Second single of remixes coming out of Fabrice Lig's album "The Mental Bandwidth" by Plaid, Cinthie and Truncate More

Belgian techno OG Fabrice Lig returns to Systematic with one of his most personal and moving EPs to date: ‘Black Monday’ His most substantial release on Marc Romboy’s label since his ‘Purple Raw’ series a few years back, each track is written as a special tribute to four people who’ve had a massively positive impact on Fabrice’s life, but have sadly since passed on. Expressing himself in the most honest, articulate way he can, this one runs deeper than deep. More

Belgium based Fabrice Lig is nothing else than a phenomenon of techno music. The list of high profile imprints where he released his music, like Planet E, R&S, KMS, Third Ear and Playhouse is unique. More than a year has gone by after 'Purple Raw Vol. 2' was dropped on Systematic and since all good things come in threes, it was only a matter of time until he would come up with his third instalment. The wait is finally over and Fabrice returns with a strong 'Pure Raw 3' which has no other intention than making you dance through the night. This four-tracker starts with a driving edit of 'Gravitational Voyage' by Joris Voorn and proceeds it´s journey with three tunes full of raw percussions, bumbing sounds and unpredictable arpeggio synthlines. This EP is just 'Pure Raw'! More

the label say: What is soul really? The answer to that is a various as the music that claims it. We here at WPH HQ do not know the answer either, but we do know an exceptional piece of music when we hear it. Enter Fabrice Lig, Belgian techno legend with his roots in our little country and his ears definitely in that place called Detroit. More

Handpicked by Carl Craig for his first release on the label, veteran producer Fabrice Lig delivers an inspiring album of hi-tek funk, soul, house and breakbeat with his 'Galactic Soul Odyssey' album on Planet E. A high school teacher by day, father of three and deeply passionate music devotee, there's an undeniable sense that Fabrice Lig was cut from a different cloth than most. The Belgian artist, also releasing music under the Soul Designer moniker is responsible for the classic 'Walking On A Little Cloud' album on Laurent Garnier F Communications, as well as a slew of pivotal Detroit-influenced cuts on labels such as KMS and 7th City Records that captured the essence of the iconic hotspot's spirit while retaining Lig's trademark free-flowing funk. For his debut full length on Planet E, the dexterous producer has crafted an album of contrasts that gleefully scribbles outside the lines for an otherworldly 12-track trip of galactic proportions that mines inspiration from everyone from Todd Terje to Marvin Gaye and Quincy Jones, while retaining an undeniable thread to the Motor City. Launching with the steely tension-filled 'Born To Be Wise' that sounds somewhat akin to the opening musical score of a Bond film, if said flick was set on Mars, the tempo is soon set to disco via the ultra smooth vocal injection from Hard Ton on 'Celestial Love Rising'. There's a heavy hint of a future house classic when Lig teams up with lauded vocalist and former Octave One collaborator Ann Saunderson for 'No Judgment' that's already been generating serious heat since being released as a single recently. The masterful 'Oostende Blues' is the Belgian's own masterful tribute to his hero Gaye spanning energetic tech funk that gradually tempers to reveal more tender melodic tones. In a highlight heavy album, the work is fittingly rounded out by the Terje-inspired 'Superstring Theory' that mixes up disco, funk and '90s rave vibes all executed with astounding compositional skill - no mean feat from an artist who's never had a music lesson in his life. More

Lyrics and vocal production by Ann Saunderson, music by Fabrice Lig.
More

Belgian techno icon Fabrice Lig makes his Subject Detroit debut here with a real driving yet emotional peak time techno banger complete with remixes from Aaron-Carl and DJ Bone himself. A. Hmong Dignity Original Club Mix Already a longstanding component in Bone's dancefloor armoury, Fabrice Lig's Hmong Dignity finally lands on SD. The scoring is opened with a tight groove - familiar percussion paving the way to a popping, head-bobbing kick, creating a rhythm that bridges the gap between classic and contemporary. Fabrice wastes no time in getting to the punch line however and swiftly dispatches the track's payload of unforgiving weaponised melody. Raw ingredients laid out, the plot is thickened with jazzy chords that finally falls away to an extravaganza of a break, complete with a funky-as-you-like riff and bassline to boot. An epic example of Detroit's unbridled influence on European techno. B1. Hmong Dignity Aaron-Carl Remix The late, great Aaron Carl provides a meaty rework to Fabrice's original. With a more "housey" aesthetic, AC switches to bigger, flatter kicks and chops up the immense central melody of the original in to more of a part than a centrepiece. Layered, stomach churning bass is deployed on the front line as the synths swirl and mingle around the main groove. Sitting comfortably on the house/techno border, AC's version is chunky, funky, raw and real. B2. Hmong Dignity DJ Bone Remix SD head honcho DJ Bone delivers an elite remix to round off Fabrice's debut Subject Detroit release. The groove that flies off the start line gradually thickens and expands, with Bone slicing up and morphing Fabrice's melody into a completely different beast as it tweaks and spasms in and around a pacey and complex groove. The beat gives way to a cavalcade of funky, arpeggiated synth stabs that remain a constant for the rest of the track, and even they continue to evolve as brooding bass and lush reverberating strings add a genuine next level to the track. As deep as it is tough, straight up yet funky, Bone's remix plucks certain elements of Fabrice's original, redrafts and revises and turns it into a dancefloor bomb in its own right.
More

Matt Edwards’ R-Time Records welcomes back Sir Lord Commix with five silky cuts for the fourth ‘Retroactive’ release. Amoon Andrews’ outfit Sir Lord Commix returns with the fourth instalment of re-released gems that have been in high demand on the vinyl market. Born out of Rekids, R-Time Records has previously released twelve of Commix’s cuts, yet his treasure trove discography keeps on giving, spanning two decades. Released on Ugly Music in ’96, ‘World Of Groove’ is a smooth house cuts with an abundance of soulful stabs and driving percussion whilst hypnotic melodies and sweeping cosmic strings envelope ‘Life Cycle’, which first appeared on Cynic in ’05. ‘Cosmic Jive’ - from the highly sought after ‘Evidence’ vinyl of ’97 - pumps a reverberated kick amongst shimming chords and rising bleeps. Appearing on an extremely rare release on Hard Up, ‘Under Seige’ has an off-kilter rhythm and erratic yet funky slapping bass melody. Finally, the release concludes with an ethereal cut titled ‘Beyond Reach’ complete with liquid breaks, floating arps and shining melody (originally from a Talahachi VA in 2014). More

Radio Slave’s reissue label, R-Time, returns with an in demand re-release of his timeless remixes of Peace Division’s legendary ‘Blacklight Sleaze (ft Pleasant Gehman)’. Originally released on NRK in 2006, ‘Blacklight Sleaze’ landed at a time when Peace Division (Justin Drake & Clive Henry) was lauded as one of most bankable acts in house music having notched up a truly remarkable catalogue that helped define the genre from the late 90s onwards. Later that year, the Pleasant Gehman spoken vocal led cut was treated to a series of remixes from Radio Slave, another act who had firmly developed a similarly revered status in the scene. These futuristic remixes, now fully re-mastered and sounding better than ever, take ‘Blacklight Sleaze’ to another level with thundering kicks, a pitch-perfect arrangement and tightrope balance between foreboding house and bone-shaking techno. A huge anthem at Berghain, these remixes have been a favourite weapon in the record bags of many techno DJs, not to mention a regular fixture in Nina Kraviz and Rodhad’s sets… now seems the perfect time for more ‘Blacklight Sleaze’.. More

Matt Edwards’ reissue label R-Time Records presents ‘After Dark’ this September with three tracks from Mark The 909 King. Following reissues of excellent music by Sir Lord Commix, FBK and Sanasol (Thor & Yagya), Rekids offshoot R-Time Records now presents definitive cuts from Mark The 909 King. Debuting with the timeless ‘Can You Dig It!’ on Sex Trax in ’94, the producer went on to release via a number of New York house legend DJ Duke’s labels throughout the mid-nineties. A huge fan of DJ Duke since the 90s, Matt Edwards even held a Sex Mania night at Berghain in 2009 featuring a rare DJ performance from the Duke himself. Alongside tracks by Roy Davis JR and Trackman (Jon Cutler), ‘After Dark’ featured as part of a VA release on the label DJ Exclusive, whilst ‘Into Space’ landed on Rated X Records, and ‘The Loft’ appeared on the ‘Can You Dig It’ album via Power Music Records. ‘After Dark’ set the tone of the package with a piercing drum groove, airy arpeggios and a funky bassline, before cosmic synths and crunchy snares work alongside scintillating chords in ‘Into Space.’ Concluding the package, ‘The Loft’ begins with a hooky bass sequence and filtered effects before soothing melodies come into play. More

R-Time Records releases two tracks from Iceland’s Sanasol, aka Thor and Yagya, entitled‘Long Lost Thoughts’ - originally appearing on ‘Deep Thoughts’ LP via Hey Babe! in ’97. Out of all of Thor’s aliases, which includes OZ Artists, Flow Machine and Thor54, Sanasol – his duo project alongside Yagya - is arguably the most prolific. On top of appearances on Thor’s own renowned imprint Thule Records, as Sanasol the pair have released on Fear Of Flying, Connaisseur Supérieur and Alex Azary and Pascal F.E.O.S.’s Hey Babe!, of which the latter homed the ‘Deep Thoughts’ album. Matt Edwards’ R-Time now releases two of the long player’s finest tracks, following recent revivals of timeless music by Sir Lord Commix and FBK. ‘Long Lost Thoughts’ begins by utilising filtered chord stabs alongside a thumping bass and sustained strings before the track progresses with ethereal pads combined with resonant bells playing a top line melody. On the flip, ‘In The Sky Of Normality’ presents shuffled drums with crisp hi-hats and a strong low-end whilst delayed synths pan left and right throughout keeping things atmospheric and mesmerising.

More

Matt Edwards’ newly launched reissue label, R-Time Records, prepares its third release, the second instalment of Sir Lord Comixx ‘Retroactive’. R-Time Records shines a light on classic tracks that didn’t always get the recognition they deserve, with the label’s first two releases coming from Sir Lord Comixx and FBK. Real name Amoon Andrews, Sir Lord Commix’s discography has been in high demand for many years, evident by soaring market prices. The A-side of ‘Retroactive (Part Two)’ features two tracks from a rare untitled release on ‘Hard Up’, whilst the B-side is made up of ‘Chicago Jazz’ from the ‘Funk Box EP’ on Eukahouse (under his a.Moon’ moniker in ‘98) and ‘Motionvibe’ from ‘Azid Jazz EP’ on Cynic in ‘05. Cosmic synths join wonky arps in ‘UR My Omen’ before moving into the more up-tempo ‘Fog Horn’ with its robust drums, off-beat bleeps and filtered effects. ‘Chicago Jazz’ takes things into deeper territories with crystalline Rhodes and jazz-influenced samples until ‘Motionvibe’ concludes the package with its syncopated structure comprised of twisted sounds, murky atmospherics and effervescent nuances. More

Rekids launch re-issue label entitled R-Time Records with four timeless tracks from Sir Lord Comixx. Having established a handful of renowned imprints such as Rekids, Pyramids Of Mars, Cabin Fever and The Double R, Matt Edwards' new venture aims to shine a light on classic tracks that didn't always get the recognition they deserve. “Amoon [Sir Lord Comixx] and I go back a long way and we met through our friend Justin [Isonoe] in the early 90s,” says Matt Edwards. “I was still living in Catford and would regularly drive over to Justin's studio where he'd play me all this crazy, otherworldly music from Amoon and it blew my mind - I was completely captivated by his unique take on techno.
“At the time I had no idea that we grew up in the same neighbourhood and Amoon was living just around the corner so, of course, we hooked up and in 1996 I released an EP from him including one of his classics 'UR My Omen' on my Hard Up label.” Composed of four tracks from separate releases, 'Retroactive (Part One)' inaugurates with '1 4 The Groove' from Sir Lord Comixx's 'Danceteria EP' on Ugly Music. Produced in '96, the track's raw aesthetic features sharp percussion, heady melodies and a compelling groove. Meanwhile, 'Enemax' - which appeared on 1A Records - demonstrates throbbing synths and shuffling drums. Originally produced under his a.Moon moniker in '98, 'Funk Box' is the most robust track on the package with its thudding kicks and assortment of meandering sounds, before the 'Azid Jazz' provides a deep and funky finale. More