When DJ Life gives you lemons, press ‘em on vinyl. 4 zesty tech house nuggets bringing the swing and vitality in a big way.

Keeping it widescreen throughout and the percussion pulls focus. At times slick and sultry, at others more ominous and ill-tempered, we’re dishing out high-velocity dynamics across four distinct trax. Constantly nudging towards the peak-time, but with plenty of breathy sensuality and dappled melody as he flexes a detailed, sound-sensitive approach.

Drums, drums and more drums. You know the deal by now: direct torque in full effect as we traverse the rugged, funked-out and percussive. Plenty of trippy flourish for good measure too, from humid fusions of rainforest FX and hallucinatory detail to light trail synths punching through inky abyss.

It all recalls Terry Francis’ and his Housey Doingz project at the peak of their powers. Big stabs, big forward momentum. Think the golden era of their Wiggle parties circa 1999.

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4 in the chamber as X-Kalay first-timer Boss Priester steps up to the plate. A quartet of the toughest joints you’re likely to hear, maximising that dancefloor impact with minimal fuss.

Flexing like a new-skool combination of golden era Todd Edwards and Nathan Coles right from the off. Groove-forward gear accelerated to new levels through the sheer pressure of that drum programming. Proper dancefloor wreckers.

Stripped back with only the most necessary components required, there’s a dreamlike warmth and sensuality to the funked-out chords and flourishes of hallucinatory detail. Heat-seeking tech house rollers and speed garage revisionism serving pure dancefloor propulsion from beginning to end.

Itchy 2-step into piquant, puckered sidewinders, if the Boss is making baseline and groove his hallmark, then this is a case in point.

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Qnete’s back in the building for a third X-Kalay release and it’s an anticipated return for the prominent purveyor of prog. Four diverse but coherently related tracks with pit stops in deep house and electro territory.

We open proceedings with a dose of the lysergic sound that has become his trademark since debuting on the label in 2021. Evoking ritual and ceremony, ‘Going Short‘ commences with choral pads that beckon to the altar. A slo-mo exercise in dancefloor hypnosis with trace echoes of bleep.

Where ‘Wrapped’ takes a turn toward mellow, ‘Stepperals’, like its A1 counterpart, recalibrates trance tropes into something more chugging and restrained. Another example of Qnete smudging his third eye on a tunnelling, wormhole flex.

And finally, the Leipzig native signs off with a nod to the American Midwest. Opening cerebral gates in a way that recalls classic Detroit In Effect, closing track ‘Circuit Friends’ taps into the futurist utopia imagined by Detroit electro’s pioneers.

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Familiar Strangers founder Remotif heralds the 30th release, complete with a digital-only remix from Youandewan.

The first half finds the Bristol mainstay at his deadliest. Harnessing pure proggy momentum, peak-time scorcher ‘In the Blink of a Cosmic’ comes hurtling out the tracks. ‘It’s Inside U’ then keeps pace with more of that driving, fractal pressure. Tunnelling wormhole torque straight out the nether-realm.

Comparatively restrained but no-less mind-altering, the B-side embarks on a full-blown vision quest. Where breaks-fuelled cut ‘For Love or Money’ nods to early ‘90s bleep, ‘In The Mo¨bius Strip Club’ ushers into a chugging, ritual-ready space. Proper third-eye dilating stuff.

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The first X-Kalay release of 2022 finds Melbourne’s Escape Artist traversing wormholes, complete with an assist from the ever-prolific Roza Terenzi.

Picking up where a 2019 Salt Mines debut left off, ‘Wanna Dance’ allows proggy tendencies to flourish across some mind-altering electro. Portals to higher planes of consciousness and uncharted star systems fling open as widescreen, celestial pads make way for lysergic climax.

Ramping up the intensity with her ‘Bassbin Mix’, Roza Terenzi jumps on remix duties; another electro workout, but this time more urgent, more propulsive. Bringing the tribal-breakbeat pressure in spades, it’s quintessential Terenzi.

More prog, but leaning further towards cosmic techno percolation, ‘Levitator’ finds mazy arpeggios in seemingly infinite ascent. ‘Time Knife’, on the other hand, is a radiant, beatless highlight. Deploying cascading synth arps to truly mesmeric effect, it sees the Antipodean achieve sublime tension in a rare moment of introspection.

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Lewis “LT” Taylor returns to X-Kalay and follows up 2019’s “Staminize” with his latest effort, “Disc Trail” - two tracks of blistering proggy techno and hazy breaks backed with a remix from fellow label artist No Moon.

Spanning the full A side and cut to a crisp 45, “Disc Trail” is an epic 9 minute peak time destroyer. A huge proggy roller complete with trance inducing breakdown, it goes for days and absolutely slaps at 140 BPM.
On the flip, Grain sees Taylor in familiar territory; lush enveloping pads cascade over a finely crafted breakbeat and pulsating sub - the adeptly syncopated percussion perfectly showcasing his first love and talent as a trained drummer.

Topping things off No Moon is on remix duty, reworking Grain into a chugged out 4x4 with some expansive arrangement and jacked up bass >:)

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XK025 sees a fresh label debut in the form of Cloudsteppers - a collaboration between Toronto based artists Ciel and Dan Only. Born out of an impromptu jam session at Dan Only's NDG 208 Studio in late 2019, the pair quickly hit it off. Ciel brought her trusty Korg ESX-1 sampler, and alongside Dan Only's arsenal of vintage synths and samplers, they quickly wrote the first two cuts of what would eventually turn into the first Cloudsteppers EP. After getting great feedback from playing them on tour and sharing with friends, the pair wrote the last two cuts when lockdown restrictions loosened during the summer of 2020.

Both artists are instinctively melodically-inclined producers, so for this release they tried to focus more of their attention on the drums and fx, while limiting the amount of melodic parts in each track. Working within those parameters resulted in what is now their debut EP.

Title track, “The Limit”, is a huge undulating cut of 160bpm energy - it shimmies effortlessly between skittish jungle, breakbeat and techno rhythms, centred around a tripped out sample of Manchester’s finest physicist, Brian Cox. “Slinky Bork” brings a distinctly UK Tech House flavour reminiscent of Housey Doingz, Get Fucked and others of the Wiggle/Euka House era - underpinned by a solid 4x4, subtle rhythms and spacey atmospherics abound.

On the flip, “Diva Loops”goes in hard with a pounding kick, warbling bass and some massive clattering drums before breaking out into a playful melodic refrain. Closing things out, “Trigger Happy” is another functional 4x4 club cut full of skippy tech styles and punchy rhythms. A dreamy melody floats along into a tension building crescendo, complete with massive reese-ish bassline. Big!

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Another X-Kalay OG returns to the label this summer and we couldn’t be happier :) It’s not a huge overstatement to say that Lucas’ first record on X-Kalay, “Ataraxia”, was somewhat of a milestone in the development of both artist and label, and it has been a huge pleasure to see him go from strength to strength since its release just over two years ago. These days it’s fair to say that Lucas is one of the most exciting young artists in the game - with a finely crafted knack for electro, and the 303 in particular, pretty much second to none. We’re super proud to welcome him back with his next effort -“Lifeforms”.

The emotive opener is “Amongst us in Harmony” - steadily building through deep pads and bouncing arps, the now trademark Lou Karsh acid bassline ever present. Coming in over 8 minutes, it’s a truly galactic track. “Internally Vexed”is a more stripped back affair. The breaksy groove is underpinned by the snappiest of snares and shrouded in celestial pads, the masterful use of the 303 demonstrating one of the sharpest and slickest basslines you’re likely to hear this year >:0

On the flip, “Alien With a Subwoofer (Skyline Mix)” is pacey club material built around deep wobs, a seriously wiggly 303, and carefully constructed pads building subtle tension. The sound of aliens redlining straight through your hood. Rounding things off, title track “Lifeforms” is beautifully crafted deep electronica; full of emotion and lush pads, otherworldly atmospherics and yearning synths.

This is a special record, and some of Lucas’ best work without a doubt. Don’t sleep!


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It’s been long overdue but finally No Moon is back on X-Kalay and we are HYPED. A lot has changed in the three years since his debut on the label but Fred’s ability to turn in forward thinking and original electro definitely has not. This latest effort is the work of an exciting producer on the rise.

Opening the A side “CPU Limit 99” is full of jungley skittish breaks, acid bass and off kilter rhythms. By the time we hear the voice of Agent Smith creeping out in the first break we could be forgiven for casting our minds back to Metalheadz circa 2002. Next up, “Aoe_Rushin” is the pick of the bunch for us and continues The Matrix theme, albeit less explicitly, via a full on bonkers trip of searing acid, razor sharp drums and smashed up vocals.

On the flip Adam Pits switches up “Aoe_Rushin” into a pacey 4x4 club joint utilising some expansive arrangement and lovely speed garage-esque bass. Closing things out, title track “Set Phasers to Stun” winds things back and rounds up with a deep and meditative cut of melodic electro.

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Second repress of CoastDream’s debut X-Kalay release and now cult record, Soft Moon. With the title track now racking up 1.2m views on youtube (and counting), and both the original and first repress priced at £40 on discogs, we expect this fresh pressing to sell as fast as the first two.

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Kask returns to X-Kalay with an EP of deep and raw house. Features a remix from Rudolf C and plenty of nostalgia.



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Misty Lane paves a path to Dark Entries to deliver some quirky Quebecois disco pop. In 1983, producers Michel Bibeau, perhaps best known for his work on Pluton & Humanoids’ “World Invasion,” and Fitz Roy aka Ralph Mashats teamed up with singer Elaine Desjardins, the eponymous Misty Lane. Mashats reminisces about bringing his Roland TR-808 and TB-303 to Michel’s Studio 21 in St. Eustache, two units he regretted later selling for “a slice of bread.” Michel added hooks with his Roland Jupiter 4 and various studio effects. Their sessions produced “Energy” and “Contrôle,” two cuts of slinky synthpop with French-Canadian flair. “Energy” pops off with proto-house vibes thanks to snappy 808s and Desjardin’s naive-but-enthusiastic vocals, and would fit right into a mid-80s WBMX Radio mix. “Contrôle” is a mid-tempo groover with tropical atmospheres, sitting perfectly next to to Junior Byron’s “Dance to the Music,” which was another Bibeau production. Energy comes in a sleeve featuring Elaine at The Chivas Club in Montreal. Fans of Italo, Canadian disco, and oddball wave will rejoice in these artfully produced gems.Hackney Electronica come to Dark Entries with the Synaptic Shadows EP, featuring 5 cuts of acidic rave-inflected wave. Quinn Whalley (Paranoid London), Unai Trotti (Cartulis Music), and Margo Broom (Hermitage Working Studios) formed Hackney Electronica during COVID era. Trotti and Whalley were spending countless hours digging through records and making music during lockdown. As their sound took shape - heavy and hypnotic - they invited Broom to join, cementing the motley trio. The five pieces on Synaptic Shadows explore themes of altered states, late-night cityscapes, and the fine line between pleasure and paranoia. Each track pulses like a memory from the backstreets of Hackney, where the night transforms the city into an electrified maze of fleeting highs and inevitable crashes. The anxious grooves on “H.E. Nuestro Circuito” and “Whispers from the Depths” channel 1980s DIY electronics onto the contemporary dancefloor, while “Efecto Perfecto,” “The One”, and “Nueva Ola” offer breakbeat-laced electro that will keep you dancing until dawn. Housed in a sleeve designed by German Bardo, Synaptic Shadows is more than just a debut release, it’s a journey through the flickering alleys of the mind, where tension and transcendence intertwine.

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4 Monstruous Tracks Straight From the Basement Feat. One of the Original House Music Creator Ron Hardy. All the Real Djs Were Looking for Those for Years. Grab It Before It's Sold Out, We Have Very Few Copies. a Must Have. Essential Item Limited Edition No Re-Press...

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A rediscovered collaboration from T. Jacques and Velvet Velour comes Spring 2025, supported by two new dancefloor-focused solo tracks.

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It’s a properly transcendent Kalahari debut as S.A.M. makes nods to ’90s Eurodance and deeper, spiritual invocations.

At the helm of multiple labels, but this marks a Kalahari debut for the Danish artist. Sometimes anthemic, sometimes operating from a more meditative space, but always serving as an outlet for ecstatic release. Rapturous big room ascension into more contemplative territory.

Channelling some divine NRG in the vocal hooks, like much of their work, an air of blissed intent cloaks the whole thing. This is a suite of tech and deep house that strikes a balance between the introspective and direct, the metaphysical and corporeal.

Pitting sonic immersion against forward momentum has almost become a blueprint for any Kalahari release, and here, we bear witness to a prime example. Heady stuff.

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