abstract, electronica, dub, lo-fi, ambient, downtempo, ethnic field musics or experimental hip-hop...

charlie ahearn s 1983 film wild style holds a place in both music and cinematic history as one of the first examples of a hip-hop film. since its original release it has been widely praised for its hybrid approach as both a narrative musical and a documentary, and as a time capsule of sorts into the culture of hip-hop during its infancy in the 1980s.

nachdem casper den deutschen hip-hop in der vergangenheit nicht nur mitgestaltet, sondern mit seiner kombination aus rap und indierock gewissermaßen revolutioniert hat, zeigt er auch auf seiner neuen platte, wie facettenreich seine musik ist.

the squirrels are back. their second platter comes courtesy of kit n c.l.a.w.s. (say it out loud), the cheekily-named collaborative project from squirrels on film co-founder brian hock and veteran san francisco producer kit clayton, and just like the label s first record, it s a woozy, wobbly trip designed for dancefloors drifting between dimensions. savvy techno heads will recognize kit clayton s name from his decades of experience at the avant-garde of electronic music. in the late 90s, he and partners tang tran and juan mendez (now better known as silent servant) launched cytrax, a groundbreaking minimal techno label that paved the way for the clicks n cuts sound of the early aughts. his debut album — nek sanalet, first released in 1999 on stefan betke s seminal label ~scape and reissued in 2015 — remains one of dub techno s most enduring documents. meanwhile, brian hock moonlights as the drummer for deranged bay area post-punk outfit bronze while recording murky electro-techno excursions as c.l.a.w.s.

coalmine records is pleased to relaunch ‘land of the crooks,’ the collaborative extended play project from the late sean price and melbourne’s go to producer, m-phazes. the project finds the longtime underground legend lending his distinctive, brownsville-bred grimy vocals over phazes’ rich tracks full of dramatic pianos, rich bass-lines, swinging horns and hard drums. the a-side includes the main passes, comprised of four original tracks with the addition of the small professor remix for ”murdah type thinkin (feat. guilty simpson).” for this special edition rerelease, coalmine has also added the divided souls ent. & dj pain 1 remix of “land of the crooks,” which was only previously made available on the label’s remix compilation, ‘remineded,’ which first dropped back in january of 2015. the b-side includes the instrumental passes of all of the original tracks, as well as the small pro remix, in addition to the “crookapella,” which includes various scratch stems taken from the ep, in addition to various isolated drum sounds, sound effects, and acapella of the “land of the crooks” single. additional features on lotc include roc marciano, billy danze (of m.o.p.), maffew ragazino, loudmouf choir and the dilated junky, dj babu. vinyl is manufactured on classic black discs, and comes complete with the andres guzman designed artwork, inspired by the vintage ‘80s movie, ‘crocodile dundee.’ sean price was hip-hop’s gray hulk, a barbarian with the pen, with the sharpest of wits. a true brooklyn legend...rip!

joshua tree - 30 years re:isue - comes on double heavy weight vinyl

this awesome 3rd compilation vinyl contains high energy tracks! a great colab with acid ted & jack wax is the 1st track on this release. after this pounding acid trance techno track, system rejects kicks in with this mindblowing acid techno trip! then on the flip a very special acid oldschool goa track from ajna that brings you back to the 90’s ... like we like on flatlife records the most!

it’s been 3 years since the last basic soul unit ep on lab.our and the label co-head is back to top form! loose, melodic and funky, the toronto producer stretches his legs across 4 tracks in this kaleidoscopic gem of an ep. on a1 is ‘behavoural issue’, a frenetic, crunchy and off-kilter number that will have you contorted in distortion with all arms and legs on the dancefloor. ‘rising over the east’ marches in next, a deep jacking head trip to the orient opium den with its endless arpeggiators. on the b-side, the heavy broken club banger ‘propulses’ harkens back to the glory rave days without mimicry. a basic soul unit interpretation with his undeniable footprint in the mix. ‘my heart skips’ turns the dial down several notches into deeper house terrain. the soulful ride begins as an easy cruise before deftly lurching into an odd rhythmic fractal workout that the producer has become known for. sealing an untouchable reputation in the world of broken soulful lo-fi techno, basic soul unit casts an even wider net to captivate audiences with this must-have ep.

die uk legenden coldcut und adrian sherwood veröffentlichen gemeinsames dub album inklusive features von lee scratch perry, roots manuva, junior reid & vielen mehr!

this is a must have record and supplies are extremely limited. long out of print and extremely sought after, david porter’s “i’m afraid the masquerade is over” gets a proper re-issue on 45, but with a special twist. first released in 1972, this groundbreaking masterpiece was mostly overlooked by the masses of that generation. however, twenty plus years later, hip hop producers would revive newfound interests in this cut (and porter’s other works) after sampling bits & pieces of it for some of the most defning songs of the mid 90’s and early 2000’s (who shot ya, duel of the iron mic, it’s over, etc). for this special edition, the original multi-track session was resurrected from the archives, re-polished and re-edited into a brand new mix for your listening pleasure. familiar fans will go emoji crazy once they get a taste of the exclusive new version that boasts new breaks, alternate takes and a louder, fuller instrumental presence among other goodies, creating fresh opportunities for beats and lives mixes. pushing the 9 minute mark, parts 1 & 2 are presented between 2 sides, presenting the all of music in it’s entire glory. original pressings of “i’m afraid the masquerade is over” are not easy to come by. own this collector’s item while you can. “must have” vinyl for dj’s, producers and anyone else on the hunt

hieroglyphics imperium and elevation nation present “the hierotrope series”, a collection of 7” 45 singles with 2 sided onrecord phonotropic artwork that comes to life, animating when viewed in a camera/phone in direct light. the music for the series will be a variety of unreleased songs from the hiero vault, and featured singles from upcoming projects released bi-monthly. all design/animation of the series is created by unjust via elevation nation, long-time hieroglyphics collaborator. keeping in tradition with hieroglyphics’ tradition of innovation, landmark creative quality, and independent ideology, this series gives its listeners/viewers a truly unique bonus value, adding an extra layer of visual stimuli to the beloved physical act of playing a record. marrying art, music, and technology, the hierotrope series promises to be on-going treat for hip-hop heads, vinyl heads, and tech-heads alike. this single in the series is first light (opio + pep love), “livin’ the life” b/w “fu2”, 2 previously unreleased songs that were cut from the “fallacy fantasy” album, produced by unjust.

hip hop classics from ll cool j 1985

the cultural phenomenon that is the wu-tang cannot accurately be described without referencing one of the pillars in the clan s discography, chef raekwon s only built 4 cuban linx remains firmly planted as one of the defining triumphs in their artistic legacy. the oft referred -purple tape-, has been cited and debated by many as the greatest wu-tang solo project to date and a remains a bullet point in any discussion involving the greatest -cocaine rap- or -street hop- albums of all time.

one of the more unsung talents that came out of the gang starr foundation was the brooklyn-based duo group home, consisting of mcs lil dap and melachi the nutcracker. dap was first showcased on the gang starr posse cut “i’m the man,” on 1992’s daily operation, melachi appeared on “words from the nutcracker” from 1993’s hard to earn. the early group home song “so called friends” was also featured on 1993’s now-legendary gangstarr foundation sampler, which also gave the world jeru’s “come clean.” by 1995, dap and melachi had paid their dues and finally got their own full-length: livin’ proof. and it was everything that gang starr and any true school hip-hop fans could have wanted, produced almost entirely by dj premier (with two exceptions: “serious rap shit” helmed by guru himself, and “4 give my sins,” produced by jay-z mentor jaz-o (aka big jazz). beyond the album’s classic singles – “supa star,” “livin’ proof” and “suspended in time” – there are premier-overseen classics all over, including “the realness,” “inna citi life,” and “sacrifice.” in fact, many gang starr scholars agree that the beats on living proof are in the top 5 of all premier-produced albums – no small boast, but certainly hard to disprove.

producer and dj from cantabria pablo bolívar signs the new release in his very own seven villas, in which he takes the chance to interpret --remixwise-- the tracks on the album traverse -by sensual physics which was originally released in 7v in 2016.

we are facing a very special project for pablo bolívar this time. his admiration for the veteran german producer joerg schuster -one of pablo s musical heroes- gets highly reflected in each one of the eight revisions which form this traverse (reprise) . what pablo exactly does is to respect the original escapist, dubby and ambient spirit of the original trip proposed by traverse , by means of adding a soft, deep and sophisticated club aura. he turn that the album sensual physics takes into the most characteristic bolívar style is tasteful and subtle, therefore it seems a sequel of the original one. no crashes, no harshness. here everything flows simply in a natural way, especially that ambient-deep and tech fog which just adds a punch in any case. tunes as mondragon , málaga or miracle -among others- acquire a new dimension when touched by pablo bolívar s hands: always looking to their origin with respect to the original producer and the delicacy of a revised piece of work.

get 2 know nicky benedek: a producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and dj. his compositions bridge the nebulous territories of house, boogie, hip-hop, jazz-fusion and experimental new age. born and bred in los angeles, benedek began pulling inspiration from the city’s structural and visual dichotomies at a young age. he picked up a guitar at 9 years-old, taking note of any and all sonic surroundings, from prevalent west coast g-funk to the synthesized sound effects in video games to a herbie hancock record pulled from his dad’s collection. amongst a complex set of influences, funk took a hold on his heart by high school. bene’s world is benedek’s second leaving records release, following last year’s coolin’ ep as well as a full-length debut on the influential peoples potential unlimited label. his catalogue also includes collaborations with dam-funk, delroy edwards and tom noble. recorded between his koreatown studio and the west la home he grew up in, bene’s world captures the characteristically-la mingling of urban action and canyon seclusion.

prins thomas nimmt den -häxan- soundtrack der schwedischen psych-rocker dungen (zu lotte reinigers filmklassiker -die abenteuer des prinzen achmed-, 1926) auf einen trip durch psychedelische weiten und kreiert teils 17-minütige epen aus balearischer ambience, psychedelia, cosmic-grooves und krautrock.

part ii - operated under extreme psychosis, performed live in the dead of night at the studio of the hague s pirate radio tonka , these two records contain an apocalyptic selection of the very darkest moments of its maker, an anglo-french bruxellois driftwood expat washed ashore on the west holland wasteland just to get even more lost in its empty shadow chessboard grid of luscious ghost town smoke screen structures built on nothing but loose sand, to get even more entangled in its reef-like vortex of the fleetwood parkland dune estates artifice of ugly evergreen high-tech verdure of rose and thorn , oh, yes, its many, many flowers sans mercee , red and white carnation, asphodel, or fleur de lys and fleur du mal , all awaiting, lurking gentle softness of the flesh, perfumed for luring prey, yet strikingly hard-wired through the courtly appearance and the troubling foliage of the count s many hidden pleasures, his many secret palace garden hedges, his royal seal concealed behind, oh, yes, its many, many spines, all hiding midst the ticket, like cloak and dagger, that poisoned slip of tongue, or poisoned tip of blade, and all s so easy to slip away and disappear into the vine and creeper, to make one trip and fall in smear of mud or was it blood?

reissue of the highly sought after nigerian funk-rock album, moving effortlessly between reggae, jazzy afrobeat and psych rock. soundway fans first got a taste of jay-u’s infectious beats with the track ‘some more’, featured on the soundway compilation “nigeria disco funk special: the sound of the underground lagos dancefloor 1974-79”. originally released by emi nigeria in 1977, this now-rare album was written by jay-u and engineered by disco-boogie artist goddy oku. opening with the up-tempo reggae number “reggae deluxe”, the album descends into mind-blowing jazz-funk featuring several killer saxophone solos. the journey ends with a trip into psych-prog rock, with a sound not dissimilar to that coming out of the early 70s british rock scene.

nach ersten eps auf luckyme, der gründung seines astro nautico-labels und kollabos mit kelela und flatbush zombies, liefert der brooklyner produzent sam obey (obey city) sein debütalbum ab, das sich zwischen trip und peaktime-party bewegt und wie guter progressive jazz wirkt: elegant, smooth, cool, seriös, expansiv, experimentierfreudig, warm. dabei bewirkt obey als dj und leidenschaftlicher plattensammler, dass positive noise eine starke verankerung in pulsierenden, rhythmischen stilelementen des 1970 /1980 er disco & funk besitzt.

deluxe vinyl edition!!!!

coeo are toy tonics lead artists and they dont joke! technically perfect on a level that most producers start to get jealous. musically filled up with so much knowledge about the history of disco and house that its no wonder that big names like kenny dope, borrowed identity and tensnake are huge fans. and their styleà? its a pure hedonistic discoish attitude that combines the funk driven eclecticism of today, the curiosity of young music cats who always want to be ahead and a sense of quality in music that we miss in so many of todays house music productions. in fact its 2017 and a lot is changing in the house scene. the old melancholic deep house now is quite dead - while most deep house charts are filled up with sample based funk house. coeo are regularly on the top of the several deep house charts, and there is a reason: their tracks have that kind of new, nasty, sexualised vibe that gets more inspired from the late 1990ies french touch house or early masters at work production. from jazz djs and dj sets of wildstyle djs like harvey or the idjut boys. its not any more about the old schematic ketamine deep house that always sounds the same (and makes your feet fall asleep.) listen to flesh world! its black music basically. its booty sound. disco for sure. this track gets you riding on a trip. play it one time and youll play it every time. and: check the percussion jam remix by toy tonics head kapote.

freshly dressed after a double helping of made to measure goodness, aficionado size up another summer time smash for the sandal-wearing masses. keen to capture the coastal cool of the wirral peninsula, the label crack out the crystals and summon strange-wave sorceress brenda ray for another hit of her interplanetary excellence. wandering from new age haze to celestial rays on this tripped out trio, our genre blending genius takes the fourth world into the fifth dimension of psychedelic sound. our spiritual journey begins with the chakra cleansing solartude , an out-of-body beauty which bathes us in swirling flute, dreamy chimes and shimmering tape delay before sending us off towards the orient. eastern tones and hushed vocals ride a glistening sequence as this flawless fusion of exotica and dub suggests a medicated martin denny stumbling out of chinatown and into a humid mangrove. next stop on the voyage of self discovery is space dustin , a lunar lullaby for lucid dreamers which sees brenda spin fairlight mallets, celestial keys and whispered vocals into an immersive ode to the outer rim. floating free of space and time, perhaps you too can glimpse the excellent birds. over on the flipside and the temperature begins to rise. skip, hop to bop sees brenda dabbling with dub techno, setting basic channel synths and stirring strings to a skittering rhythm. dislocated and disoriented we descend into a strange subterranean world of rothschild parties, lynchian noir and muffled techno. surrounded by swirling voices, shuffling percussion grabs hold of you and all that remains is to sway.

2017 reissue - aufgewachsen zwischen london, coventry und nigeria mit uk-grime, fela kuti, radiohead, badly drawn boy und squarepusher, liefert ghostpoet sein debutalbum auf gilles petersons brownswood-label ab. mit seiner minimalistisch-trippig-intimen mischung aus hip hop, blues, dub, trip hop und electronica macht sich der junge poet daran, in die fussstapfen von tricky zu treten.

first ep of the label lowlife cartel. dissociative tones, texture of the sound and atmosphere sought here, more than melody. no boundary in genre but same sonic ethos. the two sides of the ep includes two tracks ambient/downtempo fitting with patient listening. three other, lofi tracks, and more efficient to play into clubs. face a starts with -nerve splicing- by telekommunist, also known as wpx7, face covered and steps muffled through a deadening blizzard of tape saturation and white noisey envelops that find a balance between deepening the sense of immersion and a retained groove. -kairu- by a. latif, affiliated to the experimental and elusive russian label john s kingdom. an arsenal of textures are employed, surrounded all the time by different kind of breeths carving out a growingly satisfying contrast between the shivery charm of its melodic line and the roughness of its elements. a rough diamond. face b, -kfs-, by vslds (present on the next cousin carl release, after kinway and voyd) is a delusional and abstract piece of lofi hip hop. setting skittish drums and heavily altered rapper vox sample, smothered against a grey-ish canvas of blurry, washed-out pads. this feels both playful and unhealthy. -gotta go fast-, by paul santangelo (venetian causeway), is marked with the very personal style of this artist who does his way across the ever effervescent lofi techno scene. the round, drag-shed bass, fits with an introspective melody and atmosphere. -every man has a woman who loves him-, by loophie (raw russians), surprises the listener at the end of the disc with a lofi house track sampled from john lennon, very effective in club. the czech lofi house videomaker moskalus edited a video of it on his youtube channel. 5 artists to follow.

route 8 and s olbricht are both highly regarded artists in their own right, but less light has been shed on their collaborative endeavours as ste pwri tmod. largely lurking around the go! finger label, this second instalment of selected works is taken from the album of the same name, giving a proper vinyl outing to some of the stunning tracks previously confined to cassette. -when i pictured myself- is a wonderfully laid back jam peppered with personality at every juncture, while -horriflowers- takes a more uneasy trip into machine techno led by a growling synth. things cool off considerably on the dubby -nirrimi- and then -strobes- rounds the record off with a brooding, wavey cut for dark, romantic dancers to lose themselves in.

vona ist ein vollblutmusiker, war nie teil einer casting-show und kann seine songs mühelos auch ohne band oder anlage präsentieren. der sonnenschein aus dem süden deutschlands ist kein typischer popmusiker, keiner der vorgibt etwas zu sein. er macht die musik, die er fühlt. ein singer/songwriter mit einem album, das durch seine klare, leidenschaftliche und energische stimme besticht. dazu schlägt ein durch hip hop sozialisiertes musiker-herz in seiner brust. vona kann r&b, ballade und indie. das ergebnis ist großer pop am puls der zeit.
das doppel-vinyl erscheint im klappcover, album-cd inklusive.

ursa’s reef is a late 80’s traveller and surfer wandering endlessly in the secluded raves of goa, searching for his own soul while dancing in abandon to the proto-trance journeys of goa gil. brought up in sintra, portugal, by a family of uptight catholic hypocrites, ur goes rogue in his early 20’s, seduced by the esoteric teachings of levi, pessoa, crowley and israel regardie while keeping an unhealthy obsession with roxy music. he is also a fictional, made up persona - a musical heteronym - of lisbon-based dj and producer marco rodrigues, mostly known for his work under the name photonz. together with his friend jose acid - a musical heteronym of joao ervedosa aka shcuro - he makes one last trip to goa that could prove fatal.

a1 is a deeply psychotic acid death march into confusion, so minimal and primitive (kick, snare, acidsquelch) it will challenge every beard and armpit and might even hypnotize the dj to the point he cannot mix in the next one. a2 is a straight up commodore 64 sid track with mongoloid data elephants tooting over a wobbly and tarded electroish beat. b1 is a dystopic dreamy rave stomper, starting out kinda datacuddly but gets more and more serious, with choirs of fable mooers taking you into that virtual bad trip you need. b2 continues as expected with more c64 sid madness, so snary i cant even determine if its in 115 or 230bpm.

a must for any true hip hop fan. this collection contains two original half hour dr. dre mixes, ready for you to enjoy.

a must for any true hip hop fan. this collection contains two original half hour dr. dre mixes, ready for you to enjoy.

repress - without dl code - susso, aka bassist / producer huw bennett, creates music inspired by, and directly sampling, the magnificent sounds of the mandinka people, recorded during a recent trip to gambia. initially travelling with the aim of gaining perspective as a musician and to discover a new world of music first hand, huw found himself humbled by such a welcoming community of artists, mostly belonging to the celebrated susso and kuyateh griot families.
the tracks are composed entirely from original source material, field recordings and huw’s talents as a multi-instrumentalist, performing tuned percussion from the region including the mandinka balafon, kutiringding drum, aswell drawing on his skill as a professional upright / electric bassist. the music produced has a contemporary electronic sound, whilst still paying homage to a traditional gambian aesthetic. keira (meaning peace) guides the listener through huw’s journey up the river gambia, being welcomed into remote dusty villages, where your people are the most important thing in life

all source material recorded in gran paradiso, july 2015 engineered at odd phasing and echoes, amsterdam nl photography bjnilsen bjnilsen is a composer and sound artist based in amsterdam. his work primarily focuses on the sounds of nature and how they affect humans. recent work has explored the urban acoustic realm and industrial geography in the arctic region of norway and russia. his original scores and soundtracks have featured in theatre, dance performances and film. celebrating 27 years as a recording artist massif trophies is the first solo release for editions mego. in 2015 he set off on a month long hiking trip in gran paradiso to explore the acoustic environments in the alpine landscape. drawn to the monotonous and physical effort that mountains and high altitudes contributes, this became one of the main inspirations for the album, reflecting upon the perception of the landscape during several hours of physical difficulty, let alone rapid weather changes, horizontal thunderstorms and rock avalanches. it is also about the scope of details and perception of the path and the myth of the mountain as the accursed or sacred place. the five pieces contains narratives based on experiences and recordings from the trip.

die »erfolgreichste weibliche r&b-künstlerin der letzten 25 jahre« (billboard), zugleich die unumstrittene »queen of hip-hop-soul«, ist zurück: mary j. blige veröffentlicht ihr neues studioalbum »strength of a woman« und unterstreicht erneut, wie relevant sie auch nach einem vierteljahrhundert im rampenlicht ist.

rrwd is a label collaboration between ta-ku/ repeat pattern & jakarta records. charlie abbott is a 25 year old from boston, ma.living in aomori, japan who teaches high school english. i made goes to math class, over the course of about one year (from fall 2015 fall 2016ish). as for influences, i d say i was trying to go for the dirt of early quasimoto mixed with the melody of emerald fantasy tracks era lone, but i m having trouble describing it in terms of larger generic genre terms.i feel like it has a beat tape structure, and is definitely rooted in hip hop//dance music, but isn t really danceable or meant for the club.i d probably describe it as headphone music?

whyte numbers follows through with an excoursion to georgia, where we found the mysterious will gates. on his debut ep, dedicated to his hometown tbilisi, you ll find 4 original cuts with no frills, plus a mellow acidic vibe workout by our man lootbeg. the record is sure to grab any listeners ear with mellow house featuring a host of fresh jazz and hip hop influences. adding to a beautiful use of vocal loops, he brings forth a refreshing piece of wax that creates another home run for both label and artist.

cosmic bridge continues to move forward with a two-track release featuring the dynamic duo of munich s danny scrilla, an early member of the label s roster, and bristol s sam binga, a close friend and collaborator of the label s founder om unit. created during a weekend session at scrilla s home studio, the release sees this long overdue anglo-german meeting of the future minded go deep into unexpected sonic terrains and fully live up to its title of weird in munich. the trip begins on side a with frolic in brine , a brooding roller that sets up the mood: deep, hypnotic and sweaty. the track unfolds from pulsating synths with a percussive rhythm underpinning a gentle procession of elements including synth arpeggios, languid guitar licks, and echoing sound effects. ignoring dancefloor conventions, frolic in brine instead opts for a minimal approach that delivers a shot of pure body music.

progressive electronic duo, formed in 2016 by seasoned beatsmith tsuruda (darker than wax, team supreme, division) and experimental artist huxley anne (dome of doom/alphapup), paint incorporates all aspects of both member’s creativity. the duo was inspired as the two were coming up in the la beat scene, often adding visual elements to their live performances while writing genre-defying songs in the studio. their style draws largely on abstract hip-hop, jazz, bass, and grime influences, but unites these elements into seamlessly painted soundscapes that stand out in the modern sea of electronic music. their powerful rhythms, colored nuances, and expressive lead synth tones ignite in the paint live show, where you can often find the duo mashing custom visuals together while spinning tracks back to bac

he blueprints ep marks the welcome return of the talented toulouse based producer redeyes. following a number of releases on seminal labels such as bingo, creative source, innerground and brownswood in the mid 2000s, redeyes then decided to take a step back from music production. now returning as a more complete and mature artist, his blueprints ep on lenzman’s the north quarter imprint sends an exciting message of where julien salvi stands in 2017. comprising of an ambitious nine tracks, redeyes’ blueprints ep showcases his exquisite musicianship and ability in the studio throughout each piece of music. in true north quarter style, he effortlessly breaks down the boundaries between drum & bass and hip hop, whilst fully maintaining the soulful and heartfelt aesthetic that he is known and revered for. the release sees him join forces with a plethora of exciting talent. ‘100 porsches to the stars’ brings him together with underground la rap hero hus kingpin for a lo-fi hip hop masterclass. he also collaborates with mancunian don black josh, children of zeus’ infamous tyler daley, north quarter chief lenzman, and many more.

nvs003 continues collecting those next club jams to make you move with a fresh sampler of heated mood music drawn from two revolutions of the world’s axis.
pads founder niro, contributes a dubbed out house track punctuated by spacial stabs and emotive, rumbling bass. vnzo, from chile brings forth a taught dance floor burner with subtle, looping melodies backlit by pianos in the key of sad. some continental knee cappin’ comes courtesy of french newcomers nmss and jjuan with their fragmented reimagination of a hip house classic. ukrainian zolaa delivers a raw up-tempo trip into outer space.

dj, record label impresario and former swedish champion b-boy, mad mats knows a thing or two about finding good music. as well as iconic underground imprints raw fusion and gamm, mad mats is a partner in the highly regarded local talk label, making it highly probable that most of the world’s influential djs have at least one of his discoveries in their record bags.
for his first compilation on bbe, mats has put together a diverse selection of cuts, from reggae, hip hop and soul to boogie, electronica and house, reflecting his open-minded approach to djing.

dc175 comes courtesy of alias, a new project comprising of harvey & ryan mckay, who are two acts who have previously released solo material on the label. harvey mckays last appearance was in late 2016 when he dropped the mad drummer on a-sides vol. 4 whereas ryan mckay s last outing was in 2015 when he appeared on a-sides vol.3 under the name skiver. this is the first collaborative project between the scottish duo under their new moniker alias. the ep opens with pentatonic , a tough sounding track that has been designed for the forward-thinkers. the truth follows up sharply, with vintage piano stabs and a vocal that gives the track abounding energy. the on-point percussion leads you on a trip of pure rapture. the release closes with the apocalyptic dream taker, which is teeming with sinister vocal action and hostile synth work and a sublime way to sign off.

born in shreveport, louisiana, reuben bell began singing in local clubs. he first recorded for the local murco label in 1967 before moving to the silver fox and house of orange labels. in 1975 he released his first 45rpm single for alarm records (-superjock- b/w -i still have to say goodbye-) which was produced by wardell quezergue. neither side made any noise back then but 24 years later -superjock- was included in dj shadow & cut chemist s brainfreeze mix. since then it has become a classic and it has been played constantly by hip hop and funk djs all around the world. it has appeared on a handful of (mainly bootleg) compilations over the years so we are proud to present the long-overdue, fully licensed re-issue on its original format. you may check out tramp s -countdown to... soul- (tr-9067) compilation which contains -superjock- as well as some other fine rare grooves.

a dark kingdom, erected from rubble, an arid production clashed with unstructured loops, some of which, though already used, are like reborn from their ashes in a climate of dull violence. jazz, soul, classical, gospel, lyrical grandeur, in an atmosphere of conquest or on a minimalist piano coming straight out of a thriller, the pair of rhyme-makers compete with any instrument, finale temperating by a laid and reflective flow the fiery fangs fel sinks on every bar. this kingdom, fel & finale, will have built it alone, fel sweetenberg taking charge of all the beats delivered to the duo s screened pages in ink, the door ajar only to let dj djaz introduce his turntable s tonearm to scarify the groove with his unique cuts. balancing the forces, bringing their ambition beyond the ill-famed streets that have already crowned them, finale & fel sweetenberg raise the matt colors of a demanding rap, the radiance of their banner now beyond the limits of a detroit-camden axis. two kings, two crowns. a reign: that of hip hop.

its just over a year since we started our new label, real balearic. for our second artist album we are really pleased (and honoured) to welcome one of the few djs who can claim to be one of the founders of the eclectic balearic sound. take a trip back to the 70s and 80s in northern italy and you will fine daniele baldelli mixing up electronic, african and slo-mo disco records to co-create the electronica meccanica sub genre. records often would be played at the wrong or variable speed to be made to fit into a wide aural tapestry of his unexpected-but-seamlessly-flowing dj sets. this of course is an aesthetic close to us here at real balearic. a sound we are ever so pleased to have as part of the mixing pot for our new balearic label. for the album he pairs up with fellow italian dj rocca to serve up an eclectic â€,“, electronic â€,“, balearic feast.

fernando makes his debut iib release with the 3 track shining ep. side a is the home of the truly epic title track shining. an 11 min super mellow hypnotic trip. driven by rolling bongos and bassline some funky guitar and delay soaked effects. a real gem. the b side fernando pitches up the tempo. horizonte rojo is a cruising deep balearic house groove with the same dubby feel as shining. the final track is karmic a soulful disco tinged after hours house groove. island music for day and night. dive in.

musik mit liebe und seele aus berlin-kreuzberg! nur ein genre? festgelegte bpm-zahlen? ein einheitliches soundbild? nur bestimmte themen? fehlanzeige. -meine musik? einfach guter geschmack-, sagt brkn und lacht. die schublade für seinen style müsste vermutlich erst noch gebaut werden. aber anstatt sich über derartige akustikarchitektur den kopf zu zerbrechen, macht brkn einfach, worauf er bock hat. egal, ob das jetzt soul, hip hop oder soul mit hip hop-einflüssen ist. wichtig ist nur, dass es geil klingt. auf platte und live.

room ii records is a new imprint run by two brothers based in london, which focuses on giving a platform to up and coming artists. ‘the black ep’ is the first in the series.
kicking off the series are three tracks by tr all varying in style and technique. soft pads and playful keys bounce along a grooving bassline on ep and every future summer set opener ‘fantasia’. ‘ub city’ is made up of field recordings taken from a recent trip tr made to india last summer. the flip side shifts again culminating in a live drum breakdown that’s supported by a subtle, acidic bass line - ‘10am acid jam’ is an outright dancefloor weapon.

in 1999, the duo of dj t-rock & squashy nice formed in atlanta. squashy nice is an accomplished beats producer, and dj t-rock is a scratch-master responsible for battle records on the likes of bomb hip-hop records, stereo-type, and replicant music trading corp. together they released three party-ready instrumental hip hop albums for new zealand’s why records label. now based from coast-to-coast (squashy nice in new york and dj t-rock in los angeles), the duo has joined the cold busted family for their fourth album, the satisfying seventeen track back to the essence. showcasing the variety and breadth that squashy nices beats and samples and dj t-rocks scratches can provide, the tracks on back to the essence swerve from party rockers to soulful, thoughtful numbers featuring vocals from new zealand vocalist miss glue. among the standouts are the opening hit the breaks, combining harmonica, 60s style fuzz guitar, heavy beats, and some crucial vocal scratches, let them be, with miss glues lovely vocals providing a counterpoint to acoustic guitar cut-ups, and watch the clouds, featuring gentle piano, a loungey string section breakdown, and wistful vocals from squashy nice. back to the essence should be ingested whole, as its plentiful tracks radiate fun, funk, and good vibes. its like a virtual block party dropping down wherever its cuts are playing.