With an almost lightning-fast Kickstarter campaign* in its tail-lights, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label follows up the success of Jacksonville’s ace FON EP and Gaming’s quirky (and no less ace) debut album, Scenes From A Deserted City with a new release from Leonidas & Hobbes, the label’s 15th release. Leonidas & Hobbes make a timely return with Aranath EP, 3 years after Web Of Intrigue (from 3rd EP The Rags Of Time) was voted No. 1 in Bill Brewster's 2017 DJ History poll. Delivering a follow-up to many people’s 2017 summer anthem has been something of a protracted process, not least due to Covid and the 400 miles between them. Aranath features the hugely talented multi-instrumentalist Riad Abji and his virtuoso cello & tanpura raga, which inspired the duo to create 4 mixes, combining Riad's Eastern lament with classic house and ambient techno. The full release is complemented by the tropical flavours of Into It and Out Of It**. The previously unreleased ambient mix of Web of Intrigue rounds off what can certainly be described as a 'deep' release. The sleeve art was inspired by a 19th Century Indian Jain painting and created over the course of many obsessive evenings at the height of lockdown (as was some of the audio). Needless to say, the whole project has helped to keep everyone sane through these crazy months... More

This second Hobbes Music release is an introduction to the productions of label­owner Hobbes and studio partner Leonidas. It sees the pair harness a love of classic disco, techno, electro, acid, house and UK bass/dub, to create an EP with one foot in the past, one foot in the future and both eyes aimed squarely at the dance floor. A1) Driftin’ employs a vintage gospel sample and a bank of equally vintage synths (ARP Odyssey, Roland Juno 106, Roland SH­101, Sequential Circuits Pro­One) for a very contemporary, hybrid mix of UK bass and house. This track has already had airplay from Rob Da Bank (BBC Radio 1), proved popular on Soundcloud and has been dropping extremely well when played out, so we think you’ll agree it’s rather special! A2) Penthouse Dub is a more spacious composition. Classic disco congas and a delay­soaked guitar line recall the Balearic style of Norwegian modern disco don Todd Terje, then the vintage (Sequential Circuits Prophet T8) synth lines drop... The title is a nod to Heaven 17’s classic album, Penthouse & Pavement ­ a key reference point during this track’s production. B1) Jackin’ Pschidt treads a more European path, referencing Belgium’s late Eighties Nu Beat scene via its drum programming and acid line, with a heavily arpeggiated synth for its euphoric main riff and classic Nineties techno claps driving the beat home. A vocal refrain, compelling you to ‘break it down: get into the groove’, is as simple a call to action as any you’ll find in dance music. But, again, it’s the track’s bassline which will really get people moving their bodies: no fuss, few effects, just simple dancefloor dynamics. This mix has also proved popular on Soundcloud and been dropping well when played out. The title is a nod to a certain Chicago legend... B2) Referencing after­hours parties in dingey warehouse spaces, Pavement K flips the script completely, slowing things down and spacing them out ­ all heavy reverb, plodding kicks and atmospheric toms that ring out like some tribal gong in an old Kurosawa film. The bass stabs are as fierce as anything DMZ have put their name to, while the acid line and skittering hats are closer to early Plastikman. The brief vocal snatches are hardly any less abstract, before more waves of bass wash moodily over you and that familiar voice returns to let you know about ‘a lot of machines, tapes and electronic setups....’ Watch yer bass
bins!
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Brand new Hobbes Music signing from Tokyo, Kota Motomura is a slightly mysterious character with an ear for idiosyncratic music that runs the gamut from Exotica and Jazz to House and Techno. Highly original, it all adds up to a confection perhaps best described as Balearic. This is his second release.Opening track ‘Aboy’ sets you afloat down a psychedelic stream, plucked strings lulling you into a dreamy state, while the occasional image from some long-forgotten Miyazaki film flows past. It’s a rare gem, sounding a bit like few things from the past but like nothing else out there right now. A2 ‘Yes’ ups the tempo and adds beats, saxophone and vox but is no less unusual, occasional bird calls and other fx dropping into a mix which gets stranger as it progresses over for a marathon ten minutes. Accelerating hyper-actively towards the end, it’s sure to leave a few DJs scratching their heads... The B-side is a bit straighter: opening track Stars is a bossa nova style house number with infectious piano motifs, while B2 Cry Baby sounds a bit like Carl Craig’s seminal ‘Throw’ re-imagined with different vocal and a wonky piano. Bonus track Satellites (download only) is the kind of low-slung plodder Detroit legend Theo Parrish might drop in one of his warm-up sets, all solid groove and scat-style vocal fx with a nagging keyboard refrain and featherlight shakers against a HEAVY bottom end. And secondary bonus Return (download only) is the kind of bonkers techno bizniz Maurice Fulton or Pepe Bradock might dream up when they're feeling a bit goofy... More

EXTERIOR is the artist moniker of Edinburgh producer Doug MacDonald. Exterior represents his transition to electronic music and an embrace of the dancefloor. Doug played hardcore and noise-rock for a long time before eventually abandoning collaboration, nostalgia and formulaic rebellion in favour of synthesis. What he gained on the way was an understanding of the power of live drumming and years of finely honed performance-skills, something of an aberration in dance music. His debut EP 'Public Transport' was released on London/Barcelona-based Land Recordings earlier in 2018. Having made his international headlining debut in Berlin in September, more continental sorties are currently being arranged (see below). This record represents a significant move forward in sophistication and club-readiness. On remix duties, anonymous analogue techno lover DALI returns on the back of four slices of extended club gear released via two Hobbes Music 12"s (2017-18), boasting colour-themed, screen-printed sleeves and an uber-simple design for that evergreen minimal aesthetic with a hint of mystique. These gained excited support/plays from the likes of Ben UFO, Nina Kraviz, Daniel Avery, DJ Deep, Laurent Garnier, Avalon Emerson, Twitch, XDB, Bill Brewster, Bawrut, Tom Findlay (Groove Armada) and many more... Clocking in (again) at just over 9 minutes, her 'Collapsing Star' remix is another marathon-length effort and does exactly what it says on the tin. Setting the beats to classic electro, everything's pushed hard until it all seems ready to fall rapidly apart (and it very nearly does), before dissolving in a fiery sizzle: a more visceral, dance floor accompaniment to Exterior's heady affair. More