London-born-and-raised DJ and producer Parris has announced his new EP Passionfruit, which is to be released on 22nd March 2024 via his own co-founded label can you feel the sun. Following his stand-out 2021 album Soaked In Indigo Moonlight, described as a “masterful” take on the pop genre (Crack Magazine), Passionfruit continues Parris’ affinity for polyrhythms and bouncing synths, but diving deeper into his love for clubbing and UK soundsystems, the result is a heady house compilation.

Each track on the EP is in contention with the one before it, a counterpoint to a sonic argument; melodic bubbly pop against heavy drum and bass, morning rays of sunlight against dark and swampy rhythms. Where the title track “Passionfruit” was described by Parris as imagining the “early morning of a set with the sunrise coming through the shutters”, the very next track “Slipping, Falling, Crawling” is much like the title suggests: a sludgy, percussion-heavy track which has fun with creating melody from the beat itself, stripped back and raw intent.

“Why Can’t Rabbits Wear Cowboy Boots” and “Underwater Fantasy” are almost alternate universe club classics. “WCRWCB” takes a club-formed structure, and uses it to explore the limits polyrhythms, layering chaotically over eachother, and building through the first half of the track, until it peaks with the introduction of an explosive bassline. “Underwater Fantasy” on the surface is the straightest-sounding track to come from Parris, but the disco-style vocals fight with the beat, pushing and pulling at eachother.

Parris (aka Dwayne Parris-Robinson) has dedicated himself to club culture from an early age, never missing a week at FWD>> (the club night where a generation of bass and techno DJs made their names), and was constantly tuning into Rinse FM. Immersing himself into the distinct sound of London built the foundations of the productions we hear today, with grime and drum & bass bubbling alongside slick pop references. More

Parris lands a dreamy one two on Peach Discs and it's all LOVE!
**limited copies of this one!**
Full info soon.. More

The last few years has seen Parris make a name for himself across a number of scenes, to the extent he is just as likely to be found spinning records for Butterz as he is putting records out on Berceuse Heroique. Here at Idle Hands we first touched base with Parris many moons ago when he bought copies of the first release on his Soundman Chronicles label into our shop. As it is one of our favourite labels we were intrigued to hear what he would come up with as producer himself. Needless to say we were impressed. Presented here are two tracks that perfectly reflect his sound and our own; A nod to techno here, a weighty bass line there, a love of reverb everywhere and all with a view to being played in dark rooms late at night. The 12" of 'Burr' and 'Blue' is Idle Hands last release of 2015 and we think it rounds off nicely what has been a great year for the label.

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After a triumphant return to Batu's Timedance label with 'Intrigued By The Drum' Ploy keeps the pressure high on his new EP for Hemlock.
Unruly exposes further light on the workings of his now signature style. Waves of metallic percussion tessellate around a thumping central bassline. Pneumatic flashes of noise seal a dense atmosphere full of equal parts euphoria and dread. Garys is Ploy's most stripped back and potent club tool yet, striding into 'proper techno' territory, equipped and optimised for the highest yield. Lost Hours drops the beats and pumps out a thick fog of hazy chords and bellowing subs. Perfect for after hours listening. More

Airhead has put out some great music this year. Kicking off with the radiophonic ice of 'Kazzt' for Mumdance's Different Circles and just recently the low slung 'Cristobal' on PS Records his production chops get bolder by the minute. It's no surprise seeing as he spent much of the previous year producing key tracks for the incredible More

Since his last appearance on Hemlock (2015's double EP HEK025) Hodge has produced a seemingly effortless sequence of celebrated EPs and collaborations for Livity Sound, Berceuse Heroique and No Corner. Equally comfortable squaring up with heavyweights such as Randomer and Peder Mannerfelt as he is maintaining a prolific solo production output; Hodge has cemented himself as a leading voice in UK dance music and a champion of the elusive sweet spot where functional techno resonates with soundsystem culture. A quick listen through his recent RA mix is a great way to keep up to speed with his recent output: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=581

One for the Hemlock fans who have been patiently tolerating this year's more experimental cuts. 'Swing for the Fences' is straight down to business getting the kicks in below one of those ear-wormer percussive atonal toplines Hodge does so well… the drop is one of the heaviest we've heard this year and tipped to raise some fingers, open mouths and spill drinks across dancefloors and TV studios worldwide.

Less pool cue more pool party 'Aomame' is a breezy melodic (patio) heater powered by tough drums and intricate percussive work. Arranged for both the dancers and the heads it freely refreshes and translates the main theme with a precision and playfulness that few producers can match.

'Medway' will warm up or cool out the dance with big room sirens and some rude detuned drum work. Still no messing about on the B2: It's a Hodge thing all the way. More

ep! Airhead’s writing big ones now. Inspired by afterhours sessions in some of the world’s best and worst nightclubs, HEK024 bangs with the best of them and enforces a new weight behind the producer’s delicate production style. The roughness debuted on this summer’s ‘Believe’ EP for 1-800 Dinosaur (a label Rob co-runs with James Blake and friends) on which he soaked up plenty of influences from US and UK club tracks/trax and effortlessly intertwined them with his measured songwriting and arrangement skills. More

One sweaty hot week in July 2013, Untold ripped into creating his new album, Black Light Spiral, having discovered a land so full of jolts and thrills that the beats wrote themselves and the sounds just kept on coming. The final 40 minute, 8 track album, is as true to the furious and fiery journey Untold (aka Jack Dunning) personally went on as you could hope for. It’s unhindered, spontaneous and completely raw. As perfectly imperfect as a trip like this should be. And you’ll be left gasping for air. Wondering “what the fuck is this music I’ve just heard?” Which is classic Untold. We’ve come to expect the unexpected from him. From day one, with tracks like Kingdom, Anaconda and Stop What You’re Doing, Untold has been an inventor and tastemaker. Today with two iconic record labels to his name, Hemlock and Pennyroyal, his imagination and openness to the new strides on. And Black Light Spiral, Untold’s first album released on Hemlock, continues in the same spirit. It delivers on Untold’s mission to keep
the people up and at it with rough tough music while confounding them with brilliantly executed improbabilities. Untold was raised on Jungle and Hardcore, has travelled through Dubstep and leftfield Techno and now he’s arrived here where he’s playing with sub bass, sirens, reggae samples and broken rhythms. But this isn’t token rave revivalism. Because while Untold may be experienced in the best raw genres dance music has to offer, he has no desire to defer back ad infinitum. He’s in it for pushing boundaries. So Black Light Spiral is entirely new. More

Back to throw you right off balance, the ever enigmatic Joe returns to Hemlock with two highly spirited but deceptively strong sonic cocktails. We'll drink to that. Punters Step Out: Muddle 1 part dub techno with 2 parts drunken hammond and shake hard with some driving dancehall. Serve with a smile // Club Scared: Smash a volatile vocal into a high-proof riddim and drop on an unsuspecting floor. Please dance responsibly. More

Part 1 of the 3 part vinyl series.
2012 sees Hemlock's 20th release after four years at the frontline of forwardlooking bass music and dark electronica.
To mark the occasion Hemlock boss Untold has curated a 65-minute mix joining the dots between the label's past, present and
future. ‘Chapter One’ weaves his favourite moments from the back catalogue with a series of exclusive material from FaltyDL,
Randomer, Joe, Sei A, Guy Andrews and Untold himself. The beautifully packaged CD will be released alongside three 12" vinyls
containing exclusive music.From modest beginnings in the heady days of dubstep's conception, Hemlock - founded by producer Jack Dunning (AKA Untold) and designer Andy Spencer in 2008 - quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the sprawling, and often confused, world of UK bass
music. Since then, the label has steadily forged its own curious path, building an enviable back catalogue and garnering a reputation along
the way for zeitgeistdefining releases. It also has a reputation for discovering incredible new talent. It was Hemlock that introduced the world to the James Blake, whose debut release ‘Air & Lack Thereof’ saw the light in 2009, and was followed by his seminal 'Stop What You're Doing' remix later that year.As well as some phenomenal new talent, Hemlock has also been a place where established producers can find a home for their more
surprising, spontaneous or downright deranged music. Key moments include Untold's game-changing 'Gonna Work Out Fine' EP in
2010, Pangaea's jungle-inspired ‘Hex’ and ‘Fatalist’, and Ramadanman (AKA Pearson Sound's) seminal 808 anthem, ‘Glut’. With the
likes of Cosmin TRG, LV, Mount Kimbie, Girl Unit and Funkineven also passing through their halls, the roster now reads like a who's
who of bass music talent.
‘Chaper One’, as you'd expect from Untold by now, is anything but your average mix. It takes as many twists and turns as Hemlock's
back catalogue and reflects the story of not just the label's evolution, but also the evolution of the music scene it spawned from.
Starting briskly, it jumps through percussive workouts from Fantastic Mr. Fox and Mount Kimbie, soon blunted with the bassweight of
the half-step anthems ‘Air & Lack Thereof’ and ‘Discipline’. The section climaxes into the psychedelic organ studies from James
Blake’s ‘Stop What You’re Doing’ remix before gradually fading into an icy noise speckled mid-section.
Cosmin TRG’s brutally sparse ‘Béton Brut’ crumbles into the muzzled chimes of ‘Under’ – one of Untold’s most ambiguous cuts to
date. The panic reigns through FaltyDL’s ‘Artemis’, picking up momentum into the metallic jacking 4/4 kicks of Sei A’s ‘Hyphen’. Guy
Andrews cements the groove with the epic ‘Resistivity’, morphing into a broken tribal drum workout towards the end. Randomer then
picks up the funk with ‘This Train’, before getting nasty with ‘We Laugh, We Scream’.
The final section explores the label’s fascination with reconfiguring the hallmarks of jungle and drum ‘n’ bass, with the rowdy MC
chatter on ‘Fatalist’ sparring with the rugged bleeps and bass of ‘Studio Power On’, and the sinister Reece synths of ‘Motion the
Dance’. After the last onslaught the mix fades out to the calming neon glow of Nautiluss & Lord Skywave’s ‘Ultraviolet’.
With ‘Chapter One’ documenting their past and earmarking possibilities for future exploration, Hemlock looks set to fearlessly guide
brave listeners into the next chapter of uncharted frequencies. More

Part 2 of the 3 part vinyl series.
With ‘Chapter One’ documenting their past and earmarking possibilities for future exploration, Hemlock looks set to fearlessly guide
brave listeners into the next chapter of uncharted frequencies. More

Randomer's a dirty boy. And this is one of his dirtiest yet. Proprietary EDM trend-forecasting software has predicted year on year growth of deranged acid breakbeat music. We give you We Laugh We Scream. Nar: A timely response to the proliferation of industry . “Yes men” Freak dub: If Dillinja made House? More

n a short time, North Londoner Randomer has built up a small but heavy hitting catalogue of work ? releasing ?Brunk? (on Hessle Audio?s 116 & Rising compilation), the acid tinged ?Obtuse? and most recently his dance mania-on-steroids EP for Numbers, 'Real Talk'." His debut for Hemlock Recordings see's him taking things even further back to basics, dropping two heavyweight trax of pure beats and bassline indulgence. a. Scruff Box's beats roll heavy but with a crafty, garage skip in their step, giving no clues to the obese bass riff that soon rudely exposes itself, tearing through the track roll by roll. aa. Get Yourself Together More of those trademark, overweight beats with one giant, elasticated bassline. For those who like them large and lovely. More

Hemlock are proud to introduce the debut for Brighton boy Guy Andrews. Two tracks of brilliantly unpredictable, percussive wizardry with more twists than a season of the Killing 'Shades' combines of precision drum edits, killer 808 booms and woodblock percussion that will bring a tear of nostalgia to the eye of the Blue Note & Metalheadz vets and a smile to the face of the most discerning new dancefloors. 'Textures' on the flip kills it with an arrangement that just keeps you guessing. Perfectly poised between light & dark, delicate & heavy, and taking you seamlessly from locked 4/4 to dubbed out techno via all-out percussive funk and back before you More

Canadian producer ‘Nautiluss’ aka Graham Douglas Bertie of Thunderheist (of underground dance hit ‘Jerk It’ on Big Dada) and UK singer/songwriter Simon Lord (Simian/Black Ghosts) under his Lord Skywave alter ego, joined forces after meeting on a high-spirited liquor-sodden North American tour. Lauded by their peers Mistajam, Giles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, and Sinden, their hyped sound, exploring fresh sonic territory has already had national airplay. Their first collaboration ‘Ultraviolet’ is a finely tuned piece of dark, tense and spectral noise - classic, cavernous after-hours club music, backed with the instrumental ‘Bleu Monday’.
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Girl Unit and Funkin even roll out the lino and prepare for battle with two top-rocking 808 variations on Bretons originals. A. Breton – RDI (Girl Unit Remix) – First in the circle, ‘Girl Unit’ cranks up the boom-box and makes it all look too easy with a straight-illin’ beats and bass bomb. AA. Breton – December (Funkineven Remix) – Next up, Funkineven falls in like a drunk Bambaata with some brilliantly deranged electro boogie. More

James Blake returns to the label that gave him his debut release with two brand new sub heavy club tracks. Hemlock were responsible for his Air And The Lack Thereof single back in 2009. Neither ‘Order’ or ‘Pan’ have appeared on Blake’s soulful, electronic self-titled album from this year; the new material sees the return of Blake into the more sparse, experimental and wobbling bass heavy sound of his earlier work.
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With incendiary debuts from James Blake and Fantastic Mr Fox, Hemlock has built a reputation for discovering and curatins incredible new talent. For their tenth release they are proud to welcome Breton to the roster. Following two critically acclaimed limited-run EPs, the bands’ unique genre-splicing sound is firmly established on their five track “Counter Balance” EP. Breton fuse brooding hip-hop, rock and electronica into an unmistakable signature sound, Expect anthemic vocals, driving synth hooks, heavy guitars and tough beats. With insane hype from blogs and radio, features in Dazed and The Fly, remixes for Remixes for Local Natives and Tricky, - Breton will be charging up the ranks of ‘Bands to Watch in 2011’ lists. More