Mirrors is the second album by endlessly influential South London producer Mala. It follows his 2012 Brownswood release where Gilles Peterson invited the producer to soak up Cuba’s music and culture to turn the results into Mala In Cuba. But Mirrors is less Mala In Cuba Mk II and more the realisation of a creative method that works for this most understated and intuitive producer: digging deep into the roots of a culture, recording local musicians and sounds, and using the recordings as source material and storyboard for a record. The product of repeated visits to dive into Peru’s music, it revolves around tempo and flow, working local Afro-Peruvian percussionists, grassroots tap dancers and an Andean soprano into its fourteen tracks. Mala went there for a month, visiting Lima along with Cusco and the Sacred Valley just outside of the capital. “I was introduced to music from the jungle, music from the mountains, Andean sounds, native sounds, Afro-Peruvian music,” says Mala. “It all goes back to the roots and the rhythms and I related instantly. That primal rhythm is in all of us.” Dancers bring another sound to Mirrors’ palette. Colectivo Palenke are masters of Peru’s stomping battle-dance, zapateo, and their feet-first percussion graces the track titled ‘Sabateo’. On ‘Sound of the River’, meanwhile, you can hear field recordings of a stream running through the Sacred Valley and soprano-anthropologist Sylvia Falcon. It’s a fragile and human performance that soothes and uplifts in equal measure, and it’s a most subtle production.“
Mirrors is a bridge joining Croydon and Lima. It creates a link between traditional instruments made from donkey jawbone and dried-out pumpkins and the contemporary box of tricks inside Mala’s laptop. Like all bridges it links the past to the present, giving a clear view of where Mala has been – and where he’s going next.

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Multidisciplinary artist, rapper, producer, and performer Ojay Morgan who performs as Zebra Katz is a first-generation Jamaican-American who burst onto the scene with the likes of Azealia Banks, Angel Haze and The House of Ladosha, when his runaway hit single “Ima Read” paved the way for his distinctive genre-defiant sound. LESS IS MOOR, the debut album due out March 20, announces a deeper look into his sonic universe. Sexually charged and abrasive, the collection is a bold, sonic experiment that meshes industrial hip-hop with drum ‘n’ bass and unidentifiable sonic territory. More

Cult Berlin club night and label African Acid is the Future returns with the second release in their Ambiance trilogy. Taking listeners into the unique spirit of their club night. For their second release they offer a series of live recordings from the heat of the party itself. The release features two tracks from both Les Filles de Illighadad and Edmony Krater as well as remixes from Dauwd, Maryisonacid and DJ Oil. Les Filles de Illighadad come from a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. Best known for their guitar performances, this recording from AAITF finds them at their percussive best on the simply titled “Tende I” and “Tende II”. Edmony Krater is an avant-garde percussionist, singer and trumpet player, as well as a native of Guadeloupe. For his performance, Krater performs a duo of tracks separated by three decades, but united by Caribbean rhythms. “Gwadloup” was originally released in 1988 as part of the album “Edmony Krater Et Zepiss – Tijan Pou Velo,” while “Lagé” is taken from 2018’s album “Edmony Krater– An ka sonjé” More

Soundwalk Collective was given unprecedented access to the halls of the emblematic nightclub Berghain, Berlin. A re-incarnation of the legendary Ostgut club, the focal point of Berlin’s techno subculture. The Berghain building is a former East German power plant that is remarkable for its enormous dimensions, 18m high dance floor and minimalist constitution of steel, glass and concrete. An architectural space that facilitates experiences of sacredness, collective oneness and egalitarianism, Berghain is known for its impressive sound system, extended after hours, and the defining sound of Berlin techno. For Oscillation, the collective placed 147 contact sensors on all surfaces inside and outside of the club: concrete walls, steel staircases, water pipes, ventilation tunnels, air ducts, metal frames, cages, fences, dark rooms, toilets, engine rooms, industrial glass windows, pillars, DJ booths, ceilings and more. Over the course of multiple club nights they mapped out the whole structure, and progressively recorded the entire movement of the building under the impact of the hammering music. More

Lavascar is a sound and music project by creative instigator and provocateur Michèle Lamy, multi-disciplinary artist Nico Vascellari and Lamy’s daughter, the artist Scarlett Rouge. Following the release of their debut album A Dream Deferred in 2017 – which was inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem Montage Of A Dream Deferred, the trio will release new album Garden Of Memory through The Vinyl Factory label. Drawing on the work of Lebanese-American poet, journalist and artist Etel Adnan, Garden Of Memory explores the tension between the organic and industrial, layering both Rouge and Lamy’s idiosyncratic delivery over Vascellari’s ambient and EBM-influenced electronics. After Vascellari described the debut LP as “an evocation of Michèle Lamy sitting in a cave, surrounded by wild beasts ready to devour her”, Lamy says the new record has loftier concerns: “So far it seems like we are more in the cosmos… We are coming out of the hole!” Lamy continues: “I like poetry, I don’t like when there is sentence that tells you everything, I like suggestion.” It was for this reason that Lamy was drawn to the 93-year-old Adnan – “a woman explaining what’s going on in life. We can say everything is political, this is especially important.” It’s a sentiment that Scarlett Rouge echoes: “She wrote political poetry, and she is a journalist, so that’s why I think when Michèle discovered her there was an immediate sense that this is now what needs to be felt and said.’ More

British artist Gazelle Twin presents her new audio visual performance show for two vocalists, 'Kingdom Come'. Three tracks from the AV show, created in collaboration with video directors Chris Turner and Tash Tung, are now available on limited edition vinyl via The Vinyl Factory. Artwork by Jonathan Barnbrook.
The conceptual performance for two vocalists is staged in six chapters, incorporating electronics, film, and the brand new soundtrack from Gazelle Twin, created from samples and live vocal manipulation. With the piece set on treadmills against a manic, illusory landscape, Kingdom Come places heightening physical demands on the performers, resulting in an exhausting, otherworldly climax. More

Following the collaboration between Elysia Crampton, Kelela and Adrian Piper, ‘Final Exam’, The Vinyl Factory join with Elysia on her next solo release. ‘Spots y Escupitajo’. The release braids legacies from both American club culture and sonic miniature compositions in the form of a 12” sample pack. The LP honours classical American composers such as William Gran Still & John Adams, as well as Central/South American club producers like DJ Rodini, DJ Saiber & Mega DJs from Cochabamba More

Toxe exhibits her relentless creativity as she edits and produces her own videos designs her visuals, exhibiting her relentless creativity which has lead to the excitement for the upcoming audio visual collaboration. The work, ‘Morning Story’, was created in collaboration with artist Niclas Hille. Released on limited edition vinyl and also digitally in May 2017. The Swedish musician crafts some of the most stomach-churning music productions, innovative drum patterns and lovelorn melodies in the scene. Her debut EP ‘Muscle Memory’ was released on Staycore in October 2015. On the five tracks of this release she clashed boulder-heavy rhythms against intricate details painting a picture very human and emotional, developing a very distinctive sound. The artist concluded 2016 with her first ever South-American tour. More recently, Toxe played at Berlin's CTM Festival and MeetFactory in Prague. The Swedish experimentalist has just been announced for a Gucci x Club To Club night in Milan, Best Kept Secret and Wiener Festwochen's new Hyperreality festival. More

N.M.O. is the project of North Sea drummer / producer Morten J. Olsen and the Mediterranean synthesis-aficinado, Rubén Patiño. The title of the project, N.M.O., is an ever-changing acronym that incorporates club music, performance, miltary drumming, fitness and absurdity. This EP unfolds the latest, Nassau Molasses Office and also the bands new deviation, Deutsch am Fuß (DaF). The duo combine performative aspects into their percussive patterns and synthetic sounds that explode during their short and intense live shows. N.M.O. recently performed at CTM Festival and also created a musical chairs performance with NTS. For this new EP the Nordic-Mediterranean duo, Nassau Molasses Office, set off on an "excursion of possible caribbean Youtube islands” for the A side. On the B side, sees the band-in-a-band blend transatlantic rhythmic club interludes with a retroesque West Germany flavo More

NYC-based duo Jasmine Golestaneh and Eddie Cooper write songs through a telepathic kinship they’ve developed since they started making music together. "We have these sort of unspoken criteria when we're writing music. We never really need to explain what that is but we both know when it's missing or when we've hit it.” The pair, AKA Tempers, are set to release their ‘Fundamental Fantasy’ EP via The Vinyl Factory on 24th February. Creating an emotional and tonal tension of sensual and mechanical impulses, their brand of dark electronica sets haunting song writing to a sinister disco beat, pop melodies floating in an almost industrial soundscape. It follows the band’s 2015 debut full-length ‘Services.’ “‘Fundamental Fantasy’ is about exploring the creative scenery of romantic illusions. Our need for them, how we justify them to ourselves, that moment when the imagined story line collides with reality. The ways we fictionalize people to fit into the narratives we have about love - to reflect our own beliefs, virtues and flaws. It is about celebrating fantasies swelling and getting undone, so we can pick up the pieces and craft new ones that serve us better’ Tempers Musically, ‘Fundamental Fantasy’ is an evolution in both song writing and process, while still tracing a clear line to their earlier output. Many of the EP's melodies were born of live improvisation, which helped them create an instinctive, natural immediacy within their electronic arrangements. The cover of the EP depicts the duo on the volcanic island of Stromboli, where they performed at The Volcano Extravaganza, an art and music festival curated by The Vinyl Factory. “It is a perfect landscape to mirror the mood of ‘Fundamental Fantasy.’ A seemingly idyllic place that is isolated from the outside world.” More

The first of the three creatives brought together by Total Freedom is musician and visual artist FATIMA AL QADIRI. Al Qadiri is a Kuwaiti music producer and artist. She has released music as a solo artist on Tri Angle, UNO, Fade to Mind, Hyperdub and as a member of Future Brown on Warp. Al Qadiri is also a member of the Gulf-based collective GCC, whose work has been exhibited at MoMA PS1 and others. Joining Fatima on the project is award-winning, Berlin-based artist and writer, HITO STEYERL whom is one of the most critically acclaimed artists working in the field of video today. Steyerl’s work focuses on contemporary issues such as feminism and militarisation, as well as the mass proliferation and dissemination of images and knowledge brought on by digital technologies. JULIANA HUXTABLE, the third creative involved in ‘Nothing Forever’, is an American poet, artist, and DJ living in New York. Huxtable is co-founder of the queer party in New York City called #ShockvalueNYC and is a member of the House of Ladosha. 'Nothing Forever' is now available to pre-order now and will be released here and on site at the 9th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art and The Store, Berlin at the end of the month. More

Following the Avonmore remix EP, Bryan Ferry now collaborates with Leo Zero, Ray Mang, Leftside Wobble and Justin Robertson to release the new ‘Avonmore’ (Dub) EP. Pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl and housed in a screen-printed sleeve, this record is an edition of 500. The Dub EP contains a broad pallete of sounds, scenes and genres which are traversed along the course of this four track vinyl. Kicking off in style with a version of ‘Loop Di Li’. Leo Zero’s take is sun-kissed and breezy, with trilling riffs and sweeping synths. UK disco-don, Ray Mang then offers a more pumping, groove driven effort that wraps Ferry’s unique vocals up in a neo-Balearic cool. Flip over to the B side two listen to two fascinating versions of ‘Driving Me Wild’, both hosting that lush 80s nostalgia. Mastered on the EMI 1400 and pressed to 180g heavyweight vinyl, Avonmore Dubs features both a bespoke screen printed thick card outer sleeve and a bespoke inner sleeve. More

Kim Ann Foxman realigns her vision as a producer in a welcome return to her own New York based Firehouse Recordings label with her '?It's You That Drives Me Wild EP ’ Kim Ann Foxman featured in Pitchfork’s 7 Best Mixes of May 2016 Kim Ann Foxman Fact Mix June 2016. The title track spins an intoxicating groove over Kim Ann’s vocals full of desire and lust, while '?Give It All You Got' ?fuses raw energy and dextrous percussion through h?er confident, evoca?tive words. Close ally and regular cohort Maya Jane Coles seamlessly remixes ‘I?t's You That Drives Me Wild’?w?ith her signature sound. The mood suddenly becomes much tougher during ‘ Magic Window ’ ? wrapping up the latest offering from New York’s finest lady of electronic music. Since creating Firehouse Recordings in conjunction with T?he Vinyl Factory two years ago, Kim Ann has released sporadically on her label, resulting in only highly thought­out and credible music from the imprint. A long standing figure in the New York dance scene, Kim Ann has remixed The XX and collaborated with Anthony Simoncino ´s alias Ron Jason. A regular at Panorama Bar, she continues to tour relentlessly with her high voltage signature style that is both remarkably original and infectious. More

he crossover success of Dinamo Azari's previous band’s raucous, hedonistic, revitalization of classic house - with hits such as ‘Reckless (With Your Love)’ and ‘Hungry For The Power’ - brought game-changing concerts all over the world. After such extensive touring the solo Azari returns to Toronto for rejuvenation and inspiration on his solo debut.
“Toronto has a thriving, young scene and it was imperative I stay close to it,” Dinamo enthuses. “The feeling is underground, rebellious, late night warehouse and loft events. I’m staying close to my roots and the results are on the record.” Speaking to all cultures through tones and vocal harmonies, the music throughout ‘Estranged’ maintains the retro-tinted bubbliness of Azari’s past but also heads somewhere grittier, tougher and much further into the nightworld - from analog machine-based 4/4 to the raw, minimal, darker sides of disco and house. New voices include James Ken Bailey, who appears on the title track 'Estranged', ‘Santo (Fear & Desire)’ and ‘Break Me’. His soulful, emotive vocals match the lush, minimal production of the album’s title track and create a sweet contrast to the stark, jackin’ house of ‘Break Me’. Another discovery is Ahmad Larnes, from Queens, New York via Berlin, appearing on the Balearic houser ‘Edge of Control’ and album opener ‘Witchwood’. Fritz Helder, is one of Dinamo’s oldest friends, and crops up solo on the pared back and funky ‘Drexl’, replete with its “Black don’t crack” refrain and provocative lyrics. Other guests include Nick Fiorucci who collaborates on ‘Haçienda’, a reinterpretation of his own 1989 rave classic, the piano line of which was the basis for so many early ‘90s hardcore classics (Slipmatt & Lime, Altern-8, Carl Cox, etc). More

Following the recent release of So Low, a compilation of early ‘80s synth, industrial and cold wave classics and undiscovered gems curated by Optimo’s JD Twitch aka Keith McIvor, The Vinyl Factory are set to release specially commissioned remixes of two tracks on the 16-track compilation by rising UK producer Powell and Hamburg’s Helena Hauff. Powell’s pneumatic sound is perfectly suited to ‘49 Second Romance’ by German minimalists P1/E, which he deftly deconstructs, while Hauff adds glistening synths to Belgian electro-industrial group The Klinik’s ‘Moving Hands’ for a driving, nocturnal version. More

‘Tilted’ marks the debut material to drop from Kate Simko & London Electronic Orchestra’s eponymous studio album, due for release on The Vinyl Factory this May. Featuring two original compositions and an epic remix from Seth Troxler, The ‘Tilted EP' provides an exciting preview of Simko’s innovative project which showcases a symbiotic blend of orchestral soundscapes and electronic music. Aiming for the head and heart, the title track is an emotive blend of shimmering melodies and a club-friendly bassline. Seth Troxler’s rework is a stripped back epic odyssey that set to hypnotise dancefloors from London to Ibiza. The third track, ‘Waiting Games’, sends shivers down the spine with soaring live strings. This is music that supersedes genre constraints. A rare feat, Kate composes the orchestral parts and produces the LEO songs in their entirety. She began experimenting with combining classical instruments and electronic music whilst achieving a Masters at the Royal College of Music. A classically trained pianist, the Chicago native is a musical magpie, remixing Philip Glass, collaborating with Jamie Jones, producing for Katy B, touring an audio-visual live set, and captivating audiences with her LEO shows and at clubs worldwide as an in-demand house DJ.
This trio of compelling cuts embodies the striking originality and virtuosity of Simko & her London Electronic Orchestra. More

Jamie Lidell is a British vocalist, producer and Warp recording artist with a string of intelligent, soulful electronic albums under his belt.A: New Eyes. B: Seye WenThe Vinyl Factory has partnered American multi-media artist Doug Aitken and the Barbican to bring his acclaimed 'Station to Station: A 30 Day Happening' to the UK for a month-long, building-wide, art intervention, from Saturday 27 June - Sunday 26 July. For the duration of the event, which features residencies, installations, live performances, workshops, screenings and more, The Vinyl Factory has created The Vinyl Factory Recording Studio to provide a space for musicians and artists to experiment and improvise and has installed The Vinyl Factory Press on-site to manufacture these recordings into vinyl editions. More