following up on their recently released pertiwi ep, featuring two original tracks and a 10 minute soundbath rework of this very record by gonjasufi, gamelan voices (aka nid & sancy) present their first album, aptly titled i.the result is a visceral blend of raw gamelan instruments, atmosperic synths, bass guitar and washes of asian metallophones.although the nine tracks on this album are meditative in nature, you d be wrong to assume this package is little more than new age synths noodling away. i is ambient with a raw component. it touches a nerve and it s as much inspired by the work of jon hassell as it is by coil. i will be released through gong ear and available on digital,cd and vinyl.

180gr. one of the most original and innovative beat boxers from japan, kyo sakurai teaming up with violinist keiko oikawa and gamelan player kouheisai kawamura for the 9th release on room full of records. remix comes from moodman

hailing from the bairros of lisbon, the portugese duo sabre take the helm of tasteful nudes second single. the young pair follow up an ep for w.t. records by expressing adoration for german proto-techno on a majestic scale across a sub-tropical backdrop. bali comes on like a strong cup of psychedelic tea, leaping from a tapestry of gamelan plucks to gigantic, growling bass lines and prismatic synth arpeggios. ging channels manuel goettschings hypnotic synth lines with the dance floor in mind, rubbing shoulders with a gregarious 303 bass line.

ltd.2x12 inch lp incl booklet and download code

limited to 50

limited warehouse find - sold as is!

prime diggers of obscure gems archeo set their sights on this stunning new age curio from the late 70s. pepe maina released two albums in his late 70s heyday, and it s the second of these, scerizza, that gets a long overdue polish up. this is far from one dimensional wallpaper music - the sonic range covers choral pieces, delicate melodic meanderings, gamelan-esque refrains, fourth world incantations and more besides. there s even some sweet synth jams to melt into, ensuring there s something for everyone to get into. fans of jon hassell, daniel schmidt or laraaji should sink very easily into this rich, multifaceted album.

prime diggers of obscure gems archeo set their sights on this stunning new age curio from the late 70s. pepe maina released two albums in his late 70s heyday, and it s the second of these, scerizza, that gets a long overdue polish up. this is far from one dimensional wallpaper music the sonic range covers choral pieces, delicate melodic meanderings, gamelan-esque refrains, fourth world incantations and more besides. there s even some sweet synth jams to melt into, ensuring theres something for everyone to get into. fans of jon hassell, daniel schmidt or laraaji should sink very easily into this rich, multifaceted album.

uwalmassa is a sonic exploration project initiated by divisi62 – a sound and visual arts label based in jakarta, indonesia that examines the indonesian identity issue within a global context. the thought process behind their debut album bumi uthiri is to provide an alternative study on javanese gamelan composition and to experiment with its known and unknown structures. it is a deconstructed interpretation of a musical tradition that aims to stretch boundaries, but nevertheless, adhere to its core essence.

man power returned to his northern home for one last waltz. this is their joint offering for the esp institute. on side a, man power welcomes us with tistish, stepping slightly out of his comfort zone and employing a boxy breakbeat to create a dose movement. this contrasts his signature fatty bassline and together they establish a ground on which to stack layers of atonal square and sawtooth waves. about halfway through he introduces a massively seductive string lead and for the remainder of the ride this palette of sounds coalesce in dark orchestral beauty. on side b, man power’s cohorts last waltz deliver nee shitteru, a true stomper of a track complete with in-your-face toms and off-time percussion patterns, an intense driving acid line, and aggressive shamanic chanting. throw in some crash cymbals, sci-fi sound effects and a smattering of gamelan and it amounts to an overwhelmingly chaotic and psychedelic trip. these two songs will have you speaking in tongues.

stefan schwander aka harmonious thelonious is definitely not a newcomer. he has been around for a long time and has already released lots of amazingly varied music on labels such as emotional response, italic, meakusma and diskant. he’s also an integral part of the infamous duesseldorf / salon des amateurs axis that is an obvious hotbed of talent. he describes his style as -american minimalism vs. african drumming vs. european sequencing-, a heady mixture which is clearly evident on this ep though with a definite middle eastern twist. here at versatile hq we were introduced to this clutch of tracks by one of the members of acid arab and we were totally blown away. stefan has a very unique production style, fusing all of the above elements with a hint of gamelan, a dash of tweaked fm synthesis type sounds with a dose of warm ambience and finally his own singular touch on the mix. we are very happy to present you these 4 tracks to you, an essential ep from one of european music s true originals.

with comparisons being made to psykick warriors of gaia, cyclobe and insanlars kime ne this ones definitely making waves amongst fans of.....well....whatever sort of music this is. komodo kolektif is a loose collective of veteran multi-instrumentalists based not in indonesia as one might expect with such a name, but glasgow, scotland, their name being a reference to the indonesian gamelan instruments featured in their compositions. the instruments used (saron, gender, kempul) belong to local gamelan ensemble gamelan naga mas of which two of the musicians have been full-time members for around a decade while the other members are also loosely affiliated and have appeared as guest musicians on various one-off performances and who are themselves well-known musicians in their own rights.

iona fortune is a composer and producer from glasgow and presents the “tao of i” album as her debut release. inspired by eastern philosophy and slated to be the first in an 8 album series exploring all the symbols of the i ching, her music is influenced by oriental sounds and features a palette of instruments that includes the guzheng, gamelan and synthi aks. the overall effect is a singular and beguiling sound that loosely fits in with the fourth world concept imagined by jon hassell, and indeed iona fortune has also contributed a track to optimo music’s new fourth world compilation “miracle steps”. the initial vinyl edition will come on a white vinyl pressing with inside sleeve and original artwork by iona fortune.

black merlin has gone on to release on a number of labels from around the globe including world unknown, crimes of the future, ln-cc, new jersey, common thread, island of the gods and sorn. more recently black merlin has debuted his first solo album on indonesian label island of the gods which came about when george was asked to travel over to indonesia to record traditional gamelan music and put together an album of his time over there from the field recordings hed gathered which is now complete. black merlin makes his debut on omnidisc records, with a two tracker of hard hitting distortion. (single run of 300 units)

zipper is zemi17s second release on the bunker new york, and sees him expanding his musical palette considerably, in which his gamelan derived sound design pushes further out towards the expanses of techno s realm. zipper is the product of years of work. the tracks on this record began as field recordings taken from indonesia insect sounds, gamelan, found sounds, says kuffner. each of these tracks comes from a different stage of my music-writing process over the years. i eventually developed a kind of sketch and improv technique, re-arranging groupings and arrangements of a series of elements. zipper reflects a culmination of this technique, and in my opinion, its representative of some of my best work

office 04 circles in memories: the record is about johannes * iron curtis* palukas time at karl-marx-straße berlin where he used to live next door to label head baaz and graphic designer chris fladung. a1 track * magnet* is an ecstatic piece of house music holding all elements ics production is esteemed and loved for : heavy, unrelenting kicks, rolling bass lines, shimmering pads, topped with searing hot yet gamelan-like synts and an icing of slightly loose, detuned organ stabs predesting grand emotions on any dance floor. * what happened happened* surely marks up as another proof of curtis fearless takes on house music: distorted field recordings and blurred spoken words, a web of gossamer melodies and subtle clicks and cuts, all cohered by the louche bassline and the reshuffled groove in a true dilla-ish vein. adapting elements to their own agenda, clandestine groove explorers berg turn * what happened* into a true midnight roller: razor-sharp hihitas join forces with a steam-maschine like percussion, whipping relentlessly in-between kick drum and kick drum. berg cools off their take with prancing melody motifs and strung out pads of the original track, though never loosing focus of the * reductions* aim: keep the dancer dancing.

kalipo is jakob häglsperger from berlin who devotes himself to experimental electronica. his debut album yaruto follows a series of remixes and contributions to compilations released by antime and stiff little spinners. on it, häglsperger tries to create a both unique and timeless sound that takes cues from dance music, downbeat and gamelan traditions alike. making use of his wide array of analogue synthesizers, a rhodes piano, a metallophone and guitars, häglsperger is creating the abstract narrative of an impersonal biography by creating moods that correspond with certain stages of life as well as chopped up vocal samples. the double vinyl lp includes a download code.

the composer and sculptor aaron taylor kuffner is well known for co-creating the gamelatron project in 2008, the worlds first fully robotic gamelan orchestra. his one-of-a-kind creation has been shown in major venues and festivals worldwide, ranging from the smithsonian to fuji rock, and at galleries and festivals across asia, europe, russia and north america.

in its history throughout millennia it is fair to say the gamelan has never had an encounter quite like this. marriage of metals is a devastating extension of the harmonic properties found in the instruments of indonesia.

surprise and super-limited new release from kieran hebden, following up the blink-and-you-will-miss-it collaboration with burial on another mysteriously undorned and brilliant 12 inch for his own text imprint. on >love cry< b/w >our bells<, he succinctly shows both sides of his oeuvre, the lush love of the dancefloor, and a chance to exercise his more esoteric inclinations. the live-sounding drums, gorgeously nuanced textures and blissful samples of >love cry< couldnt really come from anyone else, especially when enveloped well into the track and the vocal loops begin to peel off into a deep house-meets-krautrock coda executed with that signature sleight of hand. if you are only going to put out two 12 inches in a year, youd expect the attention to detail to be high, and here its absolutely exquisite. with >our bells< on the flip he crafts a sublime beatless, gamelan influenced piece, like the kosmiche resonance of the flip is allowed to seep through and glimmer all over the grooves, radiating incandescent ambient harmonics with a lustrous psychedelic blur. seriously righteous wares, for the lovers…(be quick!)

new and remixed tracks by this spiritual, cosmic jazz group. comes with a cool percussive 10 minutes long (tech) house remix on the flipside by matthew dear (aka audion from spectral / ghostly) for the minimal fans of villalobos & luciano.... anthem, includes bonus locked groove

classic old skool kickin techno

kalipo is jakob hŠglsperger from berlin who devotes himself to experimental electronica. his debut album yaruto follows a series of remixes and contributions to compilations released by antime and stiff little spinners. on it, hŠglsperger tries to create a both unique and timeless sound that takes cues from dance music, downbeat and gamelan traditions alike. making use of his wide array of analogue synthesizers, a rhodes piano, a metallophone and guitars, hŠglsperger is creating the abstract narrative of an impersonal biography by creating moods that correspond with certain stages of life as well as chopped up vocal samples.

>the evolution of afrobeat< - tony allen jungle by night drops their first full studio album on kindred spirits. hidden is the first full studio album from this group of dutch lads, who retain their youthful exuberance and innocent energy, and delve deeper into their own sound. moving slightly away from the afro-beat blueprint that characterized last years self-titled debut lp, the nine-piece have added gamelan tones and studio effects to their afro-funk template, as well as exploring other parts of africa like malis desert soul and djembe rhythms from senegal. after two years of playing, and having performed over 80 gigs last year, the group have settled in their own rhythm, and hidden sees them trying out new ideas and forms.