10 years since the last installment, Herbert returns to the seminal Parts series synonymous with his trailblazing work in leftfield house music that began with Part One nearly 30 years ago.



It features the first of a series of pieces written with, and sung by artist, producer and drummer Momoko Gill (fka Metta Shiba and performer with Tirzah, Coby Sey, Alabaster de Plume amongst others).



Part 9is the first in a planned resurgence of forthcoming Herbert releases, withPart 10lined up for later in 2024 and his seventh album under this moniker slated for early next year. More

Transparent Blue Vinyl More

LP FORMAT DETAILS: 2LP Black Vinyl in gatefold packaging.

TRACKLISTING:
A1. Two Doors featuring Joy Morgan
A2. Hypnotised featuring Mel Uye-Parker
A3. Might As Well Be Magical featuring Allie Armstrong
B1. Chain Reaction featuring Bianca Rose
B2. Fantasy featuring Verushka
B3. The Impossible featuring allie Armstrong
B4. Unrestorable featuring Siân Roseanna
C1. Tell Me A Secret featuring Siân Roseanna
C2. The Slip
C3. The Horror featuring Allie Armstrong
C4. The Way featuring Y’akoto
D1. Be Young featuring Daisy Godfrey
D2. Gold Dust featuring Bianca Rose
D3. Let Me Sleep featuring Bianca Rose

OVERVIEW:
Musca is the next in the series of domestic house albums to follow the groundbreaking LP classics? Around The House (1998), and Bodily Functions (2001).

2021 is proving to be a bumper year for Herbert fans who can also look forward to a package of very special 12” remixes later this summer and the premiere of 10-years-in-the-making-documentary, Symphony of Noise, about his work with sound.

After the wide expanse of his last big band album The State Between Us made with more than 1000 musicians and singers across Europe, this album instead is inward looking. Born of both intimacy and collaboration, features eight singers, Verushka, Siân Roseanna, Allie Armstrong,? Bianca Rose, Melissa Uye-Parker, Daisy Godfrey, Y’akoto and Joy Morgan - all of whom Matthew has never worked with before or met face to face. It also features musicians Nick Ramm, Tom Herbert, Tom Skinner, Finn Peters, Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian and Leo Taylor, who, like the singers, all self-recorded and in isolation from each other.

Matthew says: “Like presumably many other albums made during the last year, Musca reflects on navigating the challenges and joys of our most intimate relationships whilst the world is in turmoil. Not just with Covid, but with the rise in state and political violence, facebook-friendly fascism, white supremacy and a climate in crisis.”

Matthew has talked about the need to retreat to an earlier, more familiar way of creating music as a form of solace during an unstable year. Having completed his PhD last year about the ethics of composing with sound and with his next experimental project based on more than one billion sounds, Musca is a moment of introspection, a pause. The album takes its name from musca -? the genus part of the latin name for a housefly and includes a variety of sounds from around the farm where he lives, including a synth made from his wife’s dog, one of his pig’s snoring and fox cubs gekkering.

Matthew continues, “The week last year when I wrote most of these songs seems like another era altogether. I have no idea how they will sound a year later now the context has changed so markedly. The optimist in me wants to leap forwards, vaccinated into the sunshine brandishing the NHS logo, but the realist in me is aghast at the wave of death unleashed upon this country by an incompetent and corrupt government. The record probably has ended up with both of those things however - optimism that an alternative way of organising ourselves is possible and anger and gloom that we’re not there yet.”

The 13 track album has been mixed by Matthew and mastered by long term collaborator and Grammy winning engineer, Mandy Parnell (Björk, Brian Eno and Aphex Twin). The artwork is by Sarah Hopper who has done nearly all the artwork for Matthew’s house music output for 25 years.

2021 also sees the release of a special documentary by Enrique Sanchez Lansch about Matthew and listening. Entitled A Symphony Of Noise, the film follows Matthew through 20 or so of his projects as an electronic musician, artist and sound activist over 10 years. The film was produced by Kloos and co and distributed by Rise and Shine Cinema. You can watch the trailer here

A Symphony Of Noise screening dates:
28th May - Premier, Poland
15th August - Premier, Berlin & Hamburg, Q & A’s with Matthew Herbert
2nd September - General Release in Germany Date in Autumn
TBC - Premier, London

Matthew Herbert is a widely acclaimed composer, producer and writer based next to the marshes of East Kent. His most recent album, The State Between Us was a collaboration across borders between 1000 musicians as part of the Brexit Big Band (2019), prior to that he released an album that was a book - the Music (A Novel Through Sound) published in 2018. Before that, A Nude soundtracked 24 hours of human activity through recordings of a single body. Matthew wrote the score for the Oscar-winning Chilean film A Fantastic Woman, the Academy Award nominated documentary The Cave, recent Julianne Moore film Gloria Bell and the acclaimed West End play People, Places and Things. More

Forever ahead of the curve, Matthew Herbert dropped this 3 track EP on Classic all the way back in 1996 and every track featured sounds like it could easily have been released yesterday. Such is the genius of Herbert, always managing to be one step ahead of most other producers, whether it's producing slamming house like 'You got to be moving', rolling emotive electronics like 'Fat king fire' or subtle, shifting percussion confusing jams like 'Housewife' all of his tracks retain this fresh energy that can't be pigeon holed. 'Classic Herbert' is exactly that, a 3 tracker that defies genre, celebrates the eclecticism of it's producer and still manages to be slamming (& classic) in the process! Essential stuff! This EP has always been tough to track down, proving to be a very sought after gem in the vinyl digging world. A repress was definitely needed!
'Classic Herbert' has been legitimately re-released with the full involvement of Matthew Herbert for 2017 and remastered from the original sources specially for Mint Condition. 100% legit, licensed and released. Dug, remastered, repackaged and brought to you by the caring folks at your new favourite reissue label - Mint Condition! More

Marc Houle needs little introduction, with previous releases on M¦nus, Innervisions and his own label Items & Things. We were humbled by the fact that he sent us a bunch of amazing tunes, and were very happy to release them. Banging, melodic, moody,.It's all there, pitch-black. More

After their first appearance on Curle via 'Naïf', the mix compiled by Efdemin earlier this year, Aubrey & Simone Gatto now deliver their debut ep for the label.
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It sounds ridiculous to state that this is Efdemin's best release so far on Curle, when you realise that's the artist that brought us classics like Acid Bells and America... But the whole EP truly is amazing from start to finish. All tracks feature Efdemin’s brand new second mix-album called 'Naïf'.
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Four exclusive tracks taken from Efdemin's brand new second mix-album called 'Naïf'. Unreleased music by Tobias Freund, Simone Gatto & Aubrey, Sebastian Mullaert and Efdemin himself.
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Since making their debut on the imprint in 2013 with 'Blue Aconite', the Italian duo Hiver has since released two more EPs on Curle. Kicking off the EP is 'Elipse', a stunning four-minute track that nods to avant-garde artists such as Wolfgang Voigt's GAS alias or Brian Eno, as the pair gradually weaves several layers of shining, atmospheric tones before slowly fading into the background.
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After a two year hiatus, Kiani returns to his Far Out Systems alias for this EP, his first offering for a label outside of his own Tanzbar Records.
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Edanticonf's music feels perfectly crafted for the brooding atmospheric venues he so often performs in. Both the aforementioned adjectives can be attributed to his style of techno too, one that places the focus less on the technical side and more onthe human one, aiming to reflect his emotions and state of being through the hazy soundscapes that draw influence from the natural scenery around him.
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First pressing on marbled vinyl. Swayzak is a name that needs little introduction, with albums on Studio !K7 and releases on Force Tracks, M¦nus, Tresor and Logistic since the late nineties.
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'Omega System' is a journey to deep space and beyond, to the unknown destinations allowed by the mythical and mysterious Omega relay that's been turning around Omega's red sun since ages.





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first pressing on marbled orange 10" vinyl) New material by Microworld from Transmat, Styrax Leaves & Millions Of Moments fame.



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From deep house to solid techno; the long awaited new Franklin De Costa on Curle


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I got to know Gavin Russom's music thanks to the amazing 'The Days Of Mars' album he recorded together with Delia Gonzalez now ten years ago on DFA Records. Flash forward to last year, when we released Michele Mininni's trippy 'Endless Ceremony'. Gavin Russom loved that one and sent over a demo shortly after - you're listening to it now. I am really proud to be able to release an EP from such an extraordinary artist, enjoy! 1st pressing on splattered 12"! (transparent vinyl with pink, light blue & black splatters)
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From techno to house and back, or "Berlin House" as Pablo likes to call it himself. Expect to hear lots more from this super talented producer.
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(Rocketnumbernine remix) First pressing on coloured vinyl! Early support from Gavin Russom, Âme, Ripperton, A Made Up Sound, James Holden, Optimo, Deadbeat...

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we're proud to welcome Matt back on Curle for his second full EP. Don't forget your scuba glasses, it's deep!
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Here we are with the first Curle of 2014, after a lengthy but refreshing hibernation. First up is our now Berlin based compatriot Peter Van Hoesen. More

Talbot Wood is a young producer from Antwerp, Belgium. He was featured on a Various Artists EP on Other Heights earlier this year, but this is his debut EP. 'Analepsis', a funky dub techno track, is definitely the bomb on this one. 'Dream Sequence' is a lot deeper, but his good friend Locked Groove (Hotflush Recordings) turned it into a stomper too. Sure shots for the floor these! More

deep analogue sounding techno with a Tobias. remix who totally nailed it, again. A very atmospheric piece that fans of Convextion/E.R.P. should definitely check out. More