Forever cursed with “deep-“ and “tech-house” labels by the press due to decisions taken 10 years ago before he had any idea how this industry worked, Avatism returns mildly angrier than ever before with ‘Ate-Up’, an EP the producer actually started writing during an MDMA-induced lucid dream after Vakant label boss spiked his drinks in 2011. To give his poor soul some credibility, we’ve enlisted AQXDM (Aquarian & Deapmash, fresh from their storming debut on Bedouin Records) and the mysterious Maenad Veyl (Veyl, Pinkman, Death & Leisure) on remix duties.
Spazio Disponibile welcomes Valentino Mora for a new EP featuring four tracks of rhythmic exploration. Boss of the IDO label and known for his atmospheric deep techno sets, he brings a richly infused palette to his music. The four tracks on 'Transmagnetic' are steep in moody atmospheres, with exquisite sound design colouring in the grooves which range from dark and eerie to more subtly uplifting and enlightened. Icy synths, abstract motifs and a sense of paranoia and tension characterise each one, with barely-there drums all working to sink you into a trance.
When asked about the story behind the tracks of 'Journey Through The Outer Darkness from the Inner Light', Jamal Moss answered with a laconic "No story. No dogma. No Hype". After all, his despise of extra-musical paraphernalia is proportional to his productiveness in the studio. But there's always a story. On April 9, 2016, Hieroglyphic Being played a live show in La Casa Encendida of Madrid within the festival Electronica en Abril. Some days later, the recording of the full set was uploaded to YouTube. When we watched it, we were totally captivated. Those eighty minutes of music had the raw power of all of Jamal's body of work, but with a heightened sense of transcendence. Cosmic, spiritual and intensely beautiful, it sounded like a lysergic reinterpretation of Detroit techno transmitted from a galaxy yet to be discovered. As most of the material was unreleased, we reached Jamal in order to try to press it into vinyl. The result is 'Journey Through The Outer Darkness from the Inner Light', a 12" that reunites eight of the individual tracks that conformed that Madrid performance. When inquired about AUM, the sacred sound all the tracks are labeled after, Jamal referred us to a book by author and naturalist Joseph Bharat Cornell. A book that the author himself presents with these words: 'The sound of the Cosmic Vibration is AUM, and listening to it brings the greatest bliss imaginable. AUM is the Omnipotent Force that propels each soul toward Spirit. It's the sacred, inner fire. As you approach the cosmic blaze, you feel at first its radiant, soothing comfort; then, as you come closer - AUM's liberating flames consume you - and bring you to God". There might be "no story and no dogma", but, suddenly, it all makes sense.
Wahever Records in association with Alex Dayo Drumming School proudly presents Gùndo Fara, the debut EP by Zantogola. Inspired by the West African heritage of popular rhythms and songs, Zantogola are at the same time masters and explorers of the plenguedey music: a fusion between elements of mandingue, highlife and afrobeat with hip hop, reggae and jazz. The band mixes traditional African-percussions rhythms with brass, voices, guitars, balafons and ngonis to create contemporary, reflective, joyous and highly danceable songs. The Zantogola project was born in 2016 with the meeting of Alex Dayo and Matteo Boyero, and has grown up into a full scale band and human adventure. Among the members of the band there are musicians like Alai Sanfo, Hien Narcisse Moustique Piqué, Robert Goldsmith, David Kemp, Nick Onley, James MacPhail, Owain Arthur, Moussa Dembele and Shreya Rai. Alex Dayo is a drummer/percussionist from Burkina Faso, former musician of the Kouledafourou National Ballet and leader of Wountey, the band who initiated Plenguedey music. Alex moved to London in 2008 where he set up a drumming school. Shreya Rai is a 25 year old singer from Nepal. She is the main female singer for Zantogola, and also performs with other bands such as Namlo and Makindu (WAHEVER 004). She is a highly creative and dedicated artist, and a composer in her own right: look up her name for future releases. This EP also features some special guests: violinist John Garner, Rafael Anker on EVI (electro valve instrument), Togo Clément Palé on bass, Sophia Mogapi on snare/cymbals, Marta Badia Marin on background doundoun and Dabaiyah Fidel on backing vocal. Zantogola means “the greatest in everyone” and it’s the name of a character in Burkina Faso’s folklore. There are many tales of his extraordinary powers. He plays his percussion louder than anybody in the country, so loud that you could hear him from all the other villages. He can devour a whole village’s food supply for a year in a single day, but his appetite is matched by his generosity: he will farm all the fields for the whole village single-handed. He also sleeps for a whole season unless the village needs him. Zantogola also inspires a message of humbleness. In these dark times, Zantogola stands against growing nationalism and the tightening of borders to create a spirit of common purpose and brotherhood. Gùndo Fara means “secret revealed” in Bambara, one of the most widely spoken languages in French speaking West Africa. This 45 rpm loud cut 12’’ EP is an introduction to an eleven track album to be released in spring 2019, it is limited to 300 copies and comes with B side drum mixes that will not be included on the spring album release.
Composed and arranged by Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo Produced by Matteo Boyero and Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo Recorded by Matteo Boyero at Wahever Records, except drums on “Tare” recorded at the Alex Dayo Drumming School, and bass and electro valve instrument on “Taré”, recorded at Dondoli Studio by Joseph Sangare Mixed by Peter Soldan at Dada Studios Mastered by Simon Davey at the Exchange Artwork by Sandra von Hazelberg
Musicians Seli: Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo: lead and backing vocal, drum set (congas, djembe, cymbals, high hat and calebasse), bass bara, doundoun, kenkeni & top bell, sabar, tama, maracas Shreya Rai: lead and backing vocal Dabaiyah Fidel: backing vocal Abdoulaye Sanfo: djembe solo Moussa Dembele: balafon (xylophone) Hien Narcisse Likite Moustique Piqué: medium bara James MacPhail: bass Owen Arthur: electric rhythm and lead guitar Robert Goldsmith: baritone sax David Kemp: alto sax Nick Onley: tenor sax Matteo Boyero: drum machine kick programming
Taré: Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo: lead and backing vocal, balafon, rhythm djembe 1, drum set (congas & djembe 2), bara, sabar, cowbell, shekere Abdoulaye Sanfo : djembe solo, rhythm djembe 3 Hien Narcisse Likite Moustique Piqué: kenkeni and top bell Marta Badia Marin: background doundoun Shreya Rai: lead and backing vocal Pale Togo Clément: bass Raphael Anker: EVI (electro valve instrument) John Garner: violins Robert Goldsmith: baritone sax David Kemp: alto sax Nick Onley: tenor sax Matteo Boyero: drum machine kick programming
Sya drums (musicians present in the full version of the track not included): Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo: rhythm djembe 1 & 2, djembe solo, drum set (congas & djembe 3), maracas, woodblock, doundoun, kenkeni & top bell, criquet Sophia Mogapi: drum kit (snare and cymbals) Abdoulaye Sanfo: djembe snare Matteo Boyero: drum machine kick programming
Special thanks to Peter Soldan at Dada Studios, Joseph Sangare at Dondoli Studio, Sandra Von Hazelberg for the artwork, Finsbury Park Art Club and all the students at the Alex Dayo Drumming School.
Notes by Alex Dayo: Seli” means “pray”: whatever our beliefs as human beings, let’s pray to know ourselves so that we can gain a better awareness of humanity’s needs. “Taré” means “majesty”. How great is your mother’s love. How great is a lover’s love. It’s your choice to find the balance: as we cross many rivers, we encounter many mothers and loved ones. The greatest, they are in my heart majestically, I shall never forgot them. Not all women give birth to a majesty. I’m talking too and dedicating Tare to her Majesty, my mother Sita Sessouma, my mother by the river Kalpana from Nepal, and to all you great women from all over the planet. I specially dedicate this EP to all my students.
Yak presents his first solo EP on the 3024 imprint! Three intricate percussive excursions showcasing this man's amazing talent. Rhodes Island is a vibey drum 'n bass number with dazzling edits and beat trickery, reminding us of the legacies of Nucleus and Paradox while still sounding extremely 2018. Don Greno is a more garage influenced roller that has been doing the rounds as a dub on Rinse. Ocean Floor is a sluggish, dubbed out drum groove perfect for those late night early morning vibrations.
"Based in Flint, Michigan, USA the four young sons of an electrician welded together their debut album. This album, titled Elektroworld, is a personal tribute to the well known pioneers of the electro-disco-beat; Kraftwerk." Clone Classic Cuts reissue of the illustrious Elecktroids' one and only album from 1995.
The second volume of Casa Voyager's compilation gathers the label's regulars OCB and Kosh, as well as two new artists: Polyswitch, coming straight from the shady streets of Casablanca and also known as the moroccan funkmaster, and Jamal, who comes from the moroccan diaspora in Europe and purveyor of post-futuristic electro beats, keeping the dutch-moroccan connection alive.
Akuratyde is a musician driven by a passion to create and has spent his life expressing his talents in a variety of media. Based on the West Coast US, Akuratyde has drawn his inspiration both from Southern California’s breathtaking panoramic landscapes and his own, personal struggles. Akuratyde’s goal is to make music that strikes an emotional chord in his listeners. Incorporating his affinity for reverb soaked synthesizers and dreamy guitar riffs Akuratyde’s music is the perfect mix of melodic hooks and immersive beats. He has created something that is simultaneously raw and passion-filled, with subtle beautiful undertones that are guaranteed to move the listener. 'Past Lives' is a deeply personal collection of work, drawn from moments and experiences in the artist's own life. The album is an emotive work that celebrates wonderment, intimately articulates loss, and reflects on meaning and purpose. Stylistically, 'Past Lives' echoes some of the Autonomic movement's richer moments, with hand-crafted synths and Akuratyde's own guitar-playing skills draped lovingly over each track. A supporting cast of glitched-out percussion, fragmented vocals and warping bass completes the ensemble.
ABOUT THE “LIBRARY TOOL KIT” SERIES: The new sub-label from WNCL Recordings features 12 short “tools” per release, for use on discotheque sound systems and home stereos alike. Released on 10” vinyl with digital to follow at a later date.
ABOUT THIS RECORD: EKOPLEKZ contributes to the Library Tool Kit series with 12 unique transmissions, live and direct from his radiochronic workshop.
Flagrantly disregarding tempo restrictions Overlook effortlessly traverses from beat free passage into cyberpunk tinged Techno fare. The ‘Public Image EP’ directs his already affirmed palette of sound in an archetypal dystopian framework. Just when you think there is little more that can be said in praise of Overlook’s work, he reinvigorates perception with a fresh take on his own aesthetic. A modern master at work.
a1. Overlook - Déjà Vu
a2. Overlook - There Was Truth And There Was Untruth
Exhibiting an almost timeless quality, the latest EP from UVB-76 Music is a four track, various artists endeavour into the most solid of fundamentals. A four-man hit squad of label newcomers assembles in the form of Entire, Nekyia, Forest Drive West and DB1. Going against the grain of contemporary production fad, each track is a reduction to core sonic ideals. Unapologetically raw and refined in a directly contradictory manner.
Parallax Unknown returns a year on from their last record with another 4 tracker EP from ES-Q, featuring Lobster Theremin regular and Four triangles boss ASOK. Casting patterns, Lunatic Fringe & Intuition sees more of ES-Qʼs synth-ed out drum machine sounds with the lead track getting a deep, yet uplifting broken beat rework from ASOK.
Known for a broad swath of genre-obliterating club tracks on crucial labels including Critical, Exit, and 50Weapons, Sam Binga approached us earlier this year with a radically different kind of project, a collaboration with Welfare, true junglist and label boss at D&B bastion Rua Sound. The result of their team-up is Conamara Fieldworks. Its unique inspiration and patient process are best described by the duo themselves:
"In early November 2016, we set off through the bleakness of an Irish November into the wilderness that is Conamara, County Galway, Ireland, with about half an idea of what we wanted to do. Our friend Laney had been kind enough to allow us the use of a 300 year old cottage overlooking the sea, itself belonging to her family through generations which she was bit by bit restoring to its former glory. The isolation was perfect - very little in the way of creature comforts, no network coverage, but plenty of turf for the stove and Guinness for the belly.
Our routine for the next few days consisted of trudging the length of the rugged coastline in search of interesting sounds we could potentially process into usable elements for some kind of dub/dub techno-inspired composition...This took us inside tidal caves and abandoned ruins, across sheep fields, up and down mountains and winding country lanes, in and out of the odd pub, under upturned boats and (carefully) across huge washes of seaweed-covered shoreline. Using our handheld recorder (shouts Danny Scrilla for the lend) we assembled a palette of varied noises, constantly battling with the peaking and distortion created by the incessant Atlantic gusts.
Each evening, following some intense huddling around the stove and vital Irish home cuisine and stout, we'd examine and dissect what we had collected that day, sometimes discovering the most interesting material firmly planted in the background of the soundscapes. A certain amount of (but not too much) processing later we had the bones of a few short loops of each sound which made some kind of musical sense when played alongside each other.
Binga suggested staying true to the craft and keeping the rawness to the foreground by attempting to develop the loops into full compositions via live desk mixing, arrangement and effects. We said our goodbyes to Conamara and a month or two later said our hellos to the Dubkasm shedio. Following a crash course from the dynamic duo, we set to work for the day, learning as we went along and enjoying to the full the unpredictability, intuition and sheer vibes a dubbing session can bring, particularly in a studio kitted out with some fine analogue gear which undoubtedly helped us to keep that damp, saturated feeling that Conamara had sown."
The resulting collection of music speaks for itself, and does so in its own language. It is meditative, deeply textural, and richly saturated, with awesome sound design, generous bass weight, and dubwise finesse. Referencing ambient, concrete, and dub techno while never letting any genre dictate its path, Conamara Fieldworks is a deeply rewarding and intensely involving listen. A restrained yet transporting remix from the one Ossia completes the set.
OOH-sounds inaugurates a series of splits on the topics of increasing complexity, dependencies and miscommunication in a media-saturated digital era. Georgia / Bellows open the series shaping the two vinyl surfaces between futuristic eclecticism and avant-garde pan- aesthetics.
"In software engineering d e c o u p l i n g is generally all about discerning whether or not two components need to closely work together or can be further made independent. Independence is great because it makes those things easy to change or use somewhere else. Usually, you can't remove coupling between components completely. D e c o u p l i n g in that context normally means loosening the existing coupling, making sure each component knows as little as possible about the other components around it”.
The first in a series of split vinyls concerning dependencies, miscommunication and increasing complexity in our media- saturated digital era. Georgia and Bellows inaugurate the decouple ][ series with works between futuristic eclecticism and avant-garde pan-aesthetics, where musical themes flow tangentially. Similar, but without effectively engaging one another. A metaphor for a world of surfaces.
Recorded in Georgia’s Chinatown NYC studio, ‘Tiwala sa buani’ abruptly throw us into freaky percussion clusters constructed from heavily processed sounds which seem to keep in balance just by the magic of repetitions. Justin Tripp and Brian Close’s stylistic fusion acts like an antidote against GPS localization, with sounds and voices more reminiscent of data flowing through a proxy server than an acoustic performance - a myriad of tiny elements resonates with the multi-cultural a-geographic perception of a contemporary metropolis. ‘A Habitual Sway’ (an anagram of the first title) flows more slowly, mixing hypnotic rhythmic percussions loops, melodic sketches and controlled distortions into sophisticated layers. Naïve digital strings pads incursions widen the picture further. Georgia run an NTS monthly residency of oddball electronics.
Digging into their sound archive, Bellows build an immersive Konrad-esque 19 mins of humid and winding electronics with‘Untitled’. Drawing on years of improvising experience, Nicola Ratti and Giuseppe Ielasi take a puristic avant-garde approach, using tape loops, static, modular synths and field recordings. A subtle nostalgia pervades the whole work - the music sneaks through lush, decadent dystopian visions like in a travelogue. Mallets, statics, cut-up white noise, synthetic kiks and uncannily pitched voices branch out like roots, while digital birds whistle all around in an aquatic atmosphere, perhaps suggesting an ironic take on ‘orientalism’ - down to the river’s delta.
a1. Georgia - Tiwala Sa Buhay [vocals Gabi Asfour]
Follow up Helium Robots EP for Running Back after 2012’s “Crepitation” which came with legendary Theo Parrish reworks. Bleep EP is featuring 4 original works from the bots.
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