Man Power debuts on Rekids with ‘We Trawl The Hurts’ ft Louisahhh. The duo’s first collaboration, a huge spoken vocal house cut, comes alongside three interpretations from Deetron.

DJ, producer, promoter, composer, and cultural agitator Man Power makes his debut on Radio Slave’s Rekids with ‘We Trawl The Hurts’ featuring Louisahhh on 12th April. The first fruits of a long-term friendship see Man Power (Me Me Me/Throne of Blood/Optimo) serving up a stomping, big-room cut that tips its hat to late-90s NY house and serves as a bed for the inimitable Louisahhh’s (RAAR) breathy vocal delivery of classic Prefab Sprout lyrics.

An intimate, spoken-word vocal from Louisahh weaves through a world of vibrant pads and chords. The gorgeous lyricism of their ‘We Trawl The Hurts’ is underpinned by an uplifting and emotive swirl of melody and a rock-steady beat. Man Power’s love of Murk and Tenaglia shines through.

The evergreen Deetron delivers three versions of ‘We Trawl The Hurt’s ft Louisahhh’: a remix that flips the original into a thumping deep techno cut featuring loopy synths and pixelated leads, a stripped-back and powerful dub, and his DJ tool ‘drum and bass’, built for those who like to mix. More

A release that doesn't bow to genre conventions, deeply emotional at its core. Sometimes cinematic, often infectious, and always loosening limbs on the dance floor. This is Man Power music.

Geoff Kirkwood's first vinyl release of 2023 comes courtesy of Helsinki's Echocentric Records. Kirkwood is just as comfortable writing and presenting experimental symphonies, ambient hauntology, and audio-visual orchestral performances as Bed Wetter or delivering raucous kinetic techno as MPX. For everything in between, he is Man Power More

Alan Dixon launches his brand new label Love Attack, the Multi Periodic Oscillations EP being a three tracker from Man Power at his curious techno best. Deep, dark and dubby, not to mention suitable for 3am needs everywhere, it opens with 'Cepheid Variable Part 1', 11 minutes of twists and turns, revolving around a hypnotic groove. Its baby brother 'Part 2' keeps the vibes intact before 'Applegate Mechanism' closes the EP in a straight up dancefloor fashion. Keep your eyes on Love Attack, with many more releases lined up for the next year. More

Influential UK artist Man Power makes his Skint Records debut this December with a thrilling new offering featuring Berlin’s Private Agenda. Man Power is a true electronic virtuoso who has proven he can do searing acid, raw techno and expressive disco with equal elan. As well as running his own Me Me Me labels, he has appeared on top outlets like ESP Institute and Correspondent and now impresses once again with the help of Berlin’s Private Agenda. The electric original version of ‘Do It Thin’ is an intense and steamy affair with Eurobeat synths and Italo piano chords that are sure to make a huge impression on the crowd. Vocals that Bronski Beat would be proud of soar to the heavens and get hands in the air whilst the hard hitting drums drive things forward. Dramatic chords build the suspense, leading you towards an epic, guitar laden breakdown with well sequenced synths adding weight and colour. Edgy and expressive, it is a real stomper with a fusion of myriad different styles. An instrumental version is also supplied that removes the vocal and allows the studio skills and musicianship to really shine, this was a showstopper in Man Power’s recent Boiler Room set and it not to be missed. Man Power marks his Skint debut here with the same sense of timelessness and quality that has defined his career to date. More

The ‘Vista’ EP caps off an intensely busy year for Geoff Kirkwood, otherwise known as Man Power. The British DJ/producer has become quite the ‘tour de force’ in 2018, with releases and remixes for Futureboogie, DFA, Correspondant, Exotic Series, Skint Records, and his very own Me Me Me imprint. So it seems quite fitting to seal a productive 12 months with a release on Richy Ahmed’s Four Thirty Two, a label that itself has been firing out big releases this year from EJECA, Jansons & Senzala and Ahmed himself. And joining this big end of year party, enter stage left, Roman Flu¨gel, who delivers an absolutely stellar remix of ‘Vista’. Meaty synths and clattering 909 drums are doused in futuristic Italo disco vibes for ‘Outrider’, whilst a winning combo of breakbeats and acid affected bass provide the backbone of the simply gargantuan ‘Vista’. Roman Flu¨gel’s interpretation of the title track brings the break to the fore, playfully teasing out the acidic sounds and surging strings for another truly memorable remix that we’ve come to expect from Mr. Flu¨gel. Closing the EP, ‘Poly Pop’ delivers a vivid and bright burst of melody over clanking percussion and sturdy beats, filled with ‘end of the night’ optimism that’s become Man Power’s forte. More

Me Me Me is two… and in keeping with the name it seemed that I had no choice but to put out what is only my second ever release on my own label since launching with the debut release “Tachyon” back in 2016.
(It’s also the labels 13th release too. Spooooooky) So here it is, a double A Side... Side A is “Valhalla” which attempts to be as majestic as the name suggests. Side AA has “Fidelity", which is me channelling big room house as much as I can, while trying to keep ahold of whatever heart strings I can tug on. I’ll let you judge if I’ve achieved what I’d set to do with either. More

Man Power his raw electronic sound, organic flourishes and diverse selection make him a perfect match for DGTL, both on stage as well as on the imprint. Next to releasing a steady flow of records on established labels like ESP Institute, Optimo Trax, Correspondant and Hivern Discs, Man Power is running his own shop as well: Me Me Me. This gives him an outlet to release music by both friends and himself. For his release on DGTL Records he created a three-track EP called Apologue EP, that showcases just two of different sides of his multi-faceted musical scope. The a-side features two firm, acid influenced tracks. The first of these two, The Duelist, is an emotive house record, with a soundscape of piano melodies, synths and syncopated percussion laid on top of an acid bassline. El Mago del Tiempo features heavy hitting kicks combined with a sharp synth pattern. It has a long build up that keeps evolving throughout the entire composition. Halfway through, the track breaks in to a raw and fierce rhythm accompanied by yearning, drawn-out synth pads. On the flipside, Put Your Hands on the Car (And Get Ready To Die) brings back memories of a long gone past with nods to Balearic Pop, EBM, and the Soundtrack work of Stewart Copeland, James Horner, and Jan Hammer. This multi layered production has a warm and analogue sounding feel to it that rounds off a 3 dimensional release. More

Correspondant can finally reveal the release of the remixes for Man Power’s debut LP, which was released last year on Correspondant. A year in the making, the remix package features artists and friends hand-picked by both Jennifer Cardini and Man Power himself. Disco Halal’s Moscoman remixes the baggy splendour of Beilsteiner, creating a rolling and belching extended opus more focused toward the peak time dance floor. Hivern Disc’s JMII takes Hunting Swan and turns it inside out, exploring space with a cerebral, schizophrenic quality. Alternatively, Pale Blue (Mike Simonetti) takes Boys Beware and re-imagines it as an aggressive drum workout. Completing the package, Suade, the artist who also mastered the original album, replaces TEN’s balearic leanings with an IDM sensibility, yet still retains the optimism of the original track. All 4 remixes manage to exist as distinct works in their own right, while paying homage to the "magpie" approach of the original long player. More

Born and raised in Newcastle in the UK, Man Power is now embedded in the depths of Mexico in Monterrey, a city on the rise after many years of internal strife. This unique new perspective and observations while on the road as a touring DJ has given Man Power the impetus to launch his new label entitled Me Me Me with his own production ‘Tachyon’ paired with a remix from DJ Tennis. “It stands to reason that if I’m calling my new label project Me Me Me, then I should be the one doing the talking. Deejaying has to contain a bit of selfishness, as it’s all about playing the music that you love, and other people listening. It’s a simple step to go from choosing the music in a club, to choosing music for a record label.’ ‘There currently seems to be a movement of artists forming who are indefinable past the vague limits of their own persona and varied musical mores. I'd like to think I'm part of this movement, so this is my attempt at exploring that concept. I'm trying to work with people who also represent this new popularity in artistic freedom.’ Following releases will feature Axel Boman, Red Axes, Mike Simmonetti, Chida, Fort Romeau, Hammer, Rex The Dog, Daniel Maloso, Last Waltz, James Hadfield (as Elizabeth Collective) and of course Man Power.

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Man Power left his Northern home and ran south of the border. This is his first offering for the ESP Institute. On side A, he proves that he truly is The Tourist, delivering what we’re already toting as our Summer anthem—a relentless hurricane drum pattern full of toms, timbales and splashes that lays the rhythmic foundation for his Pacific chords and euphoric melodies–an undeniable floor-filler that invites all to dance unencumbered by the constraints of “functional” club music. With side B’s Oye, Man Power rolls out a similarly vibrant combination of drums and rhythm, however he toughens up the aesthetic with a massive rolling acid bassline, only briefly letting up for a spot of layered marimbas and spriteful pads before culminating in an emotional finale. After spending a couple years churning out tracks for various labels around the world, Man Power has undoubtably shifted his narrative point-of-view and updated his sense of craft upon his induction to the ESP Institute. These two songs will throw a wrench in your holiday. More

Berlin + Mexico based, but outer space destined, Man Power keeps his pants on for this VR floorshow; you might not though! Geoff Kirkwood's premier adventure on the inimitable Voyeurhythm Records (his first original outing since his acclaimed LP early in 2015) sends us on a serious electro flavoured journey to future times... imagine hovercraft trains, laser beards and rowboats in charge. Side A's Ruthvern goes in big with some hypnotic peak time acid action, while Wither pushes and builds the rap squelch even further, adding an epic saxophone section lifting the entire affair skyward! More

Optimo Trax reaches no. 33, the final number in the series (although reserving the right to return at some point). The last release is a 3 track EP from Montreal’s Solitary Dancer that ends the label’s run with a distinctly non 4/4 feel. We asked Solitary Dancer to say a few words about this EP to which they responded with - "Recordings inspired by archetypes existing within a hypothetical matriarchal society and how that may pertain to our present day reality.” More

The penultimate release on Optimo Trax (at least for now) comes from Tel Aviv’s mighty Kalbata. I was already a big fan and was so delighted when he got in touch to see if I would be interested in releasing something by him. Unusually for Optimo Trax this is one track in 3 versions but each version is so different that often I play them all in one DJ set. Originally there were two versions but as Kalbata is a renowned master of dub (check out the documentary online about him recording in Jamaica), I gently persuaded him to do a no-holds-barred dub mix too which appears here as Enkuan pt 3. A few words about the record from Kalbata – I went to Ethiopia in the beginning of 2017 to record musicians. The most memorable one was Mulugeta Teshome who plays the Washint flute on this record. It’s a traditional Ethiopian flute made out of wood, and Mulugeta came to the studio carrying a whole bag of them, each one in a different key. We chose the scale and started the recording session. I ended up taking the tracks a lot further with the three cuts on the record but really it all started that day, in a small studio shack in Addis Ababa. More

Optimo Trax presents a 4-track EP from Germany’s Mathias Schober, head honcho of Berlin’s Lossless label. As always we prefer to let our artists do the talking. Here’s what Mathias has to say about this release - The idea behind all tracks on the EP was a simple setup of drums and one synth that would do a main sequence/sound, yet there’s a lot of detail in all of them. ‘In A Certain Way’ features a 808ish beat with a main sequence coming from a tiny monophon synth called Atmegatron - 8Bit love, it turned out being much more music than I thought it would be when I set everything up. ‘But What Rules Are Made For’ is the same setup but the sequence is a 101 and so are all the washed out fx synths. On ‘Is To Break Them’ I went a different route, I had the dub, delayed stabs synth first as I was messin’ with my Moog and a Space Echo - which btw is used on every single track I release, if you haven’t noticed yet. So I was trying to build something around those stabs in order to fit the track to the others and so I ended up with another sequence coming from my Moog. As there was still space on the record, I decided to add an ambient version of ‘Is To Break Them’, I love the ambience on this track. I hope that my love for dub sounds is obvious enough on these tracks. Happy I found such an excellent home for the EP! More

This is the second 12” of a 2-part series of 12”s that will be released digitally as a full-length LP. After a split single with Muslimgauze and a single of their own on Optimo Trax, we are delighted to present the first Optimo Trax album release by Italy’s Underspreche. The album is split across two four- track EPs, released two weeks apart (and also as a complete digital album). We try to avoid over-hyping our releases, but this one is really fully deserving of the hyperbole I am about to bestow on it. Underspreche first sent me some music a few years ago and seeing them grow and develop has been nothing short of astonishing. I think this is some of the most nuanced and advanced music that Optimo Trax has ever released. There are several dancefloor destroyers here but also music for more developed/leading-edge floors too, as well as some music simply designed to make one’s mind melt. It is very rare that I listen to 4/4 music at home, but this album has been a constant on my hi-fi since it was sent to me. Super-advanced, organic sampling, inspired vocalisations, acute psychedelic modular sequences, forward- thinking drum programming, this is exactly what I hoped Optimo Trax would be about when I started the label. More

This is the first 12” of a 2-part series of 12”s that will be released digitally as a full-length LP. After a split single with Muslimgauze and a single of their own on Optimo Trax, we are delighted to present the first Optimo Trax album release by Italy’s Underspreche. The album is split across two four- track EPs, released two weeks apart (and also as a complete digital album). We try to avoid over-hyping our releases, but this one is really fully deserving of the hyperbole I am about to bestow on it. Underspreche first sent me some music a few years ago and seeing them grow and develop has been nothing short of astonishing. I think this is some of the most nuanced and advanced music that Optimo Trax has ever released. There are several dancefloor destroyers here but also music for more developed/leading-edge floors too, as well as some music simply designed to make one’s mind melt. It is very rare that I listen to 4/4 music at home, but this album has been a constant on my hi-fi since it was sent to me. Super-advanced, organic sampling, inspired vocalisations, acute psychedelic modular sequences, forward- thinking drum programming, this is exactly what I hoped Optimo Trax would be about when I started the label. More

Boot & Tax are back. After two 12”s for Optimo Trax and an album on Optimo Music they return to Optimo Trax with their first new music of the year, just before it ends. Four tracks of spangled, idiosyncratic, woozily spacious and slightly off kilter music that could only have been made by these two Milanese maestros. As ever on Optimo Trax a quadruple A side where all tracks share equal billing. More

After the success of their debut split EP with Muslimgauze which sold out in record time, the southern Italian male/female duo Underspreche return to Optimo Trax for their first EP in their own right. Three tracks of deliciously psychedelic advanced techno grooves filled with subtle syncopations and head melting sound design. First release in the new Optimo Trax colour scheme. More

Powerdance is a collective formed by Luke Solomon and Nick Maurer formed as a reaction to bland soul less dance music that seems to infiltrating nightclubs the world over.
Luke and Nicks comradely stems back many many years to their association with the Classic Music Company - a label formed by Derrick Carter and Luke. Nick Maurer was one half of the then prolific Greens Keepers. This EP for Optimo Trax features the wigged epically funkoid gem "Mysterious Space Plane"; who doesn't like songs about space? On the other side is the modern hyper jacking "More Fire". Alongside these are a reprise of "Mysterious Space Plane" and a bonus beats of "More Fire" for those djs who like to / are able to get creative with their mixing. More

Celebrating our 20th release, Glasgow's Dave Clark returns to Optimo Trax as Sparky. He was responsible for the third release on the label as LUMA which featured the club smash "John Broadwood" and recently had another big club hit with "Signals" on Numbers. We are delighted to welcome him back in what is a contunuation of a relationship that stretches back further than we care to remember. All four tracks here are certified dancefloor winners; from the reach for the lasers, kickless "Things Fall Apart" through the synth rhapsodies of "Black Swan" and "My Prophet", climaxing in the jacking "Seven Daggers". All killer, no filler is often a trite cliche in these blurbs but is entirely true in the case of this EP. More

There's a bit of a story to Side A. In 1996, JD Twitch released a 12" by Manchester's Bryn Jones aka Muslimgauze on his then label Pi Recordings. He also, along with a friend, arranged Muslimgauze's first and only Scottish live performance (attended by 6 people). Around that time, Jones, sadly no longer with us and one of the most prolific musicians ever to exist sent Twitch multiple CD-Rs of unreleased material, including the track featured here. He said he had made this track in 1985, and there is no reason to doubt his word although also no way to prove this is true, but we are going to accept his word for it which means that it could be said Jones pre-empted UK Hardcore around 5 years before anyone else. This is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he never used samplers but rather worked extensively with tape loops. The track has been very slightly edited by Twitch to make it a little more club playable. Twitch called in German breakbeat expert and all round tip top producer Victor Shan to remix it and Gerd Janson then asked to join the party too. They turn in a modern twist on UK Hardcore / Rave (via Deutschland) with hoovers set to stun. They also did a more late night hoover free mix which is only available digitally. On the AA side, we are delighted to welcome the debut release from yet more mysterious Italians; the male/female duo that is Underspreche. "Flowers From The Lake" is based around a sample taken (with permission) from field recordings of the Mukunguni tribe in Kenya and released by Honest Jon's Records. It weaves it into a deeply psychedelic techno track with an extended mind warping outro. Underspreche also give us "Naked" an exquisite hypno techno track that while clinical and precise manages to exude a feeling of warmth so often missing in modern techno. More

Optimo Trax 16 is a various artists EP featuring tracks from Glasgow, London, New York & Edinburgh. First up is Glasgow dj, Beta with his debut release "Endless Plains" a broken percussive, spine tingler. 100% emo. Next London's L/F/D/M who had the first release on Optimo Trax returns under the modified moniker Love's Flaccid Disco Muscle with something a little different. "3am at the Aqua Disco" is bass heaviness with an almost exotica-style lead line. Unique and glorious. Side two kicks off with New York's Alex Burkat (now relocated to Philadelphia) with an 8-minute depth-charge, "Culture Full Circle" that features a mutated sample form a legendary reggae track. One to get lost in. The EP closes out with Modini (aka Neil Landstrumm and Alan Parley) with "Ghost Seducer": bass, dub and bleeps 21st century style. 4 different artists, 4 A-sides! More

Wick Blaze is a producer from a small island in the Baltic Sea. He started producing in early 2013 and has ever since grown his devotion for different shapes of house music. Looking for a deeper touch in music he tends to keep the beats raw yet diverse to achieve a sound worth giving a second listen. Being inspired by the flourishing house scene, Wick Blaze is working on ideas that challenge him to find fresh sounds and push the limits of his creation. Evoking the right mood is all what his music is about. Deep, wayward and utterly groove-notic. Starting off 2015 the right way More

Mia Dora and Optimo Trax thus give you four tracks of dancefloor delight, from Glasgow, with love. To celebrate our first year of releases, for this release, the usual Optimo Trax trademark red and black sleeve will be modified to be a blue and white one, representing the Scottish flag. As internationalists, we are generally opposed to flags but 2014 is a momentous year in our country's history and also, in our opinion the best year ever for music being produced here, so we felt like celebrating these things. More

Optimo Trax is an offshoot label of Optimo Music for tracks aimed at DJs/dancefloors. Yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didn't seem quite right for Optimo Music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics. Michele Mininni is from Southern Italy where he says people are not interested in his type of music so he was forced to reach out to Glasgow where it turns out some people most defintely are. Citing his influences as kraut, post rock, new wave and electronic amongst others, this is his debut release and most accomplished it is too. Lowering the tempo somewhat compared with previous OT releases, Tupolev Love is a sub 100bpm cosmic trancer while Telekomdisko raises the tempo and heads off into sun drenched space territory. The EP is completed by Michele's fellow countrymen, Boot & Tax's great acid-inflected remix of Tupolev Love. More

Optimo Trax is an offshoot label of Optimo Music for tracks aimed at DJs/dancefloors. Yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didn't seem quite right for Optimo Music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics. Long time friends and allies of JD Twitch, Milan's Barking Dogs run the fantastic Serendeepity record shop in the basement of which lies their analogue sonic laboratory where they create live mutant funk masterpieces. Funk is an often mis-applied term but these tracks ooze it from every pore and you can literally hear the Dogs wrestling it out of their machines. Eccentric for sure but certified dancefloor winners for those bored to death with generic, lifeless, clinical dancefloor fodder. More