Toby Tobias has a lengthy history of disturbing the peace. This is his second offering for the ESP Institute. On side A, Second Stimulus stirs shimmering staccato chords, roaming pipes and detuned robotic sighs into quite the disorienting stew—the loose arrangement remaining fragmented over 9 minutes of touch-and-go 808 programming, picking up a pseudo bassline assembled from sub toms, introducing a gritty break loop and eventually blissing out into oblivion. With side B’s Synchro Surfer, Toby plays with the notion of suspense by gently teasing a muted kick and percussion rhythm under washes of white noise, bleeps and sirens that are tape-dubbed and which, over time, begin a dialogue with each other, as if the machines have declared mutiny on the garage. Toby continues to stretch his limits with his output for the ESP Institute, possibly headed toward a full-fledged devolution of conventional dance music. These two songs may have you arrested for public nuisance. More

Toby Tobias joins Delusions again for what will be his sixth(!) 12” entitled
The Rain. The prolific Londoner whose releases have graced such
venerable labels as Rekids, ESP Intistute and Let’s Play House, is back with
a vengeance, delivering two mighty fine originals plus a remix from
Nebraska.
In true Toby Tobias style, The Rain got made on an MPC, sliced and
edited from a single live take through the desk then accidentally deleted so
no further mixing, sequencing or editing could be carried out. But what is
an A&R man’s nightmare, turns out to be the record buying DJ’s gain, as
the improvised, dubby vibe and raw as ***k mixdown give the track an
authentic feel and energy which could only come from the madness in
Toby’s method.
Fresh from his brilliant releases on Mister Saturday Night and Razor n Tape,
we have our man Nebraska do his thing on the remix of The Rain.
Dropping down the BPM’s a bit from Toby’s more frenetic original,
Nebraska add’s a healthy dose of moogy lead lines to the lo-slung house
groove, perfect for warming up the dancefloor.
Closing this release we have New Way Of Feeling which sees Toby in
playful mode with a percussion heavy, driving basement jam. FM pads
form the centerpiece of the track whilst flourishes of Juno come and go,
hints of early 90’s IDM shining through on the glistening sine-wave
melodies. All in all a glorious melting pot of ideas and influences all over
this release which make for one of his strongest yet for Delusions More

Toby Tobias can be found in the shadows of South London. This is his first offering for the ESP Institute. On side A, 'Gravitator' evolves slowly over ten minutes from a somber intro of supernatural sighs, pulsing machine feedback and techno squelches into an ethereal landscape peppered with dissonant fragments of synth. With side B’s 'Right Turn To Nowhere', Toby stretches out even further, flexing a tasteful programming of the 808 while taking the long road to a reverb-drenched crescendo of distortions and expansive string swells. After a prolific output of material for other quality labels around the world, Toby Tobias has undoubtedly re-focused his point-of-view upon his induction to the ESP Institute. These two songs will have you locking up your children at night. More

It is common knowledge Toby Tobias used to rule the coasts of Ibiza with his Balearic Iron Funk! Now back on his home turf of London, Toby has chosen the Cosmic Pint Glass to tell us the story Sun, Sea and Madness! A Room for Babette is a Balearic House Funk bomb filled with sandy frolics and a touch of mayhem. Afterwards we hit the romance button. Touch Meh is a one of the smoothest edits to be given the Toby treatment and on the flip Ptaki take you on an amazingly beautiful 12 minute journey around the islands with their A Room for Babette remix complete with dolphins! When Toby Tobias visited Ibiza he used to stay at an amazing B&B ran by Babette. She was one of the original party people of the island and would hang out with the likes of Grace Jones.
A Room for Babette echoes that summer madness only found on these islands in a certain time and place. The track starts off with that feeling of disorientation that perhaps a few midday holiday brews might bring on. An erratic beat and explosions rattle overhead, until the soothing sounds of a synthesised flute float in. Shortly after a saxophone joins in and the explosions start up again. It's at this point things start to get fun! Tensions are rising and the boogie is starting to happen! Before long you're travelling at full tilt! Toby has been part of the London scene since breaking some shapes in the streets back in the 80's. He has seen genres come and go and all the while been adding to his record collection. In this track you can hear a cross pollination of Styles from Funk, House, Soca and even No Wave making for a DJ friendly track and has a genuinely rare style. After the evening out on the town, it's time to go back to the chalet for a night of romance. Touch Meh is a one of the smoothest, romantic edits. Toby adds his magic to re-edit with the addition of some powerful drums making for a seriously raunchy track! The next day (On the flip of the EP) we meet up with Ptaki, everyone is feeling a little delicate so the boys take you to their favourite cove, or that's what it sounds like. A Room for Babette remix has been tamed beautifully to give a wholly relaxing track with the addition of an amazing string sample that sits perfectly in the groove. The explosions and erratic drums are gone leaving the sound of paradise. After a small visit to some dolphins a rhythm on the horizon can be heard and after a little while, we find ourselves in a trance, fully relaxed to the deep house sound of Ptaki.
What an amazing holiday! .

More

Following hot on the heels of Toby’s brilliant long player Rising Son we bring you a couple of our favorite tracks remixed by two of our favorite producers, namely I:Cube and Session Victim. The Versatile veteran Nicolas Chaix kicks things off in his own unique style on his interpretation of Love Affair with widescreen pads and subterranean clanks and growls setting things up for a heady house journey. Session Victim do their thing on Slo Flava, jacking up the tempo and turning in a bouncing live jam with a soulful edge. Completing this EP we also have the two original versions of Love Affair and Slo Flava in all their glory. More

TRACKLISTING:
01. The Wonder ft Atwell 02. Love Affair 03. Hot 22 04. Sloflava 05. Only Getting Better ft. Atwell 06. Sending Signals 07. I Robot 08. Broken Computer 09. Ban co Nights 10. Vague Vogue 11. Friday Analogue Jam 12. Whisper It 13. Weird Danger 14. Headway

OVERVIEW: Toby Tobias has been responsible for some fine quality music over the past 10 years with labels such as Rekids, Nang, Let's Play House and Quintessentials all dropping his unique brand of raw, analogue house and techno. A DJ's DJ who always seems to pull out a lesser known gem and make it sound like a classic, Toby knows his music as well as his studio, inside out. We've been proud to deliver three EP's from him on Delusions but we all felt the time was right for a full length, especially considering that 7 years have passed since his debut LP Space Shuffle on Rekids. Toby fully embraced the scope and breadth that an LP affords a producer, holing up in his Hackney studio and losing himself in his machines. Rising Son is the result of those sessions and it's brilliant!

From the opening machine funk of The Wonder featuring vocals from Atwell we can hear that Toby is quite sure about the direction he's taken for the LP. 808 beats bring vintage electro vibes whilst Atwell's vocal hints at the golden era of Chicago house, adding a soulful touch to the rigid groove. Love Affair continues the theme of off-world utopia where the droids have a heart and soul and sing torch songs of love lost, the Moroder-esque influences bringing a retro sheen to the LP. As we continue through tracks such as
Sloflava and Sending Signals we find blissful, downtempo jams which perfectly soundtrack this imagined night time world which Toby seems so happy to immerse himself and his listeners in.

I Robot follows, providing the one cover version on the LP from the Alan Parsons Project as well as being an LP defining focal point. A track which shows that when the machines are working for you, it could just be a perfect world. But Broken Computer soon shows us what can happen when things go wrong. Incidentally, this is from a genuine computer crash which Toby managed to capture using his phone. A beautiful glitch in the system which spewed out such a mournful noise and a very happy accident that would be completely impossible to create if you set out to try.

As we continue we're treated to the likes of Friday Analogue Jam, Whisper It and Weird. Danger, all echoing bleeps, squelching bass notes, heavenly pads and precision beats. In some ways we get a feeling of a land that time forgot, in others something of sublime beauty and futurism. That Toby can paint pictures with his music in this way speaks volumes, knowing instinctively when to draw out a mood or feeling or flip things on their head to command your attention and beg another listen. And another.....

More

It’s Toby Tobias time folks! Ahead of his brilliant LP which will be dropping here on DOG in September we give you a little reminder of why he’s one of the heroes of the underground UK house scene. Toby has been honing his skills as a producer, DJ, promoter and all round nice guy for years now and we’re very happy to be offering up fresh new club business from the man himself in the form of The Rising EP. Never one to go for the obvious, he always puts his neck on the line and pushes his productions in an interesting and often unexpected direction, making full use of his fully analogue studio to get those ‘happy accidents’ into his tracks which gives him the edge over so many others on the scene today. Even with a straight up club banger like The Rising, Toby makes sure things stay edgy, raw and just a little bit mental. At the end of the day this is a Chi-town influenced filter disco banger but with fresh spin that’ll make sure it creates the perfect vibe when you drop it in the clubs. Taking things in a deeper direction we have Jitterbug on the remix, keeping the pace and drive but dipping the original in a vat of thick, syrupy treacle which gives us an altogether more heady, spaced out vibe for those moments when only the trippiest shit will suffice. Flip over for Toby’s own dub version of The Rising which strips it all back and warps it out for a loopey, Soundstream influenced take on the original. Full of attitude but keeping the bags of fun times feel with more punch than Frank Bruno (in his heyday!)

More

Toby Tobias coming through with the fresh raw s**t for Delusions! Two original tracks here absolutely loaded full of old school analogue machine funk and crazy dub tricknology. It's Burning builds around a beautiful chiming synth while a filtering acid bass line and 808 snares add a distinct bit of B-Boy to the mix. I Give You love heads for a more rugged house vibe complimenting the intense, loosely timed vocal hits perfectly. On the flip we have London Housing Trust bringing serious heat on their remix, jacking up the tempo but adding some decidedly tripped-out synth tweaks resulting in a show stopping reworking primed for freaking people out on the dancefloor. Finally we have that man Lauer working his magic on It's Burning, building up the track around some beautifully euphoric synth stabs and bassline. The perfect close to an EP in which it's very difficult to try and find words to justify. We think Toby Tobias has turned in some of his best ever work here and absolutely love this whole record so really hope you share the same admiration for the release as we do! More

Toby Tobias joins the D.O.G crew for release no. 29 and fits like the proverbial glove with an incredible EP which truly lives up to it's name. It's probably fair to say that Toby is one of the unsung heroes of the UK scene having played a pivotal part in developing the underground disco scene of the late noughties. His Late Night Audio parties alongside releases on Rekids, Let's Play House, Nang and Quintessentials speak volumes as to the mans skills and fastidious nature and here he delivers what we'd be so bold as to say his best work yet with the Pathfinder EP. The title track kicks off and instantly you know you're in for a joyous ride with the rawest house-not-house beats, p-funk bass and echoing stabs. Toby has a way of mixing up the sounds and vibes to bring a fresh and original sound but with plenty of depth and drive. Next up Fabrizio Mammarella gets stuck into Pathfinder reworking the original into a slightly straighter, bass-heavy monster of a track which keeps the dubbed out chords but totally wreaks havoc on the bottom end when the bassline drops. Flipping over we're treated to the slower paced Backbeat which builds around floating chords, chopped vocals and a boogie-inspired bassline. A true Balearic beauty! Finally we have a stunning little number called Abregon which completely defies categorization but manages to successfully fuse elements of jazz, fusion, hi life and house into a brilliantly quirky track which we challenge you not to want to do some freaky-deaky dance to.
More

UPC 827170479265 Rel date 10.12.
Tracklist EP: a1. Toby Tobias - Running Away a2. Toby Tobias - Running Away (Homeboy Dub) b1. Toby Tobias feat. Be Atwell - Tres Mal b2. Toby Tobias feat. Be Atwell - Tres Mal (John Heckle remix)
Constantly providing quality over quantity Toby Tobias finally releases its debut on Burek. And as his biography states: "Toby's music is truly unique - in a genre now saturated with generic, formulaic music, Toby is one of the few who can claim to have his own sound"; so Toby brings to Burek its unique view on house music - tracks Running Away i Tres Mal. Running away is a classic house peak time tune with a 90's bass line, wonderful melodic synth stabs and a vocal sample which at its peak simply drives people crazy on the dance floor. Tres Mal wins the listeners almost instantly and has all the requirements to become a hit. Cleverly made arrangement, fat bass line and high quality production are filled with an exquisite vocal of Toby's close friend Be Atwell. On remix duty we have two up and coming producers. For Running away we chose a Croatian house talent Homeboy and he in return delivered a great rework, one of his best so far. In his hand Running away becomes a deep house tune with a moody ambiance and structure in which dance floor tuned chords from the original are turned to flow smoother. Without a doubt, John Heckle is one of last year's brightens stars. His tracks on Mathematics and Tabernacle Records have been among freshest productions around. Remix for Burek we can describe as his journey into deep house with his very own euphoric touch.
More

King of Town (KoT), originally from Johannesburg but now in the UK, is back after a nearly a decade hiatus from his mutant disco-inflected remixes.

Prior to his long break, King of Town remixed the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Slow Club, Alice Russell, the Detachments and the Phenomenal Handclap Band.
His remix of Desmond and the Tutus' 'Kiss You on the Cheek', released on Tigersushi in 2009, has become a regular feature of Spotify playlists and has racked up a few million listens across various streaming platforms.

For this release KoT serves up four exclusive re-edits.

Lord Have Mercy is a retouch of Willie West's slow-burn R&B lament of his own elegiac defiance, where KoT underpins West's groove with a 303 acid bassline and synth flourishes.
Swimming in Your Eyes is a beefing up of Pasteur Lappe's 1979 Rhodes-heavy space disco groove.
Troubles of this World takes OV Wrights ridiculously soulful take on a gospel classic and transforms it into a retro-futurist track aimed firmly at the dancefloor.
And with Khomo Tsaka Deile Kae KoT nods towards his roots and inserts drive and snap into fellow South African Marumo's 1982 kwela-touched stomper.

As always the artwork has been completed by the very talented Pedro Carvalho de Almeida.

Vinyl Only. More

Velvet Season & the Hearts of Gold is the musical adventures of Gerry Rooney (Black Cock Records co-founder alongside DJ Harvey) & Joel Martin (aka Zeus from Quiet Village alongside Radio Slave).
Continuing their series of exceptional releases, here is the new 'Special Versions' 12" for Resista - Free Your Mind!
'Love Directions'
An enlightened journey into hedonistic nightlife sounds for the dancefloor! - The connoisseur's choice for people who love to get down!
VSHOG weave their magic and transform this monster Philly groove into a mesmerising future dance classic, to ignite the senses, mind body and soul!
Soaring strings, Jazzy Fender Rhodes licks, tight fatback drumming, and the sweet soulful chorus, 'Come Follow Me'! Give yourself up to the music! Love is the message!
'Love Jelly'
The cream of British library session musicians recording moody David Axelrod Jean-Jacques Perry vibrati for the Hip Hop break beat sampler!
'Love Jelly', VSHOG exclusive special version is the spirit of the highly sophisticated 70's/80's London Jazz-Funk Rare Groove scene & warehouse parties.
The Cote d'Azur, Seductive Italian countesses driving Ferraris, a gentle breeze over the Mediterranean, the smell of Night Panther, and Leslie Anne-Down's Lingerie drawer!
Strangers in the Night...she had a tongue like an electric Eel!
As always the artwork has been completed by the very talented Pedro Carvalho de Almeida.
Vinyl Only. More

Gerry Rooney and Joel Martin's Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold project return with a second release for everyone's favourite illicit edit concern Resista, with Special Versions packing a pair of irresistible disco obscurities for dancefloors that like it odd and eccentric. They begin with "Magic Wand Steel Band", an Afro-influenced, Island-friendly fusion of low-slung disco-funk breaks, sharp guitar licks and expansive steel band solos. Flip for the relentlessly rolling, synth boogie-goes-disco house genius of "Love Coma", which sounds like a late night festival anthem in the making. Like everything else released on Resista, this one won't stay on the shelves for long! More

Gerry Rooney and Joel Martin's Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold project return with a second release for everyone's favourite illicit edit concern Resista, with Special Versions packing a pair of irresistible disco obscurities for dancefloors that like it odd and eccentric. They begin with "Magic Wand Steel Band", an Afro-influenced, Island-friendly fusion of low-slung disco-funk breaks, sharp guitar licks and expansive steel band solos. Flip for the relentlessly rolling, synth boogie-goes-disco house genius of "Love Coma", which sounds like a late night festival anthem in the making. Like everything else released on Resista, this one won't stay on the shelves for long! More

Famed for their self-released ‘KM Editions’ series, Keyboard Masher join Daphni & Tom Croose in the Resista family with the roaring “Afro Editions” - two faultless edits that distil the spirit of mother Africa. Opener “JuJu” is an epic fifteen minute long journey filled with joyous, duelling guitars, syncopated percussion, shuffling rhythms and a myriad of unexpected passages and turns. Captivating from the off, there’s only one word to describe “JuJu” – ‘magical’. On the flip “ Tcham Tcham” takes a more direct route to the dancefloor… Riding on a more electronic 4/4 beat, it’s unashamedly leftfield, with a thunderous chug, a great guitar riff and deadpan calls of ‘Tcham Tcham’, which all builds up to an anthemic climax. Drop it and watch the dancefloor melt.

More

One half of NY duo Worst Friends, Tom Croose delves into territories Brazilian, with Cho Chua, a faultless rework of a certain Tropicalista. He loops up the swinging guitar intro, which combined with a vocal hook makes for a heady mix. It's an uplifiting, joyous ode to all things tropical. on the flip "dukes dub" is a subtler more restrained version that makes great us of effects and brings the percussion more to the fore. More