2023 repress

Tracklist:
A1 Sweet Juju (4:45)
A2 Nomalizo (5:10)
A3 Nkedama (4:44)
A4 Hamba Nam We (4:36)
B1 Vumani Makhosi (4:57)
B2 Down By The River (5:09)
B3 The Village (4:25)

Release Notes

Originally released in South Africa in 1983, In The Music… The Village Never Ends is one of those holy grail African records that barely needs any introduction. Featuring the enormous “Nomalizo”, it’s a record that aficionados around the world have been waiting many years for. Now, Be With Records proudly presents the hugely anticipated vinyl reissue of this bona fide classic.

This release is officially licensed and has been lovingly mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis (Claremont 56 mastering engineer). It has been pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl for the first time and features the original, rarely seen artwork.

South African singer Letta Mbulu possesses one of the most beautiful voices the world has ever known. Her immaculate voice emits a sweetness that radiates from deep within, brimming with a joy of life and inspiring a spirit of hope and happiness. On this album, her voice soars over a strident musical force that veers between disco, soul and pop music of the most incredible kind. The gleaming guitars recall disco’s finest hours while the thump of the beats anticipate 80s British soul.

News of this reissue has already been causing a significant stir amongst those in the know so do not sleep on this - you have been warned! More

Format Notes: 2023 First time Worldwide issue, 2 x 140g vinyl, remastered for this edition by Simon Francis

Vinyl Track List:

A1 Tenderly
A2 Mile High Swinger
A3 Alicia

B1 Combustione Lenta
B2 Night Cruise
B3 Waves and Rays

C1 Sky Island
C2 Area Code 868
C3 Sand Steps

D1 Song For My Mother
D2 Yasmin's Theme
D3 Asafuji


Release Notes:

Balearic believers rejoice! Japanese tropical-fusioneers Coastlines are back with the worldwide vinyl release of Coastlines 2. The follow-up to their classic debut, this is the sound of Coastlines's global influences. If the dedication to intricate sonic details is particularly Japanese, the overarching feel captures the sprawling grandeur of the international balearic community. As they put it, Coastlines 2 presents "a more precise and beautifully polished magic hour." If that isn't Balearic, we don't know what is.

Takumi Kaneko and Masanori Ikeda don’t radically alter their sumptuous template with this second LP; and we wouldn't want them to. Yet with a more focused flow from first track to last, both Coastlines and Be With feel this is an even stronger album than their first. One thing that hasn't changed is the use of instrumentals instead of words to express their themes; namely, "the emotional expression of being soaked."

Opener "Tenderly" is appropriately titled, a gentle Latin shuffle easing you back into the Coastlines sound. An organ-heavy synthy exotica that's in step with Lovelock's contemporaneous "Washington Park". Their über-horizontal take on Hawkshaw & Bennett's "Mile High Swinger" (from Synthesiser And Percussion, reissued by Be With!) evokes cocktails-by-the-pool as the sun slowly sets. The blunted deep jazz-funk swing of "Alicia" is a rearranged reimagining of the Gabor Szabo song from his classic Jazz Raga LP. This here sounds like an outtake from The Chronic.

As the sun goes down, "Combustione Lenta" soundtracks the relaxing slow burn of an idyllic bonfire on an isolated beach. Displaying a beautiful new side of Coastlines, we're treated to Moments In Love vibes and melancholic guitar arcs. The piano-laden early morning wonder of "Night Cruise" started life as a completely different song, but the duo found a particularly good loop from the initial sketch and reconstructed it into this sophisticated 80s instrumental soul groove. "Waves And Rays" is all undulating acid waves and lighthouse light. A chopped and screwed steel drum G-Funk with soaring synths and nods toward the squelchy machine soul of Mtume and Jam & Lewis. Yes, *that* good.

The bouncy futureboogie cosmic chug of "Sky Island" represents the beginning of the sunrise, casting images of 80s Japanese fusion and definitely one to play out early doors to get the crowd stepping. "Area Code 868" is the strutting staccato sound of Joe Sample waking up in the Caribbean to craft his piano funk drenched in sunshine. Accordingly, the tentative, naive melodies of "Sand Steps" represent that vivid feeling first thing in the morning, as you step on to the sandy beach in the sunshine and take a deep breath. The world is yours.

The emotional, organ-piano-steel drum-driven "Song For My Mother" is a slo-mo show of sincere gratitude to all the great mothers. "Yasmin's Theme" is Coastlines's Brazilian homage, recalling for them that early summer feeling. It's propelled laconically by the carnival beat of batucada`s big bass surdo drum and complimented by sweeps of warm keys and radiant vocal harmonies. Blissful beatless closer "Asafuji" conjures a scene from a wonderful morning spent with the people of Shizuoka, the symbolic mountain of Japan, Mt Fuji and its inhabitants. It sounds like Dâm-FunK jamming with Sabres Of Paradise.

Coastlines 2 was painstakingly crafted, across the pandemic, at Masanori's rented place in Tokyo and then brought back to his home studio and worked on slowly and repeatedly. With limited time to see each other, the duo became more united in their "consciousness with natural progress."

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios, this magnificent double LP has been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.
More

GENRE/S: House/Deep House/Jazz

TRACKLIST:

A effgee – New Disco Groove
B1 effgee – Pain & Wine
B2 effgee – Lying to yourself

SHORT INFO:

effgee releases the third EP on his imprint fellice – Deep House meets Jazz with a warm, analogue touch. The three tracks featured include various production approaches: “New Disco Groove” evolved over time from a more Disco sounding track into a groovy and dreamy Deep House trip, whereas “Pain & Wine” and “Lying to yourself” take things in a slightly more Jazzy direction. “Lying to yourself” also contains recordings from effgee’s live drumming, with an emotive, Jazz influenced break beat groove.

More

12” vinyl with full cover print

TRACKLIST:

A1 - Don’t Be Stupid Day
A2 - Temple
B1 - Hymn (In The Name Of Fantasy)
B2 - Hymn (In The Name Of Freedom)

INFO:

Announcing the release of Len Faki’s extended debut album, Figure x34 is the first in a series of special EPs that give a glimpse into the body of work which the label head has put together as Fusion over the course of the last two years. Using the double album format, Faki finally found himself free to explore the whole breadth of electronic club culture, inspired by decades worth of his own experiences as a DJ and clubgoer.

Don’t be Stupid Day, centered around the namesake vocal, is a slow-burning, deep techno roller, while Hymn (In The Name of Fantasy) contrasts a dreamy, wisp-like melody with heavy punches of broken up bass. Both cleverly represent the wide variety of sounds found on the more ambient and house-leaning disc 2 of the album.
Disc 1 is a contemporary take on the techno that has defined Faki’s life and career since the 90s. Hymn (In The Name Of Freedom) borrows on the trancey lead synths and booming bass from those early days, making for an unusually euphoric and uplifting Faki track. Finally, Tempel aligns with his reputation as a DJ, steadily layering mechanic percussion for an ever-increasing sense of rhythmic urgency.

A bold introductory statement, Figure x34 already gives an exciting taster of what is to be expected on the full double LP Fusion coming later this year.
Watch out for two more special EPs (x35 / x37) to be released ahead of the final album drop!


More

Genre: Ambient

Tracklist Tape:

A1 Frischling (03:33)
A2 Suhle (03:45)
A3 Gewaff (03:20)
A4 Überläufer (02:48)
B1 Keiler feat. Rudi Albert (03:04)
B2 Leitbache (02:46)
B3 Rauschzeit (03:05)
B4 Kessel (01:53)


Short Info:

Originally born in days of a global lockdown, Johannes Albert gets ready for a second round of Ambient music. "Spessart II" follows the footprints of its predecessor and keeps things mostly quiet yet very thrilling at the same time. Starting off with "Frischling" the beat maker takes us on a calm synth trip through his home forest Spessart, using wild boar - Wildschwein - vocabulary all the way. Sparks of early Downbeat ("Gewaff"), even Trip Hop ("Überläufer") and instrumental Sade ("Leitbache") occur in the well balanced 8 track album. Johannes' dad Rudi adds to the vibe playing the Jagdhorn on "Keiler". If you like the band "The Art Of Noise" you will most likely love this too.

More

Get Physical strides into its 21st year with a reissue of one of its most iconic tunes. M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka
Shade's 'Body Language' has been remastered for the occasion and will be available on vinyl, as well as
digitally and on streaming platforms for the first time ever, with new remixes from HOSH and Patrice
Bäumel.

Tracklist:
01 M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade - Body Language (Patrice Bäumel Remix)
02 M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade - Body Language (HOSH Remix )
03 M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade - Body Language (Original)


M.A.N.D.Y. aka Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung, and Booka Shade, aka Walter Merziger and Arno
Kammermeier, are Get Physical co-founders alongside DJ T., and 'Body Language' is one of the label's, as well
as dance music's, biggest ever tunes. Released in 2005, it defined an entire generation of house music and
spawned myriad copycats in its wake as well as making household names of the artists behind it. It became an
instant classic that worked as well in cosy clubs as it did on festival main stages and it has remained an
ever-green house anthem. The influential track has been sampled many times over the years but nothing beats
the original.
The chunky house drums still sound from the future today, with fleshy hits and warming bass. What makes it such
a standout track, though, is the gorgeous melodic hook that rides up and down the scale. Those soft focus notes
are full of subtle but playful soul that never fails to unify a crowd, bring smiles to faces, and get hands in the air.
The first to remix is acclaimed German artist Patrice Bäumel. He is a master of stylish and deep house and techno
with expressive synth work on labels like Kompakt and his own HALO. His superb version is a complete overhaul
with deeper drums and a sense of late-night tension that is released in glorious fashion when the iconic melody
comes in. It's the sort of tune that is suited to 4 am dance floors and will take things to the next level. The second
remix comes from fellow German HOSH. For many years a core part of the Diynamic family he is also the founder
of the fryhide imprint and an assured underground talent. He layers in some fresh and airy breakbeats to power
along an expansive remix. After a long and atmospheric build with plenty of cosmic synth work, the original
melody arrives during a breakdown and then plays out over the suspensory grooves.
This is a superb package that brings a widely loved favourite back to the fore with contemporary remixes and a
fresh remaster.
More

Equipped with a cassette porta studio and a mic found in a recycling bin, Your Planet Is Next has put together an album of 10 tracks stripped down to their essentials. Half of the them were produced using a Yamaha CS-01 synthesizer and a Yamaha MR-10 drum machine — the perfect 1982 budget combo — while the other half were made solely with a Yamaha CS-10 synthesizer and a Boss DR-55 drum machine, both from the late 70s and budget options even in their heydays. As many times before throughout music history, pristine sound quality had to be sacrificed for pristine creativity... After all, ideas are what makes the world turn, not high fidelity!

A1. I'm The King
A2. Give Yourself A Chance
A3. Disco In The Dogpound
A4. Shake That Big Booty
A5. Light My Fire
B1. Riding In The Wind
B2. Married Couple Dub
B3. Get Off The Phone
B4. Funky City
B5. It Never Gets Old
More

Format: (180 gr., Limited Full Cover)

Track list:

A1 - Soundsystem
A2 - High
B1 - Day by Day
B2 - 909 feat. Emil & Boo Williams (OV remix)

Release Info:

Orlando Voorn is back on Heist after his 2022 ‘Heist mastercuts’ EP and comes in with a heavy dose of soulful machine funk. ‘Heist mastercuts part 2’ has the techno & house veteran showing his eclectic style with the vocal cut ‘Soundsystem’, Midwest inspired sample jam ‘High’ and his Boo Williams collaborative drum workout ‘909’.

On the first Heist mastercuts, Orlando dove deep into his archives and presented a collection of old and new tracks, showing us that his music has aged well and reminding us that he’s a producer still on the top of his game. He kept busy in 2022 with releases on our own label Transient Nature, Kompakt, a handful of Bandcamp only tracks, and a self-released album. Somehow, he found the time to work on his follow up ep on Heist and managed to completely blow us away with the music.

The EP kicks off with Soundsystem: a masterclass in simplicity. A steady and minimalistic groove guides you through the track, where silky vocals and woozy chords take you on a trip through Orlando’s sonic universe. Orlando moves into freak mode with a trippy lead and dubbed-out keys to add some playfulness to an already outstanding track.

‘High’ is Orlando’s take on what could easily be an old Andrés track. Here, he samples a female vocal (I get high, I get high, I get high), and cleverly adds his own vocals to add depth and originality to the track. The percussion on high grooves in an effortless way and underlines the feel of this track: It’s fun, cool and incredibly funky. There’s a bit of Dam Swindle sauce on the mix to make sure this track hits the right spot on any dancefloor.

On the flip, there’s ‘Day by day’: A classic Orlando Voorn cut with a live bassline, plenty of chopped samples and a Rhodes loop that could have come straight from a B-roll of a ‘First Choice’ recording session. The b-side ends with a collab with Orlando’s close friend Emil and legendary Chicago producer Boo Williams. The producers take a monologue from Boo Williams about working the 909 and deliver a drum workout -yes with the 909- that keeps on building energy, showing exactly what Boo is talking about.

The digital package also includes an instrumental mix of Soundsytem and an alternative mix to 909, just for good measure. This is the first artist release in our 10 years of Heist anniversary year and this EP perfectly encapsulates the Heist Sound: varied, deep, soulful, and banging.

Yours sincerely,
Maarten & Lars More

Ambient wrapped Tech House. Deep and dubby. 2018 Debut EP from SL Jung.

Tracklist:
A: A Mirror
B1: Verticalist
B2: Day Out
More

Format: 7” inches – Vinyl Only - Black Vinyl

Tracklisting:
A1 Baile en el Infierno – Conjunto Media Luna feat. Maria Mallol Moya
B1 Villa Incepcion - Conjunto Media Luna
Description:
“Baile en el Infierno” & “Villa Incepciòn” are the new singles from Bogota-based cumbia
band Conjunto Media Luna. Directed by accordionist and producer Ivan Medellin, Conjunto
Media Luna makes a sound shift towards fresher and more street sounds influenced by the
Sonideros from Monterrey, and the Chicano movement of the Low Rider Kumbias from
California. However, Conjunto Media Luna still sticks to their roots by homaging the
original format of the traditional Cumbia Sabanera from the Montes de Maria region of
Colombia and including accordion licks that remind of Andres Landero’s style.
Edition of 500 copies, coming in a plastic sleeve including artwork printed cardboard.
Pressed on high quality Black vinyl wax (40 gr.). More

Format: 7” inches – Vinyl Only - Magenta Vinyl

Tracklisting:
A1 Baile en el Infierno – Conjunto Media Luna feat. Maria Mallol Moya
B1 Villa Incepcion - Conjunto Media Luna
Description:
“Baile en el Infierno” & “Villa Incepciòn” are the new singles from Bogota-based cumbia
band Conjunto Media Luna. Directed by accordionist and producer Ivan Medellin, Conjunto
Media Luna makes a sound shift towards fresher and more street sounds influenced by the
Sonideros from Monterrey, and the Chicano movement of the Low Rider Kumbias from
California. However, Conjunto Media Luna still sticks to their roots by homaging the
original format of the traditional Cumbia Sabanera from the Montes de Maria region of
Colombia and including accordion licks that remind of Andres Landero’s style.
Edition of 500 copies, coming in a plastic sleeve including artwork printed cardboard.
Pressed on high quality Magenta vinyl wax (40 gr.). More

12"
GENRE/S: Techno, Breaks.

TRACKLISTS:
12''

A1) Not A Headliner - We are not the same
A2) DJ HANDIKAP - Prayer 007 (Remake)
B1) DJ HANDIKAP - Overdrive
B2) Not A Headliner - Emotional Boys

Digital

Not A Headliner - We are not the same
DJ Handikap - Prayer 007 (Remake)
DJ Handikap - Overdrive
Not A Headliner - Emotional Boys

SHORT INFO:
First release of the new label "Label Battle Series" a collaboration between Global Offensive Corporation (Globoffcorp) and Unsolved Label. Split EP by Not A Headliner and DJ HANDIKAP

More

Rights: World excluding Fr & UK

CD : 1 x CD, Gatefold sleeve UV gloss finish + Black Inner sleeve.

TRACKLIST CD:
1. Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song) (feat. The Mediaeval Baebes)
2. Day One (feat. Dina Ipavic)
3. Are You Alive? (feat. Penelope Isles)
4. You Are The Frequency (feat. The Little Pest)
5. The New Abnormal
6. Home (feat. Anna B Savage)
7. Dirty Rat – With Sleaford Mods
8. Requiem For The Pre Apocalypse
9. What A Surprise (feat. The Little Pest)
10. Moon Princess (feat. Coppe)

SHORT INFOS :

Legendary electronic music duo Orbital return Early 2023 with new album “Optical Delusion”, the Hartnoll brothers first studio album since 2018’s Monster’s Exist. Recorded in Orbital’s Brighton studio, “Optical Delusion” includes contributions from Sleaford Mods, Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and perhaps most surprisingly, The Medieval Baebes.
Earlier this year, Orbital celebrated their storied history with “30 Something” which, unlike other Best Of’s, contains reworks, remakes, remixes and re-imaginings of landmark Orbital tracks including “Chime”, “Belfast”, “Halcyon”, “Satan”, and “The Box”

SHORT BIOG:

“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest [of humanity] – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”

You many have seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein on social media, the archetypal Smartest Guy Ever apparently having an out-of-character religious epiphany. It certainly leapt out at Paul Hartnoll of Orbital who spotted it in Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

“As soon as I saw ‘optical delusion’ I thought Oh hey, that’s the album title,” says Paul. “It just seemed to say so much about how people construct their own realities, how we see patterns that aren’t there, how we see what we want to see.

“But it’s actually a misquote. He never quite said that. In the German original what he’s really saying is that human experience is as relative as physics. Wouldn’t it be good if we could accept that, and find a kind of universal theory of everything for the human race? Then you look at everything from history to art to your Twitter feed and you think yeah, that’s what we’re all trying to do all of the time…”

Hence ‘Optical Delusion’, the tenth original Orbital album and the latest in a burst of renewed post-pandemic creativity for two brothers who’ve stayed at the top of their game longer than anyone from the post-1988 Class of Acid House.

Now with ‘Optical Delusion’ the Hartnolls dig deeper into the unquiet psyche of our increasingly surreal and disordered world. Sketched out partly during lockdown but fully recorded in the uncertain After Times, the album summons up conflicting emotions and sometimes beguiling images from years when the science fiction doomsdays that the Hartnolls watched on TV as kids finally came true. There are mesmeric tracks with names like ‘The New Abnormal’ and ‘Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse’ and ‘Day One’. But there are also straight-up bangers and ethereal cosmic dreams, abstract sound wars and deeply human songs of separation and loss.

And it all starts with a bang. Lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, an outright Fall-meets-Front-242 class rant with vocals by Sleaford Mods mob orator Jason Williamson, harks right back to the Hartnolls’ days of politicised anarcho-squatpunk. It began as a remix swap (Orbital did the Sleafords’ ‘I Don’t Rate You’) and morphed into a comic, brutal, bass-driven harangue not so much against our rulers but at the petty, mean-spirited, frightened, Mail-reading voters who put them there: the people who are “blaming everyone in hospital/blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel/blaming everyone who doesn’t look like a fried animal.”

Also key to the album is opening track ‘Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song)’ which returns to an Orbital truism, that time always becomes a loop. This chugging, cyclical Orbital groove gives way to an unnerving past-meets-present timeslip fit for ‘Sapphire And Steel’ as goth maenads The Mediaeval Baebes materialise to sing ‘Ring O’Roses’ – the innocent nursery rhyme whose roots are in the Black Death.

“I’ve always liked folk music and mediaeval sounds,” says Paul, himself an occasional Morris dancer. “I had the basis of that track and I wanted to spin it off somehow.” Trawling his archives he stumbled on The Mediaeval Baebes’ version of ‘Ring O’Roses’ “and my hackles just went up. I was like, my God, this is the original pandemic folk song.”

?his being Orbital, there are collaborations galore on the album, the roles once played by Alison Goldfrapp, Lady Leshurr or David Gray now filled by new talents. London singer-songwriter Anna B Savage contributes a compellingly fragile, Anohni-like vocal to ‘Home’, in which nature reclaims the scorched and vacant mega-cities. ‘Day One’ is a pulsing techno track featuring the singer Dina Ipavic. Paul got in touch with her after working on a score for a sculpture show of giant robotic installations by his friend Giles Walker during the pandemic. First Paul cut up his own score and Ipavic’s vocals on the track The Crane, which appears on the deluxe version of the album. Then he thought, Why not work with her for real? The result is school of ‘Belfast’, a bassy dreamscape with vocalised clouds billowing above.

The pensive ‘Are You ?live?’ adds to the Orbital product range of existential questions (‘Are We Here?’, ‘Where Is It Going?’) in collaboration Bella Union signings Penelope Isles, AKA brother and sister act Lily and Jack Wolter. “They’re our studio mates, they work upstairs!” says Paul happily. “And they’ve both got amazing voices.”


But Orbital are Orbital and never far from the dancefloor. “Eventually the more abrasive bits came back into the fold…” ‘You Are The Frequency’, first of two tracks to feature mysterious vocalist The Little Pest, surrounds the listener with warped voices ordering you to the dancefloor (Phil: “we wanted the idea that the music is kind of absorbing you”). And the second, the sinister ‘What A Surprise’, traps you in a paranoid electronic hall of mirrors.

In another nod to Orbital’s resurgent past the cover artwork once again comes from fine art painter John Greenwood, creator of fantastical grotesques for the covers of ‘Snivilisation’, ‘In Sides’ and Orbital’s most recent album, 2018’s ‘Monsters Exist’. Orbital had just had a slick Mark Farrow cover for ‘30 Something’ – this is a return to the overripe and bulbous techno-organic constructions that somehow express Orbital’s own uncontrollably fertile sound.

There are gaps in the future that Orbital are desperate to fill too; there will be tours and festivals and rooms and fields full of people. Those long paralysed months when we had little to look forward to but a Zoom DJ set made Paul and Phil appreciate the things that make life worth living.
More

Rights: World excluding Fr & UK

DOUBLE BLACK LP : 2 x 140 G Black Vinyl , Sleeve & 2 x Heavy Weight Printed Inner with UV Gloss Finish

TRACKLIST DOUBLE VINYLS:
A1. Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song) (feat. The Mediaeval Baebes)
A2. Day One (feat. Dina Ipavic)
A3. Are You Alive? (feat. Penelope Isles)

B1. You Are The Frequency (feat. The Little Pest)
B2. The New Abnormal

C1. Home (feat. Anna B Savage)
C2. Dirty Rat
C3. Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse

D1. What A Surprise (feat. The Little Pest)
D2. Moon Princess (feat. Coppe)

SHORT INFOS :

Legendary electronic music duo Orbital return Early 2023 with new album “Optical Delusion”, the Hartnoll brothers first studio album since 2018’s Monster’s Exist. Recorded in Orbital’s Brighton studio, “Optical Delusion” includes contributions from Sleaford Mods, Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and perhaps most surprisingly, The Medieval Baebes.
Earlier this year, Orbital celebrated their storied history with “30 Something” which, unlike other Best Of’s, contains reworks, remakes, remixes and re-imaginings of landmark Orbital tracks including “Chime”, “Belfast”, “Halcyon”, “Satan”, and “The Box”

SHORT BIOG:

“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest [of humanity] – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”

You many have seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein on social media, the archetypal Smartest Guy Ever apparently having an out-of-character religious epiphany. It certainly leapt out at Paul Hartnoll of Orbital who spotted it in Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

“As soon as I saw ‘optical delusion’ I thought Oh hey, that’s the album title,” says Paul. “It just seemed to say so much about how people construct their own realities, how we see patterns that aren’t there, how we see what we want to see.

“But it’s actually a misquote. He never quite said that. In the German original what he’s really saying is that human experience is as relative as physics. Wouldn’t it be good if we could accept that, and find a kind of universal theory of everything for the human race? Then you look at everything from history to art to your Twitter feed and you think yeah, that’s what we’re all trying to do all of the time…”

Hence ‘Optical Delusion’, the tenth original Orbital album and the latest in a burst of renewed post-pandemic creativity for two brothers who’ve stayed at the top of their game longer than anyone from the post-1988 Class of Acid House.

Now with ‘Optical Delusion’ the Hartnolls dig deeper into the unquiet psyche of our increasingly surreal and disordered world. Sketched out partly during lockdown but fully recorded in the uncertain After Times, the album summons up conflicting emotions and sometimes beguiling images from years when the science fiction doomsdays that the Hartnolls watched on TV as kids finally came true. There are mesmeric tracks with names like ‘The New Abnormal’ and ‘Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse’ and ‘Day One’. But there are also straight-up bangers and ethereal cosmic dreams, abstract sound wars and deeply human songs of separation and loss.

And it all starts with a bang. Lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, an outright Fall-meets-Front-242 class rant with vocals by Sleaford Mods mob orator Jason Williamson, harks right back to the Hartnolls’ days of politicised anarcho-squatpunk. It began as a remix swap (Orbital did the Sleafords’ ‘I Don’t Rate You’) and morphed into a comic, brutal, bass-driven harangue not so much against our rulers but at the petty, mean-spirited, frightened, Mail-reading voters who put them there: the people who are “blaming everyone in hospital/blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel/blaming everyone who doesn’t look like a fried animal.”

Also key to the album is opening track ‘Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song)’ which returns to an Orbital truism, that time always becomes a loop. This chugging, cyclical Orbital groove gives way to an unnerving past-meets-present timeslip fit for ‘Sapphire And Steel’ as goth maenads The Mediaeval Baebes materialise to sing ‘Ring O’Roses’ – the innocent nursery rhyme whose roots are in the Black Death.

“I’ve always liked folk music and mediaeval sounds,” says Paul, himself an occasional Morris dancer. “I had the basis of that track and I wanted to spin it off somehow.” Trawling his archives he stumbled on The Mediaeval Baebes’ version of ‘Ring O’Roses’ “and my hackles just went up. I was like, my God, this is the original pandemic folk song.”

?his being Orbital, there are collaborations galore on the album, the roles once played by Alison Goldfrapp, Lady Leshurr or David Gray now filled by new talents. London singer-songwriter Anna B Savage contributes a compellingly fragile, Anohni-like vocal to ‘Home’, in which nature reclaims the scorched and vacant mega-cities. ‘Day One’ is a pulsing techno track featuring the singer Dina Ipavic. Paul got in touch with her after working on a score for a sculpture show of giant robotic installations by his friend Giles Walker during the pandemic. First Paul cut up his own score and Ipavic’s vocals on the track The Crane, which appears on the deluxe version of the album. Then he thought, Why not work with her for real? The result is school of ‘Belfast’, a bassy dreamscape with vocalised clouds billowing above.

The pensive ‘Are You ?live?’ adds to the Orbital product range of existential questions (‘Are We Here?’, ‘Where Is It Going?’) in collaboration Bella Union signings Penelope Isles, AKA brother and sister act Lily and Jack Wolter. “They’re our studio mates, they work upstairs!” says Paul happily. “And they’ve both got amazing voices.”


But Orbital are Orbital and never far from the dancefloor. “Eventually the more abrasive bits came back into the fold…” ‘You Are The Frequency’, first of two tracks to feature mysterious vocalist The Little Pest, surrounds the listener with warped voices ordering you to the dancefloor (Phil: “we wanted the idea that the music is kind of absorbing you”). And the second, the sinister ‘What A Surprise’, traps you in a paranoid electronic hall of mirrors.

In another nod to Orbital’s resurgent past the cover artwork once again comes from fine art painter John Greenwood, creator of fantastical grotesques for the covers of ‘Snivilisation’, ‘In Sides’ and Orbital’s most recent album, 2018’s ‘Monsters Exist’. Orbital had just had a slick Mark Farrow cover for ‘30 Something’ – this is a return to the overripe and bulbous techno-organic constructions that somehow express Orbital’s own uncontrollably fertile sound.

There are gaps in the future that Orbital are desperate to fill too; there will be tours and festivals and rooms and fields full of people. Those long paralysed months when we had little to look forward to but a Zoom DJ set made Paul and Phil appreciate the things that make life worth living.
More

Rights: World excluding Fr & UK

2 x Solid White LP, 5mm spine Sleeve UV Gloss Finish, 2x Heavy Weight Printed Inner Sleeve UV Gloss finish, marketing sticker.

TRACKLIST DOUBLE VINYLS:
A1. Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song) (feat. The Mediaeval Baebes)
A2. Day One (feat. Dina Ipavic)
A3. Are You Alive? (feat. Penelope Isles)

B1. You Are The Frequency (feat. The Little Pest)
B2. The New Abnormal

C1. Home (feat. Anna B Savage)
C2. Dirty Rat
C3. Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse

D1. What A Surprise (feat. The Little Pest)
D2. Moon Princess (feat. Coppe)

SHORT INFOS :

Legendary electronic music duo Orbital return Early 2023 with new album “Optical Delusion”, the Hartnoll brothers first studio album since 2018’s Monster’s Exist. Recorded in Orbital’s Brighton studio, “Optical Delusion” includes contributions from Sleaford Mods, Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and perhaps most surprisingly, The Medieval Baebes.
Earlier this year, Orbital celebrated their storied history with “30 Something” which, unlike other Best Of’s, contains reworks, remakes, remixes and re-imaginings of landmark Orbital tracks including “Chime”, “Belfast”, “Halcyon”, “Satan”, and “The Box”

SHORT BIOG:

“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest [of humanity] – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”

You many have seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein on social media, the archetypal Smartest Guy Ever apparently having an out-of-character religious epiphany. It certainly leapt out at Paul Hartnoll of Orbital who spotted it in Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

“As soon as I saw ‘optical delusion’ I thought Oh hey, that’s the album title,” says Paul. “It just seemed to say so much about how people construct their own realities, how we see patterns that aren’t there, how we see what we want to see.

“But it’s actually a misquote. He never quite said that. In the German original what he’s really saying is that human experience is as relative as physics. Wouldn’t it be good if we could accept that, and find a kind of universal theory of everything for the human race? Then you look at everything from history to art to your Twitter feed and you think yeah, that’s what we’re all trying to do all of the time…”

Hence ‘Optical Delusion’, the tenth original Orbital album and the latest in a burst of renewed post-pandemic creativity for two brothers who’ve stayed at the top of their game longer than anyone from the post-1988 Class of Acid House.

Now with ‘Optical Delusion’ the Hartnolls dig deeper into the unquiet psyche of our increasingly surreal and disordered world. Sketched out partly during lockdown but fully recorded in the uncertain After Times, the album summons up conflicting emotions and sometimes beguiling images from years when the science fiction doomsdays that the Hartnolls watched on TV as kids finally came true. There are mesmeric tracks with names like ‘The New Abnormal’ and ‘Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse’ and ‘Day One’. But there are also straight-up bangers and ethereal cosmic dreams, abstract sound wars and deeply human songs of separation and loss.

And it all starts with a bang. Lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, an outright Fall-meets-Front-242 class rant with vocals by Sleaford Mods mob orator Jason Williamson, harks right back to the Hartnolls’ days of politicised anarcho-squatpunk. It began as a remix swap (Orbital did the Sleafords’ ‘I Don’t Rate You’) and morphed into a comic, brutal, bass-driven harangue not so much against our rulers but at the petty, mean-spirited, frightened, Mail-reading voters who put them there: the people who are “blaming everyone in hospital/blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel/blaming everyone who doesn’t look like a fried animal.”

Also key to the album is opening track ‘Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song)’ which returns to an Orbital truism, that time always becomes a loop. This chugging, cyclical Orbital groove gives way to an unnerving past-meets-present timeslip fit for ‘Sapphire And Steel’ as goth maenads The Mediaeval Baebes materialise to sing ‘Ring O’Roses’ – the innocent nursery rhyme whose roots are in the Black Death.

“I’ve always liked folk music and mediaeval sounds,” says Paul, himself an occasional Morris dancer. “I had the basis of that track and I wanted to spin it off somehow.” Trawling his archives he stumbled on The Mediaeval Baebes’ version of ‘Ring O’Roses’ “and my hackles just went up. I was like, my God, this is the original pandemic folk song.”

?his being Orbital, there are collaborations galore on the album, the roles once played by Alison Goldfrapp, Lady Leshurr or David Gray now filled by new talents. London singer-songwriter Anna B Savage contributes a compellingly fragile, Anohni-like vocal to ‘Home’, in which nature reclaims the scorched and vacant mega-cities. ‘Day One’ is a pulsing techno track featuring the singer Dina Ipavic. Paul got in touch with her after working on a score for a sculpture show of giant robotic installations by his friend Giles Walker during the pandemic. First Paul cut up his own score and Ipavic’s vocals on the track The Crane, which appears on the deluxe version of the album. Then he thought, Why not work with her for real? The result is school of ‘Belfast’, a bassy dreamscape with vocalised clouds billowing above.

The pensive ‘Are You ?live?’ adds to the Orbital product range of existential questions (‘Are We Here?’, ‘Where Is It Going?’) in collaboration Bella Union signings Penelope Isles, AKA brother and sister act Lily and Jack Wolter. “They’re our studio mates, they work upstairs!” says Paul happily. “And they’ve both got amazing voices.”


But Orbital are Orbital and never far from the dancefloor. “Eventually the more abrasive bits came back into the fold…” ‘You Are The Frequency’, first of two tracks to feature mysterious vocalist The Little Pest, surrounds the listener with warped voices ordering you to the dancefloor (Phil: “we wanted the idea that the music is kind of absorbing you”). And the second, the sinister ‘What A Surprise’, traps you in a paranoid electronic hall of mirrors.

In another nod to Orbital’s resurgent past the cover artwork once again comes from fine art painter John Greenwood, creator of fantastical grotesques for the covers of ‘Snivilisation’, ‘In Sides’ and Orbital’s most recent album, 2018’s ‘Monsters Exist’. Orbital had just had a slick Mark Farrow cover for ‘30 Something’ – this is a return to the overripe and bulbous techno-organic constructions that somehow express Orbital’s own uncontrollably fertile sound.

There are gaps in the future that Orbital are desperate to fill too; there will be tours and festivals and rooms and fields full of people. Those long paralysed months when we had little to look forward to but a Zoom DJ set made Paul and Phil appreciate the things that make life worth living.
More

NON EXCL-LP+INSERT
LIMITED TO 500COPIES

In his youth days, Gontran lived on the road. He describes himself as a member of the alternative hippie generation, not of those who claimed wanted to change the world, but of those who actually took an alternate way of living. He travelled, took any jobs available to make some money to live wherever he was, and wrote beautiful songs accompaining himself on guitar. From time to time, when the stars aligned, when there was the chance, he would rent some studio time and lay down his compositions, always in a pretty bare way with little arrangements added on the spot, mostly by musicians who happened to be there and who improvised their parts - one take, we have it. With this procedure he released Funambule in 1975 and L'envol in 1977. He also worked with Dominique Le Roux on a joint venture LP in 1979.



On offer here is the first ever vinyl reissue of Gontran's second album L'envol, recorded in two hours on a Paris studio with a bass player (F.D. Aldonse) and two female vocalists whose surnames have been lost in the depths of time - Victorine and Theodorine. As the other Gontran albums, it was self released in a limited run private pressing which has nowadays become an elusive piece in the collectors market - so rare that it doesn't even appear on Phileas Folk's great The French Folk Magic Time Guide book.



The beautiful music contained within is a delightful sample of Gontran's excellent singer-songwriter qualities and his commitment to portray his inner world and livings through his musicated poems. He names as his biggest influences big names like Leonard Cohen, who he had the chance to meet and chat with when in Mumbai back in 1999, Bob Dylan or Jack Kerouak, but Gontran was centered in his vivences and commited to his need to express himself that he really doesn't sound like anyone but Gontran.



Amazing homemade folk sounds from an artist who, ironically, was always traveling abroad and stayed little at home!



A very rare private pressing, recently featured in Hans Pokora's last Record Collector Dreams book, valuing an original copy with 4 stars!



The Wah Wah reissue has been made with the great help of Gontran himself and features a faithfull reproduction of the original album artwork with the addition of an insert with photos, lyrics and liner notes. It is an edition of 300 copies only!



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NON EXCL-LP+Gatefold+INSERT
LIMITED TO 500COPIES
Recorded in 1973 at the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Paddington, London, Unfinished Picture is Rupert Hine's second LP. The songs where all composed by Hine with lyrics by David McIver and Simon Jeffries. On its sessions, Hine was surrounded by a host of outstanding musicians that included Simon Jeffes (Penguin Cafe Orchestra), Mike Giles (Giles, Giles & Fripp / King Crimson), Mick Waller (Cyril Davis, The Steampacket, Jeff Beck Group), Ray Cooper (Eric Clapton, Elton John) among others.



Rupert Hine's recording adventures started with the release of a 7" 45 by the folk duo Rupert & David "The Sounds Of Silence". In 1971 he was approached by Purple Records for the release of his debut solo LP Pick Up A Bone, which despite its lack of commercial success featured a strong collection of critically acclaimed compositions that made Purple Records want him to record a second album - Unfinished Picture, on which Hine showed a fantastic evolution to a more conceptual, cinematic approach. Echoes of Ray Davies, Kevin Ayers or hints of Nick Drake taken to a more 'happy' territoire mix with beautiful strings by The Martyn Ford Orange Ensemble and even some ARP synth explorations to build a fantastic collection of sounds that take the listener on a trip through the worlds of folk, psych and prog.



Hine's career would soon take off as a famed producer, he did work with Kevin Ayers, Milla Jovovich, Jonesy, Steve Tilston, Anthony Phillips, Camel, Saga, Rush, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Bob Geldof, Suzane Vega, and many others.



The Wah Wah reissue offers the original artwork in its gatefold cover & insert and is limited to 500 copies only!

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NON EXCL-LP - First ever release with Moncollin's art on cover and liner notes by himself. Limited to 500 copies only!

ADN Ckrystall is the pseudonym of French synth experimentalist Érick Moncollin. Armed with a Crumar, Multiman 52 with brass pedal and sustain/volume pedal, two Kawai Synthi 100-F, Roland CR-65, Korg PS-3200, Roland Jupiter-4, a Boss flanger, MXR phasing and a TEAC 8-track recorder he produced his first LP, Jazz'Mad, with the help of synth expert sound engineer benoit Hutin. The LP was self-released in 1982 to critic aclaim and generated a fan base that has turned it into a timeless classic, having been reissued four times since then.



But what most people don't know is that Moncollin produced a second album with songs written 1982/1983 that has remained unreleased ever since. Only recently he found the tapes in his parents' house and transfered them for it's first ever vinyl release.



More

NON EXCL-LP+INSERT+SINGLE
LIMITED TO 500COPIES

Nirvana's third LP is a masterpiece of late UK sixties popsike turning into symphonic pop, but not having received proper promotion despite being equally good as, if not better than their previous releases, it also marked the end of the collaborations between Patrick Campbel-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos back in 1969.



Nirvana presented it to Island boss Chris Blackwell under the title of Black Flower. Blackwell, however, decided to turn it down for release, but gave the masters to Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos so they could find a new label to release the album. That was to happen in the USA through Metromedia Records in 1969. At that time, the label's owner went through a scandal due to the payola days, which left Nirvana's third offering without any promotion - as a result of that, very few copies were pressed. There was also a UK release on PYE and it was even released by Metromedia in Japan. However, for years it remained as "the lost" Nirvana release, with the added fact that none of the released editions launched the album under its original title of Black Flower but under the rather cryptic Dedicated To Markos II (read why in the liner notes!).



Musically, this is Nirvana at their best. The tune that should have been the title track, Black Flower, is an incredible piece of symphonic psychedelia and probably the best produced Nirvana track ever. Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos were backed for the occasion by Spooky Tooth, who played on many tracks of the album, and big orchestral arrangements mesmerize the listener in one of the duo's darkest offerings. This song aside, the rest of the album was deemed as sounding too much like a French soundtrack by Island, which may do at some points –without that being a bad thing,– but there is a lot more to it, since Nirvana have not lost that popsike edge that characterised their sound in their two previous outings.



This is also a record that was widely acclaimed in the hip hop scene. And samplers of it have been used by several artists, most notably DJ Shadow used Love Suite in his 1996 debut album Endtroducing.



The Wah Wah edition has been remastered from the original tapes by Roger Prades @ Prades Mastering and comes with a bonus 7" EP and a four page colour insert with liner notes by Malcom Dome, plus a sheet with the lyrics of the songs. First ever official vinyl reissue since 1970 in a limited edition of 500 copies only! More

NON EXCL-LP - housed in the original gatefold sleeve and features one bonus track with the 1971 single version of TheSaddest Day Of My Life. It's the first ever official vinyl reissue since 1971.

After Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos dissolved their partnership, they both went separate ways in the music scene. Campbell-Lyons began work on the Local Anaesthetic songs while going through a series of personal matters which ended up being reflected in the tone of the album. He did release it under the Nirvana name in 1971, but what we have here is a totally different thing. He decided to break with what had been doing up to that moment, and came up with an experimental progressive rock album that was perfectly suited for the Vertigo label through which it was released. Musically, it has been compared to "something Frank Zappa could have done". It was not inspired by Zappa, but it certainly explored similar boundaries as he may have done in his works, often moving away from that pop sensitivity that had characterized Nirvana's previous outings. A unique sounding piece in their catalogue.



And although being so far from what was the Nirvana sound, we have another excellent LP here that has become a most sought after piece among collectors. Pianist/keyboardist Patrick Joseph "Pete" Kelly helped Campbell-Lyons complete the LP, which also featured collaborations by Jon Field, with whom Campbell-Lyons had the pre-Nirvana band Second Thoughts and who would later go to form The Tomcats, July and Jade Warrior - Jade Warrior's Tony Duhig had also played in Second Thoughts. Some brass arrangements are thrown in, but the orchestra is gone in favour of a harder free form, prog-rock sound.



The Wah Wah reissue is housed in the original gatefold sleeve and features one bonus track with the 1971 single version of TheSaddest Day Of My Life. It's the first ever official vinyl reissue since 1971. 500 copies only! More

NON EXCL-LP - Housed in a glossy textured reproduction of the original sleeve and featuring two bonus tracks not on the original release. 500 copies only! The Wah Wah edition is the first ever official vinyl edition since 1971.

Once again a work by Patrick Campbell-Lyons without Alex Spyropoulos, this time Songs Of Love And Praise showed a return to a more classic Nirvana sound. Campbell-Lyons revisited two of the most loved songs by the band, Pentecost Hotel from their debut LP and Rainbow Chaser from their second one. The album opens precisely with the amazing uptempo beat of Rainbow Chaser, which while sounding faithful to the original recording, it comes with a totally different approach on the arrangements. Campbell-Lyons states on the liners that he went for a step further in that field, and looked for a jazzy atmosphere. It sets the tone of the album: upbeat good vibrations songs that differ from the dark mood of the previous Local Anaesthetic LP and that besides these two songs revisited presents all new material.



Uplifted and positive, Songs Of Love And Praise gives what the title promises to take the classic Nirvana sound from their first three albums one step further with the collaboration of Bobby Harrison (Procol Harum, Snafu) Lesley Duncan, Maggie Bell and Sylvia Schuster (who had already played live with Nirvana at the time of their debut album).



More

Tracklist:
A. In Aggregate
B. Carob

about:
One of techno's most joyous experimentators delivers two intriguing uptempo tracks. Instead of hitting
hard and heavy 'In Aggregate' and 'Carob' float delicately, with explosive detail blooming freely and
high above what feels rather like a bass-ladden undercurrent than a persistent kick drum foundation.
Both tracks expand on Stefan Goldmann's extensive polyrhythmic research and integrate tonal and
metric functions within the same units of sound. Somewhat radically, the central sound of 'Carob' is all
in one: beat, bassline and single-note melody. By contrast, 'In Aggregate' unfolds lush layers of
exuberant percussion, countered by rounded drops of bass and an occasional vocal snippet
ricocheting off of claustrophobia-inducing walls of glass.
As future-forward as they are organic, these offerings come with appropriately idiosyncratic artwork by
Jorinde Voigt. Printed on inside-out heavy paper cover + a printed inner sleeve. More

NON EXCL-LP +INSERT

Clasic debut album by Epic Soundtracks from The Swell Maps.



Collaborations by Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) , Rowland S. Howard (The Birthday Party) and Martyn P Casey (The Bad Seeds).



Strings arrangements by Henry Olsen.



Insert with unseen pictures and liner notes by Chris Coleman.



“Rise Above is an album that fell through the cracks – in 1992, records by singer-songwriters were more likely to be ignored than they were 20 years before in the early 1970’s or would be 20 years later in the early 2010’s. It was certainly critically acclaimed but unnoticed by the world at large. Time, surely, for these dozen classic songs to be re-assessed." (Chris Coleman)



“Rise Above is a work of pensive autumnal fragility and of such high quality, that it would be a monumental injustice to halt the fresh flow of Epic’s muse.” (Melody Maker)



“One of the “10 Best Albums Of The Year” (Spin)



"A gem out of left field... A bounty of delightfully anachronistic rock tunes here, in league with the best of Alex Chilton." (Billboard)



“...it’s even Mr Soundtracks’ version of Dennis Wilson’s “Pacific Ocean Blue”. People will come across “Rise Above” in ten years’ time and wonder where the hell it came from. For now, here’s the out-of-the-blue album of 1992." ( Select magazine’s Andrew Perry)



TRACKLIST



FALLEN DOWN

FARMER’S DAUGHTER

RUTHLESS

EVERYBODY ELSE IS WRONG

I FEEL GOOD

BIG APPLE GRAVEYARD

I DON’T KNOW

MEET ME ON THE BEACH

SAD SONG

SHE SLEEPS ALONE / LOVE FUCKS YOU UP

WILD SITUATION

SHE SLEEPS ALONE

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NON EXCL-LP

Recorded in Austin at Vine Studios with Kyle Crusham (Paul Simon, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians), Cactus Lee has returned with a six song album titled “Perfect Middle Hall.” This album signals a change in approach to Dehan’s previous self recorded albums and yields a fuller sound. In addition to Dehan on guitars and vocals is John Bush (New Bohemians) on conga / percussion / drums and Alice Stewart (Shinyribs) with added vocals.



TRACKLIST

SIDE 1

GOING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN

PERE LACHAISE

SLOWLY BY



SIDE2

PERFECT MIDDLE HALL

ADELINE

KANGAROO

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repress, blue marbled limited version

GENRE/S: House, Acid House, Disco

TRACKLIST:
A1 DSDN (vocal mix)
A2 DSDN (303 city dub)
B1 DSDN (instrumental mix)
B2 DSDN (303 instrumental dub)

SHORT INFO:

The label imprint of the beloved Berlin based club Paloma delivers its eighth release, and it was created by none other than a vogueing encyclopedia of musical and club culture knowledge (plus a cherished Paloma resident DJ). The disco professor: Daniel Wang.
It is his first original production under his own name in many years, and you can easily tell that this is not a tool to join in with dancefloor conformity (after all, his first album was called Idealism for a reason). Daniel Wang had already evolved from innocently enthusiastic sampling to synth wizardry during the heyday of his legendary Balihu label, and while studying the masters, he became one himself.
DSDN is an ode to nocturnal Berlin and its party community, a city that never left the centre of international attention for its vital and influential scene. Daniel Wang is a part of it since twenty years, and he was influenced by what he experienced as much as he left his mark on many nights, both as a DJ, and as a producer.
Of course, this release follows the traditional structure of a Disco EP by using a main tune DSDN with complementing dubs and instrumentals. Four to be exact, because four is the magic number with this format. DSDN reflects the internationality of the clubs across town in English and German words and pays homage to all the districts, and it effortlessly manages to unite sounds of both 80s NYC and Italo disco, 90s NYC and Italo house, synthpop and rap before it became too successful, balearic vibes before they became a mere excuse, and then it just majestically unfolds into both a charming summer hit and a complex opus magnum, but all an aural sunbeam that blows a kiss to those who emerge from recent sensations in clubs, bars, parks, and streets. Alone or together, happy or sad, resolute or irresolute, tired or energized, or all at once.
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Tracklist

A1 Session Victim Extended Remix
A2 Session Victim Dub Mix

B1 Bella Boo Remix
B2 Original



Short Info

40 Thieves classic hit "Don't Turn It Off" feat. Qzen on vocals gets the 2023 update with new versions by Sweden's finest Bella Boo and professional boundaries pushers Session Victim. Both remixes bring new facets of the original to the forefront and shine new light on this Permanent Vacation classic, which was initially releaseed in 2008.
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12”

GENRE/S: House

TRACKLIST:

A rumour
B seven eleven

SHORT INFO:

One for a sundowner: “rumour” is the first single of isolée’s upcoming album “resort island”, his first proper long-player since 2011's „well spent youth“ on pampa records. With its glittering strings and buzzing bass „rumour“ feels like a warm embrace. The groove as well as its textures and soundscapes will take you (and you friends) out there to resort island watching a vast mirror ball rising up over the horizon..
The EP „rumour“ sees the release on isolée’s own new record label „resort island“ on February 24, and comes with an exclusiv epic B side track - entitled “seven eleven” - that will not be on the Album. This is deep in thought house music that levitates between intoxicated ecstasy and escapism.
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GENRE/S: Drone, Electronica, Doom

TRACKLISTS:
A1 - IT TOOK THE NIGHT TO DISBELIEVE
A2 - ENGINE OF FUTURE RUINS
B1 - IMPERIAL GHOSTS
B2 - SINK THE BISMARCK
B3 - BREATHE THE FREQUENCY
C1 - IT TOOK THE NIGHT TO DISBELIEVE - LAMIN FOFANA REWORK
C2 - ENGINE OF FUTURE RUINS - FRKTL REWORK
C3 - IMPERIAL GHOSTS - ELSA M‘BALA REWORK
D1 - SINK THE BISMARCK - CEDRIK FERMONT REWORK
D2 - BREATHE THE FREQUENCY - JAY GLASS DUBS REWORK

SHORT INFO:
AMP WALL MONUMENT CONFRONTATION critically engages with the imperialist history of the Otto von Bismarck Monument at the Deutsches Museum in Munich by re-contextualising it through sound and performance. For one day in June 2021, a sculpture made of 21 guitar amplifiers was installed in front of the monument, with seven electric guitars connected to it. Seven guitarists performed a four-hour drone composition.

Sides A and B comprise arrangements of the sound material recorded on site, taking up the structure of the score. Sides C and D feature interpretations of the same material by Lamin Fofana, Sarah Badr aka FRKTL, Elsa M'bala, Cedrik Fermont and Jay Glass Dubs. The LP is accompanied by a booklet with the original score and an essay by the Australian art historian Damian Lentini (curator, Haus der Kunst, Munich), which proposes further perspectives to a critical engagement with German colonial history and current polyphonic postcolonial discourses.
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Territories: World minus UK and US

FORMAT: digipack CD, silver pantone

TRACKLIST

1/ A1 Solar Wind 06:23
2/ A2 White Dwarf 03:48
3/ B1 Waveform Cascades 04:30
4/ B2 Dance Of The Celestial Druids 04:40
5/ C1 The Freak Show 04:41
6/ C2 Implosive Regions 04:58
7/ D1 Lonely Journey Of The Comet Bopp 04:38
8/ D2 Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula 05:05
9/ E1 Scattering Pulsars 05:09
10/ E2 Alien Vessel Distress Call 06:57
11/ F Flux 07:57

RELEASE INFO:

In early 2023, Tresor Records will reissue the sole output from Shifted Phases entitled The Cosmic Memoirs Of The Late
Great Rupert J. Rosinthrope. Initially released in 2002, soon after James Stinson passed away, this LP plays a mysterious and
compelling role in the Drexciya journey. While other records of Drexciya and related projects have received numerous reprints
and editions, The Cosmic Memoirs... has remained out of print since its release. This rarity leaves it more open to
interpretation with its place in the Drexciyan storm series, as it became increasingly hard to find and underexplored.
Track titles Solar Wind, White Dwarf, and Lonely Journey of the Comet Bopp reveal a focus on cosmic realms, suggesting a link
with the Drexciya LP Grava 4 that moves from the underwater to the galactic. As it launches with mechanical blows on a
precise orbit, each repetition entrenches the gravitational pull in the galaxy of Shifted Phases. In many places, it sounds like
the readout of frequencies harvested from outer space, pockmarked with packet loss from the millions of kilometres distance
travelled.
The music is hard to contain, intuitively restless in motion through its unfolding universe and achingly resonant. It shapeshifts
across aectedly melodic sequences such as in Lonely Journey..., to the sparse, hard-hitting timbres found in Alien Vessel
Distress Call and the mangled reverse vocals in The Freak Show, somewhat reminiscent of another Drexciya side-project, Glass
Domain. The mythology of Drexciya is evident in how keenly James Stinson and Gerald Donald created their imaginary worlds.
In Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula, there is an undisputable reference to another Afro-futurist who delved deep into a galaxy of
their own making.
This reissue does not merely close the loop on Tresor's reissue series of the Drexciya catalogue but brings Shifted Phases to
fresh ears more than other records. Accompanied by newly commissioned artwork from Matthew Angelo Harrison, the 3xLP
vinyl reissue also features the tracks Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula and Alien Vessel Distress Call, which were previously only
on the original CD release.
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Territories: World minus UK and US

FORMAT 3x12" 180g vinyl, silver pantone, UV spot varnish DL Card

The 3xLP vinyl reissue also features the tracks Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula and Alien Vessel Distress Call, which were previously only
on the original CD release.

TRACKLIST

1/ A1 Solar Wind 06:23
2/ A2 White Dwarf 03:48
3/ B1 Waveform Cascades 04:30
4/ B2 Dance Of The Celestial Druids 04:40
5/ C1 The Freak Show 04:41
6/ C2 Implosive Regions 04:58
7/ D1 Lonely Journey Of The Comet Bopp 04:38
8/ D2 Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula 05:05
9/ E1 Scattering Pulsars 05:09
10/ E2 Alien Vessel Distress Call 06:57
11/ F Flux 07:57

RELEASE INFO
In early 2023, Tresor Records will reissue the sole output from Shifted Phases entitled The Cosmic Memoirs Of The Late
Great Rupert J. Rosinthrope. Initially released in 2002, soon after James Stinson passed away, this LP plays a mysterious and
compelling role in the Drexciya journey. While other records of Drexciya and related projects have received numerous reprints
and editions, The Cosmic Memoirs... has remained out of print since its release. This rarity leaves it more open to
interpretation with its place in the Drexciyan storm series, as it became increasingly hard to find and underexplored.
Track titles Solar Wind, White Dwarf, and Lonely Journey of the Comet Bopp reveal a focus on cosmic realms, suggesting a link
with the Drexciya LP Grava 4 that moves from the underwater to the galactic. As it launches with mechanical blows on a
precise orbit, each repetition entrenches the gravitational pull in the galaxy of Shifted Phases. In many places, it sounds like
the readout of frequencies harvested from outer space, pockmarked with packet loss from the millions of kilometres distance
travelled.
The music is hard to contain, intuitively restless in motion through its unfolding universe and achingly resonant. It shapeshifts
across aectedly melodic sequences such as in Lonely Journey..., to the sparse, hard-hitting timbres found in Alien Vessel
Distress Call and the mangled reverse vocals in The Freak Show, somewhat reminiscent of another Drexciya side-project, Glass
Domain. The mythology of Drexciya is evident in how keenly James Stinson and Gerald Donald created their imaginary worlds.
In Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula, there is an undisputable reference to another Afro-futurist who delved deep into a galaxy of
their own making.
This reissue does not merely close the loop on Tresor's reissue series of the Drexciya catalogue but brings Shifted Phases to
fresh ears more than other records. Accompanied by newly commissioned artwork from Matthew Angelo Harrison, the 3xLP
vinyl reissue also features the tracks Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula and Alien Vessel Distress Call, which were previously only
on the original CD release.

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repress black vinyl!

featuring 4 smooth midtempo and slow jam dancefloor edits:

File under: Slow Jams, Yacht Disco, NuDisco, Soul, Funk, Brasil

Greece DJ Snatch & Blacksoul joined forces to create Those Guys From Athens based on their mutual love for Boogie sounds. Expect dancefloor fillers and soulful sounds around from the globe.
Their smooth slow disco sound has reached the attention of DJ Supermarkt very quickly. They were part of a lot of YACHT DISCO EDIT compilations so far.
But this time we have more than just new Edits.
Some time ago they did a low key rework for famous 80s US Disco band Champaign (yep, they had a megahit with "How `Bout Us") and their song "I'm On Fire", which made its way to Pauli Carman, head of the band, after it was played on BBC 6 in the UK. He loved the new version so much, that he gave permission for TGFA and TSTD to release the slow jam masterpiece officially.
We are superproud to give you: "Burnin` Up (feat. Pauli Carman)"!
The duo already released music for Midnight Riot, Too Slow Too Disco, Act Of Sedition, Bonfido Disques, Spincat Music, Little Jack, a.m.m.
In between they have released a 2 track EP with Dim Zach and an official remix for Swiss talent Animor.

Disc 1:
A - Burnin' Up (feat. Pauli Carman)
B - She

Disc 2:
A - So Nice
B - Human More

GENRE/S: Techno, Dub, Ambient.

TRACKLIST:

A SIDE

01. Zemög – Derin
02. Zemög – Tucan

B SIDE

03. Zemög – Fisiltilar
04. Zemög – Derin (Daniel[i] Revisit)

SHORT INFO:

Deep suspension, tribal minimalism, and delicate whispers dominate the textured and meditative spaces of Zemög's universe. The imaginary and exuberant places, the waves that travels above the crystal clear water, the mist and the path to an unknown mountain. The drums resound their acoustic vibration and call our ancestors. Daniel[i]'s revisit closes the EP meditatively, a possibility to contemplate, thank, to reflect on our interior and externalize negative energy.
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[12''] incl. 3 Tracks for download

GENRE/S: Indie Dance

TRACKLIST:

Vinyl:
A1 Shady - Cruisin
A2 Shady - CIBY
B1 Shady - Sun

Download:
1. Shady - Cruisin
2. Shady - CIBY
3. Shady - Sun

SHORT INFO:

Better known as one half of the Stavroz quartet, Pieter De Meester and Maxim Helincks turn up on A Tribe Called Kotori with their self-titled third studio effort as Shady, following up to "Your Skin" EP on Beat & Path last year. Grinding a wide set of influences through oddball, genre-bending compositions, the pair has been carving out its own wonky, cross-curricular sound grammar away from normative restrictions and creative-hindering behaviourism - like the weird brainchild to Soulwax, Nicolas Jaar and Connan Mockasin.

"Can I Be Yours" gets the ball rolling on a spectral pop tip, blending together the vaporous spook of ultra-processed riffs with mischievous drum play and hypnotically smooth-tongued vocals dissolving in rippling delays. A further nocturnal affair, "Cruisin" goes a more sensuous, electro-friendly route, beaconed with hints of washed-out folk and cosmo-ambient spaciousness. The Cali vibes meet spoken Brit post-punk motif'd (think Baxter Dury out for a quick surf session with the Beach Boys) "Sun" rounds off the ride on a catchy Mod-like note, merging to perfection the swinging London's debonair charm with that of the west coast's typical carefreeness of being. That's ocean-spray bottled in a tune.
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Format Notes:
2023 re-issue, 140g vinyl, reproduction of the classic Tele Music sleeve, full colour insert with liner notes and archive photographs


Territories:
Worldwide no restrictions

Track List:

A1 : Latin Leitmotiv (3:08)
A2 : Red Medium (6:58)
A3 : Dead Slow (3:30)
A4 : Royal Shuffle No 1 (3:08)
A5 : Royal Shuffle No 2 (3:08)

B1 : Rock 73 (9:34)
B2 : Bass In Action No 1 (3:31)
B3 : Bass In Action No 2 (3:31)
B4 : Pepper Rock (2:30)

Release Notes:

Wow! Tonio Rubio's Rhythms is a stone-cold killer, a heavyweight library breaks LP and the inaugural release in Be With's new partnership with legendary French library label Tele Music. Yes, you lucky people, there's lots to come. For this extremely special 50 year anniversary re-issue, we've reproduced the classic Tele Music sleeve with a full colour insert featuring rare photographs, fresh liner notes and personal memories of Tonio from the likes of Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Claude Petit and Janko Nilovic.

Sumptuous opener “Latin Leitmotiv” is all funky phasing effects and a killer montuno, with what sounds like piano and bass in tandem, stoking straight up Latin fire. The gritty hard funk of blaxploitation groove "Red Medium" is dripping in wah-wah attitude and head-nod oddness. The atmospheric, exotica-tinged "Dead Slow" emulates the languid, sensual afro groove of Quincy Jones’ wild masterpiece “Gula Matari” whilst the proggy, electric jazz fusion epic "Rock 73" is 9+ minutes of moody, rolling menace.

But the *real* highlight of this cult classic - and why it has long been *so* desirable - is the devastating, deep, hypnotic minimalist groove of "Bass In Action N°1". Very much in conversation with Quincy's rendition of "Hummin'", the loping, rumbling bassline and sweet electric piano over clean, crisp drums making it one of those tracks that sounds like a hip-hop beat 20 years ahead of time. Sensational. “Bass In Action N°2“ features Tonio's own vocal scat performance. Remarkable.

Antonio "Tonio" Rubio Garcia got his start playing the double bass in jazz clubs. In 1962, Tonio joined the Golden Stars, the first backing band of France’s teenage idol Johnny Hallyday. A genius musician with a unique guitar sound, he played on standards of French chanson including Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot’s "Bonnie and Clyde", Françoise Hardy’s "Tous les Garçons et les Filles", Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s "Je T’aime, Moi Non Plus" and Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s infamous "Lemon Incest". Tonio also lent his brilliance to such legendary figures as Janko Nilovic, Jean-Claude Petit, Hervé Roy, and Jean-Claude Vannier. The latter remembers Tonio as “a secretive, mysterious man, with an endearing personality, albeit difficult to reach out to. His virtuosity as a bass player allowed me to write very innovative basslines, because he was able to play any of my eccentricities!”

The audio for Rhythms has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis whilst Christopher Stevenson has brought the original and iconic Tele Music sleeve back to life in all its striking glory as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue. More

cassette

Genre: Beats, Ambient, Electronica

Tracklist Cassette:
A1. X-pert Profat - A2. Break for Ma - A3. Drums 2002 - A4. Ducklings 2 - A5. #ew_horseplay -
A6. Jo Barker - A7. AR Day - A8. New Family - A9. Repepepater (feat. Joli B) - A10. Clean Father -
A11. Ambient Jams 3 - B1. July 11 Creepy (feat. Ted Pilsner) - B2. Brain Bed - B3. Roxy Dancer -
B4. Summer Storm - B5. They Work for Mr. O - B6. Tricky Dees Dumm Dumm -
B7. Ufos Over Egypt (feat. Cristobal) - B8. Weak Stranger - B9. XMods in the Living Room - B10. Being a Total Warm Up

Short Info:
One of our all-time favourite artists and extended Circus Company member The Mole returns to the
label for a proper presentation of his album The River Widens. Originally a limited, cassette-only
release via fellow Canadian Eddie C’s Red Motorbike, we are proud to offer this album in its full glory
for the first time on all formats.
Never one to shy away from synth deep dives, or raw sample flip collaging, this collection of 21 works
checks all the boxes. Ambient trippers to straight up neck-snapping instrumental beats. Not forgetting
tastes of the more uptempo, highly-assured and hypnotic dance floor feels the world has come to love
The Mole for. Moments of casual chillin are interspersed with effortless, emotive angles, some evoking
the charm of his Little Sunshine release for us in 2017.

X-pert Profat opens the set with sly statements that give way to relaxed and subtle keys over gentle,
midtempo rhythms. Things switch up nicely into easy, Northwest Coast boogie-meets-beatdown feels
inBreak For Ma, followed by a solid array of almost Jaylib-schooled boom bap twists, like the aptly-titled
Drums 2002 and Jo Barker. Ambient cuts like AR Dayand New Family offer a refreshing tap of the
brakes, setting the scene for the gorgeous, Jarre-esque Weak Stranger. We also get treated
to Repepepater’s nod to Detroit house, urban-mode Balearic feels on They Work For Mr. O, and sneak
attack lo-fi future funk in the form of UFOs Over Egypt, with Montreal co-pilot Cristobal on a wild
shisha-lit vox narrative, earlier versions of which have blessed many of our label comrades’ DJ sets,
from Dave Aju to Vincent Lemieux.
The River Widens expands beautifully on the breadth of unique musical directions The Mole is capable
of taking us in, now spread across fresh 2x12” vinyl and available digitally for the first time, along with
another limited edition cassette run - we hope you enjoy the ride as much as we do! More

Double LP (incl. download code)

Genre: Beats, Ambient, Electronica

Tracklist LP:
A1. X-pert Profat - A2. Break for Ma - A3. Drums 2002 - A4. Ducklings 2 - A5. #ew_horseplay -
A6. Jo Barker - A7. AR Day - B1. New Family - B2. Repepepater (feat. Joli B) - B3. Clean Father -
B4. Ambient Jams 3 - C1. July 11 Creepy (feat. Ted Pilsner) - C2. Brain Bed - C3. Roxy Dancer -
C4. Summer Storm - C5. They Work for Mr. O - C6. Tricky Dees Dumm Dumm -
C7. Ufos Over Egypt (feat. Cristobal) - D1. Weak Stranger - D2. XMods in the Living Room - D3. Being a Total Warm Up

Short Info:
One of our all-time favourite artists and extended Circus Company member The Mole returns to the
label for a proper presentation of his album The River Widens. Originally a limited, cassette-only
release via fellow Canadian Eddie C’s Red Motorbike, we are proud to offer this album in its full glory
for the first time on all formats.
Never one to shy away from synth deep dives, or raw sample flip collaging, this collection of 21 works
checks all the boxes. Ambient trippers to straight up neck-snapping instrumental beats. Not forgetting
tastes of the more uptempo, highly-assured and hypnotic dance floor feels the world has come to love
The Mole for. Moments of casual chillin are interspersed with effortless, emotive angles, some evoking
the charm of his Little Sunshine release for us in 2017.

X-pert Profat opens the set with sly statements that give way to relaxed and subtle keys over gentle,
midtempo rhythms. Things switch up nicely into easy, Northwest Coast boogie-meets-beatdown feels
inBreak For Ma, followed by a solid array of almost Jaylib-schooled boom bap twists, like the aptly-titled
Drums 2002 and Jo Barker. Ambient cuts like AR Dayand New Family offer a refreshing tap of the
brakes, setting the scene for the gorgeous, Jarre-esque Weak Stranger. We also get treated
to Repepepater’s nod to Detroit house, urban-mode Balearic feels on They Work For Mr. O, and sneak
attack lo-fi future funk in the form of UFOs Over Egypt, with Montreal co-pilot Cristobal on a wild
shisha-lit vox narrative, earlier versions of which have blessed many of our label comrades’ DJ sets,
from Dave Aju to Vincent Lemieux.
The River Widens expands beautifully on the breadth of unique musical directions The Mole is capable
of taking us in, now spread across fresh 2x12” vinyl and available digitally for the first time, along with
another limited edition cassette run - we hope you enjoy the ride as much as we do! More

Territories: WORLD EXCL FRANCE

Tracklist LP:

A1_Précieux Atavisme
A2_Asile Sauvage
A3_Sylve Barbare
A4_Cité Peupleraie
A5_Avril Mormal
B1_Locus Neminis
B2_Cosmos Intra
B3_Komorebi
B4_Monde Intérieur
B5_Chiffchaff

Short Info:

After spending his debut album exploring techno and mechanical sounds in the depths of the Pas-de-Calais mines, Toh Imago looks up to the sky, with an open breeze on his face, as tree branches and canopy filter out the sun’s rays on Refuge. All the machines used during the album recording are tuned at 432hz, carrying the mystical benefits of Earth’s resonance. Spending just seconds with the opening track, the listener is drawn into the safety that Refuge was intended to provide, and each subsequent piece pulls you deeper and deeper into the album’s forest.

Textextext - (add your write up)

‘Refuge’ was recorded on the edge of the Mormal forest, in the North of France. With nature as a setting and studio accomplice, the album features synthesizers, field-recordings, as well as the acoustic qualities of reverbs from the nearby forest. As the artist’s inner world and nature converge in moments of self-reflection, so the album’s 11 recordings harmoniously unfold in a cavalcade of machines and organic sonorities.

While the first LP 'Nord Noir’ explored his family’s mining past, ‘Refuge' is about being present and the desire to re-contextualize the relationship between nature and humans. It is a record of uplifting tones that is filled with optimism, imbued with the lightness of those who finally reconnect with nature, their roots, and the feeling of groundedness.

Like the steps taken on a walk in the woods, the 11 tracks sonically tell the story of an inner journey divided in three chapters. "Asile sauvage", "Sylve barbare" and “Avril Mormal" take the listener into a fast-paced progression of rhythms. When the heart of the forest is reached, the journey becomes intimate, revealing a sacred space where breathing becomes the leading tempo ("Locus Neminis") and the traveller becomes a spirit lost in space ("Cosmos Intra”). The journey's climax is reached with "Monde intérieur". The album closes with "Chiff Chaff" which accompanies the listener back to a reality, hopefully a more reassuring one.

Across the album, Toh Imago finds inventive ways of opening a dialogue between nature and machine, both literally and metaphorically, creating a soundscape that both feels like and was created by the natural world that surrounds him.

The album offers a shelter from a predetermined world. It’s a story told through ambience, racy and subtle electronics, and the memories of lichens clinging to shoes.





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GENRE/S: House und Techno, Deep House, Deep Techno

TRACKLISTS:
A1. 88 Keys 134bpm (Deep Banger Episode #2)
A2. 88 Keys 119bpm (Last Time For Redemption)
B. 88 Keys 123bpm Chord Science

SHORT INFO:
The boundless talent of Amir Alexander shines through on The 88 Keys. A three track conceptual EP that intertwines masters of classical composition and the extended Dj set, culminating in an encapsulating at home or in the club.





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Special remarks: handstamped vinyl, cover sticker

Tracklist 12":

A1. Ken Hayakawa & Lee Stevens - If You
A2. LeSale - What Lies Beyond
B1. Das Komplex - Odmewianie
B2. Jakobin & Domino - Square One


Short Info:

The thing with biscuits is, you can rarely get enough. Luckily the second batch of extra crunchy disco biscuits is fresh out of the oven courtesy of Luv Shack Records! On “If You”, Lee Stevens teams up with Ken Hayakawa for a slab of high octane house music, followed by Das Komplex’ “Odmewianie”, a quirky mid tempo balearic number with strong Belgian new beat flavour.LeSale goes full on nordic disco with the upbeat yet mysterious “What Lies Beyond”, and, lastly, Jakobin & Domino deliver a flawlessly floating house shuffler by the name of “Square One”. That’s the way the biscuits crumble!
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2023 REPRESS EDITION

Tracklist
A1.Get Closer (Tiger & Woods Remix)
B1.Get Closer (Gerd Janson Coy Club Edit)
B2.Get Closer (DJ Oyster Tool Time)
Shortinfo:
Here we are again! Courtesy of Valerie Dore. Numero due in the Super Sound Singles series on Running Back continues on the re-issue/update tip of inexpensive records.
Big in the charts in 1985, the Italian queen of "romantic dance" made her second single "Get Closer" a clairvoyant poem about… errr… life and love: "when the world is running down - get closer"!
Think stonewashed jeans, endless summers on Italian beaches, boats coming back to the shore.
Remixed by fellow country men Tiger & Woods, "Get Closer" gets sandblasted into our modern times and the necessary treatment to be the peak- and night time hug fest, it's always supposed to be. Add a run out tool by DJ Oyster and a gentle DJ-friendly edit by Gerd Janson of the original to the billboard. And always remember: changing your spell can save you.
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2LP
- Second album from English producer Stefan Smith
- Releases on Sapiens, agoria's label


GENRE/S: electronic, melodic techno

TRACKLISTS:
1- Made In Japan
2- Among The Voices Voiceless
3- All+That+Fall
4- Accretion
5- Thlostones
6- Maneki - Neko
7- End
8- Pink Shadows
9- Quad


SHORT INFO:

With his second album Thlostones, the English producer Stefan Smith continues a journey on the back of synthesizers where techno loops meet the delicacy of ambient, where IDM meets new wave references. All to serve a quest for the original purity of the experience of sound.

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WORLDWIDE

Genre: Electronic, Soundtrack, Ambient, Industrial, Metal, Noise

LP: Heavy 350gsm Sleeve, Sticker

Tracklisting LP
A1. Knock Off
A2. Gryphis Glaucus
A3. Going Down For...
A4. Move On
B1. Over Crowd
B2. Half Truth
B3. Selene


Info

WRWTFWW Records is deeply honored to announce the release of Chu Ishikawa & Der Eisenrost’s soundtrack for experimental action drama Tokyo Fist, released in 1995 and directed by legendary director/producer/writer Shin’ya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man and its sequels, Bullet Ballet, Hiroki The Goblin, Nightmare Detective). Previously only published on CD in Japan, the cult movie soundtrack is available on vinyl for the first time ever and housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve.
The Tokyo Fist soundtrack gorgeously blends explosive industrial music, heavy percussion, martial rhythms and noise experimentations with contemplative ambient and emotion-filled synth soundscapes, perfectly encapsulating the nihilistic pain felt by the characters of the movie and the brutally visceral rebirth they go through. Ishikawa and Der Eisenrost’s compositions hit hard, sometimes truly terrorizing, sometimes heart-gripping in gloomy and bewitching ways. This is no holds barred music, a venture into the darkest yet most strangely beautiful corners of the human mind (and heart).
The late great Chu Ishikawa was one of the innovators of the industrial and experimental scene in Japan and has collaborated with Shin’ya Tsukamoto on numerous movies. He also worked extensively with Takashi Miike, another visionary filmmaker from his home country. Ishikawa was the leader of groundbreaking Industrial-Metal-Percussion unit Der Eisenrost whose live performances around Japan left an indelible mark on the genre’s history.
This new project by WRWTFWW Records follows previous Japanese soundtracks from the catalogue: Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor 2, Evil Dead Trap…and more to come.

Points of interests

- For fans of electronic, soundtracks, industrial, ambient, percussion, metal, synth, Kenji Kawai, Geinoh Yamashirogumi, Tetsuo, Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Takashi Miike, cult movies, boxing, rebirths, and hard hitting experimental cinema.

- First ever vinyl release of Chu Ishikawa & Der Eisenrost’s soundtrack for experimental action drama movie Tokyo First (1995).





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2022 Repress

Tracklist
A1 Just B1 Celeste B2 Back 2 U (Tranz Dub)
Info:
Hot on the heels of AUS' recent releases from Breach, Huxley and Bwana they ready their next offering from Irish duo and long term label affiliates Bicep. Aptly timed for the festival months, their 'Just' EP follows up a series of self-released titles which include collaborations with Ebony and Midland and is an impassioned bundle of broken beats, shimmering synth lines and rapturous piano chords. The title track kicks things off and suffuses a broken kick and snare combo with a poignant sequence and heart-rending synth strings. A vocal refrain drops in and out throughout a lucent breakdown before () lays a soft, filtered croon over a swelling piano motif. Tension is astutely balanced, never quite boiling over and keeping the listener pinned before () drives a tough, gravelly kick under gentle flecks of acid and rich sweeping pads.
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Ltd. To 100 copies, first record on Goldmin with this completely new design pack that we will have on each 12” from now on incl. handnumbered silkprint of the artwork + printed photographies all inside + stamp.

Genre: Electronic / deep-techno / minimal

Tracklist:

A1 - Arp Tetris
A2 - ZZ3
A3 – Nanoloop

B1 - Transtech
B2 - Collision Disco
B3 – Baumwolle


Release Note:
Finnish producer Aki Latvamäki also known as Artificial Latvamäki is not a newcomer to Goldmin as he already appeared on two compilations of the label. Notably with the sensational and distinctive track called "Symphony of a Metropolis" which was one of the true highlights of the Goldmin 5 Years Compilation. Yet we were desperately hoping for a proper album of him one day, checking the very few demos he was sending to us with a lot of curiosity and interest. Suunta is the result of years of creativity and of Aki's very own mastery at seeking cultivate the uncommon, and the rare sounds, might it be through an hyperactive electro-track or an organic deep techno ballad like "Baumwolle" is, he is always transposing difficulties and trumping the constraints, making techno not only a functional music for clubs but a full member medium of expression, capable of sarcasm, irony and rebellion and so all throughout a fragile and precarious melody. Has Aki escaped from this scene? That's all for the best, as he as also escaped from all these easy, prefabricated structures and schemas and is still doing his own thing as he always did. More

Territories: WORLD EXCL FRANCE

Tracklist CD:

1_Philip Glass - The Poet Acts
2_Moondog - Sea Horses
3_ Ryuichi Sakamoto - Solitude
4_Philip Glass - Etude 4
5_Philip Glass - Etude 2
6_Nico Mulhy - Quiet Music
7_Camille Pépin - Number 1
8_Léo Ferré - Opus X
9_Melaine Dalibert - Six + Six
10_Sylvain Chauveau - Mineral

Short Info:
French pianist Vanessa Wagner collects solo piano studies of graceful minimalism and rare finesse for new album Mirrored.

Quickly following March 2022’s Study of the Invisible album, Vanessa Wagner returns with a new collection of work that paints in many colours. The application of shadow in Mirrored evokes haunting poignancy; the care and delicateness of its negative space leaves room for undulating melodic motifs to ebb and flow; its bold splashes of luminescence are striking and rich. And while the album collates re-interpretations of works by composers as varied as Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Moondog, Leo Ferré and Camille Pepin, the potency and effect of the collection as a whole reflects only Vanessa Wagner and the extraordinary breadth of her abilities.

Performing solo, exposed to timbre, tempo and clarity, many of the pieces here - such as “Sea Horses” by (Vanessa’s one-time mentor) Moondog or Philip Glass’ “Etude 4” - demand virtuosic abilities as a performer and interpreter. But in Vanessa Wagner’s hands, they are not only made her own, but made mesmeric and magical by the sensitivity of her touch.




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Territories: WORLD EXCL FRANCE

Tracklist LP:

FACE A - 17 minutes 47
A1_Philip Glass - The Poet Acts - 04:55
A2_Moondog - Sea Horses - 01:15
A3_Ryuichi Sakamoto - Solitude - 04:28
A4_Phillip Glass - Etude 2 - 07:09

FACE B - 20 minutes 50
B1_Philip Glass - Etude 4 - 03:58
B1_Nico Mulhy - Quiet Music - 05:01
B2_Camille Pépin - Number 1 - 08:50
B3_Léo Ferré - Opus X - 03:01

Short Info:
French pianist Vanessa Wagner collects solo piano studies of graceful minimalism and rare finesse for new album Mirrored.

Quickly following March 2022’s Study of the Invisible album, Vanessa Wagner returns with a new collection of work that paints in many colours. The application of shadow in Mirrored evokes haunting poignancy; the care and delicateness of its negative space leaves room for undulating melodic motifs to ebb and flow; its bold splashes of luminescence are striking and rich. And while the album collates re-interpretations of works by composers as varied as Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Moondog, Leo Ferré and Camille Pepin, the potency and effect of the collection as a whole reflects only Vanessa Wagner and the extraordinary breadth of her abilities.

Performing solo, exposed to timbre, tempo and clarity, many of the pieces here - such as “Sea Horses” by (Vanessa’s one-time mentor) Moondog or Philip Glass’ “Etude 4” - demand virtuosic abilities as a performer and interpreter. But in Vanessa Wagner’s hands, they are not only made her own, but made mesmeric and magical by the sensitivity of her touch.




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2x12" EP, Gatefold

- Exclusive Remixes by Roman Fluegel, Mira, Christopher Schwarzwalder, Sascha Cawa & Canson
- Releases by David Dorad on URSL, Kiosk ID, Voltaire Music



Tracklist:
Part 1:
A / 01. Murmeli (original)
B1 / 02. Murmeli (Mira & Christopher Schwarzwalder Remix)
B2 / 03. Murmeli (Canson Remix)
Part 2:
C 1 / 04. Murmelot (original)
D 1 / 05. Murmelot (Roman Fluegel Remix)
D 2 / 06. Murmelot (Sascha Cawa Remix



About:

If you've been in the club scene for many years like David Dorad, you will one day face the big, essential, serious questions that each of us will ask ourselves sooner or later:

Are marmots pack animals?
Can marmots sign language?
Do marmots plan their lives according to European or Chinese zodiac signs?
Do marmots need a special passport, after all they don't have a thumb to turn the pages?
What happens when a marmot eats Coke and Mentos at the same time?

And with all those questions whistling, hissing and muttering in his head, David grabbed piano, baton and BioBassline to crochet his new EP.
This is called "Marble" and offers 6 different approaches to solve these big questions.
As a source of ideas, he has competent partners at his side in Roman Flügel, Mira, Christopher Schwarzwälder, Canson and Sascha Cawa.


A1 -
Murmeli - original
The marmot tribe awakens. Get up to brush your teeth. Gets your toes tapping. Makes you snap your fingers. Dare to roll your hips. Later rhythmically to turn. To look elegant at the same time. Eyes closed - eyes open.
Murmeli, the regular leader, sits at the piano.
Everyone is dancing, toothpaste in the corners of their mouths and a smile that takes the toothpaste by the hand.
A normal morning in marmot houses.

B1 -
Murmeli - Mira & Christoph Schwarzwald RMX
Mira and Christoph Schwarzwalder take over from Murmeli. They vary, combine and subtract. The first marmots raise their thumbless fists in the air - showing their passports, ready to take off.

B2 -
Murmeli - Canson RMX
Canson also sits next to Murmeli. Caress the theme, tickle the groove.
Murmeli has the best ideas early on: "Boy, let's try Mentos with Cola, we'll definitely take off."
Canon is in!


C1 -
Murmelot - Original
The sun goes down in Murmelhausen too. Then Murmelot is ready. Gives his advanced Pilates class, which the whole tribe takes. The village wants to remain mobile.
Murmelot's motto is "Why not stretch while walking?"
And so shall it be. He sets the rhythm on his wooden Fairtrade 303 and our furry friends shave shaky and obscene messages down each other's backs while impatiently hopping for the drop.

D1 -
Murmelot - Roman Flügel Remix
Roman Flügel and Murmelot are old buddies. Struck while carving the 303.
Roman happily takes over the Pilates class, the dancing crowd. Enchanted until the razor's batteries are empty and only dancing remains, only dancing is important.

D2 -
Murmelot - Sascha Cawa RMX
Sascha Cawa takes his trunk by the hand, wants to motivate her again shortly before the second sunset of the day. Whispers little obscene Pilates positions in their ears. That motivates. Murmelot switched from piano to percussion.
The marmots' sweat feeds the golden orchids in the clearing for the next six months.

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Rights : World excluding FR & UK

Packaging: 2 X Colored LP : 1 Red & 1 White, Gatefold sleeve with embossed frontcover + Gold Panton, 2 x heavy weight printed inner (feat. liner notes), sticker

Deluxe 2 X Colored LP : 1 x White LP + 1 x Red LP, deluxe gatefold , heavy weight printed inners with new sleeve notes. 20 tracks. The remastered album + a selection of B Sides & previously unheard remixes.

BIOG
The Communards’ sophomore album ‘Red’ consolidated the genius of the musical partnership between Bronski Beat singer Jimmy Somerville and pianist Richard Coles. Fusing synths and hi-NRG production with lush string and horn arrangements, The Communards straddled pop and the political, the album’s themes set against the political unrest and moral panic of late 80s Britain. A global smash upon its release, this remastered and expanded 35Th Anniversary Edition features an extensive array of B-sides, live tracks, demo versions and remixes, including classic mixes by legendary 80s club doyens Shep Pettibone, Clivilles & Cole (better known as C&C Music Factory) and a euphoric new 2022 remix of ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ by UK outfit The 2 Bears (Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard and DJ Raf Rundell). Available on Deluxe Double CD , Collector White & Red Double Vinyl , Black Vinyl. All editions remastered , with new sleeve notes.

TRACKLIST

DOUBLE VINYL DELUXE

A SIDE
1. Tomorrow
2. T.M.T. <3 T.B.M.G.
3. Matter Of Opinion
4. Victims
5. For A Friend

B SIDE
1. Never Can Say Goodbye
2. Lovers And Friends
3. Hold On Tight
4. If I Could Tell You
5. C Minor

C SIDE
1. I Just Want To Let You Know
2. Scat
3. 77 The Great Escape
4. I Do It All For You
5. Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart
6. When The Boy In Your Heart Is The Boy In You Arms
7. Piece Of Saxophone

D SIDE
1. Tomorrow (Stephen Lipson Extended Version)
2. There’s More To Love (Jalapeno Mix)
3. Never Can Say Goodbye (San Paulo Mix)

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Track listing:
A1 Longing For You
A2 I Wanna
A3 Nite People
B1 Floating On Silence
B2 Mighty Groove


Release Info:
Tour-Maubourg’s music is a subtle synthesis of jazz and house, which seduces hundreds of thousands of house aficionados every month.

The Belgian producer based in Paris has an eternal desire to translate the feeling of love into music as in Longing For U, the opening track of his upcoming EP Floating On Silence. The artist mixes a melancholic piano with groovy congas and a jazzy saxophone. The result is a relaxing track, perfect for enjoying a cocktail while the sunsets on a warm summer evening.





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12" + with limited 600x300mm Artwork-Poster
Genre: House, Deep House

Tracklisting:
A1 Never Ever
A2 Never Ever (Johannes Albert Remix)
B1 Phero
B2 Phero (The Cruiser Remix)

Short Info:
Hamburg’s Polycarp Records delivers the ‘Never Ever’ EP by Bonn this
January, backed with remixes from Johannes Albert and The Cruiser.
The Polycarp Records imprint was launched in 2016 by Simon Ferdinand and
across its past ten releases has unveiled an array of material from the
likes of Pleasant Systems boss Tilman, Frank Music founder Johannes
Albert and Simon Ferdinand and Basch both under their own artist names
and of course their collaborative project, Bonn. In 2019 Ferdinand and
Basch inaugurated their Bonn guise with a debut album entitled ‘Forget
Forgot Forgotten’, 2021 saw the release of a follow up EP entitled
‘Ravenous’ and here the story continues with the pair’s latest
collaborative works.
The original mix of title-track ‘Never Ever’ opens the EP and lays down
crunchy, off-kilter drums alongside mystical atmospherics, an unfurling
acid bass lead and loopy, fluttering stab sequences. Johannes Albert’s
twist on ‘Never Ever’ follows next, the fellow German producer takes
things down his signature cosmic, nu- disco path via bubbling arpeggio
lines and 80’s tinged resonant leads melded together with fragments from
the original composition.
‘Phero’ then opens the flip side and sees Bonn deliver a twitchy house
workout fuelled by fidgety synth bleeps, dubbed out chords and bumpy,
saturated drums. Last up to round things out, The Cruiser turns in a
high- octane interpretation of ‘Phero’, upping the tempo and reshaping
the original’s raw elements into a murky, dynamically unfolding thumper.
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Ultra Limited Edition of 200 copies

Here's another goodie from The Outer Edge! This time we're presenting a very limited pressing of the cosmic outsider synth pop tune "Der Tanz ihrer Backen" by Wolffen. With a haunting mid-tempo drum machine pattern, a deep bass, and vocals in German, the track is already absolutely unique. But what will blow you away is when the mysterious Middle Eastern synth theme gets topped with a catchy chorus sung in the Arabic language!

Wolffen (or sometimes called Koppelberg's Wolffen) was a project based around actor and singer Thomas Koppelberg. Born in 1957, Koppelberg unfortunately died at the young age of 41. The track originally appears on the album "Wie zwei schöne Tiere" (translates to "Like two beautiful animals") which was completely produced by composer and keyboardist Peter Schnell and released privately in 1988. The LP remained completely forgotten until it was rediscovered by label owner DJ Scientist and was made public via the label's internet shop a few years ago. It didn't take long until this very special tune spread via social media and became an insider tip in record collecting circles.

"Der Tanz ihrer Backen" (translates to "The dance of her cheeks") is now available for the first time as an extended mix on a loud 12" disc. Side B offers a mostly instrumental edit by Cid Hohner (of OTTO) which leaves out the German verses but keeps the haunting Arabic chorus.

Only 200 copies have been made - all are numbered and come with a handmade picture sleeve plus additional Japanese Katta sleeve and sticker. Don't sleep on this rare gem!

Tracklist:
A Der Tanz ihrer Backen (Extended 12" Version) 6:39
B Der Tanz ihrer Backen (Cid Hohner Edit) 6:10


Special remarks:

- Ultra Limited Edition of 200 copies
- Hand numbered
- Loud 45 cut
- Features Extended Version plus Edit by Cid Hohner (of OTTO) on side B
- Fully Licenced, recorded in 1988
- Special picture sleeve edition with 30x30 cm poster glued on front of generic black sleeve, plus credit info on back. Additionally packed in clear Japanese Katta sleeve with hype sticker
- Mastered by Frederic Stader
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LP / Album

[Special remarks: Gatefold Cover including Download]

GENRE/S: Electronic/ Dark Ambient

TRACKLISTS:
1 Der Sand In Den Urnen
2 Erebos
3 Ewig Schlaf
4 Blackforms
5 Firmament
6 Gods End
7 Heart Knocks Silent
8 Jezero
9 Heaven And Hell
10 Kristall
11 The Future Is Now

SHORT INFO:
Christoph Dahlberg draws fine lines in the music with organic sounds and crackling beats.
After his highly acclaimed debut album "TIME" (2020, Sonderling Records), his second work
"Blackforms" follows at the end of 2022, merging cinematic, experimental electronica and
ambient textures with astonishing compositional consistency. He knows how to peel out
details through intelligent sampling, encountering the idea, capturing it and thus freeing
himself - subtlety.
"Blackforms" holds an engaging gloominess that will fascinate you, too!






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2023 repress

TRACKLIST:
A1. Filo 05:55
A2. Vetta 04:12
B1. Duetto 05:06
B2 Nine O’ Three 04:42
C1. Back 04:27
C2. Vetta Reprise 04:13
D1. TB Square 06:22
D2. REP 06:06

OVERVIEW
For its 303rd release, Tresor Records is glad to present a commissioned work by Donato Dozzy.
Rome based production maestro and DJ extraordinaire Donato Dozzy is unanimously considered as an illustrious
leading light in all techno artforms.
Along his long career and extensive discography, Dozzy has proven to use his instruments most interesting ways,
always re-inventing his music, always presenting new approaches to both the deeper and the more rhythmic
forms of electronic music. It was self-evident to Tresor Records to enroll Donato Dozzy’s talents for this
assignment, a nod to the seminal Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer.
The result is a relentless collection of radical, propulsive and bleeding-heart acid tracks. In Dozzy’s words.
Donato Dozzy wishes to dedicate this work to his lifelong friend Filo.
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WORLDWIDE

DLP: 350gsm Sleeve, Sticker

Tracklisting DLP:
A1. Aranjuez
A2. Galaxy Deca
A3. Kiso Bushi
A4. Iyano Kobiki
A5. Kusatsu Bushi
B1. Nanbu Ushioi Uta
B2. Chakkiri Bushi
B3. Ryotsu Jinku
B4. Hyamikao
C1. Cantata no.147
C2. Kokiriko Bushi
C3. Fortunate 1mark
C4. Otemoyan
D1. Yosawya San
D2. Hietsuki Bushi
D3. Monkey Turn
D4. Kyoteidaiski
D5. Plum Song

Info

WRWTFWW Records is ecstatic to announce the first ever best-of compilation of Soichi Terada’s amazing project OMODAKA. including 14 songs never released on vinyl before. The 18-track ZENTSUU: Collected Works 2001-2019 album is available on double LP in heavy 350gsm sleeve with printed inner sleeves, as well as in CD and digital formats.

Initiated in 2001 while trying to create a "boat racing song", the OMODAKA project features sublime music by veteran electronic/house/jungle/video game music producer/DJ Soichi Terada and the vocals of Japanese folk min'yo & enka singer Akiko Kanazawa for a never-heard-before colorful blend of retro game 8bit/chiptune sounds and traditional Japanese music with wet electro rhythms, joyful 90s house grooves, and slick downtempo vibes. Feel-good, sexy, and fun, Terada’s project brings forth one of the most unique sounds in recent memory. The smile-inducing sonic adventure is packed with irresistible hits and a good dose of dancefloor-ready gems: a well deserved delivery of good times for 2022 and beyond!

Tokyo born genius Soichi Terada has built an impressive career in different music genres. He co-founded respected label Far East Recording with Shinchiro Yokata, composed the soundtrack for cult video game series Ape Escape, released tons of amazing house music records (some included in the beautiful compilation Sounds from the Far East released by Rush Hour in 2015), and has been a celebrated world-touring DJ.


Points of interests

- For fans of folktonica, house, dance, Japanese traditional music meets video game music, chiptune, Soichi Terada, Far East Recording, good times, good times, and more good times.

- First ever vinyl release of collected works from Soichi Terada’s project OMODAKA!



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WORLDWIDE

CD: Digipack, Sticker

Tracklisting CD
01. Aranjuez
02. Galaxy Deca
03. Kiso Bushi
04. Iyano Kobiki
05. Kusatsu Bushi
06. Nanbu Ushioi Uta
07. Chakkiri Bushi
08. Ryotsu Jinku
09. Hyamikao
10. Cantata no.147
11. Kokiriko Bushi
12. Fortunate 1mark
13. Otemoyan
14. Yosawya San
15. Hietsuki Bushi
16. Monkey Turn
17. Kyoteidaiski
18. Plum Song

Info

WRWTFWW Records is ecstatic to announce the first ever best-of compilation of Soichi Terada’s amazing project OMODAKA. including 14 songs never released on vinyl before. The 18-track ZENTSUU: Collected Works 2001-2019 album is available on double LP in heavy 350gsm sleeve with printed inner sleeves, as well as in CD and digital formats.

Initiated in 2001 while trying to create a "boat racing song", the OMODAKA project features sublime music by veteran electronic/house/jungle/video game music producer/DJ Soichi Terada and the vocals of Japanese folk min'yo & enka singer Akiko Kanazawa for a never-heard-before colorful blend of retro game 8bit/chiptune sounds and traditional Japanese music with wet electro rhythms, joyful 90s house grooves, and slick downtempo vibes. Feel-good, sexy, and fun, Terada’s project brings forth one of the most unique sounds in recent memory. The smile-inducing sonic adventure is packed with irresistible hits and a good dose of dancefloor-ready gems: a well deserved delivery of good times for 2022 and beyond!

Tokyo born genius Soichi Terada has built an impressive career in different music genres. He co-founded respected label Far East Recording with Shinchiro Yokata, composed the soundtrack for cult video game series Ape Escape, released tons of amazing house music records (some included in the beautiful compilation Sounds from the Far East released by Rush Hour in 2015), and has been a celebrated world-touring DJ.


Points of interests

- For fans of folktonica, house, dance, Japanese traditional music meets video game music, chiptune, Soichi Terada, Far East Recording, good times, good times, and more good times.

- First ever vinyl release of collected works from Soichi Terada’s project OMODAKA!



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Territories: World

Format Notes: 140g vinyl double LP, previously Japan-only CD and limited vinyl release

Track List:

A1 - Sunset Reflection (04:41)
A2 - East Dry River (05:02)
A3 - Coastline (05:00)

B1 - Drifting Ice (05:57)
B2 - My Fire (04:00)
B3 - Woods And My Guitar (05:05)

C1 - Half Moon Shadow (04:38)
C2 - Last Summer In Rio (09:55)

D1 - Maracas Bay (06:16)
D2 - Down Town (04:36)

Release Notes:


Coastlines is the self-titled long player from the new Japanese production unit of DJ and producer Masanori Ikeda and solo artist, session musician and Cro-Magnon keyboard player Takumi Kaneko.

Masanori and Takumi have been part of the Japanese dance music scene for years and Coastlines was born out of their working together on soundtracks for video projects. The pair wanted to make laid-back listening music for now, laying Takumi’s playful keys over Masanori’s widescreen balearic jazz-fusion to conjure beautiful and breathtaking “coastlines”.

A couple of two-track 7"s put out in late 2018 and early 2019 on Japanese house music label Flower Records soon sold out. Those four tracks were expanded to a full album of music, “a joyous, relaxing, summery soundtrack for everyone’s after hours wind down” that was released just in time for summer. It soundtracked many a Be With BBQ in 2019.

The album opens in the horizontal with the sophisticated, cocktails-by-the-pool groove of “Sunset Reflection”. A lush, beatless wonder. Their re-imagining of Ralph MacDonald’s “East Dry River” removes all the original’s bells and whistles (quite literally) and re-gears it with a subtle balearic chug. The result is a percussive gem.

“Coastline” is a beach-jazz noodle. “Drifting Ice” is as chilled and glacial as its title would suggest, yet Masanori’s head-nod slo-mo house beats throb not far below the surface. “My Fire” is another soft killer, all swelling, swirling organ over muted kicks and snares. An elegant boom-bap.

A pair of insistent tunes of the deeply balearic variety raise the tempo, but not by too much of course. On “Woods And My Guitar” a half-heard vocal refrain breathes life into the synthetic xylophone and guitar. Deft piano-work turns “Half Moon Shadow” into lounge-house for the sophisticated beach bum. A classy duo.

The self-assured re-work of Azymuth’s “Last Summer In Rio” is arguably the album’s centrepiece. Ten minutes of casually propulsive slapped bass, steel pans and slick 80s soul beats. Cue the steel drum interlude of “Maracas Bay” before album closer “Down Town” transitions us one with a shuffling, string-hinted hit of ethereal, euphoric piano bliss. Gentle disco for the new decade.

As former Test Pressing scribe Dr. Rob observed on his ever-reliable Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, the Coastlines fusion is very much in conversation with their 80s counterparts, both at home and along the coastlines of different continents. So among the nods to revered Japanese artists like Hiroshi Sato, Sakamoto and Casiopea, there are also hints of Marcos Valle and Mtume, of the aforementioned Azymuth. “The production though is very much now, not then. Not retro, just proper”. We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

Coastlines was originally a CD release only available in Japan, with HMV putting out a super-limited vinyl version a few months later for Japanese Record Store Day. But this music is just too good, so when Be With was asked via Ken Hidaka to take care of a vinyl version for the rest of the world it wasn’t a tough decision.

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman, this magnificent double LP has been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.
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Format Notes: 2020 re-issue, 140g vinyl

Territories: Worldwide no restrictions

Track List:

A1 : After Hours (02:57)
A2 : Heaven On Earth (05:09)
A3 : Just Me ’N’ You (05:40)
A4 : She Called Me (04:42)
A5 : Cute As A Button (03:31)

B1 : Love, Love, Love (03:07)
B2 : I’ll Always Be Your Lover (04:11)
B3 : All Strung Out Over You (03:35)
B4 : Not Too Long Ago (04:08)
B5 : Everything I Want I See In You (03:05)

Release Notes:

A dramatic, string-drenched epic, James Ralph Bailey’s Just Me ’N’ You has been a sought-after soul masterpiece for decades. A lush suite of beautiful songs, it was conceived as a concept album; a sophisticated paean to love.

Originally released by MAM Records in 1974, Just Me ’N’ You is a breathtaking jazzy soul album. It’s similar in style to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On - particularly the performances, orchestrations and chord progressions - but dealing with a different universal subject matter. If What’s Going On was about romance instead of politics, it would sound like this.

Fans of Marvin, Leon Ware, Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson and Willie Hutch will love this record. Not as well known - this is definitely an underrated gem - the work of James Ralph Bailey is no less mind-blowing. It’s got to be one of the best soul albums of all time.

The original productions were made on a basic home tape machine and enhanced with strings, rhythmic overdubs and a variety of other instrumentation. These are beautiful arrangements of strings and jazzy horns. Rhythm guitars and bouncy bass serve as the groove foundation, congas provide a Latin feel whilst the vibraphone and harmonica add colour. And then of course there’s JR’s voice.

His style recalls Hathaway, with a delivery akin to Marvin at the time. As he scats and sings, accompanying himself in sweet harmonies, there is still a rawness of pain and longing in his voice, the rawness familiar to all deep soul.

As an album, Just Me ’N’ You is no mere collection of songs. The tender, smooth tunes flow perfectly together into a fluid, single artistic statement. This is one where it’s hard to pick out any standouts. You may have heard the soaring title track before, maybe on Gilles Peterson’s Digs America compilation. The opening track “After Hours” sounds as fresh now as it ever was and segues beautifully into the majestic “Heaven On Earth”. Recorded by Hathaway the previous year, Bailey’s original of “Love Love Love” is incredible and arguably the definitive version. The powerful, dreamy, sax-and-harmony-laced “All Strung Out Over You” has echoes of the Chi-Lites, it’s that good. Goosebumps. And we could go on.

Mastered by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and pressed at Record Industry, this Be With edition of Just Me ’N’ You sounds every bit as brilliant as it should. A joyous celebration of love, this album is perfect in every way. If you don’t already own a copy then now is the time.
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