Proper full-length outing from Naarm quartet and venerable live show Polito! Though prior associations with Butter Sessions have birthed EP's and compilation appearances, Collapse Phase gathers the most cohesive body of work from the group to date. Self-described as "a meeting of improvised contemporary dance and live improvised techno music, working together to create entrancing performance experiences", the project translates impressively to the long-player format. Holding no pretence with its title, opening cut 'Chuggalug' swirls around the stereo field building upon sustained synth warbles with low-key basslines and breaks propelling the track. As the album progresses from the chug into gridlocked, Mills-ian loops and fast, extra-terrestrial sound design (all swinging 909s + decay), we're also treated to contrasting downtempo acid cuts and dubwise, day-time festival vibes ('Fortune Teller'). 'Nine Lines' layers various patterns in a classy exercise of dancefloor tension building, with an undoubtedly in-the-moment feeling evidencing Polito's live show foundations. Across the board the group showcase their mastering of a kind of addition/subtraction push and pull, but the varying influences in sound design provide an extra layer of depth to the whole thing and cement the Polito brand. On both 'Inside The Sphere' and 'The Sphere Is Collapsing', the dreamier, more reflective edges of 90s IDM are given a nod and these two strike as up there with the best on the album. Head for 'Mercado Waltz' for a super interesting fusion of loopy techno and modular dubstep. Polito is a collaboration between musicians Robert Downie and Finnian Langham, and dancers Arabella Frahn-Starkie and Hillary Goldsmith.

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Jennifer Loveless's 2023 anthem 'Pleasure' gets twisted with three dynamic reworks and a dub mix, taking the original vision into new sonic territory. Parisian DJ / producer extraordinaire Bambounou pumps out a jackin' version to fire things up. Next up, the Lisbon-based veteran tINI gives a nod to old-school electro in a fresh bass-heavy offering. The EP is rounded off with an Indubm-3ntal mix by Loveless and label bosses Sleep D venturing into dubbed out techno territory, layering deep, atmospheric textures over hypnotic beats. Together, these remixes take the original to new heights, bringing pure pleasure to the deepest and darkest dancefloors.

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Long-time friend of the label Fader Cap returns to Butter Sessions with a potent four-track EP 'Blue Pool'. First appearing as Sedgwick on our 10 years of BSR compilation, Fader Cap has since released music on Craigie Knows and his own Straight 2 It Recordings.


Connecting the dots between progressive house and techno, the four tracks on 'Blue Pool' maintain an infectious energy, with pumping drums and plenty of space for contemplative synth work to keep the body moving and brain tingling. The rolling, dub-wise basslines set the foundations for intricate sound design and tripped-out sequences that provide that sweet head high we're chasing. Let your mind wander as you float away into the blue pool.

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Proper full-length outing from Naarm quartet and venerable live show Polito! Though prior associations with Butter Sessions have birthed EP's and compilation appearances, Collapse Phase gathers the most cohesive body of work from the group to date. Self-described as "a meeting of improvised contemporary dance and live improvised techno music, working together to create entrancing performance experiences", the project translates impressively to the long-player format. Holding no pretence with its title, opening cut 'Chuggalug' swirls around the stereo field building upon sustained synth warbles with low-key basslines and breaks propelling the track. As the album progresses from the chug into gridlocked, Mills-ian loops and fast, extra-terrestrial sound design (all swinging 909s + decay), we're also treated to contrasting downtempo acid cuts and dubwise, day-time festival vibes ('Fortune Teller'). 'Nine Lines' layers various patterns in a classy exercise of dancefloor tension building, with an undoubtedly in-the-moment feeling evidencing Polito's live show foundations. Across the board the group showcase their mastering of a kind of addition/subtraction push and pull, but the varying influences in sound design provide an extra layer of depth to the whole thing and cement the Polito brand. On both 'Inside The Sphere' and 'The Sphere Is Collapsing', the dreamier, more reflective edges of 90s IDM are given a nod and these two strike as up there with the best on the album. Head for 'Mercado Waltz' for a super interesting fusion of loopy techno and modular dubstep. Polito is a collaboration between musicians Robert Downie and Finnian Langham, and dancers Arabella Frahn-Starkie and Hillary Goldsmith.

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Setting the tone in a similarly deep and heady post-rave delirium as RBI's Disseminate and in-house group Sleep D's latest album, the spectral dub techno of Unsolicited Joints slips in perfectly to the Butter Sessions 2023 vibe. Unsolicited…no one asked for these joints, yet here they are. Salvaged from many spontaneous late night jams over the last few years in a darlinghurst studio with only the mood in the room and the spirit of fun as guides. It's all here really - Convextion-esque Midwest futurism, spiralling pads and woodblock style percussion mixed with the kind of borderless deep house timbres that nod more to Sprinkles, Regelbau and Acido than the watered-down, commercialised monotony. Elements of bleep, golden era 90s progressive house and even dubstep ('Joint 5') coalesce to prove a distinct UK influence, though Sydney brothers, Cousin & Ben Fester, combine them with ease. 'J0oint 2' manages to at once subtly unfold yet rapidly ascend into peak-time 130 territory, knowingly crafted with the DJ in mind. Meanwhile 'Joint 3' gathers momentum through a shuffling, almost European minimal sort of groove, equally floor friendly but with less of the intensity. The aforementioned bleep tropes poke their head out on the latter half of the opening cut, while across the whole thing is a sense that the Fester's are as voracious listeners as they are talented producers. An exciting collection of tracks that wear their stylistic influences on their sleeve but are deep in the knowledge of those that have come before them.

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Naarm alchemists Sleep D's revelatory new synthetic 'Electronic Arts' is ready for circulation. Having released 4 EPs of mind-altering club tackle since 2019's 'Rebel Force', the duo overcome second album syndrome, boiling down their chaos with a more developed sense of songwriting. Never banging one drum, 'Electronic Arts' mirrors the anything goes mania of their DJ sets, tactfully shifting through different sounds and styles. Tempos intensify and decelerate, at times pushing the threshold to 150 bpm from docile canine dreamscapes to full tilt Space Invaders in AR mind games. Largely built on road tested material from their live performances, the album is a tangible Butter Sessions gathering, busting out the gate with Martian rave initiation Planet Waves, Outdoor System's polyrhythmic beatdown and the Orb-like hero dose affirmations of Sunrise In The Crater (I Exist). While 'Electronic Arts' is otherwise a self-dependent effort, Punch Drunk is brewed ever more potent by the hypnagogic vocals and lucid trumpet cycles of former futsal team member YL Hooi. Their unified energy incidentally manifests a profound matrix of ambient techno, motorik, Don Cherry and Everything But the Girl. Also touching on apocalyptic doof and minimal, the album is not exclusively peak time with Maryos Syawish and Corey Kikos' specialty curveballs also playing their part. From Village To Empire finds the duo rooting down in Syawish's heritage with a tapestry of purposefully deployed Iraqi and Syrian ethnographic samples and field recordings, dubbed within range of Muslimgauze and On-U Sound. As minimal techno finale Textile trails off into footsteps wandering back to base camp with a satisfied exhale, one wonders where Sleep D's existential pathfinding could possibly take us next?

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Following multiple appearances on local Naarm label digital compilations, RBI lands on Butter Sessions with a full lengths worth of downtempo, ambient and full throttle, braindance-inspired dnb/jungle cuts. Whilst 'Proximity' and 'Return to Nature' presented RBI as one amongst many contemporary vanguards of the Australian electronic underground, her production style is allowed to shine in full effect on debut album Disseminate. There is an undeniable influence of early breakbeat, 90s IDM and UK sound system pressure at play, though RBI's sound design is knowingly modern. Rarely dropping the tempo below 140 aside from brief, beatless interludes ('100o10o1hz' / 'Gossip'), the result is a fine balance of unrelenting rave music and thoughtful, introspective glitch. Penultimate jam 'Subterranean Dub' seems like a nod to the living-room techno of the Artificial Intelligence series, occasional soft breaks mixing with murky, aquatic ambience, whilst things close with an eerie avant-garde electroacoustic piece. 'Arrivée Les Nuages' strikes as a participation in the current re-evaluation of psytrance, though follows on from 'Vault Ultra' which clearly references the atmospheric breakdowns of golden era dubstep. All in all, an impressive collection of dance productions which combines elements from scenes of the past 40 years.
NB: The tracks on Disseminate sit within a wider audio-visual context where they soundtrack various Naarm cityscapes rebuilt as immersive digital worlds: "I was lucky enough to collaborate with an incredibly talented friend and training architect Dom who came up with the idea of videos exploring digital spaces and worlds extracted from real locations. To create the work she filmed a number of locations near where we live, a warehouse party location, artist spaces, liminal spaces, objects..."

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Sapphic royalty Jennifer Loveless has gone global, but Around The World is landing back, and better than ever on Butter Sessions with a hot, hot rush of sun-kissed & heavily misted Summer anthems. The 6 track audaciously freaky EP slinks, scoots and toots with a consistent perpetual drive towards the serotonin convention mirage looming on the horizon, dust kicked up and not settling down any time soon via endless slap-happy basslines and bucked up beat downs.

From top to tail the record delivers mid range sweet-spot dirty house, laced with pulsing progressive atmosphere and crowd-pulling percussion; Reverse Cowgirl 2 conjuring a loopy four2thefloor crescendo…surging to climax! It's hard not to Fall In Love, the totally major and melodic hits keep rolling like a rowdy rotisserie. Albeit this signal of a stomping glo-up, Loveless remains impossible to pigeonhole; thanks to her deep rooted flair and intrinsic passion stemming from a lifelong and timezone defying flame for Muzik.

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The truest Freaks Of Nature, Sleep D, are following up their hot 'n' heavy "F.O.N" series with Vol. 2; rammed start to finish with juiced up club exhilarations - you can't afford to miss this. Australia's notoriously prolific duo are celebrating all things bass, the 3 tech-tinged party starters are a force to be reckoned with, an official warning of high voltage (and speed). Welcoming back Butter Sessions alumni Ivy Barkakati & Furious Frank, the sun kissed acid anthem Ahora Sí metamorphosizes into a peak-time prog punisher Border Control where sensual whispers weave their way through a slick sexy drum maze, a darker rendition merging past, present and futuristic fantasies. Post Pump elevates tech house to immaculate status, undeniable deep groove unlocked through their signature bump and bounce; a combination of wild A side audio energies finding their home on freaky finale Bass'd In Berlin. Close your eyes, strap in and surrender control, Sleep D once again showcasing what they do best; modern dance from down under.

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Gunai/Kunai & Yorta Yorta artistdj pgzmakes hisButter Sessionsdebut with a killer 2-track EPThe Dance / Hypnotic Suburbs. dj pgz makes his affinity for the sounds of the underground known in A-side track "The Dance", where he masterfully commands a dark miasma of rolling bass and percussion. As per the title, "The Dance" is made for raging dancefloors and the relationships you make along the way, following in trajectory from his last release "Unknown at Night" (Pure space compilation - PROXIMITY ||). As the track blossoms into a frenzy of syncopated kick drum programming, rolling trap hi-hats and trusty claps, it's cognizant how dj pgz's experience drumming from the age of 13 has lent itself to his already developed idiosyncratic sound in electronic music production. In "Hypnotic Suburbs" dj pgz explores new avenues, starting with an evocative use of space that transforms into beloved drum and bass. The sonic mold is pieced together with high-pitch synth melodies and rubbery bass lines, aided by local rapperTeether's vocals, which add an unbeatable live dimension you simply can't beat.

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Despite productions appearing here and there since 2015, Yuzo Iwata has kept a relatively low output. Contributing tracks to compilations and releasing singles under aliases Fabio Lazaro and Almost East, Iwata is also affiliated with Junki Inoue's recent SAISEI label, editing pioneering early Japanese techno from the likes of Suzukiski and COLOGNe for rerelease. After 'Acid House' appeared on the Butter Sessions Come Together 12" in 2020, the label now play host to Yuzo Iwata's first ever full length. The 10 tracks span a wide variety of tempos and show a consistent approach to unusual sound design first evidenced in Iwata's RA Mix of the Day for Clubberia (100% originals recorded circa 2017). Kaizu unfolds with dense environmental ambient textures before 'Neverland' takes us into broken dancehall rhythms and acid-tinged dub. 'Funclub' is reminiscent of Japanese video game soundtracks and 80s fusion whilst further into Side A the balearic energy continues to captivate, closing with the beautiful 'Heroes Show Up Late'. This short piece is built around a looping vocal sample and shuffling drum work that all come together perfectly. There's even a trace of Brazilian MPB influence at play with the vocal/synth interplay. It's Iwata's knack for percussion that is most evident across the album however, with Side B opening cut 'Gamelion' taking an Indonesian inspired approach to modern techno. It runs in a similar vein to Komodo Kolektif's work and might be the dancefloor highlight of the whole LP. 'Sundance' follows with more Japanese motifs, recalling Haruomi Hosono's F.O.E project. Another strong rhythmic workout suited to the floor. The environmental ambient textures return with the closing piece 'Time 2 L', strings, bird calls and droning synthesiser winding down the proceedings. Letting us know it's time 2 leave?

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Naarm (Melbourne) based collective Butter Sessions celebrate over a decade in business with an extensive glossary of talented friends and affiliates pressed on a three-part compilation series. The label has always held the community closest, as exemplified by the 20+ artists featured over the three releases. Each 12" presents a grand soundscape anchored into the tenebrous energy of the dancefloor, with its inquisitive electronics and fierce pulse. If there was a definition for the Butter Sessions sound of ten years in the making, the answer lies here.

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Naarm (Melbourne) based collective Butter Sessions celebrate over a decade in business with an extensive glossary of talented friends and affiliates pressed on a three-part compilation series. The label has always held the community closest, as exemplified by the 20+ artists featured over the three releases. Each 12" presents a grand soundscape anchored into the tenebrous energy of the dancefloor, with its inquisitive electronics and fierce pulse. If there was a definition for theButter Sessionssound of ten years in the making, the answer lies here.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Naarm (Melbourne) based collective Butter Sessions celebrate over a decade in business with an extensive glossary of talented friends and affiliates pressed on a three-part compilation series. The label has always held the community closest, as exemplified by the 20+ artists featured over the three releases. Each 12" presents a grand soundscape anchored into the tenebrous energy of the dancefloor, with its inquisitive electronics and fierce pulse. If there was a definition for theButter Sessionssound of ten years in the making, the answer lies here.

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Canadian born and Naarm (Melbourne) based Jennifer Loveless returns one year on from her debut releaseHard/Soft(Pure Space Records) withWater, a 12" EP presented by Butter Sessions. Bestowing us with five tracks of dystopian dance-floor thump,Wateris a bustling showcase of Jenn's breadth as an artist. Reflecting on the contrast ofWaterwith her first EP, Loveless comments "I wanted a hard contrast to theHard/Softrelease. I always had a plan to release an energetic frivolous fun type EP afterHard/Soft. I had a feeling people might see me as an ambient producer (although I wouldn't really categoriseHard/Softas that), and I guess this EP,Water, is my response".

At its core,Wateris a hyper-charged cetacean maelstrom of electronic music, sampling weddell seals, humpback whales, pacific walruses and water itself.Waterkicks off with the rumbling patter ofOut/Underbefore moving into the unabatingSyzygy(Scissor Me).Jenn stamps a joyful yet skittish imprint ontoECC,while fly on the wallBackroll Buddysits on a sound bed of audio Jenn recorded at parties, capturing friends chattering and an edit of a Whitney Houston earworm she heard a DJ playing, paying ode to a night out.B L U YOUis a charming endnote; a fusion of fluorescent pop and a catchy bassline. The verdict here is thatWaterallows Jennifer Loveless to prove herself truly as a jack of all trades.Watertakes shape as an engrossing palette of bold dance music.

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Ewan Jansen,Perth artist, producer and founder ofRed Ember Records,presents his second offering toButter Sessionsfollowing the 2017 EPBest Intentions. The colourful LP from Jansen,Island Library, wraps up the end of the year at the label on a distinguished note -- courtesy of Jansen's 20 years of experience in the Australian electronic landscape.

Island Librarywas recorded over the last 12 months as Jansen returned from a frantic European tour. He was granted a breather with the lockdown, which allowed Jansen the necessary time and space to properly produce his record.The refined character ofIsland Libraryis made clear with Jansen's experiments in structure and tone, distancing his LP from the formulaic and conventional approach to classic house music. Jansen refers toIsland Libraryas a "palette cleanser," an apt sentiment. There's something here for everyone. He has crafted a release to be taken in from start to finish, a treat for eager ears.

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Butter Sessions tees up a flawless duo, Naarm (Melbourne) based artistsMousse(Simon Barry) andTrevor(James Vinciguerra) for a split 7" release with a screen-printed sleeve. Both artists add the release to their highly-regarded archives. On the A-Side,MoussesubmitsNorthstar. This is hissecond contribution toButter Sessions; arobust follow up to his funky explorations showcased on theBungalow Classics12".On the flipside,Trevorfollows up his 2019Becoming a BedLP(Alter)with the astuteDarron.


As one can expect,Mousse's Northstar is soaked in infectious house sequencing and sci-fi hypnobeat, while laced with dialogue extracted from the 1986 anime filmFist of the Northstar. The B-Side trackDarron sees visual artistTrevor jumping from his contribution to the record sleeve into the record itself. The piece emits glitchy electro bound in coarse breaks but with just the right amount of room to breathe. As two punchy aligned compositions, this split release introduces a powerful pairing.

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Melbourne based producer, DJ and co-founder of Sumac Records, Jon Watts delivers his Butter Sessions debut, Music for 3 CDJs. With over 10 years experimenting as an artist, Jon has an established history with the Australian underground scene. Music for 3 CDJs, showcases two contrasting sides, revealing his ability to seamlessly navigate manifold sounds.

The A-side presents three distinct tracks, thread together with restless percussion and a propulsive force. The introduction to the EP, Prohaasation, is a medley of techno and electro fabrics which progressively build before abruptly halting -- generating suspense for the track to follow. The feverish William gasps and screeches in tones that peak and fall, accompanied by audio maintained throughout; reminiscent of a malfunctioning fax machine. Now It's Done is a choppy and disjointed piece yet coherent in its structure that makes for a rewarding conclusion to the release's first chapter.

Subtlety and minimalism prevail for side B, as Jon gifts us with loops that swirl and churn. AMB 4 marks the first deviation from the narrative of Side A; sounding like hypnotic swelling from the bottom of a deep well. AMB 5 follows suit, divulging more of the picture. Carved out of a sound bed of field recordings, the nine and a half minute piece enchants with its repetitive arc, a spaciousness mirrored in the EP's farewell. The last track Piano 1, is an intricate study of a singular piano chord, examining the layers of the chord's sustain that are disclosed. A testament to Jon's unadorned restraint and confirmation of the old adage that less is really more.

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Following the Turner Street Sound collaboration with Rings around Saturn, Melbourne producer and DJ Midnight Tenderness presents his second offerin...

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