Simple Symmetry turn in an epic, mournful EP that reflects on their journey in exile.

After a long-standing affiliation with Multi Culti that includes remixes for Nicola Cruz and Drugface, as well as a huge edit for Culted, the Russian brothers weigh in with a heavy 12” that comes on the back of an emotional year where they defected from Moscow, their world turned upside down by politics of aggression. ‘Problem’ is built around a kernel of punk panic performed by Hugo Van Heijningen (of Red Light Radio, Cawd Slaydaz, Order Collective).

The anxious rage embedded in that opener finds a kind of disoriented catharsis in ‘Where I Am’, an uptempo ravey anthem that recalls the rush of CJ Bolland’s ‘Electronic Superhighway’ with a sense of angst and energy all their own. It’s the song of the soul-searching raver, finding a sense of home in the ecstasy of the dance, amidst a backdrop of oppressive fear and uncertainty.

The triptych concludes with the mournful ‘Funeral Of Past Affections’, their own strange brand of horn sounding a vast and potent letting go. At once influenced by and homage to Andrew Weatherall, this one hits hard, emotionally. Imagine tears on the dancefloor, the strings reminding us that dance music can indeed be anchored in the very deepest centre of our soul.

Supporting them on this trip are long-time compatriots Red Axes, a natural fit for the indie-punk elements in ‘Problem.’ More

Normally records that take a long time to make can sound fractious, convoluted self-absorbed. This is not the case with SORRY! WE DID SOMETHING WRONG, the debut from Moscow’s Simple Symmetry, which despite taking three years to create, is a total gas to listen to.

Simple Symmetry — aka the Lipsky brothers (Sasha and Sergey) — haven’t really looked to reinvent any wheel, rather they have managed to collate a vast amount of good vibes and well-loved sonic conceits and breathe new life and colour into them. Temporarily ditching the electrifying dance music they are famous for in favour of a universal pop sound — replete with flutes, cello, “all kinds of percussion” and synths, sitar and guitars — the brothers have made an upbeat and incredibly accessible record; a tonic for these uncertain times.

At first glance, some of the titles: ‘End of Days’, ‘I Must Not Fear’, ‘Oh Lord’, and ‘Out Of Body Experience’ don’t suggest the expansive and very danceable soundtracks we get to hear. But with the aforementioned tracks and rug cutters like ‘Che Che’, Simple Symmetry re explore those moments in the early-to-mid 1990s when artists like David Holmes, St Etienne, Andrew Weatherall and Death in Vegas looked to plunder the grooves and licks of the 1960s and early 1970s. The bell rings, flutes, harpsichord and vocal harmonies in ‘End of Days’, for instance, suggest the Beach Boys at their most laid back and sunkissed. Or The Monkees when they chowed down with Zappa and made Head. Even the countdown makes direct reference to the 60’s Space Race. Sometimes, the Lipsky’s reappropriations of these kinds of moments in popular music’s history are so brazen it’s best just to laugh at the sheer cheek of it all. Whilst shaking your hips, of course. Life-affirming, comforting even, SORRY! WE DID SOMETHING WRONG shows that old tricks can still be magical if used with the right spirit.

This record is also the sound of coming together. Literally, as well as metaphorically. Simple Symmetry confirms that “there were many collaborations with artists we love and admire from all over the world, from Russia, Israel, Germany, UK, Brazil and the USA.” Including a guest vocal by their good friend Petr Chinavat on the beautiful, hippy-dippy technicolour paean to one of the ocean’s most mysterious creatures, ‘Octopus’.

After a while it’s impossible to think too critically about the whys and hows, especially when confronted by floorfillers like ‘I Must Not Fear’ or the marvellous, gonzoid ‘Koko the Gorilla’ which stomps its way through the simplest, sugariest of melody lines and throwing out kooky vocal samples and comic roars for good measure… Koko turns up on the album cover, courtesy of Athens artist Dimitris Rocos. In a way the beast is a spirit animal for this release: in your face and brazen but (to steal a lyric from Julian Cope) kinda cute. For those needing some respite from all the high jinks, there is plenty of space to sink into a pleasant reverie, courtesy of the Gong-like comedown that goes by the name of ‘What A Relief’ and the Glide-tastic ‘Rounded with a Sleep’; both of which allow the gentlest of comedowns in your favourite seat at the Korova Milk Bar. More

Another debut record on LBF is coming from Saint Petersburg habitant - Pasha Mikheev aka Cable Toy.
Former game soundtracks and ad music maker, he found himself attending dance parties more frequently in recent years, and eventually making dance music himself.
After some time he started throwing parties at Tancploshadka club in Saint P, touring around Russia and quite often playing at Denis Simachev Shop & Bar, so it makes perfect sense that his first record appears on the affiliated label.
First tune here is a peak-time banger with an Acidic feel featuring a vocal hook from Kirill Ivanov, frontman of a Russian indie pop band SBP4, followed by a huge percussive hypno jam on A2.
The B-side offers two versions of a tune made in a collaboration with Lipelis, one of the label heads, and it's up to you to decide which way are you going - deeper Italo-house journey with the first version, or ravey, breakbeat territories of the second one. More

Let's be honest, DJ Tennis is amazing, and the fact that he was willing to do not one but two remixes for our Simple Symmetry release, is more than amazing, DJ Tennis needs no introductions, beside the point that he is one of the best DJs around and has one of the coolest labels, Life And Death, he is a gifted producer that transformed the 2 tracks of the original release to monsters, one, Plane Goes East, is a Disco winner, that just bangs with it's percussive attitude, and the other, Voodoo Your Ex is an amazing emotional journey that elevates the original to new heights, a vinyl to have and to hold.
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After a blazing start, Low Budget Family return ! The celebrated independent Moscow-based record label run by the crew behind the legendary Shop&Bar Denis Simachev deliver another stunner from SIMPLE SYMMETRY. MIMINO is another tropical House delight, all burly rhythms, punchy marimba, synth rises & anthemic chants before crescendoing into a whirling dervish of a top line . The Instrumental loses the synth-out and follows an altogether more atmospheric, but no less tremendous path. SIMSIM wraps things up in fine Middle Eastern fusion style, traditional instrumentation and melody underpinned by a snapping 808 drummachine jam. Zouk it and see ! More

'The Sullivan Brothers Are BACK! And they brought reinforcements. Hi This is Moscoman, I Love SX2, they are the artist i work with the most, I try to keep a super tight relationship and share with them all my knowledge, these days it’s super hard to get the attention of the Media, Fellow DJs and even your own mother , But I will say this, if you listen to their material you will be transcended to a time when everything was possible, when guitars ruled the airwaves, when you just wanted to stare at the floor and shake your head violently. Steady Up is a pure banger, Featuring Uprising Meteor and fellow Irish Pat Lagoon, Which I could only describe as Nirvana playing with Grime. Check it out, play it loud.' More

A master of his craft, Moscoman seamlessly mixes the old with the new in Can You Dig It as the classic Monkees track from their 1968 album Head is woven throughout - sampling at its best. "By infusing the Laurel Canyon vibes of The Monkees' 'Can You Dig It' into my new single, I wanted to pay homage to a timeless era and also to bring a fresh twist to it and make sure to get everyone diggin' it." Moscoman When talking about Rob The Plants, Moscoman comments on how the EP “is a sonic journey through some charted, and also uncharted territories. By going to the edge of the sound ranges of my production I think I managed to find my centre." Opening the EP is Bouabre with an all encompassing and hypnotic bassline beaconing the listener to the dancefloor, whilst melding together a glitchy vocal in true Moscoman style. Title track Rob The Plants hones in on Moscoman’s ability to fuse together a range of techniques, culminating in a dance floor ready heavy hitter. An addictive and driving bassline plays on throughout, whilst a catchy vocal and warm guitar licks are intertwined. Gradually increasing in intensity and closing the EP Nishar Levad is an emotionally charged offering ladened with atmospheric synths, haunting guitar chords and an inviting groove. More

Chaim, Chaim, Life, We here in the Disco Halal HQ are so happy about the fact you joined us, you are A True gentleman, A Melodic genius, and really the missing link in the chain of our releases. For you who still haven’t heard about Chaim, we urge you to do A Small search and find this universe, no less, of music that he has created on top labels such as BPitch, Jeudi, and so many more. As A Moroccan Decedent Chaim graced us with his fresh approach to North African Music, summing it up with banging beats and percussions. The Perfect Circle, lives up to his name, it feels like Chaim finally went back to where he has came from. More

Let's be honest, DJ Tennis is amazing, and the fact that he was willing to do not one but two remixes for our Simple Symmetry release, is more than amazing, DJ Tennis needs no introductions, beside the point that he is one of the best DJs around and has one of the coolest labels, Life And Death, he is a gifted producer that transformed the 2 tracks of the original release to monsters, one, Plane Goes East, is a Disco winner, that just bangs with it's percussive attitude, and the other, Voodoo Your Ex is an amazing emotional journey that elevates the original to new heights, a vinyl to have and to hold.
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It was such a hot day in May 2014, we all remember, Moscoman drop by his home town of Tel Aviv to do a party with Krikor aka Crackboy as his guest, they had a few hours to kill just before the gig, Mosco rang up his old compadres and brothers in arms Red Axes, to see what they were up to, they were just hanging at the studio, “We’re coming” he said, and the rest is history, thanks to the taxi driver Abed that was waiting downstairs to take them to the gig, they had vocals to finish this track and Mosco had the chance to play this track that night already . Powered by A uncompromising mix from no doubt one of the best producers of electronic music, Roman Flugel, and another killer by Red Axes, not a lot is left to do but wait for this monster record to drop. More

In this offering by the Berlin-based and made in the Middle East label Disco Halal, We bring you something fresh from Tel Aviv. Naduve, after releases in Rothmans, and CDA, it's time for him to come back home accompanied by Saturn Memories (Marius of Coma) special Tahini remix.
One of us shaking hands with one of them. The handshake is thought by some to have originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that the hand holds no weapon. This ancient, short ritual took place several times, here, with some limited success. Has this ritual holds any meaning anymore? The race is long, long from being close to it's end. It's a race for a handshake. This record is one of many efforts to make this race sound. This may sound naive now, or even pathetic, but what are we to do? When cousins meet in family dinner they might fight each other for raising the cup "The Father's name". This battle is soaked with the music of their family, they know each other by it's fabric. We wish to take them to the dance floor and play them music to shake hands to.
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In this offering by the Berlin-based and made in the Middle East label Disco Halal?, We bring you something by the guy behind the label, Moscoman, As a passion project Moscoman had always dreamed of. ‘It all started when I first heard the record a few years back, i did an edit for the first track, “The Dynamic Energy” and started to play around with oasis as a sample, “TDE” has been on djs’s stick for a long time, and I basically play it almost every set for the past 2 years or more, but that where it stopped, figuring nobody would ever try to license the other tracks, or samples, the release of it seemed like a faraway dream. I still remember the message I got back from Tony Carey, being so casual about it, “Yeah sure, do whatever you want with it”, one of my highlights no doubt, I rushed back to the old folder in my studio and dusted it off, this is the result! (I have done edits/reworks for all of the tracks, but I selected to release only these, the reason to be disclosed soon.)’ A Moscoman POV of TCP, coming out right after the reissuing of the original More

In this offering by the Berlin-based and made in the Middle East label ?Disco Halal?, we urge you to meet ?Nadav Spiegel? better known as ?Autarkic?. ?Autarkic? is a self-sufficient artist and live virtuoso, he is the first member of the ?Disco Halal? family which will be releasing his music in spring 2016. ?Can You Pass The Knife?? ?is about the struggle being stucked in a gap between longing to his homeland and what it could have been like and a heavy criticism on what it actually became.
It will be a mini-LP containing 6 mesmerizing songs, ?Asi Keta Ga?, ?Solo Gun?, ?Watch out?, ?The Misorientation of Autarkic?, ?Ufo? ?(Space Version)? and ?Tender Lies?.? That might sound like only a combination of random words now, but after being heard, these songs will help you to enter the embodiment of? Autarkic? and allow you to save a piece of his soul on your shelf. Shimmering melodies, gibberish language, haunting vocals, extended beat programming and one-take recordings, should mark the beginning of a new ?Disco Halal? phase. After releasing mainly edits from around the transcultural hemmesphere, the transition to original exquisite music seems to be a necessity.
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This offering by Berlin-based, world-influenced label Disco Halal presents three tracks that result from the collaboration between the Brazilian DJs and producers Selvagem and Carrot Green (who combine releases on BIS Inc, Universal Cave, Hello Sailor, Barefoot Beats, Brazilian Shakedown and Magic Movement). Exploring local melodies from the 60’s and 70’s, they built tracks that turn those sounds in some sort of exotic techno beasts, only with that tropical flavor. This black magic-blessed EP opens up with Ossain’s killer strings, psyched-out vocals and percussive breakdowns, followed by Dengo, a slow burner based on a candomble chant that, along with the flute, cowbell, and clapping, puts the audience into a spell.The B-side brings Vandre, a throbbing 126-bpm track carried by a lovely guitar and singalong vocals by one of Brazil’s most iconic protest singer. The package is complete with the remix by the ever growing italian duo Marvin & Guy, who kept the hypnotic aura with their lush minimal sounds. A crossover release hard to pin down, but all around.
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Blazing a Habibi House trail, Disco Halal return ! Another hand-picked 4 pack of connoisseurs tackle some primo dancefloor flavours from the near East
Yalla! One limited vinyl press only More

What's even better than a first compilation EP ? A second one! Disco Halal is back with Vol.2, this time featuring amazing works by Disco Halal's own Moscoman, The Infamous Tel Aviv Duo Red Axes, yet another masters of the Israeli disco Scene, Rabo & Snob and the maybe unknown but nothing else but genius reworker from Sofia, KMTR. Yalla! More

Another on point project from Berlin's creative record store hub OYE ! Following a sun soaked day on a trip to Tel Aviv, OYE counter culturist Delfonic wandered into an intriguing spot called Kuli Alma. Coincidentally Berlin based Tel Avivian Moscoman was playing at the club Call it fate, call it afternoon drinking, call it sun stroke - whatever the reason, after a mind-blowing track dropped, he asked Moscoman about its origin, and not so long after, Disco Halal was born. A label dedicated to Middle eastern and Oriental sounds, with originals and edits, from artists such as Acid Arab, Memhet Aslan, Red Axes, Naduve, Autarkic, Moscoman himself and many more.

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