Presales Week -1282

Metronomy release their third album, 'The English Riviera' on April 11th through Because Music. The follow up to 2008's critically acclaimed 'Nights Out', 'The English Riviera' is a sonic progression of epic proportions and affirms Metronomy front man and producer, Joseph Mount, as a rare British talent.
Since 'Nights Out', the band have swollen to a four piece with new members Anna Prior on drums, Gbenga Adelekan on bass, original member Oscar Cash on keys/sax, and Joe himself on vocals, keys and guitar. This expansion of personnel is reflective of a new record that is mapped by vast soundscapes, incredible depth and warmth, and big pop hooks
Part love letter to the area of Devon coast Mount grew up in and part concept album about his own semi-fictionalised vision of "The English Riviera", the tone for the album is set by the opening sounds of seagulls, distant waves and a Music Hall string quartet. However, any notion of whimsy is swiftly dispelled, as the seismic bass line of 'We Broke Free' shudders and ushers in waves of layered guitars and synths.
Having produced and remixed everyone from Roots Manuva to Kate Nash and the forthcoming album from Nicola Roberts, this is the first Metronomy album that Mount has taken out of his bedroom and recorded in a proper studio. The results are telling.
Characterised throughout with a sense of warmth and richness, 'The English Riviera' is in parts reminiscent of seminal 1970s West Coast studio albums from the likes of Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, but due to Mount's studio wizardry, the record sounds vibrant and entirely of its time.
Few other albums released this year will so successfully transcend such a plethora of influences and ideas and form such a coherent body of work.

Tracklisting:
Side A:
The English Riviera
We Broke Free
Everything Goes my way
The Look
She Wants
Trouble
Side B:
The Bay
Loving Arm
Corinne
Some Written
Love Underlined


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

What a day indeed! Fresh blood on the label puts a smile on our faces. This young Italian had us dancing from first demo and here is the finished result. Welcome to the family Riccardo! Deep, sexy grooves with that vital element of funk we?re always on the hunt for. A modern sound palette sporting percussive grooves, vocal snippets and soulful harmonies. The title track comes with a rolling bass line, disco licks and an organ hook to get the groove on. Typinic on the flip is built beautifully around vocal stabs, filtered keys and floating harmonies. The sound is very personal and Riccardos mature sense of arrangement and room is impressive. Quality deep all the way! Equally exciting is our RMX pack from up?n coming producers Mario Aureo out of Berlin and Dimitri Andreas hailing from Brussels. Mario turns up the heat on the title track with a firm beats package and very tasty use of the original keys. A true viber now, irresistibly funky. Dimitri takes Typinic to peak territories with a shufflesque groove, thick bass and sax stabs. Just wait for the drop!!

More info at www.colourful.se


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Even if no other contemporary music style is as consistently searching for new sound horizons as electronic dance music does: in the end, the tradition of series within this constant development provides us with well-known structures from the house of Cocoon. 30 years of lived DJ culture, 11 years of label history and, after all, already the sixth mix compilation by Chris Tietjen are events that need to be celebrated this year. The 26-year-old Frankfurter is an essential part of the Cocoon family since 2005 and his annual compilation is on the one hand a most welcome definition of the state-of-the-art of modern Tech-House, and on the other hand shows his own personal development from the promising Rhein Main newcomer to one of the most influential DJs in Europe. In the true sense of Cocoon's publicised aesthetics of the DJ as a mediator of visions apart from the Sync button, Tietjen starts out for a journey through the last 12 months of Cocoon Recordings. And, once again, the acoustic cornucopia is full to bursting, containing tracks by Loco Dice, Dubfire, Phil Kieran, Christian Burkardt and many more: from the Pop Ambient of Fabric resident DJ Arnaud Le Texier ("Elusanes" Beatless Version), Tietjen dives into the depths of Dub with Moritz von Oswald's "Cocoon Dark Dub" before the Vision Quest remix of Dinky's "Acid In My Fridge" sets the signs - careful but unmistakeably - to a more club-esque format. What follows is yet again a tour de force through modern Techno where anything goes, from percussive reduction (Johannes Heil "The Ace - Butch Remix"), noise-heavy Deep Tech House (Maetrik "Snorkel"), winding and harmonic Detroit Techno (2000 And One "Tropical Melon - Tim Green Remix") up to an almost Balearic emotion overflow towards the finale (Chymera "Pump"; Johannes Heil "Twentythree") - a picturesque and more than inspiring kaleidoscope of modern electronic music.
Tracklisting:
1 Arnaud Le Texier Elusanes (Beatless)
2 Moritz Von Oswald Cocoon Dark Dub
3 Dinky Acid in My Fridge (Visionquest Rmx)
4 Argy Unreliable Virgin (Tim Green Rmx)
5 Christian Burkhardt Stopover Goa
6 Maetrik Feat. Kule Runner Snorkel
7 Loco Dice La Bicicletta
8 Phil Kieran Blood Of Barcelona (Pan-Pot Rmx)
9 2000 And One Tropical Melons (Paul Ritch Rmx)
10 Psycatron & Paul Woolford Thunder
11 Harrison Crump Deep Down Inside (Reboot Rmx)
12 Dubfire Rejekt
13 Chymera Pump
14 Johannes Heil Twentythree
15 Outro


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

DJ T.'s Pleasure Principle immersed itself, wholly and rapturously, into electronic music's legacy of soul, and helped to usher in a new period of groove-heavy deepness. Like an antidote to clinical club sounds, album standout tracks like "Sense" inject some well needed groove into the dancefloor. The "Maxi Version" of "Sense" partners faraway melodies with James Teej's breathy vocals that get up close and personal. A deep electro funk bass riff establishes its intent, and snaky percussion leads to a more structured house beat. Piping flute sounds and drum echoes add an element of swing, while analogue handclaps and the track's distinctive bass line recall its retro pedigree. Newcomers Tale Of Us continue their journey into dark minimalism, with a remix that isolates the percussion and vocals, shrouding both in reverb for maximum atmospheric effect. A sense of unease pervades through the saturated bassline and slow delayed handclaps, creating frosty mists and dark corners within the synth-tech house arrangement. Hot Natured duo Lee Foss and Jamie Jones next bring their sunny 'Midas' touch to the proceedings. Teasing out the intro with high hats and layered vocals, a sense of anticipation is high. It blooms into sleek, skittering beats and otherworldly sounds, with a bass line that's been cut & paste back into place, before it delves deeper into a menacing deep bass synth rumble. The "Club Version" begins with a kick, deep echoes and meek percussive sounds that loop upwards through the scale. The distinctive bass line and handclaps begin, then Teej's unadulterated vocals are pushed to the fore. Brittle metallic synth flares appear from below the bass-heavy beat and recede again, ending in an electro-disco retro groove.


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Returning to the Plus 8 fold once more, Paco Osuna is one of Spain's finest electronic exports. Having made a name for himself with a residency at Amnesia over a decade ago, he's since gone on to play places like Watergate, fabric and Movement Festival, all the while holding down a residency for Barcelona's Club4 night at City Hall. His experience in the studio goes way back, too, with releases on Drumcode and Minus as well as Mindshake - the techno imprint he founded in 2005. The Osuna sound has never strayed too far from the pulsing heart of the dancefloor - despite investigating everything from dark and fierce to stripped and raw techno - and that's the case once again on his Four EP… Opening with 'Atopisimo', unbalanced kicks strike a forceful pose immediately: from there, scattered glitches, dry claps and a churning percussion line flesh out the sturdy beat framework as the track rumbles on with tribal intentions. Come the disorientating breakdown, it's occult and atmospheric before things push on once more, brushing various male vocal inflections aside in the process. 'What That' again displays Osuna's propensity to make heavy basslines; this one cut up by sonic rips and ticks as it sways up and down. It's forceful, but nevertheless warm and organic enough to pull you right into its midst. 'Jackathor' comes on like a distant train, the draw of a cycling percussive line ever harder to ignore as it grows louder. It's economical techno embellished with just the right amount of tweaks and FX to bring the propulsive rhythms to life, as is the more clipped but equally driven closer, 'Pum Pum.' This, his fourth EP for the label, is arguably his strongest yet, and it speaks not only of continued innovation in Osuna, but of continued excellence in Plus 8.


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Although firmly entrenched in the Minus camp for years, this latest four track EP from US born, Berlin based Ambivalent marks a widening of his sonic remit. As such it arrives on the broader techno outpost that is Plus 8, and can be added to the likes of Clink for whom the man known as Kevin McHugh has also recorded. Carefully blending the soul of his American roots with a European propensity for machine music, Ambivalent’s ever evolving sonic blueprint here explores some of his most fluid grooves to date. ‘Jackson’ wastes no time in setting its stall out as a rolling tech cut swollen in a satisfying sub bass. As the track unfolds, though, it’s the spaces around the lolloping kicks and ticking hits that comes alive: alive with the endless crescendo of a hurried, muted organ sound that mesmerises as it cuts through the mix. With the arrival of some long-tailed and optimistic chords in the second half, it’s a masterfully economical use of colour that brings the whole thing alive with a subdued euphoria. Similar in construct is ‘Train to Brooklyn’, but this time the melody is much freer, falling up, down and side to side with an inebriated charm. Importantly, it adds a sonic looseness to the otherwise locomotive beats below. ‘Lear ’ – as the name suggests - is the more bullish sound that comes after too much inebriation: the beats boom and bash, hustling both each other and the echoing percussive line above. It’s tight, choppy stuff that would wake you from a moment of ennui with a loveable machismo. Striking a sweet spot between abstract digitalism and organic warmth once again is the digitalonly ‘Ghost Note’. With peppered hits and hats, claps and cow bells marking out the track’s cavernous sonic architecture, mysterious effects swoop in and out as de-tuned piano notes unfold with a devilish dynamism that both gives this track its name, and characterises the ‘floor facing EP overall.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

It has been two years now since Niko Schwind's debut album was released. In this time Niko has produced two records for Stil vor Talent, which showed his musical transition from more minimal tech-house to soulful house music. For his new album he has now produced ten tracks of house music that follow a musical journey from a pop-infused intro to musical dancefloor anthems.
"Good Morning Midnight" starts out with the vocal house track "Good Morning" that features singer Fran, who has recently so successfully sang on Oliver Koletzki's Tracks. This collaborative track is a slow-paced house groover with Fran's whispered vocals acting as the perfect starting place for this album. The use of the piano seems central to Niko's productions in this track and they remain a central element on the album. "Shine" is a track that slowly pulsates through a very prolific oldschool bassline, some great vocal samples and, yes, a wonderful harmonic piano melody. Things get a little more technological on "Playground Love", which features the typical 'Schwind'-Groove that is comprised of some punchy beats and vocal samples on the loop. An epic breakdown makes this track ideal for the mix, and the samples that Niko throws in on the mixdown are perfectly well-placed. Then, "People" kicks things off in a deeper direction. The deep and slow-paced synthesizer melody juxtaposes the quite hectic nature of the loop and the bassline on this track. The result is a beautifully deep hit that seems perfect for the start of the peak time. Aiming for the peak time itself is the track "Midnight" that is best described as percussive tech-house that features some pretty wasted vocals, stomping bass sounds and pizzicato strings. Overall, a real unique track that is sure to set the floor on fire.
For the second part of the album Niko has got together with some his closest production partners. First up are two tracks with his label buddies from Channel X with whom he has produced two melodic tech-house tracks. "Back From The Bar" sounds as the title suggests: a little wobbly, a little drunk, a little crazy, but also pretty magic. "Don't Turn the Lights On" is a more straightforward dancefloor with the trumpet playing the main part in this. This is one of those tracks that keeps leading up to a real arms-in-the-air-moment if it wasn't so damn housy at the same time. "Wake Up" featuring Staller is another percussive and very funky tech-house affair with some real vintage organs and vocal samples. Things stay very funky on the following track that Niko did together with Oliver Koletzki. "Master of Ceremony" is a chopped-up house track with epic dimensions. When things get to the piano breakdown, they get very musical and colossal before dropping back into a great house track. The stark contrast between the piano melody and the groove on this really make it. Last up is "Coming Home", a very slow moving ambient track that features Patrick Blasa. This almost jazzy and leftfield song with some great vocals perfectly closes the circle of the album that started slow and ends in a similar way.
With Niko Schwind's first album for Stil vor Talent you never loose the feeling that each of the tracks would work harmoniously on the dancefloor, but also within the concept of this album that goes from slow-moving vocal house to pretty nifty tech-house and back. Niko Schwind is a magician when it comes to producing very fine and mature pieces of house music that are sure to work great on the dancefloor. Maybe Niko has had the DJ in mind that he is himself, as the tracks seem to perfectly provide great productions, but also the ideal ability to mix them in and out, with little samples providing great audible cues. After all, as the title suggests "Good Morning Midnight" is an album with the dancefloor in mind.
Tracklisting:
01. Good Morning (feat. Fran)
02. Shine
03. Playground Love,
04. People
05. Midnight
06. Back From The Bar (feat. Channel X)
07. Don't Turn The Lights On (feat. Channel X)
08. Wake Up (feat. Staller)
09. Master of Ceremony (feat. Oliver Koletzki)
10. Coming Home (feat. Patrick Blasa)



Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

For the 10th release on Soweos we're proud to present... The return of DJ W!LD on our beloved label after his amazing "Con Estrellas" EP. The "Dance Until I Die" EP is typical W!LD style house track that was made to be played out loud. Sexy subs and a psychedelic breakdown we've come to know and love of his sound. Also included is a remix by label head Lauhaus, that brings the title track to a more groovy affair. He keeps the vibe of the original, but gives it a typical Amsterdam twist.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More