London-born-and-raised DJ and producer Parris has announced his new EP Passionfruit, which is to be released on 22nd March 2024 via his own co-founded label can you feel the sun. Following his stand-out 2021 album Soaked In Indigo Moonlight, described as a “masterful” take on the pop genre (Crack Magazine), Passionfruit continues Parris’ affinity for polyrhythms and bouncing synths, but diving deeper into his love for clubbing and UK soundsystems, the result is a heady house compilation.

Each track on the EP is in contention with the one before it, a counterpoint to a sonic argument; melodic bubbly pop against heavy drum and bass, morning rays of sunlight against dark and swampy rhythms. Where the title track “Passionfruit” was described by Parris as imagining the “early morning of a set with the sunrise coming through the shutters”, the very next track “Slipping, Falling, Crawling” is much like the title suggests: a sludgy, percussion-heavy track which has fun with creating melody from the beat itself, stripped back and raw intent.

“Why Can’t Rabbits Wear Cowboy Boots” and “Underwater Fantasy” are almost alternate universe club classics. “WCRWCB” takes a club-formed structure, and uses it to explore the limits polyrhythms, layering chaotically over eachother, and building through the first half of the track, until it peaks with the introduction of an explosive bassline. “Underwater Fantasy” on the surface is the straightest-sounding track to come from Parris, but the disco-style vocals fight with the beat, pushing and pulling at eachother.

Parris (aka Dwayne Parris-Robinson) has dedicated himself to club culture from an early age, never missing a week at FWD>> (the club night where a generation of bass and techno DJs made their names), and was constantly tuning into Rinse FM. Immersing himself into the distinct sound of London built the foundations of the productions we hear today, with grime and drum & bass bubbling alongside slick pop references. More

The last few years has seen Parris make a name for himself across a number of scenes, to the extent he is just as likely to be found spinning records for Butterz as he is putting records out on Berceuse Heroique. Here at Idle Hands we first touched base with Parris many moons ago when he bought copies of the first release on his Soundman Chronicles label into our shop. As it is one of our favourite labels we were intrigued to hear what he would come up with as producer himself. Needless to say we were impressed. Presented here are two tracks that perfectly reflect his sound and our own; A nod to techno here, a weighty bass line there, a love of reverb everywhere and all with a view to being played in dark rooms late at night. The 12" of 'Burr' and 'Blue' is Idle Hands last release of 2015 and we think it rounds off nicely what has been a great year for the label.

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As Peach Discs hits 20 releases, they celebrate than with an EP from our dear friend Saoirse, who delivers five techy rollers in her signature tough but sensual style.

In her own words: “Vampire Heart and Catfished were written in the midst of lockdown - I was spending so much time in the studio (even sleeping there some nights) and was really able to explore different sounds and vibes. Vampire Heart still gives me a strange feeling as it was written the day the government announced that we had passed the peak of Covid and might be able to go outside again, something I tried to convey with the pads and break - that positive feeling of opening up. Conversely, Catfished was written during Covid’s peak - it felt like we were on this haunting loop that just kept going round and round, not knowing when it would end.

Mangomouse and Heated Cloud were written more recently and tie into what I’m calling “my tribal era.” I was a drummer for years but put the sticks and djembe down once I found electronic music… this is a path I think I’ll keep following as the rhythm comes naturally to me.” More

The first Peach Discs release of 2024 comes from the Cloudsteppers dream team of Dan Only and returning label favourite Ciel. The increasingly prolific Toronto-based duo have blessed us with four tracks of floor-focused, 4x4 garage tunes drenched in their singular melodic sensibilities.

In their own words: “For our second record as Cloudsteppers, we went back into the studio with the intent of making functional garage tunes aimed at the dancefloor. Leaning into what created the distinct sound of our first record, we relied on Ciel’s Korg ESX-1 and Dan Only’s MPC 2000XL to lay down the foundations of each of these tunes. Skippy and bass-heavy, these 4 tracks are the result of our UK-leaning sonic experiments. Whether it’s the bubbling bass of Aqua Hotel, the tech-leaning grooves of Control ft. Eden Samara, the M1 organ in Duckstep, or the skippy drums of TDG, this is Cloudsteppers' twist on UKG.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves – hope you like the record. More

Shanti Celeste & Hodge team up again for Peach Discs... More

The turbocharged Boosted EP from Washington DC's Jackson Ryland drops in Peach Discs. Inspired by the multi-faceted work of hyper-prolific producers such as Paul Johnson, Heiko Laux, K-Hand, Aubrey & Cari Lekebusch, Boosted's four tracks highlight the various layers that make up Jackson's sound, and confirm him as a thrilling and versatile producer whose deep understanding of dance music's history informs his firmly present approach to production.

Recorded between 2018 and 2022, Boosted splits the difference between the booming drums and trippy synth patterns of "Glass Cut" and "Hyp Gruuv," and the complex, evolving textures of "Boosted" and "Lip," the latter representing a side not often heard in Jackson's output to date. Taken as a whole, the EP fits into the long lineage of DC-based music - one defined by an effortless flexibility to flip between emotions while never forsaking the groove.

This is the 2nd release of the year on Shanti Celeste and Gramrcy's Peach Discs. More

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Peach Discs is delighted to kick-off a busy 2022 with a five-track EP from one of our favourite new artists. buen clima’s Transferencia Electrónica is an exploration into pared-down dance music, where interlocking rhythms, percussive synthesis and quasi-looping delays meet to form smooth, efficient and pointed club tracks.

In his own words:
“Stylistically the tracks on this EP owe a lot to the great Black musicians from Chicago and Detroit, namely Herbie Hancock, Mr. De', DJ Rashad, Lil' Louis, Frankie Knuckles, James Stinson and Gerald Donald. I feel like the EP is kind of a love letter to the styles they pioneered, done in my own way, which in turn has been influenced by my background in classical music and improvised music but also so, so heavily by my friends and teachers: I've learned so much just from interacting, working and just plain witnessing eggglub, Lorelei, Maxi Cat, il sentimento, Hola Papá/Annunaki, Lavina Yelb, Jorge Pepi, and the whole music scene I belong to in Santiago.” More

‘Tangerine serves as a coda to the qualities that have established Celeste as one of the most instinctive and generous underground DJs in the current landscape of dance music. Beginning as a record store assistant at Idle Hands in Bristol and now a fixture of some of the world’s most acclaimed clubs and festivals, Celeste’s instincts and curiosity have forged a musical space that is very much her own. Here, whether in sweat-drenched basements or to vast numbers, she strikes a common cause between the melodic richness of the legacy of the music of Detroit, alongside the natural ease with which she carries across tempos that embody UK Soundsystem traditions. Tangerine is Celeste’s most fully-realised contribution thus far to this continuum of musical culture.
More than that, Tangerine is an innate extension of Shanti’s self, telling stories beyond her record box and delving into her personal history. There is her manipulated voice serving as a bedrock in tracks. There's a kalimba, recorded at her father's home in Chile.
There are, of course, her rich synthesizers that wrap her tracks like velvet cloaks, providing the familiar warmth and colour we know from her work so far on labels such as Idle Hands and Future Times. There’s even her characteristic paintings on the cover. Here, on her very own Peach Discs, the label she co-runs with goodfriend Gramrcy, Celeste naturally delivers her most impressive and wholly personal work.
Creating Tangerine has been a space for Celeste to explore all of this with a freedom that has come with the easing of expectations that an artist earns with the passing of time. Striking a balance between deeper, understated sounds and building gradually towards the fleet-footed bursts of rave energy that Celeste is known for, Tangerine peels back layersof dreamy textures to reveal an optimistic afterglow, reflecting a life devoted to club culture.
“When I made music for EPs, sometimes I felt restricted,” shesays. “I would think too much about creating the moments on the dancefloor I love - seeing visions of ecstatic people hugging, I didn’t give myself free reign to express all of myself. Writing an album made me feel free of all this because it seemed like an open-ended project. I could just keep creating until I felt like stopping”. More

"Following 2017’s Rotlicht EP (PEACH003), Shanti Celeste & Gramrcy are very happy to welcome back Chekov for the first Peach release of 2020. The Aerated EP (PEACH009) collects four tracks built from the heart, made for the head and body." More

Next up on Peach Discs is the debut 12� from newcomer Videopath. The A-side piles up the melodies over some box-banging drums, while the B-side goes full-on 90s with pumping organ riffs and wailing diva vocals. 2 jacking tracks for the clubs!
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The 4th release on Peach Discs is a debut EP from Torontoâ??s very own Ciel, formally known as Cindy Li, sheâ??s been DJ and running parties for some time now so its about time for her first dreamy wicked 12''

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Shanti say 'For the third release on Peach Discs, a wicked new producer from Leeds steps up! his name is Chekov, his Rotlicht EP is the first 3 tracker on the label and very different from the previous two with some tension building sleazy cuts. ENJOY!'
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