And now for something completely different...CGI is extremely excited to present the Proof Of Concept EP from Shanghai-via-
Chicago's OSHEYACK. These are productions with a weight and freshness that we at CGI have not previously encountered. While on
a small US tour in June 2016, Osheyack played a set in Atlanta and thoroughly blew everyone in the room away with a mastery of
rhythm, sound, and arrangement that is uncanny.
More

After 18 12" singles and EPs, CGI has finally found a record suited for its first full-length LP release, 'Hurt Plaza' from Atlanta's own Pamela_ and her sons. Pamela_ is the solo music project of Alessandra Hoshor, an Atlanta-based multimedia artist, and 1/2 of evil dance project BIG DED. Their microtonal compositions build up from slow perceptual movements into heavy dance sets full of deconstructed vocals. Pamela_ is microtonal, cerebral dance music. Fragmented, off-kilter anxiety techno with an emphasis on texture, pattern, and rhythm. Familiar palettes are rearranged and presented in a form completely alien, opening new pathways to what is possible within the realm of electronic composition without ever underestimating the power of suggestion…effectively like looking into the eyes of your best friend for the first time again.
More

CGI Records is extremely proud to be presenting the new EP from Oakland-via-Bermuda based artist Russell E.L. Butler. I'm Dropping Out Of Life are 4 cuts of essentialist dance music that can provide an ecstatic escape from the drudges of professional life for all who so rightly seek it. As Russell himself elaborates, "The title has been on my mind a lot, since I almost lost my life in the Ghost Ship fire and watched as many of my friends lost their's. I came up with the title several months ago, in fact 2 of the tracks were shopped in a producer's group that Johnny (Nackt) and Chelsea (Cherushii) were a part of, both of whom I lost in the fire. This release is about a commitment to life. The life that I refer to dropping out of, is a life where dreams are put on hold, where concessions are made in order to just survive. But that comes at a cost, one that is far too great for me to pay at this point. I wrote this poem, it'll come as an insert with the record.
More

Having already issued a few cassettes via his own Harsh Riddims label as well as CGI's sister label DKA Records, Ryan Parks brings his Fit Of Body project to CGI for his debut 12" release. Here we are treated with two previously unreleased original cuts as well as Galcher Lustwerk and TWINS reworks of a pair of older tunes. Fit Of Body's sound is unique among the current crop of bedroom dance producers in that it can ignite a dancefloor while still feeling deeply personal. This mood is enhanced by the way Parks colours his tracks with his own voice. His approach to adding live instrumentation to the arrangements lends a handmade delicacy otherwise lacking in so much hyper-quantized machine music. These are tracks that will feel at home in the DJ booth, your living room and your bedroom.





More

Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, James Donadio's Prostitutes project has been one of the American underground's most unique, prolific and consistent forces for the better part of a decade. Now he brings his raw deluxe sound to CGI with "Straightened Out", a new EP from beyond this world. The material presented here prove Donadio to be much more of an artist and performer than a 'producer'. The five tracks don't have the feel of an overly-labored studio production but rather embody the sound of someone fearlessly plugging in a few machines and wrestling with them until they generate a sound and energy far greater than the sum of the individual components. The trademark hypnotic minimalism employed on previous Prostitutes efforts is still apparent, however Donadio has evolved the trademark blockiness of past rhythmic excursions into a compellingly rigid machine funk. From the revolution 909 of “Just Black Medallions", the window shattering rave siren insanity of "Ridicule the Rule", to the slowed and spacious "Haunt Me And Taunt Me", the only thing more impressive than the range on show here is how all five tracks feel distinctly unified by the powerful sensibilities of their creator.




More

It is by now no secret that the sounds of the kick drums echoing off the hills of the Tennessee valley have been singlehandedly redefining what we know to be truly Proper for the better part of a decade now. However, the faces of those that make up this new world order have remained largely in the shadows. As such we are beyond excited to bring Tennessee's two most elite producers, Memphis's Will Azada and Knoxville's Alex Falk, back to CGI. 'The Illuminati Traqckx' EP is a split 12" powerful enough to knock the Earth so far off of it's axis that even Jeff Mills's mothership won't be able to swing it back on track. The A side see's the first 2 new cuts from Will Azada (under his given name, at least) to hit wax since his untouchable Cliché EP for CGI in 2013. Two sides of the same coin, both "Flutterbutt" and "The Illuminati Traqckx" anchor a living, breathing, spacious rhythm scape around a deep thudding kick, expertly crafted percussion workouts, and airy chord stabs to create an otherworldly and immersive environment in which to lose your mind and find your body. Consider these cuts a master class in maintaining momentum. Flipping over to the AA side, Alex Falk tones down the atmospherics but not the intensity with two cuts of classic Falk-style techno bombs. "MR1" kicks it off with a massive kick drum anchoring a polyrhythmic monosynth and dancing white noise to create a driving cut that is as beautifully simple as it is gripping. For "Blazeit," the EP's final cut, Falk keeps the rolling monosynth/kick drum dynamic that made "MR1" so irresistible but this time colors it with hi-hats and what sounds like a sample of someone who took too deep of an inhale, expertly arranged so the intensity never stops building. No handclaps required.



More

Hot on the broken heels of Nothing Left, his smash debut LP for Chicago's CLEAR records, CGI boss and Atlanta's own TWINS graces his own imprint with Never Know Yourself, a three-track EP that treats listeners to a different side of the producer's output. A-side cut "Tassel (Now You Know)" is pure emotivational dancefloor catharsis: behold a distorted 909 chugging away under a funky FM bassline and thick pads of melancholic ghost organs while a soaring lead and a haunted croaking mantra take it all the way to tear-jerking dance floor rapture. Flip it over to the B-side and immediately have that sorrow cleansed by the brutal assault of "Suggestion”, a heavy and distorted techno bomb that's all shifting rhythmic cycles and out-of-control synth chirps, sounding like something ripped from a Frankie Bones mix circa 1992. Closing things out is a sleazy slab of subconsciously mid-dreamstate insta-composed Chicago house ripped right out of the back of TWINS’ head, and it’s appropriately titled "Feeling (From Beyond)." A juicy and rotund bassline of the most evil kind holds steady as matrix-defying bongo-and-kick patterns rise and fall while whispered provocations tie it all together in a banger suited only for the stickiest of dance floors.
More

After proudly rocking two of his next-level cuts for one of our earliest split releases, CGI is thrilled to welcome Golden Donna back for a full four-track EP, Seedy Approach. The tracks chosen for this release open up listeners and dancers to a deeper and more diverse side of the producer otherwise known as Joel Shanahan. The A-side cuts are all grit and muscle, opening with "Smirk," a dark, heavy, and heady industrial techno bomb that is as abstract and raw as it is sophisticated and seductive. Up next is all evil chords and thick bass stomp, as "Strap" throws cracking snares and pitched vocal stabs into a mercilessly reverberant void as brutal catharsis unfolds over an unforgettable eight minutes. Switching things up for the B-side, Mr. Donna treats us to a more melodic, reflective palette. "Secrets" is at once cavernous and verdant, quickly evolving and filling the echoscape with lush, dreamy chords and a whispery texture that is both inviting and comforting, all the while in mutant symbiosis with a percolating and undulating percussion. Closing it out is the title track, the most jovial sounding of the lot, with frantic 808s and airy, shimmering chords giving way to a stunning lead that transports you exactly where you want to go.
More

Laid down with authority by L/F/D/M are four no nonsense cuts blasting fresh air into that perennially en vogue phenomenon known as acid house. After stunning EPs for Glasgow’s prestigious Optimo Trax and Clandestine Traxx, an equally crushing full-length for Kompakt's Ecstatic imprint, and two brain melting EPs for Diagonal with Factory Floor's Dominic Butler as Bronze Teeth, it is an honor to have his sounds grace CGI with a release that sees him playing right for the heart of the dance floor. Opener "Spare Ribs, No Napkin" is meaty and greasy with abandon, as rude and distorted as it is irresistibly syncopated. "Cutting Fingers" contrasts with a slow burn with a deep kick anchoring shifting rhythms and unsettlingly hypnotic riffs. Flip this treasure over and get pummeled by the rolling stomp of "Heavy Clouds” with its massive 808s and just-off-the-nose acid cycles. Closing things out is the bright paranoid jack of “ ippos In Slumber" with its muted chords adding freaky color to steady and heady 707/303 workout that charms and overpowers with an electric stink that lingers long after the needle has reached the lead-out groove.
More

After two stunning 12” EPs for Kai Alcé's NDATL Muziq imprint and London-based The Love Below, Atlanta's rising wunderkind Stefan Ringer dons new alias Black Suede for his debut release with CGI. Switching it up from the bouncier, jazzier style that characterizes Ringer's work under his given name, Black Suede strips down the soul to a darker, harder groove, weaving dancefloor narratives that confront our innermost desires and fears. From the heavily swung stomp and vocal chops of “ onnect Like 2 Ways" and the skittering arpeggios and percolations of "Stimulus (Dead)," to the dystopian booty-house masterpiece that is "7713GH" and the droning and cavernous dirge of "Purgatory," it is clear this is the work of an immensely talented artist who will continue to defy categorization and keep us wondering what the future will bring.
More

After a string of stellar releases with Proper Trax, Cult Trip, and Mystical Disco, Grey People graces CGI with his latest. Raised in Chicago and currently residing in Nashville, Alex Michalski treats us to another side of his sound as he completely forgoes sampling to give us four tracks of raw, stripped-down machine funk. The tunes presented here are culled from various hot and humid sessions in his home studio, armed with an arsenal of equipment old and new and cultivating a sound as diverse as it is nasty. Witness the pluralist industrial jackin’ utopia that is Grey People—from the crunchy, dissonant piano stomp of "Trench Foot,” and the equally crunchy, driving, new wave dirge of “Moonstruck,” to the cosmic drift and thump of "Lock the Box" and the funked up FM slap-bass of "Wild Intentions."
More

After years of toiling behind a paper thin veil of obscurity C Powers is finally starting to burst into view. Having just finished handling production duties for recent Houndstooth signees 18+, C Powers continues to demonstrate his sonic versatility with the "UP Neck" EP (CGI007), his proper CGI debut. This latest offering from CGI sees Powers focused on bringing the diverse musical experiences of his past into the mess of the present via a loosely defined and texturally diverse concept of "house music". The four tracks on "Up Neck" explore the joyous sensation in discovering old dance records, the pleasure of pure rhythm unmediated by melody, as well as pushing the boundaries of the notion of an "edit". Albeit rich in concept, "Up Neck" remains purely functional on the dancefloor. CGI007 runs hard from the pure drum-assault of “ mash" to the tender cult funk of "Body Musical" to the high pressure sub-bass workout of "Phoenix Down" until the breezy end of the title cut "Up Neck".
More

CGI is proud to present the debut of 2 new duos who are experts at making their synths and sequencers sweat divine moisture. Lyman-Alpha Forest is a new collaborative project between producers Grey People (Proper Trax, Finale Sessions) and Talk (Deconstructure). As a duo they work to bring acid into new territories with their heavy, low-slung approach to producing melodic-and-spacious yet tight-and-focused slow-burning club-weapons. Whether or not this is due to a stroke of compositional genius or if it is simply a side effect of the high levels of sizzurp found in the tap water in their hometown of Nashville is irrelevant, but the effect is intoxicating all the same. Travel 7 hours up I-65 and you'll end up somewhere in Chicago where Afterburner spends long cold winter nights painting vivid synthesized tapestries as epic as the city's skyline. The duo of Nicholas Reed (Windbreaker) and Travis Thatcher (Voice Of Saturn) employ an aresnal of modular and analog gear to produce lushly cinematic tracks that chug along like classic Moroder productions while simultaneously evoking the rich melodicism of Kraftwerk. Whether you listen to them at home in the headphones or on the dancefloor in the club, these tracks will take you on a wild ride.
More

Tennessee Techno: Alex Falk brings the sound in purified form. His approach has already piqued the interest of many influential DJs and producers, and the track "PTR" from his debut EP on Proper Trax is among the selections included on Hessle Audio co-founder Pangaea's Fabriclive 73 mix. Falk's previous releases have focused on punishing, pulsing, synthetic techno. For his CGI EP, we are treated to another side of Falk's sound as he allows a bit more 'house' into the mix. The release kicks off with "GF", a relentless assault consisting of little more than a repurposed vocal from a young pop star, distorted drums, and ceaseless energy. This beating gives way to the caress of "Foam Party", in which bubbling synth chords carry us to a place far away from the mindless EDM-raves from which the name was derived. Flip it over and the energy ramps back up with "BF", another strong track built around a pop-vocal edit. Liquid synth chords stab and mutate with the driving rhythm underneath, creating a truly brilliant dance track that's sure to fill any floor. The energy once again is calmed as we fall into “Miley's Plateau", a shuffled, dubby synth track coming across like a housed up Vladislav Delay, rounding out a truly diverse EP which, true to CGI's mission, finds cohesion in the contrast.
More

After exploring over 6 hours worth of unreleased original material from the relentlessly prolific and ever expanding production catalog of Will Azada, CGI is extremely proud to present these 3 stand-out cuts that represent a depth of production skill and aesthetic range unparalleled in today's over-saturated dance music landscape. Confronting the clichés head-on, Azada breathes new life into tried-and-true templates of jacking, industrial funk and synth-y groovers with his remarkable ear for arrangement and sense of movement, masterfully exploiting the infinitely renewable resource of subtle variations that he continuously unfolds throughout the tracks' durations. The material runs the gamut from the stark, throbbing, industrial workout "The Whip" to the melody-driven, synth-fueled ecstasy of "Michalski's Theme" and the chord-driven, vocal-chopped house of "Cliché." The fact that an EP this unique and diverse can also feel so unified is a testament to the vision on display here.


More

Having fully devoted the better part of 2 decades tearing music apart from every conceivable angle and putting it back together as only he can, the wanderer also known as JEROME has constructed some of the tuffest house abstractions using only what will fit in the backseat of his '81 Rabbit. Not much is known about this lazy magnet but his sound is indeed magnetic, huge round bass lines ground the unrestrained dubby house experiments happening around it. The results produce a hypnotic and moving dancefloor experience that can only occur in the heat of the moment by capturing an improvised performance such as the takes found on these recordings. Massive 20+ minute live takes were sent to CGI Records HQ where they were edited down and the 2 most powerful cuts were chosen to be pressed onto this special limited edition white hand-stamped white label 12".
More

CGI is proud to present the long overdue vinyl debut of Cc, one of the most talented DJ’s and producers currently working outside of the limelight. This release follows up 'Up Wind', his outstanding 2012 digital EP for JASS, and precedes his forthcoming debut 12” EP for Proper Trax. Designed to appeal to DJs and House fans seeking hard, funky, and effective club weapons, Cc’s sound is informed by years spent honing his skills in clubs in Chicago (as heard on the funky and direct house workout of “Calvino Italo”) and as a resident DJ for No Pain In Pop in London (the UK Garage rhythms adapted to Cc’s own deep and distinct sonic pallette on “Shackles”). Cc now holds it down in the Southern states as a resident at Atlanta’s HUNGER club night and Savannah’s Cape Fear. The flip-side of the record contains 2 tracks by Golden Donna, an incredibly unique and talented producer who is following up last year’s stunning debut LP for Not Not Fun with two deep, moving, and melodic cuts of some extremely adventurous and almost ambient electro. Rich, pronounced melodic textures encourage deep introspection as they collide with uncommonly fresh rhythms, making this a workout for the mind as well as the body.

More