Hey world, what happened?

Well anyway, Touch From A Distance is still here. Scratching our heads in awe of the ever-changing standstill of the past three years, we managed to get the ball rolling again with the help of Melbourne brothers extraordinaire Donald's House who have honed their skills during lockdown downunder to achieve the impossible: They got even better while pivoting towards a slightly different sound: Determined and muscular, yet trippy and playful. Juggling classic Acid and Progressive House tropes coupled with their prowess for perfectly balanced arrangements and catchy melodies, both „Bassian Plain“ and „The Isthmus Of Kra“ epitomise Pete's and Jim's peak time powers to fullest. The same goes for Alex Kassian's remix of „Bassian Plain“. Like Donald's House, Alex has been a core member of the Touch From A Distance family as one half of Opal Sunn from the start. He used the reset brought on by the pandemic to establish himself as one of the fastest rising stars of today's nightlife striking home with a slew of hit remixes and inspiring dj sets all over the world (keep your eyes peeled for a meeting of DH and AK in Australia soon).

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Wax’o Paradiso returns with their fourth release, a full-fidelity four track EP from Naarm/Melbourne producers Hybrid Man.

‘Dust & Liquid’ sees Hybrid Man lower BPMs into balearic territory, offering a shimmering, pulsing and textured contribution to the label’s efforts to canonise and catalogue the extraordinary psychedelia being produced in so-called Australia.

‘Eternal Nightglow’ sets the record’s tone beautifully with a soaring 90bpm-yet-high-energy pace that subtly evokes the idealism and innocence of early William Orbit, yet firmly roots itself in the contemporary. Organic bass tones juxtapose with but do not contradict swirling cosmic synth work, with a flip-to-dub breakdown that would make fans of Bill Laswell smile.

‘Sunwave’ ups the ante slightly and sets the tempo to chug! Beginning to introduce the neo-prog sound that Naarm has rightly earned a reputation for doing so well. Both a party starter and one for the after hours.

With ‘Bluegums’ the record leaves the downtempo for dust, edging the EP into gentle doof territory. As the name suggests it yearns to be heard loud and clear, amongst the trees in the expansiveness of the Australian countryside. Juxtaposing the natural and the machine, the dust and the liquid.

An aptly well-rounded conclusion to the ‘Dust & Liquid’ Journey, ‘Swept by the Undertow’ bookends the record by returning to slower, moodier space, with a stepping descent into, as the name suggests, murkier aquatic zones.

Written and Produced by Julien Huynh & Will Holden
Mastered by Joseph Buchan
Artwork by Sprinkles
All tracks were recorded in the summer of 2021/22 at Romantica Studios, Brunswick East, Wurundjeri Country

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Repress!

Wax’o Paradiso Recordings presents its debut outing on vinyl, OK EG’s Intertidal Zone EP. The new label from the long standing Naarm (Melbourne) party is set to explore hi-fidelity, landscape-driven and cerebral music from the antipodes and beyond.

After sold out pressings on local imprints Animalia and Steeplejack, this EP explores a more contemplative side of OK EG, suitable for discerning dancefloors and meditative home listening alike.

Conceived in 2019 and completed in 2020, Intertidal Zone was recorded in collaboration with percussionist Phil Stroud. The rhythm tracks are a fusion of drum machines and hand drums, loose percussion, human voices and tuned percussion immersed in water. Joined by analog synthesisers, layered vocals, processed guitar and field recordings, the music evokes solastalgia and a reverence for nature.

The final track, Golden Hour, came from an improvisation with multi-instrumentalist Adam Halliwell on flute and jazz musician Jack Doepel on Korg bass, later transposed to modular synthesiser.

Wax’o Paradiso and OK EG acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this music was recorded, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, and pay their respects to elders past, present and emerging.

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After highly acclaimed releases from OK EG and Donald’s House, Wax’o Paradiso Recordings proudly welcomes Naarm/Melbourne producer Midnight Tenderness (Ryan Hunter) to the fold. Over four tracks the ‘Hydrosphere EP’ continues the label’s narrative of platforming contemporary antipodean psychedelia with three masterful productions and a remix from Boorloo/Perth’s Hame DJ.

As a producer with influences rooted in dub, street soul, boogie and the DNA of UK club music, Ryan draws down on the Middy T sound with the title track ‘Hydrosphere’, a blend of broken machine funk, glistening synth lines and beautiful crisp drum programming. ‘Rain Vibe’ takes the sound palette further adding a hefty wub for good measure. ‘Catamaran’ transports us back to the golden era on the Balearic isles, with the original evoking Ibizan sunset cruises whilst Hame DJ’s remix brings some Madchester chug to the mix.

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Following 30 million steams for their previous album, sold-out headline gigs in Manchester and Percolate in London, supporting Chic and Chaka Khan, plus shows for Bluedot, Festival No 6, Love International and Boiler Room in Bali, the Nottingham/Manchester band are more in demand than ever. Fans of Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, Grace Jones, Arthur Russell, Jam Hammer, Prince and Bobby O will find much to like, but this is clearly modern music, where heavy clubs beats are layered-up with perfectly-placed arrangement, ace playing and stratospheric soundscapes. Musically, Crazy P's breadth of studio and writing experience shines brighter than ever, and 'Age Of The Ego' has their unmistakeable stamp of quality, but is now augmented with a broader palate, and - like many - a feeling of upset with the state of the world.

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After providing Touch From A Distance's inaugural release not even one year ago, the mighty Desert Sound Colony is returning to Nick Ho¨ppner's label for another round on the bouncy bounce, his bubble gun at the ready! It's no exaggeration to say Desert Sound Colony smashed it on all fronts in the past year: He put himself firmly on the map by pushing his own label Holding Hands with a fresh take on beloved tropes of UK club music. His number of gigs also increased dramatically and he popped his Panorama Bar cherry earlier this year at the first TFAD label night, where he unleashed a joyous assault of beats and bass whipping the crowd into a frenzy. His new EP for Touch From A Distance is an algamation of all the good stuff we've come to expect from the London based DJ and producer: Opener „Zenome Archetype“ is a retrofuturistic joyride across mountainous bass and funked up syncopation. „Taking It Out For A Rip“ then couples a thumping 4/4-UKG-Beat with a cheeky vocal sample, while „Walrus Rodeo“ slows down the tempo and cranks up the folly for a slice of weird dancefloor fun Desert Sound Colony does so well. „Al Gore Rhythmic“, a collaboration with Guava, closes the EP channeling classic 2-Step and golden era HipHop vibes.

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Long time house and disco devotee Dave Lee comes through on Z Records once more with a sampler from this years ZR Essentials collection. It features two of his masterful reworks starting with Jamiroquai's 'Little L'. He flips into a funked up cosmic delight with plenty of the original's synth flourishes melodic hooks and orchestration all present and correct but with added slap bass, replayed rhodes and beefy new drums which make this a surefire dancefloor winner pretty much anywhere. On the flip comes Dave Lee's Disco Fantasy mix of Shelia & B Devotion's 1979 hit 'Spacer' which has a more retro disco sound thanks to the masterful original work of Chic. Additional clav, new string parts and solo-ing keys give 'Spacer' the extended DJ mix it never had at the time of original release.

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When talking about the sheer quality of dance music coming out of Melbourne, it’s often commented that there must be something in the water. And with their second EP on Nick Höppner’s Touch From A Distance imprint, the Melbourne based duo, Donald’s House, are doing everything they can to prove that statement right. Continuing on with their signature 90s house meets Paradise Garage era disco sound, the Rainbow Gelato EP is a homage to their love of sweet treats, and their mother’s prowess with an ice cream machine. Starting off the EP is Rainbow Gelato – an M1 banger that’ll get even the most discerning house head moving. Featuring an irresistibly groovy bassline, piano hooks that unite dance floors with jiggling fingers, sax solos, and an almost obnoxiously long drum break down – Rainbow Gelato is beautifully familiar in its sound pallet, yet completely original in its composition. Slowing things down on the A2 is Cosmic Sorbet, an 80s boogie sounding track that tugs on emotional heartstrings with its sax work, Rhodes chords, arpeggiated flutes and tom rolls. Flipping over the record, you’ll find Pseudo Affogato – a more hypnotic number with lush chords, euphoric noodles and a plucky bassline. To finish off the EP, the duo goes back to the dancefloor with Piano Parfait. A punchy little weapon with dramatic chords, keyboard slides, and a horn section that’s reminiscent of a Latin big band. By channelling their musicality and their love of the 80s tinged drums, Donald’s House has delivered another quality EP, that’s destined to get people’s hips wiggling for quite some time to come.

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At long last: Andres returns to Mahogani Music with dope new LP with a full picture sleeve. All done with his trademark production finesse, the album feature 8 soul drenched and funk heavy house tracks .

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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On our seventh release we are thrilled to add a new name to our roster. Cameo Blush is the project of John Dunk from London. Some might already know him as a member of Ross From Friends live. Listening to The „Murky Waters“ EP, it is hard to believe this actually is Cameo Blush's debut release. Every track is oozing with emotional depth, invention and a purposeful confidence. „Murky Waters“, all glistening arpeggios and seductive alien vocals, sounds like a hyperkinetic dollie shot through a Manga style metropolis. „Hypervisibility“ then is taking clues from masters of abstract Electronica like Isolée, Lusine and Boards Of Canada, creating an audible allegory of longing and sensuality. „Prophet Paradise“ on the b-side soundtracks the holodeck projection of a dayglow beach under a neon sun. And finally, „Year 2000 Problem“ resumes the futuristic Manga theme evoking images of bots passing the Turing test, overflowing with joy and falling desperately in love.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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