Brand new Hobbes Music signing from Tokyo, Kota Motomura is a slightly mysterious character with an ear for idiosyncratic music that runs the gamut from Exotica and Jazz to House and Techno. Highly original, it all adds up to a confection perhaps best described as Balearic. This is his second release.Opening track ‘Aboy’ sets you afloat down a psychedelic stream, plucked strings lulling you into a dreamy state, while the occasional image from some long-forgotten Miyazaki film flows past. It’s a rare gem, sounding a bit like few things from the past but like nothing else out there right now. A2 ‘Yes’ ups the tempo and adds beats, saxophone and vox but is no less unusual, occasional bird calls and other fx dropping into a mix which gets stranger as it progresses over for a marathon ten minutes. Accelerating hyper-actively towards the end, it’s sure to leave a few DJs scratching their heads... The B-side is a bit straighter: opening track Stars is a bossa nova style house number with infectious piano motifs, while B2 Cry Baby sounds a bit like Carl Craig’s seminal ‘Throw’ re-imagined with different vocal and a wonky piano. Bonus track Satellites (download only) is the kind of low-slung plodder Detroit legend Theo Parrish might drop in one of his warm-up sets, all solid groove and scat-style vocal fx with a nagging keyboard refrain and featherlight shakers against a HEAVY bottom end. And secondary bonus Return (download only) is the kind of bonkers techno bizniz Maurice Fulton or Pepe Bradock might dream up when they're feeling a bit goofy... More

SUN is the brainchild of Kota Motomura and it's the first song from his project Beat Down 100 Soul. The Japanese DJ/producer from Tokyo has been studying music from the tender age of 14. This Grand Prize winner of Keyboard Magazine's 2009 contest takes the beautiful heydays of Jazz-Hop into the 21st century with his debut single on King Kung Foo Records. From bar one there's this incredible beat that drives you forward with jazzy staccato chords and some amazing sparkling vibes added further into the track. When the monster bass line kicks in SUN really catches fire. It's a great mixture of a deep & soulful mid-tempo dance track and a lounge DJ's dream tool. In a parallel universe this could be a secret Soul II Soul jammin' session taking place in DJ Shadow's nirvana..! L.A. DJ/producer Tony Watson, owner of the Adult Contemporary label and Sarcastic Disco cult-member, reworks it into a more percussive & dance floor-friendly version. I can easily imagine his Night Cricket remix on repeat at any beach BBQ or club night where people slip comfortably into the darkness and dance until sunset. The fantastic pop art cover is designed by long time label affiliate and 'Sunshine State' Miami resident Peter Stanick. A very special moment for us because Peter also designed the iconic King Kung Foo logo, something unforgettable and definitely worth mentioning again. His visual art never ceases to amaze me. Mastered by Saloquin at E.A.R. Studio Antwerp Belgium and cut with German precision by Andreas Kauffelt at Schnittstelle, this new King Kung Foo release is sure to spread some heat and make your summer last forever.


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Product details/extras: Black vinyl; full colour printed sleeve w/3mm spine; shrink-wrapped. Includes download code w/3 bonus instrumentals. 150 copies pressed.

It’s True What They Say is the debut EP from Edinburgh-based, husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), aka Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced “McLochlin”).

“Sarah and I both have a love for nostalgia,” explains Shaun. “We watched that amazing old 80’s Sci-Fi, (John) Carpenter movie, Starman, a few months back. Myself and my brother David used to watch it all the time. We must have been, roughly, 5-7 at the time. I remember loving the movie but the end, you know, with the beautiful, atmospheric, synth ending, I love that particular moment the most - best part of the movie, you know, when he goes home… It’s heartbreaking but stunning, all the same. It’s the music that moves you most… It did when I was 5 and it still does to this day. It must have had some form of a (much deeper) impact on me.”

The duo narrates stories across themes of love, hope, family, friends, dreams and sadness - the good that comes with the bad in everyday life, not just on a personal scale but within a community as well.

“Starbed is the first song I have ever written and just came out of the blue really, with Shaun playing a melody and me singing along,” says Sarah. “It’s simple and just about two people in love. Love songs are always the best songs, after all… Music has been a big part of my life from a young age. I was unwillingly dragged to piano and violin lessons, which I’m thankful for now! I’d say the first band I really became obsessed with growing up were the Beatles, and on the back of that a lot of 60s music and fashion. From then on, I had a love for music.”

“Shaun definitely opened my ears to a lot of sounds and got me thinking about soundtracks and all the noises that can be made,” she goes on. “We love just spending time experimenting in the house with instruments, pedals etc and Ali is a real magician to work with, too…”

The recordings took place over the summers of 2022 and 2023, with fellow Delta Mainline member Ali Chisholm (aka Jaguar Eyes) plus long-term friend and collaborator Gavin King. Further collaboration then came via the ‘net from the (international) likes of Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty), Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz) and Daniel Land (The Modern Painters), among others (see a full list of credits below).

Both Sarah and Shaun have a love for uber-soundtrack producers such as Hanz Zimmer, Max Richter, Cliff Martinez plus live acts such as Beach House, Spiritualized, M83, Suicide, Moby and OMD (to name a few). Shaun also credits the work of Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (from Survive) on the Stranger Things score… “Even a moment in a movie, whether it be just 30 seconds during a particular scene, it grips you,” he says. But there’s something much deeper at play as well. “Music is a healer,” he goes on, “and I write from my own perspective but more so for others. Once I've done my bit, it doesn't belong to me any longer. It belongs to whoever wants it or needs it.”

The result is a cinematic, synth-wavey, dream poppy and downright beguilingly beautiful body of work. And they’re just getting started…

REVIEWS/RADIO/FEEDBACK:

“Starbed is folky, flavoured by pedal steel, cello, and brass. Dust Tears, in stark contrast, is a mini synth-pop rave epic. Part Bicep. Part Human League. Keep Your Eyes Closed summons a mood that’s romantic, but also dark and potentially doomed – like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks meets Cliff Martinez’s Drive score. My pick though is It’s True What They Say, whose interwoven jangle and picking recalls New Order’s more introspective moments (Love Vigilantes, Love Less… ). Drums crashing, cathartic. Guitar raising dramatic arcs. Its chorus a rush, like a reprise of Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart’s ‘Higher Than The Stars’.” BAN BAN TON TON
"Dust Tears sees them sharing vocal duties over a synth foundation reminiscent of Moby’s Go - Artist Of The Week” THE SCOTSMAN
"Woozy pop" NEMONE (Mary Anne Hobbs Morning Show, BBC 6Music)
"Nice one, very David Lynch meets Euro dream pop" YOUTH (Killing Joke, Paul McCartney, U2, The Orb, Spiritualized etc)
"Music sounds killer! Real emotion” DAVID HOLMES
"I’m enjoying it” TIM BRINKHURST aka LONDON (IKLAN, Young Fathers, Callum Easter)
“Oh, this is lovely!” SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"It’s totally my cup of tea with milk and biscuit" BRENT RADEMAKER (Beachwood Sparks/GospelBeach)
"Beautiful, ecstatic electronica! Short and to the point" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized, Julian Cope, Soulsavers, BE)
"Makes me wanna sit in the sun and sip an Arnold Palmer" CHRIS DIXIE DARLEY (Father John Misty)
“Really beautiful - Cocteau Twins / Spiritualized vibes but has its own thing going on, too - worth checking out!” JULIAN CORRIE (Franz Ferdinand, Miaoux Miaoux)
‘Sounded nice on a sunny day, makes me think of Twin Peaks, nice moods’ EAMON HAMILTON (Sea Power)
"Dealing in nostalgia, no bad thing at all, great to play that (Dust Tears) for you” RODDY HART (BBC Radio Scotland)
“I'll give the vocal tracks a spin before the release." VIC GALLOWAY (BBC Radio Scotland)
"Rather good!" IAIN ANDERSON (BBC Radio Scotland)

CREDITS:

Lyrics, Guitars, Keys, Synths, Drums, Drum Programming, Percussion, Mandolin, Glockenspiel: Shaun McLachlan
Lyrics, Vocals, Keys by Sarah McLachlan
Guitars, Synths, String Arrangements, Drum Programming, Engineering: Jaguar Eyes Percussion/Drums/Effects, Fire Extinguisher: Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz)
Guitars by Daniel Land
Slide Guitar by Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty)
Brass by Bruce Michie
Keys, pre-production & engineering on “It’s true what they say”: Gavin King
All produced by Jaguar Eyes and Shaun McLachlan and then mixed at Glasgow’s Chem19 Studios by David McCaulay (From Scotland With Love, Rick Redbeard, BBC TV’s Attenborough and The Mammoth Graveyard score).
Artwork: Jamie Walman (Fourteen Admirals)

MORE INFO:

Although Shaun released a pair of solo singles (When We Dance and Give Your Love To Me) during Lockdown, he will be better known to many via his work as the multi-instrumentalist in Edinburgh band Delta Mainline. With two albums released to date, Oh! Enlightened and Bel Avenir, both rapturously received by fans and critics alike, Delta Mainline have developed an international, cult following. Oh Enlightened (2013) achieved widespread critical acclaim on release, earning the band comparisons to Arcade Fire and Echo & The Bunnymen, while 2019’s Bel Avenir pulled in references to The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and krautrock. A third DM album is currently being mixed and due for release later this year… More

Following the Kota Motomura and Exterior debuts earlier this year, it’s another first from Hobbes Music. Maastricht Research is a brand new project from Scottish artist Jonathan Hunter producing ambient/drone style material. Jonathan was part of the quartet behind the much-loved Slabs Of The Tabernacle parties at Glasgow's now-legendary La Cheetah club back in the late 00s/early 10s. He's also one half of The Three Lives, whose debut EP, Mud & Flame and follow-up Across & Beyond were released recently by Glasgow's Full Dose label. Written and recorded over a number of years, whilst living in Amsterdam, Glasgow and Dublin, the Maastricht Research vibe is about as horizontal as it gets and is the perfect soundtrack to long, lazy days and balmy eves in the park, by the pool, in the bath etc! There are zero beats. It's proper ambient / drone music and could well have been beamed in from another dimension, planet or century altogether, including field recordings, atmospheric fx, lush and eerie pads, with the occasional snatch of a weird vocal and generally other-worldly sounds.The record owes a debt to the likes of Manuel Gottsching, Cluster, Susumu Yokota, Detroit Escalator Company, Astral Industries and Alessandro Cortini, among others… More

EXTERIOR is the artist moniker of Edinburgh producer Doug MacDonald. The artistic mission is to bring together the formally disparate worlds of electronic club sonics with elements of live instrumentation. Exterior’s pathway coalesced from years spent performing in bands and nights spent on dancefloors. Guitar feedback and live drum eruptions provide a textural abrasion and a haunted, humane groove currently absent in much UK dance. Admittedly, the latter’s unshakable syncopation and melodic pressure inform the method of the former. The two approaches are synthesised most noticeably in live performance. The combination is now made manifest in Exerior’s debut album ‘UMBILICAL DIGITAL’. The record is a playful, irreverent, propulsive long-player, underpinned by the emergent global latticework of connectedness. UMBILICAL DIGITAL is an admission of the level of dependencies in contemporary music styles. This comes most noticeably in Fugazi-on-dancehall moment ORTHODOX DREAMS, footwork and math-rock mashing oddity TYRANNY OF CHOICE, or ritalin-addled robo-disco workout POPULIST. That the record is only eight tracks long and combines as many elements as it does, reflects Exterior’s artistic ambition in the process. The bedrock allowing this confidence has been road-testing the material live in Edinburgh venues, most overtly at local electronic institution The Bongo Club. UMBILICAL DIGITAL features artwork by Exterior’s live visual artist collaborator, Panos Baras. More

With an almost lightning-fast Kickstarter campaign* in its tail-lights, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label follows up the success of Jacksonville’s ace FON EP and Gaming’s quirky (and no less ace) debut album, Scenes From A Deserted City with a new release from Leonidas & Hobbes, the label’s 15th release. Leonidas & Hobbes make a timely return with Aranath EP, 3 years after Web Of Intrigue (from 3rd EP The Rags Of Time) was voted No. 1 in Bill Brewster's 2017 DJ History poll. Delivering a follow-up to many people’s 2017 summer anthem has been something of a protracted process, not least due to Covid and the 400 miles between them. Aranath features the hugely talented multi-instrumentalist Riad Abji and his virtuoso cello & tanpura raga, which inspired the duo to create 4 mixes, combining Riad's Eastern lament with classic house and ambient techno. The full release is complemented by the tropical flavours of Into It and Out Of It**. The previously unreleased ambient mix of Web of Intrigue rounds off what can certainly be described as a 'deep' release. The sleeve art was inspired by a 19th Century Indian Jain painting and created over the course of many obsessive evenings at the height of lockdown (as was some of the audio). Needless to say, the whole project has helped to keep everyone sane through these crazy months... More

Continuing a run of highly eclectic and quirky but consistently individual releases (most recently GAMING's internationally lauded Scenes From A Deserted City 2x12" LP, out Nov), the Hobbes Music label is very excited to welcome Jacksonville aka Yorkshire-born, Edinburgh-based artist Chris Lyth, to the fold. He has carpet-bombed the last few Hobbes Music events at Edinburgh's Bongo Club with his excellent live sets and the release has been in the pipeline for some time. The 'FON' EP (caps intentional) combines a love of classic electro and techno with dub reggae, sound system culture, the UK's contemporary bass scene etc. Mastering was done by Optimum in Bristol, who did a really lovely job, with loads of width in the mix. This release follows Jacksonville's 'Machines Of Loving Grace' EP which dropped in November via Inner Shift. He has a pedigree spanning some 20 years plus via releases for the likes of 2020Vision, Hizou, Doppler, Thug, Plastic City, Leftroom, A.E.R, Shanti and Dan Curtin’s Metamorphic. This record's a bit of a departure for him. While we're deeply saddened by the knowledge that there's no chance now of us ever hearing Andy Weatherall play it out, we're kinda heartened by the idea that he would have probably dug it.... RIP.A1. FON, B1. Orienne, B2. Varadi
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This second Hobbes Music release is an introduction to the productions of label­owner Hobbes and studio partner Leonidas. It sees the pair harness a love of classic disco, techno, electro, acid, house and UK bass/dub, to create an EP with one foot in the past, one foot in the future and both eyes aimed squarely at the dance floor. A1) Driftin’ employs a vintage gospel sample and a bank of equally vintage synths (ARP Odyssey, Roland Juno 106, Roland SH­101, Sequential Circuits Pro­One) for a very contemporary, hybrid mix of UK bass and house. This track has already had airplay from Rob Da Bank (BBC Radio 1), proved popular on Soundcloud and has been dropping extremely well when played out, so we think you’ll agree it’s rather special! A2) Penthouse Dub is a more spacious composition. Classic disco congas and a delay­soaked guitar line recall the Balearic style of Norwegian modern disco don Todd Terje, then the vintage (Sequential Circuits Prophet T8) synth lines drop... The title is a nod to Heaven 17’s classic album, Penthouse & Pavement ­ a key reference point during this track’s production. B1) Jackin’ Pschidt treads a more European path, referencing Belgium’s late Eighties Nu Beat scene via its drum programming and acid line, with a heavily arpeggiated synth for its euphoric main riff and classic Nineties techno claps driving the beat home. A vocal refrain, compelling you to ‘break it down: get into the groove’, is as simple a call to action as any you’ll find in dance music. But, again, it’s the track’s bassline which will really get people moving their bodies: no fuss, few effects, just simple dancefloor dynamics. This mix has also proved popular on Soundcloud and been dropping well when played out. The title is a nod to a certain Chicago legend... B2) Referencing after­hours parties in dingey warehouse spaces, Pavement K flips the script completely, slowing things down and spacing them out ­ all heavy reverb, plodding kicks and atmospheric toms that ring out like some tribal gong in an old Kurosawa film. The bass stabs are as fierce as anything DMZ have put their name to, while the acid line and skittering hats are closer to early Plastikman. The brief vocal snatches are hardly any less abstract, before more waves of bass wash moodily over you and that familiar voice returns to let you know about ‘a lot of machines, tapes and electronic setups....’ Watch yer bass
bins!
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This debut release is the first in a series of remix EPs featuring up ­and ­coming Scottish artists remixed by well­e stablished and emerging local and international talents More