from the breakbeat driven, b-more club influencing get the ho 94 to the insanely stripped back and crazy sensuous black woman riffing black women (club) this ep has it. an essential addition to any collection if you like your club music direct and to the point, dance mania is a label that should need no introduction by now, but if you re new to the game this is a good place to dive in! 100% legitimately remastered from dat, including a new bonus track believe, and reissued with the permission and assistance of dance mania records and mr. parris mitchell, chicago usa.

although ultimately a comedy act, the cuban brothers are simultaneously serious musicians who have played with prince, been on the road with james brown and supported fatboy slim, chuck berry and de la soul to name but a few. 2018 will see them perform with a 12-piece band and a rotating roll-call of special guests on board to help them turn 20, including the average white band’s hamish stuart and the jungle brothers’ baby bam. ‘la familia’, released 24th august via sunday best, features a brand new cubans track, ‘i hate hate’, alongside such classics by roy ayers, bill withers, erykah badu, a tribe called quest, children of zeus, d’angelo and more. the cuban brothers clearly have an impeccable taste in music.

singer, songwriter and lifelong fan josé james honors the great bill withers with the september 28 release of “lean on me” (blue note), a loving tribute album that features 12 of the legendary singer and songwriter’s most undeniable and soulful songs in honor of his 80th birthday year. “lean on me” was produced by blue note president don was and recorded in capitol’s legendary studio b with a dream team band: pino palladino (bass), kris bowers (keys), brad allen williams (guitar), and nate smith (drums), along with special guests including vocalist lalah hathaway, saxophonist marcus strickland, and trumpeter takuya kuroda.

ltd repress! club style is the pseudonym used by 2 all-time chicago legends, a truly all-star line up on this record, that s right, the pairing of paul johnson and robert armani. say no more really. crazy wild is a 4 tracker of infectious, grooved out, jacking and tough house jams, both producers fingerprints are all over this one. narcotic, driving drum machines, phased out loops, armour piercing claps and basement trembling basslines are all over this ep, originally released in 1994. this one s a bit of a cult release from dm, collectors and freaks rating it highly. as usual it s a tough one to try and track down, changing hands for some hard earned cash too. this is the first time crazy wild has ever been reissued in full, just as it was originally released in 1994, complete with original dance mania label artwork. 100% legit, reissued in conjunction with dance mania records, chicago il and parris mitchell. don t sleep.

east leipzig theory™ is a electronic music label and a registered product of the east leipzig entertainment group e.l.e.g. which was established in 1991. all rights reserved - offences against the rights will be systematically pursued and penalised by e.l.e.g.
the second dimension ep is the first release of the label and contains four hybrid jams which are between the legacy of dutch west coast, & 90s house. main influences are the hacker, old vitalic, legowelt and bicep. all tracks are made for the floor and dj-friendly - but the last track “sehnsucht” which means “desire” is a refreshing ambient drifter with broken hard-hitting drums and also for easy listeing.
8factor is a german music project from leipzig - he is producing electronic music for 8 years without making official releases. tommy tricker was a former alias which was used for lo-fi boombap instrumentals. one of his most famous instrumantals is called “kommunistische tummulte” which was released on red tape. he is also a big fan of propellerheads software “reason”. most of his tracks contains self-programmed malstrom-synth-textures or processed samples.

waging the war against disposable plastics, by providing you with something to treasure, we present np005, epic like heston. hailing from the edges of the site of the bloodiest battle on british soil, this marathon machine jam continues our series of yorkshire based artisinal electronics, touched with the exemplary finishing skills of dr marco antonio spaventi. we ve returned to the ultra lightweight sleeving format which saves you, the customer, room in your bag. screen printed in the searing temperatures of summertime york, all printing uses the tried and tested kitchen table printing technology and guaranteed, lounge-floor drying system. as you should be aware by now, this means the ink is thoroughly dry before shipping, so that transport weight can be kept to a minimum and savings passed on to you. one track, single sided 12inch vinyl

take a step back for sbt003, a va compilation of hot club-ready lo-fi house jams. hand-stamped white labels as usual encased in brown manilla sleeves. the shoe changed, the vibe stayed. step back trax - handle with care.

following a string of well-received eps on cin cin, exit strategy and get physical, belfast’s lor readies his debut, self-titled album ‘lunar orbit rendezvous’. this will mark the first release on his newly minted label lorec. a technique used in apollo lunar missions, lunar orbit rendezvous charts a journey to the moon and back. a bold album, both in concept and sound, its the work of an artist coming into his own.the title track and first single lunar orbit rendezvous prepares the album for lift off. its a track that carries the technical tension of crucial operations, with gnarly acid pulses and happily erratic synths sparring over a steadfast electro beat while vocal samples collapse into themselves. lunar orbit rendezvous comes accompanied by a video from studio creme whose design and video work has been championed by the likes of james holden, warp and simian mobile disco. using a hyper detailed black and white render of a nasa grade rocket, the video brings the optical journey of lunar orbit rendezvous to life

jamie jones joins forces with new york’s david berrie for an electrifying two track release on hot creations. doctor zouk is the result of a friendship spanning many years, and is set to be unleashed this autumn. title track doctor zouk is a bumpy, chuggy roller with a prominent percussive break and heady tribal undertone. future society uses thumping drum pads over a growling bassline with unmistakable high hats weaved together over futuristic synths. jamie jones is one of the industry’s most in demand and recognised djs. he heads up one of ibiza’s most treasured parties, paradise at dc10, and now takes it to all corners of the globe. his revered hot creations imprint has put out more than one hundred releases as well as playing a major part in launching the careers of patrick topping, richy ahmed and detlef. spending his formative years in new york, sneaking into the city’s diverse and flamboyant nightclubs and heavily influenced by a broad spectrum of genres, it wasn’t long before david berrie took to the turntables. he released on jones’ hottrax label last year and has had a number of releases on nervous and monique sp é ciale. he commands regular slots at bpm festival as well as at the paradise nights.

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

on the third release on his label, malin genie teams up with amsterdam resident and will & ink regular yaleesa hall for a trip into dubbed out techno and house territory. the ep opens with -oganesson,- an immersive track pivoting around gnarled, shape-shifting dub techno chords. -84- is a more energised cut, using a similar central melodic thread but driving it with a sprightly beat and playful threads of synth expression. -tournant- places the emphasis on textural sound design, embellishing a rugged techno rhythm with sonic matter that takes on an organic quality as it pulses and writhes around the beat. -coronal loop- finishes the ep off with an appropriately star-gazing jam that uses delay and reverb to great effect to create a sense of space in which nimble chord lines and other flourishes can cavort freely.

rogue d is the new solo project from danny minchella. under this new moniker he delivers the eagerly awaited chains. set to be one of the biggest tracks of the year, its a high octane, club-ready number with abundant driving percussion. unstoppable force patrick topping is also back on home ground for the remix. chains was inspired by jamie 3:26s and cratebug’s edit of loretta holloway hit n quit - i wanted a simple, raw track, killer bassline and a soulful vocal. the process was very fast and i made the majority of the groove in one morning. i dug deep in my collection, looking for that special vocal and came across steve silk hurleys chain of fools (with aretha franklin on the original vocal), and it just made the record pop! - rogue d as an artist minchella has played some of the worlds most esteemed establishments and released on a wealth of high profile labels. he now aims to use his rogue d guise as a means to express his forward thinking and personal tastes in sound- from techno to old school garage to the sounds of detroit. he’s already released on dftd as well as providing a remix of soul claps misty on classic music company. in his relatively short career so far, label favourite patrick topping has made the cover of mixmag, won a coveted dj mag best of british award and made the resident advisor top 100 djs. hes released some of the biggest tracks on hot creations and is resident for jamie jones paradise at dc10. on his rework of chains, topping isolates the vocal and adds a tribal bounce to proceedings.

harlems 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 land of hits was operated by one peter brown, a truly colossal figure in nycs music scene, its 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. mistafide s colossal old-school rap behemoth equidity funk has long been a record that makes the serious collectors salivate and is now here in full 12inch form repress, too legit to quit. not much is known about the crew behind mistafide , their government names are listed online but this is the only record they put out using this name. suffice to say, this has no impact on the fury and style with which the mc s deliver their raps, backed with the studio nous of impresario peter brown. across 12 minutes equdity funk is a slamming disco-rap monster, interpolating elements of the evergreen b-boy jam theme from swat it sounds like everyone just got into the studio and went for it. in the style of the times this is the real hip-hop flavour, a live band, some mc s and some death defying bars being dropped, proper old school. a truly rare recording, equidity funk has been one of those records fans of the disco-rap era have been fiending for for decades - often commanding prices over the $1000 mark you can now grab this slice of essential nyc street funk.

fat beats records is proud to present bakers dozen, an exclusive series that shines a light on the best minds of instrumental hip-hop, ambient, and electronic music. each installment gives one artist carte blanche to capture their signature sound. every volume’s limited vinyl pressing features one artist and twelve tracks, and comes equipped with a 5x7inch postcard insert that features a photo of the artists workspace along with the equipment used in their music-making process. visually cohesive and packaged with the utmost attention to detail, baker’s dozen is a series that speaks up for artists whose craft renders voices superfluous, whose instrumentals alone suffice to make a statement. volume nine highlights the guelph, ontario producer elaquent, who breaks down his creative process below: “since the beginning, my philosophy has always been that perfection is boring, so despite all the changes that have occurred with my equipment and system, that main philosophy remains the same. in the beginning it was all about flipping samples with fl studio and just my computer keyboard, and over the years, i added the mpd and masterkey in order to be able to jam out drums live and play keys, which speeds up the workflow. i like the effects on the 404, and theres a lot of dope ways to integrate my ipad into it, but at the end of the day, it starts with a melody or sample, and i kinda just let the vibe take over.

for our next excursion, we’re off to the library. in search of library records that is - you know the type, the crazy rare records used for soundtracks and such and such. we have a sick selection of synthed-up beats and pieces chopped together by one earl jeffers, making the most out of his international library digging card* (*not a real thing).
for those that don’t know, cardiff’s earl jeffers is one half of darkhouse family, regular family at our sister label, first word, on which they released their debut album “the offering” late last year. earl is a prolific producer in his own right, also releasing over the years under the aliases chesus and metabeats on labels like mcde, fat city and local talk, collaborating with artists like byron the aquarius, action bronson and kamaal williams / henry wu, turning his hand ably to house, hip hop, jungle, jazz and more. all this in addition to running his own label, mélange records.
a dedicated digger and record collector first and foremost, earl has provided us with a quadruple set of heavyweight stuttery sci-fi boom bap. in earl’s words: “this record was mostly inspired by my penchant for the more electronic / synthesized jams, mostly replayed from the original compositions then thrust in to 2028 and beyond….”