the penultimate release on optimo trax (at least for now) comes from tel aviv’s mighty kalbata. i was already a big fan and was so delighted when he got in touch to see if i would be interested in releasing something by him. unusually for optimo trax this is one track in 3 versions but each version is so different that often i play them all in one dj set. originally there were two versions but as kalbata is a renowned master of dub (check out the documentary online about him recording in jamaica), i gently persuaded him to do a no-holds-barred dub mix too which appears here as enkuan pt 3. a few words about the record from kalbata – i went to ethiopia in the beginning of 2017 to record musicians. the most memorable one was mulugeta teshome who plays the washint flute on this record. it’s a traditional ethiopian flute made out of wood, and mulugeta came to the studio carrying a whole bag of them, each one in a different key. we chose the scale and started the recording session. i ended up taking the tracks a lot further with the three cuts on the record but really it all started that day, in a small studio shack in addis ababa.

optimo trax presents a 4-track ep from germanys mathias schober, head honcho of berlin’s lossless label. as always we prefer to let our artists do the talking. heres what mathias has to say about this release - the idea behind all tracks on the ep was a simple setup of drums and one synth that would do a main sequence/sound, yet theres a lot of detail in all of them. in a certain way features a 808ish beat with a main sequence coming from a tiny monophon synth called atmegatron - 8bit love, it turned out being much more music than i thought it would be when i set everything up. but what rules are made for is the same setup but the sequence is a 101 and so are all the washed out fx synths. on is to break them i went a different route, i had the dub, delayed stabs synth first as i was messin with my moog and a space echo - which btw is used on every single track i release, if you haven’t noticed yet. so i was trying to build something around those stabs in order to fit the track to the others and so i ended up with another sequence coming from my moog. as there was still space on the record, i decided to add an ambient version of is to break them, i love the ambience on this track. i hope that my love for dub sounds is obvious enough on these tracks. happy i found such an excellent home for the ep!

optimo trax 30 celebrates a double 30 year anniversary: the original release date of “rejekto” and 30 years since twitch started dj’ing. in 1987, twitch, who wasn’t known as twitch yet, picked up a copy of “rejekto” at glasgow’s then numero uno import shop, 23rd precinct. he was smitten.

newcastle-born, mexico-based man power debuts on optimo trax with two psychasonic missives cut extra loud for optimum sound system performance. we asked man power for some words about this release and he told us - -both tracks sound different, but they re both from the same place in as much as they represent a conscious effort by me to strip back some of unnecessary niceties in my music and really sharpen my focus on what makes people dance without crossing the fine line of what makes me sound like me.”

originally released in japan in 2015 on dj emmas nitelist music as part of its acid ep series, only a small handful of copies of this 12inch made it to europe. jd twitch was lucky to score a copy and both tracks became firm favourites in his sets and much asked about. twitch felt this music deserved a wider audience so was kindly granted permission to reissue it on optimo trax. yes another double a side release, a1, hiroshi watanabes - infinity sign is a hypno ecstatic acid piano-tingling monolith. a2, kuniyukis acid air is a slow building organic percussive acid freak out that will cause a freak out on the floor. it is hard to do anything with a 303 that is interesting these days but both the tracks on this 12inch are 100% club classic.

after a split single with muslimgauze and a single of their own on optimo trax, we are delighted to present the first optimo trax album release by italys underspreche.

after a split single with muslimgauze and a single of their own on optimo trax, we are delighted to present the first optimo trax album release by italy’s underspreche. the album is split across two four- track eps, released two weeks apart

boot & tax are back. after two 12inches for optimo trax and an album on optimo music they return to optimo trax with their first new music of the year, just before it ends. four tracks of spangled, idiosyncratic, woozily spacious and slightly off kilter music that could only have been made by these two milanese maestros. as ever on optimo trax a quadruple a side where all tracks share equal billing.

yet more italians on optimo trax! jose manuel delivers 4 unique exotic, fourth world, tribal slabs of ritual music. a1, the great beast in outer space is actually an andrew liles track that jose has completely reworked and sprinkled his magick on. mr. liles is one of my favourite producers in the world, both for his solo work and for his input into my all time heroes nurse with wound. for those who know his work, having something by him that will work on a dancefloor may bring a smile to your face. thankfully i know him a bit and he was more than happy to grant permission for this to be released. a2, folklore is fourth world exotica reimagined for late night dance rites. aa1, ritual, is exactly what the title says it is. aa2, sisi leaves the dance floor completely and even though optimo trax is 100% aimed at djs, was simply too lovely to leave off.

from oporto, portugal but now resident in london, trikk presents a 4-track ep for optimo trax. each of the tracks is a dubbed-out, percussive hypno gem with advanced production and while not dub per se, the use of dub effects is up there with the finest ja studio experimentation. all 4 tracks have been extensively club tested and may cause subtle pandemonium. dj tip : watch out for the slow down in modo ritmico!

after the success of their debut split ep with muslimgauze which sold out in record time, the southern italian male/female duo underspreche return to optimo trax for their first ep in their own right. three tracks of deliciously psychedelic advanced techno grooves filled with subtle syncopations and head melting sound design. first release in the new optimo trax colour scheme.

powerdance is a collective formed by luke solomon and nick maurer formed as a reaction to bland soul less dance music that seems to infiltrating nightclubs the world over. luke and nicks comradely stems back many many years to their association with the classic music company a label formed by derrick carter and luke. nick maurer was one half of the then prolific greens keepers. this ep for optimo trax features the wigged epically funkoid gem mysterious space plane who doesn t like songs about space? on the other side is the modern hyper jacking more fire. alongside these are a reprise of mysterious space plane and a bonus beats of more fire for those djs who like to, are able to get creative with their mixing

celebrating our 20th release, glasgows dave clark returns to optimo trax as sparky. he was responsible for the third release on the label as luma which featured the club smash -john broadwood- and recently had another big club hit with signals- on numbers. we are delighted to welcome him back in what is a contunuation of a relationship that stretches back further than we care to remember. all four tracks here are certified dancefloor winners, from the reach for the lasers, kickless things fall apart through the synth rhapsodies of black swan and my prophet, climaxing in the jacking seven daggers. all killer, no filler is often a trite cliche in these blurbs but is entirely true in the case of this ep.

from france comes fabrizio rat with a 4-track ep constructed entirely from acoustic piano and drum machine. mr. rats unique sound design blew our ears away, particularly at a time when so much techno is more reliant on following a blueprint rather than trying to push the frontiers of what is possible, which to us was always the true raison dêtre of techno

theres a bit of a story to side a. in 1996, jd twitch released a 12inch by manchesters bryn jones aka muslimgauze on his then label pi recordings.

the first split ep on optimo trax!

optimo trax 16 is a various artists ep featuring tracks from glasgow, london, new york & edinburgh.

for some it might be kraftwerk, but for me, my favourite electronic pioneers are probably australias severed heads. they were so far ahead of the game that they had to invent a lot of the technology they used. inspired, playful, never boring and always sonically brilliant they pushed at the frontiers of electronic music more than most. by the late 80s they were pursuing a slightly more polished course and made a series of records that had the potential to reach a much larger audience. possibly because of their name they never quite managed that, but they had several big club hits, the dub versions of which crossed over into the nascent house scene. i am honoured that i am able to make the dubs of those three 12 inches from 1988 - 1990 available again.

we are delighted to welcome prodigious glasgow producer alex smoke to optimo trax for an ep.

deep, wayward and utterly groove-notic. optimo trax is starting off 2015 the right way…

optimo trax 11 is all about the drums.

think of this release a quadruple a side. none of these will fail on the dancefloor.

crooked man is richard barratt from sheffield, better known as parrot. he was first off the blocks playing house music in sheffield back in the 80s, had a top 10 hit in 88 as part of funky worm, collaborated with richard h kirk on the seminal sweet exorcist releases on warp and had another top 10 hit in the 90s as part of the all seeing i.

on his debut ep, jasper unleashes three cuts of his signature bump n grind atmospheric house music.

these milanese maestros deliver four dance floor delights in their own inimitable and distinctive style

optimo trax releases michele minninis tupolev love ep

luca lozano, owner of klasse recordings presents this majestic 4-track ep on optimo trax. inspired by the past but sounding the antithesis of retro. in his own words.... the optimo trax ep was born out of a time when i was listening to a lot of old bleep house and rave, early 90s uk stuff. growing up in sheffield i was lucky enough to spend some time in warp records when it was still a record store and being around this music and the people that made it must have somehow embedded itself into my psyche. listening to pirate radio stations like fantasy fm as a teenager helped shape my musical interests as they are today and i guess this ep is somehow a reflection of that education, i wanted to make a collection of music that sounded like it was related to a certain place and time and in effect confirm my own identity within its context.

optimo trax is an offshoot label of optimo music for tracks aimed at djs/dancefloors. yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didnt seem quite right for optimo music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. like the parent label, optimo trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics.

the next two optimo trax releases are from milan. this first one is four hot tracks from two self-effacing milanese maestros. *acido* is already shaping up to be a club classic and never fails to cause a commotion, it has been thoroughly road tested throughout summer 2013. the other tracks cover all idiosyncratic bases from high grade sleaze funk to spaghetti western-infused, low-slung house.

optimo trax is an offshoot label of optimo music for tracks aimed at djs/dancefloors. yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didnt seem quite right for optimo music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. like the parent label, optimo trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics. luma is a project by dave clark from glasgow. dave had his first release as a member of state of flux in 1993 on t&b vinyl, the label twitch ran with his dj partner of that era, brainstorm. twitch and dave have continued to work together in various ways ever since. he has released records as truffle club, and as big ned on optimo music as well as working with twitch from 2005 - 2010 remixing a plethora of artists under the optimo (espacio) moniker before fatherhood necessitated him focusing on changing nappies rather than programming synths. dave has also recorded under various aliases for r&s, numbers, stuffrecords, dissident and wireblock. the twentieth anniversary of that first release seemed a fitting date for dave to unleash his monster new club music alter ego, luma on optimo trax. twitch thinks dave is the best producer in scotland and endlessly weeps into his gin and tonics about how unprolific dave is, so was ecstatic when the 4 killer tracks were delivered that make up this third optimo trax ep. these have been thoroughly road tested over the last few months at gigs around the world.

optimo trax is an offshoot label of optimo music for tracks aimed at djs/dancefloors. yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didn t seem quite right for optimo music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. like the parent label, optimo trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics. all four tracks were recorded in 1992. staples of jd twitchs dj sets at the timem and all tracks he still plays to this day.

optimo trax is an offshoot label of optimo music for tracks aimed at djs/dancefloors

2x12 inch lp