Can't Help It is the new single from Stockholm hyper-talent Baba Stiltz, who builds on gently howling synths, laser-cut percussion and his own voice, as sweet and distinct as ever, to create instantly life-changing dance pop music.
Baba Stiltz-on-Studio Barnhus is an ongoing series of records that both define our label and constitute a sort of independent, freewheeling sidetrack to its narrative. From the tempo-bending noise-house of his 2013 label debut Our Girls to this new Is Everything EP, his eighth original Studio Barnhus release, our buddy Baba has never not amazed us with his unpredictable methods, rigorous work ethic and life-changing trax. On this particular record: Icy techno soul, actual r’n'b, the real future funk! An opportune start to ‘17 for us and Baba, who’s looking forward to a year filled with a variety of record releases, collaborations, dj nights and live shows.
Another essential contribution to the Studio Barbnhus catalogue from the unstoppable force that is Baba Stiltz.
These ultramodern dance pop anthems see young Baba utilizing his own voice in a more direct and heartfelt manner than on any of his previous Barnhus recordings, as well as dusting off the old acoustic guitar. Much more to come, until then: let's make this last, don't move too fast make it for real, know how you feel let's make this last, don't move too fast let's make this real, know how you feel ---------------------- don't move too fast make it real, know how I feel.
The story of Bella Boo is not one of overnight success, though of course it might appear as such, if you haven’t been somewhat embedded in the wonderful and weird world of Swedish club culture over the last 12 years or so, in which case you will know her as one of the most eclectic, informed and hardworking DJs on the scene. It wasn’t until last year’s Studio Barnhus debut, the Fire EP, that the world finally started talking about Bella’s extraordinary production skills – the record’s fuzzy r&b harmonics and snappy analog drums prompted Pitchfork to declare it “the flat-out dreamiest thing to come from the label yet”. This was followed quickly by boyboy, a universally beloved track on last year’s Studio Barnhus Volym 1 compilation, in which she “[drizzled] bluesy sweet nothings over elliptical scrapes and squelches, suggesting Matthew Herbert remixing St Germain” (Pitchfork again). Supervillain is Bella’s first solo release of 2019, a perfect three-track thing that sees the currently London-based artist continue to expertly straddle the fence between enigmatic dreamlands and groove-locked dance floors. Artwork by Stockholm visual artist and long-time Bella colla-Boo-rator Alexandra Karpilovski.
Three impeccable pieces of stripped down, unfeigned tanz trax make out the debut release of Esther Silex – deejay extraordinaire, Colognian woman-about-town and very dear new addition to the Studio Barnhus family.
Transmitting straight from the 10th floor of a beat-down Rotterdam skyscraper is Studio Barnhus debutant Mark Fader. When he’s not analyzing the bird life outside his studio window or contemplating matters of love, death and office management, Fader enjoys churning out true school electro cuts with a modern edge and some extra fonk. We were lucky enough to catch four examples of this to put on record. Vinyl only release because it felt good this time. Studio Barnhus is forever!
Brooklyn’s finest FaltyDL debuts on Studio Barnhus with two slices of lovestruck rave classicism. Flechazo steadily builds a shifty groove before eur(o)pting into lavish synth themes, New Lover gets straight to the point with razor-cut breakbeats and showstopping sub-bass. Cupid’s ammo for all the deadeye deejays out there!
Dreamboy from Gothenburg begifts world with completely enchanting EP – four tracks ranging from look-ma-no-kick-drum club heaters to spirit-world ambience and some real Swedish reggae. Starting off with his Studio Barnhus debut, Ishi Vu is set to blow up 2017 with a string of releases on select world-renowned labels.
Jimi Tenor & Freestyle Man, Finnish legends and everything-but-grey eminences of electronic music, return to Studio Barnhus for another four-tracker full of the good stuff. Deep house as done by professionals! The world keeps changing, people and sounds come and go, but when Jimi croons away over Freestyle Man’s finn-tastic funk foundations, it all just about makes sense to us. Plenty of flute solo on this thing as well!
Kornél Kovács' second album is on the way via Studio Barnhus, which he runs with Petter Nordkvist and Axel Boman. Stockholm Marathon sees the Swedish-Hungarian producer, who was born in the Swedish capital, "reflecting a lot on this beautiful, boring city I never quite manage to move away from," he says, after moving back last September. Kovács credits his "dearest Stockholm people" for making the LP his most collaborative and most personal release. That list includes jazz musician Niclas Skagstedt, Matt Karmil, Rebecca & Fiona and Malin Gabriella Nordin, who did the artwork. The LP, which arrives in April, is his second full-length, following 2016's The Bells, also released on Studio Barnhus.
This is a limited edition vinyl only sampler of the forthcoming album The Bells by Kornél Kovács. These tracks - extended takes on album cuts Gex and Josey’s Tune as well as a remix from the one and only Samo DJ - are exclusive to this record. Enjoy the music!
The Bells is out August 24 on Studio Barnhus (double 12′’, compact disc, digital thing) All the best from Stockholm City, Studio Barnhus
For his Studio Barnhus debut, Laurence Guy connects the dots between the lo-fi ambient investigations of his 2017 album Saw You For The First Time, the warm club sounds heard on All I See Is Her (last year’s standout 12′’ for Tokyo’s Mule Music), and the London-based dj/producer’s long roots in deep drum’n’bass and dubstep soil. Those roots, always present as subtle rhythmical traces on Laurence Guy records, now appear more explicitly than ever, boosting the typically graceful harmonies and sooty samples of Guy’s music with a new, profound energy. From the unswerving neo-jungle of Wildlife, through My Brain Is A Scrambled Egg with its dusty rave euphorisms, onwards to the hypnotic guitar ballad It’s Good To Try, this six-track EP is chock-full of the sort of unrestrained musical enthusiasm that Studio Barnhus is always on the lookout for. Making Music Is Bad For Your Self Esteem is at once Guy’s most experimental and most personal record yet, an essential addition to both artist’s and label’s catalogues.
Studio Barnhus’ love affair with Lukas Nystrand Von Unge continues with his second EP for the label, a collection of six tracks recorded between 2010 and 2016. From A1’s sturdy take-’em-to-church organs, through a goulash of the sweetest, roughest lil’ house jams you ever heard, all the way to B3’s cut-up disco jubilation, this record is a perfect example of why the sounds coming out of Tensta Tape Academy remain so endlessly fascinating to us. Love story to be continued shortly - in the meantime: Go grab your copy real quick, deejay!
MattKarmil was born in 1979 near the giant pre-historic glockenspiel / mythical neolithic monument known as Stonehenge. His debut EP for StudioBarnhus, following 2014’s masterful remix of Talaboman, is an homage to the Nacksving studio in Gothenburg, another mythical place that Matt calls home.
Exactly two years after their debut release landed on Studio Barnhus, MLiR are back with Trans-World Junktion, a summer-ready two-tracker that packs enough musical twists and turns to put your favourite quadruple 12-inch to shame. Half part wide-eyed exotica, half high-intensity festival blitzin’ from this Swedish musical collective fronted by Marco Gegenheimer and Einar Christoffersson. Artwork by the creative genius behind our logo – Stockholm’s very own Leolyxxx.
Mount Liberation Unlimited are Tom and Niklas, two Swedes from space who have spent the last 5 years carving out a particularly vivid niche in contemporary electronic music. Their previous work has seen them connect with an impressive list of global dance powerhouses: New York’s Beats In Space, Melbourne’s Superconscious and Munich’s Permanent Vacation have all released 12′’ heat from the duo, while their hometown buddies at Studio Barnhus provided an outlet for what has been perhaps their biggest and boldest release yet, 2017’s double smash single Double Dance Lover. Their live shows are fervent, fast-paced and very multi-instrumental affairs, performed non-stop at an increasingly prestigious list of clubs and festivals, serving as prime examples of the MLU boys’ core obsession: the interaction of human rhythm and electronic pulse. They have their own great little radio show on Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM! Australia loves them! They got their artist friend Tom-Hadar Elde to sculpt their heads for their debut album cover! That self-titled debut, to be released May 31 on Studio Barnhus, has been in progress since the very formation of the MLU project in 2014. It contains some of their earliest work and of course their very latest – all perfected at the Neve desk of legendary Gothenburg studio Svenska Grammofonstudion, in cahoots with mix engineer Christoffer Berg (Depeche Mode, Robyn, Fever Ray).
a1. Clintro Space Funk a2. Welcome to Organic a3. Gospel (Makes My Body Move In Sinful Ways) b1. Prozac b2. WWW.ednesday b3. Climb Me Up
c1. Jaz for More c2. Krauten c3. The One d1. Techno Thrills and Ecstasy Pills d2. Air 2 Breathe
Off The Meds is a Swedish-South African crew based in Stockholm, consisting of producers Adrian Lux, Carli Löf and Måns Glaeser with vocalist Kamohelo Khoaripe. Belter is their first full solo release, arriving on Studio Barnhus 7 months after the band’s low-slung, ethio-jazz-influenced hip-house burner Currency Low appeared as one of the standouts of 2018’s much-lauded label compilation Studio Barnhus Volym 1. A relentlessly catchy party starter, Belter combines classic rave elements with cutting edge production techniques and Kamo’s pitch-shifted rapid-fire vocals. Already a key feature in recent sets by the Studio Barnhus posse as well as London top selector Joy O, the latter took it upon himself to remix the track, turning it into an extended broken techno trip, a few shades darker and dubbier than the original. Both vinyl and digital releases come with a full acapella version for all the daredevil djs out there!
New EP from Sofia Kourtesis on Studio Barnhus, following up her instant hit debut from early 2019. Four mind-expanding dancefloor bombs chock-full of intricate rhythms and next-level sampling wizardry.
Sofia Kourtesis makes house music that skirts convention and renounces rote functionality without ever forgetting that its purpose is to make people move – Pitchfork.
Our planet... IS NEXT!? Yes, this is in fact the case, at least according to one Stockholmdwelling, 30-something (wishes-he-was-a) failed pop star, real name Arvid Wretman.
Just how he fell from his position as poster boy of Kärrtorp's ever-vibrant noise scene to the pill-popping, Cher-covering discotheque pleaser standing before us today, we could not tell you. What we do know is that Studio Barnhus stands ready to ride that cash train all the way 'til the bitter end!
So yeah, wanna pop some pills? Or do you wanna chill? Varför alltid dansa och spela det ena? ...and do you, or not, believe in life after love? These and many other questions are posed, but never answered, on this YPIN EP, the starting point of what we hope will be a particularly lucrative bizniz venture between those two powerhouses of Scandi-tronica, Your Planet Is Next and Studio Barnhus.
PS. Your Planet Is Next's live show will bring added marketing value and guaranteed customer satisfaction to your dance party. Contact Studio Barnhus for booking information.