The best musical mavericks never sit still for long. They mutate and morph into new shapes, refusing to be boxed in. Floating Points has so many guises that it’s not easy to pin him down. There’s the composer whose 2015 debut album Elaenia was met with rave reviews – including being named Pitchfork’s ‘Best New Music’ and Resident Advisor’s ‘Album of the Year’ – and took him from dancefloors to festival stages worldwide. The curator whose record labels have brought soulful new sounds into the club, and, on his esteemed imprint Melodies International, reinstated old ones. The classicist, the disco guy that makes machine music, the digger always searching for untapped gems to re-release. And then there’s the DJ whose liberal approach to genre saw him once drop a 20-minute instrumental by spiritual saxophonist Pharoah Sanders in Berghain.
Crush was made during an intense five-week period, inspired by the invigorating improvisation of his shows supporting The xx in 2017. He had just finished touring with his own live ensemble, culminating in a Coachella appearance, when he suddenly became a one-man band, just him and his trusty Buchla opening up for half an hour every night. He thought what he’d come out with would "be really melodic and slow- building" to suit the mood of the headliners, but what he ended up playing was "some of the most obtuse and aggressive music I've ever made, in front of 20,000 people every night," he says. "It was liberating."
Double Red Vinyl housed in a rigid gatefold sleeve.
New 10th Anniversary cover image and liner notes by Simon Green.
With offset printed paper Inners and 12” Art Card print of the original Black Sands cover image. Includes download code.
a1. Prelude a2. Kiara a3. Kong a4. Eyesdown (feat. Andreya Triana) b1. El Toro b2. We Could Forever b3. 1009 c1. All in Forms c2. The Keeper (feat. Andreya Triana) c3. Stay the Same (feat. Andreya Triana) d1. Animals d2. Black Sands
On 11 October 2010, Brainfeeder released the debut album by a 23 year old ex-skater, painter and music producer from Chino Hills called Teebs (real name Mtendere Mandowa). The title “Ardour” means great enthusiasm, love or passion and was a fitting descriptor for his inherently warm, lushly textured beats. It’s an undisputed classic in the Brainfeeder canon and more widely considered an essential chapter in the ever-evolving puzzle of the global “beat scene”.
Brainfeeder and Teebs are celebrating the 10th anniversary with a limited special edition reissue of this landmark record. Pressed on “deep pink” 2LP and housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with artwork by Teebs himself, the new edition features six previously unreleased bonus tracks.
a1. You've Changed a2. Bound Ball a3. Double Fifths a4. While You Doooo a5. Moments a6. Burner a7. Wind Loop b1. Lakeshore Ave b2. Arthurs Birds b3. Gordon b4. Bern Rhythm b5. Felt Tip b6. King Bathtub c1. My Whole Life c2. Long Distance (feat Gaby Hernandez) c3. Why Like This? c4. Humming Birds c5. Autumn Antique d1. WLTA d2. Everyone Alive Wants Answers d3. For Phil d4. SP Tapes d5. SPCD d6. Magnolia Redo
Floating Points’ personal collection of global soul, ambient, jazz and folk treasures form the latest in the warmly revered Late Night Tales series.
Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points’ music taste is notoriously tricky to define, ranging from ethereal classical at one end to coruscating techno at the other, united only in a firm belief in the transcendental power of music to move hearts, minds and – yes – feet. Similarly, his production career has ranged from early experiments in dance music with breakout records such as the ‘Shadows EP’ and collaborating with legendary Gnawa master Mahmoud Guinia to his expansive album ‘Elaenia’, which met with critical acclaim upon its release in 2015.
This Late Night Tales excursion into the depths of the evening reflects his broad tastes. The globally-travelled producer has collected untold treasures on his travels from dusty stores in Brazil to market stalls near his hometown. There’s the gorgeous ‘Via Làctea’, culled from Carlos Walker’s debut album, Abu Talib’s (Bobby Wright) plaintive ‘Blood Of An American’ and Robert Vanderbilt’s gospel reworking of Manchild’s ‘Especially For You’. Raw soul and feeling oozing from each song’s pores. At the other end of the music scale are the modernists, such as Québécoise Kara-Lis Coverdale who weighs in with the indelible ‘Moments In Love’, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith whose ‘Milk’ is an exercise in tranquility, while Sarah Davachi’s meditative mix-opener offers respite from a weary world.
We have some tracks exclusive to Late Night Tales; alongside Davachi’s offerings there is also Toshimaru Nakamura’s ‘Nimb #59’, as well as the now traditional cover version. Shepherd delved into his childhood memory for this one, a track taken from the first album his parents bought him, Kenny Wheeler’s ‘Music For Large & Small Ensembles’: Sam offers up his interpretation of ‘Opening Part 1’. Wheeler also contributes horns to Azimuth track The Tunnel, written and performed by Norma Winstone and John Taylor who, coincidentally, are the parents of Floating Points’ drummer Leo Taylor. Closing the album, Lauren Laverne reads the suitably nocturnal poem ‘Ah! Why, Because The Dazzling Sun’ by Emily Brontë.
“I tried to find music that reflects the stillness of night. And because my musical interests lie all over the place, it’s quite difficult to distil that notion down to just a few songs. I was quite keen to have some electronic music in there but I also really wanted to have some soul music mixed in, so I had to try and find a pathway between all of this different music.” - Sam Shepherd (Floating Points), 2019
a1. Sarah Davachi - Untitled (live In Portland - Excerpt)
a2. Carlos Walker - Via Lactea
a3. The Rationals - Glowin'
a4. William S Fischer - Chains
b1. Max Roach - Equipoise
b2. Abu Talib - Blood Of An American
b3. Sweet & Innocent - Express Your Love
b4. Robert Vanderbilt & The Foundation Of Souls - A Message Especially From God
c1. A Message Especially From God - A Message Especially From God
c2. Alain Bellaiche - Sun Blues
c3. Alain Bellaiche - Sea Fluorescent
c4. Kara-Lis Coverdale - Moments In Love (Excerpt)
d1. Azimuth - The Tunnel
d2. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Milk (Excerpt)
d3. Toshimaru Nakamura - Nimb#59
d4. Floating Points - The Sweet Time Suite" (part 1 - Opening - Exclusive Kenny Wheeler Cover version)
d5. Lauren Laverne - Ah! Why, Because The Dazzling Sun (Exclusive Spoken Word Piece)
The reflective and immersive extraterrestrial synth explorations of Surgeons Girl's 'A Violet Sleep' EP mark a stunning, dream-like debut for the Bristol based artist to close a tumultuous year.
Specialising in live audio-visual performance, combined with a love of analogue synths, Surgeons Girl weaves emotive and enveloping sounds from her instruments, drawing on influences from the likes of Suzanne Ciani, Laurel Halo and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith.
Bristol based artist, Sunun with a killer 6 track EP - the first 12" of the year on Idle Hands (ran by Chris Farrell) . A member of the city's Young Echo collective she has made waves with her abstracted take on dub for Bokeh Versions and Cold Light Music, gaining praise from Adrian Sherwood along the way. Her most recent release was a collaborative EP with Giant Swan’s Robin Stewart. Over these six tracks we are invited into her sonic world, described by the artist herself as “a step towards rhythm tracks, with shallower themes and confidence, with priority to the ancient components; the drum and voice” Adventurous, brooding and unique - this is an EP you need to hear.
Proceeds from the EP will go to Ace, a charity organising 1:1 music sessions with teenagers in the local area where Sunun has been doing work.
O$VMV$M the Bristol based production duo of Amos Childs (Jabu) and Sam Barrett (Kahn & Neek) have traditionally dealt in hazy, smoked out vignettes - seen across release for Idle Hands, No Corner and most recently providing music for the Manonmars LP. Where the duos previous work has explored ideas in short bursts which capture you then fades away; IDLE063 takes their sound into unexplored directions and shows an evolution in their output. By extending their ideas into long form tracks within the traditional lineage of bristol soundsystem culture and combining it with their unique ear for sampling Phase 4 / Witch brings O$VMV$M's into a territory which shows how wide their sound can truly reach
“Karma & Desire” includes guest collaborations from Sampha, Zsela and Aura T-09 and more. It’s “a romantic tragedy set between the heavens and the underworld” says Actress (Darren J. Cunningham) “the same sort of things that I like to talk about – love, death, technology, the questioning of one's being”. The presence of human voices take the questing artist into new territory.
a1. Actress - Fire & Light
a2. Actress - Angels Pharmacy (feat Zsela)
a3. Actress - Remembrance (feat Zsela)
a4. Actress - Reverend
b1. Actress - Leaves Against The Sky
b2. Actress - Save
b3. Actress - VVY (feat Sampha)
b4. Actress - XRAY
b5. Actress - Gliding Squares
c1. Actress - Many Seas, Many Rivers (feat Sampha)
c2. Actress - Loveless (feat Aura T-09)
c3. Actress - Public Life (feat Vanessa Benelli Mosell)
Four cuts on an upfront slab of wax for turntable enjoyment ahead of a big compilation entitled ‘LV VA’, which is to be released in due time, showcasing music from over 30 artists, from almost as many locations.
This sampler 12” sneak-previews four of the more energetic, off-kilter (brain) dance tracks ahead of the full release…
For example, the bitcrushed grime of ’Jackpot’, a highly infectious piece of freak music that perfectly defies proper categorisation, produced by the unlikely, but even-better-for-it, pairing of Wilted Woman and Christoph De Babalon, together as SUDS.
Then there’s that big bass mutation of ‘Alva’ a high-pressure soundsystem time-bomb that crosses between dancehall, grime and tekno, produced by Zoe McPherson, proving once again that rhythm can be exploratory, full of intrigue, and hard-hitting at the same time.
There’s also a big, bashy linkup from UK Funky veteran Roska as Bakongo, alongside one of the ’Hard Drum’ pioneers, and now Bristol-resident NKC who has been pushing that sound to deadly effect. Together, they created ‘Teardown’, a pure, undiluted drum tool, reduced strictly to to the most hard-hitting, and dance-able rhythmic elements.
Last, but not least, one of Bristol’s finest crafters of dancefloor sonics, Lurka has delivered a prime example of his highly intricate, low-slung production style with ‘Patterning’ a lean cross of chuggin’, fizzin’ hi-tek dancehall, filled with heaps of funk and a deadly amount of bassweight.
Manonmars is back again, alongside O$VMV$M on instrumentals with the 2nd full length, titled ‘In Colour’.
Building on the foundations built over years of mutual understanding and musical endeavours as part of the Young Echo team, the London-via-Bristol rapper has been climbing that MC Escher type lyrical ladder for years now, painting pictures with word-sound in the coolest & deadliest ways, and forming his very own style.
Somehow he makes it sound easy when these intricate rhymes and words spill across O$VMV$M’s skewed symphonies, dropping slapdash punchlines in the midst of highly real observations about life in the city, lights off, lights on. Manonmars, to us, depicts a lens of someone who isn’t about to conform to any stream, not about to give in to the relentless pace of capitalism, not up for the rat-race, more up for slowing time, and seeing things for what they are, a surrealist take on what could otherwise be a mundane world.
I guess it’s fair to say that life can be grey sometimes - so for our own sanity, we need to make sure to add colour. Manonmars does this, with heaps of imagination and witty real-talk, fired off in bullet time, perfectly hitting that fine-line between entertainment, and deadpan seriousness - a balancing act, juggled with verbs & conjunctions, over a backdrop of timeless rhythm & melody.
Perhaps a less insular album than the first self-titled record, this LP sees guest appearances from Young Echo’s ‘Guest’ and Bogues (both voices of Jabu) on vocals. Fresh Bristol blood ‘Birthmark’ and ‘Axel Holey’ appear with lyrics too, and there is a special vocal injection from Paulina Korobkiewicz, reciting writings by Polish painter and colour artist Wojciech Fangor, and drawing a connection between the music and the visual aspect of Manonmars’ practice.
A smorgasbord of sounds and moods are offered up on Eliphino’s first Hypercolour release since 2013.
The London based producer’s output has always been few and far between, but his releases are always well worth the wait. Issuing singles and albums for Secretsundaze, Brownswood Recordings and R&S offshoot, Meda Fury, Eliphino has kept the quality tight and the quantity scant.
‘Maelstrom’ draws together four new cuts, from the warming and grandiose title cut, bass heavy electro work on ‘Bubbling Glass’, the ruff & moody breakbeats of ‘Eddy’ and the fragmented shuffle and futuristic tones of ‘One Day’.
It has been 2 years since Kindimmer's last release on Poker Flat. Much has changed in that time. After a challenging process of personal transformation that included relocation from Berlin to Bristol, he is now ready to share what musical experiments he has been working on during this time.
The tracks that make up this LP trace the ups and downs of going through changes in life, and trying to find your place in an ever-changing world. Hopefully you can relate.
A compilation album showcasing the depth and diversity of talent that the Rarefied ensemble have to offer. As a label, Rarefied have striven to provide an outlet for artists to express their talent without restriction. Shades of Violet is the apotheosis of this mission.
A change of format and flavour, this cassette crosses the boundaries of the dancefloor. A plethora of sonic expressions are on offer, from Trap infused Hip Hop to submerged Techno soundscapes. An exercise in originality from reel to reel, this is not one to sleep on.
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