Bézier returns to Dark Entries with Valencia, a six track rumination on memory, geography, and transmutation. Multi-instrumentalist Robert Yang’s Bézier project has appeared on Dark Entries many times over the last decade, most recently with the 2018 LP Parler Musique. Says Yang, “What started as a project to investigate the love of the sound and scenery while living in San Francisco quickly developed into a passionate search for interlocking melodies and driving rhythms.”

On Valencia, Bézier invokes twinned places. The Valencia Street of San Francisco is channeled, which was the center of the city’s vibrant new wave scene in the 1980s.

But also echoed is Valencia, Spain, and La Ruta del Bakalao aka La Ruta Destroy, the Spanish clubbing scene throughout the 80s and 90s famed for its aggressive and synthetic sounds. Valencia is a darker record for Yang, exploring themes of submission and catharsis with nods to SF’s gay leather bars of the 70s and 80s. The high BPM salvos of “Valencia” and “Scrupulous” capture the frantic energy of Bakalao and Valencian wave acts like Última Emoción. Elsewhere Yang mines the dreamy space disco and Hi-NRG sounds they’re known for, like on the brooding “Past the Marshes” or the anthemic “Reservoir”, which features their partner Len.Leo on vocals. Bézier deftly navigates past and present, light and dark, pain and pleasure, the stasis of memory and the flux of time.

Valencia was mastered by Alex Michalski, with EQ for vinyl done by George Horn. Gwenaël Rattke designed the sleeve, which features an 80’s punk zine-esque geometric grid pattern mirroring San Francisco street maps. Also included is a 5x7 postcard with notes. More

Sales notes: Dark Entries is proud to release the latest offering from Bézier, a 3-track EP titled ‘Primes’. Bézier is the moniker of San Francisco based musician Robert Yang, who is also part of the Honey Soundsystem crew. A multi-instrumentalist, Robert planted his roots in San Francisco in 2005. Over the years in SF he has built an impressive analog synth-based studio, which also serves as the creative hub for his riveting live performances. ‘Primes’ represents the theme of primordial origins and creation with three tracks that explore disparate, sonic environments in each song. The title track flows and ebbs like currents in an oil slick. Out of something messy (like primordial ooze) arises organized chaos. “Stranger” is a moody dark electro/wave track for a sweaty night cruising on the west coast of Holland. Set against an underwater sound canvas the song features seductive guest vocals and lyrics by Nicole Ginelli. Doc Sleep of Jacktone Records provides additional production duties.
The final track, “Imperial Tranz Am”, is an airy, ethereal slow burner clocking in at over 13 minutes. It originally appeared as the soundtrack to an experimental queer fantasy film of the same name by SF film maker Aron Kantor.
More

A multi-instrumentalist, Robert was trained in saxophone starting at age 10, before moving onto a Fender Telecaster after high school. After being exposed to Southern California rave culture in the late 90s, he moved onto DJing and collecting records. By the time he planted his roots in San Francisco in 2005,Robert had built an impressive analog synth-based studio, which also serves as the creative hub for his riveting live performances.
'Cosmologist' explores Robert’s personal universe with three tracks that connect his varied musical lineages. "Cosmos", a celebration of the late 80s/early 90s KIIS FM universe, is built around an infectious freestyle hook that morphs into a seven minute tour of intersecting styles. "Ether" begins as gothic night-driving electro, but breaks into fantasy-scapes inspired by Italo and 1980s Japanese anime theme songs. The final track, "d. Quelle", clocks in at over 11 minutes, incorporating bebop jazz solos drawn from his early exposure to improvisation techniques by Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderley. All songs have been mixed by Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated) at Room 5, San Francisco and EQed for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios.
More

San Francisco’s Honey Soundsystem Records returns with a new single this July, inaugurating a new collaborative guise from Juan Maclean and Kevin McHugh (aka La-4a / Ambivalent) entitled Longlost. It is rare the combination of simple and catchy happen in dance music, but ‘Take 8’ is just that. A song so heartfelt and recognizable it demanded its own slab of wax, a true single! This expertly mixed and crafted house cut romances listeners into a catchy live piano ditty that seemingly could pleasurably repeat for days. Inspired by the tracks lead melody, the label set up NYC classical Pianist and friend of Honey Soundsystem crew Kevin Devine on a blind date with the producers a new version. Kevin whipped up a compositional response to the original and he was recorded live on a Grand in La-4a’s studio. Finally, to make it a family affair, Taraval, known for his work of Four Tet’s TEXT, teams up with label co-founder Jackie House for a kraut-no take on the original, fusing vacillating resonant bleeps and robust drums with glimpses of the original’s ethereal sounds. More

Honey Soundsystem met October (aka Jules) while on a one-night affair in Bristol in which he immediately dragged us from an artist dinner to the saddest Bear bar in the UK. After a few pints, vetting his taste for drag, boys, and girls that make love to boys who make love to boys, Jules confessed he has always wanted to release on HNYTRX. And so the hazing began, a year of torturing yet another sexy-stranger into refreshing, reminding, and refining a flurry of demos into the army of skeleton soldiers you now have in possession. Money drops, midnight withdrawals, 4 crisp singles: this is the Pay Day EP — gonna make that dance-floor “cha-ching” bitch! A lot of people hate October so... that is why we are releasing this record in September. But seriously though, upon cracking open this 4 track EP you might wish you had saved the vacuum seal just a couple days longer, keeping these ghosts contained until the month where screaming winds strip trees nude More

No money, no honey goes the saying. So with that in mind, Honey Soundsystem returns to the aisles of your favorite (and least favorite) record stores with a money $hot 12 inch, four tracks that bring all dance floors into states of full release. Honey Soundsystem has been on the road seemingly non-stop, visiting foreign cities and meeting delightful characters on the way. This EP is a “tour diary” of sorts, 4 tunes that we have been road tested to the nth degree and now we want our friends, fans, and foes to have them too. A1 features a track by San Francisco's Sepehr - the most ID requested track from our Chapter 10 Boiler Room finally revealed. A2 is by Stockholm's Henrik Bergqvist, a tune Jackie got his hands on after a crazy night of rolling and accidentally voguing on top of Henrik's computer bag. Derrick Carter approved the use of his voice as long as it said “Snatched from DC” -thanks Derrick! B1 is by the twink-porn worthy bio-brothers from Berlin: Morven Son - a horny moderne Electro classic featuring a secret sample from one of the more fabulous 90s movies about a sex worker. B2 is a hidden gem demo from Bogota's Lunate. While visiting Bogota to play a gig at the legendary Video Club, locals kept pointing fingers at one guy when referencing the man in town making the music we needed to hear. That guy was Lunate and this one of those beautiful and simple tunes you can play at the beginning, middle, or end of any night. More

There is no artist in the history of our label that we have given a harder time to than Vin Sol. At some point between us rejecting killer track after killer track he must have given up, pushing out his orphan tunes on other labels while we took our sweet time. We finally made our peace, and selected the four tracks that encompass the Moonchild EP you have here... You see, Vin and Hny have history and to make this marriage official we needed it to be just right. Big daddy Vincente might be known around the world for his sure-fire dance-floor bombs, but not as commonly known for his Queer Ally reputation in San Francisco. Using his production prowess and dj knowledge to help bring up the Bay Area gay dance scene has built him a fanbase of all walks of life. We think this might be his most accomplished musical work to date, not just because it is for our label, but because it's a labor of love. The EP reads like a metaphor for the two sides of the city where it was made. Moonchild and Electrical Storms reminisce the mystical and spiritual love affair San Francisco has had since the 60s while Patronize and Bondage Taped reference the sexually adventurous side the city indoctrinates to all its visitors. This record feels big to us and mostly because it reps our home and a hometown hero so hard. Enjoy. More

When Octo Octa sent us the demos for her first full-length record since 2013, we were floored by how many tracks were single worthy. But, there was one that stood out as something entirely on its own, a song that in many ways sounded like nothing Maya had ever released. Since the beginning, we always knew we wanted to do something special with "Adrift," the 8+ minute space-age synth-dub techno tune. When we asked Maya about doing a 12" with remixes we were blindsided to learn she has NEVER had any of her music remixed before. With some remixers in mind, she asked two of her favorites and they said yes. So, here we are to present HNY-016 Octo Octa - Adrift, remixed by Avalon Emerson and Dorisburg." More

Ahead of the release of a full length album by the same title, Honey Soundsystem records presents 3 breakout tracks on 12" vinyl from Octo Octa's "Where Are We Going?". Side A features the "new school" breaks pumper "Move On (Let Go) (De-Stress Mix) and the peak-time synth heavy tear jerker "On Your Lips." On the flip we share the 9 and a half minute aquatic house opus "Where Are We Going? Pt. 2" “Do you feel better?” — is the line Maya Bouldry-Morrison aka Octo Octa repeats like a mantra on the final track of “Where Are We Going?” her newest and second studio LP. “It was the question every single person asked me after coming out as transgender,” she told us “Overall I do, but no, I don’t feel better at every moment, which is why the track slips out with a dour bass drone in addition to a beautiful pad. These days, both emotions are ever-present for me.” It is precisely this candor and intensity that immediately drew us in when Maya sent over the LP to consider for the Honey Soundsystem label. As DJs we are always looking for music that can speak in our sets, not just the highest caliber productions, but songs that represent the changing landscape of the queer dance-floor. “Where Are We Going?” reads like a diary. With track titles like “No More Pain (Promises To A Younger Self)” and “Move On (Let Go) (De-stress Mix)” you can’t avoid the autobiographical messages of these songs, but Maya leaves no booty un-shaken - this is still 9 four-to-the-floor house and techno beauties to rock your body. Her willingness to even model for the cover art of this LP, proved this is a side to Octo Octa we've never seen or heard before, an artist ready to let her fans experience an intimacy as deep as the synths and lead lines she has gained notoriety for. Applying her years of international DJ’ing, this album flows with intention and has effortlessly found its way back into our headphones and home stereo systems repeatedly - Pro-tip: you can even have sex to it. Needless to say this is the first time in a decade Honey Soundsystem has thrown itself at a contemporary LP and we know once you hear it, you will know where we are going… More

A multi-instrumentalist, Robert was trained in saxophone starting at age 10, before moving onto a Fender Telecaster after high school. After being exposed to Southern California rave culture in the late 90s, he moved onto DJing and collecting records. By the time he planted his roots in San Francisco in 2005,Robert had built an impressive analog synth-based studio, which also serves as the creative hub for his riveting live performances.
'Cosmologist' explores Robert’s personal universe with three tracks that connect his varied musical lineages. "Cosmos", a celebration of the late 80s/early 90s KIIS FM universe, is built around an infectious freestyle hook that morphs into a seven minute tour of intersecting styles. "Ether" begins as gothic night-driving electro, but breaks into fantasy-scapes inspired by Italo and 1980s Japanese anime theme songs. The final track, "d. Quelle", clocks in at over 11 minutes, incorporating bebop jazz solos drawn from his early exposure to improvisation techniques by Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderley. All songs have been mixed by Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated) at Room 5, San Francisco and EQed for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios.
More