Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, aka Para One, has always been an hyperactive guy. He first started as no-nonsense hip-hop producer in the mid-nineties, making beats for undeground rap artists. His recording studio was actually his one-room apartment in Southern Paris, where MCs were coming on a daily basis, crammed around a mic, an MPC and a battered convertible.
At the turn of the century, he began producing his own instrumental tracks and soon got in touch with the TTC people, then at the core of the burgeoning French indie rap scene. This was the beginning of a new exploration in sound for him : from traditional rap, Para One switched to IDM and techno-infused beats, fizzing with 8-bits FX and deconstructed grooves.
After TTC's first LP Ceci n'est pas un disque, in 2002, for Ninja Tune's rap sublabel Big Dada, Para produced L'Atelier's (an indie rap supergroup) album for seminal Parisian label Institubes, with his boy Tacteel, whom with he also started a live electronic project named FuckALoop.
In 2003 came the massive " Beatdown EP ", and then TTC's 2nd album in 2004, Bâtards Sensibles, two records that definitely proved how rap attitude and electronic wizardry could be melt into one single sound - an idea many people didn't quite buy at the time. In 2005, Laubier graduated from the FEMIS film school, and found the time to start working on his first solo LP, the critically acclaimed Epiphanie, that came out in 2006 on Institubes.
Intense touring years followed, both as a DJ and live act, all over Europe, North America, Japan, alongside other Institubes artists such as Surkin and Bobmo. He played at Coachella twice, Pukkelpop, Calvi on the Rocks, Primaverra. Reknown for his heavy technical skills, he also became a hot remixer (Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Justice, Boys Noize, etc.) and a hot producer (Birdy Nam Nam, Slice & Soda and now Mickey Green). In 2007, he composed the soundtrack for his Femis friend Céline Sciamma's movie Water Lilies, and directed his own film in 2010, It Was On Earth That I Knew Joy. After the demise of Institubes in early 2011, he and his mates Bobmo and Surkin set up a new imprint called Marble, for which Para already produced or co-produced a dozen tracks. He simulteanously worked on his second album, called Passion, that'll be out in a few weeks.
This a new shift again in Para One's career : the album feels much warmer and confortable than his previous work. It's also much poppier and has a fine number of true hits, complete with vocals from Tekilatex, Irfane and Jaw.
The Euro-neurotic's tension is still there sometimes, but the muscle softened and the flesh took over. This is basically uptempo, futuristic R&B with an unmissable sexy touch : it's teeming with round-shaped sounds, wet textures and gentle aural strokes. The whole movement is mid-paced and light-headed, and it's clearly a home-listening, or even bed-listening, slow jam album. The tenderness often gets spaced up or angularized, though. The beats sometimes manage to sound both smooth and rough, easy and intricate, and ghosts of Para's rap training can be heard everywhere.There's also hints of 2-step, deep house, IDM and boogie funk, yet it's a singular, idiosyncratic record, made with an extremely cohesive approach.
It's an almost serene effort, and it's certainly generous and loving in the way it unfurls its numerous ideas. This is an album you get deep into, but there's nothing dramatic to it - it's just unadultered, voluptuous pleasure
Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Ice Cold
2. Wake Me Up
3. Every Little Thing (feat Irfane and Teki Latex)
4. Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5. When the Night (feat. Jaw)
6. Sigmund
Side B :
1. Love Ave (feat. Additional vocals by Jaw)
2. You
3. Albatros
4. Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
5. The Talking Drums
6. Empire


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On their debut album as DOVS, Tin Man and AAAA summon the ethereal spirit of acid.

Tracklist:
A1 – Rad Glyers Above All
A2 – Distant Buildups
A3 – Fluffy Designs
B1 – Nostalgic Oblivion
B2 – Rene Figures
C1 – Portal Vein
C2 – Sixteenth Shelters
C3 – Whining Acid
D1 – Atlantis Drive
D2 – Dysphoric Fix
D3 – Diazepam Blues

Release Info:
On their debut album as DOVS, Tin Man and AAAA summon the ethereal spirit
of acid. Tin Man, AKA Johannes Auvinen, has been studying the emotional potential of the Roland TB-303 for 15 years now, and AAAA (Gabo Barranco), a fixture of the Mexico City underground, might as well be his acolyte. While the coincidental similarities of their studio and live approaches make this collaboration feel natural, even expected, Silent Cities is anything but.

We recognize most of the elements here—the ubiquitous acid box and hardware drum machines—yet Auvinen and Barranco arrive in new, mysterious territory this time out. Lush arpeggiation, breakbeats and atmosphere imbue tracks like "Nostalgic Oblivion" with a widescreen grandeur. "Rene Figures" recalls Specific Momentific-era Cristian Vogel, symphonic, melodic techno with a kick heavy enough for dark, cavernous rooms. Meanwhile, beatless cuts like "Whining Acid" are as intricately crafted as Tin Man's well-loved classical work (Vienna Blues). But as a duo, they craft a virtuosic harmonic narrative almost solely with 303s.

Tin Man and Donato Dozzy's "Nonneo" was the first release on Acid Test, setting the tone for the label and unlocking new potential for the genre. DOVS' closer on Silent Cities, “Diazepam Blues”, is the label's new melancholic acid anthem and a statement of purpose for Tin Man and AAAA, two hardware masters who have created an album of remarkable emotional depth.



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Listen: https://open.spotify.com/album/5pkKFWqL6M7fGUJOPkhIFK?si=DAuDVC8QQrK2usVZhUtk5Q

Over the last few years Theravada has been making a very strong name for himself, with a unique human touch and deep lyricism, the rapper-producer proved to be a man of many hats and is standing tall as a one of a kind artist in today's musical landscape, having collaborated with artists such as Evidence, Earl Sweatshirt, Yungmorpheus, Your Old Droog and Navy Blue just so name a few, as well as his 2000 Entertainment home team alongside Rob Chambers, TOP$ and Kluse. On his brand new full-length "Waste Management", he has teamed up with RRR Music Group representative Zoomo to produce the entire project. The two have crafted 10 killer joints, with Theravada handling all mic duties on his own and Zoomo's soulful productions providing the perfect soundscape for his transcendent bars to resonate and bring you on an epic journey.

Tracklisting

A1. Household
A2. Sus Tain
A3. Resource Recovery
A4. Environmental Impact
A5. Human Health

B1. Industrial
B2. Carbon Copy
B3. Municipal
B4. The Night
B5. Research Funding

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TRACKLIST EP:

A Benales – Move Forward
B1 Benales – Turning Point
B2 Benales – Sit Fence

SHORT INFO:
After his Elements series on SINO and a release on Freddy K’s Key Vinyl, Benales is back with a new project on SINO. Three massive techno tools perfectly crafted. A must have.



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Release Title: When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire

Territories: ww -fr -uk -benelux

LP

When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire… say it to yourself and then say it again. Repeat it like a mantra. It’s what UTO did.

Anyone familiar with the UTO’s lauded 2022 debut Touch The Lock, which Pitchfork praised for its “prismatic synth pop”, will be aware of the variegated nature of what they do. This album is just as colourful, with Neysa’s vocalwork sparking similarities to Kim Gordon’s off-kilter vocals, which they both ceremoniously jets through a post-electronica blender mixing stylized indie sleaze productions with 90s breakbeats.

While they might appear as a singular entity to others, UTO wrote large sections of this album apart, converging by the fireside to discuss the day’s work before coming together to hone and finish the songs. 2023 was, by their own admission, a difficult year, and that’s reflected in the Dantean themes expressed in songs such as the lead single ‘Zombie’, which arrived at the end of November as a taster for the new record; the latter’s dark heart is belied by the skittering beats, glitchy electronics and pummeling sequencers that elevate it from the void.
From fire, early man’s discovery, to AI, humanity’s next great adventure - with all of the wonders and complexities of human relationships in between - When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire really is about life, the universe and everything. Just remember, be the flame, not the moth.


SIDE A (18’27’’)
A1_Art&Life - 03:17
A2_Plumbing - 02:56
A3_2MOONS - 04:26
A4_Unshape - 04:12
A5_Zombie - 03:36

SIDE B (12’30’’)
B1_Midway - 02:45
B2_Napkin - 04:08
B3_Lyrics - 02:32
B4_Bredouille Feat. HSRS - 03:03






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Tracklist

A1. Subtle Body
A2. Nightfall (Instrumental)
B1. The Light Of Jesus
B2. Room ’96 (Recorded live at Room Nightclub, Hull)

Release Info:
Hot on the heels of last year’s Mermaids reissue retrospective, Hull’s deep listening house forerunners return: this time revisiting a pair of originals as well as previously unreleased versions.

It’s testament to the depth of feeling that Steve Cobby and David McSherry can conjure, that these tracks sound as potent and impactful as they did when they first came out - and not just for the dance. Throughout their 30+ years, the Yorkshire duo have produced ten albums amid many more collaborations, and transformed the remix into an artform, putting their fingerprints on everyone from Busta Rhymes to The Orb to Radiohead.

This EP collection finds them at the full scope of their powers: from disembodied mood music, to tripped-out dubby beats and raw house sessions for the club. The title track Subtle Body sounds like it drifted in through the window in the middle of a snowy night. Its layered chimes, looped delay feedback and floaty chords (played on a Wurlitzer Electronic Piano that Steve bought from Bill Nelson), mark it out as an enduring piece of ambient music, and a favorite for film-makers, able to soundtrack both haunted memories and afterparty comedowns with finesse. It precedes an unreleased instrumental version of Nightfall from Fila Brazillia’s 2002 album Jump Leads (named Mixmag’s chill album of the year), and as an instrumental, the chunky electro bass and mix of ephemeral tones and bird-like chirrups are brought clearly into focus. The attention to detail is what makes Fila Brazillia’s sound palette so rich, and Nightfall a certified smokers’ anthem.

On the B side, the tempo and temperature rises, and we’re treated to The Light Of Jesus, a favorite from Fila Brazillia’s 1994 debut LP Old Codes: New Chaos. Atop a bumping house groove, the song weaves together smooth organ pads and electrified guitar licks with syrupy bass and gospel-tinged exaltations from Charles Bukowski. The EP rounds out with Room ‘96, a live house jam from Hull’s Room nightclub, and a veritable time capsule back to the halcyon ‘90s rave days, when the lights were still on, everyone was home, and anything seemed possible.

The songs here on Subtle Body might be a window into a time long past, but they remain in the present: and as long as bodies seek pleasure, and dancers want to keep going til sunrise, Fila Brazillia will endure, and soundtrack those moments for us all to get lost in.






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Finally the Disco-House project "Leinad" gets the long-awaited reissue! Enjoy the original Leinad-sound of 1997 with the reissue of the whole album "Electric City" on 2x12" vinyl with a special matt/glossy sleeve and a digital release including 4 new bonus tracks. If you like this moments of house-music - you will love the worldwide first musical survival game "Leinad" for PC. It will be released in the spring of 2024. For more information check the official website www.leinad.de.

Tracklist:

A1 - In Trouble
A2 - Freak Tonight
A3 - Back 2 The 80's
B1 - Pretty Young Thing
B2 - Let's Snip!
B3 - Voice Spectrum
C1 - Loving People
C2 - Bombers
C3 - Out Of Phase
D1 - Electric City
D2 - So Called Artists
D3 - Let's Do It


- Reissue of the Leinad album "Electric City" from 1997
- high demand on discogs and prices up to 300 €
https://www.discogs.com/de/release/1050315-Leinad-Electric-City-The-Album
- part of the original soundtrack of the PC-Game "Leinad"
- 4 unreleased bonus tracks on the digital album


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TRACKLIST:
A1 Da Capo A2 Dal Segno B1 Eight Four B2 Time Signature
INFO:
A regular contributor to Figure SPC, it was Jeroen Search who both started the series and also put an end to its story. With this creative chapter neatly closed, he is now bringing his ever-impressive work back to the main label. Across the EP the Dutch artist doesn't stick to one style, instead he lets his infamous machines roam about freely. They take us for a smooth ride along swaying dub chords and gentle ripples until bellowing eches slowly rise above a hypnotic groove.?On the B-side Search then pulls out all the stops and barges right in with fidgety claps and whirling bleeps, leaving the track itself gasping for air. This is the renowned ferocity of his live act - carved into wax! Ensuing the sonic assault, a simple synth figure emerges stoically over an almost housy bounce as nostalgic rave strings bring the EP to an epic ending. Firmly rooted in the past while always looking forward, Jeroen Search clearly is still on the top of his game. He simply keeps coming up with timeless techno - time and time again.



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