Double-LP, Gatefold-Sleeve

GENRE/S:
Deep House, Lo-Fi House, Minimal / Deep Tech, House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Sprinkles Says
A2. 727 Anthem (House Is Black)
A3. Hearts Not Broken feat. Léah Lazonick
B1. Pleasure Chaser
B2. The Beat Direct
B3. Love Triangle
C1. Ghosts feat. Léah Lazonick
C2. Out From Within
C3. Prisoner
D1. At Home In Strange Places
D2. Resonate
D3. In The Valley

SHORT INFO:
Black Light Smoke is the electronic music moniker of Jordan Lieb - producer, songwriter, and award winning film and TV composer. A Chicago native, Jordan transplanted to New York City in 2001, where his career as a multi-disciplined musician has taken flight in many forms.
Currently residing in upstate New York, Black Light Smoke returns to Scissor and Thread for his first full length debut-album: Ghosts.
The 12 tracks (plus three digital bonus tracks) span everything from 90s house, smooth and deep soulful beats, dusty grooves and thoughtful treaties on the state of creativity, capitalism and identity.
It’s a collection that sits together as a listening experience perfectly, building peaks and sliding into serene troughs, all with a strong sense of radical thought and creative experimentation. Tracks bend and warp in unexpected directions, while gritty, distortion and overdrive counterpoint classic rave stabs and vocal samples. Taken as a whole, the album could be the soundtrack to a night drive through the city, as much as certain tracks will no doubt find themselves woven into the sets of the more leftfield and genre pushing DJs. Either way, it’s an essential release from one of the most exciting and vital producers out there and the first artist signed to Scissor and Thread back in 2011.
The album title, Ghosts, tells two stories. One is personal - an artist embracing the shadows of his past in order to move forward and complete a body of work. The second story is a search for the original meaning of house music - not just the usual sample, appropriation or casual nod to the originators of house - but a meditation on the living story of Black America in which house music is an inseparable chapter. Both stories are a reflection on grief and the transformation of trauma into celebration.
100% of Jordan Lieb’s personal proceeds from this record will go to Little Bit Foundation, empowering students living in poverty to achieve their academic goals.









More

12“ Extended EP , 32 minute running time

Tracklist 12":
A1. Nothing Makes Me Feel (Good Anymore)
A2. Street Emotion
A3. Get Something
B1. The Right Way
B2. Hustle
B3. Golden Chains

Following on from 'City Life' (Scissor And Thread #40) here is a brand new extended EP from composer, producer and musician Black Light Smoke, jam-packed with pure raw House Music showcasing all the benefits of floating keys and rattling hi-hats, while masterfully interwoven vocal cuts take an infectious lead through the EP.
The title track 'Nothing Makes Me Feel (Good Anymore)' sets the tone with a snappy beat and a slightly melancholic vocal sample. 'Street Emotion' convinces with tasty dryness over a characteristic bass-wobble in the beginning before it opens up with a warm and swelling synth pad.
In similar fashion 'Get Something' is beat-focused and dressed up with G-House vocal splinters which make it groovy as hell. 'The Right Way' surfs on a wave of juicy chords and laid back vocals and especially the well-arranged break beat of 'The Right Way' creates the track's uniqueness.
'Hustle' has some serious jack-flavor, transporting all the best of Chicago's warehouse sound while 'Golden Chains' is driven by a sophisticated garage bass-line, almost contrary to the emotional feel of the track, once more underlined by a distinctive vocal line. Well saturated distortion and Lo-Fi edges add up to a wealth of comfortably warm moods that represent Black Light Smoke's very personal expression of modern House sound, which you will be also be able top experience in his upcoming live set gigs.



More

Tracklist:
A1: Sleepless
A2: Depression Sleeping
B: Running Out Of Sky

Infotext:
The newest 12" on Voodoo Down Records marks the debut appearance of longtime friend of the label Jordan Lieb a.k.a. Black Light Smoke. Jordan played an instrumental part in the NYC label Scissor & Thread, and has spent recent years honing his live set in front of crowds ranging from BPM, Robot Heart, and fabric.
The Depression Sleeping EP is a collection of tracks from his archives from the past decade that have been updated and remixed. The theme of the record is his struggle with sleep and insomnia. Per the artist: "Releasing these songs form my past reflects my effort to embrace myself, the good and the bad, and to channel my personal battles into a creative process."

More

For some grungy vocal house music with a touch of Chicago percussion and a healthy splash of the indie-synth wave that came crashing over electronic music in the late 2000s, Scissor & Thread's Black Light Smoke might be 2014's answer to Danton Eeprom circa 2009. We say Danton Eeprom, as the voice on the B2, "Screws In My Head", has a similar tone and enunciation of the Frenchman, or are we getting mixed up with Mathew Dear? The title-track, "Firefly", brings back memories of Azari & III's debut EP only with druggy vocals coming from what could be the basement of a DFA rave in New York, while "Morning Comes" borrows some cowbells from The Rapture and sultry French inspirations from Jane Birken. "Black Bricks" then provides some slo-mo, lo-fi phase filtered house - and one hell of a bassline. Alternative electronics for the indie lover
More

GENRE/S: Electronica, Deep House

TRACKLIST:
A1. Unsuitable
A2. Through The Windows (feat. Francis Harris & Philipp Priebe)
A3. Drowning (feat. Module One)
A4. Dark Portrait
B1. Lost In The Fog
B2. February Is Not Going To Be Forever (feat. Lawrence)
B3. Spirits
B4. Even If I Ask You To Stay

SHORT INFO:
Soela is the DJ and production alias of Elina Shorokhova, a Russia-born Berlin-based experienced pianist and vocalist who has made a hugely impactful transition into electronic music. Having released material on such labels as Kompakt, Dial, Shall Not Fade, Lost Palms, E-Beamz, Red Ember Records, Sushitech, and others, Soela joins the ranks of Scissor & Thread for this exquisite album - Dark Portrait.
The album opens in a typically understated manner with Unsuitable - a melancholic trip-hop adjacent track that sets the tone for the next 8 pieces. As Soela explains, “I was dealing with some very complex feelings, so I came up with this album, which helped me not to despair, to work on myself, to grow internally, and to start listening to myself. It helped me to keep sane when my country invaded Ukraine with a full scale war. It absolutely broke my heart, and music was one of my main salvations.”
This complex mix of emotions plays out across the album with tracks that utilize her beautiful musicality (Through the Windows feat. Francis Harris and Philipp Priebe, Drowning feat. Module One) and ear for details with skittering beats, ambient soundscapes (Spirits, Lost In The Fog) and lose-yourself dancefloor moments such as the collaboration with Lawrence on February Is Not Going To Be Forever. The title track Dark Portrait combines dubby elements with affecting pads and melodic touches, while the lead single Even If I Ask You Stay delves into multiple feelings around escaping toxic situations, and battling depression. It features a powerful vocal from Soela supported by a deeply affecting arrangement. The closing track The Darkest Hour Before Sunrise brings a sense of hope and light, balancing subdued keys and strings with ethereal tones and atmospheres










More

GENRE/S:
Deep House, Electronica, Organic House

TRACKLIST:
A1. Spring Orchid
A2. Wildflower Walk
B1. Aurora
B2. Kennett River
B3. Aurora (Roza Terenzi Remix)

SHORT INFO:
Alex Albrecht returns with Aurora - a pristine followup to his Blue Caves transmission via Scissor and Thread in 2018. The Melbourne based composer and sound designer Albrecht has leans into his predilection for woozy, affecting melodies intertwined with skittering drums and snaking grooves, and Aurora brings that to the fore with six tracks of shimmering beauty. Spring Orchard opens the record, effortlessly merging deeply buried keys with washes of dreamlike synths, and dubby effects.
Wildflower Walk is a melancholic affair, underpinned with a restless groove. The title track Aurora treads a similar path, but with a more driving approach, while an interplay between piano, guitar, and synths drenched in reverb offer a warm, enveloping atmosphere. Aurora is also shared here as a remix by Roza Terenzi, who entirely reworks the track with her signature club ready grooves .
Kennett River exhibits a kind of smudged, cinematic hip hop feel.


More

12”, 180 gr. vinyl


GENRE/S: Deep House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Cecile (with Eliana Glass) (Charles Webster Remix)
A2. By The End They Will (C.K Remix)
B1. Olympia (Timmy Regisford Instrumental Remix)
B2. By The End They Will (Octo Octa's Dazed These Days Dub)

SHORT INFO:
Frank and Tony’s long history together has produced many seminal moments, and the release of the Ethos album this year on their own Scissor & Thread imprint marked yet another high point.
The album saw the friends and long term collaborators produce a body of work that was both joyous, thoughtful and politically charged. Adding to that is this five track remix EP which enlists artists of a distinct pedigree to reimagine some of the tracks, and to stunning effect. First up is Cecile featuring Eliana Glass, the pianist and singer who graces a pair of tracks on the album and this EP. Charles Webster is responsible for the flip - a typically moody and atmospheric vibe brings out new layers in the original. Eliana Glass also features on Timmy Regisford’s remix of Olympia, which exhibits some of the New York legends greatest attributes - a hypnotic, uplifting masterclass ensues. Regisford’s instrumental version of Olympia is also shared here. Elsewhere C.K brings the heat with a rework of By The End They Will, creating a bumping, raw cut. The same track is flipped by Octo Octa, who takes the vibe fathoms deep and produces an idiosyncratic ravey version while honouring the spirit of the original.











More

GENRE/S: Deep House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Rhythm & Simplicity
A2. A New World To Forget
A3. Tape Jam Pt. 2
B1. 0221 (Serious Mix)
B2. Motion Anthem

New Jersey-born Ali Berger is a drum machine specialist and low-key US electronic music standby, now based in Pittsburgh after spending the 2010s in Boston and Detroit. His catalog of original music runs deep, with over 60 releases on his Trackland label and EPs on imprints like Spectral Sound and Sequencias, all resulting from a lovingly-cultivated studio approach which respects improvisation as a spiritual practice.

Here with this sublime release on Scissors and Thread, Ali shares a multitude of sounds and atmospheres across the five tracks. As Ali himself puts it "This record collects tracks from the last three years, plus 0221 (Serious Mix) which is from 2018. There's a full cross-section of production techniques represented here, from one-take jams to multi-tracked compositions, but through it all there's a deep melancholy which (I hope) is tempered by enough groove to be uplifting. Maintaining emotional balance takes constant, caring attention; music is a part of that process for me and these tracks reflect that."
This balancing of melancholic atmospheres and groove is evident throughout - Rhythm & Simplicity is a low key thoughtful banger for the more discerning dancefloors, while A New World To Forget also exhibits a deep love of cultured house music and analog drum machines. Tape Jam Pt 2 is the perfect mix of improvisation and pure groove, put down in a rough and gritty fashion. 0221 (Serious Mix) merges a breakbeat with pads and synths that give off a balearic sunrise vibe, while Motion Anthem wraps up the EP with a tougher groove coupled with wistful melodies and oceans of feeling.











More

Double-LP, Gatefold sleeve

GENRE/S: House, Deep House, Lo-Fi House, Electronica

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Olympia (with Eliana Glass)
A2. Ethos (with DaRand Land)
B1. Too Poor For Movies, Too Tired For Love (with Lawrence)
B2. Nobody Present Ever Stood So Still
C1. By The End They Will
C2. Cecile (with Eliana Glass)
D1. Drift (with DJ Aakmael)
D2. From Life Ahead
D3. Continuity

SHORT INFO:
More about the world has changed than not in the decade since dance production dyad Frank & Tony released their last full-length record, 2014’s You Go Girl. Despite, or perhaps in spite of, this shifting landscape, house music has managed to stay fundamentally reliable (either a bug or its greatest feature, depending on who you ask). Where previously, Frank & Tony have been celebrated for their contemplative, studious approach to the genre, with 2024’s Ethos, the Brooklyn/Biarritz-based duo return amidst metastatic cultural upheaval to prove out those scholarly credentials — with an album that serves to remind listeners why dancefloors and liberatory politics consistently share the language of movements and revolutions.
Undoubtedly, Ethos is tremendously influenced by the multitude of projects originating from, and supported by, the duo and their label in the decade since You Go Girl– releasing records from a vast diversity of artists (including Nadia Khan, Gry, Villete, Darand Land, Alex Albrecht, DJ Sprinkles and CCL), and Harris becoming curatorial voice of Brooklyn’s premiere venue for audiophiles, Public Records, where he continues to amplify work across a global diaspora (and where the duo maintain a residency of wide praise).

It is this bright energy and focus on the necessity of community and relationships that animates the aptly-titled Ethos. If past Frank & Tony releases have been lauded as ‘a coloring book in which someone has exclusively drawn inside the lines… with extreme precision,’ Ethos deviates by inviting friends in for a game of exquisite corpse. From singer and pianist Eliana Glass, whose androgynous, double-reeded voice freestyles across album opener Olympia, to distinct track features from fellow house masterminds DaRand Land, DJ Aakmael and Lawrence over half of the album’s nine tracks highlight artists in the larger Scissor & Thread circle.









More

GENRE/S: Deep House, Lo-Fi House, Electronica

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Too Much
B1. Too Much (Francis Harris Reform)
B2. Too Much (DJ Aakmael Remix)

SHORT INFO:
Will Long is an American artist. He curates and manages the label Two Acorns, as well as producing music since 2005, in various forms under his own name for Terre Thaemiltz's Comatonse Recordings, and as Celer for his own label and many others.
Here he joins the perfectly aligned Scissor and Thread label of Francis Harris and Anthony Collins for the Too Much EP.
"Too Much" is a deep cut from the same grooves as the Long Trax series," says Will Long, "a further entry for the downtrodden, the overwhelmed, and those that think change has come. A midnight meditation of intentional simplicity, strained, and on that night train."
The title track is lush, loose deep jam that combines wistful, warm pads with an insistent groove and choice samples.
Francis Harris steps up to provide one of his signature reforms, adding a little more percussion and drive to the track, while DJ Aakmael (Greg Stewart) offers up another version that takes the track somehow even deeper, adding some additional instrumentation and raw sounds.









More

GENRE/S:
Electronica, Ambient, Deep House, Lo-Fi House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Snow Storm
A2. Cargo
B1. Pilot (feat. Joseph Batrouney)
B2. Storage Room (feat. Leo Yucht)
B3. Helipad

SHORT INFO:
Sean La’Brooy is an Australian producer and composer currently based in New York, who’s work traverses ambient, jazz and house music. He is the co-founder of Australian ambient label Analogue Attic Recordings. With this release, La’Brooy has hooked up with the Scissor and Thread label to put out Merchant - five dreamy and versatile tracks featuring his distinct style of harmonically complex pads mixed with jazz-influenced instrumental melodies and solos. Snow Storm starts the journey, coupling field recordings with snippets of gentle jazz lines and wandering percussion. Cargo is the most dancefloor-oriented of the release, and locks into a driving groove early on, featuring various synth and piano fragments to add and flow through the track. Pilot is a track that also finds an off-kilter groove, embellished with dubbed-out percussion by fellow Australian Joseph Batrouney and samples. Storage too features a guest—New York based drummer Leo Yucht—who delivers a rolling breakbeat which is intertwined with live percussion, airy pads and snippets of piano to build a rich atmosphere. The closing piece is Helipad, a dubby bassline providing the anchor for an intricate rhythm of bongos and synth to support a light-as-a-feather melody.









More

GENRE/S:
Deep House, Lo-Fi House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. We Begin
A2. Understanding
B1. We Begin (Frank & Tony and Will Long Wide Open Edit)

SHORT INFO:
Following the success of their EPs released last year on Scissor and Thread, Frank & Tony return with another outing of deeper than deep house with a three track EP including an expansive collaborative exploration with Comatonse recording artist Will Long.
The title track, Understanding takes a nod to 90s Chicago deep house with a slow rolling groove set against plush pads and euphoric stabs sure to send dancefloors swirling in the earliest of nights and mornings alike. We Begin, a dreamy trip of emotive soundscapes, kicks things up a notch with jazzy undertones but a drive meant for peak times as it unfolds in moods and grooves for ages.
The EP then culminates with a vast rework of the same track in collaboration with Comatonse artist and DJ Sprinkles collaborator, Will Long, pushing the EP to psychedelic lengths as the essence of what we call a house groove reaches new idiosyncratic heights. Essential.









More

Double-LP, Gatefold-Sleeve

GENRE/S:
Deep House, Lo-Fi House, Minimal / Deep Tech, House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Sprinkles Says
A2. 727 Anthem (House Is Black)
A3. Hearts Not Broken feat. Léah Lazonick
B1. Pleasure Chaser
B2. The Beat Direct
B3. Love Triangle
C1. Ghosts feat. Léah Lazonick
C2. Out From Within
C3. Prisoner
D1. At Home In Strange Places
D2. Resonate
D3. In The Valley

SHORT INFO:
Black Light Smoke is the electronic music moniker of Jordan Lieb - producer, songwriter, and award winning film and TV composer. A Chicago native, Jordan transplanted to New York City in 2001, where his career as a multi-disciplined musician has taken flight in many forms.
Currently residing in upstate New York, Black Light Smoke returns to Scissor and Thread for his first full length debut-album: Ghosts.
The 12 tracks (plus three digital bonus tracks) span everything from 90s house, smooth and deep soulful beats, dusty grooves and thoughtful treaties on the state of creativity, capitalism and identity.
It’s a collection that sits together as a listening experience perfectly, building peaks and sliding into serene troughs, all with a strong sense of radical thought and creative experimentation. Tracks bend and warp in unexpected directions, while gritty, distortion and overdrive counterpoint classic rave stabs and vocal samples. Taken as a whole, the album could be the soundtrack to a night drive through the city, as much as certain tracks will no doubt find themselves woven into the sets of the more leftfield and genre pushing DJs. Either way, it’s an essential release from one of the most exciting and vital producers out there and the first artist signed to Scissor and Thread back in 2011.
The album title, Ghosts, tells two stories. One is personal - an artist embracing the shadows of his past in order to move forward and complete a body of work. The second story is a search for the original meaning of house music - not just the usual sample, appropriation or casual nod to the originators of house - but a meditation on the living story of Black America in which house music is an inseparable chapter. Both stories are a reflection on grief and the transformation of trauma into celebration.
100% of Jordan Lieb’s personal proceeds from this record will go to Little Bit Foundation, empowering students living in poverty to achieve their academic goals.









More

GENRE/S: Deep House

TRACKLIST:
A1. Hold On
A2. The Stolen Child
B1. Water Temple
B2. Lost In Place

SHORT INFO:
JVXTA is a DJ and producer based in London (UK). He also co-founded the label Hardmatter.
Here, Scissor And Thread, the Brooklyn imprint headed by Francis Harris and Anthony Collins share JVXTA’s new EP - Euston Blues. Elements of free improvisation and experimentation pepper the album, while a strong thread of atmospheric cohesion winds its way through the eight tracks - making Euston Blues a truly rewarding and rich listening experience.
"Euston Blues synthesises deep chords, classic house rhythms and jazz laden influences to chronicle an intimate journey of physical and psychological isolation." says Charles Field, the man behind the JVXTA project. "Scope is relative and this transposition is explored from the seclusion of a single room to the expanses of the Beyond". Euston Blues is available as a four-track vinyl EP and full digital album from March, 24th on Scissor And Thread.







More

WW -DE, -AT.

LP incl DL code

GENRE/S:
Electronica, Breaks, Drum & Bass

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Jungle Times
A2. Roll Of Thunder
A3. When Young
A4. Ombre
B1. Aura
B2. Dog Days
B3. Drift Out

SHORT INFO:
ZG is the moniker of London based Zansika Lachhani and Grant (aka Anthony Collins, and the Tony in Frank & Tony). The concept was borne out of a connection online, as Grant and Zan connected on Soundcloud, both independently vibing off each other's music and approach to their art.
In 2018 they began to work together, developing a number of tracks but eventually parking the project as other life commitments got in the way. Fast forward to 2021, while clearing out old harddrives, Grant rediscovered the recordings and was blown away by the music already put down. Together they began to rework and develop the project further, resulting in a blindingly beautiful seven track LP.
Opener Jungle Times sets the scene, an atmospheric dreamy opening giving way to an idiosyncratic breakbeat and whispered vocals from Zan, setting the tone perfectly, floating the sound equally between London and New York styles. Following it up is the enigmatic Roll of Thunder, drawing its power broken beat patterns, deep and soulful strings and washes reminiscent of 4Hero in their prime.
When Young also brings a jazz aesthetic to the fore, with upfront drums and Rhodes chords washing over in melodic bliss. Ombre starts with a thick bassline and urgent synth stabs before developing into a tripped-out groove, layered with thick synth lines and subtle harmonic touches. Similarly, Aura uses some of the same sound palette as well with touches of guitars and more sparking pads creating an uplifting yet melancholic journey. The first real vocal arrives with the penultimate track Dog Days, dreamily layered over beautifully evolving synth washes and skittering beats. By the time Drift Out arrives to usher in the last act of this exceptional LP, we are on cloud nine.








More

GENRE/S:
Deep House, Organic House, Electronica

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Elea feat. Bob Moses
A2. Holding On feat. Bob Moses
B1. Holy For Her feat. Bob Moses
B2. Marigold feat. Bob Moses

SHORT INFO:
Finally getting a vinyl re-release is Frank & Tony’s seminal work with breakout duo Bob Moses. Back in 2012 Francis Harris and Anthony Collins (Frank & Tony) worked with their fellow New Yorkers before they went on to sign to Domino and blow up globally.
The four track EP kicks off with Elea - a deep and thoughtful collaboration utilizing Frank & Tony’s slick production with understated vocals. Next up on the A side is Holding On, featuring iconically Bob Moses vocals atop of a low-key bumping groove. There’s also washes of brass that add a new dimension to the track. Flipping over to the B side, Holy for Her (which also appeared back in 2012), is a densely wound, hypnotic rhythm, providing the basis for Tom Howie and Jim Vallance to do their special thing. Winding things up, Marigold is another early classic from the same period - a dubbed-out groove with sharp percussion and a killer, signature vocal. An essential release capturing a vital period in both outfits' development.







More

Limited & numbered


GENRE/S:
Deep House, Organic House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Eastern Meantimes feat. Eliana Glass
A2. Absence
B1. Eastern Meantimes feat. Eliana Glass (Timmy Regisford Remix)
B2. Eastern Meantimes (Timmy Regisford Remix Instrumental)

SHORT INFO:
The next release from the re-activated Frank & Tony drops on Scissor and Thread. Following on from Dream Vibration - which broke a five year hiatus from the much-lauded production pair of Francis Harris and Anthony Collins - Eastern Meantimes brings us a sublime set of tracks and remixes. The original features New York artist Eliana Glass, whose sultry vocals ride above a deep, atmospheric groove and lush pads and washes.
The track is also presented here with two stellar remixes from Timmy Regsiford, the New York legend who has been defining the sound of house in the city for nearly 40 years. Here his vocal and instrumental remixes are smooth, deep and infectious, sure to light up discerning dancefloors the world over. Frank & Tony’s Absence is the other original track here, a thick, pulsing bass-driven roller punctuated with sharp snares and the pair’s trademark ethereal pads.






More

Limited & numbered

GENRE/S: Deep House, Organic House

TRACKLISTS:
A1. Dream Vibration
A2. Stretch Out Like The World feat. Eliana Glass
B1. Stretch Out Like The World (Timmy Regisford Vocal Mix)
B2. Time Out Of Mind

SHORT INFO:
Frank & Tony drop their new Dream Vibration EP some 5 years after their last outing as a duo with the much-celebrated Odes EP. Having teased the full release with two upfront tracks - Time Out Of Mind and Timmy Regisford’s masterful instrumental rework of Stretch Out Like The World, we now get to enjoy the full package.
Title track Dream Vibration kicks off with a lazy breakbeat, floating, barely-there chord washes and eventually and slowly reveals a thick, low kick and deep sub to drive things along. Frank & Tony’s original version of Stretch Out Like The World features Eliana Glass on vocals - a melancholic but tough track that exudes a classic in the making. Timmy Regisford’s vocal mix amps up the percussion to create a hypnotic club jam idea for an early morning Shelter dancefloor.





More

Territories: WW -DE, -AT

TRACKLIST:
A1. Useless Machines
A2. And Everything Is One Thing After Another
A3. Rebstock Fold
B1. Earth Moves
B2. Thresholds
B3. Luck Takes A Step
C1. I Can Still See Us
C2. Speculative Nature Of Purposive Form
C3. Cut Up
D1. New Pastoral
D2. On That Occasion, Landeau
D3. Every Degree Of Distance

SHORT INFO:
While previous albums, most notably Leland and Minutes of Sleep (2014) as well as two albums released as one half of the duo Aris Kindt (most notably the stellar Swann and Odette from 2017) have relied on singular thematic and narrative drives that were often of a personal, collaborative, or hermetic in nature, Thresholds is an album that aspires to sonic universality and the presentation of a fully formed psychoacoustical world. That being said it is not an “album of ideas”. Inspired by the ecological and political upheavals of the present and the role of speculative thought as an avenue of global transformation Thresholds is the work of a mature artist fully in control of his powers. Both expansive and nuanced the album widens the aperture of the affective possibilities of the electronic assemblage; themes skip from one track to the next, elevating and informing each other in tangible fields of abstract figuration. The titles, while often heady, concisely allude to strategies implicit in the construction and arrangement of the works: Cut Up, within the context of the album, is exactly that. Luck Takes a Step juxtaposes stately synths with just the right touch of playful fluctuation and latent atonality. The title track itself is a knotted mass of uncertainty and propulsive beats the breakdown of which is a nervous series of fits and starts that resonate not just within the track but as the fulcrum of the entire album: the threshold of our Threshold: “…we are caught up in our own original transversals of time to the point of dissolution, and that which remains a part of the contrivance of ourselves is ultimately that which crosses the threshold and is somehow, miraculously, reconstituted on the other side of it. Because it is via the threshold that we can best observe the conditions of experience as lived even as we cross to the other side of understanding, rejoining the ancient equilibriums of which we, in our depths, are comprised.” (From the liner notes)
No track overstays its welcome and with the help of standout vocalist Eliana Glass, and instrumentation by Dave Harrington (Darkside with Nicolas Jaar), Mark Nelson (Pan American), Will Shore, Greg Paulus and Gareth Redmond, and mixed by Phil Weinrobe, the result is a dizzyingly pure inward gaze that is first and foremost an album about connection.




More

Tracklist 12":
A1. Port Ana
A2. Conversation
A3. Objects In Form
B1. Rain Again
B2. Rain Again (Lawrence Remix 1)

Release Info:
Nadia Khan returns on Scissor and Thread for another sublime mini LP, Port Ana. Based in North Carolina,
Khan first drew a lot of attention via a cassette release on Where To Now? Records in 2015.
Her sophomore statement was the beautiful In Gleam released in 2018 on Francis Harris’ Brooklyn-based label, which set the tone for these five tracks of meditative music. The title track Port Ana opens the journey - a gentle, droning soundscape with effortlessly bewitching glints of melody. Conversation follows on, drawing on loops and textures to create the background for a deep, pulsing kick drum. The sounds shift and evolve, leaving a hazy sense of movement to drift away to. Next up is Objects In Form which presents a fragile chord progression that barely holds itself together, surrounded by shifting pads and swathes of reverb. Rain Again is presented here in two versions. The original combines ethereal sounds, weightless and adrift, while the Lawrence remix firmly grounds the track with a hypnotic, deep groove. The Dial boss provides another remix for the digital release that further plays with the textures of the original to create something that works both for an open minded dancefloor and as a home listening experience.




More

Tracklist 12":
A1. Penrose Stairs
A2. Dawn Is Mine
A3. Lilac
A4. Midnight Arp
B1. Myst
B2. Show Me
B3. Wild Things

Villete aka Amsterdam based producer Anne Korteweg returns to Scissor and Thread with a brilliant new EP. Her debut 12" 'Girl Next Door' was released on Scissor and Thread in the fall of 2016 and sold out quickly. Now here with the new EP Dawn is Mine, we are treated to seven tracks of understated, floating beauty.
On her new release she explores the more abstract sides of electronic music. Using a variety of synthesizers, she creates rich and lush sounding structures that continuously bend and flow loosely. She finds inspiration from listening to Pauline Anna Strom, Takashi Kokubo and Actress.
Opener Penrose Stairs sets the tone with gentle arpeggiated synths creating a warm, fuzzy atmosphere - a combination further explored in Midnight Arp later into the mini-album.
The title track Dawn Is Mine uncovers a low bass throb mixed with dubbed out effects and textures, while Lilac emits an ethereal, woozy atmosphere, with lush pads, choral textures and blissful melodic motifs. Myst also luxuriates in hazy pads before a slo-mo groove emerges to carry the track towards the edge of the dancefloor. If Myst flirts with the idea of dancing, Show Me dives right in - an exquisite slice of deep, outsider house with a psychedelic twist. Winding the release down with Wild Things - a beat-less vignette of synths engaged in an melodic interplay of chimes and tones.




More