Photonz returns to UTTU with an EP of 4 cosmik house cuts, namaste! More

Cosmic Club 17’s in the house, and for this one Skylax have delved deep into the mystic universe of the ultra prolific photonz with a four track EP quite simply out of this dimension ! Photonz is the artist name of Marco Rodrigues, a London-based DJ and producer who's been championing the new sound of Portuguese house and techno worldwide since the early 2000s. He has done tracks for various labels such as crème organization, unknown to the unknown, hot haus, the "cult" dissident and many more. His first cut "memories of burma" that gave the title to the ep is an infinite groove that builds and builds with arabic synths, a perfect crossover between balearic & old school jackin house. "Baronrevxp" & "agape" moves into the same territories with some sharp clap, hi hats and some big retro vintage sounds. While "stealth predator" catches him at his most experimental, upping the tempo and unleashing an ambitious techno juke roller, think about drexcya, 1990s techno, Plink Plonk and you're not even close ! Photonz music sounds extremely big for the big rooms, and still very large indeed for the smaller ones.His music is praised by The Chemical Brothers, Jackmaster, Optimo, Ivan Smagghe, Daniel Avery, James Holden, Ewan Pearson, Auntie Flo, Tim Sweeney, just to name a few. ”Memories of Burma” EP is not just a cosmic experience, but a voyage into the realms of a producer in a world of his own. Must have. Essential item. SKYLAX RECORDS 4 EVER !

More

Photonz is Marco Rodriguez, a London based but Portuguese producer who has been active for a decade plus. Here he debuts on Creme Organization after impressing with EPs on Ibadan, One Eyed Jacks and Unknown To The Unknown. His first cut, 'Gnosis Of Wolfers' is a raw, knackered sounding house track with glassy melodic tension and slow-jack drums. It's intense, multi-layered and nervy and keeps you engaged from start to finish. 'Ceremonial Acid' is then an airy, spacious affair with heavenly pads and gurgling synths and drums. Loose but atmospheric, it's a fulsome track that really places you in the middle of Photonz's sound world. 'Sad Mania' is another misty sounding cut with watery droplets, aqueous textures and ramshackle drums rattling below, before 'Filterhatz' is a slow and sludgy acid offering with sharp hi hats, filtered 303 lines and lots of wobble. Lastly, digital only track 'Basik' rounds out the EP in brooding fashi on, with big retro synths, percolating drums and pinging percussion. There are plenty of unique qualities to Photonz's work and this EP further confirms that fact. More

Photonz have taken no prisoners in 2011. Following their dancefloor destroying third release on One Eyed Jacks alongside Tiago they up the heat yet again with a first outing on Don't Be Afraid. Spectre is surely destined to please fans of Oni Ayhun, Joy Orbison, and other forward thinking house music producers alike with it's jaded xylophone hooks and cold as ice groove. Wall is a slice of trademark Photonz Portuguese acid, an infinite groove that builds and builds. Dokos is a more downbeat, tracky number which will slot nicely into the sets of DJs who favour the old school house sound of Chicago and Detroit. Prometheus catches the pair at their most experimental, upping the tempo and unleashing an ambitious techno juke roller which is as much Machinedrum as it is the sound of 1990's techno circa Pacific Records and Plink Plonk. More

LA threesome ASHRR aka lead vocalist Steven Davis and producer-musician-vocalists Josh Charles and Ethan Allen are back with a brilliant new album for Ralph Lawson's superb 20/20 Vision Recordings that finds them working by the old mantra of 'art for art's sake'. This effortlessly eclectic record collides electronic soul, post-punk, space disco and indie-dance and is rich in melancholic melody, hazy, late-summer moods and late-night dancing. The vocals bring an indie edge to jangling delights like 'Please Don't Stop The Rain' while 'What's Been Turning You On' is a laidback and languid groove for lazy sessions. More

Long-cherished underground stalwart Claus Voigtmann finally serves up his long-awaited new album Life Miles after many years of essential sounds on labels like Assemble and Intermission. He really shows his range here with a record that draws on his experiences of playing around the world in all sorts of different settings. 'Pinfire' and 'Transitory Moments' open up and take you to the heart of fabric, a club he has played so often, while 'North of the Sun' heads off into space on sleek electro rhythms while the likes of 'Abundance' bring cosmic melodic fun to a lively and inventive rhythm. Elsewhere there is the high-speed electro-funk of 'Flight Of Fancy' and the introspective downbeat trip 'Send Love To The Future' making this a varied and vital affair. More

20/20 Vision and Crazy P continue their long and fruitful relationship with a fourth volume of carefully curated and super-fresh new cuts as part of this fine ongoing series. Scandi-disco don Ray Man opens up with typically lush cosmic melodies and loose-limed nu-disco beats with more than a hint of funk. Tigerbalm then heads into a tropical oasis with 'Cosmic Union' (feat Joy Tyson) which has Afro rhythms and steamy vocals bringing the heat. Ruf Dug shows his multi-genre chops again with 'Vape Quarter Rhythm' which is part proto-house cut and part dreamy Italo bliss out with rave whistles and hands-in-the-air chords. Ibiza's Tuccillo closes out with one of his signature Balearic gems in 'Siroco', which is as breezy and carefree as cocktails by the sea at sundown. More

Luther Vine's Fragments Of Reality and its various artists series have been a real doozy for 20/20 but now the sub-label offers up a first solo EP. It is Snad who gets the gig and he is a house producer from Berlin making big waves right now. This one follows outings on Chicago's Kimochi Records, Chez Damier's Courtesy of Balance and the Dungeon Meat label and is another raw, stripped-back offering of tough house. 'Bootlickerz' is a bristling cut ready for the peak time, 'Goobernatorial Candidacy' has a more stripped-back but just as compelling groove and 'Per Savour' goes deep into late-night goodness before closer 'Butt Heads' picks up the pace once more. More

After the first two well-received outings of this series, Crazy P is back with another of their Curates offerings This is another limited edition selection with four cuts all carefully selected by the disco funksters and all served p with fresh art by the one and only Bristol artist Victoria Topping. Hardway Bros kick off with some nice far-sighted deep disco, Das Komplex's is a more psyched-out offering then Lea Lisa brings a lush and symphonic sound and Red Rack'em offers late-night lover's grooves to make for a very tasteful and nicely diverse selection More

Exit Planet Earth continues its exploration of the world of electro universe with an expansive, extended six track EP, featuring The Advent x Zein Ferreira, DeFeKT, London Modular Alliance, Konertymi and Zobol. The Advent, whose weekly Gardening Club residency in the mid-90s helped to drag electro out of the realms of the retro and back into the future, team up with Zein Ferreira for a Kraftwerk-on-speed extended mix of 'CarpeDiem', before London Modular Alliance's more moderately paced but still squiggle and bleep laced 'Lump of Coal' plus a 'beats' breakdown for the DJs. The B-side brings us the acid-powered 'Pulssi' by Konerytmi, the bouncy, breakdance-friendly 'Radar' by DeFeKT, and the relatively pure, optimistic sonics of Zobol's 'Data Wars'. Thumbs up all round. More

Following the epic dystopian LP 'Manifold' Versalife returns with his second album on 20/20 Vision 'Chronoception'. The accomplished Dutch producer Boris Bunnik aka Conforce delves deep into the cosmic abyss with 8 auditory adventures laced with shadowy tones, deep base and robotic funk. More

Ralph Lawson's 20/20 Vision has been a reliable home for disco funksters Crazy P over the years. Even though the label has veered more into electro sounds of late, happily it still has the space for this second volume of tunes curated by the Nottingham outfit. It shows how their sound has broadened over the years and takes in the gorgeous downtempo lushness of A Certain Ratio's 'Atmosphere Sings' next to Hot Toddy's deep and thoughtful groove 'Barry & The Mouse'. On the flip is some majestic and cosmic Italo from scene-godfather Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi on 'Neono' and then Sarah Bates rounds out with some rugged bass guitar riffs and late-night tropical heat on 'All About That'. More

20/20 Vision have enlisted disco overlords Crazy P to curate a brand new series of records for the label, with exclusive tracks produced by some of their favourite artists on the cards. Designed to stretch beyond the world of disco and showcase the band's wide ranging and eclectic musical tastes, there'll be Balearic moments, downtempo beats, indie dance and electronica spread over four vinyl records.
Volume One kicks things off in style with a brand new track from Crazy P themselves, 'People (We Can Transform)', a slinky medium paced groove run through with a slowly opening acid line, funky guitars and an uplifting vocal. Elsewhere, Ashley Beedle declares 'War On The Bullshit (Revive)' with a barnstorming dancefloor stomper and Felix Dickinson remixes ASHRR's 'Fizzy' into a classy noir instrumental where jazz funk keyboards swirl around a rock solid b-line. Change Request & Saucy Lady close the whole affair with soul drenched diva-fest 'Be Dramatic', definitely the most old skool of the lot. It all bodes very well for the next three instalments. More

Originally from France and now based in Berlin Isolated Material has dropped a steady run of heavy hitting releases on labels including; Brokntoys, Haws, Ukonx, 909 Connection and Mind Controlled Rectifier before joining us for his debut EP on 20/20 Vision.

'Hidden Node' kicks off the wax with a jarring excursion of futuristic breaks and abrasive sound design firing on all cylinders with complex drum patterns, bleeps and glitches. 'Asynchronous Funk' sees Isolated Material serve up an abstract slice of electro funk with a solid broken beat groove peppered with unexpected moments of off-kilter magic.

On the flip side - title track 'Hidden Node' offers up a dose of Drexciyan inspired funk primed for a set on the dark side of the moon with; high octane breaks, quick fire drum programming, intricate synth patterns and ominous undertones. Wrapping up the EP 'Unmarked Sequence' is an equally potent chaser for the wide eyed deep space traveller in need of body jerking breaks. More

Subb-an returns to 20/20 Vision with 'State Of Flow' featuring vocals from Oli Gosh (Crosstown Rebels). Ash Subhan has been an integral part of the deep house and techno scenes over the last decade and more with releases for One Records, Spectral and Culprit.

'State Of Flow' is a beautiful slice of deep techno that incapsulates atmospheric layers of melodies and vocals with powerful bottom heavy bass and percussive floor control. SOF is the first collaboration between Subb-an and singer songwriter Oli Gosh and has resulted in new directions and musical landscapes.ASOF comes complete with remixes from Adam Pits and Armec.
Adam Pits delivers a devious little gem aimed at dance-floor destruction that winds it's way between a heavy garage bassline and 90's four to floor house rhythms, fragmenting the vocal around an increasingly unhinged and infectious groove. It's fusion served at it's finest and a super fresh sound perfectly placed for the current club scene.

Armec accentuates and expands the immense power hidden in 'State Of Flow' by breakin' the beats up and adding heavily swung filtered loops snaking around a massive bass. The Armec remix comes complete with a twist to its tale with the additional of a magnificently wobbly arpeggiated synth twisting our melons into a right old state. More

The much loved and highly sought after Hot Toddy Remix of Never Gonna Reach Me is finally getting a long overdue vinyl repress from the original masters and artwork. It's no exaggeration to say that NGRM has become a bona fide disco classic since its first release that has stood the test of time. Crazy P band member Chris Todd took the original version from the band's Stop, Space, Return album and remixed it up for the dance floor adding disco drums, rhodes keys and arpeggiated synth sequences. On the flip side there is another sublime remix from Still Going, the New York duo best known for their output on DFA. All in all an absolutely essential addition to any record collection... More

Carl Finlow has produced an astonishing catalogue of music over a career spanning three decades, with his discography including hundreds of releases and remixes under a variety of monikers. 'Desequence' is the latest edition to Finlow's expansive productions and a masterclass in electronic music.A

'Desequence' kicks off the record with a heavy dose of integalactic funk with interstellar beats rockin' over squelchy bass lines and razor sharp glitches. While 'Downstream' delivers a warped groove wrapped up in Finlow's intricate programming.A

'Guttural' is an overwhelming assault of rapid fire elements, forming complex off kilter breaks littered with robotic licks and served over deep, low end bass. 'Wavefront' closes yet another impeccable addition to Finlow's highly accomplished works, with an off planet adventure through extraterrestrial soundscapes. More

ATAXIA & Mister Joshooa kick off with 'Subversive' - a slick tripped-out breakbeat-driven jam from Detroit's Marble Bar and TV Lounge residents. It's a powerful and expertly programmed production with a barrage of drums and bass held down by an array of ricocheting synth and vocal FX, tried and tested on Detroit's most discerning dancefloors. Next up Harrison BDP let's loose with 'Dirty Mochyn', a 90's inspired roller from the prolific producer featuring his signature dubby sound design, synth licks and a throbbing bassline.

Strap yourselves in, as the flip side opens with a deep house composition from hotly tipped Leeds based producer Adam Pits. 'Pat On The Back' sucks you into a wormhole of bubbling music with cosmic pads swirling around the stereo field and a beautifully expressive synth line - finished to perfection with a highly swung TR909 groove. The record is then perfectly balanced by Berlin based Keisuke with 'Ok Taiko' - a deep driving house track following hot on the heels from his killer debut EP on Phonica White. 'Ok Taiko' oozes with TB303 goodness and nostalgia-evoking piano stabs, all strung together with an ever evolving house rhythm. More

The Exit Planet Earth series continues with the first ever collaboration between two undisputed electro-funk heavyweights Egyptian Lover & Soul Clap. Egypt knows how to rock the TR 808 like no other and has been a true player on the LA electro scene since 1984. While Soul Clap have forged their unique E-Funk sound coming out of New York City as part of the Crew Love collective. The resulting track 'Hai Karate' is a slice of superbly produced classic electro designed to rattle bass bins from Miami to Mars.
Following form in classic electro directions, Futurenauts present their debut track 'We are the Futurenauts' that brings a slower based groove reminiscent of 'A Love from Outer Space' into the cosmos and delivers a powerful message to humanity. The flip sees a welcome return to 20/20 Vision from the Maltese magician Sound Synthesis who continues the vocoded vocals but adds a state-of-the-art assault on the senses with a slamming track aimed firmly at the discerning dancefloor. EPE 08 is finished off in fine style by Mick Wilson & August Artier with 'Akira's Cry', which fuses a deep house bassline and chords with tight break beat programming and powerful lead strings. More

Fragments of Reality continues to suck you through wormholes into the multiverse with the second selection of exclusive V/A tracks produced for the fledgling imprint.

FOR 02 opens with a brand new collaboration between Subb-an (ONE records) and Luther Vine (Phonica) with a track called 'Expression' - an ominous, swirling, floor-filling monster that combines relentless rhythms, otherworldly vocals and futuristic synths into a high-quality production. It's closely followed by 'Animal Anthem' from acid breaks maestro Rudolf C, that features his trademark multi-dimensional layers of sound wrapped up in a contemplative mood and finished with intense production skills.

The flip side opens with 'Pyramid' a fresh new sound from a mysterious duo, Voodoos and Taboos. Following a string of high calibre releases on Phonica AM and their own label the duo continue to make their mark as masters of cinematic sound design with this tripped out mind melter! FOR 02 is beautifully balanced with 'Enchanted' from Berlin based duo ERIS, known amongst other things for their releases on Tokyo based label, Cabaret. Once again Fragments of Reality delivers four unique excursions into different dimensions and soundscapes. More

Barcelona based Annie Hall drops her debut EP on 20/20 Vision 'Maruxaina', following releases on D1, Detroit Underground, Semantica, CPU and most recently our Exit Planet Earth vinyl series. Annie's eclectic and uniquely expressive output has seen her serve up tracks that take you straight to the dance floor, alongside complex and inventive musical soundscapes.

Kicking things off on the A side the title track 'Maruxaina' draws you in with nostalgic breaks and bass trudges, complimented by warm echoed chords and hypnotic tones. Next up on the A side 'Meiga' serves up a driving groove with deep rolling drums and patterned glitches, intertwining uplifting chord progressions and a soothing vocal, forming a uniquely mesmerising electronic soundscape.A

'Bretema' opens up the B side with a space bound atmospheric gem, grounded by a solid break groove yet elevated with cinematographic synths and harmonic melodies. Wrapping up the EP 'Sarabia' provides an unapologetic experimental expression that blurs the boundaries of genre, with off kilter pads, deep kicks and edgy glass synths creating a beautifully obscure serenity. More

There seems to be something in the water down in Hastings as a veritable hive of electronic music artists have been busy making beats in ever growing numbers down there - including Kim Cosmik.

Kim's debut on 20/20 Vision is an impressive and highly original mix of techno, electro, broken beats and industrial sounds, destined to destroy the long-anticipated dance floor revival. Although overall the record is abrasive, hard-hitting and takes no prisoners - beneath the surface, in tracks like 'Drifting' we also find nuances of emotional musicality that shed vast streams of light on the proceedings. The record does indeed kick off with intent though with 'Night Flight' - a blistering techno workout that would resonate magnificently in the mighty Berghain hall. There's no holding back the menacing bass line, fortified tough jacking groove on this one as strong synth lines and strings embellish and complete the soundscape.Over to 'Ore' which cranks up the gears into an industrial techno slammer packed with abstract outer-planet sound design finished off with pounding overdriven drums programmed with military precision.

On the flip side is a gem called 'Nocturnal'- this is the cut that first really caught our attention at 20/20 Vision, with it's merciless industrial dubstep kick drums and brutal precision. It's a simple, stripped back workout held in place beautifully by a discordant string - there's just no escaping this fierce ruling diva. Not for the faint-hearted but those who dare will be rewarded.

Kim's final track 'Drifting' is the jewel in the crown that provides the light after the storm. It's a blissful, cosmic, jazz fused musical tapestry driven by break beats, while compassionate strings infused with Kim's own vocal harmonies and subtle piano motifs glisten and glide over the track adding soothing layers of harmonious quality. Drifting is the perfect close to a truly stunning debut EP. More