solid gold playaz hails from winsconsin usa. the duo, kenny gino & big mike are veterans of the midwest rave, techno and house scene and have released their incredible productions on moods & grooves, kanzerlamt, soulfuric trax, silver network, losonofo records. minds beneath atlantis was originally released in 2003 by jeff ks silver networks. jerome (of still music) immediately fell for this deep house 4 tracker and that record has been steadily in jeromes crates through the years. jerome remembers reaching out to kenny gino back then and they ve been friends since then. this reissue is a teaser for a larger project with solid gold playaz that will be released on still music later this year.

modularz welcomes back spanish producer kessell who has released on modularz in the past with his joint project exium. we are huge fans of what he does and support his take on techno. straight up tracks for mixing with elements of tribal drum rhythms and analog synth based sequences. don t sleep on this rhythmic gem!

welcome to season five of the jazz jousters sessions. after four years of non stop album releases we thought we d take a few months time out to think and work out what we would do next this season. we decided to attempt another locations series since we are yet to take on some of the locations many of you have suggested via our updates pages and emails. so here we go...
mjm would like to present locations: usa, the vinyl and cassette edition as we continue to explore the sounds, influences and styles of jazz music in different regions of the world.
in this session we hear the result of each jouster as they each chose one or more jazz musicians from the united states and began to work with that sound and come up with an instrumental in their own style, just like in season four. however there was a twist, this time they were challenged to focus on jazz between the years of 1960 to 1969. see what you think of the outcome...

gato preto’s debut album „tempo“ contains everything, what is exciting about the international club-culture: rockin favela-funk from rio, roaring township-grooves from south africa and angola’s technoid electro-hybrid kuduro. sound creator & gato preto producer lee bass creates the basis for femcee gato misteriosa and her portugese power-punchlines.

clutchy and fatty....high desert crunch meets city life punch for this collaborative project in sound. instrumental elements of soul, jazz, hip-hop, rock and more resonate throughout the record. just what any clutchy hopkins or fat albert einstein fan would ask for, track after track of laced up loveliness. these two gents pair banging rhythms with lush melodies and top them off with their signiture low brow high fi sound. guaranteed for some straight nasty. acoustic and electric instrumentation set the tone and in their individual stlyes, clutchy and fatty navigate your journey through psych folk caverns of cactus dust and marine layer funk with bloodshot rust. it is distinctive, original and fresh, paying homage to the past, present and future. visionary folk funk.

fav004 is finally upon us and it comes courtesy of l.a based cheyne taylor bush a.k.a tetrad who has been on fire recently, fresh off the back of an inspired and well received zamzam release last year. here he is joined by brother dillon bush a.k.a ahkur on opener -ashes fall-, a seriously dark piece of music and possibly tetrads heaviest production to date. an eerie intro with a haunting vocal sample drop into an assault of pure dubstep pressure which is sure to ignite dance floors the world over. flip side -crumble- is a more stripped back affair with a nod to the classic sounds of dub with its delayed snares, skanks and fx. what really sets this tune apart though is the overwhelming power of the sub, with a weight-line so devastating it could crumble cities let alone the dance! here brothers tetrad and ahkur have succeeded in providing an outstanding plate, absolutely brimming with sound system material in its purest form. essential.

when tresor founder dimitri hegemann stumbled into a former bank vault in east berlin on march 13th 1991, he had little idea that the space he had unlocked would fast become one of berlin s most influential and enduring techno clubs. “we didn’t know what would happen 10 months later,” he says. “we signed a lease for a year. which eventually got renewed for another three months, and another three months…”
as tresor celebrates its 25th anniversary with this work of artists from the us, germany, china, france, austria, italy and the uk, it is worth dwelling on how the cultural conditions that birthed detroit techno – economic neglect and broken industry – were mirrored by the disused bunkers and impromptu parties of post-unification east berlin, where techno found new, vigorous expression.
the triple vinyl release includes a download code.

the always wonderful begin returns after a very balearic absence ! and what a return ! let s talk eases us in with some trademark begin style mid-tempo mellowness, as undulating melodic elements are carried straight to the beach on gently lolloping beats aight adds a little more anticipation, with a syncopated backbone and some mesmerising carl craig style synth cycles... on the b, the cut the paste is a burly, new beat inspired chugger, which manages to sound exactly like an early morning, strobe-lit boccaccio moment, while simultaneously basking in the midday sun

bitter end emerge from the ashes of 2016 with a message of positivity and protest beamed from the near future keen eyed aficionado s may spot the homage to mel cheron s classic us label west end records here but while their motto may have been where the sun sets & the stars rise bitter end records embarks on a distinctly more 21st century path to dancefloor salvation... 003 sees a welcome return to utilising the full sonic reach of the 12- single, with these two 21st century power-dancers for strobe-lit moments of praise. can t stop explores a walter gibbons approach to teasing a groove to within an inch of its life, and what a groove. the disco at the end of the universe may well be beaming this one up, such is its sheer intergalactic and unrelenting bad assery. we recently witnessed this unite a dancefloor in such wild abandon it should come with an age restriction ! flip for fat of the land a gorgeous and utterly absorbing, stripped back modern hymn the bitter end - years ahead !

vinyl only! dj windows xp & dj relationship goals really piss off journalists with their quirky dj names! hear what all the fuss is about!

it’s a slamming record. what more do you need to know? ambivalent makes a strong enemy after recent releases alongside the likes of truncate, silent servant, and skudge. the record is backed with a classy, stepping remix from dustin zahn and a floor filler from amotik!

gigi masin, vakula and roman flügel line up on this first 10 year anniversary 12- for dekmantel… 9 more of similar quality in the pipe. tip! . five years after their first event, dekmantel records saw the light of day. over the course of 2017 the label will release ten eps from artists that are close to their hearts, artists that have shaped dekmantel into what it is today and producers who never fail to inspire them. each ep comes in an unique full-color printed inner-sleeve, housed in a glossy outer-sleeve with logo punch out. shinkwrapped, stickered and pressed on 180g vinyl. tip!

following his first ep for accidental jnr in the summer bambooman is now back with something entirely different. the downtempo experimental designs of the ‘feel ep’ give way to his latest offering ‘shudder’. available on 12” and digital the 4 tracks of shudder weave through a club music tapestry like a chainsaw through custard. the opening and title track is hard to describe, a mix of off kilter synth stabs and hammering snare that routes you to the floor - it’s one of those tracks to whip out of your bag to remind the crowd they have no idea what is coming next. track 2 ‘grasp’ with a blissful detroit groove under deep rich melting chords is a perfect blend of early funk house style and super crisp new production. side b opens with ‘m1’ a lazy floor track with washes of bells, static and detuned synth above a bed of solid kick and shuffling bass. finally ‘kyrian’ closes proceedings, another club friendly slice (despite being in a 7&#8260.8 time signature), the track could have led the ep in its own right but feels like the perfect bookend with its shifting almost garage like 2-step feel and glancing vocal hook.

imagine being dropped into a spiralling warehouse of acid and sub-base pressure with only four tracks to lead you into the light. the he-men compress three hours into a key change driver, stabbing and bubbling as you reach the surface gulping for air, bathing in the strings, dripping in acid-wash. before you know it you’ve been whisked away to the halcyon days of yore, creeping around castle corridors. leeds native djpc then kidnaps your soul for a spin in acid mundae (24 master) bombarding you with high hats, rolling baseline and old school pads and synths that take you to the dark underbelly of house music and beyond the black rainbow. the shadow of dawl’s electro powered hand then commands you with telepath, breaks and bleeps morse code that compel you to dance. the menacing sample, “i know what you’re thinking,” crawls around your skull until it finally shakes you loose from his imperious grip. dawl isn’t finished yet. his apache spirit breaks loose in freestylin’, a controlled dash of a tune that scratches all over your body, hauling you to his hip hop roots before dumping you, used and abused back on the dance floor waiting for an uber to teleport you to the darkest after party you can find

out of the south american continent colombian producer duo uron appears for the first time on black brook limited. two tracks of the original and three remix versions completes the ep. the tack titles hiperion and leda are multiple terms. one of saturn s moons is called hyperion and one of jupiter is called leda. we don t know for sure if there is an intended meaning to their sound involved. what we listened to is what you get now. pure energetic techno, signal sounds, heavy drums. the upcoming ep contains more than 30 minutes quality music. responsible for the two remixes is greek producer endlec. hyperion and leda are also two terms leading into the world of greek myths. is it the bridge to endlec while travelling through space your soundtrack should be the 9 minutes groover of leda - repressed mind & escape to mars remix is the perfect piece to float.

in this day and age vinyl releases are getting rare in drum & bass but still we at demand cherish them. requisites our brand new 6 part 33 rpm series is an ode to the vinyl culture. every release symbolizes one particular requisite that you’d evidently need to rock the so called black gold. here served by, what else could it be, a butler we start of with the headphones...
musically that includes the ever magnificent phil tangent who contributes misgivings, a roller that effortlessly switches from euphoria to dark tones. the legend big bud in collaboration with austria’s finest roygreen, protone & dual on gospodi. a smooth liquid outing that we just fell in love. the ever surprising eastcolors with naked skin that brings in low slung tempo with the vocal wonder tiiu and last but not least demand’s own nurtured talent phase who rounds of the first part with abundance. as the name suggests it is absolutely rich in form of vibes!
the statement that is pressed on the vinyl label couldn’t be more clear... listen to it and we’re sure you’ll fall in love.

egal 3 has returned to sov under the name of vid, an alter ego for his real musical expression. bringing 3 great tracks to your eardrums. nice!

classic theo album given the deluxe repress treatment with brand new artwork.

joakim on samurai: this is a very personal record. i tried to channel the emotions and spontaneity i had when i first started making music. its not about nostalgia, its about the freshness and directness call it naivety you lose when you start becoming a professional musician. i moved to new york almost 5 years ago. these past few years have been a weird combination of excitement and quite challenging events. ive learnt what it means to be exiled, in every sense. this album is about that, being far away from home and from yourself and finding your way back. the album is built like an unknown city, you walk through it, making random turns, getting lost, some corners may bring back memories, you’re getting away from something and at the same time youre on a quest. hence the importance of listening to it in its entirety (yes, im a utopian). it will be the only physical release, very limited. no cd edition. producer, d.j., label manager, tireless gem searcher, musician, music lover, its hard to reduce joakim to a single function xavier veilhan, french artist et sculptor tall lanky weird dude who makes great music

hercules & love affair return to the fray with “controller”, a pulsing, propulsive new song that signals the first salvo from their long-awaited new album. featuring the horrors’ faris badwan on vocals, it takes the hercules’ disco-house heritage and fuses it with starker post-punk stylings. a taster both sonically and aesthetically of the new album, controller connects new wave, post-punk and 80s electro within the clubland realm of hercules & love affair. also featured is tuff city kids italo-disco inspired remix, and mike simonetto homage to early 90’s west coast break-beat house, and then there is the superb dub of the original….what a package! hearing the the horrors’ live version of frankie knuckles & jamie principle’s ‘your love’, andy realised he’d found a rock artist willing to engage with dance culture s history. with its underbelly of seamy ‘80s electro-pop yet recalling early house records by the likes of lil louis and bam bam, “controller”’s sub-dom, master-and-servant roleplay in the lyrics work perfectly with faris vocals delivery creating something truly quiet special

open returns to close the year with its third release on the growing uk based imprint. italian duo dnart join the label and provide what can only be descirbed as an incredible old school house vibe illustrating their true passion for solid sounds and hardware. having released on labels such as anma and shift limited its great to hear their passion on this ep one . joining the release for remix duties are nick beringer and frazer campbell. nick beringer is an exploding artists with a full library of sold out releases and clear to see why with his drivey remix of short story. frazer campbell of open and elliot project remixed zzyzx with an unexpected percussive version to close off open s third release

what can you expect? take the best fusion-band ever (chick coreas return to forever), some james brown funk, synth-fun like tangerine dream and even a bit of hardrock, and youre getting close. this is zappa, the flemish zappa: cool,funny, sad, difficult,no record for those who love the traditional verse-chorus-verse, and so probably as uncommercial as it can get

now this is what we call a comeback! first ep in over five years, produced by amsterdam legend quazar. to quote gert van veen himself: this is the best ep ive made in the past years. thank you guys, your enthusiasm is just inspiring. kept me going on and on. couldnt have said it better, this release is a bomb. fuck that shit, and dance for at least eight hours straight.

it’s hard to get a handle on nigerian musicians nash dodoo, charlie cuul and jonas caulley. in 1980 they released an album of face-melting gospel boogie as the bml chapels. and in the same year, calling themselves the beta yama group, they put out free love, a belated love letter to san francisco’s summer of love and an album altogether focused on more worldly concerns. free love is a small slice of haight-ashbury transported to the polygram studios in lagos. ‘te revoir’ is mamas and papas jamming with sergeant pepper’s beatles. ‘free love’ offers a respectful nod towards je t’aime-era serge gainsbourg. sure, ‘revolution’ gets hard and funky and ‘rain’ flirts briefly with a calypso reggae sound, but the majority of the album is cheesecloth and flowers in your hair. insanely rare – and worth buying for the freaky cover art alone – free love is a funky, reverb heavy call for love, peace and sweet, sweet loving. what more could you want from an album?
(peter moore)

how do you follow up a stone-cold afro funk classic like village boogie? simple. gather together some of the hottest players in nigeria, take them down to the phonodisk studios in ijebu igbo and let them loose on a bunch dancefloor fillers you spent the last four years ‘road testing’ in kaduna. and don’t forget to get lady franka and mariam pledge in on backing vocals. those girls know how to fire up a party. it helps, of course, if you’re steve ‘dudu’ black. steve had a god-given knack for writing combustible dance tunes and the contacts in the industry to get the likes of willy nfor, willy roy and felix lebarty to make them explode. from the opening track, ‘osasuima’, the heat never stops. on ‘no stopping me now’ and ‘ololufe/ stay the night’, it’s almost too hot to handle. polished in a studio in london while musical youth recorded pass the dutchie in the next room, happy birthday to u is the gift that keeps on giving – an irresistible blend of highlife, afro beat and afro funk that is guaranteed to start a party on any dance floor.
(peter moore)

they could do weird edits or make eastern influenced dance music, collect gear and sit home or adapt library music for the dance floors. or they could get together and make the secret weapon. it doesn t really matter who they are and it doesn t really matter that it s just a demo, luckily rescued on a usb stick before their hd failed, what does matter is that it always rocks the party.

local talk welcomes detroit house music legend terrence parker to the family. his release is not only the first of 2017 but also marks the 75th release on local talk. sometimes you just want a producer to deliver what he s best at and with these two tracks that is exactly what we get. opening track gratiot avenue piano is a straight forward piano house track that hits peak hour business in just a couple of minutes. if you like the classic terrence parker sound like we do, then don t look any further. on the flip unconditional embellishes all that s good about a house track, a delightfully soulful house bump together with an infectious organ hook. there s no messing around on this release and terrence never puts a foot wrong throughout these two tracks, both are perfectly conceived from start to finish.

tuamie returns to street corner music with holy ghost spirituals, the third release in scm’s gospel flip series. following jake one and ras_g’s collections, tuamie chops and flips his sanctified selections into raw beats. a no brainer for a tuamie fans, this will not be around long.

for the past four decades, a growing cult of soul music collectors have sought two obscure lps and a handful of extremely rare 45s released on the vanity record label lad productions, inc. between the late seventies and the mid eighties by the mysterious south side chicago singer/song writer larry dixon. larry s raw songs capture the transition from r&b to boogie-down as disco was rapidly becoming extinct. they also perfectly illustrate larrys ability to overcome his environment and discrimination, transcended by his determination to write and produce music. with the support of his faithful musicians, larry s success was only hindered by lack of airplay and promotion, but his talent shines through. this is the story of larry dixon, his label lad productions, inc., and his friends and family throughout four decades of music in chicags toughest neighborhoods. jerome derradji is proud to reactivate past due records the boogie funk division of still music to release this fantastic archive what many consider to be the holy grail of chicago funk, boogie and soul.

das neue tokio hotel album auf vinyl.

!! 2017 repress !! dodgy white label number 1 from your favourite grumpy old shit sticks is a couple of low rent, don’t do much ass shakers from the vaults.
give me the was made in 2007 & let’s dj’s get on with what they love doing ….. mixing the hell out repetitive records.
our man though may, or may not, be heavily sliced out of something else & rearranged into dancer paradise from the shards left over.

vision collector records hit number five in their catalogue with a debut record on the label from fellow dubliner breen. after becoming involved in the ever changing vision collector parties and setting up the newly formed internet station dublin digital radio (ddr), breen delivers a 12” spanning four tracks.

marking the reactivation of this famous label founded in 2000, this new release of paul nazca is a bomb. memory is the perfect fusion of a very heavy techno bass and highly melodic string lines. intensively played and supported by laurent garnier, memory and paramel will bring you back to what is the deep essence of techno from the detroit point of view. you ll also be the lucky owner of kit kat, an exclusive pumping track you ll find nowhere else than on this plate.

markus fix on pleasure zone ! check !

whether it is hip hop,techno, electro boogie, new beat, italo, jungle, reggae, house or chill out. though, all those different sounds and styles do not tear this album apart. it s a bit of a miracle that it feels so flawless for what happens between the appetizing -level one- and the final track -the last march-.

too many possibilities can also mean a tyranny of the what if.... in this light, celebrating less becomes vital. and thats exactly what swedish producer and studio barnhus affiliate simon haydo does in redux. all of the sounds in the albums nine tracks come from just one synth: the korg ms20. as simon puts it, the idea was to maximize the use of less, basically. less gear, less effects, less input from other people , less everything.using only between 2 and 6 channels for every track, the result is a stripped but surprisingly rich sound, that delineates spatial techno vignettes coated with the unmistakable charac- ter of the ms20 filters. even more interestingly, this restraint is not only applied gear-wise, but also from an emotional point of view. instead of involving my own feelings, i let the voice of the ms20 take care of it, says simon. all this makes redux an expression of techno in its purest form. after all, its a kind of music that has always gravitated around simplicity, austerity and, of course, the believe that the machines have their own soul.

a long time ago, at a festival far, far away, the members of the legendary borft trio frak were just going to bed in their tent when something caught their attention. now, this was well before fraks rise to international fame - in fact, this moment was swedish music history in the making, because what they heard was someone playing a frak tune. that someone turned out to be kontra-musiks own ulf eriksson and once their paths had crossed, there was no turning back. frak has since released five highly sought after records on kontra-musik and kontra-musik white label.

remastered reissue of the 1994 soundtrack for the short film “murder was the case”, directed by dr. dre and fab five freddy.

it really feels like we (aka mad mats & tooli) have been around way longer than 5 1/2 years with local talk, but it s really true what they say, time flies when you re having fun! from what started as a somewhat simple and almost primitive urge to create a small house imprint has now grown into a much bigger affair. we really tried hard to keep the label from getting stuck in any genre (remember 90s house?) and to always keep the local talk relevant, curious, diverse and with a healthy dose of underground mentality. from our very first release with bassfort s excellent moon shadow in the summer of 2011, we had a crystal clear vision of what local talk should represent... house music in any way, shape or form! over the years we released soulful, disco, jack, afro, vocal, deep, jazz, tech, latin, old school, acid, uk, berlin, new jersey, detroit and of course chicago inspired house music. if it made us bump...we put it out! this brings us up to today and about +80 releases later. we thought about how we best could sum up these first 5 1/2 years and immediately the image of blaze s classic album 25 years later popped up. besides the fact that it s an amazing album cover it also a good representation when different musical genres fuse together. it s not strictly a house album but just as well a r&b, reggae and soul album. this fusion and variation of house sounds is something that we ve tried to capture on our 5 1/2 years later compilation, split into two parts. on part 1 you ll find a dark bassline driven house jam from art of tones (check the mad sax!), a proper deep journey jam from nyc s dj spinna, a blaze homage with that classic new jersey sound from sean mccabe, and a bumpy world/jazz inspired cut straight outta brescia from wonder kid corrado bucci. all in all we think we got most angles covered and hopefully this album will make you spread that chalk on the dance floor and get down...local talk style!

nyc-based duo jasmine golestaneh and eddie cooper write songs through a telepathic kinship thevve developed since they started making music together. we have these sort of unspoken criteria when we re writing music. we never really need to explain what that is but we both know when it s missing or when we ve hit it. the pair, aka tempers, are set to release their fundamental fantasy ep via the vinyl factory on 24th february. creating an emotional and tonal tension of sensual and mechanical impulses, their brand of dark electronica sets haunting song writing to a sinister disco beat, pop melodies floating in an almost industrial soundscape. it follows the bands 2015 debut full-length services. fundamental fantasy is about exploring the creative scenery of romantic illusions. our need for them, how we justify them to ourselves, that moment when the imagined story line collides with reality. the ways we fictionalize people to fit into the narratives we have about love - to reflect our own beliefs, virtues and flaws. it is about celebrating fantasies swelling and getting undone, so we can pick up the pieces and craft new ones that serve us better tempers musically, fundamental fantasy is an evolution in both song writing and process, while still tracing a clear line to their earlier output. many of the eps melodies were born of live improvisation, which helped them create an instinctive, natural immediacy within their electronic arrangements. the cover of the ep depicts the duo on the volcanic island of stromboli, where they performed at the volcano extravaganza, an art and music festival curated by the vinyl factory.it is a perfect landscape to mirror the mood of ‘fundamental fantasy. a seemingly idyllic place that is isolated from the outside world.

in the beginning of 2017, nightmare factory records will put out their first vinyl release. for this special occasion, the label s owner electrorites put together a unique va record called interweavings vol.1 comprised of smashing techno tunes which will shatter the dance floor into pieces. arween s hurry indeed doesn t take its time and rushes forward like blood through one s tempels when trying to make it in time - or when raving fast and hard, which is exactly what the track encourages you to do. the synth doesn t have time to unfold in a melody and stays on one spot, driven by a harsh beat which doesn t go under 137 bpm. the sour sweat doesn t drop any slower when state of mind by electrorites hits the speakers. incisive synth erupts through the dense wall of iron and steel which crushes and shatters under the surge of the drum kick. the hungarian techno warlock gabeen returns to nightmare factory with disappearance , a guaranteed dancefloor banger for those who prefer to feel the beat deeply in their viscera. the enigmatic duo vertical spectrum rounds up the release with andromeda collision course . this tune is weirdly soothing thanks to the sweeping, high-pitch rustling sounds and swirling trickles, but is still turbid by the sediment of neurotic, angry beat

last copies - nice price action !!
excellent relaxed / deep space disco (cosmic) with dubby flavour, vinyl is selected (unmixed) by junior boys

10th anniversary reedition of pedro winter classic, if we remember correct it was his first release ever.

tiga is back to tell you what youve always needed to hear with his new single eye luv u. co-produced by one half of paranoid london, the new single harnesses all the pure source energy of what enlightened club-goers often describe as their favourite emotion. the title came to me while i was playing a pyramid that had been converted into a multi-purpose event space, says the canadian dj/producer. the hieroglyphics over what is now the coat check made me imagine a world in which pictures could mean words and words could mean anything. the thing about wordplay is that its fascinating to conceive of different realities informed by different systems of meaning, and how each reality would invariably bend to vault me to the pinnacle of all possible worlds. its humbling, really.

after success of the 3rd release which was entirely made in l.a. and played all over by ricardo villalobos and sneak to name a few, here’s the 4th installement of tripmastaz vinyl only label, where he craftly handpicked the most personal music of his own.
“sweat, blood and tears and it’s all autobiographical- - as he describes it.”
the formula remains the same - dancefloor science grooves mixed with subliminal deepness plus hip-hop beat for those who know what’s up.

here is the debut release from the first lady of the balearic sound nancy noise. her influence on the ibizan sound cannot be understated and, for those who know, nancys place in eivissas musical heritage is carved into es vedra. if you re not aware, it s to be expected nancy isnt one for creating a fuss about what she does or where she fits in. for nancy, its always been about the music. about the vibe. about being moved and taken to a place and time through sound.

no light at the end of the tunnel. no helping hand to pull you out of the hole. no second chances. no god to cure this deadly disease. no heaven to save your soul after your final seconds... hope will hold on, but in the end, death shall claim it. all this, we understand a little more, day by day.
we will experience our absolute zero, and the stages of life that come as close. we think that we will never recover and that we are not strong enough to fight against it. our immaculate, peaceful souls, that we begin our lives with, start to bleed, and slowly get torn into, bit by bit by the cold hard truth that breaks our protective walls. we learn to handle and accept this even as pieces of us shatter and die every time a little bit more inside us. to give light, we must endure burning. but what if everything we are able to burn is gone?
there is no other way... we are falling apart a bit more, every day.

halocyan outlines computer musics many future possibilities, while remaining actively mindful of its one and only history. having released material from such luminaries as dosem, paul woodford, oliver ho, extrawelt, and joey beltram - halocyan continues to assert its influence with their next record: a 2-part ep from apollo and r&s affiliate dave angel. founder of rotation records and originally hailing from chelsea, angel is a techno emissary whose intelligent, funk-licked productions have propelled him through a long and illustrious career through which he has consistently branded his own stamp on electronic music whilst also remaining highly relevant to modern listeners. it’s this that lends him perfectly to a record with halocyan who do what they do best in presenting his incoming ep: a sincerely-rooted collection that comes backed up by label favourite hackman on remix duties. portrait kicks things off with jubilant melodies rippling atop sharp, whetted percussion before minor-key sweeps bleed in and bring with them a degree of pensive tension. a buoyant bass line propels the track from dave angel incoming ep beneath before hackman offers up a deftly swung revision rich with his sturdy subs and idiosyncratic percussive flutters.

repress 2017 , allez! as the curtains come down on another crazy summer of love, apollonia drop their latest release courtesy of io mulen - the ukranian rude boy who appeared on the label at the beginning of the year with ‘unknown to the unknown’. he’s back with a hefty six-track package which is sure to please his fans, and win him a whole new army of supporters. we get straight to business with the first track, ‘rdm37’, one of those trusty apollonia bouncing bombs. skittish beats work off a sublime groove, while io keeps the background full of interesting sounds, boings, cheeps and all manner of whimsical effects, introducing more and more as the track progresses. by the midpoint you’re so gripped by the track that your whole body is moving uncontrollably, super glued to the rhythm. next up, it’s ‘xdt54’ coming through with a deep, persuasive bassline that jigs around in the low end luring you into its web. simple, polished percussive elements keep things moving at a pace while subtle keys and barely-there vocals add further layers to this catchy little number. the third track in on this lengthy ep is ‘mpc13’, a walk on the sensual side. vocal snippets are interspersed among sultry pads, skipping four to the floor beats and a sleazy b-line to create a delectable slice of dance floor naughtiness. this one flirts with you as it writhes around, taking you ever deeper…four tracks in we have ‘zgb41’, another alluring cut that has all the hallmarks of a deep house classic. those shimmering pads, a bassline that feels like it was born in nineties chicago, diamond-cut beats and a general feeling of what we would call ‘true house music’. there’s soul, there’s funk and there’s realness, what more can you ask for?ypt58’ keeps us locked in to that hypnotic groove with an insistent b-line holding things down - together with the infectious rhythm cultivated by the drum arrangement, it’s a killer combo. put those together with the smooth atmospherics plus synth lines staggering in and out of the background and you’ve got yourself a roller. last but definitely not least is ‘zxy22’, a wistful slice of technoid funk which has a delicate melody at its foundation. as it develops we get sucked in to layer upon layer of beauty, from the analogue low end to the electric guitar riff – each layer complementing the other and creating a symphony of sounds that acts as a perfect way to close out the ep and will no doubt end plenty of dj sets, when it’s released. so monsieur io (mulen) returns to apollonia with an instant classic, make sure you snap it up right away. magnifique!