mathieu cle aka closed paradise has made a remarkable impact with only a couple of releases under his belt last years superb release on all ears label fools & fables really stood apart from contemporaries with its nimble melodic and atmospheric take on modern mid-tempo club music. get your bearings has quite rightly become an anthem for loyal balearians the world over. above machine have become champions of this sound from the off too, setting the bar incredibly high with a stunning catalogue of releases.

releasing under the moniker misanthrop since 2002, michael brauningers music reflects a foreboding sense of darkness, something that has been prevalent in his previous releases with the likes of critical recordings, neosignal and subtitles. misanthrop has utilised unfamiliar ways to push the envelope of his twisted, sinister sound for new ep *i need more*.
the automated refrain on *capitalism* reflects the stark coldness of misanthrops work, before unleashing an onslaught of off-beat breaks to display brauningers deft, often unpredictable production style.
*rock n roll*, a more familiar tear-out drum & bass track, bolstered by pummelling percussive flourishes and flashes of distortion throughout.
gaining support from the likes of skrillex, goldie, skream, alix perez and more, misanthrop has spent his 13 year career carving a sound that is wholly realised in this latest release. brutal, uncompromising and inherently forward thinking.

crafted between the years 2000-2008, *immerse* is a massive selection of some of the finest deep pulsating dark ambient tracks that we have ever heard. together they create a journey through depth and darkness with a gripping emotional hook that almost stand unprecedented.

it is no exaggeration to say that ultrastretch has accumulated an array of outstanding releases and artists since its creation in 2011. one knows that being as renown a representative of the underground music scene as sammy dee is, he can easily sign music from any established artist he would like, the so called ‘big names’, however, when we look at the past seven releases on ultrastretch, the agenda here seems to be another. what has become an apparent and admirable feature of this label/platform and of sammy dee himself is his clear support for new music from young and yet to be discovered talents. it is on that note that ultrastretch 08 brings you romanian artist crihan. hailing from a small town close to cluj, alin crihan moved to bucharest in 2009 to be more in touch with the underground scene and music in the capital as it poses more opportunities for him to grow and develop. from dj’ing in the most various clubs in his home country, his first steps into western europe as a dj came earlier last year at no less than the legendary robert johnson club alongside petre inspirescu in frankfurt. producing under his real name for the past four years, crihan’s release for ultrastretch brings two tracks, setting the listener into two very distinctive paths. the a side, * uelden* is a dance floor oriented track. the first words to come to mind are groove and rhythm, giving the track a somewhat funky feeling overall. the elements have been crafted carefully and therefore appropriately placed just where and when you need them. by simply starting the track with a bass line and shuffling hihats he slowly develops to a journey that not onlyventures further into groove and rhythm but also in mind grabbing harmonies with deep/airy sounding pads giving it a comforting sense of beauty and obscurity. the b side is called a doua dimensiune, literally translated from romanian it means the second dimension. doing justice to the title the track does generate the feeling of being in another dimension. it is a very deep affair into mind-altering soundscapes, very atmospheric and at times dark and obscure. attention to detail is apparent judging by the overlayering of elements featured in this track. a constant rolling base formed of water tapping ambient sounds give way to harmonies made up of strings and random noises on top.

the 3rd release by mutewax, various artsts 03, shows no signs of letting up. normally playing live, lyon-based pascal roeder smoothes out the rough edges with gentle yet subversive rhythms in “101,” a posh production that hints at what’s to come on his next mutewax ep. mutecell’s “vimana”, like the word itself, embodies multiple meanings at once - the track’s inherent mystery oscillates between emotion and intellect, ancient and modern, serene stillness and a bold drive into the unknown. relocating from denver to berlin, chad kaska, aka daegon, reinvents himself on his first vinyl release, “double speak.” the energetic track fights its way forward, advancing steadily against an antithetical undercurrent, finally assimilating it into its double-crossing rhythm. the founder of “hide & seek” in berlin, denise rabe hits hard out of the gate with her first vinyl track, “loaded.” building up energy, the track finally detonates and expands in phrenic waves across the dance floor.

a black, very black, vinyl record which stands out compared to previous releases on limited. the sixth chapter of andrea belluzzi’s label is titled black series because its objective is to devastate the ordinary lines of techno and let loose the dark black wings which are the base of the project. on side a, mike storm and transientx4 lead us through a gradual scale of mysterious and mechanical loops capable of hypnotizing while increasing the level of pathos. this culminates the gradual build up to the third track, produced by andrea belluzzi, with a perfect balance between dark techno and ambient in a mental voyage which seems to never lose itself during the entire 7 minutes with the perfect energy for the dancefloor. the record ends with the work of ken karter which, although is strictly mental and super hypnotic, manages to offer a distinct danceable rhythm marked by low frequencies which remain slow but captivating with a wide array of sounds which grow without boring the listener.

front left represents a very special corner in a very special spot on this planet. every week the front left people gather together to celebrate techno music. techno is what brings us together and what makes us family to one another. we rejoice listening to it, produce it, talk about it, share it and mainly dance to it. it is incredible how one physical spot creates so such magic and human connection. this label brings the productions of the front left people to the world. in the first release, you will find elad magdasi, a heavy dancer and an emotional producer. his productions are wide-ranged and loaded with a true rave spirit, combining an acid-line treatment and his melodic point of view. in the last two years elad s productions turned to the techno side, and now he feels it s time to finally let his music out. gathering knowledge and figuring out his style brought him to this point. his love for raving is what keeps his mojo going and brings the inspiration to his life. joining the first release is matrixxman (charlie duff), the talented producer who s been shaking dance floor with his hit -protocol- for already 2 years and now releasing his debut album on ghostly. not surprisingly, the connection between elad and matrixxman was also formed on the front left. the first release combines a slick collection of sounds.

sleeper cell is the new collaboration between earthen sea and lovers rock label head ital. recorded over three days and nights in a dark ny winter, * quality of life* reflects a declining america in a winter of its own. corroded dub atmospheres, haunting melodies, subdued flashes of tenderness and occasional searing noise swim together like murky oil in a puddle of grimy water on the side of the road. opening with the entrancing * initiate* , * sleeper cell* welcome the listener into their world, where menacing whispers dance and echo around synth swells and a poignant lead melody. from there, the duo journey through a crumbling and eerily spacious sound world.

those with a passion for heavyweight electro and drexciyan sounds have long held french producer franck kartell in high regard. he s been working away on the fringes delivering high-grade material for a decade, and finally got round to dropping his debut album, afterlife, last year. here he delivers a swift follow-up, effortlessly flitting between icy ambience, vector lovers style electro-idm, creepier compositions, and the kind of oddly symphonic, soundtrack-inspired fare that exists to stir the emotions. its a far more fragile sounding set than some might expect, but no worse for it. while theres little dancefloor material on show, kartell s downtempo fare is a cut above most of his contemporaries.

welcome back to the movielike resonating sound world of the 23s. already in 2008 the mysterious one-man band proofed with the album “bolivia” that they are trying to do another kind of music – something that isn’t entertainment, something that isn’t show, something that goes gently straight to your soul. now the producer from nord-rhine-westphalia did it again and tuned in the longplayer “flamingo”. anew he delivers a special kind of cinematic journey music that grooves opposite to his other, more rhythm based hypnotic dance productions. also as the 23s he produces pattern-based music, but it pursues a different intention: each listener should dive into a hallucinatory world of seen and unseen films that his inner eye creates unprejudiced. all ten tracks are romantic smooth operators. they put themselves in service of an artistic vision, in which the listener should get lost in music. the album can be seen as a love-letter to the movie scores of the french 70s cinema or the impressionistic sound arrangements you can hear in the early cinema of peter greenaway. with double bass heat, discreet piano melodies, levitating guitar chords, some gentle horns here and there and beats that recollect the warm jazz influenced soul of oldschool hip-hop the 23s generate a sublime get-down-deep instrumental journey. you can listen to it attentive. or you can just play it in the back while doing whatever you like to do. it is recommended to play “flamingo” in a decent amount of volume as all loungey tracks begin to live bigger and brighter with sound intensity. if you play it flashy you will experience an atmospheric sometimes light-flooded, sometimes foggy 40-minute electronic journey that offers open-minded souls to fill the room between the notes with their very own milky fancy. soon the album will be accompanied by a bunch of remixes tuned in and twisted by producers like giegling and white artists edward, christian s of the cómeme tribe, canadian producer the mole and the german post rock and electronic music band to rococo rot.

just in time for summer! some serious heat from the darkest corners of the tk disco vaults, dug up, re-mastered and brought back to life for your listening and dancing pleasure! to say trama’s sole lp is a rarity is an understatement! released on tk offshoot cat records in 1977 its swaggering street-funk attitude, tight ass rhythm section, blistering arrangements and stellar vocal performances from a young donna allen has left beat digging, soul, boogie and disco freaks hot under the collar for over 3 decades! often selling on-line for tidy sums (£250 +) this lp is a true gem, now is your chance to own a %100 legit, tk disco sanctioned, vinyl copy of this killer soul lp. re-issued just the way it originally came out in 1977, no tricks. essential

danny moore aka pvre matrix is from a generation of young techno producers out of brooklyn who come at the music without preconcieved notions or boundaries in their approach to production and playing live. he is the epitomy of the slash and burn blitzkrieg attitude of new producers popping up under the jmz everyday. while very interesting to see the scene develop this way, few have executed in such a fashion as pvre matrix has. impeccabily produced without losing its sense of urgency or brutality and clocking in at breakneck speed, pvre matrix is out for blood, and his three track debuts prove as such. while you might not catch danny moore in your local big room anytime soon, he is undeniably a force that is present and will crush you regardless.

the undisputed masters of brain-altering, transcendent electronics return with their first studio album since 2010’s further. released to coincide with headline slots at glastonbury, sonar and bestival, the chemical brothers’ eighth studio album - born in the echoes - is a magnificent eleven-track collection of lean, propulsive machine driven music. from juddering robotic funk to unhinged futurist freakbeat, icy spectral psych to rhapsodic analog synthetics, from euphoric spiritual acid to harmonic ambient distortion, the album is the sound of a reinvigorated chemical brothers creating some of the most mind-expanding music of their career to date.

detroits veteran gari romalis will release the 3rd eat more house record. we are happy to have him on board. a great mixture between disco & house on 4 fantasic tunes. vinyl only - be fast and grab your copy!

ltd warehouse find, two fantastic disco banger !! big
in november 2013, a mysterious 12 inch hit stores in very limited supply, and became a cult classic amongst those lucky enough to pick one up
despite its winter release, international smark endured through to last summer and became an underground anthem in the beach bars and under the stars. discogs prices rose accordingly and its still very much at the top of many wants lists
* international smark* (translation: international taste) opens with an 8bit techno tinged waltz before quickly floating into dreamy synth chords and staccato guitar licks.
featuring an infectious cross dialect narrative (swedish/finish) provided by international songstress tigerlight, the track comes across like a meeting between metro area and abba - two acts payfone cite as big inspirations.
* people* on the flip explores an electro-disco aesthetic bouncing along into the night with a heavily pitch affected vocal and angular bassline that drives an incessant groove

we are excited to welcome sebo k to tsuba for his first post-mobilee release with the aquamarine ep. lead cut *reach out* is trademark sebo centering around a nagging bassline and vocal hook that joins the dots between chicago house and modern tech house. *aquamarine* shows a deeper side to sebos production and for the remix we have enlisted one of the true greats, mr fingers aka larry heard. the result is a stunner, with live keys and a bassline that could only come from one of the pioneers of house music.

2015 repress - from the first glimpses of henry laufers work as shlohmo, it was clear that the la native and visual artist turned self-taught musician was onto something. with an effortless grasp on sound design, laufer combines deceptively simple and emotive melodies, subtle bass drops and swinging slow motion drums. his early work has placed him at the forefront of a new wave of rising talent amongst west coast producers… inspired by the desire to write songs and create a release of full-range instrumentation and vocals all his own, laufer promptly began home-recording >bad vibes<, his proper full-length debut album for the friends of friends label. some might say the songs on >bad vibes< represent the spawn of a new rhythm and blues - one that swings and sways under the backbone of henrys own take on modern electronic music. augmented with delicate slide guitar playing, homemade synth sounds and lilting, tuneful melodies, shlohmos latest output is one that will take you places - specifically the un-paralleled vibes swirling through this young mans head.

2015 repress !!!
1st longplayer after 6 years! amazing!! six and a half years after the release of his last album >into submission< on tresor (tresor.173), james ruskin returns with >the dash<, delivering prodigious new tracks that are not only stunning in contrast to his earlier dark and urban techno but even startling as the tracks unfold in bold innovation. with >the dash< james ruskin is in full control and weaves a work of penetrating electronica that shares dancefloor pieces with heady, downbeat soundscapes. an album of integral finery that will have you >listening< more intently with each play

secret life music has teamed up with dj/producer simon mills for their next release on both vinyl and digital formats (slm010). best known for his work with wonky chill out act bent, these days simon produces solo material under the name napoleon. last year he fine-tuned the synth heavy napoleon sound by setting himself the goal of self-releasing an e.p. every month.
dj support: pete gooding (cafe mambo), phil dockerty (secret life), jose padilla (cafe del mar), richard norris, balearic gabba soundsystem, robot 84, napoleon, t-polar, chris coco, phil mison,michael mayer (kompakt), eli (soul clap), rob da bank, henry saiz, king unique, sahar z, nick warren, lonya koval (cat & dog, tel aviv), luke & justin (unabombers), severino panzetta ...

ltd 50% deal , rote liebe releases tim keilings new album under his erdbeerschnitzel moniker. in contrast to his recent dancefloor-oriented eps on delsin records, the attendants is hovering over more subtle grounds, featuring a mixture of contemporary electronic composition and hazy experimental pieces just outside the dancefloor proper. rote liebe is a cologne-based collective, founded in 2006 with a focus on events in various off-locations and clubs around the city. 2013 marked the launch of the rote liebe label with the aim to build a catalogue which features a broad musical spectrum, featuring house, techno, broken beat and experimental electronics just as the regular rote liebe nights.

this release is a product of a collaboration between 11 musicans and djs from arhus. this is not a v/a or an unknown artist release, but solely an outcome of a team effort under the name regelbau

the silver rider is a transdimensional traveller and purveyor of fine disco, funk and soul. he is currently earthbound, inhabiting a studio somewhere between brooklyn, ny and austin, tx and has developed a penchant for drinking laphroaig scotch whiskey. here, he presents his first, solo vinyl release in the form of the silver street ep which features three cuts that blur the lines of boogie-funk, jazz fusion, tribal disco and psychedelic house

*** repress 2015 ***!! its a get together between master rick and young kyle. and its time to turn things up a notch. kyle hits it unbelievably hard with >after fall<. have you ever tried head banging to disco music? if not, now is the time, because this track will make you do just that. there is no denying. banger! on the b-side the godson eases down a little and lifts the classic >love & happiness< a capella to work it into a hypnotic groove. build it up! the third track sees kyle and rick teaming up, where kyle provides the drums and rick delivers the groove. a futuristic piece of jazz techno, 22nd century shit, that plays with your mind and demands you to move.

seriously underground minimal house on offer here from chicagos hakim murphy under a new alias. kallabo is the kind of mysterious, candle lit deep house you d hear on a giegling record. -porta- shuffles and bleeps in a more uptempo outing where you can hear the noise of tape in the background, competing with the hiss of the 808 hats to stunning effect. boops bring the funk in this reductionist house jam for analogue freaks. finally raw intuition stomps away with its brutal modular synth bassline run through a delay and knocking down everything in sight! highly recommended!

backwards ep is the first collaboration between moodmusic head sasse and maurice aymard. backwards is a fresh take on house music with touches of disco, electronica and techno mixed in to the equation forming a beautiful mixture of forward thinking club music with a hands in the air factor. athabasca forms a perfect companion to backwards, taking a more disco approach to things and letting the steam build up before dropping into deep house territory. remixed comes courtesy of massimiliano pagliara and luvless.

surprise reissue of this near mythical 12inch! it seems nearly everybody missed it the first time round. dekmantel & magnetron team up and do the right thing and polish up the old girl to 2015 standards. expect to hear this absolutely everywhere this summer!

debut single for this hi-tech low-life straight from the slums of hong kong. the music of scott young is much like the city itself, intense and claustrophobic on one hand, dreamy and cinematic on the other. these tracks were made in what he calls the spaceshuttle energized by late night noodles under the shimmering neon signs.

long-time techno protagonist and figure mainstay johannes heil returns with a new 4-track package under his cryptik pseudonym. continuing the focus on a more leftfield, experimental sound, cryptik emerses the listener into a soundtrack world of rich sound, depth of field and versatile, changeable moods. by no means a simple club record, all four tracks offer subtle and rich musical content, each telling a story with beautiful melancholic melodies and rushes of endorphins. from elongated 10 minute journeys into the more reflective zones of heils techno world, snaking and building, showing off all the skills he collected over his 20 years-plus career at the top of his artform, crypik is a dance on the senses. from the cinematic elegance of >the gate<, or the bleep-laden epic of >radiance<, to the post-house piano led drama of >messenger< or the heavyweight synth swarms of >belief<, the ep is full of passion and life, capturing truly magic moments.

matthew morandi returns to l.i.e.s. records with a new album under his solo moniker, jahiliyya fields.

jimpster is back with his first full ep since porchlight and rocking chairs! with only a smattering of remixes for the likes of paxton fettel, dam swindle, till von sein, cajuu and s-man and original track head spin for the 200th freerange double pack its been a fairly quiet time studio-wise the last couple of years. all that is about to change however with 2015 shaping up to be full of new music in various shapes and forms and under different guises.

we re super excited to announce the new outlet of our label called deepology special under which we will be releasing fattest, best, vinyl only releases. analogue baby! so without further ado, the debut of the series, please welcome - cossway - distant ep. a little bit of something for everyone, underground house, tech house, deep house - pick your flavour. stay tuned and spread the analogue love!

early in 2014, copenhagens kenneth bager asked electronic wizard and remix entrepreneur ruf dug if he would make an album for his acclaimed balearic imprint music for dreams. that summer, ruf dug headed off to spend three months on the island of guadeloupe in the french caribbean. seizing the opportunity to live out his own compass point fantasy, he put together a portable studio that would fit into a suitcase - two half-rack synthesizers, a couple of effects units, his laptop and a 4-track cassette recorder. he set up the studio in the spare bedroom in a rented villa and spent the next 12 weeks watching the sun set and making the album. all tracks were written and recorded in guadeloupe, with nev cottee beaming in vocals and guitar parts for a couple of the tracks direct from the heart of mancunia, hooking into the powerful and long-standing musical relationship between manchester and that most famous of sunset islands ibiza

head-honcho adam beyer delivers the next drumcode release following a monumental year from the techno heavyweight. two singles on the drumcode a-sides compilations, a multitude of releases on different labels, a 7 hour live broadcast from awakenings festival, 10 shows in ibiza for carl cox, cocoon and enter as well as an incredibly busy show circuit across the world. coming up there are a multitude of drumcode parties around the world including festival stages at major festivals and other high profile events. adam beyer is back on drumcode with an impressive array of tracks that will get the senses tingling and shows us what drumcode is all about. these 4 tracks are deep and almost melancholic in their approach to techno, using effects to really help enforce an ambience only beyer can achieve within his productions. the under lying throbbing of the drums drives this ep into the forefront of the heads down drumcode sound and have been heard in many of beyer s phenomenal sets throughout the year.

propelling down under techno and house into the worlds clubs with classics such as phreakin, lsd and 6am in the mid-90s, djhmc (cam bianchetti) is rightly hailed as the * godfather of australian techno*.
with the arrival of the reflector label the world is his, and he has embraced it whole-heartedly as in the past the world embraced djhmc, once again its time to prove why he is one of the most talented techno and house producers and djs to ever grace the turntables….the godfather is back!

super rhythm trax throws you a curveball with unreleased miami bass treats from legendary old skool crew cha-os aka jock d (cut it up def) and lon alonzo (dynamix ii) and the uks finest, bass junkie (breakin) & dexorcist (control tower) aka bassing guild. the 12 inch includes a brand new version of the 1990 classic, *this is too much bass* as well as a new collaboration between the two and an exclusive straight up electro banger in *b-boyonik*. this one is limited and strictly for the bass heads among you.

albion is back again bringing with a filthy dance mania style e.p. the fifth instalment is a various artist release which sees heavy tracks from dj lil tal, traxman, phran and a killer track under a secret alias from dj handsome.

need you back is a collaboration piece between the anonymous mystep character and vocalist frank h. carter iii. the original track and vocal laid the grounds for remix work by label regular jamie trench, and a most experimental remix by our new friend dudley strangeways. this release also commemorates 3 years of made fresh daily, it s been a hell of a lot of fun and learning so far. here is to another 3, mfd forever.

it is no easy task to blend the cerebral with the soulful - the two tend to stand at opposing corners in the deep house world and producers are often forced to choose one or the other - to mix both is a lofty aim. maddermodes may not have set out with this merger in mind when launching the project - mental space - but the end result is striking in its effortless fusion. released under the artists own label, shift coordinate points, the ep consists of two tracks: mental space and human science. the titles, of course, lead one to assume there will be a strong degree of technicality and complexity behind the songs and indeed there is, what is surprising is the level of personality and moodiness that also exists.

a third release for the year from deep explorer extends the invitation to allstarr motomusic, aka zurich based producer and deepartsounds founder daniel piu. under his given name, piu has form for house productions dating back to the late 90s but seems newly reinvigorated following the decision to start working as allstarr motomusic, with beauty & simplicity following a fine contribution to the minuendo label. the three original allstarr motomusic exude an old school feeling no doubt developed by years of record collecting and are augmented by a fine remix from anthony nicholson.

scott allen returns to fokuz with *love so true*, a collaboration between him & jrumhand, which will be his debut on fokuz. on the flip you will find the versatile kasper with a track called *the low road*. quality drum & bass once again from the fokuz hq!

lones second album from 2008 for the first time on vinyl! standard black vinyl pressing, download code included.

three stunning tracks by up-and-coming talent orson wells (live at robert johnson, hotmix, innervisions). two deep electro flavoured 808 rhythm pieces on side a, plus a mystic morphing journey exploring the borderline between house and techno on the flip. 300 stamped white labels. sound mirror is a new label from frankfurt, germany focusing on artists from the enviroment of orson wells.

after a first collaboration with play label records last fall for a remix on boss axis’ ep, dka joins the label-team for a four-track ep, pamplemousse bleu. oscillating between deep house and tech house, dka delivers three equally excellent original tracks. from the hypnotic “sum” until mysterious almost techno “landing at night”, he immerses the listeners in his universe and his world. the ep closes on the exon bacon’s remix that embarks us in a deep techno mood.

the -i love vinyl - open air- has established itself in the beautiful thuringian north and attracts more and more vinyl fans every year. this is due not only to the familiar, nature-loving atmosphere between fields, meadows and forests on the southern slopes of the kyffhaeuser mountains, but also due to the attention to detail when it comes to decoration, line-up and most important the sound. since 2009 ‘i love vinyl’ attracts international celebrities like monika kruse, panpot, dj hell, mousse t., karotte, andhim, alle farben, oliver koletzki, tiefschwarz, modeselektor, tobi neumann, mathias kaden, daniel stefanik, thomas schumacher, blawan, dapayk & padberg, douglas greed and jake the rapper. the official compilation for i love vinyl open air in 2015 hosts three of this years main artists wankelmut, bebetta and markus suckut. all tracks on this 12inch are first time exclusive vinyl cuts.

arguably all but the most dedicated fans will have long forgotten most significant beat, a post industrial early 90s techno project from former clock dva man maurizio martinucci and esplendor geonetrico s saverio evangelista. this surprise vinyl compilation tells the story of their previously cd-only late 90s work, throwing in a previously unheard workout, the angular rhythms and sheffield bleeps of geometric state for good measure. for the most part, the material has aged remarkably well, and sits somewhere between the forthright madness of autechre, the spacey techno of detroit-via-frankfurt (see amy tekno) and the buzzing intensity of surgeon.

the fourth and final edition of schleiben is an extra special one, bringing forth acollaborative project between colin potter of nurse with wound fame, not waving artist alessio natalizia and brain machine s guido zen. furthermore the series ties with dusseldorf remain, as osnabruck based producer niklas rehme-schluter lines the flip with the beautiful ambient touches of his cass project. the two part efforts from potter, natalizia and zen offer a perfect marriage of methods, with percussion hinting at and techno, while the constant drone influx and disintegration grab your attention, overlapping with rhythmic repetition deeper and deeper. the cass contributions see tracks from the german artists cassette only hiding place album presented on vinyl for the first time and fit snugly into the sonic ethos explored over the previous schleiben releases

psyth launches with the debut ep from rob shields. with a delicate urgency driven by a pulsating post-punk bassline, shards lavishes layer upon rich layer of sound, evoking the cool grooves of peaking lights and chromatics, while a shimmering vocal sample from rebecca sawyer adds an otherworldly sense of longing that echoes through the soul of the release. silhouetted appears more conventional and dance-floor friendly next to shards, but under the surface is something unique and strangely exotic. a mantra-like melody loop gives a nod to minimalist composer terry riley and his solo organ works, while world instruments such as an african kalimba and tibetan singing bowl only heighten the hypnotic and intoxicating quality even further.

founded in september 1981 in orléans, and originally dedicated to a kind of ‘modern punk rock’, d.stop released a first 7’’ the following year. this impossible-to-find debut release is now reissued on vinyl for the first time. the three tracks of the original 7’’ are augmented with 4 tracks that are released on vinyl for the first time ever on this very nice translucent vinyl 10’’ plus download code. after this first 7”, sonny brailleur (vocals) + phil lethon (guitar/bass) + klod lelook (organ, synths, drum-machines) , inspired by french band metal urbain, stylistically transformed into a more ‘synth punk’ kind of outfit and released their first mini-album nouvelles du front in september 1983 that has been reissued by desire on vinyl last september. one year after, the band already ceased to exist – or actually changed the name to les visiteurs du soir – to turn back to the old name in 1985 by releasing a limited cassette. despite the very few releases by this gifted act, d.stop are considered to be one of the most interesting and under-rated cult acts in french cold wave.

trippy adventurous melodies over solid heavy grooving percussion. only the 2nd release and the label already shows something of a sound signature. on the a-side, label-head gianmaria coccoluto drops his softmore release in the form of spacing, a heads-down techno joint dripping with acidic sonics and grizzly, driving low-ends. over on the flipside, 909 delirium dishes out the percussive punishments and is handsomely morphed, revamped and militarised by the workings of simoncino (l.i.e.s. records and mathematics recordings affiliate) who floats effortlessly between the shadows of chicago and detroits aesthetics via berlin and perugia. strong release on the new tete records